Digital Ink
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Tablet PC’s still haven’t reallly caught on, but I have to wonder at the purpose of these devices that require you to waste paper in order to draw on the computer. The device linked to is covered by paper and written on. The Logitech io pen which records where the pen is on the pad isn’t much better at this paper convervation thing. What can’t we just record the information on a tablet?
I think in within 10 years we’ll have e-ink which is touch sensitive meaning people will have digital pads of paper. For those who don’t follow tech as much, e-ink is something Sony’s been working on in Japan which is basically a ton of tiny balls. Half the ball is white, the other half is black. Electric charges change the balls to the black or white side, allowing the device to only require power to update the screen and not to keep the image there. As well as tremendous savings in battery life, this is the closest thing to paper yet, which would make the transition to digital easier for many people. I know I like to sketch on paper for the feel and because its easy to see. Resolution could be a problem initially, but from what I’ve seen thet are getting some good resolutions.
Tags: General
750Gb in 1 Hard Drive
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I knew hard drive sizes were getting bigger, but wow: Segate is coming out with a 750gb hard drive that I’ve read performs better than most drives.
Tags: Gadgets
iPod Nano
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I have given in to the dark(white) side and bought a 2gb iPod Nano a few weeks ago. Previous to the iPod, I had a Sony MP3 player which had fantastic battery life, but getting music onto it was a pain. The only drm-protected audio it would play was from Sony’s music store  which was only open to the US. So you can see why I had to escape.
Apple’s music store is one of the best out there, and has opened my ears to podcasts. It’s one thing to read a tech story at work while you’re supposed to be working, but it’s so much easier to hear the tech news on the commute there, with commentary. Cnet’s buzz out loud is my favorite, mainly because it’s daily and the people involved keep it entertaining. I’ll break down my experience in bullets:
Pros:
- It only takes 1 click in Apple’s music store and it’s downloading to my computer and already charged.
- Upgradable through many add-ons such as FM tuners/transmitters, voice recorders, camera connectors, etc.
- After putting up with 512mb, I’m liking this 2gb of space. This is the perfect size for me: its big enough to get a good selection on it without spending an arm and a leg.
- Nice color screen which even shows photos and album art.
- Some basic organizer functions for displaying notes, contacts, and calendar info. I’ve used the notes and contacts functions a couple times.
- Automatic syncing & downloading of podcasts to the iPod. Just plug it in when you get up and unplug it on your way out the door.
Cons:
- It only takes 1 click in Apple’s music store and it’s downloading to my computer and already charged.
- Battery life can’t come close to Sony’s 50 hours, but it still lasts me a few days without a charge.
- The usb cable provided is only 4ft. For something that’s supposed to be a high-quality product, why skimp on the cable? If you have a hub on your desk, the cord is too long. If you have a pc under the desk, it’s too short. Arg.
- All the add-ons out there aren’t cheap, especially anything made by Apple. Look at the nano dock – $40 for a piece of heavy plastic and you don’t even get the agrivatingly short cable. What is with that?
- The plastic finish on the front makes a case of some sort required. Tack on another $20 to the price. The case I’m using is silicon that came with a screen protector and the silicon covers the rest of the body including the click wheel.
- I want a random selection to be downloaded every time I sync. But it appears iTunes is not going to play nice and do the same as the shuffle. If your music collection doesn’t fit on the iPod, it switches to creating a playlist, filling that playlist at random, and never updating the list again. You have to manually change the playlist, or delete it and fiddle with options to get it to re-create another list. At least this is something that a newer version of iTunes could fix, as opposed to a firmware update.
Imagine there is a picture to the right of a shiney Nano. I’d show one, but don’t want to violate copyright with the latest antics in America. They’re proposing that even attempting to backup a DVD you own should land you in prison for 10 years – longer than assault or child pornography. But that’s another storry.
Tags: Gadgets
Google Talk Updated to Support User Pics
Posted by admin | Filed under Random
Google Talk has been updated to support user pictures, as well as providing the ability to change the appearance of chat sessions. I like Google Talk for a notifier of when I get new gmails. The basic notifier doesn’t give me enough time, and has very few options to customize.
Lightbox JS
Posted by admin | Filed under Random
Here’s a great little script for anyone wanting to include a larger preview of an image without sacrificing screen space. It’s called Lightbox and it’s of course free. It does one image, or a series of images, as well as displaying a description for each. Best of all, it’s fully backwards-compatible and will turn into a normal link to the image.
http://www.huddletogether.com/projects/lightbox2/
Tags: Design, Development, Photography, Pixel Gfx
