The best video player for the iPhone is Olimsoft's OVideo

(This article is taken from my archives.  I originally wrote it in January and in March, I haven't changed my tune, and yes, this is another one of my rants on codecs and iTunes)...

I waited for a long time to see VLC show up on the iPhone - 2 years to be precise.  But having downloaded it on its first day of release, I have yet to use it.  Why?  Well, upon reviewing the early users of the program, although the reviews were good, one reviewer placed a very interesting comment, something to the effect of, "not as good as Oplayer..."  One didn't have to say this twice.  Immediately I took the opportunity to download the Oplayer program followning the VLC download.


The reason for a third party app, which believe me, we have all been waiting for, is due to the fact that Apple's Quicktime refuses to play anything other than .MV4, .MP4 files or other simple file types.  It will not play .DIVX or .MKV files.  I do not know if licensing is an issue or something else, but it has been a frustrating endeavour listening to the Jailbreakers and Android owners boast about being able to play different codecs.  So it was a hearty surprise when an app called CineXplayer was accepted into the iPad app store.  It allowed the above mentioned codecs to be played by going around Apple's codec limitation and allowing the .AVI files to be uploaded via iTunes.  I fully expected this to last for only a few days and be removed from the App store, but it wasn't.  The only problem was that I do not own an iPad.  So it was watchful waiting until the CineXplayer developers released a version for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The rumor mills were filled with VLC entering the fray and I was thrilled to find out that VLC would be released soon.  I downloaded it the first day.  But it was Oplayer, an App that, until noted in the review, made absolutely no noise in the video environs, that eventually won me over.

I was able to immediately use the Oplayer App but not the VLC application due to the fact that the OPlayer application allowed for OTA (Over the air) downloads immediately.  The VLC application, similar to the CineXplayer on the iPad, requires iTunes to transfer its .AVI files to the device.  Ovideo does not. 

Ovideo may not be perfect, but I have not found any significant faults thus far.  It plays Xvid files and other .AVI files wonderfully, while distributing its .MP4 files to the Quicktime player, the native player of the iPhone, thus not duplicating services. 

One very interesting thing that Oplayer does is to change the port for each download.  It's a wonderful security measure, and obviously something that the creators of this software program thought about for a long time.  You may start on port 2456, and not the usual 8080, but after owning the software for a few weeks, you will soon see 5255, but never the same port on the same day.  Again, brilliant security feature.

Standard video plays better than HD video due to the iPhone using Hardware acceleration for its native Quicktime videos but not for standards that it does not natively support. But Oplayer even has a solution for that.  Just like in the Palm days, there is a Skip Frame feature whch may improve performance on HD.

Of note, you can also play .mkv, .3gp, .mov and .rmvb files, not to mention Microsoft's .wmv files.

Some things that I would like to see in the future are batch downloads, support for the Mac Centric AFP network for Airport and a working meter to tell how much longer the download will take. Other than that I really have no issues with the software.  It does its job very well.

So, if you are looking for an alternative to QuickTime, I think Oplayer is worth a look.  In fact out of all the video players that I own on my iPhone, I would rate this as the best.  The cost is $2.99 as of this writing and it is found in the App Store on iTunes.  The maker of the software is Olimsoft.

LDD.

Update on $80 Aperture from Apple Store Rep. Licensing issues.

So, during my investigation into this software I had two questions that I felt compelled to ask about.  The first, whether the $80 version of this professional grade application was the exact same as the $200+ version available from Apple in disc form?  And what kind of licensing did the downloaded version entail?

The Mac Genius looked up the information and informed me that this was indeed the actual version of the $200 software and not an Academic version either.  So it will be upgradeable in the future. 

In regards to the licensing agreements, he stated that according to Apple, if you - the license owner -  own more than one Apple machine ie. Mac Desktop and Mac laptop, you have the ability to use the program that you have downloaded on both machines without having to pay for the program again.   I asked if that meant that the Mac App store, in similar fashion to the iTunes store, would recognize that I downloaded this once before and not charge me another $80 for the software?  He stated that he was not certain about this, but stated that it should recognize it by the Apple ID.  He recommended downloading the software and networking it or placing it on a disc and installing it on the other machine.

You know, I may start liking this Mac App store after all.   I am not happy about giving up my freedom but there is a certain amount of clarity in this way of doing business.  For one thing, if this is as minimally restrictive as it sounds, I think that the App store will be another major hit for Apple.

The Best Device for 2010.....

Folks, I know the iPad has had the reputation of being the best device for 2010.  It's on the wish list of many, but here's a story that may make you go Mmmgh?

I had the opportunity to purchase an iPad earlier this year.  It was a gift actually that was to be given to me some time in August.  I passed on the gift immediately.  I was told about how many wonderful apps that were available for it and how the simple act of buying an app once meant that it could be utilized on an iPhone and an iPad.  I was shown the simplicity of reading books and the running of gadgets from remote controlled apps.   I thought that this was wonderful.

However, I declined the iPad!   Yes, folks, I declined the hottest gadget of the year.  The gadget that is simply the best in its class - that of Tablet Computing.  So I know that you are asking the very question that many of my other friends have asked:  WHY?  And more importantly, what is the best gadget, in your opinion, for 2010?

For me, the gadget of the year is quite simply Amazon's KINDLE.

What I did not tell you in the first paragraph above was that I have a very large library of books.  Books that I never get to carry around with me.  They range from novels to sonnets to medical literature.  I have well over 1,000 journals, which I rarely get the chance to read and therefore am subjected to buying a subscription to a Journal Reviewer, reading in depth the articles that are germaine to me.  I rarely get the opportunity to read novels and when I do, I usually don't have the book with me.   What I needed was an electronic book device.  Something that just did electronic books.  I did not want something with email, twitter, You Tube or any such distractions.  I wanted a serious e-book reader.  No tweeting, beeping, ringing interruptions.  Just words on a page.  I wasn't interested in color or pictures.  Just WORDS.

The Kindle or more importantly, The Kindle 3 is perhaps the best e-book reader ever invented.  As of 2010 of course.  The iPad simply does not compare when it comes to reading a novel on the device for over an hour.  I tried to read on an iPad that was loaned to me and I immediately became fatigued trying to read at night.   Additionally, the iPad, excellent as it may be as a mobile utility device, is much too heavy to be considered a dedicated e-book reader or book replacement. It is too distracting, with its apps, alerts etc., to be considered a serious e-book reader.  Now, I am not putting the iPad down, but simply stating that if you are looking to read books and only books, then the Kindle is the better choice.

So, are there weaknesses to the Kindle?  You bet.  First, you really do need to have the same brightness that you would have to read a regular book available to you.  Otherwise, you will need to buy a cover which has a built in light source or buy another light source.  There is no back light, as seen with the iPad. 
Second, if you are into color pictures, the iPad is for you.  The Kindle shows only gray scale images.  Again, it is for reading.  Thus I would not recommend it for Magazine reading.  Nor would I recommend it for PDF books.  The manipulation that needs to go on with trying to read a PDF is just not feasible for long articles.
Third, after playing with the iPhone, any Smart phone or an iPad or iPod Touch, you have this feeling that everything that has a small screen needs to be touched to make the words and images move.  Thus page turns, character enlargement etc., are intuitively managed by Touch Screen -- On An iPad.  But not on a Kindle.  There are still ancient Touch buttons on the side and a relatively antiquated hard key keyboard.

But what beauty there is lies in the Software that Amazon has chosen to use.  Let me first say that Linux is always loved and the OS appears to be a version of this.   You can add books to the Kindle in many different ways.  You can use Amazon's WhisperSync which does over-the-air downloads via 3G or Wifi.  And did I mention that the 3G is free, without registering?   Yes, it's relatively slow if you want to surf the web, but for obtaining books, it's wonderful.  You can also Archive by just erasing a book off your KINDLE.  You can save an entire folder, which contains all of your books from the KINDLE to your PC.  This is great if you want to upgrade a Kindle.  You just download the folder and store it on your hard drive.  This also allows you to save files on the Kindle and use its 4 gig memory as a hard drive.  You can upload Audiobooks via this route also or MP3 files.

One amazing feature that I loved was during an hour of reading a classic.  I couldn't move, but I had to go to the bathroom.  Well, you can let the Kindle read to you.  It will ( in its really nice phonetic voice, which I might add is quite human-like) continue reading where ever you have left off.  Really great for bathroom breaks :).

The Kindle is small enough to keep in your bag or jacket.  It can download updates if you like, in the background.  Additionally, you can turn off the Wifi and save the battery.  I have used it for 22 days straight on a single charge once.  Normally, I will charge it on weekends though.  What is good however is the ability to read anywhere, anytime.  And if I forget the device, well, I can continue the reading on my phone if I wish.

One important feature about the Kindle is the lack of a back light.  I point this out because it is very important.  I can read a Kindle for at least an hour straight, without stopping because I do not have a large back light shining into my eyes.  That back light is okay if you are reading at 7pm.  But at 10pm, this is a strain.  I have tried reading my iPhone at night and I hate it.  It's too bright.

Of note, the 1000 journals will not be archived.  For that I am actually going to use an iPad.  The PDF restriction is an issue there.  Also, for technical reading, I really would not recommend the Kindle, at least for medical technical reading.  If you have to jump back and forth, several times, then an iPad is better.  But luckily, I have found a wonderful niche for my Kindle.  It is now the proud provider of all of my classic novels and since they are free, the list is now well over 100 in size.  I look forward to reading Moby Dick and Brave New World many years later and from a different perspective than I had before.  The non reflective nature of the Kindle makes it a winner anywhere.  And the fact that I will not be distracted by the web when I am reading is just icing on the cake.

This is why I am calling the KINDLE 3 with WIFI & 3G the best Device for 2010.

NAMECHANGER

NameChanger

So you have a camera that you bought a few years ago and you run into the biggest problem plaguing everyone who owns a digital camera.  And if you think that you don't have this problem, well let's just say that it is something that you are going to find out about very soon.

You see there is a little problem that just about every camera manufacturer forgets to tell you about.  And it is a problem located on ALL digital cameras.  It is similar to the 1999  Y2K problem.  Without backing up your photo collection this problem will wipe out a lot of fond memories. 

Sony F717 

The problem is this.  When you take a photo, your camera starts a counter.  The first picture is labelled 0001.  If you have a Sony camera it is proceeded by the letters DSC ie. DSC0001.JPG, with the suffix .jpg added to let the computer know that it is a jpeg file.  Other cameras will do the same, ie. MSC0001.JPG, Cannon uses IMG, ie IMG0001.JPG. The first thing that  you will notice is that there are only 4 digits.  That is where the problem arises!

When you get to picture #10,000 the camera rolls back to 0001.  If you are using iPhoto and you do not relabel your photos this is akin to wiping out the original 0001.jpg photo that you have in your catalog.  In my case, those were the pictures of the birth of my son.  I was saved only in knowing that I had a back up of those precious early photos.  Additionally, I did not realize the problem until I took picture # 10,110 !  That's right 110 of my original photos taken 8 years ago with my Sony DSC-F717 were completely gone from my iPhoto catalog.   Again, I was saved only by the knowledge that a backup existed for these.

The next problem that has arisen is what happens when your spouse or child decides to get a camera?  In the old days you would buy a simple point-and-shoot and take it to the store to be developed.  You would then scan the photo into iPhoto.  But today, just about everything is digital.  And if you buy a camera that is made by the same company as your original camera then you are in trouble!  Major trouble if you are using iPhoto.  In this case, I had the opportunity to pick up a used Cannon SLR, which is now 8 years old, but takes the most wonderful pictures.  It is digital.  And it cost me pennies to purchase because it was used and the owner just wanted to get rid of it.  It was also an inevitable purchase after my Sony F717 broke down.  This was a God send because I was able to integrate it painlessly with iPhoto because it had a different prefix - IMG.  So my first pictures were IMG0475.JPG and this did not interfere with the original Sony DSC0475.JPG.  Dandy, until I get to 9999 in which the original problem that I discussed will inevitably arise.  But then my wife's birthday came up and you guessed it, she wanted a simple point and shoot camera for her big day.  Nothing expensive, but something that was not as clunky as my Canon ( a huge beast by today's standards) - just a simple point and shoot.  I had a 100% chance of running into a problem.  If I chose a Sony or Canon camera then the number problem would again be an issue.  I found out also that Nikon uses the DSC prefix as well.  She chose the Canon camera and this is where things got interesting. 

iPhoto has become very long in the tooth and although there are dramatic changes being made to the program, including face recognition, mapping etc., the basics are being left behind.  This numbering system for instance should be a thing of the past.  Almost everything is digital.  Just about every photo is digital, so why not keep up with the times on this one? 

Simple Batch Processing

For now, I can no longer just plug in the camera and hope that everything will fall into iPhoto and be arranged.  We are well over the 10k range and due to the fact that we have more cameras on tap, the overriding of DSC and IMG numbers is something that will always happen.  In speaking to a few friends of mine, they have told me that Lightroom and Aperture are better at handling this sort of thing.  But they cost a lot of money.  And from what I understand, once you go Lightroom, you're there forever; same holds true for Aperture.  I have also been told that Aperture is better at cataloging, while Lightroom is better at editing.  I cannot vouch for either, having not used either one of them.

So what do I do?  Well, if you own a Mac there is always someone out there with a solution that has been peer reviewed and investigated.  The program that I found and which is literally saving my bacon these days is called simply NAMECHANGER.  It is a public domain FREE program written by Mickey Roberson at http://www.mrrsoftware.com/ Mickey has done a great job with this and makes several different versions depending upon which flavor of OSX you have.  Donating a dollar or two for his efforts would be a good thing to spur him along to continue doing what he is doing. 

More Complex Batch Processing

With NameChanger, you get a simple no frills interface and you can drag and drop your files  and preface them in any way that you desire.  So, if you put in a batch of files with the numbers IMG0050.JPG THRU IMG0100.JPG and you took them at the same venue or during the same shoot, then you can do the following:  Change sequence starting from IMG0050.JPG TO IMG0100.JPG and batch change (that is change all of the files so that they begin with whatever it is you want, instead of IMG) to BirthdayParty001.jpg to BirthdayParty050.jpg and you will have a listing that is not readily duplicated.  You can get more specific and do something akin to Nigels5thBirthday001.jpg. 

That is pretty difficult to duplicate by accident.  Once the batch change is done, then you can dump it into iPhoto.

What Apple needs to do is this.  Since it has the ability to separate the photos into EVENTS, it should automatically change the FILE to represent this change if that is what the user wants.  Just having it notice events is not good enough now that everyone and their uncle has a camera.  By the way, did I forget to mention the iPhone and the iPod Touch photos as well?  Yes I did didn't I.  Well you get the point by now.  The overlapping of photos is something that will happen to just about everyone at some point.  For now, NameChanger may be the best solution for those of us not willing to part with $300 to buy either Lightroom or Aperture just for this feature. 

Google OCR. One word: WOW!

Either I have been hiding under a rock for the past few months or Google just placed a gem into the documents market.  Placed above the menu of Documents was hidden a highlighted "New Features" section.  The section was laden with new additions to Google Documents, including a curved line feature.  But nothing stood out as much as the OCR feature.  According to Google, one can upload a PDF file to the Google Documents section and have it converted into a Google Document that is ready for editing.

I tried this today and noticed a near flawless result, with preservation of layouts etc., from a relatively complicated PDF document.  It was a poster on Psychiatry and it was reproduced flawlessly.  To prove that it was a google document and not a picture, I was able to edit the document.  I tried again, this time uploading a picture of a billboard with words on it.   The picture was of a billboard and Google Docs translated the words (sans the picture of course) flawlessly. 

Color me IMPRESSED !  Unfortunately I cannot upload the examples because the two documents have copyrights.  But again, that may be an issue that Google may have to deal with some time in the future.  I wonder if this was the same software that Google used in its book conversions? 

You owe it to yourself to try this one out.  It is truly brilliant.

iPhone 4.0 My thoughts....

I have a few thoughts about the upgrade. First of all, I do want to upgrade my phone due to the low ram and the ridiculous quantity of apps that I have collected over the past year. Many of them free, but with some apps priced at 0.99 and 1.99, the ecosystem is a "suckers paradise." I figure that Apple is making millions of dollars from this "Crack Garden." And when the software is done right, you cannot complain. You come running back for more. Believe me, no one is exempt from this.

I had planned on handing over my current 3G phone to my wife, but I think that she would want multitasking and video recording and, well, you get the point. She thought about giving it to the kids, but I think that's a big mistake, until she added "to use as an emergency phone. It's only $6.99 per month to add a line." Gosh, even AT&T is in on this "suckers paradise." So it is that if the pricing is favorable (and I mean really favorable, because I am a miser when it comes to these things), we will have two new iPhones (? iPhone HD, iPhone 4.0? iPhone 4G?), whatever they decide to call it.

For me, the high points of this new update are many, but none more so than # 1 and # 2. I have been waiting for #1 forever. So, without further ado, here's my opinion on yesterday's preview:

1. Multiple Exchange Accounts.

You know, I think Steve actually reads his emails, the blogs and reviews. I actually sent him two personal emails on this subject. Not expecting to receive an answer, I saw this voiced on many other boards. The iPhone has replaced all of my email reading tasks. I am no longer tied to a desk to read my messages. When I had a Palm, the actual idea of writing a response back with a stylus nauseated me. Now, I can even dictate the response back without problems.
But really, what was important to me was this. I never ever wanted to share my private family life with the company that I work for. Don't get me wrong. I love the company that I work for. They treat me well, but sharing the fact that I have to go to my kids' basketball game or show up at the PTA or go to my Mother's house for dinner just didn't feel right. Worse! Keeping two separate calendars was a real pain. Although I have not seen the implementation as of yet, I am hoping that we will be able to show both calendars superimposed. Bravo on this one.

2. Local Alerts.

Read my take on this in the previous post. But this should have been available in 2007. I mean calling this a new feature is a bit embarrassing.

3. Multitasking.

A lot has been written about this, but I think that the furor has been overblown a little. I really think that multitasking comes in a few flavors, but most are battery draining and performance lugs as noted on both the new Android devices and ALL Windows Mobile devices. For me, I have rarely ever wanted to use two apps at once. But there has always been the one exception: The Calculator. Although I am happy with Multitasking, so that we can use the calculator, I would have much rather have the OS-X approach to this which was to use DASHBOARD. For those of you who don't use a Mac, Dashboard in my opinion was the single most advanced feature that turned many people - myself and my family included- into Mac lovers. It utilized widgets that were installed into the Dashboard system and upon pressing the middle button on the mouse, overlayed a series of widgets - ie. Weather, calculator, sometimes games, time, and a host of downloadable widgets - which did not interfere with whatever it was that you had on the screen. With another click or hitting escape, the overlay disappeared and you had your original display. It was almost as if you were running two separate entities in one. I always thought that this would be transferred to the iPhone, but it has not been. Personally, I would prefer the widget approach, particularly for the Calculator and the Calendar. Nevertheless, I can't argue with the Multitasking approach detailed yesterday.

I guess the one question that keeps popping up is are we really seeing multitasking? It would appear that whatever is running in the background, actually isn't running, but suspended. I have always thought about the Unix approach, which is a program doing a calculation, say 1+1=2,+1=3,+1..... while in another window you're doing something else, but upon return, you see something like 4096+1=4097,+1...., instead it looks like you'll see: 3+1=4,+1=5...., Pause, return 5+1=6,+1=7,+1. But they did show Skype working in the background. So I am not sure how this works. Is it suspended or is it active in the background? I really didn't understand Scott Forstall's explanation of this. I'm sure that developers will bring this up later.


4. CalDAv invitations.

Another Duh moment! This is another one of those things that, if it is what I think it is, should have been in the OS a long time ago. How many times have you gotten an invitation or an appointment in an email? In windows, you can click on the appointment and it sends it to Outlook and puts it in the calendar. This is one of those things that should have been available from at least the second iteration of the phone. But kudos to Apple for listening again. I really think that they listen attentively.


Can you believe it? These are the top 4 things that I am excited about with the iPhone. Yes, I like the bookstore, but I've got Amazon's Kindle on my iPhone already and it's doing a fine job, not to mention Stanza, which does a great job for books I've had from my Palm days. There is a lot to like about this update and luckily my contract is up in a few months so upgrading - if the price is right - will be a good thing.


LDD.


Addendum:

Did anyone see the SDK4 picture below? It was presented during the presentation. It was really glossed over, but I found a few interesting things in the diagram, mainly in the almost blurred tiny settings. See what you think about these:

1. iPod remote control accessories.

A-hem? What in the world? Are we talking about IR remotes, WiFi remotes? It's just a blurb, but it looks really interesting. Could it compete with Logitech's Harmony or is Logitech a part of this?


2. Embed PDF metadata.

I have no idea what this would be used for. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is it possible to label all of my journals with metadata for specific storage? Is it a DRM feature (not so nice if it is)?


3. In-App SMS.

Sounds delightful.


4. ?Dock based orientation.

I think that is already in place, but I could be wrong.


5. Date Data Detectors.

Absolutely wonderful and I would presume goes in place with the CalDAV explained above.


6. Address Data Detectors.

What a welcome addition. Less typing. No copy and pasting. Wonderful addition.


7. Tuesday 17.

Okay, this one is a bit of a stretch. But in the box of goodies, there's a date that shows Tuesday 17th. Tuesday is a popular day for Apple. A lot of newly released products come out on that day, but granted I am falling into the Distortion Field again - didn't I tell you, no one is immune? - so, I got to thinking, if it was good enough for the Beatles to play these sorts of games, why not Apple? Tuesday 17th, falls in August. Could we see the new iPhone or iPod Touch or iMac or whatever, on Tuesday, August 17th? I don't really think that this was a random picture. But maybe it is. In medicine we call these zebras, when you hear the clickety clack of a 4 - legged creature wearing horse shoes walking outside your window. Most of the times it's obvious, it's just a horse, but there's always someone who thinks it might be a Zebra. And today that's me :):).


LDD.

Nirvana in Todo Land....Toodledo

When I used my Lifedrive profusely, I often wondered what would happen if I forgot the gadget at home. All of my Todo lists were on the device. Naturally, I could have used the Exchange server at work as a backup, but there were times when I felt that my needs with the Exchange Server conflicted. For example, did I really need my workplace to know that I was visiting my mother or that I had to pick up milk at 5pm? Too personal. On the other hand, I needed to know about important meetings and the Lifedrive and all of the Palm devices afforded me a way of knowing these things well in advance - be it 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week. But I still yearned for something more. The day that I left my machine at home showed me that.

It was a tuesday as I recall, back in 2002, I had a calendar of events as long as my arm. I had to see patients, but in between that there were other things that had deadlines fast approaching - and all of those non-direct patient care deadlines were on the device. Some things required phone calls being made before 5pm, some before 2 pm. I couldn't keep up with them all. My Palm Tungsten kept everything in place. I missed nothing that day, but only after getting back in my car at lunch time and driving home to get it. My partners thought I was crazy, but I knew better. The day ended at 11pm, but not without me putting a check mark next to every single item on the Todo list for that day.

So I began thinking.... Backing up the Todo list and the calendar to the PC was not the best thing in the world. If you left the gadget at home, you had two devices at home - The gadget and the PC. Enter Google!

Google was not the first to start putting things in the cloud, they are just the best at it. They have seen the future and it really is in cloud computing. Other companies have jumped on the bandwagon and some of these smaller companies are doing an incredible job. Again, I do want to give a shout out to Mobisystems for creating one of the first cloud devices, found on the palm with their MobiOffice suite for Palm. Hands down the best ever created for the Palm, eclipsing Dataviz. But I digress.

For the last two years I have been looking for a calendar solution that would integrate online and with the iPhone. I have yet to find a solution that works well. If I use my workplace Exchange calendar, it wipes out my regular calendar and events. If I use Google's calendar, I can't get my work calendar in at the same time due to the limitation of only 1 exchange server at a time on the device.

So, I began looking at the second problem that I was having, linking Todo lists which I use quite frequently. After reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," and "Getting Things Done," and eventually listening to the hyper linguistical Merlyn Mann, I have been keeping TODO lists since 2000 and perfecting them after reading and listening to the other two that I mentioned. The 7 Habits book was a lifestyle changer for me. I categorized everything that I had to do, including family time and forced breaks. I have since fallen away from some of the very draconian things that I used to do, but with work, I find that these lists are invaluable. If something is due next friday, I label it a "3." If it suddenly becomes more important, I drag it up to a "1." I am able to complete things, not always in a timely fashion, but complete them none the less, using this system of importance. It turns out that others have been using systems like this for years. In "The Toyota Way," one of the first electronic books that I ever downloaded, I was stunned to see how these systems were used over and over again in the production plants. Microsoft, in a book written by one of its serious gurus - Randall Stross, this system was not only looked at, but strictly adhered to and probably accounted for much of the incredible profits this company produced during the heady 90's. "The Microsoft Way by Randall Stross" is a book about nothing but lists. I couldn't believe it when I read it in 1999, soon after reading "The 7 Habits..."

Fast forward to the present day, after years of searching for the near perfect solution, I finally believe that I have found my list taking Nirvana. The website is called TOODLEDO.COM. There is a competitor called REMEMBERTHEMILK.COM that is similar. But what makes Toodledo so wonderful for me is its integration with a TODO list suite called TODO (What else right :)?). TODO is available on the iPhone and is a list makers dream. It is customizable and can synch with either your Mac Desktop wirelessly (which is a dramatic plus - can you hear me Dataviz????). But it can also synch with TOODLEDO.COM for free. What's nice about this is the fact that even without a desktop app for the TODO iPhone program (It synchs with the iCal application, but not in an elegant way), synching with TOODLEDO.COM affords the download of a desktop widget, which is basically your TODO list synched with your iPhone. Make a change to your iPhone and hit synch and the change is on the desktop in the widget, in the cloud and available from any machine, be it windows, linux, solaris, Mac OS X, Symbian, Pen & Paper :). That IS TODO Nirvana.

Now, I am looking for the same thing for a calendar program. I would like a calendar program on my iPhone or any phone for that matter that would just synch anywhere. Google doesn't quite cut it due to some issues on the iPhone, especially the lack of multiple exchange servers or at the very least allowing 2 exchange servers on the phone. In addition, I would like for the calendar to be able to show the calendars of the rest of my family. Even my young kids have gotten into the calendars now themselves. I would like to see those calendars and not have to put their events in my own calendar, but have it just show up. Still not there yet.

In regards to notes, I have found a note Nirvana solution too. But more on that later.
For now, I highly recommend the following for the chronic List Takers out there:

1. TOODLEDO.COM - An online Todo list that synchs with iPhone's TODO.

2. iPhone App TODO by Appigo - A little expensive at $9.00, but very customizable and the best TODO app I have ever seen on the market. I've used at least 5 of them on the iPhone.








Honorable Mention:

1. REMEMBERTHEMILK.COM - These guys actually started the craze, but App
integration has been spotty. Additionally, the iPhone app is a
little too sparse, when compared to TOODLEDO.

2. Mobisystems Database for Palm - When I used it, it was the best Office App ever,
but it is a little dated now with the iPhone. Additionally,
there is no TODO list available. Still a great suite if you're
still using the old Palm OS. By the way, it won't crash your
Lifedrive. (This is really an honorable mention for a program
that brought me great joy).

LDD.

Why I'm leaning a little.....

As many of you who have read my previous few postings on this blog can see, I am slowly leaning away from my Lifedrive towards something else.  I have waited almost two years to see what is out there that can replace my OS. 

I do not want to leave the Palm platform, since I have become accustomed to it.  But with the advent of WebOS, a nascient OS that may not serve my long term needs for data management, I am looking at other alternatives. 

What has become important is something that never existed 2 years ago - an App store!  Yes, we had Handango and a few other sites for Palm, but to be honest, apart from the excellent catalog layout - which is sadly lacking with Apples App Store - the content is not altogether brilliant.  There are pockets of excellent programs, particularly in the medical field, but many others are too rudimentary to cost what they do.  For example the average cost of an App is about $10.00, while on the Apple store, it is less than half 

of that.  Palm and Handango and other sites were able to dictate the prices due to the small niche held by Palm at the time - a very long time for that matter.  Some of the prices were extraordinary.  For example, SplashiD for Palm has been listed at well over $20 ever since its inception.  It costs $24 as of this writing.  I actually spent a lot of money purchasing it as one of my main pieces of software on my Palm.  However, when the product was ported over to the Apple App store, it cost just $9.95.  However, they sell a separate desktop edition for $19.99.  Many people just use the handheld version, an obvious mistake since it can be lost in synching.   But why the price discrepancy?

Let's look again at the Medical part of the Palm section on Ha

ndango.  The first 20 applications on the site are selling at an average price of  $40.80 per application !!! Granted some of these are quite good applications, but most are reference materials.  Are these applications really worth the price that they have been declared for the past 8 years?  

To be honest, if many of these applications were about 25% to 50% of the cost noted, I would have probably had a lot more apps on my Lifedrive, instead of relying so heavily on my Database programs.  And how much were the developers making wit

h this approach?  I can't imagine that many of them sold thousands of copies of their products without special discounts etc?

Which leads to the question.  Why didn't anyone ever consider an idea like an App store before Apple?  Why did Palm not consider doing this?  Controlling this?  It would appear that like Microsoft, Palm preferred to have the solution come from many different directions.  What accrued in the end was a plethora of software, but alot of incompatabilities as well. 

But all of that pales in comparison to the next scenario.  Now folks, this is something that I either never knew about or just failed to understand.  It is also why I believe some of the software was priced out of the stratosphere to begin with.

It turns out that many of the developers on Handango and other sites where Apps are sold have been paying a rather hefty fee for hosting their files there.  How much?  Well, let's look at the following chart, taken from The Boy Genius Report in February, 2008 

 

  

So that's 50% of the gross revenue for most apps going to Handango !!!!  With that finding, I am now seeing why the applications are so costly.    So one would think that with some outrage at this pricing, things would change for companies that are coming on board with their own App store right?  Wrong!  Fast forward to todays Boy Genius Report that Microsoft, which owns a large chunk of the mobile market has decided to do something so heinous that I almost crawled out of my skin when I read it.  

Microsoft has decided that in order to place an App in their new App store, a developer will be allowed 5 free apps before being charged $99 for each app.  Sounds okay at first, until you realize that each update of an application counts as an application !!!!  So, if you decide to come out with something in beta - as many on the Apple App store do (just don't tell them all it's a beta product),  or you or your customers find a bug in the software, then you may end up paying Microsoft $99 for the pleasure of updating your application.  So, you may say, why not just go somewhere else and have your files hosted?  Mmmgh, have you seen Apple's traction data?  Compare it to the data for "jailbroken" app stores.   Infact compare it to the traction data for any Mobile store ever made.

The result of this kind of pricing "scheme" is to eventually fleece the very consumer that is trying to purchase a product.  It hurts everyone.  It may be the reason why we are seeing so much innovation in iPhone applications in such a short amount of time.  I would say that Apple's iPhone now only 2 years old, and its App store which is less than 1 year old is acting like a 5-6 year old store (ie. Palm, Handango, Palminfocenter), the former kings.  I would venture to say that Apple's drive to collect 30% of gross revenues appears to be extremely fair, given all other scenarios.  Additionally, developers faced stiff competition in the App space, where reviews were so visible for software and the power of the iPhone numbers and central location made it possible for many developers to lower the price of their software and concentrate on volume, rather than attempting to find niche players.

However, there is always going to be holdout!  If you have an iPhone, pop over to the app store and look at a program called Stat E&M Coder.  The lite version is free, but the developer must have had a flashback to Handango/LSD/mushrooms???  He decided to charge $79.99 for the full version of the program !!!!  You've got that correct, if you think that this is an E/M coder for the iPhone.  It is just that.  Granted it codes for different specialties and it does it well, but with just 2 reviews as of this writing, I'm begining to think that others believe that this is too pricey as well.   Will the old Palm developers who used to charge $79.99 and $40.00 - $50.00 succeed with this type of pricing on the iPhone?  My gut instincts say no.  The drive is for volume and developers will make very little money selling high priced applications, regardless of how complex it is.    So will they just avoid the platform?  I say no!  The platform is too big after only 2 years and it's only getting bigger and bigger.   

And I have not even mentioned the dawning of the iPhone 3.0 SDK.  What a thing of beauty that is.  The ability to let the phone talk to other devices is just going to be phenomenal.  Will Palms' nascient WebOS be able to deliver all of this and more later this year?  I am begining to have my doubts.  Of course I hope that they do, but come June my mind will be made up permanently about what the move for me will be.  Right now, it's tipping a little towards Apple, for the same reason that it was on the side of Palm for so many years ------SOFTWARE!

LDD.

Resources:

BoyGenius Report 2/16/2008, "Handango revises CDA...."

BoyGenius Report 3/25/2009, "Honeymoon for developers and Windows marketplace developers may be over. "

http://software.palminfocenter.com/

http://www.handango.com/catalog/SoftwareCatalog.jsp?storeId=2218&deviceId=741&platformId=1&categoryId=7603

NEWSFLASH: HANDBASE FOR IPHONE JUST RELEASED !!!!

I just received an email from DDH Software that they have just released Handbase for the iPhone.
This marks the very first Relational Database released for the iPhone.

I will post my review once I play with it for a while.

LDD.

SUPPORT SMARTLISTOGO

I have been perusing the web and there appears to be an effort underway to port or garner support for my favorite Palm app, Smartlistogo. A grassroots effort seems to be forming to get the software maker to make the program available on other platforms.

I can say that I wholeheartedly agree with this move. This is such an important program for the Palm Community that I can barely sit here and watch what Dataviz has done with it ......... Absolutely Nothing! Since updating it to Version 3.00x, the company has all but abandoned it, leaving only the Apps page, supported by the vast number of users, to create applications for it.

In perusing the Yahoo Web board, some of the users are angry that Dataviz has really done nothing more with this robust piece of software. Picture support is lacking; support for the new version of Access is also lacking. But more importantly, it appears that updates have ceased. I cannot tell the last time I saw any updates to the plug-in section.

An interesting side note is the fact that the author of the poll mentions that porting the main data file is really the most important thing to do and cites the success of Splashdata! to interestingly port over many of the main data files such as SplashiD! so that they can be used on any platform. So, one encrypted data file can be accessed by Windows Mobile, Palm, Apple, RIM, etc. Dataviz is using the Access file system, mainly either comma delimited or tab delimited files which should find easy support cross platform.

I would love to support this initiative. Dataviz acknowledging by doing any of the following - Support, update, port or open access - any of these would sound very good to me. If you get the chance, and I guess you have to have a Yahoo account to participate, pop over to the Yahoo board and give your vote too.

LDD.

Wonder why Garnet persists?

Our good friends at Access have just released Garnet (Palm OS 5) for Nokia Tablets. This means that the PalmOS will run in a virtual machine and have the look and feel of a Palm device. No word on whether NVFS programs will work. The same holds true for significant database files.

For more information, check out Access Garnet

Hotsyncing is supported surprisingly, as is graffiti. Access is still seeking developers for the platform, coming out with their own emulator to ensure that software will be compatible.
An interesting notice is found on their developer page though. It appears that they have had some problems with compatibility and appear to be working hard at correcting these. Programs listed that have thus far been "corrected" or that now work on the device are:

• Google Maps(TM) (crash when accessing network)
• Agendus (application failed to launch)
• MegaBowling (crash when using 5 way navigation)
• MMPlayer (application failed to start)
• Pocket Tunes (various crashes)
• WorldMate (application failed to start)
• CorePlayer (application crashes)
• CredibleMed Easy E&M(TM) (application failed to start)
• ICUmath (application failed to start)
• Parens (and all applications that use the MathLib)

The last one, Parens is interesting, since the majority of medical software use the MathLib. Another interesting note is the finding of no less than 2 medical programs on the list, a sign that the medical community may be losing its long love affair with Palm.

On the downside of all of this however is the question of age. How long will Access survive using the same outdated operating system that Palm continues to use? For an emulator, this may not be a bad nostalgic ride in the park, but for true day to day activity, will we ever progress past Garnet? Access's answer to this could be found in the following graph that they outline in the website, showing Garnet to have an edge on Windows Mobile when it comes to applications written. But one needs to remember that this graph is from 2005 and does not include the Palm Windows Mobile relationship. But the point is well taken as to why they would continue to support the platform (Yes, I know there's also the question of the millions spent on buying the rights to do so, but we won't digress):



On the plus side though, one could consider leaving Palm and buying a Nokia, if you run a lot of programs on your Palm that do not require NVFS, ie Calculators and small nonNVFS database files. I do see the potential, given Nokia has so little software for medicine.


LDD.

Reference:

Access OS5 download and information site
Access Developer Site for testing

Apple SDK

I had the opportunity to look at the SDK developmental platform for the iPhone last week, after signing up to become a member of the Developmental Team. Don't worry, anyone can sign up for this, it's not special. What I ended up downloading was a collection of videos showing how to use Cocoa (the developmental environment) to create Visual - C programs. It was a little heady, given the fact that I am not a C-Programmer.

But the results are definitely interesting. The buttons (virtual) are all accessible in the sdk, just like in Visual Basic. But they appear to be much more powerful, with pre-scripted macros already in place. There is nice fluid movement on the screen.

The actual writing of code is not simple, but again, there are many examples and macros that you simply plug into a button, that it looks a lot easier than writing in Visual Basic. There are address macros which automatically populate the correct fields. Again, somewhat similar to some of the visual basic sdk stuff. However with such automation, some programs may get that "look the same" feeling.

The products that I have seen thus far have been impressive. Credit Apple for showing these a month in advance and then allowing us to absorb all the hype before July 11th. It is becoming a frenzy at the moment. The medical applications, showing MRI and Pet scans at the WDC were impressive. I am still looking for other medical applications however to take over database tasks such as Smartlist, HandBase and OB programs found on the Palm platform. I have no doubt that they are just around the corner.

For the iPhone to be really successful, Apple must come out with a Database Program that will blow everything away. They already have Filemaker on the Mac end and I could see something coming from this, with the ability to put in conditional flags etc. Additionally, any database file must be simple to program.

Perhaps the most impressive thing that I saw last week and in the videos offered by the Developer team, was the over-the-air connectivity. I believe that I first saw this created well with Mobisystems Office on the Palm. I stand by that today. It is almost unwritten anywhere, but I truly believe that this suite was (before they went awry with the open source PDF) the best ever created for a Palm Top Device. The fact that they offered remote storage, accessible by the Lifedrive over the air, was jaw-dropping. It acted like a FTP service and it still works really well (did I mention that it's free)?

The Apple versions of this, in both Exchange and MobileMe are the next step forward. 20 Gigabytes of storage for MobileMe and if it works as advertised, seamless access to personal files both on the home computer and on the iPhone. Exchange's ability to auto sync to the office calendar and email is fantastic. One wonders if there will be an ability to have Exchange and MobileMe work at the same time, so that a personal calendar can be superimposed upon the Exchange calendar on the iPhone? Can Exchange be turned on and then off, without erasing the calendar. On the Lifedrive, if you try to sync the calendar to the desktop, it wipes out the Exchange dates. The same holds true when syncing to Exchange. Hopefully these fine points will be worked out.

Overall, I am impressed by the products. As for the SDK, I have not had the opportunity to work with it yet. I cannot tell if it will be simple to use or not. I am a little disappointed that Apple did not adopt the Widget route, so that we could transport the widgets to the iPhone, but it would appear that the company is doing everything right at the present time. A slow roll out and updated hardware to match.


LDD.

Lifedrive Essentials: BILITOOL (For Medical Professionals)

Have you ever been enamored by a piece of software that you just had to take a pause, inhale slowly and say "wow!?" Well I did just that this last weekend. One of our beloved nurses on the floor, decided that she had had enough of the waffling that most physicians do when they get a bilirubin level on a newborn. She had been made aware, by the Residents-in-Training of a new online tool called BILITOOL.ORG. This online program allows you to put in the date and time of birth of a baby and the hour at which the blood was drawn (if you know the age of the baby already, it has the ability to accept that as well). It will then take all of the data from the now relished and quoted BHUTANI GRAPH and display not only the risk category that your baby is in, but offer suggestions about when to place the baby on phototherapy.

I keep a copy of the BHUTANI GRAPH in my pocket at all times. I made a copy of it when the paper first came out and decreased its size, laminating it and saving it in my wallet. I do the same thing for the immunization schedules. My decision making is always done on a patient by patient basis mainly taken from BHUTANI's paper (Bhutani VK, Johnson L, Sivieri EM. Predictive ability of a predischarge hour-specific serum bilirubin for subsequent significant hyperbilirubinemia in healthy term and near-term newborns. Pediatrics . 1999;103:6-14).

So, if I have a baby who is term and has a lot of bruising or a cephalohematoma, I know very well that within the first 24 hours, that baby is going to have a high bilirubin level. Whether it is high enough to start phototherapy has always been the issue. Many of us will not do this unless the numbers approach 18; then there are some who will wait for 20; or 14 (all numbers at 48 hours). However, for myself, if the index of suspicion is high ie. ABO incompatibility, uncertain dates, prolific jaundice after 12 hours, a mother with beta strep, I am inclined to start phototherpy a lot earlier than the allotted 24 hours. In fact, I am inclined to order a bili at 12 hours based on my index of suspicion and the aforementioned issues (obvious jaundice and decreased responsiveness) and on the AAP guidelines. But not everyone will do this. As clinicians, we still have that index of suspicion and clinical awareness and independence.

So where is the line drawn? For our seasoned nurse, it became a never ending battle among physicians. One would start phototherapy, one would not. Same scenario, different treatment plans. And none of the plans were wrong, usually leading to the same outcome --> Healthy baby.

Naturally, I was skeptical about BILITOOL at first, until I found that it conformed to the BHUTANI graph completely. I was particularly fascinated by the fact that the program took into account the various factors that accompanied the baby. All of the ones listed above are incorporated into the decision making model. A link to the Pediatrics listing for risk factors is a plus. The decision to start phototherapy is outlined in a nice table. See the diagram below:




Palm Software

What is an added plus for this program is the fact that the program, in addition to being online, is also available as a standalone download for all Palm devices. And does it work brilliantly? It is probably even better on the Palm than online. You are again greeted with two different ways to enter data, either by length of time or by date and time of birth:




Once the data is entered, you press (Calculate Risk Zone) and voila, you are greeted with the essential information taken from the BHUTANI GRAPH:




The beauty of this is that not only is there risk stratification, there is also a guideline as to whether to start Phototherapy or not:







Risk stratification is further defined by pressing one of the icons, where you are led to definitions of high, medium and low risk:




In the event that you have a baby "who is on the fence," you are also given the neurotoxicity risk factors to consider. As the adage goes, "Cure the problem and you'll cure the disease." So correcting the acidosis or the sepsis will enhance the correction of the bilirubinemia. This is priceless, particularly if you are not thinking about G6PD deficiency or hypoalbuminemia:





And finally, threshold guidelines are given for the baby, with age and other considerations given. This is really priceless:



Again, these numbers correspond not only to the BHUTANI GRAPH and paper, but also to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines on the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia, with risk factors. This is really an impressive piece of work.

The authors are also impressive. Drs. Tony Burgos and Chris Longhurst are both Assistant Professors at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Burgos is the Medical Director at Stanford's Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, while Dr. Longhurst is Physician lead and director of Informatics. Dr. Stuart Turner is at the Health Informatics Graduate Program at U.C. Davis.

This is an impressive lead of physicians heading this program. The software is free and appears to be a part of the Creative Commons license. Unbelievable, for the amount of work that must have gone into this piece of software, both on the online side and on the Palm side. I commend Drs. Burgos, Longhurst and Turner for creating this incredible tool. It is one of the best that I have seen in a long time.

If you deal with newborn babies, this piece of software is a must-have in your collection. I am still looking for flaws after a week of dealing with 3 hyperbili babies and I have yet to find one. The papers used for reference are of the finest caliber that can be found on the subject. They are peer reviewed and in the authoratitive journal on Pediatrics in America. Again, I highly recommend that you go to www.bilitool.org, you will not be disappointed.


LDD.

More on Epocrates......

Today, I have learned that Epocrates will be filing an IPO, with the expected symbol: EPOC, presumably on the NASDAQ. I only hope that my concerns about privacy will be heeded and that EPOC will not hold all of the names/members in its database as pawns to be sold to the nearest advertiser. That is my new fear. I have concerns about companies trying to make earnings reports each quarter and what they will do to make it happen.

Hopefully, growth will come from organic growth of membership and subscriptions and not from nefarious selling of names and prescribing practices.


LDD.

More waiting for Linux

I just received an email from a programmer stating that Palm Inc. is expected to release a Linux based OS code named NOVA. We can expect the first devices running Nova in the first quarter of 2009. Unil then, Palm will be pushing the Centro. According to this source, Access will continue to work on ALP Linux, but there is no certainty as to who will be building the devices in question for the ALP system.

In terms of compatibility, this appears to be a major hold up, in that both are working on backwards compatibility of software. To me, I think that they need to make a clean break, but I guess Palm's base is still entrenched in the old software.

Although most of this information has been out since January, I am only now starting to believe it due to the programmer discussing this with me. Additionally, I think that Palm may indeed pull out all of the stops in January or perhaps surprise us with a 3rd quarter release or announcement - just like the old days. Additionally, NS Basic appears to be one of the first companies to line up with Palm for the new Linux based machines. Good to hear.

Following my discussion with my programming friend, I scoured the internet for stories on this. The most interesting one came from PalmInfocenter's January posting. They have gone on to state that the next generation OS is currently being tested internally on a yet to be released product code-named Zeppelin.

More information, although this appears to be rumor (from mytreo.net) supports the probability that this new device will have wifi and may come under the Treo name (800's). Again this paragraph is all rumor. I stand by the paragraphs preceding this one.


LDD.

Styletap may provide an answer for those of us on the wings

So this serves as the first post for the year. And what a discovery. Styletap, a company known more for their Windows Mobile products than anything else, specializes in creating Palm Emulation software for these devices. It would appear that our Windows friends have been taking advantage of the wonderful Palm software through emulation (and I must say they have kept quiet about it...:)).

Now the company has provided a proof of concept video that embarks upon turning the whole handheld market into disarray. For now, it's been Palm vs. Microsoft in the handheld space, with the former taking its knocks, almost becoming extinct. Now, Apple has joined the party. As I noted back in January of last year, Widgets will probably be the entry point for most software when the iPhone SDK comes out later this month. But what is now interesting is the fact that Styletap has created a Palm Emulator for the iPhone/iTouch! For those of us sitting on the side, wondering what it would be like to have an iPhone, but holding back because of software issues, this could be very interesting.

One of the programs noted in the video is iSilo. This is a must-have for most Palm owners who have medical software. The demonstration appears flawless and also incorporates the Apple virtual keyboard. Another program, Statgrowth from Statcoder is also shown (http://www.statcoder.com/). This important tool is a must-have if you need baseline numbers. The collection of software tools from Statcoder include:

1. Stat E&M Coder.
2. Stat ICD-9 Coder.
3. Stat CPT Coder.
4. Stat NCD Lab Coverage.
5. Stat Growth-BP.
6. Stat Cholesterol.
7. Grace ACS risk.
8. Stat Cardiac Clearance.
9. Stat Hypertension JNC 7.
10. Stat A-Fib Stroke Risk.
11. Depression PHQ-9 Score.
12. Stat Diabetes.

All of these follow the same engine and so should work with the emulator. Noticeably absent, and a major concern, is a relational database program or software that requires any form of significant data entry/storage. I would think that this would create significant issues with the disk. All of the programs listed are essentially, non-volatile ram resident programs. The type that would work on any non-nvfs file system or early Palm systems.

Of course, with the release of the SDK for the iPhone and iTouch, the emulator may become irrelevant, with companies deciding to "emulate" the most successful Palm programs natively. There are now 4 million + iPhones in the hands of customers, a large enough base to make it worthwhile for the software developers to look at this. As I write this, I am still waiting for an answer from Dataviz in regards to writing for the iPhone/iTouch. It would seem that this would be a profitable venture for them too.

Over the next few months, I think that the handheld space will once again become important as this proof-of-concept emulator may be the tip of the iceberg.

More on the LifedriveCF, Linux and a taste of Numenta.

Perusing through the Lifedrive Universe, I ran into a very interesting comparative video put out this weekend by PDAColombia. Here they compared -side by side- and running simultaneously the Lifedrive in its original format running with the Lifedrive CF. The most striking difference was the reboot times. There was an obvious advantage with the CF drive, taking about 1/2 the time to reboot as the harddrive version.

However, some apps appeared to run at the same speed and load at the same times as on the hard drive. That was very surprising. Overall, the Lifedrive CF appeared more robust and appeared to be faster on most counts.

For me, this video is a Godsend. I may in fact wait until October/November when the Linux based Palms hit the shelves. I am still debating whether to buy one, not wanting to be a part of the first adopter or bleeding edge candidates who purchased the Lifedrive. But if the price of the Lifedrive - used preferably - comes down, I may buy one and hack the daylights out of it.

PDAColombia.com video

Pdacolombia videocast 10
Uploaded by pdacolombia

Palm Linux



I have also spent some time this weekend over at hack&dev to see how the linux project is coming along. Those guys have made great strides. However, I am begining to wonder if they will curtail their project now that Palm will be supporting their own version of Linux. But you should pop over there to see some of the incredible strides that they have made with OPIE.




Linux Development on Palm.

Linux on Palm Screenshots.


Numenta

Okay, for the ultimate geek weekend, I spent 90 minutes listening to Jeff Hawkins, the founder of Palm giving a lecture on Hierarchical Temporal Memory: Theory and Implementation. First of all, I was really impressed by Jeff Hawkins' incredible mind and ability to comprehend not only the anatomy, but the inner workings of the brain. In addition, I truly admired his ability to stand up to some of the world's most distinguished Neuroscientists and Neurologists. The grilling that took place following the lecture reminded me of Grand Rounds given once a week, when a complete review of a case was done. It was one of the most chilling aspects of my life many years ago, particularly if I was involved in the case. If I was as knowledgable and confident as Mr. Hawkins, I probably would have saved a few shirts from the puddles of sweat that encompassed each of these grillings.

So, why was I listening to this lecture? It was not purely to learn about Hierarchical Temporal Management, which I found absolutely fascinating, but to get a handle on what's next at Palm. After hearing about Numenta, I am convinced that the project coming out in November is not what everyone has been writing about. Numenta is not a machine, but a thought process which attempts to emulate the brains' thought processes through non-static, mobile "guesswork" that dwarfs our thinking about events. It is preemptive. It is akin to thinking about a sequence of numbers and colors before they have been produced. It is akin to knowing the difference in texture between velvet and carpet. Some of the guess work appears to involve appointing memories of other objects and things and interpolating them to come up with what you are holding in your hands. A real life example would be putting out your hand and having someone tell you that you are about to feel a cup filled with hot cocoa. You already have a preconceived notion about the scent of hot cocoa, the ceramic feel of a cup, the warmth involved and the visualization of the cup, such that when it is placed in your hand you can translate it to mean: Warm cup of Cocoa in hand. All of these things are involved in making that decision. Numenta appears to be about trying to emulate these thought processes to come to these conclusions.

One can see quite readily that this has the potential for a lot of DoD type stuff: Face recognition, object identification etc. Mr. Hawkins has stated that the early project will involve food/recipe recognition to start with. There appears to be some semblance of software out on the website to experiment with Numenta for now.

I suspect that it would be possible to have some form of recipe program just placed on the next Palm Project without much fanfair or discussion just to see how this works. Given the fact that Numenta (let's call it a program for now) works on Linux and Mac OSX, I think that the new Linux device will incorporate this well.

What this lecture did for me was to give me an idea of where Jeff Hawkins is heading. I am not certain how this fits into the Palm ecosystem, but I do foresee something along the lines of Search algorithms coming out of this. Google has been the prominent search king for now, but if Hawkins' Numenta is capable of adaptive search strategies, we may be looking at a handheld device dwarfing Google's capablities. For example, say that you want to find a picture of a yellow lemon. With Google, we would have to place file tags on the picture. With Numenta, the search program would already know that it is looking for a picture and then it would have to analyze the picture, shapes etc to come up with the answer. The obvious problem - and hence the reason why I do not believe that this is something to get excited about in November (the expected launch date for the Linux Palm Series) - is that this would require tremendous computing power - way more than a Handheld can handle.

So, 90 minutes gave me some insight into the mind of Jeff Hawkins, but sheds less light on the new devices that will be running Palm Linux.




Bye for now.
LDD

(updated, thanks to Bryan :)).

Short Blurbs from Around the Lifedrive Universe

The following is a list of short blurbs from around the Lifedrive ecosystem:

(LDD) Slingbox support for the Lifedrive is still lacking. According to a report on Slingcommunity.com. Perhaps a moot point given the fact that many are dropping support for the device.


(LDD) Intel has essentially dumped Origami and will be focusing on a Mobile Internet Device. This device is smaller, with a mixed platform design and has a quick boot to Linux. This thing looks amazing. For full details, you can go to Intel's developer PDF site for the Developer Document entitled, "Intel Developer Forum: 2008 Mobile Internet Device Overview by Panjak Kedia and Christopher Yahna." Pay particular attention to page 6 to see that this is not Microsoft's UMPC. It is something completely different, faster and apparently Home Brewed for and by Intel. Could this be the Lifedrive replacement? This is a thing of beauty, at least on paper.



(LDD). Khertan, an avid developer, has released updates for Kmeteo to support devices such as the Lifedrive. I am not a user of this, but apparently many of you are. Khertan's website is here.

(LDD). For about a day, I saw a Lifedrive being sold online for $140.00, but it was promptly removed and the site appears dead. If anyone knows of a cheap one, I am in the hunt for one to tinker with. I want to install a CF card to see if there is any improvement in stability. Additionally, I wonder if Linux or OS X can be installed in one of these things?

(LDD). On a few blogs, the question of buying a new or used Lifedrive continues......

(LDD). Ken's vox blog is interesting. He actually owns a Lifedrive, among a host of other gadgets.

(LDD). The indefatiguable Mike Cane posts an interesting article on the Lifedrive and its, well..., obvious problems. But he does it with a twist, sending a blurb to Palm's new blog. Mike is unique, sometimes profane but unarguably honest. You always know where you stand. I like him because he is New York and reminds me a lot of my time spent there many years ago. An interesting read.....As always

(LDD). Interesting question over at Palm's Support site and my answer follows. The reader posted a question in regards to his Lifedrive jumping to the 4 gb newly installed SD Card everytime after a beep and exiting applications.

For others having this problem, you must ensure that you are using a PATRIOT 4 gb card. This is the only Guaranteed card to work in your Lifedrive. I have not had the opportunity to check out the Sandisk, but I would be pretty certain that this will work also (Also Transcend). Software wise, you may want to obtain a copy of Explorer. Also, unknown whether the user officially formatted the card when he/she placed it into the Lifedrive. That could be the beep. If the card reads any more than 3.8 gigs available when empty, then it was probably not formatted.

(LDD). In the better-late-than-never section, MP3PLAYER-review.com has posted a review of the Palm Lifedrive. It's a good review and worthy of a read. But my view is that if you plan on obtaining an MP3 player alone, the iPod has the Lifedrive for dinner. However the site appears to put together the reviews from several different sources throughout the year. Uncertain if this is a legitimate site or not, but it's included here. mp3player-review.com

(LDD). Reminiscing on what could have been. The Palm Infocenter initial review on the Lifedrive in May, 2005.

(LDD). Anyone installing Opera Mini on the Lifedrive? You may want to check out this forum before doing so. Personally, I prefer to wait for a few months before installing anything new on this temperamental device. Still waiting to install Palm Update. Yes, the luddite in me still says to wait. myopera.com

(LDD). Perusing the Lifedrive Universe brought me to this site: giveawayoftheday.com. Interesting software giveaway with forums etc. Appears legitimate. Review of Crystal2mobile done. My take, just use a copy of Apple's Quicktime or some of the free and low cost alternatives available. But the site appears to be well supported.

(LDD). 1SRC special entitled, "I hate my Lifedrive." I don't think I need to say anything more on that one. Very interesting article though. Released 4/4/2007, they are asking for comments. I think that those of you who own the device should go there and express your comments. You should also go to the Palm blog (See link at the blogroll on the left). They really are listening to us.

(LDD). David DeJean writes a very nice and interesting counterpoint to the above in his article in the prestigious, Informationweek.com .
In the article, he delivers a verbose response to Steve Jobs' DRM article; he talks about the Lifedrive as his sole MP3 player with easy upgradability. True, that is one of the strengths of the device. Mr. DeJean writes a wonderful piece in this regard, while having a go at one of our favorite heroes.

(LDD). I cannot believe that we are still seeing crashes from new software by developers on the Lifedrive. I would suspect that a crash in the Lifedrive is a crash in the Treo too, with similar operating systems. But on the iambic forums, there are details of iambics NextDay crashing. This post was written on 4/3/2007. It's now 2 years since the introduction of the Lifedrive and we are still seeing this sort of thing. Can anyone wait for November to roll around to see what Palm does with Linux? The iambic forums site is here.

(LDD). On a lighter note, I perused an interesting site the other day, The Gadget Pastor.
You guessed it, a pastor with a Lifedrive. And to really appreciate this, you have to see the picture on the web site. It is absolutely beautiful. A Lifedrive resting on an open bible with ambient lighting. Pop over to the site to see how he uses his Lifedrive. I found the site to be interesting and was really surprised at his vast knowledge of technology. Perhaps I'm naive.

And that about does it for the News from around the Lifedrive Universe.

Since I've been very busy lately, I haven't had a lot of time to post, but hopefully in the next few months that will change. Additionally, I have scrapped the idea of making a Lifedrive.net website, at least the big plans that I set out to do before October of last year. With Palm dropping the Lifedrive and my busy schedule as it is, the expenditure was neither cost or time effective. Additionally, I did not foresee that I would be this busy. Instead, I will be making a smaller website that will feature a few effective downloads of smartlists and other apps. I think that this scaled-down version will be much more manageable. It will probably be hosted on the Google test site that I have had up for quite a while now. If any of you have some contributions to donate such as smartlists or Handbase files or iSilo (which I will purchase and review soon), drop me a line --> Lifedrivedoc /at/ gmail.com. I will try to get back to you in a timely manner.
I prefer medical apps, but others are welcome.

In addition, thanks to all of you for visiting the Lifedrivedoc.com blog. I am truly appreciative for all of the support over the past 20 months. The time has gone by so quickly. A special shout out to Sammy McLoughlin for your endless support, Mike Cane for your kind words recently, PalmDiscovery and PalmDoc for adding the site to the blogroll. Your kindness is greatly appreciated.


LDD.