gdp's Comments

Google Android Blog : Does this Android app work on my phone? Android Market website quickly says Yes or No.

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 12:44:50 +0000

They must be rolling this out really slowly. I don't see this at all when I view the Market website.

Inside Charm City: Baltimore, Maryland blog : Police struggle to disburse teen mob, deal with stabbing

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:32:54 +0000

Never saw anything like this before, and I drive I-395/Pratt St/Gay St/I-83 every Monday evening after bowling (and have for 4 years now, Sept - Apr). At Howard and Conway streets, many police cars w/lights and sirens heading toward the Hilton. Several groups of young people moving about, crossing streets haphazardly. (mostly moving opposite the direction of the police cars). On Pratt Street, more groups on every block, as well as police cars and a few paddy wagons. On Gay Street, more groups, but fewer police cars. Lots of folks waiting at bus stops, especially the one right before the JFX underpass. This was not the same vibe I get when driving through the area after a ballgame or other event. I can only imagine how this might have degraded had their actually been an event at the stadiums or the harbor that evening.

Google Android Blog : Google Goggles scans barcodes almost instantly, solves Sudoku

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:07:16 +0000

It works. I'm running Goggles (v1.2.1) on my original Droid. Did a Google image search on my desktop PC and found an unsolved puzzle. Snapped a photo using Goggles, and once it was recognized it as a Sudoku puzzle, it was solved in less than 5 seconds.

Inside Charm City: Baltimore, Maryland blog : Donna Edwards on Obama's pay freeze proposal

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:30:16 +0000

Ms Edwards: I am a government contractor. Have you noticed the economy lately? While it may be technically true that we are not under a pay freeze, my personal experience, along with those of my coworkers, for the past few years, indicates otherwise.

Google Android Blog : According to Nielsen new smartphone buyers are going for Android

Tue, 5 Oct 2010 16:37:27 +0000

I have Blackberry Torch at work to evaluate. It's very snappy, and has some interesting features and UI enhancements. It's what RIM should have done instead of the godawful Storm, but making it exclusive to AT&T was a really bad idea imho.

Google Android Blog : Verizon confirms V Cast Android App store coming soon to Froyo

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:00:18 +0000

As long as they don't force the VCast store as exclusive (i.e. prevent me from using the Android Market, or installing my own apps), I don't care what they do.

Google Android Blog : RIM acquires DataViz, makers of Documents to Go

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 14:53:56 +0000

Good. Maybe finally one will be able to actually read PDFs on a Blackberry, instead of viewing them full page and vainly attempting to zoom in to any kind of readable level.

Google Android Blog : More Android App Inventor invites going out to users

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:55:59 +0000

Even if your invite was irrevocably deleted, I think you could still get into the App Inventor pages as long as you have the relevant links mentioned in articles from a few weeks ago. I got my invite last night, and while I've used several different programming languages and IDEs, I must say I'm really impressed w/App Inventor: in minutes I completed the 'Hello Purr' tutorial and made some interesting variations on it. Easy-to-build doesn't necessarily translate into useful apps, however, and my fear is the market being flooded with poorly designed apps from newbie developers who have no little or no knowledge about effective GUI design and event-driven programming.

Google Android Blog : Verizon WILL introduce tiered data. Here’s why it does and does not make sense.

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:21:02 +0000

I'm sorry - if Verizon goes through with this (which they probably will), they only valid response is "DROID DOESN'T". VZW's forced $9.99 data plan for regular phones already has me ticked off, but I will wait to see what they offer, and if they grandfather the current unlimited plan. If I don't like what I see, then when my two years up (or if I can break my contract w/out penalty), I will seriously consider switching my 2 smart phone, and 3 other phones to Sprint. Clearly AT&T and (perhaps soon, VZW) have really hoodwinked customers by selling, advertising, and encourage smart phone use for anything and everything, and then changing the required plans in a way that discourages such use. Seems like something that states' attorneys general should be investigating.

Google Android Blog : Have you installed Swype? Are you convinced its the next greatest thing in virtual keyboards?

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 13:14:39 +0000

<3 Love it <3 Love it <3 Love it <3 I curse when I pick up a smartphone that doesn't have it. I've gotten a lot of non-techie people hooked on Droid, and when I show them Swype they are ecstatic at the speed at which they can create text. In its vertical orientation, I've always found Swype to be much faster than tapping. The only time I've found swyping to be (just slightly) more time consuming than tapping is when my Droid is horizontally oriented. That's when you really notice a word like 'soak' that has a lot of back and forth action. Swype's technique is derives the most benefit when the keyboard is as compact as possible. I believe it is mentioned in the forums on Swype's website that somebody actually broke the texting world record using Swype. I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

TechCrunch : Want Swype? (yes, you do) - Get It Tomorrow For Android Phones

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:41:27 +0000

Indeed. It's very easy to add words to the dictionary - just do a long press, and the 'Add to Dictionary' is on the menu. You don't even have to highlight the entire word.

TechCrunch : Want Swype? (yes, you do) - Get It Tomorrow For Android Phones

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:37:58 +0000

I think Swypes success will be primarily by word of mouth. Most users are not going to actively look for a keyboard replacement; however, everyone to whom I've shown Swype loved it, and once they've installed it, they can't imagine how they ever lived it without. I've found Slide IT an inferior substitute, and Shapewriter seems a reasonable subsitute, but perhaps because I tried Sliide IT first, I'm not liking that one either.

Google Android Blog : Swype Beta for Android gets updated

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 10:17:53 +0000

I hope somebody makes it possible for those of us who have the Beta (but are not official) to get the update. I'll just cry if I have can't use Swype anymore. The alternatives I've tried just don't compare.

Google Android Blog : There's an [Android] app for that #1

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 13:19:30 +0000

Great idea. Can't wait to see the next article in this series.

Google Android Blog : Google confirms Android 2.2 with massive list of new features.

Thu, 20 May 2010 17:59:10 +0000

I hope one of the enterprise features is setting a proxy when using WiFi. It is a MUST for enterprise use.

Google Android Blog : CardStar stores reward cards in Android phones, scans barcodes in-store [Videos]

Wed, 5 May 2010 18:30:15 +0000

I've tried other apps like this, and when you get to the checkout, the barcodes won't scan (either using the gun, or the scanner, or both). You can only ask the cashier so many times before they (and the customers in line) start to get a little frustrated. Is this app any better/worse than the others once you actually try to use the bar codes at a retailer?

Google Android Blog : Progressive releases Android app so easy a Cave...oh wait, wrong company

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:10:44 +0000

Don't be a hater of the commercials! I went in drag as Flo for Halloween. Everybody loved it, and I almost won a couple of contests.

Google Android Blog : Merriam-Webster puts the dictionary in your Android [App Reviews]

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:32:04 +0000

Googles 'define:' operator works wonders for me, and the search results often include audio fpr pronunciation. Can't spell? they usually figure out what you wanted anyway! My recent post Red Parrot