Categories
Geek Stuff

First Look at Nike Amp+ Watch

A diversion from Marketing (at least directly, you could say that anything Nike is marketing), I received my Nike Amp+ Watch today. I already have an iPod Nano with the Nike+ kit. This means I have the mp3 player, and a chip that goes in my running shoe and a small receiver to plug into the iPod. It allows me to listen to music and it keeps track of my pace and distance. A voiceover cuts into the music and tells me how I’m doing.

Between the well integrated feedback and the Nike+ website that tracks the data I think this is one of the coolest things to happen to running in years.

The Amp+ is a watch that gives you some extra functionality. It’s a watch that has some basic iPod controls so you can leave your iPod in your pocket (there are Nike shorts and jackets that come with perfectly sized compartments – or at least they were until the new Nano came out a few weeks ago, that’s an interesting side note – you’ll see the box has a picture of the old Nano on it…)

As you can see, wordpress does a really crappy job of image layout… My stylesheet has been fixed – sorry Matt, it wasn’t your fault!
So here are some shots of the box and of it open, the container is pretty slick in red and black, the product encased in a plastic bubble.

The band is plastic and needs to be cut to the appropriate size. I was a little concerned when I used the paper measuring tape because my wrist was too big, but the band is big enough, so I just didn’t have to cut it. My wrist is larger than average, when I buy a Timex I have to order a couple of extra links (which they will do for you if you call).

So I plugged it in and it works perfectly. The default is for the clock to be off so it just looks like a rubber band with a silver Nike swoosh on it and a raised ring for the iPod control. When you hit the side button closest to your hand the clock appears, first the hour, then the minute with a funky little animation.

When you use the iPod controls the display shows the icon of what you are pushing. There is no touchwheel functionality so there are some limitations – you have to have your playlist set to go because otherwise you can only flip through all the songs one at a time. This isn’t a big deal because if you are running you should have your playlists ready to go so you’re not screwing around with the scroll wheel out on the road.

The killer functionality is that you use one button to start the work out (the one on the left) and the center play button to stop it. If you’ve ever ended a workout by mistake, you’ll understand how great this is. You can also leave the player in it’s pocket during the entire run.

I’ll add info after a couple of runs, but overall it’s very cool and I’m impressed – now all I need is heart rate monitor functionality!

Update: I had my first run this morning, it is much easier to adjust volume and change tunes as well as to end a workout. I did manage to scratch it already, which is normal for me b/c I’m a klutz who destroys watches, clothes, etc. It’s water resistant to 5atms, and survived the shower.

Update 2: One down side is having to push the button every time you want to see the time. I was doing some public speaking this afternoon and I’m used to sneaking a look at my watch to see where I am on the timeline and you can’t do that with this watch. On the plus side it looks very cool at night.

Update 3: So it’s almost 2 years later. Critical points – if you are having trouble connecting, change the battery. You can get them at Radio Shack – the CR1620 (3v) works for me, I have heard the CR1632 works but I have not confirmed that. The manual is no longer online (at least that I can find after looking for about 30 minutes). To set it – hold down the button on the right until you get an “H”, then use the volume buttons to set the hour, use the FF button to set minutes, 24 or 12 hour and then hit the button on the left to finish.

The button on the left starts workouts, hold to activate the powersong.

I still like it for running, but I never wear it as a watch.

Update 4: Occasionally frustrated by innacurate distance/pace measurements, I was lured to the Garmin 305 when the price fell to around $150

Categories
Daily Life The Marketeer

Contact at Blogger Brunch

Brunch on Sunday was a great time, this was an experiment for me that was an extension of the dinners that I used to do when I lived closer to downtown. Every quarter I would round up a crew from different walks of life for some varied conversation. It started to get a lot more difficult as friends got married, balancing the male/female ratio was a challenge but then having to build a matrix of male/female/single/other got to be a lot of work – sometimes I’d have a group of 4, sometimes 12, not exactly the type of reservation a downtown Boston restaurant is interested in taking.

So when I had heard that Jeremiah was looking for something tech related to do for this long weekend (not long for me though) I posted about brunch and tried to see who I could round up. He’s been doing some interesting writing about the evolution of the web, especially the growth of more organic and conversational sites. These types of knowledgebases will eventually make what we now consider the standard corporate website to be less and less relevant.

I met Les Devanna from EMC for the first time, and Alyssa joined us fresh from The Big Red Podcast’s 50th show. Lisa returned from her Howard Huges-stye exile, and Jenny (of Blogtoberfest) brought the camera bag (although Jeremiah has some serious stealth photography skills, enough for me to consider adding a point and shoot to my bag). C.C. Chapman completed the crowd.

Enough with the link bait – the takeaways: Every Marketeer needs to have social functions as a skill set – here’s some play-by-play. Know the venue – making a reservation at Henrietta’s for noon when they open is a mistake. There’s a mad rush when the doors open. What I remembered as a few pleasant walks around the incredible buffet became the standard cafeteria line shuffle. The back room has bigger tables but less energy than the main room (although we did generate our own conversation, and I did make the right move of limiting to 8 so that everyone could join the conversation easily).

Weather was another issue here, I was dressed for fall weather and ended up sweating like a Yak by the time I got to the museum. My only defense is that New England Weather is impossible to predict.

Seating Plan – this is where I was rusty, I made the mistake of seating a partial group. Always strive for balance here, it wasn’t a big deal with this group because all were extroverts, but this can be a killer if you have guests that are not charming conversationalists.

Aside from those minor points, I had a great time and appreciate everyone coming out! Len has more info, and an upcoming event (that’s full, but you can get on the waiting list).

p.s. – although I’m not taking the 3 day weekend, The M Show is and will be out tomorrow. Check out Marketing Over Coffee (the best marketing podcast) if you haven’t yet. Thanks!

p.p.s. – check out photostreams from brunch and the MIT Museum: Jenny, Jeremiah, Me

Categories
Daily Life Geek Stuff

The 8 year-old is Happy

As part of some lighter reading on the weekend, I stumbled upon an apology to 8 year old Dougie Walker, from fully grown Doug Walker that made me laugh out loud. I wanted to do my own list, but after some thought, there are some things that would be discouraging, but for the most part, Johnny would be very pleased.

So, I’m sorry that:

  • I do not work for a covert government agency that has made me bionic
  • but! I do work for a company that has given me a computer that makes Rudy’s lab look like a dump, and Steve’s phone look stupid
  • I don’t have a Donkey Kong machine that I never need quarters for
  • but! Halo 3 beyatches!
  • I don’t have a lightsaber
  • but! Chris Penn does
  • I don’t own every atari video game
  • but! Halo 3 beyatches!
  • I am not a member of the Justice League
  • but! I have super hearing with my Marantz recorder, super vision with my Canon Telephoto lens, I fly all the time on important missions
  • I have not traveled through time
  • but! I have ridden in the 6 passenger DeLorean, and been in the lab where Bruce Banner became the Hulk
  • I don’t have the Drake’s Cake’s truck dropping off Swiss Rolls and Yodels daily
  • but! I don’t look like Jabba the Hutt
  • I haven’t saved a town that was about to flood by blowing up a dam with dynamite
  • and I have no response for that one, sorry bud.
  • I am not a member of KISS
  • but! I have every song I’ve ever liked and I carry them all on a box smaller than a pack of cigarettes
  • I do not ride with Jon and Gage from Emergency! around in a Rescue Fire Truck
  • but! I understand that TV is phony crap and rescue guys deal with mangled bodies all the time and that would make me pass out.
  • I’m not an interstellar bounty hunter looking for Han Solo
  • still kind of bummed about that one…

Boba Fett

Categories
Daily Life The Marketeer

2 Things for Friday

  1. You can’t take it back – I’m astonished that TBS is not showing the Champion Series in HD. I can’t even stand to watch it. It would be like switching back to dial-up internet. Ahhh, the joys of crushing the competition by using technology to kick it to the next level.
  2. Nike Watch – There’s a new watch that allows you to control your iPod, hopefully perfect for any Nike+ runners out there (Jersey Todd, I’m talkin’ to you).

Have a great weekend…

Update: I heard of some people complaining about the game not being in HD (and even getting some cash off the next bill), and tonight’s game is in HD on the TNT channel – Brilliant!

Categories
Geek Stuff

Canon Rebel XT Stuff

Mr. Penn had a post last week about stuff for his Nikon camera. As a Canon owner I felt duty bound to cover the same material, since Canon has yet to do any blogger outreach…

I ordered the camera body only and passed up the kit lens for a Sigma 17-70 lens that I love. I then added a Canon 70-300 lens (the cheaper one, not the L-series) which is fun at sporting events but I may have to jump up to the L because the cheaper lens doesn’t capture as much in low light.

I have 6 tips from things I’ve personally tested:

  1. I tried the eyepeice extender and didn’t like it, it makes the image in the viewfinder smaller and that bothered me.
  2. I always use a lens hood, with it there are fewer problems with stray light
  3. I use batteries by Sterling that have a lot more juice than the stock Canon ones
  4. I always use a UV filter, on Chris’ post there were some comments about not needing one because you can replicate these effects in photoshop. That’s not the point – the idea is that if disaster strikes and something hits the lens (or it hits the ground), you break a $15 filter, not your $500 lens.
  5. I use a Gary Fong flash attachment on my speedlight. I have a small square diffuser that’s good but things just seem to be more even with the Fong Dong.

Canon has some great tutorials online, you can check them out here.

Next on the list is a 10-22 wide angle…

You can see some samples on my Flickr account.

Categories
Brain Buster

Marketing is Chaos

I’m still struggling with the unpredictability of marketing – the problem of trying to predict the irrational. My latest thought is to consider the application of chaos theory. The idea is that even though you cannot predict the results of individual decisions (who will buy?), there are still recurring patterns that become visible as you look at the system as a whole.

Please keep in mind that this is the Sesame Street version of theories that are almost as complex as proving gravity. How well can one predict human behavior by measuring a smaller sample? In a marketing sense we have to group these decision makers by both cultural and economic characteristics. You can keep slicing the groups and hopefully your results get more and more accurate. Perhaps it’s time for me to head back to the library and see what I can find…

Categories
Daily Life Geek Stuff

Are you up for Sunday Brunch

I was catching up with Jeremiah’s blog and noticed that he is in Boston for the weekend. If you don’t know him, he used to work for PodTech and has recently taken a position with the analyst firm Forrester, covering web strategy/new media type stuff.

I’ve offered him brunch over at Henrietta’s Table at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, and I’m awaiting final confirmation (because for some reason “brunch” starts at noon). Please comment if you’d be interested and I can get us a reservation. Please note that I’d have to book before friday and I may have trouble getting a table more than 6 so please jump quick if you want in.

Brunch: Sunday, October 7, at the Charles Hotel

It’s not cheap, but if it’s not the best brunch you’ve ever had I’ll give you a dozen donuts…

Oh yeah, and the latest edition of the best marketing podcast has been posted tonight.

Categories
SalesForce.com

Expanding capacity and infrastructure

I’m looking at implementing an add-on solution to Salesforce.com that would set up some automated processes and do some more powerful stuff, such as lead scoring. More to follow on that, and Marketing Over Coffee tomorrow!

Categories
Geek Stuff Podcasting

Shure vs. Bose vs. Sony Headphones/Earphones

I’m a headphone junkie. Somewhere around here I have a photo of me at 7 years old with these huge headphones that came from the 70’s.

My quest for the perfect set continues, and the biggest problem I’ve had when looking to upgrade is to find information about how models compare. Here are my firsthand experiences, complete with Amazon affiliate links if you are in a buying mood.

I’ve found that headphones are sort of like car tires – none are perfect but once you weight the factors that you are interested in there is a best choice. Four factors that I consider: Comfort, Sound, Noise Reduction and Price.

The first upgrade I bought for my iPod was a set of Sony MDR-NC10. They have been replaced with the NC11’s. They are earbuds, but you have to push them down into your ear canal. When they were all I owned I liked the sound, the noise reduction and thought they were expensive at $140 (prices have dropped and the NC11’s are only $65). Comfort was a problem, I could only wear them for about 2 hours before my ear started to ache.

From there I got a set of Bose QC2s, which are over the ear headphones. If you are looking for some serious bass over-the-ear headphones are in a different league than earphones. They are also more comfortable, I have no ear pain, but there is the stranger problem of getting hot ears after more than an hour. I had a problem with the joint above the ear cup cracking, and Bose replaced them on the spot at the store, no questions asked. However, after learning more I see that most hardcore audiophiles aren’t Bose fans, they tend to perform well, but not superbly, and I’ve seen some posts accusing them of using sample discs that are “juiced” so that they sound better than the original recordings. I’m not that critical, every other major audio company out there makes everything from crap to studio level stuff, everything from Bose is above average. You may pay more for Bose, but you’ll never be disappointed, so if you are not the kind of person to spend hours comparing audio equipment, cough up a few extra bucks and then go back to having fun.

I went back to earphones to try some Shure E3c, the big selling point was that I was tired of carrying my Bose around and these rolled up into a case bigger about half the volume of a bagel. They have no active noise reduction, but because of the airtight foam seal, they cut out more background noise than my Bose.

I was fine with this for a few months until I went back to the Sony’s and found that I liked the sound from them more than the Shures. This lead to my Christmas present/year end bonus – Shure e500’s. I was able to get a set for under $500, but the sound is in a different league than the E3c’s. The E3c’s have one driver (tiny speaker), while the 500’s have 3 in each ear. For raw sound the Sony’s stand up well to the 500’s, but there’s a clarity in the 500’s that set them apart from everything else, but if you’re not an audio addict the Sony’s can do the job for you. The biggest shock in the clarity is that you can often hear things that you never heard before in recordings, even things not intended by the artist, such as breathing, the clicking of saxaphone valves as they close, etc.
One last thing on the comfort front – Shures allow you to choose from a number of rubber ear flanges, or you can use compressible foam (these are my choice). If you are even crazier than me you can cough up another $500 or more and get custom ear molds for a perfect fit. I may get around to that one day if I managed to hit big.

And just to be complete (since the draft of this post has been kicking around for months), I also have a set of Nike headphones (actually made by Phillips) that are specifically for running. Although they don’t sound very good compared to any of the above, they are far lighter than any other and the cord runs down the back so that it doesn’t interfere with my stride. I can put up with the so-so sound in exchange for not having to worry about them as I run, or getting ruined by weather, etc.

I blame a large portion of my headphone addiction on Scott McGrath who turned me on to Headphone.com and crazy people who by mini-amplifiers for their headphones. The site is great and has some cool comparison tools, check it you if you are into audio. The following graph shows some of the headphones discussed. The vertical axis shows how accurately a sound is represented, if the headphones reproduced the sound perfectly, the graph would be a flat line at 0. Negative numbers mean that they are coming up short of the sound and positive numbers mean they are juicing it up beyond the original sound. The horizontal axis is showing frequency, the left end is where bass and lower sounds are, around the middle is human voice, and at the end are high pitches like flutes and cymbals.

Update: The headphones this article covers are no longer available for graphing from headphone.com so I have included and updated graphic (that is now static so it won’t break again). As you can see, the green line of iPod earbuds show that they are about as accurate as my cousins from Michigan when they get a few beers in them (now replaced with some lower end Sonys). They can’t hit the low frequencies, but then juice the higher frequencies to give them a “shiny” sound. Notice how all of them do freaky stuff at the high end, I have heard that some of that has to do with the shape of the ear and how high frequency sounds are heard, but that’s beyond my jedi skills.

Notice how the Shure E3cs are fairly accurate at a good price, many musicians use them to monitor themselves while recording or performing. Both the Bose and the e500s juice the bass.

I’d love to hear any of your experiences with listening…

Update 2: An update in 2013, click here for the latest.

Categories
Brain Buster The Marketeer

Why Mr. Rogers could kick your butt without breaking a sweat

Not that he would, of course. In fact, Mr. Rogers was decidedly against ass-kicking, but the truth remains that his power remains off the chart. As you can see from the diagram below from the labs at Studio N, Mr. Rogers could well be one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

Power ranking, Fool!

Mitch Joel brought Fred Rogers to the forefront last week for me while highlighting his public speaking skills. What struck me more was not only his awesome power of presentation, but the fact that it was all backed up with skills. He wrote the material, produced it, performed it, wrote the music. Amazing skills, thank god he used his powers for good, imagine if the best minds in Marketing were used only to sell fast food and soft drinks, America would be a country of overweight, physically at-risk…. uh, never mind that, move along, nothing to see here.

So what can I add to this conversation? Not much, I can’t tell you how to be as altruistic as Mr. Rogers, I wish I knew the secret to get others to care for their fellow man with that much drive and passion. I can echo Mitch’s points about the story, authenticity, and truth. I can also let you hear it from the man himself:

[youtube]yXEuEUQIP3Q[/youtube]

addendum: After much discussion and consideration, Chuck Norris is above Mr. T, but below Yoda.

addendum 2: William Shatner is above Mr. T, but below Chuck Norris