2019

Someone imagined the next generation tools.....




Wish I was there !

Downloads saving music industry ?

I've just read a spanish newspaper where an article took my full attention: music industry is being saved by music phone downloads.

It seems that people were downloading music from the internet ..... till now. Phone downloads are today 50% of the total downloads. Believe it or not, music could be in front of their new hero: our phone!

My new spanish iPhone

I recently had the chance to buy an iPhone in NY (since the difference between euro and dollar generates a very nice diskount for europeans).

I was convinced by many features included in this machine: phone, wifi, iPod Touch, Google maps, SMS, sync possibilities with my Macbook Pro and a wide variety of new apps coming from different third companies (not from Apple).

Now, one week after I have activated the phone I must say: IT IS SIMPLY TERRIFIC. It's amazing the way it works, the way things come naturally to you, the way this new iPod works.....and anything that happens with this new gadget.

Mac - Still without radio

Apple iPhone combines three products: a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device. But where is the radio ?

iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Video.......none of these Apple products has a radio built in. And now, the newcomer iPhone still doesn't have what millions of users asked Apple for. Why do we -always- have to buy more accesories, more cables, more gadgets in order to listen to the radio with Apple ? One of the reasons given by Apple developpers is they want people to download their podcasts, music or videos from iTunes....so....they want us to pay for the contents....and use the wifi capabilities of iPhone.

Maybe in the second generation iPhone release (2008?) we will have the 3G/HSPDA and radio capabilities. That would be nice !

TECH - Skype and hot spots

A large number of professionals use Skype to make phone calls while they are out of their offices. They connect to the net through open connections available is most parts of every city in the world.

But this kind of 'free' hot spots are becoming more and more difficult to find and, instead of, paying hot spots are presented to us. These access points are expensive: a one hour connection can cost more than 10 euros in many countries in Europe, specially if we need to connect in the airport or train station.

Our friends at Skype have just release Skype Zones Beta. They have created a wide network of Skype-friendly hot spots. You can find more than 700 connection zones in Spain, 7500 in the US, 1400 in Germany or 380 in Australia. All zones are situated in strategic places of each city (airport, business center, trade center, exhibition halls). A list of them -for each country- is available here.

The only problem -nowadays- is that Skype Zones is only available for Windows XP and Windows 2000 (Mac OS X, Linux or Pocket PC are not supported yet). The prices for this service are much more interesting than the expensive hot spot companies: 2,50 euros per two hours connection or 6,50 euros per a whole month. You can activate your Skype Zone Beta from your account in Skype.