Archive for October 17th, 2008
Shake, Dictate and Scroll Your Way Through Mobile Menus
In the near-constant battle between form and function, mobile phones hit a point where they could shrink no more. But with the launch of touch screen devices and voice interfaces to bring out the power in those mini-computers, they are now hitting new usability highs. I chatted this morning with Collin Cole, who is SVP of frog design, a division of Aricent, here in Austin, about the future of user interfaces on mobile devices. Cole summed up the problem faced by carriers who want to find ways t...
It’s the Modbook Ba-bee!
Image a MacBook with the screen already open when you pick it up and without any hinges. Well, the description doesn’t do it justice, but that’s what you got with the Axiotron Modbook. It’s the first and only Mac-based tablet computer on the market. Geared specifically for use by the design community, it seamlessly integrates a state-of-the-art Wacom pen-enabled display and the Apple MacBook computer’s legendary ease of use and design sensibility. It gives artists an...
David (Andrew Baron) beats Goliath (Biogen) in 2008 by leveraging Social Media
Social Media is a part of my life. And every once in a while I am reminded how the advent of social media can be used to effect change. Earlier this week myself, together many others witnessed how powerful twitter can be to get a desperate message out and the impact our social graphs can have in turning what was a No! into a Yes! and possibly save a life in the process. Earlier this week on the morning of October 14th at 8:50 AM (EDT) I was on twitter and saw Andrew Barons tweet: Urgent hel...
Aastra 57i and 57i CT Review
The Aastra 57i is one of my favorite VoIP phones. The 57i and its sister, the 57i CT (cordless telephone adjunct), offers some unique features and is undoubtedly one of the most flexible IP phones you will find. The 57i and 57i CT sport a large 144 x 128 pixel graphical backlit LCD display and 6 dynamic context-sensitive softkeys. Although the resolution isn’t designed for photos, it’s a very large LCD, one of the largest I’ve seen making it very easy to read the number of vo...
Pandora Is Both Hiring and Firing
Pandora CEO Tim Westergren says ad sales are looking up and that the Internet radio company is bringing on more staff — in the same blog post in which he announces that the firm’s laying off 20 of its 140 employees due to the broader economic downturn. But if ad spending in general is heading south in an already wobbly economy, then strong ad sales at Pandora might not last for long. Pandora recently picked up a few more big-name advertisers, and Westergren didn’t say what spe...
Let’s All Dance the Cloud Two-Step
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not a great dancer. Yet I have recently become a proponent of a technology strategy that I have coined the “cloud two-step.” The cloud two-step is the way enterprise IT departments are going to dance their way to better infrastructure economics for their organizations during the current downturn. Before we talk about specific two-step moves, it’s important to realize that the economic crisis has forced enterprise IT departments to stop or ...
CSI Creator to Keynote at NewTeeVee Live
Anthony Zuiker, creator and executive producer of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (and the producer of all “CSI” franchise shows), is going to deliver a keynote speech at our NewTeeVee Live conference that will be held in San Francisco on Nov. 13. He will join Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, and Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, as keynote speakers for the conference, which will explore the importance of professional content as one of its major themes. Zuiker, as part of his tal...
TringMe Creates Flash VoiceXML Platform
TringMe has announced a Flash-enabled VoiceXML platform. TringMe said, “A lot of infrastructure is required to build voice application, because of the complexity involved in building interactive voice applications and the need for optimum performance and carrier grade reliability. Even with the innovation on both voice and RIA (Rich Internet Applications) fronts, something is required to bridge the gap and make voice accessible from RIA in a simple manner effectively.” They added, &...
Do You Believe in Miracles?
I do, and I saw one last night. Either you saw the game or you didn’t, so I’m not going re-hash what happened. All I know is that was the greatest comeback game I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something considering how high the Sox have set the bar with their ever-familiar Lazarus scenarios. Just as expected, Dice-K was getting touched - and the Rays continued to do absolutely everything right. It’s not like they were lucky or catching all the breaks - just like t...
Service Provider Views - BroadSoft as a Platform Play
My latest Service Provider Views column is running now on TMCnet. It’s another variation on the platform play theme, and my focus this time is on BroadSoft. This may not be what comes to mind right away for most of you, but you might just think otherwise after reading my article. I’ve followed BroadSoft for ages, and after spending time with them last week at Connections 2008, I’m sure seeing a lot of Web 2.0 and mashups, and that says platform play to me. What do you think? ...
Freemium is Not a Business Model
During dot-com (v.2) when it didn’t matter if a startup actually had a business model, a concept that had a lot of street cred was “freemium”. Coined by Jarid Lukin, and propagated by Fred Wilson, freemium was seed as a solid business model because companies charged for advanced features even though they offered basic services for free. The model was based on the notion that if you gave consumer a taste, they’d happily pay for more. The problem is freemium doesn’t w...
is there a setting for this?
by totally_anon ...
Bad Connectivity
The only serious drag on an otherwise great vacation is the ten pound bag with computer, batteries, adapter etc. that I’m lugging around on my back. The other day we walked the literal length and breadth of Venice with it. There is no straight footpath through Venice; it’s a long way to anywhere unless you’re a boat. It wasn’t meant to be this way. Last time Mary was in Italy her host had a USB GSM data modem from TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile). When Mary put it in her lapt...
Hello Apple! IPEVO diversifies
Speakerphones. I love ‘em. I’m using one from IPEVO now. Swing by your local Apple store and you’ll find IPEVO’s new TR-10 for iChat in the speaker section. It’s the TR-10 for Skype but with reprinted buttons and software for your Mac. IPEVO’s software lets you control iChat from the trio and record your iChat calls. $79.90 MSRP. Gee. Apple? For a company created to build products for Skype in North America? Skype hasn’t promoted IPEVO’s seven S...
Android G1: What’s the Story?
Much ado about the first phone based on the Google plan — some love the Android G1, some hate it, some think it’s an iPhone killer, some thinks it’s just a fancy device to to Googling with … As part of the our democratic heritage, we are opening up the blogwaves to give our readers a chance to have their say. (And with Election Day fast approaching, our first plug about getting out there and voting!) So, with that said, what do you think about the Android? Come on, ...
Wireless Free Internet: Thank You FCC!
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an engineering report that opens the door for the FCC to apportion a chunk of wireless spectrum for free Internet services across the nation. “We need to reserve some spectrum for free broadband services,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said. “This would be a lifeline broadband service that would be designed for lower-income people who may not otherwise have access to the Internet.” T-Mobile had warned that the FC...
HP Says Touch Me Now!
Hewlett-Packard (HP), aiming to boost its personal computer sales against arch rival Dell (and Lenovo and Apple, too), is increasingly turning to touch-screen technology. HP is now developing a consumer notebook with a touch screen that will debut before year end. It will include special software that supports the touch screen, but other details, such as pricing, remains unclear. The new laptop is the latest in a series of touch-oriented devices, including an upcoming line of cellphones, th...
IT in Canada - 1 Year Anniversary
I want to do a happy birthday shout-out here for IT in Canada, which turns its first anniversary this week. This portal is the creation of Toronto-based colleague Michael O’Neil (a Boston expat like me), a veteran IT consultant/entrepreneur. I’m an occasional contributor to this portal, along with one of the microsites, UCinCanada. These initiatives have been a work in progress for Michael and his team, and as his communique explains, things are unfolding very nicely… “W...
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News, opinions and announcements about fast changing communication tools and technologies, from various blogs and ezine.