iPhone analysis and Adam Curry-bashing
Typical post-Gilmor gang banter w/ excellent analysis by Ryan. If you can stomach Jason (always abrasive, but practical) and the line noise, it's worth a listen.
What got lost in the analysis is the fact that the iPhone comes with a browser so, by definition, it isn't locked down. A few HTTP header sniffs and any website can be render-optimized for the iPhone's large display and dual-touch interface.
Scoble interviews Sun CEO and CTO
An nice interview. I love the coverage of the dtrace tool. I don't know any other media venue which would have this sort of detail. Their "briefing center" reminds me of the old days in AMSCAT--albeit with a few more flat-screens and a realtime Java robot.
I've always been impressed with Sun's tech folks, but not with their execution as a company.
Enso
Looks like some folks have taken Jef Raskin's quasi-mode humane interface concepts (great book btw)+ some stuff from Quicksilver to craft an app-launcher, expression-evaluator, and macro-builder. I haven't taken the time to get to know it yet, but it looks very promising.
Props for the bebop soundtrack, though they're not the first to adopt Zen symbolism for software...heh.
Follow-Up: No, I had no idea, when I wrote the original post that, Jef Raskin's son actually works for Humanized. The interaction model just had "Jef" written all over it. He's credited on the website now too.
Luggage Envy
Eric Meyer has composed an opus to his travel luggage.
I'm green with envy and guess which firm will shortly be receiving an investment courtesy of yours truly. I've mostly been a Tom Bihn man for my laptop, but these folks seem to have the right thinking for everything else.
Blue Thunder, 80s T.V.
Dick Butkus, Bubba Smith, Dana Carvey (yes that Dana Carvey), and a helicopter with a Gatling Gun—the 80's were definitely a "special" time for TV. All you needed was a few contract players, a 50 page screenplay, and some not-so-stock footage to create a one hour prime-time network show.
I actually have all of these theme songs recorded on audio tape--yes I am very aware that this is quite sad. For the record, Blue Thunder didn't hold a candle to Airwolf (10x cooler show —they often devoted over 1min of network airtime just for the start-sequence ) or even Riptide. What was it with 80's TV and helicopters? (maybe it's just me)
YouTube is such the nostalgia machine.
iPhone Use Cases I'd like to see demonstrated
- Dropping the phone from 1m onto a sidewalk
- Answering a phone call w/o headphones with one hand while walking/running
- Pocketing the phone while 'active' and unlocked
- Reading the screen on a sunny day and suddenly walking into the shade
- Recharging w/o docking
- Round-tripping using the 'Home' button from a variety of application states and back into the application
- iPhone's Syncing software
Playing a Flash movieiPhone doesn't support Flash- Bluetooth sync
- Wi-Fi sync
- WAN sync (see any patterns here?)
- Bluetooth vcard (contact info) exchange
- The 1-year-old drool, latte spill, and/or red wine clean-up wipe
- Survive in the sun all day at 100 °F
Killer, zombie....sheep!??
Yes indeed. It seems that the Kiwis have a strange sense [flash trailer] of what constitutes a horror film. FX by Peter Jackson's WETA studios—the same people who brought you The Lord of the Rings. It's produced by Mel Gibson's Icon films.
Yes, this is real.
R2D2 digital projector
Who, in their right mind, would want a plain 'ole HDTV when they could have an digital R2D2 projector which doubles as a DVD player and iPod dock. Maximum geekiness is assured by the accompanying Millennium Falcon remote control. Now if it only came with a built-in film clip of:
Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope!
The wisdom of Mr. Buffet
Read this set of operating principles (pdf). This is how it's done people.
Clear, concise language with zero hype and heavy applications of transparency and candor.
And some folks have postulated that this man's fortune is largely serendipitous *sigh*.
History Professor arrested and assaulted for...jaywalking
Via Reddit:
A video interview by Tufts visiting professor Felipe Fernandez-Armesto on his recent incarceration for jaywalking. He was initially charged with 2 felonies for disobeying a police officer and obstruction of justice (charges were later dismissed).
For better or worse, the professor manages to live up to every single British stereotype in both verbiage and physical mannerisms. What kind of idiotic moron could think of this guy as "threat"? A good deal of professional education seems to be in order here.
More than ever now, if I'm approached by somebody claiming to be an officer of the law, I will personally ask for i.d. and if they are, in fact, a sworn state or federal law enforcement officer rather than simply "security" (Va. code). This kind of shit, is absolutely ridiculous.
To the Atlanta police, I wish you all the luck accosting (potentially armed) U.S. citizens in a similar manner. If you don't present i.d. or provide ample visual evidence (Va. Code) of a uniform, you will likely be treated like any other potential assailant--a lawsuit will very likely be the least concern of all involved.
Follow-Up: For those living in the state of Virginia (laws differ by state), you're not technically required to "show id" upon request during a Terry Stop, but you are required to give your full legal name.
In the professor's case, his jaywalking would likely be a "pedestrian infraction" under Atlanta law and, unfortunately, he would be required to show some form of i.d. were he an American citizen. As a visiting British foreign national, different rules apply.
iPhone Questions
image courtesy of engadget Apple's iPhone Site
- What is the battery lifetime powering that luciously BIG screen and all that RF bandwidth? This thing has, count them, 4 different RF radio circuits (
CDMAGSM, EDGE, WiFi, and Bluetooth). Granted, not all of them will be simultaneously active (except during carrier hand-offs). I'm not so sure 5 hours is really going to be "5 hours" in practice. - Where are the power and/or reset buttons? Has Apple finally achieved a usable & reliable no-power-switch design?
- Sync-able with non OSX (i.e. Windows or Linux) systems?
- How proprietary is the earphone jack with built-in call connector switch? Am I stuck with only Apple-branded earphones?
- Resolution of multi-touch interface? Finger tip sizes have quite a large standard deviation.
- What is the screen coating? Historically, trade-offs between clarity, durability, touch resolution, weight, and "smudge-proofing" have necessarily resulted in compromised performance along one or more dimensions of functionality.
- Can we have landscape mode text entry with the touch screen keyboard? I typically "double-thumb" when qwerty-keying on mobile devices. I suspect I'm not alone. The lack of tactile feedback and increased GOMS error-rate could be somewhat alleviated with larger individual key images.
All that being said, here's a product that's so revolutionary, I might just stand in line for it come June.
What is an un-released song line worth?
It turns out accoding to this particular contract it's 2.2% of publishing royalties in the U.K.
As someone who's been an investor since his teens (Thanks Mom!), I've always been keenly aware of the benefits and costs of fractional/securitized asset ownership. As new forms of digital media business models are made possible, it makes sense to at least investigate these sorts of things. I have no doubt that savvy music industry folks such as Wyclef and Mr. Gabriel already have set of standard agreements for this sort of thing.
Mr. Doctorow on the lifestyle of Americans
Cory is being his usual uncensored, but wise, self. A nice succint rant. The way things are going, I sincerely hope we still actually have a Bill of Rights in 10 years. I'll have to remember to visit Florence next time I'm in 'ye olde country.
Follow-Up: I am well aware that, amongst other things, there are no easy answers to the public vs. private health care issues. These were Cory's largely off-the-cuff remarks and should be taken as such. If you question whether or not one can be so literate, precise, and acerbic in the context of an interview, you have never heard Cory speak in person.