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Technology’s Infestation of my Life

Examples of how technology has permeated every single bit of my life.

Free SkypeOut For 2006

I’m probably preaching to the choir here as I’ve already read this on about a half-dozen feeds that I receive, but I’m going to go ahead and repeat it for those who don’t get out as much (at least in the blogosphere world).

Skype has offered free SkypeOut for calls originating from a US/Canadian-based computer and going to a US/Canadian-based landline/cell. It usually costs 2 cents/minute, but for the rest of 2006 (an astounding 230 days or so), it’s free (as in beer).

So go grab Skype (http://www.skype.com), then start making calls. Perhaps this would be the time to learn the Skype API and create some auto callers for some of my favorite congressmen (basically everybody on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee).

[tags]skype, skypeout, free[/tags]

Yes, I Will Conceede That In Fact You Are An Idiot

Be forewarned: This post falls under the category of rants about technology and the people who don’t understand them, even though they should.

I was browsing Bob Brinker’s Money Talk on Demand site and came accross a piece of information that causes some concern:

ATTENTION FIREFOX USERS:

We have not tested or configured this service to work with this browser. If you are using Firefox as your browser and are experiencing problems, please close all windows and open Internet Explorer.

This, by itself, would cause me to wonder what Mr. Brinker is paying his web site developers for. What’s even more startling is this note:

If you do not have another browser available on your computer, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator can be downloaded by going to the links provided below.

Netscape Navigator? Are you seriously supporting a browser only has (wait for it) 0.15% of the browser market and comes in at #5; over Firefox, which has 11.79% market share, comes in at the #2 most popular browser, and is the only browser to actually give Internet Explorer a run for its money in the last half-decade?

Brinker, of all people, should realize the power of 11.79%.

See also: http://www.onestat.com/html/aboutus_pressbox42_microsoft_internet_explorer_has_slightly_increased.html

[tags]Bob Brinker, Money Talk, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Browser share[/tags]

Hack for Campus Computers

Notice: I use the original meaning of hack – “a clever or quick fix to a computer program problem.” Don’t confuse it with crack.

All the computers on campus are set to 1024×768 resolution, which is fine and sure beats 800×600. But it’s not native resolution and the only think I hate more than having to operate a computer at less than 1024×768 is using a LCD monitor at its non-native resolution.

I tried manually changing the resolution on the computer, but I got shut down:
disabled display control panel

I gave up until today. I’m at the library finishing up homework and I wanted to use Remote Desktop Connection so I could have a bigger screen for my laptop. I copied the RDC files over from my Tablet and I was able to connect:
RDC in action

But I still had that not native resolution problem which was even worse because my tablet normally runs at 1400×1050. And then I found QRes.

It’s a simple command line program that lets you easily change the monitor resolution (and other settings) to pretty much whatever you want to. It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s free. And you don’t have to install anything.

[tags]native resolution, non-native resolution, lcd, qres[/tags]

But No 30Boxes?

Julia over at 30Boxes writes:

From 30boxes.com:

There was an article today in the Wall Street Journal touting Google Calendar as “quick and easy” and although there is a mention of 30 Boxes, we think he is inaccurately portraying Google as the lead innovator in this space

…

We want anyone out there who really loves 30 Boxes to please set Walt straight. Let him know why you use our product.

mossberg AT wsj.com

Make some noise. Old media shouldn’t have this much power over new media.

So I wrote:

Dear Mr. Mossberg,

No doubt you have already received many emails asking why the lack of coverage for 30Boxes.com. I find disgusting that you choose to profile Google Calendars and simply glance over the rest, calling 30Boxes and others simply “decent offerings”, especially when Google was so late to the field. But just “decent offerings”? Surely you must be joking. I have been using 30Boxes since the end of February and have simply loved it. It has one of the simplest and intuitive interfaces I have ever seen. 30Boxes is also consistently adding new features to their service, features that users have requested. In fact, I would venture to say that 30Boxes is more innovative than Google Calendars because of this. Google has to serve the public at large and I feel they are getting too big for their own good. In short, Google can’t serve more than one master. 30Boxes, on the other hand, is small and nimble. They can afford to make a tweak, try it out, and if it doesn’t work, roll it back. In the end, I see 30Boxes winning. They have it all and they’re willing to risk it all.

In case it matters, I do have a GMail account and I still use 30Boxes.

Best Regards,

Andrew Ferguson

Acid and IE7

While I’m on the subject of IE7, I ran the Acid2 Test on it. Horrible still. The Acid test is designed as a way to check standards compliance and ability of browser to handle non-compliant CSS and such. It’s not designed to test for everything; instead, it tests for practices that web developers are looking for in a browser. For the long winded explanation, see http://webstandards.org/action/acid2/guide/.

What the image is supposed to look like is displayed in your upper right (ignore the bottom reflection thingy, that’s just me trying to be cool with some fancy JS).

Here’s how Firefox 1.5.0.2 did:
PXN8.COM - Wed Apr 26 15:40:39 2006

And Now IE7 Beta2:
Acid2 Test: IE7 Beta 2

Pretty bad still.

[tags]Internet Explorer, IE7, Firefox[/tags]

Name That Thing

I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about a(n) __________? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It’s so wrong! It’s so stupid!
gee! a(n) __________ with a(n) __________! how original! kinda reminds me of a(n) __________ i once knew.
I’d call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time…and it’s not really functional.
All that hype for a(n) __________? Break-thru __________ device? The Reality Distiortion Field is starting to warp __________’s mind if s/he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.
There are already two products similar to this on the market. The __________ and the __________ which can come with a(n) __________. The __________ is obviously alot cooler and has __________, but it is far from revolutionary. I for one am disappointed and think that __________ is making a mistake by trying to get into this market.

This is an actual post someone wrote several years ago about an item that everything things is pretty spiffy today. Can you guess what it is?

Drama in Statics

There was an interesting announcement in Statics today:
All homework assignments have changed.

Why? People are cheating. I know that last semester, there was a Facebook group that posted links to JPEG images of the homework assignments.Students could download the images , print them on to E2 paper, write their name and section on the top and then turn it in. There are also sites, Such as Cramster. com that provide solutions. I will admit that I have used such sites, but only as a tool to help me understand the material.

On the plus side, all the assignments are now posted online. This will make it easier to complete my work on my Tablet!

Update: Jens’ teacher said that there was some sort of CD going around with the answers on it.

[tags]cheating, facebook, statics, tablet pc, tablet, homework[/tags]

Windows Defender Beta 2 – AKA Microsoft AntiSpyware Renamed

Microsoft has released Beta 2 of Windows Defender, an upgrade and rebrand of Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta 1.

Goodies include, in addition to the renaming, new user interface and a simplified set of options and settings. I’m hoping that several issues with Beta 1 have been taken care of including double icon issue and the weird way in which programs are initially blocked from network access.

Windows Defender Beta 2 (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)

Technorati Tags: , ,

30Boxes + MSN Direct + Outlook 2003 + Remote Calendars = Awesomeness

I’ve been using 30Boxes for almost a week now and love it. I love being able to have my calendar online so I can modify it and love having such an easy interface. I’ve also had MSN Direct for just over a year now. MSN Direct is the front end to SPOT: Smart Personal Object Technology. In short, my watch is like a pager: I can get MSN Messages, the weather, news, quote of the day, this day in, sports scores, stock prices and the real reason I pay $60/year…synchronized calendar. My Outlook calendar syncs to my watch, ensuring that I don’t miss anything critical…which I tend to sometimes do.

But I had two problems: First the Outlook 12 Technical Beta doesn’t work the MSN Direct plugin. Second, Outlook doesn’t natively support the iCal format.

There is a work around though! I still have my old server that I don’t really use for anything even though I should. So I decided to put it to good use. I installed Outlook 2003 and, thanks to a heads up from the 30Boxes Blog, I installed Remote Calendars, a “COM-.NET Add-in for Outlook 2003…[that allows a user] to subscribe, reload and delete a generic remote iCalendar (RFC 2445) from Outlook 2003.” Bingo.

I can go to 30Boxes and do my calendar thing. RemoteCalenders automatically checks my iCal feed every once in a while to see if anything has been added. If it has, it loads it into Outlook 2003 and the MSN Direct plugging sends it to my watch. Am I wired (or wireless) or what?

[tags]30boxes, outlook 2003, msn direct, spot, remotecalendars[/tags]