The AppsLab

You’ve probably seen Old Spice’s ad campaign around this guy. Their commercial during the Super Bowl in February was the only one I actually remember. The latest iteration is equally funny. Now, he’s making personal videos for bloggers. The Old Spice Guy Now Making Custom Videos for Fans via Social Media This genius idea comes… Read More

Check out “Closing the Digital Frontier” in The Atlantic, h/t Slashdot. It’s hard to argue with the premise that sanitized platforms with apps on top will eventually bring the downfall of the interwebs as we’ve known it for 15+ years through a browser. Isn’t it? I’ve been thinking about this, and it really does make scary… Read More

To bypass the Android setup, which you’ll be familiar with if you’ve ever booted a pristine Android device, touch each corner of the screen starting in the upper left and working clockwise. This will bypass the setup wizard. Don’t Touch that Robot! Bypass the Android Setup Tutorial | Android Phone Fans I actually found this… Read More

We’re all about WebCenter now, but this team has roots in PeopleSoft. Rich (@rmanalan) and Paul (@ppedrazzi) both came over in the PeopleSoft acquisition, and for a time, we rolled into the PeopleSoft development organization. In PeopleSoft news, friend of the ‘Lab, Jim Marion‘s book is hot off the press and ready for purchase. If… Read More

Yesterday, Google announced App Inventor, a WYSIWYG app development tool for Android. Official Google Blog: App Inventor for Android App Inventor aims at the non-developer user base who are assumed to want to build something but don’t want to/are afraid of code. This is the same user base that mashup builders, HTML editors and countless… Read More

I know some of you are design enthusiasts, or at least enjoy good design. So, I figured I’d share a couple design blogs that I enjoy. Well-Placed Pixels Rich (@rmanalan) recommended Well-Placed Pixels, which offers “a visual record of beautiful software.” Here’s a sample: The Dieline The Dieline is “dedicated to the progress of the package… Read More

As if you needed another reminder that we do things differently around these parts, meaning on teh intertubes, I submit to you the coverage of LeBron James’ decision to sign with Miami. Mainstream media has the basketball and social aspects blanketed. How good will Miami be next season with three all-stars? How badly is James’… Read More

OpenWorld 2010 (@oracleopenworld) is fast approaching. It’s September 19-23 in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, under the big tent, at nearby hotels, pretty much all over the area of San Francisco. If you recall recent OpenWorlds, you’ll know it’s a huge (read 40,000 people) show, and this year will be no different because JavaOne… Read More

BIG BANG BIG BOOM – the new wall-painted animation by BLU on Vimeo (h/t Gizmodo)

I suppose a “simulated kidnapping” vacation qualifies as creative, but wasn’t this already explored in “The Game“? Tourists get ready for simulated kidnapping | News.com.au (h/t Slashdot) Can’t imagine that being fun. The floating hotel looks pretty sweet though.

Shortly after I finally got my 1Password store working on Android via encrypted web page, the Agile Web Solutions team has released an Android app. Happy day! 1Password app now available in Market | Android Central The app uses the 1Password Anywhere store, which must be copied to the phone’s SD card root before the… Read More

If you’re reading this blog by feed, you probably saw John’s post already, which was re-posted here by a snafu with one of our plugins. I had planned to blog this anyway, but to be clear and give credit where it’s due, John Sim built a WebCenter AIR app, not anyone on our team. As… Read More

Rich (@rmanalan) sketched out the detailed plans he and Anthony (@anthonyslai) have for the WebCenter Chrome extension. They’re enhancing it to include screen sharing, something everyone in development uses, only all the time. We’re huge fans of Skitch because it’s a quick and dirty capture and markup tool that also has dead simple upload and… Read More

Yeah, I know, more rumor mongering. Alas, rumors make for good discussion. Former Facebook CTO: ‘Google Me’ Is Real, And It’s Gunning For Facebook Google made its money by being excellent at fast-following. Not first in search, but ultimately, better. Not first in online advertising, but better. Not first in online productivity suite, but arguably,… Read More

So, Rich (@rmanalan) and Anthony (@anthonyslai) continue to experiment with Chrome extensions. Earlier in the week, they released Twome, and now, they’ve updated the WebCenter Chrome extension. I wish I could include a less sanitized version, but alas, you’ll have to use your imagination a bit to construct the conversations. Just like the WebCenter bookmarklet,… Read More

Since its debut, the rumors about an iPhone on Verizon have run rampant. Verizon iPhone Coming In January And this time we mean it, according to “two people familiar with the plans.” This could be more a study in controlled leaks, i.e. Verizon leaks a rumor to keep people from getting into two-year contracts with… Read More

Rich (@rmanalan) shared these videos with me. Make sure to watch both for fairness’ sake. I should mention that there several instances of the dirty seven, making this NSFW, depending on where you work. Incidentally, I always thought NSFW was a funny phrase. In some of my previous workplaces, you were considered odd if you didn’t use… Read More

<scratched><itch id=”twitter” class=”mine own”/></scratched> As much as I like dedicated Twitter clients, it seems wrong to me.  I would much prefer a better experience on twitter.com, but since that hasn’t happened and is likely not going to happen (at least in the near future), @anthonyslai and I decided to take things into our own hands… Read More

Interesting stuff. Yes, the Android Market needs some cleanup, but then again, isn’t much of this more a reflection of the interwebs, where thar be dragons. Compare this to the sanitized App Store, complete with its quirky approval process and Big Brother-approved content. Jon Lech Johansen\’s blog The points about billing and for-pay app development… Read More