Archive for September, 2011:
Test Driving Google Wallet
Despite my concerns about the privacy of purchasing data that goes into Google Wallet, I’m stoked to try out NFC payments. I guess the promise of a less bulky wallet is too attractive, and plus, I love shiny objects. So, when I received my $10 prepaid card offer from Google today, I jumped at the [...]
Gone Native?
I’m a bit sad that one of the few social apps I actually use anymore, Untappd (@untappd) has released native apps for Android and iOS. I’ll explain. First, what is Untappd? With a motto “drink socially”, you can probably figure it out on your own. It’s a social app for beer drinkers with a bunch [...]
Introducing Amazon Silk
Noteworthy in today’s Kindle fanfare is the new Amazon Silk browser that will run on the Kindle Fire. Introducing Amazon Silk | Amazon Silk Amazon is using its EC2 infrastructure to optimize content before sending it to the browser, similar to what mobile proxy browsers like Opera Mini do. This should make the experience much [...]
Browser Rapid Release Makes Busy Work for Web Devs
Firefox 7 dropped yesterday. So now I have seven profiles to test the last seven versions of Firefox that my users could be using: 3.0, 3.5, 3.6, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, and now 7.0. And this doesn’t count the dot releases for each major version. This is a major pain when issues arise, since users could [...]
The Amazon Kindle Fire
Amazon announced its long-rumored Android tablet today, the Kindle Fire. The price is a scant, at least compared to other tablets, $199, which many, including our pal David (@dhaimes) are excited, but skeptical. Amazon Just Won The Android Tablet Wars With The $199 Kindle Fire | TechCrunch During the announcement, Jeff Bezos didn’t discuss specs, but rather [...]
Browsing over the Shoulder
This is either an interesting experiment in complete transparency, or Facebook’s new admin console watching you surf. Browsing over the shoulder Interesting stuff, especially given the highly disturbing news that Facebook tracks you even if you’re logged out and apparently everywhere, even to sites without a Like button or other Facebook integration. Update: Maybe not every [...]
Inconsistency Rules, Deal with It
You’ve probably heard by now that Apple is having a big “Let’s Talk iPhone” press shindig on October 4. Rumors continue to swirl, people are excited especially those iPhone 3GS owners who are out of contract and ready to upgrade. One of my Twitter pals, John DeRosa (@johnderosa), whom I’ve actually had the pleasure of [...]
Shared Link Half Life
If you need a reason to start a blog or continue blogging, check out this post on the half life of a link on various social networks. Mobile Phone Development » Blog Archive » Shared Link Half Life Sure, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus are easier. Short format is easy and fits nicely into the [...]
Weird Controls or Reinventing the Wheel
This is a happy coincidence, since I’m trying to make this exact point about touch interfaces. This post puts interface change and its detriments in terms of game design, and the parallels with software design are many and obvious. Some developers have even taken to messaging the player at the start of the game asking [...]
Windows 8 Secure Boot Spells Trouble for Linux
It’s very early, but this might be worth freaking out about. This was discovered by Linux developer Matthew Garrett, who’s been doing a lot of work with EFI booting in general for his day job. Recent UEFI specifications have allowed for “secure boot” that requires an OS to have a signed key in system firmware to [...]
Impressions of Windows 8
When the Windows 8 Developer Preview iso dropped earlier in the week, I immediately downloaded it for a VM test drive. After some trying, I finally got it working and spent a short amount of time with it. Setting up a VM First off, kudos to Microsoft for dropping iso images of Windows 8 to [...]
Google Wallet’s Terms
Google Wallet launched yesterday, and since I have a Nexus S on Sprint, I should be seeing a Wallet application sometime soon, delivered via OTA. Wallet looks slick and useful, and it appeals to the nerd in me by proving out NFC as a useful technology. Google just added Visa to the list of partners, [...]
Arduino-Modded Stoplight as a Server Monitor
This is an epic mod. You’re probably familiar with the stoplight as an overused analogy on dashboards for everything from business analytics to web site metrics. Someone applied it literally to server uptime, and the result is very cool. Check out the Instructables for the nitty-gritty. Arduino-modded stoplight makes the bestest server monitor you’ll see [...]
Windows 8 Has A Friendlier BSOD
Although I haven’t encountered it yet, having not yet installed the preview version of Windows 8, apparently, the BSOD remains, in a friendly incarnation. Windows 8 Has A Friendlier Blue Screen Of Death | TechCrunch I remember back in mid-2009, we had a similarly tongue-in-cheek Error 500 page for Connect. It had a cat. It [...]
Pushing Everyone to Touch Computing
There’s an excellent chance I’m being a complete fuddy-duddy, waving my arms and yelling at those damn kids to get off my lawn. That said, it’s a horrible idea to force everyone into touch-based computing. The unveiling of Windows 8, coupled with Apple’s nudging of OS X closer to iOS with Lion, has me shaking [...]
Touch Interfaces Create a Usability Nightmare
Pretty quick and informative overview of Windows 8. Everything You Need to Know About Windows 8 in Eight Minutes Watching the first section, it becomes obvious that users will need to learn the gestures. I can already imagine what the NNg will have to say. Touch interfaces aren’t as intuitive as you’d think, beyond the [...]
The Daily Paper via Tablet
This is an interesting development. Meet Philly’s New Android-Powered Newspaper: The Arnova 10 G2 | TechCrunch The idea of the tablet as a content consumption device is obvious, and I suppose a logical extension is to provide tablet specifically for reading the news. I’m interested to see how this (and the Tribune’s effort) are accepted. [...]
Can We Stop Building Tools to Convert Users to Developers?
I haven’t read much coverage of the big Windows 8 unveil today, but it looks to be pretty positive. One thing that jumped out while I skimmed was something about how easy some tool was for non-developers to use to create apps. Ugh. That use case is bad penny that refuses to get out of [...]
Now You Can be the Squeaky Wheel, Thanks to Social Media
Twitter for customer service is the new black, ever since Frank Eliason (@FrankEliason) started tweeting as @comcastcares. That seems like ages ago. There’s something empowering about screaming into the vastness of the intertubes and actually getting a response from a ginormous corporation. Anyway, I’ve recently taken to social media to be the squeaky wheel, first with [...]
Randall Munroe on File Transfer
“Every time you email a file to yourself so you can pull it up on your friend’s laptop, Tim Berners-Lee sheds a single tear.”
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