Totally Doodgical

Apple vs. HTC – Apple warned Makers Before Suit

Ben Holt — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:38:14 +0000

If you haven’t heard, Apple is now suing HTC over a group of its patents. What I did find interesting is that Apple was having “top-secret” discussions with C-level people before the suit was filed (according to a post at Fortune).

Why HTC? Erica Ogg at CNET thinks it is because of a close HTC and Google relationship (and frenemy stuff). Philip Elmer-DeWitt thinks it may be that there were few, if any, suppliers problems that would crop up. John Paczkowski believes it may be that HTC has the fewest number of patents and may be the low hanging fruit, however Nilay Patel thinks that analysis may be unconvincing (same post).

Personally, I think it is the fact that HTC has established itself as the Android purveyor/expert and they appear to be smaller than the other companies. They’ve built the Nexus One, G1 and a slew of other devices. The only other Android maker that people know is Motorola because of its Droid.

–Ben

Sources: Fortune, CNet, All Things Digital, Phandroid, HTCPedia

Droid Multi-touch – Multi-Touch to Majority of Motorola Devices I don’t understand the quiet – almost the no comment attitude – of Google when talking about multi-touch in the states. Many android devices support multi-touch – like...
Mac 10.3 and iPod Classic Fix Although I am not a mac owner, my uncle is and he just got an iPod classic for his son. As it turns out, if you have Mac...
Google Buzz Starting to Fix Major Privacy Problems Google Buzz was hit hard by a lot of complaints, including one woman who complained that Google automatically followed her abusive ex-husband. Google responded and seems to be...

Bull and Bear-Spend vs Free Market-Invisible Hand – Hayek vs. Keynes

Ben Holt — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:56:05 +0000

Ever wondered what the two opposing factions are throwing at each other when discussing economic theory? Here’s the bull and bear (economic stimulus) theory vs. the Free Market (little regulation or interference) theory in hip-hop. Yeah, its Hayek vs. Keynes in rhyme. Awesome.

–Ben

Source: EconStories

Google Maps 4.0 has Multitouch and is in Android Market Just downloaded google maps 4.0 from the android market and it has Multi-touch! Its about time. And I really like it. I can’t wait for Android 2.1 on...
Droid BOGO – Buy a Droid, get one free from Verizon Verizon apparently is running a special on Droid and Droid Eris. Buy one phone, get a second of the same kind for free. Of course by free, I...
Free Droid Apps – Free Recommended Must Have Apps Just a quick List of my Must Have Apps for Droid (Jan/5/2009 UPDATE: NO LONGER FREE) Locale – Make your phone context sensitive – turn off alerts during...

More info on the Nexus One Multi-Touch Issue

Ben Holt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:14:25 +0000

For those of you who wonder why the Nexus one touch screen has multi-touch reversals, a good article has been written about the G1’s same problems. Basically, if the two touch points are on a diagonal line, the hardware cannot know upon which diagonal the touch points lie. So it makes a best guess.

–Ben

Source: Luke Hutchison

Droid Multi-touch – Multi-Touch to Majority of Motorola Devices I don’t understand the quiet – almost the no comment attitude – of Google when talking about multi-touch in the states. Many android devices support multi-touch – like...
Multitouch – Nexus One vs. Droid – Nexus One FAIL Wow. Just read an article stating that the Nexus One’s axis inversion when using multi-touch is likely a sensor problem – IE no over the air (OTA) update...
Free Droid Apps – Free Recommended Must Have Apps Just a quick List of my Must Have Apps for Droid (Jan/5/2009 UPDATE: NO LONGER FREE) Locale – Make your phone context sensitive – turn off alerts during...

Multitouch – Nexus One vs. Droid – Nexus One FAIL

Ben Holt — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:42:43 +0000

Wow. Just read an article stating that the Nexus One’s axis inversion when using multi-touch is likely a sensor problem – IE no over the air (OTA) update will fix it. On the bright side, the Droid multitouch works great. If you want to try it out yourself, the app is called Multitouch Visible Test and is available on the Android Market.

Here’s the video evidence. Looks damning to me.

–Ben

Sources: Phandroid, Robert Green’s DIY, Android Developers Group

More info on the Nexus One Multi-Touch Issue For those of you who wonder why the Nexus one touch screen has multi-touch reversals, a good article has been written about the G1’s same problems. Basically, if...
Android 2.1 Droid Update imminent on Verizon -maybe multitouch Motorola just announced on their facebook page today that the Droid will get Android 2.1. My hope is that it fixes the corporate exchange email settings and IMAP...
Droid touchscreen less accurate than iPhone, Eris or Nexus One Looks like the folks at MOTO Development Group came up with an interesting test on touchscreens. Unfortunately, it appears that Droid runs last of the pack when compared...

Droid likely getting Andriod 2.1 soon

Ben Holt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:06:07 +0000

Just saw an article that said there was a leaked ROM of android 2.1 for Droid. Now, most people probably shouldn’t download it because of the risks, but it does appear to be a final version.

Here’s a video:

–Ben

Source: Softsailor

Android 2.1 Droid Update imminent on Verizon -maybe multitouch Motorola just announced on their facebook page today that the Droid will get Android 2.1. My hope is that it fixes the corporate exchange email settings and IMAP...
Multitouch – Nexus One vs. Droid – Nexus One FAIL Wow. Just read an article stating that the Nexus One’s axis inversion when using multi-touch is likely a sensor problem – IE no over the air (OTA) update...
Time your Email Marketing Well One thing I’ve learned recently is that I become really annoyed with people who send their bulk email out at 4am. See I just a Motorola Droid and...

Android Doomed? I think not – but PCWorld does

Ben Holt — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:31:47 +0000

On a side note, PCWorld claimed Android was doomed. Galen Gruman has a hypothesis that basically states that manufacturers can choose what features to implement and whether to allow an upgrade to the next OS.

Wow. Personally, I think manufacturer choice was a good thing. I also think that while consumers may want to run the latest OS, that we recognize that many of our devices are underpowered for some tasks. Plus, it should count as an advantage, not a detriment that there is even possible an upgrade path.

When we look at the actual world, Linux is fractured – but its still very successful and often tailored to the desired device. Ruby on Rails (the language and framework) has strange compatibility problems between versions, but its still on fire in the the development community. Both are open source. Android is open source.

In sum, I think Galen is reading tea leaves in an alarmist fashion (ie I don’t think the facts he sees add up to the death of Android – but the contrary). Microsoft has been predicting the death of Linux for years. Despite their best efforts, it hasn’t happened. I think Android is here to stay as well.

–Ben

Source: PCWorld

Motorola Gives timeline for Android 2.1 for Smart phones and Droid Motorola has put up a page giving expected roll-out dates for their android phones to upgrade to Android version 2.1. Here’s the summary Droid – soon Milestone (Europe)...
Android Phones on US Carriers – Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T I have a friend on T-Mobile who asked me if I liked my Droid. I do, but he can’t get one on T-Mobile. However, there are many phones...
Verizon Speeds Lacking compared with AT&T in PC World Test PCWorld has a report that shows that Verizon’s uptick in phones isn’t all its cracked up to be. In fact, the report states that Verizon has had problems...

Verizon Speeds Lacking compared with AT&T in PC World Test

Ben Holt — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:55:55 +0000

PCWorld has a report that shows that Verizon’s uptick in phones isn’t all its cracked up to be. In fact, the report states that Verizon has had problems keeping up with the demand (see the reliability numbers). Verizon apparently has also been hampered by an uninterrupted signal – only 76% of the time was it uninterrupted.

Personally, I’ve seen in on my train ride into work. I keep dropping into 1x instead of 3G. So, let’s hope Verizon gets back on top. We bought into the network because it was the best, right?

Verizon’s come back is that their map is bigger. Bigger isn’t necessarily better if it drops speed. 1 in 4, it appears.

–Ben

Source: PCWorld

Skype App Coming to Verizon Wireless in March- Has Hell Frozen Over? Verizon Wireless and Skype just announced that Verizon is going to carry skype calls over its network starting in March. It may require a data plan, but...
Droid BOGO – Buy a Droid, get one free from Verizon Verizon apparently is running a special on Droid and Droid Eris. Buy one phone, get a second of the same kind for free. Of course by free, I...
Android Doomed? I think not – but PCWorld does On a side note, PCWorld claimed Android was doomed. Galen Gruman has a hypothesis that basically states that manufacturers can choose what features to implement and whether to...

Utah Makes the List of Top Jobs Created and Top Job Growth

Ben Holt — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:04:17 +0000

Wow. Just saw an infographic on mint.com about where the jobs are predicted to be. Salt Lake, Provo and St. George cities in Utah made the list. Did yours?

Budgeting – Mint.com

–Ben

Source: Mint.com

Disclaimer – I use Mint for my personal finance. Its free. I like it. However, I did not receive any special compensation for this post.

Utah Safety Data – Violence and Injury Data by Neighborhood on the web Wow. Utah does some cool stuff. If you’re a Utahn, this may be interesting to see how your fellow people fare, statistically. In all seriousness, it shows underlying...
Patent Clerking on the Cheap — Free Tools I figure that more than one of us clerks has been asked to research on the cheap for one of our boss’s clients. I wanted to share a...
Android 2.1 Droid Update imminent on Verizon -maybe multitouch Motorola just announced on their facebook page today that the Droid will get Android 2.1. My hope is that it fixes the corporate exchange email settings and IMAP...

Valentine’s Day Statistics – Who gets What and How Much

Ben Holt — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:20:47 +0000

Billshrink put up an interesting infographic on Valentines Day and they’re inviting people to share it. Here’s the surprising low-down on who gets what for Valentine’s Day. One of the most surprising stats is just how many parents buy cards for kids. I thought it was a “lovers” holiday.

–Ben

Android 2.1 Droid Update imminent on Verizon -maybe multitouch Motorola just announced on their facebook page today that the Droid will get Android 2.1. My hope is that it fixes the corporate exchange email settings and IMAP...
Droid forgets corporate email settings, IMAP and login information Big problem for the Droid. And I just got bit by it. And there doesn’t appear to be a solution. It appears that the Droid will just forget...
Time your Email Marketing Well One thing I’ve learned recently is that I become really annoyed with people who send their bulk email out at 4am. See I just a Motorola Droid and...

Droid BOGO – Buy a Droid, get one free from Verizon

Ben Holt — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:52:53 +0000

Verizon apparently is running a special on Droid and Droid Eris. Buy one phone, get a second of the same kind for free. Of course by free, I mean that you eventually get one phone for “free”, but end up paying the $30 times 2 surcharge for data and then a voice plan plus another $10 for another line that shares the minutes (or $60 times two for unlimited voice). But hey, there’s really no free lunch. Just an awesome phone.

In any case, if you were looking for his and her Droids, now might be the time.

–Ben

Source: Verizon, Phandroid, Phones Review

Verizon Speeds Lacking compared with AT&T in PC World Test PCWorld has a report that shows that Verizon’s uptick in phones isn’t all its cracked up to be. In fact, the report states that Verizon has had problems...
Skype App Coming to Verizon Wireless in March- Has Hell Frozen Over? Verizon Wireless and Skype just announced that Verizon is going to carry skype calls over its network starting in March. It may require a data plan, but...
Free Droid Apps – Free Recommended Must Have Apps Just a quick List of my Must Have Apps for Droid (Jan/5/2009 UPDATE: NO LONGER FREE) Locale – Make your phone context sensitive – turn off alerts during...