Spout: Gorgeous Twitter Visualizer on the Cheap

What would you do if you were charged with getting a tweet board up for an important event, you had no budget, and it had to be something that would grab attention?

Sure, you could Google "Twitter visualization" and find a few finicky and not-so-flashy free products. You could also pay outrageous amounts of money to unlock a premium product.

Or you could pay $2 for Spout, the remarkable flexible tweet visualizer for iPad and iPhone. Spout gives you 15 highly customizable themes, modes, display times, animation controls - and more cool features than you can possibly use at one event.

Spout doesn't allow you to display multiple tweets, just one tweet at a time. But it's guaranteed attract eyeballs and draw your participants into the Twitter conversation. Hit the video below and feel your jaw drop.

A Better Way to Record Audio to Your iPhone or iPad

The superb iRig mic plugs right into your iPhone/iPad, costs roughly $60, and is available at your Apple store.

If you shoot video on your iPhone or iPad you know how hard it is to get good quality sound. The same holds true if you're recording for Sound Cloud or Garage Band on those same devices. The built-in microphones just weren't made to capture sound well.

 

The iRig Mic is a great way to give your video or audio productions the sound they deserve.

 

This microphone is solid but lightweight, has a built-in wind screen, and captures superb quality audio at three different settings.

 

The bottom one is perfect for recording live music that usually registers as a hot, fuzzy mess on your iOS device. This setting tamps down the sound so you can actually hear your favourite band on playback.

 

The middle setting is good for recording sound within a a foot of the source. This is good for streeters or video interviews with people where you pose a question, then hold the mic close to your subject to get their thoughts.

 

Finally, the top setting puts the mic in ultra-sensitive mode. This is perfect for events where you're either far away from the source or the source audio is weak and you need all the boost you can get.

 

I've tested this ultra-sensitive setting in situations where I was about 15' away from speakers at a press conference and the difference in sound quality between the iRig and the built-in iPhone mic was incredible. The iPhone's mic's sound was weak and frankly compromised the viewability of the video, whereas the iRig-recorded sound was bright and clear.

 

I've also used this mic in a noisy construction site where I need decent quality sound on a subject's voice. Placing the mic about 2 ft away from the subject - again on the top setting - cut through the din and gave me decent quality sound. A little hot, but perfectly listenable.

 

My son has used this ultra-sensitive setting to record voice and guitar in our sunroom, positioning the mic on a low table about 3-4 ft. away and it worked well.

 

The iRig mic also lets you monitor sound quality by letting you plug a set of headphones.

 

Check out this great, inexpensive microphone at your local Apple or music store.

 



Stand and Talk 1: Boost Your iPhone Audio

Getting good quality sound - or sound that is simply loud enough - on your iPhone or iPad videos is a real challenge. For anything farther away than your arm, the built-in mic just does not cut it. A good option in some circumstances is the RODE SmartLav mic. This basic lapel mic lets you isolate your voice from the ambient sound around you and substantially boosts the pick up on your voice.

My mistake in this video was to position it about 6 inches from my collar - the recommended distance. After I reviewed the video, I realized that was much too close. You can hear the sound running a bit hot and clipping after I plug the mic in. Because the SmartLav is so sensitive, a better distance would have been perhaps 10 inches down.

Still a good product, though - and one way to deal with the frustration of poor on-camera sound. In a future post I will tell you about the iRig mic - a real premium product, more flexible than this, and at the same price.

Happy recording.

Why Snapguide Could Be The Next Big Thing

Snapguide is a free, simple and very slick iPhone/iPad application for creating and sharing step-by-step "how-to" guides. Even though it only made its App Store debut on March 27, it's easy to see why Snapguide could be big - maybe even Instagram big.

You create attractive guides right from the app taking advantage of your iPhone or iPad's camera and some sweet Snapguide creation tools. Text, photos and video clips are combined in a step-by-step sideways swipe format and each guide features your name and pic plus like, comment and share buttons on the front cover. The results can be stunning.

You'll recognize the social components as being highly reminiscent of Instagram - simple and workable. The explore buttons will let you search for any category of guide you'd like instead of relying on app-generated suggestions.

Now, initially, the range of guides isn't as wide as you'd like to see, but the app is in its infancy and topics will certainly broaden in the coming weeks and months. For now, titles include everything from "How to Roast Your Own Coffee" to "How to Keep a Parrot as a Companion Bird."

Face it, everyone knows how to do something, but doesn't necessarily have the venue to easily share it. Sure there are DIY sites on the web, and YouTube videos are useful for learning new tricks, but this particular mobile format lends itself so well to easy creation and consumption. There is a Snapguide website as well, but the creative fun is definitely in the mobile app.

So, have fun with this one, kick out a few guides of your own and see how Snapguide grows. Looks like a winner.

Why Aren't Restaurants Smarter About Free Wi-Fi?

Free wi-fi means I'll drop more cash at your fast food outlet or eatery.
So why don't more restaurants and merchants offer it?

Why do most restaurants want to sell me wi-fi access over lunch?

When I go to my local Perkins or Salisbury House, or visit a good number of eateries, one of the first things I do is fire up my iPhone or iPad to see if I can surf on their dime.

So often I can't.

Instead they want to make money from me by sending me through a big service provider.

Yet, I can sit down at a McDonalds, stroll through a Safeway or wait for my sons at the orthodontist and get free access.

Those who do give me a chance to enjoy a little digital respite at no charge make me feel valued. It's an unexpected perk that cements my loyalty.

While those who hope to make a buck from selling me access come off as marketing dinosaurs. The fact that free access will increase the frequency of my visits and leave me pre-disposed to dropping more money in their establishments is lost on them.

But maybe it's not about the money. Could it be that it's a filter to discourage youths from sucking up bandwidth by filling up the booths while tethering their iPod Touches to the house router?

Whatever the case, the kids aren't there. And neither are the business customers that would appreciate a smart 21st-Century marketing gesture.

The bottom line is that more traffic equals more dollars - and those who won't serve me wi-fi gratis get fewer of mine.

Ditch your iPhone Calendar for Something Better

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, I'm here to tell you there's a much better calendar app to use than the one that comes with it.

In fact, Calvetica puts the default calendar to shame with its elegance, common-sense navigation and ease of use.

The first thing you notice about Calvetica is that aesthetically it's light-years ahead of other calendar apps. Not clumsy like the app Steve gives you, yet not too dressy.

And the developers have a sense of humour. Its four original themes - including "romantic grey" and "knife fight pink" - have been trimmed back to two offerings, red and black.

In month view, there are dots in the days with entries. But each dot represents an different entry, unlike a single dot representing a day's worth of events as in the native iPhone app.

You can switch between the full day, just your working day, or a very handy collapsed view of your entries for a particular day.

In all of the day views, the current one is always highlighted in red. The others are grey. There's never any confusion about whether you're in "today" or not.

But what I like most of all about Calvetica is that you can enter a new event right in the hour slot for that day - and set the time to five minute increments - without having to flip a single ugly tumbler up or down. This simple feature is worth the $2.99 the developers are asking.

But there is a lot more. You are not limited to two alerts per event - add as many as you want with the common-sense interface. If you flip your orientation sideways, you'll even get a great overview of your week, or the week of the day you've been viewing depending on your settings.

In fact, there are loads of settings to customize. And Calvetica will sync with MobileMe, Google Calendars, and you guessed it, Steve's app. Don't get any ideas about syncing to more than one, though. Apple doesn't want anyone by-passing MobileMe to keep their iDevices in harmony.

I've lived with Calvetica for two-weeks now and have turned the page on the standard-issue calendar. My advice? Pay the three bucks for Calvetica, play with it, work in it. It won't be long before you'll fire your default calendar, too.


Pics above were done on the iPad so I wouldn't mess up my real entries for today. Borders are not as heavy on the iPhone.

Much-hyped Word Lens Fails to Deliver

Ok, there's a lot of breathless hype about a new iPhone app called Word Lens which translates signs and text between Spanish and English on the fly - just by pointing your device's camera at them. If you watch the demo video above your jaw will drop. It's an amazing piece of augmented reality, better than kicking an AR soccer ball around, for sure.

While the concept is brilliant, the execution is disappointing.

I've been speaking Spanish since I was 19 and wanted to test the tech. So, I downloaded the app and sprung for the $5 Spanish to English and $5 English to Spanish modules (other languages are in the works).

Yes it's cool seeing the "translation" appear. But it is not even close to being as smooth as the demo portrays. The words on the screen constantly, constantly, shift until you lock them in. It's a major annoyance.

Clumsy translations
On simple signs you get clumsy translations, which admittedly are still of value because you could make use of them in a place where you didn't know a word of Spanish (or English). But if you try it with anything slightly more complex, sometimes even a book cover, you get a different set of words every time you lock the translation in. The software is simply not robust enough to settle on a translation in one go. So it generates major visual noise as it tries to make sense of the text - words are always jumping around.

Another problem is the translations are word for word. This makes sense in a way. You can't fit five words on a three-word sign. But it's limiting as well.

Among the many pieces of text I tried was this simple phrase, "Sunday will come" in English, which should be "El Domingo Vendrá" or "El Domingo Llegará. Word Lens rendered "Domingo Voluntad Venir." Voluntad refers to a person's free will.

Sleight-of-hand
I have no doubt that this is the beginning of something special in the realm of AR. Kudos to the developers for it. But the demo video sleight-of-hand is really not appreciated. It's the visual equivalent of a disingenuous dot.com news release that overpromises and underdelivers.

So sure, if you want to experience the novelty of holding up your phone to a sign and watch it magically morph into another language, wonderful. It may come in handy if you're vacationing in Cuba or Mexico and need a bit of language help.

But if you want to use it for marginally more serious purposes, there is much more work to be done on Word Lens before it begins to deserve all its good press.

Five Ubercool iPad Apps to Download Today

SoundHound - If you think Shazam is cool, hum or sing a phrase of your favorite current song into SoundHound and watch it identify song title, artist, videos and more. Yes, your jaw will drop like mine when my son pulled up Simple Plan's Perfect World that way. A real pleasure to browse and the interface is much cooler than that of its more popular rival.

CBC Radio - Gorgeous app, a delight to use, and under the slick design, a truly Canadian heart. All your favorites are here - everything from Ideas to As it Happens, to Q and The Current - plus live streaming from any of 31 Canadian cities. Whacks of great programming. And the best part? You can actually get past episodes of Terry O'Reilly's brilliant series The Age of Persuasion. Be still my heart.

iA Writer - Awesome, no-frills writing application. Don't be fooled by the plain vanilla simplicity. This is a highly functional app that's a joy to write with. Puts useful punctuation up where you want it. Tells you the time it will take to read your prose (copywriters take note). Unlike Pages, iA Writer gives you - wait for it - the ability to scrub back and forth through text without lifting your finger. Oh, and did I mention the Dropbox sync? Find your muse again.

SpeedText HD - Your handwritten words magically snap into sentences - in notes which become searchable when you forward them to Evernote (is there anything Evernote can't do?). Press the info button for a whack of controls. With a bit of practice you'll find lots of uses for this one.

Flixster (with Rotten Tomatoes) - Download this visually slick app and never search for newspaper movie listings again. Showtimes, reviews, trailers, ticket purchases, and a lot more.

Create Your Own Personal Cloud - Without Using Dropbox or Pogoplug

Recently, I told you how to bypass an iTunes sync and download video straight to your iPad with Dropbox. I also wrote about how to create your own personal "Dropbox" with Pogoplug.

But a few days ago, I stumbled on an app quietly sitting in the App Store that allows you to stream, view or download just about any file on your desktop - without iTunes and without hardware of any kind.

Zumocast is an slick little app that you download onto your PC or Mac as well as your iPad or iPhone. This app is so quick and duh simple to set up that when you suddenly see the entire contents of your laptop or desktop staring back at you from your iPad or iPhone, it's pretty trippy. Especially when you consider you haven't had to convert or sync a thing.

Stream your heart out
The app is free and gives you access to every document, photo, video or piece of music residing on your PC or Mac. You can stream video and music to your heart's content and view, but not edit, all your non-media files.

The wrinkle comes in not with streaming videos, but with playing those you actually download to the iPad in fullscreen. That's where I found the software a bit buggy. Many times video that I tried to play fullscreen would be masked by the menu area to the side of the viewing area. On subsequent tries things worked as you'd expect. Playing video less than full screen was always fine.

I tried correcting this spotty performance by downloading various sizes of video files, but in the end it beat me. I had to go back to Dropbox's solid and flawless fullscreen performance on downloads.

Temporary blemish
But don't let this temporary blemish - which I expect will be corrected in the next version - turn you away from everything else Zumocast has to offer. Streaming video fullscreen worked fine for me as did music. And viewing all your desktop pics and documents from your iPad display is pretty clever.

While you're mulling that over, check out the first video I downloaded from my laptop to my iPad via Zumocast - a fun three-minute blast from LDS hip-hop violinist Lindsey Stirling. It kicks off classically and morphs into the Black-Eyed Peas. For a "throw-up" (graffiti tagger terminology for a quick piece of work) in an underground parkade it's pretty amazing stuff.

Catch more of Lindsey's tunes - plus her AGT performance - on YouTube.

Host a Web Conference From Your iPad or iPhone

Fuze Meeting HD lets you host and join audio/screen sharing conferences right from your iPad or iPhone. And it doesn't leave out Android or Blackberry either.

The demo above speaks for itself. There are more on YouTube. The website is cool. The blog is amazing. And there's even a live daily demo you can peek in on to whet your appetite.

While the Fuze Meeting app is free, you pay $10 for 24 hours of what I assume is non-consecutive conferencing time - with up to 15 attendees.

The service looks affordable for small groups or associations. The other pricing options scale from there. If you have the time and interest, this cool production seems like it's worth a look.

5 Good Reasons Not to Wait for iPad 2

Sure, I was excited by the iPad launch, but I didn't run to the Apple store right away. I read up on the drawbacks and considered waiting for the second generation product - you know, the one that would appear within a year and sport all the much-vaunted "basics" everyone derided this one for not delivering.

Besides, with an iPhone, an iPod Touch, a laptop and a Blackberry, why would I want another device?

Well, I'm glad I swiped my debit card for an iPad - imperfect as it is.

We all know one of the major complaints about the iPad is that it's really a glorified iPod Touch. But that's what kicks this machine into a different product category and makes it so useful. So, hold on to your "I'm going to wait for the second version" logic for a minute and consider some reasons you might just want to spring for this very practical tablet - just the way it is.

1) Reading is an absolute joy on the iPad
Since you see more on the iPad screen you get better context to whatever you are reading. You no longer see a couple of lines or paragraphs in isolation - as you would on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Even PDFs are much more bearable and easy to read. Instead of the scrolling that normally takes place to see even a single page on a laptop or desktop screen, with the iPad you can hold an entire PDF page in your hand and see it with one glance.

Web pages look and read great because of the vertical orientation; I can't say enough about that. Even reading Maps is a pleasure. Maps takes great advantage of the iPad's increased real estate, becoming much more practical than the peering-through-a-keyhole-version you carry around with you on the iPhone.

And say what you want about iBooks, but it's just plain cool. Colour pages are colour pages. Turning the iPad sideways automatically puts you in two-page mode. The orientation lock is a welcome addition. And there's a Sepia wash you can toggle on to make the experience more like reading a book than a computer monitor.

If you're into reading wisdom literature like me, and depending on the app you get, the scriptures are gorgeous and a joy to read. Meditating on them is a soothing break from the hyper-connected world of blogs, Twitter and well, everything else.

2) App Store offerings take on new value
Old familiars have recast themselves and are benefitting from the larger screen. Dragon Dictation, for instance, becomes a big slate upon which you can experiment and compose before bringing that text into another application. The size of the slate makes it infinitely more useful than the same application on the iPhone or the iPod Touch. Dragon Dictation also becomes a wonderful journaling tool, lending a conversational tone to your notes and making the process of recording thoughts more fluid and natural.

The Google suite of apps is superb on the iPad. Take advantage of the iPad's microphone for some of your Google text and image searches. It really does feel like magic.

The mobile version of Google Docs is read only, so don't bother trying to compose a blog post on it. But I have found a great little app called Synote that will sync between your iPad and iPhone or whatever other device you happen to have. The price is nominal and it functions so well that it became my default writing tool before I bought Pages.

Evernote is a killer app on a Touch or iPhone, but wait till you see it on the iPad's larger screen. It's a dream for carrying with you to meetings and appointments for note taking. And, if you're so inclined, you can photograph with your iPhone all those business cards and scraps of paper you write your phone numbers and notes on. Your notes are available across the three platforms - web, iPad and iPhone. And with so many new integrations, Evernote is a real powerhouse. If you have a copy and haven't been doing much with it, get to know it. You'll be grateful you did.

Tweetdeck for the iPad loses some of its functionality on the iPad - you can't schedule tweets, for instance. But you can add columns to track searches like #edchat and #caned, the interface is beautiful, and there's enough there to keep you very happily tweeting. Echofon is good on the iPhone or Touch, but a clean visual knockout on the iPad. I find myself switching between Tweedeck and Echofon a lot, simply because there are features on each that I love. Twitter hasn't released a native iPad app yet, but if it's anywhere near the premium quality of the iPhone/Touch version, you're going to want it.

3) More portability than your laptop
If you think a laptop is liberating, the iPad is much more so. You won't be able to do everything you can on your laptop, and it's a little heavier than you might expect, but it feels rugged and in so many situations it sure beats a laptop.

Wouldn't you like your laptop to fire up instantly after sleeping? Well, the iPad does, and that alone is such a relief when you need to get some banking done or fire off some emails in a hurry.

Getting a good case is essential. It gives you a solid grip on the pad and the confidence to cart it around without fear of it slipping out of your hands. It will quell your paranoia about screen protection and really boost your enjoyment of the machine.

There are rich possibilities for presentations with the iPad. Whether you're speaking from a podium, pacing back and forth or walking into your audience, the iPad is the ultimate tool for prepared text. I've spoken with it from a podium and during workshop sessions and it's a dream. You can even leave it sitting on a table and pump the point size up enough in Pages to act as a handy cheat sheet.

Of course, it's perfect for walking around your classroom. And with an Apple composite A/V cable you can patch your iPad right into your LCD projector.

One-on-one presentations become much less cumbersome and more intimate using the iPad rather than a clunky laptop. Even processing email becomes a more comfortable task by just picking up the tablet and working it.

4) Better keyboarding than your phone
I've always believed a little time spent practicing text entry on any new device pays off down the road. You and the iPad's virtual keyboard will make friends fast with a bit of practice.

Writing in landscape mode can be hard at first because of the same hair-trigger sensation you get in your first few days with the iPhone or iPod Touch. But let me tell you, once you get comfortable, you'll find your speed goes up rather than down. This will definitely come as a surprise. And your finger tips will pad along the glass surface with a lot less noise than when taking notes with your laptop.

5) YouTubing with your friends and family
Many times, I've wanted to share a video or blog post on the spot with a few other friends or colleagues and I can do this for one person easily enough an iPhone/Touch. But with the iPad, I can share with three or four people at once.

This ability to share video with others is one the coolest features of the iPad. It really is something to be able to curl up with a video or TV episode by yourself or with someone else. Of course, the App store has plenty to choose from and Netflix is rumored to be available in Canada soon. So the value of what you're able to consume is likely to increase exponentially then.

You can always prop the iPad up on a table or desk (many cases allow you to do this) while you're working or eating to enjoy whatever you've downloaded or feel like streaming. Remember there are mountains of video podcasts available to you - on everything from learning Spanish to checking out the latest tech toys - through iTunes.

Ok, enough gushing. If all of the above and serious laptop-kicking battery life don't sway you, here's a sixth great reason.

6) Your kids are going to love it
Tablets make so much sense and they are so easy to use that children take to this device almost intuitively. Having a communal iPad around the house is a wonderful way for parents and kids to share video, play together and make little forays into educational applications that are really well served by this platform.

For a super list of educational iPad apps check out the Teach With Your iPad wiki.

5 Quick Tips for iPhone Users

Whether you bought your iPhone last week or a year ago, you know there's always something new to learn. So here goes...

1) Fly Through Calendar Months
Tired of repeatedly mashing your finger on your calendar's right and left arrow buttons to scroll through the year? Hold them down instead and watch the months fly by.

2) Compose Emails Twice as Fast
Dragon Dictation is the voice-to-text app you need. It's fast, free, and it lets you compose emails - or take notes - using only your voice. If you've never played with an app like this before, you'll be amazed at its speed and accuaracy. You can copy your text to your clipboard for insertion into other apps, or send it on its way via email. You owe it to yourself to try this freebie.

3) Track Your Blog Hits
No need to open Google Analytics on your desktop. Just grab Analytics App ($6.99) from the app store and load your username and passwords for your websites and blogs. You'll get instant access to all the numbers that make or break your day.

4) Check Out iPhone Web Apps
Looking for something different? You can spend hours browsing the app store. But did you know there are an extra 4,500 Apple web apps you can add to your iPhone or iTouch. Lots of categories. Some are unique products: Carbon Footprint Calculator, Color Mail and StreetMaven to name a few. You don't download these apps, you save them to your home page. Don't know how? Follow these instructions under "One Tap Web Apps."

5) Power Up Your PD
You can download audio and video versions of superb Classroom 2.0 Live professional development sessions recorded in Elluminate. Just open your iTunes app, hit search, punch in "Classroom 2.0 Live" and download the sessions you want.

Your Life - Unplugged for a Day

Do you have enough will power for a digital media fast? For being present in the moment with the ones you love? To keep the digital distractions at bay - even if it's only until sundown today?

If you weren't aware, today is the National Day of Unplugging, an initiative of sabbathmanifesto.org, a group of Jewish artists, writers, filmmakers and social media pros who are getting high-profile press these last few days because of its pitch to live an unplugged life from sundown, Friday, March 19th to sundown, Saturday, March 20th.

Think of it as the digital equivalent of Adbusters TV Turnoff week. Only perhaps our redirected attention is making technology more of a threat to connecting with family than television is these days. No matter, the point is that here's a chance to prove we have the mettle to put family and friends first for a few hours.

You'll notice I'm writing this post on this digital day of rest, so I've broken the fast already. But, hey, I'm on my own timetable, and apart from tweeting this a couple of times, I'm planning to make it until sundown today without tickling the keyboards of my laptop or iPhone.

Couldn't hurt, right?

How about it, are you up to the challenge?

Imagination and the iPad - Blue-Skying the Future

Those who dismiss the iPad as being a "glorified iPod Touch" likely don't own the iTouch or iPhone - and haven't caught the vision of their exceptional versatility. They really do change the way you relate to the Internet and liberate you - within limits, of course - from being tethered to your desktop.

I'm expecting the same kind of freedom from the iPad. I can imagine being curled up with not only a good ebook, but a good movie or some great streaming content from the web. I can imagine touch processing my email the way I do on my iPhone, but doing it from my favourite chair on a much bigger screen. I can imagine flipping the pages of a bright ebook (my 50-something eyes thank you, Steve) in that "intimate" experience Jobs talked about during the launch, or perhaps the simple cool factor of using my TweetDeck or Tweetie app the way I do on my iPhone - on a 9" screen on my lap.

But, more to the point here - I can also imagine a LOT more.

Creative applications
It seems the iPad and augmented reality would be made for each other for certain educational, business, and creative applications. So, while these odd musings may be just that now, here's what I hope to see in the next five to 10 years.

I imagine placing four or five little GPS dots on a wall and moving them around like Post-It notes. Then I point the iPad (which would in the second iteration include a camera) at those dots and immediately see the positions of the scanned pictures I want to hang on that wall. Once the images are "live" so to speak, I move the pictures around the wall with my finger to get alternate configurations.

I imagine interior designers making over entire rooms virtually by aiming the iPad camera at a kitchen or living room and spilling colours from a virtual palette onto the walls, ceilings and furniture. This capability, plus scores of apps written for designers, becomes an indispensable sales and visioning tool.

In much the same way as my iPhone can identify songs simply by listening to them in Shazam, sending a clip to iTunes and kicking me back the title and album, plus the artist's biography, discography, tour info and YouTube videos, I imagine similar databases for all kinds of things.

iBotany and architectural ID
Biology teachers on a field trip in the woods could snap pictures of a leaves or plants, have them sent in moments to "iBotany" or some such future app, and get an instant ID on the specimen. Architectural students could point the iPad at a building and find the style of those glorious old buildings around town. Anything tangible, anything that can be catalogued, could be identified in the same way.

With a high resolution camera and some GPS/database magic, I imagine snapping a picture of my home library, entering a title and watching it ID the book's location for me. Heck, with some fancy future tagging and software, I could haul my iPad down to an unfamiliar school or other bricks and mortar library, punch in a book title, and physically see its location in that room or on another floor.

I imagine pointing my iPad at my desk and having it ferret out a document's location by name. How? Who knows, but I want it. On the links, I can imagine someone pointing the iPad at me and analyzing the trajectory of my sorry golf swing by sending the video clip to iDuffer.

Did I mention just how important a high-end camera will be? The iPad will have pretty much the largest display of any available video camera - providing there are enough Apple Kool-Aider's who buy the product to make the addition of a camera a second- or third-generation reality.

I imagine this as a huge plus to broadcast students, filmmakers, ad agencies and creative types. With a sturdy case, tons more memory (I know I'm dreaming, but that's the point here) and two great big side grips to hold it while video recording, the iPad could evolve into creative tool like no other.

Cataloguing the planet
There's great potential in the iPad, and the iPhone for that matter, in cataloguing, identifying and analyzing just about any tangible object on this big blue planet. Combine that with awesome video potential, GPS and advances in satellite info to give us the ability to tag buildngs and objects by height as well as on the ground, and it could spawn a new generation of super tools.

But enough of my blue skies. What have you been dying to do creatively or productively that you can't do without some fancy tech innovations? What do you need that we're on the cusp of developing - that's so close you can almost touch it, but isn't quite here.

In short, what do you imagine?

Fast Speech to Email (and More) for iPhone

If you own an iPhone, you have to try Vlingo. It let's you send email with your voice and it's wonderfully efficient. Sure, you can send Facebook and Twitter updates, plus SMS messages. But the ability to compose unlimited emails with your voice is a minor tech miracle to be savoured.

You can perform some neat voice search work using Google, Yahoo or Bing, too, but where Vlingo really shines is sending messages through its smooth voice-to-text interface.

The voice recognition is not perfect because frankly there's no such thing. But it is startlingly good and lightning fast. Just a couple of seconds of "thinking" time before your text snaps onto the screen. My playing around for two days produced emails with a high degree of accuracy as long as I spoke at a normal pace. If you do spot a glitch, Vlingo makes it easy to clean it up or add more voice transcription before sending.

The app is free and there's no cost for Facebook, Twitter and search functions. Unlimited email and SMS features are modest one-time hits on your iTunes account and are good for the life of your phone. Each will set you back $6.99. Or you can buy both for $9.99.

Vlingo is not the only voice-to-email app in town. I was a heavy two-year user of Jott in its beta stage. It's a class act and I know it's improved far beyond where it was when I left. But Jott also costs real money--$3.95 to $12.95 per month.

So, if you're looking for a clean, simple and economical way to compose email or text using only your voice, Vlingo for the iPhone offers a lot of functionality for a modest one-time price.

If you're a Blackberry user you can smile. Vlingo launched on that platform long before it was available for the iPhone and it includes even more features.

More tips for your iPhone...
Another 5 Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners
5 Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners
5 More Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners

Another 5 Essential Tips for New iPhone Users

So, you're absolutely enamoured with your new iPhone. You've learned so much since you first lifted it out of the box. And you know you're poking through a miniscule portion of the 140,000 apps while trying to familiarize yourself with all the phone's features.

Well, learning is all about exploration, isn't it? And something new pops up every day.

Here are five cool things you may not have stumbled upon yet.

Redial - Looking for a redial button? You won't find one. Tap the call button twice to call the last number dialed.

Voice Control - Yes, it's easy to dial with your voice. Just hold the home button for two seconds. The voice control screen will pop up and you'll hear a chime. Just say "call" or "dial" and the name of any person or business in your contact list--or say the numbers one by one.

Save Any Web Photo - If you like any picture you come across while browsing, simply tap and hold it. A four-item menu will pop up. Click "save image" and the picture will be added to your camera roll.

Webclips - Tired of looking up your favourite websites in Safari? Place icons for them on your home screen. Go to the site in Safari first, hit the "+" sign at the bottom of the screen, then tap "add to home screen."

Google Maps Streetview - This feature gives you a 360 degree view of any address in cities that have been photographed in this way. After you look up an address, tap the little orange circle (with the generic head and shoulders symbol) to the left of the address flag. You'll love what you see.

Missed some?
5 Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners
5 More Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners

The iPad According to Geek Brief TV

I've been a fan of Geek Brief TV for months now. Cali Lewis, the show's "shiny, happy" host, delivers short, upbeat, balanced tech reviews. Here's her take on the iPad.

And when you're done with that, search recent episodes for loads of good stuff. iPhone users can go to iTunes and either stream or download podcasts of past episodes.

Follow Cali on Twitter at @calilewis.

Google Voice Tools for Your iPhone

Google Voice Search for the iPhone is so crazy good that once you try it, you'll count on it daily. I've been using this ever since I got my iPhone. It can save you an incredible amount of time. Watch the magic here.
 
Goog 411 is another can't-live-without tool. It's a free directory assistance service you can use from any cell phone or landline. Besides being incredibly handy, Goog 411 will save you the hefty fee your phone company charges you for regular 411.


Now, Goog 411 doesn't work with residential numbers, but certainly does with any business, hotel, restaurant, drug or department store, or commercial enterprise. Here's how to use it.

Pop the number 1-800-4664-411 into your cell phone or landline speed dial. When you call, give the business name you want first, then city and province or state. You’ll get connected to your number without a 411 service charge.

When you've tried this a few times, try saying “text message” after the service has found the number you want, but before it connects you. Goog 411 will kick you back a detailed text message with the business name, phone and address including postal code.

I’ve used Goog 411 for about two years. It's great when you're travelling and need to connect with the hotel at your destination--or if you're simply wondering when the local London Drugs is closing.

There you go. Two voice-powered wonders from the good folks at Google.

Enjoy.

Capture the Good Life with Memiary

Years ago, I listened to two custodians as I carried some display racks into a school gym for a pavillion at Folklorama, our city's festival of nations. I wasn't planning to eavesdrop, but I caught snippets of their conversation as I made trip after trip out to the truck.

First, they started complaining about their wives. That's bad form for any husband. But then they expanded their negativity, heaping scorn onto their children, employer and neighbours. The level of detail and discontent was astonishing. Nothing was sacred, everyone got the same disdainful treatment, and the whole effort was punctuated by profanity.

So, I started thinking about the quality of our conversations and the role of gratitude in our lives. Our words can have an important role in affirming and lifting people--including ourselves. The way we explain our lives to ourselves has a profound impact on our own happiness.

Recognizing what's right in our lives is not an exercise in self-delusion. It's not about giving real life a saccharin makeover. It's about dropping the charges against the people that surround you--especially those you love--and having the courage to count your blessings.

To that end, I'd like to recommend Memiary, a humble but highly practical program that allows you to capture five things you'd like to recall about your day.

The idea of summing up the good in your day in just five quick thoughts is freeing. There's no, I'm-to-tired-to-journal-that attitude, because it only takes a few minutes.

You don't have to use Memiary as a gratitude journal. It's not marketed as one. The idea is simply to answer the question, "What did you do today?" Why five and not, say, 15--who knows? But Memiary is a great tool for capturing what's good about your life, while you're on the run.

As programs go, Memiary is a simple little thing. But your notes are searchable. There's even an iPhone app (the best way to use it) and a presentation for teaching with it.

Still doubtful?

Ok, ask yourself, a month from now, will you remember five good things about today?

5 More Essential Tips for New iPhone Owners

New owners build strong attachments to their iPhones over the first few weeks. If you're one of them, you know a world of features and apps has just opened up and it's bigger than you imagined. You could get lost drilling through the podcast menus alone. While you're playing around and getting used to navigating and living with your new machine, you may appreciate these five tips:

1) More than just .com
You want to enter .edu, .net, or .org. But there's no button for that. No problem. Press and hold the .com key. See how the other options pop up? Slide to one of them, take your finger off the key and voila!

2) Sluggish surfing
If you're like me, you rarely power down your iPhone completely. Instead you pop it into sleep mode and that becomes your default. On occasion, though, you may notice surfing or refresh speeds dipping. Time to give your phone a quick break. Power it down completely by holding that top button. Once you turn it on a minute later, you should find more snap in your browsing.

3) Slow wi-fi?
Download speed in your hotel room seems sluggish? Your 3Gs feels more like a 3G? Test it by going to the App Store and downloading Speedtest.net. It's free and a quick download. Once it's installed, hit "Begin Test" and watch your download and upload speeds start to register. You won't surf any faster, but it may confirm it's the wi-fi holding things up--not your iPhone.

4) Scared of losing your iPhone?
Well, you should be. But rather than buying any fancy tracking services, go the poor-man's route and download If Found Plus. It only costs a buck, and it let's you tag your phone's wallpaper with your phone number and email address. If your phone ever goes AWOL, you'll give an honest stranger a fighting chance of finding you.

5) Try pocket streaming
You know your iPhone kicks out rich sound for listening to podcasts and internet radio. So, next time you're doing the dishes or other light chores, turn it upside down in your front pocket and keep working. The iPhone's bottom speaker placement makes it perfect for this kind of listening. You don't have to worry about the cords snagging and it beats having those earbuds fall out every few minutes.

Click here for Part One