Blue Tooth and Ipod!

[Andykev]

Well, I have to admit that at my "advanced age", I have fallen behind with the technology game! I was at Starbucks, and of course, wearing my work clothes, felt very comfy approaching a young 20' ish man, and asked him what the hell that "Star Treck" thing he had in his ear was..?!

Well, he whipped out something like a Blackberry, and mentioned "Blue Tooth". Well, I figured if you ate Black berries, you might end up with a blue tooth!

So, out he whips his hand held device, and it looks like an auxiliary contol panel for the next Shuttle launch. Whoops where have I been?

Oh, he was very nice, and "tuned up" my Ignorance.

I remembered MK at dinner and his hand held something or other where he pulled up the "LOUNGE" on his little two inch screen.

I'm set, we are going to visit the store today!

Well, I went into the local electronics place, cellular store, etc etc.

I felt worse than Dumb and Dumber.

My partner bought three new Motorola Blue Tooth capable phones.

I picked up some literature, and opened my mind to the new stuff.

SO tonight, I sit here with a brochure in hand, and my new Ipod in ear, looking to see how fast I can catch up to the "gadgets" the younger kids have! What is next? I can only dream....

 

[MK]

yep

That hand held thing was a PDA. It is bluetooth as well.....and that is a FIVE inch screen, bub!

 

[android]

I have a Dell Axim X50. I've got mine loaded with music, games and a lot of reference software like periodic tables, star charts and lunar charts, and Pocket Streets with maps of cities I frequently visit.

The cool thing is you can walk into most coffee shops and have a wireless connection to the Fedora Lounge. (BTW: paying for wireless is so last year. If they're charging for it, go somewhere else.)

I've heard some people use them for email and meeting, but I think that would be a waste of good storage.

 

[scotrace]

Well, I have to admit that at my "advanced age"...

Hold on there... I think we're the same age.
You're gonna LOVE that iPod. I bought mine the week they came out. I thought that thing would soar in the market, so I also bought more AAPL stock.
I was right.

Mine is filled with Louis Armstrong Hot Five's, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Coleman Hawkins, Bessie Smith, and of course, the music from my teen years - Peter Frampton and - the reason for my adult deafness - Ted Nugent! Also some Latin Salsa and classical.

The price of early adoption is that my iPod only holds 1000 songs.
Now, take my advice and get some nice speakers for the iPod and put them in the kitchen. My wife and I have discovered that it is fun to dance there while making dinner. I have also found that if your hands are anywhere within 12" of the keyboard, the iTunes Music Store takes your money.
Welcome to one of the Good Things about living in the 21st century.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

When we go out to eat, my kids and I play tic tac toe on the back of the restaurant kids menus, with the crayons that are provided.

My wallet is crammed with little slips of paper with numbers and names that I have no clue what they mean.

I do have a cell phone, but other than calling home and my brother, has no use. Half the time I can't remenber the number.

My watch is a cheap Timex with no day or date. I tried a day/date once and got real confused. Forget about a LCD watch...too many buttons. I think there is four buttons on the one in my drawer.

the only thing that I know how to do on my PC is check e mail and visit The Fedora Lounge.

 

[BellyTank]

Tic tac toe?

Tic tac toe?
Sounds complicated...

B
T

 

[Biltmore Bob]

X's and Oh's

Yes very complicated, indeed. It's a game of strategy. Very exciting!

 

[BellyTank]

Sounds just like Noughts and Crosses...
but with a high falutin' name...

X O O
O X O
O X

B
T

 

[Matt Deckard]

I have a notebook and a pen.

 

[jamespowers]

I have a piece of stone, hammer and chisel. Gets messy when I take fast notes though.
The sundial works ok too.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Andykev]

No!

I have a notebook and a pen.

NOW THAT is my kind of retro guy!

 

[STHill]

I've tried pda's and I always go back to pen and paper. But, ah, the ipod.... I am a music nut and the ipod is absolutely the best thing since sliced bread. Or maybe satellite radio is the best thing since sliced bread. Wait, no, TiVo is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[android]

So, I never would have bought a PDA, because I don't need an electronic leash for email, meetings and messaging. I'm also rather fond of legal pads and #2 pencils.

But, I won the Axim as a door prize, and decided to give it a try. I still think it would be annoying to use it as a notepad on a regular basis. The interface is too slow and unnatural.

But, It is a great information and data store and you can put a lot more than music on it so it beats an ipod hands down.

I have a 512MB Compact flash in mine that still is only half full and heres where on it:

Contact info for all friends and family

1913 edition of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary with over 180,000 detailed definitions.

About 100 recent photos of families and activities

8 CDs of 1930s and Dance music as MP3s

A few cool movies

A units conversion program

Pocket Stars, Complete star chart, ephemeris tables, moon phases, and detailed info on a few thousand stellar bodies.

Calorie Tracker program with about 1000 food items and their nutritional value

About a dozen good games that I can play against the computer or someone else:

Tetris
RatSplat (like whack-a-mole)
Backgammon
Chess
Solitaire
Othello
Minesweeper
Freecell
Jawbreaker
Snood

Periodic Table of the Elements with detailed info on each element

A guitar tuner program

A program to calculate flash/thunder lightning distance

Pocket Streets with complete maps of Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth and Houston

Stopwatch w/ split time, lap time and mph calculation

So, I agree that it's not good for taking notes, but since it's the equivalent of a phonograph, film viewer and a briefcase full of books, manuals and maps in a very compact form, I have changed my mind about them being totally useless.

 

[Kentucky Blues]

STHill, can I have one of your old pda's?

 

[feltfan]

No electronic distortion or lossy compression

I'll stick to my 1923 Victrola. It'll keep working when your batteries
drain and your power goes out. It'll keep playing through EMP.
You've never heard recorded horns sound so fine.

And yes I do have a portable Brunswick 78 player I could
bring to Starbuck's...

I hope no one is planning to wear a Bluetooth phone or ipod
earplugs with one of those fine vintage fedoras?

 

[Matt Deckard]

By the by felt fan, awsome hat.

 

[Mycroft]

I got a jotter, pen, and an Ipod for my tunes.

 

[Slicksuit]

SO tonight, I sit here with a brochure in hand, and my new Ipod in ear, looking to see how fast I can catch up to the "gadgets" the younger kids have! What is next? I can only dream....

Funny you should mention Bluetooth wireless and Ipod. I think I read in a business magazine a few weeks ago that the next step for Ipod is possibly wireless headphones (via bluetooth), or possibly video.

Personally, I couldn't live without my 20GB Ipod that I received for Christmas last year, either. It makes my commute that much bearable. Also handy to whip out when I'm bored or otherwise forgot to bring reading material with me.