Happy Tax Day
Did you remember to file? I did. Unfortunately, all I do is pay and pay and pay. I need more deductions next time. Now, what can I buy?
Put a Tiger on your computer
Apple announced Tiger (aka OSX 10.4). Tiger will actually be available on April 29th at 6pm. Expect some lines at the Apple stores. Apple loves to see lines at the stores.
Feel free to click on the link at the right if you want to get your copy of Tiger from Amazon. They are taking pre-orders right now. Clicking on the link would be a nice thing to do. I think I make about a penny every time someone clicks on something here and buys it.
A few billion more clicks and I can retire.
Life with the PalmOne Treo 650 (part 2)
As promised, here is part two of my review of the PalmOne Treo 650 phone/pda combo. To recap, I purchased the unlocked (as in no branding by a wireless company) Treo 650 directly from PalmOne and got it for the introductory price. Now, its a hundred bucks more expensive, which borders on the absurd. Of course, I also used to own the Sony Ericsson P910i so obviously i don’t mind spending money for tech gadgets that may or may not be worth the price.
I have had a chance to use the Treo 650 on an ongoing, day-to-day basis for many weeks now and following are a few observations and comments. First, i still like it. That’s a big one for me as many times the newness of something takes the edge off of what is bugging me about it. Second, its a pretty cool piece of technology after you make some changes to it and get it working correctly. Third, it definitely has room for improvement.
Out of the box, I attempted to use some of the built-in Palm applications such as VersaMail. I’m not really sure why VersaMail is even on the Treo 650, except maybe to frustrate me, so that was one of the first apps that I found a replacement for. My biggest problem with VersaMail? Even when it had downloaded new mail from my POP server or from my .Mac account and I had read those emails, it insisted on downloading them again and again and again, even though it was set to download “new” mail only. Not very useful. It never seemed to get the clue that those emails were not new and that I had, in fact, already read them.
Plus, it had the annoying habit of forgetting to download my email on the schedule I set up for it. I work with technology every day and people pay me to advise them on this stuff so I am by no means a novice or a layman. That said, I could not get it to work the way I wanted it too. So, I moved on. Unfortunately, even though I switched to the far superior and useful Snappermail, I am unable to delete Versamail because it is part of the ROM set that comes with the Treo.
Come on PalmOne, if you are not going to provide a decent app and force me to replace it, at least allow me to delete the offending app to save what meager memory apace you have left me with. It’s only fair. I’m sure someone, somewhere (Shadowmite?) is working on a way to get around this but I don’t have it yet so I a stuck with something I don’t use and would like to get rid of.
Palm should allow you to delete anything that you don’t want (application-wise, that is). They could still protect essential system files but everything else should be fair game. I don’t really need the “Welcome” or “Quick Tour” applications either (never run them, never will) so that’s two more that could go away. I wonder how much memory that would save?
Really, the root problem is the lack of memory and no foolproof way to run things from a secure digital card. Yes, I use PowerRUN to use some apps off of the SD card, Kinoma Player and Adobe Reader are two examples. But if you tried to run something more vital, it would cause a freeze and require a reset. This to me is not good. Maybe in the Treo 700.
As for other third-party applications that I use, here is a list of the ones currently on my Treo:
Vindigo - Restaurant and other listings by city (I have Los Angeles and Pasadena on mine currently) Documents to Go - Access Word and Excel Files on the Treo (this comes with the Treo but it can be deleted) Kinoma Player - Plays video and also allows you to access photos PowerRUN - Application for transferring things to the SD card and running them from there Snappermail - Full featured mail program for POP and .Mac Splash Photo - Photo catalog program Uninstall - Allows you to remove most Applications (even some parts of built-in ones) and removes them clean Verichat - IM client for AOL, Yahoo, etc.
These all serve their purpose and work well on the Treo with few, if any, glitches. VeriChat occasionally has trouble signing on to AIM but that may more be a function of my use of a .Mac account rather than a problem with the application itself. It has no trouble with my Yahoo account. I also use Missing Sync for synchronization even though iSync worked just fine on its own. I like the added feature of being able to mount the SD card to the desktop and copy things to and from it. It’s cool and worth it to me.
So, the PalmOne Treo 650 is a good device despite its shortcomings. It’s not perfect and sometimes freezes (about once a month or so) and needs to be reset. This seems to happen most when it has tried to access the T-Mobile internet to download my mail and was unsuccessful for lack of signal. The lack of signal seems to be the one common reason when it freezes so that’s what I feel is the problem. When I am not someplace like the Hollywood Hills and have a clear signal, I experience no problems.
I suspect that the Palm software is about at the end of the line for usefulness in a device like this. As these devices get even more complex, they will require a multi-tasking OS such as Linux or even a mobile version of Mac OSX (I can dream). The Palm OS is well designed and proven after many years of use. But at this point, its beginning to show its age.
Perhaps in the Treo 700, or whatever its called, we will finally get the multi-function phone/pda that we have all wished for. Until then, the Treo 650 is a worthy stepping stone on the road to that goal. As long as you don’t mind a few bumps along the way.
Bush sinks even lower, DeLay no help
President Bush’s approval rating falls again. Congress is doing even worse. I’m not usually one to say “I told you so” but really, was there any doubt this would happen?
Now, what’s the latest: high gasoline prices that are going even higher, the Schiavo circus, Tom DeLay’s endless graft or his latest ridiculous comments? It all contributes to the falling approval ratings.
I conducted my own internal poll and rate President Bush a big, fat 0 and Congress a slightly better 1. Why or why couldn’t John Kerry have been a little bit stronger and a little bit more interesting? Damn you protruding chin!
Next Stop . . .The White House
My personal favorite chefs, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, are in the running for a very important job: Executive Chef(s) in the Whitehouse (yes, THE Whitehouse). Juliette Rossant, of Forbes Magazine, started the campaign. Cribbed from her blog:
In February 2005, superchefblog brought the idea of White House guest chefs to public attention; cooking duo Mary Sue Millken and Susan Feniger won, announced on March 1. Less than a week later, Women Chef and Restaurateurs (WCR) brought the idea of a woman as full-time executive chef at the White House to public attention. Superchefblog feels responsible for setting this in motion (see previous article): it seems high time to get some actual names out as well. So, superchefblog is running another poll, this time to vote for who should be the first woman executive chef at the White House.
Voters who log on to the poll can pick from 40 estrogen-heavy cooks, including Food Network star Sara Moulton and the “Too Hot Tamales,” Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.
It’s time for a lady to take over executive chef duties for the Chief Executive because women chefs have a concern for nutrition and nurturing that would set a much-needed healthy tone for food in America.
Her goal is to get hundreds of thousands of votes by the end of this month when the contest ends, and she says, “I think the White House will listen – this is going to be really big.”
I think it would be really cool, especially as the wife works with Mary Sue and Susan every day (she produces their radio show for KFI here in los angeles and SO much more).
Lincoln bedroom, here we come!
It’s so crazy . . it just might work!
I’m not sure if I am going to try this or not. Sleeping is fun for me. To only do it for three or four hours in a twenty-four hour period seems bad.
What would my favorite doctor, Fergie, say, I wonder? (i like to call her Fergie. and no, its not the redhead princess that shills for weight watchers). She would probably tell me its a bad idea but who knows, maybe its just what i really need.
It's so crazy . . it just might work!
I’m not sure if I am going to try this or not. Sleeping is fun for me. To only do it for three or four hours in a twenty-four hour period seems bad.
What would my favorite doctor, Fergie, say, I wonder? (i like to call her Fergie. and no, its not the redhead princess that shills for weight watchers). She would probably tell me its a bad idea but who knows, maybe its just what i really need.
Top 10 Tech Gadgets
These are the top ten must-haves. At least according to CNet. And here they are. Two Apple products on the list. Not bad for a company that was supposed to go out of business a few years ago.
Also, I am working on the second part of the Treo 650 review so stay tuned and thanks for reading.
Pope John Paul II Dies
The Pope has died. He was 84. No matter what your religious affiliation or lack thereof, he was a great humanitarian and leader to many people. When one of the good guys goes, I feel like I should say something. So . . .
Rest in Peace J.P.
Google: the gift that keeps on giving.
Just saw this interesting bit when I logged into my Gmail account a few minutes ago. I don’t think it’s an April Fools Joke. Like this is.
G is for growth Storage is an important part of email, but that doesn’t mean you should have to worry about it. To celebrate our one-year birthday, we’re giving everyone one more gigabyte. But why stop the party there? Our plan is to continue growing your storage beyond 2GBs by giving you more space as we are able. We know that email will only become more important in people’s lives, and we want Gmail to keep up with our users and their needs. From Gmail, you can expect more.
We’re not in the plains anymore Fonts, bullets and highlighting, oh my! Gmail now offers rich text formatting. And over 60 colors of the rainbow. Discover a land of more than just black and white.
Now isn’t that nice of them? Send them some love. Happy April Fool’s Day all.
A day with the Supremes (no, not those Supremes)
This is great. Harold Feld of the Media Access Project blogs about his day watching the Supreme Court as they hear arguments in the MGM v. Grokster case. The “Because you talk too much bitch . . ” quote alone is worth the trip.
The future of Apple.
Interesting article at the Business 2.0 site on the future direction of Apple Computer. Even if some of it’s true and most isn’t, the future looks good for one of my favorite companies.
“The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain (a “think different” kind of guy for sure)
Mr. Bush, why do you want to take away my iPod and my Tivo?
In case you were wondering. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the MGM v. Grokster case. What is this, you may ask? Well, it might very well be the case that kills devices like the iPod, TiVo, DVD burners and other inventions not yet imagined. All the details can be found at the EFF site. And also at the RIAA as well. Go to the EFF site and learn. Then, come back and read the rest. I’ll wait. . . .Ok, good. Now . . .
This case is important because if it goes the way that the Bush Administration, the Christian Coalition, the RIAA and Motion Picture Industry want it to, it would mean that companies who make a product could be held liable for the illegal use of that product. So, in the case of Grokster, they will be held liable for inventing something that people sometimes use to swap music and movie files without paying for them. This, of course, could lead to companies being afraid to invent new technologies for fear of liability and so devices like the next-generation iPod or Tivo or DVD burner would never be made.
I wonder if this type of ruling could apply to people who make really dangerous things. Like guns. I have a hard time believing that President Bush and his friends at the Christian Coalition would be so hell-bent to include gun manufactures in this type of ruling. After all, guns kill people every day. If gun manufacturers didn’t make guns, or because of liability claims, guns were way to expensive to make, then there wouldn’t be any guns to buy and people would not be killed with them. How about if we go even further? Car companies could be held liable when a drunk idiot decides to kill a family of four by crashing his H2 into their Honda accord. Sounds silly, right. And so is this case.
I’m not for one minute saying that file sharing of music and movies is life or death. It isn’t. The RIAA and the Motion Picture Industry sure seem to think it is. For the record, I think its wrong to steal music or movies off the internet. People who do that sort of thing should be punished. Listen to that sentence again. The people who do that sort of thing should be punished. Yes, I feel that the people who actually commit a crime should be punished for it. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water (i like that saying and I think it actually applies here).
I also think that DVD burners, iPods, TiVo and other devices like them serve a legitimate purpose. For example, I often make videos and burn them to a DVD to watch later. I also take cd’s that I already purchased or won in a poke game, rip them into iTunes and then make a mix CD out of some of the songs. I also buy music from the iTunes music store and play it with my iPod. And yes, I also rip DVD’s that I own to my hard drive as a backup and for trips so I don’t have to bring along a bunch of disks. I just store the video on my Powerbook hard drive or the iPod for my later viewing pleasure. Saves on Powerbook battery life too.
Do I make thousands of copies and sell them someplace in Asia? Nope. Do I make one copy just in case? Yep. I’m not sure if the Motion Picture Industry realizes this or not but DVD’s actually scratch. Even me, who is very careful with my stuff, have scratched a DVD now and again. So, having a backup is a good thing. Yes, I use it for a backup. I don’t post it or anyting else. Just a backup. Lots of people do that. Should that be illegal?
This case comes at a time when I strongly feel that the Government is getting into our personal business far too much and has lost focus on its real job. Doesn’t Congress and the President have better things to do than worry about what Baseball players took steroids or if one woman in Florida has the right to die or not? She does, if she wants to. Especially if that’s what she told her husband. Just because after 15 years he has moved on and tried to start a life, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about her and want what’s best for her. It’s certainly not the business of the United States Congress and the President of the United States.
And anyone who thinks that athletes don’t take steroids is living in fantasy land (or is that fantasy-baseball land?). It happens people, learn to live with it. Gone are the days of good guys like Hank Aaron or the Babe, who even did it in fewer games. Barry Bonds takes steroids, that’s probably one of the reason he is such a dick. How about a plan to get us out of the mess you created in Iraq, Mr. President?
So, if you want to do something good for your country, write a letter to your Congress Person and Representatives and let them know that you would rather have affordable healthcare, better schools, clean water and air and a lack of terrorism than a steroid-free baseball season or a law banning your ability to make a copy of that “XXX” or “Soul Plane” DVD that you recently purchased at Wal-Mart.
Music to my ears
Bush hits new low in job approval. Maybe he should stay out of private family business and not use the government to try to impose his personal morality? If only the election were next week.
And, on the blatant self-promotion front, be sure to read my articles at LAist. It’s a great site about all things Los Angeles. Check it out (not just for me, it has some other good writers too).
I’ve often suspected this
I have several jobs, much like the characters in that “In Living Color†skit. I don’t work in the gift shop, though. (dating myself a bit?). Anyway, one of those jobs is in IT or Information Technology, to the folks who don’t know. I have come across this same problem for many years because we do quite a bit of work with the Macintosh. Although, in truth, we are actually benefitting from this.
We usually get the call because the in-house IT department either can’t or won’t support a user who wants to use a Macintosh. So, good for us. I hope those Windows-only IT slugs never learn about the Macintosh and never want to support it. More business for us. I’m not saying that the Mac is the best thing in every situation. Sometimes, it isn’t.
I have had to make decisions and recommend Windows solutions sometimes when a Mac solution just isn’t in the best interest of the client. Do I wish that the Mac was the best choice all the time? Sure. But that’s just not how it is.
I've often suspected this
I have several jobs, much like the characters in that “In Living Color” skit. I don’t work in the gift shop, though. (dating myself a bit?). Anyway, one of those jobs is in IT or Information Technology, to the folks who don’t know. I have come across this same problem for many years because we do quite a bit of work with the Macintosh. Although, in truth, we are actually benefitting from this.
We usually get the call because the in-house IT department either can’t or won’t support a user who wants to use a Macintosh. So, good for us. I hope those Windows-only IT slugs never learn about the Macintosh and never want to support it. More business for us. I’m not saying that the Mac is the best thing in every situation. Sometimes, it isn’t.
I have had to make decisions and recommend Windows solutions sometimes when a Mac solution just isn’t in the best interest of the client. Do I wish that the Mac was the best choice all the time? Sure. But that’s just not how it is.
Einstein was right?
According to a recent paper published in Physical Review Letters, Einstein was right when he said he was wrong. So-called Dark Matter isn’t really the cause of the expanding universe. It’s all because of ripples in space-time that streatch beyond the edge of the observable universe.
Great, that clears it up.
Going Digital
It looks like the Irish have more on the ball, in some ways, than we do. They are going to be converting to all digital movie theaters in the very near future.
Good for them. I think its just around the corner for us too.
Yahoo buys flickr
Yep, it really happened. Yahoo has purchased photo site flickr. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that. I like flickr the way it is (mostly). Maybe it will all work out for the best? Of course, the cynic in me says “no”. But you never know, do you?
Waiting (the hardest part)
Waiting for a meeting at Art's in Studio City. I seem to be the only one I
know who gets anywhere on time. Nice window booth though. Too bad its
raining again. I thought we were done with this. Guess not.
Some celebs here, I think. Is it possible that both Catherine Zeta Jones
and Christie Brinkley could be in the same deli at the same time? Looks
like them but I can't get closer without being rude.
So, I will just gawk from across the room. Wish the Treo had a better
zoom. Then I could really get thrown out of here.
Ok, gotta go, my meeting is here.