Page 4.

O Kindle is part of the family of products that change paradigms and the rules of the game. In this case, the editorial distribution and the book itself. This is what follows MP3; it is the “EyePod” of literacy.

It allows you to store hundreds of books, newspapers, RSS feeds (including all my Google Reader), audiobooks and listen to any book in English (with voice synthesis).

The technology of ePaper, allows us to read, sitting on a terrace, beach or pool, with direct sunlight on the screen, with perfect contrast (as opposed to the laptop screen)!

If we go out on vacation, the battery lasts about two weeks. If finished, the current page remains on the screen (ePaper only consumes power to “print” a new page).

If all of a sudden we feel like buying “that” book... is a click away. Or almost.

“Almost” because Kindle is actually perfect for those in the US. Not only is it possible to wake up in the morning and have the day’s newspaper (Kindle allows you to update content automatically via the Internet via the “ whiskeynet “... that only works in the US), from buying a book on Amazon anywhere, but also because Kindle DX is still only available on the American market (DX is not “extra large”! It has the minimum size to read a book and to force me to read newspapers in “landscape” and supports PDFs).

In times of crisis, being “interesting” represents a valuable asset. People want to be with those who are interesting; they want to hire those who are interesting; they want to keep those who are interesting.

For this reason (actually... for much more) it is important to become... interesting; it is important to invest in the “I”; to invest in the “I” brand.

Although most of the time I don't have the patience to do so and to be, by pure common sense, what I've learned comes down to two principles:

• • To be interesting, you have to be interested. It is important to find what is interesting in everything, learn to notice things, learn to listen. If we find that a certain person (or thing) is interesting, it is likely that he returns by finding us equally interesting.

• *Interesting people are good to share. ** (This is the principle of Twitter!) We can't be interested in someone who doesn't tell us anything. Being good at sharing is not the same as talking, talking and talking. It means that we share our ideas, that we let people play with them and that we're good at talking about them without having to talk about ourselves.

For all this, there is no way to be interesting. There's too many. And many do not involve technology, the Internet, social networks, or Twitter. They involve attitude. Consciousness. Clairvoyance. Work.

“Lurker” is a person who reads discussions in forums, blogs, informative websites, file sharing or any other kind of interactive system, but who rarely or never participates actively.

Lately I have... "lurking around." Less Twitter. Less Facebook. Less Google Reader. Same videocasts and podcasts. More work. Heat. Tired.

During this period I got tired of a piece of Twitter. I don't have the patience for Facebook flowers. Irrita me “[...] has voted you are hot. Vote her for being hot too, or vote for something else ” It annoys me with the pedantism of some NetStars.

I needed a vacation. I don't have periods like this. You might think it happens over the years, but it doesn't. It's been like this forever.

I actually think these periods are positive. They allow you to gain prospects. Or at least... get out of our sight. And when we get back, it's not the same. It's renewed. Different.

Right now... vacation! Then come back!

WiiSpray Teaser from Martin Lihs on Vimeo.

It has not yet left but is already being presented: the WiiSpray, developed in the mythical Bauhaus in Weimer (Germany).

This virtual aerosol other than not soiling still has the advantage of not destroying the ozone layer!

You probably risk doing for the painting and for Graffiti what Guitar Hero did for the music! Very good!

After having installed and turned on the 2 Magellan to the wireless network at home, first test: Google access. Nothing!

Magellan wouldn't go. After some attempts there I noticed that the message was not of connection error and I remembered (because I had heard comments) of the “Parental Control” (the expression sounds bad in Portuguese, I know).

By accessing the configuration, I realized that Magellan, the computer that aims to help create a new generation with equal access to information, without info-excluded, allows access to... nothing.

I still struggled with the access settings, added Google to the list of sites and some more sites I remembered. For a brief moment, I evaluated the old questions of “To Instant Messenger or not to Instant Messenger?” (I did not understand why Messenger is allowed while Live Messenger is not).

At this point my son asked me “What about Skype? Can’t I talk to you through Skype?” and then, “Neither YouTube?”.

Despite the fears and doubts, I decided to do immediately what my instinct always told me and turned off the “Parent Control” and found myself thinking “Welcome to the bizarre new world of paternal censorship!”

I say “bizarro” because “Parental Control” is a concept that is used without conscience (as I see doing everything that is reviewed and published for Fathers and Sons), brings with it the danger of ignorance and contradicts what the term itself advocates.

There's no way to stop our children from being exposed to everything that goes around negative, bad and horrible. Whether it's on the Internet, at school, on the street or any other space in their lives. As much as we want to prolong their innocence for a few more years (and it all comes down to this!), prohibition and censorship have never been a solution. If you don't find out at home, you find out outside, with the silence of those you've never seen (you've never done anything as children that would contradict your parents' impositions? Nothing forbidden, just for being forbidden?).

Forget the Internet and remember that it all comes down to tracking and values! No software can replace us, Fathers, in the active task of supervising the lives of our children. Whether it's Online or Offline!

After six months of waiting, my children finally received their Magellan.

As soon as they got them out of the box, the first thing they did was obviously turn it on. Before they did anything that would give me more work, I managed to stop them and start the assisted installation process (always with the 2 asking “It takes too long?”:)).

I knew that Magalhães came with Windows XP and with the distribution, Made In Portugal, Linux, Magic Box, but I had not thought, nor thought, about what system to install.

Although I have my past connected to Unix and have always been a supporter of Linux and open software, on this operating system I have never been fundamentalist and given the two installation options, without hesitation and instinctively installed Windows.

Why? When it comes to a computer for children under the age of 10 and whose purpose is to be a facilitator in the entry into this new age of information, I realized that I prefer that they use a system that has a more general use, without restrictions and that does not create difficulties for them (nor for me next).

I chose Windows because I think it's simpler because I think that among them (kids) it's easier to learn by sharing experiences on Windows and by thinking that for kids it's more enriching (try running Diciopedia on Linux).

The email remains the Killer App Internet and has both marketing and cultural phenomena. In its relative short lifespan, email has become so massive that its use, whether you like it or hate it, is an essential part of any multichannel marketing action, exceeding other channels in almost all its dimensions – volume, frequency, ease of execution, cost, just to list some.

Despite the importance it gains as a marketing tool, many people, including Marketeers, continue to evaluate their email marketing campaigns by evaluating shipping metrics (e.g. merely indicative opening and click ratios ( CTRs )).

With all the importance that these metrics can have in the perception of a certain level of success, it is important that we perceive and withdraw the due value of what is “beyond the click”. It is important to know how many people have received, seen, or clicked on the links of an email message, and even who they are. The actual value

I saw this video was barely placed on the site of TED And I thought it was phenomenal. A week ago, due to a direct Twitt from Francisco Costa (thanks!) I reviewed it and found even more.

Because I get excited about everything that connects online and offline, and because I think it's one of the best TEDs I've seen in recent times (and I've seen many!), I think it deserves and should be released.

Think of the possibilities and memorize what tomorrow's Legos will be: Siftables!

This cartoon's been a while. But as time passes, it reflects a growing concern for shareholders and users.

Is it me, or is Facebook recuperating ground on MicroBlogging?

Very, very good! And yes, I Twitto but that's not why I exist! I still prefer the “presence” of friends!

Despite the hysteria about the Twitter I believe that Twitter is more than a service and has become a unique tool for obtaining real-time opinions and trends.

Join Twitter with services like the Yelp and Get Satisfaction and we have the “Customer Care 2.0′′!

I remember my opinion with the post “ Why do I use Twitter? “.