The Next Revoultion

A revolution is easy to spot when looking backward, but they are much harder to see when they first happen. Microsoft, Apple, eBay, Amazon…all revolutions with ramifications that weren’t seen until much after they first released a product, or came online.

But I predict a revolution in an event that took place just a few days ago at the Worldwide Developers Conference where Steve Jobs announced the latest version of the iPhone. I know, I know, you’re thinking that I missed the boat. The iPhone revolution already took place; this is old news.

But there is something in this iPhone that in my opinion will change things dramatically in the coming year; GPS.

GPS on the iPhone has the potential to allow users to link content to a specific location. For years as I’ve talked with colleagues about this topic, the single biggest hurdle we’ve seen is the hardware problem. First there wasn’t a device that provided everything ‘all in one’. Then, as devices started to have the necessary features, few people actually owned them.

With the new iPhone we now have a device that provides access to the internet, true GPS navigation, and the ability to record audio and take pictures. What does that give us?

Information is useful, but information given in context is even more so. That is why 100 years ago if you wanted to learn about barrel making, you didn’t go to the library, you became an apprentice. You learned the information at the location where it made the most sense.

Today, we have access to almost limitless amounts of information. Much of this information is about the physical world around us. A user can learn about species of plants and animals, virtually visit far away lands, or read about the history of places around the globe. Unfortunately, as soon as the user steps away from their computer and into the outside world, their access to this information is severed.

My family and I just went to Oceanside, California and enjoyed some time at a lovely beach. While there I wondered what the weather would be like tomorrow. I wondered if there were any tricks to body surfing, or if there was a place nearby that rented boogie boards.

Imagine if I could have turned on my iPhone and found articles and contents left by other users. The information would have been delivered to me not by searching for it, but based on my location. Users might have linked the location of the beach to Wikipedia articles on surfing, local weather, eateries, current tide conditions, news about recent shark attacks, etc. There may have even been information that I found useful that I wouldn’t have thought to search for.

Sure, there are times when I want to turn off technology and just get outside. But there are also times when I want to learn about the great outdoors, and I’d rather be doing it out in the sun, than stuck in front of a screen.

I predict that in the coming months and years, we will see the information age leave the basements and stuffy rooms of our houses, and break out into the great outdoors.

Social Media

From the good folks over at Common Craft.

The Death of Search Engines?

Interesting article over at ZD Net UK. The idea is that people don't need to go to a search engine to find what they need. If they want a review of a product, they will go to Amazon or cnet. If they want to find out about a place or person, they will head straight to Wikipedia. If they want something funny or interesting, they'll got to YouTube or Digg.

I find myself doing this. Instead of going to Google (that will return 6 million pages), I will often head straight to Wikipedia. I'm not saying I don't use Google, but I am finding that I use it less. If I'm looking for a review of a product, Google is simply unusable. Instead, I'll go to any number of sites that I have found useful (and bookmarked), to find that information.

And this doesn't even bring into account the possibility that the new iPhone brings into play, finding information based on where you are.

While I don't see search engines going away, I do see them losing power. The question remains, what fills the void?

For your entertainment...

We put on quite the show at the little league game tonight. The kids were playing with the keyless remote to our van. Somehow they engaged the alarm. Since we came separately, my wife left first (with the only keyless remote), and I was left to bring up the rear in the van.

I had an arm full of supplies and when I got to the van I saw the window was rolled down but the door locked. I reached through, unlocked the car, and went to get in.

That is when the alarm went off. The horn started honking, the lights started flashing, and the game stopped so everybody could gape.

Did I mention my wife was already on the way home with the keyless remote?

I figured that if I proved that I was the real owner, the car would stop its bleating. I got in the car, turned the key...nothing. I started the car...nothing.

My mind raced. Everybody was watching me (the game had stopped). I figured the only thing to do was drive to my wife and have her hit her remote. But first I had to load the car, because I'd dropped all my stuff next to the van.

So, I hopped out, loaded the car with the collapsible chairs (that I never wanted in the first place), and backed out of the parking spot.

That is when I saw my wife. She had done what any sensible person would have done in her position; walked the other way and pretend like she didn't know me.

Not really. She had tried to turn off the remote, but was too far away, so she was now motioning for me to turn the key. Of course, I already had the van going, so that wasn't going to do any good. I drove across the parking lot, she pulled out her keys again, and finally the noise stopped.

Everybody in the bleachers cheered.

I didn't know which kid had engaged the alarm, so I had to ground all of them.

A feather...

We visited the Pacific Ocean today. The waves terrified me, as usual, but that is a story for another day. I was walking along the beach and my almost 4 year old found a large feather. He said in a voice and fluctuating tone too cute to convey with mere words, "I will tape this feather in my room...No! I will tape it in the front room, so that anybody who comes in the door will say, "Wow! Where did you get that feather?""

The vacation is fun, pics to follow soon.

Vacating the Presmises

I'm headed on vacation, taking the family to the beach, checking out Legoland, driving long distances, sleeping on floors, dragging around bags, eating greasy food, using public restrooms, showering in unfamiliar places, spending gobs and gobs and gobs of money...

Should be fun...

Freebies...

A friend of mine runs a fitness blog, and she is giving away some prizes for those who get in shape. So, if June is finding you with a few extra pounds, and you plan on swimming any time soon then head on over to her blog to read the details.

On a side note, the most pounds I lost last year were after I went swimming. That's right, I caught cryptosporidum and dropped about 6 pounds. It was the first time since my mission that I was below 150 pounds. I would NOT recommend going that method. I've never been so sick...