The AppsLab

If you’re stoked to get an eyeful of the hot new goodness in the latest version of WebCenter 11g Patch Set 3 (or as we affectionately call it, version 11.1.1.4), check out the recording of last week’s overview and demo. WebCenter 11g Patch Set 3 Launch – Overview and Demo « Peter Moskovits’ Oracle WebCenter Blog. If… Read More

Back in November, I decided to bite the bullet and open up a Facebook page for us. Despite my increasing distaste for Facebook, I had two simple goals: 1) Work through the process of building a Facebook presence and integrating it with an existing blog, 2) Make it easier for those of you Facebook junkies… Read More

A while back, I read about Seek Droid, a simple phone locating app, on Lifehacker. I finally got around to buying it ($0.99), mainly as a way to test buying apps using the new Android Market, and I’m impressed. There’s no magic with Seek Droid, or the now free iOS version, Find My iPhone/iPad. Basically,… Read More

Speaking of a well-spent hour learning from the best, I highly recommend watching the BBC special called “The Joy of Stats” narrated by Hans Rosling (@hansrosling), another smart person Paul (@ppedrazzi) introduced me to years ago; yes, there’s a trend there. Aside from the big brain on Hans, the man’s exuberance about data is contagious. Update:… Read More

Thanks to Paul (@ppedrazzi), I’m a big fan of Amy Jo Kim (@amyjokim). If you have an hour and want to learn from the best, check out her Tech Talk at Google on how to apply game mechanics to functional software. The message hasn’t changed much since I first saw her presentation “Putting the Fun… Read More

Given how much I adore data visualizations, it’s only fair to share the other side. Infographs are Ruining the Internet — Less Everything Blog Light on facts, but heavy on laughs. Seriously, did you know that 23% of infographs cause puppies to cry? I don’t feel 12% dumber . . . .

I remember about a decade ago reading about NTT DoCoMo and all the sweet things their customers could do with their phones. Around the same time, a newish wireless protocol called Bluetooth was on the rise, and aside from enabling printing over the air (squee!), it promised to empower these magical phones with mobile wallet… Read More

You may recall my struggle last year to assemble and document a WebCenter VM. Well, apparently other people thought it was a good idea because I noticed today via Peter Moskovits’ blog that there is now a VirtualBox VM available for WebCenter PS 3 (11.1.1.4), which was just released, including the AviTrust demo to get… Read More

And so begins the next development war. 37 Signals officially announced Basecamp Mobile today, and gasp, it’s a mobile web app, not a native one or ones. Launch: Basecamp Mobile Sure, 37 Signals isn’t the first company to make this decision, but they are well-known and well-respected for both their development chops and their relentless… Read More

Tim (@oraclebase) points out something Rich (@rmanalan) and I have previously discussed. Soft keypads foster weak passwords. Do virtual keyboards promote weak passwords? | The ORACLE-BASE Blog Having to shift for capital letters and switch keyboards for some special characters is bad enough, but when coupled with the inconsistent implementation of keyboards between OSes, a… Read More

Well this is interesting. Should Tumblr care? In response to issues with Tumblr, David Karp tells users to “go away” if they don’t like it I love what services like Posterous and Tumblr are doing, but after dabbling a bit, I quickly found that having as much control as possible was the way to go,… Read More

While I get why combining computer science and philosophy into a single program of study, I fear that these graduates may be disappointed in many of the jobs they land after college. Graduates of this degree will have highly marketable skills. Computer Science teaches you how to program computers, and how to design processes that… Read More

Wow. Someone please begin mass-producing these. Simple Genius: A USB Plug That Fits Even if It\’s Upside-Down | Co.Design

Glancing at my predictions for 2011, I wish I could get a mulligan on the reputation one, which is a like a wish that I keep hoping will come true. It won’t, at least not in 2011. If I had a do-over, I’d predict something awesome for sentiment analysis. After all, we’ve been talking about… Read More

Well, this is a fun rumor, especially since it jibes with my prediction for 2011 that BlackBerry and Nokia will surrender to Android. Exclusive: BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphones to run Android apps? | BGR | Boy Genius Report Makes a ton of sense for BlackBerry, but raises the same old fragmentation concerns for Android developers.… Read More

Time to talk business for a second. Chet (@oraclenerd) actually told me about the newly-formed WebCenter Enterprise Methodology Group last week. WebCenter Enterprise Methodology Group « Peter Moskovits’ Oracle WebCenter Blog This group was started by Yannick Ongena (@yannick_ongena), and it joins existing EMGs for ADF, OBIEE and SOA-BPM. The EMG concept was developed and grown… Read More

This is too cool not to share here. How To Build a $10 Android Wind-Up Charger The segment on the wind-up charger is only about five minutes. He goes on to elaborate on the original concept of charging while you walk, using your own motion to turn the crank. That doesn’t work out so well,… Read More

Maybe I wasn’t paying attention before, but it seems like a flood of multi-screen devices has be unleashed. The Kno was previously announced, but this is first I’ve heard of it. Kno Is Looking For Student Ambassadors And Are Paying In Hefty Tablet Discounts Check the video, pretty targeted use cases for college students. Makes… Read More

I flew Alaska Airlines for the first time this week, and something stuck out as odd to me on both legs. The flight attendants were very specific in their safety instructions that we needed to power off all our electronic devices for takeoff and that airplane mode did not count. In other words, don’t just turn off… Read More

After yesterday’s post and discussion about multiple screens, it’s fitting that another concept phone come across my Reader today. Meet Line Phone (h/t Core77). Skip the first 30 seconds to get to the phone stuff. The design extends the screen’s area all the way to the edges, eliminating the bezel. The edges have capacitive touch functions,… Read More