New Google Glass video

The most exciting and innovative product of 2013 is hands down Google Glass. Despite knowing little to nothing about it I am salivating over every bit of information I can get my hands on. You should too.

Google today posted video with all footage captured through Glass. My life may not be as exciting as the sky divers shown in the video below, but that does not stop me from wanting to document my life.

Imagine instantly being able to take a photo or video without having to reach for your phone (even broadcast live with Google Hangouts), get directions in the corner of your eye, speak to send a message, search Google, view Google Now cards and even more.

Google recently held a Glass Foundry event where they invited developers to learn and start developing for the platform. So there will be new and exciting things whenever there is an official launch.

I will be saving and planning on buying one the minute I can.

Normal people are now jailbreaking their iPhone


iphoneIn the last few months jailbreaking has gone from what some power users do into the mainstream. No longer do I have to explain to people what jailbreaking does and, while I have never done it before, (mostly because I primarily use an Android phone which I do have rooted) more people who I would consider not tech savvy have gone out of their way to jailbreak their iPhone.

For those still unaware, jailbreaking allows further customization to iOS than what Apple supports. It all

ows you to change the default web browser or maps app, change app labels, folder settings and home screen icon rows and columns and much more.

What does this mean for Apple? Android envy by iOS users. Yes, this is a bold statement for those who still think of Apple’s iOS is superior to Android, but look at the data. You have always been able to customize Android in the same ways jailbreaking does.

android

 

Apple made huge strides in 2007 with the release of the iPhone, but little has changed in almost 6 years since its release. The increase in users wanting to jailbreak their phones are just looking at Android users and wanting more because Apple as essentially abandoned them.

Apple needs to take note that people are looking to customize their phones more and start to update iOS to offer these users what they want. I want iOS to compete again because the market leader is Google’s Android OS by a large margin and we need more competition to bring about better products.

Instagram introduces feed for the web

tumblr_inline_mhreab1hpJ1qz4rgpInstagram has taken a huge leap today to break away from Twitter. Since the acquisition by Facebook in mid-2012 we have seen an increase in web presence with the launch of profile for the web. The photo feed was an inevitable product launch rumored for months.

The design is what we have come to expect from Instagram. The online experience is much like that on your phone allowing you to double-click your photos to favorite as well as comment.

There is room for improvement and this is clearly a version 1 launch. Profiles are easily linked from the photo stream, but open a new window instead of opening in the photo stream. There still is not an easy way to explore or see notifications.  For the time being Instagram for the web will be a great companion, but not a replacement for a smartphone.

Go read Instagram’s blog post.

 

Stop charging me $4 for crap coffee

coffee

I am like a lot of people out there and I enjoy having a cup (or 3) of coffee in the morning, but in my rush to get out the door in the morning and spend the day running around to lectures, study and work I just don’t have time to spend making coffee in the morning, but maybe I should because a lot of what I get is crap.

Coffee really isn’t that hard to make, but then why does every self-proclaimed coffee shop I find not know how to make a good cup?

The college campus coffee shop sometimes has fresh coffee, but I have seen what looks like about a month’s worth stored in the backroom. Unfortunately even when it tastes fresh they burn it with water hotter than the sun.

Most of my college lectures are held at night this semester and sometimes I make the mistake of getting a coffee. I have never finished a coffee and they charge me $4 for a cup.

Let’s put that in perspective: I can buy a 12oz bag of Organic French Roast coffee for around $20 (including shipping) and it will cost right around $1.50 per cup.

These “coffee shops” are not using expensive coffee and getting it in bulk from Starbucks so why are they charging $4?

Action Launcher Pro updated to 1.2, brings refinements and improved search

Screenshot_2013-01-28-15-43-58A major update landed today for Action Launcher Pro bringing it to version 1.2. Action Launcher is a home screen replacement for Android 4.0.3 devices and up. Chris Lacy has also developed TweetLanes, a popular Holo style Twitter client, so we know we are going to get a beautiful experience from the start.

Unlike other home screen replacements that merely add additional settings and customization, Action Launcher is unique in a handful of ways.

The first and arguably biggest way is how you get to your app drawer. Instead of the Android standard of a button in your dock, the app drawer slides in from the left-hand side of the screen accessible either by touching the app drawer icon on the top left of the screen or swiping from the left edge of the screen.

covers

Action Launcher also has a huge evolution on the traditional folders called covers. Covers allow quick access to apps like your Phone, but with a quick swipe or double-tap will reveal the contents of the folder. I have found many use cases including making a cover that will give me quick access my phone and with a simple swipe a few direct dial widgets. In the previous version of Action Launcher there was no way to edit the double-tap time (which apparently Chris can tap his phone way faster than me), but now we can edit the time it takes to double-tap.

In the newest version of Action Launcher Chris Lacy has added a lot of customization options in the settings menu including hiding apps from the app drawer, changing the grid dimensions (number of apps across and down), number of apps in the dock, and adjustable screen margins. Importing from existing launchers appears to have improved, but personally I now use Action Launcher exclusively, but importing from the Android default launcher works as expected.

The slide out animation has also been updated and is much more visually appealing. Instead of the apps being “crushed” they instead slide out from under your home screen.

Screenshot_2013-01-28-15-41-11

Search

By far the biggest update to Action Launcher has to be search. The old search functionality was non-existent and just took you to the Google Now voice search. Chris Lacy has taken search to a new level that is now the second biggest and innovative feature after the slide out app drawer. The new search allows you to instantly search your installed apps, contacts, music and a bunch more. I have found myself using the search rather than opening the app drawer for even quicker access.

If you have not taken the time to try out a new launcher you need to buy Action Launcher Pro. Chris Lacy has shown innovations and an imagination beyond any of the competition.

New design and new outlook

Why hello there, welcome to my “blog-folio” where I will finally start writing regularly. I have owned this domain for some time and used it just for a public email address, but only recently gotten around to design and start publishing.

If you were to ask me what I wanted to go with the site a year ago I probably would have said something like “showcase my programming or design work.” While I still love designing websites, it is not something I enjoy after hours and hours of tweaking. In fact, I designed and deployed this website in just under three and a half hours. (It is still pretty basic, but it gets the job done.) So now it is more geared towards publishing great, original content.

I hope to cover a lot of great things that I am passionate about including technology and coffee. So stay tuned as I post every week.