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Thoughts and things I care to shareNew theme and layout
Hi all!
If you’re reading this on the web, you’ve noticed a new look & feel for my blog here. What I was going after was a cleaner “white space” look with a changing header graphic.
The new theme is “Water3” by The Undersigned which is a variation of his standard, dual column “Water” theme. I’ve created some custom header graphic images from my own photo stocks (can you tell which ones are from my phone?) to cycle through, and will probably add/change them during the course of the year.
Hope this theme is easy to read, I really enjoy the cleaner appearance than the last theme. The last theme was nice because of really good use of the screen space, the center column had a lot of space for text and graphics.
So, be patient with me as I’ve got a little bit of tweaking to do on the CSS for bullets, and some script code to add for social networking links. I’m also interested in opinions on the new look – let me know what you think!
Apple Inc. iPhone – Thoughts?
I’ve posted a new poll, looking for your thoughts on the new iPhone from Apple. If you have another answer you would like to see, you can add one!
Technorati tags: Apple iPhonelinks for 2007-01-10
- More network storage options for the consumer. While this is a very good, good thing, I really question if this is the right thing for people to be purchasing. I strongly believe that consumers should be moving to online storage rather than buying anoth
- Dave Lorenzo has more advice for your next job interview. Question the interviewer with things you need to know if you are to take the position. Great suggestions and examples.
- If you were not convinced that Microsoft took more proactive steps than they have in the past around security, then this may interest you. Incidentally, Microsoft and the NSA had developed a document that made specific recommendations on securing Windows
- Ah, the newton. What a wonderful device that was. The iPhone does look interesting, anyone waiting for a smartphone should probably take a look at it.
Team Meeting at work
We’ve got our remote team in town this week, and I’m sitting in answering questions. Its great hearing updates on what is happening at the plant level, to understand what the team is experiencing.
Hi all!
links for 2007-01-09
- Interesting reaction to some Google ads being tested in a video clip. There must be other potential ways of integrating ads into online video clips that is less intrusive.
- Yeah baby, bring it on. Its still a great market for IT Pros if you know where to look.
- Interesting idea from Duracell to produce a rechargeable battery pack to recharge other devices. And from a name you can trust.
- Ford & Microsoft team on Sync, a car OS for connecting phones and music players among other mobile technology items.
- I’m starting to get interested in biometric security. Will this really make it simpler for people to use security on their computers? I sure hope so.
- Neat stuff, but I don’t understand how this is news. This type of device has been available from Linksys, and others, for a couple of years. This is nothing new, just a chance for vendors to leverage the news of Microsoft announcing their Home Server pr
- Good service, hope it only gets better under Yahoo!’s leadership. Interesting to note that the people involved were connected via LinkedIn to get the deal started.
- Hmm, another online storage service. I’ll have to check it out!
Scoble at CES – Good stuff
Robert Scoble has been busy video blogging CES to good effect. Glad to see him focusing on something other than John Edwards for awhile.
Via: Scobleizer – BlogHausing 2
David V. Lorenzo – LinkedIn Connections
If you use LinkedIn and would like a connection from a professional career coach, don’t pass up this offer from David V. Lorenzo, author of the excellent book Career Intensity.
Via: Career Intensity Blog – Please Link to Me
Good advice from Tony Hung
I have to admit that I’m learning a lot from posts like this one from Tony Hung. Bloggers like Tony, Darren Rowse, and Mathew Ingram can be inspirational at times, and they certainly have some great advice.
I’ve been having a terrible case of Bloggers Block for the last month or more, and Tony’s post is helpful to get me past a little bit of it at least. So I want to thank him for his freely given advice, and to Mathew for recognizing it and giving a shout-out to him.
Thanks guys!
Via: Mathew Ingram – Tony Hung fills in at Problogger
Thinking about a UMPC as my next computer
The more I’ve been thinking about which new laptop to get, the more I’ve been drawn to the UMPC concept. The lightweight mobility provided by the devices has been very appealing.
Samsung, for example, has a great device called the Q1 that really helped to defined this new genre of devices. Incidentally, Samsung has just announced the upgraded version, the Q1P SSD at CES (more info here at eWeek), that includes a 32MB Solid State Drive (Flash Drive).
The really neat thing about a UMPC like the Q1 is the PDA-like touch sensitive screen that you can use your finger or stylus on. This makes the device much easier to use and more accessible on the fly. It’s easy to pull out, turn on, and use quickly when needed, especially when standing up or on the move. But with a full WinXP install, the systems can run off the shelf software that allows you to do almost everything that you do on your main PC. This is the flexibility that I’m after in my next computer.
My current interest in this category of mobile devices is the Fujitsu LifeBook P1610 Notebook. This device is technically labeled as a notebook, and includes a touch-sensitive 8.9″ screen rather than a standard electromagnetic digitizer found on most Tablet PCs. The differences allow you to use your finger or other stylus rather than the custom pens delivered with Tablet PCs. Also, you miss out on the “hover” mode that the digitizer offers, though I’ve heard that is not a totally bad thing.
The system is kind of a hybrid device, that is technically a notebook, but because of the touch-sensitive screen mounted on a swivel it and the Tablet PC OS option, it can be called a Tablet PC. In addition, the size and weight of the device, along with the functionality lend itself towards a UMPC.
There have been several previews and reviews of the device of the last few weeks, with a nice video review over at jkOnTheRun. The only thing I wish for would be a dual core processor, but that would just consume battery at a ridiculous rate.
So, why am I considering a ultra portable computer as my main PC? Simply because I have no huge computing requirements. I have a decent home system that can accommodate my DVD burning and other processor-intensive requirements. My daily computing needs revolve around mainly web based services like GMail, meme-trackers, browsing, online office tasks, etc… The other things I use are a few local tools for blogging and editing photos and such. So I can get by with much less computing power than most people. The only thing I need is RAM, and the P1610 can top out at 1GB so it should work out quite well.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to pick one of these up in the next month or two and be able to give some real world feedback. There are so many options, a person could also go for a regular “convertible” Tablet PC with a 12″ screen for the same price point but get more processing power and DVD burning options. Tough choices for sure!
What’s your opinion on UMPCs and Tablet PCs?
links for 2007-01-08
- Tony Hung is guest blogging for Darren Rowse. This post is quite well to the point on blogging – something that I really needed at the beginning of this week (not to mention early in the year). Some great information and help in getting traction in blog
- Lots of Microsoft news and product/service info at CES this year. Too much to mention here, check out Bink for more.
- The first “Extra” for Windows Vista Ultimate – Windows DreamScene. Among other enhancements, it allows the user to select video for your background wallpaper – how is that for something new? You’ll need an Aero vid-card though.
- Is there an oops in this? Most likely, there were stability and/or compatibility issues with the patches in question. Lets hope that they are reworked and released next month before a zero day exploit appears.
- Interesting new memetracker available online in Spotback. I’ve set up a personalized page and am impressed with the results.
@MAC_Arms Pay taxes when you make your money, pay taxes when you spend your money, pay taxes when you successfully invest your money, pay taxes when you save enough taxed money to afford a house, pay taxes to live in your house, pay taxes when you sell the house that you paid taxes on to
Yup, taxes are criminal and we need serious reforms. I've always said that if you want to see a tax revolt, make withholdings illegal and have Americans write a tax check every payday. They'll revolt for sure. You don't miss what you never had.
I think it’s safe to say that @GovEvers should stop blocking audits in Wisconsin and open the books…
“Only AMERICAN citizens should vote.”
Sen. @berniemoreno says voter ID and proof of citizenship are simply common sense.
“We’re talking about a very low threshold — identify who you are and prove you’re a U.S. citizen when you register to vote. I think we’re getting closer to
Wrong. Democrats are solely responsible for hours-long airport lines.
They voted to defund TSA three times and won’t even entertain a conversation about reopening it. Why?
They’re using it as leverage to stop enforcing immigration laws.