Archive for November, 2011:
This USB Stick is a Dual-Core Computer
Check out Cotton Candy: Cotton Candy: FXI technologies’ USB stick-size portable computer prototype with a dual-core 1.2-GHz Samsung Exynos ARM CPU. That’s the same processor in a Samsung Galaxy S II, by the way. Also, it has 802.11n Wi-Fi capability, Bluetooth, HDMI-out and a microSD memory slot. This USB Stick is a Dual-Core Computer | Geekosystem Wow. Imagine [...]
Interesting Take on the New Google App for iPad
Google dropped a new version of its search app for iPad recently, and TNW has an interesting take, i.e. this new app is a Chrome OS Trojan Horse. I rarely use the Google Search iPad app, although past versions have showcased some very cool design patterns for iPad development. Not exactly sure why, but it [...]
Twine Advances the Internet of Things
I do love the internet of things, and Twine looks like a simple way to add connectivity to everyday objects without too much fuss. ‘Twine’ Foreshadows A Future Where All Objects Talk To The Internet | TechCrunch Twine reminds me of stripped down Sun SPOTs. Anyway, they’re on Kickstarter now, raising money to make these [...]
We Have a Google+ Page
Now that Google+ pages are open to anyone, I had to create one for us. Find it here. This blog and my Google Reader shares are the center of my universe, and I use dlvr.it to push content to Twitter (@theappslab) and our Facebook page. The only reason I do this is because unlike years ago, [...]
Focus Your Time
I’ve been missing for a while, spending some quality time away from this space, but now, I’m back and better than ever. Or something. Anyway, a few weeks ago, this post about how Jack Dorsey spends eight hours every day working at both Twitter and Square revealed something interesting that everyone can use. Not the [...]
Change and Inattentional Blindness, I Love This Stuff
I don’t recall how I discovered You Are Not So Smart, but it’s definitely worth reading. Today’s posts were about inattentional blindness and change blindness. I’m tempted to include the visual material here, but then you wouldn’t click through and the link love might be lost and my admiration of the blog would be useless. [...]
Musings on IT, Side Projects and Users
When a side project takes on a life of its own, you feel both intensely gratified and frightened all at once. This has been my experience with all the side projects I’ve been involved with anyway. On the one hand, the reason you build product at all is to solve a problem users have, ideally [...]
Siri Will Be Huge, If It Can Scale
The thing that sold my wife on the iPhone 4S was Siri, and she spent the evening after we finally got one seeing what Siri could do. Since then, a mere two days, Siri’s had several outages. Going through the coverage, it seems Siri is a beta service, which was suprising to read, given how [...]
Yes, AOL Still Has 3.5 Million Dialup Subscribers
Who are these people? Seriously, do you know anyone who still has AOL dialup? Amazingly, AOL still has 3.5 million dialup subscribers – SplatF I’m truly stunned. I guess it makes sense, given the steady cost AOL has maintained over many years and the recent downturn prompting people to cut back on expenses. Still. I [...]
Mobile Apps Taking Aim at Parking Tickets
Another app that I’d totally buy is one that helped me find street parking and let me know if I could park there or not. In some cities, you need a legal degree to decipher all the parking restrictions. In LA, I recall seeing as many as four signs on a post, with directions about when you [...]
Dark Sky – Weather Prediction Reinvented
I’ve lived in several climates where the prevailing wisdom was if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. That’s why I love the idea behind Dark Sky, i.e. accurate, short-term prediction. Dark Sky – Weather Prediction, Reinvented by Adam Grossman Dark Sky is a Kickstarter project, but it looks like they have real, working code already. [...]
Does Technology Make You Happier?
That’s the point right? Technology either makes life easier, which presumably creates more free time, or it provides new ways to entertain us. Are new technologies making us happier? – The Next Web This isn’t as easy a question to answer. On the one hand, technology obviously does what you’d expect. My wife loves Facebook [...]
Reader and GMail Get Facelifts
Google dropped redesigns of both Reader and GMail this week, and the general reaction has been very negative. So, like any good blogger, I’m going to pile on while the iron is hot, or something. I use Reader all day, every day. It’s an essential tool for me. So, I was actually happy when Google announced [...]
Very Subtle Updates to iOS Visual Design
Some of you will click through on this link and shake your head. Others will understand. Users Illusions – Apple has made some very subtle updates to the… One great thing about the intertubes is that it proves once and for all that you are not alone in the world. There’s someone out there who [...]
Miscellaneous iPhone Musings
I’m finally upgraded my wife’s original iPhone last week. Despite her protestations that the old one was just fine, she’s in love with the new one, a 4 not 4S. The reason I got an iPhone 4 is, well, they’re easy to find, and I wanted this to be a surprise with instant gratification. The [...]
