I just got a free pack of fun business cards from moo.com, a UK company with their US office in East Providence, Rhode Island (my home state), that produces Facebook Timeline inspired cards here and in Europe. The free 50 cards you can make with their Facebook Application come to you in the neat package that looks like a toner cartridge shown below. The cards have a front and back and allow you to customize the information you have on the card. What comes to you is a gorgeous bit of whimsy that transfers online presence to something in your hands that you can share, for business or for pleasure.
If you haven't figured out why Twitter is important or you just want to learn something about the company's history, watch this video by Bloomberg, "Game Changers: Twitter."
Coffee With Kal-El, is an occasional look at comics or popular culture. (To my surprise Kalel is the trademark of some dude in Encinitas, CA and not Time-Warner, Inc., all rights reserved)
Except for well documented absence in 2009 due to getting my application in too late, I have attended San Diego Comic-Con International for the last five years. Every year, year in and year out, my blue and green sensibilities have been put at odds with my geek ones as I see the ecological nightmare that unfolds before me with all manner of leaflet cheap swag that is passed out to promote the latest and the greatest, some of which ends up on the ground outside minutes later. This year I discovered the electronic comic reader. I have had an on-again/off-again fascination with comics for some time buying them in spurts for a period then not partaking in the sequential arts for years at a time. At this year's Comic-Con I learned about comics readers that are available for the iPhone and iPad. Comics readers for my phone and the ability to download them and use them on my iPad in the future (smaller please, Steve Jobs are you listening), and not "stuff" to keep around and store, saving some trees (and repurposing some recycled paper) in the process. Unfortunately, iPhone 3G suffered mightily during Comic-Con, due to issues related to iOS4 compatibility but my new iPhone 4 has allowed me try to three comics readers of which I learned at the convention.
The three readers I have tried are Panelfy, Comics+ and ComiXology, each having had some sort of presence at Comic-Con. Each reader is available for download at Apple's App Store (click below for links).
Panefly
Comics+
ComiXology
Once you start each app, you are brought to a features page. I like the undulating scrolling preview that you get on Panelfy's front page. Each app has a set of icons at the bottom for easy switching to places of interest. Panelfy and Comics+ both have choices for comics news. This is helpful if you want to get the latest on comics news but less so if you already read a source like Newsarama or Comic Book Resources. The front page or one click in gives you synopses, like the ones below by Boom Studios for their book Irreedeemable. Each app publisher has free comics previews of certain titles that are usually about half or less of the book and intended to whet your appetite. These previews are an excellent way to try before you buy.
Panelfly
Comics+
ComiXology
Once you've accumulated one or more comics, you begin to have your own library or list of "My Comics," if you will. Each reader renders these lists slightly differently with Panelfy calling the list a library and rendering the list in a cool stylized slice of art look for each title. Comics+ meanwhile has a list view and a shelf view, the first showing you in text the titles you own and the second looking like a library or bookstore showing you the covers of each book as if it were on a shelf. ComiXology has a text based list that allows you to search your purchases by series, creator, publisher or genre. One wonders if the text list improves app performance or if it makes any difference whatsoever; it's not pretty but it works well. When you begin reading the books.
Panelfly's Library
Comics+'s Shelf View
When you begin reading a book in Comics+ you get the entire page on the screen on your iPhone. If you want to read a panel you must use the two finger magnifying motion to look at it or a dialogue bubble. Each page is swiped with a finger and is presented in full. Comics+ has a slightly different approach to reading navigation. Each page is presented then there is a zoom in to panels so it's easier to read the description and dialogue, this really makes a difference on a screen as tiny as the iPhone's. ComiXology does the best job of the three readers in readability due to what they call GuidedView Technology. This technology allows you to go between panels as shown in the YouTube demonstration below. The view will change and turn from standard to landscape as required. You can turn this feature off since some find it annoying. You can also as decide if you'd like see a full page presented every time you exit and enter the page (in between the panels).
ComiXology's GuidedView Technology takes you to each panel.
The guided view feature really enhances the comics reading experience on the iPhone and sets ComiXology apart from the other two readers. The transitions on Panelfy are not as smooth as those in the ComiXology app but they have a slickerer interface and slightly more social networking capabilities, with Facebook and Twitter sharing as opposed to just Twitter, features probably not needed by most folks. Those who want to get their opinions on comics out via Twitter and Facebook probably already are. Overall, due mostly to the guided view feature and ease of use I have preferred the ComiXology app over the other two readers. Keep in mind that comics over apps is a nascent presence in comics sales and the latest publications are only available on dead tree comics due most likely to the desire of publishers not to cannibalize their current lines. Not all publishers are available on all readers, though many are. If you already read comics or haven't picked up a book in years, pick up these readers, they are a fun way to get reintroduced to comics.
Are the San Diego Padres are taking advantage of Comic-Con Attendees?
What do you do when you have a bad economy, a team that skeptical fans don't yet believe and sparsely attend your games and parking lots that will otherwise be empty during San Diego Comic-Con International 2010? You gouge the geeks: jack up the prices and stick it to the Comic-Con attendees of course! The San Diego Padres and their operator Ace Parking are charging fully up to 66% more for parking during the world renowned convention than they charge for their half filled games. For instance at the Padres Parkade, Tailgate Park and the D1/D2 lots, all "Padres Preferred Lots," the per game parking price is $15 while the prices for the main days of the convention are $20 and $25. If one were to park in these lots for the entirety of the show then they would end up paying $107.92 (including a $2.92 "convenience fee"), more than a pre-paid pass bought last year. Of course one is free to park in a further afoot lot but the question remains, "Why are the Padres Gouging Geeks?" Ask them by calling 619.795.5000 or emailing them by clicking this link. It's not like there are in and out privileges at the lots or something special is being gained through the 66% price increase. The argument might be that more staff is required for all day parking but that doesn't come close to justifying this increase. An all convention pass for just the base rate of what Padres fans are paying per game, a total of $75.00, would have been reasonable. A true believer in the free market, I'll be utilizing a cheaper option for the convention and will include those here in the weeks ahead. I just wish my hometown team had been good guys, not greedy.
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