I am a huge Gmail fan and enjoy it over local email client for various reasons. One reason should be obvious, it is web-based email, so all my email is readily available from anywhere with an Internet connection. Google’s release of Gmail is also, why everyone has more than 100MB of email space on all the other web-based emails (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) Everyone now has a minimum of 1GB of space.
For more reasons check out this Gmail Theater video from the Gmail engineers at Google.
Iranian Hostage Crisis - Hey Iran do you know how hard we’re working to keep…
There not much to post here, but watch this, watch it now and watch the entire thing. It is from the Daily Show and it caused me to laugh out loud several time and at the end spit drink across the room. There, fair warning, refraim from eating and drinking during first time viewing - you have been warned. Make sure you watch til the end for the official British response.
Blogged with Flock
Anyone who reads my blog here knows I am a huge World of Warcraft fan, however, before WoW was introduced in 2004, and before Battlefield 1942, there was Diablo & Diablo II. It was one of the first games that you could really bring your friends into and then everyone would leave work early to get home and get online and play the game. It was my first speaker phone game; meaning that we all chained three way calling into a conference call so we could all talk and play at the same time.
Diablo II was released waaay back on 2000, and Blizzard, has been talking about Diablo III as long as Microsoft was talking about Vista. Well, Vista is out, where is Diablo III? Blizzard got a wee bit side tracked with this world-record setting little game called World of Warcraft, and then the expansion to it. 8 million people purchasing a game and then subscribing to a monthly fee - yeah, I can see how to that would side track a company’s resources. However, I just got an email from a friend of new news. One article (on the Diablo 3 forums) that confirms that the game and the storyline were not dead, and another article (on IGN) suggesting 2010 as a possible timeframe. …a decade between releases…wow!
The article on the forums is a Q&A with Richard Knaak, author of a book that takes place in the Diablo universe. In the interview Mr. Knaak mentioned that he is working directly with Chris Metzen on the story, and it will be part of the lore for Diablo III. After hearing this, I am starting to see why Blizzard takes soo long to develop new games and expansions. It is because it is all running through one guy, Chris Metzen. To connect the dots for you, I purchased to the Collector’s Edition of WoW the Burning Crusade Expansion. Part of this edition was a DVD entitled the Making of the Burning Crusade. On it are interviews with the designers and the processes they went through for the expansion development. In it everyone stated that all storylines, even every single quest must be reviewed and approved by Chris Metzen. ‘Every quest’ - OMG. Talk about micro-management. Now do not get me wrong, I am enjoying the WoW expansion, but now I understand why it took a while to develop and release it. It seems that same is true for Diablo too. So I reckon that means if work starts on Diablo III, all work on any WoW expansions stop. One man can only do so much. I understand the need to have oversight, but delegate man, delegate!
So I have had the new Macbook Pro for over a week now, and I love it. I am rather surprised to say, it has exceeded my expectations and I really have not had a lot of time to tinker with it.
The first application I installed was Firefox. (For most that know me, that is a ‘duh’.) Although I am sure Safari is a nice browser, I like my Firefox extentions. So, out of the box and powered on for less than 30 minutes, I start to download the package from mozilla.org. A friend of mine, Gikiski, the quick overview of how to install an application. Basically you download the .dmg file open it, it mounts, and then a dialog box opens and lets you drag the application’s icon to another icon that looks like a folder with Applications on it. That is it, you are done.
So far things are working great. In the process, I installed a couple of other applications, Camino and Flock. While looking for a Mac version of Keepass (my password manager), I discovered a Mac password manager, 1Passwd, that seems a bit better. It has a full video demo on the homepage to shows what it can do.
Basically, everything I have tried to do, ‘just works’. It is a beautiful thing. No stopping to install drivers, no configured this or that…’it just works’.
As I was looking through the applications folder I discovered an app that comes with OS X called iSync. About the same time I got an email from a friend saying this would sync with my Nokia phone. So, I turned on bluetooth on the Mac, synced it with my Nokia 6620 phone, and seconds later the phone has an iSync app to install. So I installed it, and it asks if I would like to sync my Mac Addressbook and Calendar with my phone. Sweet!
The only compliant I have had thus far is the lack of a right-click. If I plug in a mouse to the Macbook, the right mouse button functions as a right click without issue. However, on the Macbook trackpad there is only one button. So I have gone several days with a bit of frustration on this one issue. Eariler today though, while discovereding iChat video and voip with a friend, he pointed out a solution. One of those obvious things that you feel like an idiot for not finding it yourself. If you go to System Preferences - Keyboard & Mouse under Trackpad, there is an option to use a two finger click on the trackpad to right click. I checked it and blam…now I have right clicking. Problem solved.
Now about this iChat. The friend I mentioned above (Puken Luken) got a Macbook Pro this week. (Talk about a copycat. 
) He called me earlier this afternoon while I was using my Macbook. I was curious to see how the eyesight camera would work through iChat, so after a minute we were connected and seeing each other through the video support in iChat. As we were talking on the phone, we both noticed an echo. To our surprise, voip was going on by default in the background. So we hung up the phones and talked for about 45 minutes via iChat. Both of us were using wireless to connect via our Macbooks so we even walked around the house while seeing the video and talking through voip. To test the bandwidth required, I started iTunes downloading the latest Diggnation vidcast (178MB) and it had no effect on the video or the voip conversation.
I would say that thus far this has been the thing i love the most about my new Mac. For the things i wanna do, it simply ‘just works’, and I keep discovering cool things almost accidently. For example the voip I just mentioned, I did not say, oh lets use voip to talk, or lets have video with our IM conversation. It was simply just there ready to go. Now find this application to install, load this driver for this webcam, configure this or that. It just started working, even before I even really thought about it. …and that its exactly what I was looking for in a personal laptop. Do not get me wrong, I will not be getting an Apple tatoo or anything, I still have plenty of issues with Apple and Mr. Jobs, but I have to say, I love my Macbook Pro.
In support of Red Hat’s release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 5, they’re making use of some interesting venues including youtube.
justisengard dugg this:
Proud to be a RedHat stock holder.! Yeah, Novell - this is what a ‘real’ Linux company does…
Novell has issued a joint press release with Microsoft, in which HSBC, a customer of joint technology from the two companies, claims that Windows has a lower total cost of ownership than Linux. Is Novell now Microsoft’s bitch?
justisengard dugg this:
Novell seems to be digging there own hole. As a company strategy, I do not understand what they think they are getting out of this Microsoft deal. Microsoft in the past year particularly has stopped trying to compete with innovation and technical excellence. Microsoft has adopted to desperation with bully tactics and ridiculous licensing practices (for example there new spin on virtualization licensing).
When you search on Google, we collect information about your search, such as the query itself, IP addresses and cookie details. Previously, we kept this data for as long as it was useful. Today we’re pleased to report a change in our privacy policy: Unless we’re legally required to retain log data for longer, we will anonymize our server logs.
justisengard dugg this:
Yet another reason to use Google products and services.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to purchase a Macbook Pro for a personal use laptop. The main and most important reason - I wanted something that ‘just works’. I think you will hear we use that term alot in the future, as this is what Idesire at this point in my life. Although I work in IT adn can be a huge geek on occasion, there comes a time when you simple wanna do what you wanna do, and you do not wanna tinker or troubleshoot anything. You connect something to it, you just want it to work. You turn on wireless, you just want it to connect so you can get to the Internet.
So, FedEx arrives Wed. afternoon, with my new Macbook Pro. It slightly derailed most of my work afternoon. I unboxed it and turned it on. It asked a couple of questions, the last was choosing a US or Canadian keyboard. Next was which wireless network did I want to connect to. I was a bit shocked. No driver installations, no configurations, no nothing. Blam, wireless. I chose my home wireless network, and I was on the Internet. Woohoo! It ‘just worked’!
More details later - gotta go play with the new toy.
Soo, what the hell am I talking about…
For those that know me, what I am about to say will cause them a “What, What What!!” moment (the same as Kyle’s mother on South Park). I have come to the conclusion that I am getting a Mac. I can hear the email dings right now - ‘what or who has taken over your mind?’
To explain, I have never been a Mac/Apple person. I have always used Windows, and that relationship with good ‘ole Bill has been quite successful for me through the past 15 years. At the end of the last century, I became a bit disgusted with Microsoft and experimented with various flavors of Linux. Linux is a wonderful thing! ..as well as open source. I actually moved to Linux for a short period of time. But then Battlefield 1942 came along and it was all over — back to Windows. Not long after that World of Warcraft arrived and a Windows based gaming system was a given. In business life, I work in IT, and as I stated before, Windows is a staple in that environment. However, there comes a time when you must seperate your personal and business computing, and you simply just want things to work. This is the crossroads I found myself at back in November 2006.
After traveling a bit, I quickly discovered the limitations of dual use of business laptop for personal use as well. So, I looked into getting my own laptop. The requirements were as follows:
The last point being the most important. This is not work, this is not my hobby. I did not want to have to tinker and fiddle with it to simply do what I wanted to do at the time. For example, if I was in a coffee shop with free wifi - I simply want to turn it on and get the Internet. If want to print - I click print and it works. My motto became - ‘it just works!’ Notice I did not place is financial limitations on the cost, because I really did not consider them - within reason. I was not about to go out to Alienware and get a $4000 gaming laptop that I could use as a hot plate to cook breakfast on.
So I started looking at laptop hardware. reviewed Laptop magazine and other moble computing mags. It sort of came down to Dell and Lenovo. I was leaning towards Lenovo, because I like the Thinkpad. As I reviewed things, another desired requirement crept into the list. I wanna be able to run Linux on it. If you have not seen the cool things that can do with the Linux GUI now, you should check out Beryl. So, now I have come to general agreement on the hardware and that I want to be able to run Linux, and obviously Windows. All laptops come with Windows.
One night I was over a friend’s house, who owns a Mac Mini. He haa had it for over a year or two, and from everything I heard from him about it, he loved it. So for the hell of it, I asked him spend 30 minutes and show me what he liked so much about his Mac. Sell me on the whole, “I gotta have a Mac thingy”. We sat down we walked through several applications, features, etc. As was performed various functions I noticed that it was less, i am going to run this application and do what the application allowed me to do, but more, I want to do this function this application provides everyting I need to do it. The other thing I noticed was that everything ‘just worked’. During the conversation we began talking about iTunes and the pod/vidcasts that he subscribed to that were Mac related. There were quite a few. One in particular provided a video tutorial on how to do various things on your Mac. The topic ranged from the mundane to the complex. Browsing through the list I noticed that there was a vidcast on WordPress, something I am familar with. So I asked to watch a bit of that vidcast. The author sarted from the perspective of the free WordPress.com, discussed getting and ISP and how to install WordPress via Fantastico and even manually. All via complete video and audio instruction. I was rather impressed. There seemed to be an entire community out there falling over themselves to help anyone do just about anything with there Mac. There is not such community in Windows and Linux. In fact with Linux, you should be thankful if you get a readme or man file. Next I asked about the the UNIX shell in OSX. The Mac OS (OSX) is build on top of a flavor of UNIX. Within seconds we had a bash shell with top running.
Over the course of the next several days I got to thinking, the Macs are based on Intel CPUs now, and can run Windows. Additionally, you can run Windows and Linux in VMs via Parallels or VMware Fusion (Beta). After reviewing the Macbook Pro hardware specs - it met my minimum requirements and the price was not that much more that I was looking to spend with the Dell or Lenovo. The part that I could not get out of my head was the fact that during the demo from my friend, it simply ‘just worked’. Additionally it provided seemingly the best of all worlds too.
After reviewing things, spending several hours at an Apple store, I came to the following conclusion: The logical choice out of all my criteria was to get a Macbook Pro. It met and exceeded my hardware requirements and included added features like and webcam built in, wireless N, etc. OS X provided the ‘it just works’ and allowed me to run Linux and Windows. The supportive community was huge plus as well. No other option succeeded in metting more of the requirements.
Sooo, last Saturday, I ordered myself a Macbook Pro. Should be here on Wed.
Most of my friends know I am a NC State Alumni. I was a rabid college basketball fan growing up and all through college, but after graduation, I rarely follow it. This year has been no different. However, over the past several days I found renewed interest, with State’s successful.
It started when I discovered the NC State beat Duke. For those that do not know me - I detest Duke. Then I discovered that NC State was the underdog and not favored to win, in fact they were the ranked 10th in the conference. To provide evidence that I have not followed local college basketball or the ACC in a while - I was surprised to discover that the ACC now includes Boston College, Miami, Florida State, etc. When did this happen? (but I digress…) So, learning that State had beat Duke, I kept my eye on the scores, and noticed that - OMG - NC State had made it in the Championship. I was not really surprised that much to discover that they would play Carolina. Well, I have to watch the game now. While looking up the game time, I also discovered that NC State was now coached by Sidney Lowe - a player under Jim Valvano.
So, at 1Pm today I had junk food in hand in front of the TV ready for the game. …and what a game it was. Except for the last two minutes of the first half, State was slugging it toe to toe with 1st place Carolina. Throughout the game, I developed a hatred for the red-headed kid with the Hannibal Lecter face-mask on Carolina. I forget his name. (I am sure my friend Tony Plutonium knows him by heart, and can possibly quote some stats.) It was a great game right down to the end. The Wolfpack came back from a 12 point deficet, and had a chance to gain the lead — but alas it was not meant to be. (The deep pockets of the Carolina Alumni paid off the basketball gods.
It was a great game though, and given Sidney Lowe is the new Head Coach, I just may have to follow State basketball more closely in the future.
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