I was number 516,91, which means nothing.
The crew at foursquare was kind enough to put up a graphic showing global growth over the last two years.
Regarding the dream of a mobile application, I already had a couple of good conversations with one of you who had an idea they wanted to set in motion. Was (is) quite silly, but it would work, and I would buy it… so would many of you. It would be quite fun to build.
One more conversation to get to this week, but if you still have ideas, let me know. I’ll be meeting with the software engineer himself next week and I need to have your idea prior to leaving town Thursday.
I harp with people all the time to “just make a decision”. Taking calculated risks is fun, but they have to be calculated. In my brief 30 years my calculated risks surrounded attending a university where I knew no one, solo backpacking through Europe, and moving to the Pacific Northwest with only a room found on Craigslist and no job.
Some risks proved fruitful, some not. Though despite the outcome I wouldn’t change a thing because even through “failure” a ‘Plan B’ and sometimes ‘Plan C’ and ‘Plan D’ were in place prior to action.
With all that said I’m about to kick my own rear into gear, calculating a next step if I aim to meet one of my 2011 personal goals. One of my goals this year, no matter if it flies or flops, is to launch a mobile app compatible with iOS and Android.
One could easily argue that going it alone is quite silly. Therefore, if you’ve got the idea, then I’ve got the resources. We can even draw up an agreement to prevent one another from going all “Winklevi” on each other.
I was the only blogger on the Internet without a blog post dedicated to this issue, so I thought I would chime in. It’s an incredible, joyous event that most have all wrong.
My favorite quote from this revolution came from TechCrunch:
Twitter and Facebook are indeed useful tools, but they are not tools of revolution — at least, no more than Paul Revere’s horse was. People are the tools of revolution, whether their dissent is spread by whisper, by letter, by Facebook, or by some means we haven’t yet imagined. What we, and the Egyptians, should justly be proud of, is not just those qualities which set Egypt’s revolution apart from the last hundred, but those which are fundamental to all of them.
That part where he says “by some means we haven’t yet imagined”… that gives us Internet/gadget junkies tingles.
Wired took a tour of IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center. This image of a blackboard was one particular shot which caught me eye.
It makes absolutely no sense to you and me, but it could. It’s intimidating until you realize that one day you and I will buy a product or service that relates to the brainstorming shown on this board. This means that, as complicated as this board appears, there’s a way to simplify it.
The thing is, despite the thousands of SKUs hitting the floor, we can’t remember the last time a game changer was announced at CES. Everything here is derivative, and anything important enough to the world gets its own launch event—Google and Apple and Microsoft all know this. So do we.
Interesting tidbit from I’m Remembering:
The Talkboy was originally conceived as a non-working prop for Home Alone, used by Macaulay Culkin’s character. In 1993 it was made into a retail version, brought on by a massive letter-writing campaign by young fans of the film.
The article is just as funny, because it’s true. Glad my parents don’t ask oddball questions all the time.
Article, via HBR & CNN: Why Hackers Love 8-Character Passwords
With processors getting speedier and password-hacking software freely available on the web, the 8-letter password may soon be obsolete. Georgia Tech researchers used graphics cards to crack 8-character passwords in two hours; divining 12-character passwords, by contrast, would have taken more than 17,000 years. The researchers say any password shorter than a dozen characters could soon be vulnerable.
Wow. A writer for Gizmodo (along with many of those at Gizmodo’s staff) have lost the desire to use their iPads.
Three months ago I couldn’t imagine a life without my iPad’s big beautiful screen. Today, I am living that life. having ditched my iPad for the iPhone 4, almost completely. What the sh*t.
…and right at the time where I was thinking of getting an iPad. Though I must say, I simply want a larger iPhone. Chelsea and I catch ourselves dropping the laptops, and picking up our iPhones most nights. It’s easy to hold, use, scroll though, and type on. The iPad? I’ve played with it many times… not so easy to type on. Which takes me back to the need for a, oh, say… 7-inch model?
Oddly, the article is quite crapily titled Too smart for our own good?
Hundreds of years ago, a brave group of religious outcasts, hired servants and freedom seekers embarked on an uncertain voyage that would subsequently transcend the course of civilization. These valiant individuals sought a means by which to escape persecution levied by an unforgiving dictatorship and they found such means in the establishment of what is now the United States of America. These people, our forefathers, created a democratic government that, to this day, thrives on the collaboration of each citizen.
Without this collaboration, democracy, despite its beauty, encounters its own fallacy; meaning that as we, as a trailblazing nation, have grown and progressed, our priorities have shifted greatly. In a day and time where our own practical application of science is becoming master over our society, we must ask ourselves: Is technology threatening to become our downfall?
And it launches 2 days before my birthday, no less.
Gizmodo: Kindle Helps You Sleep, iPad Causes Insomnia
According to sleep experts, the iPad’s bright LCD display could be hampering your body’s ability to create melatonin. Translation: Insomnia. The Kindle and other e-ink devices, on the other hand, won’t disrupt your sleep cycle.
Any of you bought an iPad yet? As I’ve mentioned before, I’m sure there’s a purchase in my future, though after the 2nd or 3rd Generation iPads (read: better, cheaper, with all the bugs worked out) have been released.
By now you’ve heard about the Apple iPhone leak. Now, hear how it happened.
Apple would like it’s phone back, please.
One of the best summaries yet.
Almost everyone who described the iPad as a Kindle killer chose to ignore the fact that no matter how nice and shiny Apple’s screen technology is, it’s still not designed for reading books. Without e-ink, such as that found in the Kindle, you eyes get tired after a few pages – which is fine for replacing a newspaper, but is basically useless for a book.
[…]
The iPad is emphatically not a serious readers’ device: the only people who would genuinely consider it a Kindle killer are those for whom the idea of reading for pleasure died years ago; if it was ever alive. The people who will spout bullshit like “I read on screen all day†when what they really mean is “I read the first three paragraphs of the New York Times article I saw linked on Twitter before retweeting it; and then I repeat that process for the next eight hours while pretending to work.†That’s reading in the way that rubbing against women on the subway is sex.
And yet, and yet. There’s no doubt that the iPad is a beautiful device for almost everything else. It’s perfect for reading newspapers – Alan Alan Rusbridger’s space-filling fanfic not withstanding – and it’s perfect for email and web browsing and movies and games. If you have to carry around one device – for your commute to work, for an hour in a coffee shop, or on a long-haul flight – then the iPad is the one to carry. Which is precisely why I’m so worried for the future of books, and for reading.
Say hi to my new friend.
After a long search, I’ve selected what was my original crush: the Kindle DX.
Why? I read articles, blog posts, and PDFs. Lots of them. The Kindle is the premier device that is tried and tested by the gadget and publishing industries’ harshest critics. The DX has a larger screen and can handle the different maps, graphs, tables and Web pages in no-frills fashion. Through the use of the glorious Instapaper, I can save articles during the day and read them from the comfort of my Kindle in the evening.
But.. but.. but the iPad!
The iPad is overrated. I addressed my concerns the day it was released. Plus, I want a reading device. One that I can charge once every few weeks, take on trips, and hold comfortably in bed. I don’t need a catch-all device.
In the future (the not so far future) I foresee Apple working out the kinks in the iPad, producing a more attractive package in a second generation iPad or iMacSlate or iWhatever. When that happens, the $500+ price tag will be much more attractive. For now, the iPad ain’t killing the Kindle.
In addition, I work at dot-com… I stare at my computer 9+ hours a day at work alone, not to mention the time I spend working and playing on my computer when I get home. The thought of another LED back-lit screen makes my eyeballs itch.
The Kindle may turnout to be a piece of crap device that I see no value in and rarely use. Or, the Kindle may save my eyeballs and keep me off the computer. (That would make me happy.)
No matter the case, I’ll keep you updated as time progresses.
Got an email with photo attachment from my wife last night, which was weird seeing as she was downstairs, in the house, at the same time as me. The attachment was this photo of me playing XBOX, looking quite silly. It should come as no shock to other gamers that I was so immersed in my game (read: getting slaughtered by 8-year-olds in Modern Warfare 2) that I had no idea she was even standing there when this picture was taken. Sad.
Also, thanks for the invites Jody and Ryan C. We need to organize a session very soon so that you can kill me too.
