Great Jeff Bezos quote

"One thing that I learned within the first couple of years of starting a company is that inventing and pioneering involves a willingness to be misunderstood for long periods of time.

"One of the early examples of this is customer reviews, someone wrote to me and said 'you don't understand your business, you make money when you sell things, why do you allow these negative customer reviews?' And when I read that letter, I thought, we don't make money when we sell things, we make money when we help customers make purchase decisions."

Jeff Bezos

Favorite Henry Ford quote

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right.

My mantra for web and mobile app design

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
Steve Jobs

First impressions of the iPad 2

After reading through all of the press reports on how long the lines were on March 11 and how current online orders for the iPad 2 will take up to five week to fulfill, I feel quite validated in my efforts to make sure I get Apple's latest gadget on launch day.

The validation continues after a full weekend of use. Key differentiators from the original iPad are:

1) Video mirroring only works on the iPad 2. This is very valuable to me because I plan on using the device for presentations and demos. Moreover, video mirroring works with my iPad VGA adapter, so I can show anything on my iPad with projectors and standard monitors. The HDMI connection is just a bonus for larger screens and home entertainment systems.

2) Speed and performance improvements are noticeable. For graphics and authoring apps, such as GarageBand, the device works smoothly. Switching between apps also seems to work better. Typing and other commands have less lag, and images appear to render faster.

3) Web browsing through Safari is more reliable and just plain faster. More pages are cached and page rendering is noticeably faster. I find that I am using the browser even more now because performance is just as fast, if not faster that my regular laptop.

4) The front and rear facing cameras has its benefits. iMovie will not install on the original iPad because it has no camera, but it works great on the iPad 2. Additionally, I use Skype and video conferencing a lot, so I can now use the iPad as a regular communications device. Perhaps Skype will now fully optimize its iOS app to better take advantage of the iPad 2. FaceTime and Photobooth are nice bonuses.

5) Form factor of the iPad 2 is even more portable now. True, the original iPad was sleek and easy to carry around, but the new device fits even better in bags and cases. Just carrying the iPad 2 around is much more ergonomic. The small adjustments in size, weight and form collectively makes the device much easier to bring anywhere.

I got the black, 64 GB wi-fi only version and I would say the upgrade was worth it. The speaker placement allows for better projection of sounds and the apps are already being rolled out to fully take advantage of the iPad 2's technical specifications and added features. This trend will only continue, which should further validate my purchase.

As for the rumors about an iPad 3 coming in fall, I didn't want to deprive myself of the many benefits of the iPad 2 for what "might" happen. However, I wouldn't bet on another upgrade in fall. If there is one, it would be an incremental upgrade over the iPad 2 - just improving camera resolutions and allowing for 4G connectivity. Certainly not enough reason for me to do another upgrade at that time.

If you're on the fence, I would recommend taking the jump and picking up an iPad 2. However, you may have to wait a month or two when supplies catch up with demand.


- Posted from my iPad 2

Great Quote from Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect, Microsoft

“For those of us who learned to program when we were very young and did so much programming in our early years, we soon were able to forget about the technology and just treat it as a tool, like clay that can be molded into anything that you want. Software is the ultimate pliable medium...If you can imagine it, you can build it.”

- Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals, July 3, 2009

How I Use Dropbox For Maximum Productivity

File distribution and making sure that the correct version of the files are used. History versioning also provides a layer of security.

Simple network sharing and password synchronization are the other reasons to use a tool like DropBox.

WebWorkerDaily has a great article discussing this in further depth.

How do you use file sync tools?

Conducting R&D at Italia Restaurant in Olympia

Thin crust and toppings are good, but the crust gets soggy after 30 minutes.

Posted via web from Jet City Pizza Co.

Great Synchronized Notes Application

I have been using Evernote since its early beta and the service continues to improve. Excellent free and paid options and now they overtake Yahoo Notes. Evernote tops Yahoo for online note-taking

Dropping Windows Live Sync for DropBox

After a year of testing, I found that Windows Live Sync (Foldershare) is not as reliable as DropBox. There were too many port conflicts and I found that the syncing both directions between multiple computers could not be counted on. Too bad. I really liked Live Sync, but it didn't work as anticipated in the long-term.

Join DropBox for free and get 2GB plus 250MB of bonus space. Go to this link to get the extra space.

Appropriate Quote for the Times...

"Go and wake up your luck." - Persian Proverb

Article misses the target: As landline use shrinks, phone polls become a tough cell

The recent article, "As landline use shrinks, phone polls become a tough cell", fails to mention the "VOIP factor," or voice-over-i-p phone usage across the United States. This includes services such as ATT CallVantage, Vonage, Packet 8 and Skype. I think they will find that the "lower income" demographic is canceled out a bit because VOIP users also tend to have a cell phone as well. Additionally, VOIP phones tend to have more of a traditional form-factor that is not present with cell phones, which are primarily portable and not attached to a home phone system. VOIP phone usually use existing phone systems inside a household, so the only difference is where the signal is coming from.

Beware of Moral Imperialists!

This Abraham Lincoln quote is so true:

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

Ode to the pleasure police...

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their conscience."

C.S. Lewis

Nice Quote I got from a tech presentation

“We must master the tools of communications, or we will be mastered by those who do.” Robert Moley (1923)

Cutting off the landlines

There was an article I read earlier this week regarding how segments of the population all over the world are beginning to surpass the use the traditional landlines for the home. The demographic that is jumping on this bandwagon the most are tech savvy adults ages 18-24.

The article mostly gave credit to the rising dependancy and lower costs of cell phones. I can speak to this first hand with the Philippines, as it can take months and even years to get your own landline. The process is also expensive and requires going through a gauntlet of bureacracy. However, when it comes to cell phones, the process is quite simple and cheap, and one can have a working phone within a day.

No wonder people are jumping away from landlines. Burdened with frivolous costs and regulations made possible only through government, landlines have garnered great angst from regular consumers.

New Nepomuceno.com website is coming

After a long hiatus, I will be updating Nepomuceno.com and providing updates on technology issues. Stay tuned!