Great Gretsch Drum Duet

I came across this recently on the web.  Fantastic piece of drumming and a great sound too!

Cloud computing and Netbooks

Netbook sales this year are expected to top 22M this year according one of the industry analysts (iSuppli). Although the volume is still trailing behind traditional laptop sales, Netbook sales are set to increase by 69% this year. I have been a fan of Netbooks for a while and have had a trusty Sony TR1-MP since 2004. The TR1 was around before anyone had even invented the word "Netbook", but the machine was aimed at the same market. At the time, it was marketed as an "ultralight" notebook. I use it almost exclusively for travelling and often take it on trips abroad (yes, even holidays!) for accessing the Internet. It is getting a bit old now, but who cares when all you use it for is web browsing.

So all of this got me thinking. Why are Netbooks popular now? And it suddenly occurred to me that there is a link here with Cloud computing. Let's ignore all the rhetoric and hype around cloud computing and focus on what it means for real people (people like you and me). Well, first off it means that I can access applications that I need from wherever I am - I have a work email account that I access via OWA and a personal email account that I access via a web interface. Sure, I use Outlook running on a PC to access them too, but this becomes less and less necessary as the web (or should I say "Cloud") versions of Outlook improve. Plus, I can use applications like this one (Blogspot) and all I need is Internet access.

Secondly, as well as being able to access applications on the web, I can now access data on the web. Increasingly, I am using secure storage on the web for photos and documents. Is it secure? Probably, more secure that the 4GB data stick that I used to carry around in my pocket (I used to get palpitations every time I thought I had lost it, so now I leave it at home and use online storage instead).

So given that it is getting easier to access applications AND data online, it is no wonder that devices such as Netbooks are becoming more popular. The interesting thing here is whether this is going to be a trend that will impact other devices. If this is the case, then:

• Why aren't more Netbooks 3G ready? In other words, they don't need the dongle. There are very few machines to choose from. Dell seems to be going backwards - the Mini 9 did have 3G, the Mini 10 does not. Since the Mini 9 has been discontinued, Dell no longer sells a 3G enabled Netbook.


• Battery life will be king. Blackberries have great battery life, smartphones suck. The Mac Book Pro is great, but it's battery life wipes it many of it's advantages (IMHO). The Samsung N120 has a battery life of 9 hours (now we are talking!), but it still isn't 3G enabled!


• Mobile broadband will need to get better. Much better. I am a Vodafone Mobile Broadband customer and, maybe it is me, but my experience hasn't been great. I would hardly say that it has worked "out of the box". I have found coverage to be very patchy (yes, I know if I only used it at home it would be fine, but that kind of defeats the object of "Mobile" broadband!) and the connection software has been very temperamental (I suspect there are driver conflicts on the three (!) laptops that I have tried! I can get it to work, but it is a bit of a fiddle and would not like to rely on it in a jam). And when I do get it to work, the download speeds are very variable.
  

However, as with all new technology, these wrinkles will get ironed out and the trends we see today in the early adopter community, will be set to become mass market 2-3 years from now.

Postscript: An article on the BBC website today (16-07-09) reported that according to Gartner that like for like PC sales are down over 10% on this time last year. Netbooks (or mini laptops as they refer to them), on the other hand, are up 20%. More information here.

Small is the new big

I have just finished reading Seth Godin's Small is the new big and can't recommend this book enough. It is a thought provoking collection of nearly 200 short pieces originally published on his blog, but they also work exceptionally well as a book. Very easy to dip in and out of, but a great read nonetheless.

I always find it funny that some people say that digital media will kill off the paperback book. Yet I find that the more blogs I read, the more books I buy. There is about as much chance of digital media completely replacing books as the radio did for completely replacing the television.

And the fact that this book is a collection of blog entries is even more amusing!

My name's Paul and I will be your frogman today.

So, how do you take someone who isn't really interested in sea life and make a visit to an aquarium fun? In this case, the answer was simple - you put a guy in scuba gear in the tank along with the fishs and you mike him up so the visitors can ask him questions. Technically, I can imagine the most difficult part is getting a decent sound inside the divers mask, but the rest is relatively straightforward. This is a great example of someone creating an amazing customer experience. It was thoroughly compelling for young and old alike.

"What's that big green fish called?" a little girl asked. "Charlie" said Paul.

You can meet Paul daily at the Seattle Aquarium.

Restoring the old movies

Here an interesting article from the BBC news website on film restoration. It appears the old films are starting to deteriorate as the physical media ages. The answer? Digitise the movies and while you are at it, why not fix the colour and clean up the image?

I was intrigued by the amount of data generated by some of the film scanning - upto to 12TB per film when scanned at the higher resolution (with around 6,000 lines per frame). The article points out that this isn't a problem for the studio since they have a Petabyte of disk storage. But this is only 1,024TB. By my calculations that is enough for just over 80 films. Mmmm...sounds like it might be a good time to be in the storage business.

Guerilla Gardening

This is an ad campaign run by Addidas and on the front cover of this month's Dazed. Essentially, it is instructions on how to mix a wild flower seeds with some compost and make a "seed bomb". They even attach a packet of seeds to the front cover to help you on your way.

And for the really keen among you, there is even a competition for the best judged creations. You can find more information here: http://www.dazeddigital.com/projects/grun/

Viral Marketing Videos: What makes them work?

Came across this fascinating blog entry today from Mike Laurie. It is the first time that I have seen someone try and make some of why viral videos work and why they don't. It is a great read with some thought provoking analysis.

Predictions for 2008 - how is the year doing?

Well, we are part of the way through 2008 and I wondered how the predictions made at the beginning of the year are fairing. Here's a good list to start with: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/2008_web_predictions.php

Toxel.com

Stumbled across this today. As it says, Toxel.com it is a "Design, Inspiration and Technology Blog". Take a look at the unforgettable advertisements page or the creative adverts pages. You will find a list of the most popular pages on the About page.

Michael Adams in Yosemite NP

I found this on Robert Scoble's FastCompany.TV website and found it really interesting. It is an interview with Michael Adam's (Ansel Adam's son) shot in the Yosemite National Park. The backdrop is truely awe inspiring (even when watched over the web!) and the content is a "must see" for any Ansel Adams fans (I hadn't realised that Ansel Adams' original interest was music!).

We are promised more videos to come featuring Ansel's darkroom, so it is well worth keeping an eye on!

You will find the interview here: http://www.fastcompany.tv/video/michael-adams-yosemite

Ping Mag

OK, looks like this has been around for a while, but I have only just cottoned on to it.

It's a Japanese online mag that covers everything from design, fashion, architecture and design. It has an interesting cross section of items.

You will find it here: http://pingmag.jp/

Wordle

I saw this today on the FireWire blog today and thought it really interesting. The FireWire blog is well worth reading, by the way. Back to Wordle, it turns words into art - sort of! Well worth playing with. I would love to see a version

Here's one I created using the words from one of the page on my website....Have fun.

You will find it here: http://www.wordle.net/

Classic photos in Lego

Ever come across something and I think "I wish I thought of that!"?

Well, here is an example of a photographer taking classic photographs and re-staging them using Lego. Sounds a bit weird (which great ideas don't?), but it works extremely well. You can view the complete set on Flickr here: Lego

A wooden mirror

I saw this on a blog entry recently on FireWire and was intrigued my the idea. I still find it fascinating.

It works using a hidden camera and then moving motorised wooden tiles (sort of wooden "pixels") to reflect the light. What a really cool idea. The Utube video included on the blog above shows some close-ups towards the end of the clip where it becomes clear how it works.

What a really neat idea! A wooden mirror. Who'd have thought of that!