The tagline on the Art Text website is: “Where text becomes art,” and that’s pretty much right on. I’ve been looking for an app that would compensate for my lack of graphic design skills and this comes close. If you have the Photoshop chops you can probably do everything that Art Text does but even then it’s going to take you longer. This graphic for the Coffee Zone took about 5 minutes to create.
NYT Bits Blog reports the results from a January survey (of 10,000 adults) of media habits of iPhone users:
84.8 percent of iPhone users report accessing news and information from the hand-held device. That compares to 13.1 percent of the overall mobile phone market and 58.2 percent of total smartphone owners – which include those with Blackberries and devices that run Windows.
74.1 percent of iPhone users listen to music on their iTunes-equipped device. Only 27.9 percent of smartphone users listen to music on their phone and 6.7 percent of the overall mobile-phone-toting public listens to music on their mobile device.
I started succumbing to Mac Lust just about two years ago and finally broke down a few weeks later. Today, like most Mac users, I keep my entire life on my (insert Mac model here). I never did that with my Thinkpad. It was more of a “spare” computer. Too heavy to lug around and very wifi unfriendly.
I imagined that I would be what they call a “slider.” Someone that slid back and forth between operating systems. But I almost never work on Windows these days. I sold the Thinkpad and only turn the home Dell on for Windows security patches.
At work, I click over to the Windows side of the iMac to flush email from Outlook (I use Apple Mail now). I don’t worry about Vista because it will never be a factor in my work/play life.
As more and more of our world happens online, being able to get there in a fun and efficient way is (for me) important. My mac is my window and doorway.
Drop.io is a website where you can create “simple private exchange points” called “drops.” The service has no email sign-up and no “accounts.” Each drop is private, and only as accessible as you choose to deliberately make it. Create multiple drops, add any type of media, and share or subscribe as you want.”
You can share audio or video with friends and family; teachers can share notes and record lectures; work groups can share resources and feedback.
This basically a free, anonymous FTP server. But most folks don’t have access to FTP servers and drop.io is much easier to use. I’ve dropped a short (5 sec) video at drop.io/smaysdropspot if you care to see how this works.[Thanks, David for the tip.io]
My friend Jamie seems to be getting much better results from the Poor Man’s Steadicam, so I have to conclude I haven’t mastered the tool yet. In the short video above, notice how smoothly they come down the stairs and even when Jamie starts jogging, the shot remains very steady. Well done, Jamie and Anonymous Cameraman.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” I shrieked, as I opened yesterday’s birthday present. The only way Barb could have known I wanted the Marantz PMD620 Professional Handheld Field Recorder is… I told her.
I’ve been using the larger PMD660 for a year to two but found that a nice home with Jamie. So far I like almost everything I’ve seen and heard about the 620. The built-in mics are just so-so but I’ll plug in an external mic for most work.
The size is what appealed to me. About the size of a deck of cards. And the display is easier for me to read than with the previous model. Download this short MP3 file if you want to hear what it sounds like. I’m using a Heil PR-20 mic.
It started working for me when I stopped thinking about what I was doing and turned my attention to what my friends are doing. I’m only “following” a few people so far (Jamie, David, Andy, Kevin, Jackie, George). For me, this works a little like the Buddy List in iChat. Knowing that George is attending a conference in California or that Kevin is looking for interns, is useful or –at the very least– interesting.
I’m still getting the hang of Twitter but if you are a Twitter-er, let me know so I can “follow” you. Trust me, it’s not as dip-shitty as it sounds.
My pal Jamie suggested I try the Poor Man’s Steadicam to bring a little stability to my video.
“The camera operator may walk (or even jog), move through tight hallways and doorways, and even climb up and down stairs without shaking the camera. Unfortunately, professional steadycams cost around $1500. Even the cheap 3rd party ones cost $600+. Not exactly a bargain considering many of us use cameras in that price range. So, I decided to make my own version. It turns out, it only costs $14. Not too bad.”
My friend George and I get together most Saturday mornings for coffee and conversation. While chatting this morning, George gets a call and he unholsters his iPhone. He gets a funny look on his face and says, “It’s from Steve Mays.”
I’m thinking it’s from Barb. She couldn’t call me for some reason, so she rings up George.
“No,” he says, “It’s from your cell phone.”
I pull my Tracfone from my coat pocket and, sure enough, it’s calling George.
If you are unfamiliar with Tracfones, I should tell you it doesn’t have a “redial” feature. And while I have George’s number in my phone, it’s about six down in the list. So how could this have happened?
I would have had to bump (against my chair) the down arrow six times… and then bump the “dial” button. Now, I ask you… what are the chances of that happening and the recipient of the call be the person I’m talking to? Hmmm?
I think they got it right this time. My Apple TV brings the net to my living room. I can rent movies, buy TV shows and music, watch podcasts and YouTube videos and view photos from Flickr (mine or anyone else’s).
I can Tivo all my favorite shows and watch them when I want but the new Apple TV feels like a very different viewing experience. Give me a week or two to get familiar with it. I’m looking forward to watching more video podcasts. This might be the future of TV. Smarter folk than I seem to agree.