Solar JOOS Orange

While online researching solar power as I have been doing a lot this year, I found another gadget that looks very interesting called the Solar JOOS Orange.  It uses mono-crystalline panels, is waterproof by design (components are encapsulated in urethane), and  contains a user replaceable 24 Wh/5400mAh lithium-ion polymer battery that can be charged in about 12 hours from built-in solar panel or 8 hours from USB according to Why Its the Best page.  The JOOS Orange is a solar panel and power storage system in a an all in one design.  Looks very impressive and cool.  Hmmm...

It even has a a web site and apps (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac) for monitoring and tracking performance and your usage.  This is impressive.

Google+

I haven't posted anything to this blog since July because I have been spending so much time on the big 3 social networks, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter...

Amazon EC2 VM Import is What I Really Want

Amazon Web Services have just released a new capability, EC2 VM Import, which according to the information available will allow me to import existing VMware machines into EC2. Now this is what I really want and need to continue my migration to the cloud. This EC2 option opens up a lot of avenues for my continuing cloud/virtualization research.

Chromebooks appear to be Selling

A month after their official release on 06/15/2011, it appears that Chromebooks from Acer and Samsung are selling respectably according to Amazon and this article, Samsung and Acer, Google Chromebooks still strong on Amazon. As a secondary computer where getting on the web, speed, and security are the focus then Chromebooks are the definitely the right device. The couch-potato and kitchen-tabletop use cases have emerged as the places where I use my Chromebook the most.

Honeycomb Tablets

I got a chance to play with the Asus Transformer and Acer Iconia tablets yesterday. I have to say that these Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets are really nice. I was able to compare them to Android 2.2 tablets (Archos) and have to say that the newest generation of Android tables have hit the sweet spot. The new ones have 1280x800 displays and fast processors that can handle it all. I am impressed. Android tablets have come a long way since last Fall when I started looking at them.

Google Music Beta

Google has activated my Google Music account. Very nice and comparable to the Amazon Cloud Player. I now have two sources of cloud-based music services that work excellently on all my digital web devices.

Google Chromebooks are officially released!

One future vision of computing, web based ChromeOS Chromebook devices, is now available for everyone to try. I have been using my Google Chrome OS Cr-48 notebook since Dec 2010 and the instant on web-only OS has completely replaced my netbook. Cloud services and applications have matured considerably in this timeframe and will continue to evolve for the better.

FitBit working great

I got the FitBit in early April to replace the Omron pedometer. The FitBit is working out great.

Omron HJ-720IT device failed again, Time to try FitBit

My Omron HJ-720IT pedometer with USB sync to a WIndows machine has failed. This is the second one since 2008 when I first started using this. I have 2.5 years of data. The past month's data is not syncing to the Omron Windows software.

I think I am over the Omron reliability and Windows software issues. The last time this occurred was in Feb 2010 which is just over a year ago. Therefore, I plan to get FitBit and try that out. At least it supports the Mac OS X. The FitBit costs a bit more (about $99) compared to $32 for the Omron. The advantage of the FitBit is Mac support, cloud services tracking, and an API that will allow me to export data in XML or JSON format. I am not sure of the FitBit API status since their website says is coming and is currently in Beta.

At any rate, I really do need a good pedometer for tracking and monitoring my activity like I have been doing for over 6-years now using Omron pedometers. I really do like the Omron devices but they just do not seem to be built to last and do not appear to be evolving to the web, cloud, or other than Windows software. Omron has not support for Mac OS X planned and I see no evidence that they are moving to the cloud.

Fitbit on the otherhand is all about the cloud-based future. The Fitbit is the next evolution where the software is cloud-based and acceessible from any web browser. My only concern is the battery life. I think it must be re-charged on the base station every 7-days. Time to order it and make the switch and find out.

Troubleshoot VMware USB Issue

This is a good article for troubleshooting VMware USB device issues. VMware KnowledgeBase article.

Researchers Create Artificial Leaf Solar Energy

Researchers at MIT have emulated photosynthesis and created an artificial leaf that is very efficient. "One Small Leaf Could Electrify Entire Home"

Offshore Wind in Chesapeake, Virginia

I wonder if these two announcements are related:

Google Blog: "the wind cries transmission" dated 10/11/2010

"PilotOnline: Offshore Wind Technology Center Opens in Chesapeake"

This is a start in the right direction.

Swype text input for Android of other screens

Swype is an touchscreen input system designed for Android and other devices that takes flat screen text input proctivity to a new level. See this video. Swype has been showing up on many Android smartphones lately.

SunTactics PC5 USB Power supply and very fast charger

The SunTactics PC5 device is a compact solar USB power supply that actually provides enough 5V USB power to run your iPod, Android, or other 5V USB devices. It also will charge your devices in the same amount of time as plugging into standard AC power source. It just went onsale in Jan 2011 for around $129. This is a move in the right direction instead of solar trickle chargers and other devices which have an on-board battery. Here is more details on the PC5.

Most Secure Wireless Data Transmission using LEDs

Light Technology sends information via LEDs. Saw this in this USToday article, "Light Technology sends information via LEDs" Results in the most secure wireless transmission on the planet today.