Inside View

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses First Impressions

by Bernie Goldbach in Clonmel

WE GOT TWO Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and I believe they are the best piece of tech I've purchased this year. Their design, audio performance, camera quality, and charging case deliver value for the €495 I spent to get the two sets of glasses. And I believe I will open new opportunities to spam friends with live streams before the end of the spring semester 2024.

I discovered a few things during the first two days of ownership.

TL;DR This is the time for you to consider wearing connected eyeglasses as you walk, run, and drive.

Christmas Approaching and I Need MX Anywhere Mouse

by Bernie Goldbach in Clonmel

I NEED A NEW Logitech MX Anywhere mouse because my long-serving Logitech MX Anywhere 2 has walked away from one of my classrooms. I used that faithful mouse for more than six years and want to replace it with a newer and pinker version of itself.

Impressed by Veed.io #EdChatie

By Bernie Goldbach in Clonmel. Screenshot by @topgold.

I STARTED EXPERIMENING with Veed.io on my Samsung Note 9 handset. Here are a few impressions concerning mobile content production, project templates, and workflow.

My first two hours with @RoamResearch

I USED A TIMER to allow myself two hours for my first hands-on routine with Roam Research, a note-taking and personal knowledge management service that I used to produce this InsideView.ie blog post. I'm confident that if I could save at least 15 euro a month by focusing my note-taking inside Roam because I could reduce my annual consumption of Moleskine journals (see samples in my photostream below). I'm still going to use pen and paper for some of my sketchnotes but the recurring tasks were always more efficient using a template. During my two hour stint with Roam, I created several of those templates and I linked them to the left hand panel (seen above) that displays when Roam launches.

@firemanrich We're experimenting with @taperealapp #socialreality

THESE DAYS OF SOCIAL DISTANCING have made me more eager for real connections so the arrival of the TapeReal App on our well-used iPad piqued my interest.

I made a video tape from our sitting room couch. If you listen, you can hear the sound of our proximity alarm barking.

Excellent Writing Tablet says 7yo

We opened one of our Christmas presents early and discovered the 9" Igeress LCD tablet's writing surface is more useful than an iPad for our 7yo. And it costs 3% of the value of the iPad Mini 4 that it complements. You can buy it for 15 euro on Amazon (affiliate link).

Just Discovered the American Aisle

I REMEMBER BUYING one of the first cans of refried beans offered by a large supermarket in County Wicklow back in 1996. Today, I depend on astute shoppers to point out things like Jelly Belly and Bean Boozled I need to put into my shopping cart. People like young YouTuber Alex and his discovery of sweets.

[Bernie Goldbach uses Magisto when teaching creative media for business.]

Calling Phones with Alexa is Child's Play

WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE (and without being prompted), Dylan (7) just called my mobile phone in Ireland by asking our Amazon Echo Dot in the kitchen. I didn't think Irish phone numbers were configured for that service.

But after a little cross-check, I realised the voice call was simply a five star VOIP service tucked inside my handset's Amazon Alexa app. This means anyone with an Amazon Echo device who has me in their contact list can ring my mobile phone. I'm fascinated by the quality of the call and the natural language that makes all of this so simple.

It's 2018 and I'm Still Using

EVERY YEAR, I look at the stuff I'm carrying and the things I'm using on a daily basis. I'm very happy with my Logitech Wireless Mouse, my Rode Smart Lav+ microphone, my Kanex portable battery, my Sony Xperia Z5 phone, and my Patriot USB memory key.

Watching Giroptic 360 Delivery Schedule

IRELAND'S AUGUST BANK holiday weekend has arrived but my Giroptic 360 camera hasn't. I reckon the Chinese production line has slowed down and that translates into another 40 day delay.

I had carved out a special spot where I could connected the camera to a mains power source for several hours before creating my first 360 video. And I hope I can do that before mid-September.