It’s not just the gear, it’s what it can do. I’ve always liked gear that can tell me where I am.  In my formative years, that was maps, charts, compasses, and when I could get my hands on it, my dad’s Magellan NAV 1000.  Now I’ve got two devices within arm’s reach that can tell me exactly where I am, and display it in a thousand different ways.  The weird thing is, my iPad doesn’t even have a GPS receiver.  How does that work exactly?

I re-watched this video and thought I sounded kind of…uninformed.  So here’s the long version of “I think it uses wifi.”

Skyhook Wireless is a really interesting company.  With considerably less fanfare than Google’s much-talked-about Streetview, they’ve managed to accomplish a feat of similar scope.  They wardrove 70% of of the population centers in the US and Canada (and continue to do so, to update their database).  Now they have a database of over a hundred million wifi access points (identified by their MAC address), and their associated geographic location. 

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My friend Frank just released his latest app - LCARS Reader.  Based on the Star Trek computer interface (Library Computer Access and Retrieval System), it turns an iPad into the most awesome thing the Star Trek fan in me has seen in years.  You know, like this.

Aside from looking awesome, LCARS Reader is a full-featured web media aggregator.  Meaning you can give it a number of different sources of data, which it will display in one convenient location.  At the moment, it can use the following sources:

• Blogs
• Craigslist
• Flickr tags
• Flickr users
• News
• Podcasts
• RSS feeds
• Twitter
• Vimeo Search

Plus it beeps satisfyingly when you push buttons.  I should also mention that I made the icon for it.  It’s in the style of the Star Trek corridor and door signage, and in classic Trek tradition, even has an in-joke - 206 is the Seattle area code.  

Go get this thing, so Frank can afford to buy me the beer he owes me for making the icon.

Edit: Adding a video

Edit2: Added a better video

My beard should have its own show.

The guy above was the first.  He was immediately photographed and interviewed by the dozen or so bloggers and journalists that were covering the launch at the University Village Apple Store.  This was at about 8:00, I’d been in line since a little before 7.  After that it was another hour before I actually got into the store.

I had been thinking about going to Best Buy, and even stopped by the Northgate Best Buy to see what the line was like.

The people were friendly, but the Apple Store was more of a party.  It was definitely worth the trip.

While waiting in line, and hanging around afterwards, I met (and was interviewed by) some very cool people - because I have a terrible memory, here are the ones who gave me business cards.  If I forgot anyone, I apologize:

• Nick Vivion of Worldli Film
• Erfon Elijah of might tees and Cult of Mac
• John Cook of TechFlash

If anyone sees video of me from this event, please keep in mind that I was operating on four hours of sleep, and a lot of coffee.

Oh, and somewhere in there I bought an iPad.

Which I may talk about at some point.  

I’m not saying I’m going to get an iPad.  I might. But if I do get one, it will probably live in something like the Clik Elite Traveler Camera Case.  It has a perfect slot for an iPad right inside the flap, and space for my favorite traveling accessory - a DSLR.  Also, is that a Nikon D700 I see in there? Good job, REI product photographers.

God I hate bezels.  I really do.  Besides the obvious - they’re hideous - they just tend to indicate that the device is a cheap piece of crap.  That the manufacturer couldn’t even be bothered to put in an LCD that fits.  I’ve always been aware on some level that thinner bezels look better, but I hadn’t seen it properly implemented until this came out.

That’s how you make a bezel.  Now let’s look at some Fail.

Hey, it’s not like Apple is immune to Fail.

In all fairness, it has been pointed out that it would be hard to hold a tablet if it was all screen. But it sure would be pretty.

The original Asus Eeeeee PC has no excuse.  Well, except that it was designed from the ground up to be cheap crap.

Before there were any pictures of it, the specs just said it was a “7 inch screen laptop,” which I thought sounded pretty awesome.  I remember actually making a barfing sound when it was revealed.  One of the most popular things to do with wasted bezel space is put speakers in it.  Which in this case just emphasizes the tiny screen.

I guess this is kind of supposed to double as a picture frame, but god damn it’s ugly.

It’s literally half bezel.  Gross.

Fortunately, this is mostly a problem in the low to mid-range laptop market.  Televisions, by their very size, tend to have a low bezel to screen ratio, and computers monitors are starting to head the same way.  Most major panel manufacturers even offer truly bezel-less models for use in video walls.

My point is this.  If you’re designing a device of some kind, for the love of god, make the LCD the same size as the frame around it.  Or I’ll blog about it, and make you feel bad.