Click to Follow on Google Plus

I will no longer post to this blog and you can find me on Google Plus instead. I won’t write a long goodbye because this isn’t really a goodbye. Google Plus is a better platform for disseminating ideas and discussing items of interest. As of today, I’m up to an impressive 7,200+ followers on Google Plus which is a substantially better following than this blog ever had. I will eventually redirect tbottle.com, the domain name for Tech Bottle, to my Google Plus profile. If you haven’t tried out Google Plus yet, you can still get in and quickly build a follower base.

Also, for those of you who did not know, I am an attorney in Michigan (also licensed in New York) who has a disability law practice, Law Offices of Jonathan S. Mallin pllc. I have been working on my website lately and would appreciate any +1′s you can give it (in the footer of every page). You can also follow my law practice on Google+.

Click to Follow on Google Plus

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I believe Google wants to kill off as many hosted blogs as possible. Why? To make more money but that’s OK with me. I know that sounds strange coming from a blogger on hosted site but allow me to explain.

Hosted blogs are typically funded through advertising, often Google Adsense advertising. When a blog visitor clicks an Adsense ad like those on this blog, Google makes some money and a sliver of it ends up going towards funding the blog. It’s through this scheme that many people fund their blogs. It is a mystery what percentage ends up going to the blog.  It’s small. Trust me.

I speculate that Google wants to entice bloggers to move their content into Google products, particularly Google Plus, and away from hosted sites. Why? To make more money. Google can reduce or eliminate the sliver Adsense payouts. What does that mean for their bottom line? Would they even care? Google’s AdSense payouts totaled a whopping $1.7 billion (USD) in the first three months of 2011, according to Google’s quarterly SEC report. If Google could move this traffic to Google and serve up ads that way, Adsense payouts can be recaptured by Google.

If Google can provide a robust platform and roll out new features over time for sharing ideas, pictures and all of the material that circulates in the blogosphere, I’d happily forego the inconvenience and hosting expenses of a hosted blog funded by AdSense. I attempted to move some of my content from this blog into Google Buzz… well, let’s just say Buzz was what Buzz was. In any event, Google Plus is a completely new, more ambitious endeavor, and it is almost ideal for sharing ideas, pictures and videos and soliciting comment or sparking debates. Already, even during the Field Test of Google Plus, I see that my ideas make their way to a larger audience than they do through this blog and generate more discussion. I’m looking forward to allocating less time to maintaining a hosted blog. I’ll be “blogging” through Google Plus. I hope you come along for the ride and continue to follow this “blog” by adding me on Google Plus: http://goo.gl/if4dx

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What do I think of Google+? Listen to my thoughts. Sorry about the extremely low volume.

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Google’s super secret social networking endeavor, Google Plus, was released this week as a “Field Test.” Many from the Google Buzz crowd and FOGs (Friends of Google) were invited along and within 48 hours it opened up to a much wider group. It is estimated (albeit unscientifically) that several thousand people now have access. I’d like to let new readers know that I get excited about new web properties. I’ve pitched other new social networks that turned out to fall flat. However, Google Plus is the real deal and absolutely worth a serious look.

1. Google Plus was one of the best kept secrets of any large project I have ever seen. It’s truly remarkable that more information did not leak out about this project.  Sure, almost exactly a year ago, Kevin Rose tweeted “Ok, umm, huge rumor: Google to launch facebook competitor very soon ‘Google Me’, very credible source.”  But not very much was known about the details of the project. Now, Google in grand fashion has released “Google Me” as “Google+”.  Google has tight control over confidential information and plays its cards close to its vest. (In this regard, Google is similar to Apple.) However, people on Buzz knew something was coming soon because the few Googlers who supported Google Buzz was noticeably absent from Buzz for months.

2. Google Plus is NOT Buzz Reincarnated — Thankfully. I’ve seen people refer to Google Plus as “Buzz 2.0″ and I can barely see the resemblance. Although the Field Test includes many of the prominent Buzz users, the site is not similar to Google Buzz in many respects. It’s not baked into Gmail, does not have a chaotic feed that is difficult to follow, has an entirely different UI and includes MANY previously-unseen features. In hindsight, what kept Buzz from becoming a ghost town was the friendships that formed early in Buzz’s existence. In a sense, we were a people without a home. Just prior to the Google Plus launch, some of us were migrating to a site called “Namesake.” (Check it out if you haven’t.) In other words, we were collectively coming to our senses that Buzz was not a good platform.

Google Plus brings with it some amazing features but the best is “Circles.” Each user has the ability to create, edit and delete groups of friends in a simple manner. I’ll let Google explain with its own Youtube:

Google Plus is being compared and contrasted with Facebook, not surprisingly. Circles are far easier to use than Facebook’s “friends lists.” Almost everyone I know who uses Facebook shares everything with their entire friends list or the entire universe of Facebook users. Sometimes, rarely, they will send someone a private message too. Circles allow for people to easily group people by interest or topic. The ability to easily drop and drag people into and out of a Circle makes for relationships to develop (and end) quickly. No longer am I sharing everything with people I can barely remember from high school. But if I wanted to, I could. Circles enable users to better control the distribution of their updates.

And I’m barely scratching the surface by only mentioning Circles. There’s also Sparks (discovery by topic), Hangouts (group videochats) and some other features that are still in development like Questions and Games. (Yes, Google Plus has better feed control than other social networks and without a doubt we’ll be able to exclude unwanted classes of content from our feeds. Did you hear that Zynga?)

3. Google Plus is NOT Facebook Plus — Thankfully. While it looked like Facebook to me at first (perhaps even an older iteration),  Google Plus is substantially different. Already I see new relationships forming. Facebook, as I see it used, is primarily a tool for sharing brief remarks with friends from the face-to-face world. Google Plus can be used for the purpose but what I like about it is the ability to find interesting people who don’t exist in my face-to-face world. On Twitter these relationships can be formed by a series of 140 character tweets, but on Google Plus there are some more in depth discussions forming around topics, and we have the baked in ability to meet face-to-face (virtually) without even leaving the Google Plus ecosystem. In fact, as far as communicating with people online, Google Plus is a comprehensive platform.

In any event, I think the “Facebook killer” view is the wrong way to look at Google Plus right now. It could be used as a Facebook alternative (or Twitter alternative) or simply as a supplemental social network. It is not a case of Google just “one-upping” Facebook. Google has designed a unique social network with some features we have seen before but many new features which appear to be carefully considered (contrast with Buzz)  and extremely well executed (e.g., Circles, Sparks, Hangouts and so on). By running a limited Field Test, Google is working out some minor issues before the site is available to everyone but none of the minor issues I have seen have adversely affected my impression of what Google Plus is and where it is going.

There’s so much more that could be written about Google Plus and the blogosphere has exploded with posts about it. There are many different ways to analyze Google Plus but I suggest, as I wrote above, that Google Plus is unique. If you do not join up thinking Buzz+ or Facebook+, you will likely fall in love with it the way most users seem to be during the Field Test.

If you don’t already have access, you will soon. While you wait, minor annoyances are being resolved and Google Plus is improving. You’re in for an eye-opening treat and I hope you enjoy it at least as much as I have the past few days. When you get there, look me up (http://goo.gl/eA1ih).

P.S. The Android app for Google Plus, which can only be used by people who have joined and not those waiting for invitations to join, is icing on the cake. Truly spectacular.

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During this graduation season I’ve peered into my crystal ball to ponder career paths of the future. For all the newly credentialed college grads here are some careers you or your kids (and you will have kids) many need to focus future studies on.

Quantum Information Scientist - An emerging information science discipline that studies and builds systems that utilize quantum effects in physics, information theory and computation. It includes theoretical issues in computational models as well as more experimental topics in quantum physics including what can and cannot be done with quantum information. This can apply to all manners scientific disciplines such as biology and systems complexity science. One would need to be versed in large array of disciplines such as physics, statistics, computer science and engineering, math and other forms of information theory. As microprocessors and other computational components get smaller, the laws of classical laws of physics start not to apply and quantum effects start to take place. The next realm in computing will be at the quantum level in hardware. A thorough understanding is required before delving into the quirkiness of quantum interaction exploited for computation. Most large universities with strong traditions of math and science offer graduate level studies in quantum information science and quantum computation.

A good source to start understanding the potential of this field is this Wikipedia page on Quantum Information Science. Another excellent and historical source would comes from the National Science foundations year 2000 synopsis describing the field and its potential impacts.

Who will hire you?
- Government Defense & Intelligence
- Computer Hardware companies
- Universities

Synthetic Biologist – an emerging area of biological research that combines biological sciences, computer science, chemistry and engineering. It requires an understanding of computational bio-modeling encompassing the implementation of computer programming methods like algorithms and data structures and graphics design for visualization.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_biology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_biomodeling

Who will hire you?
- Drug companies
- Hospitals
- Agricultural Businesses
-Chemical Companies
-Universities

Data Scientist – A person who can extract information from large datasets and then present something of use to an organization. the skills need for this vary, but a computer science background would help as well as being strong in math (particularly statistics). A background in graphic design would complement these skills if extracted data needs to take a more visual form. Dr. Ben Fry did his doctoral dissertation on this emerging field. I have been preaching the importance of Big Data for a couple years now. We need future data scientist to be multi-disciplinary practitioner of all the above skills because data is exploding. Just ask LinkedIn.

Current positions available:
- Data Scientist – LinkedIn

Who will hire you?
- Governments
- Banks
- Internet Companies
- Libraries (if there still around)
- Hospitals
- Retail
- Agricultural Businesses
- Universities
- Logistics & Transportation Companies

Quantum Biologist/Bioinfomatics Scientist – Though relatively established as an academic and career track, these fields are still emerging and will only prove more important as advances in medicine continue. In 10-15 years they will enviably merge. At the molecular level and below more and more research is discovering quantum effects. There are many courses offered already across many institutions dealing in the area of Quantum Biology. Our depth of knowledge will continue to require data collection on these biological effects and the computational and analytical capacity to model them. With the advent of quantum computers, with their inherit ability to simulate the world at the quantum mechanical level, a quantum biologist needs the skill set to build these simulations and make sense of them. Quantum Information Scientist will build these quirky tools and Quantum Biologist will utilize these tools to delve deeper into nature and discover new things. Areas of study required: quantum physics, thermal dynamics, quantum and classical computer science, applied mathematics, statistics, biochemistry, chemistry,biophysics, molecular biology, genetics, ecology, evolution and anatomy. Basically you’ll need to be Pre-Med student with bachelors degrees in both computer science and theoretical physics. Good Luck.

Current positions available:
- Computational Biologist – Cofactor Genomics Bioinformatics – St. Louis, MO
- Postdoctoral Fellowship – Computational Biology/Bioinformatics-NIH – Raleigh-Durham, NC

Who will hire you?
- Governments
- Hospitals
- Pharmaceutical Companies
- Agricultural Businesses
- Universities

Next up, what are the course loads going to look like with these future career paths? Stay tuned.

Originally posted on Blogs@RelativeProgress.com

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Brief explanation: I was flirting with the idea of shutting the blog down or allowing it to simply wither on the vine. I even considered posting a message that all of my blogging will occur in a micro fashion either on Buzz or Twitter (@JonMallin).  However, I have decided to keep the blog live, allow guest bloggers to participate (Thanks Louis Parker and Nick Waye), and to personally update it on a infrequent basis. These are my thoughts on technology that I’ve had bottled up (get the joke?) for awhile with a focus on Google.

On to discuss Google’s game plan… TweetDeck was acquired by Twitter because it threatened Twitter. TweetDeck was and is the most-widely used third party vehicle and Twitter was the destination. The problem for Twitter is that TweetDeck was also a vehicle that drove people to Facebook and Buzz, though to a much lesser extent. If FaceMashSomething popped up tomorrow, a Twitter rival, TweetDeck could propel it to instant stardom. On the other hand, if Twitter acquires TweetDeck then it owns and controls a vehicle, an especially popular vehicle.

Today I had a somewhat similar random thought that might sound somewhat conspiracy-like. Google has created Chome browser and Chrome OS to move advertisements from the web and into the OS (banner at the bottom, pop-ups, etc.). Remember the fundamentals? Google is, at its core, an advertising company… plain and simple.  This would insure advertising revenue regardless of the websites people visit. Websites come and go. There was AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, MySpace, etc. Websites tend to be short-term trends. What is intelligent about Google’s plan is that it would be immune to these trends. Facebook could beat Buzz/Google Me, Bing could become popular, Twitter use could skyrocket and guess what? If Google owns the vehicle, the OS it gives away for free, it has the ability to sell advertisers access to your eyeballs (remember, your eyeballs are Google’s primary “product”).

This is precisely the Android model.

So, Android = huge success by all accounts based on insanely fast widespread adoption.

Google owns the vehicle and it serves up ads through third party apps (note: in fact, no native Google apps have advertising banners AFAIK).

If they can move from handsets to desktops to other ways of catching your eyeballs, Google makes boatloads of cash.

If I’m correct in my thinking, Google should be patenting the heck out of an OS that overlays ads over internet accessed content or otherwise interjects ads into the user experience (brief pauses with animated ads or boot-up ads… whatever, patent it all). Furthermore, Google should give away computers. I previous wrote, “Chrome OS Netbooks — Hell Yes, Google Will Give away computers” back in December of 2009.  What happened?  Google beta tested a computer giveaway, the CR-48. The goals isn’t to sell computers. It never was. Every pundit who declares Google’s hardware experiences “failures” is an idiot. Google TV is a way to sell your eyeballs when you look at your television. Google’s web properties sell your eyeballs when you look at the computer. Google Android, YouTube… you get the point. The amount of revenue Google receives directly from the sale of a physical product is immaterial to Google’s plans. The only thing that matters is that Google win the vehicle war.

My belief is that Google may think it has nearly saturated some of its existing customers and maximized the value they can extract out of existing eyeballs. They now need new eyeballs. People who don’t have computers, smartphones, etc. If they give away computers, they may harvest up new eyeballs. Senior citizens and the poor are likely audiences.

This is not to say Google isn’t diversifying. Sure, it wants to serve up its productivity suite. But, I contend that line of business will be immaterial to Google’s revenue stream for a long, long time.

Google’s “master plan” is to be the vehicle through which your eyeballs travel. They’re not looking to pull money from your wallet by selling you a product. Instead, our eyeballs are being sold as the product and Google wants to make sure it is the largest, best eyeball store around.

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Click to Zoom, Image from DroidLife

ThunderBolt™ by HTC Available Beginning March 17

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and HTC today announced that the ThunderBolt™ by HTC, exclusively from Verizon Wireless, is available on March 17 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Powered by Android™ 2.2, the ThunderBolt by HTC is the first smartphone to take advantage of Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network.  The ThunderBolt by HTC features the latest version of the HTC Sense™ experience, which offers enhancements including new personalization options, a consolidated e-mail inbox, and unique camera effects and filters.  The ThunderBolt by HTC is equipped with support for Google Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™ and Android Market™ with thousands of free apps.  Additionally, the ThunderBolt by HTC will feature 4G LTE optimized apps such as EA’s Rock Band, Gameloft’s Let’s Golf, Tunewiki and Bitbop.

Additional features:

·       4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area

·       4.3” WVGA display

·       8- megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording

·       1.3- megapixel front facing camera with video chatting capabilities

·       Newest generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor

·       Mobile Hotspot capability – share 4G connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices

·       8 GB of onboard memory and a pre-installed 32 GB microSD card (Actual formatted capacity will be less)

·       Built-in kickstand for easy media viewing

With the ThunderBolt by HTC, customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a 4G LTE data package.  Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access and an Unlimited 4G LTE data plan is $29.99 monthly access.

Mobile Hotspot allows users to connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the nation’s fastest wireless network via an application available on the ThunderBolt by HTC.  Mobile Hotspot will be included through May 15 for no additional charge.  After May 15, customers may choose to activate Mobile Hotspot for $20 for 2 GB of data per month.  Customers can track their data usage by downloading the My Verizon app available in Android Market or by logging on to their My Verizon accounts online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.

For additional information on Verizon Wireless 4G LTE visit www.verizonwireless.com/4glte. For more information about the ThunderBolt by HTC please visit www.verizonwireless.com/thunderbolt.  For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

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Originally posted on Blogs@RelativeProgress on March 12, 2011

Total Spatial-Social Awareness

We need to start thinking about the web as an interwoven fabric of three conceptual layers. First, the conventional web, or as I define it the ‘compute web’, what we define today as Web 2.0, constitutes the cloud computing paradigm allowing execution of instructions across distributed network infrastructure. The web moves, processes and computes. This delivers services like Twitter, Gmail and Google docs, and Wolfram Alpha. They are build on commodity hardware managed by Amazon, Rackspace, Google etc. It is the web build for machines to read and interact with so as to facilitate the computations necessary for us (humans) to interact among ourselves. Confusing as that may sound it is simply the many connected resources of the web utilized to crunch numbers, execute instructions and deliver services.

Next is the web of context. This is a result of interaction among human actors that represent the essence of human communication. Sharing, debating and forming connections around topics, trends and norms – the very definition of a tribe. This is the ‘social web’.  All the data that exist and that the ‘compute web’ uses to present information now requires human context and curation. The idea of curating what the compute web gives us algorithmically stands as the next nut to crack in human to computer interaction. The ‘social web’ is the human element of this interwoven web fabric.

The last piece that makes up the fabric of the web is the ‘spatial web’. it is the extension of the context web, but brings a piece of the real-world to web. After data is computed and curated there requires additional context to give information a 3rd dimension.

Imagine a social network that allowed you (with complete control) to broadcast all your objective data, subjective thoughts, and spatial context. I take a picture of my house with the associated metadata of GPS location, any associated address and other locations nearby (like the Walmart up the road). With that information we correlate that with weather conditions at that spot where the image was captured. Go even farther and say that the device I took the picture with has a built-in weather station in it that instantly collects weather data as the picture is captured. Correlate that with information with friends and family who are nearby. What you get is a truly social tool that can capture a moment in time with total spatial and contextual awareness. I think in time people will want to share that. On a new, hip cutting social network? Maybe? But the spatially, contextual aware social network of the future is coming in one form or another. The ability to capture every data point in ones life every second of the day would be compelling to some. I know it sounds a bit like ‘Big Brother’, but I feel that is simply our generation. Young folks half my age have not shame in being total exhibitionist.

This idea manifested itself while listening to an episode of Fourcast on the TWiT Network with Read Write Web’s David Kirkpatrick. Fast forward to the 12 minute mark and you’ll hear a fascinating back and forth on this subject. This jibes well with my dataspaces concept, because all this data needs to be stored somewhere and owned by you. I encourage you to read up on the Locker Project or try out the service Greplin and you’ll begin to conceptualize what a mean and why the Dataspace is pivotal to the next evolution of the web.  Other projects out there that are building bits and pieces of this concept are Activity Streams and Backupify.  This has been a area of intrigue for me for a while now (I blogged about back last year in “The Social Web We Need“).  Let us hope a developer with idle hands was listening and started build this utopia. We can dream can’t we?

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Click to Zoom

I was able to kick the tires on the Xoom this past week. I found it to be a very good tablet and Android 3.0 Honeycomb is clearly a step in the right direction for Android. This product almost deserves two full separate reviews of the hardware and software but I’ll keep the review concise.

Likes

1. Hardware rocks. The tablet has a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 type of processor, a 10.1-inch form-factor (1280×800 resolution), 1080p HD playback capability, 5MP rear camera with flash, 2 MP front-facing camera (for videoconferencing, more than adequate), 720p video record capability, HDMI-out,WiFi / Bluetooth 2.1 support and 32GB internal storage and 1GB DDR RAM memory. The Xoom will be upgradable to 4G LTE on Verizon’s network and it will support microSD cards, in case 32GB of storage is inadequate for you. There’s more stuff inside like a GPS and accelerometer.  Basically, anything that should be in a tablet hardware-wise is in this tablet.
2. Honeycomb rocks, too. All those naysayers who say Google can’t create a good user-interface were proven wrong. As far as I know, this is the first operating system truly designed for tablets and only tablets. Sure, Ubuntu and Windows can support touch screens but they are really clumsy for a tablet. Apple’s iOS, while refined and polished, is basically the same software with the same capabilities you find on an iPhone or iPod Touch. On the other hand, Honeycomb is designed for the ergonomics of a tablet. Common keys like back, home, app switcher, wifi connector, etc., all appear along the lower edge of the screen (see picture) and they’re easily accessible at all times. Notifications along the bottom edge on the right work really well and can be cleared individually instead of the mass clear button found in prior versions of Android.
3. The hardware and software combine for an excellent, refined and polished user experience somewhat similar to an Apple product. Clearly, Google worked with device manufacturers like Motorola in designing Honeycomb, and it shows.
4. Google Apps were improved for the tablet interface.  Gmail, Calendar and YouTube work really well. For example, Gmail displays an index of inbox messages along the left-hand column and when a message is selected, the body of the message appears on the right of the index. This works incredibly well in landscape mode and it really improves productivity.
5. I didn’t use the videoconferencing feature but I imagine in the next couple of years, this will becoming increasingly common and a near necessity in the business world.

Dislikes

I would categorize these dislikes and others I’ve read on the web as relatively minor.

1. It should have launched 4G LTE capable. Shame on whoever blew that one. Maybe Motorola and Verizon should share the blame?
2. Some of the icons in Honeycomb are not quite as intuitive as one would expect. What does a file cabinet icon mean to you? Well, it means to Archive the message. While this makes sense, a file cabinet icon also may mislead some into believing that they would see a list of their tags (Google’s version of folders).
3. App development for Honeycomb wasn’t as advanced as I expected. There are some apps optimized for Honeycomb by large media companies like CNN, USA Today and so on but, generally speaking, the developer community is still focusing on Android phones and not Android tablets. Nonetheless, many Android phone apps work amazingly well on the Xoom. For example, TweetDeck was superb.
4. The price puts this product somewhat out of my reach right now.  Heck, I’m still performing surgery on a rooted nook color to make it usable but not everyone wants a fixer-upper or a product with inferior hardware like the nook color. Also, nook color supporters need to jump through hoops to use mobile data on the device through a nearby phone. Everyone has different price points or whatever economists would call it so decide for yourself if the Xoom is right for you.

Overall

This is clearly the best Android tablet on the market right now. The Galaxy Tab is nice but it seriously feels like a sluggish toy compared to the Xoom. You read that right. The Galaxy Tab feels like a toy now. Galaxy Tabs and Nook Colors might be great for pulling up a recipe in the kitchen but for video playback, recording and conferencing the Xoom is needed. Also, Honeycomb brings other improvements that make the Xoom a better tablet. In summary, it is a high-end device that performs like one but carries a hefty price tag. Think Ferrari of today’s Android world.

The big debate will be the Xoom vs. iPad 2. Frankly, I’m not an Apple guy and I’m not too fond of iOS or Apple’s App Store police. I haven’t really looked into the iPad 2 much at all so I’ll reserve judgment until I have a chance make an informed opinion. Stay tuned…

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As a high schooler, I often have to deal with the annoying technologies that the school uses. These technologies often are outdated and are hard to deal with. For our login and file use, we use Novell NetWare 6. Yes, version 6, the version that was released in 2001. In addition we use Windows XP, released in 2003, on computers that have Windows Vista stickers. I understand the need for long term support, but we could have computers running much better with more up-to-date operating systems and set ups if we used a free operating system, like Ubuntu or Fedora, on a LTS release schedule. This would provide the stability needed as well as the free upgrades that could help. These technologies that the school uses, and the blocked technologies, such as many websites, cmd.exe and others, do not encourage the creator spirit that is necessary. This creator spirit is gone, because companies like Apple, Microsoft and others are producing too many products, many of which high schoolers use, that are purely for content consumption. When we look at why the education gap between countries such as China, and the US is growing, this lack of creating spirit can be a cause. This creating, or hacking, spirit is what has created some of the best technologies in the world. Schools and other institutions discourage hacking, without realizing that a true hacker does things, not for malicious intent, but rather for bettering the world. The people who exploit systems for malicious purpose, those are crackers, not hackers. Hackers are the people who created the internet, who created the programming languages behind the internet; people like Larry Wall and Linus Torvalds; Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Paige and Sergey Brin. Without hackers, it is possible that I would not be able to write this post today. So, instead of discouraging this hacker and creator spirit in our schools with old software that is blocked, we need to let our students do what they will. Chances are, if they have reason to use cmd.exe or edit config files, they are smart enough that they will be the next great hacker. Without these abilities, we may be blocking the next hacker from creating the next great invention.

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I was greeted to a pleasant surprise when I opened my Picasa Web Albums today; a redesigned home page. The new layout focuses on the activity surrounding your albums and the albums of the people you follow. The page starts with your recently used/accessed albums, then shows the recent activity of your friends. At the bottom of the screen there is a  ”Featured Photos” section (with some very nice shots!). Each section has a link to see all the activity in that particular area, as well as a link to dismiss activity you want hidden. Google likes to tests many layout choices before making a decision, so this version might change to something else before it rolls out. What do you think… might this change, with a focus on activity, be a glimpse of the ‘Google Me’ or ‘+1′ social layer that Google is working on?

A snip of the redesigned home page

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The Rest of the World

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Tech Bottle is adding new bloggers.  Expect more posts, greater diversity in views expressed and a wider range to topics to be covered. A handful of people, including Louis Parker, have volunteered to write for Tech Bottle. I thank them in advance.

If you have any interest in writing to this blog, whether or not you have any experience blogging, please contact me at jon@tbottle.com. You can write under your own name or an alias. You can write about anything tech related. There is no commitment. You can write as often or as infrequently as you want. I have a limited number of tbottle.com email addresses I can hand out to new bloggers.

Proceeds from Tech Bottle will first go towards blog expenses. If any profits remain, they will be donated to a charity that is agreed upon by the Tech Bottle contributors.

Please email me with any feedback you have (jon@tbottle.com) about Tech Bottle opening its doors to some new faces. I expect this experiment to be a smashing success and I hope you continue to enjoy the blog.

Very truly yours,

Jon Mallin

Founder of Tech Bottle

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Hello, I am a new writer here at Tech Bottle. My name is Louis Parker. I am a high school student who is very interested in technology. However, being a high school student, I do not wish to reveal my real name, and am instead using Louis Parker as my alias. I will begin with a little bit about myself. I especially love technologies that are open source, such as Linux, Arduino, Android and BSD. I am constantly trying out new operating systems and have two computers for that purpose. Currently, I am installing PC-BSD, my first BSD, on an old Dell computer, and running Fedora 14 on my primary computer. I am also in the process of learning Java and Python. The only other computer language I know is BASIC, which is fairly obsolete now, thus my learning of Java and Python. In addition to being an open source advocate amongst my friends, I am also an advocate of freedom on computers. I try to get as many of my friends as possible to call or write emails to our congresspersons in favor of Net Neutrality. I am also trying to get one of my friends to switch to Linux, trying to get them to use Ubuntu. As for my hardware, I have two desktop computers, a Kyocera Loft(which is a cheap pay-as-you-go phone on Virgin Mobile), a Barnes and Noble nook 3g, and a Microsoft Zune. I love all these devices, however I wish that I could have a better phone. I do, however, regularly use the Android Emulator included in the SDK to try out a few apps.

Because of the fact that this is an alias, I would like to know if people would recommend I use services such as Buzz and Twitter under this alias. I already use them, not to create content, but to consume others content, including Jon’s, but do not wish to use my existing accounts for my alias. So if you could leave a comment if you would be interested in following a Buzz or Twitter, or any other services, I would appreciate it. Also, if you have any recommendations for articles at all, I would appreciate those too.

I am very excited to begin writing here at Tech Bottle and I hope that you enjoy my work!

Update: Google profile is at: https://www.google.com/profiles/u/0/louis.parker.tb including my Buzz feed.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab (center) Img Courtesy of AndroidCentral.com

I supplemented my usual arsenal of technology with a Samsung Galaxy Tab this past week. My usual arsenal of technology consists of two large notebooks measuring in at just over 17″ each, a 10″ netbook and a 3.7″ Droid Incredible. The Galaxy Tab is Samsung and Verizon’s first Android tablet and the screen measures 7″ diagonal. After a week of use, I reached the conclusion that the tablet form is here to stay and the 7″ screen is appropriate, perhaps even ideal, for a tablet.

I was a little skeptical at first that I would like the Tab. Afterall, it’s an oversized touchscreen Android phone minus the actual phone. However, after using it for a few days I realized that the tablet form and 3G connectivity (on Verizon) are really attractive. The tablet form is ideal for information and media consumption. For example, YouTube on the Tab is a great experience. The 7″ screen is also great for reading your latest downloads via the pre-installed Kindle app. Text appears in a comfortable, readable font, unlike the experience on my 3.7″ phone.

While text input on the Tab is decent and Swype improves the experience, I prefer to generate content (which is a fancy way of saying “type”) on a netbook. The problem with most netbooks, however, is that they usually lack 3G connectivity. Being a slave to Wifi can be an inconvenience.

The Galaxy Tab is essentially an oversized Galaxy S smartphone like the Samsung Fascinate. The screen is 1024 x 600. It auto-rotates and does everything else you’d expect from a Samsung Android product. The phone runs Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz 3.0 interface which has some iPhone-like qualities to it. Unlike the Samsung Fascinate, the Galaxy Tab adds a forward facing camera for videocalling.

Not only is it great for commercial breaks during live television, I could also see the Tab having good practical application in the business world. The Tab comes with Android 2.2 Froyo preinstalled so this flap about Samsung not upgrading 2.1 devices to 2.2 is largely irrelevant to Tab owners. However, I hope that Samsung will push the Honeycomb Android 3.0 update to the Galaxy Tab. Honeycomb will not have any required minimum specs to run and it seems to offer, based on what little is known about it, an even better tablet experience.

I found the 3G experience on Verizon Wireless to be excellent. The Tab clearly has a better antenna than the HTC Incredible. This results in better connectivity and faster data speeds. While I’m comparing the two, the Tab offers a solution to the biggest complaint about today’s smartphones. Plain and simple, smartphone battery life usually stinks. I was able to squeeze more than two days of battery life out of the Tab with extremely heavy use. Speaking of battery, one complaint I have is that the Tab doesn’t charge off of micro USB like virtually all smartphones. Instead it uses a 30 pin connector which seems to be interchangeable with Apple iDevice chargers (didn’t want to try this out and risk blowing up the Tab).

Unfortunately, tablet specific apps are few and far between in the Android Market. While I found every Android app I tried to work well on the device, I was really itching for apps that would take advantage of the larger screen. Sure, Angry Birds is fun at 7″ but I was looking for more. Apparently Popular Science makes a tablet-optimized app but it is a paid app. One app I really liked on the Tab was the Pulse news reader/RSS reader app because it really works well on a 7″ screen and integrates with Google Reader, my favorite RSS platform.

Ok, so, you might be weighing the Samsung Galaxy Tab against the ubiquitous Apple iPad. While I can see both sides to the debate, I would choose the Galaxy Tab. First, at least in my neck of the woods (suburban Detroit), Verizon has much better coverage than AT&T. Second, “open” wins over Apple’s “closed” business model. I prefer to control my devices and not to have the device manufacturer dictate the entire user experience. (Disclosure, which is probably unnecessary: I’m long both GOOG and AAPL.) Third, I like the 7″ screen more than the iPad’s 10″ screen. 10″ makes sense for a netbook because it requires a physical keyboard that could not be easily undersized to less than 10″ diagonal. However, 10″ for a touchscreen is a little too big for my liking. The 7″ is more portable and seemed to fit comfortably between phone-size and computer-size.

My initial reaction to the Tab and all tablets was, “Who needs one of these?”  While I can’t truly say I need one, I walked away thinking “I want one of these.”

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As promised. :)

Verizon Wireless & Apple Team Up to Deliver iPhone 4 on Verizon
BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and CUPERTINO, California—January 11, 2011—Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that the iPhone® 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network beginning on Thursday, February 10. Qualified Verizon Wireless customers will be given the exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 online on February 3, ahead of general availability.

iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple’s stunning Retina™ display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone resulting in super crisp text, images and video, and FaceTime®, which makes video calling a reality. iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless will also include new Personal Hotspot capabilities allowing customers to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.

“We are pleased to introduce millions of wireless users to the industry leading iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon. “This is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to the mobile landscape this century.”

“Verizon Wireless customers have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on iPhone 4, and we think they are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer. “We have enormous respect for the company Verizon has built and the loyalty they have earned from their customers.”

iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, a 3-axis gyro and a beautiful glass and stainless steel design like no other mobile phone. iPhone 4 also comes with iOS 4, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes multitasking, folders, Game Center, AirPlay® and AirPrint wireless printing.  iPhone 4 customers have access to the world’s most popular App Store℠ with more than 300,000 apps available in an incredible range of 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health and reference.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network beginning Thursday, February 10 for a suggested retail price of $199.99 for the 16GB model and $299.99 for the 32GB model with a new two year customer agreement. iPhone 4 will be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores nationwide, online at  www.verizonwireless.com/iphone <http://www.verizonwireless.com/iphone> , at Apple Retail Stores, at the Apple Store® (www.apple.com <http://www.apple.com> ), at Apple Authorized
Resellers, and by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN.

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Tomorrow Apple and Verizon publicly tie the knot in New York City at 11:00 a.m. EST. Yes, the iPhone is coming to Verizon. Here’s the quickest summary of all of the credible rumors about tomorrow’s event with attribution and links.

The Wall Street Journal has been spot on with all of its Verizon iPhone articles and ran a piece two days ago with juicy details. Citing “people familiar with the matter” (translation: very reliable, trustworthy sources), WSJ broke the news that Verizon has indeed landed the iPhone and will announce it tomorrow, 1/11/11 at 11 a.m.  Note all the 1′s. Expect a world’s #1 best selling phone on the #1 carrier type of presentation. According to the WSJ piece, a Sanford Bernstein analyst predicts that Verizon could add as many as 10 million customers in the U.S. to its 93 million existing customers.

Fast Company notes that Gizmodo staffers have not been invited to cover the event, which suggests that Apple had some control over the non-transferable invitations. Remember that Gizmodo bloggers are the same folks who bought the lost iPhone 4 prototype, disassembled it and then blogged the hell out of it. FC also notes that well connected sources at AllThingsD believe Steve Jobs will be on stage with Verizon Communication’s President and COO.

Verizon has also been tweeting from Twitter for iPhone recently and presumably not on AT&T’s signal. :) This suggests to me that Verizon wanted this story to leak out ahead of the event in a planned way with leaks going to trustworthy sources like the WSJ and little scraps of evidence to back it up.

Consistent with earlier reports and common sense, the WSJ reported that the phone will indeed be a CDMA phone. This means don’t hop on eBay in the hope of scooping up a used AT&T iPhone and activating it on Verizon’s network. It won’t work.

One AT&T top officer remarked today that Verizon’s CDMA technology will produce lower data speeds than AT&T’s GSM service. Larry Solomon a mucky muck in Communications at AT&T stated: “The iPhone is built for speed, but that’s not what you get with a CDMA phone. I’m not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane.”  I’ve seen others make remarks that CDMA does not permit simultaneous voice and data traffic. I question whether this is a strong argument in favor of AT&T’s network which is heavily criticized, rightfully so, for dropped calls and weak signals in many markets.

What does this mean for Android? Well, some people who were wedded to Verizon are going to opt for the iPhone over an Android. Will this be enough to significantly slow the adoption of Android? I personally doubt it. If you are considering the iPhone vs. Android, I wrote about that one long ago.

What does this mean for the Verizon network? Verizon has long said that its network has the muscle to handle iPhone traffic. Apple Insider and some other sources are reporting that Verizon will, unlike AT&T, offer unlimited data plans on Verizon, probably priced at $30/mo. This could help land those 10 million new customers that the Sanford Bernstein analyst predicts will come to Big Red. How Verizon handles this surge in data could make or break Verizon in heavy-use markets.

Expect the blogosphere to erupt tomorrow with iPhone postings.

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This is likely to be my next phone.  No mention of RAM which could nix the deal if its too low (turns out it’s 768 MB which makes it acceptable, see HTC’s site: http://goo.gl/qz6HC).  Also, no mention of a release date other than “soon.”

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It’s hard not to get excited about this great looking phone:

VERIZON WIRELESS AND MOTOROLA MOBILITY ANNOUNCE DROID™ BIONIC ON NATION’S FASTEST, MOST ADVANCED 4G NETWORK

New Android Device Combines Dual-core Processor with Fastest 4G Network for Unrivaled Mobile Internet Experience

LAS VEGAS and BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), today unveiled DROID^™ BIONIC, a powerful new Android^™ smartphone.

Packing a dual core processor with each core running at 1GHz, delivering up to two GHz of processing power, and 512 MB RAM, the sleekly designed DROID BIONIC smartphone with 4G LTE delivers a mobile Internet experience that’s up to 10 times faster than 3G.  This means consumers can stream their favorite music and the latest TV shows with unparalleled quality experience.  DROID BIONIC also races through loading of complex web pages and media that take advantage of Adobe^® Flash^® Player and HTML5, rendering graphics faster than previous generation single-core devices.

Motorola’s DROID BIONIC gives new meaning to the word “socialize” by delivering multiple ways for customers to stay connected.  With the device’s front-facing VGA camera and See What I See video feature, consumers can share experiences – either via Wi-Fi or 4G – with family, friends and co-workers. A rear-facing 8-megapixel camera also allows consumers to capture their favorite pictures and videos.

DROID BIONIC’s multiplayer gaming capabilities allow consumers to challenge friends to live peer-to-peer gaming, viewed through the device’s 4.3-inch qHD quality screen that delivers console-quality graphics.  DROID BIONIC’s HDMI connectivity also enables consumers to connect the device to their HD televisions to experience their favorite games, as well as purchased HD content, in full 1080p.  And for multi-taskers, DROID 4G’s Mirror Mode function enables simultaneous streaming of video to the TV and on the device.

As a fully featured work device, DROID BIONIC comes equipped with corporate email, remote wipe and data security and encryption capabilities IT departments appreciate.  DROID BIONIC also features productivity tools such as Quickoffice^® for document review and editing, full calendar management, one-click access to conference calling, and a full suite of Google applications and services.

“DROID BIONIC brings to life the speed and power of Verizon’s 4G LTE network, giving consumers an unrivaled mobile experience,” said Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “Whether downloading movies in minutes, connecting with friends or co-workers through video conferencing, or blazing through the Internet, Motorola’s DROID BIONIC is what the 4G LTE experience is all about.”

“DROID BIONIC is the epitome of speed, providing consumers with instantaneous access to their personal and work content, anytime and anyplace,” said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president of portfolio and device product management, Motorola Mobility.  “By combining such a powerful mobile device with the performance and capabilities of Verizon’s 4G LTE network, we’re empowering consumers to define how they want to live their mobile lifestyles.”

The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network, launched in December 2010, is the fastest, most advanced 4G network in the United States, providing speeds up to 10 times faster than Verizon Wireless’ 3G network.  Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network currently reaches one-third of all Americans, with plans to expand the network to the company’s entire 3G coverage area over the next three years.

For more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, visit www.verizonwrieless.com/lte and for more information about Verizon Wireless at CES please visit www.verizonwireless.com/ces or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/verizonwireless.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of Motorola DROID BIONIC in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.)

# # #

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 93 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 80,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE:MMI) fuses innovative technology with human insights to create experiences that simplify, connect and enrich people’s lives. Our portfolio includes converged mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; wireless accessories; end-to-end video and data delivery; and management solutions, including set-tops and data-access devices. For more information, visit motorola.com/mobility.

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC. Android Market, Android, Google, Gmail, Google Calendar are trademarks of Google Inc. DROID is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. Used under license.Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and used under license. © 2011 Motorola Mobility, Inc.

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Admittedly, it’s been a long, long time since I last updated the Tech Bottle blog. It’s not that I’ve fallen months behind on technology.  I have been reading and interacting with tech enthusiasts but I haven’t been posting here.  A New Years resolution is to keep the blog updated on at least a semi-regular basis. Here’s what I’ve been doing and what’s caught my eye:

• I’m still a big supporter of Google Buzz. I think it is intelligently designed and well executed. I tend to read much more than I write on Buzz but I have been getting back in the swing of things. It’ll hopefully be rolled into the rumored Google Me service which apparently goes by the code name Google +1 now.
• I’m also liking Quora and Diaspora quite a bit. Quora is a Q&A forum of sorts. It’s like Yahoo! Answers, in a way, but Quora is populated with real techies and entrepreneurs.  Diaspora is the “open” alternative to Facebook.  Readers of my blog know that I’m not a big fan of Facebook. Diaspora has better privacy settings and it’s more intuitive to use than Facebook.  Quora is open to all but Diaspora is by invitation only (I think… I tried confirming but they are upgrading their servers… a much needed chore for them).
• I’m still running Ubuntu linux at home.  I am pleased to report that I haven’t had to boot Windows or virtualize Windows even once since converting to Ubuntu nearly six months ago. Oh, in Ubuntu I’ve been toying with MythTV which is pretty darn cool but difficult to set up.  I also revitalized a 333 MHz old Dell machine with 256 megs of RAM by installing Ubuntu. It’s usable but, well, not quite snappy enough for my liking.
• I’ve downloaded the Dell build of Chromium OS but I need to clean up and fix a USB stick to try it out.
• I’m eagerly awaiting the HTC Thunderbolt, which is rumored to be Verizon’s first 4G/LTE phone.Tell me this isn’t a great looking Android phone?  I have an upgrade saved up on my account.  The only thing that would keep me away from the Thunderbolt would be an encrypted bootloader that would make rooting and custom ROMing the phone impossible (or, at the very least, extremely difficult).
• Also in the mobile industry, I see RIM slipping further into irrelevance.  They announced a switch to a completely new OS built from an operating system designed for touchscreen GPS standalone devices. The new OS won’t be available for a long time (my guess, over a years… 2012) yet they’re still selling OUTDATED Blackberry OS devices like the Torch (major flop) to keep revenue going. Goldman Sachs downgraded RIM’s stock not too long ago. Oh, and RIM has a dual core tablet in the works that some are touting but others are already criticizing (mostly re: battery life).
• The CR-48 Chrome netbook looks great to me but I haven’t been able to score one. I’ve been reading about it on Buzz from those lucky few who received them.

That’s all folks.  Expect more in 2011.  Have a happy and healthy new year.

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The month of October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. To help victims of domestic violence, I ask you to send in your used cell phones to the HopeLine program sponsored by Verizon Wireless. I sent in a Motorola Razr in April and I’m sending a second one in this month. The HopeLine program collects no-longer used cell phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any wireless provider. Phones are refurbished and distributed through local organizations and law enforcement agencies to victims of domestic violence along with 3,000 minutes of free calls. Phones that cannot be refurbished are recycled in an environmentally safe way.

According to the HopeLine website, nearly one in four women, one in nine men, and over three million children have been affected by domestic violence. Cell phones can serve as a link to emergency services and law enforcement for victims of domestic violence. They also help victims get back on their feet by providing reliable calling to friends, family and employers.  Cell phones on Verizon’s network, including all HopeLine phones, can be connected airtime free to the National Domestic Violence Hotline by dialing #HOPE.

HopeLine now has:

• Collected more than 7 million phones.
• Awarded nearly $8 million dollars in cash grants to domestic violence programs throughout the country.
• Refurbished and distributed more than 90,000 phones with over 300 million minutes of free service to victims of domestic violence.

Donating a no-longer used wireless phone to HopeLine® from Verizon is easy. Follow these four steps:

1. Turn the phone’s power off.
2. Make sure the phone’s batteries are installed in the phone you are returning. Please do not include any loose batteries.
3. Please remove storage cards (microSD, etc.) and SIM cards from phones prior to donation. Also, please return any travel chargers or other accessories that came with the devices.
4. Seal the package and adhere the free postage-paid label (printable PDF) to the box/envelope and drop it in the mail. Please include your return address on the shipping label.

At the end of this month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Verizon Wireless will donate an additional $25,000 to domestic violence programs in my area.

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Like many of you, I quickly scanned the list of Verizon’s LTE (4G) launch regions for the region in which I live. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find the Detroit metropolitan area on the list. I reached out to Verizon for comment and an ETA and received a hopeful reply:

Detroit would be one of our launch markets, however, there is spectrum
interference with a Canadian TV station across the border.  We’re working
with the station and the appropriate regulatory bodies to resolve the issue
as soon as possible.  As soon as the spectrum is clear, we will be ready to
turn on LTE in Detroit in 2011.

That’s a much better scenario than I initially expected, especially considering Sprint skipped Detroit for the WiMax rollout. If Verizon rolls out LTE prior to the Verizon iPhone launch in early 2011, I’m expecting an LTE-equipped iPhone and Apple fanatics will dance a jig.

As an aside, this border issue reminds of of a problem I used to have with a company-issued Blackberry on T-Mobile. When I was working downtown, it would roam on Rogers, a Canadian provider, and charges would go through the roof.

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Click to Zoom

In my ongoing efforts to review all of the top Android phones on Verizon, I schlepped around a Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate for a week. The phone I’m most familiar with is the HTC Droid Incredible, my own phone, but I am also familiar with the Droid X, another phone I reviewed. I found the Fascinate to be a terrific phone (and I’ll address the big Bing issue later) and comparable to the Droid X, which I believe is better than the Incredible.

I like:

1. The screen, the screen, the screen. Wait.  Did I only type that three times? The Fascinate has a screen that is simply mesmerizing. The quality of the screen cannot be overstated. Hold it next to the Droid Incredible or Droid X and you’ll see what I mean. It’s brighter and crisper than anything in the “Droid” line-up.  It’s sufficiently bright that fingerprints aren’t much of an issue on the Fascinate. It’s 4.0″ which puts it comfortably between the 3.7″ Incredible and 4.3″ Droid X.  It supports the same resolution as the others, 800 x 480. (Oddly, the Incredible has a screen manufactured by Samsung too but it’s not Super AMOLED.)
2. The touchwiz UI variant, like the phone’s form factor, is clean and slick. It’s polished like a veteran smartphone (read: iPhone-ish). It comes packed with widgets and the stock icons are very appropriate and differentiated from one another.
3. It runs on a Samsung 1 GHz Hummingbird processor. I didn’t run Quadrant scores but you can Google for results. Although this only comes with Android 2.1, the scores are outrageous. A rooted, overclocked Galaxy S scored over 2,500 in Quadrant’s tests while no other Android handset can break 2,000.
4. It comes with Swype, my favorite keyboard replacement, and a 16 GB MicroSD card.
5. The 5 MP camera also has a flash, unlike the GSM versions of the Samsung Galaxy S.
6. Battery life was good. I didn’t run a scientific stress test but it seems to be slightly below the Droid X and far superior to the stock Incredible. If you root the Incredible and run SkyRaider’s ROM/KingKlick’s kernel, the Incredible can do admirably and compete with the Samsung but most people don’t root their phones.

I Dislike:

1. BING… but it’s my opinion that this dislike is being overplayed by some. The phone’s default search and maps are Bing. Ok, what implications does that have if you want Google? Well, I downloaded Google Maps with Navigation from the Market and changed the browsers start page to www.google.com. It took all of five minutes. So, where did this leave me? The search button (which I never use on any Android phone) still binds to Bing and search widgets (which I also don’t use) do the same. Engadget reports that Bing is more deeply integrated in the OS and there are other ways that Bing interferes with the phone but I didn’t have any surprise Bing issues. Finally, all of this may be moot. Some are saying that the Android 2.2 Froyo update will allow users to change the default searches and maps back to Google.  I’d like to comment that Microsoft’s $500 million investment as Verizon’s default search provider seems to be a complete and utter waste of resources given how easy it is to avoid Bing. Finally, the Bingification of this phone makes me dislike Microsoft even more. Android is a product of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), which Google was instrumental in founding. Microsoft isn’t even a member of the OHA. It’s business model is antithetical to the principles behind the OHA. (Incidentally, I didn’t care for Bing Maps Navigation. The colors were strange and pinch-zoom was a little choppy.)
2. I would have preferred a granddaddy 4.3″ screen on this phone.
3. They skimped on the camera. Why only 5 MP?
4. Like every phone coming onto Big Red and all other U.S. carriers, the phone is loaded with tons of crapware. Please, give us Swype and dump the rest of the garbage, particularly if it is already available in the Market. Make it optional.

The Fascinate is a terrific phone that significantly exceeded my expectations. Anyone new to Android would absolutely love it. Same if you have an original Droid 1 or an Eris. If you’re already toting an Incredible, X or Droid 2, I would hold out for an LTE 4G phone which should arrive in most major cities early next year. Oh yeah, the screen, the screen, the screen. Visit a Verizon store and check it out. You’ll be impressed.

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I like to write about startups. Among others, I’ve written about Miio.com and Leftos.com. Well, one of the Leftos guys just started YaIupload.com as a side project. It’s a little bit like FailBlog and peopleofwalmart had a child. YaIUpload hosts photos that users snap of funny stuff. After the photo gets uploaded (hence, the name), users can suggestion captions and vote on which caption is best. Good times.

Here’s a photo from YaIupload to give you a taste:

The leading caption:

“Ya My Sleigh Got Delayed!”

If you want some laughs, check it out at yaiupload.com.

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Now, it’s official but we knew this was coming. This evening Verizon issued a press release confirming that the Galaxy Tab is indeed heading to Big Red. The Galaxy Tab features a 7″ 1024 x 600 touchscreen, Android 2.2 a/k/a “Froyo”, front and rear cameras and a 1.2 GHz processor.

This is Androids first formidable competitor to the Apple’s iPad.  It seems to out-spec the iPad in almost every regard (specs below). Assuming Google Books and Google Music launch in time for the Galaxy Tab’s debut and Verizon/Samsung price this right, the Galaxy Tab should sell really, really well.  The Verizon press release states that the Galaxy Tab will be released in the coming weeks. Great news for those looking for a good tablet.

Full press release:

click to enlarge

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