Ever since the first mobile browser there has been a massive chasm between what a full blown browser can do and what your phone browser can do...

...until now.

The typical problem with the mobile browser is that it requires a stripped down version of a web page. Full blown html/css layouts appear broken and are often unusable. Not to mention that flash doesn't work.

Because of this designers/developers have either created "smart" css pages based on device or they have created mobile versions of their sites all together.

Enter skyfire - a beta browser that takes surfing on your mobile phone to incredible heights. Open it up for the first time and you immediately sense its power. Navigate to your favorite website and watch it magically appear before your eyes - not just the copy and a few images, but the entire site in its correct html/css layout.

Now the problem we run into is that most phones have very small screens with inadequate resolution to handle this new power. Not a problem - skyfire has added a smart zoom feature so you can choose a section of the site to zoom into. Once at the correct zoom level you can access buttons, text entry fields and other page elements. This until phones start adding screen real estate and better resolution.

The Biggest Difference
However, the most incredible thing (to me) about this browser is that it supports flash.

This is HUGE friends!!!! I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this. Flash entered the progressive download and streaming video field with force and yet the mobile world didn't recognize its importance fast enough. Before you knew it sites like YouTube had millions of viewable clips that the mobile world couldn't access. In fact YouTube even had to create a separate set of video clips (in a different format) for the introduction of the original iPhone just so that phone could use the content. Since then YouTube has even added a mobile version of their site so that I can view clips on my phone using Windows Media Player.

But once Flash is available on phones and other mobile devices all this work will be for not. We can go back to watching the original flash version of the clips (Incredible storage savings for YouTube...)

In Summary
One of the first things I did with skyfire was to go to gccwired.com and try viewing a flash video clip from our media player. The next was to try watching our streaming service. Both worked and the phone/browser combo actually kept up with it. Amazing!

Of course there are kinks to work out. My phone has a hard time controlling audio in skyfire due to my phone (Sprint Motorola Q9c) not having external volume buttons. Because of this I have to zoom into the actual volume control on the website and try to drop the volume.

But for a beta browser these are small things that will only get better when viewed on more advanced phones.

HUGE things are possible because of this browser technology. I can't wait to see what happens next...

I began my journey with Zune the first week it became available. I understood the problems this might cause and simply crossed my fingers that it would catch on and that upgrades to software and firmware would gradually bring new and exciting things.

Baby Steps
My first clue that things were going to work out well came when I was able to upgrade the firmware on my original 30GB Zune. In a matter of 5 minutes my OS looked exactly like that of the next gen Zunes. There were also upgrades to the Zune Marketplace which added podcasts and podcast management. Also, you can now download videos - including some awesome NBC shows.

Giant Leap For Mankind
Then the unimaginable happened. Last week I upgraded both the firmware on my original Zune and Marketplace software to versions 3.0 and to my surprise they have added some incredible features - taking the Zune from iPod wannabe to a definite competitor.

New Stuff (see full listing here)
Here are just some of the things I've experienced personally:

1. I can connect to the Marketplace by wireless connection and mark songs for download.
2. I can listen to the radio and the Zune will tell me what the song is and I can mark it for download the next time I sync.
3. The Marketplace software has some amazing new stuff (see image above). As you are listening to an album you can see a slide show of hi-res images of the artist. As these images fade in and out words appear on the screen. Things like: artist name, album title, song title, description of artist, number of times you have played the song, number of times the song has been played by everyone, etc.
4. Another cool feature of the Marketplace is something called the Mixview (see below). When listening to an album you can see other albums by that artist, singles, related artists, users that listen to that album the most (from the Social), and even artists that this artist was influenced by.

In Summary
All I can say is, I stand amazed. First because I'm still using my first gen Zune and getting to do everything a next gen Zune user gets to do. And second, because in a matter of a few years Zune has undergone an incredible transformation and in my opinion stands as one of the leading players in the game.

Up Next?
I know there will be more to come, but here is my request for the next big thing:

Add television shows and movies to the subscription service!

As it stands I pay $14/month for unlimited downloads of music. If I want a television show on my Zune I still have to pay extra for that. And I don't think movies are even available yet. But hopefully this all happens in the near future. I'd probably pay up to $30/month for a subscription service like this - especially if the quality of the video was good enough to watch on my 1680x1050 computer monitor or a 1080p HDTV before sending to my Zune in a smaller format.

Things are looking up for Microsoft. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Important clarification: This post will come across as materialistic. But think about it in terms of ministry impact and keeping up with technology. If we wait until something is tried and true we'll always be playing catch up. It's like saying, "Let's start using DVD's now that the market has fully accepted them." Only to realize that Blu-ray has already secured that market for the near future and we are one step behind.

Being an early adopter has both benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand you are ahead of the curve but you also experience the pain being on the 'bleeding edge.'

That said, let's talk toys and tools:

The Computer: I hear people saying, "Duh! Did he just say computer?" Yes, I did, but I really meant notebook. In today's economy portability is to be desired. Any more there isn't a huge difference between the price of a desktop and that of a notebook. So why not be able to take it with you?

I still love a good desktop with two large monitors for graphic and web design, but the majority of my life resides on the notebook.

I won't get into the Mac vs. PC thing here so I'll leave it at: I love my Dell Latitude D830 for the day-to-day and I'd love to own a MacBookPro for my HD video (iMovie)...

As for what to have on your computer. See below...

The Browser: I've been hopping between IE and Firefox for the past few years but recently switched completely to the Mozilla product: Firefox3 which is amazing. I think what finally persuaded me was the way Mozilla attempts to make your life easier. Sure IE7 has begun to offer add-ons but Firefox was built upon this concept and in my opinion leads the way in this area.

I can't live without the FF3 developer extensions for CSS and XML, the extension that syncs my bookmarks (favorites) between my desktop and laptop and the extension (PicLens) that allows any online photo gallery to become a picture wall that I can easily scroll through without waiting for page refreshes. This along with color picker and measureit tools make developing websites much easier.

The Software/Apps: If you do what I do you can't live without Adobe Products. Of course it hurts to say that given the fact that I was a hard core Macromedia fan. But it's all good now. Whether a graphic artist or a web designer these are almost a non-negotiable. My faves are Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks.

You obviously need MS Office 07 with the 'ribbon' menu layout, the cool new smart art feature in Word07, Outlook07's powerful upgrades (still the best all around email tool in my opinion) and OneNote07 which makes taking notes and organizing between notebook and desktop a breeze.

Throw in the following apps (both online and downloadable) and you're golden:

• Blogger: Makes blogging as easy as flossing - for free.
• Bloglines Beta: RSS aggregator that will revolutionize your life! (no, I don't work for them...)
  
• TweetDeck: For managing all your Twitter needs.
• TwitPic: For taking picture on your mobile phone and easily sending them to Twitter (tell people what you are doing in real time) - simplest way to let people immediately 'see' exactly what you are seeing at any given point in time.
• Facebook: Just to remain connected to all your peeps - and to create/send Pieces of Flair...
• Adobe Media Player (AMP): For those of you dabbling in flash video (largely becoming the online standard) you'll need something to watch your FLV files in. Built for the Adobe AIR platform which has some really cool apps. These run on your desktop, but interact as if they were running inside a browser.
  
• SmugMug: Need a place to upload all your favorite pictures for safe keeping and sharability?
• Music: iTunes or the Zune Marketplace. Take your pick. I chose Zune - love the subscription service. I can try anything and everything for one price.
• Digsby: If you need to keep IM, Twitter, Facebook and other accounts organized and in one place.
• SocialThing: Still in beta so you'll have to beg to try it out. But when it goes live it might just take over the world :)

The Camera: I've dabbled with photography over the years but I'm still a little on the 'green' side. I have the Nikon D40x because I like the smaller body style and figured it was a good middle of the road camera for learning on.

But none of that really matters. What does is that it's digital, takes large pictures (8-10 megapixels) and can shoot in RAW/NEF format which gives you crazy control over them in the future. IMPORTANT! If you do this, make sure you have the Adobe Bridge software (ships with some of the larger Adobe packages like Web Premium) which makes these images viewable and allows you to easily edit them.

Storage becomes an issue when you start taking a lot of digital pictures (especially when shooting in the RAW/NEF format). You NEED a backup plan! Mine is currently this:

• Transfer to desktop hard drive
• Copy these to external hard drive
• Upload to SmugMug (easy to share with friends and safe in case the first too solutions crash)
• Delete off camera (SD card)

The Video Camera: Go HD or the future will smack you in the face :)

I recently purchased the Sony HDR-SR11 HD camcorder with 60GB hard drive, 10MP camera and 5.1 surround in an attempt to keep up with the HDTV revolution.

Here's the problem. Not only is analog going away in February 2009, but in the very near future you'll only be able to buy HDTVs. This means all that footage you've shot on the non-HD camcorder (640x480) is going to look bad on the new TV (which wants at least 1280x720).

Better to start shooting now in HD and save those memories on something that will look great in the future. However cost is an issue (most HD camcorders are between $800-$1500).

Another thing to keep in mind is storage space. You thought digital pictures were hard to keep up with - wait until you start taking HD video! I'm still working out the details on that backup plan...

The HDTV: Currently watching Samsung 50" Plasma 720p.

This technology is fast approaching which means I'm trying to get in on the ground floor and ride the elevator. But that means fairly significant costs up front.

Not only are HDTV's expensive ($1000-$4000 for the type 'normal' people would own) but you also have the additional associated costs that come with cable, HDTV programming and a HD DVR (Tivo or equivalent).

However there is nothing like Discovery Channel in HD and playing back your home videos from your HD camcorder will blow you out of the water.

My HDTV doesn't have a network jack, but look for this in the near future. You'll want one as IPTV takes hold. You will be able to watch streaming content from the Internet right on your TV!

The Phones: Want to stay connected to all the other stuff in the palm of your hand? You'll need one of the more complex phones available to day like the Samsung Instinct (pictured), the Motorola Q9, the HTC Mogul or the iPhone to name a few.

These phones not only allow you to talk to people, they also bring all your other work or personal information to you. These sync with exchange servers so your email, calendar and contacts are available on your phone. You can surf the Internet, text, twitter and Facebook all from the phone.Some even have geolocation and navigation features via GPS.

I currently use the Motorola Q9c through Sprint. All the above can be yours for $69.99/mo. on the Simply Everything Plan.

However please use restraint. More people each day are getting into serious car accidents trying to take pictures, talk on the phone and Twitter all simultaneously...

In Summary
This post is a stinking book! Hopefully I broke it up well enough so you could easily find parts that interest you.

Don't be afraid of technology. The majority of the stuff I purchased for personal use, but there is a huge crossover in what I do for the church. From the digital pictures to the HD video we're daily working with the stuff trying to leverage it for His Kingdom.

If Satan is using technology to make things darker - We need to use it to turn up the light.

In this technological day and age there is so much going on. So much to know, keep track of and learn in order to stay 'up-to-date.'

Self Induced Problem
The problem is we create the problem. We don't have to own the digital camera, the Tivo, the HD camcorder, the plasma TV, the car with NavLink or rear DVD system, the iPod/Zune, the portable DVD player, the iPhone/Windows Mobile equivalent, or even the fancy pop up toaster for that matter.

Truth is we love gadgets. We love the fact that there is something new out there that can take a little piece of our daily existence and either make it smaller, faster or more powerful than the previous solution. But in doing so we actually clutter up our lives. When we have 25 devices to do 25 things with 250 page user manuals for each one you can't tell me we are simplifying our lives!

Fact: We probably aren't giving up our gadgets.

So I love it when a company like Apple works their @!*# off to simplify it for us (even though I don't own Apple products at this time).

I knew they had a wide range of solutions in their arsenal but my friend Adam Callender recently introduced me to a new one. He and his wife both own MacBook Pro's and will probably end up with iPhones in the near future. But the cool tool I'm talking about is the Time Capsule.

In essence this one piece of equipment would replace my D-Link router, my external hard drive (that's 1TB worth of external hard drive) and any sort of backup software I purchased to make life easier.

Here are a few of the things it does for you:

• Server grade storage (500GB or 1TB)
  
• Wireless network (5x the performance and 2x the range due to 802.11n)
• Wireless drive sharing
• Wireless print services
• Built in security
  
• Works with iPhone, Apple TV and more...

Amazing! Especially in recent days for me. I now the following products that make backup a nightmare:

• Nikon D40x (10MP stills that produce close to 5MB files per picture in JPEG format)
  
• Sony HDR-SR11 (AVCHD camcorder with 10MP still capability)

At this point I have been dumping it all on the desktop, manually transferring it to an external hard drive and then uploading all images to SmugMug as added backup. If I had the Time Capsule, I would simply download the files to the computer and Time Capsule would pull them over to the external drive in the background. I seriously doubt it would upload them to SmugMug for you but you can't have everything.

In the PC world I'm sure you can put together a solution like this if you know what you are doing. But how cool is it that Apple puts it together for you - allowing you to keep working on that whole simplification thing...

So I was thinking the other day...what would it look like if Mac and PC stopped focusing on their differences and found common ground? If they dated for a while, got married and had a child? What might that look like?

Obviously I assumed it would be a positive thing...

But seriously. I have one foot in both camps. I've used PC's my entire life and yet after using the MacBook Pro a few times I totally see the value in going this route for my music, pictures and AVCHD video.

Unfortunately, that's where my Mac love ends. Try to do my typical daily routine and my blood pressure rises. Replace Outlook with Entourage? Are you kidding? Carry a power cord everywhere I go? Don't think so.

Back to my illustration: If only there were a "Cindy Crawford Solution" to this problem. How cool would it be if I could purchase Mac tools like iMovie, iPhoto and PhotoBooth for my PC? Or Outlook for the Mac? What if all open source and online programs worked as well on the Mac?

I know. I know. Capitalism. Each one needs have a unique niche in order to compete for market share.

Whatever! The browser wars are almost over now that IE is becoming standards compliant. Sure they will continue striving to be number one. But hopefully in feature sets and not obscure functionality.

So couldn't this be a next step? Bill? Steve? Can't we just be friends?

Yes, Twitter is taking over the world - at least the world I live in.

When I first learned about it and saw how people were using it I simply dismissed it as one more thing to check and stay up on. In my world this would mean blogging, reading blogs, managing the Inbox, managing Facebook and now Tweeting? So I wasn't very interested at first.

Then I learned that Twitter would automatically update my Facebook status. So prior to my SXSW trip this year I signed up so I could do Facebook status updates from my MotoQ9c on the fly. This worked well, but was just the beginning. After using it for the week I quickly learned the "power of the tweet."

I'm still a newbie but here are a few of the perceived benefits:

1. Status Updates: Basically what Twitter is, but also able to update your Facebook status remotely from your cellphone.
2. @replies: Simply add "@friendsTwitterUsername" in your tweet and it will show up on that person's page - similar to replying to an email.
3. Instant, Generic Communication: Instead of having to text or email a group of people, you can simply send a tweet and anyone following your Twitter will receive the communication.
4. Share Your Crazy Captures: Couple Twitter with a simple application like TwitPic and you are able to snap a picture on your phone then easily include it in a tweet as a link. One of the fastest ways to communicate a real-time personal experience.

Call it mini-blogging, texting on steroids or just the next version of mass communication. Either way it rocks and has definitely found it's place on my list of tools.

The team recently added downloadable video to the product offerings on WiredChurches.com.

It seems like this would be a no-brainer with today's technology but there were definitely some glitches that kept us from doing this long ago. With files from 500MB all the way up to 2GB it isn't like you are making an MP3 available for download. And you also need an eCommerce solution that plays nice with large downloads.

But this aside we're finally able to make them available.

Due in part to an incredible team of dedicated web guru's that worked at it until it became a reality. Here's the rundown:

• Matt: Hosting and ftp solution along with some slick behind the scenes work to make file management and uploading a breeze.
• Jeanna/Lisa/Lindsay: Video acquisition, uploading, product creation, promotion, etc.

I love the fact that I get to brainstorm with these guys and then watch them knock it out of the park. We're in for a good ride in the Communications Department. The team is strong and ready for the next big challenge.

Tammy and I ate at Cozymel's Mexican Grill while we were in Dallas. And while the food wasn't really worth blogging about, there was something that totally got me geeked about the restaurant.

Each table had a small touch screen propped up on a stand. During the meal it offered the specials and even movie times at the nearby mall. But it was what happened after the meal that really amazed me.

When you were finished, the server finalized the bill and made it available on the touch screen. You pushed the "pay" button and then slid your credit card through a slot on the side in order to pay for the meal. You're even asked how you would like the receipt. I chose to have ours emailed to us. And within 10 seconds it was showing up in the Inbox of my MotoQ9.

I love this stuff! Just think of the possibilities for personal banking in the church world. You could have these on the seat backs in the auditorium. You could have self serve kiosks in the atrium. Or let's get even more personal and make this software available on mobile phones. Imagine if you had a mobile app that allowed you to give your tithes and offerings when needed. Or if you could navigate to a mobile version of the church website and click a link that allowed online giving from a mobile phone.

Sound crazy? I'm betting it's not far off my friend :)

Day two had the bulk of the content and day three was the wrap up final session. Here are some specifics:

Opening Session (Curtis Simmons): Curtis did a great job walking us through both newly released functionality and what is right around the corner. It was good to hear about the architecture restructure that will allow for increased access to data through the coming API and CMS features. Ftech is wanting to be 'all things technical' for churches and yes, that includes managing and hosting their websites. With CMS a church will be able to develop templates and pull content right out of FellowshipOne and present it on the page. We're definitely heading in the right direction.

F1 Roadmap (Curtis Harris): Much of the same stuff presented in the opening session just with more detail and timelines.

LifeChurch.tv - Here, Now and the Future (Terry Storch): I love sitting in on session with this guy. Terry's heart beats for 'kingdom technology' and he shared a few of the projects currently underway at LifeChurch.tv. Internet Campus, OnePrayer and SecondLife are three of the biggies. Looking forward to hearing more from the LifeChurch.tv Team when the OnePrayer series hits.

CMS in FellowshipOne (Tim Hardy): Tim was great at walking us through the future CMS feature in F1. He not only described the idea and the way it would work, but also demonstrated by walking us through the process of editing pages and navigation. Sounds interesting for smaller churches. We currently use a CMS designed for us from the ground up. However, I look forward to the possibility of pulling in content with the RESTful API and presenting it on our pages. All sorts of applications come to mind...

Customizing Weblink with CSS (Tara Coulson): Simple and to the point, so why haven't I got in there and messed with it? It's called laziness. I just need to put it on the list and make it happen. FellowshipOne still uses an archaic css stylesheet to style their popup windows. So it will take a little work to find the right selectors, make the changes and then make sure that it hasn't completely destroyed the look of another popup using the same selector. Shouldn't be too bad though.

Evenings Activities (Friday): P.F. Chang's and a quick stop at IKEA.

Closing Address on Saturday (Randy Draper): Excellent choice. Randy has heart, humor and passion for church work. He encouraged us to NOT be the negative, angry tech person sitting behind the scenes. But to find the passion we need to laugh, love people, serve and find purpose in everything we do. Sobering and encouraging.

Saturday's Activities: Spend the next couple days with my beautiful wife (who decided to come on the trip with me). No solid plans, but I'm sure we'll find something to do in the big State of Texas.

Day one has come and gone in Dallas. Yesterday we did the following:

Presenters Meeting: Quick and to the point. Thanks for coming. This is where the computer will be. This is the clicker for your powerpoint. Now go and do a great job.

Opening Address (Jeff Hook, CEO): Jeff opened the conference with another summary on Fellowship Technologies history, place in the market and commitment to the vision of the church. He gave a short overview of what's coming in the life of FellowshipOne and offered a new (modified) version of the graph depicting the operating needs/processes of the church.

Data Integrity (Marie Armitage): Marie offered many best practices on how to maintain data integrity and elicited similar tips from attendees. Good to hear that we're on the right track.

Super Team (Granger Team): We presented on the development of our Super Team and how it has helped us with the use of F1 in our environment. The team outperforms the individual every time...

Weblink Integration (Curtis Simmons): I returned to this presentation in part because we have semi-integrated weblink on gccwired.com. Last year it was considered a waste of time to attempt such a thing. This year it was discussed as being the preferred method because of the control it allows over the user experience. Exactly why we put the time and energy into doing it in the first place :)

Evenings Activities: Cheesecake Factory and IronMan.

This week a group of us will be making the trip to Texas for the annual Dynamic Church Conference.

Six of us went last year and quickly found that your FellowshipOne (church management solution) knowledge can go from 0 to 100 in two days.

This year we've been asked to present on what we call the 'Super Team' - a select group of people that help to keep FellowshipOne running smoothly at our church. If you want to hear more about the team concept, meet us on Thursday and we'll try to fill in all the blanks.

It should be a good time. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the recently added features and what is on the roadmap for future enhancements.

See everyone there.

For those of you dedicated to all things tech at your churches or places of employment, I have the perfect event for you. WiredChurches.com is offering the Technical Arts Forum again this May 30th.

Led by my good friend Adam Callender, the forum is a round-table event with discussion topics guided by attendees. Discuss how to effectively use audio, video, lighting and auditorium technology in services or presentations. Conversations also touch on needs, components, systems and how to find and train volunteers.

If you get geeked by tech you really need to check this out.

Until recently the communications department at granger has been 100% PC (Dell desktops and laptops for the most part). But we recently purchased a MacBook Pro. It isn't for one individual (though it sits on Jeanna's desk). Instead it serves the entire department as a media workhorse.

We had budget set aside for expensive software programs (required on a PC in order to edit and encode our video). But when we looked into it further, we realized iMovie could do it all as a stock program on the MacBook Pro. This, along with the ability to do fun Mac stuff (PhotoBooth) and open files from our printer in Mac-only formats made the decision a no-brainer.

With iMovie we can quickly pull in a clip we cropped out of the service with QuickTime Pro, add fades to beginning and end, add text titles if needed and then export for our media player. We can also upload to our YouTube Channel with one click (after setting it up right the first time).

Now I have to admit, I lean toward the PC just because of its range, the solid Outlook/exchange server functionality and the fact that much of it just makes more sense. But I love the fact that for pictures, video and other design needs the MacBook Pro fills the gap incredibly.

Because of this you should probably call me a 'cross-platform guy.' I don't get that passionate about either one because they both have their problems and they both do some things well.

However, if you are an evangelist for a specific side be prepared for an argument. I just don't get that mentality and can defend both as well as the next guy...

At some point I'll fill you in on how easy it is to use iMovie to import, edit and play AVCHD files off my Sony HDR-SR11 camcorder...

If you hang out with other Christians, there's a good chance you'll be asked the question, "What's your love language?"

This from the best selling book by Dr. Gary Chapman on the ways we accept love and show love to others.

It's popular and it isn't going away - probably because there is a high level of validity to his claims. So it got me thinking this week.

Could similar claims be made about the way people communicate on the Internet?

For the sake of argument, I'll say there is. I'll offer up a few examples to get people talking. We'll call them the 7 Internet Communication Languages (ICL's) to completely copy Dr. Chapman. But please don't get too hung up on the fact that I thought of 7 (the minute I hit 'publish' someone will comment that I missed a very important one...). So here we go:

The 7 Internet Communication Languages:

• The Electromailer: This person would still be using the US Postal Service for all its worth of email wasn't around. They realized the power of electronic mail and made the switch. This person chooses to send an email before communicating any other way. They would also be comfortable joining online message boards or forums that require you post questions and then wait for a response.
  
• The Realtimer: This person doesn't have the patience to wait on the dreaded send/receive cycle of an email. They are looking for an immediate contact or immediate answers to their questions. This person probably uses the phone a lot so they find similar speed when they use IM clients like AIM, Yahoo Messenger or Live Messenger. They may also take advantage of video conferencing solutions, IM with video cams or live chat on websites so they are interacting in real time.
• The Statusupdater: This person just wants to let everyone in the world know what they are doing at any given time. Tweets, Powncers and the like throw out little bits of information that others can either absorb or react to in limited ways. These people are often hard core texters. In fact many of these people actually update their status from their cellular phones and receive updates from others right on their phones as text messages.
  
• The Blogger: Bloggers, Typers, Spacers and Pressers live to write. They are most likely writers at heart, plan on writing books someday or just love to journal. They've found the perfect solution to take their passion to the next level and share it with the world. Communication is one way until people comment or connect with you via the contact information you provide.
  
• The J-Pegger: This person loves photography. Because of this they communicate by showing others the pictures they take (most often in JPEG format). Communication occurs when people comment on the picture or request to have or use them. J-Peggers like to Flickr, act Smug and kick the Bucket when it comes to uploading great images to the web.
• The Flasher: Something akin to the J-Pegger, but this person feels more comfortable with a camcorder. They take video footage or create media experiences and then share them with others (often in flash video format). These Tubers, Googlers, Vimeots and vSocialites make us laugh, cry, fight and yes blush... Communication happens in the form of text comments, video commenting and embedding.
  
• The Socializer: This person loves to network. It isn't enough to go out, meet people and add them to your Blackberry. No, you need to be connected online so you have complete access to the person. Facers, Spacers and qLifers do it all. They are quite possibly the masters of the black art of Internet communication. These social networkers may blog, update statuses, upload pictures/video, engage in live chat or IM and email all from within their application of choice.

I know it's just a start. But think about it. What is your Internet Communication Language? What Language do your friends speak?

Ponder...

There are so many cellphone companies to choose from these days. But as time goes on I get more comfortable with being a Sprint customer. I had Nextel for quite a while, but their lack of interest in exploring new and innovative phones led me to switch to their new partner (with no charge for early termination).

My first phone with Sprint was the Moto Q. Definitely a new and innovative phone, but with it's share of problems. In fact, I've determined that almost all the frustration I may have expressed toward Sprint was really misdirected. I should have been upset with Motorola. My Q had charging problems, restart problems, DST problems, USB connection problems, etc.

Customer Service
Each time I brought in my Q they did what they could to fix the problem - everything from replacing the battery, to upgrading firmware to doing hard resets with special codes provided by Motorola. But after three or four visits it was obvious that things weren't going to change. So they finally upgraded me to the Moto Q9c at no extra cost.

The Phone
It scares me a bit to talk highly about this phone until I've had it for a while. But I can say it is charging correctly and hasn't shown any sign of major problems yet. It has Windows Mobile 6 which upgrades the functionality quite a bit. It also has a Windows Update feature that will hopefully allow for regular software tweaks to take care of problems if they do arise.

The New Plans
The other thing I'm stoked about are the new Simply Everything Plans offered by Sprint. When you start using a smart phone, plans can get a little out of control when you start trying to take advantage of features like text, data and GPS. But with the Simply Everything plan I was able to pay $69.99 and get 450 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data, GPS (Sprint Navigation) and even stuff I won't use like Sprint TV. Now that's innovative considering these phones were built to do it all.

I may have had doubts in the past, but I'm still Sprinting...

I know. I know. You're probably thinking, "Why is this guy cluttering up his site by adding a widget for something that doesn't appear to match the content and direction of his blog?"

Well, I thought the exact same thing when I found it. My initial instinct was to pass it by since I'm typically against adding widgets to blogs. But then I changed my mind. And here's why:

1. I love LOST (warning: audio). I mean it's up there with my all time favorites like Friends (warning: audio), ER, Seinfeld and MacGyver (to take it back a few years). It's hard to call it the best show ever, but it's also hard not to. It takes television to the next level by combining humor, drama, suspense and science fiction to offer a roller coaster ride on the edge of reality. The widget offers some of the most interesting clips along with links to current news bites and fun facts about the show.
   
2. I am still trying to figure out how to leverage widgets for the cause. Aside from creating your own widgets from scratch (flash development) I'm trying to figure out if the online tools will allow me to create the widget (in flash probably) and then use their engine to create the widget functionality so it can be shared on pages, blogs, sidebars, etc. So adding the LOST widget is also a test of sorts to see what the functionality does and what it looks like on a site. My first thought is that it's too big for the sidebar, but if it were any smaller it would be hard to see/read. I'm pretty sure these can be created thinner - though they tend to grow in length when you do that. Just a trade off I guess.
   

My Search Results
Here is one site that charges for the creation of widgets:

• SplashCast (warning: audio)
• Just about any web developer will make you one at a price...
  

Here are some free ones:

• KickApps
• AdaptiveBlue
  
• Sprout
• Widgetbox
  

Summary
I love the widget concept. It offers you the ability to update important content in one place and yet have millions of viewable entry points all pulling the same content. It also allows people to use your controlled content in a way that means something to them (on their Facebook profile/page, as a post on their blog, in the sidebar of their blog, etc.). This 'viral' nature of the widget makes it highly useful as long as it can be designed well and leveraged correctly.

I'm leaning toward Sprout or Widgetbox at this point. I'll set up an account, do some design work in flash and see what comes of it.

Anyone know of a site with more punch? If so, let me know!

It just occurred to me today that even though I didn't know many if the panelists, these are top players in the field and are from leading technology companies and design firms around the world.

So I thought (for laughs) that I'd go back through the entire list of panels I attended and show you the companies/firms represented by the panelists. So here we go in the order I attended the panels:

• jasongraphix.com
• Art Institute of Atlanta
• Adobe
• Global Strategies
• AKQA
• Google
• hauntedcastle.org
• geocaching.com
• Skyhook Wireless
• areacodeinc.com
• Digital Roam
• MIT Comparitive Media Studies Program
• 37signals
• Further Ahead
• Facebook
• Preloaded
• Ekton
• Climb to the Stars
• flickr
• Worldwide Lexicon Project
• iStockphoto.com
• Postsecret.com
• W3Conversations
• NetCast HD
• armidatechnologies.com
• Polycot Consulting
• RipCode
• iTaggit
• invodo.com
• NC-soft
• Avant Games
• hackdiary.com
• DOPPLR
• CSSzengarden
• mezzoblue.com
• Quarterlife

Day 5 was a tremendous wrapup to a long week. Great panels with very helpful content and cutting edge stuff to look into for future versions of the stuff we're doing back home.

Panels today:

• Crunching & Streaming: Online video distribution challenge and opportunity (Various)
• Following the lifecycle of an idea (Various)
• Keynote Address (Jane McGonigal of Avant Games)
• Creative Collaboration: Building web apps together (Various)
• Quarterlife: A wild journey from internet to TV (Marshall Herskovitz)

Great Takeaways from Today:

• Principles of Happiness: 1) Satisfying work to do 2) Doing something you're good at 3) Time spent with people you like 4) Chance to be part of something bigger. Jane McGonigal
• Why gaming can be more desirable than real life: 1) Better instructions than in life 2) Better feedback than in life 3) Better community than in life. Jane McGonigal

Excitement for the day:

• Ran into Guy Kawasaki in a hallway. He was sitting for a short interview so I waited and then said hi. I think he remembered me...
• Jane McGonigal somehow managed to work the Soulja Boy dance into her talk (actually demonstrating after Q&A). I thought it was the most real and brilliant Keynote Address of SXSW 08.

Tonight's meal:

• Carrabba's Italian Grill: An old standby.