Yeah…I’m a geek

Earlier this week I posted about both my excitement and trepidation surrounding the new Google voice-activated search functionality now found in the Mobile App.  Well, I can safely say that my fears were unnecessary and probably unjustified as well.  In a nutshell, the voice-activated functionality of the application works surprisingly well! 

Not only can you perform simple searches as you would normally with your voice, you can add location-based searches as well (i.e. nearest Future Shop or nearest flower shop).  Additionally, you can leverage the other search functionality available in Google, such as Google Finance.

All in all, this is a very nice addition to the FREE Google Mobile App with equal parts function and cool.  As I find out more functionality and tips I will post them… In the meantime, here is a site that already offers 9 tips on getting more out of the Google Mobile App: http://twurl.nl/bubxq3

Okay, maybe not here in North America,but Japanese telco DoCoMo recently announced that it will release an Android-based phone sometime next year in hopes that it will differentiate them from rival telco Softbank.  Now that we have all seen and played with the G1, what would you like to see from the next Android-based phone? 

I would love to see the addition of an accelerometer, multi-touch interface and headphone jack (this was kind of a standard HTC omission, so I am sure we will see one in the next iteration of an Android phone).  I like the idea of the slide-out hard keyboard of the G1, but also think there should be the option of using a soft keyboard in both orientations as well. 

Although I am currently an iPhone owner, I LOVE the idea of more Android-based phones and therefore more innovation and development being driven out of this space.  I am looking forward to the next iteration available to us North Americans!

In this engaging and controversial Talk, Samantha Power challenges us all to see the hero in an unconventional person…

In a recent poston TreeHugger, Lloyd Alter blogs about his less than positive experience on Canada’s largest airline.  It seems that in this era of companies looking to adopt simple green initiatives, Air Canada still needs to ding it’s customers that little extra…just because it can.  Enjoy

Thomas Friedman’s newest book Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution is not new territory.  There has been a recent groundswell of books that speak to the same general concepts (Common Wealth, The Bottom Billion, Plan B 3.0 as just an example). 

Where I think Thomas Friedman adds value in this space is his additional focus on the economic benefits and opportunities that innovative and industrious corporations can enjoy if they first acknowledge the challenges we face globally and then leverage this knowledge into something beneficial and sustainable (i.e. think alternative energy, micro-financing…etc).

Additionally, I also felt that Friedman was much more candid than other authors in finding blame and the lack of accountability from corporations and governments.  While Friendmad is not as technical in his writings as Jeffrey Sachs can be in Common Wealth, his writings are very digestable and interesting. A definite read for those interested in light topics like human sustainability, mass poverty and climate change.  Well worth the time and price.

According to the NYTimes, Google will be launching an iPhone app that provides Google search via a user simply using their voice.  To search, all an iPhone user would have to do is state their question into the phone with the application launched.  Theoretically, this could be the easiest way to solve all those incredibly important debates you have with your colleagues and friends…”Who played Hannibal Chew in Blade Runner” or “Where is the closest Starbucks?”.

While I love this idea (and will download it as soon as its available in the Canadian App Store), I still need to be convinced that the accuracy of the voice recognition is robust enough to make this app truly useful.  Historically,  these voice-based applications have failed solely on the weak voice recognition technology available.  This technology, while not new, has not yet reached the tipping point at which mass adoption can occur.  I hope Google changes all that with the approach they have taken.

For some of us, understanding the true impact of the housing and credit crisis(s) in the US is challenging to say the least.  This new video essay from Slate shares what some people are dealing with in the hopes that a human face can be attached to this talk of $700 billion bailouts, multi-million dollar executive bonuses and billion dollar election campaigns…

This TED Talk from SeriousPlay 2008 has presenter Charles Elachi sharing some fascinating and sometimes humourous stories from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab…

…at least in a non-life threatening way… OMG! Link

Photo: Dave Sheridan

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