Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

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Multitasking is good for you, if it is your phone doing it and not you.

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 by Andy Orr

I have previously posted about fitness and health apps available for the iPhone and other smart phones (see Staying Fit while Traveling – iPhone apps and more…) as well as some of the devices available for tracking your fitness activities like Fitbit Tracker (see Staying Fit While Traveling [Redux] – Fitbit Tracker Ships Soon).

On the phone side, one of the biggest limitations for the iPhone was its inability to multitask which can obviously cause problems when trying to run a fitness app that needs to be on all the time.  With the advent of iOS4, Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad (to be released in the fall), Apple has caught up with other mobile platforms that have had multitasking running in various guises for a while.  Whether it is the Android OS, Palm’s webOS, Windows Mobile or the BlackBerry OS, all of these devices have some sort of multitasking capabilities.  Apple has taken a decidedly conservative approach to this and only allows apps to save their state or run some limited types of processes in the background.  While many see this as not true multitasking when compared to Android or the Palm OS (for those interested, here is a short article on multitasking from PC World that compares iOS and Android), others think it may make a lot of sense, especially in devices with limited processing power and battery capacity.  In fact, I believe the next version of Windows Mobile (the current version 6.5 is to be redubbed Windows Phone Classic), Windows Phone 7, will incorporate a multitasking model that is similar to Apple’s iOS4.

To keep our readers up to date on the latest technologies, I decided to search the App store and let you know which fitness apps now take advantage of iOS4’s new multitasking capabilities.  Here are the ones I found:

It doesn’t look like Trailguru or MapMyFitness has released new versions of their apps to take advantage of multitasking.  It would be great if fitness aficionados could chime in here with their reviews of these apps and also let us know about others they found that support multitasking.  We could keep an updated list posted here for future reference.

Also, while I have your attention, it looks like the Fitbit Tracker is now shipping with only a little backlog – it must be doing well!

Photo by scriptingnews

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The 787 Dreamliner – maybe not just in your dreams anymore

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 by Andy Orr

787 DreamlinerToday is follow-up post day! 

Boeing’s hope for the future successfully completed its maiden flight yesterday.   The 787 Dreamliner, as mentioned here in November, has many new features that will improve passenger comfort.  We were most excited about the change in how it maintains cabin air pressure and how this benefits passengers through improved air quality.

Just as with the Fitbit Tracker, but infinitely more important to our economy, the Dreamliner has been beset by delay after delay during its development and testing period.  I hope that this first flight will help them get through the final testing phase and into ramped-up production.   They have a backlog of 865 on order – that’s equivalent to a little over 1.5 billion Fitbits (in dollars) and will definitely help put some people back to work.

Photo by: marada http://www.flickr.com/photos/marada/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

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Follow Up – Tracking the Fitbit Tracker

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 by Andy Orr

Fitbit TrackerI saw that the New York Times had an article on the Fitbit Tracker last week and wanted to post a short follow up for our readers.

We first mentioned that the Fitbit Tracker was shipping back in September.   We were impressed by the device’s size, features and price (not to mention that is has no monthly fee after the purchase, unlike many of its competitors).

Unfortunately, we discovered late in October that their planned shipping date had slipped from the end of October to the end of January.  We also lamented back then that their initial openness with the development and production of the tracker had disappeared.  There have been no updates to their blog since September, and the last posted comment was in late October.

The NYT article, however, was confusing at best on this issue.  It seems that the company may be communicating with some of their pre-order customers directly, but one of these potential consumers stated that he hadn’t “heard anything yet” while maintaining “They’ve been really open and transparent about where they are in the process, and that’s made it easier to tolerate the wait.”  I’m hoping that the Fitbit is fit for prime time delivery soon and that it works as advertised.

As for consumer interest, there are eleven on sale at eBay today, with two featuring “Buy It Now” prices of around $250.  That is quite a bit more than the $99 price for someone with patience, but it speaks to the interest that people have in this device.  eBay lists twenty (20) having been sold for prices between $162.50 and $405.  Perhaps some of these are destined to sit under the trees of some lucky recipients.

On a bit of related news, I learned recently about Zeo, a “Personal Sleep Coach”, that made its debut back in June.  This seems to be much more comprehensive than the Fitbit in its sleep monitoring functionality but comes at a much steeper price – either $249 plus $7.95/month (or $79.95/year) for access to guided coaching or $349 with lifetime access built-in.  The $349 price makes sense if you plan to use this for a while, and if you think the company has staying power.

Photo by player x http://www.flickr.com/photos/playerx/ / CC BY 2.0
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Your Cerebral Leanings – Which Way Do You List?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 by Andy Orr

Make a list!I started out today with the task of posting a short note about a cool new use for one’s mobile phone.  As Sarah Perez recently wrote at ReadWriteWeb, STAR Analytical Services received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop software that can make a diagnosis based on the sound of a cough on a mobile phone.  This will be especially useful in countries where mobile phones are rampant but doctors are not.

I thought I would make a quick connection between this mobile application and our posts on the Fitbit Tracker (and here) and telehealth, something vague about the intersection of technology and health care and the exciting new ways our lives will be affected by all this.

However, one twist led to another, and before I knew it, the kernel of an entirely new essay had developed.  As Paul Graham said in an essay titled The List of N Things:

“The main point of essay writing, when done right, is the new ideas you have while doing it. A real essay, as the name implies, is dynamic: you don’t know what you’re going to write when you start. It will be about whatever you discover in the course of writing it. “

It may be more than coincidental, but this essay turns out to be about lists.  The Grand Challenges grant is part of a program that has funded over 300 projects, all focused on a list of 14 major global health challenges.  This list is modeled after the famous list of 23 unsolved mathematical problems that David Hilbert posed back in 1900.  Just as Hilbert’s list encouraged innovation in mathematics research, the Grand Challenges is aimed at “engaging creative minds across scientific disciplines — including those who have not traditionally taken part in health research — to work on solutions that could lead to breakthrough advances for those in the developing world.”

These “unsolved problems” lists are diametric to what Umberto Eco recently wrote about in The Vertigo of Lists: mankind’s desire to catalog and list in an attempt to create order and understanding.  Or are they?  While one consists of questions (Hilbert et. al) and the other of answers (Eco), they mirror each other.  What is implied in a list of unsolved problems are the solved ones.  On the other hand, a “catalog” list is supposed to be all-encompassing, but can it ever be?  Its ostensible completeness is inherently incomplete.

Where is this going?  I have strayed from a relatively concrete concept (analyze the sound of a cough on a cell phone) to an abstract discussion that for me yields a simple conclusion: great things can be achieved through the simple use of lists.  By developing a list of 14 challenges focused on seven goals, the Gates Foundation has succeeded in catalyzing hundreds of projects with contributions from creative minds that had previously never worked on global health issues.

How can we solve the U.S. health care problem today?  Create a list of challenges or objectives, and let creative minds come together to solve them.  These problems will not be solved through legislation in a combative, political arena.  How can we clean up our planet and end war?  Make a list.

Photo by Kristian D. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristiand/ / CC BY 2.0

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Latest Aerospace Technology: Refreshing Airliner Air

Friday, November 13th, 2009 by Andy Orr

airline airWe wrote about airline air quality back in July noting that rare cabin fume events can cause real issues for crew and passengers.  However, the more important part of that post was the discussion of the low quality of cabin air on all flights and what a passenger can do to help to minimize the effects of this.

It turns out that help is on the way in the form of three relatively new developments.  We first read about them  in The Economist back in September.

The first development is an active air management system built by Quest International (UK) Ltd.  According to their site it is certified for the Boeing 757 and two other airframes.  While HEPA filters can remove most particles, the Quest system claims to eradicate all viruses, bacteria, anthrax and other pathogens.  It also is cost-effective and reduces power consumption.

The second development is the trend towards using more carbon fiber in the airplanes’ fuselages.  This will allow for greater air pressure in the cabin as well as higher levels of humidity.  Fear of corrosion is one of the reasons cabin air is currently kept so dry.  As noted in our earlier post, this contributes to many problems for passengers.

The third development (for some jet makers) will be a switch back to using electrical generators to pressurize the cabin rather than using air bled from the jet engines.  This latter method created a trade-off for the airlines between air quality and fuel efficiency.  Going back to using electrical generators, as was done in the days of piston engines, will eliminate this trade-off and should result in noticeably better air quality.  The much-anticipated, and delayed* 787 Dreamliner will be the first plane for Boeing with this new feature.  Their web site even has a video titled “Feel Better.”

All in all, these developments should eliminate one of the most common complaints of flying.  Even though there are long security lines, cramped seats and woefully inadequate overhead bins (actually, it sounds like the 787 has improved these last two problems as well),  at least we may feel better when we land.

*Just in the news today, the Wall Street Journal had a detailed article about the past and current problems that Boeing’s commitment to composites has wrought.  It sounds like they are still hopeful to get its maiden flight in by December.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/as737700/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
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mPassport Paris – HTH Launches (Best Ever?) iPhone App

Friday, November 6th, 2009 by Andy Orr

mPassport Paris iPhone App

This is without a doubt the best iPhone app I have ever used built.  Did I say “best” app?  I meant “only.”  mPassport Paris is the first in a series of downloadable destination-based versions of HTH Worldwide’s mobile web tools. 

The app features detailed profiles of nearly 100 carefully selected, English-speaking, Paris-based physicians and dentists as well as an appointment scheduling concierge function that helps travelers arrange office visits with these providers on short notice. The application makes full use of the iPhone’s mapping and GPS tools to help visitors to Paris find the shortest route to convenient care.  It even allows users to choose a Paris landmark or neighborhood as their  point of departure; this feature  allows users to  plan ahead when reviewing their options. 

mPassport Paris also maps and profiles the local notable hospitals and pharmacies and provides brand name equivalents for over 350 common prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Built-in translation tools allow users to play audio of hundreds of key medical terms and phrases in French.

My take on the app (slightly biased, I admit) is that HTH took their time and built it well.  Everything is easy to find and use.  Convenient features  such as auto-saving recently viewed items, and  manual-saving for repeat viewing are built-in.  All of the information is downloaded onto your iPhone or iPod touch so that it works even without an Internet connection.  Of course, using the mapping features and Google Maps for walking or driving directions as well as sending an appointment request require a connection.

I noticed a couple of things that will get fixed in the next update.  The pushpins colors used for your location and the location of the doctor, hospital or pharmacy you are viewing get switched when you jump to Google Maps (red and green to green and red, respectively).  Also, when working with locations, it would be helpful to be able to see all of the Paris landmarks on the map at once.

The appointment scheduling function should have been built with push notifications for updates, but what do you expect for $2.99?  Actually, this price may not last forever (it’s an introductory special), so if you are planning to be in Paris soon, you should buy the app now.

If you’ve got an iPhone, take mPassport for a ride through Paris and share your thoughts with us. Where else would you find these tools and services valuable?

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Fitbit Won’t Fit New Year’s Resolutions

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 by Andy Orr

healthy travel companionEither Fitbit has a runaway hit on their hands, or they have run into production problems.  With no updates on their blog since September, we are left wondering why the shipping date for new orders keeps slipping.  Last week their site had mid-December as the ship date for new orders; today it says January 31st.  I am afraid that without the Fitbit Tracker to help, most New Year’s resolutions will have been broken by the time this cool activity tracker arrives.  Where is the openness that the blog used to display?  Come on guys, give us a little insight into what is happening.

If you just can’t wait for the Fitbit and don’t mind not tracking your sleeping habits, check out DirectLife from Philips.  It tracks all your movement throughout the day and once you upload the collected information to your computer, it will provide you with your activity patterns and give personalized advice and motivation.  The product is available in the U.S. and the Netherlands and through tomorrow, it is available for only $79. This price includes the first four months of membership. The normal membership fee is $12.50/month.

Do you think this kind of tool will work for you?

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Happiness Is a Sometime Thing—And We Can Prove It

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by Moira Bishop

Gross National HappinessMaybe you chose your recent vacation destination based on the results of the happy planet index.  And maybe, now that you’re on your way back to a sadder reality, you want to check and see how happy the rest of the nation is.  Thanks to a new Facebook application that counts and graphs the words people use in their status updates, you can actually track this information in the Facebook Gross National Happiness index. 

The program scans all Facebook profiles for status updates and counts selected positive and negative words. The word count and the time of the posts are analyzed to produce an index showing when people are at their happiest. The “when” of course correlates to a day of the week, a holiday or an event.  And results vary. Plan ahead and use this information to attempt to ensure that you are always surrounded by as much happiness as possible. A happy traveler is a healthy traveler!

While you are on Facebook checking this out, visit the Healthy Travel Blog fan page!

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Staying Fit While Traveling [Redux] – Fitbit Tracker Ships Soon

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 by Andy Orr

healthy travel - runningBack in March I wrote about MapMyRun and RunKeeper, two web sites that have companion iPhone apps that help track some of your fitness activities.  I still recommend these but have come across a new product that just started filling its pre-orders and will ship new orders beginning October 31st.

It is called the Fitbit Tracker and is a small, wireless device that measures the quantity and quality of physical activities like walking, running and sleeping.    You may ask why you would want something else to lug around when your phone can already do some of these things.  Good question.  Sometimes a single-purpose device is better than an all-in-one.  The Fitbit is much smaller and lighter than a cell phone, its battery lasts over 10 days on a single charge, it has a cool OLED display, oh and did I mention that it tracks your sleep?

Paired with the Tracker is a well thought-out web site that wirelessly and automatically captures all of the data from the device and also allows one to enter in additional information like food consumed, other activities that the Tracker won’t track (don’t take this swimming with you), one’s vital statistics and personal goals.  It looks to have all the requisite social features as well so that one can share and compare with others a la financial data on Mint.

I am intrigued with learning more about my sleeping habits and how much I walk during the course of a normal day.  I will finally see if the long walks down the corridor at work are a net positive or negative — as they often lead to a colleague’s candy jar.  It is $99 on their site and will be available in retail stores in the future.  There are some competitors in this space, but I think its combination of size, functionality and price make it a winner.  If anyone is looking for what to get me for the upcoming holidays, look no further (unless, you are willing to go for the new Beatles Box Set, stereo version please).

As an aside, I saw that Fitbit founder James Park has been blogging throughout the design and production process.  They have uncovered and addressed a multitude of problems (all normal in the course of introducing a new product in my opinion) over the last year or so.  It is a great view of what it takes to get a low cost consumer electronics product out the door and recommended reading for anyone interested in the subject.  It is too bad other companies aren’t as transparent.  Can you imagine this from Apple?

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21st Century House Calls – No doctor in the house, no problem

Monday, July 27th, 2009 by Andy Orr

telehealth1Cisco and UnitedHealth Group announced last week a new partnership to build the first national telehealth network.  Calling Connected Care “the house call for the 21st century,” United’s CEO Stephen Helmsley added that it will “make it easier for people to receive care where distance has been an obstacle.”

Some thoughts on this:

  • Will new technology reverse the need for medical tourism? Doctors are already performing procedures remotely using robotics. In fact, SRI International developed the first ‘telepresence surgery’ technology for the U.S. military way back in the 80s.
  • Will it help the affluent reach highly-paid doctors wherever they are, or is it a leveler for the underserved here in the U.S. and elsewhere? The latter seems to be one area that UnitedHealth Group is addressing with the concept of mobile telehealth clinics.
  • Will technology ever be able to replace the value of the human contact of a traditional doctor visit? Maybe not completely, but I bet it will come pretty close.

One thing is for sure, as digital bandwidth increases and gets less expensive, technologies like these will make sense in more and more situations.  It may not be too long until a traveler can use her smartphone and an Internet connection to receive high quality medical advice on the go with two-way video and audio.  The iPhone’s new support of third-party hardware integration has also been often cited as a natural place for healthcare devices to emerge.

Of course, there will always be the potential for tension between a telehealth opinion and the treatment options immediately available or the opinion of a hands-on physician. Let your imagination wander and let us know where you think telehealth will lead!

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