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• Windows XP Printing on Airport Extreme
• iPhone SDK
• Hand-crafted wood iPod sound system
• commandN
• Sumo Robot Challenge 2008
• Why you should use Gmail
• UI Testing and Screen Recording Software
• PodCamp and Democamp
• Wii Therapy
• The Paige Show

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After spending time trying to avoid installing anything on Windows XP to print to an Airport Extreme shared printer, I broke down and installed Bonjour for Windows 1.0.5.  It was a small download, and it appears to only install a helper application which setup the TCP/IP printer port(s) for your printer(s).  It immediately found the shared printers on the network and had them up and running within seconds.

Printing now seems to work flawlessly from Windows XP to my Brother Laser Printer.

Two weeks ago Apple release the iPhone SDK and Michael Mistretta said it best:

With the iPhone SDK, Apple did everything right. Through classes like UIKit, Apple has given developers access to every aspect of the phone - wifi, camera, and EDGE - as well as providing them with technologies like Core Animation and Core Location to help them create the best possible applications.

Having spent the last 2 days working in the iPhone SDK all I can say is WOW this is amazing.  We are now entering the mobile computing age.  I have only scratched the surface and look forward to diving deeper into the SDK and learning everything I can.  If you have any suggestions for applications you would like to see on the iPhone, please let me know.

I came across this product today at TreeHugger which looks to be environmentally friendly in design and power usage. The iPod stereo is constructed with sustainably harvested cherry and assembled with screws for easier recycling.  Now we just have to hope Apple will distribute them in their stores.  For more information visit: Vers Audio.

This past week I had the privilege of attending a taping of the tech news show commandN and it was amazing to see how easy they made it look. Of course after 124 episodes the kinks must be all worked out, and I don’t know how long the editing took. The hosts Amber and Will make it look so easy, as they check their cellphones for the next story and then just talk about it. No script, cue cards or teleprompter just two people talking tech.

On Saturday, Mar 1st there will be a Sumo Robot Challenge at the Ontario College of Art & Design.  I have never attended this before but have some similar things on TV.  I’m looking forward to seeing what people have come up with.

Many people use the email address given to them by their employer or ISP, but this can cause problems. If you change jobs or ISP’s then your email address will no longer work and friends, family and business contacts will no longer be able to get in touch with you. Chris Brogan today wrote a good article explaining why you should Buy a domain or at least use Gmail:

Several friends of mine recently left their job all at once (the company had a mass layoff). I checked in LinkedIN, and it looks like I’m now missing a way to directly contact at least 70 of them, because they used their business email address as their primary point of contact.

So go out there and sign up with Gmail, and if you are more adventurous purchase your own domain.

In reading a recent blog post from Coding Horrors about listening to your users, it got me thinking: Could software companies utilize screen recording software to analyze user interaction?

What I envision is users record their computer desktops while using the software.  The resulting movie is sent back to the software company to analyze and determine out how the user interacts with the software.  How much time does the user spend going through menus?  Are short cut keys used over menu items?  I’m sure somebody with more letters behind their name than me could think of many more questions.

Of course there are the obstacles to figure out, such as: licensing of screen capture software, should it be included in the program, do users act differently if they know they are being recorded?  Is this a feasible idea or have I just spent too much time in front of my computer?

What a weekend it has been with Podcamp on the weekend and Democamp last night. Over the last 3 days I have met some great people from Toronto and beyond. I have taken in so much information my head is still buzzing but I am slowly starting to wind down.

To start with Podcamp was held at Ryerson University on Saturday and Sunday in their communications building. I’m not sure the final numbers but for myself it was a huge success. I met so many wonderful people there I don’t even know where to start. The sessions were amazing and the biggest thing I got from the weekend was the idea of Personal Branding. The idea we as individuals are a brand and how to foster that brand help it grow. After having time to absorb the idea I have made the decision to converge all my online efforts into one space under the domain www.andrewrivett.com. Watch for several changes to this site and my others in the coming days as I slowly transform them into my new website.

Podcamp also showed me the value of Twitter and how to properly use it and not spam all my friends with useless information. Vergel showed us how to collect stats for our blogs and get started in analyzing those statistics to improve our blogs. Chris Brogan showed me the value of starting conversions on my blog not just talking at people, but talking with people. Those were the main things that stood out for me, but there were so many small things I learned throughout and can’t even remember where or what session. Next year I will have to take better notes so I can remember and give the proper credits.

After such a fun filled weekend full of excitement and energy I was glad to take Monday to decompress somewhat before heading out to DemoCamp at the Board of Trade in Toronto. It was an evening full of amazing demos, well done ignite sessions and some great conversions at the bar afterwards. The people were super friendly and you could easily go up to anybody, introduce yourself and instantly a conversion was started. It didn’t matter if you were a CEO, investor or a developer such as myself we could always find something in common. I didn’t get a chance to met everybody I wanted to, but I’ll be going to the next one for sure.

Overall I had a great time, and if you haven’t been I highly recommend it. If you did attend either event this weekend, what are your thoughts?

Wired recently wrote an article on how the Nintendo Wii is being used by hospitals for physical therapy.

Some call it “Wiihabilitation.” Nintendo’s Wii video game system, whose popularity already extends beyond the teen gaming set, is fast becoming a craze in rehab therapy for patients recovering from strokes, broken bones, surgery and even combat injuries.

I think this would be a great use for the Wii. It gets people to move around and exercise without ever realizing it. Perhaps somebody should open a Wii Gym.

I have been busy working on a new video podcast which launched last week. My girlfriend and I have put together a new video podcast which we hope people will find enjoyable. All the videos are filmed in our Condo and edited together with Final Cut Express on a Macbook Pro. What you can accomplish with technology is amazing these days. Check out The Paige Show at http://www.thepaigeshow.com/.

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