It's simple, really... Rural, middle-of-nowhere areas of the world are far
better for life than any urban area ever could be.

I tell people, "I'm going to the middle of nowhere for a week", they can't
fathom a city-boy/computer nerd would do such a thing... willingly. No
Internet for a week? Must be hell... Actually, it's the world, and it's
amazing. Is there a "Track a family of deer for two days" badge on
Foursquare? No. Does there need to be? No. Why? Because it's a tangible
accomplishment that can be recorded for real, enjoyed, and remembered... Did
I become the mayor of Cuyamaca Peak? Nope. Do I need to be? Nope. Did I
conquer it? Not this time... next time. Stonewall Peak? Failed this time
too, the weather was not permitting, but the accomplishments, being
tangible, the life experiences being meaningful - that's what you unlock,
those are the real badges you receive, that's the mayorship.

Being followed on a social network doesn't hold a damn thing to having your
trail followed by a bob-cat. Maybe it was the fact that the entire mountain-site was empty, minus the
camp hosts, but the utter lack of people for a week was pretty much the best
way to start a year. Let's hope that sticks for the next 11.5 months.

Nothing against you people, but at the same time... There's nothing better
than remembering what really adds value to life, and what really applies who
you are to what you do. More often than not, it'll take a hell of a lot more
than a super-swarm badge to define you, step away from this shit and go live
somewhere, challenge yourself to do something amazing, and give yourself a
real accomplishment outside of "more followers" and a mayorship at some
company you don't own.

I spent a good part of my youth in the sticks, even after I moved to San Diego, and spending about a week in the middle of nowhere earlier this month, was just what the doctor ordered. Granted, this camping trip included rain, almost freezing nights, and a few instances dealing with wood too green to burn without a little... creativity, but at the end of the day - Julian Boysenberry Apple Cider, some campfire cooked bacon, and great coffee over said fire was win all around.

 A recent trip to the Getty Museum on a sunny afternoon, that turned to fog by evening, yielded to be a good day for taking abstract shots, and some "documentary" style shots, of the random findings within, and outside, the buildings. As abstracts, I'm in for the edges, the hard lines,  the focal points, the color contrasts, the texture clashes, the jarring colissions... Aside from my night-time architecture photography, 99.9% of which I've never shared with anyone, abstract geometry is a definite favorite above all else. I've decided to share a bit here and there, so these 30 some-odd shots are the picks from the day. They've been cropped appropriately in Photoshop. Some of them got thrown to Black & White. I do that. It's fun. Makes things look so deep, dark, and epic. Or something. 

Hope you enjoy them.

Preface: I think the iPhone 4 is what the iPhone should have always been. Minus the antennae “wardrobe malfunction” it’s a great device and fills needs of end-users very well. That said, this post is about the future of mobile technology and innovation. It’s not an anti-Apple post, it’s just a vision; and how I see things playing out:

The programming Language: QT

Operating system’s aside, a cross-platform programming language is in the works and adoption is imminent; in fact, it’s already begun. The world of Mobile is now centered on application development, media consumption, media creation – more so than communication. In fact, the application marketplace is the serious money-maker in mobile, and that’s not going to change any time soon.

Support for QT is available and will be available on:

• MeeGo: A combined effort by Nokia and Intel, combining two of their open-source mobile Linux distributions 
• Android (link): Google’s phone operating system, which is taking the US market by storm and starting to gain better traction over seas
• Windows Phone 7 (link): Microsoft’s soon to be launched mobile platform will also support QT applications
• Symbian^4: Nokia’s investment which is aimed at completely resetting the bar of the smartphone, by spreading smartphone features to low-end phones (more on that in a minute).

Developing a on a single application platform and hitting four application marketplaces, globally, will be the smart decision for any dev-house. Regardless of which language it’s done in, it’s within the best interest of developers to make applications that can hit a broader audience, on as many platforms as possible, with optimal effort.

The new developer model will end up being “develop for cross-platform” and then “port to Apple’s closed system” if the application works in the other markets. That’s just business sense.

Android, Windows Phone 7, MeeGo and Symbian^4 are the future of mobile technology, in its many forms and facets.

Resetting the bar

Symbian^4 is aimed directly at the low and middle-end markets. The strategy? Bring today’s smartphone features to non-smartphone phones…

What’s this do? It basically flattens the line on “old style dumbphones” that merely text and call. In fact, you can count on the dumbphone to become extinct in the next 3 years, at  least I think it will. If that’s the case, then what’s going to make smartphones… smartphones?

Tomorrow’s Smartphones

 The simple truth is, mobile technology is at about the same common-place as shoes and socks… Even 6 year olds carry cellphones now-days. In order for a smartphone to be considered truly high-end, it’s going to have to accomplish the innovations of tomorrow. It’s going to fill more voids than just “apps” and pretty, glossy UI. In fact, it’s going to have to require open standards and:

• Compatibility: Effortless synchronizing between television, computer and phone are imminent standards. Expanding that to home appliances, your car, and a multitude of other life-tasks (paying for goods, entering your house, etc).
• Entertainment: Phones will include 5.1 digital surround sound, HDMI-out, access to online movie warehouses, and video processing power for HD streaming.
• Interface: Interact with your phone wirelessly from your computer (texts, phone calls)
• Open Platforms: Standardized VOIP, cross-platform applications, and across-the-board compatibility.

This is already underway.

None of this is actually “the future”; it just needs to become accepted by consumers. If Apple’s done anything, it’s shown the masses of “Motorola Razr” users that you can do more with a phone than merely text and call someone. They’ve lowered the barrier of entry for the “do everything” devices I’ve been carrying for nearly a decade, and took the idea of smartphone to the teenager, not just the businessperson. Now, the true innovators of the industry can carry a torch and push the limits of consumer acceptance a bit further with  their already existing (and upcoming) technologies:

1. Bluetooth and WiFi data synchronization has been a feature available for many mobile devices for years (PC Suite, BB Sync, ActiveSync) and that process is getting better, more inclusive, and will be more media-enabled in the coming year.
2. Phones are already on the plate with Dolby Digital Surround Sound capabilities
3. There are also handsets being shipped with HDMI-out
4. Blockbuster and Netflix (yes, on iPhone too) are applications available to stream quality media to your device

QT is the next generation of cross-platform development, you can get it here. MoSync, established in 2004, is also a cross-platform SDK, it needs an upgrade in my opinion.

Closed-System Death?

As long as there is successful marketing, there will be available closed systems. For example; Verizon, a non-global system, a non-standard, a US-centric mobile carrier… they exist, they’re not going anywhere, and they’re going to keep on keeping on in their closed network, with their own technology. Apple isn’t going anywhere either, as I said above – the development priority path will/should change (cross-platform release, then Apple release), but there’s still a market for their devices.

It’s important to have competition. It’s important to have options. It’s important for companies to disrupt and stir up the market. It’s required for forward progress.

The next 18 months are going to be interesting.

Social Media Infiltration (SMI), is a tactic used by those suffering from Social Media Entitlement Syndrome (SMES), a condition identified by Francisco Dao (@TheMan); and written about on Lalawag.com via Nicole Jordan (@NicoleJordan) and Melissa Rowley (@MelissaRowley) recently.

There are many angles this card is played out, but overall; the tactic is best used within groups of friends that know each other, that collectively don't know you (at all). Here's what you need to do to properly execute SMI:

1. Find a group of people that check-in together on foursquare, or are seen regularly together in photos on Facebook, etc.
2. Follow, subscribe, and start to interact with each of them online.
3. Reply to two or more of them in a single comment (bonus points to get more than 4 of them & receive replies)
4. Start to comment on their outtings, as a collective.
5. Start to show up at their events, parties, or otherwise, uninvited (bonus points for getting invited).

If you execute your Infiltration appropriately, you will leave the assumption open that at least one of the many people in the target group knows you, and the others will be more likely to accept you into their charished social circle. If you're really ninja, they'll even give you professional contacts, and you'll be able to work your way up a ladder of some sorts.

To take SMI a step further: Use the tactics to get a job you don't qualify for! Now we're talking. Want to become an instructor at a university? Brag about being a wine-expert? Be "the man in charge" of some random part of town? Stake your claim, and assume your new title! I mean, look - if you're saying you belong in a company, a social circle, or on the board of a city planning committee, I say you're correct!

Or not.

This action is fucking sad. Get your own god damned friends, or go through the proper sociological methods for making friends with people that interest you, don't be an infiltration douchebag. If you want a job in something, saying you used Social Media to "get the job" is about as awesome as saying you bribed your way to the top... You know, "how did he get that job?" - "Oh, I don't know, I think he sucked all the right cocks."

Yes, I know people have been using "infiltration" as a social class tactic for ages, but using Social Media for it? Honestly, the quality of infiltrators has seriously been on the decline, and it's starting to get fucking annoying to observe.

No, this doesn't happen to me or my very few personal/close friends. No one gives a shit about my tight social circle. Thank Christ. So this is a public service announcement for all you self-important, self-entitled, infiltrating asshats out there making complete jerk-offs of yourselves for some kind of social or professional (or both) gain. People know you're doing it. Most of the time, they're mocking your efforts offline - you know, at those parties you're missing out on.

Just sayin.