Nurdles.  They’re those tiny little plastic pellets found in stuffed toys. Kids from the Newburyport Science Fair found 28 per square meter just on top of the sand near Sandy Beach (Plum Island). Only 7 per square meter up at Hampton Beach.

Pollution effect? Unknown.

Also a verb, used in Cricket for moving the ball into a little-played area.

Bobo, my dog: Which end is which?

Rumor: Apple to release iPhone Nahni Nahno Nah Nah. Orkan physiology figures highly in ergo studies resulting in a significantly smaller form factor. (humor)

Nokia sat up, took notice of what’s going on in the mobile world and said whoops!

Next?

Who will they adopt?

Microsoft plays well for the following reasons:

• Microsoft is a platform and it is built for adoption.  
• Partners get a rich toolset, a great many tools and existing software products that can be ported.
• No matter how hard Microsoft tries, unless they get a boost from a major player - the ramp to being #2 or #3 in mobile won’t happen.
• There are probably as many .Net developers as there are Java developers.
• Microsoft knows how to partner.

I kept thinking about other potential adoptees and the only other I could come up with - that could match Nokia’s size and scale is Adobe. Why Adobe?

• Air/Flex/Flash is an operating platform of sorts.  It’s just another layer. They’ve demonstrated their cross-platform abilities quite well.
• There is a plethora of developers who can build great things on Air/Flex/Flash is easily adopted by Java developers and vice-versa.
• The platform solves a number of multimedia challenges better than Android. Possibly better than Microsoft.

To me, this might be a toss-up.  Smart money is on Microsoft - and all of the leaks might confirm it.  Almost the obvious choice.  Nokia picking Adobe might stand everyone and the mobile ecosystem on it’s head though!!!

(I can’t be the only one saying this…..)

Recently, we worked with our friend David Sollars, author of “The Complete Idiots Guide to Acupuncture and Acupressure” to create AcuApp for Android. AcuApp demonstrates the self-healing techniques of acupressure through instructional videos.

AcuApp reveals the powerful healing techniques of acupressure. Users are guided through an introduction to acupressure and identify pain areas and related symptoms. AcuApp launches easy-to understand instructional videos allowing a user to practice self-healing.

We learned a variety of new things by building it including animation and video management (Amazon).  My mobile development company, Cexi Me LLC developed it for David.  A variety of folks helped with the application and special thanks goes to Peter Borlace of PB Design Solutions for his great work on graphics as well as team member Farrukh J for his inspired animation code.

Screen Shot Below:

Attention-starved websites erring on the side of verbosity might benefit.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/03/topicmarks/

This leaves me wondering if bloggers might just use this product to see what people read, what search engines find, and in general, reduce the number of words on websites.

Heck, Twitter forces you to be economical with your words, why not be economical everywhere!

(Erring on the side of verbosity, I make this post.)

http://rootmusic.com

Each year about this time, I think about all the tech and programming things that have annoyed me.  Surprisingly, some don’t change. 

If you have some of your own, add them here!

1. Browser fragmentation - yes, year after year developers make scads of money programming for differences between browsers when they could be making sites cooler and more attractive.  What a waste.
2. CopyMyDB - for the love of Pete, why isn’t there a startup or open-source effort made to have standard database schemas that are readily copied by startups?  How many developers have created - over and over again, a customer database or simple accounting systems?
3. Data Write/Retrieval Classes - Why don’t Microsoft, Android, Apple, RIM or Nokia ship or the others standard write/retrieval classes for their systems?  Instead, they leave it to programmers and ISVs or 3rd party developers to make these. How hard could it be?
4. Development programs that make you guess what’s coming.  In these days of Agile, why is it that companies seem that it’s useful to keep what’s coming in their next API release a secret?  Sure, if there’s something that is a competitive advantage, keep it to yourself.  You do know mostly what you’re going to release before you start.  Why not just tell everyone?  If you can’t ship it for one reason or another, is every developer going to leave your program?
5. Adobe.  I don’t hate their technology.  I hate the company.  Why?  Their products are excellent but they’re expensive - too expensive.  They’ve suffered as a result.  Why?  Alternatives pop up every day.  People steal their software.  $1,600 to $2,000 for your full suite is insulting and cost prohititive for startups.  Wake up and lower your prices.  

thedailywhat:

Children’s Writing Centre-Slash-Monster Supply Shop of the Day: Can I interest you in a can of escalating panic? Perhaps a clump of distressed damsel’s hair is more to your liking? These items and more at Hoxton Street Monster Supplies: Bespoke and Everyday Items For the Living, Dead and Undead (est. 1818).

Inspired by Dave Eggers’s 826 literacy project, London-based graphic design studio We Made This, with help and support from the Arts Council and the JJ Charitable Trust, launched the Ministry of Stories on Hoxton Street in east London.

The Ministry follows the model of the 826 centres: a writing centre where kids aged 8-18 can get one-to-one tuition with professional writers and other volunteers; with the centres being housed behind fantastical shop fronts designed to fire the kids’ imaginations (and generate income for the writing centres).

In our case, the shop is Hoxton Street Monster Supplies – Purveyor of Quality Goods for Monsters of Every Kind.

[g-g.]

(Source: thedailywhat)