I'm Gina Smith

I am a gypsy princess on Halloween. This was my high school prom dress!

TaxiMagic for Apple iOS and Android: AND App of the Day

By Todd Moore

via ginasmith.typepad.com

So glad to have Todd Moore joining our aNewDomain.net site, coming November 11, 2011

Todd is a well-known author, security expert, developer of the White Noise mobile app and a danged fine guitarist. Based in DC, follow him @toddmoore

Panasonic Lumix GX1 surfaces in Taiwan with X-series lens screwed on | This is my next...

In Newsvia thisismynext.comCongratulations to Nilay, Josh and the rest of the thisismynext.com team. They are launching The Verge November 1. Have a blast with your launch, guys. You only launch once!Great piece on Panasonic Lumix GX1, btw. gs aNewDomain.net coming 11.11.11

via ginasmith.typepad.com

Google Search: Visual Search Wars Set to Begin

 

In just a few months, you'll be able to take a pic of anything and search for it via visual search on Google. Try taking a shot of the image below and using Google Goggles to see if it works yet. When it does, I declare the Visual Search Wars will begin. And they're going to get bloody.

So. What is this? : ) 



Flexible Smartphone & Tablet Displays the Future of Mobile

Flexible Smartphone & Tablet Displays the Future of Mobile

A New Domain Holiday Shopping Recommendations Begin Monday 8 a.m.

Our edit team is going to start pumping out the aNewDomain.net HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE tomorow. That is exactly one a day from now until King's Day, January 6. We'll pick you the techiest, bang for the buck gifts for all budgets.

Gifts priced from $11 to $1000 beginning tomorrow, Pacific, October 30, 2011. First up: A Yeti Podcast Mic, by Brian Burgess.

Note: This is the behind the scenes launch workblog for edit team of a anewdomain.net, launching 11.11.11.

Start early and maybe save some money and stress? gs

Why Hasn't Yahoo Been Acquired Yet?

Despite the alleged intentions of its board, as well as rumored interest from Google and Microsoft, among others, momentum for a potential acquisition of Yahoo has stalled. But why?

via mashable.com

Apple iOS 5: Battery Drain on Upgrade iPhone 3 Systems?

Until I get Apple on the horn on Monday, I wandered into Apple's support area for iOS 5. Looks like I am not the only iPhone 3G user with iOS5 and a dying battery. Plenty of folks complaining -- with Apple comments in string about turning off location-based apps. I saw a report online somewhere today on RSS that the culprit might be a date/time notifications bug. Could be.

via ginasmith.typepad.com

Is Land Sinking? Linden Lab Holds An Unusual Sale - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

Last Friday, Linden Lab announced a most unusual event - a weekend land sale during which the setup fees for private regions would be waived. As someone in business within SL I am aware that drastic sales of this nature are usually the result of only two things- a need for immediate, short term cash, or panic. Sometimes both, as when the need for immediate short term cash for a particular purpose causes panic. But before I get ahead of myself, let's break all the pieces down and analyze them.via searchenginewatch.comExcellent piece from what has become one of my favorite blogs, searchenginewatch.com

via ginasmith.typepad.com

I love the searchenginewatch.com blog. It has the best Google Transparency coverage going right now. And this piece is outstanding. gs

Google+ Ripple: How it Works (and the lyrics and tabs to Ripple, too. The Dead!)

Source: The Grateful Dead, Ripple. Lyrics and tabs source: Heartwoodguitar

AnewDomain unplugged has the Google music video explaining Google+ Ripple. Fairly brilliant.

Now here are the promised tabs, chords, lyrics and video for what you really want : ) Saturday night! Have a great weekend. gs

 

Ripple

Grateful Dead

 

Strum: B   D U   U D U  w/swing feel

       1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

 

Chord Guide
3    4 G:    3x0003	32 1 C:    x32010	132 D:    xx0232	231 Am:   x02210

 

Intro: Instrumental Verse

 

                           G (2)                       C (2)

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine,

             C (3)                                              G

and my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,

                              G (2)                              C (2)

would you hear my voice come through the music,

                  G       D    C                     G

would you hold it near as it were your own?

 

                           G (2)                            C (2)

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,

       C (3)                               G

perhaps they're better left unsung.

                  G (2)              C (2)

I don't know, don't really care,

G                  D    C              G (2)

let there be songs to fill the air.

 

Chorus:

 Am (2)           D (2)

Ripple in still water,

                 G                  C

when there is no pebble tossed,

       A7       D

nor wind to blow.

 

                        G (2)                       C (2)

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,

           C (3)                           G

if your cup is full may it be again.

               G (2)                  C (2)

Let it be known there is a fountain,

  G                  D    C                       G

that was not made by the hands of men.

 

 

                 G (2)                 C (2)

There is a road, no simple highway,

       C (3)                                       G

Between the dawn and the dark of night,

                G (2)                C (2)

and if you go no one may follow,

   G              D  C                 G (2)

that path is for your steps alone.

 

Chorus

 

                 G (2)                      C (2)

You who choose to lead must follow,

      C (3)                       G

but if you fall you fall alone.

                     G (2)                        C (2)

If you should stand then who's to guide you?

G                    D  C                          G

If I knew the way I would take you home.

 

Instrumental Verse w/ la-da-da's

 

Hold final G

 

Apple iOS: HauntedHouse is our pick for App of the Day Sunday. Have fun!

Pay apps have to be pretty special to get a recommendation from me. There's just too much great free stuff around -- if you don't mind hunting. Or do I mean -- HAUNTING. The location-based iOS app Haunted House costs $2.99, but if you're into Halloween, that's just a drop in the candy bucket. 

HauntedHouse is today's AND app of the day.

Just load it up and it'll find haunted venues, help you with age appropriateness, map out how to get there in Google Maps, plus a description of the venue and its URL. As location-based apps go, I'm impressed .. to a degree. I hope there will be some quick fine-tuning on Monday night for googlemaps. I am finding it a big wiggy. But I still love it. Again, saying a lot.

 Created by HauntedHouse.com, this app comes from the same folks who brought your HauntFinder a while back. Nice.

Here's a haunted house -- built 1928 in Sunset District of San Francisco, abandoned 1959, haunted according to neighbor long-term lore. Dare to spend a night in there? Wooooooooooo.

BOO! 

Jacob Lopez' shot of Night of the Living Dead: photo freely available

 

Photo Credit. Gina Smith

Doctor and Patient: Mindfulness Lessons - NYTimes.com

It was 6:40 in the morning and nearly all of the doctors attending the medical conference had assembled for the first session of the day. But there were no tables and chairs in sight, no lectern, no run-throughs of PowerPoint presentations. All I could make out in the early morning darkness were the unmoving forms of my colleagues, cross-legged on cushions and raised platforms, eyes closed and hands resting with palms upward in their laps.

via well.blogs.nytimes.com

Apple iPad 3: Is 2048 x 1536 Just Too Much?

Asian display makers LG and Samsung are reportedly having trouble with yield rates in making the 2048 x 1536 resolution retina display in the upcoming Apple iPad 3. That's about 264 pixels per inch (PPI), twice the resolution of the current iPad 2. Will Apple's ambitions for the retina display of the much-rumored tablet slow its expected spring release? Maybe the iPhone 4, with its 326 pixel density, stretches capabilities to the limit. We'll be watching. CNET has a great report on this today.This from CNET's Brooke Crothers:

The follow-on to Apple's popular iPad 2 is expected to arrive as early as the first quarter of next year. And Apple is aiming high, as usual. The goal is to have a Retina Display-like resolution on the iPad 3, according to the source who is in contact with Asia-based suppliers who, in turn, are familiar with Apple's plans.

Apple defines a Retina Display as having "pixel density is so high your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels." For the iPhone 4S that means a 960×640, 3.5-inch display that packs in 326 pixels per inch (PPI). At about 12 inches from the eye, this is the most amount of detail the human retina can see, according to Apple.

That's dense. In fact, so dense that you won't see that level of density on an iPad 3 with a Retina Display--if it's in fact called that. Nor is it even necessary because typically the iPad's screen isn't held that close to the face.

The closest that iPad display manufacturers like LG Display and Samsung can get is 2048x1536 resolution display, according to the source. That's a PPI of 264, twice the 132 PPI on the iPad 2.

But whether manufacturers can make them in volumes that Apple demands is the question. "They have production plans for 2,048x1,536 displays. Starting in November. But those are only plans at this point," said the source, referring to LG and Samsung.

"It's not a question of making just one. That, of course, can be done. The challenge is making lots of them," the source said. "This is a quantum leap in pixel density. This hasn't been done before."

If manufacturers are not able to hit the volumes necessary for the higher resolution, there is an interim option of 1,600 x 1,200, according to the source.

The display is also expected to have a brightness of 550 nits. That's pretty bright, as the typical laptop display panel tops out at about 350 nits.

In related news, Samsung this week is showing off a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel 10.1-inch LCD Panel for tablets. That could potentially appear in future Samsung products.

 

 

Google Transparency Report Now Shows User Data Requests - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

The Google Transparency Report has been updated to include data on Government requests for user information. The U.S. made requests for over 11,000 accounts in the first half of 2011 alone, making them the leader in user data requests.

via searchenginewatch.com

Wow.

BBC News - 7 billion people and you: What's your number?

Sources:

via www.bbc.co.uk

7 billion people and you: What's your number? - Summify

via summify.com

Steve Jobs Biography: Jobs, Ellison and me.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple it was being run by a man named Gil Amelio.

via ginasmith.typepad.com

Apple iOS 5: How To Change Your Default Email Signature

If you have an Apple iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, Apple makes your default signature generic and an ad, basically, for the device you're using. For instance, "sent from my iPad" is what iPad message senders and receivers get as signatures.

via ginasmith.typepad.com

Sony Corp Buys Sony Ericsson Smartphone Venture Outright (Reuters)

Sony Buys Full Control of Sony Ericsson

By REUTERS

Published: October 27, 2011 at 3:09 AM ET

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sony Corp is to buy full control of the Sony Ericsson mobile phone venture from Ericsson, both partners said on Thursday, as it seeks to catch up smartphone rivals such as Apple Inc while boosting its consumer products range.

Ericsson is to receive 1.05 billion euros($1.45 billion) in cash for its 50 percent share of the venture, which was set up in 2001. It initially thrived with an array of camera and music phones, but later lost out in the smartphone race.

"We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment," Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Sir Howard Stringer said in a statement.

The deal provides Sony with a broad intellectual property (IP) cross-licensing agreement covering all the Japanese company's products and services, and ownership of five essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology.

A buyout by Sony had long been talked of, and a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters this month that a deal was in the offing.

The move could help Sony recoup ground in the battle against Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics, where it has been hampered by a disjointed strategy regarding mobile gadgets and online content.

Tablets, games devices and other consumer electronics are offered by Sony, while smartphones come from Sony Ericsson.

"This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want," Stringer added.

($1 = 0.724 Euros)

(Reporting by Veronica Ek and Patrick Lannin)

Princeton? Or Prison?

Thanks to Eric Mack for sending this along. Prison or Princeton? Good question.

Created by: Public Administration

Klout: What is it? LOL

Mashable ran this as its video of the day today. LOL.

Research in Motion: PlayBook Update Delayed, Still No Messenger

Waterloo, Ontario CANADA: Research In Motion quietly told investors and customers via its blog that it'll be February before it upgrades its PlayBook tablet computer system software -- way behind schedule. And even then, it still won't have BlackBerry Messenger.

via ginasmith.typepad.com

Bringing back the band. A New Domain coming soon 11/11/11 with me and the band.

Announcing A New Domain. A new website -- due 11/11/11 -- funded and featuring me, John C. Dvorak's X3 and former BYTE exec ed Brian Burgess' amazing deeptech content. We're putting the techband together. In the meantime, check out http://ginasmith.typepad.com/a_new_domain_unplugged/ to watch us set this baby up. Lots of my former staffers and freelancers from startups I did at CNET, Wired, E2 and E3, soon to be revealed. Check it out! It's A New Domain -- AND you won't believe what we have planned.

Nokia Lumia Smartphones: Windows Phone 7.5 Mango

LONDON — Nokia is expected this morning to announce Nokia’s first two smartphones with Windows 7.5 Mango on board. The two Lumia series phones (the 800 and the 710) make good on CEO Stephen Elop’s promise from — to dump Symbian and Meego in favor of Microsoft’s new mobile OS.

The phones, codenamed Sabre (Lumia 710) and Sea Ray (Lumia 800), are hotly awaited in Europe, where they’ll ship this quarter. They’re expected in the US early first quarter. The Nokia World 2011 Keynote in London starts at 4am Eastern and 1am Pacific in the US. The website ThisIsMyNext is livestreaming the event here.

Nokia leaked a bit about the new smartphone tech on UK TV earlier this week. I'm following this story over at groovypost.com. Check out the video and up-to-the-minute coverage over at http://groovypost.com

Happy Birthday, iPod! Ten years since Steve Jobs ...

announced it on October 23, 2001. Here's the video. Did a piece over at Groovy.

 

Steve Wozniak; Talking iWoz at Google

 

Steve Jobs: Great Coverage at GroovyPost

If you're following the news following Steve Jobs passing last week -- or the stellar pre-order sales and stats on the Apple iPhone 4S the day before he died -- head to this site.

I don't think there is better, deeper coverage anywhere. Team rocks.

gs

Steve Jobs: Rage, Rage at the Dying of the Light (Dylan Thomas)

This Dylan Thomas poem was a Jobs favorite. Thanks for raging, Steve. It made you legendary and forever remembered for what we both knew you really wanted -- a real legacy. Jobs has his endless place in the history books and well deserved it. So glad he RAGED.

Jobs favorite poem below.

By Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

Steve Jobs, the world will miss you. Watch groovypost.com right now ...

... for all the comments, analysis, podcasts, perpective on this sad loss to the tech world.

Steve Jobs (1956-2011)

gs

A scorpion was wandering along the bank of the river, wondering how to get to the other side. Suddenly he saw a fox. He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river.
The fox said, "No. If I do that, you'll sting me and I'll drown."
The scorpion assured him, "If I did that, we'd both drown."
So the fox thought about it and finally agreed. So the scorpion climbed up on his back and the fox began to swim. But halfway across the river, the scorpion stung him.
As the poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and said, "Why did you do that? Now you'll drown too."
"I couldn't help it," said the scorpion. "It's my nature."

Fable, often attributed to Aesop.