Steve Jobs out of Touch

Feb 24 2010 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Geek stuff

steve-jobsThe iPad look and sounds cool, but who will buy it. When I talk to friend and co-works I always a are you going to buy and iPad? I asked the same question a few years back about the iphone and always got a resounding yea you bet, as soon as it comes out. No matter how long the lines are or how much it cost.

Well the response, i’am get now, when I ask the question about the iPad is “No I’am not going to buy the iPad for myself”. Then they continue “I will definitely buy it for my parents!”

Parents! Why are you going to buy it for you parents? “Because, it is easy to use and does not have a mouse.”

I though Apple product were always for the generation x and y’ers not the old baby boomer’s of the 50′s.  You know the cool products that the young persone has to have. The fancy packaging, the modern stores, stuff that a baby boomer would never identity with.

So what happened? Is Jobs designing products for a different generation?  Is this a planed marketing change? Or did Apple just miss-read the masses? Or is Steve just getting old like the rest of us Baby Boomer’s?

No responses yet

Google Chrome OS

Nov 19 2009 Published by under Changing scene, Future things, Geek stuff, Google

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In a nutshell the Google Chrome browser is the Google Chrome OS. It is aimed toward a netbook. There will be no disk drive only a RAM or solid state memory. Googles plan is to have the OS ready for Christmas next year.

So the good news is Google OS will load in 7 sec. The bad news all your data will be in the cloud. But is that  good or bad news. If your data is out in the cloud you can access a document from your notebook or your home machine or your office machine. So that is good, right.

Google Chrome OS  introduces a secure platform that stores your user settings in the cloud. If you loose your netbook , just get a new one and log-in to the cloud and you setting will all be there with your files.

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Everything you do in Chrome OS will be in the browser. So all your applications will be web based. Google claims that this is to make computers more accessibly,  less costly to install and maintain.

The example Google gave was you can buy several netbooks for $300 each. Load Google’s Chrome OS and get an adorable house wide solution. And since Google’s Chrome OS  is auto undated you do not have software updates to buy and install on all your home PC. For me that would have saved the purchase of the new windows 7  Family Pack and several hours of installation time and i still have bugs to solve to get everything working.

Looks like something I will be install at home as most of the laptops we use, around the house, are for web browsing and e-mail. So a new netbook with Google’s Chrome OS will be a lot cheaper.

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Better TV with Widgets?

Oct 08 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Corporate America

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To solve the question, that was asked earlier this year “Who Decides What IPTV You Watch?” the industry has responded with the TV Widget. TV widgets allow you, the consumer, to break free from the iron fist of TV manufactures deciding what internet content you watch on your TV.

Several TV manufactures including LG, Samsung, Sony and soon to be Visio have introduced flat panel televisions that have Yahoo Widgets. Yahoo Widgets is a set of software that connects your TV to the internet and presents information kind of like an iPhone. The information comes from the internet but the user experience is not the normal personal computer browser model.

Visio has taken the Yahoo Widgets one step further. Not to be tied to Yahoo and Yahoos release schedule, Visio developed their own widget platform for Visio televisions. Visio developed there own platform using Adobe Flash. So it will be a very open platform. It will also support Yahoo’s Widgets, so you get the best of both worlds.

Visio is planning on releasing a SDK or software developer’s kit, so any one can develop a Widget for the Visio television. You could even develop a custom home automation interface or a interactive Game, the sky it the limit.

No responses yet

Who Decides What IPTV You Watch?

Sep 05 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Corporate America, Dumb Americans, Geek stuff

Are only certain Networks channels displayed on your television set because the television manufacture has done a deal with that network?No, you get all the network channels that are broadcasted in your area.

So then why are Television manufactures making deals with internet video streaming sites and only displaying the ones they get paid too? It would be like Mitsubishi making a deal with NBC and CBS only. And since they do not have a deal with ABC you cannot receive ABC on the Mitsubishi Television. We would all thing that was nuts.

Will that is exactly what is taking place in today’s market. Television manufactures are only allowing streaming services that they cut deals with. No deal, no access through the television.

If the smarts are in a TV to receive, for example, Netflix, then the TV is smart enough to receive others. True the software for streaming is not standardized today BUT it should be. Manufactures should not be controlling what Internet Streaming sites work or do not work on a given television.

5 responses so far

Wave Taking Over the E-mail World

Aug 25 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Future things, Geek stuff, Google

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Is Google Wave what e-mail should be? What category does Google Wave  fit anyway? What is Google Wave exactly? Does it do too much?

It looks to me as Google is pushing for a complete paradigm change in the internet communication sea. At first glance, Google Wave, does E-mail, Instant messaging, pulse Collaboration. But then you start to peel back the layers and there is so much more. You could use Google Wave to Tweet, blog, share photos albums, project documentation, play games and the list keeps going on and on….

So will the world’s tides be shifted by the Google Wave. The first problem is Google Wave requires a forklift replacement of the old way of doing things on the internet today. Namely it replaces IM and E-mail as we know them to day, for the better in my opinion. After all that was the geniuses of the Google Wave project the mission was “What would e-mail be like, if it were created today, not 40 years ago?”

So you might see early adopters start using Google Wave in a Corporate or business setting. Google Wave could increase productive by offering faster communication and better collaboration between staff. Will the corporate world want all that data stored in the Google cloud? Or will they install their own Federation copy of Google Wave?

So will we be using Google Wave in a year or two? Or will the Google Wave project lead to something else that is better and easier to implement? Or will Google Wave be a wash out?

One response so far

Aptera – Car, Spaceship, or Golf Cart

Aug 14 2009 Published by under Cars, Changing scene, Future things

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Well, what is this thing?  The Aptera will go from zero to 60 in under 10 seconds. You will get more than 100 miles-per-charge. The thing is the most aerodynamic looking  vehicle on the road.  It is legal on the freeway but only hasthree wheels.

So I think we can  eliminate the Aptera being and expensive golf cart, as it goes too fast to be a golf cart and is freeway legal.  So what about a spaceship. Aptera sure looks like a spaceship, with the blugey front windshield and the extream aerodynamic styling. But since it has three wheels and is earth bound we can rule out the Aptera being a spaceship.

What the Aptera is a very light, very strong, 100% electric vehicle.

4 responses so far

All Electric car with Net connection

May 02 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Future things

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So will the Tesla Model S be a car of firsts?

- First all electric car with 160 mile range standard.
 - First with option to go 300 miles on a single battery pack.
 - First to offer a five minuet battery pack swap.
 - First 3G network connected car.
 - First with a 17″ information display.
 - First all electric that looks fantastic.
 - First with real world performance 0-60 in 5.6 seconds.
 - First all electric passenger the will go 120 mph

As electric car go, the Telsa Model S goes and goes and goes. More than any other all electrical car that is currently being discussed. With a top range of 300 miles the Tesla S is more than a commuter car. It can be used for trips, and with a 5 minuet battery swap the range is endless. Imagine, if fully charged battery packs were available on the highway at places like gas stations. But instead of filling up with gasoline you swap your spent battery pack for a fully charged battery pack. Then you just keep driving, for anothe 300 miles.

For the negative crowd out there, that argue power plants pollute too, I will be recharging my all electric car, with renewable power, solar and wind. So when I start driving an all electric vehicle it will truly be green. Plus I will not be dependent on the oil companies.

Tesla Model S is a truly network connected car. Reports are the information center will run Google’s Android operating system and the Google Chrome web browser. You will have access to Google maps in real time along with YouTube for entertainment. You will also be able to check the charging status of the, Tesla Model S, on your cell phone.

Now will this car ever get to the masses? I hope so. Tesla Motors plans to build 20,000 a year, in a plant in sothern California. Current estimates are the car will be on the street late 2011 or early 2012. Tesla is still looking to the government for cash and their are several big investors, like the founder of Google. So the future looks bright for the $49,000 Tesla Model S.

15 responses so far

Ford BEV beats out Chev Volt

Apr 11 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Future things

ford_bev1-300x151Here is another all electric vehicles to get excited about, The Ford Focus BEV. More so then the products from Phoenix Motor Company.  Why? Because it will be distributed by a nation wide network of Ford dealerships. Plus the Ford BEV ( battery electric vehicle) is not a extend range or hybrid vehicle. It is a pure plug-in.

The Chevrolet Volt is an extended range vehicle that will only go 40 mile before the on-board diesel charger kicks in. The Ford Focus BEV has a 100 mile range. A hundred mile does not sound like a lot but the majority of Americans drive less then 100 mile round trip to work every day.

Ford is also shelding  itself of the high cost and risk of vehicle development.  Magna International Inc. bought their own Ford Focus and converted it to an all electric vehicle. The conversion was on Magna Internationals dime, then they delivered it to Fords door step. Where as General Motors has been spending millions and years developing the Chev Volt.

Who has the better solution? In my opinion it will be the Ford Fusion BEV. My one wish would be that the cars looked a bit more cutting edge, like the original Volt concept. The Production version always seams to get dumbed down and look like just another car.

One response so far

The truth about Digital Television

Mar 10 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Changing scene, Future things, Geek stuff

analog_tv3Will my Old fashion TV stop working and go black after June 12, 2009?
No and Yes.
No, If you are using a satellite service or Cable. You will see no change in your picture. Yes, If you are using rabbit ears or an outside antenna, your in trouble. Your TV will not display a picture.

I can only receive Digital Television content  on a NEW expensive HDTV device?
Not true.

You can receive the new Digital transmissions on your old fashion analog TV by using a “Converter Box”. The converter box receives a digital signal and converts the signal to analog so your old TV can display it.

So I Need a  “Converter Box”  and I will get  High Definition Television ?
Again No and Yes.

NO, you will not get a High definition 1080 picture on your old fashion TV. YES you will get a picture but, and it is a big but, your picture will be reformation and down graded to fit and display on your old fashion analog TV.

Digital television (DTV) and High Definition Television (HDTV) are the same thing?
False, No way!
Digital Television(DTV) is how the signal is broadcast vs. the old analog. Digital is just a bunch of ones and zeros being broadcasted and analog is a modulated wave signal. High Definition Television (HDTV) is based on a Digital signal, but is a higher resolution picture. Digital television is a picture defined as 480 lines of resolution. High Definition television it 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. So with HDTV you get a picture that is much cleared and finer detail.

So if you are using an old analog television, with an antenna, you must buy a converter box or a new digital television to watch over the air programs after June 12, 2009.

One response so far

Behavior monitored auto insurance plan

Mar 03 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Dumb Americans, Future things

recorder_deviceUnder the umbrella of saving the consumer money, insurance companies are offering a new kind of auto insurance. Kind of a pay for what you use model. You pay for how, how much, when and where you drive. Drive in a high risk part of town in the wee hours of the morning you pay more. If you accelerate quickly and slam on your breaks a lot, you pay more. Drive more then the average person or if you exceed the upper speed limit of 65 MPH and you pay more.

How is it monitored? You plug a small computer, smaller then size of a bar of soap, in to your cars diagnostics port. The computer monitors how you drive. Current monitoring does not include a GPS to monitor where you drive. But is the GPS function that far off. Imagine your insurance company knowing where you are all the time. They would know if you just left a sports bar. So does your insurance rate for the trip home cost you more because you could  have been drinking and the insurance company has more risk, even if you did not drink.

The implications are not that far off. Most companies, with fleet vehicles, already moniter their driver is real time. They know exactly where there vehicles are. The monitoring system will notify the manager when a driver exceeds the top speed limit. The system will also alert the manager when a car or truck leaves the GPF fence area.

So how far will insurance companies take technology to save us money? And how much of our privacy are we willing to give up to save money? Or are we just dumb Americans and follow the trend?

One response so far

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