A few random tech observations from the subway

I took the subway into Manhattan today, and had a few random thoughts that I thought might be worth sharing:

1- I adore the iPod touch. It's such an awesome device.
2- I wish Gmail and the other Google apps worked in a sort of offline mode. When I had my last blackberry, I was very fond of typing an e-mail (or 5) while underground, and then sending at my convenience.
3- I spotted a Zune out in the wild. Hadn't seen one in... well... maybe ever?
4- I spotted a Kindle out in the while. Hadn't seen one in a few months (and let me say... it really is a cool looking toy).

All around, it was a nice little tech-filled subway ride.

Google Talk is becoming REALLY cool

Google made a very nice addition today to the Google Talk platform, by adding the ability to share YouTube videos during a conversation.

As many of the commenters on TechCrunch pointed out, this isn't something entirely new, and there are companies who have been doing this for a while (Yahoo is mentioned a couple of times).

What isn't pointed out, and isn't quite available (yet?) is integration with Android. We know that Google has previously incorporated SMS into Gchat, and that Google is making a huge push into the mobile space.

So, here's my question for you:

How cool would it be to be able to have a Gchat going, with voice and video included, while watching a Youtube video... all from your Android phone?

More importantly... how far away is that?

A great day for online media- potentially

Watching the inauguration from the position of being a tech guy, this may make sense, but I think it speaks volumes to the ways that the media is changing.

In discussion through Facebook, e-mail and twitter, I can say that I know people in 4 different countries who are watching or listening live.

On Twitter, there's an explosion of tweets about the event itself, which is to be expected. What I didn't anticipate, however (even if I should have), is how many people are complaining about how their chosen service is dropping the ball in regards to live streams, bandwidth or any other problems.

Twitter Update: I may not be the only one thinking this. I just ReTweeted @mediaphyter's request for people who are watching online or through social media, and have to assume she's writing a story about this for ZDnet (can't wait to see what she comes up with)

In my mind, while today is obviously a huge historical day, I also think it will go down in history as the day that online media took a major shift into the mainstream (you know... assuming that someone can figure out how to make the technology work consistently).