Archive for 2005-10

I’ve had some pretty solid interest (comments and emails) from folks wanting a Wordpress account through the new, yet to be fully released service. You’ll have to download this new browser called Flock, but once you have your Wordpress.com account, you can uninstall Flock (it’s supposed to be this cool new browser, but I didn’t like it. I’m sticking with Firefox.)

I made an account (davidrussell.wordpress.com) just to see how the wordpress service compares to my permanent server install. It’s a little buggy here and there in the admin section, but it mostly looks and feels the same. I’m sure they will work out all the kinks over time. Just be thankful you are getting in and snagging the good subdomains early.

Here are two options for you.

The First Option

1. Ok. So first go to: http://www.flock.com/developer/?wp
2. Download and install Flock.
3. Then open Flock and visit this URL: http://www.wordpress.com/flock/
4. Follow the steps and you are in. You may now uninstall Flock if you wish—it is not needed for Wordpress.

The Second Option
Leave a comment or email me [wordpress AT davidblog.com] with two things:

• Desired subdomain (site name): _________.wordpress.com
• Email address for password and admin info: you AT whereeveryou.are

I’ll set it up for you and Wordpress.com will automatically send you the admin and login info. If there is a conflict with your subdomain, I will email you.

There is a magical Third Option which involves installing the Wordpress package on server space that you buy for $5-10 a month. This option is the most flexible and powerful. If you interested in getting more bang for your buck, it might be something to look into. But, for the average blogger the wordpress.com service will be more than sufficient.

Enjoy.

Redeeming RewardZone points at Best Buy is quite a fun experience. After the iPod Nano Fiasco, Best Buy needed to have something renew my hope in them. Missy and I started collecting RewardZone points with our Best Buy purchases around the time we were moving to the new house. We had a few high dollar items to buy (fridge, TV, lawn tools, etc.) We shopped everywhere for each item and found that for the fridge and TV, Best Buy did indeed have the best buy. As a byproduct, we earned some RewardZone points for those purchases.

Last night, I decided to go down and redeem the RewardZone points in exchange for some cool stuff. I walked away with a very cool set of Shure E2c headphones (review|article) and a couple of seasons of Friends to start Missy’s collection. Not a bad night’s work for some free stuff. I did go a little over the mark, $8.19 from our debit card when I ran out of RewardZone certificates. Oops.

So far the E2c’s have been great. They came with many options and required a little prep time out of the box. These headphones should be called earphones. Their design places a tube within the ear canal for improved clarity and reduced outside noise. In fact, they reduce so much outside noise I can’t drive with them. Well, I shouldn’t drive with them. In the box, the earphones were accompanied by about eight interchangeable extensions that can be placed on the tip of the earphones that allow for different fit for any number of applications. I’m trying to determine the best extensions to use to fit my ear and be comfortable for a long range of time. I listen to my iPod for about 7-8 hours a day.

The earphones do an incredible job at what they are designed to do and what Shure sells them on. I could actually use these as in-ear monitors for live music events. I would actually like to see how well they perform live, especially to hear how much they reduce stage noise. The additional sound clarity in that setting would just be a bonus for me.

I took an online hearing test about a week ago and the results were that I do have some loss of hearing. That isn’t a physician’s analysis mind you, but it’s still a wake up call. First, to go get my hearing checked out seriously by a qualified aural specialist. Second, to turn my amp volume from 11 to down in the 9 range and to stop asking the sound engineer to push monitor levels through the roof. Third, protect my hearing. Always.

The fun at Best Buy is over and I think we fared well. Missy is a Friends fanatic and I will certainly get great use out of the headphones.

But now it’s back to pennypinching.

I guess the scratching thing has really gotten serious. For those out of the loop on this, owners of the new iPod Nano have found that after a few days of typical use, the Nano’s casing was highly prone to scratching. Even careful users (like myself) have noticed a number of scratches appearing on the face of the player.

Until now, nothing other than verbal complaints have occurred over the matter, but last week, lawyers here in the States filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, the claim:

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf angry iPod nano owners, alleges that Apple violated state consumer protection statutes, as well as express and implied warranties.

The complaint claims that the excessive, rapid wear renders the device unusable.

This suit was filed on behalf any and all owners of a Nano. The suit also calls for replacement of the devices in addition to any punitive damages that might be available.

Wow. That’s all I can say. I would love to have my Nano replaced, especially if they are going to strengthen the resin used on the casing. Mine has been scratched pretty badly. I’m of the sort that doesn’t like the aftermarket protective cases simply because they detract from the beauty of the Nano. I’m not even sure I would like those clear, plastic overlay “cases” that form a thin, but strong layer of protection for the device. Only time will tell how this lawsuit will pan out. If successful, the cost to Apple could be tremendous.

Read the news article.

If you’ve thought about starting a blog and you’ve evaluated all the services and your not sure what to do, where to go or even how to go, allow me to help.

Go Wordpress.

I know, I know. I shouldn’t say that word in this Typepad/Blogger filled world of ours. But I just don’t care anymore. I’m admitting it. I’m a Wordpress fanatic. When I found WP about a year ago, I just added to the list of blog platforms I knew about. I didn’t really dig in until I started building blogs for friends a couple of months ago. Geeklog wasn’t the answer for my pals, but Wordpress looked promising, so I took the plunge. Wow. It is the blog platform. I’ve tinkered with all of them and Wordpress takes the trophy. This system perfectly blends easy end-user experience with strong scalability and fluid, clean design. It wins. (IMHO Typepad guys, don’t ream me out.) In fact, I loved Wordpress so much, I converted.

The point of all the above ruckus is to let everyone know that I have a wordpress.com invite available for the first person to get a comment, email, phone call, or knock on the door to me.

What is wordpress.com? Well, until recently you could not use Wordpress as a service (like Blogger, Typepad, LiveJournal, etc.) You can download the application and install it to a server with a MySQL database, if you have that kind of expertise, but most folks don’t. Wordpress.com was launched to allow anyone to publish a Wordpress blog. But, it’s invite only right now.

I just got my invite and, obviously, I don’t need it—I have Wordpress already. So, if you don’t want to wait any longer and if you are ready to blog and if you are ready to experience the best blogging platform in the world then let me know. I’ll send over the redemption code and then you may scamper off into the blogosphere.

Check out http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/cool/cool_illusion.html.

This is a really neat illustration about the weird things that the eye and brain does when processing information. Ok, so the site was made in 1996 and this illustration could be that old. But it was new to me and I thought it was pretty darn cool.

Follow the instructions carefully. The last instruction (focusing intently on the black plus for several seconds) was the freakiest to me.

In this two part series, I am going to explore creating efficient workspaces on the Windows™ desktop. (Certainly applicable to Mac or Linux users. But not you Unix guys. Y’all are just weird.)

My desktop constantly changes. I’m always trying to make it more efficient. Lately, I’ve taken to reducing the clutter of icons on the actual desktop area. The quick launch toolbar is my greatest ally. You see, I’m not a minimizer. I’m an Alt+Tab guy. I leave most of my windows open as I am working and rarely minimize applications, except to the system tray (more on that in Part 2.) So, instead of accessing the desktop for icons, I heavily use the quick launch toolbar for my most used applications. Any other app can be pulled from the Start menu.

There are a several benefits to this setup. With the quick launch toolbar you only need to click once for the application to launch. Plus, the icons are always visible. I have stretched my start bar up two notches (three times as much space) and reorganized the borders of the sections accordingly. A neat bonus to this is that you now can view the date below the clock next to the system tray. You can also view more information about open applications because there is more room for their tabs to roam on the taskbar.

Of course, the downside to all this is that you lose precious real estate on your desktop. If you’re into design, video, or just into having lots of space for your email client or browser, you need that precious real estate. But don’t call Carleton Sheets just yet. Tweak your Display settings in the Control Panel (or right-click your desktop/then Properties/then Display tab). Increase your resolution slightly. If you are running 1024×768, try 1280×1024. Or, if you are an uber-geek and have a 42″ plasma monitor, first get a life, then try on 1600×1200 for size (or larger. Because, well, you can.) The point is, go nuts and find a setting you like.

The fun here is that you get to choose what is most efficient and makes the most sense for you. I see countless desktops still set to the default XP settings. Come on, tweak a little. Live a little!

While I work on part 2, here’s a shot of my desktop (500KB hi-res version if you stab the Firefox in the middle with your mouse):

There was something about the day today. Have you ever had one of those days that everything just seemed to be going your way? Today was just that for me. It started early. This morning, as soon as I opened the front door to step out into the day, a cool breeze swept by me and I breathed in the sweet, moist air. The weather was perfect.

On the way to work, I was accompanied by a freshly charged iPod with even fresher tunes piping through my ear buds. Work was busy—but I like it that way. Just kept knocking things off my to-do list and suddenly lunchtime appeared out of thin air.

When I was returning from a wonderful Mexican lunch with my beautiful wife Missy, I rolled down every single rollable window in the 4Runner and all the way back to the office I was a little more liberal on the accelerator than usual. The weather was still perfect.

In the afternoon, there was a problem with my work schedule. It seems I had arrived to work an hour early this morning due to a schedule change this week. So, I had to leave an hour early! Even my problems were turning into good things.

I never really have “bad” days. And I know what you’re thinking, everyone has bad days. And I guess I’ve had a few. But I can honestly say I really only experience good days with the occasional great day.

There was just something about the day today.

Here’s a video of a guy taking a rented Porsche to the Autobahn for a leg stretcher.

He manages to get it to about 280 km/h (about 174 m.p.h.). Pretty darn cool and probably the dream of many a red-blooded American male. (And female. Yes, yes. We know.) If I were in Germany, I think something like this could easily be added to the trip itinerary.

Vivaldi is probably the perfect soundtrack to this video as well. Enjoy.

View the video. (Quicktime)

Read the blog entry.

The eighth podcast is finished. Not like dead finished, like complete finished.

This week’s podcast (21:24 - 10MB)

Show Notes:

0:00
Welcome to number eight.

0:35
davidblog v2.

• Geeklog
• Wordpress
• Blogger
• Typepad
• pmachine
• Feedburner Feed

5:07
Hello international listeners.

6:29
The Podcasting Chair.

6:41
Apple news and discussion.

• Video iPod
• iTunes 6.0
• Watch the Apple event.

16:23
The future: audio vs. video.

18:26
The wrap-up.

19:00
New release schedule.

20:00
Unless you say otherwise.

Wow. Just got the latest on Apple’s big announcements today. The webcast that was scheduled to launch at noon CDT did not launch, so I’ve had to catch up where I can. Engadget has just released the basics.

The rundown is: a new video iPod. 30GB and 60GB capacities for $299 and $399 respectively. (Dang it. I just bought an Nano. :)) The iMac is thinner and getting some other upgrades. And iTunes 6.0 with video support and music videos and, better yet, TV shows for purchase! $1.99 each. It’s only a select few shows right now, but I would imagine they are going to expand that rapidly. I’ve heard naysayers on this already–the codecs thing, etc–but if Apple made mp3s this easy you know they are going to do the same with H.264 video.

Here is what Engadget had to say:

Act I:

The iMac G5. We sold over a million of them in its first year. What better place to put the computer than right behind the display? Today we’re introducing and all new iMac. [It looks extremely similar] Three great new features.

(1) It’s even thinner. The 20-inch is now thinner than the 17 used to be.

(2) iSight videocam. The new mac has an iSight built in. The camera has even better specs. Right out of the box videoconferencing without any extra stuff. We wrote a new app called PhotoBooth. [Demo: It has a built in flash - the entire display flashes. There are special effects including “Warhol” and effects that morph your face goofily.]

(3) Front Row. It s a new way to experience the media on your computer. It’s an incredible way to enjoy your music, your videos, and your photos … from your sofa. We’ve done a remote control, Apple style. It’s got six buttons. [Demo: He presses remote and a menu for Music / Photo / DVD / Video zooms in. There’s a giant iPod-style interface for music. “I can enjoy my music from across the room and see the artwork.”

Photos navigates through everything in iPhoto with slide show effects for albums.

”Now, a lot of people watch DVDs in their iMac, and it would be nice to control them from across the room. Now you can.” [Loads DVD of The Incredibles with menu that blurs out the typically unusable menu on the DVD with an iPod-style menu. Movie posters and trailers in HD format streamed from apple.com] This remote control, I just wanted to point something that to me captures what Apple is all about. [Shot of huge button-congested remotes next to the tiny 6-button Apple remote]

Specs: Bluetooth, Superdrive, Mighty Mouse standard. 17-inch $1299. 20-inch $1699. Available today.

Act II: The iPod. We announced yesterday that we had shipped almost 30 million iPods. Our market share, 75% of all MP3 players shipping. Five weeks ago we introduced the iPod nano. And you know what? We shipped over a million iPod nanos in the first 17 days, and we could not meet demand. But what about the white iPod? It’s been a huge success for us. And therefore, we’re going to replace it. The new white iPod. And yes, it does video.

Specs: Same width and height as current model, but thinner. QVGA (324 x 240) pixel 260,000 color 2.5-inch display. h.264 and MPEG-4 at 30 fps. TV out. 30GB and 60GB models. Same width and height. 30GB is 31% thinner than the curent 20GB model [Making it 0.44-inches thick—say wha?]. 60G is 12% thinner than 20GB. 30G up to 75 hours of video, $299. 60G up to 150 hours video, $399. Shipping in one week.

And, by popular demand, we make it in black. They also come with a nice carrying case, to keep ‘em all perfect. [Thin plastic sleeve—aw shucks]

[AD: U2 performing live. Oh wait … it’s on an iPod! New silhouette ad with Eminem — it’s not silhouette but a limited color palette. Steve likes the ads so much he runs each one twice. ]

The new iPod will be 30% thinner than the current 20GB iPod (making it 0.44-inches thick—say wha?), and will feature a 60GB version (which should be thinner than the current 0.63-inch thick 20GB iPod), and editions of both in black.

What’s the device named, you ask? The iPod. That’s it, just The iPod. Well spare you the Prince jokes. The iPod will have TV out.

Act III: iTunes. You know, we have distributed over 200 million copes of iTunes now in the world, and those are only the copies we know about. iTunes in the US has an 84 percent market share for all legally downloaded music. We released iTunes 5 just five weeks ago, but a lot has changed. And so today we’re introducing iTunes 6. We’ve been busy!

1. (1) Gifting. This has been the most requested feature. You can gift (i.e. buy) iTunes songs for someone else by song, album, or playlist.
2. Customer reviews.
3. Just for You. Personalized recommendations. We’re going to be recommending albums and singles based on what you’ve bought before. It’s going to be a beta, we’d like your feedback on it.
4. Video. If we’re going to be able to play video on the iPod we’re going to need away to buy video. Starting today we have 2,000 music videos for sale.[Shows Madonna catalogue]

What do they cost? $1.99 each. But we didn’t stop there; we’re adding some other videos you can buy. Pixar is putting up six of their award-winning short videos. $1.99 each. We are downloading videos 320 x 240, which is the native resolution of the iPod. They’re about the size of six songs. All songs are governed by FairPlay. You can play them on up to five computers. They’re not rentals. You own them — they never time out. [Demo of gifting, customer reviews, Just for You, and videos including “Vogue,” a U2 live exclusive. Demo of watching U2 video using Front Row on an iMac, playing photos and videos from an iPod on a big screen]

One more thing…

We have one more thing today, a pretty big thing. We’re announcing one more thing that you can buy off the iTunes store today, and that is TV shows. What’s the number one show on TV? What’s the second? Lost. And who has these shows? ABC. And who owns ABC? [Disney logo on screen.] I know those guys!

Lost, Desperate Housewives, Night Stalker, That’s So Raven, The Suite Life.

Yes, you can buy current episodes, and you can buy them the day after they are broadcast. They’re ad free so you don’t need to fast forward through the commercials, 320 x 240 again. An hour show is about the size of five albums. Depending on your speed it’s about 10-20 minute to download an episode. What are they going to cost? $1.99 an episode for current season and past seasons. We have free previews on every episode.

This is going to be great. Apple developers must be putting in some serious overtime.

The Apple Store will have all these details as soon as it’s back up and running in a few minutes. (They always take it down for about an hour during these press conferences.)