End User

Something for the Weekend: Kickstart an iPhone Accessory

A couple months ago, I was introduced to the Kickstarter concept by a friend of mine who was looking to head into the studio to produce a full-blown album. If you're not familiar, Kickstarter is a micropatronage/crowdfunding site that uses the Web to garner microdonations to fund creative projects--whether it be music, a comic book version of James Joyce's Ulysses, or a vegetarian festival in northern Florida. Rather than find just a couple backers (i.e., banks, parents), Kickstarter spreads out the donation seeking to a wider audience where the dollar amounts can be more reasonable (i.e., in line with what you might give to your local NPR station).

Not every proposal to Kickstarter goes up on the site, and not everything gets funded. If a pre-set goal isn't met, the funds that have been pledged won't be collected and the project's originator goes back to square one. (Happily, my friend's album project was funded and has since been completed and released.)

Since I made donations to my friend's project, I'm on the Kickstarter mailing list, and this week one project caught my eye--an iPhone 4 tripod mount/stand:

As you can see it's very simply designed, but as with some very simple designs it's very adaptable to other uses. According to my pal Glenn Fleishman over at The Economist's Babbage blog, the duo behind the Glif were pretty sure they'd be able to make their $10,000 pledge level... but were astounded when they rocketed past that level (as of Friday afternoon, they're above $83K in pledges). You can pledge in any amount, but a $20 pledge essentially acts as a pre-order for once it's manufactured (I've put in mine). Glenn also adds some interesting background on how the design was created and tested:

They started with a computer model of the adapter, created with Rhinoceros 3D design software. The software is $995 for Windows, but they used the beta test version for Mac OS X, which is free. They tested their designs through rapid prototyping, uploading files to Shapeways in the Netherlands. It took about ten days for Shapeways to "print" each prototype in 3D, and a day later it would be in the designers' hands in New York. Shapeway charges by material volume, so each each Glif test cost about $10. They would try out a few variants each time just to meet a $25 minimum.

So check out the Glif and other possible projects over at Kickstarter this weekend. Some other items to ponder while chilling on the couch with your laptop or iPad:

• Become a master of your web browser in seven steps (Bridging the Nerd Gap)

• The reason why vinyl records are 12 inches in diameter (NPR)

• A trip down memory lane through mobile smartphone evolution (Ars Technica)

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Get Connected: Little Boxes (That Stream Video and More)

One of the subjects that the new Amazon Connected Home covers is how to stream video content--HD movie rentals, TV shows, YouTube, etc.--from the Internet and from network-connected computers in your home. This fall, we're seeing the debuts of the several streaming video boxes that will be competing for space in your home entertainment center--the new Apple TV (check out my first impressions), the revamped Roku line, and the long-anticipated Boxee Box.

To help you sort through things, check out this handy graphic over at the Mashable blog that compares the three boxes and notes differences in playback resolution, supported video and audio formats, and compatibility with external streaming sources.

To learn more about broadcasting media through your home, be sure to check out Connected Home's Streaming Video and Streaming Music sections.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Get Connected: Amazon Connected Home Opens Its Doors

While it might be lacking the jet packs and space station vacation resorts I dreamed of as a youth in the mid-70s, I love today's modern world of technology where I get to live and play with technology that would seem so sci-fi or magical some 30-plus years ago. Imagine telling my 10-year-old self back in 1977 that 33 years hence I'd be able to listen to virtually any song I could think of--anywhere in my house and at any time--rather than have to rely on calling up the local radio station to request another play of Meco's Star Wars Theme and wait through hours of Rod Stewart and Peter Frampton before it played. Or that I didn't have to wait until summer re-runs to watch my favorite episode of Logan's Run again (not to mention that a TV with rabbit ears wasn't required).

But while these little bits of magic are available to us in a plethora of forms--gadgets, software, network connections--getting the magic to perform for you and sifting through exactly what you need to make it happen can get overwhelming.

That's where the new Amazon Connected Home section comes in. Officially launching this week, Amazon Connected Home pulls together a plethora of articles, videos, and FAQs about a wide range of technologies that can help you do more in your house without having your mind boggled. The sections include how-to materials on:

• Streaming music through your home
• Watching streaming Internet movies and TV shows on your HDTV
• Improving your cell phone coverage via your own mini cell tower or over Wi-Fi
• Using security cameras in your house and remotely
• Controlling home lighting and appliances remotely
• Sharing printers on your network with multiple computers

Each section provides some options on what might suit your needs, as well as some handy FAQs for those who aren't completely savvy about tech terms like femtocell or powerline networking. (And if you're still not sure about how best to get started with setting up a home network, be sure to check out the Networking 101 guide.)

But the centerpiece of Connected Home is the series of 1-minute videos created for each section and hosted by Paul Hochman (seen on the screen grabs on the right). The Connected Home team and Paul have done a great job at synthesizing the basics of each home-connecting subject and providing a primer on what the tech can do for you as well as introducing some solutions to look into--all with a bit of humor (a spoonful of which definitely helps the tech specs go down).

Now, if you consider yourself an advanced gadget tinkerer who can pull together a PC from spare parts lying around the house, you might feel that these videos might be a bit too basic. But they're perfect for your parents or your less geeked-out friends. I often get phone calls from my Mom, Mother-In-Law, or pals who are swimming hard against the tide of tech and need either some suggestions on how to accomplish certain connectivity projects... and Connected Home is a great place to send them to learn about the possibilities.

But you might also learn a thing or two as well. While going through the videos in Connected Home, my wife (who's an architect) was watching over my shoulder in our home office, and we both got excited about some of the solutions for automating our home that we'd never considered before--from door locks that can open using your cell phone to easy monitoring of our home energy use (we are definitely ordering this featured Black & Decker Power Monitor).

Check out Amazon Connected Home today.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

The Livescribe Smartpen Is Mightier Than Your Brain

A few weeks back, I ran into a gadget I'd never heard of before that--the Livescribe Echo smartpen--and wondered, "Who on earth is ever going to buy this thing?" Essentially, it's a bulky pen that's combined with a voice recorder (that saves audio files to an internal flash memory) that enables you to record class lectures, meetings, etc. and match up your written notes to specific moments of audio (thanks to an infrared camera built into the pen's tip and special dotted paper). "What's the matter with a simple Bic or typing into a netbook?" I wondered in full grumpy-old-luddite mode.

But after finally catching up on some weeks' old Sunday New York Times, it seems that this kind of device could be the way of the future for high school and college classroom learning. The NY Times Sunday Magazine's education-themed issue from back on September 19 ran a feature story on how Livescribe pens are being used by students to improve studying. And it's not just because they can pinpoint a moment of class lecture/discussion that's matched to their notes:

Having a pen that listens, the students told me, has changed the class in curious ways. Some found the pens make class less stressful; because they don't need to worry about missing something, they feel freer to listen to what (teacher Brian) Licata says. When they do take notes, the pen alters their writing style: instead of verbatim snippets of Licata's instructions, they can write "key words" -- essentially little handwritten tags that let them quickly locate a crucial moment in the audio stream. Licata himself uses a Livescribe pen to provide the students with extra lessons. Sitting at home, he'll draw out a complicated math problem while describing out loud how to solve it. Then he'll upload the result to a class Web site. There his students will see Licata's handwriting slowly fill the page while hearing his voice explaining what's going on. If students have trouble remembering how to tackle that type of problem, these little videos -- "pencasts" -- are online 24 hours a day.

How exactly does the Livescribe work? Chris Holt of Macworld explains thusly when previewing the previous version of the pen--the Livescribe Pulse:

To take advantage of the text and audio features, you must use the Smartpen with Livescribe's dot paper; the tiny dots on the paper are used by the pen as points of reference for the audio. The dot paper notepad that comes with the pen has pre-printed controls on the bottom of each page that resemble something you'd see in GarageBand. These controls allow users to fast-forward, rewind, jump, pause, speed up, or slow down the audio.

Once you get home from class or your day's meetings, you can then transfer recordings to your PC or Mac for playback--or even upload the notes as a PDF or notes with accompanying audio as an interactive Flash movie called a pencast (as mentioned above in the NY Times excerpt). Livescribe provides you with 500 MB of online storage for uploads.

The new Livescribe Echo smartpen bumps up the memory capacity to 4 GB and 8 GB (holding up to 400 and 800 hours of audio, respectively) and features a slimmer design, microUSB connector, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Additionally, the Echo is compatible with Livescribe's new Application Store, which offers apps ranging from an American Heritage dictionary and Spanish language phrases to a unit converter and games.

Check out the positive reviews the Echo has been garnering from PC Magazine, PC World, and Macworld, and be sure to check out that NY Times Magazine article. The Livescribe Echo 4 GB and 8 GB smartpens are available for ordering now.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Get Connected: Roku Debuts New Streaming Boxes

If you hadn't noticed already, the video rental store is slowly fading into the sunset, and today's news that Blockbuster officially declared bankruptcy (after a month of prepping the world for just such a move) put another nail in the coffin of the old paradigm of driving to a store to find yourself limited largely to a giant wall of new releases. The new way of video movie and TV show rental is downloaded or streaming over the Web through your cable DVR or a box like the Apple TV or Roku.

Apple's new incarnation of its Apple TV (which we'll just call ATV) was announced earlier this month and there are indications that pre-orders (such as mine) are about to ship. And with its imminent release, Roku--one of its main competitors--this week announced refreshed models of its own.

For those unfamilar, Roku's little black boxes provide a hub that connects your HDTV to your network and provides access to streaming video services like Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix, as well as a plethora of channels ranging from MLB TV to Vimeo and even audio streaming sources like Pandora.

In addition to getting a more svelte, modern look (seen at the left, sitting atop the old XR model, via Hacking Netflix), the lineup gets two new models that provide 1080p Full HD playback in the Roku XD and Roku XDS. Additionally, both these models provide Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking for faster speeds and broader range, plus a new Instant Replay feature found on the new remote control--which enables you to skip backwards in 10-second increments.

The top-of-the-line XDS also adds dual-band Wireless-N capabilities, component video in addition to HDMI, an optical audio output, and a USB port for playing digital media stored on an external hard drive or thumbdrive. What media formats will it play? It's limited to MPEG-4 video, MP3 audio, and JPG and PNG photos--so no AVI or DiVX files. Additionally, it won't become operable until a free software upgrade planned for this November.

Engadget was able to test out the Roku XDS, and found it to be quite capable with the 1080p resolution video playback. However, your options are currently limited as partner providers like Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix currently just offer up to 720p HD streaming video (though Vimeo offers 1080p capabilities). At the least, though, the XD and XDS models will be able to take advantage of this higher resolution as it becomes more available unlike the Apple TV--which is 720p only.

The older Roku HD remains in the lineup (but in the new squatter refreshed box), and it provides 54g Wi-Fi (802.11g) connectivity (as well as Ethernet) and 720p maximum resolution.

Here's a handy lil' comparison chart of the three refreshed models:

Models	Roku HD	Roku XD	Roku XDS
720p HD
1080p Full HD	--
Instant Replay	--
Wi-Fi	802.11b/g	Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)	Dual-band Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)
Ethernet (Fast)
HDMI output
Component video output	--	--
Composite A/V output
USB port	--	--
Audio output	HDMI, analog (L/R)	HDMI, analog (L/R)	HDMI, digital optical, analog (L/R)

It boils down to this: you'll be happy with the HD if you've got just a 720p-compatible HDTV or haven't upgraded to a Wireless-N router. And you'll probably be satisfied with the XD over the XDS if you don't need the USB media capability or don't need to fuss with a dual-band Wireless-N router.

And if you have an older Roku HD-XR player (like myself), there's some good news from Dave Zatz:

(Y)ou existing Roku owners are in luck… as the upcoming 2.7 software update that brings 1080p to the HD-XR will enable instant replay on your unit as well. iPhone owners will be able to upgrade the fine virtual DVPRemote (.99c) in the very near future while others can order an actual physical remote (price unknown at this time).

All three models are available for pre-order now.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Hands-Free Mobile Video Recording with Your Cell Phone

One of the features that you find on just about any mobile phone these days is the ability to capture video (as well as still images). However, you have to think about wanting to record something, open up the camera, and then point and start shooting--which can make you less of a participant in the action that's going on around you. What if your mobile videography could be even simpler?

Enter the Looxcie (pronounced "look-see"), a video camera that's been affixed to an earpiece that resembles a Bluetooth headset. And you don't even have to worry about starting and stopping video recording. Just put it on your ear, press the start button, and the Looxcie will continuously record all the action that you see for up to 5 hours. When it reaches the end of its video capacity, it will automatically purge the oldest material. And when you come across specific moments that you know you'll want to save, you can press an Instant Clip button on the bottom of the camera to save a clip that lasts up to 30 seconds.

You can transfer the video stored on the Looxcie over to your PC or Mac for editing longer clips from the complete footage (it's encoded in MP4 format), so you're not wholly reliant on the 30-second clip function.

And using the Looxcie's Bluetooth connectivity (yes, it does have it), you can connect to a Looxcie app available for select Android OS smartphones, which provides a live viewfinder (also good for optimizing the positioning of the earpiece) and allows you to create clips from stored video. Additionally, you can then share clips via e-mail or uploading to social networking sites and YouTube.

Speaking of Bluetooth, the Looxcie does indeed communicate with your phone as a communication headset (via the embedded hands-free profile), and it includes dual microphones for noise cancellation capabilities (i.e., you'll sound better to the callers on the other end). And the Bluetooth communication capability is available even as you're capturing video.

Here's a good demonstration of what you can do with a Looxcie from a video posted over at TechCrunch:

The Android app is currently supported by the following phones (with more to come throughout the fall):

HTC Aria (AT&T) HTC Droid Incredible (Verizon) HTC EVO 4G (Sprint) LG Ally (Verizon) Motorola DROID (Verizon)

Motorola DROID X (Verizon) Motorola DROID 2 (Verizon) Nexus One Samsung Captivate (AT&T)

Looxcie also promises similar apps to be available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Nokia phones down the line.

The Looxcie is currently available exclusively from Amazon, and it's ready for pre-ordering.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

New From Flip Video

FlipBlog Shoot and Share pioneer, Flip Video recently unveiled their new line of camcorders for their Mino HD and Ultra HD lines. These  new Flips are slimmer devices, at more affordable price points.

Several of the new Flips come equipped with enhanced image stabilization for better video quality in an otherwise shaky situation.

         

These cool new camcorders are available now.

--Brandon M. Baker

Something for the Weekend: Put Down That Gadget!

Time to chill out after the working week and put your feet up over the weekend to read some more in-depth items you might have missed (with soundtrack provided by The Divine Comedy):

• Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime (NY Times): If anything, this article is a great incentive to put down that phone or laptop and just enjoy some downtime:

  At the University of Michigan, a study found that people learned significantly better after a walk in nature than after a walk in a dense urban environment, suggesting that processing a barrage of information leaves people fatigued.

  

• Why Smartphone Adoption May Not Be as Big as You Think (Mashable): A good reminder that not everyone has an Apple-, BlackBerry-, or Android-powered do-everything phone.

• Apple Events Chronology (AAPLinvestors via TUAW): While not a very lengthy read, here's a rundown of all the Apple standalone events with their taglines compared to what actually got rolled out. Speaking of Apple, we'll be bringing the weekly Bites of the Apple post out of mothballs this weekend, so stay tuned for what to expect from next Wednesday's acoustic hoe-down (based on the invite, seen at the right).

• iTunes To Sell You Your Home Videos For $1.99 Each (The Onion): Yes, it's fake and it's funny... but can't you just see this kind of thing get monetized someday down the line.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

New Picsio Camcorders from JVC

JVC just announced two new Picsio camcorders for easy video capture and quick upload to your favorite website. The new GC-FM2 and waterproof GC-WP10 both record in full 1080p HD video, improved low-light performance and a three-inch touch screen for easy operation.


The new Picsios allow you to record in Apple's iFrame video format for easy editing in relatively small files. These new camcorders also function as a digital camera. The Picsios' CMOS image sensor captures stills at up to five MP images.

The Picsios' touchscreen handles all of the camcorders functions and even works while wearing gloves for fun in almost any situation.

Both new camcorders will be available in September 2010, but are now available for pre-order.

--Brandon M. Baker

Introducing the Panasonic TA-1

Technology innovator Panasonic enters the Shoot-and-Share Video segment with their newest camcorder, the TA-1. Shoot-and-Share camcorders are compact, easy-to-use devices that allow for quick video capture and upload to online sharing sites like YouTube and Facebook. Panasonic enters this space with a slick new camcorder that offers new features and capabilities unseen in competitors.

The Panasonic TA-1 is the first shoot and share camcorder to utilize Apple's iFrame video format to allow for compact recording of high quality video. The TA-1 features an LED illuminator to help out in low light situations because often image quality suffers because your subjects are only partially visible.  Another image capture benefit is resolution, the TA-1 records in full 1080P HD video and can also snap 8 MP still images.

Along with great capture technology, the TA-1 also allows for enhanced capabilities for users. The TA-1 has the essential of other shoot-and-share camcorders, like easy connectivity and video upload, but it also has the additional functionality to work as a webcam and microphone. You can use the TA-1 directly with Skype for face to face communication with friends and family anywhere with a data connection.

Panasonic's TA-1 combines a legacy of imaging expertise in a compact device you can take with you easily.

--Brandon M. Baker