The trouble with Talking Carl.

Like any normal geek dad I always feel the kaleidoscope of Butterflies flitting around my stomach whenever one of my children picks up my iPhone. I know that I’m supposed to be leading by example and extolling the virtues of sharing, but it’s hard when all I can see is my beloved phone bouncing off the kitchen tiles and having to spend the next few weeks Tweeting through crazy paving.

This particular dilemma has been made impossibly worse by the recent purchase of Talking Carl. If you’ve not heard about Talking Carl then I shall try to explain. Carl is a beautifully rendered orangey-red square with a funny voice. He laughs, shouts, growls and repeats anything you say via the iPhone’s microphone.

Talking Carl

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Why can't iDonate? #AppleDonateFail

I read recently that Apple do not allow the inclusion of donate buttons into apps and @JohnCarnell has even set up a campaign to lobby them to change this using the hashtag #AppleDonateFail on Twitter.

This was an idea that I had considered for @MarieCurieUK due to the popularity of the SMS donation method during the Haiti appeal. Giving people the option of donating small amounts instantaneously through their mobile device is absolutely the way forward. It is at that real-time moment when you are emotionally affected by the event or news story that you are most likely to donate, and by making the method easy you increase the chances dramatically.

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So you're all astronauts on some sort of… star trek?

Apple iPad

So, Apple have finally dropped their tablet and I for one am looking forward to the trip.

All of the pundits have had their 15 minutes and the overall conclusions seem split. There was a lot of hatred going around after Steve dropped his tab; no camera? no USB? locked down OS? But what all of these commentators were failing to notice was the abundance of fun. As soon as I saw the iPad I couldn’t help but think of playing Flight Control or Bejeweled at double size on that super glossy screen. I pictured myself lounging on the sofa Tweeting my friends or catching up on my newsfeeds.

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