Tech geeks get overly excited by new tech releases. I count myself in that group. Also, it is easy for tech geeks to forget the past (or at least view that past with a fond chuckle), since technology by its very nature tends to constantly grow and evolve. For example, now that I have an iPhone, I look back and wonder how I ever could have loved my Palm Treo as much as I did. So, am I buying into the hype if I wonder whether the next three months will be the most exciting three months ever in tech? Is this a view that would cause chuckles of amusement (or derisive calls of "noob!") from tech veterans? Or are the next three months shaping up to be as awesome as they seem?
Photo by Stage88. Think of some of the projects that will see the light of day in the next few months. Google alone has two irons in the fire that are causing quite a stir, in Google Wave and Google Voice. I was fortunate enough to have a GrandCentral account, so I’ve been using Google Voice since shortly after it was rolled out to former GrandCentral subscribers. Only recently did I decide to migrate entirely to Google Voice, and now that I’m exploring its features in more detail, I’m pretty excited. There have been whisperings that Google Voice will be offered on a more widespread basis soon. I’ve previously written about Google Wave, questioning whether it was something only tech geeks would love, and coming to the conclusion that it would have more widespread acceptance than just among tech geeks. On September 30, Google Wave will start its public beta for approximately 100,000 users, with a more general offering occurring shortly thereafter. Google Wave has been dubbed an attempt to "reinvent email," and has been called a "paradigm shifter." Google isn’t alone in generating excitement for a new product. Microsoft releases Windows 7 on October 22. Whether due to problems with Vista, or because of Windows 7’s inherent awesomeness, Windows users are excited for its release. A BBC article indicated that pre-orders of Windows 7 in the first eight hours on Amazon were greater than those of Vista during Vista’s entire 17 week pre-order period. Windows users don’t get all the fun, as Apple is releasing Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) in September. Rumors also persist that an Apple tablet device will be released before the end of the year. If the rumors are true, and the tablet has half the fanfare of the iPhone, the tech world will be in a frenzy. Finally, on a more personal level, I’m excited for the release of Bioware’s Dragon Age video game on November 3 in North America, and November 6 in Europe. Bioware is the same company that brought us the Baldur’s Gate series, and the first Neverwinter Nights. Both games brought me countless hours of entertainment, and Dragon Age is being billed as the "spiritual successor" to Baldur’s Gate. So what do you think? Am I getting caught up in all the hype? Or is this as great a time to be a tech geek as I think it is?
Kosmo @ The Casual Observer says:
I’m anxiously awaiting a Google Voice invitation :)
I have a few thought for the usage. One thought would be to have one “emergency” number tied into to a bunch of phone numbers. Example would be an elderly person with a “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” device. The operator calls the Google Voice number and it dials numbers for ALL kids automically, unand one of them picks up. This would be faster then dialing one at a time.
August 18, 2009 — 12:07 pm
Nicholas Z. Cardot says:
I have to admit that I really haven’t been following the latest news about Windows 7. Is it going to be less memory intensive than Vista?
August 18, 2009 — 1:42 pm
Benry says:
“I have to admit that I really haven’t been following the latest news about Windows 7. Is it going to be less memory intensive than Vista?”
I’m running Win7 RTM on two of my PCs now… one is a two-yr old Toshiba notebook, and it’s much snappier than Vista was. I also loaded it onto an old desktop (2.8Ghz P4) that would have been crushed by Vista, and it runs respectably. Not as smooth as XP, but it certainly seems more forgiving.
I pre-ordered Win7 for the laptop when Microcenter had their $40 special–since I absolutely can NOT stand Vista, I sucked it up and spent the cash–but I can’t see myself paying to replace XP, which still works fine for me.
August 18, 2009 — 8:36 pm
Evan Kline says:
Benry’s experience with Windows 7 is similar to what I’ve heard many people say. I’ve read about tech geeks who are even trying to see what the oldest hardware is that they can get it running respectably on, and the results are pleasantly surprising. I have two copies on order myself- both for Vista machines. My XP machine will remain at XP, though.
Kosmo- that is a pretty creative use for Google Voice. Right now, I’ve only recently started the move over, using my wife as the primary guinea pig. It was nice to be able to pick on easy-to-remember number, and it was pretty cool the first time a call came in, to see all my phones ring. Now if only Apple/AT&T would loosen up, and let it in the App Store.
August 18, 2009 — 9:22 pm
Jeff B. says:
I am also privileged to be an existing GrandCentral user, and transferred over to Google Voice. I didn’t use GC very much, and ended up moving to a different area code. I ended up paying the $10 to change to a local number, and plan to use it as my primary number once I move into the house I just purchased. And it’s a great way to give a number on Craigslist without worrying about privacy!
Google Wave is another project I checked out about a month ago. I watched the video presentation of it and was in awe. I hope I can be in the next group of testers!
August 18, 2009 — 10:12 pm
Evan Kline says:
Jeff, it sounds like you and I had similar experiences with GrandCentral and Google Voice. I had that account sit dormant for a couple of years, and only now am I using Google Voice. Now if I could only get each of my phones to show my GV # as the outbound number automatically, it would be perfect.
August 19, 2009 — 12:53 pm
Bobby says:
I have much love for Windows 7, and do, in fact have it running successfully (which means to my wife’s satisfaction…) on my xp machine with only 1 gig of ram and an AMD Turion processor. Best operating system Macrosift has ever put out.
I am also verrrry excited about Dragon Age. Been literally waiting for -years- for that game!
…and it is n00b, Evan. *sniffs*
:P
August 19, 2009 — 6:58 pm