Looking for a blog? It’s unlikely there will be one here for a while.

The project keeping me the busiest is my site, TheAppPlanet. Apps are transforming our computing experience on mobile devices and tablets. Mobile apps are creating a lucrative industry, and this topic deserves in-depth, serious coverage that many sites just aren’t doing.

I soon hope to tweak my home page to function as a portfolio for showcasing my writing platform. For daily content about apps for iOS and Android check out TheAppPlanet or find it on Twitter or Facebook.

There are already some excellent apps, like The New York Times, Springpad and TweetDeck. The bigger story is that we are entering an era dominated by apps. It isn’t just our mobile devices: web browsers, computers (think the forthcoming Mac App Store) and televisions have an app storefront.

Monitoring essential and pitiful apps is the next great challenge for those (like me) who monitor consumer technology. How will this impact the once Wild West of the Internet? If people use apps more and scour the Internet less, how do do-it-yourself web site builders get discovered?

It is an exciting future, but not without questions.

One site is tumblr, which just got some huge publicity in a recent New York Times article. What I enjoy about tumblr is how effortless it is to share text, links, photos or other media. It feels far more content-driven than Facebook with less visual noise than Twitter. The iPhone app is outstanding and makes posting very easy. I’m not quite sure what to do with it yet, but if you are bored you can check out my tumblr page.

Scribd is a platform geared toward writers who wish to share their content. A few components still feel buggy, but overall I like the concept. Since it is geared toward longer content the updating occurs through uploading documents. While this is a bit cumbersome for sharing blog posts, it really lends itself to stories and articles. Google Docs integration is there so one can easily port those over. My latest Scribd posts can be found here.

If there are other social networks you are excited about, feel free to share in the comments.

But then reality hit. We learn that Gizmodo paid $5,000 for the phone from someone who found it at a Silicon Valley bar. Its unfortunate owner apparently left it behind. Instead of giving it to the police or making a more concerted effort to give it back to Apple, it was sold to the highest bidder. This was after the Apple employee was identified through a Facebook app and the phone was remotely wiped by Apple. All clear evidence that the phone was property that should have been returned.

So this is what we have come to. If something comes into your hands that isn’t yours, resort to the playground ethics of “finder’s keepers.”

This is why when someone returns money that is not theirs or engages in some other act of unforeseen honesty people are shocked. Too many share the view that if the world is ruthless and cutthroat, then we should be too.

There is an old saying about how each of us needs to have a moral compass to serve as a guide when we face such situations. Unfortunately we have another case where it just didn’t work. Maybe there’s an app for that.

In no part of the speech did Tiger give any kind of declaration of love for his wife. Given that all indications are that she is slipping away, it is a bit curious. He talked plenty about marriage, selfish behavior, irresponsible actions, and tons of apologies.

Sure, Tiger is super private, doesn’t want to discuss his marriage and probably is not comfortable with getting all touchy feely in public. That is perfectly understandable. But given that he has more mistresses than major championships one would think he could give just a tiny shout out to how much he loves his wife and hopes to stay with her.

Unless he doesn’t. In that case, it indicates at least one potential factor to all the bad behavior.

Most of this is really not our business and has received entirely too much press coverage. But Tiger’s handlers are not serving him well if they want to keep him scripted and in control of all access. If Tiger wants the public to trust him again, he needs to do a lot better job of convincing the public what he means.

When these rumors began (somewhere in the middle of the Bush administration) I thought I would never have use for such a device. I’m already happy with my laptop (a Toshiba tablet running Windows 7), iPhone 3GS, and a brilliant 23-inch Samsung monitor attached to my desktop. Seems like another gadget is the last thing I need.

But it looks like this Apple tablet thing is less a replacement for these other devices than what may turn out to be an excellent companion device. We didn’t know we “needed” an MP3 player until Apple made the iPod franchise a hit. My suspicion is that this device will be an eReader/music/video/Internet device on steroids that could over time change how we engage with multiple types of content. 

Many people, myself included, have dropped newspaper subscriptions for reading news online. Some similar movements are happening with television. Full programs and highlights are available on sites like YouTube or Hulu. Most of the college basketball I watch during the week is on espn360.com. And while I haven’t made the leap to an eReader because I am not a fan of the black and white eInk screens, I am intrigued by the idea of a small reading device with access to my books, magazines, newspapers, and other media.

While I am firmly in the Windows camp for my desktop computing, the iPhone is the most compelling smartphone around with an excellent ecosystem attached to it.  A touch-screen slate device that could revolutionize my media choices is an intriguing concept. When that black turtleneck appears Wednesday I will be watching.

10. People will stop calling the iPod touch an iTouch.

9. I will never again hear a voicemail from Tiger Woods.

8. Sarah Palin will stop speaking. Not lose her ability to speak, but just realize most of what she has to say is not that bright.

7. The Episcopal Church will brush up on 1 Corinthians and stop suing churches that have left this apostate mess. For an organization that is always shouting about inclusiveness and accepting others, it sure is quick to bring out the lawyers and make threats and intimidation against those who do not follow their beliefs. Here is hoping to a successful 2010 for the Anglican Province in North America.

6. The exclusivity agreement between AT&T and Apple will end. AT&T’s coverage has been abysmal, and maybe some competition from Verizon for iPhone fans will get them to right the ship.

5. The GOP will kick Michael Steele to the curb. He is an embarrassment at a time when the party needs leaders.

4. The Seahawks will fill their team holes: quarterback, offensive line, running game, secondary, and a run defense.

3. An actual television news agency will spring from the ashes of the right-wing Fox, left-wing MSNBC, and often-clueless CNN. (Hey, remember it’s a wish list).

2. Apple will finally introduce this magical, mystical wonder tablet so we can stop listening to rumors.

1. The TSA will get a clue about security. Making people hold their bladder longer on flights is not a viable solution to stopping chemical bombs.

It didn’t help when one of the Department of Education’s recommended activities was for students to write a letter detailing how they could help Obama. Yet even this overreach was not worthy of the paranoia exhibited by the Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs, and other inhabitants of the Land of the Stupid.

Some have argued that they feel the President should not be playing the role of wise sage or moral teacher. There may be a dash of over sized ego in our ubiquitous President, but I am inclined to give him a pass as the contents of the speech are nothing to be alarmed about. We also should keep in mind that much of the public’s desire to elevate the President goes back to the founding of the Republic. It was George Washington who was known as, “His Excellency” and, “the man who unites all hearts.” FDR’s Fireside Chats soothed a nation at war, and there is no shortage of conservatives who have an altar to Reagan above their mantle. Rightly or wrongly, the President carries considerable force and influence in our country.

Partisan debate is often good for a democracy, but hyper-partisan toxicity never is. During the later part of George W. Bush’s term the environment wasn’t that different than what Obama is experiencing: there was nothing Bush could say to avoid being roasted daily by critics.

Abraham Lincoln spoke of how a house divided against itself could not stand – arguing the nation would either condone slavery everywhere or nowhere. I fear the same kind of splintered nation over partisanship. We will either remember the better parts of our Republic, the miracle of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, or continue to slide into jaundiced factions who have little to say to each other; but much to scream.

I have returned from blogging purgatory. The past month I was swamped with teaching two University classes – one online and one on-site. Needless to say that, combined with the day job, left me time for little else. One class has wrapped up and the other is in its last week, so I am looking forward to getting back into the writing game; especially my posting to this blog and AppCraver. Especially since there is quite a bit going on with Apple’s new iPhone, Windows 7 (which I’m sporting on my new desktop), President Obama’s Mideast travels, you get the picture. I am looking forward to the conversation.