Party Poker Blog

Bonus Code IGGY on Party Poker, damnit!

Sorry bout that. It's just been awhile.

Anyway, I really am pondering a big old honking, old-school uber post. I hope I still have a few readers who might enjoy that sort of thing. You know, poker stuff. And lots of it.

But to my quick topic today - work. Our Creative Director got ahold of two new techie devices and I got the chance to check em out:

The amazon.com Kindle...read books, magazines and even blogs right on your hand held “Kindle.” Order a book from amazon.com, and it’s beamed right to your Kindle in a matter of minutes. Subscribe to newspapers and magazines and the content appears automatically upon publication. While the device is a bit awkward and will disappoint those looking for pretty pictures, in terms of sheer content delivery, it’s one sweet-ass piece of gear, let me tell you.

The XO Laptop...this is the computer designed by MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte and others that was created for children in rural areas in developing countries. It has been featured on “60 Minutes” and other media outlets. Though it cost only $200, it’s no toy. It’s lightweight, yet durable; water- and dust-resistant; kid-sized; wireless enabled; it can be charged normally, or via solar-power or foot- or hand-crank (and even car battery); the screen is viewable in direct sunlight; it comes with software for writing, drawing, making music, chatting with other XO laptops, surfing the web, learning HTML and lots more; its battery has no hazardous materials; it has no hard drive to crash, and only two internal cables! Just think about what this computer can do for children in remote, developing areas...they can now connect with their communities and, indeed, the world. This is a life-changing piece of technology.

I also learned that if you buy one of these suckers for 200 bucks, one will be donated to a kid in an undeveloped nation.

I was skeptical about the Kindle, honestly, comparing it to an advanced Etch a Sketch.



But I was wrong - it's pretty damn cool. Especially when you consider this is first generation and what's coming down the pike. Delivering digital books through the ether. Like it or not, it's coming. As a book lover, it pains me to see this.

And thus ends my technology tangent for today.

I'm hoping to have a full Las Vegas Trip Report from my hero, Johnny Hughes, sometime soon. Stay tuned.

Outside of the year and a half I took off to play poker professionally, I've worked in the ad agency biz for a long time. And I love it.

Lots of folks wonder what it's like. Because, yes, it's a kickass way to make a living.

Wanna see how it works from the inside?

Watch this video: Truth in Advertising.