ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I find myself always thinking about what I should be able to do with technology. It has been a constant theme lately. After all, I am a technology guy. It's not always about the gadgets, but sometimes the services I expect. There are things in this world that I just can't figure out why they don't exist. I understand the laws of supply and demand. I also understand most of the technical limitations we currently face. This isn't good enough. I'm greedy and I want it now. So in an effort to get this stuff of my mind, and into the blogosphere I figured I would take a break from covering our typical sports themes and go geek on you. Some of these things are dead obvious, so don't sit there thinking I have come up with anything new or creative. In case I have spouted off something intelligent, I want 25% of all revenue it generates. And a cool job at the company that makes it happen. When I say cool job, I mean a 90's retro job like CPO (chief people officer). Remember that? Anyway here goes:

I've discussed the items I want to see in my new iPod. They didn't include color or photo capabilities. Basically, I want a digital radio receiver in it. I don't care much about recording digital radio (although I'll take it if the lawyers figure out how to do this legally) but what I do care about is getting rid of the one item that has helped build the brand at Apple's iPod division. The headphones. Well, the headphone wires. It gets cold here in the Chi. These stupid white wires freeze up and feel like they could snap. Besides, wrapping them around my iPod doesn't seem to be the best idea in the world when it comes to storage. This is a hassle. So I'd like bluetooth headphones please. This way I can listen to my tunes unencumbered by wires. One more thing while you are at it. I know Apple is rumored to be releasing an iPhone soon. If you're going to allow bluetooth on my iPod, then have it receive bluetooth messages from my phone when it rings. I don't need these devices converging. Chances are the phone-half of this device will suck, and make the music player half less elegant. Just let my phone beem a message to the iPod while I'm rocking out. That would be good enough.

Next, I'd like to know when my train is going to be late. I can't tell you how many times I have rushed to the station to catch a train that is 10 minutes late. I don't want wireless alerts on this, although I'd take it. No, what I want is to pull up a little GPS map that shows me where my train is and its ETA to the station. It would come in handy when I have to pick someone up at the airport too. So add it to airline notification. Yes, I know that sites like Orbitz offer voice message based alerts, and even SMS messages. That's a good start but it's not good enough. I just want my little Nokia to have a menu item that pulls up a map showing me where on the rail my train is. That can't be that hard to do can it? All the pieces are in place aren't they? (throw buses in for those of you who take the bus)

There has been a lot of chit-chat over DVR services lately. The lovely folks at Comcast have infested the Chi with HD based DVR boxes. Some of these boxes offer things that my Tivo doesn't have. Firewire ports that allow people clever enough to find drivers to rip TV shows onto their laptops. The new Tivo 2 Go service is what I want, except that it's not being offered to DirecTV customers. What's up with that? Give me a DVR that can export my content to any device which can handle it. This way I can watch shows on the train to work.

I'd like to see the integration of a few state run systems with the private sector. Illinois has just forced everyone into using an iPass for toll roads. This is great for those of us who aren't paranoid about showing up on a grid at a command station somewhere. They should take it a step further. When I get pulled over for not paying the toll, the officer asks me for my license and registration. Honestly, I have no idea where that little insurance card is. The glove box is stuffed with crap and I'm already nervous that I got caught. Someone should grab all the auto insurance customer databases and integrate it with the police network. When he pulls up my license plate he can see that my insurance is up to date. No fumbling around for cards, and no more need to mail it out to me every 6 months. They have access to everything else that violates my right to privacy, why not just give them the insurance data too?

Finally, and because I know most of you are tired of this rant I'd like to see CDs and DVDs go the way of the dinosaur. We are almost there on this one. The lawyers have been vigilant about killing P2P networks. This isn't good for those of us who want to live clutter free lives. I don't want physical media laying around. CD cases and racks take up a lot of space. My music is downloaded digitally, and for the most part I can play it anywhere I want. Yes, even the stuff off of iTunes. I was suckered into an AirTunes device so my stereo is now able to play my AAC files.

So that's it. I was hoping someone can get right on it!