Ken McGuire

Tag: WiFi

  • WiFi Digital Camera Addon – Eye Fi

    8GB Eye-Fi cardWIRELESS TRANSFER of photos in an otherwise non-wifi enabled digital camera. How? Eye-Fi. Yes, I would like one of these.

    Try as I might, I usually end up walking away from the house or the office without the cable to connect my camera to the laptop. When it comes to transferring photos on the move, that can be a right pain in the neck. Sure enough, you can pick up digital cameras of all shapes and sizes (that might cost you a bit more on the credit card) packing WiFi transfers, GPS, location tagging and the likes. But for those of us looking for a WiFi option, the Eye-Fi might be just the ticket.

    According to TUAW, you can set the card “to automatically upload to iPhoto, or just to a specific folder on your computer. You also have the option to have your pictures uploaded to MobileMe, Flickr, Evernote, Picasa, Facebook, and many other places (see chart in new window). Videos can be uploaded to Flickr (only 90 seconds maximum, though), Picasa, YouTube, Facebook, Phanfare, and Photobucket. You can even set it up to send notifications via email, Facebook, Twitter, or SMS when transfers start, finish, or are interrupted.”

    It’s a Class 6 wireless SD card meaning it should shift around 6mb a second and Amazon have the new 8GB model on pre-order for the princely sum of $149.99.

    It might seem a bit on the steep side for an SD card. Argos are happy to flog them for anything up to €60 for an 8gb SDHC card, and if the Euro conversion rate at €112 or so held up, an extra €50 isn’t a bad price to pay to get full WiFi capabilities for your digital camera.

    If you’re thinking on buying, check the Eye-Fi support site for compatible cameras.

    Note: Did I actually say “just the ticket”?

  • Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! (With Added WiFi)

    Can't Pay? Won't Pay!

    CAN’T PAY? WON’T PAY! opened last night at Set Theatre in Kilkenny, the latest offering from The Devious Theatre Company. While I can be seen on stage for the 95 minutes or so of performance, I’ve been working as a producer on the show as well for the past few months so there’s a bit of a bonus feeling of excitement there when you see the fruits of your labour (and those around you of course) take to a stage in full technicolour detail.

    (By the way, you can win tickets to Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! here)

    As a group this year (and over the last four years) we’ve really tried to grow our online presence, exploring all avenues social. Delighted we are in that people who come to the shows then return their feedback via Twitter, or Facebook. Hell, some people will even email in their thoughts post-show. However the feedback arrives, it’s made all the more possible, accessible, and real time thanks to the embracing of said social tools, tools that have not so much changed how we operate as a theatre company but have certainly shaped how we operate.

    On the back of WordCamp, the wifi setup that was created for last weekend’s conference (part of which was held in Set Theatre) is still in place, thus you can access WiFi during the show. No, we wouldn’t want you checking your email or getting lost browsing the web, but with Twitter, Facebook and more at your fingertips (or in your pocket), we’d love to hear the feedback on the night, good or bad, public or private. If you’re sitting in the audience tweeting about the show, why not use the hashtag #cpwp? Feel free to take photos of the performers in action on the stage (just switch the flash off if you don’t mind) and tag them accordingly. Adopting a more open approach last year, we wound up with some fantastic audience photos that were shared via email, Picasa, Facebook and more.

    John Morton has been talking about the ingredients of Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! over on the DeviousTheatre.com blog, and now it has added WiFi, so if you’re coming along, don’t be shy, let us know what you think.

    Order tickets online for Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!

  • Open Coffee, Not Just About Wifi

    Latte Art
    Creative Commons License photo credit: Lucy James Photography

    OPEN COFFEE. It’s not just about wifi. In fact, it’s not about wifi at all. It’s not a gathering of people around laptops, programming in the corner of a coffee shop. It’s not over elaborate demos of bandwidth-heavy project developments. At least those points are valid for Kilkenny anyway.

    Open Coffee is about the people.

    The people who are working for themselves. The people who are working online or in an online-connected environment. The people who want to learn or share internet experiences whether personal or professional.

    Yes, the wifi helps and if it’s available it will likely get used to pull email during the morning, allow people check in to the office, push photos out to twitter etc. But at the end of the day, it’s the conversation that counts.

    Barring the odd slip of an iPhone onto the table when the conversation turned to Foursquare yesterday at Kilkenny Open Coffee, there wasn’t a hint of a laptop or netbook to be seen. Mobile phone reception in our current venue is dour at the best of times, but it’s the conversation that counts. Further insights into dbTwang, technical writing for the US markets, outsourcing to South Africa, travel in Prague, location-based services, iPhone app development and more were up for discussion yesterday. All over a few pots of tea before everyone went back to their homes and offices for another month.

    For me personally, I take it as a great chance to get out of the office, if just to meet up with familiar and new faces – once in a month – for a tea and a chat. Spending as long as I do in the office or working from the house (both by myself), it does good to get out and about when the opportunity presents itself.

    If you’re thinking on coming along next month, we’ll likely be getting together on Wednesday February 3rd, same OCC time, same OCC channel. Details here and map here. Actually, rumour has we’ll be bringing it forward to 11am instead of 11:30am to suit those who take the train and give out free pens.

    If it’s your first time going along, don’t worry about a laptop. Bring a pen and paper, or a business card, or just yourself.

  • Train Service Gets Connected, Wifi with Airappz

    DART Station at Tara Street
    Creative Commons License photo credit: Let Ideas Compete

    FIRST THEY upgraded the trains. Then there was the new seats and the power points (offset possibly by the increase in food and ticket prices for the trains themselves). Now it looks like Irish Rail users on the Dublin – Cork – Dublin service will be able to available of wireless internet access, free of charge, courtesy of Irish Rail and Airappz.

    Sure enough, they won’t be the first to offer wifi access on public transport with several coach operators around the country, including Kavanagh’s here in Kilkenny, offering on-board wifi but the development is something that has been long hoped for and though trialling for six months will hopefully stick around and get rolled out across the new fleet.

    The trail installation will be for a complete trainset for the duration of the trail. After these 6 months Irish Rail will (together with Airappz) evaluate the usage & performance data and based on this they will decide whether or not to put the provision of a fleet-wide wifi service out to public tender.

    I’ve never been one to take long journeys on the bus and up until I started driving I would almost always look to take the train, or a connection of trains to reach my destination. Though the cost of tickets has gone through the roof (I was shocked to pay €32 earlier in the week for a return to Dublin from Kilkenny, let alone the cost of a return from Cork to Dublin – €78.50 monthly return at time of writing), the train is still relied on by thousands of business commuters around the country, particularly those living outside of but working in Dublin.

    Watching tweets over the last few months and years from those testing out mobile broadband dongles on the train to much joy / sorrow depending on what mobile operator you’re with and /or where on the map you’re passing through, I could only hope that the wifi service that will be rolled out on the Cork – Dublin line will be strong, consistent and ultimately be taken up by passengers and Irish Rail alike, paving the way for rollouts on other lines.

    When I’m not driving, and Dublin bound (like this weekend gone), the train is still preferred. And if I could get a solid connection to work from without having to rely on mobile signal, I’d certainly be a happy traveller.

    Congratulations to Evert Bopp, more good news for an Irish company.

  • Wifi Breakfast Gives Food For Thought

    Wifi Breakfast In Kilkenny

    For the last six weeks or so, maybe a little more, I’ve been making more time to get out of the office when it comes to planning on projects, dealing with client emails or any of the music and theatre related activities.

    I’ll either pencil a morning in at home or I’ll take to a coffee shop in Kilkenny. During the recent Smitten run with The Devious Theatre Company I spent some time working from a corner of ‘The Barn’ (theatre venue), Crotty’s coffee shop on Kieran Street, The Field on High Street (great grub) and now the Kilkenny Cafe at Market Cross.

    While the O2 broadband connection in my bag here beside me will allow me to work online from relatively anywhere in Kilkenny, the Kilkenny Cafe (as I mentioned in this video this morning) offer a ‘Meeting Room’ facility, having changed the upper level of the cafe to provide free wifi access (you don’t need a card or key) and powerpoints for your laptop / mobile phone.

    So twice in two weeks I’ve found myself sitting here, breakfast on one side, laptop on the other, plenty of food for thought.

    When you spend as long in the office as I tend to do, it does good get out of there every now and again and take the work with me.

    Plus, the tea isn’t too bad either.

    Note: The Asus EEE PC above isn’t mine, but I did have the joy of setting it up and getting to tinker around with it for a while. Works well in a wire-free environment.

  • Apple iPhone For UK On November 9th – Some Points To Note

    I almost forgot about this one this morning until skimming the Guardian over breakfast, but Apple have announced the iPhone for the UK, with a release date of November 9th. Here’s some points to note from the press coverage this morning…

    • The iPhone will retail at £269 (€386) and will be carried, as previously suggested, by O2
    • There will be no discount on the handset
    • First-time buyers subject to minimum 18 month contract with O2
    • Steve Jobs wouldn’t talk revenue share
    • Subscribers in UK will have bundled access to 7,500 WiFi spots – what does that leave Irish market?
    • No 3G
    • 80% of O2’s “high value customers” would love an iPhone, not necessarily buy an iPhone
    • Contracts start from £35 (€50) per month including unlimited data
    • EDGE and WiFi all the way
    • UK only today, other European countries within the next quarter…

    As much as I have a love for all things Apple, there’s still not enough in an iPhone to sway me, plus no concrete details on a rollout within the Irish market. Did someone tell me the Nokia N95 8GB model is hitting the shelves here around the same time?