tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29943081137559906632024-02-07T01:00:50.564-05:00Flip Bits Not BurgersWelcome to a blog about nothing more than a bit of code, a little tech, occasional ranting, a little raving.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comBlogger262125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-21047682518800542372013-12-06T08:50:00.001-05:002013-12-06T08:50:16.609-05:00WatchNote - Pebble Smartwatch - Evernote integrated!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally feel like it was worth buying a Pebble, with recent support for Amazon MP3 music (where <b>all</b> my music lives), and now, more importantly, an iPhone and Android app that had somehow escaped my attention since August: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.geekasmus.watchnote&hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WatchNote</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the biggest reasons I carry a big-screened smartphone (still packing both my Droid Razr MAXX and now my new Google Nexus 5) is for notes! Grocery notes, work notes, to-do-lists, miscellaneous notes, notes, notes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keeping Evernote live up on the phone screen is a bit annoying however, not to mention the frequent required sacrifice of a hand while shopping, and the "here's my phone steal it" aspect of things, or "I set my phone down to pick something up where did it go" anxiety.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WatchNote, at under two bucks ($2USD) from Google Play, is an awesome complement to my $5/month Evernote subscription. You can sync your WatchNotes to Evernote, edit them in Evernote on your preferred Evernote devices, and sync back to WatchNote for display on your Pebble. Only a tiny bit Goldbergian :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish I could select existing notes in Evernote to sync to WatchNote. For now, I'll just copy old Evernotes into the new Evernotes in the Pebblenotes folder for WatchNote.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The synchronization when notes get updated is a little clunky, as it has to go between Evernote client, Evernote server, WatchNote app, Pebble app, but it works. (Again, only a LITTLE Rube Goldberg here.) I wish the WatchNote app had a manual sync/refresh function like Evernote itself does, but I can't seem to find one presently. I have been shutting the app off and restarting it to force a sync, which lead me to realize (perhaps it should have been obvious) WatchNote needs to be actively running in order for the Pebble app to retrieve/update notes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all very well worth a coupla bucks! I highly recommend it to all Pebble owners, ESPECIALLY Evernote users - but it's standalone note client would also suffice for most basic note needs.</span>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-27258942614662495712013-02-18T09:48:00.002-05:002013-02-18T09:48:23.481-05:00Seven days with Pebble: E-Paper Watch for Android and iPhone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So after MUCH ado, and much waiting, my </span><a href="http://getpebble.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pebble</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> finally arrived, about a week ago. I was in the first 1/5th or so of backers on </span><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-e-paper-watch-for-iphone-and-android" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kickstarter</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, and I ordered black, so I lucked into a fairly early delivery. My only disappointment here is that the item was delivered sometime between a Friday afternoon and Sunday -- I happened to notice the small package on my porch returning from grocery shopping Sunday morning -- and shipping notification from Pebble showed up 24+ hours later, on Monday. I'm just happy it didn't disappear, or get soaked in rain or snow. It did manage to show up a bit dirty/greasy however, needing to be wiped with a rag when I pulled it out of otherwise clean packaging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My seven-day impression remains about the same as my 24-hour impression. It's a nice toy, it brings out my childhood Dick Tracy gadget dreams, and I eagerly await availability of the SDK so I can put my own apps on it. It's convenient while driving, and in meetings. It's a security bonus when you're traveling public transportation and have to worry about thieves snatching cell phones out of hands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The E-Paper screen is pretty quick and responsive, but definitely has an oily sheen at some not overly aggressive viewing angles. It's also very prone to glare, and to fingerprinting and smudging. So far, no scratches, but I have yet to pull my typical clumsy wrist-smack in a doorway that I manage to pull almost every time I'm wearing a watch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Battery life seems pretty impressive. Not impressed with the waterproof magnetic mechanism for the charging cord, however -- it falls out if you look at it funny, much less try to move the watch around on your desk while it's charging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">I would recommend this to geek friends, but I'm guessing most iPhone types will be happier awaiting the inevitably more expensive <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nyt-apple-is-developing-a-curved-glass-smartwatch-2013-2" target="_blank">smartwatch</a> that Apple is rumoring.</span>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-91348051960311389182013-01-07T08:28:00.001-05:002013-01-07T08:30:46.082-05:00CES: Magisto "magical video editing" - the next InstagramFresh from CES, we have <a href="http://www.magisto.com/" target="_blank">Magisto</a>. I strongly suspect this is going to blow up and get acquired like Instagram, as long as the proportionately higher overhead of video vs. static images does not prove to be a serious handicap.<br />
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Available for both <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magisto" target="_blank">Android</a> and iOS.
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Quick test/demo/sample:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://www.magisto.com/embed/YQJEZgdWQWIKDUFi" width="420"></iframe><br />Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-51378849227371424152012-12-24T14:12:00.003-05:002012-12-24T14:18:28.246-05:00Roku 2 XS: Big upgradeSome readers may recall I'm a longtime Roku owner -- I turned my family on to them the first Christmas the original model was on sale, I picked up a Roku XD a year or two later, and finally this month I upgaded to the Roku 2 XS.<br />
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I didn't need WiFi vs. Ethernet as I already have both options, and both work well. I was on the fence until I learned that my long-desired Amazon Cloud Player was only available on Roku 2 models with more recent firmware than my Roku XD, so the audio capabilities of the Roku 2 XS are a nice plus. 1080p vs. 720p resolution is of course a big bonus too, especially now that Comcast appears to have stopped shaping my streaming video traffic to the point of serious stream downgrades (think Web 1.0 pre-Flash pre-broadband video).<br />
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The new device is nice. It boots faster, it has a MicroSD card slot to increase memory/storage capacity -- older models like my XD have trouble handling a large number of channels. The interface itself is snappier, noticeably more responsive. The Instant Replay feature performs much better, much quicker, much less likely to pause due to a need to buffer when you hit it three or four times in quick succession. I have a 2 GB MicroSD card in the slot, I'm not certain what the max capacity is, or where the threshold of real benefits is reached for the unit vs. memory card size.<br />
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Perhaps most importantly, the Roku 2 XS does not have the completely random and intermittent audio cut-out problems I experience with the Roku XD. I had blamed my low-end Onkyo network receiver for this, as others have seen similar issues with the same Onkyo receiver model, but eventually I determined the audio issue only seemed to arise on the Roku input. Since going to the 2 XS, I have had no audio cut-out issues at all, over several days of heavy, near-constant streaming. The cut-out problem would happen repeatedly over the course of any given day, sometimes clumped together in very annoying bunches, so several days of no cut-out is a huge improvement for sure.<br />
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One improvement I was hoping for but am not seeing is in terms of overall system stability. These Roku media hubs seem to have a tendency, particularly after lengthy/heavy use, but sometimes also not long after a fresh reboot and a period of no use, to occasionally stop responding to remote input reliably, after which they freeze, and eventually reboot. This has happened once in the four days or so I've had the Roku 2 XS online. It would be nice if at least it were to happen less frequently than my Roku XD crashes, but that remains to be seen.<br />
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The new remote is nice, packed with better networking gear (no line of sight required anymore) and stuff like gyros and accelerometers. It's a heavy remote, and I have to wonder how long batteries are going to last. It's also something of a usabiltiy fail: in the semi-dark or dark of a TV viewing room, it's difficult to orient the remote in the dark, because it's overly symmetrical. The cord that designates the "bottom" is invisible in the dark and no use at all. A simple upgrade to the case design would make this a rockin' little accessory.<br />
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Game offerings seem to remain pretty limited. I played me some Angry Birds. It might be good for drunks at parties ... safer than the XBOX 360 with the Kinect going after the party gets started perhaps.<br />
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Finally, Amazon Cloud Player channel on Roku: freakin' sweet, and about dang time! I love having my entire music collection available without having to explicitly download it through a PC to my DLNA-capable QNAP NAS device. That being said, I will continue to, and recommend other Amazon MP3/Amazon Cloud Player customers do the same, download my entire collection to local physical media, just in case Amazon ever does something funky with my cloud collection, or something bad happens to the Internet.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-90976845742156930052012-11-06T09:20:00.003-05:002012-11-06T09:22:59.957-05:00My initial impressions of the Microsoft Surface RTI've had a 32 GB Surface RT in my hands for about 18 hours now, 11 or so of them waking, 6 or so of them working, so apologies if this review is a bit light. <br />
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It's also not going to be overwhelmingly positive.<br />
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First, I'm very disappointed in the pre-order process. I placed my order the second day of pre-order, and was told my device would be delivered by October 26th, the standard message displayed when you went to pre-order. Nothing was said about backorder, yet I didn't receive shipping notification until Friday, November 2nd. Thanks, Microsoft, way to burn a fan. If I had known it was going to backorder, I would have bought it the minute the doors opened over at the Oakbrook Terrace Microsoft Store.<br />
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Second, the activation process. Having Binged this a bit, I see I'm not the only one whose Surface refused to go beyond "limited connectivity" after being provided valid WiFi information. Connectivity couldn't be established without a restart, which as far as I know means you need to complete signing in before doing a restart via software. Therefore, I'm forced to create a new local user to sign in as, instead of using my Windows Live account like I did with my Windows 8 Pro installation process. You win no points, Microsoft, for the awkward WiFi and non-uniform sign-in and activation experience you thereby force on users.<br />
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Those are my big beefs. The rest of the experience is OK. I don't really understand the extreme PR around the hinge mechanism. It's OK. It's not great.<br />
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How do I see all active applications? How do I decide to kill/exit from an application? This is not obvious to me at this point in time. I feel like I leave a lot of applications running in the background. Maybe user deficiency here, remains to be seen.<br />
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The Maps experience is OK, could be pretty good ... but I wish it had GPS and 3G/LTE. How truly useful is a Maps application on a mobile device without GPS? And how useful is a mobile device with only WiFi connectivity? Microsoft needs to at least offer the OPTION to stick a SIM card in there, even if it's not a feature of the basic model.<br />
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The gestures afforded by the interface and software are growing on me, as is the screen sharing between apps. The gestures feel more intuitive to me than Mac trackpads and iPads I've used occasionally in the past.<br />
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The 1.0 MP cameras are disappointing.<br />
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The Windows Store experience is OK. The Office RT experience is OK but not great, not highly touch-centric.<br />
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I did two conference calls to a free VoIP teleconference services yesterday using Skype with a USB headset over 802.11n. Seemed like there was a fair amount of noise that was due to my client, other people on the calls said their ends sounded fine. I do Skype calls over the same Wireless-N access point using different hardware (HP laptop usually) all the time without these issues.<br />
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The fit and finish is pretty nice. The screen is pretty decent. The resolution seems pretty appropriate for the screen size, especially when held at arm's length. Video viewing at same distance was pretty good. Can't envision a lot of setting this up on a table and watching from a distance however. Will eventually explore the HDMI-out capability as well. I had thought it was supposed to be proprietary, but it looks like it's simple MicroHDMI?<br />
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The Touch cover is ok ... not loving it, but it may grow on me. Judgement not yet rendered. Not necessarily feeling better than typing on glass right off, but it's nice not to obscure the screen with a keyboard.<br />
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Finis for now. If you have not, and you're in the US, please go vote today!Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-52239789907041631662012-10-03T12:48:00.005-04:002012-10-03T12:48:57.623-04:00Crowdfunding: not a shortcut to personal dream fulfillment<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kickstarter, IndieGoGo ... crowdfunding is hot. Crowdfunding, with its low barriers to entry and inherently viral marketing facets, is making it possible for a whole new generation of ideas and causes to receive funding that might otherwise fall by the wayside. An innovative alternative to the well-trodden conventional paths to raising funds for a venture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's also bringing out the me-firsts among us. People who get turned down by, or do not bother with, traditional funding sources, because their idea is simply not a worthwhile, dollar-generating investment. Sometimes these are dreamers, sometimes these are people who are too blind or entitled to realize what they're expecting and demanding from people. Or, they simply do not care.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong -- I love crowdfunding. I was an early Pebble backer on Kickstarter. A colleague of mine recently <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/g2s" target="_blank">funded an exploratory trip</a> back to his native Nepal so he and his team could lay the groundwork for building schools there in the coming years. I've funded a number of smaller, nichey ideas or products that intrigued me, some fitting a need I have, some simply tickling my gadget pickle. (Go ahead, laid that one out there for ya.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which brings me to: "</span><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/hackert0wn" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hackert0wn</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:" "<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">A pioneering educational center for clean technology and sustainability featuring the world's first marketplace for hackers." Basically a bunch of shipping containers glommed together, dedicated to everything from hacking to sleeping to machine shopping to retail to gardening.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Lose the l33t speak. Does anyone take that crap seriously? Especially when dealing with seven-figure sums?</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. The head dreamer is a guy who co-founded a hackerspace and has some sort of lifelong dream to put together a green building. If hacking spaces are so successful, why can't he bootstrap hackert0wn with his own funds from the hackerspace?</span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. The timeline is ludicrously short - starting sometime between now and February 2013, and ending by October 2013. I doubt even half the permits would be acquired in that time, much less the containers, much less the associated infrastructure, much less equipment, much less finishing details on interiors, much less the people required to keep such a project running day-to-day.</span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. What's the goal, other than to satisfy one guy's green dreams? What is the requested $1.5 million going toward, really, other than one guy's giant sandbox?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sorry but crowdfunding is not the answer to getting rejected by banks and VCs. I'm quite confident that this project will not be funded, but I find it simply audacious that any rational adult would go out and ask the public for one and a half million dollars to do little or nothing more than fund his dream to begin with. What real benefit is realized to the funders? To the community? If there's a true need for something like this, then it's something that should be capable of being funded in a conventional fashion with conventional expectations around business plans and an actual return on investment. An expectation of fiduciary responsibility.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it stands, hackert0wn, and a growing number of other crowdfunding projects like it, come off smelling like selfish, entitled, clueless beggars who are hoping to get lucky off the stupidity of mobs. Don't ruin a good thing, ya jerks.</span></span>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-87629212501091566762012-08-24T12:11:00.000-04:002012-08-24T12:11:06.809-04:00My day was made today by someone "paying it forward"<blockquote>
About 5 or 6 years ago, I was just a little kid playing on the internet. I wanted a domain name, and you got it for me and let me host it on your server.
Just wanted thank you for that, and let you know I'm paying it forward and doing the same for some other kids in my community.
Much love and many thanks,
James</blockquote>
<br />
Thanks James, that's awesome to hear! And you're still quite welcome.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-55441000785988408782012-01-30T08:44:00.004-05:002012-01-30T09:06:03.339-05:00Cutting the cable: mission accomplishedAfter thinking about it for a couple years, after having had my options multiplied significantly between netflix, Roku, redbox, Amazon, Kindle Fire, Hulu Plus and Vudu, and probably more that I am managing to overlook, I disconnected cable and my beloved DVR about two weeks ago. $80 a month for a time suck with mostly crap, commercial-filled content, erased.<br /><br />It has not been as rough as I had feared. I miss CNN, but that's about it. I wish CBS shows like Big Bang Theory and CSI were on Hulu Plus -- the non-HD versions available from the CBS website are not adequate, and buying TV seasons via Amazon is pricey.<br /><br />I'm considering Amazon Instant Video TV Passes for the few TV shows I really like and cannot get for $8/month through Hulu Plus, like The Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels. It's a hard sell though: $2.99 for HD per episode, ~5% off if you buy the TV Pass. Yikes, that adds up! I find it pretty nuts that some "half-hour" (read: 21-23 minutes) shows are also $2.99 through Amazon -- looking at YOU, Big Bang Theory. No way am I paying $3 for 20 minutes of entertainment.<br /><br />A lot of Fox stuff is available on Hulu Plus, but not everything, which is a bit of a disappointment. Almost everything on Fox seems to be available on Hulu basic, but that's not HD, and you can't stream it through your Roku or direct to TV with capabilities. Stupid licensing deals and other such BS.<br /><br />Hulu Plus seems to occasionally bug out my later model first generation Roku. Wish that did not happen. Netflix and Amazon Instant Video have always behaved pretty flawlessly, why can Hulu not get it right?<br /><br />I'm utilizing my netflix DVD subscription more efficiently now, rather than letting discs sit around. I'm hitting the redbox kiosks at the grocery store and office which is a great, affordable option, as long as I remember to return the discs a night or two later. If I keep them out any longer it is roughly the same cost, but more convenient, to rent via Amazon Instant Video or Vudu.<br /><br />Finding some watchable stuff in netflix and Amazon Prime all-you-can-eat streaming options, but frankly, not a lot of great content. Old TV. Older movies. Direct to DVD movies. Some diamonds in the rough, but neither of these options' libraries really appeals to me greatly.<br /><br />What I really miss is a 24x7 newschannel. I find myself watching Fox News and Al-Jazeera thanks to their part-time or partially-available livestreaming. CNN Radio news is available via Roku Newscaster, which is great, but not long enough to serve as ongoing background noise one occasionally dips in to throughout the day as one works. You do not want to stop every two minutes to browse to new news content -- just feed me! Roku Newscaster's design could be improved, but the content just doesn't seem to be there to provide a continuous stream.<br /><br />I may pick up an HD antenna for local news, but so far, not really feeling the need.<br /><br />All in all, pretty happy having cut the cable, and wish I had done it sooner.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-85410244039011471972011-06-07T19:38:00.004-04:002011-06-07T19:48:22.965-04:00One of my cats is missing :(My friend of some eight years, Ellie, a female tortoiseshell American shorthair, decided to take a trip outside last week. She'd darted out a few times since we moved, and apparently she did so without me noticing for once. She was last seen on Wednesday, June 1st, in a yard just next door; unfortunately one of the residents let their giant Schnauzers out, who chased my cat out of their yard in the direction away from my own.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyV1bKMGyvc2eHKrBb3p5zG2lARCvRSsPWvK0miUAbYm8_lVs35z10USP1SxFtknh82s949r0Bfs5e5J69GOe5DzCHVBqHHXfB0WaEkkX2mOUBIjWm8bzKZgJt5pGA-GcP5HpBceffLyy/s1600/ellie+on+binary+blanket+cropped.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 370px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyV1bKMGyvc2eHKrBb3p5zG2lARCvRSsPWvK0miUAbYm8_lVs35z10USP1SxFtknh82s949r0Bfs5e5J69GOe5DzCHVBqHHXfB0WaEkkX2mOUBIjWm8bzKZgJt5pGA-GcP5HpBceffLyy/s400/ellie+on+binary+blanket+cropped.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615628527168487122" /></a><br /><br />I've handed out and placed in neighborhood mailboxes some three dozen flyers, contacted animal control, cat rescue, local vets, walked the block or greater neighborhood at dawn or dusk a few times, put out food, treats, tuna, my worn clothes. No sign of her so far. I'm holding out hope however.<br /><br />Ellie is the first pet who was ever 100% mine; I saved her from being euthanized due to being too young/too small to care for in a shelter at the age of ~3 weeks or so, after my good friend (and recent Dad! congrats again!) Aldwin Maloto rescued her on a hot day, abandoned in the parking lot outside his aparmtent.<br /><br />She's my #1 buddy and has never shown as much pleasure and comfort as the times she's curled up in my arms, on my chest -- not a people cat. I've had her a year and a half or two longer than my other cat, Dagwood, and I've had her quite a bit longer than my dog, Nick. She's been with me through six moves; three apartments, three houses, three cities, two states. She's been with me in some of my near-worst times, and some of my best times.<br /><br />She's a bit of a scaredy cat, not particularly amicable toward people she doesn't know. She's probably hiding under someone's deck or in someone's shed right now. I really hope she hasn't been hit by a car or had something else violent happen to her ... and I fear that if she hasn't been hurt, that she'd never be comfortable and happy in another home. Maybe that's partially ego ... I don't know, but in the end, I just want her home again, but if that can't be, I just hope she's safe and happy.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-8984105452080644352011-05-04T07:33:00.005-04:002011-05-04T07:51:27.751-04:00Single-threaded developers in a parallel worldI screened a candidate yesterday with a background in web dev. ASP.NET, MVC, basic webservicess experience. When I asked him if he had ever used .NET's new Parallel object, or any of the more conventional multithreading facilities, his reply was, "No, I've never done multithreading, I've only done web development."<br /><br />Once upon a time, I thought multithreading was pointless in webdev myself ... but that had to be 6-7+ years ago now at the least. I came up in the software world through "basic web design" back in '95-'96, n-tier web & database work starting in '98, then started adding getting into service-heavy stuff some five years ago now. This gentleman got his start some 16 years ago writing assembly, and at some point working in the embedded world. If anything, I'd think his perspective on efficient utilization of CPU resources would be even sharper than mine.<br /><br />Any kind of iterative/enumerative operation can benefit from multithreading. Any kind of process that does not require synchronicity from the client/viewer/browser side of things can be done in an asynchronous fashion on a throwaway thread, giving the end user a perception of greater performance/responsiveness.<br /><br />I found it a bit shocking that in 2011, someone with over a decade and a half of experience in the software world could, or would, be so dismissive of multithreading, even if doing "only" web development type work.<br /><br />In .NET, it's so easy! The <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2e08f6yc(v=vs.71).aspx" target="_blank" title="Even .NET 1.1 had APM (MSDN)">Asynchronous Programming Model</a> has been around since .NET 1.1 and the async delegate and BeginInvoke/EndInvoke methods. The <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.componentmodel.backgroundworker(v=VS.80).aspx" target="_blank" title="BackgroundWorker thread in .NET 2.0 (MSDN)">BackgroundWorker</a> dispatch model has been available since .NET 2.0. Now in .NET 4.0 we have the <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd460717.aspx" target="_blank" title="TPL (MSDN)">Task Parallel Library</a> (TPL) which allows simple-to-write inline asynchronous task execution and similarly easy parallel for/foreach operations against enumerables, as well as <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd460688.aspx" target="_blank" title="Parallel LINQ (MSDN)">PLINQ</a> which gives us parallel execution of LINQ queries.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-24219794951525507762011-05-03T20:16:00.004-04:002011-05-03T20:21:30.927-04:00Missed opportunityOn the drive home from work today, a car cutting the perpendicular light a bit close ends up stalling out just as they got through the intersection. I'm in one of two left turn lanes, and my first thought is, "Man, I'm two minutes from home, are you serious?" -- assuming that drivers in the other lane, the one blocked by the stalled car, would be cutting people off in my lane.<br /><br />So, intent on driving through the mess and getting home, I was focused on not bumping cars from the other lane. However, there was no jostling -- the first person in that lane waited for our lane to pass, then carefully passed the stalled car and immediately pulled off into a parking lot entry, stopping near the road, not in a spot. I'm assuming they stopped to help the person push their car.<br /><br />If I'd had my eyes open, I could have pulled over there too, and helped out. But no, my first, and almost only, thoughts were of myself. Secondarily it occurred to me, "Man, that has gotta SUCK to be that driver!" But my first thoughts, my predominant thoughts, were selfish ones only.<br /><br />As soon as I noticed the driver pulling over to help, I regretted not doing so myself. If I'd been more concerned about the other person's situation, rather than getting my own butt the last two minutes home, I, too, probably could have pulled over.<br /><br />I regret this missed opportunity.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-88461180561451167832011-04-04T12:01:00.008-04:002011-04-04T12:19:08.686-04:00Review: Verizon Android 3G Mobile HotspotDue to some unforeseen travel complications, I had to reschedule my Comcast install. As such, I'm relying on my HTC Droid Incredible and the Verizon 3G Mobile Hotspot feature for a few days. <br /><div>Point one: DHCP & Verizon-assigned DNS is horrendous -- they make the feature unusable. Use a static IP address and Google or OpenDNS or other known reliable third-party DNS servers. Once I switched over to this configuration, connectivity has been flawless -- zero interruptions.</div><br /><div>Point two: Still can't use voice + data at the same time. If you receive an incoming call while using the Mobile Hotspot feature, you will lose data connectivity for the duration of the call, just like using the plain old handset.</div><br /><div>Point three: While it is better than some hotel WiFi I've dealt with, this feature does not appear to be a speed demon. With 3/4 bars, from a Chicago suburb, I performed a Speakeasy speedtest against Chicago-based target servers with the following results:</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfztUfnqxg-dXOx6WvMSd6bCyMLFFk9FA3YurYPPVb1-TLZEnX9nc7OmicJR2KjfEgs6-OAwNrUOF53Rncz8jYyRffCdYDRAzYYs0KDmV5SysN5UID4oWIE3arTr7v6iknI2eG2VRngXiM/s1600/verizon_android_3g_hotspot_speakeasy_speedtest.png" title="Speakeasy speedtest results: .8Mbps download .3 Mbps upload"><img alt="Speakeasy speedtest results: .8Mbps download .3 Mbps upload" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 327px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591761546495500178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfztUfnqxg-dXOx6WvMSd6bCyMLFFk9FA3YurYPPVb1-TLZEnX9nc7OmicJR2KjfEgs6-OAwNrUOF53Rncz8jYyRffCdYDRAzYYs0KDmV5SysN5UID4oWIE3arTr7v6iknI2eG2VRngXiM/s400/verizon_android_3g_hotspot_speakeasy_speedtest.png" /></a><br /><div>Conclusion: while having some connectivity on my laptop is certainly better than no connectivity, or smartphone-only, I absolutely cannot see multiple users using this as a hotspot simultaneously. USB dongles and ad hoc networks, or MyFi type devices, in my experience, provide much better performance, if you, or your boss, can pony up the cash for them -- plus you are not then forced to choose between voice or data.</div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-68810432356742341592011-03-23T08:26:00.010-04:002011-03-23T08:43:55.373-04:00Interesting: (Goldstein) Subaru vs. (Cortese) MitsubishiWhile I've always known Mitsubishi was not an owner-focused company, I had a still somewhat startling experience this week at a 5K service for my Subaru Legacy before I drive to Chicago next week.<div><br /></div><div>When trying to service or buy parts for my Mitsubishi Eclipse around 2000-2004, in Rochester, when I was doing a lot of work on that car, it was always a huge pain in the ass -- you could only get parts through the dealer, markup was outrageous, labor was outrageous, hours were never estimated long enough, everything always broke or was about to break or wear out, and needed to be replaced.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Forward to Albany, 2011. I had a new set of tires put on my Subaru by the guys down the road I've been going to for years: LaBarge's. They noted I might need new rear brake pads sometime soon, but weren't trying to sell me anything -- they've been great for all three vehicles I've taken them. I'd heard what might have been some scraping while braking in the Subaru, so I was concerned.</div><div><br /></div><div>I took the Subaru over to <a href="http://www.goldsteinauto.com/Subaru/">Goldstein </a>for its 5K service, paid for as part of a prepaid service package when I bought the car back in October. I mentioned the pads to the gentleman at the desk; part of the 5K service is to check them anyway, but I noted it to be sure, given the amount of driving I have ahead of me. The guy looks at me quizzically, saying, "Shouldn't be the case, but we'll certainly take a look." (I picked the car up with 23k or 24k miles; I've only put 2500 or so on it, no idea if the pads were done by Goldstein before I bought it, perhaps that was the case.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The promised hour later (despite the crowd) I get the car back, guy tells me I'm all set. No pads needed. No other service needed. No hard sell, no soft sell -- no sell, period. It was refreshing.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you Subaru, and thank you <a href="http://www.goldsteinauto.com/Subaru/">Goldstein Subaru</a>.</div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-91287434276325267642011-03-18T07:38:00.005-04:002011-03-18T07:55:07.818-04:00Moving - not free, not cheap, but ... !In the process of packing up a 2BR apartment for an out-of-state move, I've been shocked by some of the price estimates I've received to move the majority of my possessions.<div><br /></div><div>I got rid of my garage, I have no basement, no storage locker, just a ~1500sqft 2BR apartment, three pets, me. PODS wanted something like $2800; full-service mover numbers along the lines of Allied or United were <i>$4000</i> and up. PODS offered a too-small and a too-large container option for out-of-state moves -- not a lot of granularity, which added to the cost. As did the forced storage fee. I suspect their heavy marketing adds to the cost there too.</div><div><br /></div><div>A good friend in Chicago offered to drive a Penske truck out for me, but the apartment complex I'm moving out of doesn't prorate (though they screwed up the lease and I might actually have leverage as far as that goes, but not worth the hassle) and the 31st is a Thursday, which, with two cats and a dog that make staying in a hotel difficult if not impossible, makes getting packed and moved out without incurring another month's rent a bit complicated. Cost would have been $350+ airfare, $1200 truck, fuel/tolls for truck, for about $1800 total.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though I've seen ABF trucks before, I'd never heard of UPack until my old Meridian colleague from Rochester <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/dswartze/status/47727646938890241">Darren Swartzendruber</a> and SmAlbany acquaintance <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/AngelosTzelepis/status/47685633409425408">Angelos Tzelepis</a> educated me via Twitter on the topic. Two "ReloCube" container gives me what seems to be the appropriate amount of space to pack a washer/dryer, queen-size bed, full-size futon, a few desks, tables, chairs, kitchen appliances & dishes, pet stuff, books, a few electronics and computer items. Total cost? About <b><span class="Apple-style-span">$1290</span></b>, with a <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/ABFUPackMoving/status/47760127620689920">$50 discount via the "TWEET" code that ABF provided</a> after observing me talking with Darren and Angelos on Twitter. If I end up needing storage, (I still don't have a house to move to!) it's an option with ABF, unlike PODS, where it seemed to be mandatory.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks again Darren & Angelos for the heads up!</div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-55407162258063845392011-03-15T06:32:00.000-04:002011-03-15T06:32:44.576-04:00SaaSGrid frontrunner for CloudCamp Cloudy Awards 2011<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">The CloudCamp Cloudy Awards 2011 awards are today - Help keep SaaSGrid at #1 with your vote! </span><a href="http://cloudcamp.uservoice.com/forums/106311-top-saas/suggestions/1591667-saasgrid?ref=title">SaaSGrid</a>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-28998326805366237832011-03-07T13:51:00.003-05:002011-03-07T13:54:45.569-05:00Certified!Though I've long been certifiable, I'm finally certified! Took, and passed on the first try, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-513">Microsoft's 70-513</a> today, making me an MCTS in WCF/service applications in .NET 4.0.<div><br /></div><div>My feelings on certs have varied over the years, but I've come to the conclusions that 1) it probably doesn't hurt to have them, and 2) if nothing else, they serve as motivation to polish certain areas of my skillset.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though I've presented on WCF three times, I haven't used WCF anywhere near as heavily as I've wanted to the past 4-5 years; of course, the new opportunity with Redbox should change that for me :) Buried myself in studying, and a relevant project (queue-based, discoverable PubSub) that also has benefits for work (Apprenda) the past ~4 weeks or so, with a very happy outcome.</div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-89930616303672159002011-03-06T08:53:00.004-05:002011-03-06T09:04:26.554-05:00Movin' to Chicago!It has been a nearly-indescribably busy few months. A lot of exciting stuff going on at Apprenda with SaaSGrid; barcamp Albany 2011 at HVCC; and now, I am in the process of moving to Chicago for a WCF role with Redbox.<div><br /></div><div>I have most definitely enjoyed working with the team at Apprenda -- to a person, they're the hardest working people in tech. Unfortunately the Client Services role I was in turned out to be waaaay more help desk type work than initially expected, and anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a help desk type guy. Even the desired consulting/implementation/architectural type work I was actually doing was, unfortunately, often ignored by clients and dev teams who had other priorities, like budgets and deadlines. ;)</div><div><br /></div><div>A longtime friend of mine from Rochester has been living in Chicago about four years now himself, and had this Redbox opportunity come across his desk; it was something he thought I'd be a great fit for, and taking a look, I had to agree. After a phone interview week before last with two of the team members, Redbox made an offer. I will be joining the fairly new Platform Services team: 100% WCF, and NO, I repeat NO, GUI work! Platform Services supports the entire enterprise, and I understand we will be playing a large part in the upcoming streaming and digital distribution initiative that Redbox has been talking about for some time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, I recognize that Redbox is something of an underdog, and will have to come from behind in establishing a streaming offering that can compete with Netflix. I'm happy to be a part of that, and excited to see what challenges lay ahead. I think it's an exciting space to be in, and will enjoy working for a talked-about consumer brand.</div><div><br /></div><div>I believe Apprenda is on the right track to a successful exit, and I wish them luck -- though they hardly need it, they're the kind of team to make their own luck. Thanks for a great year guys!</div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-33846101117845976882010-12-17T03:55:00.006-05:002010-12-17T04:04:39.188-05:00Consulting Rates, Building Tech Teams<a href="http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/messages/12262034/">Great conversation</a> going on on the New York Tech Meetup (NYTM) mailing list regarding building tech teams and hiring/contracting developers and CTOs; I feel obligated to <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/messages/12269176/">quote Jonathan Vanasco</a>, acting CTO of an IAC property:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">Having an 'agency' contract you developers in NYC is 150-275 /hr. It makes sense to do that when you don't have the time to assemble a team from start.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">It's an employee market right now. 8+ years experience can be from 120-200k base, with a bonus on top. Hourly you'll expect 100-160hr.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">Yes you can find people who are 40-80/hr -- but they almost always lack the experience and skills to bring a project to fruition on time , budget & expectations -- that's why they're still entry level. If you have a solid CTO or some Sr devs -- then sure, hire the junior people and develop their skills. Otherwise, what the fuck are you thinking? Stop trying to cut corners on your own product.<br />For a "CTO" to come in, its all over. Rates are different as well, esp with equity packages. My compensation from Startups is vastly different than what Corporations pay me.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "></span>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-86552639165384724152010-11-05T05:22:00.007-04:002010-11-05T05:46:34.217-04:00SOLVED: 5GHz 802.11n networks not showing up with Dell DW1520 wireless-N adapter<div style="text-align: left;">In rebuilding/building out my home office network, I've been adding some wireless-N equipment that finally seems reliable -- the Netgear WNDAP350 and WNDR3700. After poor experiences with N since late 2007, I had purchased a new laptop (Dell Studio) in May with a G-band wifi card only. My more recent, happy experiences with N led me to purchase a replacement mini PCIe 802.11n adapter from Dell - the DW1520.</div><div><br /></div><div>The adapter arrived yesterday, and I of course eagerly popped open the back of my Windows 7 Ultimate x64 laptop to install it. Everything in place, machine rebooted, and ... it got a great signal from my G-band access points, but not a sign of the N-band APs.</div><div><br /></div><div>I rebooted the PC, the router and the AP, all to no avail. No sign of the Ns. Did some research online, found problems with previous adapters in the series, but researched the Broadcom component on the DW1520 to find that 5GHz was, in fact, supported. I was stymied.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hours later, I took another stab at it. In reviewing the driver settings, I found that my Location value was set to Japan, and I had no way of changing it! Recalling the multiple sets of localized drivers on the driver CD provided by Dell, I made the lucky assumption that Windows had found the wrong set of drivers and regional telecom/wireless compliance mismatch was probably interfering with the adapter finding my 5GHz networks.</div><div><br /></div><div>I uninstalled the network controller and driver via Device Manager, making sure to specify the Windows should delete the driver software to ensure I replaced it with the properly localized binaries. Scanned for hardware changes, specified browsing for the driver, made certain to select the Win7\DRIVER_US folder for searching.</div><div><br /></div><div>Voila! The wifi adapter reinstalls painlessly, and this time my location is correct:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yTblKzeoiyANAHqk4TPKtMEluexl26exwgkxNIARIaKNMF_MG46D4Eyq3yvHV8XZTnXkhFFhrjwyvIdP1igLzYS38DGL2uY11QvZgJ1Ha_-lGqnx5F9Zmt10L1OUYi_1hmkoQd7B3x35/s1600/wifi_adapter_driver_settings.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yTblKzeoiyANAHqk4TPKtMEluexl26exwgkxNIARIaKNMF_MG46D4Eyq3yvHV8XZTnXkhFFhrjwyvIdP1igLzYS38DGL2uY11QvZgJ1Ha_-lGqnx5F9Zmt10L1OUYi_1hmkoQd7B3x35/s320/wifi_adapter_driver_settings.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535997320447545794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 215px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Now connected to my nearby N-band AP with speeds of up to 300mbps (varies):</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpa-0GgdbGCmgEGajnbRHFUa9D1UJVPTB-_TzhKmo2H8sc9EhqaEGGGyozhrPR7Fzl4IU8a96azZYyeWxtn46ZZjOt12uaGV8YZFu7t4HkPlgHTsrpkCnw_o6nUp7VnFWo5Yeeeymu2c5/s1600/n_band_wireless_connection_dell_dw1520.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpa-0GgdbGCmgEGajnbRHFUa9D1UJVPTB-_TzhKmo2H8sc9EhqaEGGGyozhrPR7Fzl4IU8a96azZYyeWxtn46ZZjOt12uaGV8YZFu7t4HkPlgHTsrpkCnw_o6nUp7VnFWo5Yeeeymu2c5/s320/n_band_wireless_connection_dell_dw1520.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535998072609014306" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 265px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-9732677083788378382010-10-05T07:36:00.003-04:002010-10-05T07:38:26.715-04:00Now Tumblogging ...Been playing with a tumblr microbog instead of this Blogger blog. Conclusions yet to be drawn. <a href="http://tumblin.badera.us/">Join me over there</a> as well.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-90571896851175445062010-09-19T08:00:00.001-04:002010-09-19T08:00:23.630-04:00And in other new tools testing, today it's Amplify's turn. <a href="http://bit.ly/aRk0bf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/aRk0bf</a>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-68726948150488750742010-09-07T05:17:00.003-04:002010-09-07T05:18:55.193-04:00Venture capitalists tire of Twitter-y start-ups<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; "></p><blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In addition to these theories, I would also guess that developers have realized that Twitter could simply replicate their feature sets and make their client/service the default choice. This is of course, Twitter’s prerogative, and is also the risk developers undertake when building for a platform they don’t control.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I have no doubt that Twitter wants an ecosystem to thrive around its platform, much in the same way that Facebook wants an ecosystem around its social network. However, as I wrote</span></span><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-9993319-62.html" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 136, 204); "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> all the way back in July of 2008</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, VCs must wise up to the fact that investing in accessories that can be reproduced and easily packaged as part of a core offering may not be the best business strategy.</span></span></p></blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; "></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br />link: </span></span><a href="http://blog.tweetingmachine.com/venture-capitalists-tire-of-twitter-y-start-ups-cnet"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Venture capitalists tire of Twitter-y start-ups – CNET</span></span></a></div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-30444515914493588282010-09-06T15:43:00.005-04:002010-09-06T15:46:46.927-04:00Worth sharing: Academic inflation: Higher education | The EconomistRising education costs are not matched by rising wages. Hrmm.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/16960438?story_id=16960438&fsrc=rss" title="Academic inflation: rising cost of education not matched by rising wages"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 175px;" src="http://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/images/images-magazine/2010/36/NA/201036NAC223.gif" border="0" alt="Academic inflation: rising cost of education not matched by rising wages" /></a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/16960438?story_id=16960438&fsrc=rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a title="Academic inflation: rising cost of education not matched by rising wages" href="http://www.economist.com/node/16960438?story_id=16960438&fsrc=rss">Academic inflation: Higher education | The Economist</a></div>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-752673204541351972010-08-29T08:46:00.002-04:002010-08-29T08:47:09.826-04:00Beloit College Mindset List - 2014<a href="http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2014.php">Beloit College Mindset List for the entering class of 2014</a><br /><br /><blockquote><br />Beloit, Wis. – Born when Ross Perot was warning about a giant sucking sound and Bill Clinton was apologizing for pain in his marriage, members of this fall’s entering college class of 2014 have emerged as a post-email generation for whom the digital world is routine and technology is just too slow.<br /><br />Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. The creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation.<br /></blockquote>Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994308113755990663.post-4116861216646709162010-08-29T08:06:00.006-04:002010-08-29T08:15:45.028-04:00The 10 People Who Follow Me That I Won't Follow On Twitter1. Social media 'gurus,' 'ninjas,' 'rockstars,' 'samurai' or 'experts.'<br />2. Multi-level marketers (MLM) or affiliate program marketers.<br />3. SEO 'gurus,' 'ninjas,' 'rockstars,' 'samurai' or 'experts.'<br />4. The ignorant and/or the bigoted.<br />5. Non-conversationalists.<br />6. Porn 'stars' or porn spammers.<br />7. Self-proclaimed, no-name rappers.<br />8. Drama queens.<br />9. 80 million following to follower ratio'd.<br />10. No-name DJs/MCs/emcees.Andrew Baderahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00595155485109797786noreply@blogger.com