Thursday, March 25, 2010

Video Communications

 TOKBOX or skype  ?

Skype has text messaging, feature to call normal land lines and mobile phone (for a fee) and conference feature for voice but no conference feature for video. If you want to invite more than one person then you need to revert to audio only.

Tokbox has up to 20 user video conferencing, ability to leave video messages, no software installation necessary.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

iPad - Google Tablet - mobile computing - new Paradigm

There is a stimulating discussion about the likely outcome of the mobile computing challenge event. The two favourites are iPad and the, as yet, unseen Google tablet. There is no denying the fact that regardless of the producer the format does inspire the imagination and mind. I have been frustrated with the mobility of the 'pull' aspect of the internet via a mobile phone even with the more recent models with larger screens because they simply do not have the clout and Human Computer Interface that makes for a satisfying experience for me. Some of the current projects with Wired magazine / Adobe and The Washington Post have re-kindled a belief that published content can be made available in an inviting and interesting way. Will there be a battle over proprietry software though?

iPad or Google Tablet?
I started a dialogue with Technology Chick on the subject and that forced me to look into the Google Tablet because I thought the iPad was a clear front runner at that point. Both sides have been well presented by Sarah Perez in an article on Read Write Web.
The Ipad pros: ready product, looks good, already has publishers lining up to use it as a medium, huge ready to use eco-system of apps
The iPad cons: no web-cam, cannot run flash, price starts at $500, proprietry O/S
Google Tablet Pros: Open source s/w, anticipated affordable price,
Google Tablet Cons: still not in the market, concerns of being "watched" by Google

More answers when we can see the Google tablet. I'm still undecided.