Category Archives: Gadgets

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I’m often asked what I’m wearing on my wrist (it’s a Nike FuelBand) and then folks chime in with “ah yes, my friend has a different one” which then leads to a discussion of the pros and cons of the various fitness trackers out there.

I’ve been happy with the FuelBand1 just because its an easy measure. And with any tracking (weight, calories, time spent watching TV) until you measure, you don’t know how to adjust your behavior.

So, to folks who want to learn more, I recommend: reading the article at The Wirecutter comparing the various fitness trackers, start tracking, and then adjust your behavior accordingly.


  1. It has broken once but was promptly replaced. For what it’s worth, my daily goal is 3,000 “fuel” and I’m on a 34 day streak. I walk to and from work every day which is about 3 miles round-trip. 
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From Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing on WWDC 2013:

Our developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we’re excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps. We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC.

Schiller intentionally mentioning iOS and OS X seems like mis-direction. I’m fully expecting Apple TV OS (iTV OS? iOS?) announced in June.

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Facebook just invited press to an event at its headquarters on April 4th to “Come See Our New Home On Android”. Sources tell us it will be a modified version of the Android operating system with deep native Facebook functionality on the homescreen that may live on an HTC handset.

Something tells me Facebook making a phone with HTC may go as well as that time Apple made a phone with Motorola.

Games by EA versus Nintendo

After trading a quick “Tweet” with Dan Frommer last night I realized folks may not know this: Electronic Arts, one of the largest video game developers, has not only created dozens of original game titles for iOS but also ported “old” brands over to the Apple platform.

Plenty of games from before the App Store days have been re-created for the iPhone and iPad including The Sims, Mortal Kombat, and SimCity. Plus, EA has worked with other title owners to develop traditional board games like Risk, Connect 4, Monopoly, Battleship and more.

This all in stark contrast to Nintendo who has (regrettably) held tight onto their blockbuster game franchises (Mario, Zelda) and maintained (so far) that they will only live on the Nintendo platform. While this is understandably one of the decisions you get to make as both a platform and content producer (I would never expect to see Apple create a GarageBand app for Android) I think the mediocre performance of the Wii U and the immense profitability of iOS games shows Nintendo could be more successful by licensing their titles and creating more compelling games. They could easily become the Pixar of games.

That is, to say, they will never release hardware as innovative, performant or compelling as their competitors (which I’d argue has been the case since the original Wii). The problem, as described by John Siracusa, is that the technology companies like Apple and Microsoft “continue to embarrass the far weaker offerings from Sony and Nintendo”. The App Store launched in 2008 (almost three and a half years ago) and I’m afraid it’s too late for Nintendo to play catch-up.

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I’ve become a big fan of the Circa News app from Matt Galligan, Ben Huh, and company. With the new “swipe to go back” gesture in version 1.1 this has become one of my favorite apps on my iPhone’s home screen.

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If you’ve not seen: Aereo is a new startup backed by Barry Diller to free the television airwaves and put them online. In short: they create a farm of television antennas, put them online, and then allow you to watch your broadcast television online.

It’s currently running in New York and has already met some legal challenges (incumbents certainly don’t like threats). Sign up online to get updates when it arrives in your city.

What have we learned from CES so far?

I think the list is short but these shouldn’t be surprises, right?

  1. A chipmaker — always at least one degree removed from consumers — is out of touch with what gets consumers excited about electronics… at the Consumer Electronics Show.

  2. 3D television is dead to consumers … because it was only pushed by manufacturers and studios to sell more electronics and movies?

Serious question: what comes out of CES anymore?

Stay tuned for my snarky coverage of SXSW…

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I found a poll over at Hacker News via John Siracusa:

I am surprised at how many people, like me, who select text to highlight what they are reading. Some reasons include tracking your reading position, increasing text contrast, or as an “intra-page” bookmark.

It seems natural for me to highlight as I go and I almost didn’t realize I do this. I wonder if others have noticed it. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone (friends or coworkers) do it…

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Here’s a good read from Dustin:

If you have an album that you really can’t wait to listen to, wait to listen to it. That is, until you can create an environment that allows for the music to be heard in the proper context.

Interesting point. I didn’t realize it until now but I always wait to buy new music until I’m near my studio-quality headphones. I rarely have a “first listen” with earbuds.