BrianHimes.com » Technology

Major labels to abandon CDs in 2012

Brian — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:35:14 +0000

Here’s the news I’ve been dreading for quite some time. I can’t say it surprises me but… dang.

My fear is that this is going to negatively affect the few record stores that are left and drive up prices of used discs.

Fears aside, it just saddens me that a whole generation will not know the joy of going to a store on Tuesday to pick up the newest releases. They will miss out on the entire social experience of purchasing music.

Don’t get me wrong, iTunes is great, but it can never give you the same experience. It’s just not the same.

I’m gonna have to go off and cry a little now.

Gmail for iOS?

Brian — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:03:30 +0000

So, rumor has it that Google is working on a Gmail app for iOS. They may have even submitted it for review already.

My question is why? Why would someone need to use the Gmail app?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Gmail. I have my Gmail account setup as an Exchange Account on my iPhone. You can also set it up with IMAP or SMTP, but Exchange allows me to sync my email, contacts and calendar. If it’s on Gmail (including calendar and contacts) it’s on my phone, if it’s on my phone it’s on Gmail. It works great. I have no complaints.

So, my question is why? Why would someone need a separate app for their Gmail? What would your Gmail experience gain from an app?

My iOS5 Update

Brian — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:40:53 +0000

My iOS5 update was pretty uneventful, which was a welcome surprise after hearing horror story after horror story of people trying to update. I’m not sure if the steps I followed helped me avoid disaster, or if I was just lucky enough to time it right so the Apple servers weren’t overloaded the moment my phone had to validate. But, at any rate, here are the steps I followed for the update.

First, I ran all the updates for my computer, including an update to iTunes 10.5. This took a while. I guess I had fallen a little behind.
Second, I synced and backed up my iPhone with iTunes, just for safe measure. In hindsight, I should have also set my apps to backup, because you lose them during the update if you don’t have them backed up in iTunes. I didn’t do that.
Third, I selected the option Download Only instead of Download and Install. Not sure if this made a difference, but it made me feel as though I could stop the process at any time and use my phone if the download took too long. It took me around an hour.
Fourth, after the update was downloaded to my computer I selected update and watched the fun begin. I would guess it took about 20- 30 minutes for the update to be applied to the phone and for iTunes to restore my settings (excluding the apps in my case).
Fifth, using the purchased section in the app store on my phone I re-downloaded all the apps I lost during the update.
Sixth, I started playing around with iOS5.

There’s Power in a “Like”

Brian — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:26:37 +0000

If you thought Facebook was good, harmless, fun, think again. I read this story recently on Mashable.com: Man Assaults Wife for Not “Liking” His Facebook Update (http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/man-assaults-wife-facebook/).

Apparently you should think twice about liking, or not liking, someone’s posts. Consider this your warning.

It is interesting though, the amount of validation we can get and give through social media. There’s power in a good comment, a retweet, or a simple “like.” We probably SHOULD think twice about how we use these tools to encourage. It could make the difference.

Whispersync for the car?

Brian — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:43:18 +0000

I picked up Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer the other day and I’m really getting into it. In fact, I was reading it while at my in-law’s the other night and when it came time to get in the car I was a little sad that I had to put the book down. That’s when I had this great idea.

Kindle needs to take their Whispersync technology to the next level. They need to take it to the car.

Say you’re reading a book on your Kindle. When you get in the car you can’t continue reading, unless your car stereo was to do the reading for you. Your stereo should have a kindle app that picks up where you left off. It could use the Kindle Whispersync technology to know they last page you read and continue with your book.

Now, I realize that you would likely have to purchase an edition of the book that allows for both text and audio, and that would probably drive up the price. But wouldn’t it be cool? Your car could pull your books through the airwaves and deliver them to you over your car stereo. It’s like a book on tape for the digital generation.

Google+ for iOS

Brian — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:56:15 +0000

The Google+ app for iOS debuted today in the App Store. It really isn’t anything groundbreaking. In fact, it’s more or less what one would expect.

The app gives you access to Google+’s Stream, Huddle, Photos, Profile, Circles, and Notification bar. All the basics.

You can read and post to your stream, upload and view photos, create and edit circles, and start huddles. And that’s it. You can’t edit your profile. You can’t video chat. You can’t access Sparks…

My hope is that Google expands upon this app. It’s a start, but I don’t think this app will entice people to join the Google+ craze. It needs something more, something that you can’t get elsewhere. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Leaving Facebook in Droves for Google+

Brian — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:27:26 +0000

So… Google+ is here and people are leaving Facebook in droves.

That’s the way it sounds anyway.

But it’s not true.

I don’t have any data to back that up, but really? Why would anyone leave Facebook for a brand new site that is still in beta?

Don’t get me wrong. I love Google. And, I see a lot of potential in Google+. But, I really don’t see any reason to abandon Facebook at this point.

I can understand that someone might be fed up with Facebook, but are you really going to leave it, and the massive following you’ve developed over the years, for Google+. At best you probably have a handful of friends on Google+. Isn’t the point of a social network to have a “social network” of people to interact with?

Are you going to leave behind the countless pictures you’ve uploaded?

What about that game of Farmville you have going?

How are you going to know when you’re friends are having events?

How are you going to send messages to people that you don’t have email addresses or phone numbers for?

I could keep going on, but as you can see, Facebook still has a leg up on Google+. I hope that changes. I hope Google+ becomes successful, useful, and everything a social network should be. But it’s not there yet.

So, hold your horses. Don’t abandon Facebook yet. Let’s see what Google+ does first.

Pre-invite thoughts on Google+

Brian — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:44:37 +0000

I’m really excited about Google+. It’s a new “social project” from Google. Currently, as with most Google products, it’s in a beta, invitation only, stage. I have yet to receive my invitation but have been reading about the service through the tech blogs.

From what I’ve read, it sounds like Google has learned lessons from their last few product launches and is taking this slowly and deliberately. They aren’t rolling the service out to all Gmail users like they did with Buzz which proved to be a big mistake. Really, it didn’t bother me, but it caused a lot of privacy concerns, and people don’t look too kindly upon being automatically enrolled into services they don’t want, or understand. It seems as though Google+ will be a service you opt in to, which means it will take longer to build up a critical mass of users, but that’s true of any new service.

What I like about Google+ itself is that it seems as though Google is building the service around other Google products and creating new products that work together to fill the “social” gaps. I’m excited to see how it all fits together. I think it is a great idea and ultimately could be what makes Google+ a success. Hope I get an invite soon.

Remote controlled musical light bulb

Brian — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:23:53 +0000

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/26/switched-on-light-music/

This sounds like a great idea. Who would have thought that setting up remotely controlled music and lights in your home could be as easy as installing a light bulb? If they can bring the price down from $250 this could be very popular. I would totally be on board.

Disturbing Search Terms

Brian — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 23:00:38 +0000

While checking the stats for this site I came across a few disturbing search terms that lead to hits. They are:

Brian Himes Murderer
Brian Himes Obituary

Scary right? Makes me want to do my own search.