In the movie, The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman is given some advice upon his graduation from college, plastics! Earlier this year I blogged about location based design, and how I believed this was the next best thing. While the media rages about how Apple iOS and Android are tracking your every move, and is this legal … consider this fact … there are many applications to which you would want to give your location.

Last week I learned about (and installed on my iPad) a great new software tool named Wikihood. This amazing appllication uses your location and presents articles from Wikipedia. I have found this software fantastic as I move around the United States of various business and pleasure trips. I just start Wikihood, and I learn about the "local hood". For an application like Wikihood, I'll grant access to my location any day. However, I'm a person who when he was young loved to read the World Book Encyclopedia via alpha volume (see blog post … The Art of the Browse, World Book and the iPad).

Here are three screenshots from Wikihood and plastics! In each instance, the content delivered is unique to my exact location, not just the surrounding region. Click upon any image to maximize.

Grand Marais, Minnesota (recent bike trip)

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Duluth, Minnesota (my home on Amity Creek)

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Plymouth, Minnesota (my townhome)

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Plastics!

I don't love Apple Computers. For years I've used my windows based system both for the control it gives me, and the business compatibility. Late last year, it became obvious that I needed to understand the mobile experience. Thus, I now have a HTC droid phone, and an Apple iPad 1.

With two business trips in May which involve significant presentations, I decided I needed to get my iPad working with projectors (learn more … prior post). Although I could do the Apps research on my iPad, last Friday, I ultimately needed to drive over to the Apple store at a suburban Minneapolis mall. Taking an early lunchbreak I made the trip … expecting a deserted mall … after all it was 11:00 a.m. on a weekday. Everyone should be at work. Wrong!

While the mall itself was deserted, the Apple store was packed … wall to wall people. I had stumbled on a love fest of retirees, housewives, and a few business people like myself. Within seconds three different Apple employees approached me and offered to assist me. I explained to all my need for a VGA out cable. I was given direction to the rear of the store, next to the "Genius Bar"?

I easily found my cable, but then I was confused … not a cash register in site. Within seconds a fourth Apple employee approached and explained … electronic checkout via his handheld device. Wow. I was impressed. He politely asked if Apple could email me my receipt (why not … gave him my SPAM account). However, I was impressed … point of sale connection between customer, purchase, and email account.

While I still prefer the control my windows computer gives me, I am a convert when it comes to the Apple Store shopping experience. These folks know the customer! In addition, my middle son while home briefly from his graduate studies noted to me … Dad … you're not on your laptop that much anymore. You seem to really like that iPad!

Now if I could just get Flash, and a more seamless Google & Microsoft experience on my iPad. I'm still watching the Android tablets, but nothing impresses me yet.

If you desire, read about some of my Android Land experiences.

Post update on August 3, 2011: I've actually created an iPad Business Apps Manual

People say blogging is dead, well I say phooey! Last night I passed 320,000 total page views for NorthstarNerd.Org. Over the years I have posted 1,059 times for an average read per page of 302 views. I would say that's not bad for a nerd from northern Minnesota!

Seriously, while everyone else tweats in small bursts of limited value, give some thought to the traditional blog. If you invest the time, the payback is HUGE. Via NorthstarNerd.Org I have met some amazing people, and learned valuable knowledge … both via the effort of posting and the community which interacts with me.

For this 1,060th post I would like to add some value beyond just an opinion. As stated previously, one solid advantage of this blog is the ability to keep learning. One resource which I've found recently particularily useful is MakeUseOf.Com. This site constantly provides updates with usefil tips about optimizing your use of technology. In addition, they have a great page of End User Guides (downloadable free pdf's) which range from digitial photography to LINUX. I've directly linked their iPad guide (28 pages) on my site as an example (screenshot of cover given below).

Will you be my 320,001st viewer? Stop by NorthstarNerd.Org and leave me a comment! What do you like about this domain? What could I do better? Thanks for your visit!

I saw this cartoon in Newsweek, but the effort is really from Newsday's Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Walt Handelsman! Too funny!

Full disclosure. I own both an iPad 1 and an Android Smartphone (HTC Incredible). Like all Geeks and Nerds, I need more!

In my post, Practical Android for the Business User, I promised a follow-up on Android development (the SDK or software development kit). As a preface to the rest of my post you need to know that I HATE syntax. Luckily for me Google has created two Android development environments. The first environment which is not reviewed in this post involves learning specific code in conjunction with JAVA.

Being a five year veteran coach of Lego Robotics, I was thrilled to discover Google's other Android development environment … which is a LabView / Lego Robotics Programming like visual building blocks development environment, the App Inventor:

• App Inventor from Google Labs
• Instruction on how to build your first app

I found the service straight forward, and with a little bit of effort, not difficult to learn. Here is a short video overview: (access much more extensive training and videos)

Remember, you don't need to be a registered Android Marketplace developer to install your own apps. There are Android apps like APKatcher which allow you to email your completed app ready for installation to your Android smartphone. (see screenshot given below)

Finally, here is a screenshot of the actual App Inventor environment.

(click to maximize)

Although not strictly related to actual development in Android using Google, I did discover that lots of people (including me) had difficulty getting the ADB service to initially run (a necessary software installation step). Here is some key information which I discovered (my thanks to ksfrogman who posted this information on AndroidForum.Com):

• Copy the adb, AdbWinApi.dll, and AdbWinUsbApi.dll files from your SDK platform tools folder to your tools folder
• If your smartphone does not have default Google USB drivers, an approach like the one I used for my HTC Incredible smartphone may work for installing drivers.

Good luck! Have fun!