Archive for category Personal
Dictation Software
Posted by Rex Pechler in Mac, Personal, Productivity on May 29, 2008
I’m considering using MacSpeech Dictate for blogging. However I can’t decide yet whether using dictation software is more liberating or more constricting in the writing process. So far I feel I have a limited vocabulary, and the dates it and the dictation software can’t pick up on my implicit punctuation. However the software is otherwise quite fast, and generally highly accurate.
The next thing that I would like to see, is MacSpeech Dictate implemented on the iPhone. A dictation application on the iPhone would be really awesome. However, I wonder about the accuracy of the built-in microphone. Although I imagine a Bluetooth headset, along with noise reduction technology, could be a solution.
One Week With A Nokia N95
Posted by Rex Pechler in Mobile, Personal on May 14, 2008
I’ve been using a Nokia N95 8GB (N95-2) for the past week. And I just took the SIM card out and put it back in my iPhone. Here’s why:
- The user interface feels outdated after getting used to the iPhone. It feels more like Windows than Mac if you know what I mean.
- It doesn’t have a full keyboard… only the normal 1-9 number keys. I didn’t know how much I would miss this.
- This version doesn’t actually have 3G data speeds, like I had thought. So, it’s still really slow on EDGE.
However, there were some things I really liked about the N95:
- The camera is really great. It has a macro mode which is great for snapping notes or text. It will also record pretty high quality video. There’s also a second camera on the front, so you can video chat… or record yourself.
- Qik. Broadcasting live video from Qik was fun. I hope I can do that on the iPhone soon. (you can see what I broadcasted at http://qik.com/rex)
- I finally found an application that lets me broadcast my GPS location to a website. Eventually I want to have a log of everywhere I go, created automatically, and of course private. (but that I could create scripts to send me notifications related to where I am, etc..)
- The wealth of available applications. This was my first experience with the Symbian mobile OS, and there’s a ton of stuff for S60 phones. Good looking 3D games, and other goodies.
- Also bluetooth syncing. I want my iPhone to do that. I don’t like having to plug my iPhone in all the time.
The 3G iPhone rumors abound, and predict all sorts of things. Like the launch date is mid-June supposedly. And that the 3G iPhone may support video recording, and even include a secondary camera, for video conferencing. Also maybe even GPS. Now, I don’t know how much of that is true, but you can just see for youself over at MacRumors. Anyway, I guess I’ll just suffer with my first-gen iPhone until this summer, when I’ll either get a 3G iPhone or a Google Android phone… or both. =D
Seeking Better Mobile Solution
Posted by Rex Pechler in Mobile, Personal, Productivity on May 6, 2008
So, I love my iPhone. There are some things that it can’t do that I really really want.
- 3G Data Speeds… EDGE is too damn slow.
- Video Broadcasting … no app exists, and it would be too slow anyway.
- GPS. Location-based notifications among other things, also broadcasting my location. Also, tracking my whereabouts for posterity.
- Ability to act as WiFi hotspot. I want to share that 3G speed to my laptop… or to yours, wherever we go.
These things -might- get updated this summer with the next iPhone, but I doubt we’ll see video broadcasting or real GPS. And frankly, I don’t really want to buy another iPhone. And I also don’t want to wait that long.
So I’m thinking about getting a Nokia N95, or something comparable. There are applications to do all of the aforementioned things. And, I could still use my iPhone to browse the web over the WiFi connection the Nokia creates. One cool thing is that I can just pop the SIM card out of my iPhone and into the Nokia, keeping the same phone number… and my unlimited data plan from AT&T includes 3G already so it won’t cost me any more per month.
The only thing is, I don’t know if it will work the way I want, or if I’ll be happy with the phone itself. Know of a better solution?
Tech Gets Crazy
Posted by Rex Pechler in Media, Organization, Personal, Web on April 27, 2008
I’ve started a new blog… http://techgetscrazy.blogspot.com
I’ve decided to make Rex.FM more of a personal blog, while I’ll post my crazy, tech-related posts over at TechGetsCrazy. I feel like it will be a better outlet for my ideas without pushing my personal brand too much. I mean, I really want Rex.FM to be about me, not my crazy ideas. So anyway, expect some coolness over there, if you’re interested, and subscribe via Google Reader or whatever if you like… feel free to expect some awesomeness. http://techgetscrazy.blogspot.com
Running, Resolutions follow-up
Posted by Rex Pechler in Fitness, Personal on March 15, 2008
So I’ve been running a lot last week. I ran 20 miles over 3 days. Which is a lot for me, because I hadn’t been running in a long time.
Why would I do this to myself? I was in a competition with a friend on nikeplus.com … we wear our iPod nanos and use the Nike+ device that counts our steps… tracking distance and speed. Anyway, we were competing for the most distance over a month. And she had been running consistently, and I was trying to catch up at the last minute. I came close, but didn’t quite catch up.
I started enjoying running again… especially when I ran 9.7 miles one night to Natural Bridges and back.
I don’t have a weight scale here at the University Inn, but I don’t think I’ve made much progress on that part of my New Year’s Resolutions… yet, at least.
Time for a new Nike+ Challenge? I think so.
You can add me to your challenge:
Nike+ username: rpechler