Todd Clarke's Technology Corner v2.0

The following are links and documents from todays presentation.
Complete the 2014 ULI Value / CAP rate survey here

Prezi from today – Ethical use of social networking Prezi-CCA-EthicalUseofSocialMedia-072014

List of iOS apps – click here

Today’s powerpoint presentation can be found by clicking here- SantaFe-Tech-SocialNetworkingWebinar-07182014-v5

CCIM 2013 annual seminar – 97 apps in 90 minutes

Microsoft has created a gigapixel photograph of Seattle – http://gigapixelartzoom.com/

Note everyone was happy – check out these protestors?.

Can you find the space ship?

Discovered Easter eggs include:
“Error 404: Site Not Found” banner
Pink Floyd Guy
A game of picnic-person-beer-pong?
A 4-circle, 1-square fashion show
Yellow mannequin & a person holding an “O” sign
Front stoop/Sidewalk yoga
Rooftop spaceship
Painter with easel on the sidewalk
Rooftop chalk circle drawers
Lego building and construction site
Photographer and two subjects on some stairs
Four people proud of a painted cloud banner
A woman planking on a man in the park
A blue mannequin and a person holding a “.” sign
Several ballet dancers above a “shark-filled” pool
A giant white snake held by three people.
Someone wearing a blue dinosaur/dragon head mask
Someone carrying a painting across a street
A recreation of “Thriller”
Three people in a row painting in a park
Two upside down people near a gas station
Four artsy cars in a parking lot
A man painted purple next to a guy holding a sign of a television
A man on his back kicking a woman high into the air above him on the sidewalk
A sidewalk artist painting a woman in a bikini snow suit
A man on crutches narrowly avoiding a lot of banana peels

Thanks to Gizmodo.com

Nifty Drives is another Kickstarter.com project. This one offered Mac laptop owners the ability to turn a little used SD card slot into a permanent storage drive.

Reminiscent of Apples packaging,NiftyDrive did a nice job on packing and labeling their product:

I ordered the 64 gigabyte version for Apple Macbook Air (it was not available for my Mac Retina 13″), and I have to admit, I like the design and fit of the product.

Here is a photo of what it looks like installed flush with my MacbookAirs SD Card slot.

 The product includes the holder (shuttle?), the MiniSDCard and the nifty logo hook which is used to remove the holder.

So how do I use it?

I’ve made a backup of all my data and put it on that drive – its small enough to be removed and put into my wallet (the mini sd card), and permanently installed on the mac so it doesn’t get accidentally used.

All in all it makes a great interim backup tool.

Reminiscent of an ACME device from the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon, my local Lowe’s hardware store now offers a DIY key maker.

Known as the Minute Key, the very visual and stand alone key maker is an attention getter!

The process is pretty simple – insert your key, select the key copy (comes in many interesting designs) and insert your credit card – the machines makes your key in less than a minute!

Of course, our family loves anything that promotes a QR Code (for more info).

In a continual quest for the every elusive increase in productivity, I’ve taken to creating my own laptop cases for my use during the business day.

When I’m on the road, I’ve yet to find anything that offers the durability, portability and ease of use of my Tom Bihn Buzz Bag.

I have both sizes of the Tom Bihn Buzz Bag and I have traveled the world entrusting my electronic equipment to these bags.  It has a main compartment for a laptop, a secondary compartment for an iPad, Kindle, backup laptop, A/C adapters, cables and a zippered outer compartment for pens, pencils, keys, passport, as well as one across the chest and over the shoulder strap that has a pocket for my iPhone right over my heart.

Unfortunately, unless I’m looking for the Josh Liberman (a character from West Wing who lived carried suited up for work complete with his back pack), I’ve not found the backpack as compatible with the style of my day to day work.

Although briefcases are nice, I find I have a bad habit of just loading them down with stuff I don’t need, so my ideal solution was something that wrapped my laptop, and allowed me to hold everything I needed in one hand, something that was transportable enough to walk through a property tour and toss down on a table ready to go.

My solution has evolved over the three iterations of laptops – my first the MacBook Pro (now up for sale), my MacBook Air and my new favorite machine, the MacBookPro 13” retina.

My ideal setup includes the ability to carry the following:

–          iPhone (sometimes its my main iPhone, and on some cases it’s the backup iPhone which doubles as an Internet wifi access point)

–          iPad or iPad mini

–          Echo or Sky Smart Pen

–          Smart Pen Pad

–          Regular pen

–          A number of USB keys

–          Apple headset/headphones

–          Microsoft’s flat mouse + Apple charging adapter or Kensington’s portable trackball

–          1.5 terrabyte harddrive (holds iTunes music, movie and TV Collection)

–          USB micro cable, USB mini cable, USB to iPod cables for charging and syching

–          Business Cards

To accomplish this, I’ve either purchased Speck or (Leather case brand) cases both of which have a nice feel and a tight fit to the laptops.

I then modify the upper case (the one that attaches to the screen) – carefully laying out the cases to hold all of the items I need then super gluing them directly to the case (its highly recommend you not superglue them when the laptop is attached).

Round I modifications

My original guinea pig for laptop case design was the MacBookPro, a machine I had already customized by dumping its “super” optical drive for a 2^nd terabyte of storage.  To this machine I added a Logitech iPad 1 case that was super glued to the Speck case allowing for easy access to my iPad.  I also added a slide in case holder for my iPhone 4s.

MacBook Pro Custom Case

Although the case that I mounted on my MacBookPro was for the 1st generation iPad, as you can see here, the 2nd/3rd generation iPad fits in just fine.

This is what it looks like with everything on:

Round II modifications

For my MacBook air, I used the (leather case) and found the exterior portion of that case allows for easy modification and the ability to run cables underneath the leather exterior.  This has allowed me to hookup a USB hub that runs the iPhone and a cordless trackball from one USB port.

This version was the 2nd iteration for my MacbookAir.  Noticed the streamlined setup made possible by one large pocket that zips.  This iPad case swings out when the laptop is open allowing the iPad to be run as a 2nd monitor (using MaxiVista or iDisplay) for the laptop.

This photo shows what it looks like in use (happens to be from our Europe trip so its a good shot of my mobile office).

Round III modifications

My latest modification is the MacBook Pro 13” with Retina display.  I have added a number of features over previous modifications including the ability to “attach” an iPad and an iPad Mini to either side.  So if my desk on the road is big enough, I can run iDisplay (or MaxiVista) and have the iPad  double as a 2^nd screen.

While the new case increase the weight of the MacBookPro by just over 1 pound, and adds another 1” to the overall thickness of the svelte machine.  I’m sure the ever astute design guru, Steve Jobs, would turn over in his grave to see what I’ve done to his prized machine, I personally find my new office setup makes me extremely efficient and effective in any meeting.

This is the latest version of what is mounted on my new 13″ new Macbook Retina laptop.  It has room for my iPad mini, my trackball, business cards, harddrive, iPhone 5, headphones, USB keys, and miscellaneous cables and cords.

and this is what it looks like with out the labeling.

You may have seen the Pebble watch when it was a Kickstarter.com project. It sure garnered a lot of attention as its initial funding goal of $100,000 was met in a couple of hours. When it was all said and done, it raised over $10,000,000.

My Pebble arrived yesterday, and I must admit that I was impressed by the packaging, the design and its ease of use.

If you haven’t been following Kickstarter, the Pebble watch talks to your iPhone and Android device.

You can choose your own watchfaces:
like this analog one:

or this text one:

and you can use it for as a music remote (handy when you are jogging or skiing):

It also is a caller ID for your phone (and if you have your headset on, you can answer the phone from the watch.)

I can’t wait to see what new Apps take advantage of this, and yes, for the first time since I’ve had a PalmPilot, I’m wearing a watch again.

I have been using my Variable Technologies Node for the last few months and I can tell you without a doubt, it is one of the best add on gadgets for my iPhone.

The concept is simple – provide the user with a remote hand held sensor that can have different modules that can be swapped in and out. Similar to the medical tricorder in StarTrek, the Node talks to your iPhone or Android via Bluetooth.

The main part of the Node, known as the Kore, contains the rechargeable battery, Bluetooth connection to your device, and 2 interface ports to the sensors that screw on either end (they are about the size of a fat quarter).

Node KoreNode Kore

The Node includes apps in the iTunes store (and app for Droid)

The two modules I use the most are the Therma and the Chroma.

Therma

The Therma app has a real time recording ability to show you what you are taking the temperature on and what its temperature is.

You can see I am using it here to confirm the thermostat reading on one of our properties.

Chroma

The Chroma module has a sensor and light that read the color you point it at and turn it into RGB, HEX and standard
L.A.B. Color scales
and it shows you a visual representation of the color which is great for emailing the results.

I’ve used this app to match paint and stucco colors on our properties as it allows me to send my maintenance guys the right color for touchup painting or repairs.

Here is a large image showing the flashlight.

And if you need it, it has a programmable flashlight node.

On a final note, the folks at VariableTechnologies have developed a developer forum to encourage more of their customers to create their own applications using this unique (and amazing) device.

Includes some interesting items like a dual screen Android ereader, iPods, bluetooth presenters/mice, etc.

Click here
for more info: http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/sys/3454545283.html

Not mentioned on the list is this portable projector – http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/sys/3450432924.html

and Todd Clarke customized MacbookPro (2010) with 1 terrabyte drive + DVD or 2 terrabyte drives – $1,500+any software you want me to install/config.

What happens on the internet in less than a minute?

Infographic by- Shanghai Web Designers