I have been a “Microsoft phone” supporter for nearly 10 years. From Windows Mobile, to Windows Phone 7 in 2010. To the betrayal that was Windows Phone 8, forcing all Windows 7 users to upgrade to new hardware (and the new OS). All the way through Windows 10 mobile and to it’s ultimate discontinuation, I was faithful and believed in the movement. Loyal to the end, and beyond, I have now chosen my next mobile platform, and I’ve sided with Apple. Continue reading
A couple of months ago, I dropped my phone. It was a Microsoft Lumia 950XL with a white case. When it hit the ground, it landed flat on the screen and busted it up real good. I didn’t tell many people about it. Maybe that was partly due to shame, but I didn’t figure most people would care.
What I did figure though, was that many people share my experience. Most people have at least dropped their phones if not broken them at one point or another.
As part of my “recovery process”, I decided to write a song about my experience. I mixed in a couple of other people’s stories to tell the tale of an individual with terrible misfortune, and probably a hint of carelessness. That song is called I Dropped My Phone.
On top of writing the song. I also directed and starred in a music video for it. And on top of that, I made a new website to promote the song and video. Hopefully it gets some generic traffic from people just typing in the phrase “I dropped my phone”. I am hoping that it is a common phrase, and I’m going to try to corner the market on that one. I’ll have a song and a website URL and a music video all with that phrase. So bring on the visits from the phone droppers (like me).
The website also cautions people to pick up a screen protector and a case for your phone. Preventative measures should be taken so that others don’t face the anguish that I did after losing my phone to a fall.
It’s available all of the usual places:
This week I was approved to take part in a preview of Microsoft’s new Photosynth. A free service that allows you to take multiple photos of an object or place, and then combine them into a sort of 3D image. You can “play” a moving version of your images or even scrub through with your mouse, or touch on a compatible device. The coolest part of this tech is how well it interpolates the frames between the photos you supply. It’s as smooth as video, but with far less raw data, and using high-res photos produces high res Photosynths.
The previous version of Photosynth could be used to take fantastic 360 degree panoramic pictures. The new preview adds three new types of interactive photo:
There is Wall, which is used to combine several photos of a 2D plane such as a mural or building face, but can also be used to capture an extended landscape view.
The new Photosynth also features what is called a “Walk”, which is great for actually giving the feeling of navigating an area along a set path. I used, as an example, walking through a MACS Cooler that was being constructed in Santa Maria, CA. Taking roughly 15 pictures yielded the results seen below. (Not mobile browser friendly)
Through the MACS Cooler by ToolOfGod on Photosynth
The final new Photosynth is the “Spin”, sort of like a reverse panorama. Where a panorama has you stand in the middle and take photos in 360 degrees around you, the Spin has you rotate 360 degrees around an object or subject. The one below used about 15 pictures and suffers some distortion at times due to the amount of foreground images. But I’m quite impressed overall. More photos equals better Photosynths.
Here is a MACS Cooler in the yard where it is being built for a facility in Oxnard, CA.
Around the MACS Cooler by ToolOfGod on Photosynth
These Photosynth images were taking using a minimal 15 photos, but if a little more time was put into snapping more photos, I think this technology could be a great way to promote a product. Maybe MACS Coolers will be the first to use such technology in promotion. I’ll have to run that by my boss.