Nov
24
Kyobo Launches a Mirasol Display eReader
Filed Under Education and Love for Learning, Technology | Leave a Comment
This is the best news I have heard today. Mirasol Displays are not dead. Here’s a video of the display in action and it is actually being sold in Korea. Looks like a definite upgrade from Pixel Qi to me. I’m looking forward to the technology making it to the U.S.
Sep
28
Why Amazon will Win with the Kindle Fire – Customer Service
Filed Under Business Ideas, Resources, Principles, etc., Technology | Leave a Comment
I lost my kindle during the summer and found it a few weeks back in my couch. I had sat on it and I’m sure that the pressure is what damaged it.
Today, after hearing all the Kindle announcements, I thought to call Amazon and see if I was still on warranty. I called them at 12:59pm and by 1:02pm I was off the phone with a tracking number, my replacement Kindle on the way.
With that kind of customer service, I’m reminded of friends who’ve tried to replace their iPhone screen with Apple (same service with iPad). Nothing but complaints.
Now that people weigh Kindle Fire against the Apple iPad, customer service will increasingly become part of the war. And right now, Amazon is definitely winning that battle.
Jun
23
All I wanted was a short presentation with embedded videos for the NACDS 2011 conference in Boston. We have iPad’s built into the booth and I thought it would be easy.
I thought it would be slick to do it with Prezi (our favorite presentation software at Orabrush), but the videos didn’t seem to embed with Prezi (probably because Prezi.com doesn’t encode the video during the file creation process, just includes whatever video you give it).
Then I tried adding the mp4 videos via iTunes. Nope. They wouldn’t transfer because they wouldn’t play on the iPad.
I almost had to buy Wondershare’s convertor for $40, but the video team told me that Final Cut files would work. I tried to use the mp4’s from Final Cut rather than from YouTube downloads. Nope.
Our editor showed me how to use Final Cut to create an mp4 with iPad settings. I did that (took hours to encode 5 videos) and then installed the videos onto the iPad.
I downloaded Keynote and created my presentation. When I tried to add the videos to the Keynote, it would only allow me to select from the photo album. So, I went back to the Mac and discovered that I would need to add the videos to iPhoto (that’s intuitive) and sync the iPad again.
Then the videos were available, but as I added them to my presentation, Keynote had to encode them again! More time waiting.
Finally, I had to deploy them to 4 iPads, a couple iPad 2’s and a couple iPad 1’s. Because the file was huge, I had to track down the computer that each iPad syncs to and use a thumbdrive to sync the file. One guy had never synced with iTunes and so his iPad software and iTunes were out of date.
Two days later, I have the slickest presentation that will be at NACDS 
Would have taken me two hours to do with a regular computer and Prezi.
iTunes is a bloated mess and the shackles of syncing for file deployment make me want to pull my hair out. There has got to be a better way to do this Apple!
Aug
13
ScanDrop and Google Docs
Filed Under Business Ideas, Resources, Principles, etc., Technology | 1 Comment
While trying to archive some corporate governance documents a few weeks back, I thought to myself, surely some enterprising company or individual will create a way to scan directly to Google Docs.
I love programmers. To my joy, OfficeDrop has a solution. They’ve integrated shared folders so that you can choose where the documents are filed as you’re scanning. You can also rename them. Apparently, they OCR them and make them into searchable pdfs, but Google Docs doesn’t yet add that information to the Google Docs index.
Unfortunately, it’s not scanning my lettersized page properly on our Canon MF5750. I’ve submitted a support request and I’m hopeful that between this post and my support request, I’ll come to a solution quickly.
Jul
2
So, I’ve been waiting for a decade for a reflective computer screen and watching Pixel Qi for at least a year I believe. They FINALLY launched their DIY kit while I was in Europe and it sold out in less than one day. I was so disappointed not to get one of the first DIY kits to test on my netbook. I preordered one anyway and I’ll let you know if it works on my Acer Aspire when it gets here.
Apr
6
No Pixel Qi Slate Computer from HP
Filed Under Technology | 2 Comments
Although I was correct in assuming that HP would continue to piggyback off Apple’s marketing (they released a video before and blog post just after Apple’s iPad launch), it appears that my prediction for a Pixel Qi slate computer was too hopeful. The specs on the HP Slate are released via Engadget along with a promotional video on the coat tails of Apple’s hype.
Due to this unfortunate revelation, I will not be purchasing the HP slate and I’m still waiting for a computer that meets my display needs.
Jan
21
Amazon Kindle opening up for Active Content, or Apps
Filed Under Education and Love for Learning, Technology | 1 Comment
I didn’t expect this move from Amazon until the Kindle had a color screen and a touchscreen. Apparently, they’re going to open kindle up for developers. I’ve been hoping this kind of move will help developers to implement some more powerful education tools into the Kindle.
Jan
9
eInk, Marisol, Liquavista, Entourage Edge – Color Reflective Screen Technologies
Filed Under Technology | Leave a Comment
Anyone who knows me realizes how excited I am about reflective displays for computers, laptops, ereaders, phones, etc. I bought a Kindle and a Motorola F3 just because they use eInk.
I love the Marisol screen technology that I read about a month ago but rediscovered in the CES news this week.
Apparently, it reflects much better than the Pixel Qi screen.
The only problem with this demo is how bad it makes me want one of these screens.
I found a competitor, to the Pixel Qi screen before Mary Lou Jepsen was able to get a product out the door. It’s called Liquavista.
I have yet to see a product that is launching soon with any of these technologies, but I’m considering the Entourage Edge as a useful alternative. It provides an eink display and a color display in a book form factor.
Dec
25
Kindle Replacement
Filed Under Education and Love for Learning, Ideas and Thoughts, Technology | 1 Comment
I’ve been searching for a replacement for my lost Kindle. I’ve honed in on one display technology, the Pixel Qi screen, and I’m watching the outcome of the following devices:
- Plastic Logic Que
- Microsoft Currier (this one currently sounds like it most fits my life, but I’m worried it has back-light screen)
- Notion Ink Tablet
- Apple Tablet
My requirements are:
- Non-emitting light screen (I like Pixel Qi because it supports video and text editing so I could do all my work on it)
- Web browser
- Wi-Fi
- Text-editing/file system
- Kindle reader program (this may be optional depending on the availability of a digital library on the device)
- Full-text search of both books and my personal notes
- Pen or written input
We’ll see how the different systems stack up. I would appreciate any insights into new options to fulfill my requirements.
Dec
15
Lost my Kindle…what’s next?
Filed Under Favorite Books, Technology | 2 Comments
I lost my Kindle on my last business trip and I’ve been super upset about it. I need my screen back for doing research because normal computer use causes me a great deal of grief. I nearly turned around and bought another Kindle, but hesitated because I believe the next wave of these products is coming out 1st quarter next year, thanks to the Pixel Qi screen that I’ve been following. I’m also hopeful that the Plastic Logic Que’s form factor will serve my purposes better than the Kindle (and I think that the reason for the profile shots of the Que are because it’s going to sport the Pixel Qi screen itself).
Yet, in the long run, if I like the Pixel Qi screen and Microsoft or Apple launch a tablet I can use for reading and for my email, I’ll probably head that route over a dedicated reader.
In the meanwhile, the wait and staring into the flashlight of my flat screen are both killing me.
keep looking »