mip's scan

NewsAlloy Is A Great RSS Reader

You know me - I've tried so many different RSS readers but in the end I go back to Bloglines which always seems perfect for the way I like to track and consume online information I track.  Well over the weekend I began exploring a new online RSS reader called NewsAlloy and I have to say - I like it!  It's dark & early this Monday morning and I started my day going through NewsAlloy and I have to say there are a lot of features I really like about it.  The AJAX interface they give you is totally awesome.  It allows for some interesting features to be built into the interface.  You can listen to my initial thoughts on this in my daily podcast over at Podcaster News.  So if you're looking to try a new RSS reader, give NewsAlloy a try.  I'll let you know a week from now if I stick with it or if I return to the tried, tested and true Bloglines.

Aibo Put Down

Man this is sad news for me, as I'm sure it is for anybody who has enjoyed countless hours of playing with Sony's robotic dog Aibo.  We've had our Aibo for about 4 or 5 years and my children love it. OK, ok...I'm a big kid...so do I.  I've always found Sony's Aibo to be a wonderfully engineered robot.  So it's sad to see that they've decided to kill of their robotics line.

We feared it would come to this — Sony Japan has just used its quarterly earnings report to slip out the news that it is ceasing production of everyone's favorite robot dog, Aibo.

Qrio and the super-expensive Qualia line are for the chop too.

That's a pic of my Aibo - I'll be sure to keep the news of this away from him.
To read all the details, just click here.

Creating Modules for Personalized Google

I love the power that Google's AJAX personal page offers.  For those of you who might not use it or know of it, if you go to www.google.com/ig and you have a gmail account, you can then sign-in and create a customized page.  This is been out for a while.  I'm blogging on it though because PodCaster News, where I do my daily show Leading Edge Technology, has created a module that you can subscribe to as a feed.  This shows the Latest 5 shows and you can listen to them right from your Google homepage.  Now that is awesome. 

To see what I mean, click the image to the right to see a full screenshot.

iPod - Go To The Head of the Class

You gotta love this.  Seems that the iTune's application has added a new partner to the Music Store.  Say hello to iTune U and the U is for University.

Tunes U is a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides easy access to your educational content, including lectures and interviews 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Boy I wish I'd had something like that back in university....oh wait, there was no web yet when I was in university.  Seriously thought, Click, Sync,  Learn.  I like it.  Kind of reminds me of the youth technology camp I'd started where the motto was Play - Learn - Dream.

It is this type of thing, the proliferation of more & more content, that will continue to make the iPod the device of choice. 

Get all the details by clicking here.  As well, check out how the University of Michigan is leveraging iTunes U.

mip's mid-week update

Hi everyone - here's another show!
Why are there two files mip?

Good question!  I've uploaded 2 versions of my podcast today - one is an mp3 just like the format of all my past shows that you've come to love, the other is an ACC file for iTunes.  Using the new Garageband I was able to vary the artwork and provide hyperlinks right in the show/podcast.  When I converted it to mp3 however that seemed to get lost.  Sigh.  So I've posted both files and will do some research through the week as to ways to create a single file that will do both (if it's even possible).

Anyway...on to the show....we've got lots of stuff to talk about this morning!
Topics include:

• Naked Conversations - My Thoughts on the Book
• FireAnt
• Jazzing Up Powerpoint with Ovation
• Last FM
• Intel iMac Speeds
• A Little Chat on AJAX

To download the original mp3 format just click on this link Download midweek_mp3.mp3.  To download the iTunes enriched version click here Download midweek_enriched.m4a

As always, you can subscribe to this show in iTunes as well.

Hope you enjoy the show! Look forward to your feedback.
Later!
mip

Lotus Notes for OSX

Looks like the shift to the Intel processor continues to drive companies to the conclusion that maybe now they should bring their applications to the Mac.  The latest company is IBM and the product is Lotus Notes, their email and collaboration application.

At the company's Lotusphere developer conference in Orlando, Fla., on Monday, IBM announced that the newest version of its messaging software package, Notes 7, which includes e-mail, calendar management tools and instant messaging, will offer new support for the Mac OS X operating system marketed by computer maker Apple.

I'll be interested to test this on my iMac and see how it stack up against Notes 7 on Windows.  Further to just that comparison, it will remain to see how effective the user interface is.  I find Microsoft's Entourage for the Mac (which is the same as Outlook) to have an awesome interface - the UI in my opinion is superior to that of Outlook.  Lotus will need to improve the UI dramatically in my opinion if they are going to make inroads on the Mac, where users have come to expect refined, elegant and effective user interface design.

For more info on the announcement click here.

Securing Your Mobile Data

I wanted to look at varying degrees of protection for data on laptops.  I'm coming at it from the perspective that important and sensitive data is often found on the laptops of mobile workers - what happens if that laptop gets stolen?  Sure you our laptops are typically password protected but if you have data on your laptop that is highly sensitive and you don't want it to land in someone else's hands then you have to consider other options.  I'm currently exploring three such options above and beyond simply enabling/requiring a password on your end users laptops.  These options range in their level of security and cost.  Let's start with the simpliest which is encrypting a folder and its contents using Windows XP.

Fujitsu Lifebook 1500 with Tablet OS

A co-worker of mine had ordered and just received the Lifebook 1500 from Fujitsu and I've had a little time with it.  A single word sums it up: small.  At just 2.2 pounds this sleek little ultraportable now ships with Microsoft's Tablet OS. 

Microsoft Gunning for Lotus

Got an email from a colleague Scott with the news that Microsoft is releasing some new applications aimed at winning over Lotus Notes users.  With its Domino/Notes users shrinking to about 13% of the market (see the bottom of this article for marketshare numbers) it seems that IBM Notes users are being wooed by the giant in Redmond. 

Microsoft unveiled a suite of free tools designed to help organisations "analyse their Notes/Domino application environment" and move data to Microsoft's rival collaboration platform.

The tools, which will be available for free download, include the Microsoft Application Analyzer 2006 for Lotus Domino, Microsoft Data Migrator 2006 for Lotus Domino, and the newly developed Windows SharePoint Services Application Templates.

I haven't had a chance to look at the tools released but I will.  I've been in a number of organizations that had Notes when I got there, only to move to Microsoft Exchange.  Hmmm, I wonder if there is a trend there?

To see the entire article from Scott, just click here.
Thanks Scott!

More Video Content for Sony PSP

It'd been a while since I've written anything about the Sony PSP.  Well it looks like more content has been made available for the PSP.  Veoh Networks announced it was making available approximately 20,000 titles for download.  That rocks!

Veoh Networks, Inc. (www.veoh.com), the first Internet Television Peercasting Network, today announced that the majority of its catalog of more than 20,000 independent, user-published videos is now available for download and enjoyment on the Sony PSP computer entertainment system. Veoh automatically downloads videos of interest to a PSP owner's device each time they connect it to their PC.

That is so awesome.  I haven't downloaded any titles yet but will.  I like the fact that their software, which downloads content each time its connected to the PSP, will run on both Windows and the Mac OS.  You can read additional details on the announcement here.