Comments (0)

By song, August 23, 2010 10:42 pm

Soonr, the company I co-founded with some friends, filed for a patent way back in 2005. This patent described the (then) novel idea of a network that would automatically optimize its files for consumption on a mobile device. Specifically we had cell phones in mind. Sounds obvious now, but back in 2004-2005 it seemed like a bit of a pipe dream. This was a time when the Motorola Razr was the big thing because it was so small. SMS, were just an inkling in the eyes of the Telecommunications companies.

Today, everyone expects a modern day smartphone to be able to view pages with formatting and detail similar to a printed page. In fact with an iPhone, you expect to be able to seamlessly zoom to get more detail. Well, all that processing and caching has to happen somewhere. According to US patent 7,779,069 this happens on a Network Mobility Server created to optimize the mobile experience.

The first page of our patent!

This patent was granted on August 17, 2010. It was 5 years in the making, but my friends and company are happy it has come to pass. It describes the foundation for the mobile experience that many folks take for granted today.

Comments (6)

By song, August 7, 2010 10:31 pm

I keep my cars for a long time. All the cars I own have leather interiors. After a decade of wear and tear, the leather finish sometimes crack and wears off. Replacing a leather interior for an old car is prohibitively expensive, usually running in the several thousands of dollars. Sometimes the car isn’t even worth that much! So what’s a guy to do?

I’ve read about various leather treatments and have tried most of them. There’s no saving dry, hard, cracked leather if you ask me. However, if your leather is still pliable, but there are cracks in the surface finish, there is hope. I came across a company called Leather Magic on the web. After reading lots about them and also viewing their YouTube video, I thought I would give it a try. This is my experience in pictures.

I ordered the deluxe kit for $59.95 with a few dollars shipping. I think it came to about $71. The color of my car interior was “Light Beige” so I ordered the color with the same name on their color page for Volvos. So far so good.

So I decided to try this on my front passenger seat first. Since it needs to sit for 48 hours after the repair, I figured I could still drive the car if I needed to. Here’s what I had to deal with.

The outside bottom panel has a lot of cracks in it.

So the first order of business was to clean it well. I used a light detergent (same as I use when I wash my car) and a nylon scrub brush. I must say that I was surprised how much dirt was removed by this simple process.

First order of business is a good scrubbing.

A light sanding with the provided 220 paper after the prep solution was applied.

This magic white stuff was quiet tacky. Multiple layers filled the cracks.

The photo above shows, the repair compound being scraped into the cracks. Between each coat I had to sand it lightly and get rid of the dust. After about 4 passes (it took a long time), the surface felt pretty smooth. OK, it’s time to color it.

The colorant (special paint) seemed a pretty good match.

After two coats with the foam brush, not much was covered...

After 3 coats, it was starting to look a lot better.

Five coats later and I think I am done.

It was getting dark as I had worked at this for about 3 hours now. I took the last picture with a flash and noticed that the color of the new area and the old area was not really matching so well. It looks like I’ll have to re-color the whole seat for a perfect match. However, look at the repair area! It looks like it’s new leather!

I showed this to my family when then came home, and they thought I had replaced the leather! So at the end of the day, here’ s my analysis.

• It works pretty darn well.
• It takes a long time…. 3 hours for the part I did.
• The color match was pretty good, but in certain light, you can see a difference. Plan on coloring the whole seat.

So that’s it. I can say that I am pretty pleased with it. We’ll see how it holds up over time. I am supposed to wait 48 hours and then go over it with a leather conditioner. I’ll report back later and let you know.

Comments (0)

By song, July 22, 2010 10:13 pm

My search for the proper iPhone case continues. I thought my previous TPU case was such a great deal and I was loving it….until it started to pick up the blue from my jeans and the yellow from daily use. The case now looks kinda nasty and is clearly not as white as the iPhone case itself.

I saw the case below at a Radio Shack and thought I would give it a try. It was a little different in that it was a hybrid clear and TPU. That sounded a bit more promising. My previous clear case scratched and cracked not long after I got it. This was a translucent and the TPU on the edge seemed of higher quality.

Once again the fit was excellent and I thought I might have another chance at case nirvanna.

Fit is great, but how would it hold up?

Well, a month went by and I am on another case already. Why? Well, the white surround is yellowing. The clear parts are intact, but the cutout for the logo still bothers me. Why leave that open to damage? Who would have thought it was so darn hard to find a decent case?

In fact, I am already on another case. This one from Speck. I have heard great things about them so I thought I would give them a try. I’ll report back after I have had some time with it.

In reality, my problems may be moot as I think I am going to move up (depending on what you think) to an iPhone 4 soon.  I’ll pass this phone down to someone and they’ll get a boatload of cases with it for fun.

Comments (4)

By song, May 31, 2010 12:31 pm

Recently I got a TPU case for my iPad and was so impressed with the properties of this Thermo Plastic Urethane material that I decided to look for one for the iPhone. I wanted a clear case to showcase the aesthetics of my white iPhone. I quickly realized that getting just a plain clear one was difficult!

I could get all manner of decorated versions with patterns, flowers, butterflies, etc. but getting a plain clear one was hard! I eventually came across a white case that was only $4 on Amazon. OK, four bucks I could gamble with so I ordered it.

Here’s the case in all it’s glory. I really liked the TPU material once again. It forms perfectly to the phone and is not sticky like Silicon. Also note that it wraps to the front of the phone protecting the decorative chrome surround.

The molded shape fits perfectly to the phone.

The case wraps to the front protecting the trim ring

Alas, it seemed pretty good, but all was not ideal in my case word. It seems that the molding process left a bit of flash around the edges of the mold. At first it didn’t bug me so much, but as I was carrying the case during the week it really started to bug me. I could feel the flash every time I used the case. It started to feel sharp – ok, maybe it was just me. But I wasn’t having any more of it. It was time for some custom modification.

A utility knife blade does a good job of trimming off the flash from the molding process of the case.

OK, now the case feels good. Along with the great fit and protection, it’s also now pretty pleasant to use. Here’s one more shot showing you how well the case was designed. The only thing I am not so sure about is that circular cutout to show off the Apple logo. It seems to me that this leaves a pretty vulnerable part of the phone open to the elements.

Excellent fit and a ridiculously cheap price

So at the end of the day, I think this is a really good case considering its throw away price. I’ve paid $30 and $10 for clear polycarbonate cases, $15 for a silicon case, $30 for a hard plastic with rubberized coating case, $50 for a leather case,$30 for a combo silicon and hard plastic case and $20 for a silicon case with accessory holder. After all those cases, this one is definitely the best value.

Oh, on a side note, a friend has indicated that she found a plain clear TPU case and will be sending me one. I’ll report on that case after I receive it and use it for a week or so. Perhaps there’s something better out there after all.

Comments (3)

By song, May 19, 2010 10:25 am

Like you (?) I have been looking for a way to protect my iPad that won’t defeat its beautiful design and form factor. After doing a bit of research and lots of purchasing, I have come across the best case EVER! It’s made of TPU (Thermo Plastic Urethane). OK, pictures will be all you need to see. I can’t explain it any better.

The case as it came from LuxMo = Luxury mobile

Extremely thin and not sticky like silicon cases

The fit is amazing. Tight with no slop at all.

Cutout is perfect and only as big as needed.

You can get this case for only $16 at http://stores.ebay.com/PawAvenue. If you have an iPad, you need this case.

So what else have I tried? Here’s a quick rundown and why they don’t work so great.

1) InCase Silicon skin – this silicon rubber case fits loosely and never felt too secure. It’s got extra girth on the edges to make it easier to grip, but it also makes the iPad fat. Fail.

2) Apple iPad case – this OEM case is made of a synthetic suede like material. It fits well and fold in half like a portfolio. Problems? It’s got this heat sealed edge around it that look cheap. Also, the synthetic material picks up all kinds of dust and ends up looking dirty. Fail.

3) Crazy Digital Leather case – this one came close. It’s got great protection, a nice price ($20 on Amazon) and it also acts as a stand. The one thing I didn’t like is that it once again messes with the sleek design on the iPad. It affords great protection and is a good way to carry your pad “incognito” though. Here’s a quick picture of it.

Crazy Digital case is a nice tan leather and at a great price.

So there you have have it. My search for the perfect iPad case is over. Now I just have to figure out if I would ever carry only the iPad over my laptop. I have a very nice portable laptop at only 3.1lbs. I take it everywhere I go. Although not as “wow” inducing as an iPad, I can do a lot more on it.

The best thing about the iPad is the instant on, picture viewing and also the applications made for it. For those things it rocks. Everything else is different, but not hugely better than my laptop.

At least my case problems are over.