manage to experience

New Kindle in NY Times

David Pogue takes a look at the new Kindle ("Kindle 1.1") and declares it incrementally better than version one.

First thoughts about the XM/Sirius merger

In February '07 I noted my misgivings about the XM/Sirius merger. Tuesday XM's channel lineup changed without warning. Many subscribers are unhappy. Shallow programming is one of the complaints.

Me, I'm disappointed by what I've heard so far. And if the choice is between radio that's veering toward the commercial broadcast model, or my iPod, I'll take the latter.

MSFT Blackberry

RIM falling into the hands of Microsoft? Please, say it isn't so.

More G1

Mossberg on the G1:

"So, if your world already revolves around Google services, you may find that the G1 fits like a glove. If not, you may be disappointed."

Google Andoid phone demo

A compelling look at the Android operating system.

Three old school things this tech guy can't live without

1. An analog watch. Sure, my Blackberry can tell me the time, but I like to easily see what time it is relative to another time.
2. A ballpoint pen. Not just any old Bic, but a fat Montblanc. I finally got tired of a stream of bad, disposable pens.
3. My growing collection of Moleskine Cahiers notebooks. Because tapping away at a laptop while talking with someone or participating in a meeting is, well, obnoxious. All my meeting notes reside in Cahiers that line a shelf.

How can Google be even simpler?

Goosh, "the unofficial google shell."

Non-traditional trademarks

The Wall Street Journal reports that earlier this year Apple received a trademark for the three dimensional shape of the iPod. These kind of non-traditional trademarks are hard to get, but the Journal offers a handy, five-step plan for getting one of your own.

It's easy to think of these sort of exercises in defending intellectual property as solely the work of lawyers, but as the article neatly points out, design and marketing play huge roles. The value of a non-traditional trademark?

"Market research has shown that such trademarkeable design cues can promote brand recall and spur sales."

Technorati Tags: apple, ipod, uspto, trademark

CueCat 2.0

Jeez, just when you thought the CueCat -- that USB device for scanning barcodes in print ads -- was dead, dismembered, burned, buried and wiped from history, it's making a comeback. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Google has introduced bar codes embedded in newspaper ads. Apparently, obedient readers will scan these bar codes with cell phones and unleash three benefits:

"First, it saves the reader the trouble of typing in a Web address into their phone -- an annoying process for the majority of wireless subscribers that don't have phones with QWERTY keypads. Second, it can take the reader to a very specific page, based on an individual ad -- like a coupon or a map to the advertiser's store. And third, it ties into Google's analytics tools, so advertisers can get a very specific sense of which ads work and which don't, when people are viewing them, where they're standing (GPS), etc."

I don't know about you, but this seems to be heavily weighted toward benefiting Google and their advertising customers (not that there's anything wrong with this, of course), and less toward the geek who scans a bar code for a six-pack of beer, then realizes that he can't print the damn thing from his cell phone.

Bottom line: This is yet another of those ideas that starts with advertiser needs, and then looks at what people might actually do. Seems kind of backwards, right? Right.

Technorati Tags: cuecat, google, barcode, scan, advertising, newspaper

The perfect container for my digital world

The always-excellent 43 Folders offers a "short list of laptop bags that will cost you plenty of hard-earned disposable income, and make you look good doing it." Okay, I'll go along with their choice of the Mandarina Duck case, but the Oakley S.I. Computer Bag? This suggests a certain level of uncertainty about whether one is prepping for computing, combat or a bondage session. Yep, not my bag, baby.

Here's my candidate, which will make require much less of your hard-earned disposable income, make you feel smarter about your choice, and still look pretty darned unique: Chrome Bag's Shuttle. Carbon or Kevlar. I went with carbon.

The look of the thing snagged my attention, but the utility sold me. It's a smartly designed bag that holds enough, without inviting overloading, and keeps it all accessible. The quality is top-notch.

Technorati Tags: mandarina duck, oakley, chrome bag, laptop case, 43 folders