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Adaptive Path has completed their series I’ve been following on their Aurora concept.

Part 3:

Aurora (Part 3) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Part 4:

Aurora (Part 4) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

You can also view the entire video here.

The synic in my says with the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Amazon and Google around, something like this just won’t happen.  But I would love to see it happen.  Full integration of software with hardware all while working within the framework of our lifestyles.  What a great idea!

Right now most things involving computing is proprietary.  For example: Apple’s OSX is proprietary to the Macintosh PC.  If you don’t have a Mac, then OSX won’t run properly if at all (and you’d be breaking the OSX EULA).  If you’re a heavy gamer, then you’re using a Window’s based PC.  The newest games for the most part run the best on windows-based systems - again, a proprietary union of software and hardware.  Even Linux users find themselves with ‘distros’ that work better with certain pieces of hardware.  In short, the computing world is proprietary.

Aurora and ideas like it go against that grain.  And I can only hope it succeeds.

Adaptive Path has posted the second video in their Aurora concept.

Aurora (Part 2) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

I remember when I first got on-line - it was before the World Wide Web was common place; Telnet and Gopher on the other hand were.  After about two years of playing around on what is now commonly referred to as the Application Layer of the TCP/IP Model (still sans a ‘browser‘), I was invited to be a part of Microsoft’s beta testing of their new Microsoft Network.  I had previously dinked around AOL and wanted no part of that - even then AOL was full of chats and message boards that proclaimed nothing more than “type 1 if you think _____ is ______“.  (To this day I still cannot fathom anyone paying hard earned money for the horrid service.)  Microsoft Network was to launch with the release of Windows 95 - which I also beta tested (before the Windows 95 preview program that upset so many MSN users at the time).

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted anything to this blog. I would attribute that to the new job I’ve been trying to settle into - and I say job because at this point, I don’t exactly consider it a career move.

Enough about that…I want to get right into this.  I was reading through some blogs and other sites tonight and came across this little gem: Apple just gave out my Apple ID password because someone asked.  Brilliant!  I don’t even need to comment - although I will - for no other reason than I really enjoy taking shots at Apple.

I will always be the fist to admit that when God was handing out drawing/painting skills I skipped out of line and ran to the bathroom.  I have zero (nada, none, ziltch) artisitic drawing or painting skills.  Heck, I have a tough time painting a room a single color…

For those of us that have always wanted to be an artist but found the process painful, uninspiring, difficult, and/or impossible, I present to you Bomomo.  Let your budding (but well hidden) artist out - have fun, experiment with the different tools, and ENJOY!

Something I truly enjoy about the Internet - and specifically the World Wide Web - is that it’s constantly in flux.  It’s always changing - never quite the same as the last time you saw it.  But sometimes when things change they are really remaining the same - they just look different, or feel different.  Something that my studies at Michigan State focused on quite a bit was usability and sustainability.  Looking at how usable a website or web application is and how sustainable will it be.  This is accomplished with a variety of methodologies like play testing, focus group analysis, competitive analysis and so on.  Usability testing can be rather tedious - but its fruits can be very valuable.  Just ask Google.

Let’s face it: your identity on the World Wide Web may not be your own.  And conversely, you may not be who you say you are.  The World Wide Web is after all as anonymous as we want it -or allow it - to be.

When MySpace became popular I made a conscious decision to not sign up.  I did my research and discovered plenty of security holes that existed.  There were dozens of ways for people to access personal data on MySpace - for example, someone anonymously sends you a video with a embedded link that would reveal your password when you enter it thinking your need to be logged in to view that video.  Most if not all of the security holes in MySpace are created using third part applications that simply exist for phishing purposes.

I’m a big proponent of truth in advertising - especially when those ads are related to technology. Advertisers will invariably push the limits on what defines ‘truth‘. For example, when DirecTV ads come on it’s only in the smallest of print that appears on the screen for maybe 5 seconds do they mention that every additional receiver you install requires a $5.00 fee. They’re by no means lying about it, but to hide that fact in the legalese the FCC and FTC requires for promotional and sales ads is arguably holding back part of the truth.

But when it comes to cable and satellite providers, Comcast is by far the biggest abuser of the Truth in Advertising laws I’ve seen in a long time. Truth in Advertising is fairly straight forward - an ad must be truthful and non-deceptive, there must be evidence to substantiate the claims of the ad, and the advertisements cannot be unfair. Comcast stretches those guidelines to the nth degree - at least with their ads here in Michigan.