Testing, Testing 1 2 3

This short post is a test of the BlogPress app on my jailbroken iPhone. This is part of my continuing preparations for our World Tour. I am considering using this application to publish blog posts while travelling. Let's see how it works.


This is a test picture to determine how the photo upload functionality works.

*Mobile Post from 2009 World Tour*

Mapping the Tour

The preparations for the world tour continue at a frantic pace. Over the past several days I've focused my attention on creating a Google map the includes all of the destinations that we've planned so far. This map features the locations and the trajectory of our trip. I've even included short description for each element on the map. You can even find contact information of our accommodations, where appropriate; when it is not personal to respect the privacy of the friends who we are visiting in Japan and Turkey.

This map will be a living tool that will be updated throughout the trip with stories about our experiences and the places that we visit in each stop of our tour. For now, it provides an interesting visual perspective regarding the trip that we have planned. This map is a way to bring this trip to life that helps us visualize and plan the trip, and share our vision and experiences with friends and families.


View Julio & Lauren's 2009 World Tour in a larger map

I have not made much progress in the next steps that I identified earlier this week. Here is a quick updates of the baby steps that have been taken:

• I've identified the following applications for capturing and publishing video and images on the iPhone: for video I plan to use Video Recorder V3.0, which is available only for jailbroken iPhones. This application (pictured on the side) enables capture of long low-resolution 14fps videos and supports direct upload to YouTube. To capture pictures I will use the standard camera application; the Mobile Photos application will be on hand to support upload of pictures to flickr. From a sound perspective I am testing out TweetMic. This application creates tweets with links to an uploaded version of the recorded audio file.  I have not found a solution to post any of these types of media directly to our Tour blog, nor for publishing written blog posts.
• By the end of the weekend our official World Tour travel blog will be up and running (I only half belief this claim at this point in time, but I am willing to continue being optimistic about it). Lastly, I have not yet finished developing a list of additional technology requirements such as cameras, book readers - but I think we will have little more than a second iPhone and a camera in terms of additional technological gadgets.

Jailbreaking and Calendar Making

Technology planning for our world tour continues unabated as our departure date looms closer and closer. I'm happy to report some progress and successes have been made during the past few days with my old iPhone and the World Tour calendar.

First and foremost I was able to get my jailbroken iPhone to work on T-mobile's network. I received a PrePaid sim card that worked with little fanfare. That's right, I am no longer a captive prisoner held back by ridiculous contracts and code. This is an important development because I now know that I can use this phone with third party GSM sim cards from around the world during our world tour.

For anyone who is interested in learning more about how to jailbreak your iPhone here is the set of resources that I used. It was pretty straightforward, the heavy lifting has been done by others.

Please note that there are risks inherent in this process and I cannot vouch that it will work on your phone nor can I guarantee that it won't have negative long term impact on your device. In other words, do this at your own risk.

The most helpful resource that I discovered was the iPhone Blog. Here you can find step by step instructions on how to jailbreak your iPhone using the Pwnage tool. Make sure to read all the the instructions once over before you attempt to jailbreak your iPhone. I believe there is little risks of permanent damage. However, you may end up having to do it several times as I was forced to.

Another helpful resource is the modmyi.com's wiki Pwnage 2.x Guide page. This resource also features step by step instructions on how to jailbreak your iPhone. However, I think the instructions featured here only work if you have previously jailbroken your iPhone using Pwnage (they differ in only one way from the instructions on the iPhone Blog, which did work for me).

The second area in which I have been making some progress is on the official tour calendar. I've set this up using google calendar and it includes all locations, flights, and dates from our trip. I've also created a second calendar with logistical information for Lauren and me (e.g. hotel names, wedding even schedules, etc). The purpose of this calendar is to serve as a planning and sharing tool. Here is a link to the latest and greatest version:



Here is my next steps for this week:

• Identify capture and publishing solutions for audio, video, images, and text on iPhone.
• Create blog and test out the publishing solutions.
  
• Develop list of additional technology requirements such as cameras, book readers.
  

Dancing and Traveling

During the past several weeks I have been devoting less time to my interaction and experience design journal for two reasons: Lauren and I have been planning an around the world the trip for this summer; and we have been rehearsing for a dance performance that we delivered at a friend's wedding this past weekend.

The good news is that these preparations are coming to an end. The not so good news is that I won't be able to get back to my curriculum because I've decided to take a detour and focus on considering what aspects of technology, culture, design, and experiences I can explore during our trip around to world.

There are two main perspectives on digital communication technologies that I want to explore: first, I want to leverage technology to capture and share my and Lauren's experiences; second, I want to investigate how different cultures relate to technology and are designing and adopting technology to support local endeavors.

From a personal perspective I am looking for a mobile/portable solution that will enable me to capture and publish experiences from this trip. This solution will include multiple hardware and software products. Here is a brief overview of the tools currently under consideration:

• Personal communication hub: the main contender for my personal communication hub is my first generation (aka 2G) jailbroken iPhone. This device would enable me to capture quick snapshots, lo-res video, audio, and journal entries. The main downside of selecting the iPhone as my platform is that I will not be able to publish directly from the iPhone, even in a wifi area, as I have not found any acceptable blogging apps. A secondary drawback is that the 2G iPhone has lower quality audio and video capabilities (available on jailbroken phones only), and no GPS. I am not willing to take a laptop due to considerations related to portability (we'll be on a 34-day trip) and theft.
• Additional devices: I will also definitely take a camera for higher quality photos and video. I am uncertain about whether I will be willing to invest in a new Canon G10 - the temptation is strong, it is hard to resist. We will likely take our existing camera as well, a Canon SD950.
• Publishing tools: to publish all of the content that we capture and create I plan to use several platforms including a blog (on blogger), my existing flickr account, google calendar and maps, daytum, and youtube; I'm still considering if and how to integrate twitter and facebook without driving myself crazy.
  

From an observer's perspective (with no real claim of being objective) I want to explore how people from different cultures leverage familiar technologies in different ways; and what different technologies they have developed that are specific to local contexts.

For example, how are mobile phones used differently based on local cultural, and economic contexts; what different services are available, and how have they adapted other services to meet their needs; what meaning does the society ascribe to cell phones.

Over the next three weeks I will share more about the technology-related aspects of the planning for this trip. Once we are off I will also document how technology ultimately enhanced, or totally screwed up, our trip (after all I do believe that technology can be both a force of good and evil).