The Three Word Phrase that if remembered could bring civility to Social Media

"In My Opinion, Android is better than iOS"

"In My Opinion Star Trek is a better than Star Wars"

"In My Opinion  using @import is better than <link> "

Three statements that one might read in social media, honestly the list could go on and on with any topic. There are three common words with each of the above statements however. Those words, one simple phrase, IN MY OPINION

I'm sure growing up everyone has at one time or another almost everyone in the world has either heard or are aware of the statement 

"Opinions are like A-Holes...Everyone's got one and they all stink"

There is some truth to this, everyone does have their own opinion, in fact the very definition of the word is 

Opinion (noun) A view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

Even this blog that you are reading at this very moment is very much based on My Opinion, and that opinion is that the interactive nature of Social Media could see substantial growth if users were a lot more respectful of each other's opinions.

Am I saying that every post uploaded to places like Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus communities should have a blanket response equal to the cyber version of nodding our head and saying "That is 100% right" ? Not at all, for how could a society grow and learn new things without the debate that comes along with an opinion being bridged to a caucus.

What I am saying is instead of instantly calling someone an idiot, or denouncing their position on a topic as being wrong, how about we all take a minute to consider that the person is offering up their own opinion, and use the floor to find a consensus on the topic.

Now, I'm well aware that as people read this blog they may very well form a opinion that I'm coming off as condescending with my opinion on addressing opinions. If so, I invite you to, please express your opinion as to why you feel that way.

I would like to finish off this blog entry about opinions with another very common saying I grew up appreciating 

"I may not agree with your opinion, but I will defend your right to express it" 

Biometrics could be the extra feature needed for digital wallets

If you follow the technology world at all, then you have likely heard about the concept of Near-Field Communications (NFC for short), and their use in the emerging service of mobile payment options.

The concept is that for the connivence of the consumer a payment can be made simply by waving their phone near a module at the checkout, and the amount of their purchase is applied to a linked account.

One of the public concerns about this payment technology, however, has been the security aspect.  People have concerns that much like NFC enabled pay pass type cards it would be possible for someone to come along with a device that allows for unauthorized access to the account information that the NFC chip is linked to.

With Debit and Credit cards this has been somewhat addressed through the option of consumers carrying their cards in a Faraday Cage card sleeve, effectively blocking the transmission of the chip unless the card is intentionally pulled out of the sleeve.

But what can be done in the Mobile field to give the consumer the same sense of security? One option would be to apply the Faraday Cage technology to a Mobile Phone case, but this potentially could lead to issues with the consumer's device picking up signals from Mobile towers and Bluetooth devices.

The next possible option would be having the consumer key into their device a pin code or password at the point of their device exchanging information with the NFC Terminal at the checkout.

My belief, however, is that Apple might actual have the most logical and consumer friendly solution to this situation with their touch ID sensor they debuted in the iPhone 5s.

Think about this, a future device has both a NFC enabled payment system and a biometric sensor built into it. You, the customer walk up yo the check out, your order is processed and the total displayed. Taking out your Smart phone , you wave it across the access point, where both the amount of your purchase is transmitted to your device.  A pop up displays on your screen stating

Please confirm your purchase with your finger print

You touch the sensor, transmitting the payment and a verification that it is your confirmed fingerprint (no actual print needs transferred) , the device thanks you for your confirmation and you leave with your purchase.

  I believe this may just be the future of digital payments via mobile devices, but what is your opinion? Please leave your comments below  

My take on the possible fallout from Apple V Samsung

So, with everything that has been happening with the Samsung Vs Apple Patent lawsuits, which can be well summarized with this article from Vanity Fair, I actually found myself wondering if there might just be a detail that is being missed in all of this.

Could Samsung be biding their time leading up to a split from Android, which would leave Google holding the bag on the whole violations of Apple Patents issue?

First off lets look at just which Patents Apple was awarded damages for in the latest round of Court Proceedings.  According to an article on CNET, there were seven Patents involved in the latest case, broken down as follows

Apple came to this battle with 5 Patents
No. 5,946,647 related to Quick Links
No. 6,847,959 related to Universal Search
No. 7,761,414 related to Background Syncing
No. 8,046,721 related to Slide-to-unlock
No. 8,074,172 related to Automatic Word Correct

Samsung's 2 Patents are as follows
No. 6,226,449 Related to Camera and Folder organization (purchased from Hitachi)
No. 5,579,239 Related to Video Transmission Functions (also purchased)

The final results of the latest trial found that the infringements by samsung were to do with Apple's Quick Links, Slide-To-Unlock and Auto Correct patents. Resulting in Apple getting awarded, prior to appeals by Samsung, Millions.

But this brought Me wondering, since the infringed patents are all operating system related, is it really Samsung who is in violation of these patents, or is it, as owner of the Android Operating system, actually Google who violated these?

This becomes more important to look at when one asks if the violations are actually part of the operating system developed by Google or were they part of the TouchWiz overlay interface placed on top of Android's core system?

This one detail, coupled with Samsung's strong support of the Tizen Operating system, may well spell a potential issue for Google.

Samsung, if they can argue in the appeal that the violations are in fact core details of Android and NOT specific to TouchWiz, are actually in a position to drop the use of TouchWiz, transition their devices off android onto Tizen and dispute having to pay Apple damages on the grounds that Apple is going after the wrong offender

The question this comes down to , and is one I have yet to be able to find an definitive answer to, this

Are Auto-Correct, Slide-To-Lock and Quick Links programmed into TouchWiz or Android?

The answer could change the entire playing field as I see it.

The benefits of a "Proof of Concept " Design

The fact that We are living in a more inter-connected world is most likely something not lost on the majority of modern society, and surely should never be overlooked by someone who is just getting into the business environment.

Any good business owner know the importance of having researched the intended market. Keeping abreast on current trends that could effect your business and of course, the long considered valuable tool known as a Business Plan.

But what if I told you there is a missing piece in the puzzle, one that costs little, shows potential investors and clients that you are serious, and can put your business a step ahead when you do launch. what is that missing piece you ask?

THE PROOF OF CONCEPT WEBSITE

A proof of concept design actually provides many of the following benefits to a business which is in its planning stages

focused Thoughts
Much like an architect uses paper models of projects to get a view from multiple angles, having a Proof of Concept Website can help an upstart business recognize the categories they need to focus on right from the ground floor of planning.

Visual Aide for Investors
Being able to walk into a meeting with an investor, and showing them a well thought out vision of your company's future  can help instil confidence on the investor's part in your ability to stick to your plan and follow through on your vision.

Public Feedback
Ever go to a trade show and see a upstart business trying to pitch their company, only to see the, stopped in their tracks by a question like

"So when will your website be accessible, for more information?"

Fact is it happens, and by having the proof of concept with you on a tablet or laptop , the answer becomes very simple as you can actually pull up the work in progress and respond with

"That is an excellent question, and since you asked , can We please get your feedback on the site We are having developed so that at launch We can serve you better"

And, perhaps one of the Most important details is that should your Business decide to launch, you can launch knowing that you have a Web Designer on your side who has believed in your vision since the early stages. Thus allowing your Website's full development to flow smoothly.  The result being the ability to launch Your Business in a successful, all inclusive fashion when launch day is reached  

Text vs Graphical Content, and how it can effect your Website

Lets face it, humans by nature are graphic focused creatures.  Bright colors and big logos draw our attention all the time. With brands, this is not really a bad thing, but with a Website going graphic heavy can actually do more harm than good.

Image files, in the modern age tend to take up more megabytes of the stream of data that is downloaded to the users device.  On slower speed desktops the time it takes for a Website to fully load can make or break connecting with potential clients. On Mobile devices it becomes even more important, as bytes downloaded = data plan fees.

There is actually a couple secondary concerns that speak to the benefits of using text, which can be styled through Cascading Style Sheets, over relying on graphical reliance.

Firstly, there is Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. SEO is the protocols that services like Google, Yahoo and Bing use to return results when a user searches.  This is done through the scraping of textual details, in both the Metadata and content of a Website.

Photos and graphics can return some information that helps with SEO, through things like proper use of the alternative tag when placing a image file (alt="filename"), but its not the primary way a site gets ranked.

Secondly, the World Wide Web is , as the name implies, a global playground. That means, not everyone who visits your Website might actually read the language your content was created in.  This creates a major linguistics issue if you have displayed your content in pre-formatted graphic files, as servers like Google Translate can not rewrite a picture.

For example, lets say you own a small Bed n Breakfast in Vancouver BC, a city that can and does get plenty of international tourist traffic.  With text base content, your website can be presented in almost any language that is globally spoken, but if your words are formatted into the photos, you have failed to bridge the language gap.

Traveling with Technology, Tips to simplify prep and avoid the luggage restrictions en route

Technology has become a staple of our modern Digital World. From the Smartphone in our pocket to the Tablet that is slipped into the carry on , they keep us connected on the go.

Like all things that can be good, there is of course elements of bad created by Technology when it comes to travel, I thought I would take a moment with this entry to cover some suggestions on how to keep organized and stay within the airline restrictions all at the same time.

Tablet / phone stands.
At home, we become creatures of habit. We all have that speaker dock for our phone or the quality stand for our tablet ( in my case I keep a collection of the Griffin A-Frame iPad stand handy for My tablets as they can be very hand when working on multiple screen design projects)

When traveling however those specific stands might not be the best option. take the A-Frame stand that I mentioned before. it's solid aluminum and weights in at  17.9 oz.

Now consider this option instead. go to your local Dollar Store and check out their stock. If you are lucky enough to be in Canada, the Dollarama chain offers up a very handy folding stand that weighs in at a fraction of the A-Frame's heft and at only a $1.00 each won't break the bank.

The next concern is that issue known as cables and chargers.  The best suggestion here again sees us returning to the Dollar Stores, only this time it is to the school supply aisle we go for a soft zippered pencil case.  By picking up one of these and purposing it specifically for the task of travel cables, the savvy traveler can have a set of adaptors and charge cables ready to go in your get away bag almost all the time.

The last item to make sure you have available to you is of course a short cord power bar.  This is important to protect your devices from a possible electrical serge when charging at your destination, and lets face it the hotel room never has enough wall plugs anyway right?

I hope these few tips make for a far more enjoyable set of travels, and less chances of luggage fees, speaking of which, don't forget the portable luggage scale... happy travels

Can We, As a society live without relying on Apps?

Can We, as a society live without relying on apps?

The title of this blog might actually be slightly misleading, as the question should more be asked if we always need apps to access the world we digitally access.

First let us look at some of the pros apps like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus have going for them.  These pros include, but are not limited to

working as a quick home screen shortcut to the service

launching a user interface that is formatted to the smaller screen size of a Smartphone

allowing the breaking out of specific services without launching the full site

Again, as I said, these are all pros, but there are also cons to stand alone apps for each service that a site like Facebook and Google Plus offers in a complete package when one moves from the Smartphone to the Tablet interface.

First, if you look at the modern Mobile Web Browsers, on Android, iOS and Windows one will notice that they all display these sites in a comparable fashion to how Desktop Browsers display them.  An exception being if a Website relies on the dying technology of Adobe Flash.

The second thing one needs to take into account is storage space on a tablet.  Most tablets tend to come in storage sizes ranging between 16 and 128 GB of storage.  Breaking out the services can produce a collection of Apps that each do one thing.  As an example, take a look at Facebook's offering on iOS

Facebook............................. 60.3 MB
Messenger........................... 33.0 MB
Pages Manager................... 42.6 MB
Camera................................18.0 MB
Poke....................................  9.0 MB

That makes for a total of 5 Apps taking up 162.9 MB or a little over 1/10th of a GB , or about the size of two copies of Angry Birds Star Wars.

So, while Apps do have some advantages to them, the question does always need to be asked. Can I do this without taking up the space that stand alone apps take up?