The Droid Invasion is Going to Rock

You're all probably seen the commercials for Verizon's new Droid phone by now. They're running them constantly, and they're making a lot of promises. It's a huge buzz campaign, and it's a lot to live up to.

The Droid delivers.

You know I've been in the market for a new phone, and phones based on Google's open source Android operating system were high on my list. After a thorough study of the current and upcoming contenders, I settled on the Droid. I'm currently using it for a two week trial period. I can return it for a full refund if I'm not satisfied, but I don't suspect that will happen.

The phone and the operating system rock! I really do believe this phone could finally blossom Android into the iPhone killer it promised to be. And since I wanted an iPhone but couldn't live with switching back to AT&T, I'm pretty ecstatic about that. The phone is gorgeous, zippy and feature-packed, and while it lags far behind the iPhone in total number of Apps, it's does have a large collection, one that's quickly growing. The fact the Android is open source is a huge boon in that department, and will mean that, as more people adopt Android phones (and as more and more developers get sick of Apple's selection process), App development for Android will skyrocket.

The Droid is a slick phone easily worthy of consideration as an alternative to the iPhone for anyone sick of or unwilling to join up with AT&T. Granted the ultimate "iPhone on AT&T" killer would be the "iPhone on Verizon", or really any other network, but that won't happen until the middle of 2010, and not until 2011 if the exclusivity contract renewal rumors are true. I'm not willing (or able, my phone is falling apart) to wait that long. The Droid is as good as the iPhone in most respects and better in others (it has a virtual keyboard AND a physical keyboard, for one). Yeah, it doesn't have multi touch, which sucks. But the phone does support it. There are Apps available that operate just the iPhone in that capacity. The operating system itself supports it, too. It's just unimplemented. I think Google is afraid of legal repercussions. But, as I said, Android is open source, so it's only a matter of time before someone designs an App that unlocks multi touch system wide.

So yeah, I'm keeping the phone and switching to Verizon. Let the Droid invasion begin!

Google is Awesome To the Plex

This is sort of a lame entry, I know, but I feel like I need to give some props to Google. No company is perfect, and Google has been party to a malfeasance or two, and party to a few questionable practices. Nothing serious. And what large corporation hasn't? It's hard to keep tabs on the behavior of thousands of employees. Overall Google is an excellent company that has produced some pretty remarkable products.

I was just watching a video on their latest effort, Google Wave. Here's the link if you're interested.

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-wave.html

The same engineering team that created Google Maps is now working on Wave. In lieu of trying to describe it myself, I'll deign to Lars Rasmussen, the lead architect on the project. He says, "In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content -- it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave to see how it evolved."

You really have to see it to understand. The demo video is a bit down the page at the address I quoted above. It's long but worth it if you're interested. As usual, Google has fully imagined a simple concept, maximizing every aspect with a strong focus on usability and user interface. If you remember, Google Maps did the same thing, taking an existing concept offered for years by companies like Mapquest, exploring the idea's full potential. In the process it created a completely new platform for information presentation, and made services like Mapquest seem like mere toys.

Google Wave is set to turn email, instant messaging, content creation, collaborative workflows and many other applications on their ear, fusing them all into one seamless environment.

As an aside, some of you may not know that I went to Hebrew School with Sergei Brin, the co-founder of Google. It's true, oddly enough. He and his family immigrated from Russia I believe, and came to Greenbelt where he spent a short period of time at our synagogue and in my Hebrew School class. He was a quiet kid, so I never really knew him that well. Years later he starts what would become one of the most important companies on the planet. In "Six Degrees of Sergei Brin-tion"*, I'm a direct connection.

Remember that for the next uber-geek party you attend**.

*There's actually no such game, at least officially. You can play it if you like, but it's likely to be a pretty dull exercise. Try "Six Degrees of Random Garden Vegetables." It's much more entertaining.

**If you find yourself at such a party, remember, they are probably far more scared of you than you are of them. Bring nachos.

The Doctor is In...ternet (nice, right?!)

Don't have time to make a appointment with your doctor?  Have a strange...growth that you're a bit embarrassed to show off in public?  Have a fear of cold metal implements and the associated prodding and poking?  Try internet self-diagnosis.  Google your symptoms and, within a few minutes, you can have a full health assessment.

Three years ago, during the summer, I was completely out of commission, for the entire month of June (or July, I'm not sure) from an unknown illness.  It turns out I was suffering from drug allergies and associated reactions.  But at the time no one could figure out what was going on.  Kate and I searched the internet for answers.  It didn't singlehandedly solve the mystery, but it helped eliminate some of the more severe causes. 

 

I'm not recommending internet self-diagnosis as a standalone diagnostic tool.  The web is hardly foolproof.  If something is wrong with you, see a doctor.  But access to doctors isn't a given for everyone.  Without health insurance, a lot of people have to go without proper care.  For some people, internet self-diagnosis is the next best thing.  At least as a second opinion to free clinics.

What got me thinking about this topic wasn't a health issue, but it's very similar, and illustrates the power of the internet as a means of diagnosis.  We've been finding what I was pretty sure were stink bugs sporadically on our second floor.  We're in the middle of some work upstairs, so there are small holes in the ceiling.  This is where I assumed our pests were getting in.  I went online, entered our homes "symptoms" and in pretty short order had a diagnosis.  They are stink bugs, which, during cold winters, sometimes invade homes for warm places to hibernate.  I know now what's going on, how it's happening, and how to prevent it in the future.

Replace "house" with "you" and "stink bugs" with whatever it is that's bothering you, and Google your way to health.

Donut Heaven

J and I just got finished watching a movie that made me think of one of my favorite sweets - Donuts! I am a fan of so many different kinds of donuts. I love Dunken Donut's Boston Creme.  I enjoy munchkins, and love Krispy Kreme's classic glazed donuts. I wonder if there's a Krispy Kreme in Baltimore?  I don't think I've seen any.  Is it only a Southern thing? What a shame! We'll have to splurge a little tomorrow and get donuts for breakfast. I'm deterimined to have a good week, since we're going on vacation at the end of the week. We can start working out and finish working around the house when we get back from FL.   I'm going to have to Google Krispy Kreme right now, since my craving is strong. I can be such a fatty sometimes. I just love what I love, damnit. Donut Heaven here I come.

iPhone, youPhone, we all Phone for iPhone!

So I don't have an iPhone.  But that won't stop me from declaring it the single coolest gadget on the planet.  I want one so badly.  So badly.  If I wasn't locked into my contract with Sprint, and if I didn't really like Sprint, which I do, I would already own one.  Alas, the iPhone and AT&T are a package deal.

So I wait.  And one day I'll wake up, on a day not unlike today except a totally different day at some unknown point in the future, though probably known to someone, and the iPhone will have unhitched itself from its traveling companion and I will be able to buy one!  Oh, imagine the people I'll call, the apps I'll run, and the maps I'll Google.  I'll roam the internet, free of attachments; a digital nomad, powered by my dreams and a little rechargeable lithium-ion battery.  And the reflection I'll see off of my iPhone's sleek black exterior will be the face of a man fulfilled.  One big goofy, toothy, techstatic smile.

C'mon, AT&T.  Do a guy a solid, would ya?  Release the iPhone from your infernal exclusivity contract, and I won't publish those pictures of you and that Peruvian hooker.

I think the day may soon be upon us.