mip's scan

Awaiting the iPod Touch

Of course by now you know that Apple introduced a refresh to its iPod line and in that announcement, the also introduced the iPod Touch.  I can hardly wait for this device to arrive!  I didn't want to write anything about the iPod Touch until I'd actually received it, because I like to be able to give firsthand info about the tech I write about, and not just regurgitate the news.  And rest assured, I will do a detailed post on the iPod Touch when I receive it at the end of September / start of October. 

But I thought I'd would post a thought about one application I am really looking forward to using on my iPod Touch, an application that hasn't appeared anywhere in the demos or other press releases.  I'm looking forward to being able to use Typepad, the tool I use for posting my blog.  I read with interest the details this morning as I was working on some posts-in-progress.

I have a small Typepad app on my HTC smartphone that I've used from time-to-time, but I find it to be a very bare-bones, lackluster application that misses key functionality for me. The Typepad interface for the iPhone looks gorgeous, but more than that, it looks very functional.  It allows me to manage my blog and not just put out posts.  I like that a lot.  I have found that the Typepad application I use on my HTC is more like a simple text editor, while the one for the iPhone give a much richer end-user experience to make posting blog items as natural as when sitting down at your computer.  Of course, to use this on an iPod Touch, you'd need to be leveraging the WiFi rather than being to type up a post and then simply push it out.  But the reality for me is that I'm always around WiFi enabled locations, from my home, to coffee shops to being up at the cottage, so I don't see this as being an issue. I think being able to simply turn my iPod Touch on its side, have the screen automatically go into landscape mode and begin typing posts will be an absolute joy!

And so, of course there will be many many things for me to like about the new iPod Touch, but knowing I can blog easily from it is the icing on the cake for me.  The sad part is....the end of September seems so far away. 

Stay tuned for more!

Is the Pen Mightier Than The Computer?

This post comes from watching my daughter use a new piece of tech.  It is called the Fly Fusion and basically, it is a pen with smarts.  To understand how it works (because this is not a review of than pen - that will come later once I shoot some video) check out their Fly World site.  Watching my daughter use this pen as she wrote on paper, but was capturing it into her computer, it got me thinking.

After all these years that computers have promised the paperless environment (homes, offices, schools, etc), we still have paper, and lots of it.  The computer promised it, but never got there.  The Tablet PC promised it, but that never really took off.  Could it be that perhaps we've been chasing the wrong the dream and shouldn't be striving for a paperless world?  Could it be that we need to embrace the 5000 year old technology we call paper?  Perhaps the future is not in desktop, laptop or palmtop computing, but rather, perhaps it is pentop computing?

Smile: Sony DSC-T200

My tried, trusted and true Canon Powershot that I got 6 years ago has finally reached the end of the line for me.  The battery hardly hold a charge, the sliding cover has become so loose that at times when it is opened the camera doesn't turn on.  I love this camera.  It has been a good little 4 megapixel camera for me, capturing thousands of pictures of the past 6 years.

Alas, I have been hunting for a new camera and had several important objectives.  Obviously, it has to take good pictures, and I wanted a decent optical zoom.  I also wanted a camera with a large LCD display for viewing pics.  Laslty, I wanted something that would shoot in HD.  Well, minutes ago, I pre-ordered a newly released camera from Sony, the DSC-T200.  I can't wait for this to arrive.  It has some very impressive features.  Read on to find out what has me so excited about this sleek camera.

One Day to Go...And The Reviews Are Coming In

The iPhone is set to officially launch on June 29th at 6pm.  Reviews however have begun to trickle in from folks like Mossberg who have been using the iPhone for a couple of weeks already (aren't they special).

Its a good article/review so I thought I'd point it out to you; I especially liked his video review as well (which you can find embedded in this post after the jump below).  All in all, it isn't a perfect device...no device ever is, but it is a new experience.  To me, that is awesome.  Apple looks for ways to change the paradigm and it looks like the iPhone might be doing just that.  The question will be, however, whether the mass market snaps these phones up.  More importantly, though, will be how Apple works to outpace the competition, who will undoubtedly build new (similar) functionality into their phone offerings.  That is all good news for us, the end consumer, of course, but perhaps not for Apple.  They need to get devices into consumers' hands as fast as possible, or risk losing important segments of the market.  Technology like cellphones changes fast, and if they are too slow in getting phones to market, people will undoubtedly wait for newer models.

Those of us in Canada...well...we're patiently waiting.

The Prada Smartphone

The question of the day is: what makes a great Smartphone?  Many people are waiting for the highly anticipated iPhone, myself included.  But what else is out there?  Many options.  Today I'm pleased to talk to you, via the video posting below, about the Prada Smartphone. 

A colleague of mine picked this up for himself and was nice enough to let me try it out overnight.  You can get my take on this phone by watching the video, but I go back to my initial question...what makes a great Smartphone?  The short answer I think is: Whichever phone best helps you do what YOU want to do.  As much as I really liked a lot of the features of the Prada, its lack of a QWERTY keyboard holds this beauty back.  With a soft-interface (meaning an interface that is create by software rather than hardware), I'm not sure why LG didn't build in a QWERTY keyboard.  Without it, sending emails would be way to cumbersome for me. 

So I'm holding out for the iPhone.  What about you?

The Power of Wikis

I recently read a good book on Wikis called Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott.  It is an excellent read.  I had a colleague at work who "just gets this stuff" read it as well and he found it interesting and thought provoking.  The thing is, most people don't seem to understand Wikis and that prevents them from delving into the topic with a book such as the one from Tapscott.  I tried to explain it to a few other people I know but they weren't interested.  It is kind of like blogging before it became mainstream...most people just didn't grasp it and couldn't seem to get into it.  Then it became mainstream and unsurprisingly, a lot of people now blog.  I think the same will be true about Wikis.  They are the next big thing in and around collaboration.
I was recently preparing to introduce this topic to a group I was making a presentation to and wanted to find something I could show them that would help illustrate what a Wiki is and why it is better for collaboration than just emailing, for example.

Well the video below does that..perfectly.  If you are interested in Wikis but haven't really been able to get your head around them, watch the video.  Then go out and get Tapscott's book.  Then...go out and build a Wiki for your next collaborative project!

Microsoft's Surface Computer

Remember when I was writing about touch screen computing?  Well it seems that it isn't just Apple that has been looking at this (and using it in their upcoming iPhone).  Microsoft just announced their new Surface computer.  It is a tabletop multi-touch computer and from the three videos on their site, it looks pretty neat - very media and communications oriented.  Nice to see a slick new interface (GUI) rather than just some table version of Windows XP (or Vista).

To get more information, click here.

More on The Future of Interface

You may remember I wrote a brief article about the future of the user interface with an fantastic embedded video of some work being done with multi-touch interfaces.  Well I came across another video of the same person, Jeff Han, giving a good demonstration and speech and wanted to share it.  The theme I like in this is that the future of interface will move toward making things "do what you expect them to do".  It isn't about making applications that are more feature rich - it is about making applications where the user interface "disappears".  Give the video a watch - very exciting and interesting stuff.

Social Networking & Exploring Facebook

What is it about social networking that is so intriguing?  Why does it work?  Why are we drawn to it?  Why do young people seem to "get it" more so than older people? 

Those are question I've asked myself again and again at various times like when exploring other social networking phenomenons like mySpace or YouTube, Wallop from Microsoft or even blogging.  Why is it that it has such mass appeal?  Is it because we live in such a fast paced, spread-out society that we yearn to connect and do so online? Social networking has become such an important social trend that even consumer products like the Zune mp3 player from Microsoft have started to build it into the product and give it the tag line: Welcome to the Social. 

Again this question of the "why" came to me as I began to explore a new tool / site / social network that was suggested to me called Facebook.  That little badge you see at the top of this post is from Facebook - it updates my status for example dynamically as I change it.  The question is, why change it?  Why put anything into something like Facebook?  Let me tell you what I've experienced in the past few days.

Love This Little Car - Introducing Car 2.0

I've started a new category here at mip's scan on technology that relates to becoming environmentally friendly.  I call the category EcoTech.

Ok, so for today's post, I bring your attention to a great little car called the City Car.  You know I love my Smart car.  Well, if this little City Car came available, I'd buy one...on the spot.  I'm so excited to see new tech coming down the pipe that will focus on reducing our consumption of energy.

Check out this great interactive demonstration of the City Car.

To read all about it in more detail, click here for the article.