Archive for December, 2010:
Fearless Predictions for 2011
At least one person (ahem, Gary) wanted to read my predictions for 2011. So, here we go. Let’s start by reviewing the 2010 edition. Here’s what I predicted: Reputation will be all the rage in 2010. Fail. I did read that Twitter has an internal way to measure the weight of a user, and at [...]
2010, That’s a Wrap
I usually put a fair amount of effort into recapping the year in all things AppsLab, but this year, I don’t really feel like it. Oh, and Rich (@rmanalan) accidentally nuked our Google Analytics data earlier in the year. No biggie, we don’t drive much traffic anyway. One interesting note is that my post about [...]
Is Pay What You Want a Viable Business Model?
Interesting to ponder the newish pay what you want model, which is pretty much a remix of shareware. Pay What You Want — a Sustainable Business Model? – Slashdot Radiohead tried this same model with their album In Rainbows back in 2007 with mixed results. I’d argue that software and music have much different perceived [...]
Laptop Design, Too Many Options
I recently got a new work laptop, since my old one’s USB ports had started to go. I depend on USB to do backups and to run my KVM. Since the rise of the Macbook, I had hoped that the pointing device mess that exists on most non-Apple laptops had been simplified. Nope. Dell still [...]
Beer Innovation
Let’s call it beernovation. Meet the BottomsUp draft beer pouring, erm dispensing, system. It fills the cup from bottom to top, greatly reducing the foam factor and therefore the overall pour time, leading to much faster beer enjoyment and sales. It’s pretty amazing stuff. The BottomsUp site has video of people pouring 44 and 56 [...]
On Developers
Hey there, welcome back, assuming you weren’t reading over the holiday weekend. This post on three types of developers (or six depending) amused me greatly. It’s actually pretty accurate. Someone should pen a companion piece about the x types of IT people, another highly enjoyable topic. I suppose I should clarify that I consider myself [...]
Single Units of Work
I continue slowly making my way through “The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman. Today, I hit an obvious point that speaks volumes toward why apps are finding such quick success: The difficult of dealing with novel situations is directly related to the number of possibilities. . . . If there is only one [...]
Parenting in an Interwebs Era
Thinking about this subject a lot lately, what with ripping video to share and gearing up for the stretch run of the pregnancy. How much do you share about your children online? I know a couple friends who obfuscate their kids’ real names, but talk about them openly. Rich (@rmanalan) told me today he dialed [...]
What My Unborn Daughter Taught Me Today
I’ve never been a video guy. I tried out a camcorder, but the video I took was jerky, upset-stomach-inducing stuff. I suppose this will change when I become a parent next year, but for now, my unborn daughter is giving me a crash course in video and copyright. We had a 4D ultrasound done recently, [...]
How Does Your Gas Gauge Really Work?
You must have noticed the inaccurate behavior of your gas gauge, i.e. it’s full and empty for long stretches of time. The psychology behind why is interesting. How Does Your Gas Gauge Really Work? The imprecise nature of the gas gauge is something that has always struck me as odd. Different auto makers create different [...]
Programming Notes
Not surprisingly, it’s been quiet lately around the interwebs. I haven’t seen anything that seemed worthy of long form discussion in a couple days. If you can’t get enough of us, you can read what we read by following us on Twitter @theappslab, by subscribing to our Google Reader Shared Items (mine, Rich’s), or by [...]
Is Touch-Typing an Obsolete Skill?
I can touch type. If you don’t know what I mean, you probably don’t touch type, and if you don’t touch type, you hunt-and-peck. I didn’t make up the terms so don’t get mad at me if you don’t like them. I’ve seen impossibly fast hunt-and-peck typing on a keyboard, and perhaps the greatest hnp [...]
Oracle Announces Oracle Cloud Office and Oracle Open Office 3.3
Interesting news, we met Harald at OOW back in September, and he showed some of the Cloud Office stuff, very cool, especially when you consider all the possible integration points. Oracle Announces Oracle Cloud Office and Oracle Open Office 3.3 (The Oracle Office Blog)
Chrome Books Are Not for You
Chatting with Rich (@rmanalan) who got a Cr-48 last week, we meandered off onto Paul Buchheit’s commentary on Twitter and FriendFeed about Android vs. Chrome OS. ChromeOS has no purpose that isn’t better served by Android (perhaps with a few mods to support a non-touch display). This is a pretty common observation and an area [...]
Your Mobile Gadget Wishes
Rich (@rmanalan) mentioned earlier that he might get a NOOKcolor for himself. If you’re not familiar, the NOOKcolor is an Android device, recently rooted and now with Android Market access, essentially making it an Android tablet. Update: Why mod? If you can wait until January, you’ll get an official 2.2 update and the Android Market from [...]
Phone OS Emulators Make for a Good Time
Sure, it’s pretty geeky, but if you like VMs, you’ll love the iOS and Android emulators that come packaged with the SDKs. Obviously, providing a way for a developer to test applications before deploying them is a must-have requirement for any SDK, and both the iOS and Android emulators (and others too) provide mobile emulators. [...]
Photoshop Tutorial Rap
Another example of creativity executed with technology and distributed online is this gem, Photoshop Tutorial Rap (h/t Gizmodo and @rmanalan). Although primarily entertaining, the tutorial actually presents useful how-to tips for Photoshop, which is most definitely a dark art. See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.
The Story of Film in 2010
I really enjoy new art forms like this, made possible my modern technology and distributed by the intertubes. Possibly derivative, in that clips of original works were used, but in many cases, the original films are much less enjoyable. Trust me on that. Anyway, enjoy the full six minutes (h/t Geekosystem).
Attend Chet’s Webinar about Twitter
Chet (@oraclenerd) will be hosting a webinar this coming Thursday at 1100 CST (0900 PST) called “Professionally Speaking in 140 Characters or Less – How Twitter Can Help Advance Your Career“. This grew out of a rejected ODTUG abstract about social media and its uses for real world business productivity. I highly recommend attending for [...]
Gadget Hounds Must Rationalize Waste
Let’s settle the iOS vs. Android debate once and for all: it doesn’t matter. Everyone happy? I actually enjoy reading what people love about their phones and hate about the other camp’s phones because what people value in a phone tells you a lot about them and what they value. However, it really doesn’t matter [...]
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