My college instituted e-books for almost all coursework a few months back.  At first I tried to use them, but I had a lot of trouble focusing and retaining the information, despite my best efforts.  I spent more time resizing the screen larger and larger than I did reading the words.

I was diseh

Finally I began simply buying the paper books from Amazon once I had the titles.  The cost was not prohibitave and I muct prefer highlighting and dog-earing the paper pages to the “new, improved” ability to highlight on ebooks.

Despite my preference for paper books, should I ever be forced into using an ebook, I think I finally found my ebook reader!

Weighing in at 5.5 pounds and about 1 inch thick, meet the new KNO.  Full color, flash supported, like an iPad on steriods, and I LOVE IT!

This is making my “living expense funds” wants list and my Christmas list.  I think I’m in love!!

Kno Movie from Kno, Inc. on Vimeo.

Chris Harrison, a Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon University thinks you should never have to touch your cell phone at all.  In fact, it shoould be the size of a matchbook with a full size keyboard.  That gives a whole new meaning to “hands-free calling”.

Chris is the Inventor of an amazing new prototype that turns a person’s hand and forearm into a keyboard and a screen.  It uses a pico-projector in the phone to turn your forearm into a full size keyboard.  Simply tap your arm to send a message instead of pulling out your phone!

The prototype is called “Sinkput” and he recently conducted a small sample test of it’s accuracy on 13 people that proved it is already 96% accurate.   However, that test was only using a total of 5 buttons.  Harrison says he has a way to go before he reaches the “Holy Grail”  of a full size keyboard being functional.

Read more about this amazing invention at:  CNN Labs

This is a video assignment in our Viral Marketing Class for my Internet Marketing Degree.

Week 1: We were assigned a fictitious company. I chose GIft Baskets for All.
We created a Discovery Brief on that business in week 1.

Week 2: We the had to develop a Creative Concept Brief, describing the outreach concept of our Viral Marketing Plan.

The goal of the marketing plan was to reach new market segments and increase sales/revenues throughout the year, trying to level the peaks and valleys of the prime selling season that evolved mostly around the holidays and purchases for Women (birthdays, Mother’s Day, Easter, etc).

Week 3: Where we had to create a movie as the outreach product of the Marketing Plan.  The goal of the movie was to speak to the new market segments we wanted to reach.

I decided to target two verticle segments: College Students and Men – neither of whom receive many gift baskets, but both of which would benefit from them.

The emotional hook I tried for was that men were suffering the lack of gift baskets, and knew that certain favorite items would be easy to put in along side other premium items that would surprise them. The gift baskets for college students evolved around “care baskets” – students cannot survive on pizza and cafeteria food entirely – they need fruit and – well yes, even candy!

I admit, I am NOT a movie producer, but I did my best -with the help of my friends (whose names I promised to keep to myself) to get the point I needed to make across to the audience. LOL

Google’s new Street View Snowmobile!

Just in time for the 2010 Olympics, Google announces their Street View Snowmobile.  I love this idea!  So many years I’ve wished for a more “community-centric” view of the Olympics – more visuals of the snowy peaks and the villages.

This year, we will be able to become even more immersed in the Winter Olympics than in years past!  All the thanks goes to Google’s newest addition to Street View – the Snowmobile!

This is such a great idea, it makes me wonder if they are working to retrofit a BOB with video equipment for the Summer Olympics!

That, too, would be a new perspective!

The BOB - a personal submarine!