The Lifedrive Revisited: Lifedrive News 2010

Palm LifeDrive Mobile ManagerPalmOne 3218WW Aluminum Hard Case for LifeDrive Mobile Manager 
A non-nostalgic look at the Lifedrive news for today.  All information is current as of June 21st, 2010.

I will try to do a few updates to keep many of you abreast of information in the Lifedrive Universe.  It still exists, can you believe that?   Right now, I am still wondering if anyone is running Linux on the Lifedrive or if that effort has been abandoned?  I hope you find some of the information below helpful.  I will try to make a repository for Lifedrive news as time permits.  It's still an interesting device.

A quick roundup of Lifedrive news:



Noted a few 4gb Compact Flash Sites.  Appears that adding a Compact Flash card is big business in some parts of the country.  Still a little pricey, but at least people seem to care:

Unity Electronics is offering the card with installation for $79.

Site (http://www.unityelectronics.com/products/5196/Palm_LifeDrive_4GB_CompactFlash_Drive_Upgrade_Plug_and_Play_SanDisk_Ultra_II_CF_Memory_Card_New)


o  A blast from the past,  Sammy's PalmAddicts 2006 article that started the craze, written and performed by Vincent Torralba, Jr.  A How-To guide on replacing the hard drive in the Lifedrive with a CF card.

Site (http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2006/09/my_lifeflash_fo.html).


o  How-to-Wikia has a very good article on doing the same.  It's pretty much the same information as Vincent's but included here for your perusal.

Site: ( http://how-to.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_replace_microdrive_with_compactflash_in_Palm_LifeDrive)


o  Palm, the company, is having a firesale on Lifedrive and other Palm accessories.  Now through June 30th, you can pick up a Lifedrive leather case (I used to have one of these), previously $30, now for $7.

Site:  (The Palm Store (until June 30th, 2010))


o  There is now a Wikipedia site devoted to the Lifedrive.

(Site:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeDrive)


o  The Kingston Cards are now selling at Firesale prices again,  although I wonder about this ad?  States that it is an 8GB Kingston CF card, but as far as I know, the Lifedrive can only handle 4GB memory.  I could be wrong, but for $20 it looks like a steal.  But some photographers are having some issues with it.  Read the reviews before buying.

Site:  Amazon Kingston 8 gig CF





o  The Lifedrive is still chugging along, as witnessed by a few Forum posts.  Note the date June 10, 2010:

Site:  http://forums.palm.com/t5/Support-Downloads/LifeDrive-Manager-HardDrive-Crashed/m-p/304252



o  Lifedrive Used Parts:

Site:  http://usedpdaparts.com/Lifedrive.html


o  OKAY, so I saved the best for last.  I ran into this ad a few days ago while surfing the web.  It's a pity that I cannot put it on my site selectively as an ad.  I really want to.   There is a company out in Mankato, Minnesota that will sell you a used Lifedrive with a 4gb CF card installed for about $160.  They can also replace the glass on your lifedrive with what they call a glass digitizer, which is an additional $25 if you want it installed on your CF unit.

Site:  http://www.palmdr.com/cart/palm-lifedrive-mobile-manager-palm-os-garnet-54-416-mhz-p-3.html


The company also repairs Lifedrives, which may come in handy for some of the defunct Lifedrives being toted around on Ebay.


LDD.

On AT&T and the new pricing plan....

Today, AT&T announced new pricing plans for Smartphones.  Gone is the Unlimited plan for new subscribers, but old subscribers will be able to keep their existing unlimited plans for the new phone.

This is huge!  I ran to my usage log a few minutes ago to see how much data I have actually used since I got the phone.  I am certain that it is a lot more than shown, since I mainly use it on a WIFI network, so the limits appeared to be okay for me.  But what about for others?  I can visibly see this new pricing structure putting a serious dent in 3G music listening, not to mention video streaming.   Perhaps that was the intent.

In reviewing my own data usage, since I have never reset it, it shows that I have downloaded 2 gigabytes of data over 19 months of usage, while sending a total of 300 mb.  I also checked my usage for the previous month and noted that it was in the megabytes and not gigabytes, something that I found very interesting.  Perhaps my usage was not as intense as I had first imagined.  Or perhaps I am lucky to have WIFI wherever I go and just use 3G when that is not possible.  Remember, AT&T counts email as data and I have a lot of that coming in on a constant basis.  They also count all of those "pings" for badges that show that you have a text message or a message in an app.  Streaming data is also included.

The New AT&T Data Plan:

Data Plus  :  200 mb of Data for $15 per month. If you go over, you get another 200mb for $15.

Data Pro   :  2 GB data for $25 per month.  If you go over, you get an additional 1GB for $10.

According to AT&T, 65% of their smartphone users use less than 200mb per month.

While 98% use less than 2GB per month on average. 

AT&T provided a Data Calculator so that you can calculate your need at this time.  -> Data Calculator

Information provided from the AT&T website (AT&T) to go into effect on June 7, 2010.


There is an uproar across the internet right now, with blogs requesting that a letter be written to the CEO of AT&T.   However such a letter, as discovered by Giorgio Galante, may lead to a cease and desist letter from AT&T.  Such customer service!  No wonder why we are seeing some major rumblings about leaving AT&T.  This may also be the reason AT&T is preparing for what may indeed be inevitable:  The iPhone opening up to other companies in the US.   At the rate that things are going, with data fee changes and a contentious public relations policy, AT&T may be unlucky if a large majority of iPhone owners decide to take up residence with another provider.

However, there may be more to the changes in rates.  One option could be that AT&T knows what's coming down the pike.  Certainly a new iPhone. One that will compete with Google's Android on many levels.  But one that will usurp more bandwidth than AT&T can provide, particularly in the hardest hit metropolitan areas of New York and San Francisco.  What is crazy now, could be madness in two weeks as the new phones come into play.  It could also mean that AT&T knows about the iPad and its 3G demands.  The fact that NYC ran out of 3G iPads is testament to what will happen once Apple brings supply up to satiate the demand.   All of this 3G activity from two Apple devices, which may include Video Conferencing, is bound to obstipate the bandwidth.  Especially in the first two weeks of the release.  Let's see some of the rumors from various web sites for next week, which could account for AT&T putting a sweeper in the defensive line:

Rumor 1:  A video camera on the iphone.  Talk about bandwidth hogging.  Who wouldn't stay on line forever over 3G (if it worked), sucking up bandwidth forever.

Rumor 2:  (Confirmed Fact):  Pandora and other music entities will be allowed to run in the background.  More bandwidth hogging, this time 8 hours per day from work, subway, bus and anywhere that allows a cell phone.

Rumor 3:  Tethering.  I used to tether my Palm Vx to my cell phone and then my Lifedrive to the same via Bluetooth.  It was slow, but it worked.  Picture doing the same with a full fledged computer over 3G.  Picture doing this with FLASH running in the background (alone 1mb down), spreadsheets (1mb), attachments etc.  So before even starting, you're 2-3 mb in the hole.  (So much for the potential $15 (200mb) plan).   You can see how this could become very cumbersome, usurping at least 200 mb per session.

Rumor 4:  Android devices will need the internet for just about everything.  It stands to reason that when Google comes out with Froyo, everything will be linked to the internet and that will cause more bandwidth to be used.  Consider Google's Documents app.  You will be looking at multiple megabytes of data being downloaded.  My thoughts:  AT&T is shivering thinking about this potential.

Rumor 5:  Tied into Rumor 4, Apple may make MobileMe free!  Now picture Rumor 4 running on Google devices and now multiply that by about 10 for AT&T to include current owners of MobileMe and new owners of MobileMe all vying for bandwidth at the same time - uploading/downloading movies, pictures, music, sound files, applications all over 3G!  If AT&T shivered thinking about Google, there is now panic in the streets at the AT&T headquarters.

So what to do?  Well, if capacity cannot equal demand and you have the ability to lock in the already existing customers, you start to make some big decisions.  Some that could ruin you as a company or save the company going into the future:

• You become proactive and ask customers to report low signal areas.  You then try to fix the problem (this seems to be working in some parts of the country).
• You increase the price to get out of the AT&T contract from $175 to $325.  You claim that the new devices have nothing to do with this change.  Thus you prevent the cavalier purchases and the possibility of never recuperating the money spent to subsidize the phone.
• Although this draws ire from the blogosphere, you know that people will still buy the new iPhone because you are the only one selling it.  And should the sky fall next year as the iPhone migrates to other carriers, you will still collect revenue from the current AT&T subscribers for they will think twice before leaving.
• You support your claim that it is the Power Users who are hogging up the bandwidth.  You get rid of the unlimited plans and kick these vagabonds off the network, hoping that these power users will leave and go to Verizon where you only too happy to see them "clog their pipes."

All of this because AT&T knows that there is a lot more coming down the pike than they are letting on about.  Just the above mentioned possibilities and rumors are enough to require change on their side of the wall.

What is left to ponder is what about the consumer?  Is 2 gigabytes enough to satiate the average iPhone user?  Or more importantly, will 2 gigabytes be enough to satiate the NEW IPHONE USER?  Or will AT&T, and let's be fair, other companies including Verizon, do just enough tweaking of the bandwidth that they stifle innovation and cost developers a lot of money.  If nobody downloads a Pandora, Etrade streaming, Facebook, Twitter or similar apps for fear that it will eat up their bandwidth, the growth of the App store could come to an end.  Let's hope not.


LDD.

HP buys Palm!

Well this one caught me by surprise!  All of this talk about Lenovo and HTC and speculative buyout quotes of $1.3b.  In the end, it was $1.2b and Old Tech buying ...well, Old Tech.  HP makes some innovative products, but no slam dunks.  Their software has left a lot to be desired - albeit coming secondarily from another company, but admittedly one must admit that the company has style.  They also have deep pockets and a sense of deep commitment to completing things once they get started, something that has been lost in the Palm world for a long time.  I actually admire the determination and drive that this company has.  It all stems from their early days in that garage.

Is it a good fit?  Only time will tell.  HP has been innovating as of late.  I was impressed at first by the Slate, although less so now than before, again due to software issues.  But the hardware looked solid.   I think that Palm brings an incredibly agile software solution to the table for HP that will mount a serious challenge to Apple and could supersede Microsoft Windows Mobile.  However this is where things get a little interesting.  Is HP a Microsoft company or a WebOS company?  What happens to the Slate?  Is WebOS going to be ported like Android?  And will we finally see another company get product integration right?  Only Apple appears to make hardware integration (ie. My Macs talk to each other; to the iPhone etc) simple and seamless. 

I think a Slate with WebOS would be fantastic.  Multitasking right out of the box.  With Palm being so meek at the moment it may be easy for HP to impose its will to make WebOS work in the right way, stopping the silly limitations that Palm has always put on their products which has hindered the company from going forward.  Also with HP we may begin to see more Palm innovation and decent mainstream commercials that will help the company instead of the crazy pandering to certain demographics. 

I think that the WebOS is a competitive platform.  It's not really for me due to its limitations, but I am very happy to see that someone found the value in Palm.  Although I can only hope that HP does something good with Palm, in the back of my mind I am hoping that they are not just buying them to get rid of them.  If they do amalgamate into one company to do good, we could see some very innovative products emanating from this merger.


LDD.

Apple sets date for WWDC. It all comes together now....

In one of my posts I wondered about the reason for hosting the WWDC in late june, postulating that Apple was ready to disappoint in the quarter ending in June, due to relying solely on the iPad and Mac sales to drive the quarter.  Seems as though everyone got this one wrong.  If my estimates are correct, with WWDC being held on June 7th, this sets the quarter up nicely for a new release of the iPhone.

One wonders whether the events that took place at Gourmet Haus Staudt (where the prototype was lost) had anything to do with this.  One also wonders what will be offered up in late June since there is an opening there for an Apple meeting also.

With the Palm purchase by HP and Apple appearing to be pulling out all of the stops on the iPhone - with videoconferencing - this summer could end up being one of the best for innovation ever.

LDD.

Update on Apple Engineer. Maybe no conspiracy after all....

Reports are now coming in that the Apple engineer did indeed frantically call the bar on several occasions asking if the phone had been brought back. 

This makes a lot more sense and now I have to take everything back.  Maybe this is a real prototype and maybe this is the phone.  Maybe there is no conspiracy. Click the title for details.

LDD.

Conspiracy Theorists, how about this one?

Bloomberg today published an article, speculative as it may be, that Apple may tighten its noose around people attempting to "test" the iphone, limiting it to executives and a very close inner circle.  Granted!  But the final paragraph made me start to wonder about something:

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs personally monitors the so-called carry list of staff members allowed to take pre-release devices off the company’s campus, according to the former employee. Approved staff members must sign an additional confidentiality agreement, the person said. 

 Citation:  Bloomberg (Link)


So, reading between the lines, if Steve Jobs personally monitors a carry list, wouldn't Apple have known about the missing device in March?  Wouldn't the most logical thing to do, if you were an employee, be to trace where you went before you lost the phone?  Apple knew the phone was lost because it shut down the phone remotely.  Or at the very least, the engineer shut down the phone immediately.  If you're able to do that, using the mobile software, why couldn't you use the tracking device to at least give an idea of where the phone is located?  Gizmodo and a few other blogs are saying that the tracking software does not presently work on iPhone OS 4.0.  So how does the wipe out work?  Or did the man at the bar, the one who found the phone, attempt to get into the phone more than 10 times producing an instant wipe out?

My point here is this.  Steve Jobs must have known about the lost iPhone and the most logical thing to have done would be to contact the bar where the phone was lost.  This was not done.  WHY?  I think you can see where I am going here. 

Here's my Conspiracy Theory.  Take it for what it's worth:  The end of the quarter is in June.  However, for reasons known only to the Apple Corp, the WWDC will not start until June 28th. A strange date if you want to see revenue, earnings from the iphone in that quarter.  There is a strong possibility that the iPhone being touted on Gizmodo is NOT the iPhone that will be released.  There is an even stronger possibility that the iPhone that we think is going to be released was deliberately left in the bar.  Crazy?  Well, not if you want to get all of the publicity out there before June.  Whip up the frenzy and then over deliver with a product that no one can refuse.  I believe that the final phone will look nothing like the one on Gizmodo and that this was in fact a deliberate play by Apple.  The responses given by the Apple engineer make me suspicious.  Gizmodo posted this and it didn't sound as if he was remorseful, scared or even livid.  Add to that Apple's unusual sublime letter to Gizmodo to send back its device as opposed to a Cease And Desist order that usually comes down like a mighty hammer and I think that you can see that this may have been a ploy by Apple to control the press or even gauge the thought processes of consumers:  Were they angry?  Overjoyed? Excited?  Yawning?  Salivating?  Additionally, what better way to get publicity and gauge the FanBoys and Techies than seeing if Gizmodo or Engadget will bite. 

Okay, so it's just a theory, but here's where it really gets interesting.  This quarter may be a wash!  Why would anyone buy an iPhone before July if you knew a new one was coming out?  A possible reliance on Mac sales and 3G iPads could ensue for this coming quarter, but the latter is a low margin affair.  This will not affect earnings well, possibly leading to a downturn in the stock on the day of the earnings release, but recovering once consideration is given to what is coming next.  No, it is possible that the September and the obvious December Quarter (New iTouches) are where Apple is hoping to shine.  This product "leak" may have been a test to see just how much it will be accepted before the final product is made.   And what, if anything, the tabloid geeks really want.

Yeah, call me a conspiracy theorist, but let's face it, you are thinking about it right?


LDD.

Amazon Kindle to Target....

I have to say that the Kindle is looking like a very attractive device right now.  If it was priced correctly, I would have purchased one a long time ago.  You say "What, are you kidding?"  I say "No."

The fact that the Kindle does only one thing - Read Books, is a plus to me right now.  A few days ago I wanted to read a book by Sun Tsu.  This was on a friends iPad, however, I ended up surfing the web and playing with virtual controls and apps.  I found it difficult to concentrate on reading with all of the apps available.  I have not tried the Amazon Kindle, except with a few patients, who absolutely love the device.  

One reason I am interested is that the Kindle does only one thing - books. With the Kindle coming to Target, I will be able to see if the Kindle is worth having.   Or if I will have to wait for a touchscreen version.  I simply hate buttons.  Target on sunday eh?  I'll be there.

LDD.

I didn't really want to learn about the new iPhone like this...

Gizmodo today posted a sensational story of a fellow, who works as an Engineer at Apple and who one night got drunk and left the prototype iPhone 4.0 on a bar stool.  The story is amazing and I wonder if it is all true or if it is a plant ordered by Steve Jobs to get the crazy masses riled up for the next generation iPhone?  Or even free advertising?

I really hope that "the fix" is on because for many reasons, I have a problem with the news story published by Gizmodo if they actually have the real gadget:

1.  First, they paid $5,000 for the device.  When does journalism become a cross between getting the story out versus overtly paying for stolen property?

2.  Why did Gizmodo publish the name of the Engineer?  Was it necessary?

3.  Although I am riled up for the next iPhone, I really don't mind waiting for Steve Jobs getting on stage and presenting it when all of the kinks are ironed out, so that we are seeing what will run seemlessly as opposed to all of the speculation.

4.  I really wanted to be surprised by the hardware.  There is a wow factor when Steve Jobs presents a device.  Now, we will be deprived of that.

5.  If you are a stock owner, you could get HOSED?  Why?  Well here is my prediction if this is the new iPhone (Note, this is fictitious):

Picture Steve Jobs onstage looking over the audience and introducing the new iPhone at the WWDC.

SJ:  We've sold over ........ and we are still amazed at the sale of the iPad...
Blogger (Translating immediately):  Chatting about past sales. Yawn. 
SJ:  Now I would like to show you what we've been working on.
Blogger:  Steve still looks thin, but he's getting ready to show it. 
(Stock vacillates +0.25 to -0.25 as the speech goes on). 
SJ:  We call this the iPhone 4.0 or the iPhone HD.
Blogger:  Nailed it.  Yup, it's the same one that we showed you 8 weeks ago.  Yup we nailed it.
(Stock trades down 0.25). 
Jim Goldman:  And Apple shows a device that was seen 8 weeks ago.
SJ:  It has a front facing camera and a back facing camera with a flash.
Blogger:  Yup, we told you that too!  Boy we are good.  We nailed it!
SJ:  There is interaction with Facebook on this revolutionary device ... and now for something never before seen on a phone - videoconferencing.
Blogger:  Yup, he's showing Videoconferencing.  ... So 8 weeks ago.  Yawn.
Jim Goldman:  And Apple's stock beginning to experience a little sell on the news as Steve Jobs continues to show the latest iPhone. In addition, we are seeing few surprises today following that Gizmodo article.
(Stock trades down $3.00). 
Blogger:  Yup, we've seen this already.  C'mon!
SJ:  This revolutionary device......

End.


This is the blogosphere where everything has to be new, new, new.  No wonder Palm cannot compete in this environment.  There is no thought given to  the ingenuity or the time taken to come up with a device such as this.  That 1 hour presentation is vital to letting me know what this device can do.  If this bar-device is the real thing, I will be disappointed, but I am still excited about the future that this phone will bring.  (One interesting thought though.  I thought memory classifications were at the power of 2? ie. 2,4,8, 16, 32, 64, 128?  Where does 80gb come from?).  Is it 128 with a 48 gig OS or Protected memory?  Or worse - complete nonsense?

It is exciting though isn't it?  I'm just not sure that I feel better knowing about it now though.

LDD.

iPhones and ipads galore

I am at a medical conference and cannot believe the number of iPhones
in the conference room. Seen 4 ipads and counted over 40 iPhones in
the room. 200 participants over 2 days. Second counted were Palm
treos all running Palm OS and not Windows. However I only saw 4 of
those. Rough epidemiology count shows no age differentials.

Rather amazing finding. Developers, I think you should know your new
niche.

LDD

Palm Firesale? Am I missing something here?

Okay, so we know that Palm is up for sale.  This information is now over 48 hours old.  However Shaw Wu from Kaufman Brothers reckons that Palm will be sold in a fire sale for prices that are either similar to the $5 that we are seeing today or lower.  In a note to investors he wrote:


""We remain concerned that it may be a 'take-under,' meaning a price that is below its current share price," Kaufman Bros. (Citation:  Kaufman Brothers Note). "

Now, I am not an analyst nor do I make any bones to be a stock market guru, but a little bit of research brought this little gem forward about a company named Huawei, thought to be an early suitor for Palm.  Apparently Palm began talking to this company in "mid february" about a possible takeover, according to Thestreet.com and Reuters:

"Huawei was approached through its investment bank sometime in mid-February for "preliminary discussions,"a source told Reuters. The source said discussions hadn't since moved forward.  "

(Citation:  TheStreet.com Link ).


A quick review of Palm's stock price from February to March shows the following (Prices are at the weekly close):

Week of      Weekly close

2/1              10.38
2/8                9.99
2/16              9.25
2/22              6.09
3/1                5.7
3/8                5.46
3/15              3.96
3/22              3.65
3/29              3.71

The question that arises if you are a shareholder in Palm and not on the board or on the inside is when exactly did that meeting take place?  What caused the stock to drop so precipitously, going down 33% in one week?  If the companies met somewhere before 2/16 (literal translation of mid february would mean around 2/14), then one could hope for a buyout at 8 or 10.  If not, then the market drop today is predicting that it was during the week of 2/22 with the weekly close at 6, hence the price drop today to $5.16.  Or could another company pay a premium for the company which floated above the $10 mark for a while?


Sad days, but if you are a shareholder, perhaps high risk and possibly high return days if Shaw Wu is wrong, especially if that meeting took place before 2/16.  




LDD

T H A N K Y O U P A L M

Bloomberg is reporting that PALM has put itself up for sale. What a sad day this is if the rumors are true. I remember the early days of Palm and can reflect back on a time when this company really ruled the handheld market. What a difference a few years make. A misstep here, a faulty product launch there and a lagging Operating system brought this company down. Even with a sensational product like the PRE, the company did it all too late.

I shed a tear for this company. I personally tried, by starting this blog, to contribute to the Palm blogosphere and my requests for updates and additions were more out of love for the company that was and the company that I wanted it to be. Who can forget the day that they set their eyes on the Palm III ? It was a thing of beauty. Or the slider on the Palm V? I actually had two of them. That was innovation ! Palm really showed how to build a platform that was sustainable and profitable. Almost every physician that I knew had a Palm Pilot. It would go off in meetings. We would beam our cards, notes, addresses and files to each other. We would scribble our thoughts with various types of styli.

One day when I started a new job many years ago, I remember my partner suggesting that some salacious activity was going on between myself and an attractive looking drug rep. She had a Handspring (keep the puns to yourself, this is G-Rated :)), and she had all of the latest games and new software available. Not worrying about viruses at the time, I would always welcome the additions. She would beam these to me on her monthly visits. It turned out that her fiance was a developer, so I would get a lot of "free" programs and test them. My partner only heard "beaming" and other terms during the lunch breaks and always made sly comments. Well it wasn't too long before he joined the party. Not only that, but he became an advisor to Epocrates within two years. So much for salacious activity :).

Those were the early days. Along the way I met some wonderful people in the Palm hemisphere. A few developers and of course Sammy McLoughlin from PalmAddicts who remains steadfastly one of the staunchest supporters of Palm. He is also a very good guy. He was single handedly responsible for putting this blog on the charts. Again, it stemmed from my love affair with Palm. Apparently just about everyone on the Palmaddicts blog had the same love affair. This same affliction led to a meeting with Ryan Block and Peter Rojas during one of their whirlwind Engadget meetups. They offered great advice. All of this, because of PALM.

Of course my departure from Palm land happened in spirit in late 2006. I was becoming very much removed from the over promising and under delivering, not to mention the poor hardware that lacked innovation and kept on crashing - THE LIFEDRIVE. But on a day that I worked, but kept hitting F5 while surfing Engadget, I could not believe what happened next! If I was spirtitualy removed from Palm in late 2006, I was mentally divorced on that morning in January. Steve Jobs presented the iPhone and it appeared that this was the answer - a solid state device that was a PIM, small computer and a phone WITHOUT A STYLUS. I welcomed it, not only because it was brilliant, but because I thought it would put some fire into Palm. What happened next made the spiritual and mental break a complete physical one. It appeared that Palm was in panic mode! The rest of course is history.

But I prefer to remember the good times. The CASL Basic days, the NSBasic days along with programs like Smartlistogo and Handbase. Literally these small apps changed the way in which I lived. They served as organizing points and the Palm devices really stressed the things found in "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People" by Steven Covey. Prioritization and historically recording facts; dumping the Franklin Covey address books and the never ending desk, wall and hand held calendars. Palm was it! I remember being in a small town and people crowding around me to look at my Palm V. I fondly remember in 1998 seeing the first Palm device at a dinner meeting when someone asked for my address. Yes, I needed that. It wasn't a want.

Now they will be no more! I am really going to miss this company. I will miss their once superior innovation skills. But really, despite the misses, I want to go on record to say THANK YOU PALM for all that you have given us. You changed the world. You were one of the true innovators, where many emulated/copied/plagiarized/

stole from you in the name of competition, you remained true to your calling - Innovation and simplicity.

T H A N K Y O U S O M U C H !!!!!

LDD.

iPhone 4.0 My thoughts....

I have a few thoughts about the upgrade. First of all, I do want to upgrade my phone due to the low ram and the ridiculous quantity of apps that I have collected over the past year. Many of them free, but with some apps priced at 0.99 and 1.99, the ecosystem is a "suckers paradise." I figure that Apple is making millions of dollars from this "Crack Garden." And when the software is done right, you cannot complain. You come running back for more. Believe me, no one is exempt from this.

I had planned on handing over my current 3G phone to my wife, but I think that she would want multitasking and video recording and, well, you get the point. She thought about giving it to the kids, but I think that's a big mistake, until she added "to use as an emergency phone. It's only $6.99 per month to add a line." Gosh, even AT&T is in on this "suckers paradise." So it is that if the pricing is favorable (and I mean really favorable, because I am a miser when it comes to these things), we will have two new iPhones (? iPhone HD, iPhone 4.0? iPhone 4G?), whatever they decide to call it.

For me, the high points of this new update are many, but none more so than # 1 and # 2. I have been waiting for #1 forever. So, without further ado, here's my opinion on yesterday's preview:

1. Multiple Exchange Accounts.

You know, I think Steve actually reads his emails, the blogs and reviews. I actually sent him two personal emails on this subject. Not expecting to receive an answer, I saw this voiced on many other boards. The iPhone has replaced all of my email reading tasks. I am no longer tied to a desk to read my messages. When I had a Palm, the actual idea of writing a response back with a stylus nauseated me. Now, I can even dictate the response back without problems.
But really, what was important to me was this. I never ever wanted to share my private family life with the company that I work for. Don't get me wrong. I love the company that I work for. They treat me well, but sharing the fact that I have to go to my kids' basketball game or show up at the PTA or go to my Mother's house for dinner just didn't feel right. Worse! Keeping two separate calendars was a real pain. Although I have not seen the implementation as of yet, I am hoping that we will be able to show both calendars superimposed. Bravo on this one.

2. Local Alerts.

Read my take on this in the previous post. But this should have been available in 2007. I mean calling this a new feature is a bit embarrassing.

3. Multitasking.

A lot has been written about this, but I think that the furor has been overblown a little. I really think that multitasking comes in a few flavors, but most are battery draining and performance lugs as noted on both the new Android devices and ALL Windows Mobile devices. For me, I have rarely ever wanted to use two apps at once. But there has always been the one exception: The Calculator. Although I am happy with Multitasking, so that we can use the calculator, I would have much rather have the OS-X approach to this which was to use DASHBOARD. For those of you who don't use a Mac, Dashboard in my opinion was the single most advanced feature that turned many people - myself and my family included- into Mac lovers. It utilized widgets that were installed into the Dashboard system and upon pressing the middle button on the mouse, overlayed a series of widgets - ie. Weather, calculator, sometimes games, time, and a host of downloadable widgets - which did not interfere with whatever it was that you had on the screen. With another click or hitting escape, the overlay disappeared and you had your original display. It was almost as if you were running two separate entities in one. I always thought that this would be transferred to the iPhone, but it has not been. Personally, I would prefer the widget approach, particularly for the Calculator and the Calendar. Nevertheless, I can't argue with the Multitasking approach detailed yesterday.

I guess the one question that keeps popping up is are we really seeing multitasking? It would appear that whatever is running in the background, actually isn't running, but suspended. I have always thought about the Unix approach, which is a program doing a calculation, say 1+1=2,+1=3,+1..... while in another window you're doing something else, but upon return, you see something like 4096+1=4097,+1...., instead it looks like you'll see: 3+1=4,+1=5...., Pause, return 5+1=6,+1=7,+1. But they did show Skype working in the background. So I am not sure how this works. Is it suspended or is it active in the background? I really didn't understand Scott Forstall's explanation of this. I'm sure that developers will bring this up later.


4. CalDAv invitations.

Another Duh moment! This is another one of those things that, if it is what I think it is, should have been in the OS a long time ago. How many times have you gotten an invitation or an appointment in an email? In windows, you can click on the appointment and it sends it to Outlook and puts it in the calendar. This is one of those things that should have been available from at least the second iteration of the phone. But kudos to Apple for listening again. I really think that they listen attentively.


Can you believe it? These are the top 4 things that I am excited about with the iPhone. Yes, I like the bookstore, but I've got Amazon's Kindle on my iPhone already and it's doing a fine job, not to mention Stanza, which does a great job for books I've had from my Palm days. There is a lot to like about this update and luckily my contract is up in a few months so upgrading - if the price is right - will be a good thing.


LDD.


Addendum:

Did anyone see the SDK4 picture below? It was presented during the presentation. It was really glossed over, but I found a few interesting things in the diagram, mainly in the almost blurred tiny settings. See what you think about these:

1. iPod remote control accessories.

A-hem? What in the world? Are we talking about IR remotes, WiFi remotes? It's just a blurb, but it looks really interesting. Could it compete with Logitech's Harmony or is Logitech a part of this?


2. Embed PDF metadata.

I have no idea what this would be used for. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is it possible to label all of my journals with metadata for specific storage? Is it a DRM feature (not so nice if it is)?


3. In-App SMS.

Sounds delightful.


4. ?Dock based orientation.

I think that is already in place, but I could be wrong.


5. Date Data Detectors.

Absolutely wonderful and I would presume goes in place with the CalDAV explained above.


6. Address Data Detectors.

What a welcome addition. Less typing. No copy and pasting. Wonderful addition.


7. Tuesday 17.

Okay, this one is a bit of a stretch. But in the box of goodies, there's a date that shows Tuesday 17th. Tuesday is a popular day for Apple. A lot of newly released products come out on that day, but granted I am falling into the Distortion Field again - didn't I tell you, no one is immune? - so, I got to thinking, if it was good enough for the Beatles to play these sorts of games, why not Apple? Tuesday 17th, falls in August. Could we see the new iPhone or iPod Touch or iMac or whatever, on Tuesday, August 17th? I don't really think that this was a random picture. But maybe it is. In medicine we call these zebras, when you hear the clickety clack of a 4 - legged creature wearing horse shoes walking outside your window. Most of the times it's obvious, it's just a horse, but there's always someone who thinks it might be a Zebra. And today that's me :):).


LDD.

Local Alerts....New Feature? Say What?

Okay, so I saw the Apple presentation yesterday. I was totally impressed by the offerings. I could live without the iAds, but the fact that they are for free apps made me know that I could opt out if I wanted to. But what struck me senseless was the Local Alerts feature.

I admit that I have become ensconced in the world of Apple over the past two years. I thought long and hard before jumping ship from the Palm platform to the iPhone. But I have never looked back. But there was always something gnawing at me on many occasions: "My Palm could do that." I found myself saying that a lot when several things were not so readily available on the iPhone. Nothing was more glaring than Local Alerts!

Local Alerts were the mainstay for almost all of the important apps that I had on the Lifedrive. My pregnancy listing made in Smartlistogo would send out signals on dates that were important, along with color changes of names for dates that needed to be addressed. It was truly basic.

What nailed me during the presentation was that this was being presented as a New Feature! Something that we can now use as developers. I was stupified! This should have been a basic feature from day one.

For me this is great news. I constantly use Appigo's TODO program which must send its alerts through Apple before it comes back down to my phone. It's not bad, but fails in time sensitive conditions. Here are a few examples:

A. Write letter for A. Shobedoo. Must be done by April 1st.
Date entered: March 2nd.
Time to remind: March 27th.
Actual: March 27th (0900).

Analysis: Not a problem. I was reminded to finish the letter in a timely fashion.

B. Call for telephone deposition for L&I claim for Ms. T. on April 2nd at 4 pm.
Date entered: April 1st.
Time to remind: April 2nd at 3:30 pm.
Actual: April 2nd at 3:45 pm.

Analysis: Big Problem Here! I have always set my presets 15-20 minutes ahead of time
in case I am running behind. This one was set 30 minutes ahead of time and still it was
received 15 minutes late. Server issues?


If you have ever wondered why you would want a local alert, the above two scenarios should answer that question. I was always baffled by the fact that there was no local alert mechanism with the exception of the Calendar. Server issues are major. Apple has to be delivering thousands, if not millions of alerts each day. There is no chance that it can deliver these things on time, every time. My suspicion is that they have woken up and delivered so-called Local Alerts to reduce liability issues. In a program like TODO, if the alerts were about giving yourself Insulin Shots or having some life-saving medication being delivered at a specific time, down-time server issues could lead to potential law suits from developers and customers alike.

It is really about time that this service was offered. It really should have been done a long time ago. I am very happy about this, because now it means that I can write a program for OB that delivers timely reminders for my pregnant patients, ie. Mrs. J needs her glucola test this week or we need to do an ultrasound this week for Mrs. P. The other beauty of this is that since my iPhone has password protection and since Handbase has encryption, I can now use real names on my device. The idea of sending this alert to a 3rd party was not in concert with HIPAA.

This move now also solidifies my move to the Apple ecosystem as a viable alternative to Palm.


LDD.

...A decision....

Today, my "lease" ran out for LIFEDRIVEDOC.COM, I had to make a conscious decision whether to continue with the blog or just let it die a peaceful death. I have been writing on www.theiphonedoc.com but something has been missing.

So, after renewing my "lease" today I have decided that I want to continue writing on Lifedrivedoc.com, but that the information will not be about the Lifedrive solely, infact most of it won't. I will muse on technology and what is now my favorite operating system in the world OS X.

After purchasing my iPhone 2 years ago, I am entrenched in the Mac World and loving it! I have tried a little Linux and I like that too. I have also tried Windows XP and Windows 7. I haven't fully utilized Windows 7, but I will. So now with that epiphany, I am free to write about whatever I want and not "stay on topic." As for the other site, I may write there, but I want Lifedrivedoc to be my primary abode for now.

I will still leave links, especially for the Lifedrive, but I am going to change almost everything about the site in the next few months. If you still need links, data, information etc. on the Lifedrive itself, I will definitely leave that up too. Feel free to pass along any information in regards to the Lifedrive that you think is important, I'll post it.

Here's to some good posts, mainly medical, but you know me, I just love technology and now I'm free to post. Comments are always welcome.

LDD.

Nirvana in Todo Land....Toodledo

When I used my Lifedrive profusely, I often wondered what would happen if I forgot the gadget at home. All of my Todo lists were on the device. Naturally, I could have used the Exchange server at work as a backup, but there were times when I felt that my needs with the Exchange Server conflicted. For example, did I really need my workplace to know that I was visiting my mother or that I had to pick up milk at 5pm? Too personal. On the other hand, I needed to know about important meetings and the Lifedrive and all of the Palm devices afforded me a way of knowing these things well in advance - be it 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week. But I still yearned for something more. The day that I left my machine at home showed me that.

It was a tuesday as I recall, back in 2002, I had a calendar of events as long as my arm. I had to see patients, but in between that there were other things that had deadlines fast approaching - and all of those non-direct patient care deadlines were on the device. Some things required phone calls being made before 5pm, some before 2 pm. I couldn't keep up with them all. My Palm Tungsten kept everything in place. I missed nothing that day, but only after getting back in my car at lunch time and driving home to get it. My partners thought I was crazy, but I knew better. The day ended at 11pm, but not without me putting a check mark next to every single item on the Todo list for that day.

So I began thinking.... Backing up the Todo list and the calendar to the PC was not the best thing in the world. If you left the gadget at home, you had two devices at home - The gadget and the PC. Enter Google!

Google was not the first to start putting things in the cloud, they are just the best at it. They have seen the future and it really is in cloud computing. Other companies have jumped on the bandwagon and some of these smaller companies are doing an incredible job. Again, I do want to give a shout out to Mobisystems for creating one of the first cloud devices, found on the palm with their MobiOffice suite for Palm. Hands down the best ever created for the Palm, eclipsing Dataviz. But I digress.

For the last two years I have been looking for a calendar solution that would integrate online and with the iPhone. I have yet to find a solution that works well. If I use my workplace Exchange calendar, it wipes out my regular calendar and events. If I use Google's calendar, I can't get my work calendar in at the same time due to the limitation of only 1 exchange server at a time on the device.

So, I began looking at the second problem that I was having, linking Todo lists which I use quite frequently. After reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," and "Getting Things Done," and eventually listening to the hyper linguistical Merlyn Mann, I have been keeping TODO lists since 2000 and perfecting them after reading and listening to the other two that I mentioned. The 7 Habits book was a lifestyle changer for me. I categorized everything that I had to do, including family time and forced breaks. I have since fallen away from some of the very draconian things that I used to do, but with work, I find that these lists are invaluable. If something is due next friday, I label it a "3." If it suddenly becomes more important, I drag it up to a "1." I am able to complete things, not always in a timely fashion, but complete them none the less, using this system of importance. It turns out that others have been using systems like this for years. In "The Toyota Way," one of the first electronic books that I ever downloaded, I was stunned to see how these systems were used over and over again in the production plants. Microsoft, in a book written by one of its serious gurus - Randall Stross, this system was not only looked at, but strictly adhered to and probably accounted for much of the incredible profits this company produced during the heady 90's. "The Microsoft Way by Randall Stross" is a book about nothing but lists. I couldn't believe it when I read it in 1999, soon after reading "The 7 Habits..."

Fast forward to the present day, after years of searching for the near perfect solution, I finally believe that I have found my list taking Nirvana. The website is called TOODLEDO.COM. There is a competitor called REMEMBERTHEMILK.COM that is similar. But what makes Toodledo so wonderful for me is its integration with a TODO list suite called TODO (What else right :)?). TODO is available on the iPhone and is a list makers dream. It is customizable and can synch with either your Mac Desktop wirelessly (which is a dramatic plus - can you hear me Dataviz????). But it can also synch with TOODLEDO.COM for free. What's nice about this is the fact that even without a desktop app for the TODO iPhone program (It synchs with the iCal application, but not in an elegant way), synching with TOODLEDO.COM affords the download of a desktop widget, which is basically your TODO list synched with your iPhone. Make a change to your iPhone and hit synch and the change is on the desktop in the widget, in the cloud and available from any machine, be it windows, linux, solaris, Mac OS X, Symbian, Pen & Paper :). That IS TODO Nirvana.

Now, I am looking for the same thing for a calendar program. I would like a calendar program on my iPhone or any phone for that matter that would just synch anywhere. Google doesn't quite cut it due to some issues on the iPhone, especially the lack of multiple exchange servers or at the very least allowing 2 exchange servers on the phone. In addition, I would like for the calendar to be able to show the calendars of the rest of my family. Even my young kids have gotten into the calendars now themselves. I would like to see those calendars and not have to put their events in my own calendar, but have it just show up. Still not there yet.

In regards to notes, I have found a note Nirvana solution too. But more on that later.
For now, I highly recommend the following for the chronic List Takers out there:

1. TOODLEDO.COM - An online Todo list that synchs with iPhone's TODO.

2. iPhone App TODO by Appigo - A little expensive at $9.00, but very customizable and the best TODO app I have ever seen on the market. I've used at least 5 of them on the iPhone.








Honorable Mention:

1. REMEMBERTHEMILK.COM - These guys actually started the craze, but App
integration has been spotty. Additionally, the iPhone app is a
little too sparse, when compared to TOODLEDO.

2. Mobisystems Database for Palm - When I used it, it was the best Office App ever,
but it is a little dated now with the iPhone. Additionally,
there is no TODO list available. Still a great suite if you're
still using the old Palm OS. By the way, it won't crash your
Lifedrive. (This is really an honorable mention for a program
that brought me great joy).

LDD.

App Store: Open or Closed? What do you say?

This afternoon was a pinnacle moment. One that will remain etched in time for me because of a decision that I made a year ago. It has proven to be the correct decision without a doubt.

I was on a journey in 2006 when my wife purchased a Lifedrive for my birthday. I couldn't decide when or if to stay with Palm, but all of my previous software would run on the Lifedrive (most of the time) and I was entrenched in the Palm ecosystem for at least another year or two I figured. At the time I thought that Palm would come out with a new operating system by 2006, then 2007.... but Nothing emanated! The system was old. My old software just wasn't cutting it anymore. I wanted more. Even the wonderful audiovisual beauty of the Lifedrive lost its luster. "Buy a TX," came the cry from others, "...it's just like a Lifedrive, but without the drive. So it's faster." But I became extremely cautious. I wondered whether transporting an old system to another new device was worth it. The more I read, the more I became worried. Another $300 on a legacy device was not worth it. As I read more blogs, I started discovering that the TX was a lot like the Lifedrive, with one exception: It could restart a lot quicker! But it still had a lot of restarts because of the same operating system failing to work well with the NVFS. So I waited.

The wait grew longer and longer until Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone. My mind became clear. This is what a device was supposed to do. I never liked convergence devices because of the battery life, but this was something else. It was stylish, elegant, light, carried more capacity than a Lifedrive and just worked! But it had very little Medical Software. So, I waited. But I waited in awe. I saw the device at an airport terminal once and I asked the man in front of me if I could look at his device. It was amazing. Even my wife was amazed by its sheer simplicity. No stylus, just your finger.

Due to the lack of software, I stayed with Palm until finally in 2008, I purchased my first iPhone- The iPhone 3G. It carried 16 gb, 4x the size of my Lifedrive (You always want to trade up). Again the app store was sparse, but rudimentary versions of some important programs started to surface: Epocrates, HandBase, TealDocs (Which I have since erased - no need for this sort of thing anymore), but no Smartlistogo (what a wasted opportunity). I was also being introduced to Cloud Computing with the iPhone through several different websites. I was able to keep many documents in the cloud without a problem (by the way, let me give credit to Mobisystems for being one of the first to successfully introduce this in their Mobi suite on Palm. It worked well there too).

What has followed has been a steady stream of legacy programs updated, but more importantly there is now an entire ecosystem for programs that are not costly, and appear to generate more value for the dollar than on any system that has arisen before it. The App store has changed everything. And perhaps, if not because, this is due to Apple controlling almost everything that goes into the App store.

This is the major bone of contention however. For many, this gatekeeper is a sore and miserly figure who traverses the App Universe saying "Yes" or "No" at a single notice. Apps have been known to have been held in limbo for months before getting approved. The Google Phone App, which by the way has nothing to do with Google making it, but an independent programmer, has been held in limbo for months. The Facebook programmer Joe Hewitt actually quit the App store. He left parting quotes to the news media: "My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple’s policies,” “I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process.”

Locally, this has been quite a problem for some other people too. A drug rep showed up to my office 6 weeks ago to introduce a new device. We got to talking and after his presentation, he looked at my iPhone. He liked it, but he was with Verizon. He couldn't wait for the iPhone to come to Verizon, but was very excited that the Android was going to be available. I told him about how pleased I was with my iPhone and the entire Apple ecosystem. He felt that it was a little controlling and wondered whether open source would be better and quicker. However, I could tell that he really wanted an iPhone, but did not want to leave Verizon. I told him that I didn't mind the ecosystem. It enabled me to have a small amount of confidence that the software being installed would actually run and not wreck my entire device, ie. CaslBasic for the Lifedrive. I have had maybe two wayward apps that did nothing to the iPhone because the applications were confined to a sandbox. They could not ruin the address book or any of the system files, because they are not allowed to enter that realm. If faulty, they are removed without consequence until the developer updates the program.

3 weeks ago he came back into the office with a second round of devices to show me. After our business discussion was over, he was gleaming about his Android. Its buttons, its incredible screen, its incredible apps. Well, some apps which were actually not bad at all. I liked the multitasking, it was quite nice, but I didn't like the scrolling and the brief pause after hitting the icons. But I was biased. I love my iPhone. But he was in la-la- land and with the Google going full steam ahead in the advertising department, along with Verizon belittling the iPhone and AT&T, why shouldn't he? He was very gracious in his criticism about the iPhone, mainly the closed nature of the App store and the approval process, whereas he could download software from almost anywhere. I warned him about rogue software, but he was in la-la land. And who could blame him?

This afternoon it happened! He came back in to get a signature for a device for a patient. He was extremely sad. I asked him what happened. He told me that he downloaded a program for his Android called "Weatherbug." After a few clicks, it worked once, but then it completely shut down his system. He turned it back on only to find that he could run none of his apps and above all else, unable to make any phone calls at all. I couldn't believe it. This was no laughing matter! He had important calls, some life saving calls for his equipment and he couldn't answer them back. His entire phone was bricked !!!! He began panicking, but luckily he had done a backup of his system and his music and photos were still intact and many A/V files were stored on the SD card which was preserved. But the settings for programs and individual files were gone! Unless they were backed up. He was able to do a fresh install of the software, but settings and other file attributes were gone. Of course he did not reload the Weather Bug software.

After calming down to tell me about it, he performed a Mea Culpa: "I really want an iPhone!" He admitted that the closed system of Apple was probably responsible for something like this not happening with the iPhone in the first place. I told him that the gatekeeper system has its flaws, but it has kept millions of iPhone owners safe. It's the so-called Uber-Geeks who want freedom at any cost, even if the cost is destroying the very device that they are trying to save. I witnessed the process first hand with Palm. I am certain that many Lifedrive programs just crashed because of faulty software addressing nonexistent memory locations. Some companies programmed better than others.

Open vs. Closed? Most of the time I would choose Open, but when it's done correctly, a Closed system can have its benefits too. In this case, I am very happy that I chose to enter and stay in the walled garden of Apple.

The iPad

Today's announcement was again another master stroke from Steve Jobs. However, most in Techland are unimpressed by the device. Its name seems to offend some women, if the blogs are to be believed. Its lack of Flash is still hitting hard in some circles; the OS being possibly some flavor of iPhone OS 4.0 and not OS X 5.1.X seems to be bothering a lot of people, even though these things don't seem to upset people in the Netbook arena running a watered down Linux or Android system.

To call this a big, fat iPod Touch would be close, but not completely precise. It appears to have created a niche unto itself. It's not an eBook - it's a lot better. Yet, it's not a portable laptop - it's less than that. It is a class all by itself.

It appears to beat the Kindle, something that I was about to buy in December to read more books. I believe that the pricing is the killer app! A lot of people expected $1,000. What they did was segment the market, while still keeping even the top model below the price of a MacBook. Brilliant ! They now have segments in just about all markets: The Sub $500 market will get you the low end iPad, any series of iPhones or iPod Touches; 500-999 will get you a used Macbook Pro or a MacBook or any series of iPads; 1000-1500 will get you a Macbook and a low end Macbook Pro or a desktop iMac fully loaded. 1500-2500 will get you an extra fully loaded iMac, a super duper Macbook and a fully loaded Macbook Pro. 2500+ will get you a Mac Pro - the PC looking separate machine with a monitor separate. They own this entire genre. Not to mention the fact that everything talks to everything else.

Some are ticked off that the iPad has no USB slot, but why would you need it? It's an advanced eReader basically, not a full fledged computer. And what about the iWork series on this thing? $10 buys you brilliance. So, they have Price, Products and a large developer population. The No-Boys (and they are mainly boys) say that this product is too lightweight and will fail dismally.

I say "NO!" The product is pure genius. I believe that many women will purchase this product. Mainly because it doesn't get in the way of doing whatever it is you are doing. There is no Operating system to worry about; no virus shield etc. The 3G option without a contract is again pure genius. I can see myself going away for a week and staying on 3G while I'm out and using the hotel wifi for everything else. I think that the only thing that will remain is whether AT&T means it when it says Unlimited Wifi or if it's 5 Gigabytes?

I think that Apple will learn a thing or two from Palm however. I don't think that Steve mentioned Iphone OS 4.0. I think that that will come either next month or during the iPhone presentation. Why is that important? Because I believe that we will see MULTI TASKING during 4.0. Jobs actually listens to the criticism. This is a 1.0 device. But I will probably still buy it to talk with all of my other Apple products. The syncing and the Sphere is just so compelling.

But look for OS 4.0 to take a gigantic hint from Palm with its opening page. I don't think that we will be thumbing through pages and pages of apps. I expect to see some kind of folder.

So, to my original query. Who will buy the iPad? Doctors, healthcare workers, people who like reading books, women, not kids and not teenagers, some tech savvy users, but not most, but definitely those who do not "like" or "get" computers. At $499, it's going to be compelling. It's better than an eBook reader; better than a Netbook and with excellent productivity software, it outshines a lot of laptops.

I think it's going to be a Winner. Uber-Geeks sit this one out!

LDD.

...ON Dataviz and Conduits...Again.

Is it just me or is Dataviz missing the plot again? I recently downloaded Documents to Go for the iPhone after using it extensively on the Lifedrive. I went to look at the installation etc and couldn't believe my eyes. Dataviz has successfully brought the conduit to Apple.

For those of you who don't know, the conduit is a software tunnel made to connect to whatever software you are using. It is quite program specific. Kudos to Dataviz for making the whole process wireless, but this sort of proprietary solution is a weakness in the program. Most of us have files/documents that are needed right away and may not be privy to a conduit on the machine that we are using, particularly at work.

A solution, such as the one found in AirShare, which allows you to upload and download via a webpage, or Handbase's conduit which is in the browser and accessible from anywhere seems to be better in the long run.

The entire Dataviz product seems somewhat dated on the iPhone. But let me not knock a star off its perch. The editing is first rate. Documents seem to load quickly and editing is quite easy using the product. They did a really good job with the keyboard. It is intuitive.

Nevertheless, we are still awaiting the spreadsheet portion of the suite and they still decided not to port over Smartlistogo. The latter is a feature rich relational database which may just be better than Handbase, its only competitor. However, there does not appear to be any rush to port this one over anytime soon.

So my one request for any future versions on the iPhone is for Dataviz to get rid of the conduits that not every computer carries and adopt the Handbase, Airshare approach. There are better ways of syncing.



Addendum:

Dataviz has updated the program to include Spreadsheets. I will play around with this and let you know what I think.

/LDD.

Light Peak

Off Topic.

I was just watching a YouTube video about the next great technological breakthrough to come our way. Intel and supposedly Apple are working on this Light Peak technology that is supposed to transmit data at 10gb/sec with one connector that will hold a hair's width assembly of wires. This connection will use only one connection port to control Video, Sound, Input/Output devices etc. Thus we probably will not need USB ports (except for legacy devices) or Firewire or Cards.

Apparently this is slated for release in an Apple product next fall. No word on whether this will actually come to fruition or pricing.

But one thing becomes interesting. Anybody remember a few months ago when Comcast decided to cap all data going in and coming out of your modem to 250 gigabytes per month? Supposedly, the introduction of Light Peak will deem redundant the need for our current internet cables eventually. Thus, in theory, it could take 25 seconds for you to go over the Comcast limit and entail a huge bill.

Something tells me that Net Neutrality will not apply to this. Additionally, something in the air tells me that Comcast knew something about this as well.

Hold on to your vests, we're about to be fleeced again, I'll say about 2 years for this one.


/LDD.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izNoF1SWtSg

(VIDEO OF LIGHT PEAK).

Site Down? Thanks Google.

I got word from Sam, a good friend of mine, that my site was down for a while. I confirmed it 3 weeks ago and found out that Google thought that my site was a Spam site.

I later received an apology from Google and the site was put back up this week. Luckily, I gain no income from this site, but there are some important links and information that a lot of people have grown to depend on residing in this simple one page site. Thus I am happy that the site is back up and functioning. And I thank Google for putting my site back up.

But that leads to a few questions. Do I want to continue doing this? Lifedrivedoc has almost outlasted its purpose. The fact that someone had to tell me that my own site was down is testament to that.

Now that Palm has released the Pre and I have just about chosen to go the Apple route, a very radical decision on my part, and one in which I will explain in a later blog posting, I feel compelled to let my opinions be known elsewhere.

There is still an awfully large amount of traffic traversing this site and so I pay to keep it up. I also appreciate the thank you's that have come by in regards to information on the Lifedrive. However, my use of the device has dropped considerably in the past few months.

I'll keep you posted on my whereabouts, but for now I am starting a new blog which reflects where my mind is at in terms of handheld technologies. I'll still post here, but I will also be posting at www.theiphonedoc.com on a more regular basis. I will be concentrating on Apple Apps, iPhone Apps, mainly medical and other things that appear.

I know that it will be one of many thousands out there, but I have to be true to myself at this point and again, I'll drop my thoughts on the reason for the switch at a later date.

Welcome back readers and I'll hopefully see you on both sites.

/LDD.