Tag Archives: iPhone

This is why I blog

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In March of of 2009 I posted an idea for an iPhone app for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease. It continues to get comments, the most recent from a researcher in Australia New Zealand:

“I like your ideas! I am leading a small team of researchers that are in the process of examining uses of mobile computing technology in neurorehabilitation, including developing custom software for the iPhone. Our initial work is in traumatic brain injury, but it is likely that much of the work would be applicable to people with dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease. That’s an area I’ve worked in previously, so will certainly be interested to extend the research into that area in the future as well. Thought you might be interested to know a little of what we’re up to.”

It would be fun to know that one of my ideas made it into an app that helped those dealing with this disease. If you or someone you know are using smart phones to “compensate for cognitive difficulties,” get in touch with Dr. Babbage.

Assuming Dr. Babbage found my post via a Google, I searched “Alzheimer’s Disease iPhone App” and it was number one result of 424,000. Twitter, Facebook, etc are all fun and/or useful but blogging is the only way I know to reach so many different people.

Steve Jobs’ “High Ground Maneuver”

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A couple of observations on the iPhone antenna story:

  1. Of the dozen or so people I know who have the new phone, not one has had a problem.
  2. Most of the people who are pissing and moaning about this, don’t have an iPhone.

But Steve Jobs had to respond and he did so with what Scott Adams (SGITR*) calls the High Ground Maneuver:

“Apple’s response to the iPhone 4 problem didn’t follow the public relations playbook because Jobs decided to rewrite the playbook. (I pause now to insert the necessary phrase Magnificent Bastard.) If you want to know what genius looks like, study Jobs’ words: “We’re not perfect. Phones are not perfect. We all know that. But we want to make our users happy.”

Jobs changed the entire argument with nineteen words. He was brief. He spoke indisputable truth. And later in his press conference, he offered clear fixes.

Did it work? Check out the media response. There’s lots of talk about whether other smartphones are perfect or not. There’s lots of talk about whether Jobs’ response was the right one. But the central question that was in everyone’s head before the press conference – “Is the iPhone 4 a dud” – has, well, evaporated.”

Mr. Adams predicts Jobs’ response will become the public relations standard for consumer products. Let’s revisit this in 90 days.

*Smartest Guy in the Room

UPDATE: Seems I do know at least one person with the new phone who is having problems. I either forgot or repressed that. See Phil’s comment below.

Tech improves ER care

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It’s the middle of the night and you’re just north of East Jesus, headed to the beach so the kids can play in an oil slick before they’re all gone, and gandma chokes on prune. How do you find the nearest emergency room? According to Telemedicine News, there’s an app for that:

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Emergency Medicine Network have launched FindER™, a free iPhone application to help users locate the closest emergency room, provide directions, along with additional information all with a touch of the screen.

FindER uses the iPhone’s GPS to quickly direct patients to emergency rooms anywhere in the U.S. FindER is also designed for quick phone calls to both the care center and if necessary used to contact 911 emergency services. Once the symptoms are determined, information is available on specific emergency rooms that can treat the symptoms and the wait times for ERs.

EliteCare 24 hour Emergency Center in Texas has partnered with Healthagen® to promote their emergency center through the iTriage® applications. If help in an emergency is needed, the consumer can download the iPhone or android application or go to www.iTriageHealth.com using any capable smart phone or computer to evaluate symptoms. At that point, iTriage will pinpoint the locations and provide turn-by-turn directions to the closest type of facility needed anywhere in the country.

Helping patients receive live ER wait times via text messages in the middle of an emergency is a new way to reach consumers. To do this, ERTexting in Miami manages a new free 4ER411 system. This new service available in hospitals all over the U.S. enables patients to text their zip code to 4ER411 and then receive their local participating hospital ER wait times.

To help deliver the patient’s medical information directly to a first responder or emergency room physician, Emerging Healthcare Solutions Inc. has a smartphone application under development called “e-911”. The “e-911” App automatically delivers the user’s medical information to first responders or to doctors when 911 is dialed from an iPhone. The “e-911” will first be made available for Apple’s iPhone and after assuring product quality, the e-911 will then be offered through Google’s Android and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry

Protecting the new iPhone

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A common observation upon first holding the new iPhone is how nice it feels in the hand. The next is usually: “It would be easy to drop” …or something like that. The glass front and back makes it look fragile. And it might be, although I’m inclined to doubt that. Nevertheless, I have one of the little bumper guards on the way.

But I didn’t want to take a chance on breaking the new baby before the bumper arrives so I headed out to Best Buy where I purchased the cheapest case I could find. It’s  stiff, clear plastic that appears to be made of the very same plastic your grandmother used to cover the sofa.

And it’s a pretty nice case. Feels good in the hand. Easy to remove. Looks like it would protect the phone without getting in the way. But just a little too much like a cheap condom. The iPhone “feels” good and that is just as important as making calls (or babies).

iPhone 4

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I knew I’d upgrade but I didn’t expect to be excited by the new iPhone 4. The front-facing camera and video chat didnt seem like something I’d use that much (I believe I said that about the original iPhone). But after watching the FaceTime video I’ve changed my mind. Once again, Mr. Jobs knows what I want before I do.

Blab-o-meter

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From my “Apps I’d Like to See” folder. Begin by letting Blab-o-meter sample your voice by recording a short paragraph. The audio is analyzed up in the cloud and sent back to your device.

As you and a friend settle in at your local coffee shop, you turn on Blab-o-meter and it begins monitoring how much you are talking. You can set the app to alert you by vibrating and or playing a sound (a throat clearing; “shhhhh!” etc) when you exceed some predetermined level. 50 percent might be reasonable or, if you’re trying to listen more, set it lower.

I spend a couple of hours in a coffee shop, six days a week. Usually by myself. I’m usually absorbed in what I’m reading or doing but I sometimes become aware of how much some people dominate a conversation (if you can even call it a conversation when one person is talking continuously and the other person doesn’t say a word. I’m being literal, here).

Let me hasten to add, this might be a very acceptable arrangement for both parties. One likes to talk, one likes to listen.

Until the Blab-o-meter becomes a reality, I’d like to ask my friends and acquaintences to give me some sort of visual cue when I start running off at the mouth. Perhaps two quick tugs of your earlobe (repeated as needed). Or, you might simply reference this post, “Hey, I thought your Blab-o-meter app was a great idea!”

Put it in the vault with 1Password

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I keep up with a lot of passwords. Between WordPress, Twitter, flickr, Gmail, FTP accounts, etc for company and client websites (and my own)… 200+ logins. You have to have a secure way to manage all of this.

I’ve been use an app called Wallet for the last couple of years but recently purchased 1Password (on the solid recommendation of my Mac mentor, George).

I won’t attempt to list the features. There are too many and I’m still new to the program. But it’s as beautiful as it is functional. All my stuff is sync’d via the cloud so I can access from all of my computers and devices (iPhone, iPad, etc). Everything in one place, behind some really good encryption. They make it easy to be smart about my data.

1Password costs about $40 but it’s worth every penny. Mac and PC.

“Miss Perry, take a letter, please”

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One of my mother’s many talents was shorthand transcription. A skill she used during her early working career. In those ancient times, people would dictate a memo or a letter and mom would write it down using something called Gregg shorthand.

I assume she took her “steno pad” back to her desk where she’d roll some typing paper and carbon sheets into the old manual typewriter and bang out a few copies which, I assume, got marked up with corrections, and she’d do it again.

I was reminded of this painful process recently when I heard Barb dictating a memo on her iPhone using Dragon Dictation. I’m just not sure how it gets much easier (but it will).

In a few years we’ll look at our huge 3-ring binders and drawers full of paper and shake our heads in wonder. But some folks just have to hold the paper in their hands. The numbers/words are just less real if not printed. One wonders of the iPad and similar future devices (digital paper) will change this.

One of my next projects is to convert the few remaining paper artifacts in my desk to PDF. I think I can get pretty close to paperless in my work life. I’m close.

Speaking of paperless…

I’m nearly finished with my first ebook. It was a very good experience. My beloved paper books will undoubetedly go the way of my vinyl LPs. Alas.

Scott eVest (not as nerdy as it sounds)

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I carry a camera, iPhone, keys, reading glasses, ballpoint pen, and sometimes a wallet (I don’t like carrying it in my hip pocket). They fill up a sport coat and then some. So when I saw the Scott eVest, I had to have one.

I’ve had it a couple of days and I’m still finding pockets. This line of clothing is designed for for folks with lots of gadgets. And while the pocket depicted above was not designed for the iPad (as far as I know), it fit perfectly.

Steve Safran on RTDNA@NAB 2010

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“The future of broadcasting” is the title or subtitle or subtext of nearly every panel here. But I’m not seeing a lot of the future. I’m seeing and hearing people who want to keep a hold onto the past. They want to do it in some futuristic ways, sure, but using a template that has passed its expiration date.”

“…as the RTDNA winds down its relationship with NAB, I’m a little sad. When I first started coming to this convention in the early 2000s, the discussions were about “the future.” The discussions are still about “the future” except it’s all Back to the Future. 3D. Protecting journalism from the hoards of camera-toting iPhoners. Broadcasting television in a slightly different way. Fundamentally, the discussion may be about the future, but it’s not nearly futuristic enough.” — Full post here.