iPhone as a Game Controller

iPhone as a gaming device is pretty cool here is a proof of concept purely as a controller. Makes perfect sense since these types of games are played with the accelerometer and I guess they just use the video out to play on the big screen. Pretty cool, I wonder what else they will be able to do with this. 

(found via advertising lab)

Netflix on Xbox

Yesterday I activated my Netflix account on Xbox and I am really impressed with how good the experience was. The movie started streamed right way and played nearly flawlessly, considering it was streaming the one hick up was totally excusable. Although, the whole Netflix library is not online there is a healthy selection and about half of my queue was available for instant view. This will definitely get me to use my Netflix account more often.

Netflix has a much better strategy than their main competitor Blockbuster as they are trying to go with flawed model of providing a set top box for movie downloads. Many have tried this model and none have been successful mainly because no one wants another box with just one purpose sitting next to their TV.

iPhone instrument

OK this is really really really dorky but still pretty cool when you think about the implications. Ocarina is an iPhone app that is a music instrument that uses the microphone, multi-touch screen, and the gyroscope to create a flute like sound. 

This is just another example of how the iPhone is truly a revolutionary product. We have Steve Jobs' high standards to thank. Hopefully the rest of the handset manufacturers can catch up (although right now they are just trying to copy what apple has done). I think they will need a significant change in the way they think about hardware and software in order simply catch up. Google's Android mobile OS definitely helps but Apple, with the iPhone, has such a head start that it will be difficult for the Nokias and Motos and HTCs of the world to come out with a device that will leap frog the iPhone

Look, up in the cloud...

...it is not a bird or a plane it is gOS. gOS is a cloud computing operating system that is really light weight and beautifully developed. But first lets talk a little about cloud computing, it is a pretty simple concept that people have been talking about for years, the basic premise is all you need in a computer is basic hardware, an internet connection, and  a browser. All your applications live in the cloud and you can have access anytime on any machine. Google currently provides most of these service as does Microsoft with live. For example with Google I can have my e-mail via gamil, my documents on (excel, word, powerpoint) via google docs, my calendar via google calendar, my rss reader via google reader, well you get the picture. There is very little that I do on the actual hard drive. The biggest thing for me on my HD is my music and I am sure it is just a matter of time when Apple or Google will allow me to upload all my music to their servers and I can update my iPhone from any computer.

Now back to the gOS Cloud, which they will be launching at CES. This is the first cloud operating system that is launching and it seems that the developers have put a lot of effort into design and usability so that it doesn't look like a first version of the OS. As you can see below the browser is the hub of all activity with an application "dock" at the bottom for easy access to all the essentials (mail, calendar, docs, etc.).

(You can see more screenshots here)

The gOS Cloud had fully integrated most of Googles applications in a really simple way that is modeled after the Apples OS. Below is a quick video via engadget.

I really think in the next 2-3 years as the netbook (really small striped down computers more here and here) market gets bigger and the gOS Cloud develops and devices like the iPhone get better at word processing functions (like formatting and cut & paste) cloud computing will become more main stream. Hopefully, this will push public wifi into the spot light as well, because I don't think this will happen until there is a huge public need/outcry. Lots of chicken and eggs happening here or maybe it is something about carts and horses.

livestation

wow livestation looks like a really cool product and they are developing an iPhone app. Livesatation brings live TV (right now focused on news content from BBC, Bloomberg, C-Span, Al Jezeera English, etc) as well as streaming content into one site/application. Since this is live streaming the ads stay in tact so the original network gets the benefit of expanding reach. The iPhone demo looks pretty impressive and it seems that livestation also has an opportunity to monetize with ads of their own that don't seem too intrusive. All in all if livestream can get more content partners (especially beyond news) this would be the perfect application. The only other comment I have for livestation is clean up your website, it just seems very cluttered. This looks like an example of design by committee as everything is jammed on the front page.

Astroturf

Astroturf is the crappy fake grass we use to see in so many sports stadiums in the 80s but in this post it is something slightly different. In the online/marketing world astroturf is when a company or marketer tries to generate hype for one of its products by posting fake positive messages on blogs or in other social media. 

This usually ends up generating negative feedback to the company mainly because it is pretty obvious that the positive comments are fake. The most recent example was with Motorola, when they posted comments to gadget blogs like CrunchGear (first comment) or Gizmodo. It was discovered pretty easily because the same comment by the same person was left on several high profile blogs. Once discovered the negative publicity was pretty rampant; if you google "Motorola Astroturf" you will see hundreds of other posts also social sharing sites like twitter, fiendfeed, etc spreading the story like wildfire. 

The funny thing is, all the people seeing the negative feeback are the people (gadget influencers) Moto is trying to get on their side meanwhile they have also generated horrible reviews about the product that was mentioned. The obvious lesson here is when dealing with social media be authentic and don't try to pull a fast one. This should be true of all media all the time but in the online social media world it is so much easier to get caught doing stupid things like this than in the offline world.

The Great Cookie Debate

Hello my name is Sahu and I am an addict. My addiction is chocolate chip cookies. I probably eaten more chocolate chip cookies in a week than most people have in a lifetime. It kind of freaks me out if I think about it for too long, then I usually shove a cookie in my face and all the bad thoughts go away.

Most people know this about me and consequently recommend that I try different cookies because they think that was the best cookie they ever had. I am not saying I am the arbiter of all chocolate chip cookie taste but people always insist I try their recommendations and are generally disappointed when I give them my review because I usually don't pull any punches.

Below is a run down of the places and brands I have tried and my thoughts (in no particular order):

• Wholefoods Market chocolate chip cookies - Right now these are my gold standard. They are baked fresh everyday and the freshest will have a sell by date 4 days out. I don't even remember how I came across them but it was about 3-4 years ago and I haven't gone a week without at least one tub (usually 3 or 4)
• City Bakery - These cookies were recommended my poker playing friend Carl (who you can find here and here and here). He has recommended several places and these are the best of his recommendation. Overall the cookies was OK they are pretty big and baked fresh everyday. Unfortunately, it seems like they are baked at the same time or in the same oven with a bunch of other types of cookies and so the chocolate chip cookies end up tasting like some of the other cookies.
• Levine Bakery - This was another recommendation from Carl. It is a tiny place on the upper west side and their cookies are over the top huge. I feel like it is a cookie I would get if I were in Minnesota. Also they don't have a pure chocolate chip cookies their have a chocolate chip cookie with walnuts and a double chocolate chip cookie.
• Insomnia Cookies - This is another small place located on 8th street between 5th and 6th ave. The cookies here were not very memorable. I only remember when I was eating them how bland they were. I am not sure if it was because of the chocolate chip or the cookie.
• The Grand Lux Cafe @ The Venetian casino in Las Vegas - These cookies were discovered and sufficiently hyped up by Jeff and Jenny while they were on their wedding/WSOP trip. These cookies very nearly lived up to their hype. They were freshly baked and you had to order them when you first sit as they take 30 min to bake. Generally, I hate any type of nuts in my cookies and these cookies had pecans but they were not overbearing and for the most part not even noticeable.

Desperate times call for desperate measures:

• Entenmann's Cookies - These are an old stand by when I don't have wholefoods accessible to me and I am in desperate need for a cookie these are perfectly serviceable. 
• Pepperidge Farms - They have several chocolate chip cookies and the best ones are the soft baked dark chocolate chip. But I generally stick to the double chocolate milano where pepperidge farms is concerned.
  
• Chips Ahoy! - When I was young and ignorant I crushed these cookies like there was nothing better in the world and now these are barely serviceable only if there is absolutely no way of getting any other cookie and you are starting to get the shakes.

I will update this post as I try different cookies and as I get other recommendations but if you ever tell me to try this I will have to give you a stern back handed bitch slap.