I Do Like Mondays! (Mobile Monday)

I used to agree with the Boomtown Rats and didn't like Mondays. In truth, I don't really particularly care for Mondays now, although on some level I do think I like them better than Wednesdays. Is there a song for that? But I digress...

I do like Mobile Mondays, and and have been working with Alex DeCarvalho to try and grow an active Mobile Monday chapter in Miami and South Florida. Our first meeting had 4 people in attendance... the second meeting, hosted at the offices of my employer, Myxer, had 15, so we are excited to see the organization growing. The next meeting is being hosted by Nokia at their Miami offices on Monday, June 9th. If you are in South Florida and work in the Mobile industry, or have an interest in Mobile, or just want to hang out with a bunch of cool folks who like to geek out about their mobile phones, feel free to join us.

With more than 250 million mobile phones in the US alone, and the rapidly expanding capabilities of handsets and data networks, there are few, if any, devices that have had such an impact on our daily lives, and there are few markets as vibrant and exciting as Mobile. Share some of this excitement by getting involved in Mobile Monday Miami, or in a chapter near you.

Here is taste of our last meeting: Myk Willis, founder and CEO of Myxer, shared some of his vision and views on Myxer.



If you have any suggestions as to how we can grow Mobile Monday in Miami and South Florida, please share them in the comments.

Could a Nokia N95 & Qik Save Your Life?

I was very fortunate to recently gain access to a Nokia N95 and a Qik account, two marvels of technology that go hand in hand as neatly and deliciously as peanut butter and jelly! (NOTE: I really LIKE P,B & J, so that is a compliment). Compact, sexy and fully loaded with digital delights, the Nokia N95 is the quintessential "connected" device with wi-fi, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS, Voice, Still Camera, Video Camera (and yes, I bet it BLENDS!). As I have been playing with the obvious functions and uses of a wireless phone that can stream live video to the Internet at any time, I have also been dreaming about some of the less obvious uses, and one in particular that has captured my imagination.

An N95 + Qik = A Personal Security Camera!

Could this scenario be far from reality? Imagine walking alone at night on a deserted city block. If you have an N95 and Qik, in truth you are not alone. You have the Internet in your pocket... Let's keep going...

You are walking along and see a shady looking character, the DUDE, cross the street approaching you. You glance around and confirm your fear - there is nobody else around. No cars, no lights in any windows, just you and "the DUDE."

Nervously, you reach into your pocket and wrap your now clammy hand around the sleek metal and, hoping the DUDE doesn't notice, you slowly withdraw your weapon. The DUDE is walking faster now, approaching you from the side and behind. Not wanting to look but having to look, you quickly steal a glance and confirm your worst fear. The DUDE is also withdrawing something shiny and metallic from his pocket. His brisk walk is now a trot as he closes the gap between you.

Looking down in your hand you push the button and trigger the connection. You can hear the DUDE's sneakered feet slap the pavement hard as he crosses into your space and calls for you to "Stop!"

You comply, and slowly turn, your weapon of choice facing out from the palm of your hand. The DUDE is holding a handgun, pointed right at you. He seems as nervous as you are, which makes the situation even scarier. Somehow, you call up the courage to speak to him, slowly and deliberately... you say:

"Dude, I don't know what you have in mind here, but you should know that right now my phone is streaming live video to the Internet. My friends are watching you right now, and it's all being recorded. So, you can do something stupid and hurt me and they will all see it and see you, and you will be caught. Or you can just turn around and walk away, and we can forget we ever met tonight..."

You turn the N95 slightly in your hand, just enough for the DUDE to see the illuminated image on the display... just enough for him to register that it really is a camera and you really could be telling the truth...

The DUDE hesitates, looks at you closely, carefully, then mumbles some profanity, turns, and runs away back across the street from whence he came.

Shaking, you turn the N95 around, look right into the camera lens and say, "Thank you!"

Dramatic? Sure. But could it happen? Why not? What would you do? Would you use a device like the N95 to "stream live" as a "Personal Security Camera"???

What other uses can you imagine for a wireless device that streams live video to the Internet? Please add your ideas to the comments!


Photo Credit: ann triling - Fotolia.com

Geeks vs. Romans

I recently went on a vacation to Italy. Although it was purely a vacation, I wanted to have Internet access, and stay in touch with home base. I did NOT want to schlep my laptop along, and as a longstanding Sprint customer, I don't have a GSM phone. (My girlfriend does have an AT&T GSM phone, but, when in Rome I wanted to do as the Romans, but not PAY for the Roamin'!) Always looking for an excuse to acquire a new gadget, I picked up a NOKIA N800 for Internet access and to stay in touch with email, twitter, etc., as well as to use it as my European phone, taking advantage of VOIP with the slick N800 version of Gizmo Project. (Still waiting for the long promised N800 SKYPE client).

First off, I love the N800 and when you have wi-fi available, it is a sweet little Internet demon, making web based email and content a pocketful of fun... Did I say when you have wi-fi available? That's the hitch! I think my expectations of wi-fi proliferation in Italy were grossly overestimated. My first night in Rome, I was thrilled to see that my hotel had wi-fi in the lobby. After we settled into our room for the evening, I rushed downstairs, N800 in hand. The hotel wi-fi service was not free, and the onscreen login instructions were in Italian, so it took me several tries and finally some translation from the concierge to get the right info into the right fields in order to buy an hour for 3 Euros. At a different hotel in Florence, I had to join with yet another wi-fi provider, this time for 25 Euros, for a block of five hours, good for a year. Of course, the rest of the trip, I never encountered another hotspot where I could use the remainder of my time on the 25 Euro account.

I became hot for hot spots, and everywhere we went, I whipped out the N800 to see if there was a wi-fi signal... Note to self: Saying, "Hang on a minute Honey, I want to see if there is wi-fi here" is a surefire way to take the romance out of any quaint and charming Tuscany cafe... I even found myself piggy backing a signal from a nearby office building while our Tour Bus was stopping to pick up passengers... only to lose my email as the bus pulled away...

So the net, net, is that the net is not as pervasive as I wish it would be. And my girlfriend's $400 phone bill was proof positive that Geek or not, when in Rome we paid for the Roamin'!

UPDATE: Skype for the N800 is now available and it is SWEET! Kissed my Gizmo goodbye...