Technology

Dictation

Posted by ngreene on Mar 21, 2012 in Technology

This is the first blog post that I’m writing entirely by using my voice. Having never used dictation technology, I’m not really sure what the limitations are.

I’m really wondering how far I can talk before I run out of memory. At this point I’m feeling dubious about both the computers ability to recognize what I’m saying as well as the length but actually written.

I just learned, for example, that if I pause too long to think about what I want to say, the dictation technology will stop and capture my thoughts. I guess that’s a handy tool because it forces the computer to write what I’m thinking as I’m thinking it.

I have to admit that this is pretty awesome. I’m actually writing this while driving, using my iPhone and not having to touch the phone at all. The other thing that I’ve noticed immediately, is that I need to really articulate the words that are coming out of my mouth in order for the computer to recognize what I’m saying.

Clearly, I will need to go back over what I’ve written and make adjustments for punctuation and spacing. But how cool is this?

Range Anxiety

Posted by ngreene on Mar 9, 2012 in Technology

One of the issues with being an early adopter is jumping on board technology before it’s ready for public consumption. Today is my first experience with having a range issue with my Nissan Leaf.

For my day to day life, the battery in the Leaf is more than I would typically need. Going to work, running errands, and even visiting family in the far reaches of the city have not been a problem.

Today, on the other hand, I tried to do something outside of the norm and I am stuck paying the price. I decided to take my first Friday during my parental leave to go snowboarding at Glen Eden.

I even did my homework before leaving the house to make sure that I had enough range to complete my journey. Door to door, I was looking at 50km each way for a total of 100km round trip. I added 5km extra to take a route that would have me avoid highways to ensure that I would be able to preserve battery power by limiting speed to under 70km/h.

I drove the entire way on “ECO” mode, and without using any heat i the car, which should have stretched my range to the absolute maximum.

Unfortunately, I now realize, there are other factors that come into play with electric vehicles. Specifically, I believe two things contributed to significantly reduced range today: 1) I put snow tires on the car so my rolling resistance will definitely be higher than summer driving; and 2) I noticed tht the wind is blowing really hard at 40km/h from the NorthWest and my route took me directly towards that direction, giving me a headwind the whole way there.

By the time I realized that I had no chance of making the round trip I was already outside of the range that I could bail out on the trip an just go home.

At the ski hill, the folks were kind enough to let me plug in to a 110v outlet while I was snowboarding, but I would have needed to be there for 20+ hours to get a full charge. I snowboarded for a few hours and, once exhausted, I started the questionable ride home.

I had managed to add a few km to my range but not nearly enough to get home. As a backup plan, I was able to find a Nissan dealership on the way home with a 220v charger available. Unfortunately, they were closing early and needed to close a gate behind which I wouldn’t be able to retrieve my car after only 30 minutes of charge time.

I realize now that I only would have needed another 10-15 minutes on the charger and I would have made it home. Instead, at 20km from home I got the warning from the car that my destination was outside of the range of my vehicle.

I had to make a call right away and I got lucky. I put in a call to a friend who lived on the way home and made arrangements to trickle charge for a little while. It turned out to be a great visit and chance to catch up over a little impromptu dinner.

Post dinner, I had just enough juice to make it home, although I learned that when the car has less than 5km left in the battery it simply displays “—” instead of a distance. A recent conversation with a colleague at Nissan alluded to an emergency “turtle-mode”, which supposedly is the final stage before the vehicle shuts down.

I almost want to run it to empty just to really know how many extra kilometers I can squeeze out of a “tank”. I’m hoping it has an extra 10-20km but I have to overcome the range anxiety if I want to really test it.

Commit

Posted by ngreene on Feb 6, 2012 in Technology

Two weeks ago I added a new app to my iPhone after reading about it on one of my favourite tech blogs. Commit is a very simple program that allows you to keep track of things that you want to do every day.

You simply complete the phrase: “I will *blank* every day. Remind me at *blank o’clock* just in case I forget.” And then, every day, at whichever time you chose, you get a notification reminder asking you: “Did you *blank* Today?” Over time, the app reminds you how many consecutive days you have completed the daily task and if you miss a day you automatically reset to zero.

Already, I am finding it amazing how difficult it is to do a few simple things every day. Over the past 14 days I have only managed to do one of the eight tasks that I have chosen to remind myself about every day without missing a single day. Even something as simple as “Did you Tweet today?” was missed because I got distracted and it was after midnight by the time I noticed.

It was surprisingly motivating to hit double digits on reminding myself to take a picture every day, and it made me feel surprisingly bad when I neglected to read to my son on one of the days this past week. The app really takes your intentions and makes you pay attention to whether or not something is really happening or not.

A prime example is that one of my eight daily tasks is “Did you eat healthy today”. My score over 14 days is zero. I think that I am trying to eat well and be conscious of my choices, but my actions don’t agree with my intentions. Now I’m left with the tough reality that I’m not doing what I mean to do and I need to pull up my socks and pay attention.

I watched a short (3 minute) TED talk recently: Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 Days that really got me thinking about how this app could really help to put the suggestions of Mr. Cutts into practice. I like the idea of having a new and different challenge each month. I’m trying to decide what my first challenge should be.

Klipsch X10i Earbuds

Posted by ngreene on Feb 3, 2012 in Featured, Gear, Technology

I invested in the Klipsch X10i earbud a little over 6 months ago. I say “invested” because these babies go for over $400 after you include tax.

It was a tough decision because of the price and I was really nervous about buying something that expensive without being able to check it out first.

I would generally assume that anyone that would spend that kind of money on earbuds to be a major audiophile who has a need for acoustic perfection. I do not fit that description at all!

My purchase decision was based mostly on the shape of the earbuds themselves. The Klipsch X10i is the only earbud on the market that comfortably sits inside of my motorcycle helmet.

Now that I have used these buds for a long enough period of time, I don’t know how I ever lived without them! From a sound perspective, they are far and away the best that I have ever heard, leaving both the standard and upgraded buds that are available from Apple in the dust. They also leave my 3 year old Shure buds behind when it comes to depth of bass.

The most impressive thing about these buds is the incredible range of individual instruments that I can now pick out. It’s like listening to music again for the first time with almost my entire collection!

There are other inherent benefits to the shape as well. First, the choice to make the rubber tips oval instead of round makes for a significantly more comfortable fit for long term use and noise elimination. Second, the lay flat design doesn’t just fit a helmet, it allows for relatively comfortable use with the ear buried in a pillow. That means I can lie on my side to watch a movie on my iPhone as I’m falling asleep!

Overall, if you have the means, I highly recommend this product.

Rogers … What are you doing?

Posted by ngreene on Oct 24, 2011 in Technology

I am a self-admitted Apple fanboy and an early adopter. Each time the newest iPhone has been released, prior to the 4S, Rogers has made it a no-brainer to do an upgrade and extend my contract. I never minded extending to a full 36 months out each time just so that I could have the latest and greatest hardware.

This time around, they have decided to add in an additional “Early Upgrade” fee for those of us who have loyally upgraded to the newest hardware each time it has been released. For me, as well as all of us who are on the same upgrade schedule, this amounts to an enormous $340 charge over and above the cost of the new iPhone 4S, which is supposedly $209 for the 16GB version with the usual 36 month contract extension.

So now, to upgrade to the 4S, my cost would be $559+HST = $631.67 plus an extension to a 36 month contract. The cost to outright buy an unlocked iPhone 4S from the Apple Store is $649+HST= $733.37. Both of these options are a little too rich for my blood so it looks like I will skip this hardware generation entirely.

This leaves me in a position whereby the next generation iPhone will likely come out right at the end of my current 36 month contract. At that point, there is no longer anything tying me to Rogers and absolutely no reason for me to stay with Rogers for my next contract. This is an obvious short-sighted and short-term cash grab on the part of Rogers. For the first time ever, Rogers has put me in a position where I have a good reason to shop my plan around when the iPhone 5 comes out because I won’t be locked in to a long term contract that has a penalty.

I hope my other early adopter compatriots have the same realization that I have and see the greedy short-term nature of this business decision by Rogers.

EDIT: I BROKE DOWN AND BOUGHT AN UNLOCKED 4S AFTER ALL … SO GLAD THAT I DID … THE CAMERA IS AWESOME AND TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Gear Review – Scottevest

Posted by ngreene on Jul 12, 2010 in Featured, Technology

As I have become more and more of a gadget person I have come across the challenge of trying to figure out how to carry all of my gadgetry in a way that makes sense.

There are bulky messenger bags and backpacks that work and look masculine. There are smaller carry bags that do the job, but look like a woman’s purse. And then there’s what I’ve tended towards: jamming everything into pockets and just sucking up being uncomfortable.

Until I got the iPad, jamming worked well enough for a collection of small things. The bare minimum that I need to carry on a daily basis is an iPhone, a blackberry, my wallet, my keys, and a USB key.

Now, I have the challenge of adding an iPad to my “every day carry” list. The good news is that someone has already thought of my needs. SeV makes a range of what they call “Technology Enabled Clothing”.

I bought my first Scottevest in time for my trip to Havasu in April 2010. It was the only garment that I could find with a pocket big enough for an iPad. I have to admit, this thing is the ultimate travel vest. It has 22 pockets for everything that you can imagine and actually looks stylish, even when fully loaded.

I’ve learned that I need to carry a few extra things to offset the weight of the iPad, but the total weight, including everything that I could ever need, is still only about 6 lbs. The pockets are very well distributed to allow you to shift weight around to be comfortable. Often, when showing off my Scottevest, I have been told that nobody even notices how much I am carrying.

The other feature that I love is what they call a Personal Area Network (PAN), which allows you to feed any wiring that you use throughout the vest. There are specific methods of pre-wiring the vest with your earbuds so that you never leave home without them. I actually bought a second set of buds so that I can keep the vest wired at all times.

They have incorporated a see-through / touch-through material that allows you to manage your iPhone or iPod Touch without taking the devices out of their pockets.

My carry setup is as follows:

- iPhone and Blackberry in the inside chest pockets.
- iPad in the PadPocket with USB key inside in it’s own pocket
- wallet and change in front left pocket
- 2 pens in designated pen pockets
- keys in front right
- EDC flashlight in right hand “digital camera” pocket as counter-balance weight
- sunglasses in designated pocket that has a built in glasses cleaning cloth on a tether
- pre-wired earbuds tucked into designated bud pockets on each side

The best part is that I can even ride a motorcycle in the city without needing to carry an extra bag. Although, I should mention that the vest doesn’t do up with the iPad in the pad pocket if you want to sit down. In the city I simply leave the vest open, but for highway riding I shift the iPad to the huge back pocket to zip the vest.

My second item from SeV is the rain poncho, bought for me by my lovely wife and buddy Bone. Once again, I can carry everything that I need, but with a different configuration. What I am most impressed with is the way the pockets are designed to keep a low profile to the body without looking bulgy.

And finally, my third item is the SeV travel shorts. This is the only item that I have been somewhat disappointed with from SeV. Sure, it does all that is advertised, including hidden pockets and a “metal-free” belt that won’t set off airport metal detectors, but I have a hard time understanding what use any of the non-standard pockets are to me.

The hidden front pockets are a great idea, except that they hang below the bottom of the shorts when you sit down. If you have any weight in them whatsoever your pockets flop under along the side of your leg. The are two standard back pockets and two oversize back pockets, but to date I have never found a use for the oversize pockets that wouldn’t see me sitting on something and ruining it.

While the shorts are very well made and breathe nicely, the “belt” leaves much to be desired as it is nothing more than a very thin piece of fabric with a decent clasp. My belt is already permanently misshapen from use and there is no defect to complain about. Don’t get me wrong, they are still great shorts, but I definitely paid a premium for SeV for which I’m not really getting any added value.

I have to say that the pricing / value proposition is awesome for the vest and jacket. The one thing that acts as a deterrent for purchase from Canada is that, for some reason, SeV products are hit with a ridiculous amount of duty. Generally, I expect to pay an amount equal to the sales taxes that would be applied for an item being shipped cross border. For SeV products I seem to be paying about a 30% premium, which is insane. The folks at Canada Post are quick to point out that there is an appeal process, but who can be bothered to got through that every time you place an order. The SeV folks need to either have a Canadian distribution centre or figure out how to have their products reclassified.

iPad Review

Posted by ngreene on Apr 9, 2010 in Technology

After less than a week with an iPad I have to say I don’t know how I ever lived without one.

I’ve been an Apple convert since I got my first MacBook Pro back in 2003. I know I sounds cliche, but I love that everything “just works”.

I’m on my second MacBook Pro, I’ve had both the iPhone 3G and 3GS, a multitude of various iPods and now an iPad.

Consider this review as definitely biased with a pro-Apple bent as I have had nothing but great experiences with my iDevices.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a few lemon devices and had to visit my local Genius Bar on occasion, but the way that Apple handles issues is far superior to most other companies.

I’m not going to bother giving the specs or other information that you can find in almost every article and blog post about the iPad. Instead, I’m going to answer some of the questions that people keep asking me about why I could possibly need this device considering that I already have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro.

Q: When would you use the iPad?

A: Whenever it’s more comfortable than my other devices. Here are a few examples:
Sitting in the couch at home it is far more convenient to use an iPad than a laptop. It’s lighter, doesn’t get hot on your lap and can be used in a lot of different positions;
Same example, but comparing to iPhone. The iPad has a bigger screen and is a really clean and pretty user experience.
Laying in bed. I would never read a book on a laptop, but I have read several books on the iPhone. The iPad allows me to have much more page space on a single screen with the same font size. That means far less page turning.

Q: Isn’t the iPad just a big iPhone?

A: This answer depends what you want the answer to be. For anyone who has an iPhone, it is not an iPhone at all. The iPhone is about mobility and being able to have access to everything that you need at your fingertips while on the go. The iPhone is about location based services and being able to enhance your experience through technology. The iPad (wifi model anyway) is more about an immersive experience. You can lose yourself in the experience and forget that you’re even using a device. It feels like it was made for you to do what you want when you want. It’s great for a personal experience and it’s great for sharing with others. As an iPhone guy, the realization of how different the two devices truly are came to me when deciding which apps to load on the iPad … I have some duplication, but I want to spend my time differently with each device.

And for those who do not currently use an iPhone, yes, it is a big iPhone. It has all of the capabilities and represents all of the things that you’ve heard about the iPhone but, for some reason, haven’t been compelling enough for you to break down and get one. The difference is it’s bigger, faster has a longer lasting battery, and, most importantly, let’s you be part of the revolution that these devices have started.

Q: What’s the point of getting the wifi-only version.

A: This one’s up to you. I can get wifi at home, work, at friends homes, and at many coffee shops and restaurants so for the few times that I don’t have wifi access I’m happy to use my iPhone. Also, many apps and tasks that can be done with the iPad don’t require Internet access at all. (i.e. reading books, iWork apps, even the Reuters app downloads 1-Click away articles to read away from web access)

Q: Can you really do any work with an iPad?

A: Absolutely. The iWork apps are intuitive and the instruction manuals are interactive so you can learn how to use them quickly. I had never thought that I would bother doing any kind of work with the iPad, but the convenience of being able to pull things up and work on them as I think of them while sitting comfortably or even laying down means that I am actually enjoying putting in some unsolicited overtime. I will say that the iWork apps are not the full versions, but instead slightly stripped down versions so if you are a power user you may find some frustrations, but for 90% of the rest of us, they have pretty much everything that you need.

Q: Why is the iPad better than a kindle?

A: To answer this, we first have to ignore all the other things that the iPad can do that the kindle cannot. Let’s pretend that the iPad is only an e-reader to put the devices on even ground. Then, let’s pretend that the two devices are the same price. The iPad allows users to download books using iBooks, Stanza, or even the kindle app so you can get books from many more sources than the kindle. The iPad offers a better variety of viewing options for standard content than the kindle. The iPad allows users to have a much deeper experience with newspapers and magazines, including video, audio, photo galleries and web-based content. One look at this month’s Maxim magazine and you will wonder how long until all magazines offer a richer experience.

Q: Why would anyone want to watch video on that size of screen?

A: Video is one of my favourite features of the iPad. Generally, to watch video, you keep the iPad pretty close to you. I’ve been watching video on it while using my laptop for other things. It’s crisp and high-res and sounds surprisingly good for such small speakers. The best part is the portability. I can pick it up from the coffee table mid show and carry it with me to the kitchen to grab a snack without missing a second or having to pause.

Overall, I have no complaints about the device and the few complaints that I’ve had about the iPhone OS are being fixed with the 4.0 software update due later this year. I’m sure that the next hardware update will have a few tweaks that I will appreciate, but I’m glad to be able to have this unit now … I love it and it really works for me right in the gap it was designed for … Right between an iPhone and a laptop.

Stuff that Steve Jobs told me today

Posted by ngreene on Apr 8, 2010 in Technology

I skipped lunch today so that I could watch the Apple launch for iPhone OS 4.0. I actually watched three different feeds to make sure that I got a few different perspectives. Thanks to the folks at GDGT, engadget, and TUAW. Here is what Steve Jobs had to say:

300,000 ipads sold on first day 450,000 ipads have been sold as of today
600,000 books have been purchased
50,000,000 iPhones have been sold to date (85,000,000 devices that use apps if you count iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads all together)
1,500 new APIs for developers to integrate with.
In first 9 months of push notifications, over 10 Billion have been sent out
Over 50,000 games available

7 Tentpole Features

Multi-tasking! (Background Audio streaming / VOIP (e.g. Receive a skype call when phone is locked, check out restaurant at same time) / Background Location for GPS or Social Media with enhanced privacy / Push Notifications / Local Notifications / Task Completion / Fast App Switching)
Folders (Organize your apps in sub-folders instead of switching between screens / even put a folder on the dock / as easy as dragging and dropping one app onto another)
Enhanced Mail (unified inbox / more than one exchange account / open attachments with apps downloaded from the app store / organize mail by thread)
iBooks (not just for iPads anymore / buy once, read anywhere / sync pages an bookmarks)
Enterprise Features (better mail encryption / mobile device management / wireless app distribution / SSL VPN / exchange server 2010 support)
Game Centre (Social Gaming Network / Invite Friends to play / matchmaking / achievements)
Mobile Advertising (allow developers to use location based ads in apps so that apps can be free / iAd keeps you in your app / deliver interaction and emotion / interactive and video content within the ap because the ad delivery system is part of the OS / Apple sells, hosts and delivers the ads / developers get 60% of the revenues / all done with HTML5 / over 1 Billion Ad opportunities per day)

A whole lot of other stuff that developers will be able to do:

This OS update will be available this summer for iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (Some features won’t work for 3G, 2G, or 2nd Gen Touch), but not until the fall for the iPad.

The World’s Greatest Toy is NOT a Toy!

Posted by ngreene on Apr 1, 2010 in Technology

A friend of mine recently called me to tell me that he had purchased a gift for me. Of course, I was eager to find out what the gift could be, but I never would have guessed it would be a Losi Micro Rock Crawler. This small wonder is the most fun “toy” that I have owned in a very long time. The reason I use the “quotes” is because of the first line in the operation manual is:

This unit is a 1/24 scale, hobby-grade model with fully replaceable parts. It’s not a speed demon, but it’s not intended to be. It is a Crawler, which means that it’s use is for slowly crawling over obstacles. And really, the slower and more deliberate you can be, the better your experience as an operator.

I don’t have any video yet, but here is an exact duplicate of my machine in action:

Every day this week I have turned my living room and / or bedroom into an obstacle course. I can’t get enough of this thing. You can even make modifications to customize the experience. It actually came with two different gears to change the amount of power you get out of the motor. I am excited to take it apart, but its a long and involved operation so I haven’t had the time to tackle it. I think I should probably get a few more man hours under my belt first before starting any mods anyway.

Awesome gift. Thanks again Brian!

What does it take to make my front page?

Posted by ngreene on Mar 11, 2010 in Technology

Everyone that has an iPhone eventually needs to figure out how to organize their applications. I struggle with this on a daily basis and am constantly making tweaks based on making my own user experience as awesome as possible.

I have finally reached a point where my tweaking has brought me to a place that I am very happy. Above is a screengrab of my home page. These are the apps that I either use the most or need access to quickly when I’m on the go. I’m sure that’s what pretty much everyone does with their home page.

I should admit as early as possible that I am an app whore. I have at least 200 apps downloaded, many of which I would never use again, but had to try to see which were best for me.

I have 6 pages of apps that I keep on the iPhone, including my home page. Here is my system:

1) Home Page
2) Social Media and Quick Reference
3) Games
4) Geo Utilities
5) Non-Geo Utilities
6) Native Apps that I can’t delete

I have had more pages and more categories, buy I found that I would get confused by which apps fell in which categories and I would argue with myself over which category something really belonged to in the first place.

Why I thought this might make an interesting post is the fact that I recently found two apps that immediately made my front page on downloading: Stanza, and Sleep Cycle.

Stanza, which could easily be classed as a non-geo utility has immediately proven to be one of my favourite apps. If you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever read a whole novel on an iPhone I would have laughed in your fave. After experiencing how easy it is to download new books and read in any amount of light with this app I am amazed. I have read two books in the last 2 weeks.

Sleep Cycle, which is an app that tracks your quality of sleep and also wakes you when your body is more prepared to be woken, is another fast favourite. I need to have this on front page because when I am tired enough to fall asleep I don’t want to have to search for the app to launch it. I may only be able to use it once each day, but the data that comes from it is insightful and interesting so it is definitely worthwhile.

Now my front page is full and for anything to break into that top position I would have to bump one of my favourites. I can’t imagine something new impressing me that much.

What will it take to make my front page going forward?