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Recently I installed the Android smartphone apps for LinkedIn and Yammer.
Consider how often you post updates, particularly if you link to your Twitter feed. I've confirmed that if one hides LinkedIn updates via the web interface from friends who have an excessive number of updates, that action transfers over to the Android app. Value = Friends Who Filter!
While I may choose to stay "friends" with you, your voice will not be heard.
Although my friends know that I'm a serious cross-country ski racer, it's important to enjoy a ski through the wilderness where speed and competition is not the end goal. In life, one must kick back and take a slower pace on occasion. On Christmas Eve, after a good workout I decided it was time to follow my own advice. Thus, I continued my ski by doing a Lake Superior North Shore river ski! This activity involves skiing at a slow pace up (and then back down) a local creek or waterway. In my case, I started up the Amity Creek riverbed, and soon could hear the rushing water of rapids beneath the ice. My ski also included both skiing up and down a small waterfall! I posted four photographs of my ski. (click upon any image to view at full size).
Here are a few other great events which don't stress competition, but concentrate on enjoying the northern wilderness:
Molly and I are already signed up for Book Across the Bay. We're considering the other events given our schedule!
This is so very cool. The ancient Greeks developed a mechanical computer which they used to predict celestial events. All knowledge of their computing device was lost for over 2,000 years. In the year 1901, a shipwreck is discovered along with the Antikythera Mechanism. Fast forward a bit over 100 years and some Apple Computer engineers replicate and build a copy of the device using Legos! Read the full story in the magazine Nature. (video link)
and a photo of the real McCoy
With the increasing number of smart phones, and tablet computers, it's important to consider how your content is server up to your web visitor. Although I'm only in the first phase of my own research, I've already identified some great tools.
My first find is open source (i.e. free) eBook conversion / server software, Calibre. The user interface is amazingly easy to use, and after watching the YouTube overview, there was no reason to read any manuals. In fact it may be a misnomer to think of Calibre as eBook software. A better description might be software which allows one to convert pdf files to the standard ePub format for mobile devices. However, Calibre takes the process one step further and allows you to convert for specific devices (i.e. iPhone, Blackberry, etc). Even better, the software comes with its own server software for delivering up books. Once again the server software is easy use. In a test at work, it took me just a few minutes to get the server online, and an equal amount of small time for a friend to access my server and download a book (no instructions from me). I've included some Calibre screenshots at the end of this post.
Now, like me you may not be independently wealthy ... you can't afford to purchase every latest mobile device. Thus, emulators can become your best friend. Here are some good simulators / emulators I have found during this initial research. Please add a comment with your own favorites:
It's quite possible that you won't want to use the heavy duty SDK's. Thus, if you just want to view how a page renders, then I recommend a trip to Gomez. This site allows you to submit a url and view the results (emailed to you) on how your web content looks upon a Blackberry Storm, a iPad, an Android Chrome Device, and finally a iPhone.
And now the Calibre screenshots. Click upon any image for a full sized view.
Preferences
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eBook Manager User Interface
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Server Root
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Server Books
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Mobile Server Root
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If you've stayed with me this far, I used our family Christmas newsletter for my test. Merry Christmas from Rich and Molly Hoeg (pdf | ePub)
At times it worries me that my children by growing up in the Twin Cities don't really know how to properly talk Minnesotan. Could this be one of the reasons Molly and I recently built a house in our home town of Duluth (i.e. up north)? By having the children come visit it is my hope they will learn proper diction! Thus, I give you "yeah", or is it "yah" ... or finally "ja". Watch and you decide. Uff Dah!
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