Leap Motion + Fleksy is Genius Typing in the Air

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A post showed up on Engadget this morning that caught my eye.

Laser projected virtual keyboards? So 2004. These days, tech firms are dreaming up completely invisible typewriters, or at least Syntellia is. By marrying a Leap Motion sensor with its own Fleksy predictive keyboard, the company has created a system that seems to let you type on thin air

01-LeapMotion-Logo

Yet another crazy-cool thing coming out of SXSW this year. You might say I predicted this. Last week I wrote posts about each of these companies and how I was excited about the work they are doing. I ended my Leap Motion post remarking on the promising future the miniscule device has. I suggested it could read sign language and allow people with arthritis to control computers without the joint pain, to control of a television without a remote.

Fleksy_LogoThen, in my Fleksy post I suggested ways Fleksy could make the move out of touchscreen devices and incorporated into computers. I wrote specifically how it could be used to speed up typing and allow a dramatic increase in accuracy.

But what I neglected to put together was what would happen if Fleksy worked with Leap Motion. Well, turns out they were already thinking about this and have announced Fleksy integration with Leap Motion, and it’s pretty brilliant. Imagine controlling your AppleTV with the Leap Motion, swiping in the air through videos and songs. When it came time to do a search in the Netflix app, you’d have the ability to simply type in the air using Fleksy integration instead of the traditional, and painfully slow, method of input with the AppleTV onscreen keyboard.

I’m not sure if I’m a genius for thinking abstractly of these two ideas or dense for not thinking of combining the two. Either way I’m even more looking forward to the delivery of my Leap Motion. Apple being the silo that it is, we might have to work with some XMBC hackers to get the above integration working but it would be worth it.

Fleksy is Revolutionizing How We Tap to Type

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Recently I joined the co-working space WeWork here in SOMA San Francisco. I wrote a post on what inspired me to join a co-working space and what specifically brought me to WeWork over the competition, namely The Hatchery, NextSpace and PARISOMA. In that post I wrote how I wanted to start profiling the companies I find especially impressive that share this workspace with me and in particular, Syntellia, the team behind Fleksy.

Fleksy Logo

Ever dreamt of an auto-correct system powerful enough to work even when you don’t look at the screen? Enter, Fleksy… Featuring Syntellia’s patent pending technologies, Fleksy uses the familiar QWERTY layout, coupled with probably the most powerful text prediction engine out there.

After I wrote that post, Bill Rappos, UX Design at Syntellia, waved at me from his office (it’s literally on the mezzanine right in front of me) and came down to talk about Fleksy. That alone is reason enough to work in a space like WeWork! Let’s find out what Fleksy does and how it might revolutionize how you tap to type on your phone and tablet.

Fleksy KeyboardFleksy is a free software keyboard for mobile devices (currently a universal iOS app but Android is in beta) that uses an incredibly smart, predictive typing algorithm to assist in tapping out text on touchscreen devices. It’s so good that you can miss every letter and it will more than likely guess what you meant to type. This should not be confused with the sometimes hilariously wrong autocorrect found in the iPhone. Fleksy is so good, I was able to type the text above without even looking at the screen. Continue reading →

ZAGGkeys PROplus iPad Keyboard Case Review

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Last year I reviewed another iPad keyboard case from ZAGG. I loved the case but felt it was a bit too thick and heavy especially when compared to the space the iPad took up on it’s own. Ultimately though I grew to find it an indispensable accessory for my iPad. So did many people I encountered on my flights and at coffee shops. Since then ZAGG has released several other iPad keyboards but it’s the $129 ZAGGkeys PROplus (let’s be honest, that name is a mouthful) that I’m writing about today.

ZAGGKeys PROplus HeroFor the most part an iPad keyboard is an iPad keyboard. The differences, generally speaking are just a handful of variables.

  1. Bluetooth vs dock connector
  2. Size of the keyboard
  3. Chicklet keys vs rubber keys
  4. Case vs stand vs portfolio case standalone

This keyboard connects via bluetooth, is just smaller than a full-sized Apple keyboard, has chicklet keys and works as a stand for your iPad, as well as a case. What differentiates this keyboard from almost all other keyboards is the feature made popular by Apple’s MacBook Pro. This keyboard lights up! Before we get to that, let’s cover the basics. Continue reading →

Quickly – Facebook Quietly Updates Events RSVP Options

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Facebook-Like-IconWhen Facebook first rolled out their “Events” section ages ago it gave invited guests three options with which to RSVP.

  1. Going
  2. Maybe
  3. Not Going

Seemed like enough. But people who RSVP “Maybe” to events kind of suck at life. I can’t maybe make more food on the fly. I can’t maybe have enough alcohol. I can’t maybe have enough room for everyone. These are things that I have to have. Ryan and I host parties from time to time and often get as much as 50% of our RSVPs as “Maybe” and it drives me crazy.

Facebook seemed to understand this and for a period of time you could remove the “Maybe” option. People were either there at your party or not there. No longer were there these Schrödinger’s cat guests! (I love making physics jokes…)

Sadly this option was taken away but today I noticed a new option in place of the “Maybe”. Now invitees can select “Interested”.

Facebook Events Interested

This doesn’t bring back the ability to disable all those indecisive people from not committing to your event. However, the wording change might prevent people from abusing the selection like they abuse “Maybe”.

If someone is interested in coming over they should understand that it doesn’t mean they have said they are or aren’t going. It’s a non-commital option that should tell everyone involved that at this point, you’re not going but the event interests you.

Do you think this will make a difference? I sure hope so. Also, properly RSVP to events people. It’s the civilized thing to do. Just ask Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Why I Joined WeWork, hat tip to Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer

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Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer made news last week when she proclaimed that all employees working from home would soon be called back and forced to work from their Yahoo-provided offices to boost productivity. Sort of.

Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together… Being a Yahoo isn’t just about your day-to-day job, it is about the interactions and experiences that are only possible in our offices. Read more

When Ryan and I lived in Missouri we had this thing completely alien to San Francisco. It’s called “space”. There I converted one of the bedrooms into my office with large L-shaped desk, four monitors, a professional quality printing and scanning rack in the closet with a couch for relaxing and 30 gallon aquarium. It was magnificent and I was magnificently productive. But in San Francisco that 160 square foot office became a 60 square foot space in our bedroom. Our opposite sleep schedules meant Ryan would be sleeping when I needed to use my office.

Kitchen-Office

I eventually moved upstairs and into the kitchen. I’d gone from two computers and four screens to just one computer and its 15-inch screen. On a plus side, I had two magnums of champagne to prop up my Skype call lights (shout out to J Vineyards and Winery). Other times I’d work from coffee shops but that meant I had to totally pack up if I needed a refill, wanted lunch or needed to use the restroom. And don’t even get me started on the state of public wifi and power outlets.

After dealing with the issues I found working from home and subsequent decrease in productivity, I decided I had to make a change. So I went on a search for a co-working space. After checking out PARISOMA, NextSpace and The Hatchery, among others, I settled on WeWork.

WeWork-The-Physical-Social-NetworkThus far I couldn’t be happier about my decision to go back into the office and work with the other awesome people at WeWork. Productivity is up and I’m actually excited about going to work. Perhaps Marissa Mayer really is onto something! Continue reading →

Keep Your WordPress Blog Running Smoothly and Reliably

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This post is might sound over the head of your average WordPress blogger but trust me, if you can click a mouse, you can turn your sluggish and bloated WordPress into the lean and reliable blog you’ve always wanted.

If you have a WordPress blog with a few years on it, there is a good chance that you have a messy database. Every theme, plugin or tool you add to your WordPress installation can leave behind a unhealthy handful of orphan database entries.

Ironically, often times these orphan entries come from a plugin or theme you have removed in an effort to speed up your blog. Sadly, many themes and plugins don’t leave your blog as clean as they found it. Sometimes these orphan entries come from theme and plugin updates or even blog settings and customizations.
Database Edits

Just today I did a cleaning of my blog which resulted in my database shrinking by 11.3 megabytes, a decrease of over 50%. This removed 4,122 orphan entries in my database. To accomplish this I used two must have plugins. Continue reading →

Kuzy Hard Shell Case for MacBook Pro with Retina Display

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The moment my MacBook Pro with Retina Display (rMBP) was purchased I hit the web searching for an appropriate case to protect my new purchase. Unfortunately the usual suspects, Speck and Incase, didn’t have a shell case available.

In a way this made sense. The design of the rMBP is unique, ridiculously thin and difficult to design a case around. I was told this much from an Incase representative. I got my rMBP in August and by December there still was no case from Incase. Speck had a case out but it was $50 and my previous experience with Speck laptop cases was not great. My previous MacBook Pro had a Speck shell on it but I swore them off after replacing it twice due to defective construction.

Kuzy - Rubberized Hard Case Cover for Apple MacBook Pro 15.4" with Retina Display

Kuzy – Rubberized Hard Case Cover for Apple MacBook Pro 15.4″ with Retina Display

Exhausted of waiting for Incase to come out with a solution I opted to make a radical choice. Instead of buying the brand I knew and trusted, I bought a brand I had never heard of. Basing my purchase on the hundreds of positive reviews on Amazon, I bought the Kuzy hardshell case.

The Kuzy case is half the price of the $50 Speck case (which has mixed reviews at best and is currently not being sold by Amazon directly until issues with the case breaking are fixed) and $35 cheaper than the shell Incase eventually came out with. When the Kuzy case arrived, with its minimal packaging and straight from China paperwork, I was a bit skeptical. Never-the-less I proceeded to put the case on my precious MacBook Pro. Continue reading →