Day 87 – 2010

I can’t believe it is Palm Sunday today.  Where has the time gone?

Finished installing the Apple TV, it works like a charm now.  The iPhone is now the remote. If you need a good remote control for the Mac or Apple TV this is a good app.

To install it on the Apple TV it needs some fiddling, but is is all described at their website.

Just to get in in writing somewhere so people will believe me that I had this thought process.

I  just bought a USB 2GB memory stick, which made me think back when Bluetooth just came out and you were considered a genius if you were able to connect it to your PDA.  The first good useful application I encountered was in Hannover, Germany at the CeBIT tradeshow.  Vendors would transmit their information and as you walk along, it would pop up on your PDA; marvelous setup.

Once the, now common, USB technology was announced there was plenty of criticism out regarding the concept.  The industry was shy in adopting something new, heck, the old stuff was not working most of the time.  It was just to good to be true.  So here we are USB everything, the USB hubs even are endangered since there is the USB pluggable stick. This is were you plug the USB directly into the head of the USB stick.  When I brought a USB stick back from Taiwan about 10 years ago, the cost was about $125 for a 64MB stick.  Could not get it in the US, or if you were lucky, some vendors had it.  I showed it to a sales rep at a Washington D.C. Government tradeshow, he was a rep for a data destruction company, he was totally shocked about the possibilities.  Now the stick is half the size of the one I discovered in Taiwan and holds between 2 and 8GB and only costs between $16 and $39.  The first hard disk IBM put into the PC was only 10MB and the size of a cigar box.

Anyway, the connectivity of the USB is just amazing, yes, it is a daily routine item now, most of the kids can not even imagine what hoops you had to jump through to get electronics connected.  I’m still in awe about how fast the technology moves.

This, of course, ties in with the computer/cell phone technology.  My professor once said while we were punching our program cards for the COBOL program: “One day we will have computers which fit on our wrist and are doing the same as the computers we work with now”, that was around 1984.  Look out Dick Tracy we are here. Having used the iPhone during several weeks, I integrated it completely into my life in terms of apps I use.  I showed some apps to some people who have their iPhone mostly populated with music, games, and perhaps videos. They were amazed.  I’m just a techie nut who explores possibilities just like the kids do now who explore, exploit or crack new technology and enhance it for free. Employ them, they are geniuses. I’m watching a video on the iPhone while I type this - the picture is just crystal clear.

So here is my prediction, after running my mouth again:
Once the iPad is out, it will be the early adopters who will make sure they have it, I would too, but I don’t have the money.  Sales of iPads are up 30% as of last Friday.  Think about it, once a camera in installed, 3G or even 4G is installed there is no holding back.  If people like the iPhone that much, it is only a small step to the iPad.  Given the fact that there are more than 150,000 apps out there, most of them for $0.99 to $1.99 covering a wide range of usability nothing can compete with that, even the just announced Sprint phone with 4G and video conferencing.  It is not just the slick phone, but the availability of applications.  The easier and cheaper they are the likelihood of people trying it is immense.  Although there are some who try a $0.99 app and complain that it does not work.  So what, most people spend more money on other things to try.  Just delete it, like the jpgs which did not come out.

Anyway, given that the view of the iPad is larger it will become easier to navigate and use the apps.  Way back when, I fiddled with the add on touch foils since the touch screen technology was not there yet or too expensive to use.  Well now everything is a touch this or a touch that, I just love it.  Not before long it will be voice activated via Bluetooth so we have a reason to mount that device on our ear. Hobbyists are building PC like devices and store them in the glove compartment attached to a 7” screen in their car.  With the iPad all you need is a good mounting device to achieve the same and more.  Here is a brilliant application for the iPad:  all the police cruisers are using laptops now to look up who know what.  Replace that with the GPS enabled, WiFi, 4G network iPad with a camera and you have a really good mobile unit.  If Apple would not just mount that tiny camera in the frame like the iPhone and would use a gooseneck camera instead, the communication possibilities would be increased many fold. Speaking of cameras, spies, years ago,  would be most envious if they saw the size and capability of the build in cameras today.  Here is a snapshot of one of the first cameras I used to demonstrate video conferencing via IP.

A whopping $2,000, however, great quality, internet controllable, remote  etc etc… no USB or HDMI;  SVGA or VGA inputs only. Now everybody with a laptop can do video conference via Skype, Yahoo, MSN,  Google or any other Messenger.  Even the HD cameras are very affordable and small.  So, yes, the iPad concept will become the next big sales tool as well as other uses.  Just like the microwave was viewed as a weird thing, it is now unthinkable to not have one.  Video rental, music, and apps will sore once people will figure out the usability.  It will be all in the education of the end consumer to expand their horizon past the the games and music.

I just wish I could figure out to get on the on ramp with this.

Right now it is the iPone, it just makes shopping easier, banking more up to date, notes easier to follow;  all as a result of portability. I have the remote installed now and it works great.  Pictures of my kids taken and emailed or posted with a simple click, instant gratification. The water cooler break at work is being replaced by facebook, twitter, or myspace.  Blogging is like writing a letter, or an email from the phone.  So many uses ….

Speaking of Wifi, not many will remember the CB Radio, however, it was before car phones were affordable.  You would call a local operator who would connect you via landline to whoever.  Why can we not do the same concept with Wifi?  Since it is a radio signal it should be available anywhere, just like radio.  Just a thought.

Home automation is another hot topic.  Using the iPhone to control lights, entertainment systems, temperature, appliances, etc is an easy setup.  There are systems for all ranges.  I use the system from  X10 which I bought half a century ago with a proprietary system for the PC to control the units.  They have pretty good sales.