Jan 15
A funny video that considers how your “big boned” PC laptop will feel when the MacBook Air is getting all that attention.
Aug 27
I enjoyed Merlin Man’s recent podcast on inbox zero from his visit to Google. The basic idea of inbox zero is that the best way to manage email is to clean out your inbox at least every day. Those emails that can be deleted get deleted, those that need action either get immediate action or go onto into your GTD (getting things done) process. This generally seems like a good idea to me and I have been trying to implement that personally.
As I thought about Merlin’s podcast it occurred to me that one mechanism that I use in my process that I would argue for is contextual inboxes (for lack of a better name). The idea is this: when you are cooking in your kitchen and you realize you are using the last egg, you don’t immediately stop what you are doing and then run to the store because you know that you would have to go again in 15 minutes when you use the last of the juice and then again later on in the evening when you run out of ice cream. Instead you write what you need on your grocery list and get a number of things all at the same time. In part this is because the context switch of finding your car keys, driving to the store getting eggs takes too much time. I find as I manage my inbox that there are categories of email for me that are similar. So for instance, when I get someone who sends me an email about travel news I read it but immediately file it in a folder of travel news. When I am recording my podcast (Amateur Traveler) and get to the time where I need some travel news stories I process these stories at that time. I do this because the context switch involves breaking out the microphone, starting a podcast blog entry, etc.
I think when we can identify sets of task that are context appropriate, that we can to more efficiently if we wait and do them in a specific place or at a specific time then this is a great place to use a special inbox.
May 21
MacDailyNews points out in this article that not all CEOs are Steve Jobs and maybe some should just let someone else in the organization demo new products:
“Samsung Electronics, Intel and Microsoft have been promoting their joint project ‘Origami’ mini-laptop PC since they first showed it last month. In fact, the new PC proved to be too revolutionary, enough to baffle the three firms’ executive officers who publicly tried to demonstrate how to use it,” Cho Jin-seo reports for The Korea Times. “During Wednesday’s news conference at Grand InterContinental in southern Seoul, some 30 reporters gathered to watch the much-hyped product named Q1, or Ultra Mobile PC. Kim Hun-soo, vice president of Samsung’s PC division, first ascended to the podium as he tried to do the presentation in a Steve Jobs style _ which was not so successful. Kim first tried to start the Powerpoint presentation, which was saved in his Q1. But after introducing himself, he failed to turn to the second page while his staff nervously watched him.”
“After spending several nerve-racking minutes trying to solve the problem on his own, Kim was finally helped by one of his staff to get to the next page. ‘This kind of mistake happens in every presentation, even though you practice it all night,” he said. But that was not the end of his bad day. Several pages later, the large projection screen suddenly completely went black. Samsung’s staff again rushed to help the vice president, and found the Q1’s battery has run out,” Cho Jin-seo reports.
“Microsoft Korea’s president Yoo Jae-sung became the second victim of the day when he took over the turn after Kim wrapped up his presentation. Yoo also spent several minutes figuring out how to start the presentation file. Finally, a Samsung employee succeeded in turning it on. But then the Q1 suddenly flipped through every page of Yoo’s presentation file in a just few seconds. ‘Now you have seen all the contents in advance,’ Yoo said, and made a very brief presentation,” Cho Jin-seo reports. “Lastly, Lee Hee-sung, president of Intel Korea, had his turn. Going up to the podium, the energetic Intel Korea CEO pronounced that he would ‘do it in my own way as my predecessors have had a difficult time.’ But Lee also failed to kick off his presentation by himself, and had to be helped by the staff who looked as if they were expecting the same kind of problems to happen again.”
… and the black turtleneck has to go also.
Mar 22
Microsoft has delayed the release of its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system to 2007.
And this is why they stopped putting the year into the name of the version of Windows.
Mar 16
From Slashdot:
QuietLagoon writes ‘Reuters is reporting that Bill Gates is making fun of the one laptop per child initiative to revolutionize how the world’s children are educated. ‘The last thing you want to do for a shared use computer is have it be something without a disk … and with a tiny little screen,’ Gates said at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in suburban Washington. ‘Hardware is a small part of the cost’ of providing computing capabilities, he said, adding that the big costs come from network connectivity, applications and support. ‘If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user, geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you’re not sitting there cranking the thing while you’re trying to type,’ Gates said.’
OK, what he means to say is “Hareware is a small part of the cost… if I have my way”.
Feb 08
For many years advances in computers and electronics have been driven by Moore’s Law that states that the number of transistors per square inch doubles roughly every 18 months. People have been ready to give up on Moore’s Law. Numerous editorials have been written about Moore’s law being dead. In scenes that mimic Monty Python we may be hearing the moribund law whispering “I’m not dead, I think I’ll go for a walk”. According to news.com:
T.C. Chen, vice president of science and technology at IBM, told the assembled audience at the International Solid State Circuit conference that shrinking transistors a la Moore’s Law is good for at least ten years. It will slow a bit, but even Gordon Moore says that.
“The infusion of new materials and device structures will continue to extend CMOS (silicon) performance for a long time to come,” he said in a paper accompanying his speech. Chen, though, said that to get to that point, chip designers, manufacturing engineers and those who make the software and hardware for semiconductor manufacturing will all have to cooperate very intensely.
Feb 03
The traditional approach to software development is called a waterfall development model: code like crazy for months, test like crazy for a while, ship, collapse, repeat. That has been replaced in some companies, particularly internet companies, by a more incremental approach: code one feature, test that feature, ship, go for coffee, repeat. I like the second approach much better. So I was at first surprised and mortified to read about the Waterfall 2006 conference:
After years of being disparaged by some in the software development community, the waterfall process is back with a vengeance. You’ve always known a good waterfall-based process is the right way to develop software projects. Come to the Waterfall 2006 conference and see how a sequential development process can benefit your next project. Learn how slow, deliberate handoffs (with signatures!) between groups can slow the rate of change on any project so that development teams have more time to spend on anticipating user needs through big, upfront design.
But upon reading in more detail, I think the site is just hilarious. They are kidding…. right?
Jan 22
You have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too old to
REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For those of us who
sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on…
If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch,
“Who’ s on First?” might have turned out something like this:
COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I’m setting up an office in my den and I’m thinking about
buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name’s Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name’s Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don’t know. What will I see when I look at the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write
proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let’s just say I’m
sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue “W”.
COSTELLO: I’m going to click your blue “w” if you don’t start with some
straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can
track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That’s right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What’s bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn’t it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
A few days later:
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on “START”
Susan Bock
Jan 02
Seriously, that is the title of an article on CNet.com. The once popular computer brand has been bought and a new company has been created with that name.
A Dutch consumer media company is hoping it can tap the power of the VIC 20, the PET and the Commodore 64 to launch a new wave of products, including a home media center device and a portable GPS (Global Positioning System) unit and media player.
Yeahronimo Media Ventures, which has offices in Los Angeles and Baarn, the Netherlands, acquired the rights to the Commodore name late last year in a deal worth just over $32.7 million. Earlier this year, it took on Commodore as its own corporate moniker. The rebranded company already has some products available in Europe and on its Web site, but hopes to enter the U.S. market at the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
In an interview, Commodore CEO Ben van Wijhe said the company bought the Commodore name with the idea of tapping its reputation for games and multimedia.
“It is not only the brand name but also the heritage of Commodore that interested us,” he said.
The company has said it plans to launch three products at the show. The Commodore MediaBox is an all-in-one home entertainment box with an Internet connection, digital TV tuner and hard drive for playing music downloads, games or on-demand video. The Commodore Navigator is a Windows CE-based portable device with a 20GB hard drive for music and video storage as well as built-in GPS and a 3.6-inch touch screen.
Wow, $32.7 for a brand of a company that died. Is Commodore poised for a comeback? I am going to go with “no”.
Nov 17
Eye halve a spelling chequer?It came with my pea sea?It plainly marques four my revue?Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.?Eye strike a key and type a word?And weight four it two say?Weather eye am wrong oar write?It shows me strait a weigh.?As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long?And eye can put the error rite Its rare lea ever wrong.?Eye have run this poem threw it I am shore your pleased two no?Its letter perfect awl the weigh?My chequer tolled me sew.
Recent Comments