More Vista reviews
By Brian | November 9, 2005
The folks at InternetWeek have posted their latest review of the Windows Vista Beta. Most of the review, sadly, basically says “this is interesting, but they haven’t turned it on yet so it’s too soon to tell.” Thanks guys. I know you’ve got publishing deadlines and all, but if you don’t have much to say, why not wait before publishing the review?
More interesting to me was the review of Internet Explorer 7. Again, Microsoft seems to be using the new OS as an opportunity to add new UI experiences, rather than just tweak the ones we have. Such is the case with QuickTabs, which will show you a thumbnail view of all your open tabs on one screen, so you can click on one of them & expand it to full screen based on the thumbnail. Usability will obviously be judged when we’ve got it in our grubby little hands, but the concept (and the screen shot) are cool so far.
I also like the idea of being able to open up a set of tabs, and then bookmark the whole thing (so that later, you can retrieve all those pages at once). The reviewer has a problem with the UI for this, but I guess that’s what betas are for. Even with a clunky UI, I can easily see myself using this feature – depending on what I’m working on, I often find myself with the same three or four websites open at once. To be able to open them all with one (or even a few) clicks would be super-convenient.
Categories: Tech Talk | 1 Comment »
Another College List
By Brian | November 9, 2005
Jeff Porten sent me a link to the Washington Monthly College Guide. Here’s the setup:
[Colleges] produce most of the country’s cutting-edge scientific research and are therefore indirectly responsible for much of our national wealth and prosperity. They are the path to the American dream, the surest route for hard-working poor kids to achieve a better life in a changing economy. And they shape, in profound and subtle ways, students’ ideas about American society and their place in it. It seemed obvious to us that these heavily subsidized institutions ought to be graded on how well they perform in these roles, so we set out to create the first annual Washington Monthly College Rankings. While other guides ask what colleges can do for students, we ask what colleges are doing for the country.
This is fascinating, especially since our Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania, came out #9 on the list (one of only three Ivy League schools to crack the top ten, and one of only three US News top ten to repeat on this list).
The authors conclude with this:
Imagine, then, what would happen if thousands of schools were suddenly motivated to try to boost their scores on The Washington Monthly College Rankings. They’d start enrolling greater numbers of low-income students and putting great effort into ensuring that these students graduate. They’d encourage more of their students to join the Peace Corps or the military. They’d intensify their focus on producing more Ph.D. graduates in science and engineering. And as a result, we all would benefit from a wealthier, freer, more vibrant, and democratic country.
OK, so this is going to sound really obnoxious, but here’s the thing: I wasn’t a low-income student. I also didn’t attend college in the hopes of joining the military or the Peace Corps. I went to college to get a good job that could turn into a career.
I think the Washington Monthly list is a valuable one, if the attributes measured are what one is looking for in a college. The right school can literally be a life saver for a kid who’s caught in a downward economic or social spiral, and this gives great insight into which schools excel at providing that service.
On the other hand, I don’t think I’m that unique in my collegiate goals. If memory serves, a great many of my fellow students also viewed college as the path to a career, rather than a societal “leg up.” My guess is that this has to do with their middle-class upbringings, in which college was affordable (or at least close to it) for most, and expected by just about all. High school could probably get you a job, but college enabled you to have a career. Given that, I’d love to see someone produce a list of colleges that are best at preparing their students for the job market. Factors could include strength of the recruiting department, number of interviews per graduating student, number of job offers, average starting salary, average salary after 5 years, etc.
Given that my kids will probably view college in much the same way I did (and given that my kids have yet to go to college), this would be both a valuable and interesting list to peruse.
Categories: Random Acts of Blogging | Comments Off on Another College List
Sentences that didn’t make sense 5 years ago: “Excuse me while I Yahoo my TiVo.”
By Brian | November 7, 2005
I’ve been wondering out loud for many years about why no one’s built a VCR or other recording device that can be programmed remotely (either via telephone or internet). It seems Yahoo and TiVo have finally gotten the job done:
TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq:TIVO – news) and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO – news) on Monday launched a service that allows TiVo users to program their digital video recorders remotely using Yahoo’s television information Web sites.
I’m not a TiVo user, but if this catches on, I’m sure the other DVR providers (I use Comcast’s) will follow suit relatively quickly for fear of losing subscribers. So now, when I expected to be home in time to watch <fill in favorite mindless TV entertainment vehicle here>, but find myself stuck in traffic, working late, or whatever, I can pop over to my web browser (or my blackberry, or my PDA) and tell the DVR to tape the show I’m now going to miss.
Still more evidence that we were all born at exactly the right time…
Categories: Tech Talk, The Future is Now | 3 Comments »
Only in New York
By Brian | November 2, 2005
Check this out:
So I’m at building X and I need to get to building 1. I didn’t realize it was only a couple of blocks away, so I go to company 1‘s website to get directions, and this is the map I get back. The yellow line is their recommended route.
I was aghast until I realized – they think I’m in a car! The streets are all one way, you see, so to get from X to 1, you need to make four left turns. Apparently, the software isn’t smart enough to say, “Park the car & walk – it’s two blocks away!”
Categories: New York, New York | 1 Comment »
Mac users need not apply…
By Brian | October 30, 2005
It seems if you’re a Mac user, you’re going to need to jump through some hoops to work at American Express, Target or Sears:
At American Express, for example, job seekers are greeted with this warning: “At this time, the system does not support Mac environments. If you don’t have access to a PC at home or work, please check out a local public library for Internet access, local Internet cafes, or the nearest government Work Force Center.” . . . job seekers at Target and Sears may just get an error message or have their browser crash when using Apple’s Safari browser.
They’re all using the same third party vendor who’s software doesn’t support Safari. They claim they’ll have a Firefox compatible version out by December, but they’re in no rush to support Safari because “customers aren’t clamoring for it.”
So here’s my question: Forgetting about American Express for a second, don’t Target and Sears at least sell Mac accessories (if not Macs themselves?) Can anyone say PR problem?
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The World Series – When’s That On?
By Brian | October 28, 2005
The TV ratings are out on the 2005 World Series, and they’re the worst they’ve ever been. Before you write off the Fall Classic, though, think about this:
Despite rating so low in comparison to other World Series, the four games of this series were each the highest rated prime-time network programs on their respective nights.
So the World Series was the most popular show on television last week, but also the least watched World Series in history. I think what we have here is a commentary on the number of choices on television, not the popularity of the Series itself. Don’t forget – the last time the White Sox were in the World Series (1959), most TV’s had fewer than ten channels to choose from. The other two times they were involved (1917 & 1919), TV’s didn’t exist (but that’s another story).
The other variable here is the fact that each World Series is not created equal. When the teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, or Braves are involved, there’s a much wider “hometown” audience to draw from, which has got to boost the ratings. Heck – if the Cubs were in the series instead of the White Sox, I bet the number of viewers in Chicago would have gone up tremendously. So comparing TV ratings between World Series is like comparing homeruns in Yankee Stadium to homeruns in Fenway Park – apples to oranges…
Categories: Primetime TV, Sports Talk | Comments Off on The World Series – When’s That On?
Hitting the iPod nail on the head…
By Brian | October 28, 2005
This article wonders if the incompatability of most of the common iPod accessories will put existing iPod owners off from buy a new iPod. Here’s my answer, anyway: Yes.
My iPod is well used, and I’ve purchased two accessories – the iTrip for playing music in the car with the kids, and the Nyko button relocator for listening by myself on a crowded commuter train. When the Nano came out, I figured the next thing would be a 20GB (or more) flash version, at which point I’d probably buy a second one so my wife would have one for driving around town with the kids while I’m at work.
Now, I have to deal with the following realities:
- The new 30GB model does not cost $299 as advertised. It costs $359, because I need to shell out $30 each for a new iTrip and button relocator (both of which are not yet available)
- When the iPod charge runs down, I typically recharge it while playing music (especially with the kids in the car who don’t want to hear about “recharging” on a long trip without their music). Now that the devices will use the Dock connector, this won’t be possible (unless they build a passthrough port). All of this besides the point that I’m not sure I see how you do a button relocator if you need to connect to the bottom of the device.
- Apple is now requiring a licensing fee from the people that make the peripherals (the article linked above says 10% of the wholesale price), so it’s possible that the replacement devices will run me more than $30 each.
Seems the tempation to flex that monopoly muscle lives outside of Remond, WA after all…
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The Shame of the Plame Game
By Brian | October 27, 2005
They’re saying the special prosecutor is going to announce indictments in the Valerie Plame matter tomorrow, so before it all starts, allow me to go on record: Shame on us all. To wit:
Shame on the American people for not seeing what is coming a mile away, and rising up as one to say, “Enough already!” This has got Lewinsky-gate written all over it: an investigation about one thing, yielding charges about something else, all in an effort to punish people for a third thing (which isn’t illegal, but has really ticked people off). The last time we allowed this to happen, we got so distracted as a nation that the mainstream media was actually debating whether or not bombing Osama bin Laden might have been a diversionary tactic to take the focus off the President’s legal troubles. What will we let slide this time?
Shame on Republicans like Kay Bailey Hutchison, who are refuting all charges before they’re even made, suggesting that there’s no reason to, you know – actually examine the charges before declaring them bogus. I’m sure some spin doctor out there has indicated the need for positive voices to counter all the negative voices out there, but IMHO, doing this only weakens the case later if the charges are bogus. Also, how in the name of all that is holy can she say something like this:
I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn’t indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
Tim Russert took the words right out of my mouth:
But the fact is perjury or obstruction of justice is a very serious crime and Republicans certainly thought so when charges were placed against Bill Clinton before the United States Senate.
Check out the whole conversation if you like – perhaps Clinton was charged with more than just perjury, but perjury was the main charge (certainly the one most people remember), and to suggest now that perjury doesn’t warrant the indictment of a government official is so hypocritical that it’s almost impressively so.
Shame on the media (and not just the mainstream this time – bloggers too!) who talk about the crime as theoretical, but discuss the rationale behind it as fact. I’ve yet to read that Rove & Libby are accused of “disclosing the name of a CIA agent.” Instead, I read that they are accused of “disclosing the name of a CIA agent in order to get revenge on her husband for publicly criticizing the President’s main justification for going to war in Iraq.” Not that I put revenge past these guys, but I can easily see a scenario where the crime was committed but the rationale was different. Consider: Wilson writes his Op-Ed piece in the New York Times. High ranking government officials get deluged with questions about his trip to Africa – Why was he there? Who did he talk to? What did he find out? At some point, one of them tells a reporter that the CIA sent him there (as opposed to the White House or anyone else), and mentions that his wife works for the CIA and maybe that had something to do with why he was selected. The crime (disclosing her name) is still present, but let’s face it – this could have been background data run amok just as easily as it could have been revenge.
And finally, shame on the Democrats who’ve been planning this since the day Clinton was impeached. Obviously, I can’t prove this, but I’ve always had the feeling that there were folks out there vowing to impeach the next Republican President for something, either for pure revenge or to lessen the historical importance of Clinton’s impeachment. The war in Iraq felt like the right venue for such a stunt (and yes, it’s a stunt), but the war has yet to produce an actual crime among the executive branch – just a lot of decisions that royally pissed off those who disagreed with them.
The constant repetition of the rationale (to get revenge on her husband for publicly criticizing the President) strikes me as the tell-tale sign of game at hand. The “linking” game also seems to point that way. For example, Tuesday’s NYTimes reported on the front page that Libby had learned about Plame from Dick Cheney, rather than from a reporter. This strikes me as an excuse to mention Cheney’s name in conjunction with the whole affair, even though speaking to his own Chief of Staff hardly sounds like a crime of any kind.
Bottom line: if crimes were committed, the guilty should be punished in accordance with the severity of their crimes. But we’ve been through the process of turning the executive branch into a hot, new reality show. We know the downsides. And if we do it again, then shame on us all.
Categories: Political Rantings | Comments Off on The Shame of the Plame Game
Miers cleans up the mess
By Brian | October 27, 2005
Harriet Miers has withdrawn her name from consideration.
As I wrote earlier, this sounds like exactly what the senate was trying to do – give her a way out that didn’t embarrass herself or the President (much), without having to vote her down.
Right result; wrong reasons.
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A bad influence…
By Brian | October 21, 2005
Now, this is funny…
WYRM – I’m sorry to hear you think I’m a bad influence on my children. You may be interested to know that that kid is five years old now, and when I told him that the World Series starts in Chicago tomorrow night, he said, “That’s because the White Sox won home field advantage, right Daddy?” With this kind of head start, I’m guessing that when he gets to be your age, he’ll know what the squiggle is above the ‘n’ in Spanish words…
Oh, and by the way, he has a brother who I’m similarly corrupting…
Categories: Family Matters, Sports Talk | 1 Comment »