If you are like me and read a lot of Internet sites keeping track of them all can be hard. Living in Japan the Internet is my primary source for English related content on magic, technology and news and I follow a lot of websites. So it has always been a challenge for me to organize how I go through all the content I keep track of. The system I use now has saved me a lot of time and kept me up to date on all the information I enjoy reading. Over the years I have tried various RSS readers but now I just use Google Reader. I can make folders to keep track of subjects, and also I am able to easily share any articles I find on twitter etc. It is like my own newspaper custom made for me everyday. You can also follow other people who have google reader set up and easily read any interesting articles that they share. I like the star feature where I can star the ones I want to keep and go back to them anytime I want very easily. Along with the regular Google Reader I use mobileRSS on my iPhone to keep updated when I am not at home. Once I read an article from mobileRSS it marks it as read on Google Reader as well. It also has all of the great sharing features of the Google version. Combining both of these has been great for me. I am able to keep track of all the sites I like and I like a lot so this keeps me organized and informed. I also like to share cools stuff as well. You can see my shared articles form Google Reader here. If you have any other great ways that you use to keep track of your favourite sites please let me know!
I know this is mostly a magic blog but I am also a fan of tech so I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and blog about the new Apple iPad and write about some of my thoughts and how it relates to me in Japan. I am not an Apple fanboy but I am a recent “convert” to the Mac platform after years of being frustrated with Windows. This December I gave up Windows and bought a MacBook Pro. After over a year of using the iPhone I was convinced. Anyways back to the iPad. Firstly I have seen many people complain about what it lacks the biggest being a camera for pictures and or for video conferencing. Now lets go to what Steve Jobs talked about at the iPad presentation. It is a device between the smart phone a regular computer, a kind of bridge. Smart phones and computers have cameras so why need a third? I know, I know, people said this about cells phones a few years ago. But imagine holding the iPad out to do a video conference, your arms would get tired and the video would be all bouncy like bad home videos. It would only work well if it was on a kickstand. So it seems to use this tablet this way is perhaps awkward and not so elegant. This is the reason I see for it not having a camera as well as keeping the price down and the device light and thin. Remember you have to think of this as a new device not as a net book, nor a laptop, nor as a tablet PC using a normal desktop OS. This is something new easy to use and something convenient when you want t relax or are sitting on a plane, train, or bus. I can also think of many business applications for this device for record keeping.
Ok what about here in Japan and would I buy it. Well I might, the problem is the Japanese iTunes store has no movies or TV shows, one of the main features of the iPad. Of course you can convert current DVD etc. but that takes the beauty and ease and loses the point of the system. It also looks as if there won’t be a iBook store any time soon as well. A work around for this is of course to use the Amazon Kindle app for the iPhone. It seems for me anyway that until the Japanese iTunes store gets upgraded with movies and TV’s shows and gets the book store in Japan I don’t see myself using this device soon. I do however see how I can it use at show venues for setting up and prepping my show but I just use my iPhone and my MacBook Pro for now. I do hope to see it get these features here with cheap 3g connections then I will probably pick it up.
I had been hearing about this magic App for the iPhone called iForce. Being an iPhone lover I decided to download it and WOW. I love many of the great magic apps on the iPhone but I can’t really use them in my close-up show, however iForce is one that I can use and will use. So what is iForce? Well unlike other magic apps where the app does the magic or the magic is contained only in the app, iFoce magic app doesn’t do the magic it is just the medium for a prediction. With iForce you tell the spectators that you are going to make a prediction. You open up a doodle app on the iPhone and show how you can draw on the app. You can even have the spectators try it out. Then you ask them for example, to think of any day of the week. You then say you will read there mind and write what day they are thinking of. You then do this and lay the iPhone face down. You then ask them what day they thought of and then turn the iPhone over and the day they said is written on the doodle program your prediction was correct. So as you can see the iPhone just becomes there medium where you write your prediction down rather than on a piece of paper. After the prediction is shown the spectators can play with the app. What is great about this app is that it is fully customizable. As I live in Japan I can customize all my predictions into Japanese. In the picture in this post you can see my day of the week prediction for Monday. This is very versatile as you can create many many great effects with this. It comes with a bunch of presets so you can use it right away. There are a few different methods to do the effects with iForce so you can do a repeat with a different method. There are teaching videos built into the app but an internet connection is required. There is also a practice mode so you can practice it repeatedly with out resetting the effect which is great way to practice. iForce also works on the ipod Touch. Because of the great customization, and that the effects that are done will be credited to you not the app makes this a real magic effect that you can use in your close-up show and just for fun. For more information here is the iForce website and here is iForce in the app store.
Today I want to write about Google Wave, the Cloud and the Magician. First Google Wave is the new system now in preview testing by Google. It is a system that runs in the browser that was created to make thing easier for group collaboration and organization of messages. You May have heard of cloud computing but may not be sure what it is. Basically it is a system where a copy of your information and files that you use on one computer are on another server that can be accessed by any computer over the Internet. Easy examples are things like gmail for email, or mobile me by apple or dropbox. For more detailed information refer to the link above on cloud computer.
First I will talk about Google Wave and how it can be used by the modern magician. At the moment Google Wave is in beta preview meaning its not quite ready for the full public as Google is still trying to work the bugs out. Those who do have invites to the system now are working to figure out how to use it. Even from my use so far I have seen it used mostly as a instant messenger type system. However, Google Wave is much more than that. It is a great to work on projects with other people in a Group. there are paid services that do do this but Google Wave works in the browser so that means you can access on any computer connected to the Internet without any special software and it’s free. Now many magicians travel and can’t always get a net connection in their hotel where they are staying. Which means they will have to use an Internet cafe or a single hotel computer. Having Google Wave will be a way to work with clients or other on a projects from anywhere. I wish I had this last summer when I was without Internet for more than a month and had to go to Internet Cafes. I could not use the data on my own computer. Now with Google Wave you can easy jump in and work on a project at any time and anywhere. With the Google Waves play back feature you can see what other group members have worked on while you were away then start to add your contributions to the project. I will definitely be using this system. it is not quite ready to be relied on yet but I am sure in a few months it will be much more stable and usable. There is also a iPhone version in alpha testing. I have tested that out as well. Right not it is not very functional but once it is it gives me a place to log on and work on a group project from anywhere. I look forward to using this system in the future as a tool for working with magic clients as well as working with other magicians on magic topic meetings and brain storming and for sharing ideas.
Next I will talk a bit about cloud computer and the magician. Many of the same things that I wrote about Google Wave is true with cloud computing. For me I have set some important documents, schedules, email, and some other things in the cloud so I can access them on any computer and my iPhone. This allows me to reply to emails, send promotional materials, and work on my other show and business documents from anywhere. I love that I can use them on my iPhone then when I get home the documents are there on my computer done. Great for when riding trains and when travelling. Again for magicians who are on the road that can’t always connect their own computer to the Internet they can get, send, and work on things from any computer and then have them easily appear on their main computer when they connect that to the Internet.
The thing is about this technology is that there are still some issues that people are concerned about and me as well. One if you use cloud computing you do need to make sure you keep backed up copies on your own computer because you never know when a cloud system may go down or lose your data. There is also the concern about security as all your stuff is on another computer outside your own system so you need to find a service you trust as well and be wise about what things you do place in the cloud until cloud computer becomes much more refined. Anyway these new trends in computing are very valuable to those of use who travel and wok on many projects with people around the world. These new systems allow use to work while on the road and be productive in down times. If you have never looked into cloud computer have a look into to and see where it goes and I have been using these systems and they have been great for me when working on my magic entertainment business!
Testing the new new wordpress iPhone app called wordpress 2.0. If you have the current app you will need to download the new app from tje app store as it is not an update. If you see this post it worked.
Aaron
From reading my blog you may have come to the understanding that I love my iPhone and I do. I love the apps but another thing I love is listing to podcasts. So in this blog I want to introduce some of the podcasts I listen to both magic related and non magic related.
The Magic Newswire This is a great podcast run by Dodd Vickers. Each podcast is an interview with an influential magician. This podcast is always informative and covers a broad range of magic topics in the interviews about both current and past topics. This podcast can be found at The Magic Newswire website and on iTunes.
iTricks.com Podcasts iTricks.com has a few different podcasts. Their main one is iTricks.com Magic Week in Review. The host of these podcast is Justin R. Young. The iTricks.com website was created by Andrew Mayne. The topics covered are mostly current magic news topics with interviews with magicians. Recent magic culture issues are always talked about and it is a great way to keep up with current magic trends and celebrities. You can find all the iTricks.com podcasts on this page.
TWiT.tv Podcasts The TWiT.tv Podcasts are not magic related but are on different aspects of technology and online culture.Brian Brushwood a magician sometimes appears on the This Week in Tech podcast. This is the main podcasts on this site I listen to. The TWiT network was created by Leo Laporte. There are a few others podcasts I listen to on this site but this is the main one for me. It is a great way to find out whats is going on with Apple, Microsoft, google, facebook, and more. All the TWit.tv podcasts shows can be found here.
Scam School This video podcast is on the Revision3network. This podcast is hosted by Brian Brushwood and covers some simple magic and bar scams. It is interesting for both magicians and non magicians. This podcast can be found here.
This are just a few of the many podcasts I listen to. If you have a great podcast you would like to to listen to please let me know!
This post is not about magic but is kind of related to my magic work. If you are like me, then you may spend a lot of time away from home and your computer. Keeping connected to the social world as well as keeping up with work while out an be difficult. To solve this in the past year I have been using my iPhone to take advantage of dead time to keep up with my work, and fun while I am not around. I am a fan of using dead time to be productive. So here is a list of the iPhone apps I use in no particular order to keep productive and connected.
Facebook App To keep connected to my magic and non magic social world I use the Facebook app. With it I can keep in contact with my friends when not at home as well as share my own experiences. Good thing about this app is that it is free. Can be downloaded at the app store here.
Twitbird Pro I love Twitter. I don’t use twitter just to send messages and read about friends, but I use it to find local information as well as I read news and other updates. It is also a way to send out information on stuff I see and find. I have my Twitter connected to Fabebook, Friendfeed, as my website. So I use it as a way to connect to all these services. I have used many Twitter apps but I love Twitbird Pro. It allows me to make lists of my followers to I can easy check what one group of people in my interest sphere is doing. It also as a bunch of other great features you would think would only be on a desktop Twitter program. Twitbird Pro is here.
WordPress I love this Wordpress app. I can update my website blogs and pages from it. You can also post pictures to your posts from it. It allows you to connect to more than one WordPress site. So this is perfect for me to update this English blog as well as my Japanese version. I use it when I’m in a hotel at night to update or while traveling by trains. This great app can be found here.
Documents This program allows you to edit, create and read, word and excel files plus others. It also connects to Google Docs so you can download and upload files you create or need to edit on the iPhone. This is a great way to keep up with work during dead time when you have free time in places like waiting for trains, planes etc. This app is here.
There are many more apps that I use along with some of the magic apps I use. I will introduce some other apps I use in a future blog posting. If you have some great app recommendations please let me know in the comments!
Aaron
The long awaited iPhone App Rising Card App by Chris Kenner is finally out! You can read about it here. After I play with it for a while I will have a review up! It looks like a great magic App!
