Durian - a love affair

Business Cards IRL

Are business cards in-real-life (IRL) on the verge of extinction?

I could not find any statistics on the the number of business cards printed over time, but I have to believe that other, easier ways of sharing contact information in electronic form has caused a decline in business card printing.

Even business cards IRL are making use of electronic data transfer. Frank, an electrical engineering student at the University of Waterloo created a USB business card that will type out contact information when you plug it into a USB port.

One issue that plagues sharing contact information electronically is the many non-standard ways in which we can do this. A variety of sharing technologies (like BlueTooth, email, and apps) on a variety of devices (PCs, smartphones tablets, etc.) result in too many options.

I'v been experimenting with using a QR code (also known as a 2D code) to share contact information. The use of QR code scanning and deciphering is now ubiquitous on smartphones in countries like Japan.

What do you get when you ask Vladstudio to cross a QR code Vcard and an iPhone lock screen wallpaper? A virtual business card.

It is easy to generate your own virtual business card with a free QR code generator. Use your virtual business card as a wallpaper on your smartphone and it's always available to scan by business contacts with a QR code scanner like Scan. Even smartphone apps like Google and Bing will scann and decipher these virtual business cards.

QR code ubiiquity in the USA may take a while longer, but I'm betting that it it happens soon.

Open Letter To Netflix

Netflix recently released an official iPhone app. Andy Boxall in his iPhoneFreak Blog post "Netflix Comes to the iPhone" says:

"Previously only available for the iPad, the official Netflix app is now available for the iPhone too, which should see a massive increase in both the amount of downloads and the amount of people enjoying streaming content out and about."

All well and good Andy, but I have to disagree... to a degree. In response I have "penned" the following open letter to Netflix.
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Dear Netflix,

I know you are contending with some privacy issues in your attempts to serve your customers in an innovative way. You will be relieved to hear that I'm not writing to you to discuss these issues.

Your new official iPhone app enables movie viewing on the iPhone and iTouch platforms, but I don't really think I would seriously watch a full length movie on any of these small format platforms. Maybe it's because my eyes are not what they used to be, but I prefer a larger screen that I can view with others. Call me old fashioned, but I will be surprised if there are a compelling number of users that will watch a one hour TV show or two hour feature film on their small iPhone screens. The iPad would be another story.

However, I think you could do something more compelling and innovative with movie trailers, which are short and lend themselves to a quick review to determine if you want to watch the associated full length movie. Actually, this could be the goal of the app. Heck, I have good friends that seem to enjoy movie trailers over the full length movies themselves.

How about an app that basically enabled the user to manage and view a playlist of movie and/or TV show trailers? It could have some of the following features:

• Add the movie based on the trailer you like to your queue.
• The ability to review the anticipated rating or set your rating of the movie based on the trailer.
• Browse or search trailer playlists by director, actor or genre.
  
• Create your own trailer playlist to share with your friends (social media).
  
• Comment on, subscribe or favorite trailer playlists by others (social networking).

I'm sure others will add additional ideas in the comments below. Please consider these ideas and if you like feel free to name this feature "Wardo's Trailer Playlists".

I continue to be a big fan of your service. Please keep up the good work.

Warm regards,

Ward Tongen

Are Group Coupons Really Such A Good Deal?

Here are six tips and techniques to help you make the most out of group coupons like Groupon, LivingSocial and dozens of smaller sites:

1. Stay local - don't accept coupons outside your normal area of travel unless you are planning to use a coupon during travel.
2. Beware of un-savvy vendors - I assumed that I could use my iPhone app to redeem my coupon only to find out at a local restaurant that they required a printed coupon only. I was turned away. Also be aware that some businesses struggle to handle the surge in customers.
3. Don't collect too many coupons - You can go a little crazy when you are bombarded everyday with such unbeatable bargains. My coupons soon started to stack up and I was in danger of not being able to redeem them all in time. Think twice before buying - pace yourself.
4. Read the fine print and note the expiration date- I repeat "Read the fine print" It's usually short and to the point and may contain rules and conditions that are crucial in making sure your redemption is valid.
5. Return to businesses you like - One of the compelling reasons small businesses use these group coupon services is to drive customers to their stores & restaurants. If you like the product or service it shouldn't be hard to patronize that business again.
   
6. Tell your friends online or otherwise. Buy for a friend. Use the share feature for a free deal. Most of the deals are for local establishments. At LivingSocial, the deal might even end up being free for you if you recruit enough people to the same deal. For some offers, you need as few as three buddies.

Use the latest craze among price-conscious consumers wisely. This combination of social media and commerce may change the way you shop.

5 obvious things that indicate the iPad is an example of the next shift in computing

I recently was loaned an iPad 3G for a week and used it on a trip to Florida where I did not plan to take my laptop.

I used it for a many things. Some of which I could also do from my iPhone (but not as easily). Mostly:

• Watching & listening to video podcasts.
• Checking email & calendar.
• Reading technical user manuals.
• Sharing photos, podcasts & videos.
• Collaborating over maps and satellite images.

This inspired me to come up with five obvious things that indicate that tablet computing is the next shift (game changer) in very personal computing:

1. Instant-on - Little or no boot up time is required. When a question or issue is raised the tablet is ready to deliver with little or no lag. Immediate gratification.
2. Not just mobile, but conveniently transferable or "handoff-able" - This promotes an information gift culture.
3. Easy to use - little or no instruction to navigate and manipulate information. The touch environment makes navigation simpler and more intuitive than conventional use of keyboard and mouse or touch pad. Simple is good.
4. Transparent - After the novelty of the new gadget wears off users get right to the content. Interacting with the content causes collaboration rather than just presentation. Content is king.
5. Fun to use - There is no reason that something as serious as the next evolutionary step in computing can't be fun. Adoption is compelling.
   

I predict that in less than 5 years we will all be sporting tablet-like devices over notebooks or netbooks.

The Business Card As Social Media

The printed business card is becoming an anachronism.

a.nach.ro.nism |əˈnakrəˌnizəm|
-noun
1) A thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, esp. a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned.

Exchanging business cards is rapidly getting replaced by exchanging Web links to LinkedIn, Google, Plaxo, or online profiles from other business-oriented social networking sites.

There have been several attempts to provide the capability to exchange contact information electronically. Many of the older PDA's had a method to beam contact information via infrared. Some smartphones can transfer vCards wirelessly via Bluetooth. vCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. Even when the transfer technologies between devices are standardized, the applications have different implementations of the vCard standard and are often incompatible.

I recently discovered the Poken: a new social networking accessory that contains your contact information. You can put your photo, name, email, social networking IDs, screen names in your Poken. When you meet other Poken owners (here's the catch), you touch Pokens to connect. A more expensive, Poken Pulse doubles as a 2GB flash drive making it more convenient to carry. Still, not everyone has a Poken to connect instantly without a business card. I could see where a Poken might be useful given as a promotional freebie (SWAG) at trade shows, conferences, events and expos.

I still hand out my business card. But when I do, it is one of several personalized sets that I customize online at Vistaprint to a particular target audience. Even if they become conspicuously old-fashioned, business cards are still ubiquitous.

Voyager 855 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

I recently purchased a Plantronic Voyager 855 Stereo Bluetooth Headset to use with my iPhone on the recommendation of a good friend/colleague. It comes with a lightweight, earpiece-style headset, but it's convertable! You have the option of listening with a single earbud, or listening with two earbuds for a full stereophonic sound.

I took it on a bike ride with my roomate and it worked very well. He would call me and the music I was listening to faded away and I was placed on the call. I hit the hook button and was placed back into my music selection. Another double- tap called him back. I never touched my iPhone controls.

The headset supports AVRCP - the bluetooth profile that allows bluetooth devices to control playback. Although my 3G iPhone (firmware 3.0) supports the A2DP bluetooth profile to transmit a Stereo signal to the headset, I was not able to select next/previous track using the headset.

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. The price was right too. I got it for about $32 at Amazon.com.

Monte Blanc Pen Mod Review

I read a post about how to convert a $3 pen into a $200 pen on LifeHacker last year.

Collaborative DIY site Instructables shows us how to convert a $3 pen into a $200 Mont Blanc pen by filling the shell of the former with the innards of the latter.

So this last Christmas I modded some pens and had my co-workers evaluate them. I was planing on making them for family gifts. Anyway, here is a review from my friend Paul, a pen aficionado:
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Pilot G-2 05 and Mont Blanc fine point refill

Recently I examined both the Pilot G-2 05 gel pen (retail $1.50) and
the Mont Blanc rollerball refill (retail $6.00). While the look and feel
(feel as in "heft" as opposed to the way the pen glides across the
paper) of a pen are certainly reasonable features to consider, for this
test I was mostly interested in the quality of the line that each pen
produced on a specific type of paper - the acid-free, archival quality
paper of a Moleskine sketch book.

I have discovered that my preference regarding the broadness of a pen
tip varies according to the task I am performing. Generally I prefer a
fine point (0.5mm) or a very fine point (0.38mm). I've discovered,
though, that when I'm signing my name, I prefer a broader point.

Here are my comments on each of these fine point pens:

Mont Blanc rollerball refill (modded to fit the Pilot G-2 case)

Con

• Line feathered slightly

Pro

• Skip-free writing
• Nice feel
• Attractive
• Inexpensive (compared to buying a full Mont Blanc)

Had it not been for the slight feathering, this refill would have become
one of my favorites. However, since it feathers, it faces a lot more
competition.

Pilot G-2 gel

Con

• No feathering
• Unsightly yellowish plug visible inside at the top of the refill

Pro

• Skip-free writing
• Nice feel
• Ink level visible
• Inexpensive
• Widely available

The Pilot G-2 05 is one of the great gel pens available today. I highly
recommend it.