Here's the port activity near Hong Kong, Beijing/Shanghai, Singapore, the Gulf, and Long Beach. What's amazing is that these were captured mid afternoon Pacific time on a Sunday. The Asia activity would have been around 5 in the morning, on Monday, or earlier, for them. Europe, maybe around 10 Sunday night I believe. I'm surprised that, of all of these, the activity in Long Beach in the middle of the day was so low. While the rest of the world apparently never sleeps.
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This Mexican mega-grocery store is amazing. Inside is a tortilla factory, and a taco shop, and a bakery, and a fresh cheese shop, and a jeweler! The place goes on and on. The meat section has all the Mexican cuts of meat. Their carne asada tastes exactly like it does at a taco shop. We tried the Salsa Roja, it's good and very hot. I can also vouch for their flan. :) We will be back.
Thanks to the Paynes for turning us on to this place! There seem to be a few in LA also.
After a brief search, this free flight tracker app seemed like a good one. It has an "around me" feature that lets you browse what's overhead. It also shows you the flight plan and the actual route flown. But map redraw seems hosed sometimes - only showing plane silhouettes, no geographic map - so I will keep searching.
I spotted the Crystal Serenity and Carnival Inspiration.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
Analogous to flight tracker websites. Click on ships names for detailed ship information.
http://vuakhobo.us/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=guava&x=27&y=14
Oh Dried Guava, how I love thee: let me count the ways.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/17/twitter-ipa-analysis/
Short but well-written article about Twitters new Innovators Patent Agreement.
" The final element of the definition is incredibly broad and allows for Twitter to interpret almost anything as a defensive use. For example, could Facebook have sued Yahoo for patent infringement before being sued itself and call it a defensive use? If so, I am not sure what would not be a defensive use, short of a pure non-practicing entity asserting a patent or a litigation against a company that has no patents of its own. With such a broad catch-all clause, Twitter may be put into an uncomfortable position with current or former employees when deciding to assert its IP assets."
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http://m.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/tablet-dilemma/
"The real foundation, though, is both companies' success in selling digital media and media digitally: music, movies and apps for Apple, books and magazines (and in an earlier time, CDs and DVDs) for Barnes & Noble. Apple and Barnes & Noble were both able to create devices that were first and foremost stores that you carry around with you.
The store ensures that the customer continues to engage and invest in the device after its sale, and that the engagement and investment continue to profit the company who made the device and administer the store. Size and price are fundamentally secondary to the device's continued retail potential.
HP could not play this game, at any price or in any form factor. But if not HP, who? "
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http://m.ibnlive.com/news/review-worlds-cheapest-tablet-akash/192812-11.html
The $35, yes,$35, 7" tablet from India: "Also, despite its Android operating system, the tablet won't install anything from the Android App Market. That puts thousands of applications out of a student's reach. Plus,the battery hardly lasts three hours " not enough for an average day in college. Unless you bunk most of your classes. "
The above is a collage of timelapse photography taken in various places in Yosemite. I especially like the nighttime sequences with the Milky Way turning overhead and meteors flying by. Amazing! Watch it on the biggest screen you've got.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0406/Studies-fault-Bayer-in-bee-die-off/
"The pesticides most widely used now are among a class of nicotine-based chemicals called neonicotinoids that are designed to become an intrinsic part of the plant. They were developed in large part because they are much less toxic to humans and other mammals than previous pesticides. But in high doses, they are a neurotoxin to insects.
Since their introduction in the 1990s, they have exploded in popularity among farmers and in products for home gardeners. Today, 90 percent of seed corn is coated with the pesticides before planting, and the chemicals are the active ingredient in hundreds of backyard products.
The pesticide is sprayed on plants and, when used as a seed coating, it grows into all parts of the plant, including the pollen and the nectar that bees eat.
When used properly, say both Bayer and the EPA, the toxin levels are not high enough to hurt bees. But many scientists and beekeepers say that, as in all pesticide regulation, the field research is questionable because it's done by the manufacturer. "
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http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-05/the-chinese-try-to-harness-the-nevada-sun
"ENN, based in the northern city of Langfang, is buying 14 square miles of land from Clark County for $4.5 million, less than one-eighth of the $38.6 million assessors told the county the property was worth last year. The company plans to manufacture solar panels on the site and then operate a solar farm generating 700 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 175,000 homes. It says the construction of the complex would put 2,505 people to work. County officials say a statute allows governments to sell property for development at a below-market rate if the project creates jobs."
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Just drove by Solana power plant (350 megawatts) as we exited the Gila Bend area. 1400 acres of solar arrays are indeed impressive.
"The three projects under way near Gila Bend now reveal the variety of solar-power technologies being commercialized in large power plants, and also the harsh working environment for those building them.
West of town, 3 square miles of land are being cleared for Solana. Abengoa Solar of Spain is using a variety of contractors, including Kitchell Corp., Sundt Construction and R.E. Monks Construction Co.
Soon, large, curved mirrors resembling oversize livestock water troughs will begin arriving on the site from a factory in Surprise, with other equipment coming from New Mexico.
So far, only the hardware that will hold the mirrors has been placed in the ground.
That hardware gets so hot in the sun that workers use lights and conduct much of the labor after dark.
Solana's mirrors will concentrate sunlight on tubes filled with oil, and the hot oil will be used to make steam, spinning a turbine and generating electricity much like natural-gas or coal-fired power plants.
Large tanks of salt will store heat after dark, letting the plant generate electricity in the early evening, when it is in highest demand in the Phoenix area. That gives the plant a significant advantage over traditional solar panels that don't make electricity without direct sunlight.
The same intense sunlight that makes Gila Bend ideal for solar-power plants also makes the work building them intense. On a recent day when temperatures approached 110 degrees outside, workers gathered under a shade for a quick break at the Cotton Center Solar Plant on the eastern side of town... "
"Google CEO Eric Schmidt let it slip to an Italian newspaper last December that the company would have a tablet "in six months." Well, the project is pretty much on schedule after all. Device Website The Verge reported April 6 that Google originally planned to launch the tablet next month but decided to push it back because the device was becoming too expensive.
In order for any device to compete with the iPad and Amazon's Kindle Fire, a lower price is going to have to be the main attraction, and Google knows it. Google opted to spend a few more months modifying the tablet to bring the price down, the site reported.
The company's product team is making these design changes now with the goal to drop the price at least $50 below the original retail tag of $249, so it can compete directly with the Kindle Fire (same 7-inch size, $199)."
http://m.voiceofsandiego.org/mobile/toscano/article_32eaa9f2-7872-11e1-a832-001871e3ce6c.html
Prices are starting to fall below the 2009 trough and are clearly still headed down.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=934816&f=20
" Fossils discovered in northeastern China of a giant, previously unrecognized dinosaur show that it is the largest known feathered animal, living or extinct, scientists report.
Although several species of dinosaurs with feathers have already been uncovered in the rich fossil beds of Liaoning Province, the three largely complete 125-million-year-old specimens are by far the largest. The adult was at least 30 feet long and weighed a ton and a half, about 40 times the heft of Beipiaosaurus, the largest previously known feathered dinosaur. The two juveniles were a mere half ton each.
The new species was a distant relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, the mighty predator that lived 60 million years later, at the end of the dinosaur era."
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http://fastfood.ocregister.com/2012/03/30/first-o-c-umami-burger-opens/152394/
Click thru for pictures
" Finally, the news burger fanatics have been waiting for: Umami Burger will open its first Orange County location on Saturday.
The gourmet burger sensation is taking over the old Valhalla Table space at The Camp in Costa Mesa. It opens at noon Saturday, a Los Angeles rep told me today via email.
The critically acclaimed burger eatery is also planning to open restaurants in Anaheim and Laguna Beach."
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http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/04/new-middle-east/
Tried to find the whole Bloomberg article but couldn't. I point you to the eye-catching graph at The Big Picture.
" "Shipments of gasoline, diesel fuel and other products surpassed imports by an average of 439,000 barrels a day in 2011, according to the department. Last year was the first time since 1949 that the U.S. was a net exporter. Crude-oil output exceeded 2 billion barrels for the first time since 2003.
"The U.S. has become the fastest-growing oil and natural-gas producing area of the world," Edward L. Morse, Citigroup's New York-based head of global commodities research, and half a dozen colleagues wrote in the report. Greater output from Canada and a rebound in Mexico point to bigger increases in North American production "than all of OPEC can sustain." "
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Neil Degrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and Director of the Hayden Planetarium, does THREE IAMA's on Reddit: he is my hero. Read and be amazed.
Http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/mateq/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ask_me_anything/
Http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ngd5e/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ask_me_anything/
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/qccer/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ask_me_anything/
The Kobayashi Maru scenario: "there is no correct resolution, it is a test of character."
For some reason this seems to be very applicable to my life right now.
Right up there with AFGO: Another frickin growth opportunity.
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/qt9bl/reddit_if_countries_were_people_who_would_be/
Reddit has some of the most interesting content on the Internet. People post pictures, jokes, questions, and stories. What happens next in the comments is a smorgasbord of puns, memes, trolls, obscenities, more obscenities, links to pictures/videos of God knows what (I warned you not to click), and also some of the funniest, most genuine and intelligent discussions I've ever read.
Top Posts gets thousands of comments. Commenters skew male and teenaged so there are many sex, penis, and masturbation jokes. But as with anything on the Internet, you've got to sift a lot of chaff to find the grain.
I love the IAMA's (I Am A police officer, ask me anything. I am a self made millionaire, ask me anything. I had a near death experience, ask me anything. I am Zach Braff (from Scrubs), ask me anything).
Reddit/earthporn has the most amazing pictures of places around the planet.
Reddit/askreddit once had a guy, newly divorced with a 4 year old daughter, ask how to style kids hair. It got 100's of responses. Easy styles for school days, how often to wash hair, what kind of brush to use, what kind of hairbands to use, good kids shampoo,...
Reddit/firstworldproblems: "red lights don't last long enough to send a txt message" "I have 5000 songs on my ipod but I'm bored with all of them"
Reddit/todayilearned : "today I learned Andrew Zimmern of Food Channel's Bizarre Foods was homeless at one time and battled drug addiction" He went on to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) about it
One post asked "have you ever had an experience that you could not explain." if only half of those replies were true, it would make anyone a believer in paranormal experiences.
I could go on but instead I'll just say that my favorite Reddit app for Android is Reddit News Free. For WebOS, RedIt.
Enjoy your new addiction...
"Batman began visiting Baltimore area hospitals in 2001, sometimes with his now teenage son Brandon playing Robin. Once other hospitals and charities heard about his car and his cape, Batman was put on superhero speed dial for children's causes around the region. He visits sick kids at least couple times a month, sometimes more often. He visits schools, too, to talk about bullying. He does not do birthday parties.
His superhero work is limited to doing good deeds, part of a maturation process in his own life. In his earlier years, he acknowledges that he sometimes displayed an unsuperhero-like temper and got into occasional trouble with the law for fights and other confrontations. Putting on the Batman uniform changes and steadies him.
"Eventually, it sinks in and you become him," Batman told me. "It feels like I have a responsibility that's beyond a normal person. And that responsibility is to be there for the kids, to be strong for them, and to make them smile as much as I can." He understands that might sound corny, but he doesn't care."
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-28/tech/31106641_1_repinning-copyright-entire-image
"She browsed Pinterest's Terms of Use section. In it she found Pinterest's members are solely responsible for what they pin and repin. They must have explicit permission from the owner to post everything.
Says Pinterest 's Terms of Use:
"YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES AND SITE CONTENT REMAINS WITH YOU." "
I seem to have one of those phones where the shutter sound cannot be turned off without rooting. (Samsung Galaxy Note)
I turned off all the sound settings. I even tried SystemMute, and that does not silence the camera.
The "silentcam" apps suck (have low ratings).
None of the highly ranked camera apps can override this (Camera360, Camera Zoom FX, etc).
No, I'm not a rooter.
Sigh.
In the search for a camera app that I can turn the shutter sound off in, and that is quick and has a nice UI, I ran across Camera360 Ultimate. You do have to explicitly save the photo after you take it. The photo effects are fun and are easy to choose from the row at the bottom. Also, check out the "scenes", the ones with the hand holding up a B&W sketch overlay are pretty cool.
But... I still can't turn the shutter sound off. The only way to do it is turn off ALL the system sounds. Which is lame.
http://www.androidauthority.com/top-5-best-android-camera-apps-for-snapping-photos-15979/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Secret-Life-of-Bees.html
" Our brains need a way to avoid stalemates. Like the decaying dances of honeybees, a coalition starts to get weaker if it doesn't get a continual supply of signals from the eyes. As a result, it doesn't get locked early into the wrong choice. Just as honeybees use a quorum, our brain waits until one coalition hits a threshold and then makes a decision."
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http://www.missourilife.com/articles/the-oldest-ice-age-cave
"The 2,000-foot-long Riverbluff Cave has been sealed for at least 55,000 years, giving researchers an opportunity to study this prehistoric cave. Some of the discoveries include:
turtle shells of extinct species
a 660,000-year-old wooly or meridian or new species of mammoth
a juvenile mammoth
a giant 3-foot-long armadillo
a 350-pound ice-age pig
a 700-pound American lion
2-foot-long claw marks from a short-faced bear (the largest bear that ever lived, standing six feet tall on all fours, and stretching 10 feet in length)
25 beds where the bears hibernated
No human habitation of the cave has been found. The cave was sealed at least 55,000 years ago, maybe longer, and there is no evidence of humans in the area until 15,000 years ago."
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' Bank of America dropped a $5 monthly fee for debit card use not too long ago after its customers rallied together to protest the plan, which subsequently was dropped.
The checking account fee plan is reportedly being tested in a few states now, under the name "Essentials" account. It charges customers $6 to $9 a month. Other options could charge $12, $15 and even $25, unless customers maintain minimum balances, use a credit card or take a mortgage out with BofA.
"It looks like Bank of America is up to its old tricks," said Norma Garcia, manager of Consumers Union's financial services team.'
http://consumerist.com/2012/03/reminder-turn-off-your-google-web-history-today.html
" Starting today, Google's new unified privacy policy kicks in, meaning that your web browsing history can be tracked and shared been other Google products like Google+ and YouTube. So if that strikes you as a bit invasive, there's an easy way to turn it off.
Just make sure you're logged into Google and go to https://www.google.com/history. Select "Remove All Web History." This will stop the site from tracking your web history until, and only if, you opt back in.
You should also go to YouTube, which appears to have TWO separate History settings. First, go to http://www.youtube.com/my_history and both clear your history and pause it. Then click on the "Search History" tab from the left column and repeat."
"But fact is, this is Sony's fourth straight year of significant losses.
So... Sony is switching its persona from successful manufacturing company to one that sells user-experience. Where have we heard that one before?"
http://m.wired.com/epicenter/2012/02/facebook-mobile/
"Although the substantial majority of our mobile users also access and engage with Facebook on personal computers where we display advertising, our users could decide to increasingly access our products primarily through mobile devices. We do not currently directly generate any meaningful revenue from the use of Facebook mobile products, and our ability to do so successfully is unproven. Accordingly, if users continue to increasingly access Facebook mobile products as a substitute for access through personal computers, and if we are unable to successfully implement monetization strategies for our mobile users, our revenue and financial results may be negatively affected. — "Risks Related to Our Business and Industry," Facebook, Inc.'s S-1 Registration Statement"
Thanks to Andy Kass and his blog at http://great-hikes.com/blog for the fantastic reading about Kauai including the Degrees Convergence Project.
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http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=16984
"Even without the Aerial Disqualification clause (FAQ #1.7), this trip counts only as an attempted visit. At 19 nmi from Lîhu`e airport, the positioning error of the VOR/DME navigation system is potentially 2500 m. This does not meet the Project's positioning error requirement of 100 m (FAQ #3.2). The scene to be photographed was mostly of white clouds and light blue ocean (Kaua`i was not visible during our attempt due to the weather). To maintain contrast on our instrument panel, the outside scene was washed out. In addition, the resolution of the panel from our disposable film camera was not sufficient for reading the indications of the instruments. The various indications shown at the bottom of the"Confluence Navigation" picture were documented at the time the pictures were taken and are artificial illustrations of the actual displays shown in the four instrument panel images. Since the pictures from the confluence do not show the island of Kaua`i, comparing them with future visits will only provide information about the changes in weather near the confluence. A clear day with visibility greater than 25 miles is needed if future visits are to photograph the island. Another interesting fact is that the ocean depth at the confluence is approximately 1600 fathoms (9600 ft)."
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http://www.confluence.org/index.php
"The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, and stories about the visits, will then be posted here.
The project is an organized sampling of the world. There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you're on the surface of Earth. We've discounted confluences in the oceans and some near the poles, but there are still 10,223 to be found.
You're invited to help by photographing any one of these places."
Here are some pictures of the confluence near Niihau and Lehua islands (near Kauai). We could see both of these islands on Tuesday from the Waimea Canyon overlooks. The shot at the summit of Lehua is really intriguing.
http://www.confluence.org/photo.php?visitid=11367&pic=ALL
Here is the confluence closest to where we live. (Appears all the California ones are already charted.) Check the notes for the disgruntled homeowner nearby who tries to dissuade the endless stream of geocachers by telling them the confluence "doesn't exist anymore."
I love Chanel Nail Color. It's super glossy and wears forever. And they have the hottest shades. In this case, I wanted a color to match my car.
My million dollar business idea is to partner with car companies to bring out nail polish colors to exactly match car colors. I can't think of a car color that isn't acceptable as a nail polish shade today. But you wouldn't want to use car touchup paint - those chemicals are not designed to be near your skin.
http://m.mnn.com/food/beverages/stories/study-abstaining-from-alcohol-significantly-shortens-life
"...mortality rates were highest for those who had never had a sip, lower for heavy drinkers, and lowest for moderate drinkers who enjoyed one to three drinks per day.
Despite the increased risks for cirrhosis and several types of cancer, not to mention dependency, accidents and poor judgment associated with heavy drinking, those who imbibe are less likely to die than people who stay dry."
" If Lake Vostok had been composed of vodka the Russian scientists would have drilled through that two miles of solid ice like a hot knife through butter.
Frankie Wheels, Las Vegas Feb 09, 2012 1:30 AM"
" Two miles under the Antarctic Ice, a mysteriouslake has been sealed off for over 10 million years. Until now. Nowa teamof scientists has unlocked an amazing discovery. And an ancient evil.
20th Century Fox presents: FROZEN BLOOD
Dave, NY Feb 08, 2012 6:34 PM"
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/opinion/ice-fishing-in-the-deepest-depths.xml
"The Russian mission in Antarctica has had for years an astonishing goal: to explore the remotest ecosystem on earth, lying directly beneath the most extreme climate on earth. The ecosystem is Lake Vostok, an enormous freshwater lake more than two miles beneath the ice-covered surface of the Antarctica landmass. The water remains liquid because it is trapped between the enormous, insulating pressure of the ice sheet above it and the geothermal energy below it.
After years of drilling, Russian scientists reached the lake surface last Sunday, just in time to close up shop and fly home before the weather worsens as the Antarctic winter approaches. This is, by any measure, an extraordinary engineering feat and a major scientific accomplishment. When drilling season comes again, scientists will be probing subglacial lakes all across Antarctica. The Russian team will begin sampling water from Lake Vostok, and American and British teams will begin their own drilling work elsewhere.
What makes Vostok the prize is that it is both the largest of Antarctica's lakes and astonishingly ancient. It has been sealed off from the outer world for some 15 million to 34 million years. Scientists hope that it will contain undiscovered life-forms that tell us more about our planet's past - and give a hint of what life might exist in lakes beneath the icy surface of other planets. When the Antarctic summer comes again, we will see what the scientists, like patient ice fishermen, manage to catch."
By the way, I love the app Stumbleupon. You sign up, indicate what topics interest you (japan? Beauty? Quilting?), and then you click thru the most amazing series of websites that you did not even know existed.
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/the-101-signs-you-have-been-in-Japan-too-long
"Most of your vacation plans revolve around taking hot baths.
55. You don't mind when every channel on television is talking about food.
56. You get the urge to yell sumimasen at restaurants in your home country.
57. You started to think that noodles are an ok filling for a sandwich.
59. You bought a little plastic chair for your shower. "
"In December, however, seven months after the blast that killed Mr. Lai, another iPad factory exploded, this one in Shanghai. Once again, aluminum dust was the cause, according to interviews and Apple's most recent supplier responsibility report. That blast injured 59 workers, with 23 hospitalized.
"It is gross negligence, after an explosion occurs, not to realize that every factory should be inspected," said Nicholas Ashford, the occupational safety expert, who is now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "If it were terribly difficult to deal with aluminum dust, I would understand. But do you know how easy dust is to control? It's called ventilation. We solved this problem over a century ago." "
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These photo apps are not very stable. It's rebooted my phone twice.
Wonderful warm weather today in the low 70's. Pretty nice for January, huh?
This was a very challenging shot, basically backlit. The afternoon sun is very bright and coming from left of center. The audience is in the shade and not illuminated. The typical result would be either underexposed audience, or overexposed sky, in short a worthless shot. Pro HDR Camera did a great job of evening out out exposure.
I was hoping this was an aftermarket treatment to waterproof phones, because I've lost 3 phone to the tub or toilet. But this was a waterproofing process for circuit boards after the chips are mounted. I'm doubtful whether this is really helpful. I'm guessing the worst damage is corrosion inside the miniature connector jacks which can't be reached by coatings which would compromise electrical conductivity anyways.
The ability to waterproof a phone would be very valuable, but I don't know of a solution. I don't mean a screen protector, i mean seal the battery compartment and all the seams while leaving all the ports and battery contacts untouched.
This funny little robot sort of blew my mind. It has an internal gyroscope that keeps it upright balanced on 2 wheels! The control feedback was very smooth, no back and forth oscillation was visible that kept it upright.
Maybe I have read too much science fiction, but I could see a groups of these driving around on the street, each as large as a small person, waiting at stoplights, carrying out their programmed delivery schedules, not getting mad or flipping people off when getting in accidents, just righting themselves and carrying on, following Asimov's 3 rules of robotics...
The future is today!
From http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics:
"Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws."
Automotive is one of the next frontiers for electronics integration.
Nvidia showed off an LED panel dashboard and Humongous! 17" touchscreen control panel in a Tesla motorcar.
More details here at Nvidia 's site:
http://pressroom.nvidia.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=A0D622CE9F579F09&version=live&prid=703505&releasejsp=release_157&xhtml=true
Audi demonstrated a gesture-based system for the car. 2 sensors at the base of the windshield detected left, right, up, down swipes to change the "channel" on one of the 3 headsup displays. The display for the passenger was recessed so that the driver couldn't see it. My arms (and those of many other women or short people) can't comfortably reach the dashboard area. I'm sure this is just a concept but I hope they'll take into account the ergonomics of more than just tall German males.
Ford also showed some new concepts but I didn't see them.
http://androidcommunity.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus-vs-white-galaxy-note-hands-on-video-20111027/
For me, the most exciting device of CES was the Samsung Galaxy Note.
This 5.3" bad boy was specifically designed to be a portable notebook. It has a built-in Wacom digitizer just like the Wacom tablets. The stylus action is smooth, precise, and high resolution, which blows away any capacitive display/stylus combo. In fact I read that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 's display simply does not work with capacitive styluses at all (it should but does not). One of the attached images is from the Galaxy Note. It shows how small you can write on the screen. Enlarge that picture to 5.3" diagonal to see the actual size. Amazing.
At the show in the main foyer Samsung had artists using the Note to do portrait sketches. Then they'd print the sketches on a tshirt for you. There was a long line to get your portrait done. Boy, Samsung sure knows how to market their stuff.
The one downside of this device is that there is no backend integration to Evernote or Dropbox or OneNote or the Cloud. You can only email your notes to yourself. In 2012, this is lame. I suppose the excuse is "a future app would be able to do this. " It would be perfect for the Note to sync notes to a folder in OneNote. Then at least I can cut and paste. Microsoft One Note can already handle mingled sketches and text.
Also, the handwriting recognition sucked. My HP touchscreen laptop runs rings around it. But, I don't know that I need realtime HR as long as the text is searchable.
The comparison: Galaxy Nexus Prime vs Galaxy Note
- 2x 1.2 Ghz vs 2x 1.4 GHz
- Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich vs 2.3 Gingerbread (the Note will be upgraded to ICS)
- 4.65" vs 5.3" display + Wacom digitizer + stylus
- both have Super AmoLED display at 1280 800 resolution
- both have 1000MB RAM and 32GB user storage
And most importantly:
- 5MP vs 8MP rear camera
- no uSD vs uSD
- 1850mAhr vs 2500mAhr battery
It's beautiful in white. Unfortunately, it's about $700 for an unlocked device, until it's released in the US.
http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/13/san-diego-firms-make-splash-ces/
VIASAT, Tagg, Mirasol...
Mirasol is a new color e-ink technology that produces limited color gamut but has fast refresh rate (for videos). Additionally uses very little power. The first applications are for Chinese e-readers.
You are looking at 3 TVs here, one edge-on. Rumor has it $20k for the set and yes it will be on the market in the fall.
Well, OK, I see Jodie's timeline. I think her claims of harassment seem genuine and there was no meaningful delay before she lodged a complaint. I think she just wanted an apology, and her lawyer wanted a bunch of money. From all of her comments to the press, and she seemed like a somewhat naive person. I think she genuinely didn't mean for him to lose his job. She probably wouldn't have done it if she knew what was going to happen. I feel sorry for her because I've seen ladies at work in high tech fight this kind of battle. What they are usually looking for is vindication, someone to say she is right and he is wrong. Unfortunately, the workplace outcome is not at all like that of a courtroom. HR will indeed render a verdict, but it won't be made public. And her manager and peers may not agree with her either (or be willing to take sides) about who was in the right. I've even seen jokes cracked at retirement gatherings *at work* about how frequently the guy had been called down to personnel, as if it were all just a big joke.
Then the two colleagues will be left to pick up the pieces. Sometimes the "perp" just dials down his behavior to avoid triggering future calls to HR. Sometimes - not always - one of the people leaves the company. Usually the woman, but not always. It's not satisfying. And always awkward.
So I feel sorry for Jodie. But at least she got some cash out of it.
Hurd? He got what he deserved. The reported behavior aligns perfectly with his public persona - arrogant condescending and entitled.
Then again she could just a fame whore, but if that was the case, she'd have her own reality show by now.
http://m.bgr.com/2012/01/06/web-traffic-patterns-suggest-apples-ipad-was-a-dud-this-holiday-season/
"Advertising network Chitika saw traffic across its network from the Kindle Fire grow roughly 20% each day leading up to Christmas, and traffic then exploded by more than 120% between December 24th and 25th. Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook saw the second biggest spike on Christmas Day, up just over 50% thanks to deep discounts during the holiday shopping season, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab line of tablets saw traffic jump about 15% on the 25th. Traffic from Apple's iPad didn't increase at all on Christmas Day, suggesting that rival tablets may have had an even bigger impact on holiday iPad sales than previously predicted.
"Though the iPad's lead over the other tablets is strong, it was not the tablet with the most impressive spike in traffic after the wrapping paper had all come off Christmas morning," Chitika's Haze Jayachandran wrote in a post on the company's blog. "The PlayBook's 50% jump in traffic Christmas day might just be the thing to help with RIM's recent struggles. The real victor in the season's tablet wars, though, has to be the Kindle Fire and its 122% traffic spike from the 24th to the 25th. If more than doubling your usage overnight doesn't say Christmas Spirit, we don't know what does." "
http://m.bgr.com/2012/01/03/kindle-fire-cost-apple-1-billion-or-more-in-holiday-ipad-sales/
" Amazon's new Kindle Fire was a hot item during the holiday shopping season, and one analyst believes the new Amazon tablet may have cost Apple well over $1 billion in holiday iPad sales. Morgan Keegan analyst Travis McCourt on Tuesday lowered his December-quarter iPad sales estimate from 16 million units to 13 million. Hot sales of the Kindle Fire ahead of the holidays are responsible for trimming sales of Apple's iPad by between 1 million and 2 million units, the analyst believes, making Amazon's new slate the main reason for McCourt's slashed forecast. Read on for more.
On the low end of McCourt's estimate, the Kindle Fire cost Apple at least $500 million considering the iPad 2′s $500 entry-level price point. If the Kindle Fire was indeed responsible for cutting iPad sales by 2 million units, Amazon tablet sales cost Apple a minimum of $1 billion. Considering the range of available iPad 2 models that sell for between $500 and $830 each, however, that figure would likely be significantly higher.
Amazon announced last week that it sold more than 4 million Kindles during the holiday shopping season, noting that the Kindle Fire was its most popular device. McCourt believes total Kindle Fire sales for the 2011 holiday shopping season were between 4 and 4.5 million"
http://www.briggsfreeman.com/search/property-details.asp?pn=13868
I just love me some high end real estate. Check out the 2 story wine cellar, separated from the dining room by a wall of glass. It's sheer poetry, i tell you.
And yes, that is the closet, so large it needs 2 flights of stairs and spectator seating.
And every carport needs a piece of art, don't you think?
The listing agent herself is at a loss for words; no single word can encompass its magnificence, she must use three; she describes the house as "perhaps... Italian or modern or Southwestern... "
Found via secondshelters.com
http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111228/COMMENTARY/111229973/
"Consumers are finding devices that easily play internet movies through TV sets. Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers."
This is the best deal I've seen yet on the 10" Galaxy Tab. This Costco only had 3 of them left!
http://www.dailytech.com/HP+Slashes+webOS+Staff+Moves+Mobile+OS+Closer+to+the+Grave/article22783.htm
I always read article comments, some of them are gems. Check out the one below. Thanks buckwally.
" Leo Apotheker and the Kobayashi Maru Test By buckwally on 9/20/2011 1:00:45 PM , Rating: 2
The Kobayashi Maru is a famous test in the fictional universe of Star Trek. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. The mission is to rescue the civilian vessel Kobayashi Maru, a disabled ship, on the wrong side of the Klingon Neutral Zone. The approaching cadet crew must decide whether or not to attempt rescue of the Kobayashi Maru crew –endangering their own ship and lives, and possibly starting a war – or leave the Kobayashi Maru to certain destruction. "there is no correct resolution, it is a test of character."
Stardate: Last October. Cadet Leo Apotheker, former exec from the lawsuit riddled SAP takes over the Starship HP, which has spent $2B on a phone and tablet bid to take on Apple with the avowed goal of becoming #2 in the i-market. You do a big show to launch the Touchpad and Pre, but fail to take the market in 2 months. The Klingons (Apple) have fallen in behind the Romulans (Droid) and have you surrounded, cut off, and are ready to eat your customers. His response? Separate the Saucer section (HP's PC Group), ram it into the Kobayashi Maru (the webOS/Touchpad), and run for the border with the main body of the ship. Oh yeah, and blow $10B (x4-16 its value) on Autonomy in a bid to become #2 behind SAP, as a smokescreen.
Character test: FAIL. and we the customer will not soon forget it. "
I have one more question. OK, two. How can the HP board have found that the below was NOT sexual Harassment? And talking about the EDS purchase was OK too? In other words, everything Hurd did was okie dokie except for falsifying expense reports ?
""She continually had to put you off,make excuses,scurry away or simply leave," the letter read. "Oftentimes,you would be irritated and angry and on a few occasions,you were so angry when she put you off,she expected to get fired."
Yet Hurd would always engage her again,the letter recounted. But,by 2009,the letter said,it was clear his patience was wearing thin.
He tried another tack,offering her money,asking if there was anything she needed. Hurd confessed that he felt he could spend the rest of his life with her,but would have to see "how the chemistry in bed was."
She told him,the letter said,that she wasn't interested in dating a married man. At this point in the letter,a lengthy passage was redacted. Sources familiar with the matter said the sections deal with the state of Hurd's marriage at that time.
Hurd,the letter read,persisted,offering Fisher more HP events and a $100,000 a year job. "With [Hurd's] obvious growing irritation with her put-offs,these opportunities never came to pass," the letter said.
Finally,at an October 2009 meeting in Boise,Hurd allegedly grabbed Fisher and kissed her. Fisher said she wasn't feeling well and wriggled free.
"You were angry," the letter said about Hurd. "It was becoming clear. She knew that if she did not have sex with you soon,her job was over,which is exactly what occurred. All your advances were unwelcome,awkward, and were never reciprocated in any way.""
Does nobody get it? It doesn't matter whether they consummated the relationship. Stating (implying) that continued employment is contingent on having sex with you is illegal. Sexual Harassment 101. Every HP employee has to take that online course.
" (after the settlement Ms. Fisher also stated that she and Mr. Hurd never had sexual relations)"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/29/bloomberg_articlesLWZUY00YHQ0X.DTL
Girlfriends in every city! Sheryl Crow at his beck and call! A Million bucks in the bank! I don't know, is this a more sophisticated approach than a picture of him in his underwear? Or dirty talk about a cigar? Does this kind of cretinous behavior really get these guys women? Or do they get the girl due to their position power, despite their poor behavior?
Tawdry and embarrassing... But it doesn't quite add up. According to earlier statements from Hurd, the two frequently met for dinner by themselves - one of the reasons he was fired was for lying about there being multiple dinner guests when it was just the two of them. I find it very hard to believe that a woman as brazenly pursued as she says she was, would have allowed this very uncomfortable environment to go on for several years. And let this lecherous old coot into her hotel room? More than once? She cannot possibly be that stupid, unless this was entrapment. And, why wait so long to press charges? This happened in 07/08. But she presses charges in 2010? As if she wasn't sure whether his behavior was unacceptable and/or illegal, and needed time to sort it out?
And she even says Allred's letter was full of inaccuracies? What was this all about then? Was she just golddigging, hoping some embarrassing details would force him to handover a few mil rather than see this go public? She has said before that she didn't intend to get him fired. Perhaps Allred talked her into a little blackmail action, to set her up for retirement. Perhaps she didn't count on him turning the letter over to HP Legal. Perhaps HE thought HP Legal would just quietly take care of this little blackmail attempt. Perhaps he didn't realize how many enemies he had inside HP that were just waiting for an excuse to take him down...
"According to Allred's letter,Hurd,who is married with two daughters,made sexual advances toward Fisher during dinners and other meetings. During an October 2007 visit to her hotel room at the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta,Hurd twice touched Fisher's breast and asked her to stay in his room for the night,the letter said. Two months later in a hotel room in St. Louis,he embraced her and quickly kissed her on the lips.
At another meeting,Hurd told Fisher he had girlfriends in New York and San Francisco, according to the letter. He also told her that many women were "crazy about" him,including singer Sheryl Crow,the document said. Jay Cooper,a lawyer at Greenberg Traurig LLP who represents Crow,said he'd never heard her name in connection with Hurd.
During a meeting in Madrid in March 2008,Hurd walked Fisher to an ATM and showed her his checking account balance of more than $1 million to impress her,the document said."
Apple may launch 'iPad mini' in Q3
BGR: THE THREE BIGGEST LETTERS IN TECH | DECEMBER 16, 2011
http://pulse.me/s/44zFq
Apple is reportedly working on a smaller version of its popular iPad tablet that will launch in the third quarter next year. Citing sources in Apple's parts supply chain, DigiTimes on Friday claimed that a new iPad with a 7.85-inch display will enter production at the end of the second quarter. LG Display and AU Optronics will supply the panels, according to the site's report. DigiTimes suggests that Apple, which previously stated that a 7-inch display was too small for a tablet, will build the smaller slate to "cope with increasing market competition including the 7-inch Kindle Fire from Amazon and the launch of large-size smartphones from handset vendors."
This makes it sound like the Nook Tablet is superior to the Fire. Just got one for Nana last night!
" Hardware compromises: There is nothing we love about the Kindle Fire's design. The screen isn't quite as pretty as the Nook Tablet, there are no hardware controls for volume, the power button is awkwardly placed, and the whole thing looks like a chunky version of 2010's Samsung Galaxy Tab. Under the hood, you have half the RAM of the Nook Tablet,half the storage, no integrated microphone, and no memory expansion.
That said, at $199, we're just happy to see that the Kindle Fire doesn't fall apart in your hand. The $50 savings over the Nook Tablet may be worth it for some.
Needs persistent Web access: The cloud is great--if you've always got access to it. When you're out of range, you can still enjoy your locally stored content, but many of the Kindle Fire's best features are unavailable without a connection to the Internet."
Bhttp://m.gawker.com/5859949/jon-stewart-goes-off-on-jerry-sandusky
If there was any doubt in my mind about Jerry Sandusky, this eliminated it. Also, check out the comments.
"In an unbearable phone interview with Bob Costas on last night's Rock Center, accused Penn State child rapist Jerry Sandusky kinda-sorta denied being sexually attracted to young boys. On tonight's Daily Show, an indignant Jon Stewart unloaded on Sandusky: "You can't even bring yourself to lie emphatically!""
And
" 'Mary Amendola (the woman who bore Sandusky's lawyer's child at age 16) is apparently unconvinced. When Costas asked the lawyer if he would leave his children alone with Sandusky, Amendola said "yes, without hesitation."
"OMG," Mary Amendola wrote on her Facebook page, "did Joe just say that he would allow my kids to be alone with Jerry Sandusky?"'"
http://m.gizmodo.com/5861031/ever-wonder-where-that-plane-flying-over-your-head-is-going
I havent been able to get Wolfram Alpha to tell me anything useful yet, but this looks interesting :
" It's an awesome—and supremely nerdy—new feature that the computational search engine Wolfram Alpha has cooked up: it will poll your geoIP location and tell you what planes are overhead. And that the mobile apps take advantage of the feature actually makes it somewhat usable IRL.
If you run a search for "planes overhead," it will return a list of any and all planes your eyeballs can spot, the flight number, where they're positioned in the sky and how many miles up they are. In the browser version, the flight version is hyperlinked, showing you its flight path. Sadly, in the mobile version, you have to manually search the flight number. And it may take some of the fun out of your whimsical ruminations, but whatever. Knowledge is power."
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/18/tech/gaming-gadgets/kindle-fire-review/index.html
Based on the above review and others that ive read, the Fire is a great choice if reading is your primary interest.
Great for
- Kindle ebooks
- reading content of all kinds (magazines, news, blogs, websites) - anything accessible thru a web browser
- email, Facebook
- music (thru Amazon music service)
- movies (another Amazon service)
These Android services make the Fire superior to the Nook.
But, the downsides are (and the Nook shares these)
- small battery
- poky performance
- fewer apps
- no cut/paste (i use this extensively while blogging, also cut/pasting UPS shipping numbers from emails to UPS websites)
- no gps for google maps
- no accelerometer, gyro for fancy games
- no cameras
- no mic (no skype)
- no 3G service; Wifi only
" But the Kindle's battery loses a charger much faster than the iPad. I was able to surf the Web and play videos for several hours, but I found myself frequently searching for a charger after that.
That Amazon skimped on some of the components becomes evident when swiping through menus, switching the screen's orientation or playing games, which can all be jerky at times. The split-second delays are even present when turning pages on a Kindle e-book, which should be the pride of an Amazon device. The lack of a microphone means no Skype or other Internet telephony programs."
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/06/foxconn-chairman-signs-letter-of-intent-for-intelligent-robot-k/
Not only will Foxconn employ robots, they will build them. Video below is an introduction to the ABB robot.
http://www.abb.com/cawp/abbzh254/fcfbdad9a72cfe08c1257862006bcfbf.aspx
"Isaacson's book 'Steve Jobs' reveals that Jobs views Android as a 'stolen product' that amounted to 'grand theft.' Jobs engaged in a shouting match with Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 2008 over Google's release and push behind Android.
In the book, Jobs revealed, "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this." "
http://gigaom.com/mobile/amazon-barnes-noble-tablet-strategy/
"Even from a strict hardware perspective, Barnes & Noble has out-maneuvered the traditional computer makers when it comes to tablets. If the leaked Nook Tablet specs are accurate, the $249 device has a dual-core processor, 16 GB of memory with an SD card expansion port, a 7-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution and an expected battery life of 8 hours. Compared to Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, now available on Amazon for $399, it's nearly a mirror image of specifications, yet costs $150 less.
Another lesson learned for the traditional hardware makers: You can sell your hardware at cost, or a loss, if you can sell content to make up the difference."
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sgx/display_special_product_versions.php?sid=SGX&pil=AFD
"WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES. ON THIS DATE LAST YEAR...SAN DIEGO BROKE THE ALL TIME HIGH TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR NOVEMBER WITH A TEMPERATURE OF 100 DEGREES...THE ONLY TIME 100 HAS BEEN REACHED DURING ANY NOVEMBER. TODAY SAN DIEGO IS FLIRTING WITH THE LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR THIS Date. "
http://m.yahoo.com/w/news_america/11-most-startling-revelations-steve-jobs-185102154.html
"He Was Attracted to Brilliant Women and Drove Them Crazy
In the mid 80's, around the time he was ousted from Apple, he met a computer consultant named Tina Redse and later described her as "the first woman I truly loved."
They lived together for years, through swings of intense passion and severe emotional detachment. After one epic fight, she scrawled the words "neglect is a form of abuse" on the wall of their apartment. After rejecting his marriage proposal in 1989, Redse told Isaacson that she eventually decided he suffered from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. "Expecting him to be nicer or less self-centered was like expecting a blind man to see," she said.
He met Laurene Powell during a lecture at Stanford, and on a whim, blew off a dinner with a team from Apple, took her out for vegan food and they were together--in one way or another--ever since. After proposing to her on the first day of 1990, Jobs didn't mention it again for months. Even after she'd gotten pregnant with their son, Reed, Jobs remained so detached that Powell moved out. He tried to reunite with Redse and asked a number of friends who was prettier, Tina or Laurene? Who should he marry?"
Seen at Disneyland. A 10" tablet is not a digital camera. It is too big and ungainly and much more likely to be dropped. I don't know who to slap first, the consumer or the manufacturer. I guess it is smaller than a VHS recorder...
We saw someone else in line today with an iPad... Playing solitaire. Because Disneyland is just a little too much like a sensory deprivation chamber, i guess. Dada just reminded me that that guy was only in line for ice cream!
Amazing video, but I think he got a little too close to the whale.
"Founded in 2009,Waze offers free apps for the iPhone,Android,Windows Phone 7,BlackBerry and other mobile platforms,that include turn-by-turn navigation for drivers,and at the same time,uses that user data to build out its own maps. If there are issues on the road,such as major traffic jams,all of that information comes in through the apps and can be sent to other drivers.
The apps rely on crowdsourced data,from driver-created maps,to citizen traffic reports, to community-curated points of interest. On average,Waze users are reporting a traffic jam every 4.2 second,and an accident every 44 seconds. With millions of users,that's a massive amount of data."
News junkies will like this Android App. Fast to load, and covers many local papers.
" The firm poured cold water on the prime challengers, saying Android tablets are selling slower than expected because of their shortcomings and Windows 8 tablets are too late to win over consumers.
Global tablet sales are on fire. Gartner predicted 63.6 million tablets will be sold this year, up 261 percent from the 17.6 million sold last year.
Apple's share of the Web tablet market will fall about 10 percent this year, to 73 percent, but it will continue to hold more than 50 percent of the market share until 2014, the firm said."
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/steve-jobs-in-four-easy-steps/
"Jobs denied what is perhaps the most closely held article of faith of the information age: that openness and the wisdom of crowds are essential for successful technological systems. Under his leadership, Apple produced "closed" systems—devices whose basic functions could not be altered—and consumers loved them. "It's not the consumer's job to know what they want," Jobs once famously said."
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/06/comscore-android-extends-lead-over-apple-holds-44-percent-of-s
"Android remains in firm control of the smartphone platform market,commanding 43.7 percent,followed by Apple (27.3 percent) and RIM (19.7 percent). In fact, Google extended its share by nearly two points over last month's figures,while Apple's iOS grew by just 0.3 points,but further distanced itself from RIM,which now sits 7.6 points behind."
Near Tragedy on Roller Coaster.. :)
http://i.imgur.com/mfwII.jpg
Shared using #RageReader for Android http://bit.ly/rreader
http://www.slashgear.com/kindle-fire-tablet-sales-hit-250000-over-five-days-04185487/
"According to some leaked sales data, the total number of Amazon Kindle Fire tablets sold since being launched 5 days ago is hovering just over 250,000 units. Sales may have slowed down a bit since it was last estimated to have reached almost 100,000 units on its very first day, but it's nonetheless impressive, considering how other tablet rivals have fared.
The Kindle Fire may not have turned out to be the ulimate iPad-killer given the great disparity in specs and price point, but analysts still consider it to be a lot more competitive than expected. In comparison, Apple's iPad 2 sold 2.5 million units in its first month, which is about 80,000 units a day. Amazon's Kindle Fire is looking at about 50,000 units a day right now and that's not too shabby, especially when you consider that the Motorola XOOM is rumored to have sold only 100,000 units after a month and a half, while the BlackBerry PlayBook, which the Kindle Fire is modeled after, only sold 500,000 units total in its first quarter. But again, pricing is surely a huge factor and Amazon's known to be aggressive with that. The $199 price tag for the Kindle Fire is believed to be about $10 below the actual cost of each unit.
Sales of Amazon's Kindle Touch e-reader, however, have not been as impressive. According to the same source that leaked the sales data for the Kindle Fire, the WiFi and 3G e-reader has only sold 32,000 units in the five days since it launched."
