Eric's Tumblr Blog

[ericest1986-blog]

Ubuntu Phone

Rather than give a full out review of the strategy, software and so on at this early point, I am going to just give a quick snippet.

It is way too early to really say anything definitively, but I am putting my vote behind Ubuntu Phone over Tizen, Boot2Gecko, and all the other up-and-coming smartphone operating systems.  Here is a bit of why:

- Native C++ using QT, as well as Javascript and HTML5/CSS3 webapps.

- Absolute common ground with the consumer desktop version of Ubuntu, as well as the server version (and the tablet version when that rolls around).

- Compatibility with the Linux kernels built for Android, as well as the hardware drivers, making porting Ubuntu to an existing Android device a 'simple' process.

- And the biggest reason:  Under the hood it is Linux and GNU.  That means it is as customizable as Ubuntu on the desktop is, and can be spun and morphed into any shape or size you want it.  It all comes down to near infinite possibilities and much needed expandability.  This also means more open source, but I won't explain why that is so important in this case just now.

I think they will hit a home run with their enterprise strategy as well.  One device that acts as a client when they are at their desk, and as a mobile OS when they are on the go, and the ability to run anything in the Ubuntu repositories, or anything they put together for in-house use.

Next up, we just need phones with faster RAM (and more of it).

Personally, I can't wait to take it apart and streamline the UI a bit, and make it feel a bit more minimal, just as I have done with Android on my phone.

And as I'm sure at some point I'll wind up making apps for it as well.  So I have already begun porting some of my old programs that I wrote for my own use, just for practice.  It really is a great set of developer tools, with several different methods one can choose depending on personal preference and the type of application being created.

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Nexus 4 and the future of the Nexus Line

If you know me, you know smartphones are an interest of mine.  You also know open-source software is something I feel to be hugely important as well. The Nexus line of smartphones run Google's AOSP (android open source project) code, and are used primarily to set the example for smartphone manufacturers moving forward in several areas, such as recommended hardware specs and features.

A lot of people are concerned by the choices regarding the Nexus 4 design and strategy.  Primarily a lack of LTE.  It technically has LTE capability, though it is limited and requires some hacking to enable.  But the concern is that it is a feature Google was willing to set aside. I want to share with you my theory:  In about a year we should start seeing VOLTE (voice over LTE) roll out from Verizon and other carriers, and dense enough LTE coverage to allow smartphones to roll out of the factories without any other radios.  Meaning they will have no 3G connectivity, only LTE.

Where this is going to be of benefit is on Verizon's LTE network, which you can read about elsewhere in detail.  The basics of it are that they must allow any device, without restriction, on their LTE network.  The problem now is that if that device also connects to their 3G network it disqualifies that device from taking advantage of the terms set on Verizon's LTE frequency.

I am sorry if you were expecting a long, detailed explanation here.  There is just no need for me to reiterate what is happening and what has already happened, when that information is so widely available.  The focus here is on what (in my eyes) will happen in the near future.

The point I am trying to make here is: if you are fretting over the Nexus line losing its way, don't.  It is simply buying time until the conditions are right.

Why would this be an important move?

1)  The carrier would not have control over the hardware nor the software, allowing the manufacturers to respond to the market without having to ask permission of the carrier.

2)  Devices could be sold completely independently of the carrier, removing the markup they set in place, lowering the cost of devices.

3)  Freedom to use any application or service over the network that you choose as long as it is not harmful the network (excessive bandwidth use does not qualify as harmful to the network).

There would could be many other benefits as well, though there has been little enforcement done of the existing terms put on the C block (LTE frequency range Verizon uses), which will determine how those terms are interpreted moving forward.

[ericest1986-blog]

CALM Act adopted by FCC - No more booming Commercials!

If you ever asked me why I don't have any time for reading books, it is because I am reading things like this.  And I think you'll like this one if you are .. anyone.  Here is a quote that largely sums it up.

"Act.1 Among other things, the CALM Act directs the 

Commission to incorporate into its rules by reference and make mandatory a technical standard, 

developed by an industry standards development body, that is designed to prevent digital television 

commercial advertisements from being transmitted at louder volumes than the program material they 

accompany.2 As mandated by the statute, the rules apply to digital TV broadcasters, digital cable 

operators, and other digital multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”).3 Also per the 

statute, the rules will take effect one year after adoption, and will therefore be effective as of December 

13, 2012.4 The rules we adopt today are designed to protect viewers from excessively loud commercials 

and, at the same time, permit broadcasters and MVPDs to implement their obligations in a minimally 

burdensome manner. "

http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-quiets-persistent-problem-television-age-loud-commercials

Seriously though, I could have sworn this used to be illegal.  It must have 'expired' or something, or maybe did not apply to digital TV, just analog..?

Either way, as of december 13, 2012 we will start to go deaf less from excessively loud commercials about crap we don't care about.  And just a side note, it is always the shit I don't care about that is loud, and the very very few I do care about are always too quiet to hear!  But I guess it is just good motivation to not watch TV.

As Fry from futurama put it: "Oh I watch TV, it's the next best thing to being alive."

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[ericest1986-blog]

Google Maps + QR Code

I am considering painting a giant QR code on the roof of my truck so any time a new Google Maps satellite image is taken where ever I happened to be parked I'll get free advertising.  ;) 

If you have a permanent structure and a suitable roof then you can do the same there - Would be best on flat tar roofs because you can paint them, perhaps even with just a simple epoxy paint and a brush!  Be certain to make sure the qr generator you use outputs a simple design for you so it reads more accurately with the crummy image they will have on Google Maps.

Be sure to 'photo-reply' if you try this so we can all see how well it works!

[ericest1986-blog]

Quake-Catcher

I am going to start this off with a link.

http://qcn.stanford.edu/

So what this is in simplest terms is a whole network of privately owned computers with built in motion sensors detecting movement.  That data is then used to find even the smallest of movements in the Earths crust to help track and predict earthquakes.

Right now the focus is on laptops, because desktops, which normally stationary (which is an obvious plus) do not contain motion sensors - Laptops do for the sake of shock detection, in case it is dropped the hard drive and cd drive will stop spinning to help prevent damage.

Though with built in GPS for extremely accurate location data to go along with the data from the motion sensor, smart-phones have a clear advantage here.  The one downside is that they are usually in your pocket bumping around, not on a desk motion-less.  But lets just say we can utilize the time they are in a car or desk dock, which the phone can already natively detect and act on, that not everyone but enough people use (and are starting to come with some smart-phones standard)..  How about times when the device is plugged into a computer, but maybe ignore times it is plugged into a regular charger in case it happens to be a car-charger?  And maybe use a little obvious thinking and delete data that obviously does not even remotely match data from the majority of devices in its area when we cannot certify the device is stationary?

It kind of just a little bit maybe a tad seems like the fatal flaw of using a smart-phone for this purpose might perhaps possibly remotely be non-existent with just a hint of a dash or a flicker of creative thinking, and maybe a little well executed code.

Yeah, I am just a little interested in seeing the increasing processing power of the growing number of smart-phones out there being put to use when we aren't browsing the web, taking a video, or posting on Facebook.  Though setting aside my determination to see smart-phones grow to their full potential (or at least my vision of it), I just can't help but feel something is being left to waste here.

Here is that link again:

http://qcn.stanford.edu/

[ericest1986-blog]

With the influx of 3D capable..

With the influx of 3D capable TVs, Laptops, and now Tablets.. Who is going to make content for the Internet capable devices?  Movies and many TV programs have the 3D realm covered for the video media type, but what about online?

Will we see web-sites in 3D?  Perhaps three dimensional layouts that turn web browsing into something like what we saw in 1980's movies?  Anyone who ever saw virtual reality or type tech on TV should know what I am talking about..  Not really talking about where you walk around in a virtual city, more like you have a virtual computer interface - 3D that you can swipe your way through with gestures and freely move parts around.. weird stuff that I honestly cannot figure out a sensible use for beyond looking cool in a movie.

Maybe things will just float a little, just to add a little effect without having to make a completely new version just for the people who have the 3D capabilities?

Realistically, with tablets and smart-phones coming out with 3D capable cameras and screens that don't need glasses to get the 3D effect, we are going to want more 3D content.

But who will make it?  Realistically, how much do we really even want it?  I know the glasses tire my eyes pretty quickly, so maybe it will depend on how well the screens that don't require glasses work...

I firmly believe the general population could quickly adapt to the concept of navigating a 3D space just as they have the current 2D space that web-pages are currently built in.  The question though is still whether or not we even want it.

[ericest1986-blog]

The server is managed and monitored by the old Blackberry via SSH.  The Blackberry was long ago retired from being a phone so it connects to the Internet through Wifi, which is provided by the Android phone.  The Android phone is not used for SSH because the Blackberry has a full keyboard, and the Android phone is busy providing wifi, browsing the Internet, and generally doing more interesting things or things better done with a touch screen that also happens to be twice the size of that of the old Blackberry.

[ericest1986-blog]

Initial response to Microsoft Nokia Partnership (against Android)

Microsoft pioneered the smart-phone hardware and was the proof of concept for the industry. I have to say they did a few things exceptionally well with their WM7 phones, unfortunately MS has some very big limitations built into the core principles of their company (and some good ones too of course} which show in every product they create. The KIN was a good example of how far off their thinking is when it comes to mobile, but most of all how long it takes for them to get a product out - which is usually about 2 years - which comes back to a troubled internal mentality and strategy. Xbox is incredible, but it is a MS product, and as such has major issues - anyone who is surprised when their box breaks must have misread the manufacturer name printed on the box.

Nokia I can't say much about because while they are huge and have a big hand in linux based mobile OS handsets (think Android but not Android) there is no way to say how the US market will react. I'd say this is a loser+loser game. Perhaps together they will make a winning combination, but I think both parties must have flaunted some BS to get a deal. Nokia wants to succeed in the US, but at the moment is not - maybe due to a lack of distribution or marketing stature after years out of market, or maybe because the US just doesn't react positively enough to what they are bringing to the table - MS may be able to help with that, but MS has promised a lot of things and failed at most. They fall short on pretty much every promise they make. If MS thinks Nokia has the know how to push their products to the next level, good luck - they are known for vending machine phones making a lot of their sales. The best you'll get there is a feature phone, which MS keeps moving toward. Feature phones are not smart-phones, and people realize this quickly when they hit a wall in what they can do with it.

Perhaps WM7 will survive.. I am concerned it wont, as its sales right now are being driven by MS subsidizing the cost of the devices and pumping massive (excessive) amounts of money into marketing. WM7 with some changes could be a proper competitor to the iPhone and Android in all aspects - but for now it is failing in many departments, while changing the game in a few niche areas. Putting that into perspective, my Android phone was turned into a clone of WM7 in 15 minutes - interface to connectivity to the MS game market. Flexibility and Completeness make it now - iPhone got away with being Incomplete at launch because it was the only one of its kind - that just is not true anymore.

[ericest1986-blog]

At the least, there will probably be a 'hack' to install Chrome OS and use this plugin for Chrome - The plugin, made by Google gives you an On Screen keyboard, much like the iPad, iPhone, and Android OS have right now.

Currently Android is making its way to tablets and Chrome OS is supposedly was formerly intended for netbooks.  Chrome OS seems to be finding its way to laptops, and with the dual core tablets soon to come, netbooks are likely a dead trend.

Netbooks with their screen size and more importantly wide screen ratio, with a full (sort of) keyboard in a folding laptop case never made much sense to me as a package.

Tablets, with a touch screen and more web-friendly screen ratio and an on screen keyboard with optional Bluetooth hardware keyboards, are just much more desirable for couch surfing in my eyes (and the eyes of Steve Jobs).

I personally am very interested in giving Chrome OS another go, as it has been probably a year since I last ran a hacked together version of it.  If the final first release is good enough for the laptop Google is talking about releasing it on I am sure it will be the perfect fit on a tablet for many users.  I really think that a device like that, and well integrated web-apps like Google Docs, Gmail, some photo editing software and that sort of thing could make the perfect couch-surfer for a lot of people.

I also think the tablet, running Chrome OS which relies heavily on Cloud based applications, could get away with a much less power-hungry (and less expensive) processor than competing products, which in turn could create a less expensive alternative to the iPad and Android tablets.

Granted, it wouldn't be running apps locally (on the device itself), so that means you would have to stay connected to wifi or 3G at all times to access a lot of the applications.  That would be a defining factor for a lot of people, who would have to choose between only using it on wifi, or paying a mobile carrier for Internet service.  I am sure enough people would just want it to use on the couch and in their living room - where they will always have wifi - or maybe in a hotel room once in a while when traveling, where they will again always have wifi - or getting coffee, where once again.. they will always have wifi.  I guess thats not such a big deal, after all?

[ericest1986-blog]

Made of paper.. And yet, kind of awesome.

[ericest1986-blog]

I think this would make a nice beach house.

Very cool use of discarded materials!

Retired Shipping Containers Playing House - Cool By Me.

Roof might get noisy in the rain though - never could stand the sound of rain on tin.  Might be thick enough to avoid that issue - anyone know?

[ericest1986-blog]

I noticed this little guy on my Google Chrome web browser home screen this morning.  **I wonder how 'behind the times' I am on noticing this one!**

Really hadn't been keeping up to date with whats going on with web-apps for PC browsers lately beyond Adobe's AIR.  Kind of excited, but honestly not sure if it is just that I have a new button to click or if it will actually prove to be of some use to me.

Perhaps a year or more back, actually back a few years, like 2007 or 2008 I remember reading some nice things about the Google Web-App store.  Around the time when Chrome OS and Android where still only the local chatter, which were all at the time was probably still just an idea (maybe not Android).  Largely it seems to be aimed at net-books, which I still haven't figured out if those are still going to exist if (read as when) tablets become more diverse.

So far it seems a little too cluttered, though I am sure I'll pull something out of it worth while!

I did find a program that lets me open my ancient CAD drawings within Chrome.  Thats kind of cool I guess...  Certainly not something I would have expected, or asked for - but welcome either way.

Another one to let me get the hash code for files I download to check to make sure they were not damaged during the download - kind of important with software and very important with firmware.

On the less unusual or techy side (though not any less nerdy) - I found a few decent apps for tumblr, which might prove to be helpful in keeping me from forgetting about it in all of the excitement that has been going around lately.

The games all look like something found on MySpace or Facebook.  Not impressed there - though I never was by many flash games.  Who knows - maybe it just needs some time?

**Click the image to shoot your way to the Chrome Web-App Store, or as they call it, Web Store.**

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This is HUGE! It will open the doors for so many things!

Port Your Number To Google Voice For $20 http://phandroid.com/?p=38204

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Google Translate's Conversation Mode Now in Experimental Public Testing http://phandroid.com/?p=37565