LIVEdigitally

The iPod is just bigger than big. Grandmothers and toddlers have been seen walking, talking, and gawking about iPods. Well here’s something to yap about: iPods are now 20GB and 60GB selling for $299 and $399 respectively. Oh, and every full size iPod has those intoxicating color screens that we like so much. Goodbye iPod photo (cause every iPod is now a ‘photo’ version) and farewell monochrome iPod.

If that’s not enough for you, iTunes 4.9 has just sprung up. This was a greatly anticipated version of iTunes because it now comes podcast ready. I know what I’m doing later on this evening, let’s see just how ready podcasting is for the world, or the other way around.

English was never any fun for me. I didn’t mind the writing, but I despised the reading. Reading was my kryptonite, Delilah, and the thorn in my paw. How did I ever survive you ask? I skipped pages. When reading “East of Eden” or “The Lord of the Flies” I would read one full page, then skip one full page. I ended up reading ½ as much, but I don’t think I really missed ½ of the book. I never got A’s in English class either.

Motorola has one-upped my cut-the-bs reading technique with their ‘emails abridged’ idea. This technology cuts out small sentences and frivolous phrases thus giving you only the most vital of information while reading emails on your handset. It can be programmed to keep or delete certain preference list words and phrases as well. I’m sure there’s some holes you may see in this feature, but then again, I did pass English class.

Phones cost money. A ‘good’ phone isn’t cheap. But are we using all that we pay for? Executive Vice President of T-Mobile, David Hytha was interviewed by EE Times, and he says “We are choking on technology”.

Right away I think about my current phone, the T-Mobile Sidekick II, and wish that it had more features. I want Bluetooth, an SD expansion slot, more downloadable ringtones, changeable wall paper, more 3rd party applications, a video player, better camera, WiFi, and my list just keeps on going. So What the heck is Hytha talking about when he says choking on technology? I’m in a desert and technology is my rationed water supply.

Then I give it a second thought, and recall a conversation I had one week ago with my father. He is upgrading his Sprint phone (which is about as old as me), and asks me which models to look at. “I just want a phone that can hold a charge, has big buttons, a screen that I can read, and speaker phone”, he says. I think to myself, if my father were locked somewhere and had my phone, he’d die of starvation before figuring out how to dial 911. Maybe David Hytha is right? Too much technology for the normal human being may be similar to too much clothes shopping for the tech geek.

I never liked history classes. Learning about dead guys who talked funny and looked even funnier was just not up my alley. As time moves forward, history is written. In what feels like the blink of an eye I’ve gone from emailing friends with dialup modems, to attaching pictures to an email with my phone –while holding 3 separate instant message chats. The last ten years there has been quite a bit of writing (still sticking with my history metaphor) for the internet. CNN looks at the last ten years, and gives us a pretty cool lesson in history. And I thought that history would always bore me.

Google has released a free version of Google Earth. If you have a broadband connection and a new enough Windows box running 2000 or XP (they warn off desktops older than four years and laptops older than two), it is worth checking out.

It kind of reminds me of space-age, Hollywood depictions of screen views that heretofore have looked nothing like a real ‘puter. Look, Ma, I’m flying.

Great way to while away some time I shouldn’t be in the office.