Would you use a webcam credit card reader, either as a consumer or a vendor?

Jumio http://goo.gl/0Tmp5 has released Netswipe, a technology http://goo.gl/EUY8g that allows a standard webcam to be a secure credit card reader. Would you use it instead of typing in your credit card number for an online purchase?

How much has your snail mail dropped in the past 5 years?

The post office closures http://goo.gl/rnp9L come as no surprise. I only get mail maybe 4 of 6 days now and most of it is junk mail.

Medical devices build into your car???

While this is feasible, it somehow strikes me as strange that one would want to incorporate medical sensing devices into your car like the EKG monitor built into a steering wheel as discussed in this article http://mobihealthnews.com/12128/toyota-demos-ecg-sensing-steering-wheel/.

Good article on web and business tools startups use

This article gives an interesting and informative perspective on what tools startups are using http://mashable.com/2011/07/26/startup-tools/.

Habitat for Humanity Project at TechEd 2010

On Saturday 6/5 before TechEd 2010 there is an opportunity to volunteer with fellow techies to work on a local Habitat for Humanity project. Check out the details at http://bit.ly/bh71l0 on this worthwhile project.

Google Chrome OS, the "Cloud", and Ubiquitous Internet

Google demonstrated their Chrome OS again this past week where they indicated the OS will be essentially a gateway to the "cloud". For example, your files would be stored remotely in the cloud, not on a local hard disk.

If you think in terms of our current world where access to the Internet is done through an application on our computers, i.e., the browser, the Google concept for Chrome OS is somewhat foreign. However, projecting forward to Internet access being ubiquitous through many devices independent of a separate application like a browser, the Google OS approach makes sense.

Apple's success with the iPhone stems in large part from it being a consumer focused device rather than something made by techies with an engineering bent. Currently, the PC is still a techie device not a consumer device. The inner workings are too exposed to the user of the device. The Apple Mac computers are a step closer to a consumer device, but still too techie.

If we no longer think about computers as necessary for Internet access, i.e., we just use the services, the Chrome OS starts to make more sense. Is it premature in relation to the current mindset? Maybe, but the thought process behind it is definitely in the right direction.

Boston Area Code Camp Sat 10/17

The 12th edition of the Boston area Code Camp will be on Saturday 10/17/2009. Speaker abstract submission will end on Wed 10/7/2009 so submit an abstract if you want to do a presentation. Also, please register so we can get an accurate count for food. Details are at www.thedevcommunity.org.