So landed in Vietnam with Simon and they weren’t kidding about the mopeds here. But more eye-poping is the way they drive all together – mopeds, cars, buses, bikes, etc. No right of way, no stopping. Everybody is just going their own way. Wow, can’t ever see driving out here and I have drove in some very hairy places in my liftime (ie Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cross Bronx Expressway, etc.)

A new report from Nielsen shows that Mobile Internet has experienced a 34% rise in the past year. Though men were early adopters women, teens and seniors have spurred this continued growth. What are women most interested in? Yep, you guest it – celebrity news, shopping, horoscopes and social neworking.

For men, its the usual suspects – gadgets, news, sports and business news.

With the smartphone market being a hot and big growth field (think Blackberry, iPhone, Android, etc), the mobile Internet usage numbers should just increase thru time.

Click here to read the Nielsen article

The story of the boy who wasn’t in the balloon is one epic disappointment.

To begin with, any high school graduate ought to know that an oversized Happy Birthday balloon could not carry an 8 pound weight let alone a 6 year old person.

Then Wolf Blitzer shows just how inept network news is at uncovering any sort of truth. When Falcon gives away the ruse in his interview Wolf asks the 6 year old to explain his reasoning. Wolf finally uncovers some kernel of truth in this absurd story and all he can think to do is cross examine a six year old – Genius! He is obviously the culprit. It is obvious by the way he is anxiously squirming and trying to get out  of his father’s grasping hands and this highly awkward exchange.

Reality TV, the news and the rapid fire spread of information are creating a new kind of lowest common denominator. From sensationalism driven media that will list to anyone crying wolf to this particular brand of cheapened fame that is available to anyone willing to play limbo, to the more pressing issues network news could be covering – the time has come for change! The epic disappointment we feel from this incident means it is time for everyone to lower their expectations.

So the big news in iPhone development last week is the next version of Adobe Flash (version CS5), you can develop iPhone apps straight from the Flash authoring tool and export directly to the iPhone App store for submission. They already shown a few samples of Flash built iPhone apps. See the demo by clicking on this link:

Applications for the iPhone from Flash

We, at Plus Factory, are really excited for the newest version of Flash and look forward to creating iPhone apps in that environment. One, we are loaded to the gills with great Flash developers. Second, we have done so many Flash-based apps and games, we see it very easy to transport to the iPhone platform (ie NBA Shooting Game). And more importantly, as we take on more iPhone projects for our clients, we can now deliver smoother, more cost efficient apps to our table of offerings. Building with traditional iPhone App developers hasn’t been the easiest thing (espeically since iPhone App developers are in high demand and ask for a premium to boot.)

This is what we call a “game-changer”.

So this week Metlife launched a new product website for their Variable Annuities product. The site is a Flash based website that give info on this product. Soon a dynamic Flash calculator will be added so users and get real time results/info based on their submitted numbers.

Take a look at the new site: Metlife Variable Annuities