Author: Jake

Technology as a hobby, a passion, is all-consuming. Maybe you have it, or you know someone who does. If so, you know the symptoms. Inability to eat, sleep or evacuate until a problem is solved. Excessive irritability. Talking to oneself. Yelling, fist-shaking at computer monitor. Giddiness upon problem solution. Annoying self-satisfaction after problem solution. Chet (@oraclenerd)… Read More

Noel (@noelportugal) is modding the holidays again. Check out his Halloween project. Automatic Halloween Candy Dispenser The video isn’t working right now, YouTube issue. Looks like he also has a spider that drops to deliver candy. Very cool hacking. I wonder what he has in store for Christmas. Remember last year’s epic hack? Update: Big ups… Read More

The recent flap over Firesheep (intentionally unlinked) and its ability to intercept unencrypted cookies has renewed several issues worth discussing. Proof-of-concept hacking I’m highly uncomfortable with the tacit used by Firesheep’s creator, i.e. releasing malicious code under the pretenses of creating public awareness. Yeah, I understand that Twitter, Facebook, and all the others would have… Read More

Man Dies from Caffeine Overdose You read that right. Poor guy was seen “profusely sweating and throwing up blood” shortly before he died of the overdose of pure caffeine. Apparently, the pack of caffeine suggested taking no more than 1/16 of a teaspoon, but Bedford reportedly took spoonfuls of the stuff . . . .… Read More

Yes, Paul (@ppedrazzi) has a blog of sorts at paulpedrazzi.com, and yes, it’s worth following. Paul Pedrazzi — Caring Shows This post about Ligature, Loop & Stem‘s (@ligloopstem) sweet typography poster led me to their site to check out the fuss. I learned a few things. First, the poster is very cool. Second, as I… Read More

Big thanks to Joonas (@kottarainen) for pointing me to this gem. 16 Astounding Experiments in Data-Driven Art [Slideshow] | Co.Design It’s a whole bunch of stuff I like rolled into one, data pr0n and design as art. If I were much younger, I think the data visualization niche would have to be my chosen path.

He’s got an insightful collection of reasons why people share. Seth’s Blog: I spread your idea because… Maybe a list of use cases? If only I had a blueprint for creating ideas worth spreading . . . .

Aro looks pretty interesting, and obviously, as a fan of algorithms (especially those that intelligently mine your email), I’m intrigued. After 3 Years In Stealth And $20 Million Raised, Aro Mobile Shows Some Skin — Some Android Skin. And We Have Invites. TechCrunch has some invites, just fill out the survey for a shot at… Read More

I know. Thank you Captain Obvious. Seriously though, like anything, writing gets easier and better with practice. So, if writing is a part of your job, you might want to start a blog. Take my job for instance. Development means a lot of writing, collecting requirements (the requirements document), describing what a product should do… Read More

Thanks to John Sim for pointing out the brand-spanking new WebCenter REST API samples recently deployed to OTN. They’re below the fold a bit. Check these out if you want to tinker with WebCenter’s activity stream and profile status. We hope to add some of our own code to this list. Stay tuned. Rich (@rmanalan) is… Read More

Paul (@ppedrazzi) pointed me at “So You Want to Be a Designer: Top 5 List” by Aza Raskin (@azaaza), who knows a thing or two about design. He is Firefox’s creative lead and led UX for Mozilla Labs prior to that. Aza’s points are all valid and apply to product managers too, whether they have overlapping… Read More

Thinking about the Nexus One (and the Nexus Two rumor) and Google’s attempt to disrupt the carrier retail model, I wonder how fed up people are with carrier contracts. The hardware subsidy model lowers the sticker price by giving you a discount on the hardware price in exchange for an extended contract with the carrier.… Read More

I have Nexus One envy, despite having a sweet HTC EVO, which I got from Google at Google IO for the low-low price of free. So, this Nexus Two rumor got me all excited. Carphone Warehouse getting Nexus Two in time for holidays? — Engadget Mobile Why? First, the Nexus One is a great piece… Read More

Paul (@ppedrazzi) picked up this one too. Chris (@cdixon) is absolutely right, and in the early days of the ‘Lab, we preached this message time and time again. cdixon.org – chris dixon\’s blog / You need to use social services to understand them I especially like Chris’ point about the strength of ties: I’ve made… Read More

Mobile is a two-horse race, regardless of what Microsoft, Nokia, BlackBerry and the rest say. The Android invasion cometh: is resistance futile? (h/t Slashdot) How long before Nokia and BlackBerry realize that Android is a better bet than in-house development? Tablets, set-top boxes, appliances, what can’t run Android? Right? Wrong? Good or bad for the… Read More

Excellent idea. Why Mozilla needs to pick a new fight | PC Pro blog (h/t Slashdot) Paul (@ppedrazzi) one told me that every product should be put into permanent maintenance in its seventh year. Why? Because at some nexus point, supporting old features becomes too expensive and adding new ones creates too much bloat. Innovation just… Read More

I’m not a gamer, but this caught my eye. Igniq.com : Are games getting easier? (h/t Slashdot) I experienced the satisfaction of finishing part of several games, e.g. Pac-Man, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, and those took some serious investment, rolls and rolls of quarter. The reasons why games are trending toward easy seem pretty obvious to… Read More

Reading a lot of TechCrunch and other tech news, I see a lot of venture capital announcements, new rounds, angels, exits, all that. Having worked at venture-funded startups back the internet-goldrush-bubble days, I’m familiar with that lifestyle, and yes, working at a startup is a lifestyle. Maybe it’s a function of age or risk-averseness, after… Read More

It’s no secret we here at the ‘Lab love Google Chrome, and extensions make it even better, which is why the guys built a sweet WebCenter extension for Chrome. So, if you’re a web developer or designer or just plain dabbler, check out this list of extensions you probably want. 15 Google Chrome Extensions for… Read More

Awesome. Privacy and the Internet