Category: Gadgets

When I first started reading science fiction back in the early 1960s, it seemed that all future cities were either shattered dystopias or cool, automated Jetsons-like worlds. This account seems typical: “Just swipe a prepaid card through a stanchion in front of an empty waiting vehicle, punch in the destination number, take a seat in the vehicle and our computer control system will sweep you non-stop to your destination.”

Well, apparently people are gearing up to actually build this stuff. Check out the SkyWeb Express website here, including the video clips. (But did they need to use such cheesy music?)

(Via Salon.)

Tim wrote: “Bluetooth? I think it hits the sweet spot for me. I’d totally love one of the hot new phones with high-speed flat-rate data that I can leave in my bag. Then I stick a Bluetooth headset over one ear, and then have my computer connect through it so I’m really on the Net all the time.
But… iPod? Blackberry? Texting? Not for me, thanks; at the moment anyhow. Are there others like me?”

Today I use a Nokia 3650 phone and my PowerBook. Both support Bluetooth. The phone has a (primitive) camera, and I can easily transfer the photos to my PowerBook and into iPhoto. I also use Romeo and Veta Universal to use my phone as a wireless mouse for the PowerBook. I sometimes use my phone to display speaker notes during presentations, which I transfer from the PowerBook. I’d like to sync my PowrBook’s iCal calendar into my phone, but I haven’t yet taken the time to sync Sun’s EdgeCal service with iCal. I don’t use my phone as a modem, not because I can’t but because people tell me it’s far to easy to run up enormous phone bills. (I don’t have an “unlimited data” plan.) All of these features use BlueTooth.
iPod? Yes, I have one: I love it for long flights, or walks; I also play it through my car stereo. Texting? Not outbound, but absolutely inbound. I have EdgeCal set up to send a text message to my phone 10 minutes before every appointment, including location and phone number (for phone conferences). Not only does this work when I’m not online; the discreet “beep” is a great way of initiating a graceful end to my previous meeting, so that I can actually get to the next one on time! (An alien concept to many, I know.) And I definitely use the browser on my phone for ad hoc information – headlines, stock prices, sports scores (GO SOX!!!), flight schedules. (Oh, yes: I use text messaging to get flight and upgrade notices.)
Having said all this, I’m probably going to switch to the Treo 650 when AT&T Wireless starts shipping the GSM version. Better screen, cleaner browsing, more apps, usable games…. I’ve tried games on the Nokia 3650, but it’s really not quite usable – partly because of the quirky circular keypad. I figure that the Treo 650 should be almost as usable as my GameBoy Advanced.

Well, Marshall McLuhan’s quotation may be accurate, but sometimes the car feels like Heracles’ tunic steeped in the blood of Nessus. All of which is an absurdly pretentious way of saying that I took my car in to the dealers this morning, “unwontedly” as it were. I carefully described the shudders from the transmission that I had felt on my way home last night, and pointed out the blinking (and undocumented) icon that had appeared on one of the dashboard displays. And after a protracted examination, it was announced (“Do you want to sit down first?”) that the vehicle needed a replacement transmission, which would cost $3,000. (“Of course, you could opt for a transmission rebuild for about $2,500, but…”, said the service manager, shaking his head slowly to imply that only a palooka would do something so foolish.)
I rather wish that this was an uneconomic thing to do; that I could simply say “Hell, no!” and get myself a new car. Sadly, the car in question (99 Mercury Cougar 2.5V6) only has 65K miles on it, and the price to repair it is less than its trade-in value (Kelly gives $5,000, NADA gives $6,175), so I guess I’ll bite the bullet.
But I feel Heracles’ pain….
[UPDATE: Several friends have urged me to look into getting the car fixed at a specialist transmission shop like AAMCO. I’ll think about it, but the logistics are extremely complicated because of travel commitments.]

Whenever I’m hosting a meeting, I always ask people to turn their cellphones to vibrate mode. This reduces distraction, but it doesn’t help when someone does receive a call: they have to answer it in furtive whispers as they scramble towards the door. Here’s a better way:
1. Incoming call, phone vibrates, callerid displayed.
2. Press key on the phone. This picks up the call, mutes the speaker and mic, and plays back a recorded message. Examples of messages:
“I’m in a meeting right now, but I do want to talk to you. Please stay on the line while I excuse myself and step out of the meeting.”
“I’m sorry, but I have guests and it’s not convenient to talk to you right now. Your callerID information has been saved. If this call is urgent, press 1, and my phone will page me. Otherwise, press 2 to leave me a voicemail message.”
Nokia? Ericsson? What are you waiting for?

I just bought an iSight FireWire camera for my PowerBook. Now all I need are some buddies to chat with…..
(Seriously, there’s a chance I may have to spend an extended period of time over in England, and I wanted to be able to videoconference with colleagues in the US.)

On the occasion of my acquiring a new hand-held computing device, I thought I’d try to list all of the little computers that I’ve used over the years.
Continue reading “Hand held devices (long)”

Those who know me as a geek par excellence, owner of lots of hand-held computers (including two different models running Linux – is that geeky enough?) may be surprised that until now I’ve never purchased a camcorder. In part, this is because I mistrust electromechanical devices – the mechanical bits tend to fail – and I’m well aware that I am unlikely to use the device very often. I’m not the kind of guy that has boxes of family photos and videotapes of “precious moments” stored in order to be used as unconventional weapons against unsuspecting visitors. I tend to scurry around looking for a camera right before I head off on vacation, and if I haven’t transferred all of the pictures to my computer the day I get home they’re likely to languish in the camera in the closet until next time.
But enough of that. Inspired by a crude video that my son-in-law took at my father-in-law’s 80th birthday bash, I have acquired a Mini-DV camcorder, a Panasonic PVGS9.It cost $349, plus a FireWire cable and some tapes. Circuit City threw in a tripod and a camera bag. The tripod is nice (but will I remember where I put it when I need it?), the camera bag is useless. It was designed for the last generation of camcorders but one; this baby is tiny (3.38 x 2.75 x 4.38 inches). It would be lost in the bag.

While charging the battery, I read the manual. There are dozens of weird and wonderful effects built in, none of which I will ever use. I plan to suck the video straight into my PowerBook and edit it using iMovie (which has wonderful effects and simple drag-and-drop composition, editing, sound track addition, transitions, and so forth). Then I’ll burn it to DVD using iDVD, which will allow me to do the titling, menus, etc. A simple test suggests that I should be able to edit, title, and render a simple 30 minute video in around an hour, which feels like the right input-output ratio. The camera did its job really well: nothing unexpected happened, it just worked. I’ll let you know how it goes.