My only thought is that it might be better to use the bluetooth keyboard and a stand so that I can see the monitor in landscape view, the portrait view is not the best for the Gmail interface, or wordpress for that matter. Scrolling up and down works well, side to side causes problems with readability.

So… back to the sad day thing… A little more than a year ago I mentioned that I was using a PSP to watch movies while traveling, and that I had checked out a comic book application that wasn’t too bad. I could see the writing on the wall that eventually this would become a problem for the local comic shop, much the way the small local bookstore has been taking a beating for the past 5 years or more.

Fanboys like me know that Wednesday is Comic day, that’s when the new publications hit the stores. I’ve followed the stories of adventure for more than 25 years, but last Wednesday was the first time that a comic I was going to buy in the store was also available via the Comixology Application for iPad. Instead of driving to the local shop to buy it, I just clicked and had it instantly. Comic shops are like antique stores, fishing stores and hardware stores, just fun to walk around and see what’s interesting. I wish I could say that comic shops will stick around, but I think they have a lot more in common with newspapers than boutiques. Hopefully I’m wrong…

Addendum: Seth Godin wrote today in a similar vein about the quest to save the paper.

The iPad screen is even better, and the fact that I can leave behind my Kindle, PSP and iPod when I travel makes it a good upgrade. To fund my gear addiction I’ve got the PSP lot up on eBay and I’ve also decided to unload my spare Logitech Presenter. I was looking into getting a new Microsoft Trackball, I’ve found it to be much better than a mouse, and learned that they have stopped making them. As a result, new ones are going for up to $400 on Amazon.

I remembered hearing that Logitech stopped making the presenter I use (a wireless controller to advance slides while you are presenting), so I checked the pricing on that. Same deal, it’s up over $200 (I bought my spare at a Circuit City that was going under for $35).

This presenter is considered the gold standard by many, it has a timer that vibrates when you get to 5 minutes and 1 minute remaining, it has a laser pointer, and it’s smaller than the new model. Apparently the new one also has the “blackout screen” button too close to the advance slide buttons.

Those are the latest tales from the gear bag, anything interesting on your side?

My Marketing Over Coffee host Christopher Penn recently plugged this article on making a $7 camera stabilizer. It reminded me of an article I had read in MAKE Magazine, one of the coolest mags out there if you are a DIY Nerd.

If you’d like to go deluxe for $14, check out this MAKE Magazine article on how to make your own camera stabilizer. This gets you closer to a Steadicam and a price you can not be afraid to tell your spouse about.

Last week a co-worker had it installed and I saw the 9 lists it generates from within iTunes and thought I should test it out. In short – it’s a killer app. More powerful than the lists generated in the client, is the added functionality on the iPod. You pick any song while it’s in the list, hold down the center button and fire up the genius. It then generates a playlist based on that track.

Unlike anything that I’ve seen like this before, it does an excellent job of digging deep in the archives and matching similar stuff. It creates a groove as good as the average DJ can, plus it has the added bonus of total recall – it remembers the details from every track on every album. Many times the Genius pulled tracks from albums that I hadn’t heard – usually ones that had one huge hit, but Genius will find other great tracks you may have overlooked.

Now that you have your mix, go upgrade your headphones.

The Phone Tree Option in Order of Sound Quality:

Best – Skype to Skype
Still good – Skype to regular phone (Skype Out) A lot of people use this if your interview subject can’t handle skype (doesn’t have the bandwidth, or the technical skill).
Last Option – Phone to Phone

For skype to skype or skype to skype out, use one computer for skype and another, or a digital recorder to record, do not skype and record on the same machine (yes, I know, lots of people do skype and record on one machine, remember that you’ve only listened to their successes, you haven’t heard the files that were lost or ruined). Another benefit of this method is that you get full studio sound on your side.

Ways to do phone to phone: like most tech stuff, the trade offs are that cheap and/or easy are at the expense of sound quality.

One thing to test is cell vs. land line. Cell can be clearer, but if reception is an issue go to land line.

Another important factor – headsets are best, handset next, Polycom conference phone is rough, speakerphones are terrible.

Cheapest and easiest: Many conference call services, such as the good folks of TelSpan can record your conference call (I am a customer of theirs). Give your subject the number, tell the service in advance that you want this one recorded, and download an mp3 when you are done. This is as low a quality can go, but it does work.

Next, if you already have recording gear, put the subject on a polycom and record the room. You get studio sound on one side and this method is a good compromise on price / sound quality. The setup we use for Marketing Over Coffee (this link goes to a page with the full gear listing) is great for that, it’s about $600 but is NPR quality sound and durability. You can go cheaper, but the question is: “How screwed would you be if you lost an interview?” for some it’s no big deal, for others it may be once in a lifetime opportunity.

Most expensive – a device that operates as a phone but pulls the caller into your mixer and pushes your mic back down the line. I don’t know many people that go this route since skyping out is cheaper and better sound quality. But, it should be noted that JK Audio has a full assortment of devices that do this (as well as some other devices that are great if you want to do your own webinars – again, I am a customer and vouch for them).

It will also depend on if you are doing it once or if it’s an ongoing project, for one time call in some favors, rent gear, or pay a pro. If it’s a regular thing, get some decent gear.

Another big tip – when you are done, run it through the Levelator, it’s a free software tool that balances out the volume levels.

Have fun, and Happy Thanksgiving!

After about a year and a half of using the Nike+ system I’m now using a Garmin 305. The 305 always had a better feature set, but the difference now is that the price has fallen to around $150. I really like using a heart rate monitor (HRM) to train, some days it tells me that just because I feel like I’m giving 100%, I’m not. Other days I have to rein it in even though it feels like I can push harder.

Besides the HRM, the 305 uses global positioning satellites (GPS) to measure distance traveled, speed (and altitude). I was having a problem with the accuracy of the Nike+ foot sensor (measuring by pedometer), that came to a head when I was running a hilly 5k course that I was unfamiliar with and my iPod read that I was finished when I still had more of a tenth of a mile to go. That was the day I went back to see what the 305 price was at.

As far as music I’m using a 2nd Generation Shuffle, the generation with controls still on the player. The 3rd gen is tiny, but you have to use the earbuds that come with it b/c the controls are on the wire, not the unit. This doesn’t work b/c I don’t like to run with earbuds, I prefer neckband so that if they fall out I don’t lose them.

More reports as I put some more miles (and the Falmouth Road Race!) on it.

I’m surprised the demand HD puts on my machine, I have a Sony VAIO desktop and it has a hard time not dropping frames in full screen HD while watching on YouTube. The original off the camera is dead on, and if you watch in a smaller window no problem. I’d be interested in hearing how well it plays for you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This really didn’t work, I had the PDF from a DVD that Marvel used to sell, but the two page spread is too much for the small screen to take. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get a bigger, color screen, but I do worry about what it means for guys like this.

The interesting thing is that version 2.7 uses Bonjour, some software that is also used in iTunes to detect what media players are out on your network.

Apple and TiVo seems like a really nice fit, don’t you think?

And what will probably be on my desk by the end of this week: