Oracle AppsLab

Yesterday, I started a nostalgic trip down cell phone lane, recounting my first four cell phones. I think that took me from 1997 to 2003. By that time the Zoolander Nokia had a cracked screen, and phones were starting to get really cool.
The Off Brand Freebie Phone
The carrier I had at the time offered [...]

One of our readers pointed me to this mashup created by KPBS in San Diego that combines critical evacuation information like neighborhoods affected, closed roads, nearest evacuation center, etc. Yahoo News has a story on the mashup too.

This post has two points: 1) To spread the word about the mashup to anyone affected by the [...]

Funny thing, Rich has a draft in WP called “Time to Give Jake a Break”. You’ll notice it hasn’t been published yet. We are really buried preparing for OpenWorld, so keeping this blog going has been tough.
The title put me in mind of the trucking term Jake Brake. Signs like this one have puzzled me [...]

I love my TiVo. The Fall 2007 Service Update that loaded the other day gave the grand old UI a New Web makeover, which I really appreciated. In typical New Web style, there are shadows and gradients, softer and darker colors, etc.
As with the NFL, TiVo is embracing the stylings of Web 2.0, which for [...]

Because it’s been a slow day, topic-wise, I figured why not blog my response to Billy’s response to my post on his post. This is how the blogosphere stays alive, feeding on itself. Plus, I don’t trust the comments.
Billy’s making nice, saying the right things, e.g. “This misses the point or maybe my point was [...]

I’ve come across some interesting thoughts on productivity, creativity and physical space lately.
First, there’s this bit from Lifehacker about how ceiling height affects your thinking. The central finding of the research is that higher ceilings tend to foster abstract thought, whereas lower ceilings tend to encourage detailed thinking. Pretty cool.
Then today, there’s another bit that [...]

Last week, screenshots of Kickstart, Yahoo’s lastest foray into social networks surfaced. Not surprisingly, Kickstart is targeted at recruiting, helping college student find an “in” at companies where they want to work and helping companies recruit students.
I like this approach, as long as they can keep it clean by ensuring the students are really students [...]

After slogging through a full week’s worth of feeds and fighting the urge to use the Mark All as Read button several times, I have a fun idea. Despite this being a no-fun zone for a while, I want to play a round of spot the hoax.
The game is simple. I’ve listed a handful of [...]

After a month, the torrent of iPhone reviews has begun, so who am I to miss a chance to jump on the bandwagon. Actually, a reader suggested that I blog about the iPhone as a business tool, and I know that a lot of people out there either have one or are sorely tempted to [...]

By way of O’Reilly, this is cool, if you like data visualization. Internet Architects, a Japan-based design firm, maps “the 200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective” to the Tokyo metro system, complete with placement symbolism for insiders.

Another tidbit from last week, is this article from [...]