Lazyscope RSS and Twitter Client Slims Down, Speeds Up

Last week's launch of Lazyscope brought an intriguing new Twitter and RSS client into the world which allowed for full story viewing in a right pane that supported rich media, effectively replicating Twitter's iPad experience on the desktop in a versatile Adobe AIR application. Just over a week later, the application has already seen significant updates that show its potential to become an option for Twitter power users - with the adoption of real-time user streams, a new "mini" single column size and keyboard shortcuts.

Like fellow desktop Twitter client TweetDeck, Lazyscope's support for real-time user streams eliminates the need for a refresh button, as updates flow into the application practically as they are posted to the microblogging network. The more active the users, the more frequent the updates, of course, as they cascade from the top down, simulating the stream in real time.

Lazyscope in Single Column View With User Streams Enabled

The option for a single column view that does not monopolize the screen is also important - as the content viewer (right pane) only opens when an article is selected, and closes when you are click the back arrow to return to the stream. In fact, the single column view is now the default view, giving you your screen real estate back.

Lazyscope in Full Expanded View

In addition to these two updates, Lazyscope, from the makers of Lazyfeed, has turned on keyboard shortcuts, letting you navigate the stream with arrow keys, reposting with the enter key, and my personal favorite, scrolling to the top of the screen with the space bar. As someone who uses keyboard short cuts all day long in Google Reader to go from story to story, doing the same in Lazyscope can make me even more efficient, and as they put it... more lazy.

If you haven't yet tried it, check out Lazyscope at http://www.lazyscope.com.

Leak Corporate Data, Get Caught, Get Fired.

After an "anonymous loyal reader" tipped Business Insider on Tuesday to an internal memo from Google saying the company was rewarding employees with both a cash bonus and a raise, news broke Wednesday that the leaker, a Google employee, had been tracked down within hours, and fired. With all proper sympathies to somebody who just lost their job, there can be little flexibility in this regard - for if the person cannot be trusted with information deemed confidential and secret, they shouldn't have a home in a place where strategy and secrets are required. This becomes especially true at a public company like Google, a company that works on many future projects at once in a competitive market.

While the impetus to the reported pay increases is being debated, you can see Google (and other companies that face the same issue) really has little choice.

Unlike Yahoo!, which is leaking like a sieve to smart journalists like Kara Swisher, who seems to have every internal memo that leaves Carol Bartz' desk, Google traditionally has been very good about keeping most of its internal news under wraps, with few exceptions. Their launch of the Google Chrome Web browser caught practically everyone by surprise two years ago, as did their introduction of robot cars just last month. Other projects, like their next iteration of social, and the Nexus One, are discovered, but usually, details are few and far between. So the full-on e-mailing of an internal memo to a blog was a big breach indeed.

The practice of sniffing out rumors around Apple's future announcements has practically spawned an industry. Just prior to Steve Jobs' arrival, leaks were so common that the actual news was boring and anticlimactic. Since Jobs' return, official leaks have practically been extinguished, and violating blogs and anonymous commenters have been sued. The absence of leaks adds to the showmanship and impact the official unveiling of new products and strategy can have, and can help companies avoid the Osborne Effect, which can happen if new products are discussed before the old ones are done shipping.

As a veteran of corporate communications and PR teams at tech companies in the Valley, the usual process for speaking to press is handled by a select few people who know their roles and range. Those found speaking out of turn are challenged and, if necessary, removed, if they cannot be reigned in. During dark days at one startup where I worked, we were under siege from anonymous commenters who trolled industry Web sites saying we were days or weeks away from going out of business. Rumors of layoffs were mentioned, with little merit. But amidst the negative BS, there were elements of truth, with clear insider knowledge that had to be coming from people inside the company - directly or otherwise. At an all-hands meeting, our CEO addressed the anonymous attacks and warned that if anyone were in the room participating in the practice, they would be asked to leave. Eventually, the posts stopped.

As someone who also covers tech companies, I can understand the intrigue of happening on a big story, or an "exclusive" that can raise headlines, have people discussing your scoop, and rave about your access. Access to key people is a major reason why some blogs get traction and others don't. Access to information that is made available without permission can be fun too, if you know where to look. But forwarded internal memos from public companies are cheap - and the people sending them out to the press have a misguided perception of their own importance ahead of loyalty for the company. Leaking internal salary bumps endangered the company in terms of possible disclosures to the SEC, and immediately alerted competitive companies in the Valley that they too may need to adjust their hiring approach to job seekers. This lost element of surprise negates much of the benefit and simply can't be tolerated.

The good news is that the person who made this clear mistake has not yet been outed. For their sake, I hope they stay anonymous, learn from the error and find a new place quick where they don't find the need to play the part of press quite so inviting.

Blippy Pumps Profiles With Personality, Adds Product Q&A

Blippy is going well beyond purchase records, and becoming an ecosystem of brands, products and consumers, essentially replicating a "product graph" much like Facebook's much-vaunted "social graph". This week, the company introduced the capability to ask public questions of product buyers, initiating discussion, and also added fun profile pages that users can customize to make especially personal - from new fonts to layout and links to external sites. While the site is becoming more immersive in terms of offering a more rich product-oriented experience, it is quietly and quickly becoming one of the more engaging and well designed communities on the Web. It's much more than double rainbow 404 pages and spaceships on the login page, so don't get distracted by omgwtf nail clipper giveaways, for there's real meat underneath the shiny package.

Like other good social stream sites, Blippy started with a clean and simple flow of updates, later adding on comments and reactions. Later, came product pages and the ability to write detailed reviews of your every purchase, all collected next to similar responses from other buyers on the network. The addition of the option to start discussions on brands and products in Blippy is a natural extension, one that seems more comfortable than forced Question and Answer sites dedicated for this purpose.

New to Blippy: "Ask" about products or brands to all customers.

Take, for example, my own simple question to Apple customers about whether they were fans of the brand primarily for the company's software or hardware. A someone who distinctly remembers the company near extinction, when it was said they should exit the hardware game, I wanted to see where people's loyalties lie. Unsurprisingly, my quick question, in a matter of minutes, had people praising their software, or saying the marriage of the two was what made them fans.

Customization of Blippy Profiles

On the profile side, while most profiles are remarkably inflexible, such as those on Facebook and Twitter (which at least lets you update the background), Blippy's new profiles allow significant customization. From the country club pimp look of Philip Kaplan to the friendly MizzBlaze or my more traditional approach, you can now change the background, add a profile picture, give your name a fancy font, and add links to your other landing places on the Web. It's pretty sharp. They call it "Fancy".

My Customized Blippy Profile

Pud's Customized Blippy Profile

Blippy is a lot more than boring paper receipts now. It's a lively community with a growing pool of reviews and the ability to launch questions should lead to interesting debate. Get your questions in and update your profile to be snazzy.

Android+Keyboard = Win: Switching to the Samsung Epic

The Samsung Epic 4G from Sprint

When I switched from iPhone to Android after Google I/O this Spring, one of the major reasons I gave for my move was the opportunity to choose between different handsets, if for whatever reason, one offered compelling options lacking in my current model. While there were many reasons I switched away from Apple's ecosystem to that from Google and its partners, the flexibility and many offerings made me more comfortable that I wasn't tying myself to a particular model, but instead, a platform. And after seeing a significant number of positive reviews and sales reports on Samsung's Galaxy S phone - as well as friends' comments that this Android phone "beat the iPhone in every possible way", I checked for myself and left behind the EVO I've been using since May, which had been a Google freebie from the conference.

A Sprint customer, now that I moved the family off AT&T, Sprint's model of the Galaxy S is the Epic, labeled as the Epic 4G, thanks to its using Sprint's slice of the 4G wireless spectrum for advanced features. In contrast to the EVO, which has been a reliable workhorse, the Epic is much lighter, seems more polished both in hardware and software, and - as a kicker - it offers a slide-out keyboard in addition to its virtual keyboard option. Much to the chagrin of my wife, no doubt, I have been gaga over this phone since getting it - wanting to show off each cool little feature, from its rapid shutter speed for photos, to its Apple-like gallery to display images on the device, to the UI details that put Samsung ahead of all other Android devices I've seen to date.

My Samsung Epic 4G Home Screen and Secondary Screen, With Widgets

I switched to the Epic not just because of its well thought-out hardware and software, and the addition of the keyboard, but two more reasons - first, to see how easy it would be, and second, to remove any need for disclaimers in the future, knowing I'd put down my own money for my own Android device, and wasn't living on Google handouts.

When I bought the Epic at the Sprint store in Palo Alto, less than a block from the Apple Store, where others were considering iPhone 4s, my phone number was practically immediately transferred from device to device. After connecting to my Google account, the device also pinged the Android Market and recognized all the applications I had purchased, allowing me to download them again for free. Without a centralized hub on the desktop, like iTunes, Google's over the air handling of this was seamless and almost invisible. Just about the only downside to this process was downloading the free apps, which were not automatically remembered. But as I had the EVO with me still, comparing the two's application libraries made rediscovery simple.

The Phone Pad on the Samsung Epic and Improved Notifications Area

When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone and led us to start thinking about the touch interface replacing the keyboard or a stylus, it kicked off a revolution - one in place on all major smartphone platforms. But the ability to open up a real hardware keyboard on the Epic is a great backup for longer e-mails or text messages, or for typing in URLs not previously visited. For any experienced Blackberry touch typist, typing on the Epic is immediately familiar, and the slideout keyboard is very smooth.

Using the Keyboard to Tell My Friend A Happy Birthday Message

Thanks to Android letting manufacturers lead the way in terms of deciding how their phones should appear, there are small nuances between the EVO and Epic that took some relearning. For example, the EVO has its power button on the top of the device, and volume buttons on the right. The Epic has its power button on the right of the device and volume buttons on the left. The EVO's microUSB port is at the bottom of the device, and open, while the Epic's microUSB port is at the top of the device under a protective sliding door. Similarly, the Epic swapped placement for the Home and Menu keys to positions 1 and 2 instead of 2 and 1 on the EVO. It seems like an odd decision, but quickly comfortable.

Samsung's design UI is the best I've seen outside of Apple. The Epic even comes with a Dock with four icons (Phone, Contacts, Messaging and Applications) which are static on all screens. You can't customize them, like on the iPhone, but they are very handy. The Applications folder is especially useful, letting you rapidly access apps not on the home screen, and drop them in new places. You also, like on other Android phones, get the option to add widgets, bookmarks or folders anywhere you like.

In contrast to the EVO, even Samsung's phone pad options are well thought through. The keypad is well defined and colorful with fast access to the call log and contacts. During the call, options to add another call, mute or put the call on speaker are prominent and clearly marked if in use.

The EVO's most maligned drawbacks, its weight and battery, are much improved with the Epic, no doubt behind the Galaxy S's setting sales records in Japan. The phone is clearly easier to carry around than the EVO (and fits in the belt carrier I already had) and doesn't have me looking into buying external batteries, as I did with the other device.

Maybe switching phones every six months seems a little nuts. It's not my usual style. But I wanted to get access to a real keyboard, a clean interface, and experience the breadth of the Android ecosystem as the opportunities are available. Rather than waiting around 18 to 24 months for the next iterative update from Apple or praying it gets access to one more carrier in the US, I'm on a great network that works for me, with access to a fast-growing application marketplace that is now getting interest from the top developers. After all, we just got 45 more levels in Angry Birds today. And I've got a great new screen to play them on.