Open Mike: iPads are weird.

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Mike Reardon

I am still resisting buying a tablet.

But, like the dark side of the force, the pull of the iPad is strong with this one.

Unlike Barnes & Noble or Amazon, Apple hasn’t left any features on the cutting room floor to reach a wallet-friendly price. The Nook Tablet had to shed 512MB of RAM to get down to $199, while the Kindle Fire ditched cameras. Consumers have been willing to live with these concessions, but Apple doesn’t do watered down. For now Tim Cook & Co. seem willing to cede the sub-$200 market.

via Cheaper iPad 2 a ‘death blow’ to Apple tablet rivals? | Fox News.

The pull is strong because the iPad is weird. It does what the user wants it to do. Better than anything else on the market.

I bought a Galaxy S II because the screen is big enough to function like a small tablet. I already carry a laptop, a blackberry(work), an Android phone(personal), and, occasionally, a netbook(personal). The last thing I want is another piece of technology to lug around with me.

But I still can’t do everything an iPad can do. I looked at Android tablets. I talked with those who sell and use them. The conversation always comes around to “like an iPad, but you have to ……”

Here’s what I think the problem is for the iPad wannabes. They are focused on the devices. Thinking in terms of the masses. Apple is focused on the user. The individual user. Thinking in terms of weird. Until someone else figures that out, there’ll be the iPad and everything else.

Now, let me see, maybe I can buy one “for my wife” and hope she’ll let me use it.

[ghost voice of Obi-Wan] *Mike. Use the force.*

Just Sayin’

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Open Mike: Surprise!

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Mike Reardon

I’m sitting on a plane heading to Nashville.

At 9:00 am this morning I had no travel plans.
Then the phone rang.
An emergency had arisen. Could I go to Nashville?
I was supposed to be off.
My answer?
I’m sitting on a plane.
I could complain.
What do you think I’ll do?

Just Sayin’

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Video Gaming Is Good for You?

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Mike Reardon

 That can’t be right. Can it?

Depends on who you ask.

A growing body of university research suggests that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night driving ability.

People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, other researchers found. Moreover, practiced game players can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that someone can normally keep in mind, said University of Rochester researchers. The studies were conducted independently of the companies that sell video and computer games.

via When Gaming Is Good for You – WSJ.com.

Now, these findings may come as surprise to you. You might even think they’re shocking.

But we all should have seen this coming. And, although we might want to deny it and side with Mom’s insistence that video games rot your brains, we know the studies are right.

Because we know how learning works.

Just Sayin’

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Traditions have to start somewhere

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Mike Reardon

Baseball is rich with traditions.

The ceremonial first pitch.

The seventh inning stretch.

Waiting at home for high-fives after a homer.

They all had a start somewhere.

And I think we started a new one yesterday. Going to Spring Training opening day.

It makes sense. New park. New tradition.

Just Sayin’

Oh, and if you’re wondering where your daily Open Mike blogger went last week, check this link out: Central Florida Chapter – ASTD Blog

 

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A speech-jamming gun that silences people mid-sentence?

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Mike Reardon

Who would want one of those?

Kazutaka Kurihara of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Koji Tsukada of Ochanomizu University, developed a portable “SpeechJammer” gun that can silence people more than 30 meters away.

The device works by recording its target’s speech then firing their words back at them with a 0.2-second delay, which affects the brain’s cognitive processes and causes speakers to stutter before silencing them completely.

via Japan invents speech-jamming gun that silences people mid-sentence | Fox News.

Wrong question. Who wouldn’t want one?

But parents of teenagers should have first dibs.

Just Sayin’

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Where, oh where, did my daily blog go?

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Mike Reardon

Where, oh where, could it be?

Let me explain.

This is all good.

I will continue to post as often as I have something interesting (to me anyway) to say.

Just Sayin’

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I’m making a list

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Mike Reardon

No, I’m not checking it twice.

Once will do nice(ly).

Break out the peanuts and crackerjack: Major League Baseball is about to hit a home run.

Wednesday, Feb. 29, Major League Baseball will relaunch its wildly popular MLB At Bat app for 2012 with a whole host of cool changes for fans from Kansas City to Chicago, the Back Bay to the San Francisco Bay. MLB granted me an exclusive first look at the season’s new offerings — and this Phillies fan is thrilled.

The MLB.TV package lets you watch every out-of-market game live or on demand on your smartphone or tablet. It’s a beautifully designed piece of software that’s become an indispensable part of my baseball season.

via EXCLUSIVE: New ‘MLB At Bat’ baseball app to launch Wed. with in-app subscription plan | Fox News.

So let’s run down the list:

  • I like love baseball
  • I have a smartphone
  • I live out of market for my favorite team
  • I need a solution that travels with me
  • I have $15

Aren’t lists fun!? They provide a sound, logical basis for doing a happy dance in the living room.

Just Sayin’


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Hubris? False bravado? Or just plain old stupidity?

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Mike Reardon

More Drivers Texting at Wheel Despite State Bans

For all the criticism and new legal bans, texting by drivers just keeps increasing, especially among younger motorists.

About half of American drivers between 21 and 24 say they’ve thumbed messages or emailed from the driver’s seat. And what’s more, many drivers don’t think it’s dangerous when they do it — only when others do.

via More Drivers Texting at Wheel Despite State Bans, Study Finds | Fox News.

Why do people, young people especially, believe they are immune to the consequences of their actions? That they can make poor choices with impunity?

I don’t know either. I do know it’s why they keep playing the slots in Vegas and buying lottery tickets. Because, somehow, we convince ourselves that bad things only happen to other people.

I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all. . .(Ecclesiastes 9:11) 

Do yourself and those who love you a favor: Put down the cellphone and drive. If the driver of a car you’re riding in is texting, tell them to pull over and let you out. INSIST ON IT. Treat it like you’re performing CPR for a heart attack victim. And tell them it’s because you love them.

Just Sayin’

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What’s wrong with this picture?

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Mike Reardon

An entire bank of payphones

Not one being used.

Meanwhile, back at the gate.

There are only two power outlets for the planeload of passengers who need to charge their phones.

Mind you, they’re very nice payphones. Clean and shiny. All in good working order.

The thing is, no one cares.

Just Sayin’

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I suggest a new strategy R2

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Mike Reardon

Let the Wookie win

We remember the scene. Upon learning that wookies have been known to rip their opponents limbs off after losing, C3P0 suggests that R2D2 let the wookie win.

This scene came to mind as I went through the TSA checkpoint this morning at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA.

The passenger before me was being informed that he would have to have a pat-down. He hadn’t emptied out his pockets. He was getting more agitated by the moment. Challenging the TSA Agents (who, by the way, were treating me with dignity and respect), accusing them of enjoying pat-downs. Blaming them for not telling him he had to empty his pockets.

I wanted to suggest to him that he let the wookie win. I decided not to. The TSA agents are not wookies. They don’t enjoy pat-downs. They put signs everywhere telling us to empty out our pockets. They just want to keep us safe.

And they can’t let the wookie win. This passenger was getting heated. He loudly informed them he was “retired military”, apparently thinking that meant he was exempt from the TSA checks.

I was impressed by the TSA agents’ handling of the situation. They were professional. They were polite. And they were firm. This wookie might try to rip their arms off, but they weren’t going to let him win.

Which makes me feel safer.

So I made a special effort to thank each and every TSA Agent working the checkpoint for helping to keep us all safe. Their faces showed first surprise, then appreciation.

Have you thanked a TSA Agent lately? Or acted like a wookie?

Just Sayin’

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