Mobile • Local • Social

Google Wants Me to Kill Justin Bieber

Travis Wright — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:34:41 +0000

So, unless you have been under a rock for the last few months, you have probably heard the name, Justin Bieber. I have heard it, but I had not one clue as to WHY he was famous. As far as I knew, Justin Bieber was a young actor or singer or something. I knew he had shitloads of twitter followers, but nothing made me want to find out anything about this kid. Who cares? Another pop tard.

Then I read about how he tweeted his “phone number” out, but the number was actually 15-year-old fan’s, Kevin Kristopik. Apparently, Kevin used Google to track down one of Bieber’s friends and eventually got Biebers number and texted him.

“I kind of meddled into his life a little bit,” Kevin said. “He decided to take revenge on me.”

The revenge yielded over 26,000 text messages to Kevin’s iPhone before he had to get a new phone number. The comment posted on Bieber’s verified account asked followers to call the star at a number with a 248 area code. Kevin confirmed that was his number. Bieber has more than 4.5 million followers.

So, this Bieber kid retailiates by tweeting, to text or call him… and this other kid gets bombarded with texts and phonecalls. Kinda funny.

After watching about 10 seconds of that, I typed in “Justin Bieber” into the search box to see why in the hell this Bieber douche has 4.5 million followers.

I click on the first video and watch a small portion of it, when Google Chrome crashed… and told me to “kill them”.

Yes, master.

I found the whole ordeal rather humorous.

Hulu and the Failure of Subscription-Based iPad Applications

Jason Ary — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:14:47 +0000

As I skimmed the iPad app store the other night, the one app that struck me most (besides Flipboard) was one that actually set way, way down at #55. It was the highly-touted Hulu + app, possibly one of the most hoped-for and touted apps by the iPad crowd.

The price was set at $9.99. So far, the iPad has done a phenomenal job of stretching our limits in what users are willing to spend via digital, download-driven purchases. The $.99 standard was set years ago with the introduction of iTunes and music downloads, and for the most part, it transitioned over to the app store and became the entry-point for paid apps in the space for over three years.

There is an unspoken expectation in iTunes app land. If you download a free app, expect/respect the fact the developers need to keep their lights on too, so banners and interstitials are going to be there. Pay for the app? Banners are nowhere to be seen. Heck, one of the biggest selling points in paid apps is the absence of advertising all together.

Hulu + first erred in this area. When the $10 monthly fee was announced, a somewhat surprised crowd at least initially surmised that pre, mid and post-rolls would be kicked to the curb. As fans downloaded and launched the app, they were surprised to see the same ads they saw on its free desktop component laced throughout the app. Hulu actually thought people would pay $120 a year just to be able to carry an ad-driven Hulu portal around on an iPad vs. a laptop.

Think of the easy comparison, TV. You have your free and basic cable channels, where we expect a solid 20 minutes of advertising on the hour. Once we pay for the HBO’s, the Starz, the Showtimes, we pay to have those commercials taken away. Hulu, in essence, is trying to become an HBO with commercials. In reality, it appears they are trying to model their pricing after Netflix, while neglecting to reflect their massive DVD infrastructure and mailing centers that justifies a monthly-based fee.

If Hulu was smart they would have realized the subscription-based pricing model (or lack thereof) has so far been a failure in the mobile application space. Time, Wall Street Journal, the big publications that were once going to be saved and revolutionized on the iPad are nowhere to be seen on the top paid downloads list due to this very reason. Why pay $240 a year for an iPad Time subscription when I can get the print one for $29? The reason is twofold: the tendency for companies to over-estimate how much people are willing to spend on new technologies (see Dyson bladeless fan) and failure to respect the success of the discount-based subscription print models of the last 50 years.

Nearly every application that requires a monthly (or weekly) fee to receive updated content has failed to deliver any sort of discount-based pricing tier. In the print and magazine world, long-term subscriptions often generated discounts in excess of 70% and a large majority of their business. In iPad land, it’s $4 or $10 a month, regardless if you are here for a month or here for three years. The failure to reward loyalty and long-term commitments with discounts is a simple yet huge mistake that quite honestly has not been executed properly in the mobile space yet. Until this simple “problem” can be fixed, applications that require a monthly or weekly fee will continue to be plagued with low ratings and nasty reviews.

If there was ever a “good bad problem” to have, this would honestly be it for the iPublications and Hulus of the world. There’s a simple and proven solution out there…discount-based subscriptions and price tiers. There’s no tech issues, no“app crashing” problems to solve (which seems to be affecting a huge amount of iPhone/iTouch apps that are running O/S 4 on 3G or 3GS right now, but I digress.) These iPublications and video services need to realize that even in the light of sexy, new technologies, people are still going to be realistic and even cautious with how they spend their money in these spaces Until they provide a welcoming and realistic pricing model, subscription-based applications will continue to be nothing more than the Ryan Leaf’s of the iPad app store.

Voice Search for Android 2.2 is Action Packed

DJ Brady — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:29:18 +0000

In an incredible innovation of usefulness, Voice Actions have been much improved beyond the simple “navigate” command.

Here is the full list.

send text to [contact] [message]
listen to [artist/song/album]
call [business]
call [contact]
send email to [contact] [message]
go to [website]
note to self [note]
navigate to [location/business name]
directions to [location/business name]
map of [location]

Ok GO Music Videos (End Love) Never Fail to Impress

DJ Brady — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:24:24 +0000

Gizmodo threw up some tech info about the video production. I love these guys music and their videos are equally if not more amazing.

“The fastest we go is 172,800x, compressing 24 hours of real time into a blazing 1/2 second. The slowest is 1/32x speed, stretching a mere 1/2 second of real time into a whopping 16 seconds. This gives us a fastest to slowest ratio of 5.5 million. If you like averages, the average speed up factor of the band dancing is 270x. In total we shot 18 hours of the band dancing and 192 hours of LA skyline timelapse – over a million frames of video – and compressed it all down to 4 minutes and 30 seconds! Oh and don’t forget, it’s one continuous camera shot.”

Engadget Exclusive: Sony Ericsson to introduce Android 3.0 gaming platform and PSP Go-like smartphone

DJ Brady — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:36:23 +0000

Looks like Engadget has the scoop on a possible (probable?) Android/Sony gaming phone.

Here’s some info:

“Here’s what we can tell you about the hardware: if you’re a gaming fan, this is exactly the kind of phone you’ve been waiting for. The device is described as cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go — in other words, it’s a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is here, but instead of the small joystick, the device will have what was described as a “long touch pad” for analog controls, along with standard PSP buttons and shoulder buttons. The phone has a large display, described as being between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with WVGA or better resolution, a 5 megapixel camera that we’re told might not be final, and it’ll likely have a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU on board. The phone is mostly black with some silver highlights, and the gamepad area is white / silver in color. Apparently it’s currently branded as a Xperia device, but it looks like it will carry PlayStation branding as well. Those who’ve seen the phone say it looks “pretty damn sexy.” The mockup above probably doesn’t do the actual hardware justice, but it should give you an idea of what you’ll be dealing with.”

On the software side, it looks like the device will be running Gingerbread (Android 3.0) with a phone-specific skin, and there will be a new area of the Android Market specifically for the games.

Jump over to Engadget for the entire article and the massive ” Android + Sony + Gaming = FTW” and “Heeeeellllzzzz yeah” commentary.

Gizmodo mock up:

Apple Purchases Liquidmetal® Super Alloy Compound Patents

DJ Brady — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:16:36 +0000

Apple has purchased the patents for an electronic casing industry called Liquidmetal®.

On August 5, 2010, Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Liquidmetal”), entered into a Master Transaction Agreement with Apple Inc., a California corporation (“Apple”), pursuant to which (i) Liquidmetal contributed substantially all of its intellectual property assets to a newly organized special-purpose, wholly-owned subsidiary (the “IP Company”), (ii) the IP Company granted to Apple a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in the field of consumer electronic products in exchange for a license fee, and (iii) the IP Company granted back to Liquidmetal a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in all other fields of use (together with all ancillary agreements, the “Master Transaction Agreement”).

This video show the elasticity of the compound.

From the companies website:

“As the demand for product “miniaturization” continues in the electronic casings industry, Liquidmetal® alloys enable smaller, thinner and more durable designs. Current casings technology is pushed to the limit in supporting these new designs and specifications, especially requirements for larger LCD screens, thinner wall sections and pure metallic surface finishes for products such as mobile phones, PDA’s and cameras.

Liquidmetal alloys possess a unique combination of performance and processing characteristics that are in many ways superior to all available high performance materials such as magnesium, aluminum, titanium and plastics, providing innovative design and manufacturing solutions to the electronic casings industry.

Key Casings Advantages:

With approximately 2.5 times the strength of commonly used titanium alloy and 1.5 times the hardness of commonly used stainless steel, Liquidmetal alloys enable sophisticated, engineered designs required by the evolution of new technologies
Enables thinner, smaller designs while providing greater protection for internal components
Permits thinner walls while providing greater strength
Allows larger, wider screens for expanded features and capabilities
With precision net-shape casting, Liquidmetal alloys can be readily fashioned into intricate, innovative designs resulting in a unique aesthetic advantage
Excellent durability
Scratch and corrosion resistant
Non-reactive

As the demand for innovative electronic casings product designs increases worldwide, Liquidmetal alloys’ cutting edge materials technology is finding an ever increasing and important role in providing designers, engineers and manufacturers solutions to meet expanding customer needs. Liquidmetal alloys combine the processing and cost advantages of competing technologies and performance characteristics that exceed current super alloys which position Liquidmetal alloys in the forefront of many design centers around the globe.”

As seen on Gizmodo.

Fast Company Influence Project: Why I Am Participating

Michelle D'Attilio — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:54:41 +0000

There has been a lot of talk and maybe a little drama surrounding the Fast Company Influence Project and I wanted to write a little something about why I wanted to be a part of the project and why I continue to ask for the support of my friends and colleagues by the way of clicking my link.

Let me start by saying that my reasons are mine and mine alone. I don’t pretend to know why others are involved; that isn’t a huge concern of mine. And while I am sure there is a certain level of vanity in it all, that level is very, very low.

For me, it’s all about business; and while I understand that isn’t some altruistic warm and fuzzy reason (I’m not trying to save the world here) it is my reason.

My company started as a web and brand development business eleven years ago and with the onset of social media we have moved more towards the direction of marketing and PR through social media. Plain and simple, this project allows me to show my clients that I can use my reach to help their company to succeed.

And then, when the bills are paid, I can use that reach for some great causes (here is the warm and fuzzy), like the event that we just did with the Wisconsin Humane Society.

One last thing, I don’t look at this as a competition, but as a project as Fast Company has so aptly named it. We are all in this together, and to that end I’m listing the people I know who are involved with the project and would love for you to support them by clicking their links and please feel free to comment with people you know and include their links. Let’s see what we can do when we support each other.

Charles Gartland – http://fcinf.com/v/abnw

George Kasica – http://fcinf.com/v/b7bq

Eric Sforza – http://fcinf.com/v/awud

Jon Kurozawa – http://bit.ly/aoupAQ

Chad Schomber – http://fcinf.com/v/c5pd

Sarah White – http://fcinf.com/v/ahjx

A. Ryan Thompson – http://fcinf.com/v/djjk

Nate St. Pierre – http://fcinf.com/v/bxch

Susi Schuele – http://fcinf.com/v/dokl

Rebecca Bradley – http://fcinf.com/v/doc3

Mia Kurozawa – http://fcinf.com/v/csvg

Charles Gartland – http://fcinf.com/v/abnw

TweetUp Girls – http://fcinf.com/v/br74

Jeanette Pham – http://fcinf.com/v/b24p

And me – Michelle D’Attilio – http://fcinf.com/v/dxub

Best Buy To Sell Tablets, CTO tweets RocketFish tablet pics

Travis Wright — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 07:34:24 +0000

Obviously, Best Buy was going to start selling a tablet soon… that isn’t a surprise., however it is a bit surprising that its CTO Robert Stephens shot a few pics of the tablet branded RocketFish and tweeted them out over Twitter earlier today.

Beyond the shot above and the one after the break, we don’t know much about the HP Slate-looking tablet — although, Stephens tweeted later that it’s a “form factor proto” with no guts inside.

He had also said about a month ago on Twitter that “the tablet has a front facing camera….runs Froyo 2.2.” We’re assuming that he’s talking about the same tablet you’re peering at above, but we never know what those blue shirts are up to.

Obviously, we started following Mr. Stephens already and will be keeping a close eye on him and his new, apparently non-functioning gadget.

Maybe the iPad will have some competition, sometime, eh? Probably not for awhile. How big of a jump start will Apple end up getting on the next company in the tablet ring.

Dad Life

DJ Brady — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:05:07 +0000

I look nice
I got dozens of dollars
And that’s right
It goes straight to my daughters and my wife
I’m a miracle dad
Makin’ magic with the checkbook is a talent I have

Featured on GodTube

Life Lessons: How To Replace A Lost 32GB iPhone 3GS For $300

Jailbreaking iPhone, now Legal, per US Govt.

Travis Wright — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:45:43 +0000

Owners of the iPhone will be able to legally unlock their devices so they can run software applications that haven’t been approved by Apple Inc., according to new government rules announced Monday.

The decision to allow the practice commonly known as “jailbreaking” is one of a handful of new exemptions from a 1998 federal law that prohibits people from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized uses. The Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office, reviews and authorizes exemptions every three years to ensure that the law does not prevent certain non-infringing uses of copyright-protected material.

Unless users unlock their devices, they can only download apps from Apple’s iTunes store. Software developers must get such apps pre-approved by Apple, which sometimes demands changes or rejects programs for what the developers say are vague reasons.

The new government rules, however, won’t stop Apple from continuing its practice of disabling jailbroken phones with software upgrades. That means owners of such phones might not be able to take advantage of software improvements, and they still run the risk of voiding their warranty. All the new rules do is exempt the user from legal liability — something Apple does not appear to be pursuing anyway. Apple did not return messages for comment Monday.

In addition to jailbreaking, other exemptions announced Monday would:
• allow owners of used cell phones to break access controls on their phones in order to switch wireless carriers.
• allow people to break technical protections on video games to investigate or correct security flaws.
• allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.
• allow computer owners to bypass the need for external security devices called dongles if the dongle no longer works and cannot be replaced.
• allow blind people to break locks on electronic books so that they can use them with read-aloud software and similar aides.

Although the jailbreaking exemption is new, all the others are similar to the last set of exemptions, which were announced in November 2006. The new rules take effect Tuesday and are expected to last a few years.

The exceptions are a big victory for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which had urged the Library of Congress to legalize several of them, including the two regarding cell phones.

Jennifer Stisa Granick, EFF’s civil liberties director, said the rules are based on an important principle: Consumers should be allowed to use and modify the devices that they purchase the way they want. “If you bought it, you own it,” she said.

[via Yahoo ]

Samsung Galaxy S Conference is the Greatest Android Mobile Presentation Ever

DJ Brady — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:00:03 +0000

In the most astounding mobile conference presentation I have ever seen, Samsung highlighted all of the major offerings that its new Galaxy S series Android devices are capable of. I will be acquiring the Sprint Epic (physical keyboard, LED flash, 4G) version of the Galaxy S upon release. Expect an article when that happens. In the meantime. Check this video out of the presentation and the outstanding special effects.

Samsung is full of win.

Reality Distortion Field Remains Strong with Steve Jobs After Apple Antenna Problem Conference

DJ Brady — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:46:23 +0000

A Taiwanese news organization explains the Apple iPhone saga for those that aren’t up to date.

One of the solutions to the antenna fix? Well, just watch the video.

Via Gizmodo.

Mobile App Market

Danielle Hatfield — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:42:26 +0000

Via: MBA
Online

Improv Anywhere: Storm Trooper on NY Subway

DJ Brady — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:17:13 +0000

Always more and more interesting. Improv Anywhere does it again. This time with a Star Wars theme.

Classic.

Social Media Numbers Game

Danielle Hatfield — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:43:56 +0000

Download this FREE Old Bottle Crowns Icon Set by @jancavan

“ Quit counting fans, followers and blog subscribers like bottle caps. Think, instead, about what you’re hoping to achieve with and through the community that actually cares about what you’re doing.” – Amber Naslund, Social Media Today

I came across this quote today and it really struck home . . . it’s about the QUALITY of relationships you have, not another notch on your Social Media belt.

Read this great post by Debbie Weil;

Social Networking Is Not Just a Numbers Game

Another relevent post by ChristineGallagher;

Three Ways to Build Relationships Beyond Social Media

What are you doing in your social communities that to show people you are not a collector?