phyllostachys 57: Minute Tech 42 show notes

42 - Why Do I Like This Book?

Good Morning, this is Alex Landefeld with episode 42 of the Minute Tech podcast -

coming to you for Saturday and Sunday, December 1st and 2nd , 2007

On this tech podcast about the broader meanings of technology, we'll mention:

- iClone meets iPhone, and Columbus bumps the AMS;
- Why Do I Like This Book?
- 37Roses.com leads to a web journey.

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Minute Tech podcast is brought to you in part by:

Larry Tolbert's Sunday Morning Taiji - learning tai chi and qi gong 9:30 am every Sunday morning at the Dunamis Baptist Church, in Wilkinsburg, PA. "Move with the motion of the planet - move with Taiji" - e-mail leonardtolbert-[at]-hotmail-[dot]-com for more info.

Happy Birthday, Larry! Enjoy the book "Light on Yoga" by B.K.S. Iyengar. :-)

And:

Ravelings, by Carol. Pittsburgh-region classes in needle-craft - encompassing crochet, embroidery, knitting, & tatting, as well as an associated lace collection. For more information, contact Carol at carolb207-[at]-alltel-[dot]-net.



Tech News:

Now that's an interesting name for a weekend column: Scotland on Sunday, from Scotsman.com. Murdo MacLeod from Scotland on Sunday reports that a Chinese electronics firm has developed an iPhone clone, complete with touchscreen. The expectation from the article, titled "All-in-one 'iClone' from China defies Apple to call its lawyers", is that Apple will find some way to sue the Chinese company, and the article quotes US technology writer Ed Finegold as writing "Forget the iPhone - give me an iClone."

But remember folks, this is the issue that most are forgetting when they think a competitor has a chance at becoming the new king of the iPod or iPhone castle: it's not the device, it's the service. In a word, iTunes. Media delivery. That's Apple's not-so-secret ingredient.

In space news, the European Space Agency's Columbus module for the International Space Station is set to be launched later this week on STS-122, Space Shuttle Atlantis. The Columbus module will be attached to the new Harmony module, which was delivered to the ISS during the previous shuttle mission. Relatedly, an article by Marc Kaufman of the Washington Post describes how NASA has decided to deliver this module rather than another module called the AMS, or Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The Columbus module is set up to "allow scientists to conduct long-term biological, fluid and materials science research in weightless conditions, " while the AMS is an automated device which would detect cosmic rays outside of earth's atmosphere, aiding scientists in the study of dark matter and antimatter. The ESA has built both modules and would like to see both sent aboard the Space Shuttle on separate missions, but NASA has decided to stop Shuttle flights as of 2010, and the AMS is not schedule to be on any of the 10 remaining flights.


Tech Question:

Why do I like this book? I'm holding here in my hand a book. Okay, I'm really typing, and the book sits next to me. This book is Light on Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar. I have not yet read this book, even though I bought it probably 10 years ago. It along with thousands of other books are helping hold my house down. Why? Because I like books.

Devices & services like the Amazon Kindle, the Sony eReader before it, and Audible's audio books, have begun to cast a pall over the longevity of the bound book. What is the likely span that we'll still have bound books? Will they merely be a legacy product that we provide to those without access to digitized information?

While I have not fully read this book about yoga, I have read sections of it, and it's 544 pages comprise a vast overview of yoga...which I've thus far failed to introduce into my life. Therefore I'm giving the book to my Tai Chi teacher in the hopes that he'll review the contents and incorporate some of this into our lessons - he has an intense ability to review martial arts, philosophy and various related books and incorporate bits and pieces into his lessons and lectures.

That is the value of a bound book. I can buy it. I can peruse it. I can give it to someone more inclined to use it as it was intended to be used. Can you do that with a Kindle book? Can you do that with an Audible recording? Can you do that with an iTunes song or video? No, you cannot. And that is the continuing value of bound, paper books, at least for those of us fool enough to pick them up whenever, wherever we see them. :-)


Podcasting - Blogging News:

Blog reading is interesting in part because the ideas can lead to informational journeys across the web. Yesterday, I was reading a post by Jennie Roth, on her 37roses.com blog, which I mentioned as part of episode 41's review of the TechBurgh video podcast. This post was about the man who, along with co-host Kaylynn, is the producer of the TechBurgh podcast, Andy Quayle. Andy is from the Isle of Man, an island in the Irish sea, between Scotland and Northern Ireland. He is therefore "manx", which is the description for people from Man...and the blog post is therefore titled "andythemanx"...perhaps a playful play on "andy the man"?

Anyways, the blog links to a YouTube video that Andy suggests, that's a longish video about the Isle of Man, targeted toward tourists, businesses and potential emigres. Having watched the lions share of the video, my interest was merely piqued, so I trudged on over to wikipedia dot org and read first the article on "manx", and second the article on "Isle of Man". Fascinating information about a subject that I had absolutely no previous knowledge. Did you know that the northern portion of Man is primarily flat...north of the 621 meter mountain Snaefell...having been covered by glaciers that spread out from Scotland during the last ice age? And Interestingly, the Church of England diocese is called the "Diocese of Sodor and Man". Sodor....where have I heard that name? Thomas the Tank Engine? :-)

Go to a blog today and begin your own journey...it will be the first of many.


Thats all for today on Minute Tech podcast.
you can reach me at minutetech@gmail.com -
and my blog is at minutetech.blogspot.com

"Move with the motion of the planet - move with Taiji"

- iClone meets iPhone, and Columbus bumps the AMS;
- Why Do I Like This Book?
- 37Roses.com leads to a web journey.

Go to the Minute Tech iWeb page to subscribe or listen to this podcast: Minute Tech.