michaeltegler.com

With the new year nearly upon us. I’ve been thinking about what I’m looking forward to in the tech realm for the next year.

One. Gmail/Yahoo mail/Hotmail to marry for life. I want to be able to integrate fully my various Web mail accounts. I use Google’s Gmail primarily, and it has a very nice feature set that allows you to have various e-mail accounts filtered through it’s interface. It not unlike using a locally installed POP client like Thunderbird or Outlook Express. Far more graceful though. If you have the free versions of Hotmail (or Windows Live Hotmail) and Yahoo web mail, you don’t get to consolidate these services.

Now don’t get me wrong, from a business perspective, I can understand why Microsoft and Yahoo wouldn’t be so keen on such a integration. These free web mail services are paid in part by your browsing to their respective sites, so that they can advertise to you and get money from their advertising clients like good corporate entities.

Two. Windows Vista Service Pack 2. I’m actually already running the beta version of SP1 now of this already and, of course, SP2 will be coming whether I wish it or not, but still we need it. The SP1 beta has definitely given me a performance boost, for my Fujitsu Lifebook T-series. Granted I shoe-horned Vista onto this system, before I got the proper drivers from Fujitsu and it really wasn’t running all that well until I got those drivers. But still it was pretty slow. So I’m saying Microsoft needs to fastrack SP2, once SP1 is gold.

Three. A UMPC that does everything for under a grand. I don’t travel as much as I’d like to, but when I do I still need to keep tabs on what’s going on with my network and servers. A UMPC would be perfect for this only the limitations here and there really do. Which leads me too…

Four. A corporate friendly iPhone-type thing. The iPhone would be fine, only it doesn’t have the special corporate magic that Blackberry and Windows Mobile has. I’m not so fond of the software keyboard versus a real keyboard. I have the Verizon XV6700 right now. It was a fine phone 2 years ago. It’s saved my bacon on more then a few occasions, especially with the mobile Logmein client installed.

Right now I’m looking at getting the HTC Tilt, the only downside to that is it’s on AT&T’s network. It’s always hard to decided which corporate entity I find more difficult to work with. A clear toss up between Verizon my personal account and AT&T which we use at work.

All the iPhone really needs is a slide-out keyboard, a license for Microsoft’s Direct-Push technology and the Blackberry app and they you have a nearly perfect situation.

That said Windows Mobile only needs a better media player experience, bigger storage and for the love of all that is good in the world a decent Internet browser.

Now a lot of people will suggest they only want a device that will do one thing very well, not one thing that does 5-25 things sorta well. PDA phones are generally great PDAs for mail, and quick and dirty e-mail, but not so great as just phones. Even the iPhone has this said about it’s immaculate self.

Five. USB cords that do everything. Sure it’s fine that you can connect USB for hard drives, input devices, printers, cameras, the list goes on. But some clever folks are working on a video over USB spec, and still another wants to replace HDMI for HDTVs, etc with USB. Bring it on, I say. Fewer standards in Audio/Video and computer realm is a good thing and USB is just as good as any of them.

Six. 4 Gigabit Ethernet. You read that right: eff oh you are.  Four times what the standard is now for desktops.

Seven. Smart Clothes. Sure you have Scottevest, with it’s sophisticated pockets, straps, etc, but the mainstream companies need to realize we’re all carrying a lot of gadgets these days, PDAs, phones, media players. The list goes on.

Eight. OEMs and Vista. I know everyone seems to be taking potshots at Vista. It’s schadenfreude for sure. It seems PC World agrees with me the Macbook runs Vista faster then 99% of the competition. Since we know Apple is making a very healthy profit on every metal box, I really can’t understand why HP, Dell and Sony can’t get there systems into graceful harmony with a reasonable profit.

I’ve rewritten this entry a few times. The problem is I’ve already said goodbye to Pat, even though I prayed he’d get better. I felt the moment I read the word "cancer" it wouldn’t be long for Pat.

He moved on from this world into whatever awaits us all next on the 20th of October. I keep telling myself our’s was a relationship of my past. We went down different roads in life and for whatever reason decided not to stay in touch. It was both our faults and neither. As is common. Too common unfortunately. But the memories of years long past keep trickling in and I don’t know what to do with them.

This morning it was a memory of sitting across from Pat and Todd at the Roy Rogers on Falls Road. This was as far as I could tell Todd’s favorite place to eat. In fact, we used to joke about if you didn’t know where Todd was the Roy Rogers was the place to find him. Anyway, Pat and Todd sitting across from me, trying to imitate my voice. Stumbling at it, really. Like a car engine trying to turnover. I think people  back then (and perhaps still) would have a more unkind way to suggest I had a way with words. Many people decided they did or didn’t like me based on what I said or didn’t say. The truth is I really enjoyed their company more then I probably let on. And they probably tolerated mine more then they wanted to.

When I think of Ray Charles, I don’t remember that he passed on a few years ago. I said at the time I read the news of his death, that I couldn’t imagine him not being alive, because every image or video or recording I experienced was that Mr. Charles was more alive then anyone I have ever known. Pat is like that in my head. Still alive. It’s like everyday I have this big goofball, calling me "Manatee Boy" for reasons make no sense, but did to Pat. When asked Pat would say it’s because I was from Florida. You see it now right? Manatees live in Florida. I’m from Florida. Ergo, Manatee Boy.  It’s not everyday you get to show someone what kind of impact they had on your life. I got that chance many months ago here.

I don’t know if Pat was happy in life. I hope in his all too short of time, Pat felt love, caring and respect. My heart goes out to his wife and children, whom I’ve never met.

Cheers to Kel for keeping me in the "loop" on this.