That Yellow Line

I always wondered exactly how that yellow first down line on the football field works. It's amazed me for years ever since the first time I saw it on TV. Gizmodo put up this video which explains the nuts and bolts of that all important yellow line.

Matt Miller Video Review of the Blackberry Bold

Matthew Miller contributes to one of my favorite mobile tech blogs, jkOnTheRun. He reviewed the new Blackberry Bold. Apparently it's pretty fresh, especially the keyboard. I've never really been into the Blackberry scene, but I have to say this phone looks pretty sexy.

iPhone/Touch Style Multi-Touch without the Touch

This is so fresh.
I've played with HP's TouchSmart PC and it was pretty hype. However, I feel like this capability would ad the benefits we enjoy on a touch screen interface like that of the iPhone in a full scale computing experience. Also, I always wondered if I'd get annoyed by the smudges and finger prints that would undoubtedly accumulate on a touch screen PC.

Basic Computer and Tech Tips

It's amazing how many shortcuts the "average" computer user doesn't take advantage of. This article by David Pogue of the New York Times has a lot of useful shortcuts, some of which I didn't know about.
Enjoy.
Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User

LogMeIn App on the Horizon for iPhone

According to a recent post on jkOnTheRun, there's a LogMeIn app in the works for iPhones, which of course means it'll be available for the iPod Touch users among us.
If you're not in the know, LogMeIn is a pretty dope service that lets you access a computer remotely. For example, I can log into my personal laptop from a friend's computer or any computer that happens to be available.
The folks over at technologyevangelist.com have already posted a roundabout hack that makes LogMeIn accessible via the iPhone. However, it's a bit of a hassle for the average user and it's also a sluggish experience. I've applied for a chance to preview a beta version of the app, so we'll see if I get it. I'll post a review if I do. You too can apply here to be a beta tester. If it gets green-lighted by Apple, it should be in the App Store by the end of the year.

I got my hands on the G1!

I've mentioned on here that I'm a big... big... huge fan of Google. I use Gmail (fully customized with Google Labs features), Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Reader, Google Analytics (to track my blog stats), Google Maps, Picasa (a Google product), of course Google.com to search. I also subscribe (using google reader) to the Official Google blog as well as the Google Mobile Blog. Starting to get the picture?
This being the case, I had been watching the development of Android, Google's mobile operating system very closely. If you're a little confused, an operating system is the software that dictates how you interact with hardware. Windows, for example is a very well known operating system.
Google set out to make an operating system that works the way other Google products do, simply, efficiently, and intuitively. The new operating system, called Android, was released on it's first handset, the G1, a few weeks ago. I've been drooling over it ever since. The G1 is a dressed up version of the HTC Dream. It's got a capacitive touch screen (similar to the iPhone) and a qwerty keyboard that's hidden under a sliding screen.
I finally got to play with it yesterday at the T-Mobile store, which was sweetness. The G1 is smaller in my hands than I had thought from pictures and videos I've seen online. It's also really easy and fun to operate. Having played with my iPod Touch and my wife's iPhone, I think the touch screen on the G1 is very similar. The icons are big enough to be easy to hit even if you have relatively large grown up fingers. That's one thing early touch screen developers got wrong. Small icons require you to waste time pulling out a stylus or take careful aim rather than naturally using your fingers.
Of course, one of the really cool things about a phone with an operating system made by Google is that it sync "in the cloud" with all my Google information. For example, once I sign in to the phone, all my contacts from GMail are stored on my phone automatically. When I add a contact on the phone, it's stored online immediately. Calendar, mail, and other things work the same way. Pretty cool. What might be even cooler is that I don't have to plug it in for it to sync. It syncs to the servers wirelessly and automatically. Beautiful.
Of course, the G1 is only the first phone to hit the market with the Android operating system. That means, as the appeal and gadget lust spreads, more handset manufacturers will start turning out new phones running Android. Not sure if I'll be an early adopter and get the G1 or wait and see what else comes down the pipeline.

I want this...

Saw this on Gizmodo and it's a must have whenever I get that mansion I've been wanting.

Damn Red Light Cameras

I hate the City of Chicago. I don't mean the actual city of Chicago. I mean the bastards who put these cameras up. They've cost me $200 already in tickets. I'm usually very cautious, really. But somehow they caught me slipping. I guess I must have been in a hurry on my way to work. Or maybe I was blinded by the glare of the early morning sunrise. Whatever it was, I was caught running a red light. I was mad. I didn't believe it until I went to their site and actually WATCHED THE VIDEO OF ME IN MY CAR RUNNING THE RED LIGHT. You can't argue with streaming video. It's pretty damn frustrating, but it's also an amazing piece of technology.