Paradise Found With PdaNet

There I was, my throat tightening and my heart pounding, threatening to crawl out my mouth.  A stone’s throw from Canada I was trapped far from any semblance of civilization.  I had been repeatedly promised a steady Wi-Fi connection on the trip, but as we pulled up anchor in Seattle I was told our itinerary had changed.  We were to go straight to the Sucia’s- Echo Bay to be exact, in other words the middle of absolutely no where.  Pissed off I sulked and hoped I could at least turn in my midterm paper on time, which was due in two days.  If I hadn’t of so cruelly been lied to, I would have downloaded PdaNet to tether my Droid Incredible to my laptop.  I had heard about a few different tether options, but I couldn’t get them to work the last time I was out of range from society.  Luckily, we has some technical malfunctions with our dinghy and had to make a short detour.  There I was sitting on the top of the boat in Friday Harbor, the last link to civilization that was only to last until morning- trying to get on Washington State Ferries Boingo hotspot long enough to establish a connection and buy a one day pass.  I was about to give up after two ferry’s had chugged by, but then I magically got connected to some blessed soul with an unsecured router.  Thanks to them, I was able to quickly download pdanet and for the rest of the trip, I had the luxury of riding the internet off my Droid Incredible’s connection.  Thanks for the sanity pdanet-got to Tweet, Facebook, turn in my midterm, and even do some basic C++ tutorials!  I realized after this summer of being out of range or just completely dependent on my phone for internet-I will never leave civilization  ( I-5 corridor) again.

PR in the age of Twitter, Part I

Taking Chances

The previous post got me thinking about first impressions and branding, but specifically a person’s online presence.  It took me years to engage online via anything but email because I was certain either my identity would be stolen within seconds or several online stalkers would haunt me if I ever created a profile on MySpace.  Facebook sucked me in by my super conservative, Type A friend from highschool friending me by email, so I finally succumbed to peer pressure.  However, I waited until I was old enough to know better than to post pictures of myself in unfortunate acts of debauchery.  People in their 20’s might not realize that their potential employer is scouting for these types of pictures and other contraband that never disappears from social media network, and you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  This phenomenon has spurred journalists, bloggers, and other concerned citizens to address the issue; just type in “online presence employers pictures” and you’ll get a slew of results such as: “Is Your Online Image Helping or Hurting Your Job Search” or “Taming Your Online Presence”, and even professionals offer their service, all geared up to help you re-brand yourself so the half-naked spring break in Cabo won’t haunt you when your applying to law school.   

Why Isn't Microsoft Cool?

A recent article by Ashlee Vance, writer for the New York Times brought up some interesting points about why Microsoft maintains their doom and gloom results in the youth market of consumer technology products. Vance’s article pondered one possible explanation regarding their inability to win over the hearts and pocketbooks of the younger generation- the lack of appeal as a company worth working for by newbie developers. Without the influx of new blood pumping into the company, it’s hard for the software giant to get its feelers on the pulse of what is pertinent to kids today. Vance also mentioned Microsoft’s inability to pump out consumer products in a timely fashion. Since they always seem to be one step behind the trends, they are seen as the slow kid in class, stumbling and wheezing into last place.


While none of this is new information, it draws unneeded attention to Microsoft’s failures while the company is continually trying to win people over with its search engine Bing and the new Windows Phone 7. The question is: what can the fat cat do to change its image? First, Microsoft could put out some decent products for a change. The first Zune was a burly machine with a throwback design reminiscent of a 1980’s walkman. Most people didn’t give the software on it a chance because its design was outdated. However, with the April 1, 2010 release of the new Zune 64 they might have gotten everything right. It’s slick design, and noticeable upgrades like an HD touchscreen, FM/HD radio, and, well I’ll let this review by CNET do the tech talk on the 32 GB version, but all together Microsoft looks like they put out a sharp contender when compared by PCWorld to the iPod touch.  The main problem that most bloggers have noted is that there is a lack of third party app store for the Zune, but word has it that Microsoft has been developing an app store for Windows Phone 7 and will also be available for the Zune.  Now that Windows Phone 7 release is here, maybe all their hard work will morph into success with an app store for all their handheld media devices.

Flash Headache

Flash gives me a headache.  I mean it literally shuts down my brain after a fit of over firing neurons from the blinking banner ads, flashing web pages and obnoxious non-support for 64-bit operating systems.  Why Adobe, why are you so slow at giving us access to a fully functioning web experience?? 

But, then again not having a flash plug-in available for my 64-bit laptop it is a filter of sorts.   That way I don’t have to tune out the techno-disco light that comes with a flash-enabled web experience.  The main downside to my current situation is that I have to switch to a 32-bit IE browser to watch any video created with Flash…what a pain!  Maybe Steve Jobs is right when he wrote “Thoughts on Flash.”  The web world might be a better place if we didn’t have to suffer through the lack of continuity that diminishes our workflow, our online social networking, and our general productivity.  Down with Flash!

Stephen Shankland wanted to find out what was taking Adobe so long in developing the plug-in and did a bit of investigating in the article, “What’s Adobe’s 64-bit Flash plan?”  which tells about all the wonderful details it takes for Adobe's developers to reconfigure the libraries used by Flash, but my question is: do we really need Flash?  If HTML5 and CSS5 can take the place of Flash for video, then who needs Flash?  Unfortunately, we will probably still need Flash for video, but HTML5 and CSS5 will be the preferred method for delivering the unwanted uses of Flash like the ultra-strobe effects of banner ads-bummer.

Am I a Journalist?

Recently, because of the growing popularity of social media news sources, there has been some debate as to who is a journalist and who is simply a spectator, regurgitating the research and commentary made by the pros. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been following the response to the New York Times original article; “Suit Over Faulty Computers Highlights Dell’s Decline,” published both online and in a print edition on June 28, 2010 and June 29, 2010 respectively. What I have noted is that almost every other online Tech news source, including blogs and mashups have simply been summarizing the work of the New York Times writer, Ashlee Vance who wrote the news breaking article. For example, a brief synopsis on TheStreet.com, written by Ed Oswald, published on June 29, 2010 at 5:09pm doesn’t offer any new information on the story. However, I have to admit that Americans have an attention span that is shortening with every Twitter and Facebook update, and his and other bloggers condensed versions of the New York Times article is a bit easier to digest. This leads me to my first question: does writing an article on a blog that’s based on someone else’s research and sources qualify you as a journalist? My answer is no, it doesn’t. I am not a journalist unless I do my own research, follow my own leads, check my own (and others’) sources, and have more transparency than most of these sites have. Some of these bloggers actually do offer a new perspective or gather more information on stories others start; such as ZDNet’s Michael Krigsman. He added his two cents in an article called "Dell lawsuit: Pattern of deceit," consisting mostly of direct passages from the original Times article, but also included an interview he had with Ira Winkler who is an author, consultant, and an expert for the company A.I.T. who is suing Dell.  Because of his credentials ZDNet is also a subsidiary of CBS Interactive which gives the writers for ZDNet more credibility than an unaffiliated, stand alone blog.


My second question is, while most of us are happy to skim through articles, picking out the news we want to consume, are we missing the complete picture or just creating opinions on half-information and half-truths? I am fully guilty of not wanting to take the time to read a long article full of complicated terminology, riddled with details I don’t care about, but I also recognize that when an article does capture my attention; I am probably responding to an emotional reaction from some of the more interesting headlines. I think one of the reasons that Mashable is so successful, is because their twitter updates and headlines with summary blurbs capture a reader’s attention because they are brief and catchy. Are you also guilty of sifting through the news for something entertaining verses something newsworthy?

Steve Jobs may be keeping it too real

An article from InfoWorld, written by Neil McAllister gives all the reasons why Steve Jobs is wrong when he touts that the PC’s mighty reign is a thing of the past. Jobs has been running his mouth off a lot lately, and I think he might be losing some potential customers. Apple has gone to a lot of trouble to create the sexy image it has today, but when CEO Steve Jobs keeps demeaning everything that isn’t Apple, the brand loses its appeal. Last October I was in the market to buy a new laptop and was really tempted to buy a Mac, but there were too many rumored incompatibility issues with numerous software programs (just look at Mac’s own list), and the fact ESRI doesn’t offer ArcGIS software for any OS other than Windows, it was a no brainer to stick with a PC.  McAllister touches on the key points why PC’s aren’t going anywhere, but if you talk to anyone who is not completely biased about Mac’s or PC’s, they will tell you both systems have their pro’s and con’s.  However, the number one issue I’ve observed is: that if you have a Mac and the world around you doesn’t- you are in for too many workarounds for it to be worth its sweet video & photo editing software. So, if Jobs wants people to keep jumping ship from PC’s to Mac’s, he better start keeping a lid on it, because a Mac’s sleek design and sexy image are about the only things keeping me interested.

HDMI already irrelevant??

So, I was scanning Digg, and found this hilarious article from PhysOrg.com about HDMI cables soon being replaced by fancier cables. I say hilarious because if I don’t let out the occasional cackle at all the new technological advances related to TV’s; I will shrivel up in fetal position with the feeling I’m getting repeatedly kicked in the stomach. I already have a hard enough time pretending to tell the difference between a Blue Ray movie and non, between our 1080p full HD Samsung and our LG which I have no idea what pixel it rates because it doesn’t say on the front of it, and don’t get me started with the act I put on related to the new crap my husband does to his Volvo in order to increase its performance. SO please, can we put a stop to creating incremental adjustments to a TV’s ability to show ALL the cellulite on Kate Gosselin’s thighs??

China's Lost it's Cheap Edge?

Last night I was browsing the online edition of the New York Times (because I’m too cheap to pay for the WSJ online), and I was checking out its tech section which had a big pic of a slightly aloof-looking Chinese factory worker with the headline: “Supply Chain for iPhone Highlights Costs in China,” written by David Barboza. The article was mainly about how Silicone Valley's best took apart Apple's latest iPhone to investigate it's supply chain, briefly glimpsing into the reality of a developing world, well…developing.   This process, not so amazingly, results in higher standards of living and translates into higher production costs. Say you’re a company who sets up a factory in a developing country in order to take advantage of its cheap labor and avoid other annoying problems of developed countries (like health care benefits and stuff). Then, said country starts developing, people get rich (or at least are able to feed their families) and poof! No more cheap labor because: surprise, surprise, developing countries eventually develop.

Opening Post

Hello World! 

This is my first post for my tech blog!  Basically I'm going to be spewing out commentary on anything tech related and giving you my opinion on the latest tech news.