Author Archives: feeling entropy

I have had a ton of jobs, from drive thru, to car wash, and even library security. With each paycheck came a boss. Sometimes I had a bad boss, and sometimes I had a good boss. I came across an interesting article written by Edward Prewitt today, regarding bosses. Prewitt noted something about techies that I found not only very true, but also quite comedic.

They [techies] thrive on challenges, get absorbed in what they are doing and aren’t primarily motivated by money. It follows that to keep these staffers happy, CIOs need only keep the challenges coming and (this is critical) avoid micromanagement. “If you know how to work with techies, they are the easiest kind of employees to motivate,” Jeff Chasney, CIO and executive VP of CKE Restaurants, said in an earlier CIO magazine story. “They don’t need cushy perks, personal recognition or bonuses; they thrive on creatively solving problems.”

I have been an avid IMer (instant messenging addict) since I was big enough to reach the keys on the keyboard. Thing with that is, I’m not the only one. There are tons of people who rely on IM’s to get them through the day.

Heck, I’m at work and I’m logged in to AIM (Aol Instant Messenger) with my mobile phone as well as the PC I’m using. Chalk me up in that 85% of people using IM at work. There’s more information on private vs public chat clients here. Interesting how internet chat was once thought of as teens and creepy old single men with rickety vans.

China has about 1 Billion people, well it did last time I checked. 10 percent of them have joined the digital revolution [read: go on the internet]. That’s 100 million users, no small pickin’s. These virtual surfers are restricted however. There’s now not only 1 great wall in China, but two. The traditional brick and mortar wall that lines the north boundary, and the ‘Great Firewall’ that keeps porn and politics out of the available content. My friend (who lives in Hong Kong -which isn’t firewalled) tells me about friends of hers who blog with words like tib#t instead of tibet. Who’d ever think that blogs would be illegal?

Everyone knows Billy Shakespeare. He’s the man, the myth, the legend, and now the wireless tour attraction. For 8 pounds you can rent a PDA for a day, and tour of Stratford at your own pace. The town has also popped up some WiFi hotspots for visitors to check their mail or catch the last episode of ‘The Real World’ via their Slingbox (can you tell I’m excited to get one of these).

“Now all the world’s a wi-fi stage as far as this town is concerned. We are sure that the many tourists who like to visit Stratford from across the globe will appreciate how much easier it will be to hit the literary hotspots using the latest technology as your guide,” said Chris Clark, chief executive of BT Wireless Broadband.

AMD has always been biting at the heels of Intel. Today is no different. “Intel today responded angrily to AMD allegations that it has systematically abused its dominant position in the global processor business to drive up prices and stifle competition”, reports vnunet.com AMD has always taken a back seat to Chip leader Intel. It’s a known fact that once you’re the king of the hill, everyone tries to push you off. You’ll stay on top if you push back harder, and intel seems to be pretty good at pushing.

I wonder if AMD is jealous over the Intel/Apple venture?

“Time shifting” has been around since the VCR, which is simply watching a program other than at the time it’s broadcasted (taping it for later). Well if you’re only 20-something years old, then the VCR and time shifting have been around just as long as you have. “Place shifting” is the new catch phrase buzzword. So what the heck am I getting at here?

CompUSA has the Slingbox Personal Broadcaster by Sling Media for presale on it’s website. Place shifting with the Slingbox means watching where you want as well as when you want, “time and place shifting”. With a Slingbox, I can watch my home TV (I have Direct TV), or my TiVo’d shows (I also have TiVo) on my computer, anywhere in the world that has a decent internet connection. This greatly anticipated set top box already has a spot in my entertainment cabinet, it’s just a matter of time now. I would pre-order this beauty, but going down to CompUSA and picking one up would put me in a sling much faster. Keep a sharp eye out for this one.

The iPod is just bigger than big. Grandmothers and toddlers have been seen walking, talking, and gawking about iPods. Well here’s something to yap about: iPods are now 20GB and 60GB selling for $299 and $399 respectively. Oh, and every full size iPod has those intoxicating color screens that we like so much. Goodbye iPod photo (cause every iPod is now a ‘photo’ version) and farewell monochrome iPod.

If that’s not enough for you, iTunes 4.9 has just sprung up. This was a greatly anticipated version of iTunes because it now comes podcast ready. I know what I’m doing later on this evening, let’s see just how ready podcasting is for the world, or the other way around.

English was never any fun for me. I didn’t mind the writing, but I despised the reading. Reading was my kryptonite, Delilah, and the thorn in my paw. How did I ever survive you ask? I skipped pages. When reading “East of Eden” or “The Lord of the Flies” I would read one full page, then skip one full page. I ended up reading ½ as much, but I don’t think I really missed ½ of the book. I never got A’s in English class either.

Motorola has one-upped my cut-the-bs reading technique with their ‘emails abridged’ idea. This technology cuts out small sentences and frivolous phrases thus giving you only the most vital of information while reading emails on your handset. It can be programmed to keep or delete certain preference list words and phrases as well. I’m sure there’s some holes you may see in this feature, but then again, I did pass English class.

Phones cost money. A ‘good’ phone isn’t cheap. But are we using all that we pay for? Executive Vice President of T-Mobile, David Hytha was interviewed by EE Times, and he says “We are choking on technology”.

Right away I think about my current phone, the T-Mobile Sidekick II, and wish that it had more features. I want Bluetooth, an SD expansion slot, more downloadable ringtones, changeable wall paper, more 3rd party applications, a video player, better camera, WiFi, and my list just keeps on going. So What the heck is Hytha talking about when he says choking on technology? I’m in a desert and technology is my rationed water supply.

Then I give it a second thought, and recall a conversation I had one week ago with my father. He is upgrading his Sprint phone (which is about as old as me), and asks me which models to look at. “I just want a phone that can hold a charge, has big buttons, a screen that I can read, and speaker phone”, he says. I think to myself, if my father were locked somewhere and had my phone, he’d die of starvation before figuring out how to dial 911. Maybe David Hytha is right? Too much technology for the normal human being may be similar to too much clothes shopping for the tech geek.

I never liked history classes. Learning about dead guys who talked funny and looked even funnier was just not up my alley. As time moves forward, history is written. In what feels like the blink of an eye I’ve gone from emailing friends with dialup modems, to attaching pictures to an email with my phone –while holding 3 separate instant message chats. The last ten years there has been quite a bit of writing (still sticking with my history metaphor) for the internet. CNN looks at the last ten years, and gives us a pretty cool lesson in history. And I thought that history would always bore me.

A UK study shows that acne helps your heart
, and kids with acne are less likey to die from coronary heart disease later on in life. I’m going to do some of that ‘reading in-between the lines’ that my high school English teacher always yapped about. Us pimple-faced geeks overclocked our CPUs, and talked about the newest video games in our spare time. While the popular kids spent their weekends drinking, smoking, and having sex with girls that wouldn’t even talk to us lowlife late bloomers. Having acne was a default prerequisite for being a geek, taped glasses and a goofy laugh were secondary. My hypothesis is simple: everyone loves the sweet taste of revenge. I’m starting an investigative study to prove that zit-faced geeks somehow contracted coronary heart disease to those who had it made in high school. Heck, if someone in the UK funded the “Acne Helps Prevent Heart Disease” research, then I’m a shoe in with “Geeks Planted Heart Disease in Popular High School Kids”.