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Three iPad Questions

I'm excited about getting my hands on the iPad. I think it will be a cool device. However,  I have three questions:

 

Does the iPad have MS Exchange support?

if the rumors are true, I will be a lot less excited than I was on day one. Which rumors? The rumors that the iPad doesn't have MS Exchange support. Now I know that you can't put a lot of faith into rumors. I would also find it hard to believe that Apple would build in Exchange support into the iPhone OS (which the iPad runs on) and even include it in the Mac OS Snow Leopard, but not include in their shinny new tablet. Even the iPod touch has it. Sure there could be licensing issues or issues with allowing users to do corporate email over AT&T's data connection without buying a business plan but it would seem that Apple would work all that out and give users options for checking work email. You can hate Microsoft all you want. You can say how much they suck and that you wish they would die, but the truth is that more corporations rely on MS Exchange for corporate email/calendar/contacts than the ones that don't. So does the iPad have Exchange support?

Apple makes no mention of Exchange support on the iPad features page:

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My recent trip to Europe: What worked and what didn’t?

paris

Nothing beats real-world testing and during my last international trip it was like having a mobile testing lab to actually put all of the things I've been writing about over the past year to the test. I visited Germany, London, and Paris over the course of two weeks. In many cases I was only in a given city for one night. So there were multiple trips to the airport, and multiple hotel stays as well as getting around on the ground in places that I've never been before. So I thought I'd spend a few moments highlighting the gear and gadgets that I depended on during this trip and talk about the ones that came up short.

 

What worked?

I would have to say that just about everything "worked". There weren't really any pieces of technology that totally failed me. Of course I took my MacBook Pro, my iPhone 3GS, my Nikon D5000 DSLR, my Kodak Zi8 HD Video camera,  a multitude of cables and accessories as well as the necessary luggage to carry it all.  So with the understanding that nothing really failed me miserably, let's talk about the devices that really made a difference:

The iPhone 3GS was the star of the trip

Now granted my MacBook Pro was really the tool that I depended on to get my work done, but the iPhone was actually the gadget that made the most impact on this trip. I can't believe how much I depended on it throughout the day. I used it for just about everything, including keeping my flights and schedule together. I used it as my GPS for getting around. I used it of course to make calls, but more importantly I used it to make very low cost VoIP calls. I used it to snap photos and of course instantly share those photos with friends and family. I even used it for language translations. While I'm sure other smartphones do a great job too, I just couldn't imagine travel without my iPhone, especially internationally. There is an App for just about everything! For a list of the Top 10 Travel Apps that I used and that totally rocked, go here. 

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You’ve chosen a winner! The best USB mic…

results

Last Monday I asked for your help in choosing the USB mic that sounded best to you for my podcasting. I already had my favorite choice, but I figured my choice isn't as important as what sounds best to my listeners. Well as luck would have it, my favorite choice was your favorite choice too 🙂

podcaster

You chose the…Rode Podcaster Studio Kit (Sample 1)

I have enjoyed using this mic since day one. My only complaint has been that the volume/gain level isn't as high as I would like. However, I did think it was the best sounding and apparently so did many of you. However, it's also clear to me that different ears have different tastes. So although the Rode Podcaster got the most votes, it doesn't mean that the other two choices aren't good. Apparently they are because they each got votes too.

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We celebrate Photoshop’s 20th Birthday on Thursday!

 

Photoshop 20th Anniversary Celebration


It's not often that a software application celebrates 20 years of existence. However, tomorrow (Thursday, February 18th, 2010) we will celebrateAdobe Photoshop's 20th Anniversary! I'm very excited to be a part of the festivities and looking forward to seeing some of the folks that have helped Photoshop be the success that it is over the years.


My friends over at NAPP are hosting the Live Event

The Live Event takes place at 7:30 PM PST (19:30 GMT-8, 10:30 PM EST) in San Francisco, California. 

I'll be on stage with Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, Dave Cross, RC Concepcion, Corey Barker, Julieanne Kost, Russell Preston Brown, and Adobe's SVP Johnny L.

There will be a LIVE Webcast and LIVE Blog

If you miss the Live webcast, it will be posted later for viewing.

More details here.

While I'm sure I'll grab some shots from the event and maybe even do a blog post about it, the easiest fastest way to keep up with me at this event is to follow me on Twitter. 

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Traveling with too many electronic devices?

xraymachine-compliments of iStock photo

 

I just got back from two weeks of international business travel. The trip involved traveling through multiple airports over the course of two weeks. While my new Skooba bag performed extremely well and made it so that I didn't have to take my laptop out (except once on the return to the US), I still ran into the "too many electronic devices – bag check!" scenario. 


Lots of little gizmos

thanktank50small

I carry lots of little devices and cables when I travel. Unfortunately this is sometimes too much for the TSA agent to try to see through and the easiest thing for them is to yell "bag check" and let someone else have a closer look. I knew this would be a problem so I started putting several items in two mesh bags and taking those bags out of my laptop bag so that they go through separately. This works most of the time, however, the two bags don't hold everything and it started to become an even bigger hassle to take out both bags and still have to take out individual items.

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How was Macworld Expo without Apple?

Safari 3

This was the first year in many years that I did NOT attend Macworld Expo. Although I certainly had less interest in attending because the star of the show (Apple) wasn't going to be there, that wasn't my reason for not attending. I didn't attend this year for no other reason than the new February date conflicted with another business trip that I had scheduled and couldn't change. 

 

Was it a success?

Although I wasn't there first hand to see for myself, it appears that the show did indeed go on. For many smaller vendors and developers Macworld Expo is their one shot a year to be in front of the masses. The show typically draws thousands and thousands of Mac users and it gives developers a chance to be in front of them and to get their products noticed. I know I've certainly discovered a few products over the years at the show that I otherwise probably wouldn't have run into. So it seems that the show was successful. Macworld Expo seems to be on for next year (2011) and trust me had it not been a success, chances are this would have been the last one. These shows cost a lot of money and you don't continue them just for the fun of it.

 

Did you go? How was it?

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Which USB microphone sounds best?

blueyeti

A couple of weeks ago I did a review of my NEW Rode Podcaster microphone and while I’ve been enjoying the mic there was one thing that stuck with me from the comments section. It was the fact that a couple of people commented that they actually thought the MKL Studio 1 mic sounded better! What was funny is that was my least favorite choice. I didn’t think it was bad, I just thought the Rode sounded better. This got me thinking that maybe it’s not my ears that matter. After all YOU’RE THE LISTENER! So what sounds best to you is what really matters.

Since that time I came across a deal on the Blue (another favorite brand of mine and many of yours) Yeti THX certified mic and I couldn’t resist and rather than do another simple review talking about what I liked and what I didn’t like (by the way I like it a lot), I thought it would be even more fun to let YOU decide which one sounds best?

 

Your vote matters

I put together a quick test. I wanted to compare the Rode Podcaster against the MKL Studio 1 (that many of you thought sounded better) and my NEW Blue Yeti mic. I thought it would be fun to have a blind taste sound test where I would record the exact same thing (my voice) using all 3 mics and put the sample recording here for you to judge. Whichever one that you pick as the best sounding one will determine which mic I use from here on out. I’m making this a blind test so that brand loyalty doesn’t enter the equation. Next week I’ll reveal the winner from your votes and which sample belonged to which mic.

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