Category Archives: Technology

Jan 22 2009
Technology

Late to the party

So.

I only really started watching and listening to Hulu and Pandora recently.  I think I got burned out during the early years when nothing was really working and they hadn’t figured out the whole “who is going to pay for this” part of the serving media equation.

I’m glad, that at least in Hulu’s case, that they’ve got it worked out.

And I don’t even mind the commercials, that’s saying a lot.  I just watched a couple episodes of “Legend of the Seeker” which is based on the Sword of Truth series from Terry Goodkind.  While I can’t recommend it wholeheartedly, it has some good moments.  Not sure if I’ll continue watching,  but at least, it’s free, available, and accessible.

I don’t have to worry about carrying that media with me on an external hard drive, and I can watch it whenever I want, on my schedule.  The latter is something I demand of my media, being able to watch at leisure, instead of being locked to a broadcast schedule.

I think that was my main issue with broadcast television.  Now that that’s over and done with, go ahead and play commercials every now and again.  No, really, it’s cool.

I’ll be sitting right here paying rapt attention to whatever it is you’re trying to sell me.

Yep.  Definitely not doing anything in another tab and just listening for when the show starts again.

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Jan 16 2009
Technology

Technolust: Personal Edition

I really want the Nokia E71.

Qwerty keyboard, wifi, gps, fm radio, micros SD slot, s60, I mean, what’s not to like?

Wired really liked it.  I just really like the form factor.  That, and I like having a keyboard.  It may be because I am of the educational institution that has been aged.

Like a fine wine.

It goes back to my old er, government job, we had Motorola Talkabout pagers.  We were expected to be able to respond anywhere we were, so we were assigned two way pagers.  Which was great.  Tiny keyboard, lcd backlit screen, very simple communication devices.  I feel like there is something pure about the text message, the way that you have to distill your communication into a character limit.

So, I guess I’ve been practicing for Twitter all this time.  But, back to the E71.

I am really into this phone.  There is wifi, which will allow me to check email, check twitter, possibly make posts, and upload pictures.  Although the E series camera is nowhere near as good as the N series phones from Nokia, I’m willing to make sacrifices for increased utility.  Besides, I carry a camera.

I’m so into this phone that I’ve even downloaded the iSync plugin for it.  I’ve also read the manual.  Additionally, I’ve bugged the AT&T store in Friendship Heights repeatedly about the phone.

They answer,  “We are never going to get it.”

Boy Genius Reports says, “Then what is this AT&T User Manual for the Nokia E71 guide doing on Nokia’s website?”

Problem is, it’s pricey, and I can’t justify that much for an item which will, ultimately, be just a phone.  No matter how awesome it is.

On the other hand, it’s beautiful.  I mean, LOOK AT IT.

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Jan 13 2009
1 Comment
Technology

Microsoft Tag – Linking real life with the digital world

mstag2

Microsoft Tag

Microsoft Tag.  It’s a way for your phone to interact with a physical object, in this case printed material.

In a nutshell, you aim your Microsoft Tag iPhone app (bizarro world, here we are) at one of these “tags” and then it does. . .  something.  If it’s a website, then it browses there, if it’s a phone number, it dials out.  If it’s a text message, then I guess it just displays the text message.  There are apps for other phones as well, but the iPhone seems suited to this task.

Is this a big deal?  I thought that was the whole point behind QR codes in Japan.

To the right is a QR code.  You may have seen them before.

In 1994.

qrcode

QR Code

While the idea is pretty interesting, I’m still trying to decide whether or not it’s useful.  I guess with our phones finally catching up with the internet, they may have some use, eventually.

I did, however, create a “tag” with this website’s address  embedded in it.

So I’ve got that covered, at least.

Update:  More research and some thoughts. Continue reading →

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Jan 12 2009
Technology

Things I used on the last post

I realized I was going to write about the audio equipment I used for Ukulele practice.

First, the instrument.  It’s a Kala concert uke.  (Fun Fact!  “Uke,” pronounced, “Oooh keh” means something entirely different in Japanese!)  Concert ukuleles are larger than the sopranos, but smaller than the tenors.  It’s a bright sounding ukulele that doesn’t sound like it’s constantly in a tin can.  On the other hand, that “plucky” quality may be the sound you want.

Really, it’s a personal preference issue.

Next up, the tabs for the song, which are readily available on the internet.  Done.

Then there’s the matter of me having no musical training whatsoever, so that’s where the flash based ukulele chord finder comes in.

Finally, there’s the matter of recording.  I’m using a ZOOM H4 Audio Recorder, which is a great portable audio recorder, but I have yet to really start using it for its intended purpose, which was podcasting on the go.  It has a ton of features that I’ll never utilize, but it excels at  “click record twice for decent audio” performance.  It was about two feet away from where I was practicing, and I thought it sounded pretty good.

Even though I had a cold and was recording it in the bedroom.  I’ll try again with vocals after I recover.

It’s interesting to note that I didn’t do any audio adustment to the mp3 that I recorded for the last post, I just dragged that mp3 over from the recorder and sent it straight to the internet.

And now you know the rest of the story!

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Jan 09 2009
Technology

Technolust 2009

Bleah.  This cold is totally being passive aggressive right now.  I’ve been dealing with it but then I totally forgot that CES was going on.

As in, right now.

Just catching up with all of the announcements and everything.  So far the most interesting things so far are the MadCatz Street Fighter IV tournament edition stick and the tiny DLPs from Wowwee.

Finally there was the Palm pré which is just, “Wow.”  They’ve come a long way since I owned a US Robotics palm device. Continue reading →

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