Technorati Tags: iphone, review, skype

Technorati Tags: Article, Axure, Boxes & Arrows, Dana Martinelli

VIDEO THE VOTE

Our country depends on one thing this Tuesday and it is by far the best form of civil responsibility. We MUST as citizens embrace the technology available to us in order to pre-empt any injustice that may occur in the voting booth on Tuesday.

We MUST record our actions while voting.

In order to visually prove, without doubt, any inconsistencies with the electronic voting machines on election day we must record our actions.

HOW:
Many of us have cell phones with video capture capabilities. Use these video capture capabilities to record your voting actions within the booth.

It is very easy to do. I did it last election and it was not hard to manage. I recorded all my hand movements while selecting my choices.

If we can collectively record our real-time experiences in the voting booth. We can capture voting fraud as it takes place.

Please share this URL with people to get the word out.

Technorati Tags: camera phone, record your vote, stop voter fraud, tuesday primaries, VIDEO THE VOTE, voter fraud

From the Microsoft PDC Keynote is the first look at the new and exciting
multi-touch features of Windows 7.

Technorati Tags: Demo, microsoft, Multi-Touch, Windows 7

This is the best, most straight up review you will ever see about the new Google Phone.

Read More

Technorati Tags: g1 review, google g1 review, google phone review

If you spend much time driving in unfamiliar territory, especially if you rent cars in big cities, a good portable GPS makes an amazing difference. And the Garmin 255W is the best one I could find in the $250 – $350 range.

First this thing just plain works. I haven’t had any issues with mine. It was easy to set up and figure out right out of the box, and it’s easy to use. It never has had trouble getting sufficient signal unlike earlier and cheaper models.

I chose the 255W for several reasons: It uses some of the newest and best maps available. It has one of the more usable touch screens for entering destinations. It’s fast to acquire satellites. And Garmin almost always comes out on top in reviews–especially in routing.

Ultimately, you buy a car GPS to get you from Point A to Point B as easily and efficiently as possible. And that’s what the 255W does best. If you’ve ever had a “Brand X” GPS take you on some strange route that adds 20 minutes to your trip, has you turn the wrong way down a one way road, tell you to turn AFTER you’ve passed the street, frequently loses the satellite signal, or has old maps missing streets, you know how important this stuff is.

The 255W has a really clear display that’s easy to see in any light. It’s small enough to use on foot. The windshield mount works great and it’s easy to toss in the glovebox when you park. It even tells you the speed limit on most roads. The “points of interest” feature works very well to find places to eat by type of cuisine, gas stations, etc.

The difference between the 255W and 205W is the 255 speaks street names and includes Alaska and Canada. The 205 and 205W will tell you to “turn right in 500 feet” which isn’t as helpful or obvious as “turn right on Ivy Street in 500 feet”. The “W” models are widescreen which makes entering destinations easier due to having a bigger “keyboard” and also lets you see more map area while driving.

All in all this isn’t the cheapest GPS in its class but it’s one of the best. My only gripe is you need an expensive add-on to get live traffic data–something that’s included with the Magellan Roadmate 1430 which is close to the same price. But the Garmin 255W is a better GPS in every other way.

Price
$209 to $373

Froogle Listing

Technorati Tags: buy, Garmin Nuvi 255w, pics, price, review

Location Based-Enhanced Social Network

I have been using a few iPhone apps that do the same thing like ‘Around Me’ and ‘Yelp’ but I am very curious about a Google/Android powered app. There is much more room for improvement in this space. I can see something like BrightKite and Yelp as a combined solution with street-view in the mix as well.

From PC World:
“Beetaun is a social network application for anyone who wants to share and explore interesting destinations and routes, be it a city or a cool cafe. When you use Beetaun, one view of the application offers a map with pushpin-marked destinations near you. Select a pushpin/destination, and you can then read what people have said about it.”
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Iris Scan Login

The 3MP camera is able to get a good clear picture with a minimum distance of 2 inches away. The shutter better be fast so there is no blurry mess. Having to take a picture of my eye over, and over and over again is not going to fly. Couple that with the right lighting and subtle shifting – that is a lesson in frustration. I am not sure this is going to work.

From PC World:
“Biowallet uses biometric iris-scan authentication to lock down your G1. Put the phone’s camera to your eye and wait, and the software scans your eye to verify that it’s you. The security software also allows you to send remote commands to your phone in the event that it is stolen.”
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Follow the Leader

For a few years I have been reading about how cities may be adding “hotzones” around their city which will offer visitors the ability to take virtual tours. Here is one more step in that direction. Very cool.

“With BreadCrumbz you leave behind a trail of pictures, not crumbs, for others to follow. Through this software you create a step-by-step visual map using photos you’ve taken with the G1. You can then share routes with just your friends or make routes public. ”
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The ‘Family’ Tracker

I think there is a practical and even an ethical constraint on the validity of this app. It would be great to keep tabs on your 12 year old at the mall but anything beyond that is simply not right. This, or some variant of this technology, is going to get exploited.

“If you buy everyone in your family a G1, you’ll be able to keep tabs on one another using mobile mapping software that will plot your family’s whereabouts through an application called FreeFamilyWatch. The service sends a warning when you or any family members have entered a reportedly risky environment. Risk factors are based on crime statistics, environmental health hazards, or unfolding emergencies.”
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Tag, your It.

I have a friend that used to play urban tag for hours throughout the night in Redwood City. This is a great app to help make this game go mainstream.

“City Slikkers is a location-based game that employs the G1’s GPS capabilities to let you interact with nearby people using the same application. City Slikkers creates a virtual world that you inhabit with
other nearby City Slikkers users. You can interact with other Slikkers and modify your virtual environment too.”
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Pandora Plus One

I love Pandora. I got rid of my SAT radio because of Pandora. If you give me hook ins to Last.FM and give me some social browsers plugins – I am hooked. I want to see on a map what someone was listing to in the exact location I am standing in and then add them as a friend. Is that worth anything?

“Diggin is a music application for wireless streaming of music from preset Internet-based radio stations. It also has discovery tools for finding music, a tool that will show you a song’s lyrics, and a highly customizable user interface. ”

Technorati Tags: Android Apps, Applications, Apps Review, Best G1 Apps, Google Android, T-Mobile

But let us be honest, the blackberry is meant for business emailers. Blackberry users are not fundamentally in need to be wow’d or do they need or want to play virtual pool with multiple fingers while waiting for their Lexus to get detailed.

I think most Blackbery users want simplicity. They want their email and more recently want their maps and GPS. Build a rock solid experience around that goal. Don’t muddy up the experience by providing too much. Don’t get saturated by technology that is not in your game. Push the envelope in other places like:

IM/IRC chat interfaces
Super easy teleconference tools
PDF viewers and ways to EDIT pdf documents
Stock management tools
Make people yern for a ‘real’ Blackberry keyboard (don’t virtualize it. Update: too late)

“The virtual keyboard produces a clicking sound and sensation when pressed, which makes it feel very similar to typing on an actual keyboard.”

Will give them kudos for trying if it works out.

Cater to your business market and innovate there. Don’t go the iPhone and Android path. Who cares about the music platform for a Blackberry. Focus on the business.

Technorati Tags: Blackberry, Blackberry Storm, Innovate, iphone, Mobile, multi-touch interfaces, Sucks