Nerdology

Dieter hits on everything I’ve been feeling about messaging as of late.

Once upon a time, we created interoperable communications standards like email, Internet Relay Chat, and hell, HTTP. Now, apparently, the only way to create a new way to talk to each other electronically is to wait for a big corporation to do it for us.

Between GroupMe, Hangouts, iMessage, Twitter DM, SMS… I’ve got a lot of chat conversations scattered throughout the Internet. Part of me just wants to ditch everything in favor of SMS. But those were simpler times.

Mark this date. I have a feeling this is going to be a huge disruption in the TV space. It’s limited to select partners for right now, but I’ll bet that anyone with a YouTube channel will get the opportunity eventually. And as Mat Honan says, this brings us “a small step closer to the dream of a la carte programming.”

YouTube will let you pay to subscribe to channels with a new pilot program that includes a limited number of channel partners for now. The company listed Jim Henson Family TV and Ultimate Fighting Championship as initial members.

Prices start at $.99 per month, paid via Google Wallet. Users get a 14 day free trial to channels, which are also discounted if you subscribe by the year. Once signed up for a paid channel, you can suck down as much video as it has to offer.

Joshua Topolsky had the chance to wear Google Glass. It sounds kind of awesome.

Here’s what you see: the time is displayed, with a small amount of text underneath that reads “ok glass.” That’s how you get Glass to wake up to your voice commands. Actually, it’s a two-step process. First you have to touch the side of the device (which is actually a touchpad), or tilt your head upward slowly, a gesture which tells Glass to wake up. Once you’ve done that, you start issuing commands by speaking “ok glass” first, or scroll through the options using your finger along the side of the device. You can scroll items by moving your finger backwards or forward along the strip, you select by tapping, and move “back” by swiping down. Most of the big interaction is done by voice, however.

Chris Ziegler nails it.

Amazon now stands poised to take one of Google’s most critical assets — Android — and turn it against them. Praise for the Fire’s deeply-customized version of Android 2.3 has been nearly universal, and make no mistake, there’s no going back; this is Amazon’s operating system now, built atop a road-tested core that Google served up free of charge.

This may not effect you since “Google, Mozilla and Microsoft have revoked or are in the process of revoking DigiNotar’s authority to vouch for its certificates.” However if you’re using a Mac with Keychain Access you need to do the following:

• Open Keychain Access
• Select System Roots
• Enter DigiNotar in search box
• Double click on DigiNotar
• Change “Trust” to “Never Trust”

Google is buying Motorola for 12.5 billion dollars. Engadget says that Google will make Motorola a “dedicated Android partner” to “supercharge the Android ecosystem” and “enhance competition in mobile computing.”

Larry Page , Google CEO:

Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.

This is crazy news.  Apple makes its own devices or iOS, HP/Palm makes its own WebOS devices, Nokia is a preferred partner for Windows Phone 7 and now Motorola is owned by Google.  Meanwhile HTC, with it’s storied history of making premier Android, WinMo and Palm OS devices is left to license operating systems and will be actively competing with first party hardware.  Samsung, who worked closely with Google developing the Nexus S will also be fighting that same fight.  Crazy.

[via Engadget]