Category: tech

Direction

I’ve been weaning myself off Facebook and twitter as of late. Its just too time-consuming. And frankly, the energy invested is almost never returned. lol   If it wasn’t for my moto group, I think I would abandon FB all together. Filtering, while still possible, is way more complicated than it used to be and trying to sort thru the lists of people just gets old after awhile.

Access to social aspects is great but the onslaught of “friends” is often too much and/or eventually waters down the entire experience. I’m leaning toward leaving parts of my profile, normally restricted, open and just weeding down my friend list to people I actually interact with on a regular basis. This way people who are just dying to know what I’m up to can. Ok seriously though, I’m not a celebrity or social icon. One really doesn’t need thousands of friends that never interact w/you but feel slighted the moment you remove them. Seriously. It all becomes very high school-ish after awhile. Apple guy de-activated his account completely the other day.

Even my blogging has suffered. I still have plenty to say but my free time is limited and I have to pick and choose where I waste it. heehee  As often happens, by the time I actually get time to sit down and blog, I’ve already moved on to other topic or forgotten the topic I wanted to blather on about.

Shifting my priorities away from FB and twitter will give me more time to ramble incessantly on my blog anyway. This way I can feel validated and still get my online time in. [1]Yes, I’m being sarcastic here. duh!

References

References
↑1 Yes, I’m being sarcastic here. duh!

Deleted

I made a booboo and deleted my RSS feeds today. I was cleaning out some directories and got click happy. Naturally, I cleaned the recycle folder before I realized what I’d done.  ooops!

Oh well, I’d been thinking of starting over anyway. I guess it was a sign to start sooner than later. lol  Many of my old favorites have gone by the wayside anway. I guess with Facebook, twitter, etc it was bound to happen. This just gives me a good impetus to start fresh. But, this time it I’m sticking to blogs I actually read on a consistent basis. I got far too click-happy previously and added way too many over the years. This also gives me a good excuse to go blog hopping [1]randomly clicking from blogroll to blogroll, finding blogs you like again. Something I haven’t done in a very long time. hehehe

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Speaking of, I still use twitter more than Facebook but both are loosing their appeal to me. Its fine when you have a few friends but after a few hundred, it becomes cumbersome and a pain in the butt. I don’t know how people with thousands of “friends” do it. [2]Well, I do but that’s another story. lol  Seriously, there is no way you can interact on a consistent basis with that many people. Hell, I don’t even interact w/half my list as it is.

References

References
↑1 randomly clicking from blogroll to blogroll, finding blogs you like
↑2 Well, I do but that’s another story. lol

Frozen

Well, mark your calendars. Hell has officially frozen over….yours truly bought an iPad. Lol I’ve been tinkering with it for a couple weeks now and thought I’d give you MY review on it. For the record, I don’t hate Apple, I just never cared for how proprietary they are or the lack of compatible programs. The latter isn’t so much of an issue anymore so I thought I’d give it a whirl. And considering who the hubby worked for, it was inevitable. hehehe

Hardware: Basically, its a giant iPhone w/o the actual phone. The device is sleek, trim, and very stylish. It has a very solid feel to it, albeit an adjustment for carrying it around. Apple has always gotten high marks in this area. Simply put, they produce very aesthetically pleasing products. While adding to the overall appeal, the screen is glass and just begs to be broken if you drop it. I highly recommend you get a case or cover to protect it.

We ended up with the 16 gig version. By some standards that is considered tiny but I doubt I’ll ever use all of it. I use my phone as my mp3 player and while I can see using music once the multi-tasking update comes out, it will be more of a convenience than a required feature. If you plan to use the iPad as a laptop replacement you might opt for one with a bigger drive. It comes with Bluetooth and wifi built in; however, I have yet to get the bluethooth to work for file sharing. It works fine for using a keyboard though. Overall, the hardware is of the same impeccable quality you would expect from Apple.

Software: Apple is way ahead in this arena in terms of sheer numbers. Being on the market longer, that is no surprise. Anyway, the store has a good mix of free and paid apps. I downloaded several that were equivalent to mine (on Android) and had mixed reviews. Some were equal if not better and others outright sucked. I also hate the built in email app as it takes way too many clicks to switch between email accounts. These are all style issues of course but were of particular annoyance to me.

I don’t care much for the OS at all. Granted, again, this is mostly a style and comfort issue more than functionality. The OS is responsive and has yet to crash on me. [1]I was only able to get the browser to crash twice.  Currently, you can only run one app at a time. There are some very small exceptions on push services but overall a total failure there. The new OS v4 coming out soon is supposed to remedy that and I eagerly await it. [2]Apple guy hacked ours of course so I have limited multi-tasking already. My biggest complaint with the OS is the difference in activating submenus. In Windows, no matter the version, you know its a simple right click to activate a submenu in virtually any application. Even Android borrowed from this with its long hold tap on the screen to bring up submenus, regardless of the application. Apps on the iPad seem to randomly utilize their own version of activating submenus. It gets a bit annoying trying to figure out each apps implementation of the submenu process. Again, a style issue but my biggest annoyance. The copy/past functionality, which came as add-in after the fact, is a bit odd as well. It is not at all intuitive and completely alien to what you would expect. The OS is designed from a simplistic approach and while very aesthetically pleasing, I’d argue its a tad too simple and caused more work than necessary at times. On this area, I still give Android props for better implementation.

Summary: The iPad is a sleek usable device pushing the bar on convenience and portability in our ever increasing conversion of PDA’s, phones, netbooks, and laptops. Let’s face it, Apple sets the standard that others follow. Even Android takes queues from Apple’s UI.

If you are an Apple fanboy, you’ll be right at home. Everything will be familiar and easy. Over 95% of the iPhone apps work in various levels on the iPad. On the other hand, if you a more recent user like me, you might like it but you won’t be blown away. Apple might have set the bar but Google’s Android is catching up and fast. I’d love to port Android over to the iPad. I’d be happier than a pig in slop.

If you are a long time Windows/Linux user, you will definitely find Android a tad more user friendly. And speaking of, if Microsoft doesn’t get their act together soon, they may find themselves pushed completely out of the market. Apple & Google will be the dominate players regardless IMHO.

References

References
↑1 I was only able to get the browser to crash twice.
↑2 Apple guy hacked ours of course so I have limited multi-tasking already.

Picture Perfect

I have decided to abandon flickr for picasa. While flickr does offer quite a bit more in the way of editing, I already do most of that myself. The biggest selling point for me was Goog’le’s picasa gives you a full gig of storage for free vs Flirckr’s 200 megs. On top of that, flickr charges $24.95 for their ‘pro’ account. Google offers a whopping 20 gigs a year for only $5.00. Oh hell yeah! lol

The one thing I will miss the most is the ability to do subfolders within albums. [1]flickr refers to it as collections and sets.  For the cost savings, I’m willing to forgo the previous perks. Now comes the arduous task of physically moving the files. Sadly, I couldn’t find a direct transfer method. I did, however, find a nifty free program that downloads everything from flickr and allows to re-upload it to picasa. Actually, you can pick and choose from a whole list of different sites. Anyway, I opted to manually re-upload myself as the download process dumped everything into one big folder. It also gives me a chance to filter out duplicates, or so I’m hoping. That didn’t sound so bad until I realized how many pics I really have. lol I easy have almost 2 gigs worth of photos. Who knew?

Anyway, I’m still in the process of moving stuff around. Once I’m done, I plan on ditching flickr all together.

References

References
↑1 flickr refers to it as collections and sets.

Heave-Ho

Before I start let me say for the record, I love TiVo. It far exceeds the offerings from cable companies when it comes to DVR’s. That said, some of their choices when it comes to expanding your hardware border on draconian.

The low end HD model that I have came with an eSATA port for adding external hard drives. As my consumption of HD content has increased, I needed more storage space. Not to mention, I had several digital movies, via Amazon, I wanted to keep. The simplest choice was to just attach an external drive right? Wrong! Lol.

Allegedly, all you had to do was plug in your new drive and reboot the TiVo. The device was then supposed to detect the new hardware, format, and set everything up for you. NOT!

After 2 1/2 hours of tinkering, Googling, and several failed hacks, it was discovered my particular model only works with one specific external drive. [1]Naturally, this was not the drive I purchased. we then decided that the best approach would to simply replace the existing drive completely. Being a geek, I normally tackle such projects with gleeful exuberance. However, having no working knowledge of Linux, [2]TiVo is based on Linux I was leery of cracking open the case to attempt a drive transfer. If I were to brick the TiVo, I currently can’t afford a new one so I was more than a little perturbed.

Apple Guy, having run his own computer business for years, was less daunted and took over the task before I decided to chunk the whole pile out the window. Even with his knowledge and skill set, it took several more hours of tinkering and failed attempts before he managed to get it up and running. I couldn’t thank him enough for doing it for me. In the end, I did lose all my recorded content but retained all my licensing and settings. Fortunately, I was able to redownload all my Amazon movies so nothing of real value was lost. I’m now the proud owner of a ‘new and improved’ TiVo with a 1 terabyte drive of storage!

References

References
↑1 Naturally, this was not the drive I purchased.
↑2 TiVo is based on Linux

Click, Click

I got a mild complaint the other day. Someone asked why I no longer have a blogroll listed on my blog. I guess they felt slighted because they link to my blog and I don’t reciprocate. [1]A link they have since deleted. Uh…bitter much?  Well, the answer is simple. It got to be too much to handle/manage. I still follow almost 200 blogs. Tie that in with Facebook and twitter its a lot to manage on a daily basis.

And for the record, I still have a blogroll. I just follow it via RSS feeds. Its easier and faster than trying to click thru from my blog. I know that defeats the purpose of all the bells and whistles you see on most blogs (including mine), but I just don’t have the time these days. I surf purely out of personal enjoyment on my free time. I also don’t comment on many blogs as much anymore as I do most of my surfing on my phone. Since only a handful have updated their blog for mobile devices, its either impossible or complicated to try and leave a comment.

I may or may not bring my own blogroll back in the future. As universal log-ins take hold and the integration of social media continues, I’m sure new easier methods of link management will arise. Hell, it may become moot as everything becomes much more interconnected. twitter, Google, and Facebook are fighting tooth and nail to capture users via universal log-ins. I’m sure eventually you’ll have just one large integrated feed that gets auto-updated continuously so all you have to do is log-in and view it.

References

References
↑1 A link they have since deleted. Uh…bitter much?

Mobile

One of my biggest frustrations with the blogging world as of late is the lack of compatibility for mobile devices. More and more, people are accessing the web and online content via mobile devices like the nexus one, droid, iphone, ipod, blackberry, palm, etc.

Many mobile gadgets due a decent job of parsing/displaying data for reading. Newer gadgets will even render complete HTML content as well. Hell, the new breed of pda/phones have chip speeds equal to computers of only 5 years ago. Clearly, processing power isn’t the problem.

The big problem is trying to squeeze webpages meant to run on a computer screen onto a device a fraction of the size. To their credit, most mobile device makers have ingenious rendering or zooming techniques. That said, its still extremely annoying, especially if you are surfing a lot.  Even worse, most professional sites often incorporate scripts/plugins/flash that won’t run on most mobile devices. And again, the problem is not from processing speed. No, as usual it boils down to petty proprietary rules, squabbles over licensing, poorly written software, and last but not least, greed. All of which are sad, pathetic, and stupid. For the corporate aspect, companies need to get their act in gear or perish. The need for mobile access is far from stale and is only going to increase. Not to mention, in today’s economy, companies need to encourage access any way they can.

For a medium wholly dependant on exposure, I’m really surprised more folks haven’t updated their sites/blogs to accommodate mobile exposure. Hell, my blog isn’t even that popular and I’ve had a mobile version for several years. [1]To be fair, I upgraded my mobile app months ago and just realized tonight I hadn’t activated the change. While the old app did the job, the new one is sooooo much nicer. Feel free to give me … Continue reading  There is already a niche industry to handle the demand. More people/companies just need to realize and take advantage of it. 

For myself, I consume most of my online content via my phone now. Its just easier with my schedule and time constraints. Sadly, for the blog world, commenting or interacting is still painfully awkward or even impossible at times. Not to mention, extremely frustrating.

The point of my little ramble? All you companies and dedicated bloggers out there, upgrade your sites for mobile consumption already! Sheez, bulky computers are so 90’s. :p

/rant

References

References
↑1 To be fair, I upgraded my mobile app months ago and just realized tonight I hadn’t activated the change. While the old app did the job, the new one is sooooo much nicer. Feel free to give me feedback on it.

Down Time

So after 62 hours of down time, my blog is finally back up and running. My ISP’s database server suddenly went offline and has only just gone back up. While I have had decent service from 1and1.com over the years, I can say I am extremely frustrated by their absolute lack of support and follow up. [1]A quick search on twitter showed I was one of many people affected.  I am currently taking suggestions and recommendations for other ISPs.

My frustration stems from six phone calls and several (completely ignored) emails over the span of 3-days being met with bland indifference and ignorance. Not one single tech I spoke with had any clue of the problem(s) or any idea of when the problem(s) might be corrected. It was abundantly clear they were all just reading off preformatted scripts meant to mollify disgruntled customers. I got sad half-hearted customer service ‘speak’ apologies. Here is a clue you nitwits, spare me the apologies and give me answers!

Even more disturbing, not a single person could even explain how an ISP as large as 1and1.com could function w/o a backup database server. Seriously, IT 101. Hello?

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Thank you to everyone who checked in on me. Several folks were worried something had happened. I am perfectly fine. [2]And yes Apple guy is too.  Your notification and queries were extremely sweet and I continue to be flattered so many of you continue to read my madness.

As I said, I am seriously considering switching ISP’s as well as recommending the 18 other companies I helped setup on 1and1 to switch as well. In an age of volume, companies only respond to one thing, their bottom line. Only when it plunges do the seem to take any real concern and make changes.

\rant

References

References
↑1 A quick search on twitter showed I was one of many people affected.
↑2 And yes Apple guy is too.

Social Fail

I was blogrolling (finally) and catching up on the list when I was reminded by Jimbo of something I’d been meaning to rant about.

Jimbo was ranting on the do’s/don’ts of when to use grindr in social situations. This sort of got me on the general mistakes most folks make when joining/using social sites in general. Whether it be the hatchet-job of HTML and over-embedding on mySpace, [1]which has become the trailer park of the web the constant barrage of friend/game requests on Facebook, and/or the minutia of irrelevant updates on twitter, it can quickly become unmanageable if you don’t start out with some ground rules.

Being someone who has been online since before the existence of AOL, let me take a moment to edify you on my hard-earned skills. lol With a few simple guidelines you can keep your online social interactions under control, enjoyable, and even useful.

When joining social sites like FB, MS, twitter, etc, you should first decide on your purpose. [2]Yes, this even applies to the more adult-oriented sites as well.  Are you joining to reconnect with friends/family, make new friends, be a social butterfly, and/or just ‘connect’ in general.

DO:

  • Take the time to fill out your profile. You don’t have to necessarily reveal personal/private information but if your goal is to meet people then it makes sense to provide goals, interests, hobbies, etc. If you are gonna create multiple profiles, instead of constantly retyping everything, just create a master word or text file that you can copy and paste from. You also don’t have to list every minutia of your interests. Stick to things you are really passionate or interested in. You can always add more later.
  • Be sincere and honest. People often sniff out a fake PDQ. Sure your responses might be less but they will be legit. And lets face it, if your goal is to actually meet people, they’ll eventually find out you lied.
  • Use an up-to-date picture of yourself. It’s the freakin’ millennium already. There is absolutely no excuse for anyone not to have an up-to-date pic in this day when practically everything has a camera attached to it. I don’t care what you looked like 10 years ago or when you were 12.  Its ok to have those type of pics but not as your main profile pic. Its misleading and you’ll end up alienating people. And if you are so discreet, you can’t have a face shot, then maybe you shouldn’t be online? [3]Anytime I see this, I just assume you are a liar or cheating on someone
  • Actually take the time to reply or interact. Again, if the goal is to be social, it won’t happen all by itself. Depending on the site, you don’t necessarily have to reply to everyone but the point here is to make an effort to interact.

Don’t

  • Add any/every one who sends you a friend/follow request. If you do, you’ll soon find your profile becomes bloated and pointless. And there is nothing that says once you add someone you can’t remove them later.
  • For adding media/links, don’t over do it. Less is definitely more in this instance. If you constantly fill your stream with drivel, people will get bored or overwhelmed and move on. Its ok to post things you really like but I don’t wanna know about every single song/movie/clip/article that you purchase/download/find from the web. And for the love of toast, for profiles like myspace, make sure the “auto-play” feature for your embedded content is turned off!
  • Hide all of your data/info and then wonder why no one friends/follows you. This is a biggie folks. Especially on sites like twitter and FB, if I can’t see anything about you not only will I not add you, I’ll probably go one step further and block you. Demanding a lot and offering nothing in return rarely works. FB allows you a fine control of what is viewable or not. twitter is a bit trickier as it only allows full view or nothing. The trick is to accept the request but then review the person’s feed/stream. If you don’t like it or it doesn’t interest you, simply unfollow and/or block. You’re done.
  • Add mean, disparaging, hateful, or otherwise negative statements. No one likes a whining negative-Nancy. Nothing turns me off to a person’s profile faster than negative comments.
  • Log on and never log-off. That might work for chat services where you can set yourself to away or available but for most profiles, its just annoying trying to interact with someone who turns out not to be there but logged on.

See, that wasn’t so hard was it? lol Here are just a few more tips that might save you some grief.

Don’t join every site just because you can. Pick and choose the sites you really like and dump the rest.

If you are worried about privacy or work-related issues, don’t use your real name online. I’ve always used my nickname and to this day, I can’t find a single reference to my real name online. This is especially important if you are using profiles for work and ‘play’.

With the latter in mind, keep your work/play profiles separate. You can create multiple accounts for each and/or filter your contacts based on interest.

Ok, that’s it. Now go forth and be social!

References

References
↑1 which has become the trailer park of the web
↑2 Yes, this even applies to the more adult-oriented sites as well.
↑3 Anytime I see this, I just assume you are a liar or cheating on someone

Third-Party Logins

Trying to get on the easy log-in bandwagon, I finally found a plug-in that allows (and actually works) users to log in using 3rd party accounts like Google, Yahoo, Openid, Blogger, etc. You’ll notice on the right side of the page a new section called 3rd party log-ins. I tested it and found it to be functional with a few caveats. If you are already a registered user, your log-in will still function from the sidebar or the log-in page.

Caveat #1

If for some reason leaving a comment invokes the captcha test, you will see the captcha but you’ll see some funny code regarding my header failing to load.  Don’t fret, after you pass the captcha just reload my blog page and you’ll see your comment. This was already happening as I use a hack to rotate my header images.

Caveat #2

Sadly,I could not get the Facebook login to work. I tried very hard but it was beyond my understanding and I didn’t have the time or patience to sort thru it. I may revisit it later, but I have removed that option for now. Anyone familiar w/Facebook’s API’s and/or the RPX plugin I’m using, feel free to help a brother out. :p ***Update – I got it working, you can log-in using Facebook. It will not currently post activity to your wall but its a start. ***

Caveat #3

And lastly, none of the social log-ins will allow you access to hidden content on my blog. Gasp! I know. lol  I can’t change that at current. There is no hand-off built in to allow private content on WordPress. Not that it really matters as I haven’t really been adding much of anything in that arena lately.

If you have any trouble, please email me directly at my email link, bottom right of page.