Today my Sony 36" CRT, only 9 years old, bought the farm.
And at first I was sad. I was troubled.
But then I realized how much I would get done if that infernal box was not a part of my life.
At least for now (already looking at LCD HDTV).
But over the last few weeks, I've had some of the best conversations with my wife - some of the best in the 10 years we've known each other. And today there's no excuse to catch up on our DVR (just finished Flash Forward last night), but more of a direct excuse to head back out to the deck, to talk like real people and not like the TV-addled masses in this world.
Yes, we'll eventually pick up a new (non)tube, but for now, I'm thrilled. We'll eschew the tales of crime and fantasy and live in our own heads, on our own time.
So the TV died. Long live the TV! But not tonight. And maybe not for a week or two. Maybe it's time to live with quiet, live with just us.
I'm not saying "Kill your TV," but maybe a couple days out of the week it should just stay off. Turn your phone to vibrate. And talk to someone.
Showing posts with label tech gadgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tech gadgets. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Candid: The Loki Keyboard that Bit Me
In Norse Mythology, Loki is the troublemaker, the gadfly, the instigator (in case you needed that reference).
And in day to day reality, I am a fallible tech geek. Some folks who blog - especially those that have a business - hold themselves at a must-be-godlike standard. I understand, however, that occasionally exposing my flaws makes me more human, and we can all do with a little more human in our day to day interactions. It doesn't happen often, so enjoy the story:
Ghost in the Machine
About a month ago, I noticed that I was having some keyboard issues on my workhorse laptop. Specifically, on occasion, when I was trying to do anything from advance between the regular cavalcade of almost a dozen working applications to simply keeping a cursor in a web form, it wasn't working. Things were popping up or shifting fields as though there was a sticking problem in either my ALT or CTRL or TAB keys - or all three.
I would do anything from reboot to pound on the ALT key to scream and invoke Thor to take down this Loki in the machine. (Hey, when you're hand-coding and can't get a "<" out to start an anchor tag, things get a little crazy in the room.) I once did a Trojan scour, found one and thought it was all good - for about 30 minutes. And sometimes it worked, sometimes it faded for a time, sometimes it sent me to the Xbox360 demo of Bayonetta to do some virtual killing of demons with gun-shoes.
Yes, this has been going on for a month. I'd done some rudimentary searches for MS bugs on Vista, but only came up with a few minor operational errors that appeared rare. Bad thing was, when I was hard-up for a solution, I couldn't do a decent search because my keyboard didn't work.
Threshold | Epiphany
And this morning it hit a threshold: waking after a restless night, not yet enough coffee in me, the bug came at me with the first touch of the keyboard. I could send an email with the mouse, but couldn't type the contents; the pressing of buttons resulted in the on/of switch that is CTRL+Space, which takes my English letter combinations and translates them into a selectable tooltip for Asian characters. Basically, I could get absolutely nothing done.
I got another cup of coffee, took a few deep breaths, and - suddenly - it struck me. Not any more monumental than any other epiphany as I was holding back hope for disappointment, but there it was:
Redemption
With my graphics background on a Quantel Paintbox (pen & board), I have much greater preference for a mouse over the horrible touchpad that is on most laptops. About 6 months ago, I clicked-out my first, wired mouse and switched to a wireless Microsoft one I had previously purchased for my wife. It was a simple setup of a USB plug-in to a wireless receiver to accept input from the mouse ...and paired keyboard.
So, what if...? I went to the storage closet about 20 feet behind my desk, opened it up, and found said keyboard - sitting underneath a box of paperwork. I moved the keyboard to a higher shelf with nothing on top of it.
Guess what? No boxy, no pressy, no Loki.
Without pressure on what I thought was a do-nothing keyboard, the problem stopped: I'd been fighting with a keyboard in the closet with a box on it that was resting on the TAB, SHIFT, CTRL, ALT, and Space keys.
So what's the lesson here? Humanity, by definition, is fallible. Tech-savvy people, by definition, are fallible. And no matter how perplexing and unresolvable the problem you face, you may be surprised by the simplicity of the solution. Just pick up the box that's weighing you down.
And in day to day reality, I am a fallible tech geek. Some folks who blog - especially those that have a business - hold themselves at a must-be-godlike standard. I understand, however, that occasionally exposing my flaws makes me more human, and we can all do with a little more human in our day to day interactions. It doesn't happen often, so enjoy the story:
Ghost in the Machine
About a month ago, I noticed that I was having some keyboard issues on my workhorse laptop. Specifically, on occasion, when I was trying to do anything from advance between the regular cavalcade of almost a dozen working applications to simply keeping a cursor in a web form, it wasn't working. Things were popping up or shifting fields as though there was a sticking problem in either my ALT or CTRL or TAB keys - or all three.
I would do anything from reboot to pound on the ALT key to scream and invoke Thor to take down this Loki in the machine. (Hey, when you're hand-coding and can't get a "<" out to start an anchor tag, things get a little crazy in the room.) I once did a Trojan scour, found one and thought it was all good - for about 30 minutes. And sometimes it worked, sometimes it faded for a time, sometimes it sent me to the Xbox360 demo of Bayonetta to do some virtual killing of demons with gun-shoes.
Yes, this has been going on for a month. I'd done some rudimentary searches for MS bugs on Vista, but only came up with a few minor operational errors that appeared rare. Bad thing was, when I was hard-up for a solution, I couldn't do a decent search because my keyboard didn't work.
Threshold | Epiphany
And this morning it hit a threshold: waking after a restless night, not yet enough coffee in me, the bug came at me with the first touch of the keyboard. I could send an email with the mouse, but couldn't type the contents; the pressing of buttons resulted in the on/of switch that is CTRL+Space, which takes my English letter combinations and translates them into a selectable tooltip for Asian characters. Basically, I could get absolutely nothing done.
I got another cup of coffee, took a few deep breaths, and - suddenly - it struck me. Not any more monumental than any other epiphany as I was holding back hope for disappointment, but there it was:
Redemption
With my graphics background on a Quantel Paintbox (pen & board), I have much greater preference for a mouse over the horrible touchpad that is on most laptops. About 6 months ago, I clicked-out my first, wired mouse and switched to a wireless Microsoft one I had previously purchased for my wife. It was a simple setup of a USB plug-in to a wireless receiver to accept input from the mouse ...and paired keyboard.
So, what if...? I went to the storage closet about 20 feet behind my desk, opened it up, and found said keyboard - sitting underneath a box of paperwork. I moved the keyboard to a higher shelf with nothing on top of it.
Guess what? No boxy, no pressy, no Loki.
Without pressure on what I thought was a do-nothing keyboard, the problem stopped: I'd been fighting with a keyboard in the closet with a box on it that was resting on the TAB, SHIFT, CTRL, ALT, and Space keys.
So what's the lesson here? Humanity, by definition, is fallible. Tech-savvy people, by definition, are fallible. And no matter how perplexing and unresolvable the problem you face, you may be surprised by the simplicity of the solution. Just pick up the box that's weighing you down.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tech Love: WISE, Cursed Phone#, Cyborg, HTC Evo
WISE
What's wise? NASA's new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. And what's id doing? Already taking images like this:
They call that the Heart and Soul Nebulae.
Cursed Phone Number?
Bulgaria - no one will be issued the cell phone number 0888 888 888. Why? The last 3 people who had that number have died under suspicious circumstances.
Also noted: bad business, mob boss, and coke dealer might have had something to do with those deaths. Spooky?
Infected Wit teh Tech
After having the brilliant idea that he needed to implant an RFID microchip in his hand, Dr. Mark Gasson thought it would be interesting if he purposefully infected that chip with a malicious virus.
He says he apologizes in advance should this result in the simultaneous creation of a true biomechanical and the rise of the machines as our new masters. He also claims "safe" as their Adam.
HTC EVO!
I'm kind of a tech whore. In articles and blogs, we call ourselves early-adopters. There's an art to it, measurement of risk, etc. that lets many jump on the newest iPhone while still running Windows XP at home.
You'll remember me about a year ago fawning over and reveling in the release date capture of my Palm Pre. And not 12 months later, the joints are a little loose, I've gained a small crack, and, well, since I saw this one thing...our relationship hasn't been the same.
What I saw was the HTC EVO.
Android-running, 4.3 inch touchscreen, streams HD video on the new 4G network, dual cameras (8MP back, 1.3 front-facing), 1GB Snapdragon processor.
Nom, nom, nom.
I've got about a 20% chance of getting one soon. Sprint's "eligible upgrade" time period is 2 years, not one, so I'd pay a mint for the phone. But I will continue to drool. And hope.
Sidenote: Palm's guru Matias Duarte has moved to Google.
What's wise? NASA's new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. And what's id doing? Already taking images like this:
They call that the Heart and Soul Nebulae.
Cursed Phone Number?
Bulgaria - no one will be issued the cell phone number 0888 888 888. Why? The last 3 people who had that number have died under suspicious circumstances.
Also noted: bad business, mob boss, and coke dealer might have had something to do with those deaths. Spooky?
Infected Wit teh Tech
After having the brilliant idea that he needed to implant an RFID microchip in his hand, Dr. Mark Gasson thought it would be interesting if he purposefully infected that chip with a malicious virus.
He says he apologizes in advance should this result in the simultaneous creation of a true biomechanical and the rise of the machines as our new masters. He also claims "safe" as their Adam.
HTC EVO!
I'm kind of a tech whore. In articles and blogs, we call ourselves early-adopters. There's an art to it, measurement of risk, etc. that lets many jump on the newest iPhone while still running Windows XP at home.
You'll remember me about a year ago fawning over and reveling in the release date capture of my Palm Pre. And not 12 months later, the joints are a little loose, I've gained a small crack, and, well, since I saw this one thing...our relationship hasn't been the same.
What I saw was the HTC EVO.
Android-running, 4.3 inch touchscreen, streams HD video on the new 4G network, dual cameras (8MP back, 1.3 front-facing), 1GB Snapdragon processor.
Nom, nom, nom.
I've got about a 20% chance of getting one soon. Sprint's "eligible upgrade" time period is 2 years, not one, so I'd pay a mint for the phone. But I will continue to drool. And hope.
Sidenote: Palm's guru Matias Duarte has moved to Google.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Not-so-Useful Tech Gadget: Pasta n More
Hey kids! It's Pasta N More, your microwave, no-muss, no-fuss pasta-cookin' machine!
We got one as a gift a while back and just opened it yesterday.
But only if you've got the time. I don't know about you, but I can have a pot of water boiling in about 10 minutes or less (salt it, cover it, set on high) and pasta will cook in about 5-7 minutes. That's on the stove. In a pot of water.
Looking at the instructions of Pasta N More, I find it strange that towards the higher end of servings, the time to pop the pasta in the microwave is equal to or greater than 18 minutes, my estimated stove time. Actually, all the way up to 27 minutes for some pastas!
Isn't the microwave built for convenience? This seems like the opposite of that.
Second problem: You're going to get not-so-great pasta. Why? Cooking 8 servings of pasta only calls for 4 cups of water. 4 cups? Alton Brown would smack you silly! That's not nearly enough for all the starches to properly release, to give the pasta that swimmy goodness that it loves, that water breathing room!
So, in summary, stay away from Pasta N More. You're going to get poorer quality pasta in a longer cooking time than just tossing a pot on the stove.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday Technology: Wii Think, WiFi Sensitivity, Dante Fail, 3D-TV
What do Wii Think?
This is not a joke.
Wii has a new one, reports Dvice. Concept peripheral that is. The reported use is that by getting older folks to think really, really hard, they'll ward off teh Alzheimer's. Yay! Right? Well, not really. See, there's not much scientific evidence saying that thinking real hard prevents Alzheimer's.
However, they have succeeded in creating the equivalent of the Nintendo Power Glove that our parents and grandparents can wear on their heads.
(sidenote: they spent so much on materials for this concept and the photog that they couldn't actually get a real Wii and used a cardboard mock-up instead.)
Dang Kids and Their Wifi - Spiders!
I was going to put something in here about being crazy, but DSL reports already pointed out that "the science that does exist strongly suggests that those claiming to be suffering from "electromagnetic sensitivity" are simply suffering from psychosomatic disorders, and might be helped by therapy and/or medication."
If you're looking for a handout, collect unemployment like everyone else and stay home, crazy. Oh, wait. You can't. Alien death ray neighbors and all that. Sorry.
The Smack Dante so Hard Virgil Feels It Dept.
The folks behind the fun and enthralling demon-killing reimagining of one third of Dante's La Divina Commedia have sold the art so that Del Rey Books can release Longfellow's translation to coincide with the game release.
This, also, is not a joke.
Aside from the mix of zombie apocalypse and romance novel and "holy crap did he stitch a fabric cross to his chest?" and the fact that Dante does not - at any point in The Divine Comedy - wield a spine-mounted scythe, anything stick out for you?
If they'd sexed up any of Jane Austen's novel covers, I might have been a little more receptive in my Single Author class back in college. Then again, I'd have been even more disappointed by the contents. No, thank you. I'll stick to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which is apparently starring and being produced by Natalie Portman!?)
But I digress. Message: stop pillaging classic literature with a file and wax. You're messing up the patina. And then it's worth nothing.
A Note on 3D-TV
With CES behind us for 2010, let's make one thing pretty clear: 3D-TV is the new generation's LaserDisc.
Companies see a new, cutting-edge technology, see James Cameron's "Avatar" blowing the sides off the movie industry and they want to stick their fingers into that honeypot. No! Stop! You're wasting your money!
There are people without TV's. There are people with TV's that don't use them because they haven't figured out or gone through the trouble of getting a digital tuner. There are people without cable. There are people - like me - who have a TV and cable but have not upgraded to HDTV (or even a flat panel) because of the cost.
Is anyone going to take one more step and purchase a television with a 3D badge so they can sit on their couch with glasses on? Well, yes. And those people are wealthy early-adopters.
But for the rest of us, it's silly. I loved going to see the 3D IMAX version of "Avatar" a couple weeks ago. But a really expensive television in the living room that makes me put on glasses that will probably get lost or crushed or the dog chewed them up so I can watch an occasional 3D show or movie? (Note: the tech to film "Avatar" was just invented by Cameron and most shows/broadcasts aren't even filmed in HDTV yet.)
I just don't see it.
But maybe I'm not wearing the right glasses.
That's your tech wrap for this week! What are your thoughts?
This is not a joke.
Wii has a new one, reports Dvice. Concept peripheral that is. The reported use is that by getting older folks to think really, really hard, they'll ward off teh Alzheimer's. Yay! Right? Well, not really. See, there's not much scientific evidence saying that thinking real hard prevents Alzheimer's.
However, they have succeeded in creating the equivalent of the Nintendo Power Glove that our parents and grandparents can wear on their heads.
(sidenote: they spent so much on materials for this concept and the photog that they couldn't actually get a real Wii and used a cardboard mock-up instead.)
Dang Kids and Their Wifi - Spiders!
Now the Santa Fe New Mexican reports that one [man] has sued his neighbor for refusing to turn off their cellphone and Wi-Fi hotspot. Arthur Firstenberg claims he was made homeless by the neighbor, who apparently didn't appreciate his unique ailment. Firstenberg's legal argument is a bit of a treat, suggesting he's been forced to live in his car
I was going to put something in here about being crazy, but DSL reports already pointed out that "the science that does exist strongly suggests that those claiming to be suffering from "electromagnetic sensitivity" are simply suffering from psychosomatic disorders, and might be helped by therapy and/or medication."
If you're looking for a handout, collect unemployment like everyone else and stay home, crazy. Oh, wait. You can't. Alien death ray neighbors and all that. Sorry.
The Smack Dante so Hard Virgil Feels It Dept.
The folks behind the fun and enthralling demon-killing reimagining of one third of Dante's La Divina Commedia have sold the art so that Del Rey Books can release Longfellow's translation to coincide with the game release.
This, also, is not a joke.
Aside from the mix of zombie apocalypse and romance novel and "holy crap did he stitch a fabric cross to his chest?" and the fact that Dante does not - at any point in The Divine Comedy - wield a spine-mounted scythe, anything stick out for you?
If they'd sexed up any of Jane Austen's novel covers, I might have been a little more receptive in my Single Author class back in college. Then again, I'd have been even more disappointed by the contents. No, thank you. I'll stick to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which is apparently starring and being produced by Natalie Portman!?)
But I digress. Message: stop pillaging classic literature with a file and wax. You're messing up the patina. And then it's worth nothing.
A Note on 3D-TV
With CES behind us for 2010, let's make one thing pretty clear: 3D-TV is the new generation's LaserDisc.
Companies see a new, cutting-edge technology, see James Cameron's "Avatar" blowing the sides off the movie industry and they want to stick their fingers into that honeypot. No! Stop! You're wasting your money!
There are people without TV's. There are people with TV's that don't use them because they haven't figured out or gone through the trouble of getting a digital tuner. There are people without cable. There are people - like me - who have a TV and cable but have not upgraded to HDTV (or even a flat panel) because of the cost.
Is anyone going to take one more step and purchase a television with a 3D badge so they can sit on their couch with glasses on? Well, yes. And those people are wealthy early-adopters.
But for the rest of us, it's silly. I loved going to see the 3D IMAX version of "Avatar" a couple weeks ago. But a really expensive television in the living room that makes me put on glasses that will probably get lost or crushed or the dog chewed them up so I can watch an occasional 3D show or movie? (Note: the tech to film "Avatar" was just invented by Cameron and most shows/broadcasts aren't even filmed in HDTV yet.)
I just don't see it.
But maybe I'm not wearing the right glasses.
That's your tech wrap for this week! What are your thoughts?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
How Google Wave Hasn't Changed My Life
I was jonesing like many of you, geek-grade salivating over the prospect of getting in on The Wave. I sent out innocuous queries, suggestions with a tone of *wink-wink* and then resorted to all-out begging. And then a friend of mine sent me the invite. A week later, I just about jumped out of a gathering and ran all the way home like Charlie Bucket with the Golden Ticket when I saw the invite appear in my inbox on my Palm Pre.
And I got home and I opened the email and I clicked the link - BUT NOT before watching the 80 minute video of the presentation so I could get in there and hit the ground running and I got in and set some profile bits so everyone could see my pic and knew who I was.
And then I went "Hrm? What now?"
It was like this whiteboard image I later found on a wave:
So what's the problem with Google Wave?
Well, aside from it being a little slow and draggy and buggy (but not that much), the primary problem is finding people to collaborate with. But I digress. Allow me to begin with...
What is Google Wave?
Google Wave is an online collaboration platform created as a thought experiment by Google as "What would email look like if it were created today?"
One person creates a wave. They can then add people to that wave. Those people can add others, etc. Anyone attached to that wave can edit any message inside that wave or insert their own addition at any point, all in real time. You can drag and drop documents, images, etc., and edit those in real time. You can embed a wave in a webpage. And you an add "public" as a member of the wave and open it up to public search so the world can join in.
Beginning Moments
So still, there I was, looking expectantly at the interface like it was going to solve world hunger or something, but I saw nothing. Just the welcome wave sent to me by Google. Okay. So how do I turn this thing on? Turn it into the collaborative juggernaut it's meant to be?
The Floodgates
With help from the interwebs I was able to figure out the "with:public" search and BLAMMO! The floodgates opened! Dozens - nay, hundreds - of waves popped in and out of most recently updated popularity and ...many of them were of little interest to me, many in languages I could not read.
So I did a search and followed (added myself to the wave) of a couple public waves like Ohio and Cincinnati and SEM. I even found one contact to add me to a New Media Cincinnati wave.
Glorified Chat
So right now, as I've found, Wave is existing primarily as a glorified chat engine. I love the layout and immediacy of it, but for the most part it's "Hey, I'm from Cincinnati and this is what I do! Hello World!" like back in the early 90's when you entered chat rooms in AOL.
I log on every day or two and see if any of the waves I'm following have any updates. I read them. And that's about all.
So, um... About That Collaboration
In an effort to truly do some collaboration, I used one of my invites to add my brother. We're working on a script about my Grandfather who came over to the US in '21 and his early life and subsequent entrance into WWII. Granted, he's got a Google Account, so we could just about do the same thing with Google Docs (where the script will live), but we'll give Wave a try in this regard and see how it works.
Closing Comments
Google Wave has a ways to go. First off, the people you might want to collaborate with need to be on it and they have to be willing to join yet another online service. The most interesting aspect of this is to get in there and just watch: What will Google Wave turn into? What will it eventually do? How will it change how we do things? Will it ever work properly on my Palm Pre?
And for those of you who found this looking for invites, I've got a dozen or so to hand out. Email me at eric AT ejmdesigns DOT com.
And if you're already on the Wave, I'd love to talk to you. I'm emarschall@googlewave.com.
What thoughts do you have? Interest in or fear of Google Wave? Let me know!
And I got home and I opened the email and I clicked the link - BUT NOT before watching the 80 minute video of the presentation so I could get in there and hit the ground running and I got in and set some profile bits so everyone could see my pic and knew who I was.
And then I went "Hrm? What now?"
It was like this whiteboard image I later found on a wave:
So what's the problem with Google Wave?
Well, aside from it being a little slow and draggy and buggy (but not that much), the primary problem is finding people to collaborate with. But I digress. Allow me to begin with...
What is Google Wave?
Google Wave is an online collaboration platform created as a thought experiment by Google as "What would email look like if it were created today?"
One person creates a wave. They can then add people to that wave. Those people can add others, etc. Anyone attached to that wave can edit any message inside that wave or insert their own addition at any point, all in real time. You can drag and drop documents, images, etc., and edit those in real time. You can embed a wave in a webpage. And you an add "public" as a member of the wave and open it up to public search so the world can join in.
Beginning Moments
So still, there I was, looking expectantly at the interface like it was going to solve world hunger or something, but I saw nothing. Just the welcome wave sent to me by Google. Okay. So how do I turn this thing on? Turn it into the collaborative juggernaut it's meant to be?
The Floodgates
With help from the interwebs I was able to figure out the "with:public" search and BLAMMO! The floodgates opened! Dozens - nay, hundreds - of waves popped in and out of most recently updated popularity and ...many of them were of little interest to me, many in languages I could not read.
So I did a search and followed (added myself to the wave) of a couple public waves like Ohio and Cincinnati and SEM. I even found one contact to add me to a New Media Cincinnati wave.
Glorified Chat
So right now, as I've found, Wave is existing primarily as a glorified chat engine. I love the layout and immediacy of it, but for the most part it's "Hey, I'm from Cincinnati and this is what I do! Hello World!" like back in the early 90's when you entered chat rooms in AOL.
I log on every day or two and see if any of the waves I'm following have any updates. I read them. And that's about all.
So, um... About That Collaboration
In an effort to truly do some collaboration, I used one of my invites to add my brother. We're working on a script about my Grandfather who came over to the US in '21 and his early life and subsequent entrance into WWII. Granted, he's got a Google Account, so we could just about do the same thing with Google Docs (where the script will live), but we'll give Wave a try in this regard and see how it works.
Closing Comments
Google Wave has a ways to go. First off, the people you might want to collaborate with need to be on it and they have to be willing to join yet another online service. The most interesting aspect of this is to get in there and just watch: What will Google Wave turn into? What will it eventually do? How will it change how we do things? Will it ever work properly on my Palm Pre?
And for those of you who found this looking for invites, I've got a dozen or so to hand out. Email me at eric AT ejmdesigns DOT com.
And if you're already on the Wave, I'd love to talk to you. I'm emarschall@googlewave.com.
What thoughts do you have? Interest in or fear of Google Wave? Let me know!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Twitter Headlines! MSFailWhale, Muppets, and Black Friday
Microsoft tried to hang with the cool kids again by promoting a #holidaywindows hashtsag and had those display in the window in Saks in NYC. Guess what? It backfired as it was jacked by Apple lovers. Or, as Microsoft puts it: Nuh-uh!
And every week: OMG sports drama and OMG celebrity drama!
And Twitter (and the world) is totally in love with the Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody
And if you haven't heard already, Facebook and Twitter are being rolled out in full force for Black Friday. Here's an article to get you started.
Have a great Turkey Day and never forget to give thanks for all the wonder in your life!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Googling Out Tech Thursday
I'm a Google addict. I admit it. I use Gmail, Google Apps for my website email, Google Voice for my local number, and I've got a Google Wave invite coming from a friend as soon as Google gets on the stick and plops it in my inbox. I even occasionally drop Firefox for some Chrome browser time. So today we'll just talk a little about Google.
I just mentioned Google Chrome. How about a Google Chrome OS? "What's that?" you ask.
That's what that is. And today they open sourced Chromium OS a year before the OS is targeted for release. Sheesh!
If image search and vision technology are your thing, check out this info on Swirl, Google's new Labs pet that groups visually similar images. Sweet.
And while I could write thousands of words on Google stuff I'd like to close today that those of you waffling between iPhone and Android (Palm Pre's pretty sweet too, guys!), hold on to your panties. Reports this week reignite the hopes we all had what seems so long ago and it appears Google and HTC are Wonder Twin Powers activating a Google Phone. For reals. But what does that mean for the Droid?
I just mentioned Google Chrome. How about a Google Chrome OS? "What's that?" you ask.
That's what that is. And today they open sourced Chromium OS a year before the OS is targeted for release. Sheesh!
If image search and vision technology are your thing, check out this info on Swirl, Google's new Labs pet that groups visually similar images. Sweet.
And while I could write thousands of words on Google stuff I'd like to close today that those of you waffling between iPhone and Android (Palm Pre's pretty sweet too, guys!), hold on to your panties. Reports this week reignite the hopes we all had what seems so long ago and it appears Google and HTC are Wonder Twin Powers activating a Google Phone. For reals. But what does that mean for the Droid?
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Twitter News Roundup: TV Fame, Durgs, Linkedin, You're Fat!
Twitter to TV
Examiner reports that CBS has ordered a script for a domestic comedy based on the Twitter account Sh*t My Dad Says. I'm blocking out the curse words for propriety sake, but if you haven't visited the account and don't mind cursing, go there now. Start at the beginning. There are less than 75 tweets - and if a script based on 75 tweets tells you anything, it's hilarious. Enjoy gems like this:
Sometimes life leaves a hundred dollar bill on your dresser, and you don't realize until later that it's because it f***ed you....and the rest will remain a wonderful surprise. Enjoy!
Does anyone your age know how to comb their f***ing hair? It looks like two squirrels crawled on their head and started f***ing.
Point of this one? If you're clever enough, social media can vault you to popularity at a much higher level. That kid Fred on YouTube showed up on an episode of iCarly. Now a Twitter account with less than 75 tweets is deemed script-worthy. I'm waiting for the opening credits of a film to say "Based on a real Twitter Feed."
Durgs fur Eberybody!!
The drug industry is not complacent with magazines and ads on the teevee; they would like to have Adwords and Facebook and Twitter accounts too. And because they do not actually understand social media, they think that offers and information on pills will be of any value to any person's Twitter circle. Or we'd all join the Viagra Facebook fan page.
I believe they need a consultant. My contact information is on the right.
Twitter n Linkedin r Married!
Twitter's got some good things going with their integration with Linkedin. Turns out you can hit one and it populates the other's status. I hooked into Ping.fm this week and update 10+ statuses in one shot. So...meh.
Twitter-Equipped Bathroom Scale Tells the World How Much You Weigh
Kind of cool. But...why?
Yeah, I think that's about it for this week. Oh, and some celebs whined on Twitter and some coach got pissed about a player Tweeting disparaging remarks about his coaching, just like every week. But we're above that at this point.
Get into that first story. Hilarious.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tech Thursday: DSi and Absurd Watch
In today's Tech Thursday report, I was left in gaping wonder at a wonderful, warranty-voiding mod of Nintendo's DSi case for $26. Plant your peeps:
I guess I'd need a DSi first.
(boingboing gadgets)
The other wonder upon my person is the sick and crazy watch running at $265K. Worth it? You decide:
(via DVICE)
I guess I'd need a DSi first.
(boingboing gadgets)
The other wonder upon my person is the sick and crazy watch running at $265K. Worth it? You decide:
(via DVICE)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tech: Electricity is Cool
Here's a great video on a group working with Tesla Coils. Cool and frightening.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tech Gadget Thursday: Man Wall
DVICE posted about this multimedia monster of a man-wall:
I agree that it is a wonderful bit of overload. It's just not my flavor. Let's see if we can fix that.
Much better.
I agree that it is a wonderful bit of overload. It's just not my flavor. Let's see if we can fix that.
Much better.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Palm Pre and Me: Networking Fail
Because in the land of milk and honey all is not milk and honey. That is: with the Palm Pre.
Don't get me wrong; I'm still blown away by what it can and does do. For instance, I get a hell of a lot more done in clearing emails on the run, blogging (coming soon from me through the phone), and once you get the hang of the zoom gestures, fully-rendering web pages are a breath of fresh air.
But this morning I woke up and tried to check my AccuWeather app as the rumblin' was a-comin' from the west and the phone stalled out. When I jumped on my email to do some early brush-clearing, it told me "The network is not available. Please enable networking in order to continue. Activate Wi-Fi?" Wait - what? Shouldn't the Sprint Network be rocking out?
Later I made phone calls without issue, but the "network" would still not respond to my desire to check my facebook or Gmail. I just figured it was down for a time and went through the rest of my morning.
Once I got settled into my work after some AMA and some networking with a good friend, I tried again. No dice. "Well," I thought, "The internet is not working on my phone. Perhaps I should just click the 'Help' function on the interface."
Apparently a search of help for the internets is an Auto-FAIL because the base Help product ...requires an internet connection.
(apologies for the fuzzy image - despite my Pre early adoption, my digital camera is still an older 2.1 megapixel Sony Cybershot. That is officially 0.9 megapixels LESS than the phone I took a picture of
UPDATE NOTE: Thanks to @FlipTheOrg for the following tip: "Take screenshots of your Pre by pressing orange+sym+p at the same time, then check photo album." Hawt.)
So still perplexed, I went through the [enter any cell phone provider name here] hoops. I called the store I bought it at. They didn't have tech repair people. I called the people at the tech-repair-capable store. They didn't have the tools to troubleshoot over the phone. So I called the national tech assistance line.
While I was on hold to speak with the HelpDesk CSR, the message announced something and I just about smacked my own forehead - on purpose - into the corner of my desk: "If you have not yet turned off your device and turned it back on...." Damn.
Condensed: I did that and my internets worked fine.
I'm not sure if it's my tenacity and practice of sometimes searching thousands of lines of code for a misplaced period, comma, or curvy bracket, but every once in a while I hit myself in the head because when I run into a computer or phone problem I can't get right away, my brain (or caffeine) turns on the "Solve!" center before the Procedural System is booted to say "Hey, um, did you reboot?"
I'm very good at what I do, but sometimes it's nice - and humbling - to be reminded that you are human. I certainly am.
Don't get me wrong; I'm still blown away by what it can and does do. For instance, I get a hell of a lot more done in clearing emails on the run, blogging (coming soon from me through the phone), and once you get the hang of the zoom gestures, fully-rendering web pages are a breath of fresh air.
But this morning I woke up and tried to check my AccuWeather app as the rumblin' was a-comin' from the west and the phone stalled out. When I jumped on my email to do some early brush-clearing, it told me "The network is not available. Please enable networking in order to continue. Activate Wi-Fi?" Wait - what? Shouldn't the Sprint Network be rocking out?
Later I made phone calls without issue, but the "network" would still not respond to my desire to check my facebook or Gmail. I just figured it was down for a time and went through the rest of my morning.
Once I got settled into my work after some AMA and some networking with a good friend, I tried again. No dice. "Well," I thought, "The internet is not working on my phone. Perhaps I should just click the 'Help' function on the interface."
Apparently a search of help for the internets is an Auto-FAIL because the base Help product ...requires an internet connection.
(apologies for the fuzzy image - despite my Pre early adoption, my digital camera is still an older 2.1 megapixel Sony Cybershot. That is officially 0.9 megapixels LESS than the phone I took a picture of
UPDATE NOTE: Thanks to @FlipTheOrg for the following tip: "Take screenshots of your Pre by pressing orange+sym+p at the same time, then check photo album." Hawt.)
So still perplexed, I went through the [enter any cell phone provider name here] hoops. I called the store I bought it at. They didn't have tech repair people. I called the people at the tech-repair-capable store. They didn't have the tools to troubleshoot over the phone. So I called the national tech assistance line.
While I was on hold to speak with the HelpDesk CSR, the message announced something and I just about smacked my own forehead - on purpose - into the corner of my desk: "If you have not yet turned off your device and turned it back on...." Damn.
Condensed: I did that and my internets worked fine.
I'm not sure if it's my tenacity and practice of sometimes searching thousands of lines of code for a misplaced period, comma, or curvy bracket, but every once in a while I hit myself in the head because when I run into a computer or phone problem I can't get right away, my brain (or caffeine) turns on the "Solve!" center before the Procedural System is booted to say "Hey, um, did you reboot?"
I'm very good at what I do, but sometimes it's nice - and humbling - to be reminded that you are human. I certainly am.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Palm Pre - Story and Magnificence
Yes. I have it. And it's sweet.
Palm Pre
Saturday morning, June 6th, we awoke at 6:30. Plan was to hit the Sprint store at 8, my wife, daughter, and her friend would have breakfast, and as soon as I got the phone we'd head off to Kings Island where I would twitch and fidget between roller coaster rides to poke at my new, delicious piece of technology. I'd called 2 weeks prior and the guy at the Sprint store said they weren't expecting a ton of people, saying that the phone-call interest when the Instinct came out was much more intense and there were less than 10 people at the door when they opened.
What can happen in two weeks? We showed up at the Hyde Park Sprint store at 8:05 and there were over 10 people in front of the store. Damn! I ran up while my wife, daughter, and her friend casually headed to The Hitching Post for breakfast. I got my "golden ticket," a printed sheet with plan details on it and a hand-written "18" in the upper right corner.
The first thing I found out was that they actually opened at 8am. The woman next to me asked "If you didn't know they opened at 8, how did you get here on time?" "I was coming 2 hours early," I replied. The second was that after two more people appeared and received their papers, person #3 was put on a list; I was 18/20. Whew!
With 20 people in line, 5 CSR's in store and 20-30 minutes to set up and check out customers, it wasn't too bad. We walked into the store about 10am, my wife picked out a new Blackberry so she could be a little more connected, and I went for the package deal of the fancy Pre case, (tiny) Bluetooth earpiece, car charger, and the Touchstone - a beautiful charger that looks like a giant, slightly slanted, grey Rollo with a cord you plug into the wall. You place the Pre's back against this device and magnets lock it in place. And it charges. Without wires. At an angle that allows you to watch videos or movies. Hawt.
With the Hella Everything Plan, we get the unlimited texts, unlimited data (read: internet), Sprint TV, and GPS. I hit the Google Maps program inside Kings Island. It kindly asked me if it was okay to use my GPS to locate me (which I may switch to auto), and placed the blinking blue beacon squarely in the park - not just the park, but roughly about where I was in the park.
Included
...is a set of ear buds, a fuzzy pocket to keep the scratches off your river stone phone, and a charger for the micro USB interface. The other end of the micro is a USB, so they also include a wall socket to USB adapter. Gorsh! Ain't never seen onnathem before.
The Feel
My first thought when I held it was "it's really smaller than I thought." But after playing with it, I realized that any bigger and it would be a bit unruly. The slide up to reveal the keypad is smooth, almost effortless, but I can't imagine it happening by accident. Having come from a wider, thicker, keyboard-always-there Palm Treo 700w, the only thing I have to get used to is that I only need the keyboard popped out when I need to type. Everything else is touch. Which leads us to...
The Touch & Gestures
This rocks into the OS, so for the OS let's just say that I'm SO DAMN GLAD to be away from Windows Mobile. This is sleek and tight and quick to load.
The touchscreen is amazing. A day and a half (or half a day if you don't count Kings Island) and I've got the basics down as far as how hard to tap, push when you drag, etc. The OS is run on a card system, meaning that you open a program, tap the ONE key (how hot!?), and it reverts to a card, meaning it is a running program but reduced in size so you can open other programs, reduce them to cards, and switch between them.
The Gestures rolls into the types of movements on the screen. At the bottom of the screen, there is a "gesture area" where a swift wipe right to left from the button is "back" whether on browser or in app where original screen drops to reduced-sized card. Tapping and cursor movement is simple and the coolest is the two-finger-pull-apart/squeeze for zoom/expand - comes in super-handy on Google Maps.
The Audio
I've made a couple calls both with and without the Bluetooth headset and sound is great. I loaded the free Pandora app, signed in, and after a brief load, Billy Pilgrim appeared on my Math and Physics Club station and rocked out on the included ear buds as hard as he ever did on my laptop.
Sweets
After 30 seconds, my phone goes to sleep. When I click the I/O button, it requires me to slide the lock icon up to unlock the interface. No more butt calling for me.
Picture mail! The Palm Treo 700w, for as advanced as it was, was unable to send images with text messages, or receive them. I would get a link, forcing me into my web access. I'm guessing that was a ploy to use data minutes. Now no longer.
The nice thing about the improved keypad is the "@" button is not a shift choice, along with the "." and the "," making web addresses and emails much more efficient to enter. It also has a new, gummy-rubbery polymer over the keys, so the tips of your fingers/nails will never slip, adding a great deal of precision and ridding us Palm users of a great deal of frustration (or just me).
Built-in YouTube, MP3, Sprint TV, and 8Gb of storage make this hugely more functional as a multimedia timekiller than my previous phone.
The Peeves
I use my phone as a secondary alarm clock almost every day. After updating to the 1.0.2 webOS system, I got that functionality. Unfortunately, if the alarms are turned on, every time the phone goes to sleep, the alarms appear at the bottom of the screen and must be minimized. For now I guess I have to turn them off until before bed.
I added one of my Gmail accounts and suddenly every email address I've sent an email to in the last...forever is now unnamed and included in my contacts list. I like being able to access Gmail but it would be nice to be able to NOT synch. Lots of deletes to deal with now.
The Promise
I promise I will not wear my Bluetooth earpiece when entering stores or engaging in real-world interactions. Those people irritate me. I will not be that guy/girl.
I've still many, many things to explore including the Sprint turn-by-turn GPS program, built-in facebook app, and NASCAR - really, there's a NASCAR app, but I won't be using it. Either way, many more updates from me on the tech front as I learn all the bits and pieces of this wonderful new phone.
I'm sure I missed some parts of what makes this good/bad - please hit me in the comments if you have any specific questions and I'll comment back to let you know.
Yay Palm! Good show!
Palm Pre
Saturday morning, June 6th, we awoke at 6:30. Plan was to hit the Sprint store at 8, my wife, daughter, and her friend would have breakfast, and as soon as I got the phone we'd head off to Kings Island where I would twitch and fidget between roller coaster rides to poke at my new, delicious piece of technology. I'd called 2 weeks prior and the guy at the Sprint store said they weren't expecting a ton of people, saying that the phone-call interest when the Instinct came out was much more intense and there were less than 10 people at the door when they opened.
What can happen in two weeks? We showed up at the Hyde Park Sprint store at 8:05 and there were over 10 people in front of the store. Damn! I ran up while my wife, daughter, and her friend casually headed to The Hitching Post for breakfast. I got my "golden ticket," a printed sheet with plan details on it and a hand-written "18" in the upper right corner.
The first thing I found out was that they actually opened at 8am. The woman next to me asked "If you didn't know they opened at 8, how did you get here on time?" "I was coming 2 hours early," I replied. The second was that after two more people appeared and received their papers, person #3 was put on a list; I was 18/20. Whew!
With 20 people in line, 5 CSR's in store and 20-30 minutes to set up and check out customers, it wasn't too bad. We walked into the store about 10am, my wife picked out a new Blackberry so she could be a little more connected, and I went for the package deal of the fancy Pre case, (tiny) Bluetooth earpiece, car charger, and the Touchstone - a beautiful charger that looks like a giant, slightly slanted, grey Rollo with a cord you plug into the wall. You place the Pre's back against this device and magnets lock it in place. And it charges. Without wires. At an angle that allows you to watch videos or movies. Hawt.
With the Hella Everything Plan, we get the unlimited texts, unlimited data (read: internet), Sprint TV, and GPS. I hit the Google Maps program inside Kings Island. It kindly asked me if it was okay to use my GPS to locate me (which I may switch to auto), and placed the blinking blue beacon squarely in the park - not just the park, but roughly about where I was in the park.
Included
...is a set of ear buds, a fuzzy pocket to keep the scratches off your river stone phone, and a charger for the micro USB interface. The other end of the micro is a USB, so they also include a wall socket to USB adapter. Gorsh! Ain't never seen onnathem before.
The Feel
My first thought when I held it was "it's really smaller than I thought." But after playing with it, I realized that any bigger and it would be a bit unruly. The slide up to reveal the keypad is smooth, almost effortless, but I can't imagine it happening by accident. Having come from a wider, thicker, keyboard-always-there Palm Treo 700w, the only thing I have to get used to is that I only need the keyboard popped out when I need to type. Everything else is touch. Which leads us to...
The Touch & Gestures
This rocks into the OS, so for the OS let's just say that I'm SO DAMN GLAD to be away from Windows Mobile. This is sleek and tight and quick to load.
The touchscreen is amazing. A day and a half (or half a day if you don't count Kings Island) and I've got the basics down as far as how hard to tap, push when you drag, etc. The OS is run on a card system, meaning that you open a program, tap the ONE key (how hot!?), and it reverts to a card, meaning it is a running program but reduced in size so you can open other programs, reduce them to cards, and switch between them.
The Gestures rolls into the types of movements on the screen. At the bottom of the screen, there is a "gesture area" where a swift wipe right to left from the button is "back" whether on browser or in app where original screen drops to reduced-sized card. Tapping and cursor movement is simple and the coolest is the two-finger-pull-apart/squeeze for zoom/expand - comes in super-handy on Google Maps.
The Audio
I've made a couple calls both with and without the Bluetooth headset and sound is great. I loaded the free Pandora app, signed in, and after a brief load, Billy Pilgrim appeared on my Math and Physics Club station and rocked out on the included ear buds as hard as he ever did on my laptop.
Sweets
After 30 seconds, my phone goes to sleep. When I click the I/O button, it requires me to slide the lock icon up to unlock the interface. No more butt calling for me.
Picture mail! The Palm Treo 700w, for as advanced as it was, was unable to send images with text messages, or receive them. I would get a link, forcing me into my web access. I'm guessing that was a ploy to use data minutes. Now no longer.
The nice thing about the improved keypad is the "@" button is not a shift choice, along with the "." and the "," making web addresses and emails much more efficient to enter. It also has a new, gummy-rubbery polymer over the keys, so the tips of your fingers/nails will never slip, adding a great deal of precision and ridding us Palm users of a great deal of frustration (or just me).
Built-in YouTube, MP3, Sprint TV, and 8Gb of storage make this hugely more functional as a multimedia timekiller than my previous phone.
The Peeves
I use my phone as a secondary alarm clock almost every day. After updating to the 1.0.2 webOS system, I got that functionality. Unfortunately, if the alarms are turned on, every time the phone goes to sleep, the alarms appear at the bottom of the screen and must be minimized. For now I guess I have to turn them off until before bed.
I added one of my Gmail accounts and suddenly every email address I've sent an email to in the last...forever is now unnamed and included in my contacts list. I like being able to access Gmail but it would be nice to be able to NOT synch. Lots of deletes to deal with now.
The Promise
I promise I will not wear my Bluetooth earpiece when entering stores or engaging in real-world interactions. Those people irritate me. I will not be that guy/girl.
I've still many, many things to explore including the Sprint turn-by-turn GPS program, built-in facebook app, and NASCAR - really, there's a NASCAR app, but I won't be using it. Either way, many more updates from me on the tech front as I learn all the bits and pieces of this wonderful new phone.
I'm sure I missed some parts of what makes this good/bad - please hit me in the comments if you have any specific questions and I'll comment back to let you know.
Yay Palm! Good show!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Palm Pre - Geeking Out for June 6th
I love gadgets of all kind, especially when it comes to high technology. But I've always been reasonable about it: while early adopters get it first, they also end up with the most headaches and bugs and problems.
I'm sitting with and currently happy with Sprint, so iPhone has never been an option. And then I saw this previewed:
Palm Pre
Tuesday the Wall Street Journal had the official scoop: release on June 6th.
But what's the buzz? Slick look, lean new OS, sick docking system, $200 with contract, and everyone drooling over the upcoming iPhone says it's going to suck.
I do believe that means it's for me. Even if it means getting in line before the store opens.
Have you heard anything about this phone? Should I be considering something else? What is your personal gadget pron? Let me know in comments.
I'm sitting with and currently happy with Sprint, so iPhone has never been an option. And then I saw this previewed:
Palm Pre
Tuesday the Wall Street Journal had the official scoop: release on June 6th.
But what's the buzz? Slick look, lean new OS, sick docking system, $200 with contract, and everyone drooling over the upcoming iPhone says it's going to suck.
I do believe that means it's for me. Even if it means getting in line before the store opens.
Have you heard anything about this phone? Should I be considering something else? What is your personal gadget pron? Let me know in comments.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tech Trip Back: Honeywell's Electronic Mail
Sometimes something simply related to technology is good enough for a blurb. And a laugh. This is an old Honeywell ad. Head over to BoingBoing Gadgets to see the full image with copy like this: "Electronic Mail is a term that's been bandied about data processing circles for years."
...and comments like this: "Many CEOs still see email like this."
Friday, March 13, 2009
Luddites ISO Copulation with New Media
What fantastic timing. I just wrote a post on how Twitter can be quite useful in the real world, if you take the time to learn and appreciate its nuances.
And then Columbia Journalism School professor Ari Goldman, on the first day teaching Research and Writing 1 says "Fuck new media." (please note: not a huge fan of profanity, but not afraid of it when appropriate):
At our core, while many of us embrace it, many more of us fear change. Change is something different, is something new and foreign and if we don't understand it at a glance, it is something to be feared.
Ari's problem is his perception of media as a whole. He does not want to acknowledge that the internet is changing the way we look at media even though the unemployment and ad dollars and circulation figures of industries like newspapers are staring him in the face. Why? Ari's a media expert - or was. He's got a good bead on things - or did. People get complacent and when something shifts, they grumble. If it gets pulled out from under them, they become fearful. In order to protect their psyche, they do not show fear but exhibit anger, puffing and beating on their chest. And they scream "Fuck new media!" while shaking their fist at God.
But everything changes. You can shake your fist at written language, at the printing press, at radio, at television, at recorded music, at internet...everything, but it'll keep on coming, faster and faster. Everybody knows this Ari. Even you, at some level.
Especially in media and technology, especially in our ever-accelerating present, embracing change is necessity, and cursing it only exposes you as a fool. Get a foothold, take the time, and take it in. Otherwise, perhaps in ten years, someone will dust you off, point, and say "That's how NOT to relate to reality."
And then Columbia Journalism School professor Ari Goldman, on the first day teaching Research and Writing 1 says "Fuck new media." (please note: not a huge fan of profanity, but not afraid of it when appropriate):
"F*ck new media," the coordinator of the RW1 program, Ari Goldman, said to his RW1 students on their first day of class, according to one student. Goldman, a former Times reporter and sixteen-year veteran RW1 professor, described new-media training as “playing with toys,” according to another student, and characterized the digital movement as “an experimentation in gadgetry.”This would be the technology equivalent of an SEO Expert saying that Twitter is stupid and not worth the time. Why would someone say that? Because they never took the time to understand it.
At our core, while many of us embrace it, many more of us fear change. Change is something different, is something new and foreign and if we don't understand it at a glance, it is something to be feared.
Ari's problem is his perception of media as a whole. He does not want to acknowledge that the internet is changing the way we look at media even though the unemployment and ad dollars and circulation figures of industries like newspapers are staring him in the face. Why? Ari's a media expert - or was. He's got a good bead on things - or did. People get complacent and when something shifts, they grumble. If it gets pulled out from under them, they become fearful. In order to protect their psyche, they do not show fear but exhibit anger, puffing and beating on their chest. And they scream "Fuck new media!" while shaking their fist at God.
But everything changes. You can shake your fist at written language, at the printing press, at radio, at television, at recorded music, at internet...everything, but it'll keep on coming, faster and faster. Everybody knows this Ari. Even you, at some level.
Especially in media and technology, especially in our ever-accelerating present, embracing change is necessity, and cursing it only exposes you as a fool. Get a foothold, take the time, and take it in. Otherwise, perhaps in ten years, someone will dust you off, point, and say "That's how NOT to relate to reality."
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Case of the Intermittent Wireless Signal
When it comes to network technology, I know enough to keep the lights on, to secure my wireless network, and to get a couple different computers to speak to each other. So last week when the signal from my wireless router started dumping into the crapper, I was at a loss. It had been happening for a month or two, but only for very short bursts.
I was certain that it was not my laptop or my wife's, as the signal itself would dump at exactly the same time on both and we're sporting different OSs and firewalls. Then the SSID would be completely missing (our network would not appear on available networks) for anywhere from a few seconds to an hour or more.
I talked to Time Warner. Or attempted to. After an hour on the phone and conversations with 3 different tech folks, I was finally forwarded to a wireless specialist who had a hold time of almost 30 minutes. He then proceeded to tell me that because the server logs were clean there really was no problem and began asking questions like was my card or maybe my eyebrows were on fire. And when he couldn't diagnose it and started repeating himself and I told him we'd already discussed that angle, my specialist became my ornery specialist. He actually said the words "I have no idea" and grunted.
I set up an appointment to have someone come out with the knowledge that if it were a computer problem, they would charge me, though the fact that they would probably have to diagnose that problem might be problematic for them.
Saturday, after two hours online with a friend over the problem, I got a call confirming that they were coming on Monday and I actually said the words "Yeah, my signal has been fine, actually just until you called." Later that afternoon, when my daughter was calling from her friend's house, I put it together.
I'm running the 802.11g Netgear router that Time Warner handed out. 802.11g routers run on a frequency of 2.4GHz. My wireless phone runs on 2.4GHz. And I have a 12 year old daughter. Case closed. Well, as soon as we get to Target and pick up a new phone.
I was certain that it was not my laptop or my wife's, as the signal itself would dump at exactly the same time on both and we're sporting different OSs and firewalls. Then the SSID would be completely missing (our network would not appear on available networks) for anywhere from a few seconds to an hour or more.
I talked to Time Warner. Or attempted to. After an hour on the phone and conversations with 3 different tech folks, I was finally forwarded to a wireless specialist who had a hold time of almost 30 minutes. He then proceeded to tell me that because the server logs were clean there really was no problem and began asking questions like was my card or maybe my eyebrows were on fire. And when he couldn't diagnose it and started repeating himself and I told him we'd already discussed that angle, my specialist became my ornery specialist. He actually said the words "I have no idea" and grunted.
I set up an appointment to have someone come out with the knowledge that if it were a computer problem, they would charge me, though the fact that they would probably have to diagnose that problem might be problematic for them.
Saturday, after two hours online with a friend over the problem, I got a call confirming that they were coming on Monday and I actually said the words "Yeah, my signal has been fine, actually just until you called." Later that afternoon, when my daughter was calling from her friend's house, I put it together.
I'm running the 802.11g Netgear router that Time Warner handed out. 802.11g routers run on a frequency of 2.4GHz. My wireless phone runs on 2.4GHz. And I have a 12 year old daughter. Case closed. Well, as soon as we get to Target and pick up a new phone.
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