Ann Schumann

There is a very intriguing art exhibit going on right now in Silicon Valley. It is by an artist named Michael Tompert. It is a series of photographs of Apple products that have been destroyed – including iPhones, iPod nanos, MacBook Airs, and iPads. It’s a comment on American’s obsession with gadgets and all things new. Check it out.

Targeting Image – Destroyed Apple Products as Art

Facebook Messages is a new product that will soon be offered to all 500 million Facebook users. It is more than just email. It combines email, SMS and IM chats so they can all be viewed in a single space or hub. As a Gmail user, I am interested to see how it compares to the features Google offers. In a previous post I mentioned that Google offers free phone service (at least through the end of this year) to call any phone in the U.S. using one’s Gmail account. Also, in Gmail you are able to IM, video chat, and post info and follow people on Google Buzz. I don’t believe video or phone chats will be available in Facebook Messages, so that is a definite competitive advantage that Google still has. However, what could sway people to use Facebook Messages is the convenience factor – people already check their Facebook accounts frequently throughout the day, so adding an email account to it seems like a natural fit. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure it is a good idea to have so much of your personal information in one spot. Security is already a major concern at Facebook that will only increase in importance with the launch of Facebook Messages.

Just finished watching Apple’s Keynote Address about new software and hardware products coming down the pipe. Steve Jobs and his crew talked about software improvements set to launch in iLife ’11. In iPhoto ’11 you’ll be able to work entirely in full screen mode, which I think is ideal. You also can email your photos right from iPhoto and before sending them you have the option to format them using a template to present them in a more artistic way. Also, it is even easier to make a photo book with the new carousel feature, which is reminiscent of the coverflow view in iTunes. Lastly, you can add your photos to letterpress cards – such as for family holiday cards or baby announcements. Another improvement in iLife ’11 is iMovie ’11 with its movie trailer feature. You can turn your videos into exciting movie trailers with a variety of templates. You can also add special effects like slow-mo and instant replay. And you can easily adjust the sound in areas that are too loud or too soft. GarageBand ’11 also has some improvements. There are added features called Groove Matching and Flex Time that improve the quality of your recordings. And you can teach yourself how to play piano or guitar with lessons that allow you to chart your progress. Next, they talked about the 8th release of Mac OS X coming in Summer 2011 called Lion. Lion will join the App Store bandwagon that iPod touch, iPhone and iPad have all been using. There will be a program called Launchpad on your dock which you can click and see all the Apps you have on your Mac. There will also be a program called Mission Control, which is kind of a suped-up version of Exposé – you can see all your work areas at once from Apps to Dashboard to Spaces, etc. Also, prior to the Mac OS X Lion release you can download a new program for the Mac called FaceTime. FaceTime can currently be downloaded in beta form for FREE for Mac users running v10.6.4 Snow Leopard or later. This allows you to have video chats from your Mac desktop or laptop computer to people using iPhone 4, iPod touch, or another Mac. Lastly, Jobs introduced 2 new versions of MacBook Air – an 11″ and 13″ model. Probably the coolest feature the MacBook Air has besides it weighing less than 3 pounds, is the use of flash storage which is a solid state drive that has no moving parts, unlike the traditional spinning disk hard drives and optical drives. Flash storage is also used in iPod touches, iPhones and iPads, and it is faster, less noisy and more expensive than the spinning disks. Great news!

Skype 5.0 for Windows now offers group video chat! Finally. No information yet on when this feature will be available for Macs. Although, there isn’t too much of a need there, since you can already do group video chat using iChat. One thing to point out for Windows users, is that in order for group chat to work, all parties need to have the latest 5.0 version of Skype installed. There is also a Facebook tab added to this new version of Skype, which lets you log on to your Facebook account and call any of your friends that have contact info listed in Facebook. I guess time will tell how useful the Facebook feature will be. For now, I’m just really happy about the group chat.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/10/14/skype.facebook/index.html?iref=allsearch

Web 3.0 – aka “Semantic Web” is on the horizon. This means a faster, smarter and a more personal web experience. I think we are already seeing signs of this with Google Instant which provides search results as you type. No longer do you have to hit enter/return as you finish typing your search words – Google is already a step ahead of you and is predicting the subject of your search. This saves you some time and also leaves you with a much more satisfied web experience.

http://daol.aol.com/articles/get-ready-for-web3?icid=main%7Cnetscape%7Cdl8%7Csec1_lnk1%7C174819

Apple MacBooks are now the leader in student laptop purchases. This is an exciting change, and makes me hope that one day businesses will make the same choice. Unfortunately, I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon, because PCs are just more cost effective. If only Apple could offer a significant business discount like they do for students, and turn my dream into a reality. Yes, Macs are predominantly known for their multimedia benefits, but I think what is most compelling is their ease of use (intuitive style). The ease of use feature of Macs could really impact the productivity of employees in a positive way and isn’t that important to businesses?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/apple-overtakes-dell-hp-as-student-laptop-choice/5822?tag=mantle_skin;content

I just tried out Google’s Internet phone service.
On one side are the benefits -
1. It’s FREE to any phone (in the U.S.).
2. You get to carry on a conversation hands free (good for multitaskers).

On the other side are the disadvantages -
1. The person on the opposite end of the line might complain about noisiness and echoing.
2. If you don’t tell people ahead of time that you will be using Google to call them, they may not pick up because they don’t recognize the number on caller ID.

I most likely will stick to my cell phone for most conversations but it is a nice perk to have as a gmail user, especially in these tougher economic times when everyone is looking for ways to save a little.

Soon Gmail users will be able to make free phone calls to any phone in the U.S. (at least through 2010). I’ve already downloaded Google’s voice and video plug-in on my Windows 7 laptop, but my Power PC Mac OS 10.4 doesn’t support this feature (darn!). Once this feature officially launches I will be sure to try it out and give you my opinion in a future post.

It is the 3rd annual Power IT Down Day this Friday. I just signed up at http://www.poweritdown.org/ and everyone that owns a computer should too. Turn off your computer, monitor and printer at work and at home (if you can) and save some power. It is also for a good cause – sponsors of this event are donating money to the Wounded Warrior Project. Check it out.

A recent article in Wired proclaimed that the Web is dead. I disagree. I think consumers are always enamored with the newest, latest thing and right now Apps are what people are going crazy for. Apps are what make reading tolerable on the smaller screens of smartphones and iPod touches, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the web browser is now dead. I would much prefer to use a browser on my desktop or laptop to read the news, shop online, or even write this blog. I like the convenience and mobility that Apps provide, which I definitely use on my iPod touch when I am traveling or on vacation, however on a daily basis Apps do not persuade me from using my browser any less on my desktop or laptop. Maybe it’s my background in graphic design, in that I’ve gotten used to using computers with large screens, but I think digesting all the information that the Internet has to offer is much easier on a widescreen desktop computer than a small 3.5″ screen.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/