Chanatown

Image via Wikipedia Interestingly, I had multiple requests yesterday (including one from my father in-law) asking about what web camera would best work with Skype. At ETHS, we are starting to get more classrooms involved with possible exchanges and Skype is a natural and economical resource for connecting two sides of the country or the world together. In an attempt to leverage our increased deployment of over 70 document cameras this year, I had a teacher test our CP-155 document cameras  with Skype, and although we successfully connected with video, she informed me that real-life usage proved to be less than ideal.  To the defense of AverMedia, when I asked a representative about possibly Skyping with the doc cam, they discouraged me from proceeding. It's just not meant to be a web cam at this point in time.  Thus, we take a look at some hardware options designed to bring your video into the world of Skype.

Article first published as iPad App Review: The Daily on Technorati. Much liked an over hyped summer blockbuster, The Daily for iPad news application was finally released last week after press announcements, promised release dates and tantalizing previews dating back to late last year. Within a few days, the app rose to the top of the free apps chart, and thousands of reviews chimed as users created a clear divide between 1-star and 5-star ratings. The main reason for the big attention for another free news app lies with the fact that The Daily touts itself as a new way of disseminating news on the iPad . Let's take a look at what this app promises and manages to deliver.

Article first published as 3D Experience: Reliving Top Chicago Sports Moments on Blogcritics. Sony's doing a promotional feature on  their new 3D HDTV's , and Blogcritics is running a "Dreaming in 3D" feature. Writers were asked for a wish list of items that we'd like to see in 3D. Here's a chance for me to bring in some sports talk to the blog: The Superdome. New Orleans, LA. 1985. Handoff to William "Refrigerator" Perry who goes rumbling into the end zone for a touchdown. No, I'm not just reminiscing about the 25th anniversary of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl XX victory. Instead, I am dreaming of a scenario where viewers can relive famous sports moments, not just on DVD , or on ESPN Classic, but rather in 3D. So, grab your time traveling gear, and let's take a trip down memory lane for some of the most memorable moments in recent Chicago sports history. After all, we're not here to start no trouble, we're just here to do th...

Image via CrunchBase I still recall the first time I read about Twitter . There was a brief blurb about the new social networking application in the Economist, and I immediately signed up for an account. At the time, I maintained a blog, but it was a real challenge getting detailed posts up on a regular basis (note: I'm on a 40+ day streak of continuous posts). I really liked the idea of micro-blogging. Giving short, informative updates about meaningful topics sprinkled with the occasional witty remark. Since its mainstream adoption, Twitter has blown up, and I find it noteworthy to reflect on the typical responses to Twitter.

Sorry for the late notice, but I just found this through a quick search. After taking a few plane trips recently and enjoying a digital copy of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (included with DVD) on the 4-hour trip, I wondered how easy it was to move DVD's in our collection over to the iPad . Truth be told, I first checked out iTunes to see how much it would cost for a DVD, but $15 seemed a bit steep especially if we had these already at home. So, Google led me to Daniusoft , and sure enough, the $20-30 program was being offered for free (after a Facebook "Like"). Read on for the results of a LOTR conversion.

Image by Régis Gaidot via Flickr Anyone else noticing a ton of changes to your favorite Google products?  Every day I open Gmail, Calendar , Docs , Blogger , Images or anything Google, there seems to be something new in store. While I usually welcome and embrace change, I can imagine how the casual user may get overwhelmed with the "new" icon flashing everywhere. For your convenience, here are some of the new features you'll find in your favorite Google products.

Back to school shopping, leaves changing color, shorter days, this can only mean one thing...Football Season!!! And that means it's time for some fantasy football drafts. Yes, prepare to lose hours of productivity as you scour the Internet for the most updated news on your third wide receiver. As drafts are already underway, I thought I'd take the opportunity to review the hands-down best iPad (and iPhone) app for your upcoming season: Fantasy Football Cheatsheet '10.

Why Comic Con? Well, if you like gadgets, then I'd say there's a 27.3% chance that you'll like comics, so you may find this interesting. The post may or may not belong in Chanatown, but since I've spent several hours of a Saturday in attendance, I thought it might be best to post a few interesting observations. So, now is the time to leave if you don't want to hear more about the 9 B's of Comic Con Chicago.

Image via CrunchBase When I first saw the Apple iPad in action, I could not wait to see what publishers would have in store for their native applications. I imagined those moving pictures and cool animations as depicted in Harry Potter movies. Unfortunately, while some magazines such as Popular Science have excelled in engaging the reader in the new medium, and others such as GQ have managed to deliver content at a reasonable price ($2.99 per issue), others have begun their iPad journey with either lackluster innovation, a high price tag ($5.99 for SI, really ?), or both (e.g. Time). This led me to Zinio.

Image via CrunchBase Every week, I receive an email that contains all of the mentions of the high school I work at. In fact, by including its name, “Evanston Township High School” in this blog post, I’ll see a link to this post in the weekly notification. RSS feed? Email newsletter? Nope. A simple Google Alert is all that I need to make this happen, and if you’re unaware of how to use Alerts, feel free to read on.

Image by barron via Flickr One of most enjoyable parts of jailbreaking the iPhone was having the ability to customize the home screen, and there was a great app (Bosspaper) that helped manage the changing backgrounds. Upon getting the Droid X, I was immediately exposed to an even greater world of customization, and a big part of this was in the form of Live Wallpapers. I'll dive into a few of my favorites, and discuss the price at which this prime customization comes.

Image via Wikipedia With football season fast approaching and baseball season long over (I'm a Cubs fan), it's time to take a closer look at what sports widget will occupy valuable real estate on my Droid X this fall. Again, this is a discussion of the best widget, which effectively rules out a few strong contenders (namely, LiveScores, currently without a widget as of this post). Read on to see who's in it to win it.

Image by k-ideas via Flickr Last week, those with jailbroken iPhones rejoiced when the Copyright Office gave its blessing on jailbreaking and made it a non-violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The news offered me an opportunity to reflect on my own jailbreaking experience and make an argument about why I chose to go with Android instead.

Image by jessica.diamond via Flickr I know that compared to other blogs, 100 posts is a drop in the bucket. Some blogs achieve this feat in a day. For me, it's a proud accomplishment as I've had several blogs throughout the years, and the most successful one to date only made it to 72 posts. In addition, I feel like I'm on the verge of truly engaging in this hobby. I take pride in the system that I've developed in terms of getting lots of new content (the most important piece of any blog's success) up on the site.

Since making my Decision , I've had just over a week with the new Droid X. Through my Twitter ( @Chanatown ), I've been jotting down some field notes concerning the new Android superstar phone, and here's part one of my "review".  I use the air quotes because there are many typical reviews already out there.  Try this one , or that one , this one , or that one .  I know because I read them all prior to my purchase.  If you're looking for specs, screenshots, or a detailed analysis of the 8MP camera, check out one of those reviews.  This post is more about some of the real world observations that I made that may not make it into other reviews.

UPDATE (9/6): I just paid for and installed Launcher Pro Plus. After reading this original review, feel free to check out my thoughts on the upgrade and all of its widget goodness! One of the biggest reasons I purchased a Droid X instead of the shiny new iPhone 4 was the ability to return to my customization roots.  I remember the good ol' days of tweaking my Samsung i730 Pocket PC , and all of the time spent reading about the latest home screen additions (now popularly referred to as "widgets").  I will admit to being initially reluctant to start the same process with the Droid X, because it is a dangerous path that inevitably leads to phone slowdown and factory reset, but hey, if you can't enjoy your phone, why get it in the first place, right?  Thus, on a dark and rainy night, I dove head first by picking up Launcher Pro.

Now that the LeBron-a-thon or LeBronocalpyse (gotta love Bill Simmons) or whatever you want to call it is over, it's time to focus on the other equally important free agency decision of the 2010 summer.  That's right, for millions of iPhone 3G early adopters, including this author, the 2-year AT+T contract comes to an end soon (July 22 for yours truly).  How much anticipation is there for this upcoming free agency class?  Considering that this group patiently waited for the 3G instead of the original iPhone (call us the "wait and see" early adopter generation) but did not re-up for the 3GS, I'd venture to say that it is a pretty sizeable contingent.  So, what choices do we face going into what should be the most exciting phone summer since 2008?  Here are the devices/carriers that I intend to "meet" with over the next few week:

I've been following the Apple Tablet, " iSlate" , and the now official iPad rumors for a long time, so I was glad to finally see the most anticipated piece of hardware since the iPhone finally came to fruition.

Ok, I apologize in advance if you're stumbling upon my blog with the sole purpose of reading about technology and gadgets. While that is a large part of who I am, it is unfair to say that that is all I care about. So, in the never-ending attempt to find my voice (and perhaps, my audience), I'm going expand my focus a bit, writing about what comes to mind, things I find useful, or just a random observation. Welcome, once again, to Chanatown.