Monday, February 05, 2007

Scissor Sisters does UMPC

*update 15th Feb 2007* I was Googling for the Scissor Sisters in Australia, to see what they had been up to, and it turns out my post is ranked 4th...too funny. Google Scissor Sisters in Australia here. LOL

Becoming a blogger is still the single BEST decision I made in 2006. Not only have I developed lots of online friends but lately my virtual mates are slowly turning into “solid state” right before my eyes. I can still remember one of my first podcasts with Australian Radio Personality Doug Mulray; and more recently I vlogged with Jon Dee, Founder of Planet Ark. Today, and in keeping with my traditional Vlogging technique, I shared a meal and lots of Tablet Talk with John Garden of pop group the Scissor Sisters.

John has played keyboard for Sister Sisters for over 3 years and is also the Musical Director. He is an avid fan of my blog and currently touring Australia with the band and around the Globe.

Turns out meeting John was somewhat mystical as my 5 year old son had woken up early this same morning to watch Scissor Sisters on Australian Television, Channel Seven’s Sunrise Show, which consequently is the same show another friend of mine works…Peter Blasina…now I’m just name-dropping!

Enjoy the video. [“Elo, I think you’ll like that I’m in hot pursuit of these Tablet conversations.” If anyone is in town and wants to shoot a Vlog with me, you know how to find me!]



Part One
Location: Manly Wharf (3 min from home)



Part Two
Location: Manly Wharf (3 min from home)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it all comes down to usage needs...

I have my Mac Book Pro and I LOVE the apps for it. Mail in Vista or Trillian or AIM or iTunes running on Windows aren't remotely as good to me as their Mac-based counterparts.

That being said, I do Windows/Linux adminning for a living and I NEED my Windows box when I'm trying to rapidly toss together a purchase order and get it on the file server, adminning Linux is easier with tab-based SecureCRT, etc. For me, though I can do all that with Parallels running Windows in a virtual machine.

John definitely seems to have hit one of those spots where he found an ideal use for the UMPC. That musical inking sheet looks great and I can see how something like that would be a killer app for him.

Darn it, I need to find my killer app. :)

As always, great interview. I seriously dig watching videos where people talk about the scenarios in which they use UMPCs/Tablets.

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

Thanks for the comment Gordon,

I think you are right, and that is one of the reasons I never say on to these interviews. You might remeber but I stated when UMPC first were released that they were great workhorses, i.e. great for one killer app. In Jon Dee's case it was MindMap Manager/Evernote, and in John Garden's case Journal.

The more I do these videos I realise that the secret to computing success is defining the users "key needs" then implementing something specifically around that. In your case mac/vista combo...and in someone elses it might be UMPC/Journal...

John was awesome!

Anonymous said...

Great video Hugo, did John say if he was using any other music software on his Q1? I agree with Gordon, always good to see what others are using their UMPCs for.

I'm still trying to work out if I've reached my downsizing limit having moved step by step from desktop tower, via a large laptop to my current (and absolute favourite) TC1100 tablet. For me the killer app is 'Journal', and for sheer spontaneous jotting, 'Ink Desktop'. I've reached the point where I've migrated all my laptop apps across to the tablet, the most recent being the video editing software which it copes with impressively well. Do you have any insight into using a UMPC for video editing?

Luckily for me I recently steered my dad towards the Q1 (thanks to your videos - he was very impressed with your enthusiastic style and presentation) so I finally get the chance for a hands-on comparison.

Cheers,
Rob.

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the comment mate. I know john loves Journal, and now that you mentoin it too I am starting to see it as more productive than I once expected. He did rattle off a few other names but regrettably I don't think he chose to run any of them on a UMPC, although the reason is that Journal was doing enough (I guess we keep going full circle on this Killer App hypothesis I'm working on).

In regards to your Dad say hi from me...Hi. It's quite funny becasue John (of Scissors Sisters) mentioned that his Dad will love the video too! Maybe I'm connecting with a much larger audience than I first thought.

WRT Video editing on UMPC I am afraid I had to give it a miss. Most of that software including Movie Maker and Cyberlinl (which I use) tend to overload the software with graphics-bits that end up casusing UMPC CPUs and Graphics chips to crap themselves...oh well.

Love the TC1100...still the favourite in our house.

Anonymous said...

Another great VLOG Hugo! There is a trend in these tablet conversations. These devices are not multimedia platforms that can replace your DVD player, your tv, your laptop, your stereo system. More and more, I find that most reviews of devices are like that. I was looking at the cons reviewers will find about any devices and they can be laughable at best. A review at CNET.com said the bad things about the Q1 were, wait for it: lack of keyboard, poor speakers performance... They miss the point.

These tablet conversations are making us see and understand what makes these devices so good. Each users are finding very specific uses out of them, uses they do better than any other device and most importantly, the practises we discover with these users are something a desktop or notebook could not do nearly as well. Jon and John`s stories are very enlightening about this. I think that is why the UMPC will succeed.

These devices can do many things but it will only work for you if it addresses a specific set of utilities in your daily practices. Knowing what those might be is definitely the key in the success of a device or another for you.

I am a perfect example of a geek looking for which device is best for him. I am still meditating on what to go for. I need to meditate more... Sorry for the long comment, I guess I was thinking out loud!

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

Hi Elo!

I appreciate the comment and I believe it warranted every last keystroke. We're starting to "get it" now. UMPC, and any device at that" is not designed for you...I am started to gather that we need to be clearer with what we are designed for, e.g. Education, Sales, Management and so on, and then select a device that best COMPLIMENTS our DEMANDS...yeah, thinking aloud, I think hat helps get to the point. We are looking for devices that compliment. If you lat at John vs. Jon they both rate their Tablet Experience a very score out of 10! Reviewers I find often miss the mark due mostly to the fact that they are looking for the best all-in-one, and regrettably with Hardware margins that won't work.

Here's a scenario for them. Why not review a device as a User (not a Journalist). As a paid Journalist there are many criteria, as a User all someone like you (ELO and others) needs is "an opinion" I think you're all more than capable to find several opinions and make your own mind up based on your own set of criteria. That's why I like these videos...and I'm so glad you all like them too.

Cheers ELO...keep meditating...I promised this year would be big.

Anonymous said...

Good Job! :)