It would be so cool if....

The Google Story

2011-01-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

Google's core strength is search and data relevance. Not user experience. Not consumer electronics. Not social networking. Not platforms. Not multimedia retail or content provision. It's search and managing metadata. That's it. Their search has really started to suck as of late. It's full of spam and is becoming increasingly less reliable. All of these other areas may be more sexy but to Google, they should not matter. They need to focus on search and make that their business focus or someone will come along and do it better.

In my opinion, they should be pouring their brains into artificial intelligence. Forget music services or social networks. That's someone else's business. One thing the Microsoft story should have taught us all is that you can't be all things to every market. Google should go back to being an excellent data provider, not trying to lead the experience. That's simply not in their DNA. It's not in their story.

-- Post From My iPhone

A Snow Leopard Delight: Baked-in HP Scanner Support

2009-09-12T14:00:00.004-04:00

I recently discovered that I was no longer able to scan using my HP PSC 1507 all-in-one post Snow Leopard upgrade. Frustrated, I headed out to the HP drivers haystack portal and found this gem.

Apple and HP have baked all of the scanning functionality right into OS X. I no longer have to deal with the atrociously bloated HP software bundle that previously handled all imaging. Now I can simply fire up Preview and import directly from my scanner.

Google Chrome OS Targets MS and Ubuntu, Not Apple

2009-07-08T12:14:00.005-04:00

While the web weenie in me is extremely excited about the news of a Google web-centric OS for mobile devices, I think that some of the tech press is off in their assertion that Chrome OS in some way will threaten Apple. I don't think Chrome OS will impact Apple in the notebook space anymore than Android has threatened their smartphone dominance. Neither product is targeted at Apple's consumers.

Apple sells a polished digital media experience and targets consumers who want to pay a little more for the quality, simplicity and polish. Google's Chrome OS won't target that same consumer. Google's offerings are all fantastic for what they are - free and good-enough to get the job done. They aren't in any way a threat to Apple who's customers feel that the premium price they pay is an assurance of quality and value. Besides, Google Docs are great for quick and dirty documents but they'll never provide the impact of a Keynote presentation or the pro feel of a Pages production. The web simply doesn't offer that level of software robustness today and won't anytime soon. Apple's customers care more about multimedia than they do productivity tools and Google's offerings simply can't offer the same level of streamlined sophistication or integration that the iLife suite does for managing and creating digital media.

On top of that, Apple has the advantage of deep hardware integration that augments their software in ways that won't be possible with a distributed, open-source OS. Web service integration at the OS level is relatively easy to achieve but it's not the whole story. A truly immaculate computing experience, which is what Apple customers demand, can only be achieved with hardware and software integration.

It's Microsoft that should be most concerned about this development simply because they sell software as their primary source of revenue. Google will give this OS away to anyone that wants to put it on cheap netbook hardware. These budget-conscious "laptop hunter" customers that Microsoft counts on would probably opt for the Chrome netbooks. I don't see Microsoft being able to counter this without completely altering their business model.

What about Ubuntu? While Ubuntu is a perfectly suitable OS for netbooks, it's not the most usable and won't offer the same level of service integration that Chrome OS will. Simply put, it doesn't feel like a product and I don't think it stands a chance against an actual brand.

Ultimately, both Microsoft and Google should both be concerned about Apple's missing netbook. I think we've seen what they can do when they take their time and truly let design happen. They could very well be about to deliver a product that redefines mobile computing in ways that will take the entire computing industry down an entirely different path.

Navy Federal's Satisfaction is Best in Class

2009-03-03T11:34:00.002-05:00

Amidst this historic economic downturn, a glimmer of hope emerges. Not only is Navy Federal's financials looking up but their membership is quite happy as well.

...this BlogPress app could reignite my blogging self.

2009-01-20T07:10:00.000-05:00

Seeing that I've become a total slacker with regard to my blogging in recent months, I've decided to pick up an app for my phone that will leave me no excuse. I'll report in after a couple of days to provide a proper review.

Meanwhile, I must say that traffic was dreamy today despite all of today's festivities. I found myself wishing that I could just park at the Vienna station and spend the morning on the mall soaking in the history and reedit off of the nation's buzz. Alas, important work awaits so I'll have to settle for TiVo.

-- Post From My iPhone

Another Appendage of Childhood Fades Into History

2008-12-11T13:41:00.000-05:00

Ouch. Somewhere deep down inside, my 7 year-old self is beside himself. KB Toys is no more.

RIM Enjoys A Mirage Of Market Share Gains

2008-09-09T10:41:00.000-04:00

If you're taken aback by the recent IDC report showing major gains for RIM in the US smartphone market, rest assured that Q3 will paint a very different picture. Most major news outlets are running with a story this morning citing the recent IDC report that shows RIM capturing over 50 percent of the US smartphone market. This report is based on Q2 sales figures. What today's news reports aren't being clear about is the fact that Apple essentially spent Q2 without a product on the market as they had completely sold out their channels ahead of the iPhone 3G launch. RIM should enjoy this temporary reprieve as the eye of the storm passes over them.

The Macintosh Genesis of PowerPoint

2008-08-13T07:58:00.000-04:00

Did you ever wonder how PowerPoint got it's start? Here's a hint - as with most of Microsoft's most successful products, it wasn't cooked up in Redmond.

Check out this MindJet Connections interview with Bob Gaskins, the father of PowerPoint. It's an interesting read.

Music Labels Look To Luddite Kid Rock For Answer To It's Apple Problem

2008-08-08T09:52:00.000-04:00

Kid Rock is selling music without the internets.

Note to Bob - if it's not on iTunes, it's surely going to be on Limewire. If the labels are looking at this as a way to push people back towards the physical sale, they're sorely mistaken. Although, that should come to us as no surprise.

First of all, the average Kid Rock listener is most likely going to be a Wal Mart shopper who's not so much into the digital music market to begin with. While these are good numbers for a non-digital release, they need to consider the audience. Furthermore, we've all grown accustomed to the convenience of being able to purchase our music on impulse in the comfort of our homes. You simply can't just take that away. Doing so will most likely just push people back towards file sharing and the tech is a lot more robust now than it was in 2000.

Part of the reason why iTunes worked was because many of us were already feeding from the binary music trough. iTunes was attractive to those of us with a conscious about stealing music. Also, most of us now use an mp3 player as our primary music source. Does Bob or his label honestly think that we're going to carry our fat, lazy American asses out to retail to buy CDs that we're going to have to bring home and rip?

I think the answer is going to be a resounding no for the majority of artists out there that unlike Kid Rock, don't have a solid luddite, white-trash fan base.

Microsoft is now a panhandler

2008-07-29T18:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I knew it was out there but had never seen direct evidence of it before.

The clearest evidence I've seen yet that proves Microsoft has no taste. None whatsoever.

Apple MacBook Update Rumors Are Kinda Lame

2008-07-29T08:41:00.000-04:00

Seth Weintraub at Computerworld has posted some rumored details of Apple's forthcoming portable refresh.

Please pass the Nodoze. Maybe if they could replace the entire keyboard with a glass surface that would morph into whatever input device required. Garageband? You get a mixing board. iPhoto? you get a standard keyboard with a set of photo editing controls - sliders, dials, etc.

If this is simply a glass trackpad with some of the same lame gestures that appear on MBA, I'll pass. Wake me up when the real revolution comes to town. Seriously, is this Apple's idea of next-gen tech that their competitors simply can't compete with?

Anything less than direct manipulation of objects on the screen is gimmicky at best. When are we going to move beyond detached and remote pointing devices and into a computing experience that lives up to the promise of iPhone OS?

How To Put iPhone Into Recovery Mode

2008-07-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

If you reach the point where your iPhone will no longer get past the start screen, as mine did this morning, you have a powerful option. Put your iPhone into recovery mode. Here's what you do:

1. Hold down home and sleep buttons until you see the phone power down.

2. As soon as it powers down, let go of the sleep button but continue to hold the home button for a couple of seconds.

3. Once you have verified that it is completely powered down, hold down the home button while connecting to your computer.

After a couple of seconds, you will see the iTunes logo and USB cable appear on your phone. iTunes will prompt you to restore the phone. From there, you should be golden. Hope it works out!

Google Gears Updated For FireFox 3.0.1

2008-07-17T20:58:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to Basil Hashem for pointing out to me that Gears has already been updated for FF 3.0.1 compatibility. He's got some more great info on his blog detailing extensions and FF versions.

Firefox 3.0.1 Breaks Google Gears

2008-07-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

I almost pulled the trigger on this and was thankful that I was informed of the following ahead of time:

I've come to rely heavily upon Google Docs offline so this would have been fairly ugly for me, at least on this laptop.

Starbucks Misses Me, Lures Me Back With Vivanno

2008-07-17T18:26:00.000-04:00

So I had pretty much broken my unhealthy Starbucks relationship. I haven't had a caffeinated beverage in over a month now and my wallet is smiling a bit more as well. So much for that. Starbucks is now selling high protein smoothies in a product they're calling Vivanno. I haven't tried Vivanno yet so I can't say much about it other than I like the name. I do know that I'll be trying this one first:

Orange Mango Banana Blend with Matcha Green Tea powder (250 calories, 16g protein, 5g fiber, 2g fat, 45% daily value of Vitamin C)

Microsoft In A Gunfight...They've Brought Toy Guns

2008-07-17T09:12:00.002-04:00

Microsoft groupie Mary-Jo Foley has a post on her "All About Microsoft" blog asking if the empire should strike back against Apple's marketing campaign. Personally, I don't think Microsoft is in the position to "strike back". Any sort of lashing out they do will be perceived by an already leery public that they're just being big, bad bully Microsoft. Honestly, I don't believe that Microsoft is even capable of countering Apple's campaign given that they simply don't have a compelling consumer product to build it around. At the end of the day, their biggest hindrance is that they can offer no objects of lust. Apple's product line is jam-packed with sexy.

Microsoft is a software company, writing mainly business applications. While software can be sexy, Office is not. Windows is not. We're not talking about gaming consoles or mp3 players so this campaign has to be about their computing experience. Without using venom against their competitors while placing focus on their product, what's their story going to be? Windows One Care is the way to go? Live! is amazingly amazing? You're gonna love the gadget bar in Vista? Our start menu is shiny? There are thousands and thousands of programs...and viruses...written for Windows Vista?

Just Say Shazam For World Peace

2008-07-16T16:42:00.000-04:00

So I settled an argument today using my iPhone. Up for debate was the culprit behind a sticky sweet pop song that only Belinda Carlisle and the Cavity Creeps would be proud of. Just as things started to get heated, out pops mah iPhone with it's newfound powers of Shazam. I simply told Shazam to take a listen and within seconds we were able to finger the offender - Kelly Clarkson singing "Behind These Hazel Eyes". Boom. My iPhone is now a musical know-it-all. For free.

MobileMe: Squash One Bug And 3 More Creep In

2008-07-16T08:21:00.002-04:00

So I'm now able to get to my mail via web. We're making some progress. Unfortunately, I'm not able to use my contacts in mail. I'm really thankful that I'm still in my trial period. Here's hoping that they continue to shake out the issues in the coming weeks.

Taco Redux Casserole

2008-07-14T20:20:00.000-04:00

So tonight I got all crafty and decided to actually do something with the leftover taco parts. Here's how the story goes:

Mixed leftover taco meat with more browned ground beef.
Added some cilantro and salsa seasoning.
Made 3 cups of Jasmine rice.
In a casserole dish, I filled the bottom with a layer of rice.
I topped the rice with a layer of crushed taco shells.
I topped the taco shells with a layer of Mexican shredded cheddar cheese.
I topped the cheese with leftover pico de gallo.
I topped the pico de gallo with another layer of cheese.
I topped it all off with the meat and another layer of cheese.
Baked it in the oven at 380 for 25 minutes.
Served it on a bed of lettuce, topped with sour cream.

Subtle New iTunes Feature?

2008-07-13T00:18:00.000-04:00

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it would appear that one of my biggest peeves with iTunes has been corrected in 7.7. Previously, if I were using album or coverflow views and I clicked to browse mode (formerly known as the eye of Mordor), I would be switched to a 2 pane view with the browse nav in the top pane and a flat list view on the bottom. Now it seems to honor the view you were using:

The Sideline Perspective

2008-07-11T20:54:00.000-04:00

Today is the first major Apple release that didn't have me running for the Apple store. I have to say that for once, I'm totally okay with it. The iPocalypse aside, I was quite content to spend last night with my "new" iPhone. The 2.0 software + AppStore was all that I imagined it to be and more. I spent a good part of last night feeling like a kid on Christmas morning, ripping through present after present with the attention span of a gnat.

My favorite so far? It's a close tie between the new Twitter app, MIM and the lightsaber.

"Game Changing" New iPhone Game Coming

2008-07-02T09:42:00.001-04:00

Amazing new iPhone game coming next week. This by itself is more exciting to me than the new hardware or any enhancements to the software. I mean you actually reach in and build bridges and walkways for your characters with your friggin fingers. It's called Rolando and it's developed by Handcircus.

Duh: Intel disappointed with Apple over iPhone chip choice

2008-07-01T19:47:00.002-04:00

Forbes says that Intel is "disappointed" with Apple over it's iPhone chip choice. Well duh. Apple is great at learning for growth in areas that are somewhat foreign to them. This is Apple's MO. Work really closely with a company in an industry that they don't have experience in. Turn around in a couple of years and apply what they've learned coupled with their own engineering smarts to do it themselves even better.

Remember the ROKR project with Motorola? Fact finding mission for Apple.

Heck, remember the PARC visits? The rest is Macintosh history.

Apple has it's own really, really small, low-powered chip design IP now in PA Semi. My guess is that they've learned quite a bit about the ins and outs of the silicon business over the past 3 years in working with Intel to design groundbreaking board and chip configurations. Just take a peek at the MacBook Air for reference.

Diversinet Offers Secure Vertical Mobile Banking Solution

2008-06-23T17:14:00.005-04:00

I met and had lunch today with Lars Graf from Diversinet, a California based company specializing in mobile platform security. He demonstrated for me an amazing product named MobiSecure, part of a platform offering truly secure, mobile financial management including payments, OTP generation and even a digital safe deposit box. The downloadable application uses a locally encrypted data store and talks to a server via an encrypted channel. MobiSecure is available on just about all mobile platforms, including RIM and Symbian.

MobiSecure moves beyond mobile banking and into a comprehensive platform that allows you to manage your most personal data across multiple devices leveraging patented security technology that is licensed by RSA today. Beyond your mobile phone, you can access your data from any PC using a USB token that doesn't require driver installation. Diversinet is working towards Google health integration.

Lars showed me how he could send and receive funds using a variety of accounts and currency using an incredibly simple UI. Exchange rates were calculated for cross-currency transactions. He was also able to show me his passport information and his medical records, including his allergies and current prescriptions.

MobiSecure is brandable, allowing FIs to offer it as a fee-based service that allows customers to securely manage critical financial and personal information wherever they are. For FIs seeking to realize the real cradle-to-grave customer relationship, MobiSecure provides a valuable tool that helps to bring more of the customer under their umbrella.

Learn more at www.diversinet.com.

First Notes From the Mobile Commerce Summit

2008-06-22T19:57:00.000-04:00

The pre-conference workshop "Mobile Marketing: How Financial Institutions Can Deploy the Newest Marketing Channel" just wrapped up. It was fairly interesting in that it focused not on the state of mobile as a marketing channel today but instead focused more on the coming mobile ecosystem that is expected to reach maturity in 2010 - 2011 time frame. Essentially in the next two years we are going to see mobile commerce explode in a big way and the FI is a central player in this. When you think about it, if done properly, the bank owns the customer relationship given that they are present at every point of sale. More on this later. Here are some general talking points from today:

53% of all US banks plan to offer mobile in the next 12-24 months.
70% of all call center call volume will be via mobile.
40% of gen Y feel that having a mobile option dictates their choice of cards and accounts.
The Air Force is effectively leveraging mobile capabilities as a recruiting tool.