Will You Wait for Google+?

     So, as I have been watching the news media and reading the blog posts that seem to be everywhere about the new social network Google+, I've been chomping at the bit to to try it out for my self.  I've heard of sneaky workarounds, but they require you to know someone on the inside.  Sad as it is to say, this techie just isn't high enough on the food chain yet to even know someone invited.
     But with all this hype and fuss over Google+, will people wait?  I don't know how long Google plans to keep Google+ a field test, but is it good to hype your product before you even know when it will be available publicly?  Will customers wait?  I wanted to ask our readers again.  So, will you wait for a chance to sign up for Google+?
     I will speak for myself and say that what I've seen and heard of Google+ is enough, I'll be their on opening day to sign away(as a Blogger blogger it should be quick, Google already has my life history).  I'm anxious to hear whether you will, too, and if you do, add us to your tech circle.

In Appreciation of Blender

     Blender is a unique and interesting program.  Originally touted as the open-source attempt at a full on production suite for computer generated content, it has grown into a industry level computer graphics application.  And, even though I the program is available for free from www.blender.org, I think Blender has an amazing place in the world of the GPL to remain free, and yet generate amazing amounts of revenue.
     My sole reason for this idea is that within the world of video production, it’s the content produced that makes the real money.  The companies that create this content spend thousands and thousands of dollars customizing scripts for the specific project they are working on, and for a program like Blender, some of this work can get translated into new features.  Plus, under the GPL, any production company can modify Blender and make it better, which just furthers the capabilities of Blender as a whole.
     So, I don’t see it as farfetched at all to think that one day in the future, the CG program of choice in Hollywood could be Blender, (I mean, heck, even grand old Pixar uses linux for their OS).

A Quick Mental Musing

     My quick mental musing today is to whether or not Android, iOS, and Win Phone 7 really qualify as full operating systems, or just useful user interface, like the things your blue ray player run on?  Honestly, this is a question I've been ruminating on for some time now.  So many of the major changes going on in the computer industry are based off of these three systems, but are they really anything more than quaint toys we used to access greater content?  Without the functionality of the cloud, are these devices even worth messing with?  And if the cloud concept fails, will the fascination of the general public still be so fixated on the 'smart phone'?
     I have my opinion, but I'm not here to rant.  I want to know what the readers think.  Leave your thoughts and rants in the comments below, and let me know whether or not you think some changes need to happen to the current touch tablet interfaces, to make them into 'more of an OS'.  Thanks.

Why Should We Fear the Rain?

     I keep reading online about this impending flood of change as to how consumers will be using their technology in the near future.  The techie movers and shakers keep proclaiming amazing changes in how we work with, interface and play with technology.  It stands to be an upheaval of biblical proportions.
     I think they're all idiots.  In every article I read, and every story I see, I'm shocked with how dry and worn out the rhetoric is.  Its the same things people have been shouting for years, and they haven't happened.
      First, I read an article earlier about how by 2021 we will be using glasses that project directly into our eyes with lasers so we can see the world around us and still interact with our 'teleputers'.  We will control computers with our mind.  Sound to go to be true?  As the old saying goes, it probably is.  I'm not saying that we won't be able to interface with our computers like this someday, but I definitely don't see it happening within two years.  I mean, look how long it took touch screens to actually make their way into consumer electronics.  It took a video game hand-held console American's said was only for children to bring this concept into the home.  The patents for such technology were introduced in the 70's!  Yet it took almost thirty years for them to make it into the home.
     Also, brain wave control of the computer may be more difficult then scientist realize.  This sort of technology is based on mapping the way that impulses are transmitted through peoples brains.  But unlike modern, finicky computers, the biological computer of the brain is a system that can sustain a certain level of damage to its transmission systems.  From their it can repair, or re-route, existing pathways.  Our brains actually do this more often than we think, and this can certainly pose problems with electronics used to track its finite operations.
     And household humanoid robots?  This is an area I'm not even going to touch.  According to futurists, these were suppose to be in our houses by the late eighties.  And that's all I'm saying.  (Quick side-note, if this is something your into, check out Asimo.)
     More realistically is the constant complaint that desktops are dead, that all people will be doing their computing on the mobile landscape.  I would also call foul on this one.  The reality is that our world has become electronic, and that we are constantly seeking interconnection.  But this interconnection has also increased our intelligence as a society.  This means that advertising hype over something old isn't as effective as it once was.  We don't get bated into the trap that we must upgrade for the sack of a few ghz of speed.  But we do have to have whats new and edgy, no matter how intelligent we are.  The place of the desktop in the home isn't gone, we just realize that we don't have to upgrade as often as we used to.  The life cycle of the modern desktop PC, in my opinion, will actually increase, because there are just certain things better done on a desktop.
      What I'm getting at is don't expect a flood of change.  Change in the tech world isn't as quick as computer companies want you to think.  It's horribly dependent on patent licensing and social trends.  It has huge setbacks due to marketing.  And it is, in the end, just another thing in your life that requires money.  So if consumers aren't walking around holding umbrella's, then it will be more of a drizzle than a downpour.

The Sixth Player

     In Digital Fruits ever constant work to find the best of anything digital for our customers, we have been testing out new software products available for free off the internet.  And today we have a sixth contender for internet browser, Midori, from which I am writing today's post.
     I actually found this program by chance when looking up information on wikipedia, and found it has a listing in Ubuntu's default repository.  I downloaded it for both Ubuntu and Windows XP, and I'll be featuring it in an upcoming review of which browsers perform the best, and on which systems.  That will be coming in a few days, we still have to run tests on a few more systems.
     As to what Midori can do; its a web browser, just like any other.  As of yet, I haven't found any distiguishing features that make it stand out from the fab-five of web browsing.  I'm going to be doing some more intensive work as time goes on, so expect an update in the future.

Aluminum Drive

     So, Digital Fruit is having an aluminum drive, where we are collecting up cans and other pieces of scrap aluminum(most notably heatsinks) and recycling them to generate proceeds for the purchase of solar panels.  We figured we could help the environment out twice as fast if combined initiatives.
     So, if you want to bring any cans, or have a desire to help by setting up a collection site, go to www.digitalfruit.biz/contact and contact support.  We thank the community in advance for their support.

All Work and No Play Makes Me Tired

     So for the lack of posting lately, all I can say for it is that we have been busy here at Digital Fruit.  There have been some minor updates to www.digitalfruit.biz, and a lot of tech support being done.
     I've also been taking pictures to post up on one of our other web properties, www.picapedia.info, where we are trying to create an online photographic encyclopedia.  I've been taking the pictures I'm sure will be difficult to get any other artist to submit willingly.  You know, mundane stuff like pictures of watches and roadsigns.  I've also got some great shots of certain cars, so those my be more interesting to everyone.  Once this site really gets going, I'm going to devote more time to the interface, setting up a search function and an indexing database.
     And finally, we are looking into setting up an arcade of simple on-line games for our fans to play.  Things like tank destroyer and sudoku.  Maybe even Mahjong.  So, look forward to more postings about that.