Location Apps For Keep Track of Love Ones On Halloween And Other Times

I don't know why in this day and age, parents would allow their children to venture out along. These are kids and we live in different times. Maybe this is why I don't have kids of my own.

If so and your child goes out tonight or any other night and is armed with a mobile device or smartphone, there are solutions available for you to keep traces of them via GPS or other location-bases apps.

Trick-Or-Tracker, an Android app is something that works pretty much as tracking app that allows parents or guardians to track their children wherever they are. It's a $100 app that does have a Halloween trial period.

On the iPhone, there is the Family GSP Tracker that has among other features, lets your love ones know that you're looking for them and lists sex offenders in the area. It runs from $3.99 to $5.99.

Here is an MSNBC video on this subject. I think this works for parents not just on Halloween but also for all times and events.



Are there other apps that work better for you that you're using for tonight?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Rechargeable Flashlights got This Halloween Weekend

Okay, parents and kids...and monsters and the platoons of Ironmen and Woodies and Buzzes, it's finally Halloween.

So how do you protect yourself in the darkness which you will eagerly go into? Well, chances are it's not vampires or the undead that we have to worry about but rather it's the very much living. Yeah, regular old humans.

There are going to be lots of kids in the neighborhood especially with Halloween falling on a weekend, even if it's a Sunday night.

So for mobile warriors, here's a tip. Charge up your mobile phones, iOS/Android devices, or other smartphones.

Then set the screen to full brightness and let them stay on linger than you might normal would. This will not really help as a flashlight but it can act as a signal to drivers that there are people in the vicinity.

There are apps that function as flashlights but I have never given them any thought so I don't know how well they work. I know that there is even an iPhone lighter app.

But the best way to stay safe is to carry a flashlight. Each chaperon should carry one. Maybe some of the little monsters as well.

I like the rechargeable ones that you can wind up to juice up the battery. 30 Seconds or so will power up the flashlight for extended used.

And you can get those from just about anywhere now.

So have a great, scary, and safe Halloween, my fellow mobile warriors!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Mobile Against Zombies and Other Ghouls

Halloween time and I am going to mix some scary fun with mobile goodness.

And so I got to thinking. Today, GPS and online maps plays a big role with travel and generally trying to escape from traffic.

It'll be no different when we few remaining humans try to avoid getting torn to shreds or having zombies go Happy-Meal on our brains.

More that just mobile chats and spotters, we need to have real time uplink to satellites. But that might not be feasible with the world falling apart and coming very close to the end.

So what's the solution? I have advocated this in the past.

Airships.

That's right. With airships, they are a cheap way for surviving humans to having our numbers reduced and vital to any operations to reclaims our world from these undead.

The airships stay in the air for days if not weeks at a time. And believe me when I tell you that air superiority is what's going to make a difference between survival or letting the planet whither away.

Other than communication what else can an airship do for us mobile warriors? Suppose we need to get from one safe harbor to another and the roads are blocked by the undead or dotted with human survivalists who aren't particularly interested in helping retake and populate the planet but wouldn't think for a second to kill you for your supplies and weapons.

Yeah, High up in the sky, it is much safer.

And with your iOS or Android devices, you can still find a way to communicate via white spaces routers or airborne cell towers with your base camp or the folks down on the ground.

Obviously, I would go with mobile devices that are light and has long battery lives. Suppose Apple releases new iPads next year with 12-15 hours of battery life per charge, it would prove your chances of survival great.

On the ground or in the air, you shouldn't have issues with power as I am sure there are plenty of solar chargers. Heck, I've got a couple of them at home to charge my iPhone and iPods. Nevertheless, I like the idea of having to go through longer periods between charges.

And technology with airship developments are currently progressing nicely. I am sure they can be outfitted with all assorted of antenna arrays for communication. Plus, you might consider outfitting your airship with thin solar cells to make your batteries last longer.

So where am I getting this from? I am not a game player but I do love thrillers and "World War Z" is the first zombie literature that I have ever came across. It's a quick read and easy to blow through it in a weekend.

Especially this Halloween weekend...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

SSD - A Must Have For Mobile Ruggedness

Upon learning that Apple will be going all out with SSD instead of traditional hard drives has me thinking that that the era of power efficient and relatively safer memory storage is upon us for every day mobile warriors and corporate drones.

Apple wasn't the first to come out with SSD but does that matter? Nor was Apple the first to have USB in the iMacs but that didn't matter either.

However, Apple made it okay to have USB in PCs and it was quickly adopted as a standard. And for SSD adoption, The MacBook Airs with SSD only options made it okay for for mass adoption for even consumer lines.

I imagine that by this time next year, Apple will have moved a majority of its macBook lines with SSD options. This will be followed by other PC makers, like Sony and its Vaio laptops.

Keep in mind though that hard drives are not going to go away for a long time. But for folks whose data are very important and requires more insurance from accidents, these excellent prices from Apple are welcoming news.

Personally, I think I've got another year left in my late-2008 unibody MacBook before I find that I need to move on. Plus, I've got my wonderful iPad that has quickly become my main go-to mobile device for work and play.

But if you're in The market now or will be soon, consider SSD options whether it's the MacBook Air or a Windows machine like the Viao.

Note: SSD while great still has issues with degradation over time. TRIM is built into Windows 7 while this support is still lacking in OS X. Perhaps Apple might have something coming in way of this beginning with SSD implementation in the new MacBook Airs.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Android 2.2 Not Ready For Tablet Primetime Says Google

I don't want to get into a pissing contest with Steve Jobs about what is the perfect screen for the tablet. iPads have done will but Android's day under the tablet sky will come.

Right now there are a few unsanctioned Android tablets on the market if you're willing to chance it. Yeah, I thought so. So then therefor Samsung's Tab which will cost close to $1K unsubsidized, $400-600 depending on carrier subsidy.

But even then, Google has publicly said that Android 2.2 is not optimized for tablet use and we'll have to wait for Android 3.0 at the end of the year.

What's clear though is that Android tablets will flood the market early 2011. And if you thought waiting until then is hard, just wait until we have to chose between different versions, screen sizes, and which works best for us.

Mobile Tech Key To Defeating Darkness

It's almost Halloween! Sunday morning, I missed the morning run. The sun, you know? Nope, not a vampire here. It's just that after a week of cloudy skies and rain, it just feels really bright outside.

So instead, I am at home watching 30 Days of Night, webisodes on Hulu and I got to thinking about how mobile tech is g used in scifi shows by protagonists to defeat the forces of evil, of the supernatural and alien types.

I am going to start off with a spoiler. Apparently, vampires have been using the Internet to coordinate an attack on an Alaskan town there when during winter, sun doesn't rise for thirty days. Hence, the movie is called 30 Days of Night.

So the good guys in the show uses the Internet and webcams to communicate and try to stop the coming slaughter.

I didn't see any Blackberries, iPhones, or even laptops but maybe it was a production budget issue. Still I can't help but think that maybe things might have turned out differently had the good guys been able to communicate wirelessly and not have to run around New Orleans.

Since Halloween is a week away, I am going to take the liberty and call it "Halloween Week: Using Mobile Tech Create/Prevent Mayhem".

So let's start with the good guys. In trying to stop a vampire takeover, how can mobile tech help?

First, there's the usual tools readily available. Emails, SMS, and instant messages.

But I think the best way is within apps. Maybe a virtual world where the good guys can meet and speak in code. There are plenty of games that offer in-world communication. Think of it as the Matrix without the glasses and leather coats.

Of course, you'll want to be careful and make sure that you don't leave a trail to be tracked. These vampires can be pretty the savvy themselves. If not, I am sure the vast financial network they've cultivated and enormous fortune they amassed will buy them whatever services they needed. Everyone has a price. So I'd be very careful about what I share and he manner in which I'd do it.

The next step is geo-tagging. I am sure clandestine groups all over the world is on this. Tracking agents, operatives, and finding routes is something our human heroes will need to be able do to. This is needed from finding safe houses and hideouts to something as simple as making drop-offs. All mobile devices in this respect must have great GPS apps.

Ultimately, standalone apps are more effective and potentially more secured than webapps which is why I think everyone will hit the books for some Objective-C and/or Java know-hows to write apps for the iPhone and Android devices respectively.

So if you're out and about an you see some suspicious characters in a dark corner hacking away at his or her mobile device, imagine the role they are playing in maintaining the delicate balance in the never ending battle between light and darkness.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Mifi, Smartphone, Or 3G Tablet

I am sitting on a bench at a supermarket where I took my mom so she can shop for her organic fruits. Bored, I busted out my iPad to get some work done. But only wifi support, I am not able to connect to the Internet or even post this entry until I gave access to a hotspot.

So I am beginning to question whether a device with a cell connection is best for those of us mobile warriors who find wireless Internet access a convenience and not a necessity yet. In a few years, a majority of the devices sold will have wireless access through wireless cellular providers. Even White space access will play a big role.

So, why make the distinction and just live with that fact?

And yet we are not there. I like devices like the 3G iPad because there is no need to carry anything else for access. But having a mifi does let more than one device use the wireless hotspot.

As I await for WiMax to become officially available and I can have the option of using a WiMax device like the iSpot, choices will need to be made.

I am leaning towards the mifi option.


-- Post From My iPad

Cloudy Day With Misty Rain, What Mobile Was Made For

Ocasionally, i like to share how i use my mobile gears. Sometimes its cool but other times, it is just a reflection of how i am amazed by what we can do these days with our laptops, iPads, and other smartphones.




I will be going out quite a bit this week to Starbucks or any other local coffee shops this week as LA will be experiencing some light drizzle for the next few days. Winter is coming and this is as close it it'll get to it in LA. We'll probably be experiencing a short-sleeved Christmas but, hey, I am not complaining. Living in the here and now.

But this is what mobile is for. I've got my iPad here to cruise the Web and get back into the blogging game while the Equinox serves as the phone and the iPod touch for everything else - taking quick snapshots and videos of interesting things and, of course, gaming.




I've left my G1 at home along without the iPhone. Since the touch, the iPhone has been relegated to the role of a MP3 player and the G1 is what I use to experiment with the latest Android hacks and other Googleness.

While writing this post, my mom sat across from me talking to here sister and friends in Asia via Skype, jacked into the Starbucks' free wifi network. Again, how cool is that? She knows how to use the Skype access number but it is easier via the iOS app. (I picked up her up in the morning to take her walking but she lucked out due to the light rain. So, we are at Starbucks instead.)


-- Post From My iPad

Miltary Green: Not Just About Uniform, Also About Renewable Power

The Secretary of the US Navy hopes to have the Navy and Marine use renewable sources to provide 50% of its power needs by 2020. The impact of this is huge beyond just national security concerns.

Already, being deployed into the war theaters are solar gears and tents. The USAF is make sure its squadrons of warplanes are certified to use biofuels.

Again, great for national security but also great for civilians. In the long term, the research into renewable power with Pentagon’s back should speed up new tech deployment as well as drive down cost over the long-run. And the new tech and lower costs will eventually trickle down to non-military markets.

Don’t think so? Think Cold War tech. It’ll happen.

More at Greenjava.

Current State of Mobile Computing: Tablet or Laptop

Depending on who you talk to you and who you believe, the netbooks, perhaps even lsptops, are taking a sales hit because of the iPad.

Perhaps. Then there are those who are not so sure this is happen on a large scale. Given the potential that Apple may be on the verge of a $20 billion quarter and cuts on orders by dorm laptop and netbook makers, it has industry and mobile observers such as myself very excited.

Is this the beginning of the end of mobile computing as we know it?

More at Greenjava Mobility.

Friday Movie: Old Spice Meets Grover

It's been a while since I've done a Friday movie on Onxo.

This is the Sesame take on the Old Spice commercials. There are quite a few but this is a bit different. Below, I've included an older one done by the Harold B. Lee Library.



This is by far my favorite, Study Like A Scholar.



I know this is getting old but funny is funny. Here are some other Old Spice parodies. (Social Times).

Android At Work

I am in an environment where I don't need to use my mobile devices for work. What I use it basically for my own uses and nothing more. I've still go the G1 that I use for personal needs only.

But I spied the Droid Pro from Motorola today. Android is set to join the work force big time and in 2011, we are going to see it rapidly gain on RIM's Blackberry. But I do have one fear. Apps.

Apps have been more to send back to 3rd parties and developers information they don't need.

Should that prevent us from using Android or any other mobile platform for work?

More at Greenjava Mobility.

Clever Pricing For Mobile Gaming

For better or for worse, casual gaming is here to stay and gamers as well as developers have to live it.

Coming to an end are the days when developers can charge $30-40 a game. If you think you've got the game everyone is clamoring for, you can charge $15 for it like Square is doing with Final Fantasy on the iOS platform.

Just this past weekend, I spent $14.90 for 10 games. They were on sale but you get the idea. And these aren't just any old games. Assassin Creed, NHL, NFL, Ace Combat, Zenonia 2. You get the idea.

I think these games would have cost me easily $250 if I had bough them for the DSi or PSP.

But developers can still make their money. These isn't any need for packing and the marketing is almost unnecessary. That's what a few well-placed ads and the Internet are for. Plus, Apple has made it so easy for users to find the games they want while app stores on other platforms are improving as well.

Developers are making up for the lower prices for volume. More Than that, a few are even trying different pricing schemes to get users to pony up. Want more levels, pay a buck and you get the next ten. A couple of bucks will get you the weapon you need yo decimate anyone who dares stand in your way.

Just today, a couple of sites reported on Capcom's plan to release an app for in game play that acts like a arcade called Capcim Arcade". Games include classics like Commando, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Streetfighter II, and 1942 with a new game to be added each month. Capcim let's you have a few plays a day at the "arcade" but if you want to play more, you can buy in-app tokens or purchase the game outright.

Not a bad gimmick.

So whether through quality build to justify charging or the game or more innovative pricing schemes, gamers and developers are evolving. Hence, so is the gaming industry.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch

Blogging And Sharing So Much Easier

I've not written for a while now. Part of the reason is because I spend some time working on my Green Java site. It's not only a mobile interest site but other interests that I have.

Politics, green/healthy living, and coffee.

I have been trying to find a way do blog updates to GJ without being tied to my MacBook when I needs to do it. I use both Rapidweaver and iWeb and neither easily let's users remotely update.

I think I've found a way to do it. I'll continue to update Blogger but hopefully k can migrate over the Greenjava to ease my blogflow (yeah, I just made up this word.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch