Trexic.Net

Hello everyone who has stayed with this blog. I am very sorry that we were away this November, but am glad to inform you that I’m back. On this post, I will give a review of the month. So lets get into it.

The Kindle is a mini computer designed by Amazon that allows you to buy books, news papers, and blogs off of amazon and then download it right off of the Kindle. The internet is free because amazon struck a deal with Sprint. I don’t know the speciics of the dea, but I guess that’s why book prices are kind of high. If you just want to use the internet, though, it’s free. The screen is book-like and dim to attract the people who do not like reading of of the glossy screens of today. It also has some note-taking abilities. I would like to see Amazon strike deals with major school textbook companies so students don’t have to lug around with heavy textbooks, breaking their backs. Then and ONLY then, will I buy something like this. MacWorld has a really good article on what we know and what we don’t know about the Kindle.

Flashphone is an awesome free flash browser based phone. It is based in Russia. Right now (as a Beta procedure) you are only allowed to have three minutes talking time, but the company says that when it’s out of beta, it will have unlimited minutes. The company’s money source is based on ads that come on before the call takes place.

iHound is an iPod tracker that tracks where the iPod i so that if you ever lose it or it gets stolen, you can find it. The way it works is whenever an iPod is plugged into a computer, the computer’s wifi sends a signal to the website, informing you where it is. This tracking idea is really good unless your guy is pour, which is usually the case with stealers, and does not use wifi, likes your collection of music, is a hacker, uses a firewall, owns a gun, lives in a bad neighborhood, or lives in another continent.

Doodlekit is a nice website creator that gives advanced tools to non-techies

On another note, the Google Highly Open Participation Contest (weird name) is an awesome idea. It awards $100 and a Google t-shirt to developers, 13 to 18 who do three things on several open source projects. The person who does the most for the open source projects get a free trip to Google’s complex in California baby!

But the most favorite of mine this month, isn’t that Verizon went open (which really isn’t open ), but the LiveScribe Smart Pen. It is pen that does just about everything that you hope for in a pen. Here is a summary of the pen:

Smartpen

Just slightly larger than a Montblanc, Livescribe’s smartpen is designed to replace the everyday pen as a user’s primary writing instrument. Leveraging recent breakthroughs in memory, storage, microprocessors, connectivity and component size, the smartpen is an advanced paper-based computer, with both audio and visual feedback, powerful processing capabilities and substantial built-in storage.

Dot Paper with Dot Positioning System (DPS)

Imagine a piece of paper the size of Europe and Asia, where every 3 square millimeters is covered with a unique pattern of dots that is nearly invisible to the human eye. The pattern of simple, micro-dots enables a patented dot-positioning system to precisely track the smartpen’s movement on paper. As a result, anything you write – words, numbers or drawings – can be stored, recognized, and intelligently responded to by the Livescribe smartpen.

Livescribe’s dot paper notebooks and documents will be provided by the company and partners at prices near standard paper. Dot paper may also be printed on certified home or business printers.

Applications

The possibilities for paper-based computing applications are endless – with tools and games that enhance personal productivity, learning, communications, and entertainment.

Never miss a word One of the key applications at launch for the Livescribe platform is called “Paper Replay,” which allows total recall from lectures, meetings or conversations by simply tapping on your notes. When used to take notes during a discussion or lecture, the smartpen records the conversation and digitizes the handwriting, automatically synchronizing the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the user can replay the conversation from the exact moment the note was written. Notes and audio can also be uploaded to a PC where they can be replayed, saved, searched or sent.

Create, share, and collaborate – Other applications will use the power of the Internet to enable personal expression. Handwritten messages can be sent as emails. Animated, hand-drawn “movies” can be posted and shared online. Spoken messages can be recorded, linked with written notes and emailed directly from a notepad.

“Live” documents that work – Other applications available for download will use handwriting recognition and pre-printed materials to bring your paper to life. Write a math problem and the smartpen will interpret your writing, calculate the answer and speak it or show it on its OLED display. Write a word and hear or see its definition or even its translation into another language. Tap a pre-printed map, conversion table, customer survey, magazine ad, or study guide, and the smartpen instantly launches an application that enables direct user interaction.

Cool, huh? It also allows you to create an application for the pen.
Bang!

Did you think I was actually talking about a real mouse, like a pest? Naw. I was talking about an awesome mouse that I found in the stores of Circuit City. It’s simple, cheap ($40), and stylish. You heard it. It’s the perfect gift. You can order it here, or you can buy it at the store.

I know. I’m drooling already. Next, I will be looking for a stylish keyboard and mouse pad to match this.