More Kindle Thoughts
November 22, 2007
I've been playing a little more with the Kindle the past two days, so here are a few more thoughts: 1) I've emailed myself PDF files (free book by Seth Godin) and MOBI files (free copy of Heart of Darkness) and both worked perfectly. I had to pay $0.10 to get the files to the device (the Mobi could be moved for free), but I didn't mind paying $0.20 to get two really good pieces of content delivered. There is a lot of complaining on the Amazon forums about the lack of PDF functionality, but it works fine for me. My guess is Amazon will release a desktop conversion tool as well. 2) There are thousands of free MOBI format books available on a multitude of sites like MOBI Free Books. 3) Battery life is great. Tonight is the first time…
Kindle – First Reactions…
November 20, 2007
The Kindle arrived today and I've spent a few hours playing with it. Here are some preliminary reactions.... 1) I'd classify this as a knowledge device. It is meant to facilitate the consumption of knowledge in a consumer vice conversational format. Folks that complain that it doesn't have an email client or other interactive features are missing the point. 2) I like the fact that when I search I get results on my device (great if you are storing a lot of books/articles), on wikipedia, the onboard dictionary, and the web. In addition, I can trigger that same search term on the Amazon Kindle store. 3) The device interface is very usable. It certainly isn't an iPhone, nor will it ever be if it is going to meet the power requirements…
The Kindle Meme
November 19, 2007
Amazon is generating lots of buzz with the release of their Kindle ebook platform today. Many of the people I follow on Twitter made some sort of announcement regarding the order that they placed and mine is on the way. I think Kindle is significant for several reasons: 1) No reliance on tethering to a computer - I am a Sony eReader owner and as a Mac user I hate the fact that the store is only available via PC. Kindle puts the store on the device, which follows on the trend Apple initiated with the iTunes store on the Apple iPhone and the iPod Touch. 2) The barrier for electronic publishing has been lowered - Tonight I put two works of mine on the Amazon Kindle marketplace. Both are available for free on this site, but I was overly…
Lesson learned…don’t judge a book by its Internet cover
November 19, 2007
I first heard of Jason Calacanis on the TWIT podcast (#57) about a year ago. I wasn't impressed with his performance and his negative reputation was reinforced as I observed how regularly he served as a whipping boy on sites like ValleyWag, etc. I heard him on TWIT again a few weeks ago and a few things he said really resonated with me, so I decided to check out his podcast. It has easily become one of my favorites and is certainly one of the most informative podcasts I listen to. He conducts great interviews with some of Silicon Valley's most interesting people. He is always well prepared, well spoken, and is certainly well informed. If you are interested in the "behind the scenes" view of Silicon Valley, Web 2.0, and Internet…
From Casinos to Counterterrorism
October 22, 2007
Interesting article on intel technologies in Las Vegas, including NORA.... A 43-year-old technology visionary and high-school dropout, Jonas soon realized that his system could also identify employees colluding with gamblers, say, by discovering that they share a home address. He calls his program NORA -- for Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness. Every time a player registers for a loyalty card or a hotel room, Jonas explained from his lab near the Strip, the player's name, address and other data are sent to NORA. Also in the casinos' NORA database is information about employees and vendors. Link--->
Where iTunes runs into trouble
October 17, 2007
Let's say I want to buy the new "She Wants Revenge" album, so I decide to do a comparison between iTunes and the Amazon MP3 store. On iTunes the tracks are only available in DRM form at a cost of $7.99 for the album, which is a great value for a 13 tracks. On Amazon, I can get the same 13 tracks for $8.99 in a higher bit rate and no DRM. I hate DRM enough that $1.00 premium is worth it to me for the higher quality and no DRM. Given I like to access my music collection from multiple computers, I've already maxed out my 5 authorized systems on iTunes. That means if I buy the album from Apple, I've got to listen to it on the five machines that have been authorized. If I am heading out the door with my MacBook, I can't bring this album as…
Your iPhone may be a Gphone
October 15, 2007
If this analyst is right, I am willing to bet the iPhone will be Gphone enabled: But Richard Doherty, research director at The Envisioneering Group, says Google is driving toward getting device makers to produce basic handsets equipped with a "Gbutton" that takes users right to a Google texting screen. The goal: Get GPhone texters in the habit of querying its vast databases for directions, phone numbers, movie times or restaurant tips and woo advertisers to sponsor GPhone-delivered answers, Doherty says. Link---> This makes a lot of sense for both parties and creates yet another potential revenue stream for the iPhone as the software approach will likely involve revenue sharing, just like a Google toolbar does. Given the integration…
Another TEW web site – East Bay TEW
October 13, 2007
Another node in the network.... East Bay TEW site looks great! Is a joint venture between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and the City of Oakland. The group serves as the region’s hub for gathering, analyzing and disseminating information which may pertain to terrorist threats. The group uses an “enrichment” system marked by the imperative to immediately pass information it receives to all relevant constituents, liaisons and contacts so that all view and add to it based upon experiences with involved subjects, methods of operations, and events described in the disseminations. In this way, critical and also seemingly innocuous information can be added to in order to create…
Online Backup with Amazon S3
October 10, 2007
A few months ago I had two RAID NAS storage devices fail on me within two days of each other. These two devices comprised 100% of my backup capability, which got me thinking about some off-site alternatives for some of my data. After a lot of research, I decided to go with Amazon's S3 service which provides reliable and very cheap online storage and JungleDisk (which gives me a nice interface to S3 with custom encryption of files before they are uploaded to Amazon). After a few months of use, I must say that I am very impressed. The Amazon storage is costing me about $1.00 per month and the lifetime license for JungleDisk is $25.00. I am not uploading things like pictures or music yet, but I just may do an annual load of our photo…
DHS Spams Itself
October 3, 2007
I am subscribed to this list and must admit I was more amused than annoyed given the entertainment value of the posts. Here’s the story: DHS provides a daily summary of news items for its mailing list subscribers, which includes people with security and disaster response roles, vendors and news media. But its mailing list was misconfigured today. Anyone who hit "reply all" reached everyone one the list, triggering some 200 emails -- and counting. The temptation to reach out was too much. It quickly became a big networking party. (Although as time went on, frustration mounted prompting more and more people to send emails to everyone on the list asking everyone to stop sending emails to everyone on the list.) Many used it as a…
Anti-Apple post
September 13, 2007
So, it turns out that Apple has locked the video out option on the new iPods in such a way as to prevent it from working with older video accessories. This is a really bad move and stories like this one at iLounge deserve more attention. I use the video out capability on my 5G iPod all the time. In fact, my MyVu glasses are my favorite iPod accessory of all time, ranking slightly above my Bose noise reduction headset. As it turns out, if I buy a new iPod, the MyVus won't work with it. Dumb move Apple.
The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.
September 6, 2007
Bruce Sterling is heralding the Washington Post's recent interview with author William Gibson as one of the best ever and I would have to agree. If you haven't read his latest novel Spook Country, I highly recommend it. I am still trying to sort out what the implications are now that our top cyberpunk authors are writing about the recent past. That's the problem with his game, he says. "If I had gone to Ace Books in 1981 and pitched a novel set in a world with a sexually contagious disease that destroys the human immune system and that is raging across most of the world -- particularly badly in Africa -- they might have said, 'Not bad. A little toasty. That's kind of interesting.' "But I'd say -- ' But wait! Also, the internal combustion…
The Apple iPhone Early Adopter Tax
September 5, 2007
Is apparently $200.00. Reaction amongst the Apple fan base has not been pleasant. Thanks Apple!
Another Node in the Network
September 4, 2007
Haven't spent the better part of 3 years working to expand the TEW Network, it is nice to see another strong node firm up despite DHS's best effort to kill the initiative off. The St. Louis Terrorism Early Warning Group (TEW) is a public safety partnership consisting of law enforcement, fire, public health, emergency management and private sector agencies. As a regional intelligence fusion center, The TEW provides a multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary approach to the collection, analysis and dissemination of information. Additionally, the St. Louis TEW works with government and private organizations to identify and protect the region’s critical infrastructure and key resources through the implementation of the National Infrastructure…
The Future of the Workplace: No Office, Headquarters in Cyberspace
August 28, 2007
Increasingly true it would seem: Imagine a work world with no commute, no corporate headquarters and perhaps not even an office in the physical world at all. For Bob Flavin, a computer scientist at IBM; Janet Hoffman, an executive at a management consulting firm; and Joseph Jaffe, a marketing entrepreneur, the future is already here. Link--->