mip's scan

MotionBased - Track Your Progress

For me, all things I do have to involve some form of technology.  Case in point.  I love to run.  Try and do it every second day or so.  What makes it even more enjoyable?  Technology of course. 

So I thought I'd post about a site I've been using in conjunction with my GPS/Heart Rate monitor from Garmin.  It's a site call MotionBased and it allows me to upload the data captured during one of my runs and perform analysis on it.  They provide a great dashboard with all the data from the run summarized and you can of course drill down into the details.  The thumbnail to the right is from a warm up I did the other night.

From their web site they describe themselves as:

MotionBased is a web application that translates GPS data into functional analysis and online mapping for endurance and outdoor athletes.

One of the features I really like is how they've integrated with Google Earth.  After a run I can pull up a shot of where I was and playback the run in Google Earth (click the thumbnail to the left).  They also have a map player as one of the tools within the MotionBased site that has a small red dot moving through my run route, displaying important vitals every step of the way. 

So for those of you who are either amature or professional outdoor athletes, whether your running, hiking, biking - be sure to check out MotionBased.  When you upload your data you have the option of making it private or public.  Those making it public are available for viewing - check out the TrailNetwork and you'll get a great sense of what this tool can do for you.

mip's mid-week update podcast

Download sept28-podcast.mp3

For your listening enjoyment - my attempt at another podcast.

I'm going to attempt to create and release one of these each week on Wednesday monrings.

Enjoy!

OQO Model 01+

Remember a long while back I wrote about the innovative device from OQO?  Well two great pieces of news.  Firstly, they just announced the next release which they are calling Model 01+.  For full specs from their website click here.  Secondly, I've received confirmation that they will be sending me a review unit in November!  I plan on testing it out by using it exclusively, ditching my computer and my tablet for the trial period to bring you a day-to-day, play-by-play review of the unit in the workplace.  It's been almost a year since I first wrote about the OQO so I'm looking forward to finally having a chance to review it and share that with all my readers.

Goowy

I've always been intrigued by the concept of having my desktop no matter where I went.  By that I mean, no matter what computer I go to, at home, office, someone else's computer in the office, a kiosk in an airport....you get the idea...no matter what computer...as long as it had a browser and internet access, I could bring my actual desktop up and work there.  It's the idea of a virtual/online operating system.  I've no doubt that this is where Google is planning on going.  Well I had the chance to play today with a site that delivers part of this vision.  It's called Goowy which I think is a play on words for GUI (Graphic User Interface) because they do indeed deliver a really nice GUI over the web via Flash.

Karl...You Were Right, Palm is Dead

Back 5 years or so when I was leading the consulting charge inside a web development company I worked with a guy named Karl.  Karl had the best laugh I've ever heard.  Just hearing it use to make me laugh.  At that time, a number of us had gotten new Palm PDA's - remember the Palm V.  It was everywhere inside this little web company.  I purchased a Palm IIIc and loved it (and still have it in a drawer believe it or not).  As we all ooooh'd and aaaah'd over these PDA, Karl boldly said "Microsoft is going to kill the Palm."  Many people laughed.  Our user interface designers all proclaimed that Palm's simplicity would triumph.  I'd used an HP palmtop (yes, I have that still too!) that ran Window's CE and I hadn't liked the experience.  Still, I wondered at the time, if and when Karl's prediction might come to pass.

Well Karl, if you're reading this today, come this Monday, you can laugh that laugh of yours.  You were right.

Windows Vista - A Look At the UI

Found a great 30 minute video that gives a sneak peak into the user interface (UI) for Microsoft's next OS (Vista). 

Kam Vedbrat is a lead program manager on the AERO team which redesigned the User Interface of Windows Vista (the next version of Windows). We spend half an hour looking at the user interface.

To watch the video, head over to Channel 9 by clicking here.

An Interesting Blog

Thought I'd share with you a new blog I've recently started reading with regards to Microsoft.  As many of you know, I often read Scoble's blog and love it.  He's always got interesting tidbits of new things emerging from Microsoft and talks about other tech items of interest often from a Microsoft perspective.  I came across another blog written by a Microsoft insider that I have found to be very interesting and I thought you might enjoy it as well.  It's called Mini-Microsoft and what I like about it is that its a bit rawer then reading Scoble.  It seems to call it like it is with regard to company direction, opportunities and challenges.  Lots of interesting reading in the comments as well.  It's great to see this type of blogging because, if Microsoft senior management is reading/listening, it provides great input into shaping the ongoing direction of the company. 

Hope you enjoy the reading as much as I do.

Ad-Free Opera Browser

For those of you who enjoy using the Opera browser but hated the ads, you have reason to be happy this morning.  Opera is now offering its browser ad-free without having to pay for it.  I like Opera but find that it just isn't as easy to use as Firefox, but to each their own.  I think that they pretty much had to do this if they wanted to try and attract people to using/trying the browser.  With the gains that Firefox made and the certain appeal that the new IE7 will have, Opera couldn't afford to have a barrier between them and potential users.  For those of you who want to find out some of the neat features in Opera, simply click the thumbnail to the right.

If you're interested in checking Opera out, just click here.  Happy surfing!

Google WiFi??

There is truly no end to what Google will do.  I just came across this new beta this morning for a secure VPN over WiFi that Google is offering.  It's a great idea to provide a free encrypted VPN that people can use while surfing using WiFi.  So what's the business model for this free offering?  Well, Google can see where you're surfing to I guess since you're going across their private VPN but I doubt they are going to be popping advertisements up based on that.  I haven't installed the beta yet but will shortly.  If there's something interesting about it, I'll post a follow up.  If you are interested in check this out, just click here.

PDANet for your Treo650

I figured I'd post a seperate post with regard to the questions I was getting about using my Treo650 as a wireless modem for my laptop.  I do indeed do this over Bluetooth which is really sweet. 

I use a program I purchased online called PDAnet.  You can find their web site here.  It works suprisingly well.  Like I said in my preivous posting about the Treo650, I was in a coffee shop working on a Powerpoint presentation.  I simply launched the PDAnet software, tapped Connect and it connected to my tablet via Bluetooth and established an Internet connection.  You should note that any phone calls you may receive while using this program go directly to voicemail.

Hope that helps!