If you haven’t heard of Augmented Reality, what rock have you been hiding under.  Assuming that you have been on a desert island, or maybe you just don’t keep up with the latest in technology, let me fill you in.  Augmented Reality is taking reality, and superimposing something on top of it.  For Example, I am looking thru a set of binoculars, and when I point it at some flowers, software in the binoculars determine what the flowers are and a description of the flowers, how to take care of them, their scientific makeup all pop on the screen for me to read.  My Reality has been augmented (or the dictionary use – having been made of greater value).  The view of that flower became more interesting to me because now I learned something about it, something I did not know just a minute ago.

Now lets take that thought process and apply it to Real Estate.  Lets say I have my phone (an Iphone, or any other phone with a camera) and put it up to a home that is for sale.  Without doing anything else, the Augmented Reality Browser could show me the number of bed, baths, sqfoot, price, listing agent, his/her phone, any open houses coming up, or even links to virtual tours or videos.  Think how amazing that is.  All I did was put my phone up to the house and I learned everything I needed to know about it, and at that point, I can decide whether or not I would like to actually go in and take it for a test spin.

The opportunities are endless.  I could create a brief intro of the house and give more information about my website so they can see more information online.  Augmented Reality Browser are still early on in development, but the number of developers attacking this new technology make it a worth while technology to follow.

For More Information, please visit this site here..http://www.se.rit.edu/~jrv/research/ar/introduction.html .its fairly technical, but then again, this is the Technology for the New Age Realtor

Being a big Office user for years, I have started to move off of MS Office and into Mac based application, mainly due to the fact that I have purchased 3 Macs for the house and office.  Then Microsoft throws me a wrench.  It appears that MS Office 2010 Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote will be free web based applications for use.  You will be able to use the application, store your data on the MS Cloud, and retrieve it any time from any machine, any where on the planet, as long as you have internet access.

This is an interesting move for Microsoft, since Office and Windows are their top money making products.  I guess that Google Doc’s has been a thorn in their side for some time now and this is Microsoft’s way of regaining some of the spread that they have lost due to free apps from the likes of Google.

I hope that Microsoft holds true on their idea of giving away Word, Excel, etc web versions…I myself will at least give it a try, no promises though

Being in Tampa Real Estate, Engineering Consulting, and a few other side projects, I am always involved in Technology in some way shape or form.  I guess I am lucky since I have an Engineering Degree or 2 so this stuff is easy for me.  But what I don’t get, is that I keep hearing that agents must get more involved in Technology, video, audio, pictures, etc and they still don’t!  I mean how difficult is it to go pick up a video camera and shoot some video.  With todays technology, all you need to do is push a button.  I mean how difficult is it to take a photo.  Again, the same thing, push a button.  Uploading is just as simple.  I see now that some camera are starting to come out that are wifi ready and you can upload from the camera without ever attaching to the computer.  Easy again.

Unfortunately, some Agents just make this task harder than it is.  After all, this is the fun stuff.  Taking photos, videos and using it to sell property, Fun, Fun, Fun.  I take photos all the time and shoot alot of video.  All for fun and if it gets me noticed, then that is great as well.

So if you are an Real Estate Agent, go pick up you old point and shoot camera, take some photos, upload them and share them with some clients or friends.  Same with video.  You may be surprised at how easy it really is.

Good Luck!

Well, that didn’t take long.  After the release of Iphone OS 3.0, Apple is now getting ready to release Iphone OS 3.1.  What does it fix you ask?, well, I am not sure what it fixes, but it appears to add some editing features to the video application and it turns on the MMS functions that AT&T is not ready for, at least not until the end of summer.  Aside from that, I would guess that Apple is going to try to make some changes to the battery profiles to prevent the Iphone from overheating, which many people are now complaining about on the new Iphone 3GS phone.

Am I surprised at this, no, do I think that there will be an OS 3.2, yup, am I going to be jumping on the band wagon when 3.1 comes out, nope!  Now that I have the 3.0 jailbroken and have my Qik back up and running, I can continue to do Tampa Real Estate like no other, so I have time!

Ok, I lived with the 3.0 software for a few days now…and I was missing my jailbroken Iphone something fierce.  The Jailbreak is not unlock, it is merely changing a bit of code in the phone that will allow the phone to download and run software that was not endorsed by Apple Computer.  After all, I own the phone so I should be able to do whatever I want with it…right…right!

The new jailbreak is a bit different.  It use to be called QuickPwn, now that is being retired and the new program to handle the task is called RedSn0w.  Redsn0w takes out all the “baby” steps and gives you a more grown up appearance, no frills type of UI.

I was a bit nervous about the operation at first, since I was wiping out all the info in my phone to perform the task.  But like always, the boys at DevTeam come thru again with a slick and easy solution to the problem (I am sure it was difficult to them, but they make it wasy for me).

In either event, my team and I can continue to do what knowone else can do in the Tampa Real Estate Market, and that is, think way outside the box!

I am a huge advocate of the Iphone and Macs in general.  I use both my Mac and Iphone for my business in Tampa Real Estate.  I saw the presentation put on by Apple regarding the new phone but was more impressed with the Iphone 3.0 os rather than the new hardware.  The new operating system set to be released on Wed June 17 offers push notification, cut and paste, mms, faster overall speed, stereo bluetooth, etc, all available in the current hardware.  The new phone, called the Iphone 3GS, touts a compass, and a better camera, that offers video recording.  There is still no forward facing camera, the ram goes from 16G to 32G, rather than the 8G to 16G in the older model.  The colors are still the same, which surprises me, and the overall design is exactly the same on the outside.

I am sure the new Iphone will do well, but I – am disappointed that if I did get the new Iphone,  noone would be able to tell the difference.

I would probably consider myself on the cutting edge of tech when it comes to Tampa Real Estate…mostly due to the fact that I come from the Engineering Field so it is old school to me to apply tech to whatever I am doing.  I have an Iphone for business, Real Estate and Engineering Consulting, and I pretty much push the phone to the limits of its capabilities.

With this huge use, I tend to drain the battery to nothing by noon.  Well, there are a few solutions to this problem.  First solution is to have a power source nearby to plug it into often.  If that is not available, then a car power cord comes in handy as well.  But probably the best solution, being mobile, is an additional battery.  You ask yourself, “The Iphone cant swap batteries”…you are correct.  But you can purchase an external battery that fights around the phone.  Two companies that make such a thing are InCase and Mophie.  Both are excellent products, both have pros and cons.  But they both add extra bulk to the device so you really need to be aware of that and get use to it.

If you are a heavy Iphone user, and need extra power, look into these companies for great solutions to the problem.

Its that good!

For me, and hopefully you feel the same way, it is all about Transparency.  What’s happening is happening online Live. Tampa Real Estate at its best!

Listen up people…this is for all of you out there that have no idea what you are doing in the Social Networking arena.  First, some quick background, I am a Realtor in the Tampa Real Estate Market, and I have several Engineering degrees and do Engineering Consulting for a Company in VA, but I am going to focus on Realtors as a whole since this is the group with the most offenses.  Ok, background done.

Please follow this golden rule and repeat it everyday…”DO NOT MAKE YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IN SOCIAL NETWORKS ABOUT REAL ESTATE – CAUSE NO-ONE CARES!”  Now repeat that a few times and write it on your inner eyelids so that you can read it when you are trying to fall asleep.  Too many Real Estate Agents think they can just go out there in the “Interweb” and yell at the top of their lungs “HELLO EVERYBODY, I AM A REALTOR AND I HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL YOU SO CALL ME RIGHT NOW”.  Guess what, DELETE!  I wouldn’t even bother trying to get to know you because I can see that you are only interested in one thing, Spamming the System.  You will find that many people will not want to interact with you either just because you are way to boring.

Try this instead,  ”Hi, I’m Steve and I’m into Boating, Fishing, Fast Cars, and an occasional Horror Movie…oh and my profession is Real Estate”.  Now that is something that I can grasp.  I don’t care if you are in Real Estate, but as I get to know you, I may gain a level of trust with you that if I have a referral, I will think of you first as opposed to those that just keep Spamming me with junk.

Social Networking is all about “Networking” on a “Social” level.  Try just walking around the room a bit and see if there is anyone of interest that you would like to listen more to what they have to say, or maybe would even like jumping in on the conversation.

Try it out and see what you think….after all, If I was a used car salesman, would you want me spamming you ever second about buying a used car?….No….then Knock it OFF!

Nuff Said