Context Aware Computing

Forget about location aware platforms, the next generation of big brother like tech is almost upon us. In the video above, Justin Rattner, CTO at Intel, demonstrates Intel's latest take on context aware computing. Take all of the data that you've fed into, and will feed into, various social media platforms, mix it all up and shape into a real-time recommendation engine, and you have context aware computing. Go beyond simply suggesting restaurants nearby to understanding what kind of food you like, or moreover what kind of food you are in the mood for at that very moment, and you begin understand the power of the platform..

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What's New With Twitter?

Today Twitter announced a slew of advancements to their incredibly popular microblogging service. At the core they are bringing many of features found in 3rd parts apps like Seesmic and Tweetdeck into their default web interface at twitter.com. This is especially interesting in light of Wired Magazine's pronouncement that the web was dead. What they were really saying, with some degree of accuracy (sort of), is that the web BROWSER is dead. Citing a migration of functionality from the web browser to dedicated standalone apps, whether they be on the desktop, tablet, or mobile device. I'm still a big fan of browser based apps, and I'm not sure they are going away any time soon. Either way read more about the new twitter.com features in this Mashable article.

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Sony PlayStation has it's 15th Birthday

It's hard to believe the PlayStation name has been around for 15 years! I can remember when I got the first PlayStation (heck I remember playing the Nintendo when I was two!). PlayStation has brought us some amazing games over the years, many of which got their start on the original PS. One of my favorite games of all time was Twisted Metal (which is in development for PS3, woot!), and the Resident Evil series.

Joystiq has a nice image of PlayStation through the years, check it out and their article here.

Here is to 15 more years of gaming! :) With Microsoft and Nintendo and now Apple and Android in the ranks (R.I.P. SEGA, but at least you still make games), it's a great day to be a gamer.

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iOS 4.1 Highlights - Expected Imminently

I came across this highlight reel from last week's Apple Keynote. I've been very frustrated with my iPhone 4, but I've been frustrated in the early stages of each iPhone release. They always fix the problems. . . eventually. Here's to hoping!

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Consumers Are Confused About Energy Efficiency

Ars technia just did an article about energy efficiency that shows consumers are still very confused about saving energy (and money). Here is an example that they mention:

• Researchers found that 55 percent of the participants thought the most energy could be saved by trying to curtail the amount of energy they used—turning off lights, adjusting the thermostat, and so on. But this answer, for the most part, is incorrect. Much more energy can be saved by pursuing efficiency and installing energy-sipping appliances, since there's only so much we can or are willing to shut off.
• The gap between curtailing inefficient appliances and using efficient ones can be large, so it shocked the researchers how many people underestimated it. An example: a 100-watt bulb that is on for six hours uses 600 watt-hours. By leaving it on for one hour less, you save 100 watt-hours. On the other hand, a 15-watt fluorescent bulb could be left on for all six hours and only use 90 watt-hours, saving 510 watt-hours over the incandescent bulb.

Just think how much energy you could save if you replaced all your lights in your house/apartment with fluorescent bulbs! The article is pertty interesting and I defniitely recommend reading the full article, here.

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Our Latest Launch - Waterpik.com

Here is our latest work for Waterpik in Fort Collins, CO. The waterpik.com home page is a rich experience that was executed via flash and makes efficient use of some pretty incredible video footage. Check it out!

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Android Activating 200k Devices a Day

Going along with the post earlier this week; Q3 is on track to be an even better quarter for Google's Android OS. As of August, 200k Android devices are being activated per day! Wowzers... with the impending release of Samsung's Epic for Sprint and the new Droid 2 for Verizon, those numbers are likly to shoot up even more. It appears that everyone and their Grandma is thinking Android.

In May of this year, Google was proud to announce 100k units activated each day and just a few months later they have doubled that.

A few of you have asked why it's selling so well compared to the iPhone. The main reason is that only Apple makes the iPhone and it's only on AT&T. Apple will most likely never allow other companies to manufacture devices with their OS, as they hate anyone touching their stuff (see Hackintosh lawsuit as an example). With Apple being the only manufacturer and the iPhone currently only available for AT&T customers, many don't even have the option of getting the iPhone. There are something like 7-8 Android manufacturers and it's available on all major carriers, so you have a lot of choices. I won't say whether the iPhone is better than an Android powered phone or vice versa as that is just personal preference.

Both types of phones work great on our network though :)

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