The internet brings world unity, what’s next? World peace?

January 19, 2012 1 Comment

On Wednesday Jan. 18th thousands of sites went dark to protest SOPA & PIPA, two US bills in Congress that threaten the foundation of the internet, freedom of expression and information sharing. Some sites displayed black banners, others went completely dark. The Stop SOPA movement went global in a short amount of time, with internet and technology companies leading the charge to stop this vague regulatory measure from being imposed upon internet service providers and their end users. Again we see the power of the internet at work and the voice of the people coming together this time with large corporations to shape the laws of the land.

In 2011  the occupy wall street movement started with a tweet and most of us learned of the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Gaddafi via Twitter and Facebook before they saw the news on TV. Most news organizations and politicians now rely on online social media for fundraising and opinion polls. This voice of the people is being heard and that voice is making social, political and economic change happen.

In the early 1900’s Lee Deforest was the person who first used the word “radio” to describe his invention (AM Radio) that leveraged the works of many scientists before him, around that same time, similar advancements were being made in the area of television. The first national live television broadcast in the U.S. took place on September 4, 1951 with President Harry Truman’s speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco, California. These advances ushered a new age of information sharing across the globe.

In the 1960s and early 1970 the Internet was born. Much like the advent of television, the internet continues to shape the political and social landscape, bringing information literally to our fingertips and connecting us in ways we only dreamed about (or read and saw in science fiction like Star Trek).

What’s next world peace? Call me optimistic, but I like what I see. The internet has become the true voice of the people, no one owns it and all attempts of controlling this media have failed. The internet continues to evolve hand in hand with human social evolution (some would even say it shapes it), by giving us not only an information repository, but also a venue for all to discuss and argue the issues that affect our lives.

“Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking”
– Stephen Hawking 

 

    

 

History

1860’s – James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves.
1886 – Heinrich Rudolph Hertz demonstrated that rapid variations of electric current could be projected into space in the form of radio waves similar to those of light and heat.
1866 – Mahlon Loomis, an American dentist, successfully demonstrated “wireless telegraphy.”
1884 – German university student, Paul Nipkow proposed and patented the first electromechanical television system
1895 – Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor, proved the feasibility of radio communication.
1900’s –  Lee Deforest invented AM radio
1960 – 1970 – The birth of the internet

The history of Television 0n Wikipedia

Filed under Facebook, Internet, Politics, Social media, SOPA, Star Trek, Television, Twitter, World Tagged with , , , , ,

Into the clouds

January 16, 2012 3 Comments

clouds

In November I decided to see how high into the clouds I could get without having to pay a dime. The answer…”Very far”.

I set two goals for this endeavor:

  1. I wanted to break my dependency on hardware, if my laptop died I should be able to pickup new hardware and immediately be functional without having to install anything.
  2. I wanted to be able to get to all of my content anywhere and on any device.

For me this is what the “cloud” promises, so I set out to find out if it could be done.

How did it go?

I was able to create complete backups of 3 computers (20GB), break my dependency on Microsoft for all of my document editing (word, excel, powerpoint etc.) and build 3 websites, without a single penny spent. I now have all of my files automatically synchronized to the cloud without having to lift a finger and can access them from any device.

How did I do it?

Google docs and sites, SugarSync and Microsoft Office Live Workspace . Here are my steps:

  1. I installed SugarSync on all of our computers and syncronized My Desktop and My documents folders (you might want to fine tune this so that it does not pickup your music library)
  2. I went to Microsoft Office Live Workspace and installed the needed software. This is the “Cloud” add on for the Microsoft Office suite. I installed it only to see what they had to offer in this space and found that it was an excellent alternative to the installed Office suite and allowed you to sync documents from the actual software to the cloud. I use One Note a lot and this was the only way to make it cloud based to meet the goals of the mission.
  3. I went to Google and logged into my gmail account, then clicked on the documentslink. I’ve used Google Docs for some years now, so this isn’t new to me, but now I was focused on living without word installed on my computer.
  4. Last step, I went to Google sites and created a website for my home business www.fairygodauthor.com.

Total out of pocket cost = $0.00

The test

I pulled out an old laptop that I keep as a backup. It has nothing installed other than the OS and SugarSync. I was able to work comfortably for a week. There were a few hiccups:

  1. Gmail doesnt allow you to attach documents stored in Gdocs directly, so you have to save it as a Word document to the device, then find it and attach it.
  2. On the iOS devices it is very difficult to work, mostly because of browser issues and Apple’s restrictive ways.
  3. On the Android devices everything worked well, especially when I had the Bluetooth keyboard attached, it was like working on my laptop, minus the mouse. Not having a mouse is distracting.

Is it worth it?

YES!!! I am now able to get to any document I’ve ever created from virtually anywhere and on any device, Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows 7, HP Touchpad, if it has a browser, I can work.

Risks

You are putting your content into the cloud. You need to take a leap of faith that the companies that are hosting are reputable and offer privacy and protection for your content.

You need to make sure that you have a strong password set for these services. Don’t get sloppy, both your device and the service needs to be password protected.

How did I get so much space in the clouds?

Referrals, most of these services will give you more space if you get others to join. SugarSync starts you off with 5Gb.

NOTE:

Products like these create a security risk in the corporate environment, as now any employee has the ability to move content to the cloud. Administrators should take note and come up with policy to protect the corporations content. My best advice here is to find a way to work with the tide not against. Click here to go to an article on CIO magazine on this topic.

Filed under Cloud Computing Tagged with , , , , , ,

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the HP TouchPad.

January 16, 2012 Leave a comment

That $100 investment keeps paying off. This is the 3rd OS for the hardware that HP just couldn’t sell with Web OS.

Filed under Hardware, Touchpad Tagged with

And then there was Zune HD

May 4, 2010 Leave a comment

I have blogged about this device before, but I am really enjoying it sooo much I had to share.

While it may be impossible to surpass the Apple hype, it is possible to make a quality product.

The Apple fan boys can say what they want (and they will), but the Zune is a superior product (I wont go into the technical details today, I’ll wait for the haters to comment). Take it from someone who owns an iPhone, an Android phone and the Zune HD. The only device worthy of my music listening time is the Zune HD coupled with the Zune desktop software and the music subscription service.

Finally I can play my music on every machine in my house and use a shared subscription on multiple devices (PC’s, xbox360, Zune HD player).

Not only am I unrestricted in my device choices, they also chose to convert purchase music to mp3 format and strip the DRM, this allows you to use the file on any device (I also sync my Android phone and iPhone). Apple will never see another dime of mine for music, it took me days to strip the DRM from music I purchase from them. It’s mine, I paid for it, why should I be restricted to playing it on Apple only devices and software?

I should also mention that credits on my Microsoft Market place account are available in the Zune software, so when I tag a song from the built in radio and add it to my shopping cart, I can make the purchase once I have internet access on the device or from my computer.

My only complaint is that with the unlimited access to this much music, it’s hard to pick 10 to keep each month.

Filed under Hardware, Media Players

Say it isn’t so Microsoft!!!

April 30, 2010 Leave a comment

After months of waiting and saving for my birthday present to myself, I just found out that Microsoft has killed production on the courier.

This day sucks!!!

I am sitting in an airport restaurant in Milwaukee eating the worst meal I have had in a longtime, but I’m hungry and pissed off that my flight got delayed and I missed my connecting flight I now I have a 3 hr. wait. My new flight has a 50% chance of being delayed or cancelled due to an approaching storm, so what do I do? I get online to catch-up on the news and check on my favorite gadgets and the first article I read is this, “It has been made official by Microsoft that the production and development of its tablet Courier has been terminated. Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices division”

So to sum up, I get to spend my birthday-eve in an airport, the one tech toy I wanted is dead and the sky looks like the end of the world is upon us.
Now to go find a power outlet.

Filed under Hardware

Android vs. iPhone vs. Windows Mobile, Part 3

April 23, 2010 2 Comments

A year later and several updates have occurred in both the iPhone (the iPhone 3Gs) and Android (the Nexus One) world, not to mention the launch of the Kindle, Nook and iPad, with Dell and HP to release Windows 7 tablets and Microsoft Courier on the way, so it’s time to issue and update here as well.

So let’s start with the iPhone, not enough has changed here, so we got copy and paste, multimedia messaging, Bluetooth head phone support, video recording and voice dialing, these are all things that all of the other devices on the market already did, the funny thing is that Apple advertises it like something new. The GPS on the device is still weak when compared to standalone GPS devices (Garmin), you still can’t tether the device (not allowed with AT&T or you have to pay extra), the browser still sucks (no flash support and a lot of the multimedia on the web does not show) and working with it for anything besides music or games gets annoying. Apple’s tight control over the App store is killing innovation and forcing users and developers to live within their ecosystem. To get many of the really useful apps you have mod your device and live outside of their world.

The Android phone, here was a chance to take the touch screen phone to a new level and Google and its partners have dropped the ball. They came close to answering the call of the public, yes, copy and paste was there from the start, and they added full Bluetooth head phone support, video recording and GPS capabilities that rivals that of many of the devices on the market (in fact the addition of live traffic and other features (like social networking), but the haphazard device update strategy that seems to have been left into the hands of the business partners (phone companies), has left a number of users in the dark, as they see features advertised that they can’t get because their vendor has not pushed the update.

Windows phone 7, the new player. This is a combination of the Zune player and a Windows 7 approach to their mobile phone operating system. Guess what? It works! Microsoft got it right finally! They’ve taken a new approach on the user interface and experience and have added a significant amount of discovery features. To understand what I mean by discovery features, just download the Zune desktop software (no you don’t need to own a Zune), the Zune pass feature allows you to download all the music you want and keep it as long as you want (so long as your subscription is in good standing) and they allow you 10 DRM free songs per month. I have discovered so many new artists via the bio and related artist features in this software that I was compelled to try out the Zune HD device, well, to make a long story short, my iPhone has not seen the light of day since. The Windows phone 7 interface is like viewing a web application for each feature area via an aperture, you can scroll (swipe) across the page (Hubs, people hub, pictures hub, games hub, etc.) to see more. This is far better than trying to fit everything into the small single pane. Gone are the icons and menus associated with the Windows world , the phone interface is Zune HD inspired, focused or user habits and a clean picture like interface. What’s missing right now are apps. I was disappointed at the lack of apps in the Microsoft Market place, but I’m sure there will be a flood soon.

 The iPad, another disappointment. The same iPhone, only big and bulky, with no USB port, memory slot or print capabilities. This device quickly becomes a living room coffee table novelty. If you are in the market for an eBook reader, then this is an expensive choice. I found that got tired of fighting the restrictive iPhone interface and bulkiness of the device and each time I tried to read a book with it, I always ended up play a game or listening to music instead (web browsing when the wifi works was just as bad as it is on the iPhone, because is it the same device). I quickly got over the hype that Apple works so hard on and had buyer’s remorse, but then I remembered that it was a loaner  :-).

Kindle and Nook. Now these are eBook readers! They both try to do a little more, like media players, but the interface leaves much to be desired. The nook takes things a bit further and adds a little color, and with its next update they promise a web browser. Both of these devices are exactly what they state, they don’t pretend to be anything else, they both feel right in one hand and the screens are perfect for reading. No buyer’s remorse here if you are an avid reader, with all the instant gratification of automatically downloading a newly released book without having to go to the book store. Note, these are not speedy devices, but the act of reading isn’t fast like video, so speed isn’t a major factor when the single page is being looked at for minutes at a time.

Windows 7 pads. Well, I already use a tablet PC, so I know what to expect. The stability of Windows 7 and the tablet features that are built into the operation system makes for a solid performing device, the promise of a pad sized device I find interesting and appealing, but I like having a keyboard, so the devices that come with a removable keyboard base would be the way that I would go, but I’m holding out for …

Microsoft Courier, now this is the one I’m waiting for. This is a digital journal and eBook reader and it sports dual 7 inch touch screens that fold over like a real book. This device is due this year and I’m saving my pennies for it

Filed under Hardware, Smart Phones

Just can’t say that I love either of you, but I like one better! – G1 vs iPhone part 2

January 8, 2009 1 Comment

Ok so I’ve been using both the T-Mobile G1 Google phone and the AT&T Apple iPhone now for a few months and here’s the verdict.

IPhone, it’s got the cool factor but that’s it. Just like their computers, they do the flashy stuff well, but when it comes down to actual work, they leave you hanging. If you need to look up a number fast, search for an email, edit a document, or simply copy a file to the device to read on the road, forget it. This device just can’t or does so poorly. This is no blackberry killer.

Google Android Phone (AKA the T-Mobile G1), all function and not enough style. It’s like the MAC vs. PC ads all over again. The G1 does everything well, but is less visually appealing. It’s obvious that Google designed the OS, almost everything points to their online service (which is a good thing) so you are never without your data if you forget your phone at home. (I wish someone would design an app that logs your calls on Google as well, this way I can see the calls I missed). The one weak link in the G1 is Video, I wish there was a better way to purchase and place video on the device, the Amazon store is clunky (it works however).

The bottom line: Having a keyboard and copy and paste functionality is key to why the G1 is a better device, this is simply more efficient, Apple has taken us back to the stone ages with their implementation (kind of reminds me of the mouse with only one button, it took them a decade to get up to speed), you are back to one finger typing on the iPhone. The other pluses are things like the SD card slot, smaller width (making it feel like a phone, when you multitask like I do this is important, I have broken an iPhone already because it fell out of my hand, its shaped like a brick), better in-call sound quality, better desktop icon management (you can choose which icons you want on the desktop without having to remove the entire application), apps that can run in the background or resume when you have switched away from them, with the iPhone you have to start all over.

I carry both devices, one for entertainment and the other for functionality, I’m sure by now you know which is which. If I had to choose which one to keep, the G1 would be the winner, it’s not flashy, but it does the job well.

P.S. they both suck at battery life, this is one area where the blackberry is still king.

P.S.S. I also have the black berry bold, but there really isn’t much improvement over the Curve (only faster, better graphics and a SD card slot – come on Apple, get with the program) so there was no point in comparing it to these guys. When blackberry has a better application store (market) that has cool free apps like the G1 market or Apple Apps store, then maybe we’ll see a real fight, for now, the Blackberry still remains king of business use, but in my book the G1 is the only competitor that can do both business and pleasure well.

Filed under Apple, Google, Hardware, Smart Phones

G1 vs. iPhone vs. Windows Mobile

November 24, 2008 Leave a comment

Ok, so here’s the real deal, they are both fantastic steps in the right direction but neither offer much more than was already available via Windows mobile devices. Let break it down shall we:

  1. Touch screen – The only addition is multi-touch. After you get over the wow factor, you soon realize that other then zooming into things, it doesn’t do much; in fact in some cases you’ll wish you could turn it off.
  2. App store – Well if you like being forced to only shop in one place, then it’s a good thing. The guys at Google did the same, but also allowed other parties to sell as well outside of their store (Amazon for example). Apple takes a cut of every transaction on the iPhone. In the Windows mobile world, purchasing apps from hundreds of store and developers has been around from day 1.
  3. Accelerometer – This is probably the only real innovation, but not as innovative as you would think. All it really does it let the device know its orientation, easily duplicated and already a part of most of the devices available on the market.
  4. Web browser, email and contacts, etc. – Old hat for all of these devices and even older ones.
  5. Bluetooth – A failure on both Apple and Google, why do it at all if you can’t do it right. Even the cheapest Nokia smart phone has full Bluetooth compatibility. Windows Mobile devices can even sync over Bluetooth.

About the only thing that gives the G1 or iPhone an edge over Windows Mobile devices is the willingness of developers to make cheap new apps, it is here that Google has taken a bold step in allowing everyone to get the SDK and an emulator to play with. Their openness gives them and edge of Apple who daily fights with developers and have dictator like control over what goes into the app store. Microsoft seems to be falling behind, but if you look closely you’ll notice that they have changed their concentration and are targeting new markets (Windows mobile embedded vehicles for example). They are poised to take the world by storm with the Surface technology and have formed some strategic alliances along the way that should make both Google and Apple worry. They’ve shown that they are not the sleeping giant with the recent ad wars with Apple (I’m a PC), frankly Apple got schooled, their adds are now seen as insulting to the majority of computer owners instead of a compelling reason to buy a Mac,

Hopefully this week I’ll post some pictures of with the G1 and iPhone in action, but already I can tell you the G1 is faster, more reliable and more solid than the iPhone, oh and did I mention “COPY AND PASTE”, it’s good to be able to do that again.

Filed under Android, Hardware, Smart Phones

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

October 3, 2008 3 Comments

No iPhone indeed, but let’s give credit where credit is due, Nokia is the McDonalds of cell phones, you won’t get a gourmet meal, but you will get great value for your dollar.

Look, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has everything, including fully functional Bluetooth (music via blue tooth headset, Bluetooth data synchronization and file transfer), Video recorder, voice control, video calling (this is fantastic and works unlike some other implementations I’ve seen), SD card slot, MMS, Wifi, GPS, native support for multiple file formats including WMA without having to convert (you just drag it to the folder on the device), web browser (that does not just shut down on you), and works and feels like a Nokia (rugged, can take a beating, I’m on my 2nd iPhone).

I think they hit this one out the park; it has all the things we had hoped Apple would have delivered. Yes, it’s no iPhone, but what does that mean? The only failing here is the touch screen technology, it’s like the Verizon devices, not as sensitive but it works great. My only wish is that they include HD radio like the 5310 in the next version of this phone.

Oh, and did I mention 16 days on standby, 1.5 days of music play. I just came back from a business trip; there is nothing worse than running out of juice after 2hrs.

As cool as the iPhone is, this phone is real competition and will take significant market share from Apple.

RIM, Google, Microsoft, HTC, and now Nokia, I think we’re gonna have fun this winter, even if the economy is down the tubes, this is one tube I’d love to own.

Decide for yourself; take a look at the specs – http://www.nokiausa.com/A41271075

What’s the Score?

Level of Difficulty Low
Worth it? Yes!
Longevity Long
Cost $200

Filed under Hardware, Smart Phones

Mac vs PC

September 29, 2008 1 Comment

Ok, enough already!

People, there are no differences in what they can do! Don’t believe the hype! There are essentially the same.

The facts:

  1. The hardware is the same (Intel processors, video cards from the same manufactures, SATA drives, etc.)
  2. You can blow away the Apple OS and install Visa or XP on the Mac hardware and vice versa. Just lookup Psystar or look at these links:
    http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Mac-OS-X-10-3-(Panther)-on-Your-Windows-PC
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxwuYTnfL-I
    http://lifehacker.com/software/mac-os-x/how-to-install-os-x-on-a-pc-117211.php
    http://www.parallels.com

    Apple is more restrictive as to their OS, but it can be done.

  3. There is nothing and I mean nothing you can do on a Mac that you can’t do on a PC and vice versa. Neither is better, take it from me, I use them both
  4. Windows is a bigger target, hence the number of attacks, both from viruses, hackers and vocal Apples users, but Apple is not safer, in fact I would argue that it may be less safe as the people who believe they are safer take less precautions and there is less scrutiny so discoveries of issues are less known. For example, there is a way to hack into OS X, change the administrative password in under 3 min. I won’t post how to do this, but I have done it. You can’t do the same with this method on a PC running Vista.
  5. Apple is smaller and quicker to change. Baloney! What Apple has is better advertising (well used to have better advertising, the “I’m and PC add from Microsoft are very good and the tag line life without walls is catching on”). We all bought the hype about the iPhone, hook line and sinker, the truth is, from its launch to now, every few months there is a major update to correct flaws, flaws they don’t speak of in their white papers, instead we have to wait for hackers to decipher. If they were quicker we would have copy and paste on that device now and oh yeh, working Bluetooth. If Microsoft had as many firmware updates to fix flaws on a device we would all switch to Apple.
  6. Mac’s are more expensive. True! You can purchase the same level of hardware for less. Take this one up with Steve, I can’t explain why.
  7. Microsoft stole from Apple. Baloney! It’s a Graphical interface, and both companies do rigorous user acceptance testing. What works best usually wins, these guys are about selling products and gaining market share, not who is unique.
  8. Microsoft owns part of Apple. True, but not enough to make it Mac-rosoft.
  9. Apple machines don’t crash or freeze as much as PC’s. False. With a smaller footprint, you have fewer complaints because you have fewer people producing hardware and software, hence less chances for things to go wrong. The way Apple addresses system failure is different as well, on the Windows platform you get a very detailed error message (the blue screen of death) on the Mac you get a bomb or a sad face. When an application crashes on the Mac or iPhone it just shuts down (quits), sometime you get a message, sometimes you don’t, and on the PC you get a delay then an error message that you have to click ok to get past.
  10. The Apple OS has a Linux base, true and Vista still has a DOS interface for legacy applications
  11. Vista is slow. False, the issue here is that you can install it on almost any XP class machine. With the Mac OS there are far more restrictions for base hardware level for the new OS, so you can’t just upgrade to the latest OS. Microsoft’s openness in this regard is their downfall as people with old hardware install a new OS that demands more horse power will experience poor performance.
  12. Windows has more applications and is better for business. True for the moment. Because Microsoft is more open with its OS, developers have an easier time creating, and yes, there are more business applications available, this is one area that Apple is far behind on. In fact they did not have an Enterprise division until recently.
  13. The iTouch is better than the Zune. It depends on what you consider better. The Zune has more features (radio and wireless sync) and is more stable, but the iTouch is cooler with its touch screen. They both do a great job of playing music, but with the Zune’s software it’s easier to manage a music library, iTunes is slow and a bit rigid to work with on the PC. The Zune is not Apple compatible, but the iTouch can be used on either OS. Both of these devices fall short when it comes to external add-ons, such as battery changing, memory card slots, and with the iPhone 2G, head phone selection, but the Zune software, which is based on Windows media player, can be used with non Zune hardware and recognizes music you add to your folders without you having to drop them into the applications. I will go into this in greater detail in another post.
  14. AppleTV vs Xbox 360 or Tivo . . . . that will be in my next post

Filed under Hardware

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