Back Page Tech

HTC Portfolio 2010 (Q1-Q2)

2009-12-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

I want this one for my next Android phone. Hint: my T-Mobile contract is done in November 2010, just in time for Christmas 2010.

Over on phandroid.com they have published the possible HTC mobiles coming in 2010.

The real star of this lineup in the Android space is the Bravo.
Below are excerpts from the phandroid article

Bravo:
“Flagship Phone”. Snapdragon OSD 8250 1GHz, HD 720p capture, 3.7″ WVGFA AMOLED, 256 Ram, 16GB MicroSD installed, 1400Ah battery with Sense UI. B3ler3fonte over at XDA says his latest info suggests the 256MB will be increased to 512. April 2010.

Possible photos of the Bravo are show below.

Hands On: enTourage eDGe eBook Reader Runs Android

2009-11-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

The enTourage eDGe
, a dual-screen eBook reader that sports both a 9.7-inch electronic ink display and 10.1-inch LCD, is part e-book reader, part netbook, and will cost $490 when it hits the market in February. The eDGe was originally designed with students in mind, but I can see how the fully integrated device, which offers both Wi-Fi and an optional 3G module, could appeal to a much broader audience, including a variety of professionals.

THe above excerpt comes from the GearLog

Digital 'Ants' Take on Computer Worms

2009-11-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Excerpt from the story

Oct. 28, 2009 -- Digital ants could soon be crawling through your computer's hard drive, but don't worry, they are there to help.

Scientists from Wake Forest University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have created an army of digital ants and their superior officers, digital sergeants and sentinels, to search out viruses, worms and other malware.

The new antivirus software could provide better protection while freeing up valuable hardware.

Google Dashboard - what does "Do no evil" mean?

2009-11-05T05:58:00.000-08:00

TED: Rachel Armstrong - Architecture that repairs itself?

2009-10-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

The technology would be simply miraculous!

TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong researches "metabolic materials" -- construction materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to "grow" architecture.

Finally, what I have waited for the QUE proReader

2009-10-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

QUE proReader

SkyDeck Google Voice Mashup

2009-05-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

With this mashup, SkyDeck provides you the ability to have people call your regular phone number but at the same time utilize Google Voice features such as:

* Call screening - Announce and screen callers
* Listen in - Listen before taking a call
* Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
* SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
* Place calls - Call US numbers for free
* Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
* Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
* Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
* Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
* Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
* Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
* Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
* Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
* Conference calling - Join people into a single call
* Call record - Record calls and store them online
* Call switch - Switch phones during a call
* Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile
* GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance
* Manage groups - Set preferences by group

Unfortunately, Google Voice accounts are currently only available to those who had already signed up for the Google Grand Central service.

After testing for only 24 hours, the only issue that appeared (and this is a big one for me) is the address book sync does not work well. In fact, it sucks. I tried sync'ing with both the phone address book and my GMail contacts. Neither effort yielded an accurate rendition over on SkyDeck. The big problem was the loss of the name associated with specific phone numbers.

Holding this major issue aside, I must admit this mashup provides me with exactly what I was originally hoping that Google Voice would provide.

Thanks SkyDeck. I hope that the address book situation improves.

UPDATE on 2009-05-19:
Well things did not go well with the address book and the import of the T-Mobile activity information. Maintaining names on activity import is very cumbersome and because of the poor sync between SkyDeck and G1 phone address book a large number of number/name combos were lost. This means that they would appear on SkyDeck without names and the update process is a one-by-one process.

Thinking I could speed things along by moving all the known entries to the "B-list" and then just work on the "A-list" of no names was yet another mistake. When all known address book entries were moved to the B-list they disappeared. Never to be seen again. This is a major issue.

In my opinion, SkyDeck would have been better served by waiting and testing the address book maintenance. My advice would be to wait until they have a more refined offering that works more completely.

Sorry SkyDeck, I deleted my account.

UPDATED: 2008-05-20:

After deleting my SkyDeck account, I decided to try again without activating the sync to SkyDeck from either GMail or my phone. I setup one sync as a manual copy from my GMail account. I then made sure that no sync activity would occur. THe contacts are now correct, at least for this one time. All other aspects work great.
My only whine is not with SkyDeck but rather with Google Voice. The issue is that callers hear 8 rings before Google Voice gets the call and then answers. Three of the rings are from my cell phone and the remaining five are Google Voice. I could not find a way to reset the GV number of rings.

I am thrilled that this is now working.

TED_P.W. Singer: Military robots and the terrifying future of war

2009-04-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

P.W. Singer bio

CBSNEWS.com The Conficker Worm: What Happens Next?

2009-03-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

TED-Nathan Wolfe: Hunting the next killer virus

2009-03-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

TED-David Pogue: Cool new things you can do with your mobile phone

2009-03-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

TED Talks-Pattie Maes: Unveiling the "Sixth Sense," game-changing wearable tech

2009-03-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

This demo -- from Pattie Maes' lab at MIT -- was the buzz of TED. It's a wearable device with a projection screen that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine "Minority Report" and then some.

This is why virtual worlds do have a purpose!

2009-03-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

I don't have the complete history on this video, but wouldn't this be a fantastic use of technology. Would we ever get out of our rooms?

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

Kindle 2, Jeff Bezos, both on The Daily Show

2009-02-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is both funny and true!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jeff Bezos

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

Microsoft and corporate responsibility?

2009-02-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

Normally, I don't promote Microsoft as a corporation. However, they might just change my opinion about them.

Microsoft Elevate America program

"Microsoft is partnering with governments, private, public and community organizations to launch Elevate America; free and low cost resources that provide the skills, training and certifications needed for people of all ages who are preparing for job opportunities in today's changing economy."

Link to Elevate America
Twitter to Elevate America

Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device

2009-02-10T04:30:00.001-08:00

Information on the Kindle 2 directly from the Amazon site.

Technical Details

Display: 6" diagonal E-Ink® electronic paper display, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale.

Size (in inches): 8" x 5.3" x 0.36".

Weight: 10.2 ounces.

System requirements: None, because it doesn't require a computer.

Storage: 2GB internal (approximately 1.4GB available for user content).

Battery Life: Read
on a single charge for up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off
and read for up to two weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless
usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In
low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will
consume battery power more quickly.

Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hours and supports charging from your computer via the included USB 2.0 cable.

Connectivity: EVDO
modem with fallback to 1xRTT; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S
wireless coverage via Sprint's 3G high-speed data network (check wireless coverage). See Wireless Terms and Conditions.

USB Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) for connection to the Kindle power adapter or optionally to connect to a PC or Macintosh computer.

Audio: 3.5mm stereo audio jack, rear-mounted stereo speakers.

Content Formats Supported: Kindle
(AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3,
unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
through conversion.

Included Accessories: Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable, rechargeable battery. Book cover sold separately.

Documentation: Quick Start Guide (included in box) [PDF]; Kindle 2 User's Guide (pre-installed on device) [PDF].

Warranty and Service: 1 year limited warranty and service included. Optional 2 year Extended Warranty sold separately.

Kindle Features

Advanced Design

Sleek & Trim

At
10.2 ounces, Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback and as thin as
most magazines. Barely a third of an inch in profile, you'll find
Kindle fits perfectly in your hands.

Improved Ergonomics

Kindle
is as easy to hold and use as a book. We designed it with long-form
reading in mind. When reading for long periods of time, people
naturally shift positions and often like to read with one hand.
Kindle's page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you
to read and turn pages comfortably with one hand from any position. The
page-turn buttons now flex inward to prevent any accidental page turns
when picking up or handling Kindle.

New 5-way controller

Kindle
has a new easy-to-use 5-way controller, enabling precise on-screen
navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words.

Simple to Use, No Computer Required

Kindle is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box--no setup, no cables, no computer required.

Even Longer Battery Life

25% Longer Battery Life - Read for Days Without Recharging

With
Kindle's 25% longer battery life, you can read on a single charge for
up to 4 days with wireless on. Turn wireless off and read for up to 2
weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping
the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in
1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more
quickly.

Charge via USB

Kindle supports
wall charging via the included Kindle power adapter, and charging from
your computer via the included USB 2.0 cable. Kindle fully charges in
approximately 4 hours.

Wireless Access with Whispernet

Fast 3G Network - Get Books in Under 60 Seconds

Whispernet
utilizes Amazon's optimized technology plus Sprint's national
high-speed (3G) data network to enable you to wirelessly search,
discover, and download content on the go. Your books and periodicals
are delivered via Whispernet in less than 60 seconds. And unlike WiFi, you never have to hunt for a hotspot.

Expanded National Coverage

We
expanded Kindle's national coverage to include more cities and areas in
all 50 states, enabling wireless downloads of books, newspapers,
magazines, and blogs. Check our wireless coverage map for availability.

No Wireless Bills

No
monthly wireless bills, data plans, or commitments. Amazon pays for
Kindle's wireless connectivity so you won't see a wireless bill. There
is no wireless setup--you are ready to shop, purchase and read right
out of the box. See Wireless Terms and Conditions.

Carry Your Library in 10.2 Ounces

Holds Over 1,500 Books

The
ultimate travel companion, Kindle weighs 10.2 ounces and holds more
than 1,500 books. No longer pick and choose which books fit in your
carry-on. Now you can always have your entire library with you.

Automatic Library Backup: Download Your Books Anytime for Free

A
copy of every book you purchased is backed up online at Amazon.com in
case you ever need to download it again. You can wirelessly re-download
books for free anytime. This allows you to make room for new titles on
your Kindle, knowing that Amazon is storing your personal library. We
even back up your last page read and annotations, so you'll never lose
those, either. Think of it as a bookshelf in your attic--even though
you don't see it, you know your books are there.

Enhanced Reading

Lose Yourself in Your Reading

The
most elegant feature of a physical book is that it disappears while
you're reading. Immersed in the author's world and ideas, you don't
notice a book's glue, the stitching, or ink. Our top design objective
was to make Kindle disappear--just like a physical book--so you can get
lost in your reading, not the technology.

Paper-like Screen

Utilizing the latest in electronic-ink
display technology, Kindle provides a crisp black-and-white 6" screen
with the same appearance and readability of printed paper. Sharp and
natural with no glare or backlight, reading on Kindle is nothing like
reading from a computer screen. Those who see it for the first time
always do a double-take. The screen works using ink, just like books
and newspapers, but displays the ink particles electronically. And
unlike a laptop or smart phone, Kindle never gets warm so you can
comfortably read as long as you like.

Sharper Display of Images and Photos

Kindle's high-resolution screen now boasts 16 shades of gray, so images and photos are sharper and clearer than ever.

Read in Sunlight with No Glare

Kindle's
screen reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting,
eliminating the glare associated with other electronic displays. As a
result, Kindle can be read as easily in bright sunlight as in your
living room.

Adjustable Text Size

Because
one size doesn't fit all, you can increase the text size of your
favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If your eyes
tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably.
Kindle has six adjustable font sizes to suit your reading preference.
Now every book in your library can be large print.

Read-to-Me Feature

Now
Kindle can read to you. With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can
read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you. You can
switch back and forth between reading and listening, and your spot is
automatically saved. Pages automatically turn while the content is
being read, so you can listen hands-free. You can choose from both male
and female voices which can be sped up or slowed down to suit your
preference. Anything you can read on Kindle, Kindle can read to you,
including books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and even personal
documents. In the middle of a great book or article but have to jump in
the car? Simply turn on Text-to-Speech and listen on the go.

Improved Newspaper Experience

Using
Kindle's new 5-way controller, you can quickly flip between articles,
making it faster and easier to browse and read the morning paper. Want
to remember the newspaper or magazine article you just read? Clip and
save entire articles for later reading with a single click.

Faster Page Turns

Pages now turn 20% faster on average.

Bookmarks and Annotations

By
using the QWERTY keyboard, you can add annotations to text, just like
you might write in the margins of a book. And because it is digital,
you can edit, delete, and export your notes. Using the new 5-way
controller, you can highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages
for future use. You'll never need to bookmark your last place in the
book, because Kindle remembers for you and always opens to the last
page you read.

Full Image Zoom

Images and photos display crisply on Kindle and can be zoomed to the full size of the screen.

Personal Documents

Kindle
makes it easy to take your personal documents with you, eliminating the
need to print. Each Kindle has a unique and customizable e-mail
address. You can set your unique email address on your Manage Your Kindle
page. This allows you and your approved contacts to e-mail Word, PDF
documents, and pictures wirelessly to your Kindle for a small per
document fee--currently only 10¢ per document. Kindle supports wireless
delivery of unprotected Microsoft Word, PDF, HTML, TXT, JPEG, GIF, PNG,
BMP, PRC and MOBI files.

You can email your PDFs wirelessly to your Kindle. Due to
PDF's fixed layout format, some complex PDF files may not format
correctly on your Kindle.

If you are not in a wireless area or would like to avoid the
fee, you can send attachments to "name"@free.kindle.com to be converted
and e-mailed to your computer at the e-mail address associated with
your Amazon.com account login. You can then transfer the document to
your Kindle using your USB connection. For example, if your Kindle
email address is Jay@Kindle.com, send your attachments to
Jay@free.kindle.com.

Built-in Dictionary with Instant Lookup

Never get caught without a dictionary. Kindle includes The New Oxford American Dictionary
with over 250,000 entries and definitions, so you can seamlessly look
up the definitions of words without interrupting your reading. Come
across a word you don't know? Simply move the cursor to it and the
definition will automatically display at the bottom of the screen.
Never fear a sesquipedalian word again--simply look it up and keep
reading.

Wireless Access to Wikipedia

Kindle
also includes free built-in access to the world's most exhaustive and
up-to-date encyclopedia--Wikipedia.org. With Kindle in hand, looking up
people, places, events, and more has never been easier. It gives whole
new meaning to the phrase walking encyclopedia.

Kindle
makes it easy to search within a book, across your library, in the
Kindle Store, or even the Web. To use the Search feature, simply type
in a word or phrase you're looking for, and Kindle finds every instance
in your book or across your Kindle library. Looking for the first
reference of a character in your book? Simply type in the name and
search. You can extend your search to the Kindle Store to find related
titles you may be interested in. Explore even further by searching
Wikipedia and the Web.

Audiobooks

With Kindle, you are able to download and enjoy more than 50,000 audio titles from Audible.com,
including bestselling audio books, radio programs, audio newspapers,
and magazines. Due to their file size, audiobooks are downloaded to
your PC over your existing Internet connection and then transferred to
Kindle using the included USB 2.0 cable. Listen via Kindle's speaker or
plug in your headphones for private listening.

Whispersync

Have more than one Kindle? Our new Whispersync
technology allows you to seamlessly switch back and forth between your
Kindle devices while keeping your reading location synchronized--simply
pick up reading right where you left off.

Experimental Features

The experimental
category represents features we are still working on to enhance the
Kindle experience even further. Try them out and let us know what you
think.

Read-to-Me

Now Kindle can read to
you. With its new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book,
blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you. You can switch back and
forth between reading and listening, and your spot is automatically
saved. Pages automatically turn while the content is being read, so you
can listen hands-free. You can speed up or slow down the reading speeds
or choose a male or female voice. Anything you can read on Kindle,
Kindle can read to you, including books, newspapers, magazines, blogs
and even personal documents. In the middle of a great book or article
but have to jump in the car? Simply turn on Text-to-Speech and listen
on the go.

Basic Web Browser

Kindle's
Basic Web browser works well to read simple, text-centric Web sites
such as Google and Wikipedia. Need to find a movie listing or look up a
sports score? Now it's easier than ever to find the information you're
looking for right from your Kindle.

PDF Document Conversion

You
can email your PDF documents wirelessly to your Kindle, just like other
personal documents. Due to PDF's fixed layout format, some complex PDF
files may not format correctly on your Kindle.

Listen to Music & Podcasts

Transfer
MP3 files to Kindle to play as background music while you read. You can
quickly and easily transfer MP3 files via USB by connecting Kindle to
your computer.

Included in The Box

Kindle
electronic reader, power adapter, and USB 2.0 cable (for connection to
the Kindle power adapter or optionally to connect to a PC or Macintosh
computer).

Kindle is just over 1/3 of an inch

Carry your library in 10.2 ounces

Read in sunlight with no glare

Sharper display with 16 shades of gray

Adjustable text size for comfortable reading

Use the keyboard to add annotations to text

Built-in Dictionary with Instant Lookup

Shop the Kindle Store right on your device

Quick observation: Has Google suddenly started producing more and more stuff?

2009-02-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

If you have noticed a lot more "stuff" coming out of Google lately, perhaps you're not alone. Suddenly, after dropping both people and services, Google has come to the table with new off-line features, new applications and targeting mobile device , location based information and the much more.

So why do you think this is happening?

My assumption is they know marketing and how to advertise. You may recall a Hyundai ad from the Superbowl where the other car makers suddenly know how to pronounce Hyundai. You may also have heard that Hyundai sales are up compared to most other car manufacturers. Why? Well it is because like Google they are "in your face" with something you either need or want.

In Hyundai's case it is the safety net of buying a Hyundai and if you lose your job they will take the car back. In Google's case it is providing more for less (free).
If both of these companies gain market share, they know that it may translate into brand loyalty. If that happens, customers tend to stay rather than switch even if something better comes along. Okay, Google doesn't really need more market share, but both companies aren't stupid and know that when times get better they will be able to further improve their business with these new customers.

Bottom line, when the economy gets bad and your customers are hurting - be truthful, do your best, give your customers what they need not what you think they want, and
treat them with respect and compassion.

This falls into the realm of my three life tenets:

trust
passion
caring

To trust and be trusted; to do whatever you do with passion; and be caring for both yourself and others.

As some companies clearly understand, their customers are their last hope to survive.

TED- Philip Rosedale: Second Life, where anything is possible

2009-02-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

Several people in the past have asked me what was the purpose of Second Life. I never had a good answer, although inside I knew that some time in the future this virtual world concept would be a normal part of our lives.

Here is a TED Talk given by the creator of Second Life which helps explain its purpose.

"Just keep swimming" quote by Dory from Finding Nemo

2009-01-30T07:26:00.000-08:00

Recently the DV Show produced a live web session on the subject "Improve Your Video Business". This session focused on the video business, but the advice could be applied to business in general. Specifically, the concept of keeping things going as business dries up. Several excellent ideas on what to do in becoming leaner, making the most of small opportunities and the best way to advertise.

Excerpts from the website:

Video Business Growth Expert Kris Simmons joined us live for a very informative, interactive Q&A session that went very well. So well, he is set to join us again on another teleconference like this very soon.

Topics discussed:

Tips on how a video pro can survive in this economy.
Kick starting a down video business.
Tips on how to rise above the sea of videographers in your business area.
Where to go fishing for new business…networking in the ocean rather than a lake.
Questions and comments

The bottom line was to "just keep swimming".
Enjoy!

Testing Windows 7. This is not Vista OR is it?

2009-01-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

Spent yesterday testing the recently released Windows 7 Beta. My goals were to compare it to Vista and see how it ran on the older WinXP machines. The machine I selected was an older Toshiba Satellite M65-S9092. The reason was that it is not Vista certified. Toshiba makes no Vista drivers specifically for this model and I have been running Vista for about 6 months on it. The Toshiba is a good example of older hardware that got abandoned by the Vista migration.

The first test was a fresh install on the slowest, smallest disk drive I could find. The drive is from an ancient Toshiba notebook and is only 20 GB is size. The next test will be an upgrade from Vista SP1 on a large, higher speed drive in the same Toshiba M65.

My first surprise was the fact that the fresh install took about 45 minutes from start to finish. This compares favorably to the Vista 3 hour fresh install on the same hardware.

Second surprise was that there were no hardware incompatibilities save one, there was no wireless card driver installed. Since the notebook was Ethernet hardwired, this did not present an issue during the install and later allow for the download of the Intel Proset Wireless driver for Vista. Again, the Toshiba M65 does not have Vista drivers, but the Intel card is supported using Vista on other Toshibas. So obtaining the compatible driver from the Toshiba support site was not an issue. Just needed to get it from the list of another notebook that also has the same wireless card.

The third surprise was the performance. It screams! Even on the very same hardware which Aero had to be turned off when using Vista. Windows 7's Aero works just fine without stutters or delays. The overall look is clean and reminds me a lot of OS X. As I have said recently, Windows 7 is basically Vista done right. Hopefully, as it moves through the beta cycle Microsoft will not adversely affect the performance profile.

I will have more on the testing and upgrade activity later. For now, I would suggest that Windows 7 is a great alternative for people not wanting to go the Vista route or who have been wondering whether to upgrade to Vista or move to Mac or Linux. My opinion: DO NOT UPGRADE TO VISTA! Wait for Windows 7, you won't be disappointed. Also note that I can't imagine how fast Windows 7 will run on something like the new MacBooks.

Another personal opinion about how Microsoft could retain some of its "honor" after the Vista catastrophe; by providing a really, really cheap upgrade to all those who have already purchased Vista. I mean ridiculously cheap! This would do two things. First, make those poor folks who have actually been tolerating Vista all this time, happier. Second, provide a fixed base of people who are going to speak happy words about the Windows 7 OS. This alone could bring Microsoft back from the "bad" list.

Here's hoping you get to try Windows 7 beta, I think you will find it an amazing improvement over Vista. I will have more information about the testing as things progress.

Enjoy!

Links:
UPDATED 2009-01-18: Get latest engadget Windows 7 news
Windows 7 Home
Download Win 7
ars technica - Deep inside the Windows 7 Public Beta (please note that ars says that the speed difference between Windows 7 and Vista is "pretty slight". This may depend on the hardware you use. In my case, the perceived Windows 7 performance improvement is immense over Vista)

Update: Just finished testing the upgrade of Vista SP1 to Windows 7. Unfortunately, this was an absolute failure. A large number of incompatible applications, tools and utilities were listed and required removal prior to starting the upgrade. The list of items was un-installed from the machine but the upgrade continued to report a minimum of these items (all were already removed) and although it allowed the install to continue the upgrade eventually failed and reverted back to the former Vista OS version. Of course, now all those items had been removed which meant that the machine was not exactly restored. All of this effort took many hours and brought back memories of the XP to Vista migration. My faith was now restored in the ability of Microsoft to take something wonderful and subvert it into a steaming pile.

My hopes are not dashed completely since this is the beta version. They will need to make some significant changes to the upgrade process to make it usable.

Overall, I like what Microsoft is doing with Windows 7. However, their typical implementation skills with install and upgrade kits, as always, is less than adequate.

My personal opinion is that Windows 7 is just the public face of a "Mojave". They are simply tweaking and repackaging Vista to remove the bad taste from everyone's mouth when they utter the phase "Windows Vista". Here's hoping it is successful and actually improves the computer experiences of all involved.

Updated 2009-01-20: What’s New in Windows 7: The Taskbar! (Chris Pirillo Show)

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

Updated 2009-01-27: There appears to be some flaws in the Windows 7 impressiveness. Suddenly, after running AVG security software for a little over one week, Windows 7 demonstrated the same wonderful performance profile of Vista. CPU hits 100% as soon as the machine finishes booting. 85% of the usage was dedicated to AVG. Thinking that this too shall pass, the machine was left alone for 4 hours and the same usage continued. Uninstalling AVG and installing Norton cured this problem, at least for now. This may not be Windows 7 fault, but rather AVG beta issues. Still something feels very familiar.

Another area of consumption was after installing Office Professional 2007. The basic package ran fine, but after the "business" portions (Business Contact Manager, Accounting Express and the associated add-ons) performance again went into the toilet. Now, this may not all be Windows 7 fault but rather the fault of applying these apps to an under powered PC. Un-installing the Business portion of Office 2007 solved some of the issues.

In addition, the backup/restore compatibility with Windows Home Server was tested. This meant backing up the Windows 7's 20GB drive and then restoring it to a new 100GB drive. That activity mirrors what would normally happen in an hardware upgrade scenario. The only issue was the inability to boot from the new drive, not an insignificant problem but easily resolved. The issue was repaired using the original Windows 7 installation disc in repair mode. However, now Windows 7 comes out of sleep mode displaying an error that the boot manager has generated errors or can not be found. Standard repair attempts have not resolved this issue but simply pressing enter as requested allow the boot to successfully complete. (more on this later)

T-Mobile G1 with Google Survey

2009-01-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

If you are a T-Mobile G1 owner, I hope you have received this email. It is a survey about the G1 (BTW, you can't take it using the G1, you must use IE browser). You can make some money and perhaps make a difference in what happens with the G1. First part of the survey takes way less than 10 minutes. But the follow-on survey takes about 40 minutes. The interesting thing about the follow-on survey is that it appears to be interactive. You get to see what others are responding to the survey in real-time. Now, this could be easily faked, but I don't think that is T-Mobile's style.

Good questions and you have the ability for some free-form answers. Mainly focused on battery life and what you want next.

Maritz Research is conducting this survey on behalf of T-Mobile. So, if you aren't comfortable with that company, skip this one.

Excerpt from the email:

T-Mobile would like to hear from you regarding your experience with your new T-Mobile G1 with Google phone.

* Your feedback will help T-Mobile to optimize your experience with your T-Mobile G1 phone by improving available resources and services that you may use.
* This is a brief survey that will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
* Your responses will be used for research purposes only.
* Depending on your answers to this short survey, you may be selected to participate in a 45-minute interactive online discussion (similar to a focus group). If selected, you may participate in the interactive session anytime through January 12th, 2009. Participants who complete the 45-minute session will be awarded $20.

This 10-minute survey to see if you qualify for the interactive session is open between now and midnight (Pacific Time) on Monday, January 12th, 2009.

The easy mobile conversion of your web page

2008-11-27T07:22:00.001-08:00

Create websites for mobile cell phones - access news, video, blogs, games, internet media

From the mippin.com about page.

Mippin
is the fastest and easiest way to get your favorite web content on your
mobile phone. Whether you want to follow breaking news or tech updates,
from big publishers or tiny blogs, Mippin brings them all seamlessly
together in the perfect format for your phone. You can quickly search
and browse, see what others are reading and share your own discoveries.
And Mippin is smart: it remembers exactly what you like and delivers
automatic one-click updates.
Just type mippin.com into your mobile browser and see just how quick and easy the web becomes.

Category: Why didn't I think of that!!!

2008-11-27T07:15:00.001-08:00

A Kinder, Gentler Thermometer: Mother's Touch Goes High Tech - Medgadget - www.medgadget.com

Piaggio Unveils a 141-MPG Plug-In Hybrid Scooter

2008-11-11T12:15:00.001-08:00

Another really cool gadget.

Piaggio Unveils a 141-MPG Plug-In Hybrid Scooter | Autopia from Wi red.com

Android G1 Rap

2008-10-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

http://androidforums.com/

CEATEC 2008: Fujitsu presents Kindle “killer” Flepia

2008-10-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I have a fascination with the e-paper, e-book world. Here is yet another player in this market.

Additional info:

Earlier CrunchGear blog entry about this tech

MoBuzz Daily Buzz - Interview with Nike Plus GM

2008-10-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

http://dailybuzz.mobuzz.tv At the Picnic Conference in Amsterdam we talk with Michael Tchao, General Manager, Nike Techlab Group, about the Nike Plus and the iPod integration.

The ah-ha moment for me was the misconception which I held that this was only for runners. Being a walker, this is yet another social network based on physical activity.

Cool. Enjoy!

HTC's T-Mobile G1 Video

2008-09-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Almost perfect, sure, but not exactly an iPhone killer.
This will be the future, that is, if it catches on.
Remember Linux is "open" so acceptance may be slow for the G1.
The consumer will need to be educated on how "open" answers the question:

"What's in it for me?"

"The Hype"

"The Tour"

iPhone, so what! Now here's a phone!

2008-09-16T14:08:00.002-07:00

HTC – Touch Phone, PDA Phone, Smartphone, Mobile Computer: Products – HTC Touch HD: Overview

Rumored to become available in Q4. We shall see. Now, this is one nice phone. Sorry Android, but you may have waited just a little too long.

Kindle, schmindle, this is the next big thing!

2008-09-11T15:47:00.001-07:00

Plastic Logic's e-reader should pump up the competition in this arena.

Plastic Logic

Plastic Logic flexible e-newspaper

2008-09-08T07:10:00.001-07:00

engadget article on Plastic Logic's e-paper

The interesting thing here is the higher resolution.
Add a live mobile connection and this should be the next revolution.

Plastic Logic Product

Update: CrunchGear has article indicating that it will be wireless updated.

iPhone is not a Back Page Tech story

2008-06-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

Things people wanted from the iPhone but did not get (per Molly Wood on the Buzz Report):

Lower monthly fees (not much can be done about this one, since we are between a rock and a hard place if you "really" want the iPhone)
video capture (this is a software issue and might be resolved via folks like Qik)
3G Music Downloads (another software issue)
Multimedia Messaging (another software issue)
Landscape keyboard (another software issue)
better camera (this was just stupid on Apple's part, probably one of the easiest fixes they could have made)
cut and past (another software issue)
stereo bluetooth (Apple is just lame on this one)
streaming bluetooth audio (Apple lame again)
phone as modem (tethering) (another software issue)
voice dialing (another software issue)
to-do list (another software issue)
32 GB version (gotta have something for the next release. how soon people forget what happened in the past)
haptic feedback (right. why not? battery? mechanics? get over it!)

Software issues, just give Steve Jobs something to announce at the next amazing Apple-centric event. (Perhaps something like this: Apple Announces 3G iPhone! Exclusive!)

After all of this, I will probably switch from my Windows Mobile 6.1 Samsung Blackjack to the iPhone. I am already an AT&T customer and my current 2 year contract is done in July 2008, this means I will probably see no difference in charges or related hardware costs, because my normal upgrade cycle is about every 2 years and typically costs between $100 and $200.

I don't believe that I am alone on this switchover. Currently several situations are coming together to create the perfect gadget storm.

Factor 1: Apple computer products are looking better and better as Vista continues to wallow in its own "whatever".
Factor 2: the iPhone has produced a "game changing" scenario that most of the other phone manufacturers are now emulating
Factor 3: Apple is making the "cloud" a reality for folks who in listening to Microsoft had no idea what the hell they were talking about
Factor 4: Apple has learned a major lesson - build your own stuff, but play nice with others. Well at least play nice with the "others" that have things which get you even more sales without you (Apple) needing to come up with a compromise to get them to play, for example Google and the iPhone relationship.

Wouldn't it be interesting if suddenly all the Android efforts were some how also available on an iPhone?

Wouldn't it be interesting if the iPhone becomes not just your phone but replaces your mobile computing platforms (PDA, laptop, e-reader)?

Wouldn't it be interesting if... ?

Oh enough of that. I'm probably completely wrong. But you just never you, you know?

Can NoScript help?

2008-05-31T07:14:00.000-07:00

In watching an episode of Tekzilla, they mentioned a Firefox addon called NoScript. Always willing to try something new, it was installed within seconds and after restarting FF my browsing experience was changed forever!

The first thing you notice is the "S" down in the lower right corner of the browser window. The second thing is the popup "Options" line also down in the lower portion of the browser. It is a simple matter to authorize the scripts on a page and NoScript automatically reloads the page after changes are selected. For me, it works well and reasonably unobtrusively. However, some who desire a transparent browsing experience may not appreciate the attention required for this added safety.

The unexpected benefit for my browsing experience was the identification of all the scripts within a web page. Both the ones that make the page "work" as well as the insidious background, hidden scripts that track, collect or basically spy on your internet behaviors. NoScript easily exposes these to the user and provides a way to be in control of both your actions and what others can collect about those actions.

Of course, there is the matter of trust. Yes, Noscript is an excellent aid to safe surfin', but it has the opportunity to abuse that trust. However, I don't believe that this is the case and since its introduction it has been closely reviewed. It is free software under GPL licensing. So for now, I will trust it until I learn something different.

Information from the web site:

The NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and others mozilla-based browsers:
this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins
to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank),
and provides the most powerful Anti-XSS protection available in a browser.

NoScript's unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking approach
prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even not known yet!)
with no loss of functionality...

You can enable JavaScript, Java and plugin execution for sites you trust with a simple left-click
on the NoScript status bar icon (look at the picture), or
using the contextual menu, for easier operation in popup statusbar-less windows.

Watch the "Using NoScript" video
kindly contributed by John Wilkerson.

Staying safe has never been so easy!

Experts will agree: Firefox is really safer with NoScript!

Bottom line: NoScript has been around for a couple of years. For this author, it has opened his eyes to just how nasty some of the scripting is on various sites. Even if you plan to globally authorize all scripting, be sure to at least check out the scripts on the pages you visit, they could be helping you in ways you really, really don't want to have happen.

NoScript was written by Giorgio Maone who cofounded Informaction located in Palermo, Italy.

You can get NoScript here.

Virtual Cable™

2008-05-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

This might be listed in the "too cool to be true" section, but if it is truly as good as they say, I love it!

Mentioned at their web site:

Virtual Cable™ is a unique display for a car navigation system. The driver sees the Virtual Cable™ image through the windshield. It appears as if suspended over the road, similar to a trolley cable. The image is in true 3D and appears to be a natural part of the landscape. The driver uses only peripheral vision to follow the Virtual Cable™.

The Virtual Cable™ is so powerful, intuitive, unambiguous and safe because it appears and behaves with true 3 dimensionality within the landscape.

Also noted on their site:

They have video simulations demonstrating the Virtual Cable™. These videos are limited by the 2 dimensionality of your computer screen. Nothing we can show on a flat screen can prepare you for the impressive way the truly 3 dimensional Virtual Cable™ looks within the real landscape.

And finally, how it gets to the consumer:

To appear real within the landscape, the image must be truly three-dimensional. The Virtual Cable™ uses a unique volumetric display to create this 3D image (patent pending).

The Virtual Cable™ displays can be offered at prices competitive with the embedded screen-based car navigation systems. All components used by the Virtual Cable™ display are currently mass produced for other purposes.

In terms of components independence, the Virtual Cable™ display (as a part of navigation system) is analogous to a PC monitor (as a part of a personal computer system). Just as a PC (CPU) may by upgraded, or replaced, without replacing the monitor, the route-planning device may be upgraded, or replaced, while keeping the original, factory-installed Virtual Cable™ display.

The Virtual Cable™ display must be factory-installed in a car and can be integrated with ANY method of route planning: voice interface, in-car instrument panel screen, portable map display system, cell phone, PDA, or PC.

This flexible design allows car companies to integrate with a single navigation/telematics service provider or to give customers a choice of several providers. The car companies could improve their share of the car navigation market by offering a superior display while freeing them from having to participate in the day-to-day customer support of the route planning devices and services.

twitter crushed under its own weight

2008-05-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

As Calacanis would say: "TWITTER!"

UPDATE: 2008.05.29
You have to admit their error messages are artistic, well at least cartoonish.

XOXO = XO2

2008-05-21T07:09:00.001-07:00

As the iPhone made a mobile leap, the XOXO will be the leap for eReaders and small "usable" devices (don't say laptop). If they do a G1G1 program, I would gladly participate.

Details from Christoph Derndorfer's post.

At the much-anticipated press-event that took place at OLPC HQ in Boston earlier today, the organization unveiled its plans for second generation of XO hardware. The XO-2, or XOXO as it's also called, comes with dual-touchscreens which has some tech journalists thinking of the Nintendo DS. As you can see on the photo to your right one of the touchscreens can be used as a keyboard to enable the standard typewriter style of computing.

The XO-2 will make use of displays developed by Pixel Qi which was founded by former OLPC-CTO Mary Lou Jepsen in early 2008.

TED -Yves Behar: Creating objects that tell stories

2008-05-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

Designer Yves Behar digs up his creative roots to discuss some of the iconic objects he's created (the Leaf lamp, the Jawbone headset). Then he turns to the witty, surprising, elegant objects he's working on now -- including the "$100 laptop."

TED Talk- Joshua Klein: The amazing intelligence of crows

2008-05-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hacker and writer Joshua Klein talks about his crow vending machine experiment and the thriving urban mutualism between humans and crows.

Included are examples of human-crow research encounters.

Joshua Klein TED bio

Hmmm, Lenovo vs Mac Air

2008-04-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

You be the judge.

HTC new U.S. ad campaign

2008-04-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for subtle advertising.

The lastest TV commercial of HTC's flagship touch-phone, the HTC Touch. Set your fingers free. Enjoy!

My wife's phone from HTC/ATT

cNet's News.com - Darwin's private papers go digital

2008-04-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

Reported over at cNet's - Darwin's private papers go digital.

Granted this is not exactly "tech news", but it definitely qualifies at "back page news". I figure that bunches of folks will be scouring these online reads for evidence supporting their standings on which ever side of the evolution/creationism discussion they fall.

As noted in the news.com article of Thursday 2008.04.17 -

The Darwin Online Project is releasing on Thursday more than 90,000 online pages of Charles Darwin's photographs, sketches, and manuscripts, including the first draft of his theory of evolution.

Darwin Online

As a side note, over on the Darwin Online site they have a page dedicated to 2009 -

The year 2009 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species (24 November 1859) and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth (12 February 1809)

To find out the latest releases, try the What's New page.

Overall, this stuff is an interesting read when you put together the time line, events of the day and the discussions that have ensued since the initial publications. Granted to some this will be a boring as let's say... rust, but to this writer, who is intrigued by anyone who can step beyond their present day by seeing what is and then making the leap to predict what was and what will be. It is an amazing mind which accomplishes this.

Enjoy!

Darren Rowse - Why I love twitter?

2008-04-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

When Darren Rowse asked his twitter followers "Why do you love twitter?", he received these responses in about one hour. Then of course, made this video.

I love twitter as well. Two of the comments hit home for me. They are - twitter being a massive multi-player instant messaging client and the fact that you get to listen to a huge "over-the-cube-wall" set of conversations.

One thing that I don't understand about the twitter-verse is their negativity towards Robert Scoble's high level of chatter. Are these the same people who while watching TV complain that there is nothing on, yet continue to watch and complain and watch and complain...? Change the channel! Turn it off! OR, listen for the nuggets of information excellence and let the rest drift by.

Sorry, I digress. Enjoy the vid.

Short post: My next mobile phone

2008-03-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Crunch Gear article about a possible Google Android-based phone.
If this is "real" and is touch-sensitive, they had me at "Dream".

Barack Obama: On Net Neutrality (Updated)

2008-03-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Just be be fair, here is a link to the freepress.net story on "Clinton Defends Net Neutrality Position"
Bottom line is that both Obama and Clinton co-sponsored legislation to promote Net Neutrality.

iGizmo First Issue on the web

2008-03-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Another online magazine about technology... ho hum... no wait!
This is a little different. iGizmo takes the magazine format and updates it to an interactive nature where the viewer/reader flips the pages just like a real hold in your hand mag, but there are "hot spots" to get more details about the topics. This runs the route of videos, demos, and up close looks at new gizmos.

Remember this is UK based so the trend on gadgets may be European-centric.

It remains to be seen if this once every fortnight online mag can keep up with the gadgets and gizmos which spew forth each day. But, if you're interested in gizmos, and who isn't, it will cost you nothing to sign up for iG (iGIZMO).

Enjoy!

Quik Pod DSLR (recommended by Cali Lewis)

2008-03-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

I recently purchased the Quik Pod DSLR directly from their website store. I decided on this one based on a geekbrief.tv episode where Cali "advertised" it.

Watch video clip

For my use, I wanted to attach a Canon HV20 camcorder with a Rodes Videomic. This weighs exactly 2 pounds so I thought it would be the perfect light weight extender and monopod. Since the mic changes the center of gravity towards the front of the camera, I was concerned that this might be to much for the QP.

The specs says that the Quik Pod can handle a DSLR of that weight and that usually means with the additional of a telephoto lens. To my surprise the "pole" was strong enough to handle this weight, however the tilt mechanism decided it needed to either droop forward or fall backwards as if it were falling asleep as I filmed. I know I do some pretty boring stuff, but I didn't need my equipment to start making comments on my work.

My first attempts at tightening the butterfly nut caused me to worry about the stress on the plastic assembly. No matter how much I tightening the nut, the droopiness remained.

Since this was the only issue, I decided to look into the construction a bit.

But first the things I liked about the Quik Pod are:

very compact
very light
very strong
quick release head
has a rubberized foot for monopod use and a wrist strap connector for "pole" use. (Although it would be better if there were a quick release for these to change between them)
the tiny mirror was unexpectedly useful when the Quik Pod was not fully extended. (it was just a bit too small for my ancient eyes when QP was at its longest.)
holding it at half length extension was not a problem, holding it at full extension required hand and hip combo.
one problem I expected but never arose was having the whole thing tilt side to side. I guess there is enough balance to not allow this.

Now, back to the droop. I disassembled the tilt mechanism and discovered the surfaces inside were all smooth plastic, meaning that its ability to hold weight locked in a position would require more tightening than the plastic might tolerate. Since I was going to write this review, I decided to write Cali and give her some feedback on the QP issue. She in turn forwarded my note to Wayne at QuikPod and they instantly (and I mean instantly) responded with the following reply.

We have just completed a factory fix and I would like to send you a new
DSLR head that will solve the problem.

In a few days, I received the new mechanism and now the QuikPod DSLR is PERFECT.

The fix was the additional of teeth on the inside that allow the surfaces to lock in place when the butterfly nut is tightened. It was no longer required to tighten this excessively, so no more worries about stressing the plastic.

The Quik Pod is an excellent additional to any camera or camcorder. A great way to perform "self" shots as well as creating those really low altitude aerial shots. Enjoy!

Video: Twitter in Plain English

2008-03-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

leelefever provides the following video on commoncraft.com.

This 2.5 minute video is a result of feedback from our fans. We've received a number of requests from people who want their
friends to use the micro-blogging service Twitter, but can't seem to explain it well. We hope this video helps.

Repost from BBC News - Andy Rubin demos Android on a proto-touch mobile

2008-02-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

Submarine cables severed - Conspiracy?

2008-02-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

MoBuzz.tv summarizes the fact, fiction and conspiracies about the recent cable cuts.

MoBuzz description of the video:

Today we thought we would focus on just the one thing instead of our usual meandering habits. When four underwater cables were damaged at the beginning of this month, conspiracy theorists went into overdrive on the internet. We take a look at what all the fuss was about.

Polymer Vision's Readius eReader mobile phone coming in 2008

2008-02-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

There was an old sci-fi story called "Earth: Final Conflict" which was a TV series. The coolest device on that show was the mobile phones. The phones had a pull out transparent sheet which expanded the display for video phone images and the like. As with a lot of scifi concepts they sometimes move to reality. This may be getting close. Polymervision had hoped to deliver sometime during the end of 2007.

Polymervision has developed Readius and rollable display which later in 2008 may provide an eReader in the size of a standard mobile phone. According to engadget, they will be releasing finally in Italy.

On January 22nd, 2008, they made the following announcement.

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – January 22nd 2008 – Polymer Vision, the inventor of rollable displays and a spin out from Philips, today introduced the Readius® product for commercial launch by mid 2008.   The exclusive device exploits the versatility of rollable displays to merge the ‘reading friendly’ strengths of e-readers with the ‘high mobility’ features of mobile phones. Together with the Readius® internet portal, designed for personalisation and content selection, the company offers a whole new mobile phone category.

“People are demanding greater choice and flexibility in having overall instant access to personal content and information” said Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision. “They do not want to be concerned with small screens, not being able to read in sunlight, a dead battery or a device being too bulky to carry in their pocket. Readius® solves these worries and is generations ahead of anything else out there today”.

Readius® is the ideal travel companion
Designed around ease of use and mobility, Readius® can last for 30 hours of continuous reading without battery charge. The 3G HSDPA tri-band phone allows worldwide calls and high speed instant updates from personally selected news sources, email and other services.
Standard POP3 and IMAP is supported for ISP e-mail and others such as Yahoo!Mail, Google Gmail and Microsoft Exchange. The Micro SD High Capacity storage ensures quick and easy access to e-books and valuable information. Readius® also features audio capabilities, including MP3, for podcasts, audio books and music.

Readius® internet portal delivers choice and flexibility
The Readius® internet portal allows users to quickly and simply configure their Readius® User Interface as well as select content and services to individual style and needs. With zero clicks, personal data and information is then ‘pushed’ whenever and wherever it is needed.
The portal presents content providers with a commercially attractive channel to offer their content and services to the high growth mobile consumer market. Polymer Vision is in discussion with numerous such providers to populate the portal and make a broad choice of content and services available to Readius® owners.

Commercial
Readius® will be available for commercial launch mid 2008, creating an exceptional opportunity for mobile operators, retail outlets and content providers to win new customers, increase revenues and develop non-intrusive mobile advertising options. Specific details on timing, volumes and pricing can be discussed by appointment.
Readius®, its applications, and the content download platform, will be on show at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 11th – 14th February 2008, at the Polymer Vision booth, Hall 2, Booth C05.

To get to know Readius® better - with videos, images and downloads - please visit the Polymer Vision website: www.polymervision.com

Summary of key specifications
Weight:           One third the average weight of e-readers (115g)
Display size:    Twice the surface area of current largest phone display (5” diagonal, 16 greyscales)
Device size:     Equal to an average mobile phone when closed (115 x 57 x 21mm)
Battery life:      Up to six times longer than on mobile phones (30 hours continuous reading)
                       (Reading)
Connectivity:   Greatest coverage of any e-reader (Tri Band/3G HSDPA)
                    Supporting ActiveSync and USB mass storage (USB 2.0)
                     Communication with accessories and other devices (Bluetooth 2.0)
Processor:        Powerful processing engine (ARM11 400MHz)
Storage:           Flexible, today commercially available up to 8GB (High Capacity Micro SD)
User Interface: Just 8 buttons (SimpleTouch Buttons)

Press contact Polymer Vision
Polymer Vision News Desk
Gerdie Vlassak
+31 (0)40 2774200
info@polymervision.com

Readius® leads to a more environmentally friendly future
Polymer Vision sees a future where over 3 billion mobile users have compact, more power efficient, secure mobile devices - with screens large enough to trigger dramatic reductions in the casual use of paper. The company is thereby highly motivated to play a key role in creating a more environmentally friendly future while successfully commercializing their products.

About Polymer Vision
Polymer Vision is the inventor of rollable displays and the pioneer of rollable display enabled mobile devices. It is the first company to bring organic semiconductor based flexible/rollable displays to production and the first to announce a related commercial product. Polymer Vision Ltd is a private company which spun out of Philips at the end of 2006. In 2007 it acquired all the assets of Innos UK Ltd to establish Polymer Vision (UK) Ltd in Southampton, England, now the display manufacturing arm of the company. Also in 2007 Polymer Vision received the prestigious “Innovation Award” at the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona in recognition of the significant contribution of Polymer Vision to the mobile industry.

Opinion - IDVault

2008-01-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Do you bank, invest, purchase or enter a username and password combination while online? If you're like most people, you do. Did you know your accounts and perhaps your identity could be compromised? If you're like most people, you do, but the convenience factor usually overrides your wariness and you accept the risks.

Well, I'm not so accepting. So to that end I looked around for a way to secure all those usernames and passwords, plus provide a secure method to exchange them with the target site. There are a number of choices out on the market, but each had some aspect that did not matchup with the general need for this type of protection.

Enter IDVault.

IDVault 2008 was announced on September 18, 2007. As more and more transactions are processed online, it becomes more and more advantageous for thrieves to target these transactions.
Hopeful that a device and software combination would mitigate this risk, I selected Guard ID Systems IDVault to test.

The retail price varies just a bit, but can be obtain for between $40 and $50. A second IDVault can be purchase for around $30 by the original owner. These prices were available via Guard ID Systems website at the time of this writing.

The one tested was purchased directly from Guard ID and the box contained the USB drive, USB extension cable, software CD and the various paperwork. The first thing that was noticeable was that the USB drive looked like a rubberized padlock. It has a yellow button to retract the drive connector into the body of the "lock". Overall "feel" is that of an inexpensive thumb drive. The environment is a closed loop. IDVault presents a trimmed down version of a browser for the actual Internet operations. It does notice when you attempt to browse to one of the sites that is part of their list and will ask if you want to use IDVault to login. If you respond with yes, the page you are viewing is stopped and the IDVault browser appears along with the dialog boxes. Similarly, if you browse to a previously repistered site, you are asked if you wish to use IDVault and the operations proceed using their trimmed down browser.

Conclusion:
Overall, IDVault performs on an average level. It does what they say in the ads, with only a few hiccups.
There are a number of features that slide over to the "CON" column, these are:

Multi-browser support is lacking (only uses your default browser, either IE or Firefox);
no direct editing capability for correcting URLs, usernames and other account attributes;
did not work with several sites tested. They were Comcast, Qwest and BestBuy. Some of these were manually added while others were part of their list of sites.

The perfect implementation would allow use with other applications, such as Quicken and the like, in addition to browsers. IDVault does not accomodate these other applications.

Opinion: For a majority of the web browsing consumers, IDVault will work adequately. For my use, it does not make the grade. For those who need a more flexible option, shop around.

BTW, Steve Gibson of Security Now podcast fame will be performing an in depth review of IronKey, yet another secure option. Refer to Security Now #126 (AKA Listener Feedback #32) where he mentions the upcoming review.

Update 2008-03-13: Security Now #135 covers the product from IronKey

Alternative that I use:
Presently using the Open Source KeePass Password Safe to maintain usernames and passwords for all accounts. These accounts include those access via browsers as well as particular applications. The configuration in my situation is two USB thumb drives. One drive contains the database password (long computer generated string) and the other drive contains the database. To access the database both drives must be mounted. Both usernames and passwords are available via a paste option so keystroke loggers won't see the entries. In addition, all information is editable and easily accessed.

Side Note: In the same Security Now episode mentioned above, Steve mentions the security risks involved with the use of Opera Mini, which is their free option for mobile browsing. Bottom line, if you are concerned about security, DO NOT USE OPERA MINI !

Hopefully, in 2008, some type of general purpose online ID protection will be made available. If you are using another device to personal online ID protection, please let me know.

Other related links:
Coolest Gadgets - IDVault Review
Amazon.com IDVault page

HULU beta opinions

2007-12-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

2008-01-24 Update: TechCrunch wrote Hulu Discusses Private Beta, Suggests Public Launch Time Frame

HULU works!

However, as I participate in the beta I find a few things are lacking.

A simple little annoyance is the placement of advertising within the stream. For the 49 minute Alfred Hitchcock show above there are 4 internal commercial breaks (other videos had more) and 1 additional one at the start (pre-roll). The internal ones break up the show because they are not placed at logical flow transition points. They are distracting. More recent videos have the commercials placed at better breaks. The ads are noted with dots along the stream time line so you know when they are coming up. The show above actually has natural commercial points but these are not used. You have the ability to jump forward and backward along the time line, but not to the point of avoiding the ads. Even if you jump past the ads, they play and the stream then continues back at the time location you clicked. Once played during the viewing, the ads are not played a second time as the time marker crosses their location.

Also missing is the ability to download for synchronization with offline players. This is another big deficiency. Not surprisingly, external downloaders can grab only the pre-roll commercial. Noted on the screen is "SHOW is available for purchase on DVD or electronic download", but these are not active at this point. The statement implies that the download must be purchased. These options are not shown for all shows.

The videos cover recent and "ancient" shows. That's right up my alley because I love watching the great old shows. My machine of preference is a laptop connected via an 802.11g network. The quality of the show compression is excellent and the wireless network is sufficient to feed to stream without jumps and starts.

Creating a play lists is simply. The site remembers which videos you are watching and will pickup in the stream where you left off. The interface is logical and appears on cursor rollover. It provides the ability to play the video and navigate some of the other features. Whenever the other features are accessed the video is paused, this doesn't accommodate all of us multi-taskers. It would improve the experience if you could get info and perform sharing all while watching the show.

Several interesting capabilities are the ability to share via email, embed (as done in this post, but not all videos can be embedded), display in a pop-up browser window, although the quality suffers in the pop-up window for some reason.

Opinion: This method of delivery works. If this remains a free service supported by inline commercials and border ads AND they develop a download scenario, then Hulu will be successful. In addition, they need to keep in mind that more and more people are using their cellular devices for this purpose, so a mobile player or format needs to be added. It should also be noted that Hulu is currently in beta, so things could improve significantly as time moves forward. If you get the opportunity to give Hulu.com a try. I would recommend trying it, however, if the model becomes a subscription service then it would not be worth it.

Personal Note: This service allowed me to catch up on the "Chuck" series that I missed recording. Starting with episode number 1 and proceeding as if I had my own private DVR. Excellent!

Disclaimer: Hulu was tested using a Windows OS machine running Hulu in Firefox, Opera and Safari. Each of these browsers worked but not all features functioned equally in each one. When using IE, most tests were not successful, hopefully this was not due to some default security settings.

If you try Hulu (request beta account via email on site) and have experiences you would like to share, feel free to comment on this post.

Blyk - free phone service in Europe, but there is a catch!

2007-12-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

Now here is an absolutely insane concept. It's so insane, it will absolutely work!

To get free text and minutes in some European locations -

You must be between the ages of 16 and 24. As stated in a recent interview, if you're 15, then you have hope. If you are 25, they are so sorry. If however you are lucky enough to be old enough and young enough, you can sign-up with Blyk and they don't kick you off at the ripe old age of 25...

Oh yea, and it is by invitation only, but that isn't the catch.

The catch is the interactive advertisement which supports the free offerings.
What is interactive advertisement you ask?

The young person's phone will receive ads which pay for the 217 text messages and 43 minutes of talk time per month, no contract. There's more... said young person answers a few questions at sign-up about their interests and then is presented with several types of advertisements during the month.

First type of ad is the simple text or picture ad. More importantly the second type of ad is a dialogue ad, a commercial with a response opportunity which helps Blyk learn more about their interests and finally the ad which is targeted precisely from the response. They believe that this interactive exchange is what this age group is comfortable with and expects.

From the About Blyk:

For both young people and advertisers, Blyk represents a totally new proposition.

Blyk has built a service around what young people want and need – free communication, ease of use and relevant messages from brands. Blyk has developed its offer by finding out what its members consider most valuable – this will evolve over time as their needs do.

Blyk allows advertisers to reach young people using the only channel that they carry with them everywhere. They can engage them in a dialogue, one that they are uniquely ready for, because they’ve opted in.

Blyk’s advertising products are based on the most dominant pattern of mobile behaviour among 16-24 year old consumers: getting a message and responding to it. Its offerings create awareness, build relationships and drive sales.

Blyk went public at the end of 2007 and has recently expanded into the UK market.

For more info about the pan-European offering and the company, refer to the links below:

- Press
- Blog

Opinion: Could the Blyk method work elsewhere in the world? Time will tell. This concept targets one of the mysterious demographic groups. If it catches on in Europe, why not elsewhere. Hmmm, open networks, open mobile platform, targeted advertisements; does this sound familiar to anyone?

Jott - call, speak, get more done.

2007-12-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

So what is Jott? Bottom line is that it takes speak and translates it to text.
But wait there's more...

How are people using Jott?

I signed up for the Jott beta when it was first announced (next week, Jott turns one year old). However, up until recently I had only used it for the occassional reminder text message. Today, they announced the ability to connect with Google Calendar. Since I use Google Calendar for tracking everything, this is the killer option that makes Jott extremely useful for me.

For others the usefulness lies in the ability to:

- post a blog
- delegate tasks to an individual or a group
- record business expenses and mileage
- create travel and vacation notes
- search for items on amazon.com
- and much more...

The application works well in its translation and the usage is straight forward with little to remember. The video below is a quick demonstration of how one person uses Jott.

Another online demo of Jott in action is available on the jott.com site.

What other bloggers are saying about Jott

Opinion: Jott is yet another link in the chain that is being forged by the various mobile phone application developers. With Google and Microsoft developing more app's for mobile platforms; the Android standard adoption; and the carriers hopping on the open network bandwagon, it is possible we may finally have what is needed for the big shift to always connected, ultra-mobile devices. Look for huge news in Q3 of 2008 for this market.

Security Now Tip - Do you really know where your cookies are?

2007-12-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Did you know that some web sites use objects called Flash cookies to make sure information isn't lost when you clear your browser cookies cache?

Based on the Security Now information, I confirmed that a few banking institutions are using Flash cookies to keep track on my information.

The only way to determine what is being tracked is to use the Marcomedia web application. I will not detail it here, but another blog by Victor Laurie has some excellent instructions on both viewing and changing the Flash player settings. Victor also wrote a newer blog on the subject after listening to the Security Now podcast.

Opinion: This little known and not all that obvious use of "cookies" is very real and it needs to be exposed so that your information is not compromised.

Bug Labs new concept in mobile device

2007-12-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Bug Labs has recently come back into the news with the announcement of a 2007 Q4 availability for their snap together modular device concept called BUG.

As many have already written about this, it is revolutionary.

Okay, maybe.

Not really. This is a simple concept.

What is revolutionary is that they are making it work! Also, this concept could be taken to areas other than just the entertainment or GPS market. Depending on the plug-ability of hardware and software modules this could extend into the cellphone market; medical devices and the like. To be embraced by the additional markets, miniaturization will be required. However, this shouldn't be a big issue, no pun intended.

To find out more about the company, its members and the concept behind the BUG, checkout their About BUG Labs

To see the various real life modules, hop over to their Flickr photos of the modules.

Opinion: This concept could also help in similar ways to the OLPC program. One Laptop Per Child is attempting to provide low cost, reliable technology to everyone anywhere. The BUG concept lends itself to this as well. Think about a OLPC laptop with plug-able modules. The possibilities are limitless!

Verizon to embrace Android - whata change!

2007-12-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

December 4, 2007

Yesterday BusinessWeek reported the following:

Verizon Embraces Google's Android

How Verizon Wireless learned to stop worrying and love open access. Step one: Realizing it's a way to add low-cost customers

This is significant! Very Significant!

Verizon isn't stupid.

IF you spot the 800 pound gorilla in the room, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on him.

IF said gorilla is about to pound your lame old ass, be sure to appear agreeable, friendly and willing to feed him.

Verizon isn't stupid!

Of course, Google's Android "play" won't destroy Verizon's market share nor will it cause thousand of new subscribers to avoid Verizon. What it does is setup up a reluctant symbiosis.

Verizon wins by getting a cheaper way to GAIN market share by both allowing the Android handsets AND perhaps even utilizing the Android OS on their own handsets.

Google isn't stupid either!

Google wins by getting more and more platforms to provide advertising, and surprise, then share some of the spoils with the other monster in the room.

Is this a win for consumers? Yes, although as consumers we must keep something in mind. Recalling the movie King Kong, when Mr. Kong protects our movie heroine from the T-Rex. Sure she isn't eaten by the T-Rex, but her situation does not improve much. We the mobile phone consumers are about to be protected by "King Google" and he isn't going to kill the V-Rex, merely calm him for now. It will be in both their best interest to play nice, for at least some period of time.

Just remember, as consumers, we still look pretty darn appetizing to both of them and I am confident in saying that they are looking out for their best interests first. How this will play out is anyone's guess, but for me I would love to see the following:

Google's Android standard succeeds (or a mutant of it)thus providing a common platform for providers to build upon.

Verizon truly embraces the standard, which in turn causes their profits to increase while supplying more and more service at an ever decreasing price.

{Remember your economics! You can sell one thing for $200,000 or you can sell hundreds of thousands of things for $10 each and make far more profit than you ever thought possible}

The flies in this ointment are greed and the ever popular "territorial pissing match". Working together using a standard and creating products consumers actually want rather than bludgeoning them with advertising until they succumb, the main players can thrive. If either of the flies buzz too loudly in their ear, they may lose track of what their real purpose is. What is their real purpose? To make money! But rather than monopolizing the market, they keep making us "golden gooses" happier and happier so we keep laying eggs for them... lots and lots of eggs!

Opinion: If a mobile OS standard is adopted, then many companies which are now on the brink of oblivion could actually get a piece of the action and survive. It is right in the Palm of their hand, they simply need to embrace it rather then attempt to choke it to death.

Nice move Verizon! Way to go Google!

Just remember, we are watching you!

Purpose of Back Page Tech

2007-12-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

In the coming months, I plan to supply the tech news that doesn't make the headlines. The stories that by themselves could be overlooked, but when combined with the rest of the news demonstrate what's coming next.

Sorry, there won't be a cute female host nor much flash, just common everyday facts and a bit of speculation.

Thanks for stopping by.