http://www.ted.com This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.
Thanks Rockin’
TechCrunch – Facebook Poll: 94% Of Users Don’t Like Redesign
I love it.
And, luckily for me, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg isn’t listening to the haters. Because he doesn’t have to, he’s told employees.
Scoble agrees with him.
The new Facebook is now a logical, clean, easy-to-filter, river of news. The old Facebook a confusing jumble of random features.
(Everyone needs to remove the posts of those friends they don’t actually want to hear about, of course. That couldn’t be easier — simply click on the small X on the right hand side of any of their posts.)
I’d buy an iPhone. But refuse to lock in to a 3yr contract. (The minimum in Canada.)
But I love my new Touch iPod.
No complaints.
Apple iPod touch 8 GB (2nd Generation)
I bought an armband case, as I use it a lot for running and cycling.
And — recently — the new Earphones with Remote & Mic. They work perfectly. I can increase and decrease volume. Pause and restart from a tiny, convenient button.
I also use the tiny, convenient microphone for voice notes using a software app called iTalkRecorder. (One of several free options from the iTunes store.)
That’s for documenting my BRILLIANT ideas while out and about.
Leave a comment if you have other recommendations for the iPhone or Touch.
I’ve just added this free bookmarklet to my browsers.
… Readability is a browser bookmarklet (sort of like a bookmark on steroids). You can install Readability by visiting the Readability setup page:
http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/
Readability works with most major modern browsers and has been tested on many news sites and blogs. It isn’t 100% effective but works surprisingly well. …
lab.arc90.com – Experiments – Readability
I already have a “good” bike. But want to dedicate it to Adventure Race training.
For commuting around Calgary I went shoppig for a “cheap” bike.
The only feature I really wanted was disk brakes. After much searching in places like Walmart, Canadian Tire and the like, I finally decided on this discount bike, the K2 Zed 2.0.
Disk brakes, 24 speeds, an aluminum frame.
K2 Bikes – Mountain > Hardtail Mountain > Zed 2.0
CAD$219 (US$172) – SportChek
One year warranty. One time only full service within the first year. One year free minor servicing.
I only use combination locks, to save time. I bought a basic lock. Nothing more than a deterrent. My last commuter bike was stolen despite having a very strong lock.
Having a bike stolen definitely influenced me to buy a cheap bike this time. If it is stolen again, I’m not out all that much cash.
In the 1990s I spent a month in Trinidad, the most developed economy in the Caribbean.
When I asked the young guys there what they liked about the States — young people all wanted to move to Canada or the USA — they told me: all-you-can-eat restaurants.
Me too.
When on the road I typically replace breakfast with coffee. Then schedule a big, late lunch at an Asian buffet. And snack in the evening.
The last one I visited for $9.99 included Sushi and a Mongolian Grill.
The only downside … Asian deserts.
Yuck!
I’m using the new glass and aluminum basic MacBook these days as my primary computer.
Small. Light. I like the LED screen despite how reflective it is.
The glass multi-touch trackpad definitely takes a few days to get used to.
But the biggest improvement is durability. It feels far more rugged than any other laptop I’ve used.
The old white MacBook starts at about US$1000. This new aluminum one about $1300. The cheaper one is better for most. But if you fancy yourself a “power user”, go with the new aluminum MacBook.
MacBook – Apple.com
Both the MacBook Pro $US2000 and MacBook Air $US1800 are overpriced, in my opinion.
A video is going viral called Microsoft’s Future Vision 2019.
Very cool.
This is the complete 5min version on YouTube.
The engineers at Apple are watching it. (And building it into the next version of the iPhone.)
It was released a few days ago at the Wharton Business Technology Conference by Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop. It’s the latest production from Microsoft Office Labs.
Microsoft has the vision.
But — for some reason — they simply cannot bring anything cool to market.
… Microsoft needs to focus.
And it needs to realize quickly that focus doesn’t include wasting huge amounts of time and money on fights it will never win. Fights like the ones it’s bogged down in with Google for Internet search and advertising, and with Apple in portable media players.
Products like its Surface computer show that Microsoft has the potential to fulfill the promises made by the video above. And if it does that, I’ll have no problem once again using Microsoft products in my life. …
Digital Media – This is the Microsoft I want to see
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar is the most recent Paul Theroux book.
He retraces his rail journey from Europe through Asia of 30-years earlier.
Theroux has mellowed with age. Now in his mid-60s, he’s less disagreeable than ever before in this, another travel classic.
I’ve read all his travel books. He’s one of my favourite authors. Always entertaining and informative. This one is as good as any of the others. Read it.
Still, critics call Theroux: arrogant, dishonest, a narcissist, a misanthropist.
Certainly he’s envious of greater writers than himself, especially Nobel Prize in Literature winner V. S. Naipaul. Theroux thinks much about the great authors, obviously because he thinks himself just as skilled a wordsmith, unrecognized. Unawarded.
Theroux’s the son of a French-Canadian father and an Italian mother, I learned.
Amazon – Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar
This book has rekindled my interest in travel. I’m ruminating future prospects right now.
Aging too, I liked the moments on this long journey where Paul Theroux found himself “content”. Even happy.
I don’t.
Because I no longer read.
I pick up very few newspapers or magazines. And almost never read books.
My preferred input source is my ears. I listen to audiocasts including:
And listen to books on tape. Currently Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux.
But those who still like to use their eyes to read … are quite charmed by the Kindle.
A respected review:
The good:
Slimmer and sleeker looking than the original Kindle; large library of tens of thousands of e-books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs via Amazon’s familiar online store; built-in free wireless “Whispernet” data network–no PC needed; built-in keyboard for notes and navigation; a faster processor speeds up the device; with 2GB of internal memory, it’s capable of storing 1,500 electronic books; font size is adjustable; improved battery life; displays image files and plays MP3 and AAC audio; compatible with Windows and Mac machines; new Text-to-Speech feature allows you to have text read aloud.The bad:
No expansion slot for adding more memory or accessing files; files such as PDFs and Word documents aren’t natively supported, and need to be converted at 10 cents a pop by Amazon; no protective carrying case included; battery is sealed into the device and isn’t removable; hardware and content is still too expensive.The bottom line:
While it’s still short of perfection–and has a price tag that’s too high–the Amazon Kindle 2 offers a range of improvements that makes it the best overall e-book reader we’ve seen to date.Price range: $359.00
Rick McCharles 