AvantGo™ turns wasted time into productive time

If you are like me you hate to waste time, but try as we might there seems to be too many occasions when we find ourselves waiting. Perhaps it is in the doctor’s office or the “Quickie Lube” joint. I sure can remember sitting for hours on gym bleachers waiting for my son’s 3 minutes of wrestling fame. One option of course is to always have reading material with you. I have an idea for those of you who use a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or other mobile device. You can download all sorts of information in the form of electronic newspapers, magazines, short stories and other information form the Internet using a service called AvantGo™ (www.avantgo.com)

Each morning when I get to the office I connect my PDA to my office computer to update any appointments I may have made since I last “synched” the two. At that same time my computer connects with AvantGo™ and downloads sections of the New York Times, articles from Wired Magazine and selected other publications. So when I have a few minutes I can pull out my PDA and do some reading. I would not recommend reading Gone With the Wind in this 2” x 2” screen, but for short articles it is great

AvantGo™ bills itself as the world’s largest mobile internet service delivering content to some 7 million people using PDAs, wireless PDAs, and smart phones like the Blackberry™. The service does carry advertising but this allows for the basic subscription to be free. I don’t find the ads intrusive and you will find that they will be customized to relate to the content you are requesting. So if you subscribe to GolfLine, an AvantGo™ offering in cooperation with Golf Magazine, don’t be surprised if you see lots of ads for golf clubs.

Another neat feature of AvantGo™ is a MapQuest™ option. You can have your MapQuest™ results sent to your PDA so you don’t need to print them. It saves trees and time and you can just erase the information after your trip.

If you have a PDA and you are only using it for an address book and Calendar, I think you will find AvantGo™ a way to make it more useful.

AvantGo™ turns wasted time into productive time

If you are like me you hate to waste time, but try as we might there seems to be too many occasions when we find ourselves waiting. Perhaps it is in the doctor’s office or the “Quickie Lube” joint. I sure can remember sitting for hours on gym bleachers waiting for my son’s 3 minutes of wrestling fame. One option of course is to always have reading material with you. I have an idea for those of you who use a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or other mobile device. You can download all sorts of information in the form of electronic newspapers, magazines, short stories and other information form the Internet using a service called AvantGo™ (www.avantgo.com)

Each morning when I get to the office I connect my PDA to my office computer to update any appointments I may have made since I last “synched” the two. At that same time my computer connects with AvantGo™ and downloads sections of the New York Times, articles from Wired Magazine and selected other publications. So when I have a few minutes I can pull out my PDA and do some reading. I would not recommend reading Gone With the Wind in this 2” x 2” screen, but for short articles it is great

AvantGo™ bills itself as the world’s largest mobile internet service delivering content to some 7 million people using PDAs, wireless PDAs, and smart phones like the Blackberry™. The service does carry advertising but this allows for the basic subscription to be free. I don’t find the ads intrusive and you will find that they will be customized to relate to the content you are requesting. So if you subscribe to GolfLine, an AvantGo™ offering in cooperation with Golf Magazine, don’t be surprised if you see lots of ads for golf clubs.

Another neat feature of AvantGo™ is a MapQuest™ option. You can have your MapQuest™ results sent to your PDA so you don’t need to print them. It saves trees and time and you can just erase the information after your trip.

If you have a PDA and you are only using it for an address book and Calendar, I think you will find AvantGo™ a way to make it more useful.

How to keep from drowning in information

The amount of information available today about almost any topic is virtually endless. Trying to keep up with developments within your occupation or avocation can be a full time job in itself. I remember one of my first jobs in a Marketing / Public Relations office was to track how our organization was being portrayed in the media. At that time there were services that you hired to read newspapers and magazines and clip all the stories and references to you organization. Called “Clipping Services,” they did the staff intensive work of wading through the reams of newsprint and pages trade journals.

Since most of today’s “print media” are available on line, the Clipping Services are quickly disappearing since sifting though the piles of information is now better done by microprocessors than human beings.

For example, our friends at Google have a free service (www.google.com/alerts)that you can use to track most any topic, company, organization or even proper name. All you need to do is go to the Google Alerts web page and fill in the information. Periodically, Google searches the Internet and reports back to you via email when it finds a reference to your search term. For example, if the editor of this newspaper, Ollie, wants to know whenever the Harrison Press was mentioned on a blog, on a web site, or in another newspaper or magazine, he could use this free Google service.

It is amazing what you will find in these searches. You can be selective and only look for mentions in blogs or newspapers. You can broaden the search to include any reference in any page on the web. You have the results of these searches sent to your via email. Canceling the search is also easy and can be done with a few clicks of the mouse.

Google has a number of free services that you might find useful. A few weeks ago we discussed Google Earth. My wife has found Google’s Picasa to be a very useful and simple-to-use tool for sharing and managing digital photographs. In most cases you will find that for the general computer user, tools like Picasa are great. For the more advanced user requiring high end editing capability or vast amounts of storage capacity, you are better to go with the commercial products. But some of these, like PhotoShop, can be pricey.

How to keep from drowning in information

The amount of information available today about almost any topic is virtually endless. Trying to keep up with developments within your occupation or avocation can be a full time job in itself. I remember one of my first jobs in a Marketing / Public Relations office was to track how our organization was being portrayed in the media. At that time there were services that you hired to read newspapers and magazines and clip all the stories and references to you organization. Called “Clipping Services,” they did the staff intensive work of wading through the reams of newsprint and pages trade journals.

Since most of today’s “print media” are available on line, the Clipping Services are quickly disappearing since sifting though the piles of information is now better done by microprocessors than human beings.

For example, our friends at Google have a free service (www.google.com/alerts)that you can use to track most any topic, company, organization or even proper name. All you need to do is go to the Google Alerts web page and fill in the information. Periodically, Google searches the Internet and reports back to you via email when it finds a reference to your search term. For example, if the editor of this newspaper, Ollie, wants to know whenever the Harrison Press was mentioned on a blog, on a web site, or in another newspaper or magazine, he could use this free Google service.

It is amazing what you will find in these searches. You can be selective and only look for mentions in blogs or newspapers. You can broaden the search to include any reference in any page on the web. You have the results of these searches sent to your via email. Canceling the search is also easy and can be done with a few clicks of the mouse.

Google has a number of free services that you might find useful. A few weeks ago we discussed Google Earth. My wife has found Google’s Picasa to be a very useful and simple-to-use tool for sharing and managing digital photographs. In most cases you will find that for the general computer user, tools like Picasa are great. For the more advanced user requiring high end editing capability or vast amounts of storage capacity, you are better to go with the commercial products. But some of these, like PhotoShop, can be pricey.

A New Way to Connect to the Internet

There may be some good news on the horizon for those who want less costly high speed broadband Internet connections at home. Joining the two dominant suppliers in our area, Cincinnati Bell and Time Warner Cable, is Duke Energy. That’s right, the same folks that bring you electric and gas service are now marketing high speed access to the Internet with a new product dubbed Current™. This new service uses a technology first developed in Europe.

Essentially the Internet connection piggybacks on the electric wires strung on the poles on your street and into your house. There is no need for any new wiring in your house. Each electric outlet in your house becomes a high speed Internet connection. A special modem the size of a cell phone plugs into an electric outlet and a cable from the modem to your computer completes the connection. The Current™ Internet access is capable of speeds comparable to popular Internet plans from cable and phone companies. There is a tremendous amount of technology that allows this to happen, but for the consumer, connecting is as simple as plugging in.

Duke Energy, and before them Cinergy, working with The CURRENT Group, LLC, a privately held company based in Germantown, Maryland, began testing this technology in the Cincinnati area a few years ago with a limited roll out in selected neighborhoods. According to company reports, the roll out is limited to an area of about 50,000 homes. As of this writing it is still not available in the Harrison area. I have not been able to get information when we might see the service offered in our area but will keep checking and mention it in future columns.

There are a number of other uses of this technology besides providing Internet access to consumers at home. Duke Energy and other utilities can use the system to electronically read your electric meter or selectively turn on or off electrical devices in your home in the event of high energy demands.

One byproduct of Duke expanding a presence in the local broadband market and that is good old competition. Right now Time Warner’s Road Runner® and Cincinnati Bell’s ZoomTown® are the only games in town. While they periodically offer special rates and packages with TV, Internet and phone service, the average cost of high speed internet service is still on the high side for either service. A third player in the region should add some pressure for lower rates and better service. We will just have to wait.

A clarification – A few weeks ago in my column about the iPhone® I said that Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue from the New York Times each got an iPhone®. David emailed me to clarify that he only has use of the devices he reviews for a short period and then they go back. If Steve Jobs sends me an iPhone®, I guess I will have to do the same thing.

A New Way to Connect to the Internet

There may be some good news on the horizon for those who want less costly high speed broadband Internet connections at home. Joining the two dominant suppliers in our area, Cincinnati Bell and Time Warner Cable, is Duke Energy. That’s right, the same folks that bring you electric and gas service are now marketing high speed access to the Internet with a new product dubbed Current™. This new service uses a technology first developed in Europe.

Essentially the Internet connection piggybacks on the electric wires strung on the poles on your street and into your house. There is no need for any new wiring in your house. Each electric outlet in your house becomes a high speed Internet connection. A special modem the size of a cell phone plugs into an electric outlet and a cable from the modem to your computer completes the connection. The Current™ Internet access is capable of speeds comparable to popular Internet plans from cable and phone companies. There is a tremendous amount of technology that allows this to happen, but for the consumer, connecting is as simple as plugging in.

Duke Energy, and before them Cinergy, working with The CURRENT Group, LLC, a privately held company based in Germantown, Maryland, began testing this technology in the Cincinnati area a few years ago with a limited roll out in selected neighborhoods. According to company reports, the roll out is limited to an area of about 50,000 homes. As of this writing it is still not available in the Harrison area. I have not been able to get information when we might see the service offered in our area but will keep checking and mention it in future columns.

There are a number of other uses of this technology besides providing Internet access to consumers at home. Duke Energy and other utilities can use the system to electronically read your electric meter or selectively turn on or off electrical devices in your home in the event of high energy demands.

One byproduct of Duke expanding a presence in the local broadband market and that is good old competition. Right now Time Warner’s Road Runner® and Cincinnati Bell’s ZoomTown® are the only games in town. While they periodically offer special rates and packages with TV, Internet and phone service, the average cost of high speed internet service is still on the high side for either service. A third player in the region should add some pressure for lower rates and better service. We will just have to wait.

A clarification – A few weeks ago in my column about the iPhone® I said that Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue from the New York Times each got an iPhone®. David emailed me to clarify that he only has use of the devices he reviews for a short period and then they go back. If Steve Jobs sends me an iPhone®, I guess I will have to do the same thing.

Me thinks I hit a nerve!

From the number and intensity of the comments generated by the HD Radio discussion, it seems that there are some strong feelings. The fact that HD radio has been slow to take off is no doubt the result of several market and technical issues. Unlike DTV, of which I have more than a passing knowledge, HD radio was never mandated by the FCC. And unlike the DTV conversion, the analog stations will not cease to exist at a time certain. So it stands to reason that the adoption curve will be less steep than the DTV curve which is quite steep right now, a full 18 months away from analog shutdown.

For what it is worth, I am a firm believer that the “content” will drive the adoption or lack of adoption of HD Radio as it has with most other new technologies. (Remember VisiCcalc™ and the first PCs or “Bonanza” and the first color TVs?) As for the need to continually upgrade, that is just a byproduct of the digital age. It happens with new TVs, new mobile phones, and most anything digital.

No problem giving your comments here as long as we all stay with sharing ideas and opinions.

Me thinks I hit a nerve!

From the number and intensity of the comments generated by the HD Radio discussion, it seems that there are some strong feelings. The fact that HD radio has been slow to take off is no doubt the result of several market and technical issues. Unlike DTV, of which I have more than a passing knowledge, HD radio was never mandated by the FCC. And unlike the DTV conversion, the analog stations will not cease to exist at a time certain. So it stands to reason that the adoption curve will be less steep than the DTV curve which is quite steep right now, a full 18 months away from analog shutdown.

For what it is worth, I am a firm believer that the “content” will drive the adoption or lack of adoption of HD Radio as it has with most other new technologies. (Remember VisiCcalc™ and the first PCs or “Bonanza” and the first color TVs?) As for the need to continually upgrade, that is just a byproduct of the digital age. It happens with new TVs, new mobile phones, and most anything digital.

No problem giving your comments here as long as we all stay with sharing ideas and opinions.

WOXY back on the air … for some of us in Cincinnati

As good old Yogi once said, “It is like déjà vu all over again.” WOXY has returned to the airwaves in southwest Ohio. Beginning last month, that station the bills itself as the “Future of Rock and Roll” can now be heard on HD Radio, WVXU HD2.

In an earlier column a few months ago we discussed how the new digital radio technology allows for more than one program to be broadcast simultaneously over a single radio frequency. At that time I mentioned how WGUC, Cincinnati’s Classical station, had great jazz programming on the second channel of digital 90.9. Well the same people that run WGUC also operate WVXU and they have made an agreement with the folks at WOXY to use the second channel of WVXU’s digital signal to carry the WOXY programs.

WOXY has a very uneven history. The station began an Alternative Rock Format station on the regular analog FM band (97X) on Labor Day weekend in 1983, from studios in Oxford, Ohio. Over the years, the station has garnered praise from the popular music press including Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Esquire, USA Today, Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati CityBeat, as well as from many radio industry publications. In the process they attracted a somewhat small but very loyal audience. I remember how excited my three teenage sons were when one of their garage band CDs was featured on 96X.

In September of 2004, with dwindling revenues, the owners sold the license to the FM frequency and took WOXY to the Internet. It can still be heard on the Internet at www.woxy.com and the station reports hearing from loyal listeners from as far away as Nepal and Brazil.

Now that it is also being broadcast in the tri-sate area the station will actually be able to reach wider geographic coverage than it did when it was broadcasting from Oxford. However, in order to listen, you will need a HD Radio. They can be purchased from most electronic stores. There are several models for both car and home use. They are still a bit pricey, with the least expense models around $100.

HD radio continues to have a hard time getting a main stream consumer foothold even though most stations, public and commercial, are broadcasting with both analog and digital signals. The competition is coming from the satellite radio services Sirius® and XM Radio®. Since the automakers are concentrating on offering satellite radio rather then HD radio, it may be a while before HD radios are common place.

A look at the WOXY blog shows that many local listeners are buying HD radios so they can once again listen to “Future of Rock and Roll.” At the same time they may play a part in the future of HD Radio.

WOXY back on the air … for some of us in Cincinnati

As good old Yogi once said, “It is like déjà vu all over again.” WOXY has returned to the airwaves in southwest Ohio. Beginning last month, that station the bills itself as the “Future of Rock and Roll” can now be heard on HD Radio, WVXU HD2.

In an earlier column a few months ago we discussed how the new digital radio technology allows for more than one program to be broadcast simultaneously over a single radio frequency. At that time I mentioned how WGUC, Cincinnati’s Classical station, had great jazz programming on the second channel of digital 90.9. Well the same people that run WGUC also operate WVXU and they have made an agreement with the folks at WOXY to use the second channel of WVXU’s digital signal to carry the WOXY programs.

WOXY has a very uneven history. The station began an Alternative Rock Format station on the regular analog FM band (97X) on Labor Day weekend in 1983, from studios in Oxford, Ohio. Over the years, the station has garnered praise from the popular music press including Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Esquire, USA Today, Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati CityBeat, as well as from many radio industry publications. In the process they attracted a somewhat small but very loyal audience. I remember how excited my three teenage sons were when one of their garage band CDs was featured on 96X.

In September of 2004, with dwindling revenues, the owners sold the license to the FM frequency and took WOXY to the Internet. It can still be heard on the Internet at www.woxy.com and the station reports hearing from loyal listeners from as far away as Nepal and Brazil.

Now that it is also being broadcast in the tri-sate area the station will actually be able to reach wider geographic coverage than it did when it was broadcasting from Oxford. However, in order to listen, you will need a HD Radio. They can be purchased from most electronic stores. There are several models for both car and home use. They are still a bit pricey, with the least expense models around $100.

HD radio continues to have a hard time getting a main stream consumer foothold even though most stations, public and commercial, are broadcasting with both analog and digital signals. The competition is coming from the satellite radio services Sirius® and XM Radio®. Since the automakers are concentrating on offering satellite radio rather then HD radio, it may be a while before HD radios are common place.

A look at the WOXY blog shows that many local listeners are buying HD radios so they can once again listen to “Future of Rock and Roll.” At the same time they may play a part in the future of HD Radio.