In-flight WiFi is still a novelty to me, even though apparently 950 planes in the U.S. are equipped for it. According to Dave Freeman's post on CrunchGear (July 6, 2010), people aren't buying it (literally) for a number of reasons, including the shortness of flights, and possibly the wish of businessmen to take a break from work. Less than 10% of travelers are using the WiFi service when it is available.
Maybe someone should have studied my inbound flight. In the month of July, Alaska Airlines offered free WiFi for one leg of my journey, and I was excited to try it. In my test, I used my iPad and my Android (note: yes, this IS the phone that knows it will be sent to the land of misfit toys, so stop asking). There was no issue about not having enough workspace. I also noticed that almost every passenger around me had a smart phone or netbook of some kind, so they were also trying out the WiFi.
This first in-flight WiFi trip was the quietest trip I have ever taken. Babies were entertained. Adults were watching videos on their own devices. People were catching up with text messages and emails. There was hardly a peep for hours, except to order a drink. My neighbors didn't even get up to the use the restroom.
Contrast that with the return leg home. Alaska Airline's free WiFi program ended on July 31, and I returned after that date. Approximately five minutes of "tease" time -- free WiFi for all -- was given, and then a message came on the screen, showing you how to purchase that same service for $9.99. Not to my surprise, the flight was a noisier one filled with crying babies and cranky people. There was a definite air of restlessness among the young people around me. Due to the shortness of this portion of my itinerary, I can't imagine many people wishing to pay for WiFi after coughing up $20 for their one piece of checked luggage.
On principle, I have never believed any business should charge for WiFi if the consumer has his or her own device. I don't blink an eye at the coffee shop around the corner, who offers a free, 15 minutes of Internet service with a beverage purchase in order to use their computers. However, I would glare at them if they charged anything for use of their WiFi if you brought your own device (lucky for them, they are spared my evil eye). The purpose of offering WiFi in any business is to keep people informed, connected, entertained, educated, and/or able to purchase or sell goods at any time (i.e. to perform business on-the-go). The incentive for offering that WiFi free is for your customers to feel happy while they are experiencing one of those elements in your environment, and the hope is that a happy experience converts into future bookings.
Did I buy WiFi for my return trip? Even though this was the first return trip I have been offered WiFi, I turned it down. Instead, I played several rounds of every game Chris Pirillo has loaded onto my iPad, since flights seem to be the only time I get a chance to try them out. I also noodled around with some of the new loop sets on Looptastic HD, an app that lets you become your own iPad DJ. And my neighbor, who had just bought a Kindle, started a conversation about whether she should return the Kindle and get an iPad after she saw the resolution on an eBook I had in my virtual library. For the length of that conversation, Apple should pay me a commission, because I think I sold at least three iPads on that flight (including two to the people behind me who were eavesdropping).
Could the airlines who offer WiFi ask their customers about why they should make in-flight WiFi free? Couldn't we start something similar to Foursquare for flights, only without geo location (i.e. rewards for tweeting, flying, or completing certain routes)? Couldn't we bring some of the fun back into flying by having free WiFi and creating a win-win for all, instead of watching the once-free benefits of free luggage check-in, food, and other amenities disappear?
Let me know what you think. Unless you're that one guy who thinks only first-class passengers should be able to Tweet for free.
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Be Your Own iPad DJ: Why I Love Looptastic
Be Your Own iPad DJ: Why I Love Looptastic
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far, away (Seattle, WA), I had a few records and a turn table. Not that I would have known what to do with Peter Frampton Live and the Sex Pistols, but I knew that without a second turn table and impeccable timing, I didn't stand half a chance at becoming even a hobbyist disc jockey. I just knew I wanted to spin the tunes.
The appeal of being a DJ may be lost on the upcoming generation. On Lockergnome.net, a question about what DJ's do for a party (since they aren't playing musical instruments) came up on the community-powered forum created by Chris Pirillo. In the thread, various replies intimated that the real worth of DJs lies in his powers to spin emotional landscapes as much as it is to spin tunes. On the heels of watching Christopher Nolan's, "Inception", I'll add to that description by saying that while musicians and singers are the prophets of this age, DJ's are the new architects of the our subconscious projections.
Many moons later, I find myself the owner of a Carvin sound system (from my former band gigging days as a singer, keyboardist, and sometimes bass player), an iPad, and a generously stocked iTunes gift card to download the latest music apps. Thanks to the iPad DJ Rana Sobhany's tip, I concur with her thumbs up of Looptastic, which allows even n00bs like me to seamlessly mix looped presets with interchangeable musical elements, such as hi hats and melody lines.
One doesn't need perfect timing, nor a steady hand. Looptastic's buttons allow you to add and subtract musical elements, yet only on the beat. Even a young child can slide the buttons up and down, or return them to a holding deck below the "score".
Once my iPad gets in proximity of Chris Pirillo's iPad, the next level of ultimate DJ'ing can be explored. Looptastic for iPad allows you to synch two iPads together, so you can run another music set simultaneously. The app also allows you to record your masterpiece, so you can reproduce to your heart's content without having to rely on recall.
Of course, I've already downloaded Groovemaker, iElectribe, and iDaft. I'll likely be testing a decent piano app, as well as something like Sonosaurus Rex for iPad (I heard the updates for the iPad make this a sick addition to what I've got already, along with the ability to save your files to iTunes for future use). Andrew and Andrew (two iPad DJ's) have a demo of Sonosaurus Rex, an iTunes app that you can download to your laptop, connect the laptop to your tuner and speakers, and use the iPad as your wireless controller interface, allowing the iPad DJ to wirelessly roam the planet - or, at least the venue floor! - spinning tunes while interacting with a crowd. I'd just make sure I had Mobile Me on the iPad, especially if you are holding a drink-i-pooh in the other hand.
I've always loved the concept of tools that even the playing field, and Looptastic HD for iPad definitely allows just about anyone with an iPad to unlock unlimited possibilities in musical architecture. I only wish I had had one of these when I was painstakingly banging out Rachmaninoff to scholarship my way through college. We don't need to settle for Bethovan's Fifth set to a disco beat. Now we can give the world Jason Moran and Billie Holiday, wrapped up in the warm cocoon of Dub-step, without rolling out the heavy equipment and wires.
As I tweeted out to my community, I think I'll dust off my old stage name and recirculate it. Please welcome Trixie Bon Bon, Seattle iPad DJ. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter, as I round the corner into the last days of my 365-1/4 days as the n00b of Social Media.
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far, away (Seattle, WA), I had a few records and a turn table. Not that I would have known what to do with Peter Frampton Live and the Sex Pistols, but I knew that without a second turn table and impeccable timing, I didn't stand half a chance at becoming even a hobbyist disc jockey. I just knew I wanted to spin the tunes.
The appeal of being a DJ may be lost on the upcoming generation. On Lockergnome.net, a question about what DJ's do for a party (since they aren't playing musical instruments) came up on the community-powered forum created by Chris Pirillo. In the thread, various replies intimated that the real worth of DJs lies in his powers to spin emotional landscapes as much as it is to spin tunes. On the heels of watching Christopher Nolan's, "Inception", I'll add to that description by saying that while musicians and singers are the prophets of this age, DJ's are the new architects of the our subconscious projections.
Many moons later, I find myself the owner of a Carvin sound system (from my former band gigging days as a singer, keyboardist, and sometimes bass player), an iPad, and a generously stocked iTunes gift card to download the latest music apps. Thanks to the iPad DJ Rana Sobhany's tip, I concur with her thumbs up of Looptastic, which allows even n00bs like me to seamlessly mix looped presets with interchangeable musical elements, such as hi hats and melody lines.
Filmed at my office on a VADO 3rd gen
One doesn't need perfect timing, nor a steady hand. Looptastic's buttons allow you to add and subtract musical elements, yet only on the beat. Even a young child can slide the buttons up and down, or return them to a holding deck below the "score".
Once my iPad gets in proximity of Chris Pirillo's iPad, the next level of ultimate DJ'ing can be explored. Looptastic for iPad allows you to synch two iPads together, so you can run another music set simultaneously. The app also allows you to record your masterpiece, so you can reproduce to your heart's content without having to rely on recall.
Of course, I've already downloaded Groovemaker, iElectribe, and iDaft. I'll likely be testing a decent piano app, as well as something like Sonosaurus Rex for iPad (I heard the updates for the iPad make this a sick addition to what I've got already, along with the ability to save your files to iTunes for future use). Andrew and Andrew (two iPad DJ's) have a demo of Sonosaurus Rex, an iTunes app that you can download to your laptop, connect the laptop to your tuner and speakers, and use the iPad as your wireless controller interface, allowing the iPad DJ to wirelessly roam the planet - or, at least the venue floor! - spinning tunes while interacting with a crowd. I'd just make sure I had Mobile Me on the iPad, especially if you are holding a drink-i-pooh in the other hand.
I've always loved the concept of tools that even the playing field, and Looptastic HD for iPad definitely allows just about anyone with an iPad to unlock unlimited possibilities in musical architecture. I only wish I had had one of these when I was painstakingly banging out Rachmaninoff to scholarship my way through college. We don't need to settle for Bethovan's Fifth set to a disco beat. Now we can give the world Jason Moran and Billie Holiday, wrapped up in the warm cocoon of Dub-step, without rolling out the heavy equipment and wires.
As I tweeted out to my community, I think I'll dust off my old stage name and recirculate it. Please welcome Trixie Bon Bon, Seattle iPad DJ. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter, as I round the corner into the last days of my 365-1/4 days as the n00b of Social Media.
Friday, July 9, 2010
iPad Geek Out: Merging tech and art
While the iPhone has already spawned several concerts composed of people using iPhones (such as the Michigan Mobile Phone Ensemble), I've been waiting to play around with apps for the iPad that would allow myself as a dancer and musician to explore sound and music while getting geeky with it.
After passing my iPad over to Chris Pirillo with the plea, "Pimp my apps," he loaded Beatwave, and later texted me with the message, "Grab Granimator now, it's free!" [unfortunately, it's not free any more]. You can see Chris demo the Granimator on his Youtube video.
Beatwave app for iPad got me thinking. Why not set up a repeating pattern based on a the principles of western music (we like resolution or resolved dissonance), and then express those patterns through movement and dance?
Here's a quick video demo of how that works (wait for the Picture-in-picture video at 1:17).
Filmed at home using a Vado. Bose speaker.
With Beatwave, you can adjust the reverb, speed, tone, and you have four "pages" to work with, creating solos or muting a page of notations. Better yet, non-musicians have a perfect picture of a matrix-style representation of your musical creation. Though there are other apps that allow you to create musical patterns using keyboards or hitting objects with your fingers, I like Beatwave's sense of almost random generation by trial and error, and then the ability to share what you created with friends. You don't have to be a musician to create some cool stuff.
I did not create the music before turning on the camera, nor should you have to tell a person how to move when s/he hears a note. None of this was choreographed. Imagine what I could do with six to 10 people, line up across a stage, while I, the maestro, keys in notes on Beatwave, and I assign a note to each dancer. I could layer two or more people to take on the chords layered by my choices. One could create an entirely spontaneous stage piece, with dancers following simple principles related to sounds assigned to them. It's like an Etch-a-Sketch, only for space and time, and geeky people like you and I.
If you liked what you just read, come join me on Twitter @HipsForHire, or friend me on Facebook ImeiYogaDance. Better yet, go on my Youtube channel YourLilChinaGirl, and leave me a comment.
After passing my iPad over to Chris Pirillo with the plea, "Pimp my apps," he loaded Beatwave, and later texted me with the message, "Grab Granimator now, it's free!" [unfortunately, it's not free any more]. You can see Chris demo the Granimator on his Youtube video.
Beatwave app for iPad got me thinking. Why not set up a repeating pattern based on a the principles of western music (we like resolution or resolved dissonance), and then express those patterns through movement and dance?
Here's a quick video demo of how that works (wait for the Picture-in-picture video at 1:17).
Filmed at home using a Vado. Bose speaker.
With Beatwave, you can adjust the reverb, speed, tone, and you have four "pages" to work with, creating solos or muting a page of notations. Better yet, non-musicians have a perfect picture of a matrix-style representation of your musical creation. Though there are other apps that allow you to create musical patterns using keyboards or hitting objects with your fingers, I like Beatwave's sense of almost random generation by trial and error, and then the ability to share what you created with friends. You don't have to be a musician to create some cool stuff.
I did not create the music before turning on the camera, nor should you have to tell a person how to move when s/he hears a note. None of this was choreographed. Imagine what I could do with six to 10 people, line up across a stage, while I, the maestro, keys in notes on Beatwave, and I assign a note to each dancer. I could layer two or more people to take on the chords layered by my choices. One could create an entirely spontaneous stage piece, with dancers following simple principles related to sounds assigned to them. It's like an Etch-a-Sketch, only for space and time, and geeky people like you and I.
If you liked what you just read, come join me on Twitter @HipsForHire, or friend me on Facebook ImeiYogaDance. Better yet, go on my Youtube channel YourLilChinaGirl, and leave me a comment.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Uncommon Uses for the iPad
Last night, I found myself walking to a bus stop unusually late from an event. I discovered that an offer for a ride home unexpectedly changed, but Seattle has a pretty decent public transit system, with service to my neighborhood, so I didn't panic. I punched in the info to a Metro trip planner, and headed off to the bus stop according to the map. [common use #1 - bus finder and Google maps]
The bus stop was located on the opposite side of a busy freeway. After three attempts to figure out how to get to the other side (as there was no overpass), a homeless person pointed to a dimly-let sign: pedestrian underpass. I walked on the sidewalk of the busy street, getting honked at a few times by cars who must like frightening the bah-jesus out of women. Forget doing some Yoga breathing to stay calm: the sidewalk and stairwells of the underpass smelled of beer and urine, and reminded me that men really do think the entire world is their toilet. At these times, I wonder if my sacrifice of reducing my carbon footprint is really worth the sacrifice.
Twenty minutes later, teeth chattering and hugging my iPad for warmth [uncommon use #2 - heat source], my bus came. Thank goodness I exchanged my WiFi-only iPad for a 3G+WiFi model within two weeks, because 3G was the only connectivity available on the side of the 99 Highway, though I clearly saw the names of locked networks all around. As great as the iPhone4 is, it wouldn't have kept me warm.
As I sat down, a man spoke to me with a French accent: "Nice shoes. And the hat and the scarf work for you." As he was saying this, he was smiling and looking at my iPad. [uncommon use #3 - man magnet]. He worked for a tech company, but certainly wasn't talking tech. When he got off at his stop, he asked for my first name, took my hand, placed a soft kiss upon it, and said, "It was lovely to meet you."
On came a man who had taken an earlier bus: "I didn't want to wait at the stop I saw you at. This one is further downtown, a lot of gang bangers, but at least it wasn't so isolated." Good point: I should have downloaded MyNextBus.com, gotten a transfer, and waited with a bunch of smokers. Not.
We chatted about the iPhone all the way to West Seattle, where I bid him, "Au revoir." About a half a block into my walk home, I realized all the street lights were down, and the people of that street didn't do a lot of gardening and maintenance to the overgrowth. I tripped and nearly fell, cursing myself for not replacing the mini flashlight I used to carry in my purse. Without really thinking, I took out my iPad, slid the unlock button and punched in the password, and held the screen facing away from me [uncommon use #4 - iPad as a mobile street lamp]. Needless to say, I had a nicely illuminated path all the way home.
Well, some people say that the iPad isn't all that magical. I didn't need it to be. Instead, it got me thinking about uncommon uses of everything we have around us, if only we'd use our own heads and creativity to see.
Do you see?
The bus stop was located on the opposite side of a busy freeway. After three attempts to figure out how to get to the other side (as there was no overpass), a homeless person pointed to a dimly-let sign: pedestrian underpass. I walked on the sidewalk of the busy street, getting honked at a few times by cars who must like frightening the bah-jesus out of women. Forget doing some Yoga breathing to stay calm: the sidewalk and stairwells of the underpass smelled of beer and urine, and reminded me that men really do think the entire world is their toilet. At these times, I wonder if my sacrifice of reducing my carbon footprint is really worth the sacrifice.
Twenty minutes later, teeth chattering and hugging my iPad for warmth [uncommon use #2 - heat source], my bus came. Thank goodness I exchanged my WiFi-only iPad for a 3G+WiFi model within two weeks, because 3G was the only connectivity available on the side of the 99 Highway, though I clearly saw the names of locked networks all around. As great as the iPhone4 is, it wouldn't have kept me warm.
As I sat down, a man spoke to me with a French accent: "Nice shoes. And the hat and the scarf work for you." As he was saying this, he was smiling and looking at my iPad. [uncommon use #3 - man magnet]. He worked for a tech company, but certainly wasn't talking tech. When he got off at his stop, he asked for my first name, took my hand, placed a soft kiss upon it, and said, "It was lovely to meet you."
On came a man who had taken an earlier bus: "I didn't want to wait at the stop I saw you at. This one is further downtown, a lot of gang bangers, but at least it wasn't so isolated." Good point: I should have downloaded MyNextBus.com, gotten a transfer, and waited with a bunch of smokers. Not.
We chatted about the iPhone all the way to West Seattle, where I bid him, "Au revoir." About a half a block into my walk home, I realized all the street lights were down, and the people of that street didn't do a lot of gardening and maintenance to the overgrowth. I tripped and nearly fell, cursing myself for not replacing the mini flashlight I used to carry in my purse. Without really thinking, I took out my iPad, slid the unlock button and punched in the password, and held the screen facing away from me [uncommon use #4 - iPad as a mobile street lamp]. Needless to say, I had a nicely illuminated path all the way home.
Well, some people say that the iPad isn't all that magical. I didn't need it to be. Instead, it got me thinking about uncommon uses of everything we have around us, if only we'd use our own heads and creativity to see.
Do you see?
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