Gold Fish View

Name Changed to Nightshade Labs

2010-06-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Gold Fish View is now Nightshade Labs. I liked the old name and it served its purpose, but I like the new name much better. The new name is easier to say and more marketable.
Nightshade Labs represents quality, intrigue, and eggplants (ok, maybe not eggplants).

The new website is: www.nightshadelabs.com

Progress Report
Smart Lock 2.0 is coming along very well. I will release it in a couple of weeks. You can get Smart Lock 1.2.2 in the Android Market right now for only 99 cents. If you buy it now you will get a free upgrade to Smart Lock 2.0, but hurry because I will be increasing the price shortly.

After I release Smart Lock 2.0 I will switch gears to Disc Golf App. I'm really anxious to get Disc Golf App beta out the door, so look for it soon.
Check back here or sign up for the newsletter for updates.

Google, Apple and the Future of Computers

2010-04-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

By now you've probably heard that Apple has completely banned Flash from the iPhone. They first banned it from the browser and recently have banned it from apps under section 3.3.1 of the iPhone OS 4 Developer Program License Agreement. I don't like Flash and I don't like the iPhone, but no one can deny that Apple and Adobe are shaping the future of computing. To be clear, Apple didn't just ban Flash from the iPhone; they are also banning any virtual or meta platform. This includes MonoTouch, Unity3D, ~~PhoneGap~~ (link), Appcelerator, Corona and other platforms that won't be created because of the new Apple Developer License. Apple has banned anything that is not written in one of the few Apple approved programming languages. No popular general computing device manufacturer has ever gone to such drastic measures. This is where Google and Apple have completely different fundamental definitions of a smartphone.

Google believes that smart phones are just small general purpose computers that fit in your pocket whereas Apple assumes smart phones are a new class of specialized computers and thus new rules and ideas apply.

This realization explains a lot of things. This is why the first android prototypes looked like tiny laptops complete with a full keyboard below a tiny screen.

Android's features similar to laptop's functionality: desktops with icons and widgets; default applications; folders, changeable wallpaper, an app drawer (Start Button), multiple screen-size compatibility, and no restrictions on what apps can be installed. This also explains why Google is selling directly to consumers; you don't buy your laptop from your ISP you buy it from Dell. Perhaps this also explains Andy Rubin's dislike of pinch to zoom in Google apps; that's just not how computers work.

On the other hand, the iPhone looks and feels completely different than a desktop computer and the original iPhone didn't even support 3rd-party apps. The iPhone and iPad still have to sync to a real computer to get content on and off the device. They are not computer independent like Android phones. In fact, Apples markets the iPhone as "three devices in one", not as a single device to do everything. There is, of course, a lot of overlap between the two platforms and more overlap is being added with each revision of their respective platforms, but fundamentally they are from different schools of thought.

This also makes sense from a business perspective. Google loves general purpose computers. They make the vast majority of their money from advertising on desktop computers, so as mobile devices become more popular they would like them to be as desktop-like as possible. Apple on the other hand has largely failed at becoming the desktop computer of choice among consumers, but excels at single use devices like the iPod. Apple has done amazing well with the iPod in a walled garden environment. But now Apple is trying to bring the walled garden to more general use computers like the iPad. Some people will even replace their laptops with an iPad. I have to admit the iPad looks really cool, but it doesn't have a place in the future of computers that I want. The iPad could signal the end of the open computer scheme that we have now and replace it with Apple's restrictive environment.

Lets take a look at the new section 3.3.1. If Apple would have announced this policy on their general purpose computers, their iMacs or MacBooks, it would kill those products. Apple essentially would be banning Firefox, all Unreal Engine games, Flash, Python apps, Java apps, AIR apps, and even the single most downloaded app on Macs. Now imagine that you didn't know any of those apps existed, would you miss them? Apple has ensured that you will never see apps like these on the iPhone. Of course, Apple is not doing this on its OSX computers, but mobile devices are the (near) future of desktop computing. Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google) is now preaching "mobile first." Mobile apps are no longer an after-thought. Mobile apps are being developed before their desktop counter parts. A new study from Morgan Stanley predicts that the mobile web will be bigger than desktop web as soon as 2015. In just three years smart phones will have the graphical power of the Playstation 3 and in five years your smart phone will likely be as powerful as the computer you are reading this on right now. There is no reason phones shouldn't be general purpose computers.

Very soon smart phones will be suitable replacements for your home computer. You will be able to hook up your phone to a multi-touch Bluetooth monitor and a Bluetooth keyboard and it will work just like your desktop does today without the loud, power hungry tower. Android will be required to make some changes similar to the new popover idea of the iPad, but Android already supports multiple screen sizes and resolutions and I wouldn't be surprised if some desktop-sized resolutions are supported by Android very soon. One of the best examples of the differences between iPhone and Android is in an app I've written for Android called Smart Lock. Smart Lock runs in the background and adds parental controls to your phone. Even under the new background apps API of the iPhone OS 4, Apple would never let a 3rd party app change anything about the lock screen, but Android lets developers be as creative as they want to be.

I think both of these smart phone philosophies are important in moving the mobile industry forward. Apple has without a doubt set the bar for what a smart phone is, but I don't want them to define what a smart phone can be. Android and cross platform technologies are the future of general purpose computers.

Smart Lock Released in the Android Market

2010-03-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

I recently launched Smart Lock in the Android Market.

Smart Lock allows you to do the following:

Child Lock any App
Increases general security
Makes the lock screen less annoying
Boots the camera faster on older phones

Smart Lock runs in the background and lets you use one application* without seeing the lock screen.

Smart Lock QR Code

Smart Lock has two modes: Everyday Mode and Child Lock Mode. The main feature is the Child Lock Mode. Child Lock Mode allows you to give your phone to your child and not worry about them deleting info on your phone, changing your settings or viewing inappropriate material. You can limit there access to only one application*.

Everyday Mode is for personal use. Everyday Mode is great for anyone that likes to keep their phone secure, but finds it annoying to enter the unlock pattern every time they turn the screen on. I use it at the gym when listening to music. It allows me change songs easily without compromising security.
Smart Lock also dramatically speeds up camera boot time on older Android phones. Because it bypasses the lock screen you don't have to wait for the screen to orient into landscape mode before taking pictures. The camera goes from screen off to taking pictures almost instantly.

I am currently offering a Early Adopter sale for Smart Lock for only 99 cents. The price will go up soon so get it while I am offering such a great deal. It's listed as "Smart Lock with Child Lock" in the Android Market. You can scan the barcode above or just search the Market for "Smart Lock".

* - Smart Lock blocks the user from viewing the home screen when an App is Smart Locked. If an app links to another app, that link will still work.

Smart Lock Beta New Video

2009-12-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

I've created a new video for the Smart Lock Beta. If you want to sign up for in invite you can do so here.

Smart Lock Beta

2009-12-18T07:46:00.000-08:00

You can now sign up for a request to the Smart Lock Beta for Android. You can sign up at: http://bit.ly/SmartLockBeta
If you have already signed up for the email list and have marked that you are interested in Smart Lock you will get an invite.

Smart Lock in the top 25% of all apps in the ADC2

2009-11-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

Smart Lock was in the top 25% of all apps submitted to the Android Development Challenge II, however that was not good enough to make it the the final round.
Thank you for your support and look for Smart Lock in the Android Market in the coming weeks.

ADC2 Judging App is now Available

2009-09-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

You can now get the Android Developer Contest 2 Review app from the Android Market. This is currently the only way you get your hands on a copy of Smart Lock. Go get the ADC2 app and start making a difference in the Android community. Learn more about Smart Lock here. Learn more about the ADC2 Judging App here.

Smart Lock

2009-09-14T08:28:00.001-07:00

Smart Lock is a small app that I put together for the ADC2. I haven't stopped work on my Disc Golf App, but I took a small break from it in order to fix an annoyance I had with my new myTouch 3G.
Smart Lock runs in the background and allows you to securely use the the last app you were running when you wake up your phone. It is best explained with a video demonstration:

Smart Lock is great for:

"Child Locking" any app
Changing songs while running
Looking at Google Maps while driving
Any small task that is done in intervals.

Smart Lock is not available yet, but if you sign up for my email list you will get an invite to beta when it is ready. I hope you like the app. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

G1 Released

2008-10-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

The first Google Android phone, the T-Mobile G1 has been released. However, the Android Market has some limitations right now. I am working on a free version of my disc golf app to put in the Android Market so you can have a taste of what the final app will be like.

Chat with Me in Real Time

2008-05-12T10:57:00.001-07:00

Screenshots

2008-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2008-04-09T12:18:00.001-07:00

If you're like me then you love Disc Golf. I get together with some friends about twice a week to play at the local course. I know roughly what my average score is, but I'd like to keep track of my scores better. And it would be awesome to be able to compare my scores to all my friends scores!

This is why I am developing a simple application to do this and a couple other cool things.
The app is codenamed "Disc Golf App".

"Disc Golf App" let's you:

Track your scores on each course so you can compare with your friends.
Find any disc golf course and get turn-by-turn directions to it.
Map out an entire course with GPS locations, fill in the details simply by drawing on the map with your finger and sharing your course map with your friends and the community.
Read reviews, see photos and videos of a course before you play it for the first time.
Easily share scores, videos and photos of your golf trip with your friends.
Select the disc that will get you closest to the pin based on your throwing history and the history of others.
Use the built in GPS range finder to determine exactly how far away you are from the pin and the edge of the water.
Schedule a game with your friends.
Analyze crazy detailed statistics and graph your progress.
Check the 3-day weather forecast.
Meet new golfers in your area.

And all this will run on your cell phone so you never be without it.

Note: There will be a regular golf version as well.

I will be release a video soon. You can sign up for email updates here.