September 1, 2008
Links 33
1. Surf like a Bushman - I just noticed this great article in my bookmarks list (which is finally shrinking to a more manageable size after 33 entries). I thought I would never find it again, so I'm pleased to be able to share it. Foraging theory is a useful, powerful way to investigate and explain animal behavior -- and (though some might disagree) a wide variety of human behaviors as well. Most humans now live in environments remarkably different from the one(s) in which we evolved, but it is reasonable to assume our brains still use the machinery and 'rules' shaped throughout our evolutionary history. Many of us now spend time browsing through text and images on the web rather than browsing through the woods looking for a particular plant or food source, but might modern humans 'forage' on the web in the same way we would forage for food as hunters & gatherers? From the article:
Imagine you're a financial analyst looking for data about an investment company. You've found a useful site on the Web, but it's starting to feel a bit stale. You'd like to move on, but you know that a search will take time and there's no guarantee that other sites will be any more useful. When should you abandon the dwindling supply? This, Pirolli and Card argue, is analogous to the problem faced by hunter-gatherers. And it can be solved in the same way.
The article (originally published in New Scientist) is a great read. This sort of research could have a significant impact on how we design information retrieval systems, although the authors note there are some limitations:
The analogy between food and information looks like being a big help to Web designers. But at some point, Pirolli says, it's likely to break down. For one thing, there's the question of evaluating costs and benefits. Biologists and anthropologists can always draw up an energy balance sheet for a foraging behaviour in joules. The value of information isn't so easy to measure.
2. How It All Ends - You've probably seen this guy before. If not, take some time to watch this video. It's slightly obnoxious (more so than his previous videos), but his arguments regarding global warming are very well-reasoned. If you really get into it, you can visit an enormous list of related videos in the 'More Info' box of the YouTube page.
3. Aboriginal archive offers new DRM - Short but intriguing article from the BBC (via John Hawks). It's difficult to overstate the importance of preserving the history and culture of indigenous groups, especially given that they are increasingly being subsumed by cultures around them and disappearing. Providing access to the information can be complicated by cultural rules, a lack of computer skills, and the like. For example, the archivist in the article encountered the following issue when displaying a slideshow of preserved photographs:
After loading them onto her laptop, she took them back to Tennant Creek and set up a slideshow - where she noticed that people turned away when certain images came up on screen.
For example, men cannot view women's rituals, and people from one community cannot view material from another without first seeking permission. Meanwhile images of the deceased cannot be viewed by their families.
These are issues we might not immediately think about. (I wonder how well some of our 'social software' might translate to other cultures.) The solution to this particular problem was to design a system that restricted access by requiring individuals to input name, age, sex, and standing within their community -- what the article describes as "a new take on DRM." Interesting stuff.
4. Did You Know - a video on globalization and the information age. Interesting, but long... and I'm not sure I trust their numbers. It would probably be better as a web page with proper citations.
5. Google to Host Terabytes of Open-Source Science Data
6. MIT Entrance Exam, 1869-70 - from the MIT Archives & Special Collections. Take the exam and see how well you do. You can also try your hand at the 1876 exam.
01 Sep 13:40 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Libraries & Digital Information, Link Dump '08, Science, Technology & Computing
August 28, 2008
Links 30
1. Jamie Livingston's Polaroid a Day - Jamie Livingston took a polaroid nearly every day for eighteen years. It's not so much that he took a photo every day -- many people these days take multiple photos each day -- but that he took a good photo almost every day. Or maybe it's just that there's something about a polaroid. I don't know. Anyway, take a look at this mental_floss article. The Wikipedia entry provides links to more information, too.
2. Lawrence Lessig on McCain on Technology - I'm a big fan of Larry Lessig. Check out his critique of John McCain's technology policy. (These issues are a big deal, folks.)
3. I drove past a number of wind farms, in a number of states, on my trip from Utah to Texas. The enormous alien-looking machines spinning slowly in the air can be a strange sight. It struck me that even a clean, renewable energy source like wind power has tradeoffs. Don't get me wrong; it beats a coal or nuclear power plant. However, I can understand why some people might take issue with living next to them. It's worse if you're a bird or bat. For example, wind turbines make bat lungs explode. Ech.
4. Fleshmap: Musical Genres - I've seen lots of links to this lately, but I'll share it because a few of you probably missed it. It's a chart of how often a part of the body is sung about, sorted by musical genre (from a sample of 1000 songs). It's interesting how hip hop stands out from the rest. Oh, there are actual photos of body parts, so it's NSFW. If you go to the main site there are a couple of other odd little 'studies'.
5. Radiohead's 'House of Cards' video - 'House of Cards' might be my favorite cut from In Rainbows. The video is worth mention, too. (If you have a fast connection, it's worth downloading the high res version from Radiohead's site.) Instead of using lights and cameras, they used "just data" (from Geometric Informatics for the closeups and Velodyne LIDAR for the landscapes). The effect is pretty cool. Plus, you can get the data from Google Code to do with as you please. The site also has a making-of video, viewer, and more.
28 Aug 19:10 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Link Dump '08, Music, Photography, Politics, Technology & Computing, Video
April 21, 2008
Hello, World!
Yeah. So, sorry for the silence (not really). I've been busy (kinda). It won't happen again (yes it will).
Someone sent me a snide e-mail informing me that if he wanted to look at a blog that had a post about clever bookshelves every time he browsed to it, he would just go to the bookshelf blog, where he would actually see different bookshelves every day. Ha. Ha.
Anyway. I'm not completely sure where all the time went over the last 3+ weeks, although I have had a few projects, distractions, and sidetracks (yes, you can use that as a noun; I looked it up!) that have sucked away energy and attention. Many of these have had to do with what you might call 'spring cleaning'.
My computer, for example, was completely cluttered with stuff. Computers deal with clutter marvelously, but it was still a problem because I had innumerable "save for later" folders that had been growing for months or even years. It was an unmanageable backlog, so most of it had to go - lots of songs and e-mails went in the trash. I also have hundreds of bookmarks that I wanted to post here along with a few thoughts. There's such a backlog now that I'll never be able to write thoughts. Rather than trash them all, I think I'll just start a "link dump" and post the links with only the briefest of comments (or none at all). There are about 400 bookmarks (pruned down from almost twice that much), so if I post four or five every day, I should clear them out in three months or so.
I've also been getting rid of lots of the physical junk I've accumulated during the last few years. My upcoming move to another state (more on that later) is probably spurring it on. I complained about gathering computer equipment and electronics five years ago, but somehow I've already gathered more. I'm selling what I can (like the networking equipment from last month, and some upcoming items I need to post to eBay and Craigslist), but there are still batteries and print cartridges and broken stuff that are worthless but can't simply be tossed in the trash. Disposing of these items properly is still a major hassle (at least where I live), requiring research and time. I suspect most people probably just throw them away, which is a little unsettling. (Apparently, as many as two billion people are cell phone subscribers. Lay two billion cell phones end to end and they would stretch halfway to the moon -- to say nothing of cell phones already in landfills.)
Anyway.
Expect little bunches of links to start showing up on a semi-regular basis.
21 Apr 20:23 | Link | Category: Site/Life News, Technology & Computing
March 25, 2008
Snopes (run by spammers?)
I'm constantly getting e-mails from friends and family that are... annoying to say the least. I think I've finally gotten to the point in life where I can resist the urge to reply, instead simply deleting and moving on. Today, however, I deleted but couldn't move on. I needed to vent and you are my victim. Sorry.
It's just that I can't believe the utter lack of skepticism that otherwise intelligent people have when they read that Applebee's will give you $50 for forwarding a chain letter (one of the e-mails I received this morning), or that Mr. Rogers was a trained sniper, or that entering your PIN in reverse will call the police.
It's not like it's difficult to find out whether these things are hoaxes or not. I knew the chain letter this morning was BS, but assuming I hadn't, all I would have had to do was type "Applebee's $50 certificate" into Google for an instant answer. This is virtually as fast as hitting the "forward to everyone in my freaking address book to clog their inbox" button in your e-mail client.
Someone should write an e-mail plugin that ties in with a database like Snopes, Urban Legends @ About.com, Break The Chain, Truth or Fiction, VMyths, scambusters.org, hoaxbusters... well, you get the picture. There are dozens of these sites. I think the extraordinarily credulous and extraordinarily lazy might benefit from an automatic scan (or a manual "check veracity" button - but maybe they're too lazy for that?) telling them whether or not they should forward e-mails that will clutter inboxes and annoy curmudgeonly skeptics like me.
Anyway.
I have to mention this classic xkcd strip (click to enlarge):
Speaking of xkcd, here are a couple of other classics...
25 Mar 12:38 | Link | Category: Humor, Opinion & Thoughts, Technology & Computing
March 24, 2008
Need any Cisco networking equipment?
If you're looking for Cisco networking equipment (as I know so many of my readers are... ahem), have I got a deal for you:
Cisco 2801 Router w/ PVDM2-8 and VIC2-2FXO WICCall Unity Express module (AIM-CUE) for Cisco routersCisco 851 Router
Tell your geeky friends.
Update: One item's gone, but now I have an original Apple Airport card up, too. Bid quickly! Going, going...
24 Mar 12:25 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
March 13, 2008
Guys and Dolls
Last year, Richard Hawley put out a great, funny video for his song 'Serious' off the Lady's Bridge album. It features a guy who lives with a mannequin that he treats like a girlfriend:
Seemed funny enough when I first saw it. But little did I know, there are people who actually do this. That is, they live with dolls and treat them as companions. (And there was also a comedy/dramedy made last year called Lars and the Real Girl based on the concept, but I live under a rock and hadn't heard about it.)
It's one of those things you expect to read in a sci-fi novel. You know, the aliens decide to put a human in their zoo, but then realize the human needs companionship, so they create the closest facsimile they can. Interesting fictional material, but quite bizarre to see in real life. The following documentary follows several men who own one or more $6500 'real dolls':
From a psychological and anthropological viewpoint it's fascinating. (For example, I suspect there are very few women who would do this sort of thing. It would also be interesting to look at differences between cultures.)
But it's mostly just, well, creepy, isn't it? And how far will it go? A friend pointed me to this page of creepy Japanese robots in an IM. Check out the Simroid (#3). Or to be completely creeped out, check out the details of the last item, the Japenese "Honey doll" sex doll that looks like it's about twelve years old. You'll agree with me: we're doomed. Completely doomed. Someone take me back to the Pleistocene, please.
(I've thought of starting a "We're Doomed" category for posts like this that show technology outpacing the human brain in ways that are frightening. Whaddya think?)
13 Mar 19:08 | Link | Category: Human/Primate Evolution & Behavior, Misc. Tidbits, Music, Technology & Computing, Video
February 12, 2008
Libraries and the Google Generation
According to a study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Pew Internet and American Life Project, young adults (18-30) are the heaviest users of public libraries. This might be surprising considering that they're also the so-called Google Generation, but I suspect it isn't surprising to librarians. (Interestingly, those who visit libraries are more likely to use many sources of information. I wonder if young people, having been born into an age of information, are more comfortable with it or crave it more.)
I think this bodes well for libraries that restructure as socially-inviting information centers (as opposed to simple book repositories or Internet cafés). As I type this, my school's library is in the midst of a major seismic renovation. When complete, a central feature of the library will be a knowledge commons -- a sort of research central, where students can interact with each other, get technology support, speak with reference librarians, etc. I have seen similar changes in local public libraries, as well.
There's no denying an ever-growing need for help sifting through information. (In fact, a recent study found that young people - the Google Generation - are lacking in information skills.) But it should not be forgotten that humans are tremendously social animals. We still want a physical place to congregate, communicate, share information, etc. Libraries are seizing on this fact. The main library in Salt Lake City is a pretty good example. It is, more than ever, a community center and a place for people to congregate. Along with the library, there's a coffee shop, art gallery, gardens, a radio station, and various shops. There are also some fairly unconventional choices within the actual library. (USA Today called it America's unquietest library.)
It's no surprise that people with high-speed Internet access use the library less than those with dial-up or no Internet at home, but they go to libraries just as heavily when they have problems to solve. As the ALA president says, libraries need to make sure people are aware of the resources available at libraries. I think libraries should increasingly focus on becoming vibrant social centers, as well.
Finally, here's a link I previously blogged (almost four years ago): 10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library. It's slightly dated, but most of the points still apply.
12 Feb 20:05 | Link | Category: Libraries & Digital Information, Technology & Computing
January 31, 2008
Using Norton Ghost to clone a ThinkPad hard drive
This post is for the benefit of those who happen to Google their way here after trying to use Norton Ghost to clone the hard drive of an IBM ThinkPad (running Windows XP).
I have used Ghost for years, and version 8.0/2003 and earlier were good solutions for cloning Windows-based computers. (Later versions of Ghost are based on DriveImage, which I'm not terribly fond of.) I'm accustomed to its quirks and limitations, but today Ghost 2003 failed miserably.
I cloned the hard drive in my old ThinkPad T30 and when I swapped the drives, the computer refused to boot. It has to do with a "recovery" partition IBM, like many manufacturers, places on the drive. I don't have restore discs for the computer, so I need to keep the partition intact. (Besides, it also has some useful diagnostics utilities.) Unfortunately, Ghost has trouble with this. (It's hard to fault Ghost, since Windows has always been somewhat retarded when it comes to booting -- the letters NTLDR make me cringe). Oddly, the normal recovery console tricks (fixmbr, fixboot, bootcfg /rebuild, etc.) didn't seem to work.
After scouring the web, I learned that this is a typical problem with ThinkPads and Norton Ghost (at least Ghost 2003, which I was using). The solution was simple: use Acronis True Image instead of Ghost. It worked without a hitch. I was impressed with the program. It seems flexible and has a nice interface. It even supported a FireWire enclosure connected through a PC Card. So next time you need to clone a Windows hard drive, try True Image (especially if you have a ThinkPad). (If you have a Mac, it'll be much easier, and you can choose from a bunch of programs like Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper.)
31 Jan 20:58 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
January 6, 2008
Boom!
If you've ever watched Steve Jobs give a keynote speech introducing new products, you've probably noticed certain idiosyncrasies and favorite phrases. Someone compiled a bunch of them into a surprisingly funny clip:
When he demonstrates software he also says "boom" quite often. (For example, watch his demo of Exposé.) Naturally, someone also compiled a clip of "booms"
I am sooo glad there aren't hours of video footage of me because being confronted with all my little sayings and idiosyncrasies would be horrifying.
06 Jan 0:02 | Link | Category: Humor, Technology & Computing, Video
January 2, 2008
The $300 phone I want
Sure, the iPhone is cool and I would love to have one. But guess what you can get for $100 less? A real rotary telephone from the 1940s:
Made in Sweden by the L.M. Ericsson Company, this hefty Bakelite phone was popular in Buenos Aires in the 1940s. Found in Argentina and restored by hand, vintage phone has all-new wiring, a new microphone, a real rotary dial, and an authentic ring. Plugs into a standard jack.
For the longest time, I've wanted a phone with a real rotary dial and a real ringing bell like the ones my family had when I was a small child. This one's even cooler because it's from Buenos Aires in the 1940s, but you can find plenty of cheaper ones, including some 1960s phones for as little as $140 and others for as little as $60. I didn't look very carefully, so I'm sure there are better deals out there, too. (If your lines are tone-only, you can apparently convert your old pulse phones.)
02 Jan 21:35 | Link | Category: Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing
December 4, 2007
Another Bubble
Via Fake Steve:
Blog Blog BLOG IT ALL
(It might be slightly funnier if, as a troubled youth, you unintentionally memorized every word of the stupid original song. Not that I would do something so weird...)
04 Dec 11:07 | Link | Category: Humor, Technology & Computing, Video
October 21, 2006
Saga of the dead iPod, part three (happily ever after)
When I last updated you over two months ago, I had just called American Express to see if I could use the one-year warranty extension they include in their Buyer's Assurance Program. (Thank God I happened to use my AMEX card when I purchased the iPod.) They sent me a form in the mail. But it was the wrong form. I called them and they sent me the correct one. It required a bunch of paperwork (original receipt, manufacturer's warranty, credit card statement, etc) but luckily I was able to find all of those things in my filing cabinet. I gathered it together and sent it in.
Then I waited and waited and waited. After about a month, I finally called the insurance company that handles the claims and asked them what the deal was. They told me they were just waiting on a repair/replacement estimate. Oddly, this requirement hadn't been mentioned in the documentation, so I wasn't aware that I needed to get a repair estimate. I vaguely remembered the first representative at American Express mentioning that I might need to get one, but I figured it would either be listed in the paperwork or the insurance company would let me know they needed it after I sent the initial paperwork in.
Anyway... no worries. I took the iPod into the local Apple Store. The decidedly non-genius guy at the "Genius Bar" seemed a little confused and annoyed when I explained why I needed a repair estimate. After about ten or fifteen minutes of fiddling around, he finally produced it. Wanna know how much Apple expects people to pay to replace a hard drive in an old 40 GB iPod? $249 + $30 labor. (So it'd be cheaper to buy a new 30 GB Video iPod.) That's steep, but in my case that was a good thing. I faxed the repair estimate to the insurance company, crossed my fingers, and waited.
A week or two later, I opened up my mailbox to discover nothing other than a check made out to me for $279. That's right, folks, American Express came through on their promise! I had to save paperwork and jump through a few hoops, but I think it's very cool that they automatically extend the warranty of items you purchase with the card. It's a wise benefit for them to offer, because they were just able to guarantee that I will purchase all electronics with my American Express card from now on. (I should note here that some other credit cards offer similiar protection.)
Instead of fixing my old iPod (since the 40GB hard drive would just die again, for all I know), I put the money towards a new 80GB 5.5G black video iPod. (I know they're probably going to announce the snazzy new widescreen "true" video iPod in a couple of months, but I'm not really in it for video, and 80GB should be sufficient for a good while.) UPS will be delivering it this week! So thank you American Express, from a newly loyal cardholder.
21 Oct 23:38 | Link | Category: Music, Technology & Computing
August 25, 2006
High-Res Desktop Wallpaper
I've long had trouble finding images to use as desktop backgrounds on my computer that are good, high-res, and free. I've previously mentioned using astronomy images from sites like HubbleSite and CICLOPS. For high-res photos of other subjects, check out the Wallpaper section at InterfaceLIFT. Not bad.
25 Aug 19:41 | Link | Category: Photography, Technology & Computing
August 24, 2006
AOL's little accident
By now, you've probably heard about how AOL publicly released web search terms entered by 650,000 of its subscribers over a three-month period. The data was originally released on a research site, but quickly found its way, well, everywhere. The whole problem is that although the search terms were not connected to a user name, they were connected to a numeric ID. Unbelievably stupid on AOL's part (they have since admitted their mistake and booted their CTO). I mention the incident because it's interesting for a number of reasons, particularly issues of privacy.
People everywhere downloaded the data set and began to analyze it. Here's a good overview complete with some basic analysis of the data, including top search terms and such. Interestingly, the top search on AOL is... Google. Also look at the top ten searches including the term AOL. You'll see all of them have to do with canceling AOL service. Heh.
Lots of people have sifted through the data. Some of it is funny, some disturbing, some baffling. Adam D'Angelo provides some examples of searches by various users and says:
Compared to some of the data, these examples are on the safe side. I'm leaving out the worst of it - searches for names of specific people, addresses, telephone numbers, illegal drugs, and more. There is no question that law enforcement, employers, or friends could figure out who some of these people are.
User 17556639, for example, is disturbingly preoccupied with murder. Paul Boutin of Slate writes:
The New York Times quickly sussed out that AOL Searcher No. 4417749 was 62-year-old Thelma Arnold. Indeed, Arnold has a "dog who urinate on everything," just as she'd typed into the search box. Valleywag has become one of many clearinghouses for funny, bizarre, and painful user profiles. The searches of AOL user No. 672368, for example, morphed over several weeks from "you're pregnant he doesn't want the baby" to "foods to eat when pregnant" to "abortion clinics charlotte nc" to "can christians be forgiven for abortion."
While these case studies are good voyeuristic fodder, snooping through one user's life barely scratches the surface of this data trove. The startup company I work for, Splunk, makes software to search computer-generated log files. AOL's 36 million log entries might look like an Orwellian nightmare to you, but for us it's a user transaction case study to die for. Using the third-party site splunkd.com, I've parsed the AOL data to create a typology of AOL Search users.
(His seven types are: The Pornhound, The Manhunter, The Shopper, The Obsessive, The Omnivore, The Newbie, and The Basket Case.)
The data is funny and disturbing (and sordid and bizarre) at many levels. This sort of thing has enormous ramifications, though. I'll leave it to you to imagine how this type of data could be used and abused by everyone from crazy individuals to unscrupulous organizations to governments.
To search the records for yourself, try a site like AOL Log Search. I played around with it for five or ten minutes and found plenty of weird, disturbing stuff. For example, I searched for the term "Firefox" and then clicked on one of the IDs that showed up. User 3151814 was interested in Firefox, "geneolgy," "sincitystrippers," "names of angels demons," "alien government newworldorder," "sons of gods sons of daughters," and biblebrowser.com.
(It would actually be pretty interesting to see my own search history all compiled and thrown together. I wonder what I would think about myself based on it.)
For further reading:
More on what Google (and other search engines) know about you (from Boing Boing back in January).
U.S. Wants Companies to Keep Web Usage Records
EFF page on AOL's Massive Data Leak
Update: More profiles. Also read: The Database of Intentions.
24 Aug 16:50 | Link | Category: Libraries & Digital Information, Technology & Computing
August 14, 2006
Saga of the dead iPod, part two
I called American Express this morning and they're sending me a claim form in the mail. Barring any unforseen difficulties (like the adjuster finding some reason to make my claim ineligible), they will either pay for the iPod to be repaired or replaced. I'm still not sure what options I might be given, but I would prefer to have some cash to put towards a new iPod. (No more 40 GB lemons for me, thank you very much.)
I forgot to mention this in the original post, but part of the reason for writing it was to question Apple's customer service and quality control. Despite my annoyance at their high iPod repair costs, Consumer Reports found that Apple tops other computer companies in several customer service categories, including repair and tech support (and the latest ACSI survey puts Apple at the top of the PC industry in customer satisfaction). As for quality control, I'm not sure. I couldn't find any comparative information. In the past, there was little or no question that Apple's products were better designed and better built than their competitors' and used quality components. My own personal, anecdotal evidence would suggest that Apple's products are still well-designed, but perhaps cost-cutting in manufacturing and components has allowed some bad Apples (forgive the bad pun) to slip through. (And I'm sure they allow it because lower manufacturing/component costs easily outweigh repair/replacement costs for the company -- unfortunately, consumers suffer.)
My Power Mac G5, for example, is a solid, well-designed computer that has never offered any significant problems. It does have one annoying quality, though. Under just the right circumstances, the power supply chirps -- sometimes emitting electronic beeps, sometimes sounding like crickets. In fact, with the right software utility you can actually get it to play a musical scale. It turns out the issue is well-known and widespread, and has affected Power Mac G5s for years - even through several product revisions! John Siracusa of Ars Technica explains that it's due to the "necessary evil" of analog electronics in digital computers. He claims that "Apple is shipping computers with crappy analog electronics," that it has "been doing so for years," and is still doing it even in the new Intel models. Can't they make noise-free components? Siracusa says:
Apple did it for years and years, and continues to do so in most cases (e.g., the Intel iMac). That just makes it all the more unfathomable when they screw it up, and absolutely infuriating when they let an entire product line languish in chirpy hell for years!
I guess the bottom line is that when Apple transformed itself into a company that could actually compete with others, part of the deal was probably a trade-off between quality components/manufacturing and competitiveness. That means persnickety, perfectionist Apple customers might have to get used to the same levels of equipment failure as customers of other consumer computer / electronics companies. And maybe chirping workstations that never get fixed. Or an iPod model with twice the failure rate of other iPod models that never gets publicly acknowledged.
In some ways, I miss the old beleaguered Apple.
14 Aug 13:17 | Link | Category: Music, Technology & Computing
August 12, 2006
Saga of the dead iPod, part one
I've owned an iPod since a few months after they were first introduced in 2001. Back then MP3 players still hadn't hit the mainstream and I struggled to explain to puzzled people what the device even was. In the airport, I chanced across another person with an iPod, and it was the first time either of us had seen anyone else with one. My, how things have changed... I was never surprised by the product's success, though, because that iPod very quickly became one of the most indispensable gadgets in my life and it was undeniably the best MP3 player I had ever used/owned.
That original iPod endured years of use and abuse like a champ. It was well-designed and problem-free. But after a number of years, its (relatively) small storage capacity was too stifling so I replaced it with a 20 GB fourth-generation 'Click Wheel' model. That iPod also worked beautifully. When my mom decided to take the plunge (amazing how fast the device became so mainstream my mom wanted one), I gave her the 20 GB model and upgraded to a 40 GB Click Wheel model.
That's when the trouble started.
The 20 GB 'Pod is still chugging along perfectly, but I'm now on my second dead 40 GB iPod. The first one's hard drive died about six months after I purchased it. In fact, just barely over six months -- which meant that instead of getting it replaced for free, I had to pay $30 to ship it back to Apple and have it replaced. The $30 was a slight piss-off, but what's $30 when you're addicted?
Then, three or four months later, the replacement iPod's hard drive started acting up. The iPod would freeze, make odd noises, and occasionally lose track of all my music. Unfortunately, the problems were very intermittent. And, strange as it sounds, whenever the hard drive acted up, you could fix it - sometimes for weeks - by smacking the iPod a couple of times... probably not a good sign when smacking delicate electronics 'fixes' them, but... Anyway, I took it into the Apple Store several times right before the 1 year warranty expired, but I could never replicate the problems there, so they refused to replace it. The problems have grown increasingly frequent and obnoxious over the last six months. Today I think the hard drive finally died completely... stubborn little bugger.
So now I'm stuck with a dead, eighteen-month-old 40 GB iPod that's out of warranty. Argh. I might consider myself a simple victim of unlikely chance, but it seems that the fourth-generation 40GB model has caused problems for lots of people. From The Guardian: "The 40Gb Clickwheel, now discontinued, appears to have suffered more than its fair share of problems." Apparently the model "has been the subject of many readers' letters to Guardian Money." This is what one user experienced after 15 months: "It started making funny noises and freezing. The screen would freeze and then the songs started freezing." Been there. (He shoulda tried giving it a smack.) Macintouch conducted a fairly scientific iPod reliability survey. Several results/conclusions were interesting. First: "There are a remarkable number of original 5 GB iPods still in service today." Not surprising. My original iPod was built like a brick. But even more interesting to me is this conclusion:
The 40 GB Click Wheel iPod appears to have been a lemon. With a failure rate more than two standard deviations above average, it's the indisputable problem child of the iPod family. Many readers reported going through three to five of them before the 1 year warranty expired and Apple refused further replacements. Not all 40 GB iPods were so unreliable -- the 40 GB Photo was near the average failure rate -- so we don't know quite what the problem was. However, we think it's telling that Apple currently offers a 30 GB and not a 40 GB iPod.
So it seems many others shared my bad experiences with the 40 GB Click Wheel model. I've been extremely careful with both 40 GB models I've had, but they've both failed. If I had replaced my current one, I wonder how the replacement would have fared.
I know, I know, I should have purchased an extended warranty. But at the time, I couldn't find another $60 or so to cough up. And after having originally spent so much on the device (plus $30 for the replacement), I wasn't inclined to spend more... especially considering how quickly they become obsolete. I've owned many Apple products, including two desktop computers, two displays, and a notebook. None have ever given me the slightest problem, which is probably another reason an extended warranty just didn't feel necessary.
Oops.
However, the story might not be over yet (notice this post's "part one" label). That's because I used my American Express card when purchasing the iPod. I try to use American Express whenever I can because they offer a number of perks. One perk happens to be... automatic extended warranty coverage! In theory, American Express should extend my iPod's 1-year manufacturer's warranty by another year. I'm calling the folks at the AMEX "Buyer's Assurance" office first thing on Monday morning to see what they say. I plan on documenting the process here. If I can replace (or better, get cash/credit for) my iPod without too much hassle, American Express will have made a happy and loyal customer out of me. We'll see...
In the meantime, I have to deal with iPod withdrawals. Commuting will be the worst part... I refuse to haul teetering stacks of CDs to and from the car. My car also chokes when it tries to play CD-Rs, so that won't work. And radio.... no, just... no. I thought my mom might take pity and lend me my old 20 GB iPod, but she's too addicted to it. My dad has an iPod mini (trouble-free, I might add...) and I don't think he's completely addicted yet. Maybe he'll let me borrow it so I don't die.
Wish me luck and expect an update on Monday.
12 Aug 23:09 | Link | Category: Music, Technology & Computing
June 7, 2006
Windows Vista
Windows Vista should now ship in early 2007. (Doesn't it feel like we've been waiting for 'Longhorn' for years upon years?) Now that beta 2 has been out for a while, reports and reviews are being posted everywhere. It sounds like Vista will offer some pretty cool features... along with the typical assemblage of annoyances.
Robert Vamosi of CNET has been keeping a blog about living with Windows Vista. He's up to day five, and he does a pretty good job of highlighting both the good (useful features) and bad (annoyances) of Vista.
Scott Finnie of Computerworld says there are lots of good things about Vista, but since you can "read that anywhere," he focuses on the 20 Things You Won't Like About Windows Vista. Finding them, he says, was "unfortunately all too easy."
The bottom line is that if I were a Windows user, I would be pretty tempted to upgrade to Vista. It sounds pretty nice. But Finnie says that Mac OS X users can rest easy in the knowledge they still use the best OS (though it, too has annoyances and could be improved). His chart of completely subjective assessments of operating systems show that Vista is better than everything... except Mac OS X. "Apple has the best operating system this year, last year and next year. It'll be interesting to see what the company delivers in its 10.5 Leopard version of Mac OS X."
Why isn't Microsoft leapfrogging Apple with the long-awaited Vista? According to Finnie, "It isn't that Apple has put more effort into its operating system; Microsoft has mounted a gargantuan effort on Windows Vista. It's that the two companies have very different goals. I've come to believe that Microsoft has lost touch with its user base."
My take on all of this is that the final version of Vista will be an improvement over XP and will probably be a success for Microsoft. The only thing that would really upset me is the high hardware requirements - you need the latest hardware, especially in terms of video. OS X runs decently even on my ancient 400 MHz G4 with 8MB VRAM (which means it screams on my Dual 2.0 GHz G5 with 256MB VRAM). It's also a shame it's taking Microsoft so long to reach feature parity with OS X. But Microsoft has an enormous developer community plus better dev tools and support, so maybe a lumbering OS development cycle isn't a big concern for them.
Anyway, it should be interesting to see what Vista is like when it finally ships. If any of you have tried the beta, I'd love to hear what you think.
07 Jun 20:37 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
April 8, 2006
Stanford on iTunes
Stanford University is using iTunes to deliver digital content. Part of the project is a completely free public site from which you can download lectures, music, and other stuff. Check it out here. You'll need iTunes, but I'm not sure whether or not you need an account to download.
There are lots of interesting lectures. All the audio I listen to tends to be music, but I think I'm going to forgo the music once in a while to listen to some of these. Some recommended downloads (even though I've only listened to a few of them so far):
- Daniel Dennett: Intelligent Design
- Peter Godfrey-Smith: Philosophy of Science
- Robert Sapolsky: Stress and Coping: What Baboons Can Teach Us
- Denise Clark Pope: Getting Ahead in School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students
- David Laitin and James Fearon: Postmodern Imperialism
- Laura Carstensen: Aging and the Perception of Time
- Robert Dunbar: Is Global Warming Real? Climate Change and Our Energy Future
- Steve Jobs: 2005 Commencement Address (or video)
While I'm on the topic of iTunes downloads, episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report can now be downloaded. They're expensive at $1.99 a pop, but you can also purchase a 'multi-pass' that gets you sixteen episodes for $9.99. (They download automatically the day after they air on TV.) It's still not the cheapest way to get your Daily Show or Colbert Report fix (at about 60¢ an episode), but it's very convenient. I got a pass for The Daily Show just out of curiosity, and once the sixteen episodes were up, I really missed being able to watch The Daily Show - commercial-free - whenever it was most convenient for me.
08 Apr 1:00 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Cool Links, Libraries & Digital Information, Technology & Computing
April 6, 2006
Need a ten year old computer?
If you're looking for an old computer, I have two (that I'm having a hard time giving away). They're on eBay right now. (If you're here in the Salt Lake City area, ignore the shipping charges.) One is an ultra-speedy Compaq 486 DX4 100 MHz laptop. The other is an old Apple Power Macintosh 7200/120.
06 Apr 14:24 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
January 24, 2006
Celestia
I've mentioned Google Earth a few times. If you're a fan of that type of program, you might want to check out Celestia. It's the same sort of thing, just with a much wider perspective... it's an interactive, three-dimensional astronomy program available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
Best of all, it's free. Plus, you can download all sorts of add-ons like textures and astronomical objects to plug in to the program. See The Celestia Motherlode for a good listing.
As someone who nerdishly made my parents buy RedShift and Microsoft Space Simulator back in the mid-nineties, I'm nerdishly in love with this software. (And it's free!)
24 Jan 20:39 | Link | Category: Science, Technology & Computing
December 23, 2005
The Vice President's iPod
Two days ago, we learned a bit about George W. Bush's iPod. Now it's time for Dick Cheney.
I found a tidbit from the J-Walk blog about the VP's visits to Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the AP, "Cheney Flies In Comfort":
Vice President Dick Cheney didn't suffer for comfort on the cavernous cargo plane that he rode into Iraq and Afghanistan this week.
The Air Force loaded the plane with the "silver bullet," a mobile home in the sky strapped down in the middle of the belly. The accommodations included sleeping and working quarters that protected him from the noise and cold of the cargo hold during a more than five-hour flight into Baghdad.
The rest of his traveling party was not so lucky. Cheney's senior staff and junior aides were assigned to a cramped three rows of seats in front of the bullet, while reporters and Secret Service agents had to sit in jump seats along the side with a view of Cheney's stainless steel exterior walls.
And then comes this:
The vice president is an iPod fan, and keeping it charged is a priority for his staff.
Normally that isn't an issue, even when he's flying around the world. Air Force II is equipped with outlets in each row of seats.
But when Dick Cheney was traveling home overnight Wednesday from his diplomatic mission, most of the outlets went on the fritz.
Working passengers began lining up their laptops to share the power from a couple of working outlets — particularly the reporters who urgently needed to prepare their articles to transmit during a quick refueling stop in England.
But when Cheney said his iPod needed to be recharged, it took precedent above all else and dominated one precious outlet for several hours. The vice president's press staff intervened so a reporter could use the outlet for 15 minutes to charge a dead laptop, but then the digital music device was plugged back in.
That way, Cheney got his press coverage and his music, too.
I doubt Cheney had any idea the trouble his iPod was causing - it was probably just an overeager aide - but it's still pretty unbelievable.
23 Dec 11:48 | Link | Category: Humor, Music, Technology & Computing
December 21, 2005
The President's iPod
Somehow it doesn't surprise me that Brit Hume ended up asking George W. Bush about what's on his iPod. (Apparently they just ran out of important topics to discuss.) What followed was downright painful. A transcript, courtesy of the Washington Post:
Bush: Beach Boys, Beatles, let's see, Alan Jackson, Alan Jackson, Alejandro, Alison Krauss, the Angels, the Archies, Aretha Franklin, the Beatles, Dan McLean. Remember him?
Hume: Don McLean.
Bush: I mean, Don McLean.
Hume: Does "American Pie," right?
Bush: Great song.
Hume: Yes, yes, great song.
Unidentified male: . . . which ones do you play?
Bush: All of these. I put it on shuffle. Dwight Yoakam. I've got the Shuffle, the, what is it called? The little.
Hume: Shuffle.
Bush: It looks like.
Hume: The Shuffle. That is the name of one of the models.
Bush: Yes, the Shuffle.
Hume: Called the Shuffle.
Bush: Lightweight, and crank it on, and you shuffle the Shuffle.
Hume: So you -- it plays . . .
Bush: Put it in my pocket, got the ear things on.
Hume: So it plays them in a random order.
Bush: Yes.
Hume: So you don't know what you're going to going to get.
Bush: No.
Hume: But you know --
Bush: And if you don't like it, you have got your little advance button. It's pretty high-tech stuff.
Hume: . . . be good to have one of those at home, wouldn't it?
Bush: Oh?
Hume: Yes, hit the button and whatever it is that's in your head -- gone.
Bush: . . . it's a bad day, just say, get out of here.
Hume: Well, that probably is pretty . . .
Bush: That works, too. ( Laughter )
Hume: Yes, right.
It reminds me a bit of my parents. My dad won an iPod mini, but I don't think he uses it very much because he complains about having to put his glasses on to read the display (see the picture of Bush). My mom actually loves her iPod and uses it all the time, mostly to listen to audiobooks from Audible. But I'm pretty sure if I interviewed either of them about it, they would sound a lot like Hume and Bush.
21 Dec 1:09 | Link | Category: Humor, Music, Technology & Computing
December 16, 2005
iTunes Signature Maker
This is pretty useless, but also fairly cool: Jason Freeman's iTunes Signature Maker. It analyzes your iTunes library and, based on preferences you can set, mixes your most played/highest rated/most recently added songs into a 'signature' of tunes.
Here's a signature from some of my highly rated songs (4 MB WAV).
16 Dec 23:38 | Link | Category: Cool Links, Interactive, Music, Technology & Computing
December 10, 2005
Google Earth / Windows Live Local
If you haven't used Google Earth yet, you're missing out on one of the coolest little apps in quite a while. There are a number of other similar products, but I haven't yet seen one that's quite as nicely done as Google Earth. I've been eagerly awaiting a Mac version of Google Earth for months, and finally it has arrived! (Well, sort of. It hasn't been officially released yet, but if you're resourceful you should be able to find a copy floating around the internets. I downloaded a copy and it runs perfectly on my G5. Hopefully an official release will come shortly.)
In related news, Microsoft's Virtual Earth has become Windows Live Local (also still in beta). I can't say I understand the name change, and the interface isn't very usable yet (in Firefox, at least) -- but there are some cool features. The Birds Eye Images are extremely cool. There's also an interesting "locate me" feature (that has caused some concern among privacy advocates).
I've wasted entirely too much time looking at maps and aerial photos today. The silence shall now resume.
10 Dec 17:39 | Link | Category: Interactive, Libraries & Digital Information, Technology & Computing
November 29, 2005
Windows turns 20
Sorry for posting this rather disturbing image of Bill Gates, but I don't do it without reason. It's sort of a birthday card to remind us how far we've come in two decades. ((Update: I forgot to mention this, but I chose one of the better images from Bill's photo shoot. If you're not too squeamish, check out the second photo on this page. I think we should all be relieved Bill's goal is Microsoft on every desktop, not Bill Gates on every desk.))
Last week, Microsoft Interface Manager Windows officially turned 20 years old. From Download Squad comes 20 things you didn't know about Windows 1.0, including:
- Bill Gates wanted to call Windows 1.0 "Interface Manager." Marketing exec Rowland Hanson persuaded him that Windows was a better name.
- In 1983, Microsoft pitched Windows as a potential GUI for Atari's ST computer. Atari, however, didn't want to wait for the program, and settled on Digital Research's GEM instead.
- An early PR photo for Windows 1.0 shows Bill Gates sprawled on a desk leaning on a computer monitor. Behind him are several other computers, including an IBM PC —and a Mac.
- The system requirements for Windows 1.0 were 256KB of RAM, DOS 2.0 and two floppy drives.
Just to prove how ancient I am, I remember Digital Research's GEM. My family's first PC came with it. (Like most people, we didn't get Windows until v. 3.1.) GEM was actually a pretty functional, decent-looking GUI shell for PCs of the time (though still leaps and bounds behind the Mac). We never really used it, instead using a simple batchfile menu thingy or navigating around in DOS (oh what fun). Our computer also came with great programs like DisplayWrite, Wordstar, GW-BASIC, and Lotus 1-2-3. Ahh, those were the days.
Oh, also... if you haven't seen it, you might enjoy the video of Steve Ballmer pitching Windows 1.0.
29 Nov 16:18 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
November 27, 2005
Vertical 'Arrange All' for Word X
I've never been much of a fan of Microsoft Word, but like so many people, I find myself stuck with it. I especially miss WordPerfect (Corel hasn't made WP for the Mac for years) because its architecture allows the very useful reveal codes feature.
One annoyance that has been bothering me for a few months now is unique to Word X for Macintosh (not sure about Word 2004 for Mac since I still haven't upgraded). If you have multiple windows open, you only have one choice of how to arrange them, using the menu command Window - Arrange All. It tiles the windows horizontally. And that's your only option. No tiling vertically or cascading or anything else. My screen is wide, so when I want two documents up side-by-side, I prefer that they tile vertically. No luck from Word X. I have to arrange them myself, which annoys me.
Other applications (like Adobe Reader) don't have this problem, allowing automatic horizontal/vertical tile and cascade.
Luckily, I found a bit of a workaround today. Put this macro into your global template and the behavior of Window - Arrange All changes to vertical tiling. Thank you, Mr. McGimpsey!
Update (29.Nov): I just checked Word 2004 for Mac on a computer at school, and it suffers from the same annoyance.
27 Nov 22:11 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
November 10, 2005
Just Shut Up
A couple of weeks ago, I bookmarked an article by Tony Long of Wired News. The title is 'You Know What? Just Shut Up':
How about the ringtone on a cell phone? I never thought I'd see the day when the opening bars of Beethoven's Für Elise would tick me off, but Sprint has managed to do it. Sublime music is not meant to be trivialized through reduction to electronic burps and gurgles.
...
But even butchered Beethoven is better than some of the other sounds these phones make. Dooodle-ooOOO-dooo.... Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.... They're stupid and intrusive, especially when they go off at a public event (like a Beethoven concert) or in a restaurant or anywhere human beings gather for social intercourse.
Put your phone on vibrate and stick it in your pocket. Don't worry, you'll feel it. Stick it in the right pocket, and it might feel pretty good.
I would like to dedicate this post to the people whose obnoxious ring-tones go off in the middle of a lecture or at the library. (In fact, I'm in the library right now and I would like to further dedicate this post to the asshole 10 feet from me whose obnoxious ringtone signaled the start of an inane conversation he seems to think the entire library is dying to hear.)
Finally, if you're annoyed by people who start up their laptops in the middle of lectures and blast the Windows login sound or the Apple chime at max volume - you should watch this clever movie from Prangstgrüp.
10 Nov 13:01 | Link | Category: Humor, Technology & Computing
August 18, 2005
Not-So-Mighty Mouse
I got my first Mac in 1999. At the time, Apple was shipping their G4 systems with the same hockey-puck mouse and compressed keyboard that came with the original iMac. I found that I actually liked the keyboard, despite the fact that I was using a Microsoft Natural Keyboard with my PC. (I've also liked Apple's subsequent Pro Keyboard and Wireless Keyboard.) But that mouse... oh, how I hated it. I've used the later Pro Mouse a lot at school, and while the design is cool and it's a little more usable, I still don't care for it.
In fact, I've been using Microsoft Mice (Mouses?) with my Macs since about a month after I got that first G4. At the time, Microsoft had just come out with their first optical mouse, the super-duper Intellimouse Explorer. I plunked down about $65 for it, but all those extra buttons (and getting to toss my mouse pad) made it worth it. Now I can't even imagine using my computer without it. Microsoft's software works well under both OS 8/9 and OS X. (I actually prefer the MS software's tracking to Apple's.) Microsoft even replaced my mouse - no questions asked - when it developed a short in the wire years after I bought it.
A few weeks ago, Apple finally produced a multi-button mouse, the Mighty Mouse. From all the media attention it's getting, you'd think it was hugely revolutionary. But while the touch-sensitive buttons and "scroll ball" are clever, I can't see why it's such a big deal. For one thing, it has a cord. I hope a wireless version is coming soon, because cords are so very 20th century. The other big problem with the mouse is that it lacks forward/back buttons. It's "side buttons" are really just one programmable button - suggested uses for which are "Dashboard, Exposé, Spotlight, Application Switcher"... Thanks, but I can get to Dashboard & Exposé with hot corners and Application Switcher with a scroll wheel click. As for Spotlight, you'll be typing something in the search field anyway, so you're going to eliminate movement of your hand from mouse to keyboard by just hitting Cmd-Space to bring it up. The Mighty Mouse lacks an easy, built-in forward & back feature for web browsing (or iTunes or whatever else), which is indispensable IMO.
Don't tell Apple, but I just ordered a Wireless Intellimouse Explorer for my G5. (Plus, I found one for $17, versus Mighty Mouse's $49.)
18 Aug 19:36 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
June 29, 2005
Podcasting
I haven't really hopped aboard the podcasting bandwagon, mostly because I have no empty spaces in my media-saturated day. (In a mass communications class I'm taking, we analyzed our hours of media consumption per day and it was quite shocking.) In other words, I'd rather listen to music or surf the 'net. Though I barely participate, I do think podcasting is a cool use of technology. Since it's in the news because of the mainstream validation lent by iTunes 4.9, here are some links:
29 Jun 22:51 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
A Woeful eXPerience
The hard drive in my dad's computer died. Guess who got called to fix it?
Luckily, I made a Ghost backup a few weeks ago, so he lost relatively little data. (I've now set up an automatic daily differential backup, since his computer hardware seems to be jinxed.) Unfortunately, the restoration process was an enormous headache.
First, the new hard drive proved to be defective within a few days. That annoyance, however, was nothing compared to the next one. My dad's coworker (a very computer literate man who actually introduced me to PCs back in the stone age) wisely - or so he thought - decided to install SP2 for Windows XP. Little did he know that... well, this is a long story, but the simplified version is that years ago, I used PC Relocator to move everything from my dad's old Windows 98 computer to his Windows XP system. It worked fine for my dad's daily use, but there were always little oddities in the system because PC Relocator borked a few things (registry corruption and some other stuff) and despite the best efforts of yours truly and a number of experienced geeks and tech support personnel, there was simply no way to apply service packs without rendering the system unbootable, requiring a complete wipe of the drive and reinstallation of Windows. (No, repairing / reinstalling Windows didn't work, nor did all sorts of schemes with the Recovery Console, etc. etc. etc. Even System Restore didn't work!) I used the same version of PC Relocator on my brother's computer, with the same pleasing results. (Yay me!) Luckily, I discovered this nasty PC Relocator bug immediately after doing backups with Ghost, so it wasn't a problem - I just restored and accepted the fact that service packs were out of the question. In retrospect, I should have taped a big message on the computer - "DO NOT INSTALL SERVICE PACKS!" My dad's coworker didn't know of the bug, applied the service pack without backing up, and BOOM.
The last backup had been about a week earlier, so I had to find a way to get my dad's recent files off the computer, which was screwy because of a strange NTFS permissions glitch similiar to this, caused by trying to repair Windows. After many attempts with boot disks, putting the drive in external enclosures, and such, I did finally figure out how to access the files painlessly (using my G5, of all things). Then because I had already wasted many hours and because I'm a perfectionist, I decided the computer would run SP2 or else. So I wiped the drive and reinstalled everything - exactly what I should have done years ago instead of using PC Relocator. My dad never hangs on to install discs, which multiplied the fun by another factor.
The computer's programs, data, and settings are now fully restored (and running SP2!), but getting there was like pulling fingernails. I've been through many instances of DLL Hell, hours of sifting through & hacking the beloved Windows Registry, and deciphering / solving lots of annoying errors like, oh... the AGP440.SYS freeze and GETIUMS and MSDART.DLL and... I could go on an on. Fun fun fun! I'd start cursing Microsoft Windows now, but I think I've even had enough of that. Imagine!
29 Jun 12:00 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
June 21, 2005
Should iPods carry health warnings?
These are old links, but still worth mentioning. According to The Register, an Australian head teacher has banned pupils from bringing their iPods to school, "because they encourage social isolation." Included in the article are several amusing iPod health warning labels.
While there's some truth to the argument that personal digital music players encourage isolation and contribute to the desocialization of music, they are only the latest part of a continuing trend that started with the advent of recorded music (read Alex Ross's thoughtful article in The New Yorker), so it's unreasonable to single them out or claim them to be unique in some way. (How truly different is an iPod from a Walkman?)
For more, read Andrew Sullivan's iPod World: The End of Society?, Christine Rosen's The Age of Egocasting, and Douglas Kern's response to both, iPod Therefore iAm.
21 Jun 22:59 | Link | Category: Music, Technology & Computing
June 13, 2005
Apple Switches to Intel
Last week, Apple announced they will begin using Intel processors next year. I can't say I was particularly shocked by the news. Nor was I upset about it because I think it will end up being a 'good thing'... though for reasons both geeky and emotional, a part of me will miss the PowerPC architecture. (See: John Siracusa mourns the Power PC.) Developers, more than customers, have taken a lot of crap from Apple over the years, and as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has rightfully (and, um, enthusiastically) stated, developers are key. (In fact, I attribute much of Microsoft's continued dominance to their developer tools and relations.) Hopefully Apple can make the transition easy for everyone... although they probably realize many of us will jump through a few hoops because we're addicted to OS X.
I suspect Apple realized a switch would be necessary because IBM couldn't (or wouldn't) deliver a decent low-heat, power-conscious G5. The current Power Macs are fairly zippy, but it seems the G5 will never make its way into notebooks - and Apple's portable line is already quite poky and sluggish compared to many Centrino systems. Hopefully, Apple's notebooks will be among the first systems to utilize Intel chips. John Stokes' hypothetical Apple-Intel roadmap addresses this (along with the 64-bit question), so hopefully it's on the mark.
Those of you familiar with Macs might chuckle at this: New startup chime for Macintel computers revealed!
The speculators among you might enjoy Robert X. Cringley's latest silly conspiracy theory column.
13 Jun 0:33 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
June 1, 2005
The end of 'my'
Ending a long tradition, Microsoft plans to stop using the word "my" as the default prefix for such folders as "My Documents," "My Music," and "My Pictures". Thank God. I've been confused and annoyed by the prefix since I loaded Windows 95 onto my PC nearly ten years ago.
If the other annoying software products and web sites that use the 'my' prefix would ditch it, we might start to make some real progress. Then maybe we could tackle annoying suffixes (think 'Windows XP' or 'Photoshop CS') and maybe even that ubiquitous 'e-' prefix. And oh what I'd give for Apple to stop using that damned 'i-', but I think Hell will freeze over first.
01 Jun 16:44 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
May 21, 2005
H.264 High Definition Gallery
Those of you with QuickTime 7 (Windows version "coming soon") and a sufficiently zippy computadora should definitely check out Apple's HD Gallery for some really stunning high definition video samples made possible by H.264.
21 May 0:11 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing, Video
April 27, 2005
New Computer!
I'm getting a new computer! This is exciting because: a) I'm a geek and b) my computer is 5½ years old. It's time. Over the years, I've upgraded my G4 Sawtooth many times. RAM, processor, hard drive, video card, you name it. It still performs remarkably well, but there are some things that bog it down (certain games, video/3D rendering, etc.). Plus no DVD burning and the fact that I've run out of hard drive space again and have resorted to an awkward solution using external drives, etc. etc. etc.
Speedbumped G5s were announced this morning (preloaded with Tiger), so I figured it was as good a time as any to buy. I ordered a dual 2.0 GHz model. With the educational discount, it wasn't a bad deal. I customized some of the components, so it might be a few weeks before it arrives. I'll try not to make too much geeky fanfare when it does (I'm thinking of those odd sites where people take detailed photographs of the unpacking / setup process), but it's not often that I get a new computer (or, as my nephew mispronounced it when he was three, McPuter).
Computers improve at such a maddening pace. I don't know how much is amazing innovation and how much is planned obsolescence. Anyway. I'm hoping I can make the G5 last as long as the G4 (which happens to be going to a loving home where it will continue to be used for years).
27 Apr 16:10 | Link | Category: Site/Life News, Technology & Computing
April 8, 2005
Google Maps
If you've been under a rock for a few days, you might have missed all the buzz about the new satellite imagery feature from Google Maps. Check out Google Sightseeing (from Shreddies) for quick aerial visits to places like Rainbow Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Neverland Ranch. Chris of Cynical-C has also put up a list of interesting views from the Golden Gate Bridge and Las Vegas Strip to Burning Man setup.
I have to agree with Mark Morford's assessment that it's creepy, but in a very cool way. I'm actually a little surprised by the buzz, since TerraServer has been around for ages, and their aerial photos are far more detailed than Google's. But apparently Google's imagery is more comprehensive. And the interface and loading speed are both quite impressive.
Incidentally, TerraServer has a collection of famous places, too. Click the "urban areas" tab (when available) for color photos.
Now I'm going to sit back, imagine the CIA spying on me, and muse on that whole WMD thing. I have this vivid memory from school during the 80s of some official-ish person telling my class that, using spy satellites, the military could tell if someone was drinking Coke or Pepsi (ah, for the heydays of the cola wars...) because they could tell what color of aluminum can a person was holding. I've always wondered if that was true...
Oh, here are a few of my creepy TerraServer photos:
- Part of my university's campus
- The neighborhood where I spent the first half of my life (things do look a bit different now)... I'll spare you the long slideshow of other places I've lived.
Weird. Anyway, remember: You are being watched.
08 Apr 14:53 | Link | Category: Cool Links, Libraries & Digital Information, Misc. Tidbits, Technology & Computing, Travel
March 22, 2005
PyMusique author hacks iTunes fix
This is too funny. A few days ago, three developers (among them the famous DVD Jon) unveiled PyMusique, a program that lets you download music from Apple's iTunes Music Store without DRM. It also lets you re-download songs you have already downloaded. (I've never figured out why Apple won't let you do that.)
So, yesterday Apple made changes to the store so PyMusique wouldn't work. (The changes required users to upgrade to iTunes 4.7 to purchase songs.)
And today, Jon announced that he has reverse-engineered the iTunes 4.7 encryption, circumventing Apple's fix.
It's fairly safe to predict that Apple will be the ultimate winner of this little duel of wits. (The company has been particularly notable in playing the role of big bad litigious corporate hardass during recent weeks.) But if nothing else, I hope it will get people thinking about iTunes's silly proprietary files and about the unreasonableness of DRM schemes in general. (See: "Isn't 'rights management' an oxymoron?" and DRM Blog, which can provide you with even more links and coverage of the ever-exciting world of rights management.)
I should also insert my obligatory mention of < 25¢-per-download, DRM-free, re-downloadable MP3 files from eMusic.
22 Mar 23:25 | Link | Category: Music, Technology & Computing
Experimental Gameplay Project
The goal of Canergie Mellon's Experimental Gameplay Project is to create 50 to 100 games in 1 semester. Each game must be made in less than 7 days by one person. Visit the site to try the games ("some good, some crappy, all experimental") and vote on them.
22 Mar 12:08 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Technology & Computing
March 13, 2005
"I ♥ PowerPoint"
Way back in August of '03, I linked to an article about David Byrne's PowerPoint art (and later the Gettysburg PowerPoint Presentation).
This report from a recent lecture at Berkeley would seem to indicate he's still in love with it.
13 Mar 23:14 | Link | Category: Art & Entertainment, Technology & Computing
March 6, 2005
The Sad Case of the Insomniac G4
Not too long ago, I accidentally did a very very bad thing to my old Power Mac G4. I won't go into the details of how it happened (since it was my fault), but I fried the FireWire ports... a major problem, because I use Firewire for CD burning, an external hard drive, and connecting my iPod.
I'm still hoping to get a little life out of the G4 (right now I'm approaching 5½ years), and anyway I don't have the money to upgrade right now. So my best option was to get a FireWire PCI card. But in researching which one to get, I stumbled across an annoying fact: When you use a FireWire PCI card, your Mac won't enter "deep sleep." See this item from xlr8yourmac or The Great FireWire Adventure (from someone with a really cool name!). At least I have FireWire back. And, yes, the hard drives, monitor, and such will all sleep. But the fans still run. This is a major annoyance to me, since I sleep in the same room my computer is in. (And, yes, I refuse to turn my computer off every night - I should be able to put it to sleep like I have for 5+ years.)
Unfortunately, I will never again see the softly pulsing light of a contentedly sleeping Power Mac unless Apple makes a change in OS X (doubtful) or one of you has a functional G4 AGP logic board you're willing to donate. Now I'm itching for a G5 even more. Maybe in summer or fall...
06 Mar 11:44 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
February 10, 2005
Safari workaround for IDN spoof
Mozilla, Safari, and Opera (and IE if you have an IDN plugin installed) are all susceptible to a (potentially) very serious security problem. You can get the details and test your browser here.
A reliable temporary fix for Firefox users can be found here. As yet, there is no fix for Opera (their original response was that they believe the feature is working properly and plan no changes).
Most sources will tell you there's no solution for Safari users, but I found one. Just download and install the free Saft Lite (from the folks who brought you Saft) and you'll get a warning if someone tries to spoof you.
10 Feb 13:10 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
February 2, 2005
The Absolute Bottom 50 Blogs
From Chickenhead comes the list of absolute bottom 50 blogs (in the same fine tradition as the absolute bottom 50 college courses and Hallmark holidays).
Sadly, some of them are uncomfortably close to a description of this weblog:
- MyCompulsivelyUpdatedLinksToTheNewYorkTimes.com
- IAmBoringAndIfYouAreReadingThisSoAreYou.com
- GeorgeWBushMakesMeSoMadIStartedABlog.org
- TheSameKookyKrazyStuffEveryoneElseIsLinkingTo.com
- ElectronicManifestationOfMyStruggleToBeRelevant.com
These are my other favorites:
- BourgeoisBohemianHipster.com
- PuttingMyLiberalArtsDegreeToSomeUse.com
- FailedJournalist.com
- IronicPopCultureReferencesObscuringAnUtter- LackOfInterestingOpinions.com
- RegurgitatingShitIJustHeardRushLimbaughSay.us
- RegurgitatingShitIJustHeardAlFrankenSay.us
- HotNewConsumerGadgetAdvertisement.net
- TheOnlyWayAnyoneWillEverReadMyHorriblePoetry.org
- VelvetClad.ChunkyGothGirls.com
- PompousRuminationsOnMinutia.org
- ThePissyPontificatingProfessor.com
- MyMostIntenselyPrivateThoughtsAndSecrets- ForAllTheWorldToSee.com
02 Feb 23:07 | Link | Category: Humor, Technology & Computing
January 31, 2005
Credit card fraud
Every month, one of my credit cards is charged $9.95 from a web hosting company. So I probably wouldn't have looked twice at a $9.95 charge from "MACROCYBERLINC" on a recent statement. Luckily, I hadn't used the card for quite a while, so it was the only charge on the statement. I quickly realized that it wasn't my normal monthly charge and that I had never heard of this "Macrocyberlinc" company.
So I googled it... and what did I find? The only references Google could even find were a few sites about a $9.95 credit card fraud scheme. Swell. To make a long story short, I called the bank, reported the fraud, and canceled my card number.
It's probably related to using the card online. People mentioned Amazon.com and PayPal, both of which I have used recently... but I've also used this card number at a number of other sites, so it's hard to tell. Most - if not all - of the sites were reputable, secure sites with what appeared to be decent privacy policies... but I'm not sure that means as much as people say it does. I still love to tell the people the story of how I got e-mails asking for extra info. on the PowerBook I was selling on eBay... except that I wasn't selling a PowerBook on eBay. It turned out someone had hacked into my eBay account and was selling fake merchandise. In another long story I'll make short, I eventually tracked it to Microsoft's Passport service that was linked to my eBay account. Luckily I didn't have anything else in my "passport" (credit card numbers, other passwords, etc.). Interestingly, eBay announced a few weeks ago that it would no longer support logins through Microsoft's Passport or .Net services, and Microsoft has abandoned its Passport efforts (see also).
Anyway, be careful out there. I'm thinking about starting to use virtual credit card numbers, even though it sounds like a nuisance.
31 Jan 16:09 | Link | Category: Site/Life News, Technology & Computing
January 9, 2005
The Hipster PDA
Not too long after I bought my Palm m125 off eBay, I decided it was a pain in the ass to use (not to mention that it really eats through batteries). I keep trying to use it, but it's always a nuisance at some level.
I think it's finally time to build a Hipster PDA. (See also: Organizing Your Hipster PDA)
09 Jan 21:24 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
January 8, 2005
Bill Gates and 'New Communists' part II
A couple of days ago, I mentioned that Bill Gates referred to free culture advocates as "new modern-day sort of communists" and linked to a blog entry by Lawrence Lessig. BoingBoing posted a link to a 30 minute video (torrent) from the Creative Commons 2nd Anniversary, the highlight being Lessig "taking on both BillBoard and Bill Gates." Worth a look.
(I liked these parts: "The key obvious part here right... communists? I dunno, not quite. Communism was where the state owned everything. Fascism was where monopoly corporations owned everything. Creative Commons is not about communism or about fascism. It's more common-ist. We are commonists here. Jefferson was a commonist in this sense." and "If we are a serious threat, then let us be a serious threat to lawyers' income. I'm all for that. If we are a 'virus', then let us be a virus that helps enable artists and spread this culture and free this culture, so that the next generation looks back to this moment and recognizes that here and now we fought to regain the freedom that was always ours against those who don't know what communism or fascism or 'threat to culture' really are.")
Update: Wired News story here. And thoughts from Dan Gillmor.
08 Jan 1:15 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
January 6, 2005
Bill Gates and 'New Communists'
In a recent interview, Bill Gates described free culture advocates as a "new modern-day sort of communists"
Lawrence Lessig says: "It's one thing to read this sort of thing from a studio exec, or head of a record label -- surrounded as they are by the sort that surround them. But the people I've met at Microsoft are miles beyond this sort of silliness. Does Mr. Gates not even talk to them?"
(If you haven't read any of Lessig's books, please do.)
BoingBoing provides one, two, three pieces of propaganda for you, comrades.
06 Jan 23:50 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
November 23, 2004
GUI gallery
Those of you geeky enough to be interested in the histories of Graphical User Interfaces and the differences between them might enjoy browsing through GUIdebook. It's a nicely designed site that will probably take you back in time.
23 Nov 21:47 | Link | Category: Technology & Computing
November 22, 2004
Electronic Game Scrapbook, 1980-1990
I realized the other day that kids who were born at the time my siblings and I got our Atari game console are now over 21 years old. The realization had two effects on me. The first was to shock and depress me at my 'advanced age.' The second was to give me the desire to revisit some of my favorite games from days gone by. (Thanks to emulator / simulator software that lets you run your old favorites on your PC or Mac, it's an easy task.) I've never actually been a huge gamer (despite what this page might make you think), but like so many people my age, I have fond memories of the video games I grew up with. Here's a scrapbook of graphics:
My first experience with computers was with my family's TI-99/4A:
It was a trip back in time to fire up the simulator software and see the cyan startup screen with 16 colors:
My favorite game was Hunt The Wumpus:
I also liked Alpiner:
I've had the best luck with the Win994a-TI-99/4A Simulator, but there are others.
We later had an Atari 2600:
My favorite games:
Atlantis:
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