Remembered and Respected

In the US, we celebrate Memorial Day. For some, it will be a cause of celebrate the unoffical start to summer with grilling and pool openings. For others, it will be a solem reminder of those persons who have served in the armed forces, to whom have lives that were forever changed, so that we could have a life that’s free(ish).

My father was one of many who served. I never heard him talk much about that time aside for a few trips here and there. Every once and a while, we’d find a coin from Spain or somewhere very abroad and ask how it got here – then he’d smile with a reflective grin and say that it was something he recevied while in the Navy.

From what I can also remember, he didn’t serve during any wars – at least not wars that I know of. He did serve in a submarine – which sounds cool and frightening all at the same time. When he passed, it was a very respectful gesture that the Navy did in sending to us a flag encased to remind us that he did serve, and was respected and remembered for doing so.

This is where I sit on this day. Yes, to me its a work day. I’m not really much in the mood for not working some today (thuogh I will get some cookout food in later). Ibt, its that reminder that even if you don’t know who or how people served in the armed forces, that their time and sacrifices are to be respected and rememberd.

It is almost ironic though. We celebrate such a freedom in cooking out, biking, going to the pool/beach today, but these things would not be possible without the lives and stories of those for whom this day was designated to serve.

To all armed forces members past, present, and future – thank you for your service.

Living with an iPad, or How My Smartphone Gets Smarter

The past week and a half with the iPad has been one part a revelation (battery life) and another part an effort in rediscipline (just because the battery lives longer, doesn’t mean there’s more content to consume that’s valuable). It is a different device, and in light of how its designed as a appliance, I can see where there are fans, fanatics, and detractors to it a lot clearer now.

Count me a fan, but not of the iPad. My Nokia N97 has actually become a bit more fun lately. Even to the point where my other Nokia mobiles are taking a bigger backseat when they are called into duty.

What do I mean? Well, simply, I’m becoming a smarter smartphone user. And I’m pushing my mobie to do things that emphasize not only its abilities from a communication end (messaging, voice, etc.), but also how it empowers me to save money, be more productive, and even enable the device itself to display some intelligence.

The intelligence piece is probably the more interesting part. You see, there are days where I’d like to be home browsing the web on my iPad. My mobile device is the only broadband connected device(s) in my home. Meaning I don’t have cable, cable Internet, DSL, or satellite. I don’t pick up any neighbor’s Wi-Fi either. It is just me and 3G via AT&T. I prefer it this way – considering what I pay per month, it makes sense that the connection (pipe) should go with me.

I’m leveraging this connection from time to time to the iPad or my other devices by enabling my N97 to be a hotspot with the Joikuspot application. I only use it for a bit since it drains the battery pretty quick – and I like that the iPad forces me out of the house to places where there are people and caffinated drinks. Thing is, I want this connection to do more.

I’m not content with manually turning on this connection, and then running across the room/apartment to my mobile when it beeps (rings or message comes in). I’d rather be able to check those messages from my iPad – or enable the call through my headset and the iPad – and then kind of live smarter.

To do something like this, I’d need to automate a few actions. For example, I’d need my mobile to turn to a profile (let’s call it Home) that turns on the Jokiuspot and Mobile Web Server apps. When the connection is made to the ad-hoc network with the iPad, I’d like a browser widow to open up to my mobile web server’s front page so that I could log in. That window would remain open, and if I need to attend to my mobile, I could do it from there.

And in the same respect, when I leave home, those applications would need to close, and shut that connection. Making it a manual process when away from home towards using the mobile web server on the N97 and the iPad to transfer information or do simple communications and PIM.

But, as you can tell from this illustration, its not the iPad that’s really doing anything here except being a spoke in the wheel. The simple action of freeing up my reading spaces from my mobile gives me a chance to teach my old dog (the smartphone running the oldest current platform of the smartphone leaders) some new tricks (a raw version of artifical intelligence based on locational and device contexts).

In doing this, my mobile would then too move into this realm of use we can call a connected appliance – just with the caveat that its intelligence is what will drive how the rest of my personal computing ecosystem would gain use.

When mobile gets smart like this, some really neat things can and should happen. I wonder if this is something that could be pulled off this weekend – would make for a really nice new shift

Why I Bike from PeopleforBikes.org

Hopefully this embed works:

And even if the video doesn’t show, just know that biking is great for you. Get some wheels and see for yourself. And if you have wheels, grab back some of that joy and freedom.

Also, learn more at People for Bikes.

MWS and Managing One’s Social Graph

It has been a while since touching on the topic of the Mobile Web Server (MWS); and for good reason – I really miss that platform. Ownership of your own data, and ability to manage your mobile from any web browser, and the ability to connect to other people with an open platform is the kind of power that we should have in this connected generation.

We don’t have it. Companies tend to make a heady profit in not just being the broker of social connections, but also the owners of the data within them. It could be different – it should be. Given the recent issues with Facebook and privacy settings and methodologies, it should be different.

I was sparked to write because of a comment over at an article on Life Blog. I’m posing the comment here because it deserves additional thought on my end, and could use opinion from yours:

Until February of this year, I had been using Nokia’s Mobile Web Server (mymobilesite.net) for doing just what you are talking about in terms of managing one’s own social graph. Because I was aware of, and not willing to compromise to, the terms of service for FB and several others services, I found it one part a challenge and another part very freeing to have my own platform – and then try and work with people – literally network with them – so that they could access my content streams on my terms.

Unfortunately, Nokia shut down the gateway for the Mobile Web Server service. And there was little noise made with the MWS because “Facebook could do it” and other similar comments.

I still feel that given our use of mobile and social technologies, that such a platform has a veritable approach, and should be explored by many. Yes, there’s the issue of “what happens to this server when my mobile’s battery dies,” but really, I don’t know that it should be a concern. The way the MWS was designed, for example, connecting my device to MS Exchange took more battery life than running the server. And the open platform that it was built on (Apache, Python, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) meant that I could essentially have my own content management system (like a Blogger/Typepad/Wordpress and a Flickr, and a personal web-enabled Outlook) that I could intentionally share with others.

It was ahead of its time. And unfortunately, closed down before this brooha happened. I miss it (badly). Others will pine for it when they realize what is possible.

Killer iPad Apps

I should probably apologize for the content here being so heavily skewed towards the iPad. It’s now been a week with me owning one, and so the honeymoon phase of having this device should be just out over – which also means that I’m ready to put this device, and its competitors, through the ringer.

Like this idea of a killer application for the iPad. I get it. There’s some application, that when everyone uses it, will totally convince you that this device and platform are just unbelievable. For the iPod, it was iTunes. For Blackberries, it is email (and now BlackBerry Messenger). For the Palm Pilot (and its many iterations), it was the calendar and other PIM apps. Nearly every successful platform has one, and of course, the iPad is supposed to as well.

Well, it doesn’t and it does. iTunes is the key to most of Apple’s engine and that serves, just as it does for the iPod and iPhone devices, as that killer application. The key for the iPad is that it is just another content delivery device. It is a simple-to-use one. And that’s key for this kind of size and focus of device.

But, if there were a killer application, something that was perfect for this platform and this platform only, what would it be? Depends on the day of the week and who you ask really.

Since its introduction, the iPad’s killer apps have been games, books, iTunes, periodicals, anything that can be coded in HTML5 and use the browser to stream video, etc. In other words, there’s nothing killer. The platform has so many possible uses, that depending on your context, all of them can be deemed killer – in respect to similar devices doing the same thing – and perfect – for you.

And yet when I read Seth Goodin’s post about the iPad meeting application, I smiled (and pulled out my keyboard for this post. That application would be classified as perfect and killer because it will accomplish the point in changing behaviors, driving people to a specific hardware platform, and catering to thought leaders specifically in an enterprise context.

Anything to get people to have fewer meetings, and kill fewer hours of the day doing so has to be perfect. And this is good.

Except for the team meetings that it will take to design this application. Yea, the app will be needed to drive the project so that it doesn’t fall out of scope. Another kill, but to someone’s patience, before the killer dollars are made.

Confidence

Depending on how the bots are treating me today, the title of this thread could end up inciting some interesting spam comments.

And yet, that’s been the item on the center of my day today. Since I woke up this morning, through a phone call w/some amazing brothers, through a great day of riding (half done at this point), and through a meeting with a community leader in Charlotte, I’ve been grappling with the concept and challenges towards doing MMM as it relates to confidence.

To soe people, I guess that would sound a bit normal, and to others a bit strange. But, when you are walking towards those dreams, you really do end up with these challenges to confidence. And nice days and certain people jogging doesn’t help the concentration factor any.

But you know, I’ve got an opportunity to empower a whole lot of people. And I’m excited and intimidated by it all at the same time.

God’s got something up his sleeve, and I’m dealing with confidence. Not really the same scale, but it’s what on my plate ya know.

To even be sitting here now, with a ton of strangers looking at me with a phone (N97), iPad, and a wireless keyboard on my lap, I know that I’m made for this moment. Just this moment though. Tomorrow will have to take care of itself somehow. For today, I’m in this moment, just trying to stay true to the Scripture that’s been in my thoughts all day – Hebrews 10:32-39.

To be considered for the finish line, you have to run when the gun is shot. Guess, I’m running. I better not stop now.

Is Tech Innovation Only for the Rich/Affluent Majority

The following quoted piece is my comment that I left on this article that was posted over at Computer World. And while I agree with the premise, its also just as hard to ask the question in light of both sides that have to make the answer together. Your comments are totally appreciated and welcomed:

Speaking as a minority, and as a person who’s walking towards their own attempt to change this perception – my views are my own…

…there are a ton of barriers, and depending on one’s perspective, yes, tech innovation can seem to favor those who are rich or of a primary/majority racial or economically affluent background. However, that’s only part of the issue, the other side has to do with the perception of opportunity, and the ability to interface with people who are and aren’t in your racial/economic communities who have experienced success in bringing innovations to pass.

I have been very blessed. My parents went into all kinds of debt to make sure that my sister and I were exposed to as many types of people and innovations as they could. And while they could set the foundation, they could not create the end product. It has been up to me (and my sister) to make good on the lessons that people from every strata of USAmerican society has given us so that we could see and peruse the benefits of life – even the merits of tech innovation.

What we didn’t have, and what is harder to find in some areas of the racial/economic spectrum now is the teaching that happens after one has been granted some success. There are not a lot of people who are able to go back into the communities they came from (for whatever reason) and teach the wrongly held perceptions out. Speaking again personally, I do this with mentoring and through the magazine/consultatory that I started, but its not at all the norm. It’s more the norm to meet some area of influence and then parlay that into politics, rather than directly back into communities.

So yes, I can agree with this article in that there’s more to be done, and certainly more ownership of innovation and stewardship of innovation that needs to be done. But the problem is very basic to address and lies at the core of who we are as USAmericans – do we value what we create enough to share it with others, or are we more concerned with accomplishing a dream, only to lord those accomplishments over those who didn’t work as hard as we did.

Where we answer that says as much about the state of the next generations of tech leadership, as much as it says about the very fabrics of life in this country.