Finding Mu

Here goes my first blog entry in oh, what, half a year? As for a taste of some random things I've been up to during that time (and don't worry, this entry is eventually getting somewhere related to the title..)

ModBook:
Aftermarket Mac Tablet

I've...
- Moved all the way across North America, from Seattle to Toronto, by car, and discovered there are no vegetables but french fries in some mid-U.S. states.
- Been eating Chinese food about 5 out of 7 days a week (and yes, mmm, that's a good thing!)
- Become a fan of Ron Paul like the rest of the internet... though still being completely confused by some of his positions (eliminate the IRS??)

And... (drumroll please!)
- Switched from PC to Mac (to be exact, a MacBook Pro)

Which brings me to the title of this post. I've really started to like my Mac. I'm not religious about it, I just think it's a nice computer to use, powerful and reliable, and does pretty much anything I want to do with a laptop (except run one of those oh-so-useful Russian-made flirting chat bots, which only run on Windows!!!)

The recent MacWorld 2008 had me listening closely. Back 6 months ago when I was shopping for my first laptop, I really liked the idea of a tablet PC. I love the idea of taking notes, like I would on paper, and having them saved indefinitely, easily accessible, in one place. You know, sometimes, how ideas just flow better when you're using a pencil and paper? But then you have to copy those ideas back to a computer later? Boom! Do it all at once! What could be better?

So, my dream of having a usable tablet PC, combined with the buzz about one being developed by Apple, made me wonder whether I'd be ditching the MacBook soon for something a bit cooler...

MacBook Air:
No Tablet, Still Badass

Alas, it was close but no cigar. The MacBook Air is surely a radical new product from Apple. A so-called "sub-notebook", thin and light. I'm sure new-time buyers will be happy with this laptop, but it won't have me switching from my MBP anytime soon. Especially with alternatives in the market like the Asus EEE: smaller, lighter, and (here's the kicker) 1/6th the price, AND runs Linux by default! And the ModBook, an aftermarket MacBook modified into a tablet.

Asus Eee:
Smaller, 1/6 the Price

Despite not having a tablet this time around, the MacBook Air sets Apple up to hit a home run with a tablet the next time around. I'm sure the product development is in rapid motion. Maybe they had planned it for January but missed the mark? Well, for such a world-changing product, you might as well be patient and get it right on the first shot. Good things take time.

Posted by at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BlackBerry Curve 8300:
Camera, but no GPS!

Today there is a BlackBerry to suit everyone's needs. I've recently had a chance to check out my friends' shiny new BlackBerrys- specifically, the BlackBerry 8820 and BlackBerry "Curve" 8300- and wow, am I impressed. Email? That's just the start- these things do everything but make you a sandwich (though I've never really tried issuing the speech command "make me a sandwich", so I can't tell, but I'm sure RIM is working on this one.)

BlackBerry 8820:
GPS, but no Camera!

For now, you'll have to decide which capability you want: Camera or GPS? Looks like the 8300 is positioned as the ultimate consumer wireless device, for people in constant touch with friends and family, always looking for a photo-op. The GPS-equipped 8820, on the other hand, seems positioned well for the world traveler or on-the-move business person who on occasion needs to get from point A to point B at all costs, and taking pictures along the way is just a nice bonus.

So what to choose? 8820 or 8300? Well, I'd skip the Apple iPhone- for now RIM still has the coolest wireless offerings around, with an actual keyboard for those who need to type at warp-speed. As for Camera or GPS? In my case, I'd go with the Curve 8300 with the built-in camera. I can ask for directions when I can't find point B, but those picture-perfect moments are one-time opportunities I just don't want to miss.

Posted by at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday was an announcement that Dell would be making Ubuntu Linux available pre-installed on some of its machines. Technically, this is easy for Dell to do (any Dell PC can already run Ubuntu), but it could have huge implications in the OS world. Businesses in the U.S. buy huge amounts of equipment from Dell for several reasons, but the major one is price. Simply, you can often get an equivalently spec'ed machine from Dell for less.

Now, imagine you can shave off another $X from the elimination of pre-installed Microsoft Windows. A man from Sheffield, UK did just that, and got back £55.23 (over U.S. $100) from Dell based on the fact that he did not plan to use the pre-installed copy of Windows.

You can imagine, at a large scale, the huge gain for business if $100 can be saved on each desktop or notebook purchased. It's this lower price, ultimately, that will drive demand for Dell PCs with Linux pre-installed, and which makes this such a great move for Dell. In the end, businesses using Linux PCs will all benefit from that extra $100 they can put towards R&D, compensation, or a "yay, we're saving lots of money by using Linux" party.

Here's a YouTube clip of Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth talking about Ubuntu and Dell:

Posted by at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh, things just don't change, do they?

Posted by at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a happy long-time owner of a 2nd-gen 10 Gb iPod. Still works great to this day. I'm not in the market for a new music player (although the new iPod Nanos are very tempting), but I couldn't help but notice the release of Microsoft's new Zune. To be honest, I don't know all that much about the features, but what struck me was the design. I guess I have a good eye for these things.

Back when I bought my iPod, I bought a nice frost white iSkin cover to go with it, for protection. When I started seeing images come out for the new Zune, I was blown away. It's pretty obvious to me that Microsoft has straight-out copied iSkin's design for an iPod cover, right down to the material.

It's tough to see from this picture (easier to see on the iPod I have sitting right next to me now), but check it out. Here's the 2nd gen iPod with a white frost iSkin cover:

And here's a picture of the new Zune, in white:

Check out the uncanny similarities:

- Two concentric circles for control
- Rectangular "border" surrounds the screen
- "Upside-down Omega" pattern extending the rectangle, surrounding the circular controls (tough to see on the iSkin picture, but look closely)
- Four directional touch buttons

Yes, the Zune's screen is bigger and there is a button on each side of the control circle, and the border is black, whereas the iSkin's border is white.

Here's more pictures of the 2nd gen iSkin, from The iStore.

Whether or not the design was intentionally copied, it's a very nice design, and I love the look of the Zune. I just wonder whether the original designer(s) of the iSkin were credited... Hm.

Posted by at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

MS unveiled the Windows Vista retail boxes:

More pics here.

Have to say, these boxes look sweet! (And really, you'd hope you can design a nice box when you have 6 years (2001-2007) to do it!) Can't wait to see the massive marketing campaign a-la Windows XP that follows... With all that money, you can throw a pretty big concert.

Posted by at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Earlier this week I attended the AjaxWorld conference down in Silicon Valley with a group from Amazon. It turned out to be an ultra-exciting collection of people, companies, and technologies, all looking forward to the future of internet applications and software applications in general.

At this point it's hard to argue that Ajax is not the way of the future. Yes, there's always been hype in every area of technology, but this is a no-brainer. Internet-connected applications with the usability of desktop applications. Ease-of-use, power, with access to the entire world's data, and billions of other people. It's the holy grail of software.

A plethora of well-known and lesser-known companies came out for the show. As I saw it, they fell along a few dimensions:

1. Flash vs. Ajax: Some say the future is DHTML and XMLHttpRequest, running in the browser; others say Flash is the answer: a cross-platform runtime that eliminates the problems inherent with multiple operating systems and browsers.
2. Open source vs. closed source: Some framework and tool makers have opted for open sourcing their software, while others protect their source but provide binaries for free. Closed source building on top of open source seemed to be a common theme as well.
3. Thin vs. heavy client: some technologies continue to build on the server-side web page model, and this is seen in some Ajax frameworks that build on JavaServer Faces. On the other end of the scale, you have a heavy client (such as a Flash one) with a light server side that acts as an interface to a backend SOA (service-oriented architecture). There may not be a "right" answer, but both sides were well represented.

Some of the incredible things spotted at the conference...

- Adobe. It's clear they know what they're doing. All of the people from Adobe (or should I say Macromedia?) were amazingly smart and a pleasure to talk to. And Flex hits the bull's eye. The FABridge for connecting Ajax with Flash components, and the upcoming "Apollo" desktop deployment method both add to Flex's appeal.
- OpenLaszlo. IF they can pull it off... The DHTML output is a technical marvel. If you can't figure out how the future will play out in terms of Flash vs. Ajax, this is an easy way to solve your dilemma.

Of course, no trip to Silicon Valley would be complete without a trip up to the city, so I went and met with my friend Joe from Google. Here's some pictures of me in North Beach, San Francisco, and a crazy dude who hung out with us just before last call (courtesy of Joe's phone).

Cool technology, fun city, memorable trip... what more could you ask for? :)

Posted by at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BusinessWeek had a great article about Jonathan Ive, Apple's lead design guy. Based largely on his work with Steve Jobs, Apple was able to make its incredible comeback over the past decade.

Remember when Windows 95 was cool? Now it's iBook, iMac, iPod, MacBook, etc. etc. etc. I don't own a Mac, but I've been a happy owner of a 2nd gen iPod for many years. It still works, and looks, great. Simply, a beautiful product.

Kudos to Apple and Mr. Ive for the excellent work.

Posted by at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This article, Vista RC1 Still Not Ready For Prime Time, Partners Say, from InformationWeek describes how Brian Valentine, SVP for Windows Vista at Microsoft, is taking a page from my own book and leaving the company to join Amazon.com.

This really is a great hire for Amazon. While working in the Windows Vista division at Microsoft, I was able to see several of the Windows leaders in action, and though I never had the chance to work with him directly, Brian Valentine always seemed to shine. He seemed to be one of the "cooler" (if that is possible for a senior exec), funniest, and down-to-earth leaders, who could really get a crowd going. He was clearly passionate about his product, getting down to the details and keeping a watchful eye on progress. As an engineer, I only once had a bug assigned to me which was opened by a VP/SVP, and it was opened by brianv.

I'm really excited to find out what Mr. Valentine will be focused on at Amazon, but in any case I think he'll make a great match with the Amazon culture of fun, hard work, and customer focus. Welcome to Amazon, Brian!

Posted by at 1:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There was a recent entry on the blog Creating Passionate Users by Kathy Sierra about innovation, and how users/customers can't be held responsible for driving it. I can't agree more.

It reminds me of my electric toothbrush... maybe a few years ago I'd laugh at the idea- I mean, come on, how lazy can you possibly be? But if you've tried a good electric toothbrush (mine's the "sonic" kind), you know that feeling like you just went to the dentist and had your teeth cleaned... and trust me, you can't go back. There's something that hardly anybody would "ask for", especially when it's 7 a.m. and you're still half asleep!

I'd go even farther than Kathy. Not only can't users define innovation, but the vast majority of users/customers will often resist innovation for some period of time. Sometimes it takes time to realize that something is good for you. :) Think of the innovations that went through (or are going through) periods of ridicule or rejection before wide acceptance... cell phones ("why would I want two phone numbers?"), hybrid cars ("who wants to drive a golf cart down the road?"), botted water ("um, the tap's right there."), and of course, electric toothbrushes.

It takes vision, determination, and some faith... to not only bring innovation to users, but stick with innovation as users slowly adopt to new and better ways of living, working, and playing.

Posted by at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More fun with Ubuntu Linux!

I'm still in the process of setting up my system, and just got the multimedia all set up. The choice was Amarok for playing mp3's and transferring music to my iPod, and Kaffeine for video files and DVDs. So far everything works flawlessly. Performance and quality are great.

Amarok is simply the best music player I've ever used. Better than Windows Media Player, better than iTunes. Why? It does everything you want it to, it doesn't have all sorts of extra stuff you don't need (like ads), it looks great (see screenshot), and the functionality is awesome. Did I mention it's open source, and free?

It has a great "Random Playlist" mode that shows the upcoming 10 songs and last 5 songs- I love it. And when each song is playing, you get "context" information showing the album cover, lyrics, and links to more of the artist's music in your collection. When each song comes up, there's a popup on your screen showing the track, so you can keep doing your work without feeling the urge to go check it.

On top of it all, I even got my Microsoft multimedia keyboard working with Amarok. Here's how it works:

Step 1. Set up a .Xmodmap in your home directory. This converts the MS keyboard codes into a format recognizable by X windows:

keycode 162 = XF86AudioPlay
keycode 164 = XF86AudioStop
keycode 160 = XF86AudioMute
keycode 144 = XF86AudioPrev
keycode 153 = XF86AudioNext
keycode 176 = XF86AudioRaiseVolume
keycode 174 = XF86AudioLowerVolume

Step 2. Set up .xbindkeysrc to attach the keys to amixer (for volume control) and Amarok (for controlling your music).

#Volume Up
"amixer sset PCM 1+ unmute"
    XF86AudioRaiseVolume 

#Volume Down

"amixer sset PCM 1- unmute"

    XF86AudioLowerVolume 

#Volume Mute

"amixer sset PCM toggle"

    XF86AudioMute 

#Next Track

"amarok --next"

    XF86AudioNext

#Prev Track

"amarok --previous"

    XF86AudioPrev

#Play

"amarok --play"

    XF86AudioPlay

#Stop

"amarok --stop"

    XF86AudioStop

And that's it! Not as easy as it should be for the typical computer user, but maybe the Ubuntu people will make these things easier in future releases... For now the Ubuntu Guide is a great resource for getting you up and running with multimedia in Ubuntu.

Now off to lose myself in music and movies. ;)

Posted by at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I made up my mind a week ago to switch to Ubuntu Linux (away from Windows XP). This is mostly because I'm almost sure my WinXP is infested with all sorts of spyware, viruses, etc. Plus, I wanted a good setup to do development, and Linux can't be beat for that.

Also Ubuntu, in my mind, is the first Linux-based OS to give Microsoft a run for its money. It's simple to use (maybe even more so than XP?) and fully featured. And, of course, FREE. So far after a few days of use, I'm extremely happy with it. I think I'd even recommend it for my mom (and my grandma, if she used a computer in the first place). :) Here's a screen shot of my desktop:

Posted by at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)