RapidGroove

Print Encyclopedia Goes All Digital

2012-03-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

Encyclopedia Britannica announced this week that the 2010 edition of their print encyclopedia was their last. Whatever supply they have on hand is still available for sale, but no new edition will be printed. This is the end of an amazing run. The Encyclopedia Britannica was first published way back in 1768 and was key reference material for students of my generation and many before and after.

But things change.

Sounds like another casualty of the digital age, like failing newspapers, right? Is this the story of another company who couldn’t change with the times and watched their old distribution model slip away until no option existed? Nope. Encyclopedia Britannica has a much different story to tell.

Print edition represented only 1% of their revenue. Britannica had been evolving with the times over the last two decades.

This is not a desperation move. It’s good business. Britannica is and has been available as a paid subscription service on the web, it’s available as a smartphone app with a small monthly charge, and the content goes into a variety of revenue-generating educational material. The company has deftly navigated the rough waters that so many old media companies could not.

And the content is available for free online for the next week. Just to show you what you might want to pay to access at some point.

Things change. The smart people at Britannica showed us that they understand that. Hats off to them.

Fun experiment:
As a comment on this blog or on my FaceBook or Google+ pages, tell me (1) when you last used hardcopy encyclopedia, and (2) when you or anyone you know last purchased a hardcopy book encyclopedia set.

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Lulz Leader 'Sabu' Snagged

2012-03-13T05:01:00.000-07:00

An End to the Lulz?

If you follow information security stories in the news, by now you may have heard that high profile hacker Hector Xavier Monsegur (known as Sabu), alleged leader of LulzSec, was captured by the FBI. The capture actually took place secretly last June at about the time LulzSec was at the height of their notoriety, and appeared in these pages on June 15, June 24 and June 29. Monsegur went on to cooperate with the FBI, possibly providing a great deal of detail on activities and participants making up LulzSec, which was one of only a small number of very successful hacker/activist ("hacktivist") groups.

As I said last year, I think that what LulzSec seemed to do much better than other well-organized and successful hacking groups was to communicate their message well. They achieved a large Twitter following and fed quotable material to journalists and bloggers. As a result, we got a sense for who they were and what they cared about.

LulzSec might be gone, but the even larger "Anonymous" group is still in operation (as far as we know) and rumor even has it that they plan a large attack on the Internet for March 31st. Impossible to say whether there's any truth to that rumor, but it has people thinking.

There will always be Black Hat groups focued on conventional crime for profit. But with the megaphone provided by social networks and other Internet communications media, will "hacktivism" play a bigger role in the future?

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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The "new iPad" Arrives

2012-03-08T06:58:00.001-08:00

Apple Announces a New iPad and Fails to Name it

Apple announced the newest iPad on March 7^th - and actually referred to it as the “new iPad” rather than iPad 3 or iPad HD (or even iPad 4G). Why? I haven't heard a good reason yet, so I'll make one up. Perhaps Apple had a name in mind and at the last minute encountered a road block (legal or otherwise) to using it. I hope we'll hear more on this soon. I don't think the name "the new iPad" will make a lot of sense a few months from now.

As predicted by almost everyone, me included, the new iPad has

• The same basic form factor

• The “Retina display” with twice the resolution in each direction (4x pixels overall)

• An A5X processor

• An improved camera

• The same basic pricing, and reduced pricing for the previous generation iPad 2

The things many of us wondered about were 4G LTE networking and Siri.

The good news on the carrier networking front is that 4G LTE was included as an option, which suggests not only great performance for the device when away from WiFi, but signals an upcoming iPhone 5 with LTE. More than that, it signals confidence on Apple’s part that Verizon and AT&T will have the nationwide infrastructure to support millions of LTE devices and to do it very soon.

The Siri story is less clear. While the new iPad doesn’t support Siri in the way that it exists on the iPhone 4S, it does include new voice functionality. It support voice dictation in four languages and makes this capability available to third party applications.

Overall, another nice incremental upgrade, and I'm sure the Retina display will be stunning. For those who don't have an iPad or who have the first generation, I think it's a winner. For those like me with an iPad 2, probably "pass for now."

Will you be buying one? Leave a comment and let us know.

More Robots

2012-03-07T05:02:00.000-08:00

because we can never have too many robots

Here's a bonus Wednesday blog entry to recognize a few cool robot stories that have come my way lately.

First, for those who have been commenting about how some of the robots I've featured seem a little slow-moving, there's the fast cheetah robot from Boston Dynamics. It runs on four legs at up to 18 mph.

Next, for those who think some robots, like the cheetah above, isn't quite human enough, there's the Romeo from Aldebaran Robotics. This one is slated for commercial availability (for a few hundred thousand dollars) in the next few years and is intended to provide entertainment and home assistance.

Finally, right in my backyard at the University of Pennsylvania GRASP lab, flying quadrocopters work together to play the James Bond theme.

How long until dense Nanobot clouds start autonomously reconfiguring and shape-shifting? Then they won't just play the James Bond theme... they'll re-create a young Sean Connery and play the part of James Bond!

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Smartphone Wallets

2012-03-06T04:09:00.000-08:00

An Easier Way To Pay?

You already depend upon your smartphone to update Facebook, access your email, introduce you to new music, remind you to buy an anniversary gift, and pick your lunch spot. Oh, and to make phone calls. In the coming months, you may begin to rely upon that same smart phone as a wallet.

These smartphone-based payment systems generally make use of near-field communication (NFC) hardware on board to communicate with a merchant's system in a contactless way. Get close enough, and through a simple transaction on the smartphone you pay for your purchase using credit cards you've enrolled in the service. Since the transaction involves a screen, ads and offers or coupons can be a part of the process and can help to offset the costs of operation.

There have been some smaller entries, but Google made the first big splash in the smartphone payment system space with Google Wallet, back in the fall of 2011. It’s designed to work with Citi cards and will be available for certain smartphones that use the Google Android OS. Isis is the new player in the mobile wallet space. It’s a joint venture from AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless and will let consumers load their eligible cards into their Isis Mobile Wallet. Chase and Capital One are already on board.

What would it take to convince you to try one of these systems? Any reason for you to prefer it to a physical credit card? Do you foresee a day when you wouldn't have to carry a wallet at all, but instead rely upon your smartphone for everything currently in your physical wallet?

Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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The Hitachi EMIEW2 Service Robot

2012-03-02T04:49:00.000-08:00

Another Robot For RapidGroove

Back in 2005, Hitachi announced the first in a series of robots that they believe will eventually function as service robots in applications such as care for the elderly. Their EMIEW2 robot is a small, humanoid, white and red robot that's about 31 inches tall and 31 lbs. Part of the design decision to make it small and relatively light was to ensure that it was unlikely to harm anyone if it bumped into or fell on them.

The robot features voice recognition, independent maneuvering (“obstacle evasion technology”), and object recognition and location. It can interact in limited natural language. In demonstrations, it can find objects in a room and can guide users to the items they request.

What applications can you imagine for such a robot? Could it help you in your everyday life? Do you think it could be a help to the homebound?

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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The Rest Of My Brain (part 1)

2012-02-28T04:24:00.000-08:00

Silicon Picks Up Where Gray Matter Leaves Off

In decades past, we all admired that one friend who had an amazing array of facts at ready recall. It seems to me that that's a little less impressive today. We all have easy access to a limitless supply of facts, if not wisdom ... we get those facts any time, anywhere, on the Internet. Some of them might not be accurate, you say? That's okay. I was never sure about all those facts that impressive friend was always talking about. The point though, is that quick research on any topic is as nearby as Google, Wikipedia, and IMDB.

I don't have to remember anybody's address, phone number, or even the names of their kids. I have an address book application on my computer.

I don't have to know my "times tables" as long as I have a calculator handy. And of course I always do, since it's built into my smartphone (which is never far from my hand).

Every journal paper, every blog post, every email message I've ever written could be stored together and still fit on a cheap USB thumb drive looped onto a key ring, ready to be searched.

The point is that technology has extended and partially externalized our brains. No matter how smart you are, I'd wager that you are more effective when you have your preferred technology tools at the ready.

Is this really all that different than tools and machines extending your physical abilities? Is it different from a shovel helping you to dig a hole faster or a bike helping you to cover distance faster and more easily? I'm not sure, but in my experience most people think of it as being different.

Will this trend of externalizing your brain continue? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing?

I have a feeling that I may have more to say on this, especially if some of you tell me that you like this topic. So I'm calling this the end of part 1.

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Do Not Track

2012-02-24T04:26:00.000-08:00

Better Prospects for Privacy on the Web?

Your web browsing has been tracked since the first time a banner ad appeared over a news story you read on the web in the 1990s. Ad companies want to profile your browsing so that they can show you targeted ads that you might click. The guys who own those ads that you click want buyers, and they pay the ad companies more for serious prospects. So everybody is motivated to track your browsing.

You are very likely a willing party in this. By getting targeted ads and targeted search results, your web experience is tailored to you. I may get ads for sport fishing and classic rock, you might get ads for spinning classes and Lady Gaga concerts.

Some people, though, are not always comfortable with being tracked. Our names may generally not be directly associated with the online profiles that are pieced together from our browsing, but our network addresses are. Those network addresses are often just one step away from our names, so once correlated the data potentially creates a very thorough dossier on us.

Any of us might have reason to want anonymity to access medical or psychological or political resources that are nobody's business but our own. Is it possible to preserve anonymity or at least privacy?

Maybe. The Firefox browser has a Do Not Track feature that allows users to inform web sites that they wish to opt out of third-party tracking. How much protection does that afford today? Hard to say. But the White House released a privacy white paper and framework this week that, among other things, encouraged "multistakeholder efforts" to develop a Do Not Track mechanism. Initial reactions have been favorable, so perhaps the future prospects for privacy on the web just got a little brighter.

Concerned about this topic? Encouraged by the idea of a privacy bill of rights? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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Apple iPad 3

2012-02-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

Coming soon to an Apple Store near you

The rumors are now coming fast and furious: the next rev of the Apple iPad is due out very soon. Signs are pointing to an early March product announcement, with availability to follow very soon after.

Form Factor: There's broad agreement from sources that the iPad 3 will have the same general form factor as the iPad 2 (9.5 x 7.3 inches), with the same size screen (9.7 inch display). The device may possibly be slightly thicker to accommodate a modest set of changes on the circuit board.

Display: We should see a much higher resolution display, likely 2048 x 1536 or twice the pixels in each dimension (so 4x overall). This should make for crisp images in the user interface and a true HD movie viewing experience. A display of that resolution can fairly be called a retina display in which the eye cannot pick out individual pixels.

Processor: Lately, this has been the area of greatest speculation. The iPad 2 has a dual-core A5 processor. Many Apple-watchers had been expecting a quad-core A6 processor, but some sources have very recently claimed to have a photo of the circuit board in which an A5X processor was clearly seen.

Camera: The iPad 2 cameras weren't anything special, so it's very reasonable to guess that we'll see a very significant upgrade here. Gizmodo, iLounge and other sources seem convinced that the iPad 3 will have an HD front facing camera to accommodate very high quality FaceTime. That seems like the most important camera upgrade to me. Few people want to take snapshots with the iPad, since the larger form factor is clumsy (and you have a smartphone that takes photos already, right?). The iPad is a natural for casual video conferencing, though, if a good network connection is available – and if the camera is of high enough quality.

Network: Will the iPad 3 carrier networking include 4G LTE? This is an interesting question. It's early days in terms of coverage nationwide, so the device would have to rely on 3G most of the time. But the inclusion of 4G at this point would clearly signal an intent to release a 4G iPhone in the summer. That, in turn, would signal belief on Apple's part that AT&T and Verizon 4G rollout is happening at a fast enough pace to make the decision worthwhile. This is a space to watch.

Voice Control: Siri on the iPad 3 would be a real winner, and I do expect to see it. The implementation on the iPhone 4S today involves the use of two microphones in order to do noise cancelation. A similar implementation on the iPad 3 would require the addition of a second microphone. Alternatively the software could be more tolerant of noise. My guess is that we'll see a Siri implementation and that the iPad 3 will get a second microphone to accommodate it.

Price: I'm guessing that the iPad 3 will sell at the very same price points that the iPad 2 sells for today, and that at least some models of the iPad 2 will continue to be offered at lower prices. My bet would be $100 or even $150 off the current price. How does a $349 base model iPad 2 and a $499 base model iPad 3 sound?

Those are my best guesses! Do you have different guesses? If the above turn out to be largely correct, is the iPad 3 on your shopping list this spring?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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Vacation at the Southern Most Point in the USA

2012-02-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

America 2

Key West is an amazing place, with a rich seafaring history and an economy originally built a few hundred years ago on the bounty of recovered cargo from countless ship wrecks. Today, the surrounding waters still play an important role, but now fun-loving tourists come for the great weather, clear water, beautiful sunsets and great night life. Crowing roosters wander the streets with the margarita-drinking tourists, and quirky artistic locals keep it interesting.

Southernmost Point

Tuna Tartare

My wife and I took the opportunity to "live it up" for a few days in Key West in February 2012, starting off at the Sunset Pier at the end of Duval Street with ceviche and tuna tartare and a rum drink. We then headed up Front Street to the old harbor area, stopping at a display of Mel Fisher's recovered sunken treasure from the Spanish ship the Atocha. We walked by the pelicans and tarpon swimming alongside the harbor boats and then ducked in at Conch Republic for a sipping rum. We spent an hour or so listening to the guitar player along with a friendly and relaxed crowd, all watching the boats come in and out while drinking cold beers and rum drinks and eating raw-bar seafood. Over at the east side of the harbor were some of the sail boats available for daytime and sunset cruises, like the pirate ship Jolly Rover with its red sails, and the sleek America 2, which is a replica of the 1891 America’s Cup winner. When it was time to walk some more, Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Pie shop supplied me with a chocolate-dipped slice of key lime pie on a stick. Amazing! Later, we were back at the harbor for a great dinner of oysters, smoked fish, tempura conch, and a fish sandwich at a table shared with other friendly tourists.

Jolly Rover

The next day we decided to do some walking and museum visits, including the Shipwreck Museum and the Mel Fisher Treasure museum. Both were excellent. Then a walk down Duval Street to Caroline's for a lunch of peel and eat shrimp and salads. That evening, a sunset walk in Mallory Square included jugglers, artists and the wacky "cat guy" (he's hilarious, and the acrobatic cats are great). By coincidence we came across some friends from “up north” and visited with them briefly. We watched the sun go down, and then headed out for drinks at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and then an exotic dessert at a specialty restaurant called Better than Sex.

My King Mackerel

Over the next several days we watched Schooners sail by, sometimes with the sunset as a backdrop. We enjoyed a sunset sail aboard the beautiful America 2, which included wine and fruit. I even got a turn at the ships wheel! We fished the gulf and landed a Mahi-mahi, a Spadefish, a Cero Mackerel and my main target that day, a King Mackerel. Great fun, and we have pictures of it all. To top it off, we took home some fresh fish filets and had them cooked for us for lunch back at the hotel, and served to us out at the pool. Nothing beats very fresh fish prepared expertly.

That night we stopped in at Pat Croces Rum Barrel for a salad and some exotic rum, then walked down to the gallery area of Duval. We heard an amazing female singer performing at Willie Ts.

On our last day we rented a couple of bikes and headed to Zachary Taylor State Park. We swam and had a lunch of bagels and lox and smoked fish salad, and enjoyed walking and riding bikes through the park and over to the old civil war fort with its huge cannons.

All too soon it was time to pack up, catch a cab to the airport, and head home.

I love Key West and will return soon!

Ceviche

2012-02-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Conch or Fish "cooked" in lime

I'm looking forward to an upcoming vacation in which I hope to eat some conch. It made me think of a ceviche recipe I have used for fish, and that I assume would be great for conch. Here it is:

Simple Ceviche

A pound or two of conch meat (or fish), rinsed well
2 whole limes
1 stick of celery
1 jalapeño pepper
1 yellow or red bell pepper
fresh cilantro, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chop conch (or fish) into very small pieces. Thoroughly squeeze the juice from the limes and place the seafood directly into the juice. Next, chop the peppers and celery, then toss the peppers, celery, cilantro and garlic in the olive oil, and add just a little salt and pepper. Add the mix to the conch and lime juice, toss again and then chill in the fridge for several hours.

That's all there is to it!

Toss once more right before eating. Serve in a martini glass along with chilled, thin sliced cucumbers and some crackers or tortilla chips. Pair this with a Bloody Mary or a cold Corona.

I've had many great variants of ceviche. If you have a different one to tell us about, please leave a comment.

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Your Undersea Adventure

2012-02-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

Submarine hides under this pontoon boat

Readers of this blog know that I gravitate to information about interesting vehicles. Friends know that I spend a lot of time around the ocean. Taken together, it really should come as no surprise that I'd be interested in the Ego Compact Submarine.

The concept is that a two person glass enclosure sits in a fixed position below a stable, 12-foot long battery-powered pontoon boat with twin thrusters. A hatch in the deck of the above-water portion allows passage to and from the "submarine" portion. The lower portion cannot dive or navigate independently, but should afford some amazing views in clear water.

It's hard to really know how practical this craft is without seeing it in action. It obviously draws at least 7 feet or more of water, and a pontoon boat is probably not a great choice for rougher waters. So the most practical application is probably calm, clear, protected waters of at least 15 to 20 feet deep. I could see using this craft in some of the best snorkeling locations where the waters aren't too rough and you can count on the appropriate depths.

The Ego is said to be commercially available now, but no price information was easily available. Is this personal sub on your wish list? How much do you think it's worth? Would you want to take a ride in it? Please leave a comment and let us know.

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Magnetic Soap

2012-02-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

A better way to clean an oil spill?

Photo credit Red Orbit

Julian Eastoe at the University of Bristol in the UK has developed and demonstrated a way to magnetize soap. The use case he has in mind is to allow the detergents used in oil-spill cleanup to then be withdrawn from the water magnetically, finishing the clean up job. The idea seems to hold great promise, and the story is making the rounds in major news sources and science blogs.

In an interview on NPR, Ira Flatow asked Professor Eastoe whether the technique might also be used to help clean sea birds and other wildlife caught in oil spills. Eastoe said that he was interested in this possibility, too, and had been doing some preliminary experiments cleaning oil from the goose down found in feather pillows.

What do you think: could this be useful? Do you have a use in mind for Magnetic Soap? Post a comment here and let us know!

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Thanks for reading! A blog works best with active participation. If you enjoy this blog, please +1 it and leave a comment. Share it on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook. More readers will drive more discussion.

Almost Facts

2012-01-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, let's try something new. Let's crowd-source today's blog post. This will depend in part upon your willingness to leave comments, which will depend in part on your ability and willingness to log onto Google Blogger.

The process is simple. Make up a fact. Really make it up. Don't look it up. Make it up.

Make it as real sounding as you can. The sort of thing that people hear and say "wow, what a cool fact! I never knew that!"

I'll pitch in one or two to start. Then I want all of you to make up facts and leave them as comments. If nobody participates, I'll know that (a) nobody reads this blog, (b) nobody likes to comment, or (c) people do read and want to comment, but have some impediment to doing so. Let's find out.

Deke's Almost Facts.

1. Ketchup was invented in 1850 during the California Gold Rush when west-bound travelers in the US found some of their produce, especially fresh tomatoes, going bad. They learned that spreading the mushy tomatoes on food as a kind of paste added flavor and thus Ketchup was born.

2. Elephants, which are among the most intelligent animals on earth, can often be taught basic dance steps, such as simple line dances, by trainers who hold up fruit at feeding time and perform the steps themselves. The elephants will very often spontaneously match the dance steps quite accurately, and seem to enjoy it.

As far as I know, neither of those are true. But they sort of sound like they could be, right?

Please join in and make up a fact and POST IT AS A COMMENT. I'm interested in seeing how this works out.

Thanks!

Fourth Amendment Protections

2012-01-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

Technology and privacy in a changing world

(The usual disclaimers apply, starting with "I am not a lawyer, and I don’t play one on TV")

Technology can radically challenge the balance of many things, including the expectation of privacy. With new technologies (like GPS) and practices (like the broad deployment of cameras in public spaces) come changes in the real privacy we experience, and perhaps what privacy we should expect. Should the interpretation of the constitution and the fourth amendment also change with the times?

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled this past week that law enforcement must have a valid search warrant in order to attach a GPS device to a car for investigative purposes. The ruling was unanimous, but the opinions varied.

While Justice Antonin Scalia ruled narrowly on trespass and private property, two other Associate Justices, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor, filed concurring opinions that seemed to go quite a bit farther toward recognizing the “subjective expectation of privacy that society recognizes as reasonable,” and how an attached GPS device violates that expectation.

I find it very encouraging that the court is willing to think more broadly on how our rights are affected by changes in technologies and practices. Many common technologies in use today to help travelers, to help keep city streets safer, to help companies effectively market their products and services, can also be used to track people, especially in certain combinations. This was an important ruling on a crucial privacy matter, central to how fourth amendment protections apply today.

Will this ruling have impact on the related topic of location data associated with smartphone use? On extreme tracking of online activity on the web and the correlation of related data to profile users? What's your "reasonable expectation?" Leave a comment and let us know.

For a much more thorough discussion of fourth amendment concerns in the digital age, see Christopher Slobogin's chapter in the book Constitution 3.0.

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Walking Again

2012-01-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

The beginning of an age of bionics?

Technology already extends our abilities and help to compensate for abilities we've lost. A wheelchair is an amazingly useful technological approach to help those who have lost the use of their legs to move around. But innovations from multiple research groups and start-ups are showing that even greater strides (pun intended) are about to be made. Bionics.

Maybe you've seen a Ted Talk featuring a military use of an exoskeleton to assist soldiers needing to carry heavy gear, and a wheelchair-bound woman who had suffered a spinal cord injury, using an exoskeleton to walk for the first time in many years. Or maybe you've seen a holiday episode of the popular television show Glee in which Artie (a glee club member who uses a wheelchair) dons an exoskeleton to walk.

This month, a company called Exso Bionics is making their exoskeleton available commercially. The Exso Bionics web site says that "Ekso is the bionic exoskeleton that allows wheelchair users to stand and walk." Sounds simple.

The price tag is still roughly $100,000. But it's fair to assume that the price can come down with manufacturing efficiencies and volume.

Do you think we'll start to see people using exoskeletons in every day life in the next few years? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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Ultra Thin, Ultra High Contrast TV

2012-01-20T05:27:00.000-08:00

(I promised to cover a few items getting buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show held last week in Las Vegas. This piece is the fourth and final in that series)

Though I'm not a huge TV aficionado myself (the only TV I can see from where I'm sitting at the moment is a 13 year old standard def TV!), television can be really big at the Consumer Electronics Show. This year it was big and thin. 55 inches may be far from the largest of television sets available, but there was something special about what was being shown by two well known manufacturers.

LG was first, showing their highly anticipated 55-inch OLED TV at CES 2012. The picture on the 55EM9800, by report of all who saw it in person, is astounding. Bright colors, high contrast, great viewing angles, high performance for fast changing display, all in a sleek and manageable (about 17 lbs.) ultra-thin (4mm at its thinnest point) package. The 55EM9800 can handle 3D and makes use of current LG 3D glasses. Prices haven't been announced, but industry insiders have estimated between $8,000 and $10,000 as an initial price.

Samsung followed soon after with an announcement at CES 2012 of their own 55-inch OLED television, set for release in the second half of 2012.

Is a television set of this highest quality a priority for you? Would you pay top dollar for such a display? Please leave a comment and let us know what you think!

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Parrot AR Drone 2

2012-01-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

Cool "toy" delivers serious Augmented Reality

(I promised to cover a few items getting buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show held last week in Las Vegas. This piece is the third in that series)

The Parrot AR Drone is a remote control flying copter-device with four rotors (a "quadricopter") positioned in a 2x2 grid. It's flight can be controlled from Apple iOS devices such as the iPad, and now Android devices, and the flight software takes advantage of touch and tilt elements of the interface. The AR name stands for Augmented Reality, which I'll describe in a moment.

The AR Drone was shown off at CES this year, as it was each of the last two years. But this year Parrot was showing off a significant upgrade. This newest model, the AR.Drone 2.0, has a 1280×720 pixel forward-facing main camera that shows the view that a pilot would have in flight. It also has a 320×240 pixel downward-facing camera in its underbelly, which is used to view the ground for feedback used in flight and in landing. The main camera can record that view of a flight, which suggests some fun possibilities such as chasing your friends around the backyard, spying on your little sister and her friends, looking into the neighbors windows, etc. – though I'm sure the good people at Parrot had none of those uses in mind when they developed the device. Instead, they had Augmented Reality in mind.

The Augmented Reality comes from the use of the video feed from the on board camera, a set of overlays on the user interface, and the ability to interact with the environment – especially another AR Drone. Two or more AR.Drone operators can participate in "in-air battles" in the same virtual airspace, each user seeing real flight in real space, and virtual shots fired and scored on the tablet user interface.

Navigating the device from a smartphone or tablet can make use of one of two main modes. In the classic "relative mode" the pilot needs to think of his position as if flying on the device. Thus, if the device was crossing in front of you and flying to your right, "forward" would take it farther to your right. In the new "absolute mode" of flight, the controls from an iOS device allow the AR.Drone to be moved in the absolute direction you tilt the iOS control, no matter which way the AR is facing. So tilting an iPad acting as controller back toward you moves the device in that absolute direction. That "absolute" flight approach is a little more complicated for the software, but probably more intuitive for new flyers.

Is the Parrot AR.Drone a toy, or is it the beginning of something larger and more interesting? Can you see yourself spending a little over $200 to own one?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think!

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Ultrabooks Big at CES

2012-01-13T04:27:00.000-08:00

The Future of Laptops is Slim

(I promised to cover a few items getting buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. This piece is the second in that series)

There are a few trends emerging from CES 2012, but one of the strongest seems to be "Ultrabooks." The term is an Intel trademark, and indeed all the ultrabooks being shown at CES have Intel processors. But the term seems to indicate ultra-slim laptop computers with solid state storage and long life battery. Sort of like the MacBook air, introduced a full four years ago at MacWorld.

Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung and others all introduced ultrabook models at CES. Wired has a nice piece describing 11 of their favorite ultrabooks and tables. The Lenovo Yoga looks quite interesting in that it is a sort of ultrabook/tablet hybrid.

The product category really does seem to be an important one. The future of laptops is slim. My impression is that laptop users largely rejected the low-cost low-performance "netbook" idea of a few years ago. I think that many now prefer to use tablets in that low-cost, light device, simple access space. They want full function and portability for their laptops, which is where ultrabooks seem to shine.

Seems like Apple really had this one nailed before the competition: they rejected netbooks, introduced the MacBook Air, and then introduced the iPad.

Is an ultrabook in your future? Is a smartphone in your pocket, a tablet in your hand, and an ultrabook back at your desk (or in your messenger bag) the magic combination for an information worker? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

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Nest Thermostat

2012-01-11T04:28:00.000-08:00

Next Steps In Home Energy Management

(I promised to cover a few items getting buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Here's the first of them)

You almost certainly have a thermostat in your house or apartment. Maybe you try your best to use it well to manage heating and cooling energy in your space. Maybe you mostly ignore it. Maybe you curse it. But you probably don't love your thermostat. The Nest just might change that.

The Nest Learning Thermostat is truly the next generation. It's a very intelligent thermostat which learns as you use it. Adjust the temperature and the Nest recognizes the changes you make and the times of day you make them. Over a short period of time (days), it develops a profile of use and applies it. Unlike cumbersome programmable thermostats, which you program through tedious menus and steps, the Nest learns from what you actually do with it. Once your patterns are established, one time changes won't change the pattern the Nest uses, but a few repetitions of that change over a few days and the pattern will be adjusted. Beyond that, the Nest can be accessed from an iPhone, iPad or Android device to adjust settings from the couch or from a much greater distance.

Co-founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers set out to reinvent the thermostat using the lessons of the best consumer electronics, with pleasing user interfaces and progressive learning. They hoped to create something that would help people to save energy and money using a device that made it much simpler, and much more satisfying to do so. They put serious design effort into the project, and serious horsepower in the box as a TechCrunch Teardown of the device reveals.

The Nest is in short supply right now, but my friend Jorj Bauer has one and says that he likes that "its interface isn't from 1970." His whole family uses it and they really like that the unit can adjust appropriately when they are out of the house, saving energy.

The $250 price tag is quite high for a thermostat, but it really could help you save serious money over the long term, and might just help you to have a little fun as you think about home energy conservation.

Many of the devices at CES this week are more exotic than this one, but the Nest is a device I could really see myself buying. What about you? Leave a comment and let us know.

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CES 2012

2012-01-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012, with well over 100,000 attendees, is getting going this week in Las Vegas.

Though CES is a multi-faceted event with press briefings, key notes, tech sessions and more, the booths are what interest many. At these vendor booths, products and product ideas for consumer electronics are displayed and demonstrated, and their design teams get a sense for how the public will react. Some of these new products are radical, some not. Some are just now coming to market, some are nothing more than concepts and probably never will come to market at all.

What rumors are you hearing? What press releases are catching your ear? Are there some things coming out of CES that might make good RapidGroove topics? If so, leave a comment or drop me a line and let me know.

At least one or two blog entries coming up will be about things coming out of CES.

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A Radically New Vehicle

2012-01-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

Space-Age Wheels

I’m often drawn to radically new and different vehicles, whether personal vehicles like the Segway or X-Prize-winning civilian space flight vehicles.

San Francisco-based Lit Motors is reportedly developing a really interesting new vehicle. It's a gyroscope-stabilized enclosed electric two-wheeler. Or to put it another way, it’s a motorcycle with a roof and walls and it doesn’t get knocked over very easily. It’ll even stay upright on its own when stopped.

According to Gizmag the C1, still in concept stages, is being developed by industrial designer Daniel Kim with some design assistance from the MIT Media Lab. Prototypes are in the works, and plans call for production vehicles to be available at a price of between $16,000 and $24,000 by 2013 or 2014.

The vehicle would have advanced concepts, including the ability to use power that would otherwise be lost to braking to be put to productive use in driving the flywheels. In addition to providing stability, those flywheels will also deliver power back to the drivetrain when the vehicle is accelerating, resulting in improved efficiency.

Does this look like the future? Does it look like a vehicle you’d want to use? Leave a comment and let us know.

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Apple TV Apps

2012-01-03T04:16:00.000-08:00

iOS Apps on a Jailbroken Set Top Box

The Apple rumor mill is always active. Along with the latest iPad 3 and iPhone 5 rumors, we’ve been hearing Apple TV rumors for at least the last six months. Most of the rumors involve an actual television set with an Apple logo, and lots of speculation on exactly how Apple will re-invent the television experience. But until and unless a television set comes along, Apple TV actually refers to an existing product – the $99 “hobby” product that Apple released in 2007 with a second release in 2010.

The current Apple TV is an inexpenisve IP set top box that hooks up by HDMI to your HD TV to deliver iTunes and iPhoto content as well as YouTube, Vimeo and more. I own two of them, and I really do think they bring great value for the price. What many of us have always thought was missing was access to iOS apps. While not every iOS app would make sense on a large, shared screen, and while the lack of a touch interface presents an obvious challenge, some apps really could be great on the television. Angry Birds party anyone? How about using the IMDB app as you watch TV?

Over the last day or two, there have been reports of a proof of concept in which a jailbroken Apple TV accessed and ran iOS apps. It certainly looks interesting.

What do you think? Are there apps on your iPhone or iPad that you’d like to run on your television? Do you have thoughts on an alternative to the touch user interface that would make sense on this platform? Perhaps something like the Microsoft Kinnect?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Lisa for this photo!

RapidGroove wishes you a healthy, happy 2012.

6 for 12

2011-12-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

Six of my predictions for 2012

The end of any year is a great time to think about the year that’s ending, and the year that’s coming up.

2011 was the year in which we got the iPad 2 and the Kindle Fire. It was the year in which social media helped to fuel an “Arab-spring” and in which AT&T didn’t acquire T-Mobile. Netflix did the Qwikster fake-out and then back-pedaled. HP got Meg Whitman. 2011 was the year in which we lost Steve Jobs.

For 2012, I’m prepared to say that the following six predictions are, uh, "sure things." Or at least I think they are very likely.

The four largest, national US mobile carriers, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, will change in a way that results in only three national carriers standing. That may be through an acquisition, through a merger, or through an outright failure.
Verizon will have enough of a 4G rollout in the USA to legitimately call it “nationwide” in 2012. AT&T will be close behind. LTE will win as the dominant 4G technology.
Research In Motion (RIM), makers of the Blackberry handhelds, will receive one or more legitimate, unsolicited acquisition bids. And they’ll seriously consider them, because they need to. It isn’t clear how much longer they’ll be viable along their current trajectory.
Apple will announce and ship iPad 3 in the first half of 2012. It’ll have the high-density "retina" display. Apple will not release a 7” or 8” tablet in 2012 unless the Kindle Fire or B&N Nook take a big bite out of iPad sales. I don’t think that will happen, because I think the three tablets can share the market quite well for at least another year.
The Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook will continue to sell well, and a second revision of each will be released in 2012, improving in small ways based on early user feedback, while maintaining the low prices that make them a winner in a slice of the market in which the iPad does not play.
No SOPA, no PIPA. We won't even get the OPEN act. None of the US legislation currently proposed and being considered in congress to fight foreign intellectual property theft or copyright infringement will make any real progress, let alone be signed into law. This will be less about congressional caution and more about congressional impotence. But in this case, I'm not complaining.

That's my 6! Do you have predictions to share? Do you disagree with some of mine? Leave a comment and let us know!

See you in 2012.

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No T-Mobile Acquisition for AT&T

2011-12-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

Graphic Credit ARS Technica

The AT&T bid to acquire T-Mobile, which I wrote about back on November 29th, has probably run it's course. The deal had run afoul of both the DOJ and the FCC this year and had clearly been on the ropes for some time, and finally fell apart early in the week before Christmas.

AT&T made it known that they were withdrawing the bid and as a result would "recognize a pretax accounting charge of $4 billion" which is a combination of a breakup fee AT&T agreed to pay T-Mobile plus spectrum rights worth another $1 billion.

How does this play out for the two companies, and how does it play out for consumers? AT&T will pay the $4B and avoid the $39B acquisition cost. They'll continue on as an industry giant, largely unaffected. They'll move on to other approaches to expansion.

What about T-Mobile? T-Mobile, who has been struggling along in 4th place gets some short term cash but their prospects for the future are no better. ARS Technica called it “something of a strategic triumph for T-Mobile and its parent company, Deutsche Telekom,” based on the cash infusion and a new set of roaming agreements likely between AT&T and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom. But it isn’t clear to me that either of these development would be enough to save T-Mobile. Eweek explores some possible fallout, and it makes for an interesting read.

If the reason to oppose the merger was to avoid too much market consolidation, and to preserve consumer choice (good goals!), what happens if T-Mobile fails or quickly becomes irrelevant even without the merger? Did consumers win?

AT&T makes some of these arguments and I'm not sure that they are wrong in this case.

Do you have thoughts on how this plays out for consumers? Will T-Mobile prosper after this failed acquisition? Please share your comments here.

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Right Idea, Wrong Time

2011-12-20T04:49:00.000-08:00

There are good ideas, bad ideas, and ideas whose time has not yet arrived. We all probably see ideas of all three types all the time. If only we could reliably distinguish among them.

Think back to the Apple Newton, one of the first high-function handheld devices. It was, by any reasonable account, a loser. The interface was clunky, the software was lackluster, the price was high, and so not surprisingly, the sales were poor. A few years later the Palm Pilot came out. It did much better, but it was still only a niche device for a tech audience. At about that time, it would have been easy to conclude that personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other handheld electronics were never going to become the “next big thing.” And then the iPod came along. And then the iPhone came along. Suddenly, advanced handheld computers were mainstream and everywhere.

Think back to the tablet computers first introduced a decade ago. They used pen input and ran a Windows operating system. But they didn’t quite catch on. It would have been easy to conclude that tablet computers were not going to catch on. Until the iPad came along.

In each of these cases, a perfectly good idea came to market too soon, or perhaps was poorly executed. Or both. Eventually a better implementation came along at the right moment at the right price – and the product category took off. I suggest that it’s worth keeping an open mind to this possibility when a product or product category looks like a loser. When prices drop due to falling costs of construction or due to volume, when rough edges get smoothed, when the market itself changes around the product category, sometimes a surprise "winner" emerges.

Remember the Segway? The personal transportation device was going to transform cities and change the way people get around. Except it hasn't done so.

The Segway occupies an odd place culturally. Not a success, but not forgotten. It’s a central element in odd stories like a modern Santa delivering Christmas trees, or an accident ending a college career. It’s typical to see stories about how the Segway failed to deliver on the huge initial hype. It hasn’t changed the way cities are planned and the way people get from place to place. At least not yet. But what if the Segway is like the Newton or the Palm Pilot or the Windows Tablet? What if it is almost the right idea but introduced a little too soon and at too high a price to catch on?

I can't say that I'm convinced that the Segway (or some derivative work) will catch on, but I'm open to the possibility. I've learned that some things start out looking like a bad idea and later turn into a good one.

What do you think? Is the Segway an idea whose time has not yet come? Please leave a comment and let us know.

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Wild Cranberry Sauce

2011-12-16T05:11:00.000-08:00

Sauce for the goose

It’s been a while since I posted a food blog. With Christmas coming up, I wondered whether some of you might be cooking turkey or goose. Cranberry sauce makes a great addition and is surprisingly easy to make.

A friend often tells me of a bog where she picks wild cranberries, and the cranberry sauce she makes. Sadly, I don't have a bog so I have to buy my cranberries at the grocery store. But cranberries are cranberries (I hope), and I think this will work whether your cranberries are wild or tame.

Ingredients:

4 cups (wild) cranberries
1 cup apple juice and water, mixed
1/2 cup sugar
2 pears (or apples), cored and sliced/chopped
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
orange zest (optional) or cinnamon (optional)

Rinse the berries in a colander and remove stems and any bad berries. Bring juice/water and sugar to a boil in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan. Add cranberries, pears, raisins, and nuts and bring the pot back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While simmering the berries, additional ingredients can be added for more flavoring such as orange zest or cinnamon.

Take the sauce off the heat at this point, or simmer it down to the desired thickness. Remember the sauce will thicken a little more while cooling.

Chill the sauce completely (a few hours) before serving. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a week or more.

If you try this recipe, or plan to, let me know by leaving a comment!

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Robot Companion

2011-12-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

(and Concierge)

How long until you can have the kind of “droid” companions and helpers that Luke Skywalker, the poor farm boy from Star Wars, had? Luke could speak very naturally with C-3PO and get his help. C-3PO could listen and talk, but he could also walk and interact with his environment.

Siri for the Apple iPhone has shown us not only that natural language interaction with software is cheap and practical today, but that the technology can be applied as an “assistant” – Siri helps you get things done! Find your way, send a text message, listen to your music, and much more. With a little time to mature, that technology might become very sophisticated and very reliable.

A technology mashup that keeps occurring to me is the verbal interaction of Siri and the motion and interaction of emerging robots. Robots like the Nao from Aldebaran are becoming more capable all the time, and there are signs that costs are falling. Within a few years, a very capable robot will be commercially available and financially within reach of many.

Doesn't it seem very likely that some of these robots will be equipped to assist us in the ways that Siri does? Doesn't it seem likely that both the robot motion and the natural language interaction and assistance will improve fairly rapidly?

How long until you can have a robot companion and concierge, in your chosen (robot) form factor? A robotic parrot perched on your shoulder? How about a robot dog or cat following you around the house? Would a robot spider hanging from a thread over your desk suit you better?

Now imagine that this companion is really very helpful and speaks in a voice of your choosing. Since software can be configured, let's imagine that the robot uses phrases that are appealing for you, and is as talkative (or quiet) as your own preferences dictate. Doesn't this sound like a helpful and pleasant companion?

Want to find a restaurant, call or text a colleague, check your calendar? Easy. Today's technology can do that. But there might be something satisfying about getting help from an assistant that is a self contained, mobile robot that appears to look you in the eye and knows you by appearance as well as by voice.

Maybe you’ll be able to have what Luke Skywalker had within just a few short years – but hopefully more capable and less neurotic when compared with C-3PO.

What do you think? Would you want one? Please leave a comment and let us know.

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Tracking Shoppers

2011-12-09T04:25:00.000-08:00

It’s not just for browsers anymore

I've been doing a lot of shopping this holiday season. I'd bet that some of you have, too.

If you are at all tech savvy, you know that as you search the web and shop for things online, a rough profile of your activity is established through the use of a few web server and browser tricks. The result is that you get targeted ads, and the online stores get a better chance of making a buck. It can be creepy and in some cases it could result in what might reasonably be considered a personal privacy breach. But it’s old news. And if you want to avoid it, you can just close your laptop, hop in the car, and go to the mall. Right?

Not so fast.

A British company called Path Intelligence is “bringing online analytics to the offline world” (a quote from their web site). They have a product called FootPath that uses cell phone signals as input to determine the movement of consumers through a retail space.

ARS Technica reported that two US malls – one in California and one in Virginia – are trialing this technology. They also reported an interpretation of US Law that would make this sort of thing illegal. It may take some time for technology and law to come to terms. You might want to watch your privacy while that plays through.

Would you be inclined to turn off your phone to protect your privacy if this technology were in place in a mall near you? It might not be so easy to do. Especially when you are now so accustomed to “checking in” on Foursquare and Facebook, reviewing your Groupon deals, using your new Amazon Price Check app, and texting your friends about the cute outfit you just got.

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Fifty

2011-12-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

Half way to 100

I’m resisting the urge to write about Carrier IQ, the end of the Dell Streak, and a new round of Apple TV rumors in order to write about something of much more universal interest.

Late this year I turned 50. Half a century! Some of my friends felt anxious about turning 30 or 40. Not me. Those ages seemed like no big deal. But 50? I have to admit that 50 is a bigger deal for me. I don't think it makes me "old," but I know that I'm no longer young.

I don’t feel much different from when I was 5 or 15 years old. My inner voice, my sense of myself, is still the same. The same things make me laugh. The same music catches my ear. But I can't pretend that being 50 is no big deal. There are signs everywhere. My life insurance costs keep going up. My annual checkups are more "interesting." AARP wants me to have discount dinners, but the restaurants want me to eat them earlier. I've become invisible, at best, and "way old" at worst, to the 20 year olds that walk around the campus where I work.

And though I'm not as strong as I once was, my years on the planet so far have served me well. My life experience and the sum total of my reading, of the problems I've seen and solved, and the lessons I've learned from the mistakes I've made, have all helped me to feel like I understand a little more about life and the world I live in.

Being 50 clearly puts me in the later stages of my career. It makes me pause to think about what I've accomplished and what I'd still like to accomplish. It also encourages me to be more interested in the careers of others than ever before. One of the best ways for me to do some long term good is to help those who will still be in the workforce when my time is over.

Reflecting on your days can be worthwhile if it's done with self-improvement and fresh goals in mind. I have several goals for the months and years to come. I'm happy to admit that I'm no longer young. But I'm also quick to point out that I'm not quite done yet.

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Kindle Fire

2011-12-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

Pocket tablet for pocket change

Amazon’s new Kindle Fire is a mini-tablet with some great features at a very reasonable price. At just $200, it may be more within reach for those who want a touch tablet device but don’t want to spend $500 to $800 on today’s gold standard tablet, the Apple iPad 2.

I’ve been using an iPad 2 for a few months and have only used the Fire for a few days now, so the rest of this blog entry will be just quick initial impressions and a comparison based on what I know so far. I can easily say that both are great high function devices.

The iPad runs Apple’s iOS operating system which is by now very mature and functions well at home and in the enterprise. The Fire seems more suited to home (only) use, and is running a modified version of the Android mobile operating system. The OS works well enough on the device, but I'd look forward to some improvements such as seeing more options and more flexibility in the Settings to accommodate more complex connectivity and application tuning.

Geek.com size comparison

The Fire cuts corners in several key places in order to hit that low price point. It has no 3G wireless, no camera or microphone, and no GPS. It has only 8GB of storage, and no expansion slot. It relies on streaming from Amazon for larger media objects such as movies.

The iPad is by far the larger tablet. It measures 9.5" by 7.3" and weighs 21.3 oz. The smaller Fire (7.5" by 4.7") is actually a very handy size for carrying around, sticking in a coat pocket or purse. It’s probably the perfect size for watching video on the snack tray on an airplane – but then a device without much on-board storage may not be the best choice for offline operation on an airplane. For offline operation, the Fire is going to be better at storing smaller media objects such as books and music, relying upon streaming (and thus Wifi access) for larger media such as movies. At 14.6 oz it weighs only about 2/3 as much as the iPad, but it somehow feels a bit heavy for its small size. I've heard some say they appreciate the "heft" as it makes the device feel substantial.

The Silk browser seems to perform very well in my browsing so far. It renders even fairly complex pages accurately and quickly, it has a nice tabbed-browsing interface, and it supports active content including Flash. The included Mail app is simple but functional. I'd hope for some additional functionality in the Mail app, or the ability to load some alternative mail clients. Other apps are available through the Kindle Fire app store, but these are only a subset of the larger pool of Android apps. Amazon is curating that larger pool down to a set suitable for the Fire and presumably also to select those apps which are consistent with Amazon's goals for the Fire. By contrast, the iPad has the legendary Apple iTunes/App store. Lots of music and movies, and the largest selection of mobile apps.

What's really clear about the Fire is that its integration into the overall Amazon ecosystem is very strong. Amazon makes it easy to use the Fire to buy online books and magazines, music and videos. They go so far as to strongly suggest one-click purchasing be turned on for this device. They give away one month of Amazon Prime (free 2 day shipping on Amazon purchases, and free online access to some content) and then take advantage of the free access to movies and books – though of course once your free month is up they are counting on many of us signing up for the $79/year service.

So far, I like the Fire. It's very portable and very easy to use. If Amazon continues to refine the software and continues to use smart marketing practices, I think they'll put a lot of Kindle Fire tablets in the hands of a lot of users.

Is a Kindle Fire on your holiday shopping list, or the list of a loved one? Leave a comment and let us know!

Links:

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/ipad-2-vs-kindle-fire-vs-nook-tablet-specs-showdown-20111114/

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ATT-Mobile

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

And then there were three?

In the US, the four largest cell phone carriers in order of size (both customer count and revenue) are Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Together they account for a little more than 90% of the US market.

Back in March 2011, AT&T announced its intent to acquire T-Mobile. The combined company would be larger than Verizon, and so would take over the number one spot. And consumers would be down to three practical choices when it comes to national-scale carrier networks. That was the theory, anyway; it has not been smooth sailing for the proposed merger since.

A detailed timeline is long (and boring), but here are the highlights:

March 20: AT&T announces intent to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion. Within days, Sprint opposes the merger, saying that the deal would create an "AT&T/Verizon duopoly" in the marketplace.
Aug. 31: The U.S. DOJ files suit against the proposed merger, saying that it would result in “higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products.”
Nov. 22: FCC Chairman Julius Genochowski calls for a hearing, signaling that the FCC believes the merger to not be in the public interest.
Nov. 24: AT&T informs the FCC that it is withdrawing its request for a spectrum merge in order to focus on the DOJ suit. AT&T and T-Mobile say they intend to continue pursuing the merger.

Though AT&T now will propose a variety of asset sales to get regulators to view the merger more favorably, the merger/acquisition is clearly in serious jeopardy and AT&T will have to pay a charge of $4 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of this year to pay a "breakup fee" it owes Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile's parent company) if the deal falls apart.

If only that $4 billion had been spent on AT&T network upgrades! More data and voice capacity, and a quicker 4G upgrade would benefit AT&T customers in a real and direct way, and would help to push Verizon and the other carriers to upgrade more quickly.

I can't say whether T-Mobile is viable long term without AT&T. A sale to AT&T now was probably a very good option for them. There might be other suitors, including cable companies like Comcast or perhaps other big players interested in the carrier space, such as Google.

It would have been better if AT&T didn't attempt this merger but now having done so, I think I'm hoping that they somehow succeed. I'm usually against consolidation that limits user choice, but this case might be different. With the merger AT&T would get some good spectrum and put it to good use to benefit consumers. Without the merger, they'll pay the $4B to Deutsche Telekom and probably delay the needed network upgrades, while T-Mobile could continue to shrink and slowly become less relevant as market competition for AT&T and Verizon.

Do you agree? Please share your opinion in the comments below!

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

In the US, this coming Thursday is Thanksgiving. It's a favorite holiday of mine for a number of reasons – family, football and feast topping the list.

For me, Thanksgivings are either driving holidays or cooking holidays. Since I don't have local family, a Thanksgiving at the house of other family members involves a multi-hour drive (each way). Given that, I much prefer a cooking Thanksgiving. Family comes our way and we cook the feast, and we arrange the annual kids versus adults "Turkey Bowl" football game.

Family - We'll host as many members of my wife's family as will come our way. We'll have a great visit, with football and feasts playing a big role, but we'll go to the movies, play some music together, maybe play a few board games, and sit around and visit.

Football - We'll watch some football on TV, but one of our best traditions is that we play a real football game. We mark out a good-sized football field and play older generation against younger generation. Many years ago, the adults would work hard to keep the game close and then engineer a tie at the end so that the kids could feel good about their efforts. About four years ago the "kids" started winning outright. They are now teens and young adults, and we are, well, "older adults." They are fast and athletic and we are slow (and athletic!). But the game is always fun, always exciting, and there are always hot chocolates, beers and glasses of wine after.

Feast - Ours is an all-traditional American Thanksgiving feast. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, root veggies, dinner rolls, red and white wine. A main table and a kids table. Many hours to cook, an hour or more to clean up, and 30 minutes at most in between prep and cleanup to actually eat the feast. Once around the table(s) for everyone to say a few words on what makes them thankful this year. Bliss.

Facebook friends can expect to see a few photos of the feast and the football game later this week.

I'm guessing that my Thanksgiving sounds a lot like yours. But I might be wrong about that. Whether it does or it doesn't, please share your plans/hopes, or if it's after the fact when you read this, please share your experience.

How will you spend your long Thanksgiving weekend? Do you have some wonderful Thanksgiving traditions? Post a comment here and share it with us all.

Most of all, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

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Google Music Arrives

2011-11-18T04:15:00.000-08:00

A Real iTunes Competitor?

Google Music, in beta since May and the topic of a RapidGroove Blog post back on May 18, came out of beta earlier this week to become a production service. The service is still free and allows for storage of up to 20,000 songs, but the big change is that it moved beyond a cloud storage and streaming service – now Google Music is selling music directly.

Google Music users can make use of Google+ to share information on the music they purchase. Those in your Google+ circles can even try out your tracks with limited play.

Google surprised many by the breadth of the initial offering, securing deals with three of the four major labels - EMI, Sony, and Universal. Only Warner Music is not at the party, and they’ll likely show up soon if Google Music sales are strong enough. There are currently over 8 million songs in the store, with more coming soon.

Google also has something for indie bands and fans of indie music. The service has most of the major indie labels in the store, but the service also provides a way for independent musicians who own rights to their music to upload and sell it through the store, and to keep 70 percent of that sales revenue.

Google obviously hopes that Google Music will be a legitimate competitor for Apple iTunes, which has become the giant of music retail and playback. iTunes achieved that by redefining the way people acquire and then organize, access and play their music. Is the Google offering on the right track to compete? Are its differences appealing, and not just to those who want any alternative to the Apple experience?

Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

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Last Fishing Trip of 2011

2011-11-15T04:57:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I got a chance to fish with D & R, two of my college friends from way long ago. It was a great way to finish out the 2011 fishing season. My boats are already out of the water for the winter, so we chartered the Peace of Mind for 5 hours of Striped Bass fishing. Though it was a chilly and windy day, and the ocean was rough at times, the fish were biting and we had a great time.

Sunrise

We got to the docks at 6:15am and were underway by 6:30am. Our captain knew that the winds would be picking up as the hours passed, so he suggested an hour and a half in the ocean while the tide was coming in, then a short break back at the docks while the tide turned, then 3-4 hours fishing the inlet rips during the outgoing.

R sees whose mouth is bigger

D with the best fish of the day

The ocean fishing was rough, and the bite was slow. D landed a short, and I missed a fish. We were bouncing around like crazy and not doing much, so we got back to the docks for the turn of the tide. A quick breakfast and coffee at a nearby deli, and we were back underway. The wind was strong and the currents pushed our 28' Rampage sport fish boat around something fierce. Conditions were bad enough that we saw only one other boat fishing the entire day and it turned out to be my friend and neighbor K, who also took a shot at some fall Striped Bass. But every time Captain Jim got the boat heading squarly into the inlet rips and presented the baits (live "spots" on circle hooks, fishfinder rigs with 5 ounce sinkers) we got a bite. And many of those bites resulted in fish -- at least for D & R. I didn't quite have the touch that day! R landed 3 keepers, D got 2 keepers and 2 shorts, and I got just one fish but was glad it was a keeper.

A couple of keepers

Back at the dock, Captain Jim took a photo of three happy guys and six fish to use on his web site (I'll be looking to see if he uses it), then he cleaned the fish for us and sent us home with fresh fish filets. We threw two big filets right on the grill (salt, pepper, orange/ginger) and had them for lunch. Striped Bass that fresh is really something special. I enjoyed my fish with a cold beer and two good friends.

On the grill!

We had enough fish to all take home a large bag of fresh filets even after that lunch. I gave some to friends and family and got two dinners and two lunches for my entire family from what was left.

Now I'm counting the days until the 2012 fishing season starts for me in April!

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