The Professor's Notes

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These items, and more, on Real Tech 16

• The Kodak Zi8 pick from Episode 11? Sold out–nationwide!
• Batteries Plus will (or can) replace iPhone and iPod batteries, according to Jason
• Can I (Should I) set up two separate networks in my house? Go with 802.11 N, B, or G?

• Microsoft Tag “Linking Real Life to the Digital World”

• Microsoft ordered to pay $290M, stop selling Word.
• Microsoft Losing the Fight For Consumers, says analyst.

• Facebook masks worse privacy with new interface / Wired.com – How to Unfacebook yourself

Picks of the week:

Steve: Red Laser : What if your iPhone could read barcodes?

Tony:  HP Bluetooth Noise Canceling Headphones

Joe Tillman: TextFree Unlimited for iPod Touch and iPhone.

Past Picks of the Week now available at: http://tinyurl.com/RTPicks

Show Voicemail: 814.808-JOE1  (814.808.531)

Tony is: tony.pittman@gmail.com  or twitter.com/tonypittman

Steve is: scmprofessor@gmail.com or twitter.com/scmprofessor and he blogs athttp://theprofessornotes.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This post is from my “Archives of Incomplete Thoughts” but I wanted to share them with you all…

I have been pondering for a while the use of the eBooks (and specifically the Kindle) in Academia.  Ever since I considered purchasing my first eReader (the Sony eReader 505) I have found the convenience of having several books at my finger tips, without weighing me down, to be the most obvious benefit.  That said, I believe there are many others, and some which can result in the elusive “win-win” situations for producers and consumers alike.

• Affordability of textbooks
• Desk Reference/Review copies
• Physical size/weight relief
• notetaking and highlighting

Need to rethink old views:

• why see “a page”?
• how do I “flip” through a book?
• what is the focus/purpose of an “illustration”?
• are there other ways to “illustrate”?
• How do we do “citations?”

Challenges:

• How to compare two separated pages (i.e., pages 57, and 106) (side by side?)

Issues I want to see if they have added/changed:

• Highlighting:  does the menu appear next to where I clicked? How is that interface changed?
• can we move/sync highlights/notes between devices?

Have you given much thought to the changes we can see with Digital Textbooks?  What are your thoughts? Please share them in the comments.

The hype is reaching a frenzy now concerning the marvel device that apparently will even cook Christmas dinner.  The rumors are now focusing on the 75% possibility of an Apple Event in January and a 50% probability that it will be to announce the Apple Tablet.

So here’s my question:

What if they don’t?

Would Apple face a backlash from their loyal fanbase, frustrated that they have held off purchasing other devices (like the Amazon Kindle 2) waiting for Steve Jobs to hand them their “holy tablet?”

Or (and I believe this to be far more likely) will it simply fuel the hype even further leading the faithful believers to defend Apple while simultaneously ramping up their “expected features” list?

My brother brought up an interesting topic the other day.  We were having a discussion on twitter about various dictation software packages.  He had just bought Mac speech dictate published by the same people who do Dragon Dictation.  He made the comment in twin are that purchasing Mac speech dictate and the Macintosh OS X snow leopard upgrade was about the same as purchasing windows 7. (To be fair, he admitted later that he got the price wrong on purchasing Windows 7.)

I looked at the numbers.  You can purchase a windows 7 home premium from Wal-Mart for about $110 as an upgrade.  The software on his blog was $154.99.  So I see a savings of $45.00.  But that’s just comparing upgrading the operating system with purchasing the software and operating system.  Purchasing window 7 new is about $200.  That is significantly more.  But I guess the question is, “who purchases window 7 as an operating system new and not as an upgrade?”

Typically people buy the operating system knew when they purchase a new computer so let’s compare the purchase of a good sized, powerful, notebook computer for windows to a Mac OS X notebook.  I compared to the low end Mc book from Best Buy with a middle of the road HP at Best Buy.  The Macbook for a 13 inch screen 2.2 GHz processor cost $1000. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to @gugnheim for tweeting this:

As you should know, I am a child of the space age, and a fan of space anythings for a long time.  Heck, my research areas have included Space Logistics, and Interplanetary Supply Chain Management.  So this REALLY caught my eye!

This website gives you plans to build your own paper model of the Space Shuttle!

From their site:

If you are a Space Shuttle model builder, this site is for you. Build a 1:144 scale Space Shuttle papermodel in several versions: Full Stack version with External tank and boosters or a single Orbiter with either a closed or open payload bay, for FREE! Also, Shuttle Payloads for every mission are available via PAYPAL. Check this site for new models every month.

Check it out–and if you make any of these, send me a picture that I can upload to the blog to share!

I have upgraded my blog to WordPress 2.9 and along with that, updated the database to mySQL 5.0.  Ah, if only I could tell you the trials and tribulations.

Oh wait, I do talk about it–in this short podcast!

Enjoy!

And then–tell me what YOU would like us to talk about at the other podcast “Real Tech for Real People” over at http://getthenext.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I just posted this morning about the Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera and the fact that you cannot buy one anywhere, nationwide.  Oh, and Best Buy has chosen to increase the price to $209 per unit, even when Kodak is still offering it at $179.

I decided you might be interested in a review of the device as well.

Based on the use from my friend and colleague, the choice of the Kodak was an overwhelming success.  Starting with the bottom line from a very personal assessment, his daughter, who has used both the Flip cameras and now the zi8, has asked to take his camera when she goes places.  Her opinion is that it is superior.

Now, on to the features.

My friend liked that it has a flip-out USB connector, and that it can charge both with a charger and through the computer via the USB connector.  He also liked the HD resolution (1080p) and the quality of the audio.  The built in audio isn’t “the best” but it was “good enough” for most personal use.  As I mentioned before, he then combined it with the Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder combining outstanding video with high quality stereo audio.

Other features that were “cool” included the image stabilization built in, and the face tracking, although the face tracking feature wasn’t tested very heavily (yet.)

Now the device isn’t without flaws.  The zoom on the camera is digital, and the quality falls off rather quickly.  In addition the memory that comes with the camera is paltry at best.  His recommendation? Get the SD card with it at the time of purchase.  Get a large enough SD card, and you can record up to 10 hours of video.

The low light image quality was “okay” and sufficient for family videos.

I hope to get my hands on one myself, sometime in the near future (did you check my Wishlist on the right side of the blog? Anyone want to order me one?)  When I get my hands on one, I promise to put it through its paces testing all the features.  With my love of outdoor photography, and constant video work in swim meets and water polo matches I hope to get lots of opportunities to test.

Back in October I recommended a friend of mine buy a Kodak zi8 digital video recorder. It would record in 1080p, widescreen, and had an audio input connector that, when coupled with a recorder like the Zoom H2 Recorder you can record HD video with high quality stereo sound.  Every review compared the Kodak zi8 to the Flip Ultra Camcorder 2nd Generation, 120 Minutes (Black) and the Kodak came out on top.  The Kodak seemed like a slam dunk.  Apparently everyone else thought so as well.

My friend bought the camera from a local Best Buy, and that weekend took some great video of trains traveling past.  Imagine watching in HD, while the train, and the audio, travels from right to left.  Amazing.

Since that time the camera has become the pick for many people including Leo LaPorte on his Windows Weekly podcast.

That said, it apparently is the hottest item this Christmas, if stockouts are any indication.

I tried to help someone find a camera to purchase for Christmas, so we visited all the usual places.

Amazon.  Best Buy. Walmart. We even tried the mothership, Kodak itself where they offer free shipping on the product, but just don’t have it. Then we tried various mail-order locations, such as J&R Audio and Video and B&H Photo-video.  No luck.  In fact, since that date, Best Buy has raised their price to $209, $30 more than even Kodak is selling it for.

There are other choices.  As I mentioned above, you could get the Flip Ultra.  That isn’t out of stock.  But if you want the best small High Definition, High Quality video camera, you will have to wait.  A while.

My friends Joe Tillman and Kate Vitasek have written a <A HREF=”http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20091201order_fulfillment_perfection/”> very timely article</A> discussing the “perfect order.” What they point out is that, while service providers may have “perfect order fulfillment” as their goal, you won’t get there if you don’t have as <B>your</B> measure of perfection the same measure as your customer.

They do use a very timely approach, expressing the perfect order in terms that would satsify Ralphie, from the Christmas movie classic “A Christmas Story.” The article is well worth your read.

My brother tends to write far more about the Christmas holiday, and Christmas, than I.  I suspect it is because he is a Priest.  But anyway, he has had many great posts, and reposts of comics, and such this holiday.

One post in particular caught my eye. It contains all that I like. It contains religion.  Music.  Argument.  And an opportunity for me to comment. *smile*

In particular he was continuing a discussion about what I would call Garrison Keillor’s defense of Christian Christmas.  So I commented.  Below is my comment, in full:

Chris,

As you know I often say (and write) that all too often Christians want to be Christians, but prefer to be known simply as ‘-ians”

They like all the trappings of the Church.  The fellowship. The candles.  The music (and in your church’s case–the robes and perhaps incense.)

But they don’t like all that comes with it.

• A call to holiness
• A recognition of sin that separates Man from God
• or worse, a denial of Sin as defined by God, and replaced by Sin as defined by Man
• And, even worse, a rewriting of the Bible to keep all they like, but dispense with the pesky God

So that brings us to the Christmas holiday.   Read the rest of this entry »