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June 11, 2011

Comparing the Big Three

Filed under Gadgets, Software, Web, Xbox 360

Apple, Google and Microsoft are the the only companies that have the products and services to go head-to-head. There are many components to consider for this next-gen battle. I threw together a table to see how they match up. There is no clear winner: this is going to be fun to watch over the next few years.

 

Apple

Google

Microsoft

Smart Phone OS

iOS

Android 2.X

Windows Phone

Smart Phone OS Market Share

26%

36%

1%

Number of Apps for Smart Phone

~400,000

~200,000

~20,000

Tablet OS

iOS

Android 3.X

Windows 8

Tablet OS Market Share

73%

22%

0%

Number of Apps for Tablet

~100,000

~30

0

Phone/Tablet Programming Language

Objective-C

Java

C#/Visual Basic/any .NET Language

Phone/Tablet Programming Language Owner

Apple

Oracle

Microsoft

Phone/Tablet Programming Language is "write once, run anywhere"

No

Yes

Yes

Desktop/Laptop OS

OS X

Chrome OS

Windows

Desktop/Laptop OS's market share

7.4%

0%

86.3%

Number of Apps for Desktop/Laptop

Few

0

Many

TV OS

Apple TV

Google TV

Xbox 360

TV OS's sold

2 million

? (sales are lower than expected)

55 million

Number of Apps for TV

Few

Few

Many

Web Browser

Safari

Chrome

Internet Explorer

Web Browser Market Share

(from Wikipedia)

6.3%

14.6%

43.2%

Search Engine

None

Google

Bing

Search Engine market share

0%

64.42%

30.0%

Instant Messaging

iChat

Google Talk

Windows Live Messenger/Skype

Instant Messaging market share

Low

~4%

~70%

Web Mail (includes calendar and contacts)

None

Gmail

Hotmail

Web Mail Market Share

0

16.2%

24.6%

Desktop Word Processor

Pages for Mac

None

Word

Desktop Word Processor Market Share (not based on  data)

Low

0%

High

Desktop Spreadsheet

Numbers for Mac

None

Excel

Desktop Spreadsheet Market Share (not based on data)

Low

0%

High

Desktop Presentations

Keynote for Mac

None

PowerPoint

Desktop Presentations Market Share (not based on data)

Low

0%

High

Web Word Processor

None

Google docs

Word Web App

Web Spreadsheet

None

Google docs

Excel Web App

Web Presentations

None

Google docs

PowerPoint Web App

Mobile Word Processor

Pages for iOS

Google docs for Android

Word Mobile

Mobile Spreadsheet

Numbers for iOS

Google docs for Android

Excel Mobile

Mobile Presentations

Keynote for iOS

Google docs for Android

PowerPoint Mobile

Music/Video Store

iTunes

None

Zune

Music/Video Store Market Share (not based on data)

High

0%

Low

Music Subscription

None

None

Zune Pass

Maps

None

Google Maps

Bing Maps

Cloud Storage

iCloud

Google Docs

SkyDrive

 

 

Key

  • Competitive Advantage
  • Competitive Disadvantage

 

Technorati Tags: ,,,

August 16, 2009

Finally…an IMDb Movie Credit!

Filed under Movies, Web

I submitted this well before the movie came out. Nothing happened. I tried submitting a second time and this one finally took.

I’m now listed in the full credits for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on IMDb, under “Visual Effects.”

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They also added Harry Potter to my IMDb page. Now I have a movie credit and a video game credit (for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed).

 

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My STARmeter has fallen 42%…I need more people to visit my IMDb page…help me out!

May 21, 2009

IMDb Credit

Filed under Celebrity, Movies, Video Games, Web

I’m pretty excited about this. I’ve always thought IMDb (Internet Movie Database) was pretty cool.

And now *I* am on it! My IMDb credit is online.

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I got this credit for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (a video game).

I should have another credit soon for a movie coming out in July.

February 7, 2009

New Post in Secret Stash

Filed under Web

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Check it out here.

January 4, 2009

Getting Rid of My Crap

Filed under Gadgets, Video Games, Web, Xbox 360

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I have a closet full of electronics that I don’t use anymore. I am going to get rid of them via eBay and make some cash doing it.

I updated my website so I have a link to my current eBay items on the right (only shows on my home page, not individual posts).

Here is my first item: my old Xbox 360…

Xbox 360 w/ 20 GB, 11 games, HD DVD player w/ 4 movies

 

December 14, 2008

What I Use

Filed under Computers, Gadgets, Software, Web

Here is a list of software, hardware, and web sites that I use at home.

Software

Operating System Vista Ultimate SP1
Programming C++/C# Visual Studio 2008
Debugging Utilities Dependency Walker
Process Monitor
Blogging Windows Live Writer Beta
Web Browsing Internet Explorer 8 Beta
Music Manager Zune 3.1
Email/Calendar/Contacts/To Do’s Outlook 2007
Word Processing Word 2007
Spreadsheets Excel 2007
Personal Finance Quicken 2007
3D Package Maya 8.0
Image Editing Photoshop CS3
Video Editing Premiere Pro CS3
DVD Authoring Encore CS3
Vector Editing Illustrator CS3
Video Compositing After Effects CS3
Sound Editing Soundbooth CS3
MP3 Purchase Zune Marketplace
Amazon MP3
Printing Utility FinePrint
Text Editor Notepad++
Diff Files/Folders Araxis Merge
FTP SmartFTP
Web Hosting 1&1
Weblog Publishing System (for creating davidlenihan.com/ORIGINAL_davidlenihan.com) Movable Type

 

Hardware

MP3 Player Zune 120 GB
Sansa Clip (for jogging)
PhatBox (for car)
Computer Dell Dimension E520
Monitor/speakers Dell 24” LCD 2407WFP
Laptop Lenovo Ideapad U110
Printer/Scanner/Copier HP Photosmart 3310 All-In-One
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 6000
Mouse Microsoft Explorer Mouse
3D Mouse 3Dconnexion Spaceball 5000

 

Web

Home Page iGoogle
RSS Reader Google Reader
Search Engine Google
Social Networking Facebook
Linkedin
Micro-blogging Twitter


October 13, 2008

Stackoverflow

Filed under Programming, Reviews, Web

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Stackoverflow is an interesting new (still in beta) website for programmers.

You ask programmer-related questions and the community answers. No registration is required. Better answers get more votes and move to the top of the list. More about how it works here.

I tried it last night with this post...

Locking Executing Files: Windows does, Linux doesn’t. Why?

I got some decent answers from the Linux-side about how Linux works without locking a file. However, I *really* want to know why *Windows* locks files. Do you get better performance with locked files? It seems like there has to be a reason...but I still don't know it.

In any case, stackoverflow is a site I plan on using for casual reading about programming topics and to help out when I get stuck or want the opinion of the programming community. Recommended.

September 30, 2008

Don't Use PayPal!!!

Filed under Reviews, Web

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I wanted to buy some software that would let me add/remove music from my iPod *without* using iTunes.

I did a Google search for "ipod explorer" and the first thing that came up was "Anapod Explorer."

image

I bought the software for $19.95 via PayPal. I received an email from Red Chair Software, the company that makes Anapod Explorer, with a download link for the software.

I downloaded and installed the software. When I tried to run Anapod Explorer, it gave me a dialog box asking for an "activation code" that will be emailed to me in 24 hours.

I waited 24 hours...no activation code.

I replied to the email with my download instructions and asked for an activation code...no response.

I sent an email using the contact information on Red Chair Software's website...no response.

After 3 days and 4 unanswered emails, I decided to cancel the payment.

I opened a payment dispute with PayPal. PayPal asked me to contact the buyer in order to resolve the issue. I told them I had, and was not getting any responses.

PayPal then responded with this email...

Dear David Lenihan,

You have chosen to escalate your dispute to a PayPal claim. By ending communication with the seller, you are asking PayPal to investigate the case and decide the outcome. As part of our investigation, PayPal reviewed any communication you may have had in the Resolution Center.

Our investigation into your claim is complete. As stated in our User Agreement, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods. It does not apply to complaints about the attributes or quality of goods received. Therefore, we are unable to reverse this transaction or issue a refund.

So in PayPal's view, I *did* receive the software. The fact that the software won't run without an activation code is irrelevant...I have the software I purchase.

PayPal closed my dispute and listed it as resolved.

I tried to re-opened the dispute and got this email...

Dear David Lenihan,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

Hello my name is Arriane, I am sorry to hear about the situation regarding the key that you have not received, and understand your frustration and concern over this issue. I am happy to assist you with your questions.

Our investigation into your claim is complete. As stated in our User Agreement, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods. It does not apply to complaints about the attributes or quality of goods received. Therefore, we are unable to reverse this transaction or issue a refund.

The Buyer Complaint Policy only applies to payments for tangible, physical goods which can be shipped, and excludes all other payments, including but not limited to payments for intangibles, for services or for licenses and other access to digital content. In addition, items prohibited in the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy are ineligible for coverage.

PayPal's Buyer Complaint Policy is our best efforts program. This program reimburses users for losses only to the extent we are able to recover the funds from sellers.

For the Terms and Conditions of the Buyer Complaint Policy, click https://www.paypal.com/bcp

We recommend you to communicate the merchant ask for a refund.

Notice the red, underlined words above. PayPal will not protect its customers in the case of licenses and digital content! Wow! That's pathetic!

I called PayPal tonight to talk about my issue. They confirmed their policy and said there is nothing they can do unless another PayPal customer creates a dispute with Red Chair Software within the next 180 days.

I told PayPal to check Google...everybody is having problems with Red Chair Software. A Google search of "red chair software" provides two links to Red Chair Software's website, followed by a petition from angry iPod users that have been screwed by Red Chair Software. A few more links down is a forum about how unresponsive Red Chair Software is.

image

Further researching Red Chair Software I found several people claim the company went bankrupt in 2007!

So PayPal is siding with a company that went bankrupt?!?!?! WTF?!?!

I told PayPal I find this unacceptable. This is a scam and PayPal is making the scam work.

I told PayPal I am going to cancel my account and never use them again.

In response, PayPal said they would refund my $19.95.

I told them I would take the money, but I will still cancel my PayPal account because they provide no protection from scams involving software or digital content, but credit cards do.

Buyer Beware!

As a side note, I downloaded the trial version of Mediafour's XPlay that lets you interact with your iPod files via Explorer. It works really well.

September 7, 2008

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2

Filed under Reviews, Software, Web

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I tried out Google's new Chrome browser a few days ago. I downloaded Internet Explorer 8 (beta 2) today.

Initial reaction: everything I like about Chrome is already available in IE8.

What I like:

  • Passes the Acid2 test
  • Related tabs are kept next to each other with color coding. For example, when you open a link from another tab, both tabs will have the same color (see below)
  • The address bar highlights the name of the website in bolder text...nice touch (see "arstechnica" in graphic below).
  • Typing in the address bar will automatically search your history, or setup a search for the item...no need to go to Google to search for something.
  • Searching for text on the page is *much* improved. Just do "Ctrl-F" and type what you are looking for. All matches are instantly highlighted. Press "Enter" to move forward to the next search item or "Shift-Enter" to go back. Nice!
  • New tab has a list of last closed tabs...easier to get back to places you've already been (although I prefer Chrome's new tab screen because of the thumbnails and also the most frequented web page list).
  • Each tab is a separate process...a web page that crashes the browser doesn't hurt the other tabs.
  • Compatibility mode! Web sites that are not "web standard's compliant" may not work correctly in IE8...so there is a button next to the address bar that allows you to switch back to IE7 rendering. *Many* web sites do not follow the web standards (instead they are designed to work with the most popular browser...IE)...so this is a *very* important feature. This is my biggest gripe with Chrome...glad to see IE8 can work will all web sites. For example, I could not login to purchase an item on walmart.com via Chrome, but IE8 could do it.

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Tab Color

This update puts IE in the same league as Chrome and Firefox. That being the case, I don't see a reason to jump ship.

After a brief flirtation with Chrome, I'm back to IE (8, beta 2) as my default browser.

 

September 2, 2008

Google Chrome

Filed under Reviews, Software, Web

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Wow! Google released a new web browser today called "Chrome."

That should certainly make IE, Firefox, Safari, and Opera take notice.

I downloaded it tonight and have made it my default browser.

What I like...

  • Faster - pages pop up quicker than IE 7
  • Smaller - takes up a lot less memory than IE 7
  • Tab UI - you can rearrange the tabs as you please, drag them off to become independent browsers, or drag independent browsers back to make them tabs...very sleek!
  • New Tab page shows you thumbnails of most visited pages, bookmarks, recently closed tabs...easier to get to pages you want to go to.
  • Address bar is also search engine bar...I rarely need to go to google to find anything, I can go directly from the address bar
  • Each tab is an separate process...if one page locks up, the rest continue to run (coming in IE 8, also)
  • Passes the Acid2 test
  • Find (Ctrl-F or F3) is much better than IE...highlights every match, F3 to go next match, Shift-F3 to go to previous
  • Downloads show up at the bottom of your page as an icon you can drag to a folder or open directly
  • More screen space for web pages than IE (uses some of title bar for top UI, no status bar at bottom)

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So far, the only issue I see is with iGoogle (how ironic)...when I shrink the window, one of the widgets does not know how to resize correctly and keeps changing size which causes the whole page to start flashing. Then again, Google uses their almost permanent "beta" status on this software so they can say "what do you expect, it is beta software!"

Oh! Found another one. You can only look at about 47 facebook photos before it refuses to let you look at anymore...hmmm.

I'm going to keep using this as long as I don't run into too many websites that have problems. For now, I think Google has a competitor in its hands.

August 27, 2008

Google Reader

Filed under Blogging, Reviews, Web

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If you aren't using Google Reader to read this, then stop what you are doing, click the above link, and continue reading this in Google Reader.

Google Reader is the best way to keep up on...everything! It has become my newspaper.

I'm currently using it to track 104 feeds in the following categories:

  • Entertainment
  • Gadgets
  • Games
  • Geek
  • News
  • Personal
  • Phones
  • Podcasts
  • Programming
  • Sports
  • Xbox

Almost everything on the web has a feed version that can be read in Google Reader: news, stocks, weather, traffic, blog posts, sports scores, movie reviews, podcasts, etc.

The big time saver is I don't have to go from web site to web site to see what is new...when someone posts something new, it comes to me.

For example, I have all my friends and family blogs listed under "personal." You can see from the above picture that I have 21 new posts to read. Those 21 posts are from a bunch of different people. With Google Reader, you just see the new posts in the same location and can quickly read them all.

It also has some nice keyboard shortcuts so you can do almost everything without touching the mouse. I use the spacebar to advance to the next page all the time.

Another cool feature...you can use Google Reader on your phone, too! Here is the mobile version.

And...the feeds in Google Reader don't have the ads that many web sites have, so it is easier to focus on the content without distraction.

Someone at work recently asked for a recommendation for reading feeds and the response was overwhelming: Google Reader.

I can't recommend this enough: Get Google Reader!

August 8, 2008

Am I Paid Enough?

Filed under Web

It is tough to know how you are paid in relation to others around you because salary information is normally kept private.

...except for people working in America via H-1B visas.

Check out this website with salary information for people working via H-1B.

The actual data is available (and is huge). It's much quicker to skip past that to the the interactive web query version.

For example, here is what I got when I asked for Pixar in California...

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Big ups to Neil for the hookup.

June 19, 2008

Skyfire

Filed under Gadgets, Reviews, Web

Wow! This *really* changes how I use my cell phone.

Skyfire is a web browser that works just like the web browser that runs on your PC. It supports Java, Javascript, Flash, Quicktime, etc.

I haven't had any trouble with any website I've tried: facebook, match, youtube, davidlenihan.com/ORIGINAL_davidlenihan.com, espn...all sites that wouldn't work or had formatting issues with the mobile version of Internet Explorer that comes with Windows Mobile.

With Skyfire, you use the normal website, not the dumbed down versions designed to fit on a small screen. Audio and video work as expected.

I downloaded the beta for free...but considering how much utility this brings to my phone...I'd pay a lot for this software...it's worth it! I feel like I got a new phone...probably because the web browser was the weakest part of Windows Mobile.

Check out the demo to see it in action...

June 4, 2008

Nuking the Fridge

Filed under Funny, Web

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I probably started nuking the fridge when I started using twitter.

June 3, 2008

Fun with Flash

Filed under Funny, Web

Give this a try...

  1. Go to this page
  2. Type your first name on the 1st line
  3. Type your last name on the 2nd line
  4. Skip the next two lines
  5. Click on "Visualizar" at the bottom left
  6. Enjoy the show!

May 12, 2008

Amazon MP3 Downloads

Filed under Music, Reviews, Web

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Last year I switched from using iTunes and Rhapsody for my source of music back to CD's. The main reason: convenience.

I'm switching again...to Amazon MP3.

They have a really good selection of music. Singles cost 89 or 99 cents.

The *big* difference over iTunes and Rhapsody: you download music as MP3, not a format that will only work on certain devices.

I have two iPods, an MP3 player for my car, phone with a media player, and my computer. MP3 is the only format that will work in all places (and any future devices I get). MP3 support is a requirement for me.

Anytime I bought from iTunes/Rhapsody, I'd immediately burn the DRM'ed songs to CD and then extract them as MP3's back to the hard drive. It was a painfully slow process...especially filling in all the missing information.

Amazon MP3 avoids all of this...I just pick a song and it is downloaded directly to my library AND it has all the song information and cover art!

Amazon MP3 is better than CD's because your purchase is immediate (no waiting for CD delivered by mail) and there is no need to rip the MP3's from the CD.

It is pretty addictive...I bought $40 worth of singles tonight.

If I can't find it on Amazon MP3, then I'll use CD's as my backup option.

Highly recommended!

December 15, 2007

Metacritic

Filed under Reviews, Web

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A co-worker turned me on to Metacritic.com recently.

What is Metacritic? It is the ultimate review site for films, DVD's, video games, TV, music, and books. It takes reviews from all over the place and combines them into a single rating.

From what my co-worker said, *this* is the site to gauge how good a video game is.

December 4, 2007

seeqpod

Filed under Music, Web

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I just found this web site called "seeqpod".

seeqpod is like Google for music, with a player that will play the results.

I've bought music online for a while now (via Rhapsody and iTunes). I've kept a list of music I want, but is not available online. seeqpod has everything on that list!

For example, here is a song from my early college days by M.C.L. (Microchip League) called "New York, New York."

That is another cool feature...the ability to "embed" songs in your web site, just like you can do with youtube videos.

You can also embed an entire playlist. Here are some difficult to find songs...


SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search

This seems like it is a lawsuit away from being shut down. They claim they are not hosting any music, just pointing you to it (just like Google does) so they aren't doing anything wrong. They go to great lengths on their web site to defend their right to exist.

Just like Napster, I would imagine this site is mainly going to be used to access copyrighted works. Once they start profiting from advertising that is connected to illegal access to copyrighted works, the party is over.

This will be fun to watch. Enjoy it while you can.

November 25, 2007

Tom Leykis

Filed under Web

image I just returned from a 14+ hour road trip to LA and back. To fill the time, I listened to free podcasts of the The Tom Leykis Show show on my iPod.

I think Tom is great...but he is certainly an acquired taste. He says a lot of shocking things (Women are Lazy, The cure for Erectile Dysfunction is younger women), but has well thought out reasons behind them.

Here is one of the episodes I listened to yesterday that is pretty good. Tom talks to the people that can't stand him..."I Hate You, Tom!"

I grabbed about 150 one hour episodes of the Tom Leykis show via iTunes for free. The Tom Leykis show is normally heard via the radio...but I prefer listening via podcasts. Why?

  • Commercials are edited out
  • You can fast forward past boring callers or entire segments
  • Sound quality is consistent no matter where you are located
  • You can pause as needed
  • You can listen for as long as you want (if you have enough episodes)
  • You can listen whenever and wherever you want

Besides iTunes, you can get the podcasts from this page to listen on your computer.

August 2, 2007

Twitter

Filed under Blogging, Web

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I just setup a Twitter account last night. On my home page, you can see the postings to Twitter on the upper-right.

Twitter is fairly new (little over a year old) and a hot topic in the web world. It is not obvious if this technology is going to thrive or just be a fad.

I hope to get some of my friends that are going to SIGGRAPH San Diego on Twitter so I can use Twitter to keep up with what's going on. I could imagine using Twitter to find out...

  • Where to meet my friends for lunch/dinner
  • Where my friends are on the show floor
  • Which classes/papers/panels are good
  • Which classes/papers/panels are bad
  • What parties people are going to
  • Must-see events
  • If anybody wants to share a cab
  • Where the best swag is

So if you want to try this experiment, we need to get connected! I think the way it works is you go here and click "Follow." You will receive any update I send. Then I know you are "following" me and I can follow you and get your updates!

I *believe* you can do all this from your phone without an account (I haven't tried this). If you text message 40404 and send "FOLLOW RGBA", you should get updates about what I'm doing on your phone.

I am using the mobile web version of Twitter on my cell phone. It won't work from IE7, but it does work with a WAP browser (phone web browser). The address is http://m.twitter.com.

After SIGGRAPH, this might be a good way to get friends together for basketball, a movie, dinner, bar hopping, etc.

...or this might be a big waste of time.

Get your Twitter account here.

July 14, 2007

Buying Music

Filed under Computers, Gadgets, Web

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I'm changing the way I buy music...I'm abandoning downloading music (which I've been doing for about 6 years) and going back to buying CD's. It seems a bit backwards, but it has a lot of advantages.

I have a requirement that my music is in MP3 format...I have several devices I use (computers, iPod, car system, Xbox 360, phone) and MP3 is the only format that works in all places.

Most importantly, look at the work involved in getting music into your library.

For downloaded music...

  1. Burn downloaded track onto a CD
  2. Rip track from CD back onto computer so it is in MP3 form
  3. Update artist, song, album, genre tag information
  4. Rename the MP3 using ARTIST-SONG.mp3 format
  5. Create artist and album folders and move MP3 into correct location
  6. Add album art

For CD's...

  1. Rip track from CD

The number of steps involved with downloaded music has kept me from buying music.

Today I wanted to buy a few songs and I tried to find a place that would download MP3's, with album art, correct file names, and tag information...but I couldn't find any.

So I decided to go to amazon.com and buy CD's.

There are other advantages to using CD's over buying downloadable music...

  1. CD is used as your backup in case you have data loss
  2. CD quality is better than what you get from downloaded music
  3. The selection of music on CD *far* exceeds what you can download

Now for the disadvantages...

  1. Cost...you can't easily buy a single song on CD...you usually must buy an album. The songs I want will probably cost more than a $1/song.
  2. Instant gratification...I can't have the music I want now, I will have to wait until next week when it is delivered

I think switching back to CD's is the right answer...I'd be interested in hearing of better ways of dealing with this. Post away in the comments section if you have any ideas.

June 15, 2007

New Window Live Writer Beta

Filed under Blogging, Software, Web

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I have been using the beta version of Windows Live Writer to write my blog posts for a while now. I love it. A new beta recently arrived with a few new features:

  • Support for tables
  • Spell checking as you type
  • Format text and hyperlinks via right click menu

Get it here.

Technorati Tags:

May 29, 2007

Google Street View

Filed under Software, Web

Google Maps added a *very* cool new feature...Street View. Instead of the overhead view you normally get with mapping software, you get the view from the street. You can rotate 360 degrees and move forward or backward along the streets. You can zoom in quite a bit in Street View...the detail is amazing. You can see some of my co-workers if you zoom in on the Presidio sign above.

 

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May 15, 2007

Any game companies in this town?

Filed under Programming, Software, Video Games, Web

Gamedevmap.com helps answer this question. Just click a red dot on the map to get a list of game companies that call that area home. The site claims it stays current.

I love information like this. I just wish there was the same thing for every work discipline. Very helpful!

 

Technorati tags: , ,

April 7, 2007

Windows Live Writer (Beta)

Filed under Blogging, Computers, Reviews, Software, Web

I had a bad experience with Word 2007 as a blog editor.

During the process of setting up Word to talk to Movable Type, I learned that I needed to configure Movable Type to allow publishing via external programs.

Ever since I upgraded my version of Movable Type from 3.2 to 3.34, I lost my ability to use Windows Live Writer (WLW). I went back to the old, web-based basic HTML editor for posting. It was painful, but it worked.

I decided to try WLW again to see if it would start working after my modified Movable Type to support external publishing programs...and it did!

So I'm back to using WLW again and it makes me happy!

I noticed that they have added several plug-ins since I last used WLW, which may be worth trying out.

What I like about WLW:

  • Support for tagging
  • Support for categories
  • Resize images to fit a particular blog width
  • Link to original, full size photo
  • Automagically uploads, resizes pictures
  • Spell checker
  • Very fast/light application
  • Free!
  • WYSIWYG...uses the stylesheet from your blog you know what you post will look like before you publish it.

I did notice that if I try to link to a really big photo (like a 1920x1200 desktop), WLW will fail to post to the server with a error message. Shrinking the image size fixed the problem. This is beta software...hopefully this problem will be fixed!

April 5, 2007

Bird's Eye View

Filed under Reviews, Web

Microsoft's Live Search Maps has a really cool feature for some parts of the country called "Bird's Eye View." The picture above is the bird's eye view of the LucasFilm campus at the Letterman Digital Arts Center, looking to the North.

You can pick a spot and rotate around it to see it from North, South, East, and West.

I've found this view very helpful for my modeling project. I also use it when I'm going to parts of town I'm not familiar with (like all of it), so that I know what the buildings look like in the area I'm going to.

January 10, 2007

Selling on eBay

Filed under Reviews, Web

I bought things on eBay, but I never *sold* anything until now. Since I stopped using DirecTV, I have a bunch of electronics that I no longer need. I decided to try to sell two things to see how eBay works.

About a year ago, I bought a couple of "destackers" so I could use my regular DirecTV tuners with the "stacked" signal my apartment uses. One of the destackers, a Sonora D575, converts one signal. It cost around $60.

The other destacker, a Sonora D575D, converts one signal into two un-stacked signals for a dual tuner TiVo. It cost about $160.

I listed my destackers for half the price I bought them for. I put them up for auction for a 7 day period. Nobody bid on the destackers until the final day. Then a bidding "war" started! It is fun to watch the price go up!

After the auctions closed, I sold the D575 for $32 + shipping cost ($2 more than I was asking). I sold the D575D for $100 + shipping cost, which is $25 more than I was asking!

Now I'm addicted! That was *way* too easy! I just got paid $132 to get rid of my junk! I cleaned out my apartment and found 10 more items I will soon list on eBay.

When I was a kid, we had a garage sale to get rid of our stuff. It was a big deal and required a lot of work. eBay is like a garage sale, but you have an audience of millions of people and you can sell *anything* whenever you want, with very little preparation.

As an adult, I have not had my own garage sale. Instead, I dump my old electronics on unsuspecting family members and friends...but no more! Everything is going out via eBay now!

What a great way to get rid of your junk and get paid to do it! Highly recommended!

GamerCard


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