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May 25, 2005
My Schedule For Wednesday
06:00AM - 07:00AM - Client Phone Conference
07:30AM - 08:30AM - Breakfast Meeting - Natara Software
09:00AM - 09:45AM - Emotional Design: Don Norman, Nielsen Norman Group
10:30AM - 11:30AM - Palm OS User Council
01:00PM - 01:30PM - Computer Outlook - Ken Landeau, Landware
01:30PM - 05:00PM - Palm OS User Council
05:00PM - 06:00PM - Computer Outlook Live Broadcast
Posted by mashby at 09:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sorting Things Out
As I've mentioned in other posts, things have been so hectic since Monday and it's only now that I'm finally able to collect my thoughts and think through what it is that I'm trying to post. Since the Computer Outlook Radio Show was such a big part of my day today, I started off with that, but that's a little out of order in the scheme of things.
There's been so much that I have wanted to write about and simply haven't had time to either finish the entry, or collect my thoughts for that manner, so I apologize if the last few posts have felt a bit "shotgunned", but you're getting this stuff as soon as I finish the spell check. :) So over the next few posts, I'll try and put them more into sequence to how they happened so that it's a little easier to understand how all the events come together.
Thanks for you patience!
Posted by mashby at 01:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Computer Outlook - Monday's Show
Things have been so busy and exciting that I completely forgot all about Monday's show. Doh! :P Thanks to the post on the PalmSource DevCon Conference Blog, I was reminded of the fact. LOL
Monday's show was sort of the prequel to the whole DevCon and really the kick off to the whole week of broadcasts. Our first guest was Larry Berkin with PalmSource, whose in charge of the entire DevCon. I forget his official title at the moment, but he's the guy who isn't getting any sleep until late Thursday when the conference is over. :)
Larry gave us an overview of what to expect throughout the week and touched on some of the high points to look forward to, such as the Palm OS User Group Meeting, as well as the keynotes and fun stuff like the Virtual Sheep Shearing contest. Larry was the perfect guest for the kickoff and he really set the tone - aka super excitement - for the rest of the conference.
Also on the show was Kenny West. He's the creator and founder of PalmGear, which is the Amazon.com of the Palm OS Community. He reminded me on-the-air, but Kenny and I go W A Y back to I think 1997 when I first got into Palm OS. In the interview we talk about how he got started and how he went from managing a CompuServe mailing list to running the largest mobile software portal in the world. Hard to believe how far not only Palm, but the community as a whole has come over the last 9 years.
If you'd like to listen to the show, simply browse to this link and download it from there. I didn't know that PalmSource was doing this, but they've even created a special PodCast RSS feed and you can learn all the details about it at the link above. This is really cool, because with this feed, you'll be able to automatically get all the PodCasts from all of our broadcasts. Brilliant move PalmSource, thank you!
Posted by mashby at 12:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Computer Outlook Tuesday Shows
We had a ball today broadcasting live from the 2005 PalmSource Mobile Summit & DevCon. This was my first time really in the saddle with the whole crew from Computer Outlook. You have to keep in mind that up until yesterday, I only knew these guys from their voices on the telephone. So to be able to sit side-by-side with John and the "Q Man" was a real treat.
Today was also the day that we did the mid-day broadcasts. I didn't know exactly how they worked, but quickly picked up the concept as we went along. During the day from 1:00pm till 4:00pm, we did interviews that were streamed directly to the web. The shows were not part of the usual AM nationwide broadcast. This was cool because it meant that we didn't have commercial breaks and our times were a little bit more flexible so if we needed to push something back 5 minutes, it was no problem to do so.
Here's a run down of who we interviewed and I'll try and make them links to the actual audio content once those become available.
» John Tanner and Ben Earle of ClearSync (remember WeSync?) [link]
» Ed Colligan, President & CEO pa1m0ne [link]
» Stewart Dewar, Pimlico Software (aka DateBk5) [link]
» David Canfield of TraxItAll [link]
» Foy Sperring of Audible.com [link]
» Ewan Spence, Managing Editor for All About Palm [link]
» Jennifer Shelamer of SnapperMail [link]
As if that wasn't enough, we still had the regular live broadcast at 5PM PST! Talk about a jam packed day. We split the show into two 30-minute segments, which allowed us to interview two more guests. This show was the regular format, so it was live and broadcast nationwide via AM and a couple of FM networks. I forget the exact number of affiliates, but I think I hear John say the number was something like 89. Kind a daunting when you think about it.
We'd been plugging along all-day, so you'd think the live show would be a piece of cake, but 15 minutes before the start of the show the phone line that we use to connect up with the studio in Las Vegas went out. That sent everyone running to find a solution to the problem. I was thankful that I don't know anything about the technical side of how the show is broadcast, so I was able to just sit back and watch the fireworks. :)
About 2 minutes before the start of the show, the land line came back to life and we were live. Whew. Without missing a beat, John introduced the show and everything went like clockwork after that.
Our first guest was Mark Bercow, Sr. Vice-President of Business Development for pa1m0ne and Jim Christensen who is the Director of Public Relations for pa1m0ne. Mark had been with Palm, Inc. from 1997 to 2000 and as of two months ago was back, so he was with Palm from the beginning and as he put it, "knows where all the bodies are buried." ;) He was instrumental in the deal to bring the Palm name back under what is now known as pa1m0ne and it was great to get the skinny directly from the horse's mouth. Jim has been on the show before and you can tell that he's good at what he does. He made sure that we stayed on point and didn't just hype, hype, hype, which is a nice change. Sure marketing is all rah rah, but to have the knowledge to back it up is rare.
In the second half, we had my good friend, Chris Dunphy of PalmSource. He is the key guy behind the new PalmSource Installer program and walked us through the paces of exactly what this new installer will do. I have to say that I'm THRILLED to see this come to the market and I can think of no one better to do it than PalmSource.
So that was day one of the Computer Outlook radio broadcasts. A full day for sure. Tomorrow we have another full day planned, but due to meetings scheduled with the Palm OS User Council, I'm afraid I'm going to have to miss many of the early afternoon shows. :( I'll still trying to get all the interviews booked and I'll try and keep you updated as to what shows were done, etc.
Posted by mashby at 12:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 24, 2005
Today's Schedule
Here's a quick rundown of my schedule today:
08:00AM - 09:00AM - Breakfast & Networking
09:00AM - 11:00AM - Keynote: Simply Wireless, David Nagel
11:00AM - 11:30AM - Networking & Scheduling
11:30AM - 12:30PM - Palm OS User Council
12:30PM - 01:00PM - pa1m0ne & Tapwave Store. :P
01:00PM - 01:30PM - Computer Outlook - John Tanner, ClearSync.
01:30PM - 02:00PM - Computer Outlook - Stewart Dewar, Pimlico Software
02:00PM - 02:30PM - Palm OS User Council
03:00PM - 03:30PM - Computer Outlook - Ewan Spense, All About Palm
03:30PM - 04:00PM - Computer Outlook - Jennifer Shelamer, SnapperMail
04:00PM - 05:00PM - Fueling The Mobile Content Ecosystem - Ryan Wuerch, Motricity
05:00PM - 05:30PM - Computer Outlook - Mark Bercow, pa1m0ne
05:30PM - 06:00PM - Computer Outlook - Chris Dunphy, PalmSource
06:00PM - 08:00PM - Welcome Reception - Exhibit Hall Regency
Posted by mashby at 02:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Weblogging Isn't All That Easy
I'm totally in love with the Dana Wireless Palm OS device. Since it has Wi-Fi built-in, I was hoping that I could use it as my main weblog device and so far my success has been rather spotty.
The good news is that it's not the software that's the problem. mo:Blog seems to be working fairly stable, so I'm happy about that. The one hurdle seems to be the Fairmont high-speed access point. Sometimes I can get out and sometimes I can't. When I can, using the Dana is a dream. When I can't it makes me wish I had a small laptop that I could jump on.
Such is the dillemma when trying to stick 100% with mobile devices and not being 100% committed to one device. I suppose I could work exclusively with the Treo 600, if I had an external keyboard, but I don't have one at this point in time. I'm streteched between 3 devices with the Treo, Tungsten C, and Dana. The C is my primary and the Treo my phone and the Dana as my weblog tool.
The one thing that I've been toying with as of recent is consolidating down a few devices. The Tapwave store is going to open in 20 minutes and I plan on buying one. If I do, I think I'm going to push that device with all the accessories I can muster to make it my uber device. I guess I'll have to get my hands on one and then I'll decide. :)
Posted by mashby at 02:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Running To Beat The Band
Despite all my best efforts, as in past years, one of the hardest things to find is t i m e. There is so much going on and so much that I want to post, but it's been non-stop since I got here yesterday. I suppose this is a good problem to have, but I thought it important to share my dilemma.
So far this year's DevCon is exceeding my expectations and it just keeps getting better. I'm in David Nagel's keynote right now and I'm attempting to use my Dana Wireless to post this post.
One cool thing to share with you. SplashData has released a new version of SplashBlog, which now supports Group Blogging. To help illustrate this new feature, they've created a group blog for the DevCon. You can find it at http://www.splashblog.com/devcon2005.
I haven't installed the app yet since I can't do it wirelessly, but I'll go to a beaming station and get all setup so that I can post photos to the group blog.
Posted by mashby at 01:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 21, 2005
What To Blog With
In packing last night, I decided to take a little time to pack a few weblog applications for the road as well. It's been awhile since I played with this genre of software, so I wasn't sure what do download and install.
I've been maintaining a list of MovableType desktop clients on the MT Forums, so I went there first, to see what my options were. after reviewing the list, I opted to travel with mo:Blog, hBlogger, and Vagablog.
I'll put these apps through their paces from a variety devices and let you know which apps seem to work better. This post was made with mo:Blog and a Treo 600 from my layover in Las Vegas.
Posted by mashby at 12:39 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 20, 2005
Getting Ready For PalmSource
The PalmSource Mobile Summit & DevCon is just a few days away and I can't wait. It's the one time of the year where I'm surrounded by people who love Palm OS as much as I do. It's a total geek fest and so much fun to visit with new friends and old and just be consumed by everything Palm OS.
I was debating about whether or not to weblog about my travels this year. Normally I do most of my weblogging from my main weblog at mashby.com, which is where I've tried travelogues in the past and have been kind of hit-or-miss. So the idea of trying another one left me a little gun shy. This weblog was created to share thoughts about running a PUG and for specific writings that relate to NPUG. However, after seeing that PalmSource was promoting those who ARE weblogging the conference on their Conference Weblog, I finally worked up the nerve to give it a shot.
I don't know how personal I want to get with it, or specifically what I will write about, but for the next week or so, I'm going to try and weblog as much as possible about my travels for the 2005 DevCon. Hopefully it will be fun and enjoyable and you'll get a kick out of it too. ;)
Posted by mashby at 05:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 14, 2005
mDesk Has Blown My Mind!
I was getting ready for today's meeting this morning and decided to give mDesk a spin. Our guest speaker today, Kerry Woo from eReader.com, wanted to use it for part of his presentation. Since the meeting is in a couple of hours, I thought it might be best if I could figure out how it worked so that I could have it all setup for him.
What's mDesk?
mDesk is an application that runs on your Palm OS device and your Windows desktop, which allows you to display the screen of your Palm onto your desktop. Why would you want to do that? Well, if you ever wanted to demo something on your Palm OS device, THIS is the way to do it. As you might imagine, software demos are a large part of what we do at a monthly NPUG meeting, so anything that makes demoing software easier ranks high in my book.
Bling Bling Baby
It was a cinch to install and in seconds, I was displaying the screen from my Treo 600 on my desktop. Absolutely amazing! All you need is your USB HotSync cable and you're off to the races. Not only can you demo off of your device, but you can control your device from the Windows screen! Think about it, DateBk5 on your desktop. 8)
This isn't a review. I just HAD to share my new favorite application! If you want to see a screen shot of my desktop, you can find it at this link.
Posted by mashby at 08:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 09, 2005
OMG It's Been A Year
This past weekend, I was frustrated with the fact that I had so many things that I HAD to do and not enough time to do the things that I really WANTED to do. Then I sat back and thought about it for a second and thought, "If I had all the time in the world, what is it exactly that I would do?" That's when I thought about the NPUG web site. If I had the time, what I really wanted to do was finish up the NPUG redesign. After coming up with the answer though, I had to scratch my head. Why has it taken me so long to finish it?
Sitting down to pen this entry, I looked back to see when my last entry was and it turns out it was about 3 months ago in February. Looking back further, I realized that I started this little weblog over a year ago :O That's when the full impact of my thoughts came crashing down. I've been working on the redesign for over a year What the hell! ???
Of course to say that I've been working on the site is a bit of an overstatement. I hit a bit of a wall with a few things and I let that act as a roadblock that kept me from moving forward. First it was the logo, I moved past that, but as soon as I got to the Meetings section I hit a real wall. I simply couldn't figure out how best to display the content for that section. Instead of giving it serious thought, I simply set it aside and figured I'd come back to it later.
That obviously didn't happen - I allowed other deadlines and priorities to take over. There was running the PUG itself as well as work projects. Most recently I just wrapped up relaunching the PocketGoddess web site, which was no small undertaking. Having all but finished up that project, it made me question why I had failed to put that level of time and energy into the NPUG web site. Surely I could finish up what little remains here couldn't I?
Well as I sit here, I'm hesitant to take the next step. I need to get the May meeting information posted and I'm waiting to have a chat with Randy Jones about some stuff in IM. Shouldn't I get those items done before I go forward? The itch is there, but at almost midnight, perhaps now is not the best time to launch into wrapping up the last of this redesign? :P
Posted by mashby at 11:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack