Marketing at it's finest

I'm still not tired of these commercials:



C'mon! It's a talking baby!

Rapture for the Geeks

I just finished reading Rapture for the Geeks by Richard Dooling. I picked it up @ the local Barnes and Noble while my companion was looking at cooking magazines (or something). I had a chance to read a bit before it was time to go and before too long I was drawn in. The subtitle itself was intriguing enough: "When AI Outsmarts IQ"...I decided I had to have it.

The opening few chapters were amusing enough but did spend some time on what I consider to be computer/software basics. However, I imagined that the author had to establish a vocabulary to be used throughout the book and didn't want to leave any readers behind.

The fundamental premise of the book was about a concept of which I hadn't previous been exposed: The Singularity. According to Wikipedia, this is defined as: "a theoretical future point of unprecedented technological progress, caused in part by the ability of machines to improve themselves using artificial intelligence".

The book challenged me in all the ways that I hoped (abstraction, philosophy, technical facts). If you're looking for a quick read, pick it up.

Ubuntu

About a week or so ago, I got it into my head that I needed a Linux installation at home. I had been running Mandrake Linux 8.1 for a number of years until the hard drive on that machine crashed, at which point I had decided to give XP a try. I dusted off the Mandrake CDs and began the install. It was not long before I recalled that the set up was an involved process. Memories of driver problems filled my head. Then a truly frightening thought came to me...the last time I had run Linux, I was using a modem for internet connectivity. There was no way that this Mandrake 8.1 install was going to recognize (and cooperate with) my wireless network without some hassle.

I decided to abandon the path I was on and give Ubuntu a try. The download took quite a while and I had to burn a bootable CD, but then I was good to go. The entire installation fit on one CD and took only minutes to complete. Even more amazing was that by simply broadcasting the SSID on my wireless network, Ubuntu did the rest, including prompting me to provide the appropriate credentials to get past the security. The drivers for my sound card, video card, monitor, printer, etc. were all discovered automatically. I must say, that the installation could not have gone any better.

I haven't had much time to mess around with things since the install, but am excited to have an excuse to run OpenOffice again.

Minty Fresh

Have you ever wanted to have the ability to consolidate all of your finances into one easy to use tool (ala Microsoft Money), without spending a dime? Well, Mint.com claims to have the answer. They generate revenue through ads and premium services, but the basics are free.

My experience with Mint started off positively. The first part of the setup went smoothly and I began to add account information for my financials. The first account I setup worked just fine. Then, my personal journey through Dante's Inferno began. There are several steps to the login process for my bank. I am grateful for these steps, as they keep me secure. However, some combination of those steps, coupled with the subtle web service interactions between Mint and my bank had gone awry. After a phone call to the bank and an exercise in patience, this was resolved.

Mint has been well received in the technical, financial and news communities and I can see why. My immediate impressions are that it is full featured, pleasing to the eye and seems to perform well. I feel that my visibility inside of my own financial life has gone up. Frankly, I never had much luck with Microsoft Money anyhow. Give Mint.com a try.

Google Sync

I like Google Calendar. It, of course, is a fully functional web calendar with some pretty great features, including the ability to publish your calendar and share with others. It is one feature in particular though, that has really turned me into a believer: Google Calendar Sync. This tool (still in Beta), provides the ability to synchronize my Outlook Calendar with my Google Calendar. This is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, as a consultant, I work at a variety of places (each of which has a separate Outlook account per corporate policy). Secondly, I have a Blackberry which is 'Enterprise Activated' for my employer. Presently, Blackberry can only handle one enterprise activation per device. This prevents me from truly reconciling my multiple Outlook/Exchange domains.

Google Sync allows me to synchronize my multiple Outlook calendars with my Google Calendar (and back again), thereby providing a bridge between my offices. Additionally, I can synchronize with my Blackberry thus guaranteeing me that I will get at least three reminders for every meeting...Admittedly, I've got some kinks to work out in my implementation of this feature (see aforementioned multiple reminders). A contact synchronization feature has just come out for the Blackberry version of Google Sync. I haven't yet configured that feature but am optimistic about it and future releases of Google Sync.

Am I the only one who thinks it should be abbreviated synch? Oh well.

Vlingo

I just got a new piece of software for my Blackberrry. I spend a good amount of time looking for freeware, and then trying it out. Lately, there have been more misses than hits, but I think I have a hit in Vlingo. It is a suite of voice-enabled applications for your smart-phone. Living in the climate I do, there are a lot of white-knuckle commutes. The last thing I need is to have to deal with the keyboard on my device at a time like that. So last night, with baited breath...I initiated the OTA download. The installation and setup were done in minutes. The first test was an internet search. This went fine. I was ready for something more practical. I voice-activated the e-mail feature to send a message to my wife (the test was: "send email to '[wife]', subject 'yes', message 'no'"). Seconds later, she had received my message (subject 'Jeff', message 'Go')! Well...I think it was a reasonably good first test and I've managed some more successful attempts since (including while driving). I can already see that this could be a tremendously useful product. Cheers.

Blind leading the blind

Tonight, as I was settling in for a night by the fire, I received an unexpected call from my nephew. He had received a new iPod as a holiday gift and was interested in ripping his DVD collection. Mind you, these are DVDs that have been purchased and are only being converted for backup purposes (not distribution). Fortunately, I had been through this process recently.

Presently, I am running Windows XP SP3 and my nephew is running Mac OSX (with which I have little experience). Undaunted, I began sending my young apprentice instructions via IM. After a couple minutes of research I decided to have him try MacTheRipper for the decryption. After a quick download and install, this worked immediately. From there, I had him try HandBrake to convert the decrypted video to m4p format. After we kicked that process off, we decided it was getting pretty late and he agreed to let me know how it went in the morning. I'm sure there are a hundred ways to get this conversion process done, but there was something rewarding about helping a youngster...because if I can bring an adolescent boy, and his digital media closer together, then I feel I've done my part.

I'm feeling Ubiquitous

So...I've been an IT geek for years now...at least in trade. However, I've always felt a bit 'out of touch' as I was not classically trained (whatever that means). That said, I'm re-embracing technology. My first stop in this re-immersion effort is on a nifty Firefox add-on called Ubiquity. It is a command interface within the browser in the vein of Launchy. I'm already seeing the potential for this tool and am excited to learn more. The downside is that it is forcing me to brush off some seriously rusty JavaScript skills. I'm realizing quickly that I'm going to need a decent editor before I go much farther. Below is proof of my first effort (from the command authoring tutorial)...by simply typing map-me in the Ubiquity toolbar, I can generate a map of my present (albeit approximate) location.