From the CLI

I'm posting this from a command prompt on my laptop to google's services. So, anyway this is a test.

Google Shuts Down Google.Cn - Redirecting to Uncensored Google.com.hk

“The Internet was seen as a catalyst for China being more integrated into the world. The fact that Google cannot exist in China, clearly indicates that China’s path as a rising power is going in a direction different from what the world expected and what many Chinese were hoping for.”

-Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet project at the University of California, Berkeley

From:

Google Shuts China Site in Dispute Over Censorship, NYTimes

Windows Phone 7 Series - Noted for what it doesn't do

I haven't been keeping that close of tabs on the upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series Mobile OS except to notice that most of what I hear coming out of tech blogs and Microsoft itself is how noteworthy it is for what it doesn't do. Can't load apps except through the Windows Market Place. No Copy & Paste, No Multi-tasking, No memory card swapping, etc

Why ditch all these features when the previous iterations of Windows Mobile supported them? In my opinion, it's because Microsoft sees what Apple gets away with, and has noted how acclaimed they are for making 'smart' (if not obstinate and unfriendly) design choices, and the folks up in Redmond think that's part of the secret sauce. Part of "controlling the experience." Right.

Just my opinion, but why the hell else would their new cutting edge phone software do so much less than the previous versions, but look oh so much more minimal, and "modern"

Their aping Apple.

We're going backwards here, not forward. :-/

This iPhone Patent Stuff is complete BS

I like Apple stuff but they're acting like pretty huge dicks. They're suing HTC to on grounds of some BS patent infringement to scare other phone makers out of using Google's phone operating system, Android, but at the same time are being sued by Nokia over refusal to pay licensing fees on patents that every phone company in the industry acknowledges and pays royalties on.

A big part of their defense against Nokia is to counter-sue on grounds on anti-trust and also allegations that Nokia is stealing from them (!?!)

It's super hypocritical, arrogant, and really cocky.

It ultimately probably doesn't really effect you or me, but if you pay attention to this kind of stuff its just another one of those reminders that Apple can be, well, kind of unflinching assholes about stuff.

I dig my iPhone, but really can't wait to give a nice Android phone a whirl once one of them comes to AT&T.

Ah, gadget lust.

So after a very brief hiatus Ive decided to pick up Twitter again. This time I'm using my real name, real face. Still primarily just cracking wise with it for fun, but this time around Im playing it closer to the vest in terms of the # of people I follow and amount of time I spend on it. I missed my friends there too much. It didn't have to be a complete 'either / or' proposition in terms of using it or not. It's fun. I intend to keep it that way.

Twitter and Facebook without the Twitter and Facebook

People are the reason for these "social" sites like Twitter and Facebook. Not the destination or the "platform" or any of that bullshit.

Your friends, family, 'net pals, gaming buddies, and so on.

If you already have a personal social network on these sites, but don't really want to participate on them, but do want watch and keep up-to-date with everyone - thanks to the very web standards most of this junk is built on, you've got a way to do it without being glued to it.

How? XML, baby. More specifically its implementation in RSS/Atom feeds.

Screen cap of my preferred RSS feed reader, Google Reader:

Just like subscribing to a blog, you can subscribe to individual twitter feeds and even on Facebook, you can subscribe to links, notes, and status updates (with a little bit 'o hackery).

Like I said, the point of this is that perhaps you don't or simply can't log into these sites from work, or just prefer to stalk them, without actually logging in and engaging with them.

The point is you have the ability to receive your friends social network data from outside of the social network. That freedom gives you more flexibility and choice.

(this is a quick and dirty post...I plan to update for clarity, perhaps with more information at a later time.)

Apple Tablet coming this week - my predictions on it

So the big tech news on the internet is all the anticipation for the debut of Apple's upcoming "Tablet" device.

There's no shortage of handicapping and conjecture going on, so why not through my hat into the ring with a couple of predictions:

-Despite how fancy the thing is and all the things it will do, the real economic story is still going to be a continuation and extenstion of the iTunes/AppStore business model. Think: "iBooks" or at least LOTS of books are coming to iTunes. Movies are already, but expect even more, at various prices points and in packages or bundles (of TV shows, Movies, etc) 

The WSJ journal cited an source close to Apple quoting Jobs as saying a big part of this device was going to be giving "the old guard" (Media and Publishing companies) new distribution channels, and to literally "help them out" 

The success of iTunes in the music industry is self-evident. They are beholden to it as it's the single most successful distribution channel for them in the digital age. It would stand to reason that Jobs would like to duplicate that success with other "content" businesses, as well. They're certainly hurting right now, and having the ability to bring their stuff, legally, to his device makes it more attractive too.

In terms of physical or technical stuff, I look for it to be "always on" in it's connection to the web, and to rely on the web for more software and functionality than a desktop does. Analogous to a netbook in that regard. There have been rumors of an 'iTunes in the cloud' coming, so that would be interesting (your stuff stored on their servers over the internet instead of locally on the tablet)

Other sites and blogs have already talked about the expectation of a virtual keyboard, virtual sticky notes that can be left for other family members, etc, but on thing I haven't seen talked about is photos and photo-editing. 

I can imagine this having a stand on the back that can sit upright when not in use, like frame. Screen savers with family photos, and digital photo frames are far from revolutionary, but editing, syncing, and linking them up with *other* people's photo albums over the web on a digital photo frame, is. I would imagine something like this will be in-built so it can act as a cool dynamic photo display when the device is not in active use.

Lastly, games and apps. The rumor mill is abuzz that Apple is going to do more with games on this thing than they've ever done with any of their other devices. I'm not a gamer, but this makes a lot of sense to me. Some of the most popular apps on the iPhone are games. If the interface is as immersive as people expect it to be, games would be a big driver in getting people hooked on the thing.

Bottom line, I expect it's going to be a really neat, multipurpose device that does cool stuff, but ultimately is going to be really controlled (like all Apple products) and will further try to condition us to pay for things web and net users are accustomed to getting for free. 

Good for the content business and Apple, maybe not so great for users (especially if you end up paying for stuff twice - for the privilege of being able to enjoy it on this device)

I guess we'll know on Wednesday!