Jeffzilla

The possibilities for the more open, developer-friendly iPhone 2.0 software just keep getting better, especially on the speedier iPhone 3G. TechCrunch reports that Qik just announced that they are coming out with an iPhone application, to allow users to stream live video direct from their iPhone. Pretty cool feature, and that will also mean that the iPhone will now be able to capture and record video, since Qik records your video streams.

They’re not the only ones doing live streaming, and I hope sites like Ustream.tv and Mogulus.com get on the bandwagon for over-the-air streaming too. Especially considering Mogulus’ capabilities for real-time mixing of multiple video sources, it could make an intensely robust control studio for remixing and re-broadcasting multiple live remote video streams. Live-mixing/streaming the next Tumblr Rock Band jam from multiple roaming cell-connected audio/video sources? Sure.

**Update - Max Haot, of Mogulus, just informed me via comments that Mogulus is actually already integrated with Qik, so users can do live mixes of multiple remote video streams - awesome!

How about “Geo-tweeting”? Automatically posting geo-tagged updates to Twitter via iPhone 3G’s GPS chip, cell data coverage and wifi coverage? Maybe a Google Maps geotweet maps mashup?

Needless to say, I’m very excited about the new iPhone 3g, and can’t wait to get my hands on one and try out the GPS, high speed data, and new applications. Regarding iPhone 3G’s features - I’m dissapointed that there is still no native picture messaging, iChat AV integration or video capture. However, I’m hopeful that 3rd party software developers will be able to fill this gap - an all network IM client that could get on AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Jabber, GMAIL, IRC, Skype, Facebook and Myspace instant messenger networks (who sometimes share the same protocols…) would be fantastic.

Would it be possible to get super accurate gps reading via multiple gps readings? Use iPhone 3G’s internal GPS and Bluetooth connection to connect to a secondary, external GPS, maybe even one with WAAS land-based location accuracy augmentation? That, coupled with data network access could make for some nifty scientific, surveying, research and field applications…

Finally, the obvious application for a phone paired with gps paired with camera - automatic photo geotagging and upload. Flickr already supports geotagging and uploading via email (as well as third party apps). I’m almost certain this will be coming out of the gates soon after iPhone 3G launch, and almost certain I’ll be using it immediately!

Looks like the free 2 hours of wifi at starbucks is real. I just walked into a Starbucks in Soho, bought a $5 starbucks card, setup my account at starbucks.com, and got on the web. For free, unless you count the $5 of credit on my starbucks card as payment. The speed is pretty decent, although right now I only see about 3 other people in here with laptops. Hopefully starbucks and AT&T will keep this feature around. Also of note, the ISP is registered as “Starbucks Coffee Company”, and the IP address resolves to Seattle, WA. (I changed the test server to NYC, since I know where I am..)

I just read over on Gizmodo, by way of Macrumors that the AT&T/Starbucks wifi access deal is starting up offering free Wifi internet access to iPhone customers. Sounds great to me - IF I actually had an iPhone. I do, however, have a Macbook Pro, with the latest version of Safari, Apple’s speedy fast web browser.

Can I get leverage the iPhone deal to get free wifi on my Macbook Pro?

One little known feature of Safari is the “Develop” menu bar. You can use this option to change the User Agent Safari presents. I think that by changing the User Agent of Safari to “Mobile Safari 1.1.3 - iPhone”, I could trick the Starbucks router into giving me free wifi. What do you think?

To enable the “Develop” menu, go into Safari’s preferences, then advanced, then check the box next to “show Develop in menu bar”. Then, when you go back to using safari, you’ll see a Develop menu in the menu bar. Open that menu, and under the “User Agent”, select “Mobile Safari 1.1.3 - iPhone”.

I haven’t directly tested this yet, but it would be great if it actually worked! Anyone had a go at this yet?

**Update Update**…. 

The timestamp doesnt lie. I reported it first. Just saw over on Engadget and and Macrumors Forums they are also reporting the same hack for starbucks wifi access with safari by switching the user agent. Did they get it from me? Who knows.. but look at the timestamps.. I put it up first! Wheee…

Instant Messaging while on the go - It’s increasingly more essential, yet with many current software/hardware offerings, increasingly more frustrating. 

I carry a Blackberry Curve 8300, which has its strengths and weaknesses. The hardware is actually decent, well built, good screen etc. The software, however, is absolutely worthless. It honestly feels like a 1st try beta version. There are random menu items where they’re not needed (example: “call voice mail” option in the camera options menu - why?!?!), and the UI is so un-optimized that despite reasonably powerful hardware, the thing still crawls doing the most basic tasks. One of those basic tasks, which you’d think the curve would be able to do easily is instant messaging. The Blackberry Messenger does work well, but not everybody has a Blackberry - probably for the better. I use AIM and gChat mostly. While there are decent clients for both of these networks, when running either one of them, it causes the rest of the phone to grind to a halt - text takes 5 seconds to come up after you’ve typed it, and it takes till the 4th ring for the os to catch up and allow you to actually take a call. Amazing how they could actually sell a product like this.

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Recently at the Beet.TV Executive Summit in Washington, Wall Street Journal writer Walt Mossberg spoke on the convergence of computer and TV entertainment, internet bandwidth, and the importance regulation/deregulation from the top.

I’m with Walt on this. The critical step for converging TV and computer content/entertainment, and allowing us to take the next step in rich content delivery, communication, and integration is bandwidth. Insuring that access to network bandwidth does not become more metered, restricted and taxed, and that it becomes increasingly more plentiful and open is critical.

Also in this talk, Walt foreshadows the release of the 3G iPhone in the next 60 days - I’ll be the first in line when it does come out! As for bandwidth and 3G - I think that when the 3G iPhone does launch, AT&T seriously needs to get their act together with the 3G data network throughput - having all those users able to browse the web, directly download/stream media, and use other data intensive applications (iChat AV?) is going to put a serious strain on the network.

Here’s the video of Walt Mossberg speaking on Beet.TV about broadband speed, rich media, and the iPhone.

It’s great that the industry is finally getting on board with the Apple+Nike tech partnership, and starting to work the technology into gym equipment. I’ve been using the Nike+ situation since day one, and it’s motivating to have as much data as possible available to me when I run.. both at the gym, and out on the street.

One thing I would like to see them start integrating is a heartrate monitor. Currently when I run, I use the Nike+ kit, with a Marware pouch to hold the transmitter on my Saucony shoes, and a slightly older Nike heart rate monitor strap. Wearing the heartrate monitor is useful, because it allows me to guage how hard I’m working. Also, with some of these newer iPod and usb enabled Life Fitness treadmills at the gym, they will automatically adjust the incline and speed to keep my HR in check. Cool. It would be even better, though, if the Nike+ reciever attached to my iPod could listen to my heart rate monitor strap, and give me not only info on my speed, but also heart rate info along side it. I think being able to compare those two metrics would give me some interesting training insite.

Integration of incline data would really boost the usefulness of the system. It’s already able to be recorded by the treadmill, so why not add it to the tracked information for Nike+? Speed+HR+Incline would be killer. Pushing it one farther, how about using the Google Maps integration on the Nike+ site to extract terrain elevation data, make an elevation profile for any particular run, and sync that up along side all the other run data? With Google adding more and more terrain data to it’s maps, this could become possible very soon.

What about official course pace data integration? I wore my Nike+ kit during the most recent 2007 NYC Marathon, and it was great to be able to see my splits throughout the race. What would be even more valuable, though, would be if i could get a chart of the pacesetters splits, and then compare myself to that - I’d be able to see where i was slacking, and where i was pushing it unnecessarily. Combine that with overlays of the course terrain, speed and heart rate, and you’d had a complete view of how things went.

clipped from www.nikebiz.com Nike + iPod Experience Coming To A Gym Near You BEAVERTON, Ore. (4 March 2008) – Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Apple revolutionized the way people run with Nike + iPod and now the companies are redefining the way people work out by bringing the Nike + iPod experience to gyms around the world this summer. Nike and Apple are working with major gym equipment manufacturers such as Life Fitness, Precor, Star Trac and Technogym to make their cardio equipment Nike + iPod compatible so health club members can easily track workouts on cardio equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes and stair climbers. Nike + iPod users will simply plug in their iPod nano into the equipment at the start of their workout to automatically record their progress. Users can then connect their iPod with their computer to upload the workout to www.nikeplus.com

Update*** Just heard that Samsung and Adidas are pairing up to compete with Nike+Apple. Pshaw, yeah, right…. not even going to stand a chance. How can Nike+Apple beat this? Simple - enable the Nike+ kit on the iPhone. Plus, with the new iPhone SDK freshly out of the gates, imagine the possibilities of developers being able to write their iPhone sports apps which utilize real-time feedback from the Nike+ shoe sensor, iPhone’s built-in accelerometer, light meter, cell tower-based GPS, wifi localization, and cellular data connection. Throw in a 3G iPhone with true GPS and broadband data in June, and you can start to see the possibilities. “Tune Your Run”? For now maybe. but next up will be “Broadcast Your Run“

Quick blurb I read over at The Raw Feed…. Iowa now has more cell phones than landlines. They are the first US state to reach this landmark, and I’m proud of them! I personally haven’t had a landline in.. lets see… 8 years.. since I started college and got my first cell phone. And I’m really never going back. I think that nowadays, considering the widespread cellular coverage, half-decent rates (debatable), and all the extra kinds of communication you can do with a cell phone, there’s no need for land lines. And I like having only one number - it’s just more simple. There are some things that land lines are good for… disasters, call quality (cell phones are quickly catching up, though), and last-choice internet connectivity. But given my needs, the cell is the way to go.

Bravo Iowa, bravo.

Broitman, I think you’re right on with giving Google the openness award. Your importance of being open article is spot on, but I just wanted to step back a bit to how they got to this new openness.

Google has to free up technologies that can have the most impact in an open environment. Technologies like cellular networks and broad-area wireless coverage, such as the 700mhz networks they helped to free, are the pathway to the future. Additionally, I agree that the opening up of the social networking standards, cell phone platforms, music formats, etc, is all the way of the future. In fact, the very industries that built up these technologies will die without openness.

However, we didn’t get to this point easily, and we definitely could not have gotten here without initially constructing closed, proprietary systems. In fact, I’m all for closed systems and technology, at least for the beginning stages of growth and adoption. When a company develops a new technology and keeps it closed, it encourages that company to pour as much as it can into the tech, building it up to make it the biggest and best. Additionally, fundamental values, operating procedures, and quality control are concentrated. If, for example, the wireless 700mhz spectrum were always a freely available chunk of spectrum, I think that its effectiveness would become diluted. Way too many people would be making half-assed efforts to use it, and it would never be able to concentrate that critical mass of userbase, tech base, and monetary support.

Going forward, I’m eager to see where we go in developing new applications based on formerly closed, now opened technologies. If the industry can break out of the molds already made by the industry, we could begin to see some really killer technologies. Google’s Android and Open Social are just the beginning.

The one potential step back that i see the industry trying to take is Net Neutrality. I’m all for it, and think that the reason the internet is great, and will continue to be great is that its neutral - bandwidth is bandwidth. So let’s keep it open too, ok?