The Stand-up Philosopher

When Open Source Sucks Part II: Firefox Extension Annoyances

I wrote my original “When Open Source Sucks” post on August 15 to rant about one of my favorite Firefox extensions falling into apparent vaporware status. To be honest, a lot of things about Firefox drive me nuts, yet I can’t replace the things that I like about Firefox and its extensions easily. I tried running IE 7 as my default browser because Firefox is eating up too much overhead on my laptop, but IE 7 is too slow for regular use. It takes forever to open a new tab and load a new page. I gave up quickly.

There is an annoyance about Firefox that really bugs me. I use some useful extensions such as NoScript. I’ve been using it for years. It really bugs me when, every time an update is released, I have to suffer through a tab being opened. This is really bad when 6 or more extensions that like to self-promote get updated at once.

It would be nice if the maintainers of these extensions could accept that they don’t have to constantly promote their extensions to their loyal users. This is as bad as when Microsoft, in it’s Windows Mobile email newsletters, constantly likes to include articles such as “Top Reasons to choose Windows Mobile.”

 

 

Figure 1: Why do Firefox Extensions have to open browser tabs to their pages every freaking time they update?

Technorati Tags: Firefox,extensions,updates,annoyances

Why I Hate CAPTCHAs

I was reading my Google Reader feeds while eating breakfast this morning. The puppy, Dustmop, was laying on my feet. That has no relevance except that when she got up, my feet were cold. I found a post on Lifehacker that I wanted to email my wife. Google Reader Mobile doesn't seem to have the ability to email a post, but the feed item itself had a Feedburner link for "Email This." I did so. I entered my email address and my wife's email address. I neglected to include a message text, because I didn't care. I figured that my wife can put together the point of emailing this link to her from the link itself. However, Feedburner insisted that I enter a message. I typed the letter "m", mostly because it was closest to my finger at that point in time. Hey, it's Labor Day, and I'm trying to save some labor! I then entered the freaking CAPTCHA, only to get the message

Figure 1: The Message

I checked and double checked, entered and reentered the freaking CAPTCHA, all to no avail. The message "Please enter the characters displayed in the box. If you are unable to see the text clearly, you may reload this window for a new image" kept appearing even though I had entered the text displayed on the screen. I tried two CAPTCHAs, and it took neither.

Figure 2: The Characters Displayed in the Box

By this point, I gave up and came upstairs to email the Lifehacker post from my laptop. I hate CAPTCHAs. Most of the time, even if I can clearly read them, the script won't take my answer. I quit using Blogger because of this.

Technorati Tags: CAPTCHAs,Blogger,post security,Lifehacker,email

Verizon DSL: When Will People Learn?

A friend of mine got a new laptop and I was more than happy to go over to his house last night and help him get the laptop and his wireless network setup. Once again, I found myself up against the personal hell that is Verizon DSL. I spent about seven months on Verizon DSL between 2004 and 2005, before realizing that it was better to just pay Comcast $10 a month more for a connection that WORKS. I’m, of course, not much happier with Comcast since being told by a tech that I lost my IP address and have to call Microsoft to get another one, but I will not be returning to Verizon DSL anytime soon.

       

My friend had somehow setup security on his router, but we weren’t sure how or what the password could be so I restored the router to factory settings. I then logged into the router and gave the network a name and security. It looked like the router had a connection through the DSL modem, but when I tried to load Google, I was redirected to a page that wanted to download and install some kind of Verizon Internet Connection Manager software. I had to step through 4 “Invalid certificate” warnings to get the software to download. When the software tried to install, it asked for a username and password, but wouldn’t take the username and password that my friend told Verizon to give him. I had no choice but to call tech support. We called twice, both times stepping through the painful voice-activated menu before being told that we would be transferred to a tech, only to have the call drop. The third time I called back and was somehow routed through to the “Account Cancellations” department. I could have done my friend a favor, but that wasn’t what he asked me for so I held back with all my might. I explained to the person on the phone my problem, and he routed us and stayed on the line until a tech picked up. I tried explaining my problem to her. She needed the account information, and asked me who I was. Somehow there was confusion over my name and my friend’s name as to who was on the account. I kept asking her why my name mattered. She finally said she needed to know what to call me. I said “My name is irrelevant. Just help me get this connection working.” Apparently, what happened is that somehow security was set on the DSL modem. I had to shut down everything, connect the laptop to the modem, and plug the modem in and boot the laptop up. Then we could disable security. The tech helped me to set bridge mode, but before I could ask what the next step was, the phone disconnected. The tech never called back, and I wasn’t going through that again (this was a total of 50 minutes consisting of two dropped calls plus the third, which lasted more than a half an hour.) I gave her a number to call back on “in case we get disconnected,” but she never did. I kept trying different settings on the router until finally an Internet connection showed up.

 

I then setup a printer, which worked flawlessly. That was the true definition of “plug and play.” Then we had dinner, and I walked him through setting up a gmail account, the mail service I highly recommend.

 

Before I left, I asked “Now do you see why, whenever somebody asks me if they should get DSL, I say “No!”? I’ve helped several people out with DSL, and of course there was my own experience with it. I’m not much happier with Comcast, and to be honest, at least the Verizon tech didn’t tell me to call Microsoft to get an IP address, but still, I’ve never had a painless experience with Verizon DSL.

 

I wish there were a viable alternative high-speed Internet service besides Comcast cable and Verizon DSL. I’ve heard FIOS is pretty good, but it’s a Verizon product, which is two strikes against it in my book.

 

Technorati Tags: Verizon DSL,DSL,Verizon,Should I get DSL?,Don't get DSL

Pain in the A$$words

Pardon the title. It’s late, and I’m strung out, and tired, and I’m just trying to make a point. Passwords and sign on security are getting to the point where I’m ready to just ditch my precious technology and go live on a mountain in Montana or something. I’ve tried since getting on the Internet in 1996 to keep fairly standard passwords so that I don’t have to remember (and record, which can be stolen) my passwords and logon information, especially at work where I often deal with sensitive accounts. It can be a security violation to write down a password for some of the networks that I need to access. The problem is that password standards are reaching the point where it is impossible to NOT maintain a record. What do you do when you need to access three or more networks or websites, each has a different logon, with different password requirements and change periodicity? How do you remember rand keep all of that straight? Some passwords that I’m required to keep have to be a minimum of 14 characters, with at least 1 number, one upper case letter, one lower case letter, and one special character.

PayPal just about pushed me over the top this evening. I used their system for a transaction today, and got an email later that they believe my account has been accessed by a 3rd party and had a restriction placed on it. I went through the processes to lift the restriction. The first step had to do with verifying my location. They needed a phone number. It’s been so long since I’ve done anything with my PayPal account that they still had my landline number that was disconnected more than 3 years ago when we got fed up with paying Verizon $50 a month for an open conduit for telemarketers and cut them off. Now we’re Paying AT&T (The NEW AT&T) for spotty coverage and non-connected calls, but at least no telemarketers. I input my Grand Central number, and PayPal called it. My cell phone rang as it was supposed to and I input the security code. When I hit NEXT on the web page, PayPal said that they can’t verify my location based on that number and they’ll have to mail me a letter. No CRAP PAYPAL! It’s 2008! People have like cell phones and Grand Central numbers and stuff, you freaking idiots!

Next I had to change my password. That sucked. I had to write it down, because there is no way I’ll remember it. I’ve used the same password with PayPal for years. Oh, yeah, then there were those idiotic security questions. Mostly they’re useless to me. What is your favorite restaurant? I don’t know, it changes every week. Who was your favorite teacher? I don’t know, I grew up in the Air Force, went in the Navy, went to ITT Tech and University of Phoenix. I’ve had tons of teachers. I’m not likely to remember very many. I hate those stupid security questions because most of them don’t apply to me. Who is your favorite sports team? I hate sports, I have no use for sports, and as such I have no favorite team. I’m too much of an egghead to just pick one because I’m a geek and I can’t take that kind of lying to myself.

Something has got to be done about security. For the time being, I’m using KeePass on my Pocket PC to keep track of logins and passwords, but even that is getting to be too cumbersome. Somebody needs to straighten things out. I almost just closed my account with PayPal over this, because it’s a pain. At some point, security and convenience need to meet each other and shake hands and come up with a way to coexist.

Technorati Tags: Security,Passwords

Why Social Networks are Neat

Perhaps I should have named this post “Why Social Networks are Sick,” as I learned last week that I’m suddenly old enough for words to have changed meanings. Now I know why my grandparents wondered why I seemed to be talking about temperature when I should have been expressing my positive opinion of an object or subject “Wow, that’s cool!” I learned that the word “sick” has apparently replaced my generation’s “cool,” so when you hear “Man, that thing is sick!” it is not necessarily an expression of disgust.

I’m finding a positive aspect of social networks, even if it is merely subjective. I occasionally get a friend request from somebody whom I have no way of knowing. I normally approve them unless they are from a “single, 21 year old female looking to party!” or some enticement to visit a website that I would not want my wife knowing about. Some people may find my blog, in fact, with TypePad my Facebook page should be easily found on my sidebar, and my Twitter feed is available for anybody wishing to follow me on there.

Like the occasional “I don’t know this person” friend request I get, I have started sending friend request to people that I admire or like to follow either through blogging, podcasts, or TV. I have sent friend requests to several of the fishermen on Deadliest Catch, for instance. Michael Hyatt, who’s blog I have been following for years, accepted a Facebook friend request from me, although the odds of us ever meeting are not high. He has posted a lot of good content on his blog that has been helpful to me over the years, especially as I struggled with the decision to complete my degree and further my career, so I do consider it an honor. I sent friend requests today to men who have podcasts that I listen to and enjoy. Two have already accepted them. I have Dave Ramsey as a friend on MySpace.

Even though it is a minor thing, I appreciate people that I look up to who have influenced my life in some way, however small or large an impact, taking the time to honor me with the small favor of being a friend on a social network. Perhaps someday I can return that favor to somebody else.

And of course, I do have some friends that I personally know on both networks. I’m friends with several people from my church, and even a coworker.

I think social networks are a good thing in a lot of ways. Yes, there can be abuses and mindless wastes of time, but there are many positives that shouldn’t be overlooked as we move through the 21st century.

Technorati Tags: Facebook,MySpace,social networking

Is The Internet Doing Something To Our Brains, Besides Making Us Wonder If It’s Doing Something to our Brains?

An Atlantic Monthly article has been the subject of discussion on many blogs lately. I’ll link to Michael Hyatt because his is easy to remember. The actual article is “Is Google Making us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr. Many of the bloggers discussing the article claim that the Internet has caused them to develop short attention spans, and they have lost their ability to read books and longer works. I’m not aware of any so-called “scientific” research into the subject, so my ability to discuss it is limited to the same subjective experiences the other bloggers are limited to. Of course, you didn’t come to this blog for objective scientific peer reviewed research, did you?

Is the Internet making me stupid? I don’t think so. I follow more than 80 blogs on Google Reader (they don’t all update every day.) I do a lot of reading and research online. Yet, when I sit down to read a book, I’m still able to digest works written on a Master’s or even Doctorate level, assuming the material is interesting.

The one thing the Internet has done to me is make me lose patience when a written work fails to get to the point. I skim magazines a lot more because it seems like most of the text is extraneous. The same goes for newspapers. I don’t actually read newspapers, but when I read news articles, I quickly get bored. I want the headline, and some supporting facts. I don’t care what kind of BS the journalist needs to fill whatever word count he or she has.

Honestly, that’s the only thing I notice. It’s not my attention span the Internet has wrecked. It just taught me how to maximize time by finding the point and moving along. It taught me to ignore the work of lesser writers.

Deadliest Catch Websites & MySpace

I haven’t thought about MySpace in a long time. I rarely think of it, except for those rare moments anymore when I get a friend request that I need to log in and check out. I had a slow day a while ago, and started reading Wikipedia. I drifted through various topics, and came across Deadliest Catch, a show I have enjoyed watching for several years. For some reason, the show didn’t resonate with me the first season, but by the second season, I was hooked. For some reason, I’ve always considered the Northwestern my favorite boat, although I’ve come to enjoy all of the boats, captains, and crew members involved. I guess like watching Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch portrays one of those jobs we would love to be able to do, but can’t or won’t for whatever reason. Having been in the Navy, and seen some seriously bad seas (I can remember taking a 36 degree roll and looking straight down at the ocean) I can appreciate the Bering Sea storms from the safety of New Jersey.

When I started reading about Deadliest Catch on Wikipedia, I learned that most of the boats involved have websites, like the Northwestern, Cornelia Marie, and the Wizard. The Cornelia Marie and Wizard have blogs, which I subscribed to. Most of them now have stores selling merchandise. I have to admit, these guys have done a great job of capitalizing on the success of the show and building bridges to their fans.

Back to the subject, I even found myself this morning before work searching for sites on MySpace. I sent friend requests to a couple of them.

When reality TV first came out with Survivor, I hated the entire concept, but I have definitely found some reality shows I enjoy. The only one I should enjoy, but don’t for a funny reason, is Tougher in Alaska. I’m sorry, but the first time I watched the show and it cut to a commercial break and I heard “Tougher in Alaska is brought to you by… Viagra,” I have been unable to even think of the show without laughing. I seriously wonder why the History Channel seems to think it’s main demographic is men with erectile dysfunction (otherwise referred to as ED.) It’s starting to make me ashamed of watching the History Channel. I don’t want to be lumped in with guys who have a problem that I wish would have remained unmentionable in the company of other men. Why can’t we just go back to the good old days when if a man’s “stuff” didn’t work, other men didn’t have to hear about it? Oh, that’s right, pharmaceutical companies. Doh! I’m getting tired of hearing politicians bitching about “big oil.” Seriously, why not go after “big drugs?” Starbucks coffee costs like $54 a gallon. Go after big coffee.

Plaxo To Be Acquired By Comcast

I'm not sure what to make of this. Plaxo will be acquired by Comcast. I recently rejoined Plaxo. I signed up several years ago under version 2, but that was when Plaxo wanted to email all of the contacts in your address book to ask each to verify his or her information. Some of my friends didn't like that, and when I stopped using or reformatted the computer I had installed Plaxo on, I never bothered to reinstall until recently.

As for Comcast, I've had few problems with them until a couple of weeks ago when my cable modem stopped working and I spent 40 minutes arguing with tech support over whether or not I lost my IP address and had to call Microsoft to get another one. That sort of set me off, but ever since I left Comcast for Verizon DSL and had a terrible 6 months before coming back to Comcast, I have not complained.

Plaxo - Comcast

Is There A Point To Twitter?

I listen to a lot of the TWIT podcasts, and of course Twitter keeps coming up as Leo LaPorte is a heavy user. I've long since stopped wondering "What's the point?" to a lot of these so called Web 2.0 technologies. I eventually broke down and singed up for Twitter. You can follow my feed here. The whole point to Twitter is, in 140 characters or less, what are you doing right now? Some people have found some amazingly creative uses for Twitter. I can't say I have. Michael Hyatt claims that it forces him to think about his life. I can't say it's done that for me. Typically, I just put out a blast when I think of it about what I'm doing. To this point, I'm following 3 people and I have one follower, a friend of mine.

I managed to eliminate about $10 in parasitic charges from our AT&T Wireless bill (why did my wife's line have a $4.99 "voice dial" charge?), so I felt justified in adding the unlimited data plan for my line. With that, I can keep up with email and Twitter when I'm on the go. I typically just post what I'm doing or have just done, no matter how mundane. I haven't seen any real social networking benefits. Michael Hyatt has the benefit of tens of thousands of readers to his blog. I admit, I'm one of them. I found his blog at a time in life when I was considering a few options. I realized that my career was pretty much as far as I could expect to go without a degree, but I was questioning how much of "success" and goal setting were an answer to prayer and how much were the result of hard work and smart planning. I was thrilled to find the CEO of a large company put on his own blog some of the secrets to his success. I didn't, at the time, realize that he was the CEO of a large Christian publisher, but to be honest, that wasn't important. I saw how he was using technology and time management methods like Franklin Covey and Getting Things Done to reach a high position in a company. I learned a lot by following him.

I can't say there is a real point to Twitter, but I also can't say it's pointless. Feel free to follow my feed or sign up. I know Twitter isn't for everybody. My wife refuses to try it because she says it would chain her to a machine all day. I honestly don't feel that way, but if you read my last blog entry on why I hate Mother's Day, you'd realize it's just one way that we're different. She feels chained to her laptop, I feel liberated by mine, and my Pocket PC phone, and my iPod Touch, and the iPhone I hope to have eventually, and my other laptop, and my iBook... Maybe my wife just needs another device.

Technorati Tags: Twitter,social networking

My Cable Modem Works!

After 4 calls to Comcast, I was getting frustrated. A tech can't be sent out for a while, at least, it will be more than a week before my schedule can facilitate a tech's schedule. I decided that the only thing left to do was get a new cable modem. I've had mine for three years, so maybe it went bad. While we were running around tonight anyway, I stopped by Best Buy and bought a new Motorola Surfboard modem.

I got home, put the new modem inline, and called Comcast to get it configured. Believe it or not, I finally got a male (the other four calls were women) who understood not only how Comcast's network works, but how to troubleshoot a network problem. (See my post about being told to call Microsoft to get a new IP address below.)

This turned out sort of weird. I put the new modem inline, then called. While we were troubleshooting, I explained my setup. I have a Hauppage WinTV USB2 unit. My cable comes into the room, and goes to a splitter, which goes to the cable modem and the WinTV unit. It's been like that for years, and I haven't had a problem. Well, go figure, I should have thought of this myself, but the tech told me to take the splitter out of the loop. Every single time in the past I assumed it couldn't possibly be something, no matter how trivial, I got bit in the butt, and this time was no different. Well, while he was adding the MAC address and C/S number for the new modem, I prayed. I rarely do while I'm troubleshooting. I claim to be a Christian, but like most 21st century Americans, prayer is mostly reserved for meals, particularly pious times, and trials and tribulations. But I prayed for the cable modem issue. I really need my Internet connection. Anyway, when it was over, I asked if I could have my old modem put back in. He said it was; my account was showing my old modem. I checked the front, and sure enough, it was the old one (Motorola Surfboard 5100 instead of the new 5101.) That was weird. I'm not sure how the old one got back in place. I boxed the new one and told my wife we can get our $80 back; we troubleshot to a much cheaper component.

I'm just glad to have it back. I wrote a while back about my work laptop dying, and I had to send it back. Well, just as I was leaving for the day, I saw a new box in my supervisor's cube with a New Egg packing slip. I pulled it out, and sure enough, it was my Toshiba laptop! Now I can get it set back up to take on my upcoming business trip.

Technorati Tags: Comcast,cable modem,network troubleshooting

Traumatic Tech Support

Ugh, my Comcast high speed Internet connection dropped offline yesterday afternoon. I've gotten to the point of not calling right away, just in case the outage is temporary (outages have become very rare with Comcast.) I finally broke down and called after my connection had been down a few hours. The call ended up lasting 40 minutes and ended up with me really needing a drink. Here is the situation I called with: my Motorola cable modem had Power, receive, and send lights on. Online was not lit, and PC Activity flashed on and off. The rep said that my cable modem was offline. I could figure that out. Internally, my network was fine. My computers could all see each other on my network, so I knew my router was fine. The rep wanted me to connect my computer directly to the cable modem. Her assessment of the situation was this: "because I had a router, (which has been in place for 3 years without a single problem), I lost my IP address." She told me I have to call Microsoft to get another one. After Microsoft gives me another IP address, I can call Comcast back and they'll be able to get me back online.

I tried explaining to this woman how DHCP networking works. I told her that I have an IT degree, and have been supporting my own computers and helping others out as well as working professionally in IT for more than 10 years. I have NEVER had to call Microsoft to get an IP address. I've never had to call Microsoft period. She said something about the OEM has to give me an IP address. I said that I'm the OEM; I built the computer myself (OK, I slapped some parts together and installed Windows XP on it, I didn't manufacture and solder my own chips.) I tried telling her that my router has nothing to do with Comcast assigning an IP address. Comcast's server sees the MAC address of my cable modem and leases an IP address to me. The lease expires and renews automatically and my router has absolutely nothing to do with it. My router has my computer's MAC address cloned anyway, so even in the bad old days when Comcast didn't allow routers they would never have known the difference on their end.

After realizing that I could not get this woman to understand how Comcast's network actually works, I finally allowed her to schedule a tech to visit me so that they can apparently call Microsoft and get me an IP address. As soon as I got off the phone, I called back and got a support person who understands how DHCP networking works. She found the problem right away: my signal was gone. That sounds more realistic. She even found a closer appointment to get a tech out to fix the problem.

Seriously, assuming Microsoft trains their support personnel better than Comcast does, I would have gotten laughed at.

Comcast, if anybody from your corporate training is reading this, I think you are idiots! How can you let somebody on your tech support lines without even the most basic understanding of how your network ACTUALLY works? II don't blame the woman, I blame the trainers. She did work very hard and was very patient with me, but had no clue. Idiots! Do your jobs. Where was this woman's supervisor? I could hear somebody in the background behind her. Don't tell me the entire call center thinks that my IP address comes from Microsoft. I should have told her I'm running Linux on an Apple Macintosh just to see what kind of response I get. Does Microsoft still give out IP addresses, or do I have to get a teleconference with Mark Shuttleworth and Steve Jobs to get an IP address? What if I was running SuSE or Debian? How about my iMac with Mac OS 8? Who do I call in that case (It's actually running Jaguar, and is in my in-laws' basement as we expected our house to be sold by now.)

This happened last night, and I still need a drink. Train your people, you Comcast boneheads. I once saw a job posting for a Comcast training position. Is it still open? I need a solid paycheck, a benefits package, and the authority to flog people.

Technorati Tags: Comcast,tech support

Are Technology Journalists (in general) Really Experts, or are They Closed-Minded, Elitist Parrots?

I've been following technology (specifically personal computers, but also consumer electronics) for more than a decade. I've used every version of Windows since 3.11, I've used 3 versions of Mac OS X plus Mac OS 8 and 9, and several versions of Linux. I've also worked with HP Unix, Sun Solaris, and Open VMS. Every desktop computer I've ever had I built myself. I've cracked open laptops (including an Apple iBook) to upgrade RAM and repair broken components and replace hard drives. I also recently completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology. I'd like to think I can speak with some authority on this topic.

I listen to several technology podcasts, and read several technology blogs. I also read magazines like ComputerWorld. Some of my favorite podcasts are from the TWIT network by Leo LaPorte and his friends. I also really enjoy John C. Dvorak's Cranky Geeks video podcast. Many of these tech journalists seem to be part of some kind of inside circle. Many are friends. Many of them use Macintosh computers and completely shun those of us who use PCs with Windows.

I see a very common theme in tech journalism that is very much against anything Microsoft does. Many tech journalists, like Scott Foley and Leo LaPorte, will publicly declare "I still don't recommend Windows Vista", despite the fact that it's been in circulation for over a year, has had a service pack released, and is stable and capable. Articles and blog entries routinely emanate from these technology luminaries about the demise of Microsoft and the rise of Apple and/or Linux.

Let me say one thing: if you thought political journalists were completely biased and lived in elitist circles totally removed from reality, you know nothing about tech journalism. A recent slew of articles about the impending demise of Microsoft makes me want to get up in the morning and watch the regular news (which I avoid like the plague in election years.)

First, let me say one thing: it is perfectly acceptable to like Windows. It is perfectly acceptable to use Windows. If you follow tech journalism, remember, just because these people get paid to be mouthpieces does not mean that their opinions should overshadow yours. You have the right and responsibility to do your own homework and research.

People in technology hold to silly positions. Here is an editor of a major PC Magazine (appropriately titled PC Magazine) who still carts an old PC to work. It has Windows 3.11. He likes it. He writes his articles in an old word processing, and somebody else have to manually transcribe his writing back into Microsoft Word for publication. Good for him. I'll tell you one thing though: I got into technology because I like shiny new things. I don't want to stick with "the way things were". I like to see changes and improvements and enhancements. That's what drives my participation in this field.

Take everything you read in tech journalism worth a grain of salt, just as you should in political journalism. Seriously, the people who rise to these positions, (and there are not a lot of paying jobs in tech journalism, so there are very few people who make it) may know a lot of general information, but they have their own opinions. They live in very small circles, full of people who see the world almost exactly as they do. Remember that. They don't live in your world. They don't work in your job, or maintain computers for your family, or make purchasing decisions for your company. They have huge budgets or get review units. I'm not likely to get a review unit MacBook Air, nor is my wife likely to let me buy one. I don't have $30,000 a year to set aside for computers and iPhones like Leo Laporte does. Neither do you. I can't afford to have one HP laptop, three Dell laptops, one legit iPhone on AT&T, one unlocked iPhone on T-mobile, three Blackberries, a Nokia N95, two MacBooks, a Mac Pro, and all of the other stuff most of these people, like Leo Laporte and Robert Scoble cart around. Of course, you might make fun of me for going through airport security with a Pocket PC Phone, an iPod Touch, and a laptop.

I also notice that most of the criticism leveled against Microsoft from tech journalists tends to come from people who have no idea how to build and support a world class, run on everything under the sun operating system. It's one thing to say "Windows should do this", but it's entirely another thing to actually make it happen. Just like in political journalism, the mouths running the loudest are the farthest removed from actually making anything happen in real life.

Just remember to make your own decisions. Remember that some tech journalists have their own viewpoints and/or agendas, and they may not live in reality like you have to.

Technorati Tags: Technology journalism

Oh Great, Another Social Networking Site

I got an email that a "Troublesome" invited me to join a new social networking site. I think it was called "Zorpah," but I deleted the email. I have nothing against social networking sites. I have profiles on MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I think social networking sites can be very useful in their proper context. Of course, when I get an email from an unknown social networking site that somebody I don't have any idea if I actually know is inviting me, then my delete key goes on push closer to it's eventual demise.

It seems that every time something gets big, everybody wants in on it. When the "web bubble" was growing, everybody wanted to make money with a web startup. Some of them had no better business plan than "make lots of money running a website." I like to listen to Rabbi Daniel Lapin. He often says that the best way to be successful in business is to become obsessed with meeting the needs of other people. If you're meeting needs, people will come to you to have that need met. When I get invitations to new social networking sites, that's the first thing I think of: "Do I need a new social networking site?" Really, does it matter to me? Do I spend my days thinking "I wish I had a site where I could network with strange people and post my pictures and videos, besides, oh, my Blog, my other blog, my other blog, Flickr, Google web albums, or any of the other sites I may or may not currently have an account with?"

Meet some needs, people. When a site seems to be serving only itself I start to wonder what the point is. I even started getting spam in my Yahoo! email account (big surprise, Yahoo! mail is a big spam catcher anyway) about CHRISTIAN social networking sites. Really, do I need one of them? What would that buy me that a secular social networking site wouldn't? Is it even worth the time to register?

Anyway, condense this, and put it on a bumper sticker and at the top of your Web 2.0 company letterhead: Meet needs, make money.

Technorati Tags: Social networking,blogs

Does Watching TV Really Cause Short Attention Spans?

On the news, in the media, on commentary pages, and among friends, many of us hear the same mantras repeated. Call them conventional wisdom, call them common knowledge, call them what you will. But can you call them true? In November 2006, Steve Olson posted a blog entry titled "10 Things I wish I had Never Believed". In this post, he touched on such common beliefs as "money is the root of all evil" (the actual Bible verse says the love of money is the root of all evil; huge difference), "a job is the best way to earn money", and "school is the best place for kids to learn". That last one is particularly anchored into public belief. When my wife and I tell people that we plan on home schooling our children, even people who are highly educated often gasp in fear and shock.

In any case, the other night I was watching an episode of Cranky Geeks. John C. Dvorak had a panel on specifically to talk about video podcasting. While they talked about the appropriate length of a video podcast, the discussion inevitably came around to attention spans. Sure, most video podcasts or YouTube videos do best when under 10 minutes (Cranky Geeks runs about 30). The comment came up that television and computers have shortened our attention spans. I suddenly found myself wondering if this is really true. Although most people would automatically agree with the statement without any thought, I suddenly wondered how this conclusion was arrived at. Did a group of scientists take a group of latchkey children and a control group of Amish and observe them growing up in a controlled scientific study? Or is this statement merely conventional wisdom arrived at by societal observation with a little bit of wishful thinking because the blame for a perceived problem has to fall somewhere?

I've recently begun to study philosophy. Philosophy is a subject that I have always avoided primarily due to stereotypes. Seriously, how many of you, if I invited you to my church, would refuse because you have a stereotypical image of evangelical Christians? I had the same thing about philosophers. When I thought about philosophy, I always saw an aging hippy professor sitting in the lotus position going "It's like we're totally not really here, man. Am I a man dreaming I'm a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming I'm a man?" I also had the image of the 18 year old wasting daddy's money on philosophy classes rather than a more "practical" subject. I've found those stereotypes to be exactly what a stereotype is: mostly wrong. I'm finding philosophy to be a vibrant and fascinating study applicable to all areas of life. I'm also learning that a philosopher is a professional thinker. A philosopher asks questions, often with child-like wonder. We often lose our wonder as we grow up. Philosophers often don't have the answers, but their exploration of the questions can make for an interesting study. That's all I will say for now as I have a long way to go in reading about philosophy, not to mention reading some of the "great" philosophers.

With this interest in philosophy, I would like to ask the question: does watching TV really cause short attention spans? Obviously, I have not been successful in getting a grant, much less a group of latchkey children and another group of Amish children set aside from birth (by the way, I love the Amish and Lancaster County, PA is one of my favorite places on Earth). All I have to go on is my own observation. Before I continue, let me lay one last bit of foundation.

In October, Newsweek ran a story titled Why Money Doesn't Buy Happiness. One statement from that article which really stood out to me is about choice. The statement is below:

The trouble is, choice is not all it's cracked up to be. Studies show that people like selecting from among maybe half a dozen kinds of pasta at the grocery store but find 27 choices overwhelming, leaving them chronically on edge that they could have chosen a better one than they did. And wants, which are nice to be able to afford, have a bad habit of becoming needs (iPod, anyone?), of which an advertising- and media-saturated culture create endless numbers. Satisfying needs brings less emotional well-being than satisfying wants.

OK, from my own experience and observation will come the rest of this post/essay. I was born in 1974. I'm a product of the original MTV generation. I can remember watching about 5 or 6 hours of TV on a school night as early as the age of 11 or 12. We lived in Germany from 1980 to 1985 and had only one English channel, AFRTS, and one radio station, but people in "the states" would send us video tapes which my brother and I watched endlessly. In 1986 and 1987, I would come home from school to watch GI Joe and Transformers, followed by Star Trek and shows like the Facts of Life in syndication on the Fox affiliate (Fox was brand new at the time). Prime time brought programming like the A-Team and MacGuyver among others. By high school I often had better things to do than watch TV, but I still made sure to catch my favorite shows like Star Trek, The Next Generation. In the Navy, my television watching dropped off dramatically, but picked up after I got married in 2001. Currently, my family does watch a lot of TV. My wife keeps PBS and Nickelodian on for the kids all day. We'll often put on The Wiggles or Thomas the Tank Engine to keep the kids happy while we get things done. When I go to bed, I usually watch the History Channel, or Discovery Channel, or shows like Law and Order, or House. Lately, thanks to TV on DVD, and of course my WinTV and video iPod and programs like iPodifier, I can watch TV anytime and anywhere that I want. I'm just trying to establish that I have paid my dues in front of the television, and keep my membership active. I never really watched MTV though.

I do not believe, from my own experience and observation, that watching television decreases my attention span, nor the attention span of my children, whatever an acceptable attention span for two and three year old boys should be.

Apparently there is an attention span problem in our country, but if that attention span problem is not caused by TV, then what could be causing it? I'm obviously not a scientist or sociologist or psychologist, but I do have a blog, so that alone qualifies me to put forth a few observations on this subject. Here are some of the reasons that I suspect cause a short attention span:

• Expectations set too high- seriously, to say that the attention span today is short we must have some kind of quantifiable data from times past. Did school children in ancient Babylon sit for eight hours on end (boys especially) through such exciting subjects as poetry and pottery? Honestly, I think a lot of complaints about attention spans are because we have our expectations set too high for ourselves and our nation's school children. We're trying to expect and force ourselves and our children to sit for long periods of time doing tasks that frankly aren't all that interesting or exciting, or in many cases, meaningful. I used to think that I had a short attention span until I realized that like many other computer geeks, I had the ability to hyper-focus on some tedious tasks like playing video games or straightening out file system issues. I can't tell you how many blog posts I was able to crank out while I was supposed to be working on a paper for one of my University of Phoenix classes.
• One word: sugar. We can't deny that the American diet consists of way too much sugar. I notice when I'm not eating very well that I can't focus for anything. When I'm eating better, I have an easier time at work because my blood sugar levels aren't crashing.
• Another word: choices. There is a reason why web videos are short: because when we're sitting at our computers, there are a lot of other things we could be doing so we're not going to sit still for one thing. I listen to a lot of podcasts on my iPod. In fact, right now as I'm typing this I'm listening to Cyberspeak. I wouldn't be willing to stop what I'm doing for an hour while I finish this podcast. Frankly, it's not all that exciting, so I pick up a little bit here and there while I'm doing something else. I notice when I'm laying in bed late at night and I have no other choices I can sit through an hour long TV show. When I transcode that show to my iPod and I'm trying to watch it sitting at my computer, I tend to want to do other things. I have email to sort through and Google Reader feeds to read. When I have too many choices, I often can't settle on just one or two and I float because no matter what I'm doing, I'm constantly afraid that I could be doing something "better". When I have fewer choices, I am able to sit still and focus better. This goes back to the blockquote earlier from Newsweek about how happiness doesn't necessarily come from having too many choices.

I could probably keep going, but these are only observations. Critical thinking involves never taking anything you read or hear for granted. I'm sure I could turn on CNN or FoxNews and hear commentators say at least 10 times today that TV causes shorter attention spans. Rather than accepting that I'm asking questions, because my own experience doesn't seem to match up to conventional wisdom. What about you, reader? Does TV shorten your attention span? If you believe it does, are you willing to cut down or cut out TV in order to regain an attention span?

Technorati tags: TV, attention spans

 

Labels: Family, Health, Internet, Media, Socio/Political

I Want Sandy Doesn't Work For Me

About a month or two ago, several of the lifehacking/productivity blogs I follow started to review the online virtual assistant I Want Sandy. The service sounded interesting so I thought I would check it out.

Sandy is a virtual personal assistant. The concept is simple: you email "Sandy" or cc her on an email to somebody else, and she adds items to your calendar and shoots you email reminders at the appropriate time. "She" understands an easy shorthand. You can send emails to Sandy of items that you want to be reminded of or actions that you need to do. "Sandy, remind me to buy beer for the party on June 6", or "Sandy, remind me about my doctor's appointment on Feb 18 at 3:30 PM".

When I originally wrote this entry, I could not get the service to work. Like many web services, Sandy sends an email with an activation procedure. In "her" case, Sandy wants you to send an email to a special address. This is supposed to activate your account. That did not originally work for me. Neither did emailing tech support. I sent three emails over several weeks asking for help and as far as I know my emails disappeared into the ether. While I was playing around with Sandy to write this entry, I found a link to reset my password. Somehow that activated my account, so I can use Sandy.

So far, none of my emails seem to be showing up on my account. I'll write more later if I can find a way to use this service effectively. Until then, I'm just letting you know Sandy is out there.

Technorati tags: I want Sandy, web services, virtual personal assistant

Labels: Internet, Time Management