From:Gerard CC:World

Just before Christmas, I was able to find a Sony Playstation 3 at my local retail store the day I decided to get a console… Not sure what this availablility shortage scare was all about? This is my first console, having almost completely left the world of gamers over 10 years ago (shortly after Doom and Descent 1.0 came out). I therefore consider(ed) myself as one of these non-gamers the WII is trying to attract.

I have been considering buying a console for a while, and my initial choice was to get a PS3, mainly because of its HD capabilities, the built-in Blu-ray player and the strong history behind the Sony brand when it comes to gaming. But with all the hype behind the Wii at launch, I almost went with that one as it seemed to be the least “serious” console. As they only had the PS3 in stock that morning, I came back to my initial choice.

Having enjoyed this device for just over a month now, my biggest problem with it is that I simply don’t have enough time to use it!

Technorati Tags: blu-ray, hardware, opinion, playstation, review

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So, it’s finally been announced: the Apple iPhone! What a cool looking device. The user interface looks absolutely beautiful, and the whole user experience appears to be as good as you would expect from Apple Inc. OK, the iPhone won’t be available until this summer in the USA (no words about Canada) and this fall in Europe, but based on what has been shown so far, I don’t expect to buy an Apple iPhone when available…

Technorati Tags: apple, ipod, opinion, hardware, telecom

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Have you noticed that more and more small devices get charged through a simple USB connection… to name a few of those I have: the Blackberry, the Netgear Skype-phone, the iPod, point-and-shoot cameras, the Palm TX (with a special USB cable that Palm doesn’t provide). This is really great, except when you run out of USB ports on your laptop while travelling!
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The Netgear SPH101 WiFi Skype phone was announced in January 2006… I finally got my hands on one (11 months later) and I have to say, this is really cool for a version 1.0 of a product, but there is still room for improvement. There are a few quirks that will hopefully get resolved with updates to the firmware, but all and all, it works as advertised, and the sound quality is really good.

I’ve been using Skype for a while and really appreciate the user experience of the software… really clean interface, easy-to-use and at the cost of phone calls (especially Computer-to-Computer) make it a very attractive solution to talk with my family, friends and colleagues around the world. The biggest negative has always been the need to have a computer with the Skype software installed on it… not anymore!
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I finally gave up the fight and got a BlackBerry. After using it for a few week, I have this love and hate relation with it. But at the end of the day, I am, for the time being at least, able to keep up with my inbox, especially when travelling, without needing to spend my night connected.

Yes, I am now one of the millions of users who happily type on this tiny keyboard – I have the 7100 model – any time I have to wait somewhere. Really adictive this little device. It is definitely not as good as a Palm OS device for an all purpose PDA, but as a mobile email client, it rocks. And the integration with the corporate email really works great, including global address book lookup and folder support (see my blog entry about the Palm TX) as well as syncing of calendar, tasks and notes.
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Last week’s Apple announcement, and especially the rumors craziness leading to that event, got me thinking. How to react when you are a company in the spotlight where your fans dream of wild things and post information about what your next product will be, setting expectations that are getting harder and harder to meet. By the way, did you know that Apple is about to release the Airport FrontRow, after the Airport, the Airport Extreme and the Airport Express.

And to get the Apple legal suite off my back in case I actually got this one right, this is pure speculations based on what Apple is currently doing, who their target users, mixed with a few readings on the rumor site, discussions with friends who don’t know more than I do, added with a few of my own ideas. Sounds like fun… enjoy!
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After using my new Palm T|X for a few weeks, and as a follow-up to my previous blog entry, here are some thoughts about the good, the bad and also the ugly when it comes to this little device. Time flies… It’s already been over a month since I looked at various devices to replace my SonyEricsson P910i. As mentioned in my previous Blog entry, I was looking for a new device (or combination of devices) to provide mobile email access and more. My choice went with the Palm T|X and overall, I am really happy with this PDA. A few things could be improved, very few should be completely replaced and most of them are great! And overall, I am really happy that I don’t have this brick in my pocket all the time anymore
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I’ve started the search for a new mobile email device / solution. Here are my thoughts and final decision of why I chose the solution I selected. And as this blog entry is written during the research and selection process, I don’t know yet what the final result / solution is.
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A review of Alan Cooper’s book with the subtitle: “Why high-tech products drive us crazy and how to restore the sanity”. Looking at why technological devices (and more specifically the software related to them) drives end-users nuts, makes them feel like idiots and do not consider interaction design or a clear representation of the target user during their development.

During a discussion with a friend, I recommend he reads The Invisible Computer (perhaps the subject of another blog entry)… in exchange, he told me that I should read “The inmates are running the asylum” without providing me any form of additional information. The title sounded very intriguing and the content was worth reading through.
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