Category: mobile

Posted on

Kindle Looks Cool, No Really I Mean It

OK, first thoughts on Kindle.

1. How long before this gets ‘upgraded’ and you piss off the early adopters? (a little Zune frustration is coming out here)
2. $400 is high. How come this doesn’t come with a few public domain books on there for fun?
3. Battery life looks awesome, as does weight. Think this is too late to ask for this for XMas?
4. Did they really just advertise blogs on there? That is cool (no, not being silly, really I do think that is cool).
5. Any audio? Will it read to me? Can I podcast newspaper subscriptions (ie Audible) on this device?
6. How long before this gets hacked like the jukebox? I mean the fact that it’s not wifi but mobile (ie like a cellphone/modem or aircard), makes this really cool for a hacked web tablet. Then again, the N770 is less than the $400 that this costs though it’s only Wifi capable out-of-the-box, but the potential is so darn fun…

Amazon Kindle

… and, PS to Amazon. Tsk Tsk, the only ‘share’ option is via email. Not very WOMM friendly. Also, when you ‘work three years’ on a product, make sure it’s ready to sell via your Associates store on launch day. Argh!

UPDATE: OK, another thought… Could this solve the sagging backpacks problem in school? I mean, I know you’re thinking, ‘she acts like she’s never seen an e-reader’, but I can’t help but think this is an almost must have for a traveling reader (erm, like me).

Posted on

Vonage, 3Com Is Holding On The Line

Vonage and Verizon Battle Over VoIP Patent

Andy Abramson has just posted some correspondence between himself and an R&D Consulting Engineer. Looks like 3Com had a patent in process at the same time as Verizon’s patent.

I originally wrote up this patent for USR back in early 1996 (US patent number 6,529,501), it is now assigned to 3Com. The whole purpose of this patent was how to address mapping computers, VOIP phone devices, and regular phones to each other using the PSTN and the Internet using central lookup servers to match phone numbers and IP addresses.

As far as I can tell, it covers most of the issues that Verizon sued Vonage over. I’m a hardware/software engineer, not a patent lawyer, so I don’t know if any of has any implications.

Is it possible that Vonage has a chance at survival now?

Vonage: Do You Know What 3Com Has?

Posted on

Vista’s Launch Is A Thorn In My Side

Last week I finally removed Vista RC1 from my notebook. I haven’t had sound on my computer without tinkering within the boot menu since October. I haven’t been able to play Second Life or record audio since that time on this computer and, overall, other than the fact that my 64 bit computer has been smoking fast, I’ve not gotten a great deal out of the beta.

Since I’ve been playing a character in a video game for the past few months, I really need sound on my gaming machine, so the annoyance of no sound and no mic was just too much to bear. I wiped it off my machine and put XP Pro on (can’t find my Media Center CD) last Thursday.

I got my pre-launch copy of Vista Business yesterday (free when you watched some Microsoft videos), but it’s 32 bit so I won’t use it. I am looking for a UMPC so I’ll likely put Vista on there if it doesn’t come installed.

Of course, there’s another problem. I went to 6 PC stores here in the Roanoke Valley today and all had their PCs removed for the Vista launch. Here I am trying to find a smaller laptop, or UMPC, for the trip out to San Fran on Sunday and no store here will sell me a machine. I’m going back to Best Buy tomorrow, but I am not holding out hope. It’s a real bummer because likely I’ll have to lug my 10-lb (almost) laptop on the plane to San Francisco and when I get the Intel ThinkPad I’ll have to lug them both back home.

I know, too many laptops is a good problem to have, right? I just am a big lazy geek and the massive amount of time spent at the computer means my arms are weak so I don’t look forward carrying them both.

Don’t forget to sign up for the blogger meetup if you’re local. I’d love to meet you.

Posted on

Podcast – Interview With LinkedIN CoFounder and Jaxtr CEO, Konstantin Guericke

When I found out Konstantin Guericke, one of the founders of LinkedIN and their marketing/pr guy until Kay recently took over, I knew I wanted to find out more about the company that interested him enough to take his leave of LinkedIN. Konstantin is still an advisor at LinkedIN, but has moved out of the day to day operations to focus on running Jaxtr.

Jaxtr is similar to click-to-call in that it enables instant voice communication from a site with just one click. With Jaxtr, once the beta is open, you can place a snippet of code on your blog and end up with a button (like the one you see to the right) or a full featured widget (like what pops up when you click the Jaxtr button on my blog). Users can click the button/widget and enter their phone number to instantly communicate with you.

I have another option on my blog for instant communication, the MeeboMe widget. But Jaxtr stands apart as the only way, other than Skype, for instant communication via voice. And, with Skype, you have the limitation that only Skype users can call you from your blog AND you must be at your computer to receive the call (unless you’ve forwarded your Skype calls to your phone, but that’s an additional step and it costs SkypeOut money).

If you want to give Jaxtr a try, call me anytime (remember please that I am in VA-USA so I’m GMT -5 (EST). Of course, as well, please download the Interview With LinkedIN Cofounder and Jaxtr CEO, Konstantin Guericke.

Posted on

Another Game of Tag For Me

Now, I got tagged yesterday, but I’m one of those people who can’t turn down a good game of tag, so when Martin tagged me today, I had to share a few more things you wish I weren’t wasting your time telling you (like my bra modeling day).

    1. I can sing pretty well. Not going pro anytime soon, but I won’t make your ears bleed.
    2. I am a certified Pilates instructor. If the gaming vlog ever fails, a workout vlog may be in my future.
    3. I eat a king-size Snicker bar every night, melted in the microwave, before I go to bed.
    4. (a sad one) I miscarried my first child.
    5. I celebrated my ten year wedding anniversary this year by going to play trivia at a wings joint/sports bar with my husband.

Now, I’m tagging some UMPC people so I can learn more about them and a few other people that missed my first round of tags. Mark, Loren, Steve, Benjamin and Dennis.

Posted on

CES Gathering Planned For Tablet and UMPC Nerds

I knew Scoble and Jeremiah had a bloghaus planned through Podtech at CES, but I noticed on Friday that there will be a great deal of mobility geeks going to CES to ogle the latest UMPCs and tablets displayed there and that they’re meeting up. I’m jealous, of course, as I can’t think of anything more fun than spending days feasting on nerd pron.

But, even though I can’t go I will be there in spirit via all the liveblogging and vidcasts of CES planned. Loren’s got a general all-call for the mobility community’s attendees, but if you’re going and you’re reporting on it, please let me know so I can follow your feed. I don’t want to miss a minute of it.

Posted on

Self-Imposed Blogging Ban Today Due To UMPC/Tabletscape Semi-Ignorance

In order to force myself to do some over-my-head technical research, I am not going to blog today (well, after this post).

I’m learning more than I ever knew was possible about the UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) community since I started doing some work with Intel on Monday (software blog). No, I didn’t all of a sudden become a developer… The work I’ll be doing is more related to marketing. The funniest part is I’ve always considered myself VERY in-touch with new mobile products, but I had no idea there was a Tabletscape (like the blogosphere, but focued on TabletPCs).

So, as much as I detest those, ‘sorry for not blogging’ blog posts, here is my first one.

EDIT: Mark pointed out in the comments that the correct term is Tabletscape, not Tabletscope, as I said initially. Doh!

Posted on

Reuters Using Yahoo’s User Gen Video

In an effort to piggyback on the user generated video revolution, Reuters is partnering with Yahoo to buy user generated content for use on their news sites.

Users will not be paid for images displayed on the Yahoo and Reuters sites. But people whose photos or videos are selected for distribution to Reuters clients will receive a payment.

This seems oddly timed given the CurrentTV and Yahoo falling out. Do the two have anything at all to do with one another or is this just baseless conjecture on my part?