Stanford iPhone Class

I know you’ve all heard about the Stanford iPhone App Class that is available for free on iTunes U (which I love by the way).  Well I’ve been going through the class myself trying to improve my skills with the iPhone SDK.

I’m currently working on one of the projects and as soon as I can finish it (or maybe if I get stuck) I will post my code and some of the problems I had or have with the project.  iPhone programming is ridiculously fun and doing these projects has definitely helped my ability with it.  Stay tuned for some [iPhone prOn];

Zune HD – Looks good, but LATE

Microsoft's Zune HD

The oft rumored Zune refresh, dubbed the Zune HD, has been officially confirmed by Microsoft.

The few features officially touted by the device are:

• HD Radio
• Dock w/ HDMI for 720p HD output
• OLED multitouch screen (3.3″ – 480×272 – 16:9)
• Accelerometer

It’s great that Microsoft is getting a touchscreen device out there, but the problem is they are TWO YEARS behind Apple.  The iPhone/iPod Touch combination are already DEEPLY entrenched in the market.

If Microsoft wants to create a splash with this thing. They are going to have to do more than just bring a touch screen device to the masses.  Apple already has one of those.  One that has millions of apps waiting to be downloaded and a thriving community of developers (despite Apple’s random nature when it comes to accepting apps).

The folks at Redmond need to make developing for this thing as simple and fun as possible.  If they can make it comparable to the iPhone SDK, but handle the distribution and sales part better, then they can draw developers to the Zune.  They need some way to bring similar enthusiasm to their platform.  I’d look at creating a sort of blend between the iPhone OS and the new Palm OS.  An SDK for developing native applications, just like you would for a WinMo phone, but also the ability to create completely web based applications that run on the device.  Almost like a mobile version of Prism.

The supposed HD aspect of the device (HD radio and HD output with a dock), don’t really excite me too much.  A portable device that can output HD video through a dock just seems useless.  HD video takes up a lot of space, not good for a mobile device right now.  There are so many better ways  to output HD video to a television/monitor. Using a mobile device for that seems kind of gimmicky.  As far as HD radio, it is a good future.  And will probably sell a few Zune’s (unless the new iPhone/iPod come with their own radio tuners – HD or not), but in my opinion the future of radio is through internet.

All negativity aside, I think Microsoft needs to find a way to leverage their other platforms and integrate them with the Zune.  Xbox, Windows 7 and Media Center, Office, and Live Mesh web services could all be used with the Zune in innovative ways.  The Xbox marketplace could be combined with a Zune marketplace to allow all sorts of homebrewed games to be developed.  They could push Netflix integration to the device and allow you to watch videos instantly over Wifi or even download them to the Xbox and transfer them to the device.  An advanced form of mobile Office could be used to read, edit, and even present documents on the go.

Microsoft is late to the game on this one, and they are following behind Apple in many departments these days, but competition brings out the best in companies.  Hopefully it will bring a strong competitor the the iPod Touch (and eventually the iPhone…hopefully).

Why this Apple Tablet thing keeps coming back

Fast Company has posted an article about why the Apple tablet rumors keep coming back.  I’ll save you some time

• People LOVE iPhones and iPods
• The netbook market has shown people want something smaller and less powerful than a laptop, but a little more capable than a smart phone
• Even Microsoft thinks Apple products are cool
• Apple’s iPhone software and App Store give them the perfect opportunity to come through with a strong product

It’s coming.  It will be a high quality product in the $600-1000 range and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them subsidize the cost with a contract with Verizon (I’m assuming built-in 3G or even possibly LTE chip if it comes out next year).  When it comes, I want one.

Blackberry Storm 2 – now with less SurePress

EngadgetMobile has gotten their hands on the new upcoming model of the Blackberry Storm and they’ve confirmed that the SurePress screen is no more.  I’m a little disappointed with this because I thought it was a very innovative idea, but I never got to try it.  I was hoping they’d find a way to implement it better with the new version.

They have to find some sort of hook on this phone to keep users from going to the Pre and iPhone.

What does Sprint’s predicted Pre shortage mean?

Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, has been quoted in regard to the upcoming Palm Pre, saying that “we think we are going to have shortages for a while.”  The Pre is supposed to be a hot competitor to the iPhone, and there’s a lot of pressure on Palm to put something strong on the market.  What does this potential shortage mean?  I’ve got a couple ideas.

• Palm simply hasn’t been able to manufacture as many as they think will be demanded.  This is not a good thing for them.  With the iPhone 3.0 update coming shortly after the Pre’s release, Palm needs to meet demand or potential buyers might go with the iPhone.
• Hype.  Palm wants to establish the Pre as a hot item before iPhone 3.0 is available.  Maybe they hope that predicting a shortage (even if it isn’t a bad shortage) will make people hesitant to wait for the iPhone.  If the Pre is going fast, buyers need to get to the store and buy one before the comparisons and reviews come in.
• They’re scared they can’t compete with the Apple marketing machine.  They probably wanted to get the Pre out earlier, but couldn’t get it completed, manufactured, and prepare employees in time.  They’d rather not go straight up against Apple, but simple cannot afford to wait to release this thing.  So they will release what they have, not market it too hard, and hope the rare few who get them give the Pre gushing reviews.

Those are the three possibilities I see.  Only one of the three is (sort of) good.  Yes every one of them has some reference to the new iPhone.  Palm has to be thinking about the iPhone in their strategy.  It is the primary competitor to the Pre.  Whatever happens it should be an interesting summer in the smart phone market.

Verizon (and Sprint) MiFi a good step towards ubiquitous data

I like what is happening with this personal broadband wireless router.  I’ve long thought for a while that all kinds of data are going to be pushed into a single service fee.  The MiFi router gives you and 4 friends the ability to connect over broadband anywhere that the given carrier has service (which with Verizon, is everywhere).

As MobileCrunch notes the router works great, but the cost of service is still way too high.  That is the problem today that will be solved in the near future.  People are having to pay WAY too much money for several different bills.  Cable, internet, and cell plans are all costing a ton.  But they will all merge eventually into one BIG data plan (think the Sprint Everything plan but with more…everything).  It looks to me like Verizon and AT&T will be the big players in this market, but it will be interesting to see what roles companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft will play.

I’m really excited to see how, when, and were we will get data in the next 10 years.  I’ll do a post soon about some of the ideas I’m having.

Would Apple Tablet be perfect for Electronic Medical Records?

Not long ago I told you that I thought a Mac Tablet might be like.  Well Houston Neal over at SoftwareAdvice.com has taken things a stepped farther and speculated on a great potential use for an iTablet: interacting with Electronic Medical Records (EMR’s).

I think the idea sounds really cool.  Incredibly cool actually.  It certainly isn’t something Apple typically goes for and I doubt that Apple themselves will be pushing for this.  But it can be done if a few things happen.

1. Apple releases some sort of tablet/netbook/iTouch HD.  I know this one is obvious, but we never really know what they have up their sleeves.  But if Apple does, you can bet it will be developer friendly.
2. Said Apple tablet is AFFORDABLE.  This is my biggest concern with this idea.  While Apple products are known for being easy to develop beautiful applications for, they aren’t known for low prices.  Will doctors and hospitals be able to afford that kind of investment? (UPDATE: Houston also noted to me that the recent government stimulus bill offers subsidies to healthcare providers who implement EMR’s.  Details on that are here.)
3. GOOD developers start producing apps for the tablet that push the concept.  The possibility is certainly there but will someone capitalize on it?
4. Some sort of plan for moving to a standardized form of EMR’s is established.  It’s really hard to develop for something so uncertain.  EMR’s are certainly a great idea, but when will we get there?

It’s certainly an interesting conversation.  I could sit here and think up a million ways that the medical field could use an Apple tablet, but the question is can the appropriate system be implemented.  It will be really interesting to see what happens as medicine moves towards electronic records.

I think it still remains to be seen who the big players in this market will be, but I certainly think an Apple Tablet could be a brilliant tool for doctors and if the pieces come together could be VERY profitable for Apple.

What do you think?  Let me know in comments here, on friendfeed, or on Twitter

Update: Here is an article from Fast Company on EMR’s

Sights and Sounds from a great day in America

All across the country, patriot citizens were getting together to peacefully protest the ridiculous spending of the American government.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Bush is to blame for some of this too, but the Obama administration has taken it up another notch.  It’s great to see Americans standing up for what they believe is right and voicing that this is a country FOR the people.

Rally in Atlanta

Post on HuckPAC – Mike Huckabee’s Political Action Committee

Great look at Tea Party in St. Louis (also video in above)

Start the Kids off young

Great Credit Card Tip

A little tip from Ramit Sethi’s new book I Will Teach You To Be Rich which points out that most credit card companies offer a warranty doubling on nearly all purchases.

“Automatic warranty doubling: Most cards extend the warranty on your purchases.  So if you buy an iPod and it breaks after Apple’s [one year] warranty expires, your credit card will still cover it up to an additional year.  This is true for nearly every credit card for nearly every purchase, automatically.”

Sethi’s book details 6 weeks of tips to get you on track with your personal finances and to get you in control of your money.  He also runs his own blog by the same name.

I Will Teach You to be Rich, by Ramit Sethi  -  Amazon

Windows 7 can Handle a lot of Applications

I just updated my computer to Windows 7 build 7057 and I’m pretty impressed.  I just opened almost every application that I use on my computer, and a few that I don’t, and Windows handled it no problem.  Aero peek had no problems.  I was able to look at whatever window I wanted to while all the other became transparent.  There’s a lot of eye candy in 7, and none of it seems to come bloated.  I’m liking it more and more.  I’ve loved OS X way more since Leopard came out, but I’m loving what Microsoft is doing.

 

Applications Galore

Lots of applications

Aero Peek