chuck.latournous.com » Technology

Sneak Peak of my ‘The Geek Outdoors’ session at Macworld

Chuck La Tournous — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:44:41 +0000

It’s a rare opportunity when my love of technology and my love of the great outdoors align, so I was thrilled when I was asked to deliver a seminar on “High Tech Camping” at next week’s Macworld | iWorld event in San Francisco.

If you’re coming to the event, I certainly hope you’ll consider attending my session. Camping geeks are as enthusiastic about their gadgets as technology geeks, and the two fields are converging in some pretty interesting ways, mostly thanks to the portability and versatility of the iPhone and iPad. Here’s a taste of what I mean.

Let’s start with navigation. Sure, the iPhone has a built-in compass, but I’m not here to try to sell you on using it — let’s face it; it’s pretty flaky. I’ll opt for a “real” compass any day, liquid filled, mind you, and if I’m expressing a preference, I’ll take a mirror compass; they allow you to see your bearing and line up your target at the same time. The mirrored top also acts as a lid to protect your compass and it’s compact enough that there’s no real advantage to leaving it behind in favor of the app on your iPhone.

More features than a "real" GPSr at about 1/300th the price.

If we’re talking GPS receiver, though, I’ll choose the iPhone over a dedicated unit — at least for casual camping. Sure, a dedicated GPSr’s battery will probably last longer, but the some of the offerings on the app store so good I actually prefer them to a standalone device. My favorite, hands down, is MotionX GPS. It was one of the early arrivals on the app store and it’s been improving ever since. In addition to the usual features like being able to set waypoints and record tracks, it lets you choose from a variety of maps, track your altitude, add photos, share waypoints on your favorite social media network and more. And while a decent GPSr will set you back $300 or more, MotionX GPS is sale-priced at a ridiculously low $1.99 — and it’s a universal app.

No cell service? No problem. SPOT can fetch help by turning your iPhone into a satellite communicator.

The SPOT Connect device can be a life saver — literally. It allows you to use your iPhone to communicate to rescue teams or the folks back home using satellites when there’s no cell coverage. It’s pricey, but for serious outdoor adventurers who frequent remote locations, it could be the best investment they ever made.

There are dozens — maybe hundreds of apps that can be tremendously useful in the great outdoors — everything from apps that help you identify birds to apps that help you identify poisonous plants. There are even apps that will help you with first aid in case you didn’t do so well identifying the poisonous plants. And if you’re a star gazer, you already know how many more stars shine on a dark backcountry night; and you can name every one of them if you have an app for that. (I like Star Walk; $2.99 on the App Store.)

Solar panels: Because trees don't have electrical outlets.

So what’s a gadget-loving camper to do when your iPhone battery barely lasts through the day, let alone a busy weekend of star charting and bird watching? A good solar panel and an external battery can ensure your iDevice has enough juice to do it all. My favorite combination is from a company called GoalZero: their monocrystalline solar panels are much more efficient than panels of old, and their Guide10 battery pack uses rechargeable AA batteries, meaning you can bring multiple sets of batteries to power your device even if there’s not enough sun.

Finally, on the non-Apple front, here’s one of the coolest ways I’ve seen to purify water yet. Traditionally, there have been three ways to ensure water is safe to drink: boil it, treat it chemically or filter it. All have their downsides: boiling water takes a long time and leaves you with hot, often flat-tasting water; iodine pills and other chemical treatments leave a bad taste; and pumping can be slow, labor-intensive and subject to clogging.

Rumor has it that Captain Kirk used the same thing to purify his Romulan Ale.

A company called SteriPEN added a fourth method: purifying by ultraviolet light. It looks like something straight out of Star Trek: a small device about the size of a travel tube of toothpaste, with a glass rod on the end. Immerse the rod in water and it lights up. Less than a minute later, you have water that’s safe to drink, with over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa eliminated, seemingly by magic. (Depending on the condition of the water, you might want to remove sediment or other particles by filtering them through a bandana or coffee filter first.) What’s even cooler is that SteriPEN’s newest model features a USB-rechargeable battery, so you can use your solar panel to charge it too.

I’ll be talking about a lot more at my seminar, so I hope lots of TMO readers will be able to join me. It’s a session that probably wouldn’t have been possible without the new direction of Macworld | iWorld, so I’m very eager to see how it’s received.

Oh, and one more thing: IDG is letting me give TMO readers $15 off an iFan pass just by using this link.

I hope to see you there!

“The Great (Geek) Outdoors: Using your high-tech gear to get more out of your high adventure outings”
Friday, January 27th
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

AT&T’s new data plan on The Mac Jury

Chuck La Tournous — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:46:47 +0000

I’m on the panel of the latest MacJury podcast, where we discussed AT&T’s new cellular data plans, which effectively end “unlimited” data and introduce tethering for iPhones. I was surprised by just how much there was to say about what on face value seemed a pretty simple story. The conversation was helped by having an excellent panel including Jeff Gamet, Pat Fauquet, Keith Langdon and Michael Johnston. Of course, Host Chuck Joiner once again ably moderated our lively little group. The podcast can be streamed or downloaded from the episode’s page on the MacJury website.

I. want. this.

Chuck La Tournous — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:02:04 +0000

Those of you who may have forgotten my recent birthday can make amends by buying this as a belated gift. Fear not; I will forgive you.

MacJury Live at Macworld 2010 video now available

Chuck La Tournous — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:41:29 +0000

I got to meet my fellow MacJurors face-to-face at Macworld San Francisco 2010 for a live version of the MacJury podcast. Host Chuck Joiner and our panel recorded the session live on the floor of the Moscone Center — in the Music Theater stage, to be more specific — in front of a live audience. The panel consisted of Tanya Engst, from TidBITS and TakeControl Books, Ted Landau from Macworld and The Mac Observer, Jeff Gamet from The Mac Observer and the Design Weekly Podcast and yours truly. The audience was super, the conversation lively and it was a typically fun session. Thanks to all who attended and for Chuck for putting it together. The session — in all its video glory — is now available on the MacVoices.tv website.

Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE is all you need

Chuck La Tournous — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:30:52 +0000

I’ve been a Beatles fan nearly all my life, discovering the Fab Four only shortly after their breakup in 1970. Since then, I’ve spent a fair chunk of my disposable income on buying Beatles albums in all sorts of iterations: vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD and even video. I’ve bought “regular” albums, re-mastered albums, rarities, anthologies — you name it. But through it all, I’ve stayed away from “re-imaginings” and reinterpretations. I’m a purist at heart; I wanted to hear the music the way the group intended it to be heard — no mashups need apply, thank you very much.

So it was with a little trepidation that I went with my wife to see “LOVE,” the Cirque du Soleil interpretation of the Fab Four’s music, with a story very loosely based on the band’s rise to fame and the influence both of and on the world around it.

The music is of course phenomenal. But the remixing of familiar licks, stings and phrasing is truly inspired. Bass lines from one song lead into and remain throughout another; drum kicks from Abbey Road become the foundation of “Get Back.” The mix between albums, eras and styles works in a way that seems not only seamless but in hindsight downright natural — even obvious, once you’ve heard them. And the quality of the sound is something that one imagines has never before been heard outside Abbey Road studio itself. I’m quite sure I never stopped smiling during the entire performance.

And speaking of performance, it’s hard to believe, but the music itself was only part of the experience. The acrobatics, dancing and staging were nothing short of incredible. With costuming and set decoration that seemed equal parts Peter Maxx, Dr. Suess and Rube Goldberg, LOVE is every bit a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

Don’t look too hard for a storyline. The plot, if there can said to be one, serves merely to connect segments that are at times joyous, mystical, tragic, whimsical and funny…but always sensual and always a sheer delight.

With musical direction from Beatles producer George Martin and his son, Giles, LOVE is a meticulously, brilliantly, lovingly woven experience of a lifetime. To call it simply a “show” would be a disservice to the genius of not only the Beatles’ body of work, but the set design, choreography, sound design, performances and technological know-how it took to bring it all together. What I feared might be just another vehicle to milk the Beatles franchise yet one more time turned out to be a fitting capstone to the legacy of the four lads from Liverpool — one that would have been impossible without the intimacy with which Martin knows the material.

Writing a review of LOVE is a little like trying to describe, well, love. Words are utterly unfit for the task. LOVE needs to be experienced in all its multi-sensual glory to be understood. And once it is, it is something that becomes part of you forever.

Cirque du Soleil’s “LOVE” is now playing at the Mirage Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas.

Social Media from a corporate perspective on MacVoices

Chuck La Tournous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:01:51 +0000

At New Media Expo in Las Vegas last month, I joined Chuck Joiner for a discussion of Social Media and its implications for corporations. We discussed whether or not corporations “get” Tweeting, blogging and other aspects of Social Media and whether it’s too late for those who don’t. As always, it was a lively and (I hope) interesting conversation. My apologies in advance for the fact that it’s a video interview.

You can watch the interview here or on Chuck’s MacVoices website.

I would so do this if I understood the instructions

Chuck La Tournous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:13:04 +0000

This would be a great week to have an extra three grand lying around

Chuck La Tournous — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:58:18 +0000

My geek lust is in full bloom today, after Apple and Barnes & Noble (yes, B&N) both released some pretty cool products. Apple unveiled a new iMac model with a better screen, faster processor and bigger hard drive. It’s mostly just the kind of speed bump you’d expect, but this one comes with a 16:9 widescreen LCD display that’s capable of displaying 8-bit color, meaning millions of colors instead of thousands.

But the real star of this release is the “Magic Mouse,” the successor to Apple’s Mighty Mouse. The Magic Mouse is a sleek, buttonless, wireless mouse that recognizes “gestures” the same way as Apple’s most recent laptops. I haven’t tried one yet, but it looks incredibly cool.

The other product is the “Nook” ebook reader by Barnes & Noble. I’ve seen Amazon’s Kindle (in all three varieties) and never found it compelling. The Nook, though, looks exciting, with a color touchscreen display, built-in WiFi to complement its 3G networking and books at just $9.99. Oh, and it also supports the ePub book format. At $260, I’m still willing to wait and see how it fares in the market, but it’s the first time I’ve seen something of its kind that shows promise. I’d love for my wife to give it a try.

iPhone article on The MacObserver

Chuck La Tournous — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:08:57 +0000

My wonderful family gave me a new iPhone 3GS for Father’s Day this year. It’s an amazing device that has enough improvements in speed and new features that it feels like as big a game-changer to me as the original iPhone. I wrote a short piece for The Mac Observer that explains why I thought this was a very compelling upgrade—at least for someone who had skipped the last one. The article is now available on The MacObserver. If you feel so inclined, please leave a nice comment.

There’s a (Catholic) app for that

Chuck La Tournous — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:54:21 +0000

A friend posted a link to this very cool and very well done iApp commercial featuring Catholic-centric iPhone applications. I’ve used Mass Times on the web often to find a Mass when I’m traveling, but the app for it looks much more user friendly. I don’t know if I’d use a breviary (OK, I’d have to find out what a breviary is first), but it looks like there are some really useful things here.