*AmongMany

Music has never played a large enough role in my life for DJ’ing to have much draw. Technology, however, does play a pretty significant role, and the thought of exploring VJ’ing has indeed crossed my mind (though the equipment prices have kept me from doing much with the thought). Next drool-worthy piece of technology? Check out this new VJ hardware from Cue:

Phenomenal mix of touchscreen, tactile instrumentation, and the sliding function of the single knob puts it over the edge. it’s still in the conceptual phase at the moment, but if I ever comes to light, I’m sure we’ll see more VJ’s cropping up at the clubs around NYC.

Having just come back from my (first) trip to the UK, this passport folio immediately caught my eye. After all, when you’re traveling, figuring out where to put your passport that it’ll be safe and you’ll still keep track of it is a pain. And, perhaps if I did more international travel, I’d have already gotten myself a passport wallet. But I digress.

Gus leather goods caught my eye immediately with their smart, no-nonsense designs. But the thing that sealed the deal for me with the passport holder was the SIM card slots. What a statement that attention to detail makes about the role that digital is playing in our lives these days! And, of course, the shift toward an “all plastic” lifestyle is also well-reflected in Gus’ goods.

While I’m not certain that my travel proclivities make the passport carrier a necessity for me, I’ll certainly be keeping their wallets in mind next time around.

A couple of months ago I mentioned UK-based artist and illustrator Russ Mills who’s working name is Byroglyphics. His work originally caught my eye due to the unique paint/inkpen technique that creates an outstanding graphic look. So, after the last entry, I wrote Russ just to see what’s up.

Turns out, he’s got a new show coming up that’s running under the title “Domestic Science”. If you’re going to be anywhere near London between May 22nd and June 13th, swing by the Signal Gallery to have a look at Russ’ latest pieces. There’s also a “private view” - which I assume is Londonese for “opening party” on May 21st, but I’m not certain if the evening is invite only.

Interesting way to look at things…

Have you heard of Fitbit? It’s one of the up-and-comers in the fitness-meets-physical-computing world. If you want to learn more, give a quick look at my ThingsAmongMany post on Fitbit and their competitor, GoWear Fit. This post isn’t about the devices themselves, but rather the social media experience/mistake that they’re demonstrative of.

Fitbit has been “in production” and available for pre-order for months now - they originally stated a target launch date of Dec. ‘08 (I ordered mine in mid-January). They’re now predicting a launch in “late spring or early summer”, much to the chagrin of those who have pre-ordered. They’ve done a decent job of keeping buyers looped into the production process on their blog which has featured in-depth progress posts at a rate of around one per month.

So what’s my complaint? Simple: we want more. A monthly update with the information offered in their blog posts is fantastic. But how about a quick sentence more often about the state of the state? Twitter is the perfect outlet for this kind of communication, and it seems that this fact hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed by Fitbit. They’ve already created an account @Fitbit_Inc that has 350+ followers - not bad for a company that hasn’t even launched its product. BUT they’ve only updated the account twice, the first of which appeared in November and stated

We’ll be making more frequent updates on the Fitbit here

Well…where are said updates? The only follow-up came six weeks later and then silence. The silence speaks volumes, and it’s begun to create some backlash (something a new brand can hardly afford). And, worse-yet, it’s given me (and other Fitbit_Inc followers) the opportunity to stumble onto two viable competitors who’s products are already available for purchase: GoWear Fit originally came to my attention because they followed me on Twitter (though it appears they’ve either given up or there’s something wrong with their account since it’s now empty). Bodybugg is another version that uses the same hardware, but runs a proprietary software.

In my research for this post, I also came across James Park’s Twitter account. James is apparently the CEO of Fitbit and has recently offered some responses to Fitbit-related tweets. BUT he hasn’t told anyone about those updates! There are 350 people follwing @Fitbit_Inc who are anxiously waiting for news (myself included), and here James is offering it only to people who he happens to find talking about the product. Get out there and connect the two accounts James! Give the people what they very clearly want, and in return they’ll be that much more interested in spreading the word about your product.

The point? This is pretty basic as far as social media involvement goes. Smaller brands have much to benefit by getting involved directly with their fans/consumers - conversely, frustration mounts quickly when those brands ignore their customers. A six month delay after I’ve already payed for a product is almost inexcusable…almost. With something truly unique like the Fitbit (there are some distinct differences that separate it from the GoWear Fit and Bodybugg), people are willing to go out on a limb and put up with more. But there is a limit to that willingness. It seems like Fitbit is on the brink of stepping over that limit.

Well, there’s another company going down in the annals of “making the customer’s life difficult”. I’ve been a fan of Valentine One for years. Their technology is above and beyond most other radar detector manufacturers (let’s not get into a moral discussion on the issue here). Granted, at $400 a pop, you pay for the privilege.

Two days ago, I placed an order for a new Direct Wire Power Kit (about 1/2 way down the page) to replace the one that came with my unit. I had installed that one in a previous vehicle and, at $13 for the kit, it’s easier to simply leave it in place and buy a new one than it is to remove all the necessary panels to retrieve the kit. The online purchase experience was satisfactory, though the lack of any confirmation email was a little annoying.

I didn’t think any more of it until the call I just received from their customer service department. They needed a “little more information” in order to process my order, which was odd since their purchase form didn’t ask for any information that I opted not to give them. The woman wanted the serial number from my Valentine. I asked why she needed it and tried to explain that I didn’t have the unit handy to retrieve the number, to which she replied that it was for fraud protection for the customer in case the Valentine were stolen.

Now, I understand that radar detectors are an oft-stolen item and I respect their interest in trying to protect the consumer. But the fact of the matter is that once the thing is stolen, that person can buy whatever they want to go with the unit. They’ll HAVE the serial number right there in front of them in order to verify it. So, in reality, their “fraud protection” program has done absolutely nothing for me, the customer, other than make my legitimate purchase more difficult.

Granted, the woman on the other end of the phone was very insistant that I couldn’t possibly place an order without giving her the serial number, and that this was in my best interest. No matter how much I tried to explain that my Valentine was not easily accessible and that I had purposely created this situation to make my life easier when I went to install it, she wouldn’t budge (and became increasingly rude to boot).

This is incredibly frustrating! Companies, I implore you. If you’re going to put policies in place that benefit your customer, make sure they actually benefit your customer. I run into this type of issue all the time, and frankly it’s getting old. If you’d take ten minutes to think through your policies and approach them from the customer’s point of view, you’d save both you and I a lot of headache. What you fail to realize is that this is just as much a part of the “user experience” of your brand as visiting your website or calling you directly.

Valentine, you wouldn’t have to call to ask for more information that you could have just as easily asked for when I placed the order, and I wouldn’t have to get angry at your utter incompetence in understanding my situation. And as for your “privacy policy”? Well, you screwed that one up:

Fantastic moment by designer Richard Perez:

I came across the woodwork of Chadhaus this morning and I’m pretty in love with their Vollen Series. A small shop based in Seattle, Chadhaus works with locally sourced materials to create modern renditions of classic pieces. here’s how they describe their work:

Chadhaus is part laboratory, part production shop; researching the finest materials and using fine-tuned craftsmanship.  From first idea to finished product, quality and functionality are the focus.

Chadhaus uses locally milled steel and hardwoods, as well as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified plywood with formaldahyde-free adhesives.  Woodwork features non-toxic finishes derived from natural materials, like beeswax.

The Vollen Series looks to me like the perfect dining setup for a small NY apartment. I love the fact the communal feel that the bench brings and the warmth of the wood offers a throwback to the older days of sitting around a family table. At the same time, the clean lines of the pieces bring a decidedly contemporary air to an otherwise classic design.

So a buddy of mine just finished up a lengthy stint in LA working with none other than Sir Mix-a-Lot. Burger King is partnering with Spongebob for a new promo, and to do so he wrote a take on Baby Got Back…refined for the square world. And you get to see the King rappin’ it out. What more need I say? Check it out:

I can’t begin to describe how awesome this video is to me! Being a tech geek/web nerd as well as a long time climber, this is pretty much the culmination of all of my interests piled into a single video.

For those who haven’t done much gym climbing, routes or boulder problems on an indoor wall are usually marked off in colored tape. A small strip of tape next to a hold indicates that the hold is fair game for that route. This, of course, leads to a wall that’s covered in random strips of tape around every hold, eventually making it difficult to find the next move in the sequence.

To get around the issue, iOO Design, an interactive space design firm, created the interactive climbing wall. Routes are programmed into the computer and then projected in sequence onto the climbing wall allowing the climber to “follow” the light”. Check out their page for a little more info, or just watch the video: