Hello Poly is a nerdy demonstration of programming concepts which is perfect for me.  It was easy to understand, from the Stanford PDF lectures, how MVC works (Model View Controller).  It’s a pretty simple concept actually and kind of reminds me of a puppet show.  The puppet is my ‘model’. It can be picked up, it’s eyes can be changed, it’s movements defined, its type of voice determined and even its range of motion.  Then I have the controller, which is the puppeteer, who has access to the puppet and all of its features and abilities.  It’s not worth changing anything on the puppet if I can’t show it to anyone.  That is where the ‘view’ comes into play.  The view would be the stage.  As a puppeteer, I can arrange the puppet however I want and then display it on stage.  After I understood this, the concept seemed obvious and the connections intuitive.

Watch my demonstration to see it at work.  Also, Download the zip file and try it out for yourself.

Demonstration Video

i2i Review

Remember when I wrote an i2i review a week ago? Well, I wrote the company and told them about my review.  They were kind enough to link to my blog, ask for some marketing advice and offer free products to try out (kind of).  My main advice: Black plastic is out and smooth silver is in, and also to market to gym’s around the US instead of individuals. Click here to see the i2i page linking to ‘In Anatshell’ and other reviews.

New Passport

I received my new United States passport.  It’s not just any passport, its an electronic passport.  It came with a pamphlet which looks like this:

What I have to say about this is – REALLY?

Is the world REALLY mine? Are you trying to say that Cuba is not part of the world? Is that what you’re trying to say?  I mean… REALLY?

And REALLY Department of State, do you honestly think that an electronic passport is that much more advanced? It still has pages out of paper to stamp! Stamp… Like taking a rubber physical thing with a country logo and physically pressing down and making that, oh so annoying, stamping noise.  Now, instead of carrying a passport book, we need to carry a passport book with an electronic card inside. Wow, this technology is really lightening up my wallet… I mean REALLY?….

and also… REALLY? This is what your design team came up with?  I know how to search Google images too… I mean… REALLY…

(The “REALLY” concept is from SNL in case anybody missed that)

On the right, you can join my blog through Google and write comments. Try it out!

]]> http://www.anatkramer.com/InAnatshell/poly-hows-it-going/feed 2 http://www.anatkramer.com/InAnatshell/i2i http://www.anatkramer.com/InAnatshell/i2i#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:04:34 +0000 anat http://www.anatkramer.com/DwAnatKramer/blog/?p=392 Welcome to my first ever product review.  I’m reviewing a product called i2i Stream which is a device that streams audio wirelessly.  The i2i package includes two small devices.  By connecting one device to an audio output and one device to your earphones, you can stream audio wirelessly up to 30ft away.

It all started when I first purchased my iPhone arm band so that I could work out with my music and my phone at the same time (fatass note: that’s equivalent to eating pizza and watching cartoons at the same time).  I love my iPhone to death but it really isn’t the ideal running audio device because of it’s bulkiness.  I contemplated buying an iPod Shuffle for a while but I wanted to make use of my iPhone features while I was working out.  Luckily, I remembered a VC convention that I had attended which presented the i2i; however, I didn’t remember the name of the device.  This was the beginning of my mission.

After searching high and low, I finally found the website of i2i and purchased a pair.  It’s about the size of the old nano, but a little bit smaller in height and about twice the width.  It weighs practically nothing and I was eager to try it out. 

My goal : Place my iPhone on the tredmil and listen to my music with a small i2i sitting on my arm instead of a the heavy iPhone.

Another advantage is that now, I could watch movies and shows while I was running, without the worry of my phone falling and of cumbersome wires.  It is also useful while lifting weights at the gym.  I just place my iPhone somewhere in the middle of my workout area and move around the fitness machines with my i2i.  If I move around too much, it may get a bit choppy but for the most part, the sound is perfect when I’m in range.

Since the i2i is a new product which isn’t particularly popular, it doesn’t have enough accessories.  I found myself placing the i2i in my running shorts pocket where the buttons were continuiously pressed (fatass note: like when you can’t find the remote and you don’t understand why the channels are changing… Your sitting on it).  I decided to create my own arm band for the i2i and headed off to ebay.  On ebay I bought a generic arm band and an i2i skin which the company does provide.  For less than $10, I had everythinig I needed to create an armband.  I simply took velcro, attached it to the i2i skin with superglue and stuck it onto my armband and… Voila!  Now the buttons won’t get pressed.

I’ve found other uses for it.  As a “remote” by connecting it to my television speakers and to my iPhone.  I can then control the music from the kitchen on my iPhone and the audio comes out of the speakers.  Two people can listen to the same audio device with the i2i.   A friend and myself can listen to the same music or watch the same movie at the same time.  Also, if you live in a house with roommates, then you can listen to your movies silently from your bed (fatass note: you can listen to your movies silently from your bed).

The disadvantages are that the range is only 30ft (it’s meant for relatively close ranges) and that there are not enough accessories available yet.

Overall, I’m enjoying this product and I can think of another hundred uses for it.  Try to think of some…

The i2i in the palm of my hand

Here is the i2i on the home made armband

How to use the i2i (from the i2i website)