Category: Technology

Call Me a Fanboy but…

…OS2.0 for the Blackberry Playbook (released today) is a huge improvement over the Operating System that initially shipped with the Playbook.  We test a lot of gear at my company and luckily I get to be in on the action.  After playing with an iPad (1st gen) for a few months and using it more for games than work I decided to give the Blackberry Playbook a try.

I know a lot of people have given up on Blackberry (or actually Research in Motion).  A lot of those same people used to LOVE Blackberry.  The company has had its share of setbacks but honestly those issues have not affected me as an end-user.  I have a Bold 9930 and I think it’s one of the best phones I’ve ever had (you get the best of both worlds with a touch screen AND a keyboard).

I have nothing against the iPhone or the Android platform.  I have an 4th gen iPod Touch and use it daily.  I just have not found the need, or had the desire, to change to yet another platform.  I’ve already been through several Palm devices and multiple flavors of Windows Mobile.  Once I moved to the Blackberry I was a happy man.  So if I’m happy I’m not necessarily looking to leave just yet.

Te Playbook was pretty limited in its original version.  I did like the tethering feature that kept all of my corporate information on my phone vs. on the actual Playbook.  This has its advantages of not having to sync two devices and the data is encrypted throughout its journey from the server to your eyes.  Overall it worked well but there were things missing.

One thing that was missing were a large variety of applications.  The list was just too limited.  That’s ben fixed with OS 2.0.  developers were offered a free Playbook if they recompiled their Android apps to the Blackberry platform before a certain date.  Call it a desperate move (it may have been) but it definitely fixed the issue with a limited application catalog.

I used my Playbook for casual web surfing (it has a great browser) and for watching video.  Movies, TV’s and the 1080p HD videos the Playbook can record.  Given the right lighting the recordings are absolutely incredible.

Here the Playbook hardware specs for all the geeks out there (I highlighted the good stuff):

  • 7″ LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
  • BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
  • Texas Instruments OMAP4430 Processor, Dual Core@ 1GHz
    • IVA 3 hardware accelerators enable full HD 1080p, multi-standard video encode/decode
    • Faster, higher-quality image and video capture with digital SLR-like imaging up to 20 megapixels
    • Dual-core ARM® Cortex-A9 MPCore with Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP)
    • Integrated POWERVR SGX540 graphics accelerator drives 3D gaming and 3D user interfaces
  • 1 GB RAM
  • Memory: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
  • 5300mAh battery
  • Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
  • Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
  • Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
  • HDMI video output
  • GPS and Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, 3.5mm headset port, charging contacts
  • Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.2, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
  • Ultra thin and portable:
    • Measures 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
    • Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)

I’m not trying to compare the Playbook to an iPad or any other tabled device.  I’m just reporting my experiences with it.  Performance is very fast and you can take advantage of true multi-tasking that allows you to run several applications at once and switch between them with a simple finger swipe.  In fact, the gestures are very intuitive and allow for a lot of control of the device.

OS 2.0 adds some much-needed software features to a strong hardware platform:

  • Integrated email client with a powerful unified inbox (nothing “new” but a different way of doing things)
  • Social Integration with Calendar and Contacts apps (links all of your contacts and social media services you use)
  • Updated BlackBerry Bridge app (remote control of the Playbook from your Blackberry phone)
  • Updated document editing functions (Docs-to-go baked in)
  • Print To Go (“print” documents to the Playbook wirelessly)

There are other enhancements as well but a lot of them are subtle (like a revamped keyboard layout) and notification method.

All in all I have been pleased with the playbook and it’s been a very useful tool for work.  OS 2.0 adds to that usefulness and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next from RIM.  If the company eventually fails, it fails (I’m not going to save it by being a happy customer).  I’ll then have to move on to another platform.  I’m not sure which one though.  Maybe something new will come along by then.

Want More Space on Dropbox?

I’ve been a Dropbox user since it first became available.  While I have not completely used up my allocated space when I read this article on LifeHacker I had to give it a try.

How to Get 8GB+ Extra Dropbox Space for Free with Google AdWords

There is a bit of work to get this setup correctly but in just 2 days I’ve already gained an extra 4GB of free storage.  You can get up to 8GB trough referrals.  If you’re looking for more (free) storage on Dropbox It does not get much easier than this.

 

 

FINALLY Won Something on eBay

I’ve used eBay for years (always buying/never sold anything) and have always had a lot of difficulty winning auctions.  If you use eBay I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.  I’ll be winning the auction for days and at the last-minute I’ll get outbid by a “sniper”.

Well I decided to pay that game last weekend and finally won a used camera I had wanted for a while now.  It’s several years old but it’s a professional grade unit that I’m specifically interested in using for sports and time-lapse photography.

I won the auction by bidding my maximum amount 5-seconds before the auction ended.  I had been outbid so many times before I was not sure if it even worked.  A couple of seconds later I received confirmation that my last-minute bid won the auction.

Here are some tips for the casual eBay shopper that might help you win your next auction.  It’s about buying camera gear but a lot of the tips apply to other items.

Happy bidding!

 

Review – Fitbit Ultra

My day can be pretty active at times and after the end of one of those days it’s always nice to see what you’ve done physically (mentally is an all together different issue).  If you’ve ever used a pedometer to measure your daily activity I’m sure you’ve wished it could do more than count your steps.

Enter the FitBit.  This little piece of technology can do some pretty amazing things. Now in its 2nd generation (FitBit Ultra) the unit has worked out the quirks of the 1st generation unit and added some cool new features.  I’ve been following this product since I first heard about it 4 years ago (before it was completed and on the market)

The FitBit Ultra is a tiny, lightweight (0.4 oz), device that you wear on your body during the day to measure activity and at night to measure the lack of activity (sleep).  It’s so light you can easily forget you have it with you.

The FitBit Ultra measures the following activities:

  • Steps taken
  • Distance traveled
  • Calories burned (based on activity, height, weight)
  • Floors climbed (1 floor for every 10′ in elevation change while walking)
  • Overall progress towards the activity goals you have established online

One of the many cool features of the FitBit is that it will auto-sync with the web-based dashboard when you are in the same room as the receiver (which is plugged into a computer).  I have my receiver plugged into the home theater PC since I’m usually in that room once a day.  The receiver also functions as a charging stand, something you will need to do every 5-7 days.

Once your data is uploaded the website compiles all of the information into an easy to understand dashboard.  This dashboard shows historical data as well as averages and goals you have set up (loose 5 pounds, walk 10,000 steps a day, climb 10 flights of stairs a day, etc.).  The dashboard is also where you can enter in the food you’ve eaten to do some calorie calculations (calories consumed vs. burned).  There is a premium, subscription based, dashboard that has additional features like a trainer, more detailed analysis of your activities and food intake.

One FitBit feature that I specifically wanted to try was the sleep analyzer function.  I’ve always assumed I was getting a good nights sleep but never knew how to tell.  By clipping the FitBit on your shirt sleeve (or using the included wrist band) the device measures how many times you “wake up” during the night.

Last night I woke up (moved) 5 times during my 7-hour slumber and that worked out to an efficiency rating of 99%.  I guess I slept good last night!  I just bought the unit last weekend and I’m still getting used to everything I can do with it.

If you’re into mobile apps (and who isn’t these days?) you can access your dashboard with an iPhone, Blackberry, and Android device.

For $99 the FitBit Ultra is an interesting toy that I’m going to plan on using for the foreseeable future to measure my activity level.  Having something like this is a huge motivator and has already convinced me to take the stairs vs. the elevator today (and in the days to come).

Here’s the promotional video that does a great job explaining how the FitBit can “fit” into your lifestyle.

 

Top 10 Google Search Terms of 2011

According to Google’s Zeitgeist 2011 this is how the world searched last year:

  1. Rebecca Black
  2. Google+
  3. Ryan Dunn
  4. Casey Anthony
  5. Battlefield 3
  6. iPhone 5
  7. Adele
  8. 東京 電力 (Fukushima)
  9. Steve Jobs
  10. iPad 2

How many of these did you search for?  BONUS if you used the Japanese characters to search for info about the Fukushima disaster.  I find it interesting that Apple had 3 of the top 10 search terms and a video game came in 5th.

Politics and Social Media

With advent of social media its now easier than ever to speak your mind.  The other night while watching President Obama’s State of the Union Address (one of the few presidential speeches I watch regularly) I could not help but notice the increased amount of ‘chatter’ on Facebook and Twitter.  Some of it funny, some of it supportive, some of it political and some of it nasty.

I’m sure there were a few “un-friendings” and “un-follows” because of differing political views and statements.  I actually like to hear what other people have to say.  It helps me better understand who they are as a person and so far I have not seen anything that I would particularly take offense to .  I may disagree with the opinion or statement but that’s my right to do so.

These disagreements are not new to society but using social media as a platform to voice your opinion exposes you to a larger audience and the potential to reach (or offend) a lot more too.  I can’t wait until the elections roll around.  it’s going to be interesting to read what people are saying and hop other people react to it!

 

 

How To: Getting Personal Documents on Your Kindle

If you have a Kindle this is a must read…  The Gadgeteer, one of my favorite tech blogs, has a great writeup on how to get just about any document on your Kindle.

Incidentally, The Gadgeteer, founded by Julie Strietelmeier,  is based out of Columbus, Indiana.  Not exactly a place were you’d expect one of the big tech blogs to be located!

There are several ways to convert and transfer documents to the Kindle.  Some methods are free and other cost a few pennies per MB.  Either way you do it if you want the most convenient way to transport and access documents while traveling the Kindle is definitely the way to go.