I’m tired and can’t think of anything

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I’ve been trying to keep up on blogging and haven’t written anything in a bit. At the moment, I’m sitting in my room at the Cupertino Inn as I’m at Apple participating in three day training for Xsan. It’s the second of such trips I’ve done in two weeks. Sure, I kinda digg traveling and part of me doesn’t mind being stuck in a hotel room as I can get a reasonable amount of work and surfing done, but really, I’d rather be home with my family.

I did just hear about www.5ives.com by Merlin Mann. I just added it to my reader. Some of them are pretty funny.

I’m here again tomorrow. I’ll try to come up with something more interesting.

Twitter Updates for 2008-01-17

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  • Largely done with South hall. Back in Acura booth for bandwidth before heading back to hotel. #
  • Hunkered down for my last night in SF. #
  • Last day in SF. Can’t wait to get home tonight. #
  • Finished with the south hall. Going back to west before heading to the airport. #
  • Fluid mask 3 by vertus demos really well. #
  • At the airport waiting for my delayed flight. Interesting, the more people you know in your life the more strangers look kinda familiar. #

Twitter Updates for 2008-01-16

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  • Skullcandy, what a unique name for a company. They sell "urban" headphones. Kinda cool #
  • Hangin’ at the Acura booth suckin’ up the bits before going back to the hotel. #
  • Wrapping up and going to foraging for food. #
  • Back in the room. Had some sushi, surfing, and watching Matrix Reloaded. #
  • All caught up on work, did a blog post, and heading to the South hall for day 2. #
  • I like the dual use laptop desk (futura) by LapWorks http://www.laptopdesk.net #
  • It’s interesting what people are willing to do for freebies. #
  • O.k. the Eye-Fi card is slicker than slick http://www.eye.fi #
  • There are vendors selling iPod cases everywhere. Kinda like Starbucks. #
  • An urban setting is tough for a fast walker like me. #

Perhaps the classiest 404 page I’ve seen

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While finding the EyeTV link for my last post, I discovered that El Gato has, in my opinion, the best take on a 404 page (the one that comes up when you request an invalid URL). Sure, generally everyone has a "we’re sorry we couldn’t find the page you’re looking for."  They go a step further and give you a 10% off coupon in their store "to make things right".

That’s pretty cool.

Macworld Expo, Day 2

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Today was all about the South hall. Obviously, Apple’s booth was the largest and in the middle of the floor. Most people were interested in fondling the MacBook Air but the other products got plenty of interest as well. They were smart to have empty MBA shells at the sides of the booth so people could marvel at the new design. Time will tell how durable it is as the form certainly makes you want to slip it in a backpack or bag. The recessed USB ports look cool, but I’m sure owners are going to have to carry a USB extension for those things that won’t fit.

The coolest product I saw was Eye-Fi which is a 2G SD memory card that also has WiFi circuitry that is independent of the camera. In practice, it allows you to take a picture and have it automatically upload it to your computer (in local mode) or to Flick via their servers. If there isn’t a known network available, it stays on the card just like normal. I asked if they were thinking about a MemoryStick version and he said they are talking to Sony but it’s too early to know. I hope they do.

I also talked with the Omni Group booth about their new OmniFocus which I’ve been using for a bit. I wanted to make sure I was using it properly as I started while it was in public beta and developed habits before some features were implemented.

The funniest thing was the fact there were iPod/iPhone case vendors everywhere including two that were across the isle from each other (awkward). Becky‘s in the market for one so I’ll have to try and find out what she wants and see who has a good show special.

I’m very happy that El Gato released a new version of EyeTV. They addressed several complaints I had since switching from my MythTV last year. They add a smart listing (e.g., smart playlist) based on multiple categories and can optionally record any matching episode. They also improved the on-screen menu which will make it easier to use on our TV.

Macworld Expo, Day 1

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Yesterday was the opening day of Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The keynote ran from 9:00 to around 10:45 but I did not have a pass for it and considering the extreme interest and attendance, I wasn’t bothered by that. Since registration wasn’t open until after the keynote, I went across the street to the Metreon and followed Engadget‘s live blogging of the presentation.

My take on the announcements? "meh" I like the iPhone upgrade (GPS-like locater, web clips, multi-person SMS, song lyrics, and movie chapters) but am still quite put-out that they still don’t support tasks. I was hoping they were going to discuss the development kit for the iPhone and perhaps bring some vendor out to show a upcoming app, but I suppose that isn’t quite the venue for it.

I am also so-so on the iTunes movie rentals. I really like the concept and while we subscribe to NetFlix, I think we’ll use iTunes occasionally for those movies we don’t want to wait for. Since I am a bit frugal by nature, I would have liked it to be $1.99 and $2.99 (back catalog vs. new releqses) instead of $2.99 and $3.99 and am also disapointed by what has been called the "guy tax" of $1 extra for HD versions (if available). What’s worse, it appears that the HD versions can only be viewed on the Apple TV which leaves my Mac Mini in the SD cold. I’d bet big money that the studios required that restriction so that you can’t easily get to the file to strip the DRM and pirate like everyone strives to do.

Lastly, Apple announced the MacBook Air which is an ultra-light 13" laptop that is quite sexy in person. I have to admit, if I was in the market, I’d strongly consider one but I’m not coveting it. Many have criticized the non-user replaceable battery but having seen the unit in person, I don’t see how they could have made it removable and still keep the laptop thin. The replacement cost for the battery is reasonable, but it’s not clear if it can be replaced at an Apple Store or if it has to be sent in for servicing. Granted, you don’t really need to replace the battery often, but I’d rather not be without a laptop for days to do so.

Other than that, I spent the afternoon in the West hall which is made up of mostly smaller vendors. Some of the highlights include Skullcandy (a vendor of urban tech accessories), Budclicks (clip-on accents for earphones), Fluid Mask 3 by Vertus (alpha mask creation with a unique UI), Blurb (individual softcover and hardcover printing service), and of course Drobo by Data Robotics (a personal RAID device with very impressive features that I’ve been drooling over for a while).

Today, I’ll be hitting the South hall which is the big one. I’ll twitter what I can and do a day 2 wrap up tonight.

Twitter Updates for 2008-01-15

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  • Arrived at SF. Next up, getting to the hotel at rush hour. #
  • I was wrong about traffic. I made it to the hotel in good time. #
  • Picked up supplies (snacks). I’m all set to get to work. #
  • Hanging out in the room before heading out to Moscone. #
  • Express badge pick-up is anything but. #
  • Giving up (for now) and going to get lunch while the lines die down. #
  • Still far from express but much improved "lines." #
  • Best news all morning, the pre-reg print-out can get you in. Now THAT’S express. #
  • Seeing some of these small vendors make me think of the days I used to work the show. #
  • Getting horribly frustrated with EVDO and WiFi. Borrowing ethernet from the Acura booth (they have a nice lounge). #