Dec
29
2010
Google announced the development of an autonomous self driving vehicle that has the potential of revolutionizing and maximizing the use of roads, fuels, and other resources. I wondered out loud, via Twitter, what other struggling industries might need some of Google algorithmic-minded engineering.
- @techknow: In addition to moving into the automotive industry, Google should get into the airline business and revolutionize it from the ground up.
- @SchemaCzar: Google did get into the airline biz a few months ago by buying ITA Software.
- @techknow: You are right, I totally forgot about that acquisition. Okay, the business they still haven’t entered into: home loans! They could fix the mortgage industry
Spam and spambots are a big problem for website operators, but their solutions to get around spambots is hurting the web just as much as the spam. Personally, I despise captchas. Captchas are those cryptic and distorted letters or words that look you have to type to prove that you are a real person when signing up for a web application or service. I recently had to do an eye test and I have 20/20 vision and I have trouble entering captchas, imagine the accessibility issues that people with disabilities have to deal with because of these.
- @techknow: I get personally insulted when I am prompted to prove my humaness with a captcha. It makes me wanna bust a cap-tcha on some webdeveloper!!!
- @AaronBoynton: I so agree! There are better ways #downwithcaptcha
- @techknow: The worst part is that I start thinking that maybe I am a robot because I can’t read the damn captcha. A robot with poor vision.
I’ve written about missing features in Foursquare and other location based web services before. There is little or no utility in checking into a location though Foursquare. In check into hotels more than I check into Foursquare. In check into a restaurant more than I check into Facebook Places. I want to be able to check into a restaurant and make an order. I want to check into a hotel and check in without talking to the front desk. I want to check into a parking structure and pay for parking. The following conversation started with that idea.
- @techknow: I would like the hotel check-in process to be as easy as Foursquare check-in.
- @ButtercupD: cool would be something similar Fastrak for bridge tolls–what about frequent guest card and walk in and autochecks you.
- @techknow: We should patent that. ;)
I was fortunate enough to get a free CR-48 Crome notebook from Google. People outside of Google had the opportunity to sign up for one and this was the first raffle/lottery that I have ever won. This is the first time I have ever heard of a company making available a test pilot product to people outside of the company in this fashion. I think it was marketing genius and Google engineers will mine a lot of real life usage data from pilot users.
- @techknow: My Google wish came true, and it came in a UPS box!
- @aaronhalford: aw, everyone is getting a CR-48 but me. Enjoy it!
- @techknow: Thanks! I hope you get one too! I also wish that Apple had a similar program. I also wish for world peace.
no comments | tags: apple, captcha, checkin, chrome, cr48, facebook, foursquare, google, spam, spambot | posted in TechKnow
Nov
25
2010
From time to time I just blast tweets about software development, project planning, team dynamics, or whatever else comes to mind. Here is a synopsis of recent tweets and rants. If you want to follow the conversation follow me at techknow and/or juixe and I’ll be sure to follow back.
Software Development
- If rhythm is a dancer, then algorithm is a break dancer.
- If you were a Java language reserve word what word would you be? I would be volatile!
- I get personally insulted when I am prompted to prove my humanness with a captcha. It makes me wanna bust a cap-tcha on some webdeveloper!!!
- Is there group think in the development community? Yes, but we build patterns around group think and call it Best Practices.
Team Leadership
- Change your perspective and you can change the world.
- If you don’t have an original idea you can remix existing ideas in original ways!
- Go hard, go home, go big. Pick two.
- If a web site’s end users are not paying customers, then the end users are the product that web site then sell to their advertisers.
- Why do people compensate their inability to communicate with the belief that others just know what they mean, you know what I mean?
- Hype is the food of lemmings.
- The plan was to have no plan, the backup plan was to leave the backup plan at home.
- Most people are natural born followers, it’s human nature.
- The toughest competition doesn’t always come from a competitor trying to build a clone of your product but from market shift in the industry
Product Placement
- In terms of hardware, mobile, and even operating systems Microsoft is anywhere between 3-5 years behind the leader.
- Startups age really fast in Internet time, by my calculation Digg is already and Old Media Company.
- Like what percent of Tumblr’s posts are reblogs and reposts?
- I want JJ Abrams to do a movie about do a remake of The Muppets in an alternate time line like he did for Star Trek.
- I want an iPhone that transforms into an iPad when I need a bigger screen.
- Google is an advertising company with great search technology. Facebook is a virtual share cropping company with great social technology.
- Who collects more personal data and knows more about a given user, Facebook or Google?
- Apple should add a few filters to their iPhone camera app.
Mini Meme Machine
- Scotty and Christopher Walken Mashup: Captain, I’m giving her all’s she got. She needs more cowbell.
- You know who would be great in a reality television show? A prison gang! Imagine, Real World San Quentin.
- r-EPO, the performance-enhancing drug of champions!
- Monetize common sense because people don’t have it.
- I want to trademark the & char so that I could file a trademark infringement to all law firms with names of the form Dumb Dumber & Dumbest.
- The best part of a bagel is the creme cheese.
- My all time historical hero is Johannes Kepler.
- Your life comes with terms of service, batteries not included, void where prohibited.
- In Silicon Valley, everyone drinks the kool-aid but using bottled artisan water from a 10,000 year old glacier.
- In Silicon Valley, everyone is more interested in their piece of the pie than in the recipe of success.
Quote
- I didn’t mean for it to be released so quickly because I wanted to control peoples’ being offended by it. – Mark Zuckerberg
- I think people might be slightly offended but whatever, maybe there’s a way to control that. – Mark Zuckerberg
- Quitting while you are ahead is not the same thing as quitting. – American Gangster
- Living at home with your parents is a very powerful contraception. – David Willetts
- We should start a new social media web 2.0 holiday: Friend, Fan, and Follower Appreciation Day!!!
no comments | tags: apple, captcha, development, facebook, iphone, Java, meme, microsoft, quotes, retweet, software, tumblr, twitter | posted in Programming, TechKnow