Taking the plunge...

Anyone there? Okay, Cletus, I write this for you.

After pulling the trigger, dealing with Paypal's Customer Service and actually coming across someone with a sense of intelligence, and finally getting through, I made the purchase that I've probably spent too many hours debating.

I've got a Kindle 3 coming. I've thought long and hard about it, and well, basically I consider it an early birthday gift. But moving past the rationalizing, why the Kindle?

I really debated this. Truly. Kindle or Nook. Back and forth. I really wanted to like the Nook more. Truly, but honestly, the tipping point was with (in order) the battery life, how it handles PDF files, and landscape ability.

This is gonna be a short entry, as I've just ordered it. More to come in a few weeks.

The TECHniMertiverse is open again...

Minority Report meets Avatar...

It's finally becoming a reality.

We've all read about touchscreen hardware on phones, computers and other applications, but they all relied on actually touching the screen.

Even my students are getting excited about the possibilities that exist with this tech.

Basically, Evoluce has developed the touchscreen concept beyond having to touch it. Within half a meter, you can interact with the screen with multiple touches/inputs.

My concept here? Combine this with the semi-transparent LCD screen, make a big honkin' tablet that'll flip up and have a centralized media center.

Obviously, the appications could be developed for hospitals, military, schools, and pretty much where something has to be displayed and changed on a regular basis.

I like it!

Shazam!

Cloud Printing

I just got done reading an interesting article about Google's Cloud Printing project.

Definitely interesting, especially for those of you with smart phones and laptops not connected to printers and such.

Idea is pretty simple: Have an item you want to print, send it to the cloud. The cloud, in it's mightiness, connects to the established printer (secure and all, right?). Item is printed, and everyone smiles.

It's still in the works within the Chromium project, but I don't see this taking too terribly long. Security is probably the most important aspect here. Once that is clarified, it'll be a real nice and convenient aspect to cloud computing.

Shazam!

eReaders: Stock Trends?

My brother turned my onto a short article over at Benzinga that discussed briefly the current trend with eReaders and some quick long term projections.

Personally, I can see this happening. I'm hyped about this technology not only as a consumer, but the potential to students and teachers everywhere. eBooks and eReaders can easily address this while avoiding much of the problems with "just laptops", but I'll save that for another day.

Check out Sam Subramanian's article here.

Best thing in the article? The real purty picture of the Skiff. Eye candy...

Shazam!

Not an iPad post...

So the iPad got released. Good news maybe?

I should be nice, as Apple makes a really nice product. Just read that Apple holds 91% share of the premium PC market. That's not shabby. Of course, that really indicates the kind of people who mainly buy the product: rich folks.

Before you get peeved, simmer down there. Not just rich folks buy Apple computers, but given the choice between a $599 PC and a $1199 Apple computer for the typical computer user, which do you think most would buy? Other analogies don't quite work: homes and cars can be resold, houses are financed, and TV prices vary as much simply within a brand.

So what's the deal with the prices? I'm not rich by any means, nor does my profession dictate that I have an Apple computer. Would it be nice? I think so, but in the end, my hobbies wouldn't be justified in spending the extra monies towards it.

So as the iPad is released, what's a humble wage earner to do to take part in the tablet revolution? Well, a few weeks ago, CrunchGear.com posted an article about seven alternatives to the iPad; today a follow up with seven more alternatives were posted. And that brings us to here, allowing you my faithful readers, to hear my wonderful take on all of this hullabaloo.

[Shameless plug alert!] A while back, I started a brief series about eBooks in general and simply raised the question about them in the world of physical books. Personally, I've been using a tablet laptop for my eReading. Yes, it's heavy and is slow to get going, but overall it does the job fine.

As I read today's article by Matt Burns, I thought about what I had written and what I've read about the iPad. Surprisingly enough, I can't find enough out there about good alternatives to the iPad. Hell, I had great difficulty finding a suitable alternative for the iPod; it honestly does not exist at the moment. But for the iPad? It's waaay to early to say that it will be the best. I remember the hype surrounding the MacBook Air upon it's release, but now...

And that's the point. Apple, to quote a really good writer, is "full of sound and fury" but not always perfect. Personally, the one that I think has the potential to do well is the Neofonie WePad. Of course, you can find a more specific comparison here. Another that has a bit less potential (but still my fave here...) is the Joojoo.

Will it beat it? Too early to tell. Fact is, ask me in six months. By that point, the fanboys will have made up their minds about the iPad, griped about the issues, and other manufacturers will have taken note and addressed it.

And that's where the rubber meets the road. Not the initial buyers. Not fanboys who clamor for the latest gadgets. It's the suburban mother of two with a million things going on who doesn't have the time to relearn the wheel. I'll probably be in line about a week just before her, but that's just me taking my time, doing my research, and saving my money.

Which tablet do you think will come out on top? Will it just be hyped sales or real deal performance?

Shazam!

The TECHniMertiverse is now open...

Welcome those of you that make your way here.

As you may well be aware of, I am the author of The Mertiverse, and even though it was dubbed that because of the various topics, I found that I was really spreading myself thin, and as such, this was born.

The TECHniMertiverse is hopefully to become a sibling of The Mertiverse, in that it will be a variety type blog, but the intended focus is technology and all that it encompasses. Usually, this will be things that are in my little world, but not without bigger or worldly ramifications.

I hope you find things that you like here. Comments about the topics are always welcome!