Introducer: Technology Evangelist podcast for Wednesday June 13^th 2007. Recorded live with audience participation.

Benjamin Higginbotham: My name is Benjamin Higginbotham and with me tonight is the beautiful Cariann Higginbotham you like that a little sliding right there.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah every time.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Every time I do that every single time.

Cariann Higginbotham: It will be better.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I’ve got a topic right on top of my head, where is going to go straight into this thing.

Cariann Higginbotham: Goodness ok.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Absolutely so I have a Sony reader, actually I’ve two of them.

Cariann Higginbotham: Where you can’t have two of them.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I’ve 1 ½ Sony readers for those who don’t know, my first Sony reader I’ve got at CES this last year, we are at the CES show floor and it was like the only thing you could actually buy on CES show floor and that was actually out and cool, so you ran over the fries I made someone else pay for the taxi which was awesome, I buy my Sony reader someone else pays for the taxi for me to get back, which was awesome, why just spend $300 on the Sony reader I can’t afford a taxi, who are you kidding?

Cariann Higginbotham: Anyway.

Benjamin Higginbotham: And I used it, I actually use it like just about everyday is a fantastic little device and for those who don’t know what is Sony reader is, its basically E-paper, it’s a little book like device that only uses power when you flip the pages, I can turn it on leave it on a page and there is an auto off feature but if that feature didn’t exist it would stay on that page indefinitely into other page was changed again it doesn’t draw battery power and its awesome because unlike a computer screen or an other device has a back light where it has screen flicker its just like reading a book, its just like paper the Istream level wise, then it looks just like it, its looks great, its look gorgeous you’ve seen the text on the Sony reader.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah no I’ve read not entire book on the Sony reader but I’ve spent some time looking and reading a couple of things, I actually quite enjoy it, I am very impressed with it.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So then we are at the Telepresence world expo and we are packing some gear into the car and a friend of mine was on the phone and I had made the mistake of sticking the black Sony reader on top of a large black case, so you couldn’t see it, so then it hit the ground and that alone didn’t damage it, I am pretty sure didn’t damage it all, but then because he was on the phone he continued rolling the case and rolled over the Sony reader, it caught the wheel and then dragged across a parking lot.

Cariann Higginbotham: Nice.

Benjamin Higginbotham: This Sony reader plus dragging across parking lot equals scratched up Sony reader, but in the test of Sony reader it’s still worked.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah it just didn’t look as pretty.

Benjamin Higginbotham: It didn’t look as pretty which is the whole left side was just knurled right but the screen work right, you can still read stuff and if you knew with about because the text over the button is that what they get rubbed off.

Cariann Higginbotham: Very soft, that’s was kind of fun.

Benjamin Higginbotham: You just have to know what the buttons did, which I did into whole lot of buttons on the Sony reader.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah now that’s good.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So then but coming home on Sun country I recently just wrote about Sun country and how freaky awesome their planes are and how their service was, we are coming home on Sun country and I don’t remember we drink on Airplanes.

Cariann Higginbotham: Ok.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So I had no idea that just a little thing of wine were kicking on the bud.

Cariann Higginbotham: Oh yeah, that’s why they only give you so much.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I’ve liked for those. So I was little loopy and wasn’t paying attention never less doing.

Cariann Higginbotham: It was like a midnight, it was like a Redeye.

Benjamin Higginbotham: It was a Redeye and so I had put the Sony reader in the front pouch, like I always do.

Cariann Higginbotham: Like right in front of you.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah I always do that when I travel that’s exactly where I put it and then right before I leave and put my tickets in there so I don’t forget them. right so that’s what have happen, I left it there.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah that was cool.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah I call up they couldn’t find it, I am sure they couldn’t find it, its right.

Cariann Higginbotham: I am sure there is somebody out there right now like yes dragon’s stories.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So I’ll sketch up so I’ve to go buy a second Sony reader.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah you have to.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah I have to have my Sony reader.

Cariann Higginbotham: You have to.

Benjamin Higginbotham: That made me to start researching some of the different stuff that I could do with my Sony reader because I got into a pattern and I don’t like patterns, I like that change it up, I like to be different unique and so then I started looking at all the different E-readers out there and there is one called the iLiad from iRex and it looks.

Cariann Higginbotham: That’s go to be the worst iLiad from iRex. So you go on.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So ok Moecheeks asked what happens when you have an Iphone, let me get to that point this is the conundrum, this is the problem I have, so I’ve got this new Sony reader I am contemplating returning the Sony reader and getting the iLiad instead. The reason is the iLiad you can actually, the Sony reader is not a touch screen all you can do, it’s a book you can write in, so its like paper that you can write on, but the iLiad you can write on, it actually has a touch screen sensitive device and has a vacuum pen and you can actually sign your name on stuff and you can use it to take notes, its just like paper, like actual paper.

Cariann Higginbotham: That’s cool.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Its very cool and it does a bunch of other really cool things has Wifi built in and you can download your RSS feeds to the device through your computer, you can’t download direct to the device at least that I think you can do that yet. How awesome is that these are the some other things had been complaining about on the Sony reader they’ve got walled gardens against the content your RSS feeds are very difficult to get on to the Sony reader although I’ve got an article that’s about to be released and it tells you how to get any blog you want on to your Sony reader, so I am working at the iLiad I am going, that looks like the device for me, that looks awesome, there are two problems with it, the first is that the battery life, the Sony reader I can go for a week or two without charging the battery and that’s of regular useage, the iLiad apparently you can go only about 10 to 12 hours.

Cariann Higginbotham: Hours.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Hours.

Cariann Higginbotham: Ok then what.

Benjamin Higginbotham: You’ve to got to charge the battery, kind of defeats part of the purpose of E-paper I think not very cool, the second thing is, its only $700.

Cariann Higginbotham: I am sorry how many was it.

Benjamin Higginbotham: That would be a $700.

Cariann Higginbotham: $700.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah for that price you get a laptop.

Cariann Higginbotham: Over twice.

Benjamin Higginbotham: You could get a laptop for that price and entire laptop for that price.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah my favorite laptop, yes you could get a laptop.

Benjamin Higginbotham: But I am gadget geek.

Cariann Higginbotham: I understand.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I am a techno file, I am technoholic right.

Cariann Higginbotham: I like technofile better pursuing.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I have to have, it’s in my blood for some reasons I just got to have the latest newest in technology.

Cariann Higginbotham: I think it’s the nanobox.

Benjamin Higginbotham: It could be the nanobox, now Nick has brought up an interesting point $700 that’s like in Iphones, so here is my conundrum, see in Iphone and this reader about the same price and I can’t afford them both.

Cariann Higginbotham: Right.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So what do I do.

Cariann Higginbotham: Let’s see. You wait and other what it is 17 days at this point you guys, you wait just a little while longer, it’s like two weeks.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Ok so that I get the Iphone but now I still don’t have my cool reader, I’ve got my Sony reader right, so this ones allow me being the technoholic that I am, now I realize it is an inferior technology, mine is the battery life.

Cariann Higginbotham: Didn’t you say that there are reviews on this iLiad thinking the barber.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Think him a barber.

Cariann Higginbotham: Right. Can’t wait till they transcribe that and you said it the reviews aren’t so great.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Well because of the battery life.

Cariann Higginbotham: Is that it.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah they are basically knocking the software that drives the thing in the battery life.

Cariann Higginbotham: What’s wrong with the software?

Benjamin Higginbotham: I don’t know, I don’t have one, I would love for them to send me a test.

Cariann Higginbotham: Does anyone not to complain anymore, when you write a complaint you say what you are complaining about and why? Not just this things sucks I don’t like it.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Lot of people just say that you bring up a valid point, you never get a really full appreciation for what the device can and can’t do, what I really loved to do is to have iRex send me a 30 day E-value in it, actually evaluate it and then make a high def movie on it, comparing that what the Sony reader versus like a tablet PC and see which one comes out ahead, I think from the spec wise, I wouldn’t really compare to Sony reader, I would compare to tablet PC and I think when you compare it to the tablet PC comes out much more favorably from a battery life stand point, from a tablet stand point, from just about everything, you can’t check your email.

Cariann Higginbotham: Doesn’t have handwriting reorganization does not.

Benjamin Higginbotham: But is small like a sheet, its paper.

Cariann Higginbotham: What you can’t read your own handwriting that’s why I am asking.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Oh sure I can’t.

Cariann Higginbotham: Exactly, anyhow well.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So its not going to do everything that tablet PC can do but its still going to be cheaper than tablet PC and if you are getting that tablet PC for the sake of taking notes, then may be getting mess in a really low end regular notebook for like 500 bucks which would end up being the cost of about a four on tablet PC, might be a better option, I don’t know, I even want to test it, this is one itching to buy one, its like but I know I shouldn’t, I thought this with the Iphone and I really think I want the Iphone, I think I am going to be kicking myself if I don’t get the Iphone.

Cariann Higginbotham: I know you will be kicking yourself if you don’t get the Iphone.

Benjamin Higginbotham: It is the other fun thing, see everyone in the front is going to be able get an Iphone, so there going to be thought hang on, there going to be tons of people who have Iphones even on the first day, there can be people who camp out overnight, there going to be huge amount, there’s tons of Apple retail stores, a tons of AT&T stores that you can go into take it an Iphone whether they have a inventory for everyone or not it doesn’t matter, there still going to be enough inventory where its going to be at least of few people who can have an Iphone. Nick says if Ben doesn’t have an Iphone, I will eat his shoe.

Cariann Higginbotham: Is that the same one he puts on his head, oh wait.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Well in this and I will queue it 4 A.M for 6 P.M launch you better believe it.

Cariann Higginbotham: Oh that’s historical I love it.

Benjamin Higginbotham: But my point is there’s something about having the cool technology that no one else can really get their hands on, that’s a lot harder then, not a lot of other of people see because lot of people are within a few months are really going to see the Iphone, which is totally, you show them the Sony reader which is been out for almost a year now and most people are like, “Oh My God, that’s amazing”. I have never seen anything like it before, now imagine an iLiad where I my check out all these stuff and I could write out it will be like “Oh my god that’s even more amazing then before”

Cariann Higginbotham: Ok can I ask you a question, when you say everyone has going to have an Iphone.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah everyone, everyone is buying an Iphone.

Cariann Higginbotham: When you say that.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Interesting phone and then all buy an Iphone.

Cariann Higginbotham: Can I talk thanks, otherwise I could just leave, when you say everyone is going to have an Iphone, how many people in your particular circle, do you really think that you are going to have an Iphone? I say one, may be two.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Jeremy.

Cariann Higginbotham: I don’t he is going to.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Grady.

Cariann Higginbotham: That’s it may be, that’s what I am saying I think its you may be Grady.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Carlson.

Cariann Higginbotham: No.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Lindo.

Cariann Higginbotham: No.

Benjamin Higginbotham: No.

Cariann Higginbotham: Lindo may be, don’t just tell me to talk to Lindo.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I don’t know, not that long ago.

Cariann Higginbotham: Anyway, did you see what I am saying? You are all like up and arms about, I have to have the one thing that no one else had.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Hang on, . Read what Nick said in the chat room, he said well everyone know, everyone who’s going to challenge my alpha geek status will have one, so I am trying to be different, you are absolutely right, I have to maintain alpha geek.

Cariann Higginbotham: You are right, you have to pea on it first. Come on and be honestly, I see what you are saying but at the same time you are blowing it out of proportion.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Of course I am as what I do?

Cariann Higginbotham: Like way had a proportion, like a three year old blow things out of proportion.

Benjamin Higginbotham: It’s not that bad.

Cariann Higginbotham: It currently is.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Well I am curious to what everyone thinks they should do, should I do the harder to find and more expensive e-reader that no one else is going to find the iLiad, do I keep my Sony reader and then get the Iphone or do I just say forget it all, save my money and.

Cariann Higginbotham: I think if you can actually convince, who is it iRex to give you a trial and then you can do the whole shipping, the comparison and etc, I think after then you can make an informed decision, you know what I am saying, is just lot of things about the Iphone that we still don’t know about and its clearly thinks about the iLiad that you don’t know about and only thing you are familiar with is the Sony reader, may be its not nearly as horrible as you see distinct it is, you are not I am saying.

Benjamin Higginbotham: What, the iLiad?

Cariann Higginbotham: No the Sony reader.

Benjamin Higginbotham: No,no I know that.

Cariann Higginbotham: Like its inferior.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Wasn’t it until earlier today when I read upon the iLiad and techs specs and what I could do I though this the coolest reader on the planet and then I read the iLiad and I am like, “Oh, my God” that thing is cooler, I need one of those.

Cariann Higginbotham: You know what, I understand what you are saying. You know what I mean like, I think you are making a slightly uninformed decision at this point and I don’t think you should make the decision at this time.

Benjamin Higginbotham: The problem is, the reader you can go into a best buy or a circuit CD or a micro center, you can test and play with it, the iLiad I can’t do that I think is like a one distributor in the US, which is both good and bad, its good because it helps me maintain my alpha geek status because I would able to get one, is bad because I’ve no way to test one, I’ve no way to see how well it does with blogs, I mean you’ve read my future request this on this thing, I want is to be able to have, you have heard me say this over and over again, I want google reader directly on my e-paper, why can’t I just have my blogs right here wirelessly download, directly to my e-paper, I can highlight things, outline things, underline things, work on them just like paper, the Sony reader doesn’t do that. I don’t know if the iLiad does that but I know it has wifi and I know it has better RSS support because anything on the face of the planet has better RSS support than the Sony reader. You are right.

Cariann Higginbotham: I am just saying.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Nick is trade marking alpha geeks.

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah I know. I like that, I think that we need that on the T-shirt.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Alright that was my topic we’ve talked for like 15 minutes on that so we’ll move on just because I don’t want other bore everyone with my iLiad/Iphone conundrum for the rest of the night.

Cariann Higginbotham: So is that I mean I get a pick.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah you get to pick which talk would you like next.

Cariann Higginbotham: Actually I would really like to talk about street view technology with google.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Right, describe what that is for everyone.

Cariann Higginbotham: And well in case you haven’t heard, its where google along with google world view or google maps and you can get the actual view of different things and you can go down to like, I was going to say leaning tower pizza but I just said that last night, so lets go out from my house, Google earth it was that I am trying to get. And you could look at all those different things. Well, like the next step in that is Google Maps Zoom feature where you can actually get down to street view, street level, as if you are walking through the streets and they haven’t done every single city in the US, I think they have done like New York, Miami like five or six, but the issue that’s coming about which I actually find a little bit funny and I apologize if I am offending anyone is that because all they are doing is taking a 360 camera and putting it very much on a car and driving around the city just capturing whatever it is that they captures, they are getting people who are picking their nose, who are sunbathing naked, who are running from a crime, they are getting everything whatever was happening at that exact moment which I personally find fascinating. I think that’s why I watch all this stupid reality shows, well it gathers whether or not…

Benjamin Higginbotham: They are real.

Cariann Higginbotham: Hell’s kitchen they are real, exactly. I think it is a very, very interesting, but a lot of people are feeling that it is slightly invasive, it is creeping some people out that they can say “oh, that’s me drinking coffee, when I was supposed to be at work that day – oops”, I think it can go either way and I personally think it is hysterical, I don’t know.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Little big brotherish?

Cariann Higginbotham: Yeah, but I don’t feel like, somebody brought up the point in one of the arguments 2 – 4 against, it is like if somebody takes a picture of a stadium, a soccer game is going on, you take a picture of a stadium and some women lift on her t-shirt and she has got no bra, OK? She is captured, all right? And the only you can do then is that go back and may be erase it or blur her out or something along those lines, but it is that’s something that is captured right then and there in that exact moment and there is no real copy right issues around that because they don’t know who is who or what’s what and etcetera, etcetera, you know what I am saying, but some people are saying “well, I don’t care, I still didn’t realize that my underwear was hanging out, I didn’t want somebody catching me picking my nose”.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Are we looking into private windows here or we just on public streets, if you are in public and you are showing your…

Cariann Higginbotham: You are in public streets, but you can, it depending on where the views are, like somebody has a first floor apartment, you can clearly see it there is a couple of websites I figure where they are that have got these different clips from all over the different cities, so that you can actually zoom in and look at some guys sleeping in his apartment. May be he doesn’t care, he is fully covered, he just happens to be sleeping and he is unidentifiable, I mean he could have been you for instance, but at the same time if that guy knows where he lives, he knows he is sleeping, he knows where his bed is… he might feel like, “look, I don’t want to be on a website where any smock in the world cab find me”. Do you listen what I am saying? I don’t know just think it is really interesting personally.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I go back and forth, because that’s a valid point. If you are peering into someone’s private home then yeah, but if you are peering into someone’s private home which you are able to see from the public street, how is that any different than someone walking down the street and peering into your home.

Cariann Higginbotham: But, that what I am saying, they are getting snapshots of people say walking in or out of a strip club, may be that guy during his lunch hour goes to a strip club, doesn’t tell his wife, doesn’t tell his kids, doesn’t tell anybody, doesn’t want anyone to know about it, but now, here is a shot of him clearly coming out of a strip club at whatever time of the day, now he can look as an invasion of his privacy to a certain extent. Do you see what I am saying?

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah, Kathryn saying too bad for him, although…

Cariann Higginbotham: For sure, trust me, I am right there with that one.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I am right on the fence, I don’t know, I think it is – I don’t know how to deal with this because the technology itself is very cool and the technology itself can be very helpful and used for good, right? Cool stuff, you are looking for a home, you are looking for a finding a place in the city, this can be helpful tool for you, but you bring up valid problems with the technology in that people may not want to be caught and they have no choice and now they are for ever etched, we are not forever, but they are etched in time on the Google website for however long it takes for them to update the image which could be months or years…

Cariann Higginbotham: Right, and that’s exactly one of the other issues is that, yes sometimes Google does realize that there are going to be times when somebody is going to be held at gun point and they just happen to captured at that exact moment, that it something that we considered to be objectionable and they will take it off their website, but they have to find it, they have to get there, they have to probably take a different picture, it could take months for these images to get off of the web and some people are saying that’s just too long.

Benjamin Higginbotham: May be they just need a system where you can say “well, man but how do you monitor that”, that’s really hard.

Cariann Higginbotham: Exactly, may be they are just going to submit it and be like probably - and it is not like you have an exact IP address of this is the picture, it is like “I am in San Francisco on the corner of…”, I should have to go back and forth a little bit as well, but I think in general, I think it is really cool, I don’t think it is big brother, I really like.

Benjamin Higginbotham: What’s a little bit big brotherish, just a little bit?

Cariann Higginbotham: I don’t know,

Benjamin Higginbotham: It doesn’t mean to be, but it is accidentally. It is not like, see a big brother is there actively watching you, right? Then they are not really doing that here, because you are frozen anytime.

Cariann Higginbotham: Right, it’s a snap shot.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Right, but still may be they should mark the Google vans very clearly and just say Google, you will be in recording.

Cariann Higginbotham: So, all you going to see your images of people running away? Man, I don’t want to move to a demon Iowa, everyone is running everywhere.

Benjamin Higginbotham: You have two types of people, you have people running away and people running to the van making silly faces and absence gestures, just like you have at broadcast television. Caffeinated brings up an interesting point saying “this is like everyday life in UK, brought that up a little bit ago”, is there anyone in the chat room in Ustream who is actually in the UK, because I have not been to the UK, I don’t know if that’s true or not, I read the news and whatnot from Minneapolis, Minnesota here and that’s kind what it sounds like, but I have no idea, if that’s really how it is. So, Nick is that really, Nick is in UK right now in the Ustream chat room, is that really how it is, right now, so it is not really that bad, I was getting the impression the American impression of it, my impression is like they are just like cameras everywhere and they monitor everything, it is very, very, very big brother over there. Is that really not how it is? Tim is saying “Yes, there are cameras everywhere”.

Cariann Higginbotham: That’s where I think this is different, because like you said they are not active cameras, they are just simply snapshots. I think it is a compelling look at Americana in general, personally.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Charlie has an interesting question “what’s the difference between a camera watching versus a cop standing there and watching?”, well the tech is different here. See a camera watching an active live camera that’s watching, I will give you that, what’s difference between that and a cop, fine. We are not talking about that, we are talking about grabbing a snapshot and etching it in stone for the world to see, that’s a cop isn’t going to be sitting on the street recording it and then broadcasting it back out on Ustream, so that’s what the difference here is, that everyone can see this now.

Cariann Higginbotham: That’s what I am saying. They honestly have pictures of like a women who clearly looks angry or upset on a phone, may be she just got a phone call that her father died or that her husband has been cheating on her, you know she doesn’t want that exact moment in time etched in her memory and the world to see forever in a day and I can – granted deployed I could take something like that off, but I can see where that would be frustrating in general. On the flip side I also see where this is extremely cool of I want to go visit San Francisco, I have never been to San Francisco, I don’t know my way around San Francisco, I am going by myself, this way I can go through look at some different things that I want and possibly visit while I am in San Francisco and actually look and say street sign so I know which side of the street I can park and which one I can’t. Do I have to put is there a toll booth on that particular road, is there starbucks close to the hotel that I am staying at and I can see it, I think we have talked about this little bit before and you can pretty much walk down the streets and I think that’s fascinating, I really do.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Nick is saying that “he uses the cameras for that and mainly memorize the locations of starbucks”, that’s pretty funny and Caffeine is mentioning how cameras got the guy who kidnap the teenager last week. I think the discussions always tends to morph into the like we are talking about the big brother thing, which is a little bit different than, that was my fault for bringing that up. It is a little bit different than the Google scenario, because Google is not trying to actively watch people.

Cariann Higginbotham: They are not doing it for security reasons, they are just doing is take picture.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Yeah, they are not trying to – there is no ministry of truth from Google, there is no – they are just trying to grab these shots and I think if Google had their way, they probably want everyone out of their way, so they can get nice clean shots, right? They don’t want people in these shots, I would assume, I don’t know what they want, they don’t want the traffic, they want to get nice clean shots, so they can just drive down and see what’s on every side and what’s going to look up and look down, that’s how.

Cariann Higginbotham: Wow, Cleveland. Nobody lives in Cleveland, not a single soul, that’s exactly what they are looking for. Kind of morphing, like you were saying codec, actually they did it for couple of years a while back, where they went out and they spread like say a thousand cameras to just anyone and everyone they would have all different walks of life, people from all over the country… and they would say, “OK, look at a certain time of day or over the course of, they did a couple of different things, but like say a certain time of the day, 4:33 pm wherever you are at your 4:33 pm, take a picture of your surroundings of what’s going on around you, who the people you are with, etcetera, etcetera, and then they sent all those pictures in and would make books and it was like this really cool snapshot, that’s what it is of all different things going on at that exact moment, it was fascinating, it is like watching a Twitter vision, just getting all those little popups all simultaneously and being like that guy is sleeping and that guy is having a fight and this guy is wiping is butt and just whatever, all of those different things going on at the same time, I find it incredibly fascinating.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Now, I will say that Twitter vision is oddly addictive for no reason whatsoever, I just want to have a computer in my office on a screen with Twitter vision just full screen going all day long and that’s all it does.

Cariann Higginbotham: I don’t know, so to certain extent I credit to that, now grant it probably when they come to Minneapolis they are going to get me in the exact time that I am bending over a thorn hanging out, dropping my baby and picking my nose and then I will really be pissed, but up until that point I think it is very, very fascinating. I am sorry, I probably have offended like 3,000 people right with just that one statement.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Charlie says “I am might pay for that” and on that topic apparently Moe Cheek says Flickr vision is cooler than Twitter vision.

Cariann Higginbotham: But, right it is along the same vein.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Right, because it is actually the same thing, but Flickr photos, yeah, I can see with that be very cooler, absolutely. We just went way off topic.

Cariann Higginbotham: I keep using the word fascinating, but I really think it is, it is one of the those things that even 5 or 10 years ago, I would have never have thought it was possible to see all these different things going on all around the world all at the same time or peering into someone else’s life in such a personal way without being offensive or without being necessarily intrusive especially with something like Flickr where clearly they took the pictures, they uploaded them, they allowed you to see them.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Let me ask you this, Cariann. Trying to decide whether we want to do the last topic which is going to be ancient Rome topic or do we close up the show and have everyone come back tomorrow for the ancient Rome topic? What you think should we leave them hanging there, wondering what ancient, because I have got like three or four more topics here that I am going to roll over to tomorrow, but I don’t know if we got, we got like 2, 3 to 5 more minutes somewhere in that range, just know exact time we try to get out, but we will try to keep it around 30 minutes. What you think? You think we got like 2 minutes in there, or think there is a 10 minutes conversation?

Cariann Higginbotham: I think it could be a couple of minutes.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So, tell us about on your topic list the last one that there from columns to coliseum?

Cariann Higginbotham: OK, well actually Nick was just bringing up a 3D and that is actually really good segway which is why I cannot think we should do this now. From columns to coliseum, it is ancient Rome relives in digital simulation. I don’t know how to exactly describe it, but they are building Rome back up in a virtual reality in a simulation, I suppose, where people are living and Constantine is there, it is around 320 AD and you could actually – they are going through all of the different writings of the time, they are talking to historians, they are talking to the paleontologist, they are talking to anybody and everybody who would have some sort of information about the coliseum in Rome. It is actually at Virginia’s institute for advanced technology in humanity which is another thing I found was really interesting. They constructed about 30 different buildings including the senate, including the coliseum, the basilica things like that and you can crawl around like in the lions cage if you want.

Benjamin Higginbotham: All right, these physical buildings or these virtual buildings.

Cariann Higginbotham: It is all virtual.

Benjamin Higginbotham: So, it is a virtual reality world?

Cariann Higginbotham: Right, but it is not like in real life per se.

Benjamin Higginbotham: Do you have to get into like a virtual reality suite type thing, you have to wear the gloves and the goggles or is it just lame halfway in between things.

Cariann Higginbotham: No, it has a little bit more lame than that, but it is really interesting to the idea where as a regular Roman person, a citizen you wouldn’t have been in the lion cage unless there were something desperately, desperately wrong, right? You are not going to be able to walk into the senate building. You probably won’t able to get into the basilica, things like that, but now you can and it is recreating all of these different things, you can see the aquadox, you know what I am saying?

Benjamin Higginbotham: That does sound really, really cool. Where can people get more information on this?

Cariann Higginbotham: This actually believe it or not, came from the International Herald Tribune in Europe and I can put the URL in the show notes, if that’s OK? Also from the associative press as really where they pulled it from and it is a really interesting article, otherwise you can go to www.romereborn.virginia.edu and I will put that in the show notes as well.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I think you will be doing anything else with the technology for other like ancient cities, may be they are going to rebuild Atlantis?

Cariann Higginbotham: We don’t know everything about Atlantis, but I am sure…

Benjamin Higginbotham: But, we got a lot in poet those writing along them.

Cariann Higginbotham: I suppose, yeah, they are trying to do, this is like their test subject, if you will, but they are using it as a learning tool to show children, their children and grand children this kind of stuff what was going on back then and how things were working back then and things like that, it doesn’t actually include characters per se, but bunch of different sort of figures if people see, they can get the idea, but yeah, they are thinking of doing more which I think that’s really cool.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I think it is cool as well. All right that’s our show for the night, stick around for everyone in Ustream for the post show, we will still be on for another 30 minutes to an hour or so, just chat and talk about the topics for tomorrow, some of these topics we will be talking about in post show are counter-fit wine and an elder wisdom circle, if you are intrigued by these topics or if you wondering what the heck is going on there, make sure to join us live every night, that’s at 10 o’clock Eastern, 9 o’clock Central or 7 o’clock Pacific, if you like more details on when these podcasts occur live, you can view the information on the right hand bar of technologyevangelist.com. I like to thank all of our live viewers and for everyone who is listening on-demand, thank you for downloading, make sure you download the enhanced version of the podcast that has chapter marks, URLs and little nifty pictures directly in iTunes and soon we may even be offering for absolutely no reason whatsoever, a surround sound version of the podcast.

Cariann Higginbotham: For zero of your dollars.

Benjamin Higginbotham: It is not going to cost anything more, but you going to have to have this hooked up to some sort of sound system that can decode in AAC file, surround sound file and actually I will put it through the correct speakers.

Cariann Higginbotham: That’s just awesome.

Benjamin Higginbotham: I believe there are actually 10 whole people in the entire world who can do that. so, for those 10 people make sure that you listen to the podcast. Everyone joining us live have a great night, everyone joining us on-demand, hope you enjoyed the show and hope you join us live. Thank you so much.