New Videos Coming Soon!

We've been working very hard to bring some new videos to our YouTube Channel!  The first couple of videos are almost out of production and should be hitting our channel within in the next days.  We will initially be covering Linux Mint (from installation to optimization post-install).  And will bloom out into other topics as they occur, or as watchers request more info on other topics.

As always, I want to know what you would like to see covered in future videos.  Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at: ask_techie@gmx.com and I will be more than happy to try and oblige!

Be sure to swing by and checkout the channel and look for more video fun coming real soon!

Nerd On Friends!,

-Techie

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National Day of Unplugging

Did you hear?  That this evening from sunset until tomorrow (March 2nd), a nonprofit group named "Reboot" has suggested we have a "National Day of Unplugging".  The goal is to encourage people put disconnect for technology for the close to a 24 hour period.  In attempt to battle "burnout" and stress that comes from being wired into technology all the time (like most of us are).

I see a couple things about the "National Day of Unplugging".  First: is it kind of funny that a large portion of the time spent "unplugged" will occur at night while a lot of us sleep?  Or it it because a lot of recreational technology use is done of the evenings after we all get home from work?

Second, isn't it kind of funny that instead of starting say March 1st at 8:00a let's unplug.  Instead, it's the idea of getting through the business day and then unplugging.

My skepticism aside,  I completely understand that with the advent of things such as our laptops, tablets, and smartphones we all are hooked up way more than we probably should.  And yes, I am positive that I understand that with these technological attachments comes the added stress from always being "in the know" whether it be for personal or work use.

But for me, one day of being unplugged just isn't enough.  For me personally, I try to leave my phone in the other room on occasion.  Or go out to eat and leave the smartphone at home.  In reality, we will not be gone that long and the phone can wait.  With all of that being said, I doubt I'll be participating this evening and tomorrow (as these times are my usual gaming times and that requires being hook into tech).

But for those who wish to participate, I highly commend you.  Just don't over do it when you pick up your phone tomorrow evening.

For more on the "National Day of Unplugging" visit: http://www.rebooters.net/

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Effects of Tech: Assimilated As An Introvert

Today while I was eating lunch, I took a moment to glance around the restaurant and I noticed something that felt kind of concerning.  Out of the few people that were sitting scattered across the room, all of us were eating and staring at our cell phones.  A guy in the far corner must have been watching a video clip of something hilarious that caused the rest of us to wonder what he was cackling about.  Another guy sat with his head pointed strait down at the table probably reading the news headlines or an email.  Another person sat near the drink machine messing with his phone and was completely oblivious to the girl at the counter letting him know his order was ready.

Seeing this sight caused me to glance back at my table where I sat with my sandwich in my right hand and my phone in my left hand where I had a work email up on the screen.  And then I realize that I had been subconsciously assimilated into the group of introverted bubble people.  And for the first time, I simply turned off my phone's screen and laid it down on the table.  And I actually enjoyed a lunch without the need or the urge to Facebook or Tweet about my day or my meal.  For once, I did what people used to do at lunchtime.  I just sat there and ate my meal.  No cares with what digital happenings were going on with the silicone confines of my Samsung Galaxy S2 taking it's slumber on the table.

And it felt great.

So this started the thought train while I enjoyed my Cheeseburger and fries.  We have all seen those talk shows where they bring in an expert who in turn picks out a handful of strangers and takes them to lunch.  During the course of lunch they hire several people to walk through the room where specific clothes or colors.  After the meal they sit the people down and ask them specific questions about the people who were in the room while they ate.  And they basically take a poll as to what people actually paid attention to when out and about in the everyday world.  In a very real world possibility, what if someone was attacked or robbed during my lunch hour in the place I ate.  Would I be able to help the authorities with a description of either the victim or the bad guy?

And I realized that I wouldn't have a clue.  And that the half a dozen other people in the room would be just as clueless as I was.  Not to say that we have to walk around suspicious of everybody.  But my point is that we should be aware of our surroundings.  And yet, with my nose stuck in the screen of my phone, I am not very aware.

The second thought than ran through my head was that I was loosing time.  Precious time that I could never regain.  Seconds which turn into minutes of phone usage at a time.  Sure, I may be learning something from a news article to finishing up that last work email as my sandwich is being made.  But those seconds fall into the bottom bucket of lost time that we will never regain.  And I know I would be amazed at just how much time I use everyday working/playing on my phone.

And the last thought that ran through my head was about how much my technology has turned me into an introvert.  By nature, I am an outgoing person who likes to interact with people.  But I am increasingly finding myself drawn into Twitter and Facebook.  And before you jump to conclusions and say how these are "social" networks, let me explain myself.  When I use both Twitter and Facebook, I find myself browsing other people's posts more than what I spend in time making my own posts.  Therefore, I'm just being nosey and not really interacting with anybody.  As interacting is defined as "Act in such a way as to have an effect on another; act reciprocally" (from the Meriam-Webster Dictionary).  And just by looking around, I am not directly effecting anybody of anything to encourage someone to reciprocate and cause an "interaction".

So before I wrap up this post on my rambling musings, let me ask: "Is our technology turning us into introverts? I completely understand that there are introverted people by nature.  And have absolutely nothing against these folks.  But in general, how is the technology we deal with on a daily basis affecting our socialization with others in our society?

In other words, put the phone down at lunch.  You'll be amazed at how liberated you feel.  And on that note, it is almost time for me to unplug for a week and go on vacation in the Western Carribean!  See you when I get back!

¡Via Con Dios!

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New Web Project!

Hey everybody, I'm sorry for the lack of posts as of late.  But I have been very busy trying to get our latest web project off the ground which is being included into our growing network of online resources.  And it looks like it is ready to roll!  Be sure to checkout SlimTechie!  Over at SlimTechie we will try to bring fitness tips, progress reports, encouragement, help from social media (like YouTube), and reviews for apps and web services that you can use to help get into shape (or even just a healthier lifestyle).  And to top it off, I will be practicing what I am preaching.

That's right, you can keep up with me as I work towards my fitness goals and keep track of my achievements or shortcomings as I will update with progress reports on how I am doing in hopes that others may be inspired. So if you want to see how you can use technology to bridge the gap between being a geek (like me) and getting fit then swing by and pay us a visit.  The best thing about it, since I am a rather cheap individual just about everything we will cover will be either free or so cheap it might as well be free.

So come by and hang out with us!
http://slimtechie.blogspot.com

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Review: Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch

A couple of weeks ago I managed to get my hands on a Samsung Galaxy S2.  And in short, it has to be one of my favorite devices yet.  I'm using the Sprint model which is dubbed the 'Epic 4G Touch' surname.  I have had my hands all over this phone for the past 2 weeks and it continues to get more and more awesome all the time.







Let's cover some of the phone's specs right quick:
- Dual-Core 1.2GHz processor
- 4.52" Super AMOLED Plus screen
- 8 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front facing camera
- Voice Talk by Vlingo
- Expandable Storage up to 32GB via MicroSD card
- 16GB of onoard storage
- Mobile Hotspot Feature
- 3G/4G compatible where speeds are available
- WiFi built-in

So you can see from the specs that this phone packs some serious punch under the hood.  But how does it perform?  In a nutshell, smooth as can be.  I have experienced very little to no lag from this device.  And lag is one thing I have noticed in both my Acer Iconia a500 Honeycomb Tablet and my wife's HTC Evo 4G.  Usually the lag on those devices occurs between screen transitions from Applications Menu to Home Screen or when loading up a resource heavy game.  But none of that has been evident thus far in my Galaxy S2.

Samsung packs this phone with the TouchWiz UI overtop Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) by default.  This means we get some pretty useful shortcuts and a nice, clean looking User Interface.  Some of the shortcuts are pretty awesome too.  The one I especially like (since I shuffle app shortcuts all over the place) is the tilt to move feature.  Simply tap and hold an app shortcut and tilt your phone to cycle through the available home screens.  It works flawlessly.  If you're not a widget fan, you'll have some work to do since by default there are numerous widgets running onscreen from the first power on.

Namely, you will see the clock and weather widget on the main home screen.  If you scroll to the left one screen you will see a Driving/Handsfree Widget and and a nice looking AP News widget.  If you scroll to the right one screen from the Home Screen you will have the Google Search Widget.  This being the Spring version of the phone it does come with some bloatware from Sprint.  In the form of: Spring TV, Sprint Zone, Nascar, Sprint Radio, etc.

The phone does come with a cool app named Kies Air.  In short it lets you control the phone's contents from a computer's web browser (as long as your computer and phone are on the same WiFi network.  The layout is nice and allows you to see pretty much everything you have on your phone from pictures to the most recent text messages all within your web browser.  That being said, I could play music back but had issues copying files through the network from the PC to the Phone.  Maybe I was doing something wrong.  Still, not a deal breaker for me as I could care less about this feature overall.

The default social networking app is 'SocialHub'.  I had some issues with SocialHub (just being in the form of having to track down settings and options from where I felt they should logically be placed).  Still, not a big deal as I ditched SocialHub for the Plume and Facebook apps for Android anyways.  Another great app that comes loaded on the phone is Polaris Office. And it appears to be the full version of the app as well which includes Windows format compatibility.  So that is a nice inclusion as well.

One of the big topics that is discussed with every Android device is battery life.  And most of the time this is one of the biggest complaints from Android user's.  I can honestly say that my battery life with the Galaxy S2 is pretty good.  In short, carrying it around during the day (from an 8 to 5 workday) my phone doesn't outright die halfway through the day.  Usually when I get home in the evenings around 5:00p or so it is down to about 40% life left.  Which is pretty good in my opinion.  Especially when my wife's HTC Evo 4G tends to get something like 4.5 to 5 hours of life from a full charge.

With that being said, I'm also running it with 4G turned off (we have no 4G in my area yet) and the WiFi and Bluetooth radios turned off as well.  Surfing the web on WiFi around the house causes the battery to discharge much faster.  But still it is fine for casual use or updating a Facebook status.

The camera is outstanding and does a great job.  In low-light areas the pictures still look as long as the flash is turned on.  And the flash is freakin' bright too.  So, if you're into mobile photography with your smartphone you'll not be disappointed.

One last thing to touch on is the hands-free features.  The hands-free/voice recognition features are powered by Vlingo.  Vlingo has been around for a while and can be thought of as an app similar to Apple's Siri in functionality.  And it is pretty good.  Out of the box you can have it read your text messages and send text messages for you.  It can do web searches and pull up GPS info for you as well.  All powered from your voice.  If using a Bluetooth headset it is setup so if you say: "Galaxy Hi" it will wake the phone and allow your voice input to use the phone.  Pretty awesome.

I had only one issue with the phone, and it was more with the software and with Facebook than with the device itself.  If you sign in to Facebook for Android, you're contact list will compile all of your Facebook friends info into your Contacts List.  I didn't like this feature and quickly found an easy way to turn it off in the settings.  Once again, it was an easy fix and not that big of a deal.

I could go on and on all afternoon about how awesome this device is.  I mean, I essentially replaced my iPod Touch with this device because it everything my iTouch did in terms of music and podcasts, not to mention Netflix and Crackle run great on it.  And gaming is jaw dropping on this device.  If you are looking for a great Android phone, without a doubt I would highly recommend the Samsung Galaxy S2.  The great thing about this device is that Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile all have their own version of the Galaxy S2.  So if you're on one of these services you can have a go at the S2 yourself (sorry Verizon customers).

Easily this phone gets a 5 star/5 star score!

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New Android Unlock Feature Trickery!

If you follow Android news, you'll know that one of the big features rolling out with Ice Cream Sandwhich (from here on will be called 'ICS' for short) is the Face Unlock feature being included in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.  So here's the deal, the device will use facial recognition to unlock your device.  That's awesome and it doesn't impede upon one of Apple's patents, right?  Sure is.

Or at least it was until some wiseguy decided to try and beat the feature at it's own game.  And let's just say, he won.  It was posed as a question from Twitter to SoyaCincau as to whether or not the Galaxy Nexus face unlock feature could be unlocked using a printed picture of the owner's face.  In his test, he didn't even need to kill a tree or waste ink on printing a picture.  He used the Galaxy Note device and took his own picture.  And guess what, it worked.  The Samsung Galaxy Nexus unlocked.

It has also been called to question as to whether he setup the device to unlock with the picture or setup the phone to behave the way it did.  His answer is that he setup the phone to unlock using his face, not the picture.  And he is sticking to that story.  Which in my opinion is completely believable.  After all, facial recognition isn't doing anything other than comparing a fresh image of your face with one on file somewhere in a database tucked away inside the operating system on the phone (all geeky references to how the technology actually works aside, this is basically it).

So, the concept that this could be tricked makes a lot of sense to me.  What do you think?

I can see a couple of ways this could be a pain for someone.  Say someone is having a meal with you and snipes a picture of you while you're waiting for your meal using their iPhone 4S (for example).  You get up and go to the restroom and while you're gone they use the image of you on their device and unlock your phone.  For kicks they now set your unlock screen feature to match their face. It seems you'd be locked out of your own phone right?

I like the concept of facial recognition for unlocking the device.  However, I don't see how this is anymore secure than a lock screen pattern or passcode.  Both of which can easily be circumvented should someone be attentive enough to watch you unlock your phone.

If you'd like to watch the video yourself check it out at:
http://youtu.be/BwfYSR7HttA

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APB: Reloaded Has A Live Action Trailer

Remember a title from a while back that took the media by storm as a massively multiplayer game in the same vein as Grand Theft Auto.  This game was titled: "APB: All Points Bulletin".  Initially this game was released on the PC and the devs where considering a console version.  The game was short lived though due to faults of it's own merits (from gameplay to game modes disappoints were huge).  The game just couldn't deliver what fans and industry watchers had hoped it would.  In short, the game launched in June 2010 and closed down in September 2010.  Yep, short lived alright.

After bouncing around in limbo for a little while, GamersFirst picked it up and it was released by Reloaded Productions.  If you aren't familiar with GamersFirst they are a MMO gaming company that carves their business into the Free-to-Play market of MMO titles.  Titles under their label include: War Rock, Knight Online, Taikodom, Sword 2, and most recently Fallen Earth (out of which I can personally attest that War Rock and Fallen Earth are great games). With this new development in the game's brief lifespan there was hope once more.

The game went into Open Beta in May 2011 under the title: "APB: Reloaded".  One of the big positives this game has going for it is character customization.  This was one of the few things it's original incarnation did right.  And hopefully it will roll over to this version as well.  So with the news that the game is finally making it's way back to life, GamersFirst has rolled out a Live Action Trailer.  Honestly, I love watching these Live Action Trailers.  Sometimes they suck, sometimes they are awesome.  Really it's a crap shoot and one I have no way of being able to predict prior to watching it.  This trailer is pretty unique in that it shows the different character customizations in a live action form.  And it is an interesting trailer (so it definitely doesn't suck).

However, it is not for the faint of heart and should be for mature audiences only as it depicts scenes of graphic violence.  It is kind of ironic that this trailer rolls out so close to the release of 'Saints Row: The Third', don't you think?




If you're interested in checking out the game swing by their website:http://www.gamersfirst.com/apb/?fbid=wmjBHrVWu3DAnd if you'd like to see other games from GamersFirst visit:http://www.gamersfirst.com/

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Steam Users Beware!

On Thursday, November 10th; Valve announced that their Steam forums had been compromised.  In an initial release from Mr. Gabe Newell it was stated that the intrusion "went beyond the forums".  But it is unclear how far beyond the forums this attack managed to go.  Valve is saying that there is no evidence that any personal data or credit card information was harvested or stolen and they are continuing the investigation.

If you have used Steam (or it's forums) you'll know there is a separate login for the forums which requires a separate password.  Of course this is assuming you have theoretically passed "Online Security 101" and are not using the exact same password as you do for your Steam purchases (if so you're billing info could very well be at risk).  One of the first recommendations of online safeguarding is to not use the same password for everything you do online.  Why?  Simple, if that password is compromised it then becomes very easy for the rest of your online dealings to be compromised too.

Valve will be resetting forum passwords and urging user's to update their passwords in general.  In short, this is probably a good rule of thumb for anyone using Steam.  Regardless whether you are actually at risk or not. Here are two things to help:
- Change your password for both Steam Forums and your overall Steam Account.
- Keep watch on whatever method of billing you have setup for Steam purchases to be on the safe side.

I think it is a shame that yet another game service has been compromised.  I'll be the first to admit that it is probably impossible for any service to be 100% bulletproof when it comes to security.  And when it comes right down to it, the fact of the matter is that our online security as customer's lies at fault with ourselves.  Sad but true.  How can customer's hold a particular service to blame for security issues when customer's are using weak passwords, not changing passwords regularly, and flat out putting themselves at risk?

In short, we can't.

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WoW: Mists of Pandaria

Yesterday I mentioned World of Warcraft's troubles and a little information about the latest WoW Expansion: Mists of Pandaria.  I figured it was only fair to follow up with a little more of what is known about the upcoming expansion for one of the biggest MMO titles on the market.


With the expansion Blizzard will offer up:
- New Race
- New Continent
- Level cap will be raised to 90
- And a new class.

If you've been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks, than you'll know that the Pandaren are the new race and they hail from Pandaria (lacks a little imagination for me).  The new class is Monk.  Blizzard will also be bringing a new challenge mode, PVP goodies, and more.  If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out (borrowed from the WorldofWarcraft YouTube Channel).

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Adobe Kills Off Flash for Mobile Devices

It's no secret that HTML5 is a growing technology.  Now with a lot of desktop web browsers able to play nicely with HTML5 (and this is growing as well); it seems that it may become one of Adobe Flash's rivals on the web.  It is also no secret that Apple doesn't jive with Flash very well (at all) to put it modestly.

Up until yesterday (Wednesday) it seemed as though Flash had a decent foothold in the mobile sector when you figure it plays very well with Android based devices.  Why is yesterday such a point in the previous sentence?  Because yesterday; Adobe announced that it would no longer be developing Flash for mobile devices.  One thing you will also remember is that Adobe products are pretty decent.  At least as long as they are updated regularly when the newest versions roll out.  If not, then they typically turn into security risks (as with the case for most outdated software).

In a recent blog post by John Nack (product manager at Adobe) he pointed out that basically if Flash is kept from being run than they will have to find a different approach.  Is this a shot at Apple?  Apple doesn't ship their mobile devices or their computers with Flash preloaded.  Not really a big deal, right?  Since most Windows computers don't ship with it preloaded either (or at least an updated copy).  Wrong!  Apple has their reasoning behind this.

Apple's stance in the past is that Flash is more resource intensive than it probably should and caused lower performance in their products.  Meanwhile, the rest of 'web-world' uses Adobe products as sort of a 'defacto standard' on the web.  Regardless whether you are a fan or a "Flash hater", it's goes without saying that Flash is everywhere on the web.  If we look into the future just a short way, what if manufacturers and content creators find other ways to produce their projects and content on mobile devices; would this not also bring about a movement among people in the industry to figure out how to port their content away from Flash on the desktop/laptop side of things too?  That is speculation on my part though (I like to project ahead a little ways).  I hope I am wrong or that HTML5 is really that good to handle the migration from Flash by the industry.  On the other hand, it would be nice to be able to visit a site that was once Flash based and get the prompt that you need to install the latest "plugin for your web browser"...

As far as the mobile market is concerned, it looks as though Apple is probably pretty happy with Adobe's decision.  Seeing as how other devices may win some user's over solely on the fact that they grant a complete "web experience" in that they offer Flash as well (I have seen some ads that point this out specifically).  Either way Adobe rolls their dice, I hope for their sake they already have a plan in the mobile arena.  Otherwise, who knows?

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Video: Installing Gnome Shell 3

Our latest video has just gone live on our YouTube Channel and it cover's yet another alternate desktop environment for your Ubuntu 11.10 installation.  This video covers installing Gnome Shell 3!

The latest version of Gnome Shell brings with it some changes and some rather fancy looking eye candy as well.  I honestly haven't had a whole lot of hands on with Gnome Shell 3 since making the video, but I do plan on digging in this week and learning how to get around in it and I will chronicle my sessions with at least one Gnome Shell 3 Basics video.

Overall the new Shell looks pretty slick.  It's a very clean looking desktop with a lot of the usual screen clutter (i.e.: menu's, icons, etc.) all being hidden in the activities menu.  I kind of like the concepts behind it as well.  And my first initial impressions of Gnome Shell 3 are:
- I can't wait to try it out a little more in depth.
- It looks amazing, and with the right theme could look even sweeter.
- Seems to be very snappy and responsive under VirtualBox.

So without further delay, checkout our latest video on how to install Gnome Shell 3:

Ubuntu 11.10: Installing Gnome Shell 3

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http://www.youtube.com/techiesmarts

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Is there a Siri for Android? Part 2: Skyvi

Skyvi was the second app I tried out during my quest for a 'Siri-like' app for Android devices.  You can read my post below about my hands-on with Iris incase you missed it (click here: my hands-on with Iris).  I have to say I kind of like Skyvi a little better.  The interface is a little more cluttered and not quite as slick looking as Iris.  However, it is very clear from the get-go what you can do with Skyvi.  When you launch the app, the initial screen you are taken to has a series of categories or buttons you can use to explore assorted questions and tasks you can have Skyvi do for you.

In a similar test to my use of Iris, I started off by asking some simple questions pertaining to things like the weather, my location, etc.  And all seemed to work much like Iris.  But where I really started having fun was letting Skyvi post status updates on Facebook and Twitter for me.  After pairing your Facebook and Twitter accounts with Skyvi it is literally as simple as tapping the microphone icon and saying "Update my Facebook Status".

You will get a voice prompt from Skyvi asking what you want your status to say and a voice box will pop up.  Simply tell it what you want and it will automagically send your status update to Facebook (it will read it back to you once it's posted, so be careful what you say first time around).  The Twitter update works the same way.  Out of the four updates I posted through Skyvi only one of them seemed to be misinterpreted.  Pretty much the same rule of thumb applies to Skyvi as with Iris.  Speak somewhat slow and very clear to get the proper results the first time.

You can even have Skyvi read your Facebook and Twitter updates from friends and you can use it to write a comment on a Facebook friend's wall.  Pretty awesome!  Skyvi is free and is a lot of fun to play with.

To check out Skyvi for yourself, swing by the Android Market at: Skyvi for Android

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Video: Let's Install KDE using Ubuntu 11.10

If you have used or upgraded to the latest release of Ubuntu (being 11.10); then you are aware that aside from installing GNOME Shell 3 you are limited to only using the Unity desktop environment.  They did included Unity 2D for older machines.  But what if you aren't a big fan of Unity?  What can you do to make it less painful?

Easy!  Install a different Window Manager/Desktop Environment!  It's easy to do.  It does require a little bit of time but isn't very intrusive.  So this video will kick off a new video set where we will step through installing alternative desktop environments for Ubuntu 11.10.  After all, part of the joy of using Linux is being able to have choices right?

In our first video of this set we will install KDE.  Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date on when all of our new videos get posted!

Installing KDE in Ubuntu 11.10

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Android Coming To A Gamestop Near You

Seriously?  Yep, sounds that way.  Looks like taking a bite out of a rather popular fruit/device maker wasn't all that Gamestop had planned.  Just the other month Gamestop announced they would be taking trades and selling Apple's iDevices.  And now it looks as if they are actually branding their own Android based tablet as well.

I for one, fear that they may be too late to this show for anybody to care.  Especially with the controversy surrounding them the last several months.  If they are willing to snatch coupons from game boxes, why would they be willing to do anything better with an actual tablet device.  Even when they are already carrying another brand of a similar type of device.  I'm actually surprised that Apple didn't include in their agreement with Gamestop that they be the only device provider for the game chain.

Anyways, if you'd like to read the entire story, swing by:
TechCrunch

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Netflix Shares and User Base Drops

Since we're on the topic of big brand companies going crazy, we might as well chat about Netflix.  Remember a few months ago when they announced the changes to their service pricing?  And remember a lot of people got pretty upset about the matter.  Then after their current customer's were already rocked by the pricing change; they almost immediately announced that they would be moving their DVD Rental Service from under the Netflix brand to the new Qwikster brand name.  Which seemed kind of crazy, but at least they were still supporting the DVD Rental customers.

And yes, a bunch of customer's got equally upset about the name change to Qwikster as well.  This change meant that both your DVD Rental queue and your Instant Streaming queue would be in two different locations and not associated with each other.  The only thing Netflix was looking to add to Qwikster were game rentals for game consoles (like the Gamefly rental service).

Very shortly after revealing the Qwikster brand, Netflix decided to scrap it's plans to even start up Qwikster in the first place claiming they have listened to their customers.  So for Netflix the last several months have been pretty busy with them running in circles and getting nothing accomplished.

And nothing screams 'We have no clue what we are doing.  But we're doing it like a boss' to your customers than to publicly change your business plan so many times and only end up back where you were to start with and leaving your customer's just as empty handed for all the trouble.  And by the way things look, hopefully they learned their lesson.

It was reported earlier this week that Netflix has lost something in the neighborhood of 800,000 subscribers.  I don't care who you are or what your business is.  But 800,000 subscribers is a metric crap-ton of former customers (and lost business).  And due to the all of the fiasco and canceled accounts their stock prices dropped around 37% on Monday alone.  This isn't good Netflix.

So what does it look like going forward?  Netflix has already announced new content would be making it's way to the service over the coming months.  And a bunch has already been added with them scoring deals with the AMC and CW networks.  So as a current user/customer, I certainly hope they continue to add more content.  Especially since their streaming content is still nowhere as large or full as their DVD offerings.  Maybe with time that will change.  And for their sakes, they need to remember lessons learned from the last couple of months when it comes to them looking to mix things up.

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HP Changes Their Mind & Staying in PC Market

I'm seriously starting to wonder what kind of water some of the bigger companies are drinking these days.  With Netflix throwing their DVD Rental Service under the Qwikster brand only to withdraw almost immediately and leave things alone.  And then with HP deciding to leave the PC market.  As announced back in August, HP decided to look at selling off their PSG Group; which handles the home PC services and product lines.  In order to align themselves more into the business hardware market.  Kind of like IBM did back in the day; which turned out to be a really good move for IBM.

Now however, it looks as though they have changed their minds and issued a stay of execution for the PSG Group.  I am completely aware that the way business has to be conducted has changed.  The way companies operated 10 years ago when compared to now has become drastically different with the changes in the times, technology, cost, government restrictions, etc.  But I don't see how confusing the crap out of current and potential customers is the way to go about things.

As far as the TouchPad goes, I wouldn't hold my breath for it.  Considering nobody bought the device until HP decided to offload them quickly.

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Apple's New Award: Patented Slide to Unlock

No doubt there are advantages to being first to the game when it comes to a big company making a product.  We all see it every day (and have encountered it for years).  When it comes to Apple, they are currently one of the leading, trend setting companies out there.  They make a design and it takes off with the general public and they make money (lots and lots of money).  So naturally another company comes along and uses a competitors product for inspiration.  That has been the way of the consumer electronics world for many years now.

Well, it looks as though Apple has another win under it's belt when it comes to the 'slide to unlock' gesture that just about every touchscreen device and smartphone now uses to wake it up or unlock the screen so it can be used.  Although the appearance of the 'slide to unlock' screen may be different on various devices (given that none really mimic the exact look of Apple's unlock screen).  But they do require the same gesture to unlock certain devices.

In typical patent battle fashion, the patent name is so generic that it would no doubt encompass pretty much every method of physically touching a screen in any motion just to unlock it.  The patent name is: "Unlocking A Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Screen" U.S. Patent Number: 8,406,721.  So what will happen to the lock screens that people have come to know as a defacto standard among smartphones and other handheld touchscreen devices?

I'm sure this will help Apple's crusade against companies who back similar devices to Apple's product lines (essentially Google with their Android devices/system and possibly anyone else who uses this gesture to unlock a device).  This could be a big slap in the face for Google, since a slide to unlock feature has been pretty much built into Android from the very start and with Microsoft already cashing in on patents targeted at Google, maybe Android lock screens will change for the better.

It's been said many times over the last several weeks that Ice Cream Sandwhich (Android's latest iteration) will feature facial recognition to unlock the screen.  Maybe they should run with that.  Just make sure you don't have to physically touch the screen or Apple will get ya!  lol

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Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

Yesterday evening the world lost one of our time's greatest innovators, Steve Jobs.  As one of the few truly visionary people in the technology world, he set out to make a difference in the way the world used and thought of not only computers but technology as well.  Jobs had been fighting a rare form of pancreatic cancer announced in 2004.  Then, in 2009 he received a secret liver transplant.  And in January of 2011, he took another medical leave.  Eventually leading up to his stepping down as Apple CEO in August 2011.

Jobs was the man in the black turtleneck that became so iconic with Apple products.  Thanks to the vision of Mr. Jobs the world was shown how to think outside of the traditional computing 'box'.  Leading the charge for Apple to jump into the personal media player market with the iconic iPod product line that would eventually jump start the 'tablet craze' with the release of the iPad.  And it all came from rather humble roots; as Apple was literally built from ground up originating out of a garage.

As the CEO of a revolutionary company that has helped change the computing experience for the world over it's lifetime; regardless of your opinion of these products or even Apple as a company, no doubt about it Mr. Jobs was successful in building a groundbreaking company.

As for Steve Jobs, your insight and innovation will definitely be missed.  And our thoughts, condolences, and prayers go out to the Jobs family.

And food for thought:
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?” – Steve Jobs’ famous question to John Sculley, former Apple CEO

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India Has a $35 Dollar Tablet

Last year some news headlines hit the world in a storm when it was reported that some folks in India were trying to develop a cheap tablet.  Their goal was simple, to develop a tablet and keep it cheap and affordable.  What they came up with was the concept for a $35 tablet.

Now, first and foremost let's keep this in perspective.  At $35 for a tablet, you're not going to be getting much.  But they endured anyways, and now a Canadian company by the name of DataWind is indeed manufacturing these devices for the people of India.  Don't expect these puppies to show up here in the U.S. or at least not anytime soon.  And if they do migrate to the U.S., I definitely wouldn't expect the tablet to retail for $35.  Maybe somewhere between $50 to $100.  Our tablet market just isn't willing to stoop that cheap quite a yet.

And if they do roll out for $35 bucks a piece, I'd buy one for each room in the house.

So let's take a look at what $35 dollars would buy you in India:
-7 inches of screen real estate.
-2GB storage capacity.
-366MHz Processor
-Wifi
-Running the Android OS (not sure which version)

In other words a 7inch tablet with smartphone guts from 3 years ago.  But for simple tasks like connecting to the web and web browsing; I'm sure it's probably enough.

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Food for Thought: USPS is in Trouble...

This will come as no surprise, and many have probably already encountered an issue that spun out of this whole ordeal.  This story from Gizmodo was one of the top Digg stories yesterday.  And I felt it worth mentioning here.  And for those who would rather just see the ads, watch this:







I believe this is largely due to the already huge (and growing) adoption of digital media.  Years ago I heard a comment from someone (I don't remember who it was); insisting that in the near future the USPS would eventually hit a financial wall due to people sending what was once mail will become digital messages whether it be email or other means.

Think about it, how many birthday invitations do you get in your mailbox?  Now, think about how many invitations you get for any event via Facebook?  I usually get three or four a week.  When you add up three invites a week at the current rate of 44 cents per stamp, it adds up. Let's assume I get on average 3 invites per week for either a birthday party, holiday function, or a wedding via social networking.  That is $1.32 per week not being mailed using a stamp; and that equates to $68.64 a year, worth of stamps not being purchased from the USPS.  Not that big of a deal, right?  Now think about how many people on average do the same exact thing?  That leads to tons of money not being spent via the USPS.

Is it our fault as American people?  No, it's not.  Is it the government's fault?  Probably not; although somewhere down the line I'm sure it can be attributed back to them by someone.  It's the course of what we call progress and technological expansion.  Our technology grows which leads the people to new ways of doing things and thinking.  Did you intentionally buy a computer ten years ago for the sole purpose of bankrupting the USPS?  Nope, probably not.  If you did, you need a hobby.

The USPS is unfortunately fading in the same direction as printed newspapers.  We live in a digital world nowadays, and older concepts and ways of doing things are drastically changing.  The telephone companies are experiencing the same shift, people are graduating away from the home phone line.  Everything is mobile now.  Take everything on the go with you at anytime you want; books, music, movies, contact with loved ones are all on-demand..  Fly around the world and use the same phone you carry in your pocket to work everyday.  Need to speak to your Mom in California while on a business trip in New York, with a simple click and a few seconds to wait Skype will connect you right up.  This is the world we now live in.

It is an exciting time, but no doubt a trying time.  Even though the world is moving in a digital direction, millions of people rely on the USPS for jobs and customer's rely on the service for medicine and government checks, etc.  There is still plenty of value to the USPS, it just costs much more to run.  In our area they have already started scaling back the USPS offices and their hours of counter operation in the office.  Just think about how the Pony Express Riders felt when trains started carrying mail and gradually their routes became shorter.  The difference is then they could leave the Express jobs and work the railroad.  What railroad will our delivery men work once progress rolls through their stations?

Will the USPS fully go away?  I don't think it will.  At least not anytime soon.  However, this doesn't mean they will not have to scale back further than they ever have before.  Customer's may have to drive to the next town over to mail a letter or pick up a package.  And maybe even the process will become more of an automated process.  Who knows?

But the one's we should care about will be those who are offset during layoffs and let-go's when offices reallocate workers, scale back services, or even close offices.

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