In the home media market, bridging the gap between a regular cable box, and a net appliance has always been separated into two or three separate devices.  This integration is indeed the next evolution of digital media delivery to your Living Room.

Read the full post: Dads on Tech

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Logitech just released information about two of their new Harmony Universal Remote Controllers.

As an A/V component madman, I can tell you that it is really difficult to get a truly universal, AND usable, remote control for under $200- let alone $100.  The new Harmony 600 and 650 are the newest additions to their award-winning line.

Read more at… DadsonTech.com

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There are many translating devices and services that primarily take written text in a chat window, and attempt to translate it into different languages.  For example, one I use is VoxOx.  What if there was a way to have a near-real-time phone conversation, while the whole thing was being transcribed and translated?  Microsoft Research is working on such a project, and they showed TechFlash a demo of it.  Now, of course it isn’t perfect, but it is very close.

Will this be included as part of Project Natal?  Hmmmm…

You can also test out the back-end (Bing) translation piece here.

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My first impressions are relatively positive.  This service will definitely get better.  But I think that a closed beta should have been done.  Let’s face it, Wave was a fail.  THIS is what the Wave beta should have been.  And I could spend a bunch of time saying everything I like about it, but I think the oddities should be focused on so it gets better, quick.

Here is a short list of what can be improved:

1. It should have it’s own settings. Strangely enough, there is no settings tab for Buzz. Perhaps they assume that you don’t want to have any control over the service?  There should be a way to have your notifications setup for which buzz(es) you would like to be notified about by email, SMS, or desktop notifier.

2. Avatars are not always consistent. If I have iChat open (which has gtalk configured) there seems to be a fight for which picture is correct on the Buzz profile.

3. Another Email? Buzz certainly lives up to it’s name.  My pocket keeps buzzing away, every time someone makes a comment.  This seems to be the complete opposite of Wave, which operated with ninja silence.  There is a ‘mute’ option for an entire post, but I should have more options on how I would like to be notified.

4. Connected Sites.  There is a selection for this above the Buzz text box.  It is where you can have activity from other services create posts in Buzz.  This should be in a settings era for this service.  Not only that, it goes away if the box is expanded.  The missing element here is, of course, the reverse.  So now I have to maintain two threads in two services?  That is a bummer.

5. Twitter “integration” Twitter is not really integrated, it is merely posted, like a ping.fm update.  What would be nice is if they saw that the twitter posted by one buzz user could be @followed by another Twitter/Buzz user, so the conversation and comments merge.  But it is nothing more than an post aggregator from Twitter to Buzz.  This would be a place where some cool ideas (like ‘Post this to Twitter’, using a goog.gl url) would bring ppl to Buzz.

6. Google Services mishmash. The point of buzz is to tie in all of the different Google applications and services.  The problem with Buzz is that it ties in all of the different apps and services, just short of well.  Don’t get me wrong, I like it.  But there is a need to expand the availability of this information with access outside of the gmail environment.

7. Buzz from… who, what? The mail message headers from buzz don’t add any insight into the comments or updates inside.  (From: Zev Mo Green   Subject: Buzz from Zev Mo Green) They all look the same.  They give a link to the post at the bottom, but there is no other information about what options I do or do not have.  Can I reply to this message to reply to the post?  Who knows?

8. Posting. There is a complete disconnect between how you make posts and how you receive posts.  If Google is serious about making posting easy, why do I have to switch the environment (clicking Buzz on the right menu) to create a post?  Give me an update textbook on the main gmail page!

9. Notifications.  Currently, there are two ways to get notified that you got buzzed by email, or by your desktop notifier.  Not everyone exclusively uses the Gmail web interface.  Period.  So Google has to design a way to make this a bit easier.

If it is by desktop notifier, it is delayed by up to 10 minutes.  This is not a way to hold a conversation.  What is essential is a service like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or CoTweet to be able to monitor up to the second buzz responses.  Mainly b/c two of those have apps on the iPhone… and I need to get my notifications on, without getting mailed every minute.

10. Following someone… twice? Right now, when you attempt to follow someone, it seems like a two-step procedure.  First, you add them, and then you have to follow them.  It seems a bit disjointed.  I still haven’t figured out if you can allow soon to see your posts, but not be allowed to comment back.

One Safari design bug: There is a layout problem for the buzz reply window in safari.  The code adjusts based on the total width of the window, rather than the div.  Of course, it works in Chrome.

Summary:

This is just the first look at the service.  I’ll definitely have some more recommendations as time goes on.  Overall, this is a really good job by the Google team.  I am sure it will get better!

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Big-boy browser

You would think that Google has a bit of a clue about the benefits of the cloud.  Just think of the products that you use every day: Google, iGoogle (homepage), Google Voice, Google Docs, Gmail, Reader, Calendar, Maps, on and on.  But what they have failed to do so far is to take that expertise and truly merge Android Mobile OS into their ecosystem.

I know- you are screaming into your flat-panel monitor… “But Zev, Android DOES use Google’s cloud of products and services!!!!”  Absolutely!  In fact, they require you to use a Google log-in account just to activate the phone.  However, if you notice, Google is really a big-boy browser application company, and they provide carefully selected pieces of those services to mobile platforms, Android being one of them.  There is a distinction here, and I will explain.

Gmail, iGoogle, Voice, etc. are all managed from the desktop, and then a smaller version is provided (or synced) to a mobile platform.  This is because a mobile device:

• Has limited memory, CPU, or bandwidth to handle all of the functions these sites require to manage the application
• Doesn’t have enough real estate on the screen to move/modify elements of the service
• Or they simply haven’t dedicated any resource to create the complex lite application to do it yet

And you know what, that is fine.  Because I know very few people who ONLY use a pocket-sized mobile device exclusively.  Everyone uses the desktop (or laptop) applications primarily, and accesses them mobility when they are between places.

The cloud

So, that takes me to the current implementation of Google’s Android mobile OS.  Currently, to configure your device’s settings, menus, desktop icon layout, wallpaper, folders, media (photos and music), and applications, everything MUST be done on the device.  Even though the device is set up as a Google-cloud syncing device!  Why?

Smart devices, like the iPhone, Palm’s Pre, and Android-based phones, have been what many are calling, “App-Phones.”  One of the things that has made the iPhone so successful has been the quality and abundance of applications available to the user.  It changed the focus of the platform to be an application device, rather than just a mobile phone.

Previously, devices like Treo’s, Blackberries, or whatever the heck Microsoft was developing, had applications, but they were pitiful shells of bad code.  When the iPhone made apps cool, easily available, and lucrative, they exploded on the scene, forcing every other platform to develop their own “App Store.”  But no one seemed to hit those huge download numbers like Apple.  Why?

Well, the other strength to Apple’s strategy was called, iTunes.  A DESKTOP application that gave users an ability to manage their device, view large amounts of data like Photos, Music play lists and Albums, PODCASTS, Movies, TV shows, and Applications.  Having a desktop application to solve the issues of screen-size real estate, and processing power to manipulate that data, it is VERY easy for people to review apps,  sort, search, download, remove, and organize all of this mobile content.

Why hasn’t Google learned this yet?

The Problem

The main problem with the Android OS, as I see it, is that the device requires you to do everything on a tiny screen.  I am not talking about making calls, or browsing, or turn-by turn navigation (which is a killer app, btw), but the configuration of your media, layout on your device, and managing your applications.

When a person like myself buys one of these devices, we would like to personalize it (that is what the commercials say, right?), use it to listen to music, put my pictures on it, add my music, listen to PODCASTS (am I emphasizing this enough?), and use applications.  These devices are really mobile data devices, not mobile phones.  So I ask Google, why do you make this device so bloody difficult to manage these things?

So what does Google need to do?

Every other service Google offers has a big-boy browser page.  If a mobile device utilizes this service, it takes the components it needs from the cloud, and syncs that data back and forth.  The Android OS should be exactly the same.

When you authorize an Android-based OS device with your Google account, you should be able to have another service selection on your big-boy browser, “Phones.”  Here you will be able to manage your content, backgrounds, screen layout, folders, PODCAST settings (did I mention that?), photos, music play lists, AND Applications.

Applications, here, is my main beef.  The Android-based marketplace application is horrible.  It provides a very small window into the ecosphere of quality apps out there.  If you currently do a search for “Twitter”, in the marketplace, you will get over 700 results back for it.  And you expect people to look at 700+ applications badly presented on a tiny screen?  Worse than that, the free apps are mixed in with the paid apps without any ability to sort them by popularity/price/comments/etc..

A big-boy browser based configuration page gives a user the ability to:

• Add/remove, search, comment, and sort the growing library of applications
• Allow a drag-and-drop way to layout your widgets and desktop icons
• Allow the creation/sorting/deletion of music play lists (not music files themselves, just the pointer to the files on the devices memory)
• Allow the configuration of picasa syncing details
• Give the user a simple, clean way of subscribing/managing their podcasts (you know, let people search for shows using your search technologies- you can even auto-add a “Listen to this podcast on your phone” button in the users search results (since you are now connected to the “Phones” service)
• Restore/copy/backup these settings for use on multiple phones (families), or if you replace or upgrade to a new device
• PARENTAL CONTROLS configuration which have an ability to lock-down your kids phones (and see what they are doing- big brother fun)

This is no easy task… but there are over 20,000 employees in this wonderful company.  I am sure there are a few good people who can come up with a solution to these problems.  Their other products have given them the experience to do this, and is a logical progression for THE cloud-based company to pursue.

Summary

Google’s Android OS can really be successful if they understand the 95% of people who are not that technical.  It seems like they really haven’t quite gotten there yet.  Most people want ease of use, they don’t care about it being an OPEN platform, and don’t have the patience for discovering creative ways to customize their phones.  That’s the stuff we geeks like to do.  I appreciate what Google is doing.  I want them to succeed, and I will continue to give ideas to make the platform better.  And I feel that this is one of the most essential things for the company to do to make the platform really palatable for the VAST majority of people considering making that plunge into the App-Phone market.

Google, PLEASE do this!

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After a week engagement with an HTC  myTouch (Android OS 1.6), I would have been a little hesitant to even try another Android phone.  BUT, this video really makes me want to try 2.1 on the latest HTC platform.  Call me a sucker for a good engineering pep-talk, but this was a great move on Google’s part.

I’ll speak more about my overall impressions of Android in my upcoming post this week, but suffice it to say, this makes me think twice about the project path that Google has for the future of their mobile OS.  Hopefully my earlier negative assumptions were incorrect, and were simply growing pains for this maturing platform.  There is one really easy way to make this whole Mobile OS manageable.  Check back this week to see our recommendation for Google.

Some helpful info on the Google Nexus One: Spec Sheet | 3D Tour | Try some Apps | Support

Take a look at the videos and let me know what you think:

Nexus One: The Story – Episode 1: Concept & Design

Click here to view the embedded video.

Nexus One: The Story – Episode 2: Display & 3D Framework

Click here to view the embedded video.

Nexus One: The Story – Episode 3: Testing

Click here to view the embedded video.

Nexus One: The Story – Episode 4: Manufacturing

Click here to view the embedded video.

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The new film, created by the American Museum of Natural History, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010.

Check out Journey to the Stars also!

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Fire up the Flux Capacitor

The next time you have a parent-teacher conference, take a quick glance around the classroom, and see it through the eyes of your child.  If you have more technology sitting in your pocket, than in that room, your education system is stuck in the Dewey Decimal age.

An innovative company has made it their mission to revolutionize the classroom. In 2004, an accomplished Israeli business person, who is also an education advocate, founded a company called, Time To Know.  Their Digital Teaching Platform was developed as a philanthropic endeavor, in response to the many challenges facing schools worldwide and the lack of meaningful change in education practices.

Read the whole post at Dads on Tech…

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Panasonic released information about their new Lumix DMC-ZS7, a 12MP digital camera with automatic GPS geotagging (marks the picture with the location they were taken).

Some features are:

• 25mm Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens
• 12x optical zoom
• 3.0 inch LCD (460,000 dot resolution)
• 720p video (AVCHD Lite or QuickTime): AVCHD Lite almost doubles the recording time in HD quality compared with the Motion JPEG format
• SDHC and SDXC compatible
• 80-6400 ISO
• Battery Life: up to 340 images on a single charge
• Face Recognition: With new enhancements when compared to previous editions, Face Recognition allows users to register up to three different images for a person, helping to improve detection accuracy. Face detection is also included for up to 15 faces.
• Intelligent Scene Selector – Automatically selects whichever of 6 Scene Modes – Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and newly added Sunset – best suits the shooting situation.
• Other iA Technologies: Intelligent Resolution and Intelligent Zoom, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure.
• GPS Geotagging: can record the latitude and longitude in the EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) data, while also displaying the location information real-time while shooting and during playback.  Has internal memory that stores information for more than 500,000 popular landmarks, covering 73 countries, and also automatically adjusts the time.

This looks like a solid contender.  I have tried their Ai technology on other models, and it is actually very good.  This year’s big feature for digital cameras is Geotagging.  As a person who has a photo library of over 30,000 pictures, there are many times I have wondered where and when a particular picture was taken.  Geotagging is an essential feature for any family vacation.  I look forward to testing out the accuracy on this one.

Pricing hasn’t been officially released, but the $399 figure is floating around the internets.

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Checking out some Melvin Machismo videos on YouTube, and it looks like they are playing around with some new control icons.  Take a look…

These are very minor changes, but I like it.

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