Que pasa? Whatsapp?

Facebook bought Whatsapp in a brilliant move not unlike Google purchasing Youtube. At the time, Whatsapp was foreign to me. I started using it occasionally with my brother since. However, my default messaging applications in the Bay Area remained simply SMS and Google Hangouts.

During this trip I was amazed how Whatsapp is the single most used mobile mapplication in Argentina. Everybody is using it. Always. Everywhere. On any type of device (although Samsung is the most popular Mobile phone brand in Argentina).

The single biggest reason people started using it was that is was cheap. It works great on Wifi, and does not cost you anything. When using the mobile networks, it uses mobile data, and is cheaper then metered SMS messages.

Secondly, Whatsapp allows you to easily discover your friends and family, and create groups: grupo de hermanos, grupo de primos, los 4 fantasticos, etc.

Lastly, The fact that Whatsapp did not require you to buy into a particular ecosystem (Google, Yahoo, Apple) or required a specific phone, was huge to get started. Everybody with a basic smartphone is able to participate.

It does pay to leave the bubble of Silicon Valley and the US from time to time.

I have changed my default messenger to be Whatsapp now.

The new podcast era

As a fan of AM talk radio and NPR, it should be no surprise that I am a big fan of podcasts. I have always loved them. Podcasts, not the latest greatest iTunes song, were the reason many years ago I bought an iPod nano. I have since dropped the cumbersome synchronization to my iPod, and switched to using Pocket Casts on my Android phone.

I am very excited about the renaissance of podcasts. Not only are there better applications to listen to podcasts, the quality and number of different formats have increased dramatically.

Here's the list of podcasts I listed to regularly:

Three-star rated - big fan

• Startup - a podcast by Gimlet Media about starting a company. Season one covered the story about Alex Blumberg (@abexlumberg) creating his own podcasting company, Gimlet Media.
• Reply all - The second podcast from Gimlet Media, Alex Blumberg's new venture into created a podcasting business. 
• NPR Planet Money - The economy explained in simple terms. I've been a big fan since day 1. 
• NPR Wait Wait don't tell me - as I am often unavailable Saturday morning to catch the original broadcast on KQED. 
• This American Life defined the story telling category. Quirky and interesting stories of our every day lives. There must be a Portlandia episode about us This-American-Life-afficionados. 
• 99% invisible - Don't get fooled by the boring sounding introduction. This is a great and interesting podcast.
• Serial - Yes, as many many others, I was listening every Thursday to Serial. Awaiting season 2.
• The Anjunadeep edition - great focus beats
• Above and Beyond Group Therapy Radio - party music
• Sara and Vinnie's secret show - the uncensored version of a morning show on Alice 97.3 
• The Moth - in a similar fashion as This American Life, The Moth is all about telling stories. 

Two-star rated

• The Tim Ferriss Show - at first I was leery of a 1 to 2-hours podcast. The interview with @photomatt  was very interesting and changed my mind. 
• NPR Invisibilia - fairly new show about the invisible forces in our life. A little slow, though about very interesting topics. 

One-star rated

• Art of manliness  
• 99U The podcast - The website is fantastic with great information for managers. The podcast only happens infrequently. 

To be rated - I do not listen regularly enough yet to have a strong opinion

• Art of Charm 
• Criminal

Let me know if there should be others on my list. I rotate often new podcasts in and out. 

Ideally a podcast should be about 30 minutes tops, either to the point with tips, or just plain great story telling, and narrated by a nasal voice. 

He who has the most connected devices wins. Not.

Watching SmartThings' CTO Jeff Hagins TEDx presentation on #IoT adding value to people's lives made me wonder two things. First of all, if the CTO of an internet of things company has 132 connected devices, how many connected devices do I have at home. And secondly, how much value are these devices and applications actually adding to our lives.

The first question reminded me briefly of the bumper sticker I used to see: "She who has the most pairs of shoes wins". In IoT terms this would be "He/She who has the most connected devices wins". Thus, I made a list of the connected devices in our house:

• 4 laptops
• 5 smart phones
• 1 tablet
• 1 connected WII console
• 1 web camera
• 1 network attached storage device
• 1 Aria weight scale
• 1 Fitbit fitness tracker
• 1 smart energy meter (although it is disconnected at the moment)
• 1 smart meter (owned by PG&E). 
• 3 media players

Total: 20.

I am obviously not winning. But fear not, Christmas is just around the corner. And let's not forget the batch of Tile devices I am awaiting to track my cat, my kids and ... ok .. I don't dare to add it my wife. However it would be great for her purse and phone. (I used to have a connected device gateway to control door sensors and lightbulbs, but as the gateway start-up went under so when the service to control the devices.)

How much value are these connected devices adding to our lives? I have to agree with Jeff Hagins: so far, these connected devices or their applications minimally impact my life. My webcam movement detection software is flawed and isn't very good at being a burglary detection solution. It does allow me to peak into my house every now and then. I don't really have any smart energy solution to speak of. The most useful application has been the connected Fitbit and Aria scale. I can easily track my weight. Although when put into perspective, that's an expensive alternative to writing down one number on a piece of paper every morning. 

I haven't jumped into the IoT pool of sexy new devices yet. I do keep an eye out for a Nest thermostat and smoke detector. Or to upgrade that old gateway with perhaps a SmartThings set up.

Regardless of how many connected devices I can amass, IoT must be more than just connecting devices to the cloud.

#IoT in my words

Marketers turned a few too many times around on their chair. The whole Internet of Things (#IoT) marketing machine has spun out of control. So much that they don't even know any more what they really mean. You see article after article, blog post after blog post, about the differences between the Internet of Things, Machine-to-Machine (M2M), (GE's) Industrial Internet, (Cisco's) Internet of Everything, and I am sure I am forgetting a few new terms. They all have the obligatory image of a car, a cell phone, a watch, a fridge, a sprinkler on a cloud background. The articles start with IoT definitions, similar to what I used to read in an encyclopedia. Then there is "the comparison table", which will demystify any confusion between the terms. Typically it is only the starting point for endless discussions about features, protocols, and applications. My simple view on the Internet of Things will have no such comparison table, but I am keeping a cloud picture.

The Internet started by connecting computers, and allowing for data exchange and email. The real Internet came later and was about a new class of applications which hadn't been envisioned before: Websites, e-Commerce, online banking, online training, etc.

Similarly the Internet of Things starts of by connecting all kinds of devices, mostly via low-power radio. Companies don't really know yet what type of applications these will spawn. A recent announcement by Samsung illustrates the point. The best application of their connected TV is the TV adjusting the thermostat lower when watching a movie about the Artic. You also have the visionary thoughts of cars talking to each other to recommend a great taqueria in the neighborhood. Really?

Terminology and marketing speak aside, the Internet of Things boils down to two key points:

1. IoT is about hooking things up and feeding the Big Data monster

Most of the focus today is about hooking up all kinds of devices. It is a wet dream for the hardware engineers of a decade ago. Hardware projects are sexy again. Take a look at the various Kickstarter projects involving new low-power connected devices. The key challenge is indeed about keeping a small footprint, consuming as little power as possible and being able to communicate in intermittent network environments. And of course this all has to happen in a secure manner.

Although some devices will be communicating with each other, for the majority of devices it is all about feeding the big bad analytics engine in the cloud. Google, Apple, Amazon, GE's Predix, are all salivating about the opportunity to crunch and analyze your habits. Initial applications focus on visualizing the data and creating a historical picture. The various biometrics wristbands are a great example. Wait until the next set of applications will harvest data across devices or databases.

2. IoT is about building Smart(er) Systems

A lesser focus in the technology press is about how connecting more devices, systems and subsystems are creating a new set of intelligent systems. Your cars already have tens and tens of monitoring and CPU devices. A new class of electric and autonomous vehicles show how a new intelligent systems and applications are just around the corner. For many system engineers, this turns the volume up to 11. Indeed, it is challenging how the implement a control loops for these devices. It is more challenging to share data to many more consumers when real-time performance matters.

It is not just about the Jetson's mobile. Smarter systems also include systems such as an interconnected battleground with drones and soldiers with tablets, or a hospital where the infusion pumps, heart rate monitor, etCO2 monitor all talk to each other and provide the nurses station with a simplified view of the health of the patient.

Regardless of whether it is about feeding the big data monster or making smarter systems hum, it is great time to be working on the hardware, protocols or data crunching or integrating systems of the Internet of Things.

I may have this all wrong.  IoT may, as Disney's internship posting points out, actually refer to the Internet of Toys. Big Toys.

My new found digital leash

Since a few months I am tracking some of my daily habits using a Fitbit Flex wristband and Aria scale. Interconnected devices. The internet of things. M2M. Oops, I've been brainwashed recently by the IoT marketeers, but got enough antidote to escape its tentacles.

Techcrunch, Lifehacker, GigaOm all have written extensively about devices such as the Fitbit Flex, the Nike Fuelband (as glorified in Casey Neistat's Make it Count video), or the Jawbone Up.

I was initially interested in a device which tracks my sleeping habits. I know I do not get enough rest. Six hours are a blessing. I wondered  how solid the few hours I do sleep are. It is a bonus the device also tracks my steps.

Although I have a "computer-job", I do tend to walk around lot (1). Now that I can track it, I am more encouraged to hit my daily 10,000 steps. I haven't hit it consistently yet. That's my next step.

Not only am I connected most of my awaken hours, I now have my version of a prisoner's ankle bracelet, albeit a cool one. When anyone asks, I'll just mention that my parole officer doesn't allow me to talk about it.

Douglas Englebart got me a $100

When in March of 2012, Robert Cringely took his family on a day through computing history, he had breakfast at IHOP with Woz, tea with Douglas Englebart, and a grabble in the Google snackbar when visiting Andy Hertzfeld. That was all before visiting the Computer History Museum in Mountain View of course.

When somebody had asked me to plan a similar trip, the same three gentlemen would be part of my trip. (I probably would have tried to squeeze in a few more folks.) All three are in the quiet geek hero category and live in the shadow of Steve Jobs. Even in the valley of geeks are some of them unknown.  I once made a lofty $100 of a bet on who invented the mouse. Steve Jobs $0; Douglas Englebart $100.

Unfortunately my trip through computer history will have one stop fewer as Douglas Englebart passed away last week.

Find my Mac - how does it work?

In follow up to my previous post on recovering my Apple computer, as an engineer passionate about networking, I was intrigued in how Find My Mac/ Find My iPhone actually works. Some of the devices have a GPS capability, some have a GSM/3G/4G capability, but my laptop has neither.

StackExchange explains the application using Wifi Positioning Systems (WPS):

The Mac can use Wi-Fi network identification for localization. This is called a Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS). The access points name and signal strength is determined and looked up in a database to identify the location. The more access points are found, the more precise the localization. Unlike GPS (Global Positioning System) or cell-tower triangulation (together called Assisted-GPS), the Wi-Fi based localization works well inside buildings. There are different databases which collect wireless access points: Google, Navizon, Skyhook Wireless, OpenWLANMap. 

I have been pretty lucky that WPS pointed me to a single house. Now that all my devices are safely at home, the online version of Find My Mac places all devices in the shed in the backyard, on the border with my neighbors. I probably would not have known which house to send the SJPD to. ... unless I used the iPad/iPhone version.

I did discover that using the web-based version of Find My Mac is less accurate in pin pointing the device than using the Find My Mac application on an iPhone or iPad. On my iPad the application actually shows the address and can provide driving directions (which using Apple Maps may or may not lead you to the right location, but that's another story).

Note: At home WPS triangulation does work thanks to the neighbors networks. I actually do not broadcast my SSID. I thought this was a good security measure: if you do not know my network is around, you are not going to try to connect to my network. As this article points out, hiding your SSID isn't such a great idea for security reasons.

Awaiting Apple TV

As I visited MicroCenter for a pair of earphones, I made a detour through the TV aisle. Wow! Flat panels have taken a dive in price. I am not talking about the HD LED magnificent flat panels. Rather the simple flat panel TVs which previously would run close to a $1000, and now are only a fistful of dollars.

In my living room, I still have a CRT, next to my VHS player. Sadly, I am not kidding about that. The CRT I got for a couple of beers from a friend. Because it lacks some of the input/outputs, I route the Wii, Digital TV and DVD signal through the VHS player. I am not proud of it, but we just don't watch much television. And the little we do is typically a DVD from Netflix or streaming Netflix from the Wii. It is however next on the replacement list, but I am planning to wait. I am holding out for the Apple TV All Unicorn Channel.

Image: AllthingsD.com

It has to be simpler than the Sony receiver a colleague recently posted for sale. 

The previous picture not withstanding, the problem with TV is not the hook up. It is the type of content and what you pay for. I recently took a look at the AT&T Uverse TV offering. What struck me is that part of their business model is still rent you a set-top box. If you wanted the wireless set-top box, so you can hook up your TV without much running of cable in your house, it is $7/month. No thank you. 

The future of TV is likely an easy to set up screen, which streams your content (Netflix, Hulu, Youtube) on-demand with rates for "I want it as soon as it comes up" and "free if you have patience". At the same time your iPad glued to your hand knows what's streaming and can show you relevant information. If it is a baseball game it shows you stats. If it is the Tour de France, a map of where they are in France. All with a sideline of related adds. And if I wanted to comment on the show on Facebook or Twitter, it is right there with the hash-tag of the show. It will not be about the actual TV-set, not about selling the devices as a service, but about related applications on our handheld device and cellphone. 

Now, Apple, in the interim, just ship me a great TV, can you?  

On outliners

I've been on the look out for a powerful outliner tool for a while. At work I use primarily the outline mode of Microsoft Word, and it does it decent job. Although it lacks search and tagging capability. OneNote appears to be great, but is only available on Windows only systems (I use a Mac). For my to-do list I build a system around RememberTheMilk.com. I'll try to document this in another post. As for outliners, every so often I return to Evernote to check if they added a true outliner feature, but I walk away disappointed that it is more about the images and videos, than about providing the true outliner capability. I've been experimenting recently with Workflowy.com as an outliner tool.  So far, I've been impressed about its snappiness, and copy/paste functionality. I started to keep track of a list of items I like in a good outliner:

(note: the copy/paste feature from Workflowy ain't perfect yet)

Outliners

• Outline are not the same as lists or a to-do list. Trying to do both results in a liger.
  • Outliners allow you to take organized notes, including larger text blocks, drawings or pictures.
  • To-do lists have more context
    • Priority
    • Location
      • e.g., @work, @home, @web
      • GPS: e.g., @TraderJoes, @Lowes
    • Items belong to Projects
    • You can organize items using tags, resulting in Smartlists
    • State: nextAction; waiting (following the GTD workflow)
    • Notifications/Alerts
      • Mobile device
      • Instant Message
      • Calendar integration
• Outliners support many levels of Indentation
  • Supporting Folding (a must)
• Notes should be easily converted to email
  • Send from the outliner
  • Or support easy Copy/Paste
• Outliners allow for easy importing notes
  • From Microsoft Word documents
  • From email (forward email to a specific email address)
  • Copy/past text as note details.
• Outliners shall support exporting notes
  • Microsoft Word (Outline mode)
• Provide support for Online/Offline access
• Organization of notes
  • Folders
  • Tags == context
    • SmartLists
• Search
  • by date
  • by tag
  • by topic or keyword
• Collaboration and access control
• Formatting
  • bold/italic
  • color

Created with WorkFlowy.com

Google plus hangout is like meeting in a pub. Although serve yourself.

In recent article in the Huffington Post, Google's Head of Social Vic Gundotra likes to compare the Google Plus Hangout feature to sitting on your front porch.

"It allows you - in a very nice way, it's not socially awkward - to say, hey I'm hanging out on my porch," Gundotra said in a recent interview. "I'm available, if you're available too, you can join."

Coincidently I recently explained the feature much differently to my parents. European style. Who even has a porch in Europe? No, no, Google Plus Hangout is like meeting in a pub. When you start a hangout, you advertise "I'll be at the bar. Come join me." Your friends will know which bar, at what time and even know which side of the bar you'll be hanging.

I didn't have to go into a long explanation of how the feature worked with my parents. It was as clear as a nice cold Belgian trappist.

Google might be on to something with their hangouts. (check out also the longest hangout)

Ambient light

Have you ever noticed how many of toddler toys have a high and low sound switch on it, but rarely an off switch. The high/low switch was added after parents complained about ever increasing sound levels from toys, trying to get your attention in the toy store.

It is time that electronic gadgets come with an light off switch. Let me make an inventory of some of the devices lighting up my bedroom.

First of all, because the phone line ends in my bedroom, I have a DSL modem. In steady state, three LEDs are lid up. The wireless access router next to it has an equal amount of LEDs.

Normally we charge our cellphones on our side table : two more LEDs. And what's worse is that the new Nexus One phone has an LED trackball which glows when there is a message. As if someone is shining a light in your eye all night.

Add to that two charging Apple laptops with a glowing Apple sign, a cordless phone and naturally a digital alarm clock, and you can imagine how much ambient light there is in the bedroom. (Other rooms are not much different.)

And yes I have covered the devices, or moved them to other rooms. I have even pulled out the airline eye cover for a pitch dark night of sleep. But it is about time there is a simple way to turn of all ambient light of a consumer device (and dishwasher, and microwave, and Wii and cable box).

ODB-II

Not so long ago, the check engine light of my 11 year old Honda Civic turned on again. I didn't flash, so it was not urgent to have it checked out. Yet the light is right in your face and you can not escape it.

Taking it to a mechanic costs you quickly $90, just to read the computer error code and do an analysis. Last time the diagnosis was: "nothing to worry about, carry on". Cha-ching $90. The time before that the diagnosis was: "your catalyst converter has a misreading. Let me clear the light, if it comes back on, we'll need to probe again. Carry on." Cha-ching $90.

Since many years now, all car computers have a standard connector and a standard protocol to communicate with the car computer. It is called ODB-II.One thing my car lacks is a simple: reset-check-engine-light button. This would allow me to reset the light to verify if it were a temporary event, or whether the failure persists. Honda are you reading this? (likely not)

Your next bet is to purchase an OBB-II reader. These OBD-II readers are available at Kragen and Wallmart and cost you from $60 to a couple of hundred dollars. After reading out the code (indeed, again the catalytic converter), the light hasn't come on again. Saved $90.

Many gas stations provide water and air. How about adding an ODB-II reader?

Slax

I am more and more paranoia about cyber security in public areas or when using public networks. I like to think that using using 3G on my Android phone is more secure although I haven't done much research of whether it is indeed more secure using 3G than using Wifi. I suspect that the tools to snif and gather data over Wifi are more common, as are computers equiped with Wifi.

I don't have anything much to hide, and think my data isn't worth that much (unlike e.g. when your office computer is compromised - just read the anatomy of the twitter attack to get an idea the damage it can do). However, I don't want to have others installing programs on my computer or using it.

Recently at a coffeeshop/internet cafe, I was (naively) surprised to see a couple of people sniffing the network using Wireshark. Now, I use Wireshark professionally, since debugging network middleware is part of my job. But I don't think any Data Distribution Service debugging was going on right there.

Time to burn a Live Linux CD. Rather than booting the computer from a hard drive, a Live CD boots the OS from a CD. It is read-only and thus I can be sure that my programs are clean and that nothing is added behind my back. It still doesn't address the issue when passwords are sent in the clear, but it is at least one worry less.

I looked at a couple of Live CDs: both Linux and Solaris based. I settled on Slax, as the interface to configure and customize the image was very simple. And thus I created a Linux Live CD which of course includes handy dandy network debugging tools, including Wireshark. I am ready and armed to snif around the internet cafe.

PS - If booting from USB was supported by most BIOS, I would put it all on a USB stick.

Gmail tasks' missing features

I've been a big fan of Bob the Monkey or the Cow, depending how you look at it. All my to-do items are tracked withing remember the milk, nicely organized in lists, shared among people, and tagged with something meaningful. The user interface has been the same for a while and can be improved upon.

A recent blog post about Gmail tasks triggered reexamining this feature. While promising, it falls short because it lacks the following features I am used to (correct me if I overlooked how it works with Gmail tasks):

1. ability to specify a due time and an estimate how long a task will take.
2. ability to specify recurring tasks: e.g. pay PG&E every 12th of the month
3. ability to share tasks with others
4. ability to add a location and map to a task
5. ability to add a priority to a task
6. ability to add tags to a task
7. ability to add contacts to a task
8. smart lists : e.g. show all work related (tag=work) items due this week
9. google.com/tasks should provide a great user interface to sort, rearrange and do bulk operations on tasks