Anyone who is looking for a new job might consider applying to HP. Their CEO has been fired for mismanagement of funds related to a certain female consultant. What started as an internal investigation based up on their Sexual Harassment policy ended with a violation of their Standards of Business policies.
I’ll take people with too much time and money for 500, Alex.
Source: TheAtlantic.com
So, I’m taking a break from reporting on fun things happening in the technology industry to write something of a whitepaper for a cool idea that I had. If you are interested in mobile application development, as I know a few of my readers are – then you will find the contents of the document attached to this post interesting.
Essentially, this document outlines a very basic protocol that would be useful for the distributed testing of Android applications. If it sounds fun, pop it open and take a look. I’d love to hear some feedback, and if anyone actually implements this let me know!
I’ll try to get back into the habit of posting interesting things daily tomorrow.
Attachment: ADTP.pdf
So, Gizmodo had an interesting post a few days ago that discussed how Verizon smartphone users use more data than AT&T’s smartphone users. At the time I saw this, I was buried in studying for a final exam that I took yesterday, and I’ve been spending a significant portion of my time that would otherwise be dedicated to this blog since then trying to figure out why ProFTPd has stopped allowing me to log in to my own server. (Ah the joys of being your own administrator.)
Anyway, I’m taking a break from yelling obscenities at the creators of nondescript error messages to over-analyze something that may in fact be nothing. Want to join? You know you want to. More after the jump. [...]
So, I usually applaud companies that try to set the curve for new user input standards, and such innovations are usually met with an “ooh ahh” by me… but to be honest – I don’t really know what to make of this:
The Apple Magic Trackpad
I mean, it’s kind of cool looking… I guess… but the “buy this now” chimp that usually bounces up and down on my back when I see new gadgets like this just isn’t bouncing on this one. The idea is to bring multi-touch hand gestures that users on Apple’s mobile platforms have been using into the desktop realm. They want to make rotating an image as easy as spinning your hand in a circle on a pad.
Here’s the quip I’ve got about it: most of the people who are going to be spending $70 (that’s right, the glorified board costs $70) on extra peripherals for their computers, aren’t going to be using Apple’s Preview to rotate their image. In fact, odds are they will be using Photoshop. I’ll be honest, I’ve tried Apple’s software and I don’t like it as much as a photographer. Just saying.
The funny part is that even though it’s brand new… there are a lot of raving reviews on apple’s website… all of them with titles along the lines of “Magical” or “Marvelous”…. I think the Steve Jobs fanboys that work in the Apple Stores around the world are commenting on it…. it will be interesting to see what happens to the ratings when real users get their hands on one.
Am I just a skeptical trackpad hater, or does this smell kind of like a waste of money to everyone else too?
So, Google was kind enough to highlight this in their blog yesterday, and I feel that it is my duty as a citizen of the interwebs/series of tubes to repost this here, because I’m willing to bet that most of my readers don’t read the Google Blog.
Anyway, back in 2001 LeAnn Rimes sued Curb Records Inc to void a contract she signed when she was a minor. The kicker, is that the legal opinion released by the court was written in song, intended to be sung to the tune of several LeAnn Rimes songs. I kid you not. I quote the opening lines of the “Statement of Facts”:
LeAnn Rimes
A very rich and famous star
Wasn’t so rich in times afar
But what a talent she had!
If you are in the mood for a good chuckle, check out Rimes v. Curb Records on Google Scholar. Also, if you guys manage to find any other amusing court decisions in this thing, let me know.
Do you know what the Library of Congress did for you today? Ruled that jailbreaking an iPhone was not a violation of copyright as Apple has been claiming:
The Library of Congress, which has the power to define exceptions to an important copyright law, said on Monday that it was legal to bypass a phone’s controls on what software it will run to get “lawfully obtained” programs to work.
I, for one, am thrilled to hear the Library of Congress say what consumers have been saying all along: we buy it, we own it. Or maybe I’m just happy to stick it to the App Store Police.
Source: New York Times
So I don’t know about anyone else, but I was kind of creeped out when I ran across this news story from the WSJ last night. It talks about how Microsoft and Google are bidding for contracts to run email services for different Federal Organizations on their respective clouds.
Currently, most large organizations maintain specific computers called email servers for managing their corporate email. These email servers are often expensive to run, so to save money many small businesses and even some larger businesses (like the University of Georgia) have started using cloud services – where the hardware is maintained by whatever company is providing the email service. One of the major benefits is performance. Think of it as a co-op of sorts, but for processing power. But the flip side to this is that those organizations give up most of the control they have over their email server configuration, specifically in the area of security. [...]
Yes! I’m alive! I survived my exam and caught up on everything at work, so here I am again blogging. And boy do I have something to blog about. I was reading Talkandroid.com this morning (while drinking my coffee of course) and came across this little gem:
The Dell Streak (Photo Credit: Dell)
Allow me to be the first to introduce you to the Dell Streak. This little gem is an Android-powered device that Dell is producing, and I’m going to tell you all of what you need to know about it, and why this phone is going to be superb. More after the jump. [...]
It should be noticed that today is the day I stopped reading John Gruber’s Daring Fireball. Listening to the guy on the top of a soapbox gets old after awhile. Especially when he bashes Android without knowing what he’s talking about. So, unsubscribe.
Anyway, this week I’m preoccupied with a project and an exam, among other things – so I may not be as active this week. But here are some cool bite-sized links for you to check out today. Leave me some comment love, and I’ll see you guys on the other side of this hell week. I might be able to post again between now and my exam on Wednesday, but don’t hold your breath. So, without further adue – this is what’s going on in Technology today…
#1 Verizon Rolling out 4G: Engadget obtained some alleged internal Verizon documents highlighting some details around a potential 4G rollout this year.
#2 Droid 2 Pictures: Talkandroid.com is featuring some pretty cool looking pictures of the Motorola Droid 2 on this post today. This will be a sequel to the original Motorola Droid and will also run on Verizon… so if you’re going to be looking at a new smartphone later down the road and you’re on Verizon, keep this one in mind.
#3 Netflix, eh?: Macworld reports that Netflix will be coming to Canada. More here.
#4 Facebook = small country: Macworld is also reporting that Facebook is expected to hit a half million users this week. You can read that article here.
Sorry this was so brief guys, but I’m really pressed for time this week. Maybe I’ll be able to do a more substantial update of original content in a few days. I’m sure you guys will find a way to manage without me.
So, over the past few weeks a pet project of mine has been an Android app for the growing website, Formspring.me. Granted, I have no interest in this site at all – I just thought their API looked easy to grind my teeth on. Regardless, when I start a project, I hate to leave it unfinished. Unfortunately, that may be what I have to do in this case. [...]
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