Tales of Hoffman

Hey, Typepad, where's the beef?

OK, so now I'm up and running with my Verizon Treo. Way cool. Very nice device and the service seems to be ok as well. Now I want to know whatever happened to all the neat Moblogging advances that the Typepad folks showed way back in February at the Demo Forum? I read the list of improvements with great interest (particularly the part about the Palm client), and since Verizon provides NO email application (geez), and insists on putting their own, self-serving signature at the bottom of every SMS message (what's up with that?) and the email apps I've tried (snappermail and Eudora) don't allow inline photos....I am hungry for this release. I hold out hope that it's still coming, otherwise they would have taken the announcement off the home page. But that was back in February....I know better than most that you never want to project a launch date (software/web functionality is never ready until it's ready), but it's been quite a long time without a peep about this. Anyone have any news?

Online CME becoming increasingly popular

From AMNews

The Verizon Treo has Arrived

Got it in my pocket (please, no snickering from the peanut gallery). As I remembered from earlier Palm devices, getting the Verizon Treo up and running was a good "out of the box" experience. I just suffered through a little software config confusion on the Powerbook at home. Funnily enough, I was following the instructions posted here on the PalmOne site of how to get it all working with OSX and iSync and, although they do a pretty good job of outlining what you need to have on your machines and how to configure it, they left out a piece.

So, if you are trying to figure out why you are following those step by step instructions and still don't see an "iSync Conduit" in your Palm Conduit Manager, well, you have to go download it (is it me, or is that totally not mentioned in those instructions?). Go here to get the iSync Conduit, install it and then start again and, lo and behold, everything works as advertised...if a bit slowly.

Next step is to get permission to install the Palm software on my PC at work. "Get permission?" you ask. "Why Steve, you are an experienced Internet Product Manager and blogger...why would you need permission?" Well, because all the PCs here are locked down and I have to ask someone to do even the most basic installation of software on my laptop. Que sera, sera....If everything goes according to plan, the Treo will finally be the bridge between my Outlook calendar at work and iCal at home, bringing the Hoffmans one step closer to our heretofore unachievable grand unified theory of scheduling.

Waiting for Treo....the cruelty!

I just checked with my Verizon rep and they're a little behind on shipping Treos right now. So it will not arrive until Monday. One problem...I'm going a way for a few days for my anniversary! So my the inner geek has to just calm down already, and I'll have to wait until Thursday to open the box.

Let's see, celebrate 12 years of marriage?.....play with my new Treo.....celebrate 12 years of marriage?.....play with my new Treo.....hmmmmmmm......Nah, I would never get away with it. ;-)

NEWS ALERT: Doctors Use the Internet

GreaterRX, which is generally making a pretty nice go of being a blog about pharma Internet marketing, cites Health IT World, which, in turn, cites a Manhattan Research Study (I've added bold type for emphasis):

According to a new study by Manhattan Research, many physicians are finding their way to the Internet for information about medical education, treatment options, prescription drugs, and even for completing some CME credit requirements. This research shows that the interest level from the physicians is growing rapidly, mainly because of the speed and ease at which they can access a lot of useful information.

We're just realizing this now? Hello? McFly?

Treo, Treo, wherefore art thou?

My Verizon Treo should be arriving by FedEx today. My inner geek is humming like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Prince at Madison Square Garden

I went to see Prince on Wednesday night at MSG here in NY. I've always liked his hits and have been exposed to a bit more than that by my wife, who was a dyed (purple) in the wool, full on fan through the 80's and early 90s. The concert got me remembering what I used to think about Prince in the 80s, when he was at his peak of popularity -- "The little purple guy is so strange. Why can't he be more normal...like...Michael Jackson....or George Michael" Ha!

Anyway, as I'm sure you've already heard -- fantastic concert. They guy is a great entertainer and a supremely talented musician (which is one of the best compliments I think I can give someone). Most of the concert was devoted to either old or new tunes, re-arranged as funk jams. As Prince channeled his inner James Brown, a horn section anchored by Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer hit the riffs hard, and an unbelievably tight rhythm section held down the fort. We were on our feet for almost the entire night. I truly hope he decides to issue a live album from this tour, as the energy created by Prince and his band is just not reproduceable in a studio. If you still have a chance to see him, go do it. Whether you are a fan or not, I guarantee you'll have a great time and you'll be amazed at the musicianship on display.

Medscape General Medicine in the Media

Yesterday morning, Medscape's freely available, peer-reviewed, Medline-Indexed and all around yummy eJournal, Medscape General Medicine, published a study titled Violence, Sex, and Profanity in Films: Correlation of Movie Ratings With Content. This study from two researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health is getting lots of play in the media, with an interview on the TODAY show yesterday and an article in the NY Times today. Congrats to my MedGenMed colleagues.

Treo and Verizon: It's On!

So yesterday I jumped to it and got a hold of our Verizon business rep to finally order the Treo 600. It's about time they got their act together and offered this phone and I'm pretty excited (in an incredibly geeky way) to start using it. Of course, this post on Engadget had me simultaneously feeling smart (for ordering this and not waiting for it to be available through regular channels) and stupid (for not waiting for the Treo 610 to come out).

Generally, I'm not the type to wait for the next model, much to my wife's dismay. I think if you are going to get good use out of the current model, go ahead and get it. There's too much uncertainty in the world to wait for the perfect device (and, frankly, the way Verizon works, it may be years before they give their stamp of approval to the 610, or Ace or whatever they are going to call it).

So, since I haven't used a Palm handheld in about three years, what's the current must-have software for this puppy? And is there anything out there that will help me moblog with Typepad?

eJIAS, a New Journal on Medscape

In conjunction with the IAS Conference in Bangkok this weekend, we just launched a brand new, peer-reviewed, electronic journal on Medscape titled eJIAS -- The eJournal of the International AIDS Society. Here's a quick excerpt from the welcome editorial:

eJIAS was conceived and established in recognition of the fact that many of today's most crucial lessons about how to confront the HIV/AIDS pandemic will be learned best, if not exclusively, from those working on the front lines of HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care. It was also created in recognition of the challenges of publishing faced by investigators from developing countries, where conditions of urgent need and insufficient resources often afford little support for authors in the publication process. In this regard, the first purpose of this unique publication is to facilitate publication by HIV/AIDS scientists and physicians from developing countries.

The inaugural issue of eJIAS comprises the complete official abstracts of the XV International AIDS Conference, Bangkok, Thailand. I have to say that it's great to get to work projects like this that break new ground both online and offline, and have the potential to change the way things work in medical information for the better.Check it out.