Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Fun makes the stairs more appealing [video] - Holy Kaw!


It should com as no surprise that if you want to get people to embrace change, that injecting a little WiiFM like making it fun will have a positive effect on the unstated change initiative the VW was attempting (they wanted to prove that fun made it worthwhile). Also the fact that they did not tell people that they were trying to alter their behavior increases the (i) perceived input. It was their idea after all to enjoy the musical step.

Re-Blogged from AlltopFun makes the stairs more appealing [video] - Holy Kaw!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Motorola Droid 2 Global: Further notes

On it's second trip to Europe, the Global version of the motorola Droid2 is still performing admirably. I have been to the tops of mountains, and by rail all over Switzerland and can't complain much about performance. One gripe is battery life. I don't think I quite make it a full 8 hour work day without getting dangerously low on battery. Charging options can be quite frustrating since carrying a charger everywhere one goes is not ideal. Nor are the battery options.

My wife picked up from Ebay or Amazon a charger and battery for the Motorola Droid line of phones. However it should be noted that the battery pictured shows a battery with Motorola logo, but the battery you will receive is not authentic. Of course it should stand to reason that if the USB charging cable from MOTO cost $8 why would the battery cost less?

No now I started shopping for those rapid battery chargers, that use USB cable to charge the phone. These chargers allow you to pre-charge a larger high capacity battery using your USB cable. Then you carry around what is supposed to be around 3 iPhone charges.



From what I can see. There is quite a range of possibilities. Prices are quite variable but it looks like one has to buy in the $50 range to insure that you have a battery with 4000-5000 mAh (3-4 charges of the DROID by the numbers) The Duracell seems to be the better bargain at only $20 but only 1100mAh. which may get you going once per reload.

The so-called powerhouse by Duracell runs the price up to nearly $45 for only 2000mAh. So the brand is adding some price (but who knows how much value). The size of these things is a little daunting considering that our pockets are getting more and more packed with gadgets. So I guess I will try the GUM Plus or the Splash intense. Each of which have slightly less than obnoxious form factor and are at least no larger than the phone itself.

    
     

Sunday, January 23, 2011

poor video from the Technopark presentation

Tried to capture some video of the presentation, but unfortunately the batter on the camera is pure crap. In any case I salvaged some video thanks to Roald who saw the camera stop.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Brown Bag Lunch: Selling Innovation/Change

I made the presentation, but unfortunately my camera has such a disappointing battery that I have not video of the talk. But here is the slide show instead. I post via slideshare.



Since the talking I do is not captured, I have to make sure that I give credit where it is due. Also, for more places to see, things to read, or inspiring voices you can look up:

  • Simon Sinek, Start with Why (the what, how, is not original)
  • Dan Ariely for the comparative difference thought starter
  • mondaydots for first showing comparitive difference to me, and planting ideas for the simplicity of the presentation

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Don't Talk with your Mouth full: Technopark Zurich Brownbag lunch presentation

I have been invited to make a presentation at the Zurich Technopark. Apparently the Self-Proclaimed-Die-Expert and Techni-ho is a "world renowned" expert on Technical Evangelism.

I will be presenting on the theme:

Selling innovation/change
Technical Evangelism by the numbers

The basic theme of the presentation will be a return to one of my earlier concepts; and attempt to quantify the amount of resistance that people have to new ideas:
I doubt that any of the 3 people who read this blog will necessarily be in the Zurich Area this week (the presentation is Thursday the 20th of January, 2011 at 12:30). But if I cared whether or not people listened or read what I do, this blog would not exist. 

I will consider posting the entire presentation after the debut on Thursday.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Droid2 Global by Verizon: thoughts and review

I just got the new Droid2 Global by Moto for Verizon (not just got it. I already took it out for a 8000 mile trip to EU and Switzerland and back).

I have to say that so far I am VERY VERY happy with the performance of the phone. For starters I should mention that my previous phone was TERRIBLE (BB 8830 World Edition). The old phone was about as advanced as a set of tin cans connected with string compared to the Droid2.

Not gonna run down some kind of over the top Cnet type benchmark for you but here is what I like:

  • sync with MS Exchange server from work was seemless (mail, contacts, and Calenders)
  • Wifi
  • GPS (with navigation by google maps)
  • Touchscreen
  • Slide-out keyboard
  • overall communication options (phone good, VOIP using Fring, IM using GoogleTalk, SMS-oip using GoogleVoice, social stalking using Facebook/twitter/LinkedIn)
no issues getting data overseas (once i turned it on) and everything else has been simple. Not using it too much for games (Angry Birds), or music or Movies. But using it a personal communication hub has been perfect.

more as I use it more....