Tablet PCs - And the Winner IS... Apple (For Now)

There was a pretty interesting article in DigiTimes that said that most of the major hardware manufacturers were going to throw in the towel in terms of the tablet PC market, and instead focus on "ultrabooks" (not "netbooks" like they did 2 years ago).

Hmmmm....

If you don't know what an "ultrabook" is here's a video that explains it. Basically, think of the MacBook Air. It's a thin notebook PC that lacks an optical drive, has an "instant on", and will periodically "poll" the network for RSS updates, etc.

I guess hitting the "refresh" button on your web page was a little too cumbersome for some folks.

Oh yeah, and it has a physical keyboard.

YAWN.

"Ultrabook"? Really?

It's more like: "Hey we know how to build notebooks, but since we can't compete in the tablet market because our operating systems are too bloated with crap - let's just invent a new 'category' of devices because that's something we can control."

It's so funny to me that rather than try to make their mobile operating systems (Android and Mobile Windows 7 or 8) - work well and quickly on the more modest hardware of the tablet - they are just giving up and going back to the old status quo.

Oh sure, it has some brushed aluminum, and it's thinner and lighter than a "traditional" laptop or notebook - it's essentially the same thing.

And it's already be "done" - again, by Apple.

I know that Amazon's Kindle Fire is selling like gangbusters - but have you checked out their own product review page? People are saying - "it's cool - for what it is."

Meh.

People were really looking for a fast, elegant, responsive - and less expensive iPad. They thought - "Hey, it runs Android, has a browser... will be a perfect gift as a tablet PC for my loved one."

It turns out that most people who bought one (disclosure: I did not!) see it as a disappointing "knock off" that's slow, unresponsive and basically unusable as anything other than a nice eReader.

They were expecting a device that was just like the iPad but cheaper. Unfortunately (for them and for Amazon) all they got was cheaper not better.

Now, to be fair, Amazon says they are going to push out an over-the-air update in the next two weeks - and they're hinting around that there is a Fire 2.0 in the works. However, I think the damage may already be done. You don't really get a second chance to make a first impression (ummm... no physical volume buttons - really?).

Apple gets this.

Amazon doesn't. RIM doesn't. HP doesn't.

Even though the first iPhone had only a handful of apps (as did the iPad on launch); they got the experience correct. The look and feel. The buttery smooth interface animations. The small, light, yet "solid" feel of the hardware. The aesthetics. The simplicity of use.

Those things really resonate with customers - especially the performance and ease-of-use. Once you've used an iPhone or iPad for any length of time - just try puttering around on an Android phone or tablet...

It just feels like a cheap knockoff of the original in terms of both the interface experience (it's slow and jumpy and hard to click the tiny icons) and the hardware (bit kunky with multiple physical buttons at the bottom).

On the other hand, non-Apple devices are less expensive (on the whole).

Alas, it appears as if no company has come up with the have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too tablet...

Big Brother IS Watching You - Via Your Smartphone (UPDATED)

WARNING: If you're the paranoid type - take a pill or stop reading here - because this information will put you into a spin.

OK - disclaimer out of the way.

I'll start with the bottom line: If you're using a non-Nokia Android device on AT&T or Sprint (not Verizon), or you're using a Blackberry - your phone could be recording and sending absolutely everything you do on your phone from web searches, to SMS, to application use, to continuous real-time tracking and storing/sending the information back to your carrier.

That's because some handset makers (including Apple - more on that in a minute) and some carriers use a piece of software called Carrier IQ that sets at the deepest levels of the operating system (also known as a "rootkit"). This handy-dandy piece of spyware software intercepts every single keystroke, button push, search string, URL, SMS message, email and (potentially) every voice call - before the operating system even displays it to the user.

Don't believe it? To quote an article on Gizmodo:

This video, recorded by 25-year-old Android developer Trevor Eckhart, shows how it works. This is bad. Really bad.

Here's that video - scroll ahead to about the 9:00 mark for the real interesting stuff:

WTH? Ummmm.... "cool." Now, as one might expect, the carriers are insisting that they are only using this data for "diagnostics" - when applications crash, or calls are dropped, etc.

Yeah, sure.

Being in the software industry for as long as I have, I get the fact that it's helpful to get the machine state if something goes horribly wrong - in order to trap for it in future releases and help the application(s) to get better and more resilient over time.

And, although iPhones also have Carrier IQ on them - it has been discovered that Apple really does only use it for that purpose. And, unlike the Android systems - you can easily turn it off by going to Settings -> Location Services -> System Services and setting the "Diagnostics & Usage" to "OFF". By the way - the default setting for this is OFF! (more information)

Personally, I have no problems with companies wanting to improve the stability of their operating system and/or application (although I have my "Diagnostics & Usage" set to OFF on my iPhone).

The thing I have a problem with - is that you as the user are never notified that your phone is spying on you. And that you can't opt-out of this type of information being transmitted/used (on non-Apple devices). And that you can't even stop the service from running in the first place - even when you press the "Hard Stop" kill switch.

Since this video came to light only 4 days ago - it has caused an absolute firestorm of controversy - to the degree that both the US and German governments are getting involved to see what (if any) privacy laws have been broken.

Now, I'm not really big into conspiracy theories - but in my mind just having this software on 141 MILLION devices begs the question: what happens when some hacker figures out a way to exploit this program? What if they already have? What if this software has been exploited by law enforcement (the "hush, hush" kind) for surveillance or illegal wiretapping?

I'm just sayin'... if you're using a wireless device running Android either buy a Nokia device, switch to Verizon, or just buy an iPhone and be done with it.

UPDATE #1 (02-DEC-2011 9:29am): - Ummmmm... you know that whole "illegal wiretap" stuff that I put in there? Well, it turns out that WikiLeaks just released 287 files on surveillance products from 160 companies designed to get around those pesky privacy laws. Allowing "remote forensics" including keylogging, screenshot captures and much more. DOH!

Life In The Fast Lane

I recently returned from a road trip through Colorado, Utah and Nevada - and besides having a most excellent experience on part of the I-15 in Utah with an 80 mph speed limit - I noticed something fundamentally cool about drivers in other states:

1. They know how to drive (for the most part)
2. They stick to the slow lane except for passing (it's law in Colorado!)
3. Their states realize that the fast lane is for people going "fast"

There were numerous speed limit signs that specifically stated a minimum speed limit in the fast lane as well! It's a bit scary that we have to tell people not to drive slow in the fast lane. However, I think we should extend this model to other areas of life as well.

We obviously need to be more explicit as a society - that way people have a clear understanding of expectations, and will, in turn, become more self-aware.

Maybe all we need are a couple of well-placed signs. Here's a couple of ideas to get the ball rolling:

"Play nice and stop being so selfish, pig-headed, arrogant, and ineffectual" (Congress)

"Stop bitching and go back to work" (Occupy Protesters)

"Grow up and stop being hostile to your customers" (All Banks)

"A 24% interest rate is criminal" (All Credit Card Companies)

"We will provide 9% more/better service for a 9% increase in premiums" (All Insurance Companies)

"We do not have to fix every single bridge, road, highway and airport at the same time" (All Cities/Counties Getting Stimulus Money)

And I could just go on and on... but you get the idea. And now that the California State Legislators are giving back their taxpayer-paid cars (and gas and maintenance and insurance) - I have a suggestion for the $15 MILLION in saved tax money. Replace all the current freeway speed limit signs with new ones:

"Speed Limit 65 Minimum 64"

What are some signs you would like to see?

What IS a "PC" Anyway?

I've been thinking about PCs lately (as in "Personal Computers" not "Politically Correct"). When us old timers think of a "PC" we generally think of that first IBM PC or the Apple II - with the glowing green screen, and a hip, cool user interface called DOS.

I bet if you asked my kids what "PC" means - they would say "Politically Correct" (hopefully). To them, there is no concept of a "personal" computer because they grew up in a world where all computers are "personal." In their limited experience these computing devices are the default:

1. A computer (or two) in your house
2. A mobile telephone ("but my phone sucks - I need a smartphone")
3. A tablet
4. An e-reader
5. A XBOX 360 (or Wii)
6. A handheld (non-phone) gaming platform
7. Video screen in the car
8. Streaming custom radio station based on your music preferences (e.g. Pandora, Spotify)

We of the older generation didn't have any of these things growing up. Here's our list:

1. A rock
2. A cardboard box
3. Duct Tape
4. 5 Hot Wheels cars
5. Hammer and nails
6. Firecrackers (or some other equally dangerous explosives)
7. Pong (if you were LUCKY!)
8. 8 track tapes - and then cassettes (if you were a 1%er back then)

When "personal" computers came out - it was a revolutionary concept. "A computer in every home" was such a far-fetched idea that it simply boggled the imagination.

Once the PC came out - there was a "war." The war between operating systems that has raged for 20+ years. Microsoft became the dominant player - because they were first with some business applications that went along with the hardware that IBM was selling into businesses.

Apple was trying (sort of) to do the same thing - but they focused less on business and more on education and the hobbyist. The techie. The artistic nerds.

And so the battle "raged" on (not really - because Apple only had 3% to 5% of the worldwide market, anyway). There are passionate "Windows" guys, and passionate "Mac" aficionados - and even a small sect of Linux lovers.

Then, came the iPhone. The paradigm of what computing "should be" and "could be" changed. Forever. A phone with no buttons. A phone that was a slab of glass. A phone that could surf the web. A phone that could contain "apps" that would amuse/help/inform/guide/save-your-sorry-lost-butt... a phone that would (later) include FaceTime video conferencing (hello, Jetsons!)...

Then, came the Android phone.

Then came the iPad.

Then came the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Then came the end of the "personal computer."

What's coming next?

There's talk of a Facebook phone running a modified version of Android (yes, a Facebook Operating System... *groan* ) so you could obsessively update your status 24/7. There are already 5 variants of tablets coming in the next quarter - and desktop computer sales have fallen off considerably. Mac OS X for non-phone, non-tablet computers has been re-vamped to include features from the iOS version. Microsoft is jonesing to get their Windows 7 Phone platform going with Nokia.

There are free applications for personal music, personal text messaging, group text chat, group video chat. We can Linkedin our Tublr Facebook Twitter stream with our Flickr YouTube Picasa stream to broadcast our lives in realtime.

We have phones with 5-10 megapixel cameras. That also do VIDEO. That we can upload LIVE at the event!

We can buy books, movies, TV shows with a single click from our phone then watch them on our TV at home - or on our laptop on an airplane.

Yes, the term "PC" ("Personal Computing") is as dead as Flash. Information is becoming a a commodity - sharing our pictures, where we are, what we "like" and what we stand for in a live 24 hour per day, 7 day per week stream - now that is personal computing.

Stop The Censorship - SOPA = CRAPA!

If you haven't heard of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) - then listen up, people!
It's basically a bill (you can read it for yourself here) that allows any intellectual property holder to shut down any website's online advertising and block credit card payments - all without the need for that whole "due process of law" thingie getting in the way.

It works sort of like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) "takedown notices". You know - the ones where someone can claim copyright on a YouTube video and they pull it?

In this case, if this thing passes (and it looks like it very well might), the people who own the intellectual property only have to file some "specific facts" (yeah, really - that's what it says) to back up their claim that a site stole their property - and the payment and ad networks have five days to cutoff all contact with the accused site.

Well at least they can't take the site down completely... right?

Right!

BUT - they don't have to - because then the US Federal Government will have the right to file an injunction against any site with a hearing with a judge. If it gets the injunction, the US Government has the right to block all US access to said site - at the DNS level!

It also means that search engines have to be careful - because they could get into trouble because they have the duty to prevent the site in question "from being served as a direct hypertext link."

Let's not forget all the ad networks and payment processors that also have a duty to cut the site off.

Oh yeah, and there's one more thing: Internet service providers and payment processors can simply block access to sites based solely on the belief that the site(s) are "dedicated to the theft of US property". Oh, and the ISPs and payment folks can't be sued, either.

Nice.

Listen, I'm no fan of priracy in any form - whether the intellectual property owner is American or not. It is a big problem. It is a legitimate problem. However, censorship legislation is NOT the answer. There are definitely "rogue" sites out there that are making money from what amounts to "stolen [IP] goods". Fine, go after them. Shut them down.

It's bad enough that ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) can seize domains at will and have, in fact, wrongly shut down 84,000 subdomains of mooo.com just last year.

One can only imagine the chaos and confusion, incorrect claims of ownership, cost, complexity, and general cluster this bill would cause.



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Ding Dong Flash Is (Finally!) Dying

Adobe made a couple of interesting announcements today:

1. They are killing off future development of Mobile Flash in favor of HTML5


2. Their acquisition of Nitobi (the guys that made the open source PhoneGap) closed today

Ummmmm... what?

Yeah, well, as it turns out - it seems that Adobe has finally figured out that it's bloatware, 1990's, proprietary, resource-hogging, memory-leaking, browser-crashing plug-in has finally run its course.

It's finally "seen the light" of open standards (read: HTML5) - and actually bought one of the most awesome (and open source) frameworks around: PhoneGap. Never heard of PhoneGap? Basically, it's a framework that allows developers to create native applications for all the major applications (iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, etc.):




Now, the public line from Adobe is that developers will use PhoneGap and Air to create desktop application... yeah, right! But they had to say something - or Google and RIM would be really pissed off because one of the huge selling points of Android and the RIM tablet were that they could run Flash.

DOH!

Of course Adobe is saying it will still develop Flash for desktop/notebooks - for now. My guess is - that within a couple of years they'll stop doing even that. The issue at hand is that people are increasing their use of mobile devices and decreasing their use of desktop devices.

Plus, as tablets become a more and more dominant computing/entertainment platform - Adobe simply can't afford to ignore where the future is going (as Steve Jobs told them back in 2008 - and then VERY publicly in his open letter called "Thoughts On Flash" and spoke at length with Walt Mossberg at the D8 conference in 2010 about why Flash sucks and why Apple chose to not support it).

Flash itself is too widely installed to just "go away" overnight. It has an installed base of about 96% of all browsers - and there are thousands of developers who create a wide variety of content that we consume everyday. Not to mention that the Flash codec for video has been the defacto standard for many years, and it will take time before all those videos get converted to a non-Flash codec.

However - it WILL happen - and most (if not all) new content that's being generated won't be generated in Flash, it will be generated in HTML5-ish technologies. With the acquisition of PhoneGap and their work on their Edge product (the one that converts Flash to run in HTML5) - Adobe is clearly signalling that the way forward for them is (eventually) going to be Flash-free.

Looks like Steve Jobs was right... again.

How To Write A Resume That Doesn't Suck [INFOGRAPHIC]

For those of my friends and collegues who are (still) looking for work - I came across this infographic and posted it in the hopes that every little it will help!




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All You Need Is Love - Love Is All You Need

I saw this comic this morning - and it really is sort of a snapshot of life:

Although, I must say, that I didn't really care about panel 4 (a place to live) until I got married. Before that, it was "whatever". You can stay with friends, crash on a couch, stay out all night... you know - "whatever."

Panel 5 didn't really kick in until the kids were born - and then you have to sort of combine panels 4, 5 & 6 - and add life insurance and a will.

I'm really blessed because panels 7 & 8 are one-and-the-same for me. My hobby is computers and technology - and so are my hobbies (oh, add motorcycles to my hobbies).

After I was married for a while - the obvious question of having children came to the forefront. I was the one that really "wasn't ready" for kids (honestly - NO ONE EVER IS) - so I'm the one that proposed we get a dog ("...but NOT a puppy...") so we could try out our responsibility skills on a non-human first.

Of course, when I went to the shelter to get a dog ("... but NOT a puppy...") - I picked out... wait for it... a puppy. Let's just say it's a good thing we decided on a pet first... as my doggie-daddy "skills" needed a little honing. The following year, I went to the shelter to renew our dog ("Mac" - short for "Macintosh"... yeah, really) - I saw another dog that was a black and white border collie mix and was the virtual "twin" of our little Mac.

Of course, I had to have her.

So... we actually had boy/girl (dog) twins - before we had boy/girl (human) twins. I just love God's sense of humor!

Once the kids came (and the intense lack of sleep for prolonged periods) - we began to realize that the house we bought wasn't going to work out for active kids as they grow. So, we bought another house..on a quiet street... with a good insurance policy.

That leads to panel 13 - because, really, you DO need more money. And that begets more stuff. And then you need more money. And then you get more stuff. Trying to become more happy. [REPEAT from your late 20's to your late 40's].

The more money-stuff-happiness cycles you go through the more you need panel 16 (relax).

Since it's 2011 - it's almost impossible to even DO panel 17 (should have been "fire up an old tune in your 'oldies' playlist") - but I get the idea.

As my kids are getting older and my parenting role of "over-protective-teacher-and-instiller-of-morals-virtue-and-goodness" morphs into "supreme and ultimate dictator" - panel 21 really hit me between the eyes last night as I was snuggling with my kids watching some mindless show on TV: Love is all you need.

Here's my hacked version of the same cartoon (all apologies to Mr. Snider):

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Halloween - By The Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC]

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A Visual Guide To Facebook Security [INFOGRAPHIC]

There has been a LOT of press about Facebook security - both good and bad. If you've ever wondered what really goes on behind the scenes - then check out this infographic by the good folks at PC Magazine:

How To Avoid Abandoned Shopping Carts [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you have any kind of online commerce site - you know the problem - abandoned shopping carts. This is really a bummer since you've managed to get people to your site, presented something they are interested in, written your copy and done your photography in such a way as to convince them to hit the "Add To Cart" button - and then, just when they're ready to checkout - they get distracted, or grok at the shipping charges or SOMETHING - but they never complete the transaction.

Here's some tips to help minimize shopping cart abandonment:



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By The Number - Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]

Feeling a little "Facebook-ed out"? Well, no wonder! You've probably spending waaayyyy too much time on there (along with everyone else):



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Roles In IT [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you work in IT in whatever capacity - you inevitably have to work with others who are also in IT. Depending on your role - getting along with others can sometimes be a "challenge."

Here's a great graphic on how people in different roles see others in different roles:



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Goodbye Bookstores - Hello... book "stores"

Yesterday I went to a strip mall that used to have a Borders bookstore in it. It was sort of sad - I had frequented it more than a few times - just browsing the latest releases, looking over the titles in the technology "section", maybe taking one or two volumes back to a reading table with a cup of coffee...

Ah, yes - the "good old days."

As I was reading the Google blog - they had a short video about a new Chrome experiment they were toying around with - a virtual bookshelf application. The idea is that you have an infinite, virtual bookcase that shows (literally) hundreds of thousands of books - organized by one of 28 categories.

You can choose a category - and the bookcase zooms into position. You can then "spin" the thing and because it's like a coiled double helix (think Slinkee) - you can just go round and round and move the entire thing up and down to browse to your heart's content.

When you see a book you would like more information on - simply click it, and you'll see the front cover. When you click the book - it opens (like a real book) to reveal a synopsis and a QR code (those strange barcodes you see everywhere) so that you can open the title on your device.

Now, it's still in the "experimental" stage - and they recommend you use Google's Chrome browser (naturally) and a "powerful computer with a good graphics card" - and there are plenty "your mileage may vary" disclaimers - but it's still well worth a look-see.

They are visually presenting a lot of information that could be (and is) presented in the typical "list" format. I mean, you've seen the listing of books with covers but it just lacks the brevity and excitement of looking through a bookstore shelf.

Apple was at the forefront of this type of visualization - but they did it with your music collection. Their "Cover Flow" technology allows you to "flip through" your collection of "albums" by displaying the cover artwork - rather than a listing (like a playlist).

I think this is where the future of software and user interfaces is going - especially given the fact that our devices are getting smaller (less screen real estate) and there is more information. This type of visual paradigm is perfect for displaying huge amounts of information in an itty bitty space.

Wordstream On Facebook's Epic FAILS [INFOGRAPHIC]

Seems that the good folks over at Wordstream are a little pissed off at Facebook... so, what better than to create a huge infographic taking their complaints to the masses?

Yeah, let me get some popcorn, this is gonna' be fun:



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Moving To OS X Lion - The Way OS Upgrades SHOULD Be

With the release of  OS X 10.7.2 (aka "Lion") - I decided it was time to make the jump from Snow Leopard (aka 10.6.x) to the new OS.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of major updates to any operating system. I dreaded going from Windows XP to Windows 7, and although it was less painful jumping from Leopard (10.5) to Snow Leopard - I still had to update a bunch of applications so they would work properly.

Plus, there are only two ways you can update to Lion - download the updater from the Apple App Store application for $30 - or buy a thumb drive at an Apple Store for $70.

I decided to go with the all-digital version - and downloaded the 3.3GB(!) update from the App Store application on my MacBook Pro.

After it completed the download, it took about 5 minutes to install some installer files - asked to reboot, and then there was simply a splash screen with a progress bar telling me it would be about 33 minutes.

Uh oh.

I know that when XP installs - it also gives a time "estimate" as well. It'll say 20 minutes, then jumps to 40 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 18 minutes then it finishes. I was ready for more of the same...

Nope.

33 minutes - and it was done. Just like the progress indicator showed.

And everything was where it was before. All my desktop icons were exactly where I put them (no auto "helpful" clean up and reorganization), all my shortcuts worked, everything was smooth as silk.

Then, ever a glutton for punishment, I upgraded my iPhone to iOS 5.0... it was the same kind of thing. Download, push down to the phone, phone restarts itself, done.

To be fair there were a couple of moved icons - it tried to put the bookshelf in the lower left of the first screen, so it moved the icon that was there to a (new) blank page 2 - and added the new icon for the video application on to page 2 as well... but that was easy to change in iTunes.

Then I decided to update Quickbooks on my virtual machine (running XP) - from QB 2008 to QB 2012.

What an utter nightmare.

I had to up the memory allocation (which mean re-booting XP), then I had to free disk space, then run the installer. So the installer first checks the download (4 minutes), unpacks the installer stuff (5 minutes), prompts for the registration code (in step 2), installs .NET Framework 4 (15 minutes) - and then crashes because of some unintelligible error it hit when installing the .NET framework.

Restart XP again, restart installer - goes through the download check (4 minutes), unpacks the installer (5 minutes), prompts for registration code, installs .NET Framework (10 minutes), installs who-the-hell-knows what else (10 minutes) - and then it says it needs to reboot (!).

Restart XP again. I've just spent a little less than an hour to install one application - versus 33 minutes to install a major OS update (plus about the same amount of time downloading the huge OS X installer).

My experience with the Apple stuff remains consistently good. I'm not saying Apple is 100% - there have been some "fails" as well - but they have been few and in between - versus consistently constant on the Windows side of the house. What's your experience been?

Servoy TIP: Next Work Day Function

I needed a simple function that would return the next working day (Monday - Friday) from the date that was passed in. So here it is - it's simple, but it works:


function getNextWorkDay(myDate){

   var dow = myDate.getDay();
   var daysToAdd = 1;
   //remember JS days start at 0!
   if(dow >= 5 ) { daysToAdd = 8 - dow; }
   return new Date(myDate.getFullYear(), myDate.getMonth(), myDate.getDate() + daysToAdd);

}

FileMaker TIP: Next Work Day

I needed a function to find the next work day (excluding weekends). I came up with a pretty simple function that I like to call "NextWorkDay" - it takes any date as the parameter (theDate). You can use this as a function, or as a calculation (just replace "theDate" below with the field name).

Let ( [ dow = DayOfWeek ( theDate ); daysToAdd = Case ( dow >= 6; 9 - dow; 1)] ;
Date ( Month ( theDate ); Day ( theDate ) + daysToAdd; Year ( theDate )) )

Pretty simple - but it works well...

Unabashed Apple Fanboy Post [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Java Still The #1 Programming Language - Barely

According to the October 2011 TIOBE Programming Community Index - Java is still the #1 programming language out there - even though it slipped 1% from September. Hot on its heels is the old standby C.

Java has been the top language for over 10 years (except a few months were C took over). This makes total sense. The thing that really surprised me was the fact that Objective-C (the language used by Apple and iOS) came in at... #6. #6! For a language that is really only useful for building native Apple OS (OS X and iOS) applications.

That means that Objective-C beats out (in order): Visual Basic, Python, Pearl, JavaScript and Ruby.

Whoa.

Talk about marketplace "disruption."

Now, Android is based on Java - but so are a LOT of other internal and external applications - so it's sort of hard to extract the mobile developers from that total.

However, since Objective-C is really only widely used in Apple products - it's pretty significant. I wonder if it's because other than Java and PHP (#4), the other top languages are C-derivatives: C (#2), C++ (#3), and C# (#5).

So if you're a developer - or you're in school studying Computer Science - brush up on your C pointers and memory management - because it looks like that's where the money will be for the immediate future:

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When 1 Terabyte Just Isn't Enough [INFOGRAPHIC]

So I got a message the other day that my 1 terabyte drive that I use for automated backups was almost full.

Yeah, my 1 TERABYTE hard drive! What the???

I remember buying a 20 MEGAbyte hard drive and just shaking my head - knowing that surely I would NEVER fill that thing up in a lifetime.

DOH!

Here's a cool infographic about the history of storage:




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Apple, Samsung - Knock It Off!

If you have kids - you are well-versed in this quotation: "You kids stop fighting - don't make me pull over." Well, at least I am.

There's nothing more annoying than two kids (any age) who are picking on each other. One says "Don't touch me", and the other one has their finger about 1/8 of an inch (15mm for my metric friends) away from the other one protesting: "I'm NOT touching you!"

"Yes you are!"

"NO, I'm NOT!"

"Are TOO!"

"Am NOT!"

Me: "OK, kids - knock it off."

"HE started it!"

"Nuh uh! SHE DID!"

"Did NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

Me. "I'm serious. KNOCK. IT. OFF."

(one child sticks tongue out at the other)

"Daaaaad - she stuck her tongue out at me..."

"Well, he stuck out his tongue first..."

[ REPEAT THIS SEQUENCE FOR THE ENTIRE CAR RIDE]

This is exactly what Apple and Samsung are doing - but in public. And loudly. And with lots of PR.

Apple "started it" back in April 2011 by suing Samsung (a long time supplier of screens) for patent infringement. It seems that Samsung's (about to be released) Galaxy Tablet and Galaxy S phone bore too close of a resemblance to the iconic iPad and iPhone cash cows for Apple's liking (e.g. "He's copying me" - "NO, I'm NOT")

Now, it's rumored that El Heffe Jobs himself went over to meet with the Samsung folks - but when they couldn't reach an agreement - all the stops were pulled out. (e.g "Stop it!" - "I don't have to, you can't make me!")

Apple got an injunction against Samsung - so they couldn't even sell the Galaxy Tablet in both Germany and Australia. To add insult to injury, the timing of the injunction was just as a big German trade show was under way - where Samsung was going to officially announce the product. (e.g. "Ouch! [crying] he HIT me!" - "SHE hit ME first!")

Now it's basically just a huge mess. They're both suing the crap out of each other in every single country that they can... both trying to get the others' products banned from the marketplace.

*SIGH*

Apple! Samsung! DO NOT make me pull over!

Patent Trolls Are Screwing Up Everything [INFOGRAPHIC]

Now, don't get me wrong - I firmly believe that inventors of cool stuff should get paid for their inventions. I also firmly believe that patents are a good thing - provided they are used for truly novel inventions.

I don't, however, believe that a "process" should be able to be patented. OK, well maybe some processes - like Pasteurization - or the vulcanization of rubber - or the algorithm used to encrypt data.

However, software is not one of those things. A software language, maybe. But not software, in general. There are just too many outstanding patents for vague, wide-ranging, processes that are stifling innovation. For example, here's one for "A Method, Process, and System for Searching and Identifying Sources of Goods and/or Services Over the Internet".

Really. It's a REAL patent.

Or how about the fact that in 2010 Facebook received a patent (7,669,123) for the news feed. Yeah. Hopefully Twitter got their license already...



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How Social Media Is Working For Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you're in business - chances are good that you're a "small" business - and you're in good company. According to the 2008 US Census data it's estimated that there are about 27,281,452 businesses - of which 21,351,320 (78%!) are "Nonemployer" businesses.

Yeah, I never really heard that term before, either.

Here's how the Census folks define a "Nonemployer" business:

Most nonemployers are self-employed individuals operating very small unincorporated businesses, which may or may not be the owner's principal source of income.

They go on to say:

Nonemployers account for a majority of all business establishments, but average less than 4 percent of all sales or receipts.

Oh, yeah, on top of that  and ANOTHER 4,661,829 have 9 or fewer employees. That means 95% of all businesses have less than 9 employees.

That's a serious number of folks.

If you're in the upper 5% - you can skip the infographic below - otherwise - stop reading this and fire up your Facebook account!



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Happy 10th iPod! Sorry, But You Must Die Now. [INFOGRAPHIC]

Happy 10th Birthday! (almost - it's actually October 23rd)   BLAM!   Goodbye.

Yep, it's time that Apple put the ol' girl down and sell her to the glue factory. The world was a vastly different place in 2001. George Bush was sworn in as President, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone just came out (along with Shrek; Monsters, Inc.; and Ocean's 11), the Baltimore Ravens won the SuperBowl (34-7 over the Giants), Venus Williams won the women's Wimbeldon match, our Federal Deficit was "only" $5 trillion, unemployment was 4.8% and a stamp cost $0.34.

There were still "record stores" (Google it) where people bought physical media in order to enjoy music. Having a Sony Walkman was considered "cool" (by 2001 all the "cool kids" had a "DiscMan" - the CD version of the Walkman), but lugging those cassettes (or new-fangled CDs) around - was a hassle.

There were other players in the nascent "portable" music player category (Diamond Rio, HanGo Personal Jukebox) - but, as usual, it took Apple and their eye for industrial design (and chutzpah to charge $399 for a music player) to literally change the music industry as we know it.

There were dozens of "me-too" cheapo Mp3 players - but the iPod in all its various incarnations still out-sold all the others.

It was Google's Motorola's ROKR phone in 2005 that broke the ground on having music on your phone. It even "worked" with iTunes (although it was notoriously slow and limited to 100 songs).

Then along came January 9, 2007 - and the introduction of the iPhone... and well, you know that story. You now have a mini-laptop, game player, and GPS unit in your hand that also happens to make calls. In September 2010, Apple came out with the iPod Touch (an iPhone without the phone) - and has sold over 60,000,000 of them.

Oh, yeah, and Apple's made a coupla' bucks on the 10 billion songs and applications people have bought and downloaded... and while music downloads are nice, iCloud subscriptions and higher app prices means it will make even more money as people ditch their modern Walkman for an all-in-one device.

It's been an amazing run! Here's a look back:

:

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How To Get a Job At Google, Apple or Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]

As I was trolling the interweb this morning, I came across this infographic that was showing what kinds of job openings there are at the "big 3" (not automakers, tech employers).

It seems like there's a "Top 3" formula to getting hired at one of these companies:

3. Be smart;

2. Be able to communicate and use SEO words on resume (NOT "CV", but "Resume");

... and the number 1 way to get hired at one of these great tech companies....

... wait for it...

KNOW SOMEONE!

Buzz kill.




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Who Is Most Likely To Upgrade To iPhone 5 (or "4s" or whatever) [INFOGRAPHIC]

Yes, the tech world is all a-Twitter with speculation and anticipation at the prospect of Apple launching a new phone next week.

Yeah, a phone.

No one knows if it will be the fabled iPhone 5 or just a slightly improved iPhone 4 - dubbed iPhone 4S. But, one thing is for sure - no matter what the number - if the battery is better - people will buy it (according to this infographic):




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Monday Random: After Helping Kids With Homework This Weekend

My kids just started Junior High this year - and I swear, they have more homework than I did in high school! Anyway, as I was sitting there going over some pre-algebra (not my favorite) - listening to them say "What does it matter, we won't really use it in 'real life'..."

Then, I came across this cartoon - and it all makes sense now!

How Google (and the Internet) Are Making Us Smarter and Dumber At The Same Time [INFOGRAPHIC]

Remember the "good old days" - when you wanted to read a good book you didn't flip on a screen? Or, when you were looking for work you waited for the Sunday classified section of the "newspaper" (Google it). Or, when you needed more information on something you would go to a "library" or look in an "encyclopedia"?

When was the last time you actually manually dialed a phone number on your phone more than once? Do you even remember your password to your favorite sites - or do you just let your browser "remember" for you?

Yeah, me neither.

Apparently, we're not alone:



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Technology Way Back Machine: 1996

For those of you older than 15 - here's a reminder from whence we came: a couple of pictures of a Best Buy circular from 1996.

That's right! You can buy a pager (Google it!) for only $70!



Need an upgrade in your computer memory? No problem - we have 16 MEGAbytes (not GIGAbytes) for only $130! Need more storage - score this massive 3.1 GB hard drive - only $399!



In the market for a new craptop laptop? Check out this baby: 8 MEGAbytes of RAM, 810 MEGAbye hard drive, a whopping 11.3" COLOR display! Now only $2,500!



Oh, and for those of you who are still using any of the items pictured here - ummmm... "perhaps" it's time for an upgrade.

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Dear Netflix - Here's Why Qwikster Is Stupid [INFOGRAPHIC]

So it seems that this whole Netflix / Qwikster thing is blowing up in Netflix's face - and they don't seem to understand why. Well, this hard-hitting infographic from the folks over at theoatmeal.com should explain it to them:

Servoy TIP: Getting Current Quarter Date Range

I do a lot of applications where users want reports or lists that take a date in the current record and filter or find all the records "In This Quarter".

The calculation isn't all that difficult - but it's a cool time saver. Below, I've actually created 3 functions - so you can use the quarter start date, end date, or date range.


/**
 * Return the starting quarter date for a given date
 * 
 * @param {Date} inputDate
 * @return {Date}
 */
function getQuarterStartDate(inputDate) {
if(!inputDate) { return null; }
var inDate = new Date(inputDate);
var mo = inDate.getMonth() + 1; //remember JS months are 0-11!
var yr = inDate.getFullYear();
if(mo > 9) {
return new Date(yr, 10, 1);
} else if (mo > 6) {
return new Date(yr, 7, 1);
}  else if (mo > 3) {
return new Date(yr, 4, 1);
} else {
return new Date(yr, 1, 1);
}
}


/**
 * Return the ending quarter date for a given date
 * 
 * @param {Date} inputDate
 * @return {Date}
 */
function getQuarterEndDate(inputDate) {
if(!inputDate) { return null; }
var inDate = new Date(inputDate);
var mo = inDate.getMonth() + 1; //remember JS months are 0-11!
var yr = inDate.getFullYear();
if(mo > 9) {
return new Date(yr, 12, 31);
} else if (mo > 6) {
return new Date(yr, 9, 30);
}  else if (mo > 3) {
return new Date(yr, 6, 30);
} else {
return new Date(yr, 3, 31);
}
}

/**

 * Return a search string properly formatted for the start/end quarter dates

 * 

 * @param {Date} inputDate

 * @return {String}

 */

function getQuarterRange(inputDate) {

if(!inputDate) { return null; }

var sDate = getQuarterStartDate(inputDate);

var eDate = getQuarterEndDate(inputDate);

var theFormat = i18n.getDefaultDateFormat();

if(sDate && eDate) {

return utils.dateFormat(sDate,theFormat) +

"..." + utils.dateFormat(sDate,theFormat) + "|" + theFormat;

} else {

return null;

}

}

FileMaker TIP: Current Quarter Date Range

I do a lot of applications where users want reports or lists that take a date in the current record and filter or find all the records "In This Quarter".

The calculation isn't all that difficult - but it's a cool time saver. You can make a script that returns the result, or make a custom function.

Note that in this formula, I've created local variables - so you can use the $quarterStart and $quarterEnd dates in other places in your script.


Let ([
   $inDate = theDate; //can be passed as parameter
   $mo = Month($inDate);
   $yr = Year($inDate);


   $qStart = If ( $mo > 9 ; Date (10;1;$yr);
                 If ( $mo > 6 ; Date (7;1;$yr);
                 If ($mo > 3 ; Date (4;1;$yr);
                 Date(1;1;$yr)
               )));
   $qEnd = If ( $mo > 9 ; Date (12;31;$yr);
                 If ( $mo > 6 ; Date (9;30;$yr);
                 If ( $mo > 3 ; Date (6;30;$yr);
                 Date(3;31;$yr)
              )))
   ];
   $quarterStart & "..." & $quarterEnd
)

Win Mobile 8 - "Plug-In Free" (HA!)

From time-to-time I have a gander at the Windows 8 blog - just to see what's happening in the world of "me-too." In one of the recent posts - Dean Hachamovitch (IE Team Leader) wrote about the fact that IE 10 will come in two flavors - one for mobile and one for desktop.

Why?

Seems that Microsoft has decided that Steve Jobs truly is an oracle of the future - and that HTML5 is awesome and the way to go:

For the web to move forward and for consumers to get the most out of touch-first browsing, the Metro style browser in Windows 8 is as HTML5-only as possible, and plug-in free. The experience that plug-ins provide today is not a good match with Metro style browsing and the modern HTML5 web.

Ummmm... what the? Huh. But it gets even better:

On Windows 8, consumer sites and “line of business” applications that require legacy ActiveX controls will continue to run in the desktop browser, and people can tap “Use Desktop View” in Metro style IE for these sites. For what these sites do, the power of HTML5 makes more sense, especially in Windows 8 apps.

I'm sorry - did I miss the part where he basically says that Silverlight (a browser plug-in) will NOT run on their own mobile operating system? And what about all those legacy Active-X controls? What are the thousands of Corporate American companies going to do when all their vendors who wrote their web-based intranet applications specifically for IE suddenly don't work on their CEO's new Windows 8 tablet?

I get the part about not wanting to run Flash (no one does - apparently) - but there is something even more subtle thrown in to the text:

 In Windows 8, IE 10 is available as a Metro style app and as a desktop app. The desktop app continues to fully support all plug-ins and extensions. The HTML5 and script engines are identical and you can easily switch between the different frame windows if you’d like.

Did you notice the word "extensions" in there? So, apparently, IE 10 Metro will not even support browser extensions!

Wow.

That's really, really good news for Apple. Because if you can't run Flash, and you can't run Silverlight, and you can't run Active-X controls - then you might as well get the tablet all the "cool kids" have - the iPad.

How Enhance Your Site - So People Don't Bail [INFOGRAPHIC]

I don't know about you - but I surf the Internet... a lot. I see all kinds of different site - some that are terrific - and some, not-so-much.

If a site is ugly, or has content from 2001 on it - I'm moving on - in all of about 10 seconds. If a site has wonky navigation - I'm out.

If a site has colors that only the (probably color blind) designer could love (ORANGE! PINK!) - I'm out.

If a site has 200 animated gifs on it - or is just an ad farm page - I'm out.

If I have to register to see some content that I was just browsing for - I'm out.

Turns out, I'm not alone! Check out this infographic to help you avoid some of the most common site issues that drive people away:




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Buzz Kill Wednesday - Saving For College [INFOGRAPHIC]

To all the fellow parents out there - sorry to kill your hump day buzz... but if you're not saving $600 - $1,850 per month per child for college (like me)... well, sucks to be you (me):

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Are YOU A Workaholic? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Hey you - yeah YOU. Are you feeling over-worked? Do you need a vacation?

If you work in America - the answer is probably "yes:"



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Servoy TIP: Changing A Form's Style - LIVE

I had a need the other day to change the style that was displaying on a form. My first thought was to just change all the object properties via scripting (a HUGE pain!). But, with the help of the SolutionModel (and controller.recreateUI() - in version 5.2+) - it was a snap.

Let's say you have two styles: "defaultStyle" and "fancyStyle" defined in your resources. If you use this code:

var myForm = solutionModel.getForm(controller.getName());
myForm.styleClass = "fancyForm";
controller.recreateUI();

Done! Be careful here - depending on how you designed your styles - things could get "wonky" (margins are the big culpret)... but man, did I mention how much I LOVE this tool?!

FileMaker TIP: Get Selected Text

The other day I came across the need to grab the currently selected text that the user had selected. I (mistakenly) thought there was already a built-in function to do that... ummm... nope.

So, I came up with a quick calculation to do it:

Middle ( Get ( ActiveFieldContents ) ; Get (ActiveSelectionStart) ; Get ( ActiveSelectionSize ) )

You can package it up as a function, or use it (like I did) in a script to set a variable to whatever text the user has selected. I hope this helps!