First Mass-Produced Camera Goes On Auction

Just when you think you found an old camera in your grandmothers basement, the first mass-produced camera goes on auction. It is the Giroux Daguerreotype and was produced in 1839. It is a true gem of a camera. Exposures could take up to 30 minutes.

This "excellent condition" camera has an opening bid of €200,000 but experts expect this little camera to go for around €700,000.

I wonder how much I can get for an old Brownie? :-)

The iPad is Real

It is real after all. Steve Jobs announced the new iPad today. It is 0.5 inches thick and a whopping 1.5 pounds. From what I can tell, it is basically a huge iPhone.

The real game changer for this device is that it takes the market power of Apple to the ebooks market. Their new ebook app is called iBooks. The one thing that has been a thorn in Amazon's side for ebooks has been that there has not been a standard file format.

The iPad will start at $499 with an unlimited data plan for $30 a month.

This is going to be interesting to watch.

Will It Really Happen?

Will the mythical unicorn of technology really appear tomorrow? Engadget does a history of the tablet computer that is very thorough.

Will the tablet appear? We will know by tomorrow afternoon.

Tech Giants In Graphics

This is a great graphic from the New York Times that compares the offerings of the big four tech giants to one another. Interesting comparison.

(Click graphic for larger version)

Ballmer Has A Sense Of Humor

Steve Ballmer actually has a sense of humor. Who knew? Here he is autographing a Mac for what appears to be a student function.

Best Zoo Ad

This is the best zoo ad ever. Their city bus is designed like a giant boa constrictor is crushing it, to advertise the Zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark .

(Click on the photo for a larger view)

Nexus One Unboxing

Does every Nexus One come with a set of ninjas?

Jawbone Icon

It looks like the rumors of a new Jawbone from Aliph are true after all. This new bluetooth headset is even smaller than the last version.

This new headset comes with even more bling than before.

Germans Advised Not To Use Internet Explorer

According to Engadget, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security has released a warning to its population: avoid IE. Given the recent Google attacks by the Chinease government utilizing a security flaw in IE, this makes sense.

As best I can tell, there is never a good reason to use IE.

Ultimate Ears 18 Pro

Just when I thought that the JH Audio custom monitors were the best thing ever, Ultimate Ears comes out with the new 18 Pro which has six drivers per ears. Yes, they cost $1350.

I expect to see Jerry Harvey at JH Audio come out with something even better any day now.

Goat Kitty

This reminds me of my little red goat kitty, Winnie. He will eat anything and I do mean anything. He once ate a packing peanut.

Trees On Mars

According to NASA, there are trees on Mars. One of their space probes took this photo.

Cool Toy

Here is a cool toy for the whole family. It is a digital camera mounted on a scuba mask that makes 1280 x 960 still pictures and videos. It is only $117.

How have I lived without one of these for so long?

Google G-Drive Is Real

Google is finally opening up Docs for storage of files of any type. Although it will not officially be called the G-Drive, this service will be great. You can store files up to 250MB in size. The best part is the price. 1GB is free while each additional GB is a whopping $3.25 per year.

Sign me up!

Leaving Kauai

Today we are leaving Hawaii and returning to balmy Cincinnati. When it arrive it will be 9 degrees at home. I will certainly miss this warm weather.

The conference went very well. In spite of the economy there was a very large turnout.

Aloha.

Jurassic Park

Emily and I were able to tour one of the botanic gardens here in Kauai today. This is the tree where the Raptor eggs hatched in the movie Jurassic Park. You really have to see it to believe it. This tree is 58 feet tall.

Breakfast In The Tropics

The great thing about breakfast in the tropics is that you often have company join you.

Costco In Paradise

I love Costco! Everyone that know me knows how much I love Costco. I seem to know most of the people that work at Costco. Hey, I spend a lot of time there :-)

Imagine my jubilation to discover the new Costco in Kauai. This is the largest Costco that I have ever seen. Ah, paradise

A Room With A View

We are on Kauai this year for the annual HICSS conference. You have to love the view from the room.

Happy New Year From Kauai

Emily and I arrived in Kauai today for the annual HICSS conference. The conference represents a culmination of about 10 months worth of work leading up to my session.

Emily is very excited about the trip this year as she no longer has to study for the CPA exam. While I am in meetings all day, Emily is able to relax. She certainly needs it. I get out each evening around 5:00pm, just in time for the sunset. The sunsets here are hard to beat.

Kauai is actually a lot colder in the winter than the other islands. It gets down into the low 60s at night. That said, it is snowing at home.