via BBC News – IBM’s Watson supercomputer crowned Jeopardy king.

For some reason, I can’t stop thinking that the music and the visuals could have done such a better job if the [...]]]> I saw Tron: Legacy last weekend with my sons and I really, really wanted to like it I loved the visuals and I can’t get enough of the music Daft Punk Rulez!

For some reason, I can’t stop thinking that the music and the visuals could have done such a better job if the story and characters weren’t so lame

Unlike after Avatar, where I thought the story and the characters WERE lame, and the story basically pushed all sorts of progressive liberal propaganda down our gullets, this ones story was just lame. It just seemed that there were two many elements brought in, too many bits unexplained. Even if you saw the first movie, which we did, there were still some head scratchers in there.

IMHO, there were just too many “What the hell just happened?” moments. I afterwards read up on the internet that to really understand what happened, you needed to play the tie-in game and read the tie-in graphic novel in order to “get it”. This is kinda what happened with Matrix movies #2 and #3, which is pretty annoying if you ask me. I mean why can’t movies be fully fleshed out anymore? For the hundreds of millions of dollars this cost, you’d think they could piece together a storyline which works?

I guess that’s the danger of having too many scriptwriters. Once you have more than 2 I think that’s where things go awry.

There was much good stuff in there to be mined:

1. the whole open source vs paid software space
2. the effects of building software which seeks perfection
3. ethnic cleansing
4. spontaneous manifestation of intelligent life
5. a father reconnecting with his son
6. a son seeking the guidance of a father

But all of these threads were never fully explored. And right now this is probably the 10th time I’ve listened to the score from this movie, which is so much more epic than the movie. Maybe in my mind, the movie was more epic than it was. I mean when you spend that much money on a movie, can’t you at least make it make sense?

This is the iPhone’s FOURTH generation, and it has basic issues even as a phone.

One of my friends, a real Apple fan – not quite a fanboi – is actually thinking about taking it [...]]]> Like I mentioned in a previous post. Make sure that you think things through before you make the leap.

This is the iPhone’s FOURTH generation, and it has basic issues even as a phone.

One of my friends, a real Apple fan – not quite a fanboi – is actually thinking about taking it back and swapping it for the 3GS he traded in. i say do it: break free.

Check out the new Futurama series on Comedy Central, they did an amazing rip on Apple and the eye-phone.

Consumer Reports magazine said Monday it can’t recommend the iPhone 4 to shoppers, because of persistent reception issues caused by touching the Apple Inc. phone.

via Consumer Reports Won’t Recommend iPhone 4 – WSJ.com.

I remember the days when it took literally a full time systems administrator, engineering personnel, and hundreds or thousands to millions of dollars in order to build and deploy a static web site, let alone the incredibly complex applications that we are seeing today. I personally [...]]]> There are no more excuses, if you ask me.

I remember the days when it took literally a full time systems administrator, engineering personnel, and hundreds or thousands to millions of dollars in order to build and deploy a static web site, let alone the incredibly complex applications that we are seeing today. I personally remember the days of buying hardware, finding a place for the actual servers to sit, T1 lines, locked cages, hosting services, the differences between shared and dedicated hosting etc etc etc.

It took forever, a specialized set of skills, and a ton of money in order to setup and run an internet business.

Not any more.

Today, almost anyone with a basic set of skills can fire up an internet application in no time. Leveraging cloud services for the hosting, which provide you with a complete, scalable infrastructure (Heroku, Engine Yard), application frameworks which allow you to rapidly build applications (Ruby on Rails), cloud based services which support those applications (ZenDesk, Get Satisfaction), and APIs which allow you to build applications on top of applications which already provide a lot of the base functionality that any application requires (such as user logins via Twitter or Facebook), it takes very little effort to light up an idea.

All of the above services are free, or have free packages and trials that you can offer. And if you light up your app and there is traction, they can all scale up.

So what are you waiting for? Now is the time to take that idea and turn it into reality and see if it flies. It has never been easier to build and launch products as it is today.

Living example: we lit up http://tweeb.us in less than 6 weeks.

What ideas do you have in your head right now that you can spin up?

1. Light

2. Small

3. Fast

via all things aria.

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1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy [...]]]> Follow up to my earilier post as to why I’m not an Apple customer: here is the text of the leaked memo to the AppleCare people regrading the iPhone 4 problems: AppleCare reps are being told to not give bumper cases to disgruntled users.

—

1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy — your tone when delivering this information is important.

a. The iPhone 4s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4s overall antenna performance is better than iPhone 3GS.

b. Gripping almost any mobile phone in certain places will reduce its reception. This is true of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and many other phones we have tested. It is a fact of life in the wireless world.

c. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 3GS, avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand.

d. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.

e. The use of a case or Bumper that is made out of rubber or plastic may improve wireless performance by keeping your hand from directly covering these areas.

2. Do not perform warranty service. Use the positioning above for any customer questions or concerns.

3. Dont forget YOU STILL NEED to probe and troubleshoot. If a customer calls about their reception while the phone is sitting on a table not being held it is not the metal band.

4. ONLY escalate if the issue exists when the phone is not held AND you cannot resolve it.

5. We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers — DONT promise a free bumper to customers.

via Leak shows Apples spin on iPhone 4 flaws – CNN.com.

1. I don’t like having to pay for a phone.

Lets get real people. Everyone [...]]]> Sigh. Once again people I thought knew me say, “I thought you were an iPhone guy”. No, I’m not an iPhone guy, and i have many legitimate reasons for not being an iPhone guy. Here are some of those reasons

1. I don’t like having to pay for a phone.

Lets get real people. Everyone understands that the real cost in wireless phones is the contract period. Carriers and manufacturers recoup their costs almost immediately (especially in my family with 5 cell phones). AT&T should really be giving these things away. But they don’t because of the Cult Of Jobs.

2. The Cult Of Jobs

No matter what anyone says, there are things I really don’t like about the cult of Steve Jobs and the legions of fanbois that he has built. Just reminds me too much of the mindless masses who just think that there is a REAL difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. If you know me, you know I have a big problem with people who put their ability to think and reason on the shelf and mindlessly go out and buy the next thing his guy puts out simply because he does it. They SAY that they have fully researched everything, but they still go out and buy these phones and hardware which have such debilitating issues they would be completely laughed out of the marketplace, were it not for the cult of Jobs

3. Obviously, huge, stupid design flaws

A phone that you have to hold a certain way otherwise your reception goes to zero. A tablet which always forgets the wireless network password its on. Weird non-standard connectors. Special voltage level requirements. Low battery life. Inability to copy and paste! No ability to multi-task! This is 2010 people. Our phones should and can do a hell of a lot more than what even the iPhone 4 can do.

4. I am jaded and cynical about technology.

And so should YOU be. These things are not magical items which will bring you wealth and make you more popular, or get you dates or laid more often. They are tools, devices, prosthetics. They are our bionic sides. but are not magical transformative devices. I mean, sheesh, get real people.

The iPhone, in its latest iteration, by all the specs and reviews, looks like a great device, its ALMOST there, and I may get a iPhone 5 if when it comes out next year. But until then, I am most certainly not an iPhone guy. I may have high standards when it comes to these kinds of things, but so should we all. Maybe then we won’t get treated so often to crappy tech in beautiful packages.

Theoretical [...]]]> Recently, I got to thinking that there are really are two kinds of innovation, and these two types of innovation were very apparent in the kind of programs I would run for companies. Borrowing a term from physics, I like to call these two types of innovation “theoretical” and “applied” just like theoretical and applied physics.

Theoretical innovation is something you simply just cannot do today. There are factors which keep you from actually implementing the envisioned product or service right now. These can be something as simple as the right kind of technology, say size of storage space or wireless bandwidth or as complex as the right geo-political infrastructures. A good example of this is streaming HD virtual reality to wireless phones. Sure, it can be done: but the network is simply not up to the task of allowing it to happen.

Tech factors, strangely enough, are not usually the ones holding back the innovation: it’s more likely the human factor, factions within companies taking credit or laying blame, cultural and political reasons etc. However, the biggest indicator of something being “theoretical innovation” in my view is ability to monetize. If there is no way to make any money off it, even if all barriers were lowered, then it remains in that realm since most no one, save some independently wealthy, or governments, will step up to take it on. It’s this type of innovation which is ideally suited to go into a patent application process.

Applied Innovation, on the other hand, is leading edge work that not only pushes the envelope, it also has a clear path to monetization. If you ask me, this is pretty easy to come up with: is it a product or service that I would use and pay for? Applied innovation takes what is out there today, and rebuilds or mashes it up to create something new, useful and valuable. Applied innovation is the kind of thing that can be taken from idea to launch in days or weeks with a few guys in a garage. And its applied innovation which is probably what most people think about, at least in the business world, as innovation.

Thats not to say that theoretical innovation doesn’t have its place, and many ideas began in the theoretical innovation space, but as these ideas have much longer paths, or in some cases no path to monetization at all, now may not be the best time to pursue theoretical innovation. In boom times, with the wind at our backs, of course, but today, in this climate, a focus on applied innovation is essential.