AI, Mobile, and Eveything Around the Cloud

What's cool about mobile devices is the ability to do a majority of the what we consider to be daily Internet and some computing tasks. And to even more resourceful users, much more can be done. Watching videos, that's another matter. Sure, if you're on Android device, iPhone, or most other devices with Google links, chances are that you have Youtube. Well, we don't have Hulu yet and the iPad just got Netflix. So where does that leave everyone else and everything else? Youtube. The problem with mobile Youtube is that it is difficult to find anything beyond a lot of user-created materials. I had hope to see a lot of TV and animation shows but it has been hard to "search" for them. No longer. I just stop. What I did find the shows on Youtube that I want to watch on my G1 or iPhone, simply copy and paste the URL from YouTube to a mail and send it to yourself. After you received it, click on the links and most videos will play. I haven't had issues with a...

Apple's iAds should worry people in both good and bad ways. Apple is shaking up the mobile market while it is limiting choice. On the other hand, Google is the beast in the ad arena and this is why the FTC is asking around wondering if the $750 million deal for AdMob would go through. Word is that the FTCisnt keen on approving the deal. The question for me is why. The mobile ad market is young and, in dollar amount, insignificant. It will be years of innovation and shakeout before we know how the mobile ad market will look like and whether we are still looking at banner ads or ads that are more interactive like standalone apps. Maybe there's even more creative means to deliver ads. However, I do want to see the Feds keep their nose in things to make sure things are on the level and that no one is leveraging their position to wipe out competition. I want to see iAds flourish and others trying to keep Google host. The mobile market is big enough for multiple platforms. It is ...

Here's an aggregate of today's tweets that I put up called "Flash War". The day started looking quite promising as the media latched onto "reports" from "sources" that the FTC and the Justice Department are negotiating with each other about who should look into whether Apple did anything wrong not wanting substandard apps in the iPhone platform.  I think iAds could also be thrown in. However, there is certainly no indication that an investigation would even be initiated.  After all, Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor and advisors to other administrations, believe the FTC has better things to do than to investigate Apple (okay, the Justice Department is another issue). The tweets: Flash War: Adobe mouthed off to the feds to get them to look at Apple's SDK agreements. Stupid, stupid, stupid... (part 1) Flash War: Adobe should shut up and work hard to make Apple regret it. Go crying to others is just weak (part 2) Flash War: Apple i...

I bought a keyboard dock for the iPad when it came out a month or so ago. Along with the case, it was a very good investment. Yeah, it's how I see all of my Apple related gears. After all, I suppose I could invest that money in Apple stocks rather than Apple goods. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I am currently hacking away on the iPad keyboard now. In terms of footprint, it's much smaller than my Macbook and it's about the same size of the iPad when it's laid on the tabletop in the Apple case. With the keyboard along with the iPad, you've got a very portable mobile platform. However, I do have issues with the keyboard dock. It's not ergonomic to carry it around in a book or messenger bag. The back of the dock protrudes out and creates an unnecessary thickness. It's unfortunate because the portability is unmatched for a tablet with a keyboard. I hope with the next design, Apple will make the dock detachable so the user can store the dock inde...

You know by now I've been okaying with an iPad for a bit now. A month ago. Now, I am playing with an iPad 3G. More precisely, it's my Mom's iPad 3G. It is a mixed bag as far as how I feel about it. First, my iPad is a month older. Not dated by any sense because the iPad is the same as the iPad 3G except the iPad 3G has a cellular antenna in there that provides wireless Internet from AT&T. I have had sporadic access to the iPad because it doesn't quite belong to me. It's my Mom's iPad. She spent some time getting to know it but it was really my job to maker sure the iPad is configured as closely as possible to her iPhone. Let me get to the 3G service first. Configuration was a piece of cake. I did it while i was participating in a live radio show on planetary and rocketry show. It took all of three minutes to get everything up and running. The next thing I did was run the newly minted mobile service though few sites I visit on a regular basis. It was re...

The iPhone is a very good device for artists. The iPad is an even better device for creative work given its significantly larger screen real estate. I've downloaded four different apps to drawing but I wonder if anyone know of an app that allows an artist to duplicate some simple features we find on the Illustrator or similar application. I have LiveSketch, Brushes, Draw, ArtStudio, & Adobe Ideas. In combination, I think I can get pretty much what I need. However, I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination. Not even a long long stretch. I am sure given another six to twelve months, we will mostly certainly see better tools for writers, artists, and developers dealing with artwork.

I finally got the opportunity to get out a bit this weekend with the iPad in tow. What’s my impression of it so far? First, I want to say guilty as charged. I’m an Apple fan. That doesn’t mean I subscribe to the party line, to borrow a political term. I’m not a hardliner. I like the concept of “it just works” that Apple is making their elegant mobile products around. And I want to mention that I’m not hot on Apple TV just yet. Second, I’m a mobile fan. I like Android and what it brings to the market. I don’t hate Google and I’m happy about what it did in China no matter what they reasons are. So, finally the iPad. I counted down the days and hours until morning of April 3rd when I went early to wait in line, got my hand stamped by an Apple employee to indicate that I preordered, and even wowed Apple’s workers who had not seen a working iPad until that morning. Since then, I’ve been busy and I did get to play with the iPad a bit here and there. And on weekends, I have...