So I'm curious if this technology will ever become mainstream. While I understand and actually like the premiss behind such technology...I can't help but wonder how effective and useful it would actually be. These watches tend to be on the bulky side, and they have very limited capabilities. To put it simply...these "SmartWatches" become "DumbWatches" if they aren't connected to a SmartPhone. A SmartPhone is where the additional features really come into play. These watches only offer some minor extensions in a wearable form factor. I think the idea is notable one, but until these watches can function on their own without needed a connection to a SmartPhone....I don't know how effective they will be at catching consumers in the market.

What do you think?

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So...as is the nature of Google, they have created another service for the people. However this service lends a little to the morbid side of things. I nick-named it Google Death. In reality it's called "Google Inactive Account Manager". It's a service that links all Google services through an activity monitor, and activates itself when a specified inactivity threshold that you set, is reached. Once "Google Death" has detected that you are within 30 days of reaching the inactivity limit, it will attempt to contact you to warn you that you are coming close to reaching the threshold. If you do not answer, or otherwise become active again on any of your Google linked accounts...then Google Death takes over and performs the action you specified. It can either delete all your Google related accounts along with all the linked data held there-in, or it can notify up to ten individuals you specified and give them access to your Google Account and related services so that they can perform whatever cleanup is needed after your...passing from this digital realm.

Leave it to Google to come up with service to manager your digital afterlife.

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AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are teaming up to create a new "Payment Network" utilizing Near-Field-Communication (NFC) chips. These chips soon to be embedded in future generations of phones, allow for secure and encrypted short-range wireless communication with different devices, including Point-Of-Sale (POS) machines. The idea is to forgo the need to carry credit cards with you all the time, and instead select the card you wish to use in your phone, wave it in front of the POS Receiver/Sensor and done, your items have been paid for. It's a very interesting concept, and one that I am very interested in seeing in action. However, what about the millions of people without NFC Chip ready devices? I've heard rumors that companies will be creating "cases" that will connect to your cell phone which have the NFC Chip embedded in them, but then comes the issue of having to remove the case when you need to charge the phone, which in many cases is a daily occurrence. It's just one more thing we will need to do. All in all, not a big deal, but I can bet that if this technology takes off, most people will opt to get a NFC ready cell phone rather then deal with the aggravation of a new case.

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You read that title right... A company called Xi3 has come up with a new form factor for PC's, splitting up the traditional motherboard into three seperate components. The claim it makes for a extremely modular system, where each component is completely replaceable in case of failure. Additionally it uses 95% less electricity, clocking in at the highest consumption, of 35watts, compaired to the basic system today consuming 350watts. Also, because of its form factor and low power consumption, Xi3 claims that the computers themselves last longer. And it's modular form factor means that upgrades are a breeze, and the need to buy new computers would be obsolete. All you would need is to but a "cheaper" upgraded component to make you system faster as new technology arrives.

What do you think?

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See, as much as I love Google and many of its creations. I am no fan of their phone OS. Apparently a programmer discovered a flaw in the Android OS and exploited it, to make a point. He designed an application and disguised it as an "update" for the popular game "Angry Birds". The application once installed, hen downloaded and installed three additional applications into the user's phone without their consent. Had anyone else exploited this flaw, they could have downloaded malicious software without the user's knowledge. It was to be presented today at a national conference, but Google has removed the application from it's store.

Now, my thought on this is...if Google is screening he applications that are created before hey are published as content in their store...shouldn't they have realized what this application does? So you have to wonder what kind of "testing" Google actually does before allowing an app into their storefront.

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I've taken a few days before writing this because I wanted to see the full specs regarding the iPad, and I wanted the idea to sink into my mind before I shot from the hip. I have also recently read some disturbing posts from wanna-be technical individuals who frankly should get fired for their stuck-on-stupid approach in their articles. (See PCWorld)

The iPad I think will undoubtedly revolutionize the way we work with technology and more so with mobile products. Apple has taken their iPhone mobility features to the next level. Granted, it’s a first generation and we all know that as good as they are, their future generation models will be better. Do I think the iPad will take over the tablet market…absolutely not. The iPad doesn’t have the computing power or versatility to replace a Laptop/Notebook. Will it be major competition for NetBooks…most likely. Now, I think that the iPad has started a trend of touch screens that we are most likely going to continue to see into the future. Give it a few years, and you will probably see touch screen technology everywhere. As much as I have to hand it to Apple for creating revolutionary technology, the iPad’s technology isn’t all that revolutionary. It’s a larger iTouch, for all intents and purposes. The technology isn’t new, just bigger. But, making it bigger and affordable was the trick, and they succeeded. Plus as a side comment, I think AT&T is out of their minds to charge $14.99 for 250MB of data a month…that is an absolute rip-off.

Now we all know that although Apple create amazing mobile products, their operating systems have always been lacking, at least that’s my opinion coming from a PC market. Yes Apple OS’s can do a lot, but compared to PC’s they are insanely limited. The iPad is not a Notebook/Laptop and in its current incarnation will never be able to compete in that market. It wasn’t designed to. But I will say…Kindle is in big trouble. I might consider getting this in the future, but a part of me also wants to wait for Generation 2 of the iPad, and see what they enhance and fix. I will make 1 comment on it so far though…No replaceable battery? STILL? That still bugs the hell out of me on the iPhone. Well, there is my $0.02...

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PC World posted today that Apple and AT&T are looking to release a new iPhone 3GS with 8GB of memory to combat the new release of the Droid phone from Motorola running the new Android 2.0 operating system. This new phone would of course allow Apple to stop producing the current $99 iPhone 3G. This newer model will of course have all the same snazzy features of the 3GS, the faster CPU, the Voice Dialing features and more. The Motorola Droid, currently goes for $200, that's after a $100 rebate. So if this new Apple phone does come out for the holidays, then the Motorola Droid will be in for some stiff competition.

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