I have a lot respect for Danny Sullivan but I simply don't get this obsession with numbers that him and most tech journalist have with the number of users on Google+

In my opinion Google+ has proven successful, the users love the service and it's definitely no "buzz".

Great Hang out!

Thank you at +dana blouin +Karl Hughes +David Rose for a great panel this week.

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"Here's to the Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world - are the ones who DO!"

Google just recruited all of it's new users to photograph the world. Smart move.

More awesome free music from the play store.

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///// The Google+ World  - Google+ Visualised (again) /////

Because so much people liked (+1ed, reshared...) the image in this post (http://goo.gl/xWrvJ) we have recreated it with a few improvements and now with around 4.4 million profiles.

Here are the profiles visualised which we (CircleCount.com) have indexed and have a publicly visible location on their profile.
Here you can find a description about how we are indexing the profiles: http://goo.gl/XcwyQ

cc:
+Robert Redl here is the "the blue pill red pill thing" ;)

+Brian Pemberton New Zealand is now included.

+Max Huijgen here are also the detailed views for Europe and USA.

Good morning!

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Atlanta. Barber shop. Hand Held HDR Shot #photowalk   #googleplusanniversary

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I want to welcome +Benny Lui to +Man'ority Report looking forward to his insights on my favorite brand of automobiles +Mercedes-AMG

Please give him a warm welcome and let's see if we can get him taking soon.

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AMG

In Brussels we have encountered Mercedes shop, but they had only one model available. It was Mercedes AMG, but I have to admit it looked nice. So nice, I had to take several pictures before I left the building.

#Brussels #FourWheelFriday

Weekly Technology Entrepreneurs announcement

This week on Friday +Karl Hughes and the gang have a very special guest +Rob La Gesse from Rackspace.

Be sure to join us as he will graciously be answering your questions about disrupting customer interactions.

As always if you can't get in, this is an on air hangout and you can watch live and message either +Karl Hughes or I your questions.

Nexus 4 speed test on T-Mobile in Atlanta.

Who needs LTE?

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Talking NFC, Join us

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Man'ority Report is hanging out with 4 people right now in a live Hangout On Air! #hangoutsonair

Birthday Dinner.

Only in the South!

Do like the initiative for this entrepreneur, can't afford a refrigerated truck? Just use a window unit.

Now I have really seen it all. This is a real commercial for a real product.

McLaren making rookie mistakes, Lewis does a great job of getting himself to the front of the pack, they forget to put enough fuel in his car #silverstone

British GP!! I wish I was there hanging out and with +mark Holmes +Sam Sethi

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If you are a photographer, you can't afford not to be on Google plus. Just saying.

Incredible photograph by +Trey Ratcliff

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The mighty room...

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The future of computing are these ultra low cost PC dongles, they have the potential to change the world by spreading technology even to the poorest areas.

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Are you looking to buy an Android PC this year? Here's a $55 solution, the Jelly Bean-based Android Mini PC RK3066. 

#AndroidPC   #JellyBean   #AndroidMiniPC   #CES2013   #CES  

Sitting at home post Christmas day, feel the vibration on my wrist, weird code on the screen of my watch, then slowly an image forms. Doing an image search has led me here.

+Anne Beuttenmüller +Brandon Badger +Brian Rose +Joe Philley

#ingress #ingressinvite #niantic

Finally got this photosphere thing down.

Another one to watch.

Free today on the play store.

They tell me it takes 2 1/2 days to see all the exhibits here.

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64 to 30: Commodore's game-changing computer enters its third decade — How the humble DIY Commodore 64 inspired a generation http://vrge.co/UgoXDq

Aspirin, the wonder drug.

Daily aspirin reduces cancer risk and slows its spread, study confirms.

With drones in the process of being certified for domestic use, these findings have serious safety implications.

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Interesting Paintings by Cyril Rolando
My day of sharing beautiful art is not over yet. Here is a few of my favorite interesting paintings by Cyril Rolando, who you can find at aquasixio.deviantart.com. I feel each of these beautiful paintings is telling its own story, with a large amount of emotion shining through.

While WWDC touts pretty maps that have incorrect data, and how these 3D are going to give Google maps a run for their money, Google IO blows us away with Project Glass with a hangout from a skydiver.

Wonder what nonsense that little ankle biter that used to write for techcrunch has to say about it.

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I miss you x x

"Reflections in the Rain, Ayrton Senna"

PSA: Chrome for Android update with expanded functionality.

_*The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word “Mother,” and the most beautiful call is the call of “My mother.” It is a word full of hope and love, a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart.

The mother is everything – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness….

Everything in nature bespeaks the mother. The sun is the mother of earth and gives it its nourishment of heart; it never leaves the universe at night until it has put the earth to sleep to the song of the sea and the hymn of birds and brooks. And this earth is the mother of trees and flowers. It produces them, nurses them, and weans them. The trees and flowers become kind mothers of their great fruits and seeds. And the mother, the prototype of all existence, is the eternal spirit, full of beauty and love.

Kahlil Gibran*_

Happy birthday mom.

Beauty.

I applaud the DOJ for reaching the same conclusions any 5 year old knows as common sense.

CNN - DOJ files antitrust suit to block AT&T merger with T-Mobile
http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/31/technology/att_tmobile_antitrust/

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+Denny K Miu would love your take on this article. Maybe a +Man'ority Report article?

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Why China and Apple are a match made in hell.

Four years ago, I wrote a column about the incompatibility between Apple and China . And four years later, that observation is proving to be truer than ever.

What do I mean by "incompatible"? Countries have cultures. And companies have cultures, too. And the cultures of China and Apple are diametrically opposed to each other.

As recent events have demonstrated, Apple is incompatible with China's business culture, legal system and worker culture.

Please read my column!: http://www.datamation.com/mobile-wireless/why-china-and-apple-are-a-match-made-in-hell-1.html

Free on the play store

This car is just hot!

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Awesome service for cross posting!

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Here's a new way to automatically send your Google+ posts to Twitter and (ugh) facebook.

I'm on the +Mike Elgan diet meaning that almost all of my content is done here on Google+. Then I pipe it automatically to Twitter and facebook.

+Linda Lawrey told me about +ManageFlitter which is good and it is what most people use. But I think I found something better: +Friends+Me.

Up until now I would use ManageFlitter to grab my Google+ posts and send them to Twitter and then facebook's Twitter app would grab them from there. But as you see in the pic below, that ain't pretty.

Now +Friends+Me sends my posts to both places and formats them very nicely. The posts on facebook look like they were originated there.

Here is why I recommend you give Friends+Me a try:

•  The posts on facebook look MUCH better
•  Friends+Me checks your feed and posts every 5 minutes. ManageFlitter refreshes every 30 minutes unless you pay. That's a big deal when I am covering breaking news or encouraging people to check out a live stream, etc. (Friends+Me plans to have a paid tier in the future which will offer 1 minute refreshes. I'd happily pay for that.)
•  It can post to your timeline and facebook pages
•  It supports Twitter Cards http://goo.gl/CVx3Z

Thanks to Friends+me's developer +Alois Bělaška for urging me to check it out. I have officially made the switch!

Site:  http://www.friendsplus.me/
Blog: http://www.friendsplus.me/blog
Google+ Page:  +Friends+Me  
More Comparisons Between the Services:  http://goo.gl/2LYhq

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Check out the Battlestar Galactica: Blood & chrome trailer before the first episode is posted tomorrow http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/08/battlestar-galactica-blood-and-chrome-coming-any-way-you-want-it/

Free music at the play store, go grab it.

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Me wants.

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Meet the next-gen 3D printer from MakerBot: the Replicator 2. 

http://bit.ly/PAMqgF

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Really cool.

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How about a Street View #gmapstip to liven up your Thursday? Open Google Maps on your Android device and follow these simple steps:

1. Press and hold on an area you want to explore
2. Tap the info box that pops up and hit “Street View”
Now for the cool part...
3. Tap the menu button on your phone
4. Select “Compass mode”

You can now explore the imagery by moving and tilting your phone!

Waikiki, Honolulu, HI on your Android!

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Google keeps paying 50 percent of employees' salaries for a decade after their death

Happy birthday Google+

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“One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small.  And the ones that mother gives you, don’t do anything at all.” (opening lines of “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane).  Just as physics teaches us that nature seeks the lowest possible energy state, so are humans wired to search for the “Easy Button”, or in many cases, the easy pill.  If you were to list all the things that most people would like to be (healthier, happier, calmer, thinner, smarter….) there is a pill for every one of them (to be a better writer there is Pinot Noir, although finding the correct dosage is tricky).  Not to be outdone in the race for better SAT’s and GPA’s, students have discovered what is being referred to as the “Good Grade Pill”.  If this doesn’t get you into Caltech, there’s a pill for that too.  Remember what the doormouse said….
+Paul Smith #Ps74 #drugaddiction  

+Dan Lyons made my point for me.

Scientist are discovering every day what some of us already know, that God is the ultimate geek engineer.

Happy New Year!

To all my friends and family, may God bless you and keep you in this new year.

End of an Era

Google just announced that it is discontinuing the free version of its Google apps accounts.

They have also announced that this change will not affect current accounts.

The Silver Arrows are back after 57 years

Today it's a historic day for Mercedes Benz formula 1 fans, after 55 years absent from the sport as constructor and 57 years without a win, Nico Rossberg won the Chinese GP today, a victory he led from pole.

It was an all Mercedes powered cars finish with McLaren F1 taking the other two spots.

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What's luck got to do with it?

Cheesy headline aside my friend and collaborator +Karl Hughes wrote a post last week that not only touched me but also reminded me that the road to entrepreneurship is often a mirror of the most basic emotions and human qualities.

Most people only get to see the fruits of your enterprise "when you've made it" and for some that's were the concept of Luck first enters their thought process. To some success is nothing more than the byproduct of some cosmic lottery, nothing more than universal oddity that some are lucky enough to experience and that if only they had similar luck they could too achieve and be an entrepreneur, except.... that when it comes to entrepreneurship, there. Is. No. Luck!

Gasp! No he didn't! I'm not saying I don't believe in luck, I do, but not when it comes to business. What appears to be luck is when opportunity meets preparation, and when all the hard work finally culminates in the desired positive outcome.

+Robert Scoble said it best in the comments to this original article when he said that you almost have to be nuts to be an entrepreneur, many give up because entrepreneurship is hard, it's filled with heartache and often the sacrifices do not outweigh the payoff, but we keep pushing forward despite this, why?

Because for the majority of entrepreneurs the desire to control ones own destiny defies reason, for some, this desire is born of adversity, for others is woven into their DNA by generations of family entrepreneurship but all have a common denominator, hard work, high levels of self discipline and integrity.

Entrepreneurship is a series of choices and personal sacrifice to achieve and execute and idea a service or a product, is giving up hours, money and living a "normal" life to execute your dream, to quote Dave Ramsey, is living like no one else, so later you can live like no one else and is within this context that you start to see how little luck has to do with entrepreneurship.


Success often times is simply working harder than the guy next to you.

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This is Why I Will Always be an Entrepreneur

When I was 9 years old, my dad quit his job. He was in his 40's at the time, and my mom was homeschooling my brother and me full time. In other words, we had $0.00 monthly income.

Of course, my father didn't quit his job to sit on his ass all day; he started his own business. My dad has the heart of entrepreneur. He is great with people, and he is fiercely independent. At the same time, quitting your 9-5 job in your mid-forties with two young kids is going to be difficult.

I saw my parents struggle for ten years. My mom had to go back to college to get her Masters in Teaching so she could get a decent job. Meanwhile, she worked full time in retail, while my brother and I attended "real" school for the first time in our lives. My dad was so stressed out that he left us for a brief period. This is not a pretty story with a romantic ending; this is real life.

Until 10th grade, I have no recollection of a peaceful interaction between my parents. Before that point, I only remember fighting, yelling, and mistrust between them. I don't know exactly what this taught me other than the fact that being an entrepreneur is stressful. It made me rebellious, it made me mad, and it made me sick, but what the hell could I do? I was in Jr. High. I was just starting to figure out that there were girls; that school mattered; that life was hard.

In high school, much of this changed. My parents moved back in with each other. My mom was making just enough money to keep food on the table, and my dad's business was finally taking shape. It wasn't easy, but it was life. I never expected my parents to give me allowance. I started to work at the corner grocery store the day I turned 15 (the legal working age) for $5.17 per hour. I made all A's in school, and played football for four years (although I was admittedly an awful athlete).

I don't say any of this to elicit pity. I've have never expected pity or sympathy from others. I only say this to tell you that being an entrepreneur is hard. That's why I love it. I'm not the kind of person who seeks the easy road. If I were, I would work for GE, making widgets for laundry machines (my first internship).

Because I realized at a young age that things are not handed to you, I can't see myself being anything other than an entrepreneur. In some ways my father is an inspiration to me. We have long talks about running a business every week or two, and I love learning from his mistakes and successes. In other ways, my mother is an inspiration to me. When my dad left to pursue his passion, she stayed painfully loyal, and I deeply respect that.

Anyway, that's my story. After 4 and a half years of college, two years of internships, and one year of owning my own business, I regret nothing. Every piece of my life has led me to where I am now, and I love it. My final question for you:

Do you love what you do?

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I think that at the pace the +Google+ team is iterating features leaves no doubt that they are aiming for Facebook's jugular, +Robert Scoble is perhaps Facebook's most notorious defender, and even though we still don't have the noise controls that him and other power users are clamoring for, the usability and features being released are great for the grand majority of users.




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And here's the video for the new lightbox!

The feature will be rolling out throughout the day.

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His music is great, but that's not why I follow him

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I believe there is a profound misconception of what it means to be successful.

I'm reminded of this by some of the response I see to +Mike Elgan's excellent post (http://bit.ly/tPfyPn)

I’ve Never Heard of You Either

I’ve had people say to me, on a few occasions, “You play so great, why aren’t you Famous?” or “I’ve never heard of you, sorry the music thing didn’t work out.”

Since I was very young, my goal in life has been to make a comfortable living doing what I enjoy doing. I was never driven by Visions of Grandeur or being a Big Star. I just wanted to be a great musician and have the ability to support my family while doing that.

I have enjoyed the privilege of doing exactly that. In my view, things have worked-out exactly as planned-beyond my dreams really… I thank the Universe every single day and shake my head realizing that I’m actually pulling this whole thing off.

Whenever someone says “I’ve never heard of you.” I smile and say “That’s OK, I’ve never heard of you either.”

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Do you agree?

Apple vs Samsung verdict live blog.

Jury has reached a verdict.

Google still innovating, this feature is pretty awesome.

Don't get in a hurry to win the race to the bottom

In an era of free and fremium, ever shrinking margins, market saturation of almost every industry and relentless competition is sometimes tempting to compete against the lowest common denominator.

What I have found is that if you solely compete on price, eventually you run out of room and it becomes a race to the bottom.

The beauty of bootstrapping and not taking VC money is that it removes the pressures and expectations of unsustainable growth, and it allows your young startup to focus on carving out a niche and focus on the most important component of any enterprise, the customer. I love my customers, I try to develop deep personal connections with each and everyone of them, and in most instances is reciprocated, I can say that all of the growth that my company has experienced is directly linked to these relationships, they are my biggest advocates and are personally vested in my success.

Being fanatical about your customers and unrelenting customer service is what gives you an edge, and is what allows you to compete with the giants of your industry. You won't have to solely compete on price points, will make you profitable and will create a culture in your organization that will permeate as your organization grows.

The race to the bottom is one that I don't mind loosing and neither should you.

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Weekly Tech Hangout in Just Two Hours

Be sure to stop by today, and as always, it will be broadcast live if you can't make it in.

Notices going out from the play store that the Nexus 4 will be in stock and available for purchase today at noon PST.

Sorry kiddos US only.

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Want to get live election results? Just say "election results" into your favorite Android device.

#election2012   #Android   #googlesearch  

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Most of us (men in their 50s) grew up with attending auto shops in high schools and had to fix our own rides, which are more than a fancy GPS or an iPhone adaptor.  Our first love is in fact a constellation of precision parts that constantly in need of love and care.  Today, fixing cars is more about smart computers talking to smart computers.  +Benny Lui is old school.  He owns his own shop (nissimotors.com) and trained as a certified mechanic for many top-of-the-line European and Japanese automobiles.  His knowledge and experience is unmatched.  He cares about cars and never hesitate to offer his professional opinions to his customers, even if it means a less expensive solution and therefore less immediate income for him.  
#autorepair   #Man02  +Denny K Miu 

Battery life on a Verizon Galaxy Nexus after 9.5 hrs.

I like this project.

+Mark Holmes +Karl Hughes

I truly hope the President holds true to his word and Veto's this bill.

Can't wait for another Galactica series.


Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Teaser

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Best read this Saturday. Thank you +Max Huijgen

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Social media isn’t about having a conversation with people you know. It’s about advertising yourself. It’s not social; it’s media.

An ´old´ quote from a Wired article by +Erin Biba when G+ just opened its doors. Still an interesting reflection for the Saturday. What was true for facebook will be even more relevant for G+ where the ´public´ aspect of posts dominates.

It´s an introduction to the Dunbar concept of the maximum number of people you are able to care for. A reference to our genetic code which makes humans capable of having relations with a maximum of 150 people. The tribe so to speak, although the military call it a ´functioning fighting unit´. While researching it I found this article again and it´s worth reading for much more than this perceived limit to our friendship circles.

"Every time you post something on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Instagram, you’re influencing—or trying to influence—how the world views you. Each carefully crafted 140-character message that goes out into the metaverse fills a publicly accessible database that defines you to people you’ve never met. In the end, it isn’t who you really are. It’s the hilarious, adorable, fascinating, intelligent, so-worth-Friending version of you.

"Real conversations don’t happen in public. You don’t go to a party and loudly tell strangers about your recent bout of crippling depression. Or the fact that you just can’t seem to trust people enough to make a true connection with a partner. No, the kinds of conversations you have in mixed company are edited for content. You tell people what you think they want to hear."

"Mostly that means telling them interesting bits that are designed to make them like you. Like that time you locked yourself out of the house in your pajamas on a rainy night. (You’re so funny and humble! We all just love how you can laugh at yourself!) The world of social media is just like that. Even a closed network (like an invitation-only Twitter feed or a private Facebook profile) is a group of people you’ve decided you want to like you. They don’t want to hear about your irritable bowel syndrome. Not now. Not ever."

Read the full article for an introduction to our perceived limitation to meaningful relations with more than 150 people. I think the figure is based on the time consuming way in which we had to gossip at the village pump and that social media are more efficient in maintaining these relations so the number goes up.

What remains is the thesis that we are just advertising our premium side on G+. I would never tell you that I´m writing this while my toilet is blocked, I forgot to do the dishes and not even my dog accepts my Klout description of ´Thought Leader´ ;)

Further reading on the Dunbar number:
https://plus.google.com/112352920206354603958/posts/8uZqLWNMvvh

I agree with the writer when he says "being able to find capital is essential to being an entrepreneur" what he implied is that this capital doesn't necessarily need to come from VC's if you are not willing to risk your money and if you are not willing to give it all, why should a VC?

So quit making excuses and go do it already.

Forbes: The Essential Entrepreneur http://goo.gl/mag/Lpg4g

The thing about certain companies that choose not to launch products on Android to stay in Apple's good graces, in this case I'm referring to Flipboard, is that now that currents just launched, and its great, I have no incentive to switch, opportunity lost.

AllThingsD: Google Currents News Reader Debuts (Phew!) http://goo.gl/mag/lNLDd

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Stunning photosphere......

For those of you that don't know what it is, photospheres are 360° photos that can be taken with Android phones running jelly bean 4.2.

Google plus has a built in viewer, you can tell is a photosphere by the it's icon in the middle.

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Photo Sphere // 360 View of Botany Bay

When it comes to sharing a truly immersive experience, it doesn't get any better then +Android 's new Photosphere feature.

This complete 360 degree panorama was taken on the shores of South Carolina's Botany Bay. Here a group of derelict trees call the ocean home during high tide. You can see my good friend +Peyton Hale setting up for what ended up being an epic sunset.

Stay tuned for an in-depth tutorial on the best practices for taking your own PS's on my blog. The good news? I will be co-writting it with the man responsible for Photo Sphere's existing on our Android devices, Google's own +Evan Rapoport .

#PhotoSphere #Androidography #Nexus4

The best Smartwatch but we still have a long way to go.

The Sony Smartwatch was released roughly 6 months ago and we were treated to a floury of reviews that for the most part, were very critical of the product.

By now, most of you know the technical specs of this product so I won't rehash them on this review, my impressions of this unit after 6 months of daily use are mostly positive.

Let's be honest, if you are of a younger generation that doesn't like to wear watches, this one won't make you want to wear one, it's functionality is in direct correlation to what your use case is, and this Smartwatch needs to be paired with an Android smartphone for even the most basic of functions, which is to tell time.

If you are a road warrior, work in a busy professional environment, this little gadget is a godsend.

I like that I can see caller ID, e-mail and social media updates at a quick glance without having to pull my phone out of my pocket or bag and with legislation either implemented or in the pipeline on the use of smartphones in vehicles, this device allows me to quickly glance and decide if a call or text is important enough, for me to have to pull over and allows me to do it without breaking the law.

It can go about 5 days of daily moderate use between charges and it takes about 1 hour to fully charge from about empty. The unit itself is light an comfortable to wear, the proprietary charging plug can be finicky if not frustrating, and even though it has a dedicated app store withing Google play, I find most of the apps available to be very basic and few of them useful, and that's a good thing, because you won't want to be doing much on the not very responsive OLED color screen.

Speaking of the screen, is almost impossible to see in direct sunlight, and there is no manual adjustment for the brightness. The watch's operations are handled with screen gestures like swiping, pinching and tapping and custom actions and responses can be pre programmed in the smartphone's companion app.

Overall, once you know the limitations and if your specific set of circumstances prohibit or limit the use of your smartphone this device might just be for you.

You can pick one up at the Sony store online or at Verizon stores for 149.99

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Looks like a winner show.

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This week's +TWiL is shaping up to have a great range of topics, including reforming computer and copyright law in the wake of Aaron Swartz's suicide, reforming the Stored Communications Act for good measure, the legal and ethical ramifications of +CNET's Hopper/CES mess (and +Greg Sandoval's subsequent resignation), Evan Brown's best of 2012 list, and much more.  Check out all our discussion points at the link below.  +Lisa Borodkin and +Kevin Thompson will join us.

It takes a special kind of lowlife to piggy back a political Agenda onto someone else's pain and grief.

Just saying.
#l

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This is the kind of unbiased quality reporting that Drew is putting out at techcrunch. My hat is off to you sir.

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In which Google says "Come and get us, Apple"

Go get it! Free at the play store.

Sesame street!

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Among the weeds in the morning by Vincentius Ferdinand

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Whether a bug or on purpose, people need to remember not to install beta software on machines they need for work.

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No like.

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One of the many great albums from the Atlanta Photowalk.

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The +Red Bull Soapbox Race in Atlanta

Here's the full photo album.  You can check out more about the races and see the winning team here: http://roamingsummer.com/blog/2012/06/the-red-bull-soapbox-race-in-atlanta-2012/

#RoamingSummer

My little one loves the outdoors.

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High Caliber Thought

This is 500 people with considerable cognitive capability. It can be likened to my "social computing interface" when it comes to G+. Think Frameworks, in all it's many ramifications, and you'll get a clue about the potential in this circle. Google+ a ghost town? Pah, I refute it thusly:

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And.......

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why I included +Liz Krane on my list of awesome people you should circle.

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See, I told you I was jumping on the Bertrand-Russell-quoting bandwagon. :)

Today I learned about number sense, the magical thing built into our brains that gives us our intuitive numerical abilities. Aside from picking up some cool tidbits from the latest research in numerical cognition, I also took a number sense test at http://panamath.org/ and I'm really curious if anyone else got an unexpected result!

References, links, transcript, credits: http://www.learningnerd.com/math-in-the-brain-number-sense/

As always, all suggestions, criticisms, and questions are welcome. :)

Next up, I'll be taking a look at number sense in children and in animals. Either I'm just really interested in all this stuff that I previously knew nothing about, or I just want to avoiding getting to some actual math for as long as possible. ;)

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More awesomeness!

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“The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.”

In celebration of +Alan Shapiro's +C. Corey Fisk day, my submission for #HowWasYourDaySweetie (see my post from this morning)

When I get home, I hope to find some photos I have taken that express JOY... but for now, a watercolor painting that was done of me by someone who was very important during the process of preparing for and healing from my surgery, and one of my favorite artists.

12/24/11

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This guys work is beyond striking.

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My safe-for-g+ portfolio

I love LTE....

Hey Kiddies.....

Time to start searching the couch cushions for change, the Facebook IPO is coming.

http://allthingsd.com/20120201/go-the-fk-back-to-sleep-silicon-valley-facebook-ipo-likely-to-file-later-today-at-earliest/

Cautionary tale of what happens when you redistribute wealth

This is what happens when you seize from the "rich" to give give to the poor.

Enjoy another one on me.

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For U.S. folks getting ready to vote tomorrow, we've put together a voter information tool where you can find out your polling place, get a summary of your ballot and more: https://www.google.com/elections/ed/us/vote

You can also search [where do I vote] and enter your address to get the same info.

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Virtual Tours via G+ Hangouts Allow Aging Veterans to See Memorials
Please watch this video http://goo.gl/1xMYR and tell a Vet about this free experience to see the Beaches of Normandy, Pearl Harbor or the World War II Memorial. Veterans Virtual Tours are brought to you by +Veterans United +Virtual Photo Walks™ and Central Missouri Honor Flight.  Our next virtual tour is November 6th.  If a veteran CAN travel, please apply at www.honorflight.org . If a veteran CANNOT travel, please see http://goo.gl/RLiV5  Tell a Vet and Share. 
We are here because they were there.    #military   #hangouts   #heros  

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THIS is the Taliban
A 2009 documentary by Adam B. Ellick profiled Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl, age 11 whose school was shut down by the Taliban. Ms. Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, masked Taliban gunmen answered Ms. Yousafzai’s courage with bullets, singling out the 14-year-old on a bus filled with terrified schoolchildren, then shooting her in the head and neck. Two other girls were also wounded in the attack. All three survived, but late on Tuesday doctors said that Ms. Yousafzai was in critical condition at a hospital in Peshawar, with a bullet possibly lodged close to her brain.  A Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, confirmed by phone that Ms. Yousafzai had been the target, calling her crusade for education rights an “obscenity.”.  “She has become a symbol of Western culture in the area; she was openly propagating it,” Mr. Ehsan said, adding that if she survived, the militants would certainly try to kill her again. “Let this be a lesson.”

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Meet the product that will herald apple's decline.

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Some pundits have the sense to focus on the opportunity ahead of us and not the limitations of the current implementation before it's even out of the gate. That's why I like David Pogue!!! On Google Glass he says:

"But already, a few things are clear. The speed and power, the tiny size and weight, the clarity and effectiveness of the audio and video, are beyond anything I could have imagined. The company is expending a lot of effort on design — hardware and software — which is absolutely the right approach for something as personal as a wearable gadget. And even in this early prototype, you already sense that Google is sweating over the clarity and simplicity of the experience — also a smart approach."

Go get it! It's free!

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One thing you must read today.

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A must read by +Drew Olanoff 

Out of all the electric car companies +Tesla Motors is perhaps the one better positioned to actually achieve the market mainstream.

Tesla made some smart moves during the economic downturn by securing manufacturing facilities that allow it to manufacture up to 90% of the components in house and with plenty of space for future production.

+Elon Musk is an entrepreneur almost without peers, he is willing to invest most of his fortune to achieve success in his vision of the future, unlike most of his peers which seem to be very protective of their wealth.

Like Howard Hughes, Mr. Musk is an industrialist like we rarely see in America anymore.

The model S is a turning point in +Tesla Motors history.

Hopefully I will get a chance to drive one soon and report back my impressions.

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We drove out to the East Sooke Regional Park on the south side of the Vancouver Island, hiked for about three hours before heading out for lunch and be ready for our ferry returning to Vancouver. I noticed on our way in a small sign advertising for Smok'in Tuna Cafe so naturally I had to make a detour to explore. As I drove in, I realized we were in the middle of a trailer park, with beat-up mobile homes all around us anchored to custom wooden decks. The dirt road led to a downward ramp which open to an amazing cove. On the side of the ramp is the cafe run by a young couple who lived in one of the trailers. I enjoyed their food and their hospitality. Their priorities were fishing, sailing and hiking. When they needed a rest, they worked in the cafe.
#traveltips #Mr677 +Denny K Miu

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I agree with +Nick Bilton

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This is the greatest marriage proposal I have ever seen. Amazing.

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Interesting.

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Contextual Computing Phone

High speed mobile Internet, geo-tagging, HTML5 and the "Knowledge Graph" will come together to radically change how we compute. I like to call it contextual computing because, being mobile by nature, it will help us process the physical context that surrounds us.

The below mockup illustrates one version of this vision. In it, there are four "canvases" (accessible from the icons in each corner) and four sliders (one on each side). In addition to working as a slider, each of those colored sidebars also works as a pull-out menu for tuning the filter for each slider.

The Four Canvases:
You get to a different canvas by clicking one of the corresponding corners of the UI. Each canvas can be tuned for each context (and new apps can be found) via a pull-out menu by sliding the corner icons.

Information Canvas is the one displayed in the picture. It responds to voice input, but also to what it 'knows' is physically around you (see "Place is a Tag" link below).

Spatial Canvas is pretty much Google Maps view, including a "street view" that merges with Google Goggles/augmented reality.

App Canvas is a completely different way of thinking about finding and interacting with apps than what we have today. When the app canvas is opened, we see just those apps that make the most sense of our particular context. Shopping in a grocery store, riding in a car, eating in a restaurant - each of these contexts will load different apps by default.

Creation Canvas is how you input text, images and other content that you capture and/or create on your mobile device.

The Four Sliders:
The four sliders behave differently with each canvas. With fast Internet access, HTML5 and semantically-marked up data, what we see on each canvas should change instantaneously to provide a visceral "sense" for how to navigate the contextually-sensitive information before your eyes. The sliders go away once you jump to a website or open an app. They are simply part of the navigational operating system. At any time, you can get to the sliders and canvas icons by simply clicking the square button at the bottom of the phone.

Spatial Slider determines how tightly to restrict your information geographically. In the Spatial Canvas, it works exactly like zooming in and out in Google Maps. In the Information Canvas, it determines whether you want information on the products on the shelf right in front of you or want a more global search for information that isn't about what's right in front of you. In App Canvas, zoomed in at the grocery store, brings up shopping apps, while zoomed out gets you your generic favorites like mail, Google+, etc.

Semantic Slider determines how "structured" to make your interactions with each canvas, with "browse mode" on one side and "focused mode" on the other. This slider can be easily tuned by pulling it up (like the notifications pull-down menu in Android today), to reveal menus for tuning what kinds of structured data to pull up in specific contexts. In the Spatial Canvas, focused mode overlays various augmented reality information, while browse mode removes that info. In the Information Canvas, the browse mode pulls up generic news, while focused mode constrains information to various structured contexts (e.g. only show shopping-related information, or bus schedules in these contexts). In App Canvas, browse mode opens up the range of apps, while focus mode restricts it based on the given context. Creation Canvas works the same way, with focus mode tightening the range of available tools to just what you've programmed for your specific contexts.

Time Slider filters context for past, present and future. Slide it to the past and you access older archive information. Present is just what's relevant now. Future is for planning. In Spatial Canvas, past shows you what happened here and what this places looked like in the past, present shows you what's relevant now (e.g. there are eggs over there and you need to buy them right now), and future forecasts (there's a parade on this street next Saturday). The Information Canvas works fairly similarly, just with a more traditional search results type experience. Apps Canvas filters apps, based on past, present, and future relevance. Creation Canvas shows you your older work in past mode, works-in-progress in present mode and starts something new in future mode.

Social Slider filters information based on how much social context you want and it ranges from "personal" to "friends" to "global." Personal restricts information displayed to just the material you have created or shared. Friends restricts information to just that shared by your friends. Global is everyone. In Spatial Canvas, the Social Slider also works as a kind of do not disturb signal when placed in personal mode. When slid to friends it shows you when your friends are nearby. In Information Canvas, it restricts information displayed to just your information, things your friends of have shared or everything (see "Three Tiered Search link below). In App Canvas, you get more productivity-oriented apps in personal and more social apps in friends mode. In Creation Canvas, personal restricts you to just your creations, while friends is documents, images and other stuff you have saved from your friends and global is from people you don't know.

Where This Goes
This is a big idea that I've been sitting on for well over a year. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to do anything with it, as I'm not really in a mode to do a startup these days and I'm starting to focus on something else right now. Plus, this vision is so big that it would take a company like Google or Apple to pull it off. There's lots more to it, but this post is already waaay too long. I just figured I'd share this idea, in the hopes that it might somehow find its way to reality.

"Place is a Tag: How Our Phones Should Work":
http://www.alchemyofchange.net/place-is-a-tag/

"Place-Based Networks: A New Kind of Social Network":
http://www.alchemyofchange.net/place-based-networks/

"Google Tiers Search into the Global, Social and Personal":
http://www.alchemyofchange.net/three-tiered-search/

#mobile , #android