It appears that miCARD will be able to use an adapter to fit into SD/MMC slots. I am assuming that these cards would still be limited to 4GB in devices supporting SD or 2048GB in devices supporting SDHC. So on second thought, the new memory format could be a good thing as it provides an upgrade path where memory could be reused in newer devices and supposedly the miCARD format tops out at 8TB (that’s terabytes).

Although I would still prefer USB to most other types of connectors, as I noted in my last post, there is something attractive about being able to just set your gadgets on a mat and have the devices charged through induction. It looks like some manufactures are getting close to releasing products. I have seen designs for a charging box, which might make some feel better about all the stray electromagnetic radiation. Powermat has a “puck” that supposedly allows adaptation to their power source. It sounds like this might be a USB adapter. If it isn’t, they should definitely jump on that idea. This would further justify and add value to those manufacturer’s who are already using USB connections.

I have tried to persuade, or perhaps badger, friends in family to seeing my point of view on connectors. I have a hard time understanding why the USB connection can’t be more “universal”. I assume that consumer electronics companies want to make money off selling accessories, and why would you buy a new power adapter if the old one works perfectly well. I got a Motorola RAZR and a headset (I think the H500) a while back, and I am much more likely to buy Motorola products now, because the power adapters for these two products are interchangeable. In other words, rather than a differentiator, the USB connector for charging and data has become a standard item to be checked off of a functionality list. In much the same way, I really like the low-light abilities of Sony cameras. I am also satisfied with the optical quality on the Sony camera and camcorder I have, although I understand that they aren’t necessarily great across their entire product line. However, I doubt I will buy another Sony camera, because I feel that Memory Stick is a dead end. I would rather deal with SD (and I’m even willing to put up with the mini or micro offshoots). As a consumer, I refuse to go along with manufacturers in their attempt to churn out a constant stream of proprietary connectors or memory formats. So when I read about the new miCard, all I could think was, “here we go again”. At least in this case, they are promising some benefits of speed and storage size, but it is pretty gutsy to call a product that has yet to be produced a global standard. I’ll reserve judgment for the final product, if it ever ships.

I ran across an interesting article today from The Huffington Post titled “I’m Plotting to blow up LAX”. The content is OK, I guess, but what struck me as odd was my own reaction. Just going by the title, I wasn’t going to click on the link to read the article, because I didn’t want to be associated with any such idea. It occurs to me that this is how the brainwashing of normal people starts. “Someone” wants you to start thinking a certain way, and manipulates or manages your environment until you start thinking that way. I don’t know who that someone is, or even if they exist, but I do think it’s a shame that I would be afraid to click on a link on the Internet because of what it said. There are cases where I would be better off not clicking on a link, but certainly one mouse-click does not prove my ringing endorsement of any content that it points to. It’s important to remember this sometimes.

I recently discovered that Grand Central has the capability to use Gizmo numbers as phone numbers. All of a sudden, you can have a PSTN number that connects to your computer. For the uninitiated, PSTN stands for Public Switched Telephone Network. This is the phone network that all companies connect to so you can call your family. Obviously you wouldn’t call your friends on this, as you can IM them or use a VOIP program like Google Talk or Gizmo that lets you talk just like you were using a phone. Gizmo, in addition to being a voice chat program and IM program, uses a “fake” phone number. It looks like the normal 10 digits, but I don’t think you can call it directly. However, Gizmo’s partner project Sipphone, will sell you a number that is accessible from the PSTN. Anybody using a normal phone can call this number and connect to the Gizmo program running on your computer. To you it looks like voice chat, but to whoever is calling you, it is a normal phone call. Grand Central provides a “follow-me” service. They give you a phone number (on the PSTN), that anybody can call. On Grand Central’s site, you add additional phone numbers. Typically these are PSTN numbers, like your cell phone, or home phone. However you can now add your Gizmo phone number. You then set up rules so that anybody calling your Grand Central number will ring through to any or all of the additional numbers you set up. All of a sudden, you can redirect all calls to your computer if you are sitting there, or all calls to your cell if you are traveling. Your friends and family always call the same number, and you tell the Grand Central software how to connect to you. Back in the 1990’s, I remember that Sprint or MCI offered something like this, but now you can get it for free.