Geek News and Musings

Remains of the Day: Voicemail Has Become Passé Edition [For What It's Worth]

Has voicemail become a pain? Share your thoughts, then learn to program the iPhone from Stanford, Twitter about it from Gmail, then jailbreak that iPhone running the 3.0 software in today’s leftovers.

Photo by kleinman.

• You’ve Got Voice Mail, but Do You Care?
  And as soon as we all have Google Voice transcribing our voicemail, we won’t need to worry about it. Isn’t the future simultaneously fascinating and frightening? [NYT]
  
• iPhone 3.0 Beta Jailbroken, QuickPWN Up For Download
  Summer’s still a ways away, but those wacky iPhone dev team hackers have already made quick work of iPhone 3.0. [Gizmodo]
• Time Warner Monthly Data Caps Spread Beyond Texas
  Unlucky internetters all over the country are staring down the barrel of bandwidth caps from Time Warner. Eck. [Gizmodo]
• Twitter Gadget for Gmail
  Integrate a really nice Twitter interface directly into your Gmail account for easy switching between your constant emailing and tweeting: *Hits send.* Twitter: “I just sent an email. ZOMG.” [via Steve Rubel]
• New Version of Opera Mobile to Support Google Gears
  The next version of Opera Mobile gets serious about offline mobile browsing, announces support for Gears. [PC World]
• Stanford to publish free iPhone course on iTunes U
  Ever wished you could program an iPhone app and attend Stanford? Your very specific dreams are (sort of) coming true! [AppleInsider]
• Despite Funky HTML Encoding, Boxee Still Plays Hulu Video Just Fine
  Hulu tries to break Boxee support, it doesn’t work. It’s the kind of familiar song that can put the most troubled insomniac to sleep. [Gizmodo]

Build an Under-the-Cabinet Kitchen PC from an Old Laptop [DIY]

Inspired by our guide to giving an old laptop new life with cheap or free projects, Lifehacker reader Brian turned his aging Dell laptop into an incredible under-the-cabinet kitchen PC.

Brian uses his saucy setup to pipe music to his kitchen via Pandora, view his Google Calendar, and get a look at the news. He needed a lightweight operating system that would support Flash, and ultimately settled on the much-beloved Puppy Linux. A little tinkering, two coat-hangers (which he used for mounting the laptop), and some elbow grease later, Brian’s put together a very cool kitchen computer.

Despite having put together a great setup already, Brian has a few more ideas for spicing up his setup in the future:

• Integrate software keyboard for occasional logins
• Cron-like item scheduling for time based events, ( ie, show weather in morning, news at night )
• Limited command support for auto-shutdown of the appliance
• A RSS feed integrator showing semi-random news items stock ticker style.

If Brian’s flavor of laptop repurposing isn’t quite your cup o’ tea, try turning your laptop into a wall-mounted computer or one of our other favorite laptop projects.

Search Suggestions Come To Gmail

Google just rolled out a search autocomplete feature for Gmail; If you turn on “Search Autocomplete” from the Labs tab under Gmail Settings, you’ll get suggestions in your search box while you are typing like you do in Google’s search box.

The search feature is pretty easy to use and definitely helpful. If you are looking for a contact, you can just type a couple letters of the person’s first or last name and the feature will provide a list that matches the search query. Google has added some advanced features like the ability to search in specific places (e.g. in chats or sent items), or search for messages with attachments by certain type (e.g. docs or photos). But finding that email from six months ago among the tens of thousands in your archive just got easier.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Hands-on with the latest build of the Android “Cupcake” firmware at CTIA 2009

We’re in good ol’ Sin City, fresh out of a pre-CTIA 2009 meeting with HTC. While most of the hardware they brought to the party were things we’d seen at Mobile World Congress last month, they had one thing on the software end that was just out of the oven: the latest build of the Android “Cupcake” release.

The firmware build number we were playing with was 1.5/CRA79. We didn’t spot any major new features in this build - but we did see a good number of things we’d heard about previously get their first implementations. Oddly, we also noticed at least one thing missing since last time.

Orientation animation:

While the currently publicly available Android build already supports orientation detection and switching, it’s a bit of a hack to get it to work. When we saw a Cupcake build at MWC, it had it enabled by default - but it was a bit slow. They’ve optimized it a good amount since, but have added an orientation switch animation to make any delays less obvious. It now zooms out and then visibly “Wobbles” - see demonstration in the video above.

Emoticon key:

When we did our initial run through of the Cupcake build back in January, we noticed that certain text emoticons suddenly had graphical replacements. Which ones had replacements, however, was impossible to determine. In this latest build, emoticons have a key of their own on the virtual keyboard. Press it briefly, and it inputs a standard smiley. Hold it, and it brings up the entire array. It replaces the enter/carriage return key.

Slide-out drawer background:

This change seems a bit odd to us. On the G1 and all previous Android builds, the slide out drawer (where applications are kept) had a semi-translucent grey background. In this build of Cupcake, this has been changed to an opaque checkered background. It sort of looks like carbon fiber.

“Add to Home Screen” changes:

“Add to Home Screen” is a pop-up window that appears when you hold your finger on the desktop. It’s essentially the same as it was on the G1, with a few trivial changes: All labels now have graphical icons, and the “Application” shortcut list has been placed within “Shortcuts” rather than being immediately available from the initial list.

As we mentioned, one thing is missing from builds prior; at MWC, we noticed that YouTube was getting some love from Google with a Live Shortcut of its own. This is now gone.

On-screen Keyboard Auto-correct/Suggestions:

We knew it was coming, but it was curiously absent in the build we played with last. When Android thinks you may have made a mistake, it highlights the word it thinks you meant in orange above the input box - but unlike the iPhone, it also offers other not-as-common options as alternative suggestions. There are two Auto-correct options: Basic and Advanced. We’re not sure what the difference is.

Other notes:

• This is the first time we noticed any implementation of the input method framework. You can now select custom keyboards, though the default Android keyboard was the only one installed on this handset.
• You can add words to the Auto-correction dictionary by holding them, or by manually inputting them in settings.

[PSGallery=1kbwasftvn]

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

April Fools: YouTube Flails, Amazon Cloud Computing In A Blimp, 3D Chrome Browsing, Google Masters A.I.

Wow. April Fools Is In full swing.

The Guardian goes all Twitter, ditching the printed version and the website. “Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters.”

Amazon launches a brand new cloud computing service called Floating Amazon Cloud Environment, or FACE. “The FACE uses durable, unmanned helium-filled blimps with a capacity of 65,536 small EC2 instances, or a proportionate number of larger instances. The top of each blimp is coated in polycrystalline solar cells which supply approximately 40% of the power needed by the servers and the on-board navigation, communication, and defense systems. “The government will have absolutely no chance of acting against them, because they will be too busy trying to decide which Federal Air Regulation (FAR) was violated, not to mention scheduling news conferences. “

Meanwhile, Google masters artificial intelligence in a post and description that’s way too geeky for me.

But they’ve created the world’s first Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity (CADIE), which is a computer that’s come alive and is making changes at Google. “Earlier today, for instance, CADIE deduced from a quick scan of the visual segment of the social web a set of online design principles from which she derived this intriguing homepage.”

Another early project for Cadie: making a 3D version of Google Chrome, since “81% of households had red/blue 3D glasses lying around.”

Last and certainly least, and there’s no gentle way of putting this, YouTube just flails with upside down video viewing.

Gmail now has AutoPilot.

Google Brain Search uses CADIE technology to index your brain.

Google Australia introduces the gBall, which will change Australian rules football as we know it.

There is also a featured YouTube video of a panda by the user ‘cadiesingularity’ with a profile stating “Cadie - the world’s first Cognitive Auto-Heuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity”.

When browsing Street View in Google Maps, a panda is shown in the bottom right map instead of the yellow person usually shown.

CADIE even has its own blog on Blogger.

There is also a “CADIE’s recommended places for humans” link in Google Maps, which leads to the “Panda Mapplet” and includes several marked locations with “CADIE’s” commentary. Under Redmond WA a link is listed which will rick roll the viewer.

Meanwhile, Identi.ca has acquired Twitter. A Twitter executive was quoted afterwards saying: “I was worried we were going to have to make a business out of that whole Twitter thing! I’m really glad it’s someone else’s problem now.”

Google is apparently also building a new $100 laptop together with Alienware (Dell). It will have a built-in brain wave reading chip, with sensors that need to be applied onto the user’s skull.

Scientists at CERN have found the cell that basically triggered the Big Bang.

The Pirate Bay sells out to Warner Bros.

There’s a new social network for your nose, a friendspace for your fragrance, a place to share your opinions on perfumes and vote for your favorite smells. They call it smellr and it’s online now.

Opera has moved on from Mouse Gestures and comes out of the closet with Face Gestures.

The entire Internet is being rebooted.

Expedia is offering flights to Mars from $99. In related news, Hotels.com offers rooms on the Moon.

Add a bit of shine to your website with Laminatr.

This new Landmark jQuery plugin will alter the face of the internet.

Yahoo debuts Ideological Search.

Social Media Use Decreases Customer Satisfaction.

This brand new mobile phone works as either a coin-operated or credit/debit card mobile.

BBC’s Top Gear show comes to Hulu.

Woopra takes its Web Analytics suite up a notch and launches a webcam spy-feature for websites.

Woot is selling crap.

Reddit now looks competely like Digg (good one).

Wired: Twitter plans to make money. I’m gonna order that TW-900.

TweetDoubler gives you twice the bird.

Topify got sued by Fedex. “Fedex claims they have a registered patent for delivering faster and better email notifications and they claim we have infringed it.”

Fark now has its own social network. It looks vaguely familiar.

SocialBlade cracked Digg’s algorithm.

Epistolary Aardvark for Offline Access! “Until now, Aardvark could only be used via instant messenger or email to get answers to your questions within minutes. Through Aair Mail, you’ll be able to send questions via regular postal mail, just like you’d send a letter to a friend.”

Seacom has wired the entire African continent, which now has the fastest internet connection in the world.

AXECollegeHumor

LiveJournal has a Friends Page redesign project.

Microsoft added support for automatic mood detection in Windows Live Messenger. “We’re happy to announce that due to the great breakthroughs from Microsoft Research, we have an alpha version working that monitors your real-time physiological state and translates that into a mood (happy, sad, anxious, etc), such that you would never have to enter an emoticon again.”

Web celebrities (including Michael Arrington) are spotted dancing together, and they got the video to prove it.

The BDFL, having shepherded Python development for 20 years, officially announces his retirement, effective immediately. Following a unanimous vote, his replacement is named (Barry Warsaw).

Google is rumored to be acquiring Palm.

Ford, GM announce the Android Car. It looks cool.

More as they come in. Let us know what you’re finding out there in the comments.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Google Ventures Opens For Business, Investment Scope Covers Just About Anything.

The long awaited Google venture capital fund, Google Ventures, is now open for business. The Fund is led by managing partners Bill Maris and Rich Miner.

The fund’s FAQ says they’ll invest in just about any type of startup (”consumer Internet, software, hardware, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and others”) and they’re willing to invest just about any amount you might need (”from seed funding to tens of millions of dollars, depending on the stage of the opportunity and the company’s need for capital”). It’s not exactly what you’d call a tight investment focus, but hey, it’s not like they need to worry about keeping limited partners happy so they can raise the next fund.

They’re also happy to invest along side other venture firms and strategic partners. No other commercial arrangement, such as a partnership, is required (so no, you don’t have to build your service on App Engine).

This is, Google says, their primary engine for venture-style investments going forward.

The FAQs also say the fund will be actively involved with investments (”We believe that our active involvement will help to create value, so we look to work with management teams to maximize the impact of our investment and their technology or innovation”). That may be somewhat over-ambitious, depending on how many investments they actually make. There are only two partners after all.

Is this a good investor for your startup? The cache of having Google behind you is great for marketing. But if you think you have the next new Google-killer search idea, you may want to bake it a while before showing the technology to these guys.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Why Didn’t The NY Times Properly Forward IHT Links?
At times, the tech geeks at the NY Times show that they understand what it takes to be a modern online newspaper. At other times… it makes you wonder. Valleywag notes that when the New York Times shut down the International Herald Tribune, which reprinted many nytimes.com stories at their IHT.com website, the NYT pointed every IHT link to a single landing page, rather than properly forwarding them to the proper stories at the NY Times — effectively breaking tons of useful links online (including plenty right here on Techdirt). For a company that was just among those complaining that Google didn’t rank its stories high enough, perhaps the powers that be at the NY Times should take a look at its own policies before whining to Google.

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Twitter Finds Now It Has The Leverage On Mobile Operators
One issue that’s constantly popping up these days is friction between distributors and content or service providers. Companies on either side of the equation often overvalue their contribution, whether it’s movie studios thinking they have the leverage over Netflix, or ISPs thinking they’ve got the upper hand over the likes of Google when it comes to net neutrality because they “control” the pipe. The content or services are worthless without the distribution; without the content, the distribution is worthless. It’s not the case where one side always has the power, and often over time, the balance of power shifts. Such is the case with the news that Vodafone UK has enabled Twitter SMS services for its customers. Twitter irritated some of its international users last year when it stopped sending them SMS updates because of the costs. It’s a pretty typical story in mobile: if you have a service you want to offer to users via SMS, you’ve got to be prepared to pony up the cash to mobile operators to reach “their” customers. When Twitter was a nascent service used by web dorks and media types, somebody like Vodafone wouldn’t care about it. But as the service has gone mainstream, suddenly it behooves Vodafone to strike a deal with Twitter, make the costs workable, and be able to offer the service to its customers. The mobile industry has long engaged in these stupid battles over who “owns” the customer. Typically, the operator’s take has been that they own the pipe, so they own the customer. But maybe they’re finally figuring out that without any compelling services to travel through it, the pipe’s not such a big deal.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Why Didn’t The NY Times Properly Forward IHT Links?
At times, the tech geeks at the NY Times show that they understand what it takes to be a modern online newspaper. At other times… it makes you wonder. Valleywag notes that when the New York Times shut down the International Herald Tribune, which reprinted many nytimes.com stories at their IHT.com website, the NYT pointed every IHT link to a single landing page, rather than properly forwarding them to the proper stories at the NY Times — effectively breaking tons of useful links online (including plenty right here on Techdirt). For a company that was just among those complaining that Google didn’t rank its stories high enough, perhaps the powers that be at the NY Times should take a look at its own policies before whining to Google.

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Follow the Mobile User
This guest post is written by Vic Gundotra, Vice President of Engineering for Google’s mobile and developer products. (Prior to Google, he spent 15 years at Microsoft, most recently as their GM of Platform Evangelism.) Vic credits his now-7-year-old with forecasting the importance of mobile data access, and now carries at least 4 phones at all times. Fortunately, he had two kids before adopting the possibly-prophylactic habit.

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Focus on the mobile user, and all else will follow Simpler data, better browsers, and a smoother experience Today the mobile industry finds itself in a unique position to do right by its users: Worldwide phone penetration continues to climb at a break-neck pace, with over 4 billion mobile subscribers at last count.¹ (In comparison, the PC industry is forecasted to see its sharpest unit decline in history.²) Prevailing economic conditions will accelerate this trend, as users consolidate pricey communication services into cost-effective, all-in-one mobile devices.³ And for the first time ever, half of all new connections to the internet will come from a phone in 2009.⁴ Google’s mobile traffic reflects these milestones — having quintupled since 2007⁵ — and it underscores users’ appetite for mobile data services. But as a community of operators, device manufacturers and software providers, we continue to get in their way. In short, and as a general rule, we make it too costly, too unfamiliar, and too difficult to do anything beyond voice calls. In reply I offer up three suggestions: simpler data plans, better web browsers, and a smoother on-device experience. And in each case I’ll use Google traffic numbers as a proxy for total internet usage and user happiness.

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