If you have a Tablet PC or a WACOM, then you must try InkSeine.  This is a revolutionary product that has taken “Pen Computing” to the next level.

Thus far, if you don’t spend your time in Photoshop or Illustrator, penning instead of mouse-tracking has been for a limited number of simple things like signing your name or or writing a few notes on top of document.

Times are changing!  InkSeine uses fantastic handwriting recognition and gestures instead of traditional navigation to get its job done.

For example, I wrote my name on the InkSeine surface area and then selected it, using my stylus.  Next to my selection is a small round icon that I can hover the stylus over to trigger a menu.  Below is the actual signature and menu that I got… Notice the green rectangle. InkSeine has the correct spelling (including capital letters) of my name despite how poorly I wrote it.  I can gesture the stylus in one of the directions indicated on the menu to perform different actions.  Keep in mind that the “menu” is more like a tool tip.  It does not need to be visible to perform the gesture.  Just touch any round “menu button” and perform the gesture to invoke the operation.

I have to say that I have been using Microsoft’s OneNote for several versions both with and without my WACOM.  Though it is a useful application and touts its ink-friendly environment; InkSeine, also from Microsoft, wins the ink-friendly competition, hands down.

I have only been experimenting with this app for about 20 minutes.  I will definitely be giving updates about it in future posts!

And there you have it.

So I was listening to Ken Kennedy’s podcast about the Microsoft/Yahoo buyout potential and it inspired me to blog about Amazon’s purchase of Audible.com.  The mega-retailer announced in January that it will acquire the audiobook provider for $300 million dollars.  This is probably a good thing, but let’s look at some of the possibilities that can come of this merger.

• Amazon “gets it” when it comes to DRM.  Amazon MP3 is offering DRM-free, high-quality MP3 music downloads from every label that they support.  Audible, on the other hand, requires each author that wants their book to be distributed by Audible.com to have DRM.  Let’s hope Amazon wins that battle.
• Amazon has name recognition.  Though Amazon has only been around four years longer than Audible (Amazon launched in 1995 and Audible in 1999), Audible is hardly a household name, despite being the one of the largest audiobook retailers in the world.  Just by sake of name, Audible will get more traffic as Amazon Audiobooks than as Audible.com
• Amazon intermixes their audiobook line with all their other products.  One nice thing about Audible is that their entire site is about audiobooks eliminating confusion on what you are buying.  If Amazon decides to integrate the products into their site instead of preserving the Audible.com site, then you will have to filter your results by Audiobook and HOPEFULLY, there would be a way to separate Audiobooks on CD from Audiobook MP3′s
• Amazon has a lot more money than Audible.com.  It took Audible ten years to hit the 45 thousand title mark.  Hopefully, it will take only a fraction of that time for Amazon to reach the 90 thousand mark.
• Amazon includes audiobook titles in their “Better Together” promotions.  “Buy this book with the audiobook today!” 
• Amazon may eventually change Audible’s file format from being a proprietary file format to a standard like MP3.  This would allow any MP3 player to play audiblebooks versus having a supported devices list.

I don’t think that the 250 former Audible.com/new Amazon employees will have a significant impact on the rest of the 17,000 employee base at Amazon.  Amazon’s internal culture is pretty safe from this new external influence.All-in-all, I think this acquirement makes total sense.  When I think of books, I go to Amazon.  It is a logical extension for me to think of Amazon for audiobooks as well.

And there you have it.

Finally, the new season is here.  Courtney Cox’s show about the innards of a tabloid magazine and the lengths that a publicist will go to to make the next big cover is heating up Sunday nights!

Being on Fx is almost as savory as being on a pay channel in that it is not edited or censored.  Let’s face it, who in regular life doesn’t hear or utter a few curses a day?

Well… it is on now, so I am off to watch it!

Wow!  I didn’t realize it until yesterday, but I don’t listen to music anymore.  I have been listening to only ESPN Radio, Podcasts, and Audiobooks for over a year.  I have had no more time than desire to listen to music radio or bought MP3′s.

Interestingly enough, one of my regular podcasts, This Week in Tech (TWiT), turned me on to a new artist by having him on this week’s show.  This has gotten me back into the music scene (at least for the time being).

His name is Jonathan Coulton.  He is a software developer turned musician.  He is not on any label you have heard of, because he is an independent artist and does most of his promotions via his website www.jonathancoulton.com.

Jonathan Coulton (or sometimes called “JoCo”) is a niche artist who has a cult following.  I would classify him as the “Dane Cook” of music in that he is very attentive and in touch with his audience and has built a fan base via that attentiveness.

Click on the Code Monkey to hear one of his songs.  Many of his songs tell stories and have interesting characters.  So interesting that many of his fans show up to his concerts dressed as these characters.  Like me, he is strongly against DRM and thinks the industry should embrace music sharing as it benefits the artists as well as the consumers.

This guy is just cool!

And there you have it

We were unable to get reservations to the campground that we have used in our past Moab trips as they were all booked up.  Brian found another site that is almost as nice and cheaper!!

So we are one step closer to the Moab trip… the cabins are reserved!