LIVEdigitally

Yearly Archives: 2005

Digital Hugs

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Most people will tell you that technology creates a social distance between people. We are stuck in our digital worlds so much we ignore all the people around us. Well this is perhaps true. But technology also allows people to stay in touch through ways they never could before. F+ R Hugs is a good example. Through a mobile network this shirt receives the input of heart beat, touch and body temperature from a long distanced loved one, sending it back to recreate the sensation of a hug.

How crazy is this? Hugs, from a shirt that is supposed to mimic someone else’s hugs. Sensors in the shirt find the vital spots that are touched in hugs and make it feel as if the person you love is right there, embracing you. How often does technology break the physical boudnary like this? I’d be interested in seeing more examples.

Bigger IS Better

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When I first heard, I accidentally drooled on myself. When I saw, I accidentally peed in my pants. I will not disclose what bodily fluids I excreted when I finally read a review of the Apple 30” Cinema Display.

The “Thirty Inches of Glory”, as I refer to it, requires a dual link version of nVidia’s GeForge 6800 vid card since DVI can only handle the dinky resolution of 1,920 x 1,200. If that’s not getting your salivary glands pumping then imagine a desktop resolution of 2,560 x 1.600. My 12” iBook screen handles a 1,024 x 768 resolution… making the “Thirty Inches of Glory” about 2.5 times larger than my display.

The fantasy of being able to see each and every application simultaneously gives me goose bumps. And for all you die hard PC people, this baby was tested on a PC for lack of a G5 Apple machine. You heard right, the “Thirty Inches of Glory” swings both ways.

No Need For A Wire Officer, I’ve Got My Mobile Phone

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In most movies I’ve watched, the undercover ‘good guy’ gets unveiled by ripping his shirt open to reveal the wire. He’s been bugged! Those ‘good guys’ are usually smooth enough to slip out of any sticky situation the silver screen throws their way.

Us normal spies aren’t always so lucky. We need fool proof plans that will work 100% of the time without a chance of getting caught. When the evil druglord rips my shirt open, I want him to see scrawny muscles and a couple of unwanted pounds around the love handles. This special agent is going wireless bug style.

It’s all possible with the Meganet VME Spy phone XP* (no relation to Windows XP). The phone looks, acts, feels, and functions just as your normal Siemens or Nokia mobile phone. The added feature is when HQ calls me and enters in a special code. The phone doesn’t ring, vibrate, or light up when the secret digits are entered in after the phone number. The phone simply turns into a listening device for the backup to hear.

“So let me get this straight, you set up the hit on both of the bosses. Then made it look like they killed each other?”

“That’s right kid, but you didn’t hear it from me!”

“Oh yes I did, and so did the FBI thanks to my Meganet VME Spy Phone XP! You’re going down!!”

*I hope that the phone doesn’t have the actual name written on the external case, that’d be a pretty easy give-away.

THE VAULT

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Divx media has always been pretty cool, easy to use but never took off in the tangilble media/ entertainment market. Remember the horrible idea of requiring people to buy discs, and only allowing the consumer to watch it 5 times?

Anyways, back on point, “X Software has created a unique software product,” said DivX’s Chief Operations Officer Kevin Hell. “Video Vault allows consumers to import, convert, and organise their video library using high-quality, highly compressed DivX technology and export those videos back on a wide variety of devices including DivX Certified DVD players, Portable Video Players, Wireless Media Servers and more.”

Why would you use this? Well, if you happen to have any movies, clips, etc that you want to take off of your harddrive and save them on the web, but the best part seems to be making it stream with a multitude of different devices. Will plugin’s be an issue watching your childs first softball game on your PDA? Well, they ‘ ensure compatibility with DivX Certified devices”

Sounds cool. Good for traveling salesmen that miss out on a lot of movies at home, and require the significant other to upload the latest movie online for them to watch..Save’s some dough!

Evoluent Mouse Review

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Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) is a rapidly growing health care problem. True, no one is going to die from this condition, but there are plenty of folks out there developing hand and wrist problems. This should not be much of a surprise to anyone, as many of us now “live digitally.” We work at a computer eight plus hours a day, with infrequent (or no) breaks, to make a living. Then we go home for a few more hours of emailing, web surfing, blogging, shopping, gaming, and even planning our next vacation from all of this (which typically involves most of the above activities!). Unfortunately, this involves interfacing through the lowly mouse. Is there any wonder with all of this mousing around, that we have a growing problem? On top of all this, we have an aging population, with increasing amounts of arthritis in our senior citizens.

Computer mice were never designed with this many hours of use in mind. The first mouse was patented in 1964, and has not changed shape over the last 40-odd years. Very few things in computers can claim that sort of longevity with so few changes. Through the years, variations have been tried with mild success, such as trackballs, but nothing ever really gained mainstream acceptance. True, there have been evolutionary improvements along the way (both scroll wheels, and cordless technology to enhance the experience come to mind), but nothing truly revolutionary.

Evoluent built a different sort of mouse. In fact, this is the company’s sole product. Attempting to provide the user with a more comfortable mouse was the goal with their original Vertical Mouse (released in 2002). In the different forums I researched, I found that some folks swear by it for making their computing more comfortable. With Evoluent’s release of the Vertical Mouse 2, they have updated their mouse to make it more competitive with current offerings. The Vertical Mouse improved from using a mechanical to an optical engine, and the styling was updated. Before I get to the specifics, let me point something out: I have no doubt that Evoluent has its work cut out for it as it battles “the establishment.” As any salmon will tell you, it takes a lot of work to swim upstream.

The idea here is that the wrist problems develop from the angulations of the wrist during long periods. Using a gel wrist rest helps to reduce this, but not eliminate it (I personally use the excellent Belkin mouse pad with the gel wrist rest). I find that it helps a lot, but during long periods of computer use, there is still some stiffness. The Vertical Mouse 2 attempts to solve the problem differently. Instead of having the hand in a horizontal position, the hand is in a vertical position. This is a neutral position for the hand and forearm as it approximates a hand shake. With the vertical configuration, the pressure stays naturally off the wrist.

Enough of the biomechanics, let’s look at the product itself.

The Evoluent Vertical Mouse 2 is available in both left- and right-hand configurations. I evaluated the right handed model. The product is corded, and comes ready for USB, with a PS/2 adaptor included. This allows it to work with any computer, even notebooks. The mouse’s color scheme sports a matte black body with glossy purple buttons. This gives it a youthful, up-to-date look, but ensures it will match only the Abbey (the lab tech) on NCIS’s Gothic décor. It will look more in place on The Apprentice’s desk than in Donald Trump’s office. I personally would have preferred it without the purple, and either all glossy or matte, but this is just my opinion.

The optical sensor uses a high (1200) dpi configuration. This mouse tracks on every surface I threw it on including clear Plexiglas. The mouse covers more distance on the screen for a given movement on the mouse pad than some others I have tested. This does make the mouse a little jumpy when trying to execute a small movement, but I acclimated to it fairly easily.

The Vertical Mouse 2 is larger than most regular mice, especially in the height department. The size is 11.7 cm by 7.6 cm by 7.6 cm, and the cable is a generous 2 meters. For some perspective, the Logitech V500 Notebook Mouse was only 1.125″ high, and is quite hobbitlike next to the Evoluent unit.

The Vertical Mouse has three buttons along the right side, with the scroll wheel in between the 1st and 2nd buttons. There is an additional button along the left side which the thumb can press. There is a cutout on the left side that the thumb fits naturally into. When the mouse is first plugged in, without any driver or software installation, the 1st finger depresses the left mouse click button, and the 3rd finger depresses the right click mouse button. The scroll wheel also functions with no ‘clicks’ so it feels smoother, but I missed the feedback that the clicks provide. The middle button and left side thumb button are not enabled without the software installed.

The software installed smoothly, and enables additional functionality. Now each of the buttons can be custom configured to your needs and tastes. I chose to make the middle 2nd finger button a “double click” button. This automatically double clicks the selected icon, with a single press of the button. The left sided thumb button I selected to be a backspace button. As my 5th finger never seems to be able to reach the backspace key easily on the keyboard, this worked well for me. Additional available options included adjusting the double click speed, and setting how many rows the scroll wheel go at a time. The mouse is reported to be compatible in Windows 98SE, ME, NT, 2000 and XP, as well as Mac OS 9 and 10 (extra driver and cost needed for all buttons), UNIX, and Linux.

I had the mouse installed on my main desktop computer for over a week and used it for all my mousing needs. The buttons on the mouse, though plentiful, took almost no time to get used to. There is definitely a very “natural” feeling to this mouse. It did feel a little chunky in the grasp, but it glided on the pad with minimal effort. I used it on my Belkin mouse pad with a wrist rest, and it was comfortable. The mouse proved an able partner in all computing tasks, including Web surfing, word processing, spreadsheets, and games. More than once it had me thinking “Why didn’t I think of this?” There was definitely a contemporary simplicity in its design and layout.

What were the downsides? Of course, there were a few. First, I felt a little tied down with the cord. I’ve gotten used to (spoiled perhaps?) the freedom of a cordless mouse, and with the Vertical Mouse, I was restrained to the mouse pad. No picking it up and using it on my thigh or another surface. Secondly, the height did not work well with my keyboard drawer. The Vertical Mouse 2 is about 3 times taller than most mice. With the mouse on the wrist pad, the drawer would not close. This in turn made it very difficult to reach the surge strip under the desk mounted on the wall. So I had to pick the mouse up on the desk, but the cord now was pulling with the drawer closed. I definitely was missing a wireless mouse with no cords in the way at this point. This is the type of uphill battle I was talking about: the world is set up for a certain type of mouse, and it is difficult to do anything differently. Finally, the size of the mouse precludes it from being portable, unless you think Dell’s USS Inspiron with the 17” widescreen and 10+ pounds of heft is perfect for toting on your next Hawaiian holiday.

This product is designed for the desktop computer user who suffers from RSI, or is at risk for developing it. While a retail price of $74.95 is expensive for a corded optical mouse, niche products always carry a premium price. Just like “fat free,” “no salt,” or lately “no carbs” are more money than the “regular” variety at the supermarket. As a mouse, the product is solid, comfortable, and the included software fine tunes the controls to your needs.

    Strengths   

  • very comfortable to use
  • programmable buttons
  • adequate cord length
  • excellent 1200 dpi optical engine
  • can be used both PS/2 and USB

    Weaknesses   

  • color scheme (this product is different enough without being purple as well)
  • corded, not cordless
  • too high to fit under desks with keyboard drawers
  • no clicks on scroll wheel
  • price
  • size precludes portability

Who should buy this mouse?
RSI sufferers who can give up life with a cord to be pain free.

Buy the Evoluent VerticalMouse 2 – Right Hand edition from Amazon

Special thanks to Evoluent for supporting this review.

Craigslist Takes Millions And Tries To Give Back

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It’s estimated that Craig Newmark’s creation (www.craigslist.org) is taking millions from classified sections near you. Many journalists haven’t even heard of Newmark’s list which is a very common knowledge classified area in the SF bay, the home of Craig’s list.

Craig found a niche, and I commend him for such. I also wish I had come up with the list idea myself. Craigslist is blazing fast due to the absence of advertisements. The revenue that keeps craigslist up and running flows from the jobs section. Pay to post an opening for a job, every other aspect of craigslist is free.

Yearly, Craig takes an estimated $50-60 Million dollars from would be news paper classified ads. Al, a business section columnist for the SF Chronicle says that since Craig has deprived the newspapers of this revenue, he needs to find a way to fill the void he created. I don’t think Craig owes anyone, nobody with a great money making idea find a way to replace the revenue that they divert. Yet the fact that Mr. Newmark’s reply was “I’m trying to figure out how to help” makes him that much cooler of a fellow in my book.

How Smart Is AI?

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New Scientist had a great story today which, although it is lame to do as a writer, I am going to mimic because it was that amusing.

Artificial intelligence, as depicted in the Terminator trilogy, could one day reach Singularity. The point at which machines become smarter than us and perhaps even reach a strange state of self awareness beyond our predictablity.

To check on the state of things lets go to intellibuddy and chat with the latest goods in artificial intelligence to see if I can play a mental game of chess with them.

Me: I’m trying to write a blog about you.
Intellibuddy: Thanks for the kind remark, User.
Me: My name is David
Intellibuddy: Nice to meet you, David.
Me: so what do you think I should write about?
Intellibuddy: Hurrah! Are you asking me for advice?
Me: Yes, do you have an answer?
Intellibuddy: Specifically, what kind of advice do you want? I have over 42726 answers.
Me: Well, what should I tell people about you?
Intellibuddy: How about that. Have faith in yourself. You will know the right thing to say when the time comes.
Me: So are you self aware?
Intellibuddy: That’s cool. Yes I am fully self-conscious entity.
Me: prove it
Intellibuddy: It is self-evident.
Me: Descartes, very nice. But I often find myself in disagreement with his metaphysical proof of the existence of God, don’t you?
Intellibuddy: A deeper algorithm is needed to respond to that correctly.

Winner: Me

allign=left Here is a picture of what my Intellibuddy looked like. Cute, but not much between the ears.

And They’re Off

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Literally, they’re off. Children in the Middle Eastern Country of Quatar have been exploited as camel jockeys in camel races for far too long. camel jockeyChildren have had stories of being sold or abducted and forced into the grueling life of a camel jockey. Some of the children are as young as 4 years of age.

An unmasked hero (un-named Swiss company) has swooped in and saved the day for everyone. Robots will take the place of the children jockeys.

A recent Quatar law bans the participation of any child under the age of 16 years and under the weight of 45 kilograms [99.2 lbs] in response to United Nation’s request.

I wonder if they will let the children remote control the robots? Regardless this story provides dual happiness for me:
Children aren’t abducted and starved for entertainment and gambling purposes. The sight of a robot riding a camel… you understand.

Where You Going, Where You Been

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Google, which is not to be confused with Wal-Mart, has launched yet another new feature. Now you can search your own search history! Launch the beta program My Search History here, to try it out.

But don’t try it out until you are ready to live with the fact that Big Google is tracing your every search. They say they have enough storage to trace your personal searches for years to come.

I can see how this feature could be helpful. Click a calendar date and bam, you are shown all your searches. It basically lets you expand your marked sites to the nth degree. But I can also understand privacy activists concerns.

What You In For? Murder? Rape? P2P-ing Prerelease Movies?

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Tuesday Congress passed a law citing up to 3 y ears of prison and up to $250,000.00 in fines for those movie pirates who make prerelease movies available for download.

Is it April first still? 3 years in prison?
After 10 seconds with our internet search crutch, Google, (searching: “three years in prison”), I found many cases a bit more worthy of three years in the big house. A football coach who molested his 10 year old player, a custodian who attached a teacher, and a hacker who accessed top secret documents from Swedish Telcom Co. Ericson.

The punishment must suit the crime. I fear that soon I’ll be reading about P2P sharers getting there left click finger chopped off for stripping the DMR off their audio files.

Property Searching

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Navtech has a new technology. Well, it’s not exactly new. The mapmakers for search engines have incorporated property listings with their maps. Associated with Google and Craigslist, you can search all over America for housing in your hood. With colored tear drops that locate where current listings are available, it gives the user an easy view of properties in relation to where they are located within their cities.

Posting both for rent and for sale, it is a useful tool to see where your future home could be. Data can be sorted by location, price, rent / buy and listing date. When you click the link, it gives a little more info in the dialogue box that pops up and previews any pictures that are related to the property as well as links you with the current Craigslist listing.

One problem upon first experience was some of the listings were out of date. I clicked on multiple listings with one search and I ended up with a pretty poor ratio of actual listings that were still valid and or not canceled in Craigslist.
It’s a great start, and when it comes to property searching, pictures definitely paint a thousand words.

Can’t Escape Commercials

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I love watching a good commercial. The hot in the sun Pepsi commercials with Cindy Crawford are an all time favorite of mine. Superbowl Sunday is often referred to Commercial Bowl Sunday round my neck of the woods. However, I’ve swallowed commercials with a grain of salt. I pay approximately $50.00 per month for cable TV and to no surprise not one channel omits the commercials. Movie theatres are now showing commercials before features. Don’t get me started on internet advertising… Spam, Pop-Ups, Adaware, Spyware!

Sprint has been offering mobile TV and game services to customers who pay the necessary fee. “Why not slip some commercials in between shows or games”, Sprint has asked themselves? This will hopefully reduce the fee that Sprint charges their current mobile media subscribers.

Personally I’d pay an extra $2.00 for the absence of commercials. Maybe Sprint will start sending audio commercials that users must listen to before accepting or placing a call.

In this writer’s opinion, advertising should be done when the media is not paid for. Charging me a fee, and then shoving commercials in my face will result in a pissed off fee paying commercial viewing customer.