I love this app. The interface is amazing and it puts a new twist on an old service. The intro video is one of the best I’ve seen.
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Tags: excellent, iPhone app, twitter
Here is a quick tip for all my Mac wielding friends. The eject key does more than just spit out disks. Using the modifier keys (command, control, option, shift), the eject key will give you more control over your Mac.
- Put screen to sleep: Ctrl – Shift – Eject
- Put computer to sleep: Option – Command – Eject
- Restart computer: Control – Command – Eject
- Shutdown computer: Control – Option – Command – Eject
[via Tekzilla Daily]
On this weeks episode of gdgt weekly (iTunes), Peter Rojas and Ryan Block discussed the new Android based phone. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Android is Google’s new cellphone OS. It is hailed as an open platform with very little restriction on developers and users. I haven’t used the phone so I can’t provide any input on usability or comparability to other phones.
On gdgt they claimed that Android is better than Windows Mobile. They brought up the fact that Windows Mobile has been around for awhile (currently on ver. 6.1) and this is Android’s first release. They seemed pretty shocked/impressed that a the newcomer can outdo the old timer. Personally, I don’t find this all that shocking. If anything, I think it makes some sense that the first version software can be better than the seasoned veteran.
Google’s advantage comes from the sunk costs in a project. The sunk costs are what you have put into a project that should be irrelevant when making future decisions. Since they are already in the project and can’t be recovered there is no reason to consider them in future decisions. The problem is that sunk costs often lead to commitment bias. This bias causes a someone to stick with something because they have already put in time and money. An example is putting a lot of money in a stock that then starts to lose value. If you fall victim to the commitment bias then you will feel the need to stick with the stock because you have already “come this far”.
A commitment bias isn’t always caused by money. It can develop because of the amount of time invested or even from irrational feelings. This can manifest in software and OS development. A team will spend a lot of time and money developing a UI. Over time, the original idea may not be the best approach. To fix it up, the team decides to do little fixes and enhancements. The idea is they have already put in so much energy that minor fixes is all it needs. Sometimes a better idea would be to scrap the design and start over. The longer they stick with it, the harder it is to just start over. This will eventually put the software at a competitive disadvantage as the competition implements a better UI.
Those developing a ver. 1.0 has less of a commitment bias because there will be less sunk costs. They can test out different ideas with less guilt if they change directions. They can also evaluate the competition more effectively. If they see something wrong in the competition’s UI, they can leave it out early on instead of having to make drastic changes later.
It isn’t that shocking that a version 1.0 software can beat out a 6.0 or 7.0. In fact, we have seen it at least twice over the past two years with both Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone. The question now is whether Microsoft will pull away from previous biases and sunk costs to create something that will push the platform forward.
Tags: Android, Apple, bias, cellphone, Design, gdgt, google, Microsoft, OS, Software, Windows Mobile
The move to develop a web browser tells a lot about the direction in which Google is moving with its future products.
Google Chrome was set in motion primarily to enhance their web business. They are developing a browser hoping that it will push others to adopt new technology and innovate. They want to spark others to build more advanced web browsers so they can push out better web apps.
Google is currently limited by a bottleneck imposed by the current web browsers. To an extent they are at the mercy of Microsoft/Mozilla/Apple when it comes to how powerful, and useable, their web apps can be. They are making a strategic move to give direction to web browser development in order to further their core businesses.
If you don’t believe that, then look at the revenue source. They have far more to gain from attracting users to new web services than gaining browser market share.
This leaves me wondering what new product Google has that drove them to try and change all web browsers just to release it.
Google is launching their own web browser named Google Chrome. There has been a rumored Google OS, and I would say this is it.
I suggest taking a look at the comic that introduces Google Chrome.
A quick heads up for all readers. Firefox 3 was released today. This version dramatically fixes the memory leak problems and thus the application is much snappier. There are a ton of other improvements including a ton of interface enhancements.
If you haven’t used Firefox before, there is no better time. Head over to the product page to learn more and grab your copy.
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Although Firefox is an excellent browser, there are many others out there that do some amazing things. I strongly suggest checking out Flock (all platforms) if you are tangled in the social web (blogs, facebook, flickr, etc.)
If you have ever visited a site like digg.com or slashdot.org then you will probably know what I am talking about. It is probably one of the most annoying things that goes on on the internet. What I am talking about is people flamming eachother based on which operating system that they use. People that use Mac will bash Windows and Windows users will bash the Mac.
First off I just want to get this out of the way. I am a Mac user, I love Mac and everything about it. I also use a Windows computer at work and have Windows XP and Vista installed on my Mac. This post will not be Windows bashing or Mac praising, this is a neutral stance on one of the most annoying problems.
OS flame wars is a plague on social websites that discuss things regarding to technology. It usually starts when someone mentions something about one OS or another. For example someone posts on a forum a cool trick to do in Windows, then a Mac user (often referred to as a “fanboi” by the other opposing side) will come in and say that everyone is stupid for using a Windows computer. Thus the flame war has started. Now it will go back and fourth with Mac and Windows users will argue who is right and why.
These are pointless. Do they actually think they will change the other persons mind by attacking them and telling them they are stupid? If the person was even remotely interested in switching they will do it on their own. This happens on tech websites so I would assume they know something about tech. One thing people do not realize is that it is not always easy to learn a new OS, this goes both ways. They are very very different from each other. This goes for both ways, I use a Mac primarily and just started using a PC again a few months ago and it wasn’t the easiest to get back into it. I have to relearn how to do certain things and very few things are the same.
Another thing to notice is that these people use the machine they use for a reason. They wouldn’t be using the OS they use unless they believed it was the best option. Also, most likely they know the pitfalls of the OS of their choice and have found their own way of dealing with it. When a Mac user starts flaming a PC user and says, “well Window’s has a lot of viruses”, do they believe that these people do not know this? I am positive they do and use virus protection software to protect myself. They are also smart when surfing the web, remember these are tech guys and gals we are talking about. Also when a Windows user starts bashing a Mac user and says that they are just using toys and dumbed down machines, this is not really necessary. The person has the machine that works for them and by insulting them will only make them mad and want to fight back. Telling them these things will not make them switch.
Each OS has their benefits and drawbacks. The users usually know about these and use their machine accordingly. Also these people don’t really listen to each other. Instead they just reiterate the same things over and over.
Instead of fighting they should embrace the other OS. They don’t need to switch but should be happy that it is there. With more products in the market it will force companies to innovate and make good products. What motivation would Microsoft or Apple have if the other was gone. If they have no one to compete with they would just let their OS sit, or just make very small updates to get people to buy another copy or computer. It is important that both of these companies stay in the market.
These flame wars are pointless and a waste of time and energy. I won’t say it is a certain demographic that does it because I don’t believe it is so. Whatever it is that is causing this needs to be stopped. It is because of this that I am sometimes turned off from reading things dealing with tech on the internet.
Like I said, I am not bashing on one group or another (sorry if it seemed like it, it is hard to give example of both sides without being long winded) rather I want to address the issue at hand. I am not talking about friendly jokes between friends, like telling your windows buddy that your OS is better for…. It becomes a problem when it is harsh and mean and putting down another party. I am sick of hearing that I “dugg” a story because I am a fanboy. I obviously dugg it because I thought it was interesting, if that makes me a fanboy then so be it. I digg what I like and what difference does it make to someone else.
Flickr
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