Make a Traffic Light Think Your Bike Is A Car Ever wonder what makes a traffic light turn green? Some people think it's timing; others are sure there are weight sensors in the road. Still others claim it's some sort of camera system. But actually, it's magnetic field detectors: coils in the road detect large metallic masses over a plate by the stop line, and the traffic light begins its cycle. No cross traffic, no need for a light change. Slick, eh?

Except if you ride a bike.

See, those carbon and aluminum frames are great for speed and lightweight...but not for telling magnetic sensors you are there. Result? Every morning, I face the ethical dilemma of either waiting for a car to pull up to a certain light so I can turn left...or run the light. Guess what wins most days?

However, my lawbreaking may be at an end. The Green Light Trigger pumps out a strong enough field to fool those sensors into believing my Fuji Robauix is a Ford F-150. No, it doesn't override lights like emergency vehicles, but mounted to the base of the frame, it promises to let me keep up with the other four wheeled traffic on the road, with my two wheels. For $25 and two extra grams of weight, worth a shot, no? The folks at Lifehacker seem doubtful, but the comments there give me hope.

Thoughts?

Labels: biking, commuting, gadgets, lifehacks

  ¶ 10:13 PM (0) comments links to this post

  A $50 Steak From A $5 One A warning: Vegans, vegetarians, and folks who don't care for red meat, if the title of this post and the photo don't give it away, skip this one. The rest of you? Welcome to the world of food hacking. I'm not talking advanced chemistry here, but simple, easy ways to make your food taste better. And today, we're talking about one of the few foods I can actually cook: steak.

See that steak? You think you're looking at a $5 steak, covered in salt, right? Wrong. You are actually looking at the metamorphosis of a $5 steak into one that you'd weep with carnivorous joy at consuming in Morton's or Smith & Wollensky. Thanks to this amazing blog post, we are that much closer to beef heaven.

Fellow meat lovers, I share your joy at the treasure we are aboutto behold.The world...and the grill..will never be the same.

Labels: dining, lifehacks

  ¶ 12:27 AM (0) comments links to this post

  The End of Dependence on Fossil Fuel? I don't know how much longer John Kanzius has left to live; he's clearly been the object of more than a few contracts on his life from Big Oil, as he has unveiled the tunning discovery that he's found a way to make seawater burn as a fuel. I know, seems impossible, but he actually has stumbled onto a way that releases and ignites the hydrogen from the most plentiful substance on earth. Not just a weak flame, this sucker burns at a test tube melting 3000 degrees.

John, happy to start the PayPal fund for your Kevlar vest...or maybe you can just invent a force field, while you're at it? :-)

Watch this amazing discovery in action:

Labels: news, video

  ¶ 1:18 PM (0) comments links to this post

  What's stopping me from an iPhone? So…the obvious question I get, being both a big fan of Apple's design, and my obvious lust for the ultimate mobile convergence device is: will I buy the iPhone? Obviously, with the recent price cut, I continue to get these questions in ever increasing frequency. Instead of giving my regular "Well..." answer, I've decided to take a critical look if I can be an iPhone user by looking at the applications and functions I use every day in my Palm Treo 680, and see how my current solution set stacks up. I'm going to score each of these, and, at the end, if the iPhone has a high score, I'm headed to the Apple store for a test drive.

Contacts. I have over 6000 contacts in my phone. I know, it seems insane, but I'm like the packrat of all time when it comes to contacts. Plus, I keep notes on each, photos, etc. Finding a contact in the Palm is easy: just start typing. With 6K+ contacts, it can be a little laggy, but generally not an issue. With the iPhone, while you can easily sync with Outlook, the only way to find a contact is either in your Favorites, or to use the scroll and flick method: no direct typing. Yikes. Score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 2.

Calendar. My lifeblood. I've got so many meetings and calls to keep track of, I'd be lost without it. The Treo is a champ: multiple views, including one I can see openings; different colors for different categories, and perfect Outlook sync; even time zone adjustment. The iPhone does a pretty good job, as long as you are not really interested in entering new appointments on the phone itself too often. In other words, as a view only for my Outlook data, it'd do the job...but that's it. Score: Palm: 10, iPhone: 3. By the way, great video review on this:


Tasks. Well, no contest here: no iPhone equivalent. However, to be fair, I rarely use tasks on the Treo, as I track and check off either in Outlook or Salesforce. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 0.

Podcast player. I listen to podcasts on my bike rides, and rely on them for primary entertainment. With the Palm, I use a combo of pTunes to play them, and Quick News to automatically download direct to the Palm, late at night. The results are pretty good: pTunes is an OK media player with clever functions like skip ahead 10, 15, 30 or 60 seconds, but playlist management is a bit kludgy. And Quick News, while great, can sometimes not download a podcast for any one of a dozen reasons. Not to mention it's slooooow, as it's doing so over AT&T's network. The iPhone, on the other hand, shines, thanks to iTunes integration. I'm hopeful that the new improvements to the iPhone will allow downloads direct to the iPhone over WiFi, but even without, syncing is blazingly fast, and there's no arguing with the iPod UI. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 10.

Music player. Occasionally, I prefer music to podcasts. My 4GB SD card usually holds a bunch, and I can swap out for another with most of my music on it. pTunes handles the player duties. But let's not kid ourselves: Apple's got this one locked. And with 8GB onboard, I think SD cards are a thing of the past. Score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 10.

Movie player. Yep, I watch movies and TV shows on the Treo. While I miss my old Palm TX's large screen, the Treo is actually a little better performer. TCPMP handles the Treo movie playing, including Divx and Xvid codecs, but it chokes a little on MP4 content, so I'm limited to ripped movies sans DRM. The iPhone totally gets the nod here: big screen, lots of content, vibrant display, and great battery life. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 10.

Calculator. Sad, ain't it? Maybe I need that Nintendo DS Brain Age thing. In any case, it's a wash here: both the Treo and iPhone have one. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 5.

eWallet. Passwords, codes, numbers: everything goes into eWallet with it's special encryption, easy recall, and perfect PC sync. I'd be lost without it. With the iPhone, there's no app for this, so I'd have to rely on a web based app for this. And web based apps for this kinda data...not so good for security. Plus, ubiquitous web access ain't quite here. Score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 1.

Memos. I use it for writing blog entries on the go, jotting down a note, or recipes. Pretty much a wash here, but the Treo gets a slight advantage because of the tactile keyboard. If only the iPhone's memo app wasn't so damned pretty...Score: Palm: 6, iPhone: 5.


Texas Hold 'em Poker (and other games). Yep, got to have something to do in those idle moments. The Palm one is pretty decent, and keeps me entertained. iPhone one...wait...what's that? There are no games for the iPhone? You have to be kidding. Yes, I see that there are some web-based ones, but that, again, requires connectivity. And how can I say this...theres not a lot of signal strength usually in most restrooms. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 0.

Email. Using SnapperMail (not the included VersaMail, thank you), I can manage all of my email, from multiple accounts, while traveling. No Blackberry push, or course, but extremely powerful. iPhone's mail app has been pretty much derided as too lightweight for real emailers. For instance, Engadget's comments:

"There's no other way than to come out and say it: we are extremely disappointed in the iPhone's email app. So much so, in fact, that despite the keyboard and the rest of the things the iPhone lacks in the features department, its mail support may be the largest factor in killing its status as a productivity device. Don't get us wrong, the application is just fine for anyone who wants to do light email, but it lacks the power and convenience that frequent-emailers require."

Still, it does support Yahoo push email and Gmail's full Ajax interface, so you get some definite upsides. But for a device that is all about all in one for mobile professionals, this might be the Achilles heel. Oh, and remember: the keyboard is screen based, not tactile. Score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 5.

Bluetooth. Yes, both have it. But the Treo lets you use any cell headset, sync wirelessly, beam data, and, with the help of Audio Gateway, even streams audio to my Bluetooth headphones. The iPhone? Talk on a BT cell headset. That's it. Ugh. Score: Palm: 8, iPhone: 4.


Camera. Edge to iPhone here, but barely. Quality is certainly better than the Treo's, but you can only send as an attachment to an email from the iPhone: no MMS. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 7.

eReader. I buy and read ebooks all the time on the Treo. Great for traveling. On the iPhone, there is no option. None. Ugh. And, even if there were, even with that great screen, you'd have to read them two handed: turning the page would require a flick of a finger, instead of a one handed hold and click operation. Score: Palm: 7, iPhone: 0.

Google Maps. Available on both, but no question it's sexier on the iPhone. Better integration, as well, not to mention faster over WiFi. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 7.

GPS. My Treo uses TomTom software and Bluetooth to talk to a small receiver. When I'm in a new city, I pop out the GPS, fire up TomTom on the Treo, and I'm driving like a native. iPhone: did I mention it's got Google Maps? Hope that'll keep you happy, 'cause there's no sat nav happening here. Score: Palm: 9, iPhone: 0.

Travel Tracker. Venerable champ on the Treo, but requires entry of data on the Treo, which is painful. It does, however, seamlessly sync with the Calendar app, so my appointments and flight show up already integrated. iPhone has nothing in this regard, but it's implementation of the Safari web browser means I can use TripIt, which blows away Travel Tracker. Downside: requires a connection, of course. Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 6.

And finally, the Web. I read the news, catch up on the NY Times and SFGate, check out Yelp...you name it. The Treo advantage is that I can turn off images when the connection is slow, and that sites with a mobile version automatically detect my browser and redirect me to that optimized view. The experience is definitely limited, though. The iPhone has the Web down cold, with Safari, tabbed browsing, and Ajax support. All great when you are on WiFi, but I'm guessing a little painful on EDGE. Still, how can you argue with a full browser? Score: Palm: 5, iPhone: 9.


Final score: Palm: 124, iPhone: 81.

Now, this is completely subjective. And, it does not take into account the other iPhone-only functions, like widgets or YouTube. This is meant to see how much I lose by going to the iPhone, and if I can stand the loss for the increase in sexiness. Based on the above, I think I'm still staying with the Treo. If the iPhone gets it's email in gear, and offers a solution for an eReader, and, critically, adds some games, we might be talking again.

Labels: Apple, cell phones, iPhone, Palm, Treo

  ¶ 1:49 AM (0) comments links to this post

  A Tale Of Two Companies And Loyalty Publishing this in both of my blogs.

Two very interesting things this week happened that illustrated how two consumer electronics companies view being loyal to their customers...with surprising differences.

The first is Palm. Now, I'll preface this by saying I have been a very loyal Palm user for many years. I was entranced by the Palm III, years ago, and I have stuck with it: A Palm V, a Palm Vx, Handspring Visor, Handspring Visor Prism, VisorPhone, Tungsten T, Palm TX, and now my Treo 680. Through them all, I have always marveled at Palm's singleminded focus on usability and features: I have looked at alternatives every time, and settled on Palm's offering. Yet there's no denying that Palm has clearly lost any shred of a leadership position: the Danger devices, the ever improving (but still painful) Windows Mobile, and now the iPhone have all eclipsed Palm's innovation. Heck, even the new Blackberrys are getting in on the act.

Palm's answer? The Foleo, which was a device in search of a need. Basically a stripped down laptop with some interesting sync capabilities, was recently announced with near universal derision. This was Palm's big attempt to become relevant again? Releasing an overpriced, underpowered laptop that gave you all of the overhead you hoped to leave behind with your Treo, and none of the benefits (no movies on the Foleo; GREAT for those cross-country flights)? This was a major disappointment.

Now, take for a second the contrast with Apple, the second company in my discussion here. Everyone knows the story: after being beaten down to inches of their life, and having to take a bailout from Microsoft just to survive, visionary Steve Jobs proceeded to start to take bold risks with devices that filled needs for the customer base. It started with the iMac: an all-in-one computer that showed style, class, and affordability. But the really big hit came with the iPod; sure, there had been MP3 players on the market for years, but nothing like this. Easy to use, powerful, and paired with a real application to manage your media, the iPod became ubiquitous. In a short amount of time, every other company combined could not compete with Apple's iPod sales.

They continued to listen to their customers, and innovate with devices they wanted. Watch movies on the iPod? Got it, and, oh, by the way, a whole digital movie and TV store to go with it. Want smaller? Welcome to the Nano and Shuffle. And yes, unless you have been living under a rock for the last 3 months, the iPhone arrived to great fanfare and awe inspiration, outselling all other smartphones in the US in just its first month of existence, at almost twice the price of others. In short, the iPhone represented the crowning moment of Apple's recovery: they completed one of the greatest corporate comebacks of all times, with fanatically passionate customers and incredible innovation.


Now, what if I told you that this last week:
A. One company listened to its customers, focused on its amazing tradition of innovation, ruthlessly pursuing its focus, and was willing to take a financially risky move to try to ensure its continued success.
B. The other company continued to alienate its core customers, pushing away from true innovation, and selling itself out to a technology that had already been panned by many critics and leaves core users with a sense of unease about the future and if the company can be trusted.

Your answer to A. would be, instinctively, Apple, and B., Palm, right?

Wrong. Exactly the opposite.

Let's look at A. Palm heard the early reviews of its core customers to the Foleo, and decided to kill it before it ever reached the market. Period. The CEO announced the decision in his blog, as well as the estimated $10 million it cost to develop. He knew that he could not afford a flop, and could not afford to alienate the loyalty of his core customers. Instead, he not only killed the Foleo, but announced a refocusing of efforts around the Palm platform, reducing their involvement with the ever diluted Windows Mobile space. Palm knows that, without loyal customers who feel the company is responsive to their needs, and focused on the great devices, it will die. In truth, it may die even so, but releasing the Foleo would be the albatross that would pull down any hopes of a recovery. It took guts, determination, and was a direct reflection of the responses of loyal customers, and it was cautiously applauded by all.

As to B., well, you might have heard by now. Apple introduced the iPhone 2 months ago at $600 and, by all accounts, it continues to sell faster than any other smartphone. With no truly groundbreaking follow up, Steve Jobs decided to cannibalize his loyal customer base by announcing an unprecedented price cut: a full third of the price lopped off the phone, 60 days after it was released to, arguably, the greatest hype ever. Yes, there were some other variations on the iPod theme too, but the real story has been the absolute smack in the face Apple delivered to the thousands of customers who camped out to get their hands on a $600 phone that is, well, beautiful, but not meeting the expectations of the target audience it was priced for.

After days of uproar, his Steveness issued the most backhanded apology, mollifying as best he can those that saw $200 wasted with a promise for a $100 credit on iTunes media. Now, is this the way you apologize to your most loyal customers?:

"There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced."

Worse, language like the above was paired with a a promise that the details of the $100 credit would be worked out soon ("Stay tuned."). How did a company that built itself back from death's door not realizing by throwing their best customers under the bus that they better have a medical team standing by to assist? They are "working it out?" This should have been anticipated and announced at the same time as the $200 price cut.

We've seen two companies who rely on loyalty from customers take very different approaches this week, and we have seen the results. Taking your loyal customers for granted is extremely dangerous, and both these companies should know: both had over 80% of their respective markets at one time, and both fell to disastrously smaller levels. One rebounded, but has not seemed to learn from the mistakes; the other is just beginning. There is only one sure thing here: both made very grave errors with their loyal customers, and the responses usually dictate the future.

Labels: Apple, business, gadgets, iPhone, Loyalty Lab, news, Palm, Treo

  ¶ 9:36 PM (0) comments links to this post

  The United States of Circuit City "Papers, please." Sounds like a line out of a Nazi guard in an old war movie, right? Wrong. These were words (paraphrased) uttered in Brooklyn, Ohio, this very weekend by not just one ill informed individual, but two. Unfortunately, one was a Circuit City store manager and one, unbelievably, was a police officer.

If you've ever bought something from a large electronics store, you've always accepted the annoyance of having to show your receipt and have your package inspected as you leave. What you might not have expected are the consequences for not doing so. Worse, you probably don't know your rights in this regard. This man did, and exercised them both this weekend. His reward? Arrested on trumped up charges. You can't believe this until you read it.

By the way, Circuit City is not the only one who has gotten out of control with this. Similar stories of multiple Best Buy's are far too common. As a former electronics retail store manager, I can honestly say that there is a line where common sense is a requirement of your job. If you don't feel so, you've crossed that line. In this story, the hapless Circuit City store manager is about to find out what happens when that line gets crossed.

Labels: bullshit, business, news

  ¶ 4:44 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Take a Flight with Google Earth The headlines scream every day: although Google will deny it, they are clearly taking aim at Microsoft's desktop dominance by releasing free versions of traditionally paid software. Word? Hell, check out Google Docs. Excel? Um, there's this Google Spreadsheet. But now, Google has really upped the ante on Microsoft's monopolistic hold on a segment of desktop software: Google Earth now has a Flight Simulator mode.

Yep, it's true. Just download the latest version of Google Earth, fire it up, and hit Ctrl+Alt+A. Voila, you're ready to fly. No, this not just a flythrough: takeoffs, landings, but with Googlicious real maps and terrain. Want to take a spin with a prop pusher? Gotcha. Looking for a racier challenge? How about an F-16 Viper? And yes, it's FREE. Oh, Mac users? Yeah, you get in on Air Google, too. Someone's just gotta add in a real-time audio layer for United's Channel 9, mapped to the location you are flying, and we've got a whole new entry into killer app land.

No word yet on the keyboard shortcuts that open the bomb bay doors and drop ordinance, but I'm guessing you might find them if your flightpath takes you over Redmond, WA. ;-)

Labels: free, fun, games, Google

  ¶ 1:22 AM (0) comments links to this post