Motorola TK30 Bluetooth Car Kit Unboxing

I purchased a Motorola TK30 Cat Kit the other day.  Like the T605, the street prices for these have dropped dramatically.  I bought mine for under $60 new in box (list was $299) from Amazon.
 

This looks like a sweet unit.  You can read the owners manual here.  I bought this to go in either the XJ8L or the X-Type.  It turns out the X-Type has premium sound so the install there would be very difficult and significantly reduce the audio quality.  My XJ8L however has the standard sound system so I ordered the ISO harness from England to install the system in that car.  Should require no wire modifications.  Just connecting to existing wiring.  I will do a fill writeup when I am done with that install.

Anyway, back to the unboxing.  Here is what the system looks like inside the control module.

Android market share

KI see articles like this http://www.zdnet.com/is-androids-market-share-really-a-joke-7000016097/  and I have to laugh.  This guy is basically insinuating that profits from the initial sale of the OS or device + OS is where all money comes from.  What is he missing here is the fact that Apple sells hardware (with the OS) and services whereas Google is and always has been an advertising company.  Google uses its OS to reach people with advertising.  They are not concerned with monetizing the OS or their apps which explains why it is all free and available on so many platforms.  It is just a means to an end.  Comparing where the profits are derived for Google and Apple is not a valid comparison since they approach profits in very different ways.  If Google want profits from the apps and OS they surely would not have made it open source and given it away for free.  That is not the point.  Their goal is exactly market share because that means they have access to more people and data to better target ads and those ads drive Googles profits.

For Google Android is an upfront investment with a long term payoff.  Here is an article that shows it is paying off http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_23055285/google-profits-trounce-expectations-mobile-advertising-business-ramps but this is only the tip of the iceberg.  As Google gets is apps into many devices including TV's, Blu-ray players, phones, appliances, etc, it will better understand what people like and don't like person by person.  Then it can use that detailed information to support its advertisers products in a very timely and specific manner.  You don't just get blasted with ads.  Instead you get useful information based on what you want at the time and place.  For instance, Google Maps is the clear winner in maps and navigation.  This means when you are navigating and decide you need fuel, Google can point you to one of its advertisers gas stations.  For the gas station this beats nearly every other kind of ad.  In this scenario you never saw an ad.  It was just timely and helpful information.  This is the ways Google has become the advertising powerhouse it is.

So it baffles me when people (like the clown in the first article) tries to compare Google to Apple in specific profit streams.  Especially when those companies have such different profit streams and business models.  The only similarity they really have is they both make an OS for mobile devices.  We as consumers see them as competitors.  To Google, Apple is not a competitor in their prime business.  To Apple, Google is eating away at market share of their prime business.  Google biggest issue with Apple would be the fact Apple has such a closed ecosystem that Google is too limited and can't get the data or provide the services they need to the depth they need to sell more advertising.  Android has pushed Apple to slowly open this up a bit.  As long as Google can get their apps on iOS and get the rich data they need as well as provide the information flow to the user they don't really care if there are more iOS or Android devices.  For Google it is the total sum that matters.

Weather Station Now Upgraded

I finally broke down and bought the Arduino based weather station wireless sensor receiver.  You can see the project here: http://www.osengr.org/WxShield/Web/WxShield.html .  This device works with the open source software Weather Station Data Logger.  The new WxShield also has a barometric pressure sensor and temperature and humidity sensors so it replaces the base station for a computer interface.  The cost of the WxShield was $135.  It works with all Oregon Scientific sensors.  I use the old base station as a handy display now.

This http://www.osengr.org/WxShield/Web/WxShieldDetails.html explains more benefits.

You can see my weather data here:  http://jimroal.com/wxdata.htm
It looks the same as before.

Reasons to upgrade to the WxShield:

1. More reliable.  The Oregon Scientific base will stop broadcasting data over USB periodically.  No pattern really but it happens about once a month.  I had it happen 3 times in a month and other times go 3 months without it happening.  Frustrating though.
2. Ability to install external antenna.  This is a big deal when your PC you use to upload the log the data is in your basement.  The external antenna really extends the range.  This device lets you run a coax to route the antenna outside.
3. Improved barometric pressure sensor.  Much higher accuracy.
4. Improved indoor temperature and humidity.  It can also be remotely located.
5. Its just nerdier.

Patents

The patent system worldwide is broken and here in the USA its about to get even worse.  A new law that goes into effect March 16 2013 will change the patent system from "first to invent" (FTI) to "first to file" (FTF).  The difference in these systems is that FTI attempts to ensure the true inventor has rights to his work.  FTF on the other hand allows whoever files first to have rights tot he invention.  With FTF it is no quite possible for people to steal and patent the inventions of others.

Even before this awful FTF policy, the patent system was seriously broken.  In reality the one with the most money to spend on patents and litigation wins.  While the patent system was intended to accelerate technology growth while properly compensating the true inventor it now does more of the exact opposite.  The patent offices worldwide are allowing just about anything to be patented.  Most of the patents granted in the last several decades are not for novel ideas at all.  Many of the ideas will never even work.  There are small companies that do nothing but patent around existing work of others for the sole purpose of suing for a living.  The system takes money out of consumers hands and gives it to rich and powerful law firms and lawyers.  The very fact that Microsoft makes more money on the initial sale of an Android device than the real creators of Android is disgusting.  Android is free and open source.  The general public pays it no attention, not realizing the price they are paying.  In my opinion, software and algorithms should never be patent-able at all.  Nor should we patent other not novel ideas.  Before something is even given a patent it should have to pass a real test to show it is really a novel idea.  Maybe something like this.  Have the problems the patent solves presented to a class of college students in the same field (say at least 30 students).  If 1 or more students comes up with a similar idea then the invention is not novel and does not get a patent.  For instance, the idea that a smartphone is a rectangular device with rounded corners is patent-able is ridiculous. 

When a person or small company actually does come up with a legitimate novel idea that is worthy of a patent, all it takes is good lawyers and rich companies to patent around it.  What I mean by that is you can make patents that essentially lock the original patent in a cocoon such that it can not be implemented without depending on the other patents around it.   The real inventor is eventually paid a small amount for his work.  Sure, there are some examples where this is not true.  However it has been getting worse over time.  

The patent systems worldwide cost consumers far more than they think and puts the money in the hands of rich and powerful companies, law firms, and lawyers.  It is stealing from the real inventors and making the rich richer.

Here are a few related articles:
Some Thoughts On Fixing Problems In The Patent System
Are Patent Problems Stifling U.S. Innovation?
America's dysfunctional patent system is stifling innovation
Is The Patent System Broken? Well, Amazon's Just Patented The Sale Of Second Hand Goods