I’ve had the new Amazon Kindle in my possession for over a month now and have still managed not to spend a cent on ebooks or any other content, yet I use it every day. Initially I had signed up to the Irish Times subscription free trial, but quickly realised that paying €16 per month for content that was free online was a little silly.

Thanks to the online application Instapaper (works in your browser via a bookmarklet – even works with Safari for iPhone and the Twitter for iPhone app) instead I am able to queue up articles I wish to read later in a Kindle friendly format. This applies to all the online content I come across and many of the industry specific blogs I am subscribed to publish very long articles that I usually don’t have time to read during the work day (or go cross eyed trying to read them on my computer screen).

The Kindle friendly file you end up with is split into sections (one for each article) and can even handle images, and hyperlinks – so if you’re reading an article that mentions a secondary associated article you can click that link and the Kindle browser will open, you can even switch to “Article Mode” in this browser, and the Kindle will autofocus on the text content for you. Though I’m certainly not blown away by the “experimental” browser, it’s obvious that surfing the web is not something the Kindle was designed for.

With Instapaper I queue up blog posts, newspaper articles and more and then at the end of the day (or sometimes at lunchtime) I download the Kindle friendly file, transfer it to the Kindle using the USB cable and then have a great read, with no distractions, almost like having a highly personalised magazine in front of me. Admittedly it’s very relaxing, and I have no desire to tweet or check my email, so I’m not skimming anymore, instead I absorb the information I’m reading and feel like I’m really getting worth out of the content and not wasting my time.

Kindle vs iPad?

I’m doubtful it would be the same experience with something like the iPad, because reading on the Kindle is an absolute pleasure. I certainly don’t get as tired as quickly when reading on the Kindle in comparison to trying to read a long document on the iPhone or laptop. However, for those of you without a Kindle but with an iPhone there is the Instapaper app for iPhone which makes reading on your iPhone screen that much easier, there is an iPad version of Instapaper too, but I’ll be sticking to my Kindle!

The e-ink screen on the Kindle is incredibly close to reading on paper, but the key factor in how good the Kindle is to read on is the fact that it’s not backlit, so there is no glare when the sun shines on the screen and it won’t keep you awake at night. I’ve written here before about how the bright light of electronic screens suppresses the production of our sleep hormone melatonin, thus making them unsuitable for bedtime use. The readability of the Kindle in low lighting is comparable to that of a paper book, you will certainly need a book light if you plan on reading in low light, but this is preferable to the inability to sleep after using one.

The other great thing about the Kindle is how it’s cut down on paper/printing costs, instead of printing out long drafts of work documents they’re read on the Kindle and I write my feedback into my moleskin. Overall, I feel that it has increased my productivity and I’ve even started reading for pleasure again, by picking up a number of free classic books in ebook format via the Free eBooks by Project Gutenberg website.

You’ll also love the free web technology conference – the dot conf - being hosted by the National College of Ireland on July 22nd. It’s a fantastic opportunity to go and listen to some industry experts and a great way for NCI to promote their new MSc in Web Technologies course.

There is a diverse list of speakers, from journalists, educators, web professionals and technology advocates – all experts in their fields. As well as some “deep dive” sessions (hands-on workshops).

Personally I’m really looking forward to checking out the National E-learning Laboratory, who recently published some pretty interesting data on what Irish people pay attention to when using Facebook.

Conferences like these are a great networking opportunity (especially if you are self employed or “between projects” at the moment). Bring you business cards and wear your hottest geek tshirt, you just never know who you might bump into.

NCI is based in the IFSC – possibly one of the easiest places to get to in Dublin, so there’s no excuse not to attend.

It’s self-adhesive (sticking to practically everything), dishwasher-proof, waterproof, resistant from -60C to 180C and yet it cures (hardens into silicon) at room temperature. It was created by an Irish woman called Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh and there’s a great set of videos on Fora.tv where she discusses the product in tons of detail, from its development to its applications. The Sugru blog was also a finalist in the Irish Blog Awards 2010, where you can find ideas on what to do with your Sugru.

We’ve been used to living in a world where we throw things out when they get broken, but with less money in our pockets we should now be turning to versatile and practical solutions such as Sugru. It’s also so much better for the environment. It doesn’t just fix things though, it can improve the usability of your crappy mass produced consumer products. People have already done some clever things with theirs and that’s what I’m planning on doing with mine.

Sugru iPhone Stand

I couldn’t wait to get it out of the packet last week. I already knew what hack I was going to start with. I have a few old iPhone cases lying around so I thought rather than throwing them out I would modify them into iPhone stands so they would stand upright to watch a movie on, handsfree.

I expected the sugru to have the consistency of mala (play doh) but at first feel it was much sticker and not as easy to mould. This changed after a few minutes rolling it around in my hands and making it into a little ball. It did however keep sticking to the table. To stop this happening I lined the table with a little cling-film (which would come in even handier later on).

It took me quite awhile to figure out exactly what shape I would start with, first it was a rectangle, then a v shape, but as soon as I stuck it onto the iPhone case the shape changed and evolved as my fingers worked with the soft texture.

The end result of my hack isn’t as pretty as I would have hoped, but seeing as it was my first time I’m not that bothered (it kind of resembles a shoe or a duck’s beak, but it could be worse).

After 24 hours curing the orange Sugru is now 100% stuck to the old iPhone case, turning it into an iPhone stand. I’m happy it worked and that my first try was a success.

Planned Hacks

I’m planning on adding a permanent coaster to the bottom of a few of my coffee cups, making my flip flops more comfortable, adding soft handles to some cutlery for Mam (who struggles with normal ones as she has arthritis) and adapting the handle of the garden shovel so it stops giving everyone sore hands.

Dad has some plumbing related ideas for the Sugru that I don’t quite understand, but I’m sure they’re great.

The Bottom Line

The only downside to this product is that you must use it within the first 6 months of purchasing. If the makers of Sugru really want this to be the next sellotape, glue or blutac, they’ll have to resolve that problem first.

However, I really do think this product is more than just a sticky substance; it gives each of us the ability to because our own industrial designer. Which is pretty damm great.

Most importantly though, it also helps girls make their high heels less painful to walk in.

Though my direction may have changed recently I still have a personal interest in 3D, augmented reality and Location based Services. Also, it’s good business sense to keep up to date with these emerging technology trends.

Talks of Interest to me?

Mark Campbell from eMedia will be discussing 3D iPhone Apps.

From my old haunt IADT, Frederic Herrera from Create Ireland will give an overview of the applications of the VLab (a Cave – Computer-generated Automatic Virtual Environment) based at IADT – something I keep meaning to go and experience for myself.

Speaking of IADT, another 3D orientated talk will be given by my old HCI lecturer Ciaran McGuinness from Computer Clubhouse, the technology centre for young people in the heart of the Liberties.

Members from TOG will be showcasing  3D printing with a CupCake CNC machine – the seriously cool open source 3D printer featured in the video below.

Paul Lee from Viewsion will be discussing the business uses for Google Apps such as SketchUp, Earth, and Maps.

Steve Plunkett from Red Bee Media will be addressing the changes in television, including the effect of 3D and the internet. Should be a really interesting one considering the recent Google TV announcements.

Check out the full list of talks and register to attend this fantastic free technology event here.

During this experiment I also had to discontinue using the Meteor network due the 2G to 3G handover problem (there’s a neat little video demonstrating this here) which left with me with no signal far too many times, but the phone worked perfect on O2. Hoping Meteor can fix that issue promptly, as many other HTC users are reporting this issue in the customer forums.

Day 4 With my Android

Day 4 was the day that I really started missing the iPod part of my iPhone, I especially wanted my podcasts back so I attempted to import/export files from the phone. It didn’t go too well. I had no MicroSD card adapter and Windows 7 just plain refused to recognise the SD card inside the phone. There are a few workarounds for this, for instance Google Voice is a great podcast utility for Android, but personally I like to manage things from my desktop (even if iTunes is still a bit rubbish).

I’m also really surprised that a phone of this calibre (and hefty price tag) comes with so little internal memory (384MB). Although, a 2GB SD card came with it, which is more than enough if you’re not going to use the phone as an MP3 player and you can of course upgrade that to a maximum 32GB if you have another €100 lying around. Speaking of music though, the FM Radio reception was exceptionally good, a feature I always miss on the iPhone.

The over-complexity I mentioned refers to the Android operating system. At first I was won over by the ability to multitask and was especially impressed by the taskbar like notification area. Overall I feel that the Android matches more of a desktop like environment than any other phone I’ve used, however, after only a few days I realised this was overly tiring and irksome on a smaller scale and without a physical keyboard. Managing software, settings, and files quickly became a chore. Also, typing on the HTC Legend did not become a forte of mine, I’m not sure if the responsiveness of the touchscreen on the iPhone has ruined me for all other touchscreen devices but I certainly couldn’t get used to the keyboard on the Legend.

Despite the fact that the HTC Legend and I didn’t work out, we’ve parted quite amicably. I still think it’s an extremely well built smartphone, very sturdy, sleek and fits better in the pocket that the iPhone. The physical keys underneath the touchscreen are very usable (though the optical navigation key is fairly useless). The call clarity is crystal clear. You can customise and personalise it to you hearts content. There are thousands of apps available that don’t have to go through the ridiculously moral Apple iTunes app store approval system.

As an alternative to an iPhone it is an extremely strong one, but as I’ve discovered, I quite like the simplicity of the iPhone and won’t be parting with mine anytime soon.

I will however be putting up the HTC Legend up on eBay in the coming days, and donating the proceeds to a really worthy cause that I’ll be writing about in my next blog post.

Only last week I had tweeted about how I really wanted to try out an Android handset to do a compare and contrast against the iPhone. I usually change my phone on a yearly basis, and my iPhone 3G is nearing its first birthday, so trying out an alternative is a great way for me to discover if I should stick with Apple or not.

Before I got my iPhone a year ago I had always been a huge Nokia fan, what changed my mind was trying out Jen’s iPhone (she’s an avid Apple fan, so of course she had one months before me) as I was simply blown away by the web browsing experience, something that previous Nokia smartphones (running the Symbian operating system) I had owned simply didn’t compare to.

First Impressions of Android

My first impression of the Android operating system is that it has definite similarities to Symbian – it’s highly customisable (like crazy customizable, it’s incredible), it’s more like a desktop environment where you are able to do things like create folders and install widgets, and you can run multiple applications at the same time. It’s also very much unlike Symbian because it runs exceptionally smoothly (at least on the HTC Legend), applications open lightening fast and it’s open source software so there are thousands of apps available for free in the Android market.

The big difference between my iPhone 3G and the HTC Legend is of course the ability to have multiple apps running, and it’s no surprise that yesterday Apple announced the ability to multitask in the next iPhone 3GS update (in fact it’s taken many of the great features of Android and applied them to OS 4), but the differences between Android and the iPhone don’t just end there.

Out of the box the HTC Legend just works. No connecting it to a computer, no software updates needed, no need to go register an account to start downloading new apps. The Android market is awash with amazing free apps that do amazing things – unlike the abundance of novelty junk you find in the iPhone App Store.

This is only my first day using the phone so expect more comparisons to come in a later blog post. Admittedly today I do miss some of my most used iPhone apps – like Tweetie, but I guess I just have to find the right collection of Apps for the HTC Legend to make it perfect for me.

What I have enjoyed about it so far though is the 5megapixel camera – the autofocus, a light flash and ISO settings make a big difference, I also love the radio (that actually works – unlike iPhone FM radio apps like Wunderadio that need a consistent 3G signal to run), and the ease at which you switch between apps – there’s practically no lag on this phone either, it’s so fast and it’s a joy to use. I thought I would dislike the physical keys underneath the touchscreen, after getting so used to just the one on the iPhone, but I actually really like them. The menu, back and search buttons all have corresponding actions within each app, them being there means it frees up a lot of screen space, especially when surfing the net. I am however finding it a little hard getting used to the touchscreen keyboard, but as with anything new I probably just need some practice.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing the outcome of this phone experiment, as I’ll be making myself use the HTC Legend for at least a week to make a truly informed decision about my next phone (it’s possible that I’ll stick with the HTC Legend itself). It’s just a pity I’m having some connectivity issues with Meteor, in the first day alone, three times I’ve had to force disconnection and reconnection of the phone from the network because of a loss of any signal, data or phone. I’m hoping they resolve this issue soon or I might have to unlock the phone and put my O2 sim into it.

If I could choose any person to be my research mentor it would be Dr. Preece. This woman has a 35 page CV online describing her incredible academic career. As early as 1975 she was working on e-learning initiatives in the UK and after completing her PhD studies in 1985 she pursued research focused on ground-breaking topics such as information systems, computer mediated communication, human?computer interaction, and online communities. She eventually moved to the USA in 1996 to lecture in the University of Maryland Baltimore County, in the Information Systems Department. Today she is the Dean of this department, supporting a long list of PhD students. Her work has taken her all around the globe, she has published hundreds of papers and authored numerous HCI books. She has achieved so much, in what had been a traditionally male dominated field. Her career is certainly something to aspire to.

The Only Real Social Media Expert

Dr. Preece’s current research focuses on the design and management of digital social media, and it’s quite possible that Dr. Preece is one of the only people qualified to call themselves an actual “social media expert”. Back in 2000 when social media was just a glint in Biz Stone and Mark Zuckerberg’s eyes Dr. Preece was hard at work bringing together the usability focus of human-computer interaction and the broader human focus of sociability. She introduced the significance of understanding the interrelationships between people’s behaviour online, sociability and usability. She illustrated how people’s interactions create online communities, and that developers can influence their success or failure by how they design software and polices. This was a novel approach that she continues to pursue today.

I would love to bump into Dr. Preece someday, but it’s not because I would love to pick her brain about all of these fascinating topics we share an interest in. Instead I would ask her to tell me her story, because I bet it’s an incredible one.

This post was written for Ada Lovelace Day – an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science.

My own relationship with TV has dramatically changed these last few years. Thanks to technology I now have the ability to set aside one evening a week to sit down and watch a few hours of selected TV shows (mostly American imports). I would very rarely sit down in front of the TV and just flick through the channels searching for something to watch, invariably there isn’t anything on that interests me. Instead I choose to sit at my computer, engaging fully with online media, creating content and absorbing information.

The downside of this setup is that I miss out on those opportunistic TV nuggets – those wonderful documentaries on completely random topics that are incredibly interesting but contain sets of knowledge that I would never have actively sought out by myself.

How did David Blaine hold his breath for 17 minutes? Why is sustainable fishing so important? How has cricket changed India? What does open data mean for the web? What’s it like to treat a patient on top of Mount Everest? How can gamers change the world?

These are all questions I’ve had answered without asking them via the Ted Talks video podcast available through iTunes. A new video becomes available approximately every two days and they’re never any longer than about 20 minutes, so they’re perfect for a bus journey or lunchtime viewing. Obviously the Ted website has been uploading new Ted talks for a long time now, the difference with subscribing to the podcast is that you are treated to topics from a massive range of different Ted conferences. Subscribing means you’re stopping yourself from picking and choosing what you’re going to watch, thus you open yourself up to a far richer learning (and entertaining) experience.

Everyone talks about “information overload” and the noise created online, but when you use tools like I do to filter everything (the same way I filter my TV viewing) you miss out on learning about topics outside of your comfort zone. It’s important to step outside of this zone because the more information you have about the world outside of your bubble the greater your ability to understand that world and your impact upon it. It can also inspire your creativity and perhaps pique an interest in you that you never realised you had.

The bold interface changes made to Office 2007, once you get used to it, is actually much better than its predecessors especially because of its incredible attention to mouseless navigation. However, after a conversation I had with a friend during the week I realised that the changes are still frustrating for someone that only uses the software occasionally and has the old Office navigation drilled into their subconscious.

Luckily there’s a free and easy plugin for that.

UBitMenu is a free plugin that literally brings back the classic menu and toolbars to Word, Powerpoint and Excel. Once installed you’ll notice an addition to the Office ribbon, called “Menu”, which you will find nestled between “Home” and “Insert”. Clicking “Menu” will bring you most of the old 2003 menu options arranged just the way you remember them. It’s free for home use and only €10 for commercial use. The plugin will even work in Office 2010, which hasn’t deviated much from the Office 2007 interface design.

If you want to add even more options to Microsoft Office, why not try the OfficeTab plugin – which enables you to navigate multiple open documents the same way you would webpages in Firefox or IE7. Very nifty.

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