Using the Surface seemed easy enough but there are a few things that take a little getting used to. Like the keyboard.
I purchased the Touch Pro keyboard, the one that has actual keys you can type on as opposed to the soft touch one where the keys are just slightly raised on the cover. I really like it but it did take some getting used to.
First, the layout is different. The Home, End, and Del keys are not where you’d expect them to be and even now, I have to think about where they are. Second, the backspace key isn’t in the top right corner; I’m constantly hitting Del when I am going for Backspace. Third, the touchpad, while nice, isn’t nice and I prefer to use my Bluetooth mouse whenever possible.
The touchpad requires two hands to click and drag and isn’t as tap sensitive as I’d like. It also suffers from the problem that is universal to all touchpads in that if your wrist bumps it your mouse goes places you’d rather it not. I had an old HP laptop many years ago that had a button on the keyboard itself that allowed you to disable the touchpad to avoid wrist bumps. I haven’t seen that on a laptop since.
The other interface feature to get used to is the pen. While the pen is nice, I find that I don’t use it very much at all. Even when using the Surface as a tablet without the keyboard and using the touch screen interface for things I don’t find myself hunting for the pen. Perhaps it’s because I’m used to an iPad, which doesn’t have a pen, but in the case of the Surface, I don’t find it critical to have. Those that draw a lot may want one but for me it isn’t a big deal and the buttons and touch screen apps are large enough that my finger works fine.
The other challenge is where do you store the pen? If you aren’t charging the Surface the pen fits nicely and holds using magnets in the charging port but if you want to charge the Surface and use the pen there is no on board storage and the pen has to be carried, and then probably lost, separately.
A little tip on the pen: to right click press the button on the side and then tap the screen. The button on the side of the pen is the same part that sticks in the charging slot to hold the pen to the side of the Surface.
There is one big drawback to the touch covers, whether the hard one or the soft one – they tend to drop out a lot while in use. Several firmware updates have been released but I’ve noticed the problem continue on mine especially when I’m working on a soft surface, like typing on my lap or in bed. Randomly the touchpad and the keyboard will stop responding. In order to fix it I have to press the Windows key and go back to the start screen. Opening the desktop again usually fixes this. Sometime it happens when I’m working on a hard surface but that’s not as frequent, hopefully due to the firmware updates.
Another fix is to press the keys harder, which makes me wonder about the longevity of their sensitivity. Sometimes that works and sometimes my wife thinks I’m mad at my keyboard.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
14 Years With Me
Today my wife and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. That is remarkable because that means my wife has lived with me for 14 years.
As is the case for all men, I married up and I shudder to think where I’d be today if it weren’t for my wife. So, since she has lived with me for 14 years I’m going to brag on her a bit.
She's smokin' hot.
My wife works a full time job, 50+ hours a week in addition to fixing all the mistakes I make while helping raise our children. She works because she wants to, not because she has to and she beautifully balances her career and ministry with our family.
In addition to that, she helps me tag team maintaining our home, although to be completely honest I don’t tag her out very often.
My wife is low key. She isn’t worked up very easily and she isn’t full of drama, in fact, she is the opposite of a drama queen.
She's smokin' hot.
She isn’t selfish. She shares our family with folks all over the place and doesn’t grumble about my being gone, working long hours, or occasionally having to miss birthdays and anniversaries. She let me miss our anniversary one year and her birthday another year attending space shuttle launches.
My wife is an awesome mother. She helps teach our kids what’s important in life and what isn’t. She makes sure we have fun together as a family.
She's smokin' hot.
She sets a good example of what it means to work hard, serve hard, and love your family completely. She also sets a good example of what it means to have a good attitude.
My wife is an awesome cook. The only evidence you need there is to look at the size of my belly.
She's smokin' hot.
I look forward to the rest of my life with my wife, although I do hope the belly trend subsides somewhere along the way.
As is the case for all men, I married up and I shudder to think where I’d be today if it weren’t for my wife. So, since she has lived with me for 14 years I’m going to brag on her a bit.
She's smokin' hot.
My wife works a full time job, 50+ hours a week in addition to fixing all the mistakes I make while helping raise our children. She works because she wants to, not because she has to and she beautifully balances her career and ministry with our family.
In addition to that, she helps me tag team maintaining our home, although to be completely honest I don’t tag her out very often.
My wife is low key. She isn’t worked up very easily and she isn’t full of drama, in fact, she is the opposite of a drama queen.
She's smokin' hot.
She isn’t selfish. She shares our family with folks all over the place and doesn’t grumble about my being gone, working long hours, or occasionally having to miss birthdays and anniversaries. She let me miss our anniversary one year and her birthday another year attending space shuttle launches.
My wife is an awesome mother. She helps teach our kids what’s important in life and what isn’t. She makes sure we have fun together as a family.
She's smokin' hot.
She sets a good example of what it means to work hard, serve hard, and love your family completely. She also sets a good example of what it means to have a good attitude.
My wife is an awesome cook. The only evidence you need there is to look at the size of my belly.
She's smokin' hot.
I look forward to the rest of my life with my wife, although I do hope the belly trend subsides somewhere along the way.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Windows Blue, or Green, or Periwinkle – Just Tell us Already
Can someone explain to my why Microsoft won’t just come out and say what they plan to do with Windows 8.1, or Windows Blue, or whatever other color they are calling it? I fail to see the benefit of keeping us all in suspense as to whether or not they are going to bring back the start button and allow us to boot straight to the desktop.
It seems to me that Microsoft and their users would benefit from knowing what changes they are going to make so they can plan how they might implement Windows 8 in their IT shops, enterprises, and places of work. One of the biggest holdups seems to be the lack of a start button and difficulty in re-training users. If Microsoft would tell us now those plans could be made and sales of Windows 8 might increase.
The only reason I can come up with to withhold this information is that Microsoft doesn’t know what they plan to do yet. They admit they’ve created a problem, they admit something needs to be done but perhaps this close to the release of Windows Blue (or 8.1 or whatever they’re calling it) they still haven’t made up their minds.
I’d encourage them to make us all happy, allow the user to set the mode they want, announce it quickly, so we can all start planning. Summer is a great time for schools to make upgrades and not telling them until the end of June really jams up their schedules.
It seems to me that Microsoft and their users would benefit from knowing what changes they are going to make so they can plan how they might implement Windows 8 in their IT shops, enterprises, and places of work. One of the biggest holdups seems to be the lack of a start button and difficulty in re-training users. If Microsoft would tell us now those plans could be made and sales of Windows 8 might increase.
The only reason I can come up with to withhold this information is that Microsoft doesn’t know what they plan to do yet. They admit they’ve created a problem, they admit something needs to be done but perhaps this close to the release of Windows Blue (or 8.1 or whatever they’re calling it) they still haven’t made up their minds.
I’d encourage them to make us all happy, allow the user to set the mode they want, announce it quickly, so we can all start planning. Summer is a great time for schools to make upgrades and not telling them until the end of June really jams up their schedules.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Codeshare Secrets
When you spend a lot of time on the road, or more accurately, in the air, you learn a few tricks to dealing with the airlines that make spending time in the air possible. One recent learning experience for me was with the whole code sharing of flights between airlines.
As airlines merge and try to compete and increase their offerings codeshares are a big way for them to be bigger than they are and serve more cities than they really do. I fly Delta almost exclusively and they have a codeshare with Alaska Airlines that I’ve found myself using numerous times. I book the flight through delta.com but part of the trip is on an Alaska Airlines plane operated by an Alaska crew.
This really isn’t anything new; it has just become more prevalent as airlines continue to merge. Eventually when they have all merged together and there is only one airline this problem will go away but for now it is something we all deal with.
In the ideal world you don’t even know the codeshare of the flight exists. Your bags transfer seamlessly, you go from gate to gate without issue and as a passenger the only difference is plane livery and crew uniforms. However, there are several things that don’t seamlessly integrate because after all, remember, you are dealing with two independent companies who have just decided to play nice with each other.
In my case the issue arose due to my seat preference. I like to sit in the economy plus section on longer flights to the west coast. On Delta you pay for this privilege but on Alaska they reserve those rows for their mileage elite and premier status customers. My question was how do I get an economy plus seat because on the Delta website all the seats on my Alaska codeshare flight were taken and it wouldn’t even let me select a seat at all.
Here are some tricks:
Disclaimer: While this process has worked for me it is important to note that even though you can change your seat on the codeshare flights and print a boarding pass with your new seat the Delta site and the Alaska sites will still show you in your old seat. I tweeted with Alaska to confirm my seat had changed and they confirmed it had, and their website showed it changed once I opened my actual reservation but the apps for both airlines never reflected my seat being changed.
Back to the (insert your own adjective here) skies.
As airlines merge and try to compete and increase their offerings codeshares are a big way for them to be bigger than they are and serve more cities than they really do. I fly Delta almost exclusively and they have a codeshare with Alaska Airlines that I’ve found myself using numerous times. I book the flight through delta.com but part of the trip is on an Alaska Airlines plane operated by an Alaska crew.
This really isn’t anything new; it has just become more prevalent as airlines continue to merge. Eventually when they have all merged together and there is only one airline this problem will go away but for now it is something we all deal with.
In the ideal world you don’t even know the codeshare of the flight exists. Your bags transfer seamlessly, you go from gate to gate without issue and as a passenger the only difference is plane livery and crew uniforms. However, there are several things that don’t seamlessly integrate because after all, remember, you are dealing with two independent companies who have just decided to play nice with each other.
In my case the issue arose due to my seat preference. I like to sit in the economy plus section on longer flights to the west coast. On Delta you pay for this privilege but on Alaska they reserve those rows for their mileage elite and premier status customers. My question was how do I get an economy plus seat because on the Delta website all the seats on my Alaska codeshare flight were taken and it wouldn’t even let me select a seat at all.
Here are some tricks:
- Even though you bought your codeshare through one airline you actually have two separate reservations and confirmation codes, one for each airline. Find out what both of these codes are and then login to the website of the codeshare operator and you can see more seats that are available.
- In this case I had to actually call Alaska Airlines to get my confirmation number with them. The Delta website only shows your Delta confirmation number but once I got my Alaska confirmation number their site showed both numbers. I also called Delta and found them to be of little help as they didn’t have either my Alaska confirmation or ticket number. I waited 24 minutes to talk to someone at Delta and only 1 minute to talk to someone at Alaska.
- When you check in for your flight on your primary carrier you may not get all the seat options available due to difference in how each airline allocates seats. For instance, Delta charges for better seats while Alaska holds them for elites and premiers up until 24 hours before flight time. At that point it’s a free for all.
- In order to cheat the system I actually checked in twice to get the seat I wanted. I checked in on Delta for my Delta flights and then went to the Alaska website and checked in again just for their segment so I could get the seat I wanted.
- Remember, the 24 hour window starts from the local time of your flight for that segment. That’s why when I first checked in on the Delta site it still didn’t show me the seats I wanted. I waited another 3 hours until my Alaska flight was within check in range and tried on delta.com again and it showed me more seats but it did not let me pick them. I went to the Alaska website and quickly and easily got the seat I wanted. Granted I had a boarding pass from Delta for their flight and Alaska for their flight but at least I got the seat I wanted. Trust me, on longer flights across the country it is well worth it.
Disclaimer: While this process has worked for me it is important to note that even though you can change your seat on the codeshare flights and print a boarding pass with your new seat the Delta site and the Alaska sites will still show you in your old seat. I tweeted with Alaska to confirm my seat had changed and they confirmed it had, and their website showed it changed once I opened my actual reservation but the apps for both airlines never reflected my seat being changed.
Back to the (insert your own adjective here) skies.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Windows 8 - Fifteenth Pass: Setting up the @Surface
Unpacking and setting up my Surface was relatively easy and enjoyable experience. The packaging was well done and the box is worthy of keeping for when the next generation model comes out and you want to pass your current Surface on down the line. It is obvious that Microsoft has learned a few things from other companies that do a great job with packaging.
I also found the packaging to be very durable. I purchased my Surface in Phoenix and didn’t open it until I got home. The box was placed in my checked luggage and flown across the country. It held up well with no signs of wear and tear from airline baggage handlers throwing my suitcase around.
The next step was to setup my account on the Surface and activate it with my Microsoft account, for me that’s an MSN account. I’ll eventually add my Surface to a domain but for now, it just has a local account. This was a bit confusing as I wasn’t sure if I needed to create a local account first and if I did if that would merge with my MSN account or create a duplicate account on my Surface.
Turns out you create your local account and then when you connect it to your Microsoft account it merges them together so you end up with a single, unified account and not multiples or duplicates. Since I already have Windows 8, running on my laptop it didn’t take long before those settings started to populate on my Surface once I connected me new local Surface account with my Microsoft account. Isn’t the cloud great?
Setting up my apps was very easy however; it did not automatically download my apps from my other Windows 8 machine. Rather it listed them in My Apps in the App Store and I had to select the ones I wanted on my Surface. That wasn’t difficult and it’s great that you don’t have to pay for the apps multiple times to use them provided they are all connected through your Microsoft account. Most of my setup challenges came from learning how to navigate the Surface, use the keyboard, and figure out which apps were happening on the touch screen and which apps were happening on the desktop and which apps could do both.
Windows 8 Pro on the Surface activated itself without effort. I would suggest doing that early on in the process otherwise, you get zillions of prompts that are constantly preventing you from continuing and enjoying the setup process.
I also found the packaging to be very durable. I purchased my Surface in Phoenix and didn’t open it until I got home. The box was placed in my checked luggage and flown across the country. It held up well with no signs of wear and tear from airline baggage handlers throwing my suitcase around.
The next step was to setup my account on the Surface and activate it with my Microsoft account, for me that’s an MSN account. I’ll eventually add my Surface to a domain but for now, it just has a local account. This was a bit confusing as I wasn’t sure if I needed to create a local account first and if I did if that would merge with my MSN account or create a duplicate account on my Surface.
Turns out you create your local account and then when you connect it to your Microsoft account it merges them together so you end up with a single, unified account and not multiples or duplicates. Since I already have Windows 8, running on my laptop it didn’t take long before those settings started to populate on my Surface once I connected me new local Surface account with my Microsoft account. Isn’t the cloud great?
Setting up my apps was very easy however; it did not automatically download my apps from my other Windows 8 machine. Rather it listed them in My Apps in the App Store and I had to select the ones I wanted on my Surface. That wasn’t difficult and it’s great that you don’t have to pay for the apps multiple times to use them provided they are all connected through your Microsoft account. Most of my setup challenges came from learning how to navigate the Surface, use the keyboard, and figure out which apps were happening on the touch screen and which apps were happening on the desktop and which apps could do both.
Windows 8 Pro on the Surface activated itself without effort. I would suggest doing that early on in the process otherwise, you get zillions of prompts that are constantly preventing you from continuing and enjoying the setup process.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
18,000 Browser Favorites
In my playing around with Windows 8 I found a small issue that can come up if you attempt to sync your IE favorites using both Windows 8 browser sync and iCloud.
My current setup is a Windows 7 PC at work, a Windows 8 laptop, a Windows 8 Surface, an iPhone and an iPad. Before Windows 8 came along I used iCloud to sync IE favorites between my work PC, laptop, iPhone and iPad. When I added my Surface Pro I turned on the browser sync through my Microsoft account and I setup iCloud so my pictures would still appear on my Surface and my favorites would come forward.
Turns out if you do this you are setting yourself up for a bit of trouble. I understand I could just use Chrome everywhere but for various reasons I still use IE for some things.
Apparently the iCloud browser sync causes the Windows 8 sync to keep creating duplicates favorites. I would end up with Shortcut (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) and so on. Same would happen to folders. It didn’t stop until I turned off the Windows 8 browser sync. Once I did that things went back to normal and I now have me IE favorites on my Surface, laptop, Windows 7 desktop, iPhone and iPad – all through iCloud.
Granted turning off the browser sync means my history and passwords don’t sync with IE but that’s why I use Chrome and that’s better than having 18,000 favorites.
I’ve searched the net and tried to find documentation on this and maybe even a work around but so far I haven’t found anything. The fix is simple enough but I was hoping for a way where I could have my cake and eat it too. Since I still use IDevices I still need iCloud but I guess it’s too much to ask that they play nice together.
My current setup is a Windows 7 PC at work, a Windows 8 laptop, a Windows 8 Surface, an iPhone and an iPad. Before Windows 8 came along I used iCloud to sync IE favorites between my work PC, laptop, iPhone and iPad. When I added my Surface Pro I turned on the browser sync through my Microsoft account and I setup iCloud so my pictures would still appear on my Surface and my favorites would come forward.
Turns out if you do this you are setting yourself up for a bit of trouble. I understand I could just use Chrome everywhere but for various reasons I still use IE for some things.
Apparently the iCloud browser sync causes the Windows 8 sync to keep creating duplicates favorites. I would end up with Shortcut (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) and so on. Same would happen to folders. It didn’t stop until I turned off the Windows 8 browser sync. Once I did that things went back to normal and I now have me IE favorites on my Surface, laptop, Windows 7 desktop, iPhone and iPad – all through iCloud.
Granted turning off the browser sync means my history and passwords don’t sync with IE but that’s why I use Chrome and that’s better than having 18,000 favorites.
I’ve searched the net and tried to find documentation on this and maybe even a work around but so far I haven’t found anything. The fix is simple enough but I was hoping for a way where I could have my cake and eat it too. Since I still use IDevices I still need iCloud but I guess it’s too much to ask that they play nice together.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
A Morning with my Wife, a Random old Lady, and my Haircut
Today was one of those days in my life that I’m certain my
biographers will struggle with in the future.
It all started yesterday when my wife and I were discussing my pending
haircut. As you know if you pay too
close of attention to my life, I get my haircut every 2 weeks. Heather wanted me to get something different
done as she thought my hair was thinning too much on the top and was starting
to look like a comb over.
I asked her what she wanted me to have done so I could tell
the lady who cuts my hair. To me a
haircut is more function over fashion but I wanted to do my best to please my
wife. As Heather explained what she wanted,
I started to get that deer-in-the-headlights look in my eyes and Heather opted
to come with me instead of relying on me to get it right. She knows me too well.
Before my haircut this morning, I had to record a few radio
commercials. Back in the mid-1990’s I worked
for a group of radio stations in Lafayette, IN.
While we were dating sometimes, Heather would come in to the studios and
bring me dinner and such. Every once in
a while I still voice some commercials so this morning we stopped by. It was fun to take a stroll down memory lane
with my wife. She was able to see how
the station has changed over the past decade and we were able to remember all
the spots where we used to smooch during long songs and commercial breaks. Maybe someday I'll posts some of my old demo reels.
After the recording session (I did it in 1 take thank you
very much) we headed off to get my haircut.
I knew things were going to be different when we walked in to balloons
and birthday cake. One of the ladies who
cuts hair was celebrating her birthday.
I sat down in the chair and Heather started to explain how she wanted my
hair cut in order to try to cover my thinning top.
As she started to cut my hair the older lady in the chair
next to me, let’s call her Louise, was checking out how much hair I did or did
not have. Everyone, Louise, Heather, and
the lady that cuts my hair agreed that my hair was thinning and it was getting
harder and harder to hide. At first I thought
Louise was out to support my wife’s goal of getting my haircut to hide the
balding but then she came over and started running her fingers through my thinning
hair. I called out, “Heather, there is a
strange lady running her hands through my hair!” By the time it was over everyone there had
touched my head as if I was some sort of good luck charm. Everyone was laughing, I can only assume at
me and not with me.
Then the other lady who cuts hair their came over to indeed
confirm that my hair was thinning. Again,
being a function over fashion kinda guy I told Heather we should just buzz it
all nice and short – something my wife has not been in favor of. This is when Louise changed teams and started
helping me out. She walked over to
Heather and said, “Honey, grow up. There’s
nothing up there and getting it cut shorter will be better. Just deal with it.” This was the final push Heather needed. She finally agreed that my hair should be cut
shorter so Heather, Louise, and the lady that actually cuts my hair agreed on
the current length in a goal to not create a comb over but also to not totally
buzz my head, as accordingly to Heather, my scalp is ugly.
So the next time you see me, please note that while my hair
is shorter and more to my liking it was not totally my choice, but rather my
new best friend, Louise.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
My Fame has Reached a New Level - as an Astronaut
Recently I had an experience with Twitter that could be either amusing, terrifying, confusing or all the above. I haven’t decided where I land but I have decided to share this experience, for good or for bad. At the very least, I hope the perpetrators get a good laugh out of it.
A few weeks ago I checked into a hotel in Bothell, WA, a suburb just north of Seattle. I’ve stayed at this hotel many times before and checked in not thinking anything special about this time.
I got to my room around 10:45pm and shortly after at 10:55pm the phone in my room started to ring. I figured it was someone in my traveling party calling so I picked it up.
A young voice on the other end asks if I was “Jonathan Smith.” I said yes. He then asked, “Are you an astronaut?” I found that an interesting question as I recently spoke to an elementary school of K-6 grade students about space and some of my NASA experiences and I often found myself reminding them that I am not an astronaut.
I responded that I was not an astronaut. The young man then asked why I had a NASA logo on my Twitter picture. I explained that it was called a Twibbon and that anyone could get one. He again asked if I was an astronaut and I said no. Then there was 10 seconds of nothing although I could hear a little scuffling. Then the voice told me I could hang up now. I said nothing and 10 seconds later, he hung up.
I called down to the front desk and asked if they had caller ID available for incoming calls. I was told they didn’t and when I explained what happened the desk agent told me that they had asked for me as if they knew me. That made sense if they were looking at my Twitter profile, which is public after all.
I told the desk agent that it was either a prank call or some kids who were trying to talk to an actual astronaut and were sorely disappointed when I answered the phone. The hotel manager then got involved and they placed a block on outside calls to my room by placing my on their VIP list.
Unfortunately, for my young friends I was not able to make their night, however they made mine as I had finally arrived and my fame required the hotel to treat me like an A-lister. I'm posting this from yet another hotel so who knows what this stay will hold. Should I warn the front desk now?
A few weeks ago I checked into a hotel in Bothell, WA, a suburb just north of Seattle. I’ve stayed at this hotel many times before and checked in not thinking anything special about this time.
I got to my room around 10:45pm and shortly after at 10:55pm the phone in my room started to ring. I figured it was someone in my traveling party calling so I picked it up.
A young voice on the other end asks if I was “Jonathan Smith.” I said yes. He then asked, “Are you an astronaut?” I found that an interesting question as I recently spoke to an elementary school of K-6 grade students about space and some of my NASA experiences and I often found myself reminding them that I am not an astronaut.
I responded that I was not an astronaut. The young man then asked why I had a NASA logo on my Twitter picture. I explained that it was called a Twibbon and that anyone could get one. He again asked if I was an astronaut and I said no. Then there was 10 seconds of nothing although I could hear a little scuffling. Then the voice told me I could hang up now. I said nothing and 10 seconds later, he hung up.
I called down to the front desk and asked if they had caller ID available for incoming calls. I was told they didn’t and when I explained what happened the desk agent told me that they had asked for me as if they knew me. That made sense if they were looking at my Twitter profile, which is public after all.
I told the desk agent that it was either a prank call or some kids who were trying to talk to an actual astronaut and were sorely disappointed when I answered the phone. The hotel manager then got involved and they placed a block on outside calls to my room by placing my on their VIP list.
Unfortunately, for my young friends I was not able to make their night, however they made mine as I had finally arrived and my fame required the hotel to treat me like an A-lister. I'm posting this from yet another hotel so who knows what this stay will hold. Should I warn the front desk now?
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
TweetDeck’s #EpicFail
Yesterday TweetDeck announced that they are forgetting their
humble beginnings and screwing over most of their users by dropping support for
all mobile apps and dropping support for Facebook.
Instead of reading the rest of this rant if you use the
Adobe Air app for TweetDeck or still use TweetDeck on your iPhone or iPad you
may want to start looking for a new option.
You only have until May to find something else as the apps will disappear
and stop working around that time.
TweetDeck came on the scene and actually made Twitter useful
back in 2008 and 2009. Its integration
of Facebook originally allowed users to post the same thing to post social
networking sites without having to enter things twice. Then later editions allowed you to see your
responses and feedback on both social networks from a single place. Today’s announcement sends TweetDeck back to
2009 as it drops Facebook support and limits Twitter interaction strictly to a
desktop.
Even the way they announced it was a bit insulting:
“In many ways, doubling down on the
TweetDeck web experience and discontinuing our app support is a reflection of
where our TweetDeck power-users are going.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen a steady trend towards people using
TweetDeck on their computers and Twitter on their mobile devices. This trend coincides with an increased
investment in Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android –– adding photo
filters and other editing capabilities, revamping user profiles and enhancing
search. That said, we know this applies
to most of our users –– not all of them.
And for those of you who are inconvenienced by this shift, our sincere
apologies.”
So they are saying that since they think we use Twitter on
our mobile devices and TweetDeck on our computers that we don’t need TweetDeck
for our mobile devices. Well, duh. The fact that they haven’t updated TweetDeck
for any mobile platform in over a year kinda already said that. Plus this comparing TweetDeck to the Twitter
apps isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison. Twitter only works with Twitter while
TweetDeck works, at least for now, with both Twitter and Facebook.
They also say:
“We’ll also discontinue support for
our Facebook integration.”
What? That’s it? You are abandoning one of the key features
that make you what you are and all you give it is eight words? The primary reason I use TweetDeck on my
desktop is because it can post to both Twitter and Facebook and because
TweetDeck posts to Facebook directly as opposed to going through the Facebook
API there aren’t any rate limits imposed, like what HootSuite struggled
with. You can read more about that here.
Because of the limits Facebook imposes on HootSuite, I’ve
used TweetDeck on my desktops and laptops and HootSuite on my iDevices. That has worked well but now it appears I’ve
got to go back to HootSuite and then when I get limited go back to posting
directly to each social network. It
appears TweetDeck wants to be like Google + and not play nice with anyone.
I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. In 2011 when Twitter bought TweetDeck, I
figured the days of Facebook integration were numbered. I also can’t say I’m totally surprised they
are dropping the mobile apps instead of updating them for Twitter API v1.1. Twitter has made no secret of the fact that
they want to limit API access and close the ecosystem so you have to get access
to Twitter only through them. The fact
that they bought TweetDeck at least keeps that platform alive but everyone else
is going to be subject to huge rate limits.
In addition, since being acquired by Twitter, TweetDeck has
slowly dropped of connections to other social networks like Foursquare,
MySpace, and LinkedIn, to name a few.
I predict that in the near feature all the social networks
will be islands not connected to each other at all. Perhaps Google + has it right after all and
instead of technology making our lives easier and saving us time we will all be
investing more time in updated our social networks separately. That or one of the big three will die a slow
death as folks eventually get bored trying to update them individually.
I recently bought a Microsoft Surface tablet and was excited
that I had a tablet that could run TweetDeck.
That excitement has been short lived as I’ m back to looking for an app
that works across platforms and isn’t subject to rate limiting from Twitter or
Facebook.
Way to go technology!
Thanks for helping us take one-step forward and two steps back. Seems before too long we won’t be able to
post anything to Twitter unless we are standing on our heads, rubbing our
bellies and jumping up and down when we do it.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Window 8 - Fourteenth Pass: The Surface Plunge
After a lot of research I finally took the plunge and purchased a Surface Pro. As you know I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best hardware application that maximizes the touch screen abilities of Windows 8, among other things.
I'm currently in Phoenix and had the opportunity to visit a physical Microsoft store. The closet real store to me is in Chicago and the store in Indy is just a pop-up store so it only has Microsoft hardware. The benefit to being able to spend time in a physical store is that Microsoft wisely sells their hardware and hardware from other manufacturers. That's smart as it gave me the chance to play not only with the Surface but with the Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Sony, and Lenovo options I've been exploring.
My biggest concern was RAM as the Surface is limited to only 4gb of RAM while the competition could go up to 8gb of RAM with varying form factors. My other concern, due to the amount of travel I do, was weight. My goal is to lighten my load and not make my backpack heavier.
A friend at the conference I'm attending pointed out that the majority of the time 4gb of RAM, for what I'm doing will be plenty and if not and paging is required for memory the SSD HD makes it fast enough for most needs. That helps relieve my fears about wanting more than 4gb of RAM.
The sales guy at the store did a great job with the company line on why the Surface is better. He used the Apple model, Microsoft owns the hardware from the bottom up so the Surface is the best option as it was built for Windows 8. Again, that sounds just like Apple and why iOS only runs on Apple hardware. That does make a bit of sense.
The other factor was weight and the Surface was lighter than most of the other options on the table. It also had the ability to go completely without the keyboard while other hardware either had the keyboard permanently attached or had a much heavier detachable keyboard.
I opted to go with the Touch keyboard vs. the type cover. I'm pretty good typing on the glass on my iPad but there is no doubt in my mind that a physical keyboard is faster for me. I also purchased a case so I can protect the Surface and keyboard while having a single way to carry the device, keyboard, pen, and power adapter.
So now the Beta test begins. Can I use a dock and replace my desktop and laptop with the Surface Pro? Can I find a dock that works great with 2 screens? Can I figure out how to type on the glass because the Surface doesn't lay flat at a short angle like the iPad does for typing on the glass? With 16 hours of flying ahead of me is the Surface Pro as easy to use as my iPad on a plane? How does the battery life hold out?
All these questions and more to be answered soon. Stay tuned and be sure to share your experiences. If you've already figured something out I don't want to reinvent that wheel.
I'm currently in Phoenix and had the opportunity to visit a physical Microsoft store. The closet real store to me is in Chicago and the store in Indy is just a pop-up store so it only has Microsoft hardware. The benefit to being able to spend time in a physical store is that Microsoft wisely sells their hardware and hardware from other manufacturers. That's smart as it gave me the chance to play not only with the Surface but with the Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Sony, and Lenovo options I've been exploring.
My biggest concern was RAM as the Surface is limited to only 4gb of RAM while the competition could go up to 8gb of RAM with varying form factors. My other concern, due to the amount of travel I do, was weight. My goal is to lighten my load and not make my backpack heavier.
A friend at the conference I'm attending pointed out that the majority of the time 4gb of RAM, for what I'm doing will be plenty and if not and paging is required for memory the SSD HD makes it fast enough for most needs. That helps relieve my fears about wanting more than 4gb of RAM.
The sales guy at the store did a great job with the company line on why the Surface is better. He used the Apple model, Microsoft owns the hardware from the bottom up so the Surface is the best option as it was built for Windows 8. Again, that sounds just like Apple and why iOS only runs on Apple hardware. That does make a bit of sense.
The other factor was weight and the Surface was lighter than most of the other options on the table. It also had the ability to go completely without the keyboard while other hardware either had the keyboard permanently attached or had a much heavier detachable keyboard.
I opted to go with the Touch keyboard vs. the type cover. I'm pretty good typing on the glass on my iPad but there is no doubt in my mind that a physical keyboard is faster for me. I also purchased a case so I can protect the Surface and keyboard while having a single way to carry the device, keyboard, pen, and power adapter.
So now the Beta test begins. Can I use a dock and replace my desktop and laptop with the Surface Pro? Can I find a dock that works great with 2 screens? Can I figure out how to type on the glass because the Surface doesn't lay flat at a short angle like the iPad does for typing on the glass? With 16 hours of flying ahead of me is the Surface Pro as easy to use as my iPad on a plane? How does the battery life hold out?
All these questions and more to be answered soon. Stay tuned and be sure to share your experiences. If you've already figured something out I don't want to reinvent that wheel.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Relocating a Database (Shelby)
If you've ever had to relocate your Shelby Systems database to another server then you might want to continue reading. Shelby Systems is a Church Management database used by a lot of churches and non-profits. I've had to move our Shelby database to a different server twice. The first time I had to move it was in crisis mode because the hard drives in the server had failed. Once we rebuilt the data we relocated it to a new server and the following article was very helpful.
http://community.shelbyinc.com/forums/post/1074.aspx
The second time we moved the database to our new virtual sequel server cluster. This move was a bit more challenging as the above article was written for Windows XP clients and not Windows 7 clients, which is what we run.
Ideally the above article on their Community is all you would need to know but for Windows 7 the location of some key files changed and that made the process a lot more challenging. The biggest thing to note that is not in their article are the changes to various INI files in the DAT folder.
All Shelby installs have an ssv5.dat folder and an ssv5.prg folder. Inside these folders are a few INI files that it would be good to check and confirm that you've changed the server paths and IP address to point to your new server. Then all you would need to do to update the clients is change the shortcut on the client to point to the new database server. This works well except on Windows 7 machines. Depending on how you have Windows 7 configured for your users (local admins, not, redirected profiles, etc.) there is another set of INI files that need to be updated.
I did everything listed in the article but I couldn't get any reports to run. This is the error I kept getting.
The client Event Viewer then showed an application event stating that PowerMerge could not find the report path. It then listed the wrong report path. It wasn't until I found this second copy of the INI file that I knew why the wrong path was being used.
In C:\Windows there is a formsetini file that I had manually updated. There is a second copy of the file located in the user's profile at C:\Users\%usersname%\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Windows. This file is the one that was not being updated by the application and it wasn't until I manually updated this file that the clients were able to run reports again.
The C:\windows\formset.ini file can only be changed if you are running Shelby as the admin. Otherwise the local profile version of the file is what the software looks for. The C:\Windows version is used when you login to Shelby as a new user and is copied to that users profile on the local machine.
We have many clients running this program so to make it easier I used Group Policy Preferences to automatically update the files on all our clients. This policy will then allow me to easily make this change again should we for whatever reason have to relocate to another SQL server.
It took me hours to figure this out and get our reports working again, if I was smarter it might not have taken so long.
http://community.shelbyinc.com/forums/post/1074.aspx
The second time we moved the database to our new virtual sequel server cluster. This move was a bit more challenging as the above article was written for Windows XP clients and not Windows 7 clients, which is what we run.
Ideally the above article on their Community is all you would need to know but for Windows 7 the location of some key files changed and that made the process a lot more challenging. The biggest thing to note that is not in their article are the changes to various INI files in the DAT folder.
All Shelby installs have an ssv5.dat folder and an ssv5.prg folder. Inside these folders are a few INI files that it would be good to check and confirm that you've changed the server paths and IP address to point to your new server. Then all you would need to do to update the clients is change the shortcut on the client to point to the new database server. This works well except on Windows 7 machines. Depending on how you have Windows 7 configured for your users (local admins, not, redirected profiles, etc.) there is another set of INI files that need to be updated.
I did everything listed in the article but I couldn't get any reports to run. This is the error I kept getting.
The client Event Viewer then showed an application event stating that PowerMerge could not find the report path. It then listed the wrong report path. It wasn't until I found this second copy of the INI file that I knew why the wrong path was being used.
In C:\Windows there is a formsetini file that I had manually updated. There is a second copy of the file located in the user's profile at C:\Users\%usersname%\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Windows. This file is the one that was not being updated by the application and it wasn't until I manually updated this file that the clients were able to run reports again.
The C:\windows\formset.ini file can only be changed if you are running Shelby as the admin. Otherwise the local profile version of the file is what the software looks for. The C:\Windows version is used when you login to Shelby as a new user and is copied to that users profile on the local machine.
We have many clients running this program so to make it easier I used Group Policy Preferences to automatically update the files on all our clients. This policy will then allow me to easily make this change again should we for whatever reason have to relocate to another SQL server.
It took me hours to figure this out and get our reports working again, if I was smarter it might not have taken so long.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Window 8 - Thirteenth Pass: Windows To Go
Another creative way to handle the hardware issues I mentioned in my last post is Windows To Go. This basically allows you to place your entire Windows 8 environment on a USB drive and take it with you wherever you go. Regardless of the hardware you are using so long as it has a USB drive you can run Windows 8 with all of your settings and apps booting off the USB port.
It's a pretty cool concept that could help you work around hardware issues as well as take your environment easily between home and work regardless of hardware changes. At the launch event however the demo for Windows To Go failed. Plus I'm sure many network admins will prevent corporate users from taking their entire environment, including apps, home with them for numerous valid and invalid privacy and security reasons.
Regardless the potential is there for this to be very cool. I could keep using my Lenovo T400 with a 250gb SSD HD, 8gb of RAM and run Windows 8 in my work environment while still keeping the local version running that I have now. Granted this doesn't solve any immediate hardware issues or allow me to take advantage of the touch screen options but it does make trying new hardware much easier. I can get a device; take my environment with me from device to device until I find something I like without having to set everything up over and over again.
The future of this is exciting.
It's a pretty cool concept that could help you work around hardware issues as well as take your environment easily between home and work regardless of hardware changes. At the launch event however the demo for Windows To Go failed. Plus I'm sure many network admins will prevent corporate users from taking their entire environment, including apps, home with them for numerous valid and invalid privacy and security reasons.
Regardless the potential is there for this to be very cool. I could keep using my Lenovo T400 with a 250gb SSD HD, 8gb of RAM and run Windows 8 in my work environment while still keeping the local version running that I have now. Granted this doesn't solve any immediate hardware issues or allow me to take advantage of the touch screen options but it does make trying new hardware much easier. I can get a device; take my environment with me from device to device until I find something I like without having to set everything up over and over again.
The future of this is exciting.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Window 8 - Twelfth Pass: New Hardware Options
If you're a regular reading of this blog, and why would you be, please let me know if you are, you know that I have a 6 year old Lenovo ThinkPad T400 laptop. As you also know Windows 8 has been released and presents a whole bunch of new features that are hardware related, like touch screens.
That puts folks like me in a real dilemma when it comes to upgrading hardware. Do I upgrade now with what's presently available or do I wait and see what new hardware options come out over the next few months? The Microsoft Surface is of definite interest to me but it is very limited in growth potential. It is a one-size-fits-all piece of hardware that has no future growth potential. It can't be upgraded, you can't get it with a bigger processor or more RAM, the screen size is set, etc. That may work well for most but I'm trying to find a piece of hardware that is both the best tablet experience out there but also the best laptop experience out there.
Windows 8 is best experienced with a touch screen. The upside of having both a desktop OS and a tablet OS together in a single operating system is that with the right hardware you can use it in any environment. On a plane I exclusively use my iPad. It is small, light, and easy to use no matter what seat I'm in or if the person in front of me is reclined or not. I'm also pretty quick typing on glass so not having a keyboard allows me to enjoy my beverage and keep working with room to spare on my tray table.
This changes when I get to my hotel room or am working at home. There I prefer a regular keyword and mouse. I have much more space on my desk and can get a lot done in a more traditional setting. Doing more complex tasks is simpler having access to traditional desktop style hardware.
Taking advantage of the beauty of everything combined into one in Windows 8 means that if there was a piece of hardware that could do all the above would mean I'd have one less device weighing down my backpack. I'd have a device that had 6-8gb of RAM, a screaming processor, at least 4 USB ports, a keyboard, a tablet screen for portability that detaches from the keyboard, a decent graphics processor, a long life battery, at least a 150gb SSD HD, and very light weight.
It doesn't appear that I'm dreaming. There are some new pieces of hardware that are starting to come out but it seems we are on the beginning of these releases. Again, the Surface is too limiting for what I'm looking for in terms of a full powered laptop replacement that functions as a tablet. While the Windows 8 touch screen options really mess with a typical desktop user in a combo configuration they start to come to life.
Toshiba, Sony, and Lenovo currently have hybrid devices on the market with many more to come. The challenge becomes do I wait or do I buy something now? If I buy now which one is best? I've played with a few of the options and I like what I've seen but I also like what I'm hearing is coming next.
Granted new technology is a moving target. The software part of this has landed, at least for the time being, now to see what the hardware will do.
If you have hardware that you like please comment and let me know what you've got and why you got it. I start to hit the road pretty hard again later next month. Do I buy something out there now or would it be worth it for me to wait until later this spring to get a device that will better meet my needs over the long haul? I can handle a few more months of my heavy T400 and my iPad.
That puts folks like me in a real dilemma when it comes to upgrading hardware. Do I upgrade now with what's presently available or do I wait and see what new hardware options come out over the next few months? The Microsoft Surface is of definite interest to me but it is very limited in growth potential. It is a one-size-fits-all piece of hardware that has no future growth potential. It can't be upgraded, you can't get it with a bigger processor or more RAM, the screen size is set, etc. That may work well for most but I'm trying to find a piece of hardware that is both the best tablet experience out there but also the best laptop experience out there.
Windows 8 is best experienced with a touch screen. The upside of having both a desktop OS and a tablet OS together in a single operating system is that with the right hardware you can use it in any environment. On a plane I exclusively use my iPad. It is small, light, and easy to use no matter what seat I'm in or if the person in front of me is reclined or not. I'm also pretty quick typing on glass so not having a keyboard allows me to enjoy my beverage and keep working with room to spare on my tray table.
This changes when I get to my hotel room or am working at home. There I prefer a regular keyword and mouse. I have much more space on my desk and can get a lot done in a more traditional setting. Doing more complex tasks is simpler having access to traditional desktop style hardware.
Taking advantage of the beauty of everything combined into one in Windows 8 means that if there was a piece of hardware that could do all the above would mean I'd have one less device weighing down my backpack. I'd have a device that had 6-8gb of RAM, a screaming processor, at least 4 USB ports, a keyboard, a tablet screen for portability that detaches from the keyboard, a decent graphics processor, a long life battery, at least a 150gb SSD HD, and very light weight.
It doesn't appear that I'm dreaming. There are some new pieces of hardware that are starting to come out but it seems we are on the beginning of these releases. Again, the Surface is too limiting for what I'm looking for in terms of a full powered laptop replacement that functions as a tablet. While the Windows 8 touch screen options really mess with a typical desktop user in a combo configuration they start to come to life.
Toshiba, Sony, and Lenovo currently have hybrid devices on the market with many more to come. The challenge becomes do I wait or do I buy something now? If I buy now which one is best? I've played with a few of the options and I like what I've seen but I also like what I'm hearing is coming next.
Granted new technology is a moving target. The software part of this has landed, at least for the time being, now to see what the hardware will do.
If you have hardware that you like please comment and let me know what you've got and why you got it. I start to hit the road pretty hard again later next month. Do I buy something out there now or would it be worth it for me to wait until later this spring to get a device that will better meet my needs over the long haul? I can handle a few more months of my heavy T400 and my iPad.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Windows 8 - Eleventh Pass: Start Screen Email vs Desktop Email
One of the challenges with Windows 8 is that many of the same apps we use every day come in two flavors for Windows 8. One is the Start Screen, or old Metro style, that runs on the Surface RT, and the other is a full desktop version of the app.
A few examples include Skype, SkyDrive, and Email. So what’s the difference between apps for the Start Screen and apps for the desktop? Do you need both? What about disk space of running the same app twice on your traditional laptop or desktop?
For starters, there is a big difference. Start Screen apps work on a small cache and prefer to be online. Start Screen apps are also the only apps that can provide notification icons on the Windows 8 lock screen. Those are the little icons below the time and date when the computer is locked. However, these apps are also limited in functionality, as they need to be online and designed for touch screen functionality.
In terms of email, you have the default Start Screen email app and you have Outlook. Outlook is my preferred email client however, Outlook (any version) doesn’t have Live Tile that can update to show you recent messages, Outlook can’t update a lock screen icon with the number of new messages you have, and Outlook can’t provide a fade in/fade out notification on the Start Screen in Windows 8. Outlook can only provide a fade in/fade out notification down above the taskbar if you are in the Windows 8 desktop.
Conversely the Windows 8 Start Screen email app can do all of the above but how much disk space does it take up? My Outlook profile is 3-4 GB and I definitely didn’t want to have two PST files containing the same Outlook profile on my laptop.
The default Start Screen Email app doesn’t take up any disk space. I set it up to access the same Exchange account that Outlook accesses and my disk space didn’t change at all. The reason being the email app works online and doesn’t cache very much. The downside to that being if you aren’t online you won’t see much of your email but the Start Screen email app assumes you are always online via a Wi-Fi or cellular connection on a touch screen type device like the Surface.
So my recommendation is if you have a cloud based email account that you run both the Start Screen Email app and Outlook so you can have the best of all the above worlds. That way you can access your email whether you are online or offline, can take advantage of all the Windows 8 notification mechanisms, have easy access on a traditional piece of hardware, and maximize your access to email if you are using a touch screen only or hybrid device.
Oddly enough, the Start Screen app notices pop up several seconds before any Outlook notices.
Similarly, you may want to run both the desktop version and Start Screen version of Skype and SkyDrive. For example, with SkyDrive, the Start Screen app doesn’t download and store anything. It simply provides you with online access to your SkyDrive files. If you want your files downloaded and updated to the SkyDrive folder on your laptop/desktop then you will also need to run the desktop version of the app.
There are also benefits to running both version of Skype especially as Windows Live Messenger will be retired the first quarter of 2013 according to Microsoft.
In other words, with the variety of hardware types available to run Windows 8 and the various methods of interacting with it you will want to research based on the type of hardware you plan to use what the benefits are to running each type of Windows 8 app. This is all part of the fun when you try to combine too many uses into a single platform.
A few examples include Skype, SkyDrive, and Email. So what’s the difference between apps for the Start Screen and apps for the desktop? Do you need both? What about disk space of running the same app twice on your traditional laptop or desktop?
For starters, there is a big difference. Start Screen apps work on a small cache and prefer to be online. Start Screen apps are also the only apps that can provide notification icons on the Windows 8 lock screen. Those are the little icons below the time and date when the computer is locked. However, these apps are also limited in functionality, as they need to be online and designed for touch screen functionality.
In terms of email, you have the default Start Screen email app and you have Outlook. Outlook is my preferred email client however, Outlook (any version) doesn’t have Live Tile that can update to show you recent messages, Outlook can’t update a lock screen icon with the number of new messages you have, and Outlook can’t provide a fade in/fade out notification on the Start Screen in Windows 8. Outlook can only provide a fade in/fade out notification down above the taskbar if you are in the Windows 8 desktop.
Conversely the Windows 8 Start Screen email app can do all of the above but how much disk space does it take up? My Outlook profile is 3-4 GB and I definitely didn’t want to have two PST files containing the same Outlook profile on my laptop.
The default Start Screen Email app doesn’t take up any disk space. I set it up to access the same Exchange account that Outlook accesses and my disk space didn’t change at all. The reason being the email app works online and doesn’t cache very much. The downside to that being if you aren’t online you won’t see much of your email but the Start Screen email app assumes you are always online via a Wi-Fi or cellular connection on a touch screen type device like the Surface.
So my recommendation is if you have a cloud based email account that you run both the Start Screen Email app and Outlook so you can have the best of all the above worlds. That way you can access your email whether you are online or offline, can take advantage of all the Windows 8 notification mechanisms, have easy access on a traditional piece of hardware, and maximize your access to email if you are using a touch screen only or hybrid device.
Oddly enough, the Start Screen app notices pop up several seconds before any Outlook notices.
Similarly, you may want to run both the desktop version and Start Screen version of Skype and SkyDrive. For example, with SkyDrive, the Start Screen app doesn’t download and store anything. It simply provides you with online access to your SkyDrive files. If you want your files downloaded and updated to the SkyDrive folder on your laptop/desktop then you will also need to run the desktop version of the app.
There are also benefits to running both version of Skype especially as Windows Live Messenger will be retired the first quarter of 2013 according to Microsoft.
In other words, with the variety of hardware types available to run Windows 8 and the various methods of interacting with it you will want to research based on the type of hardware you plan to use what the benefits are to running each type of Windows 8 app. This is all part of the fun when you try to combine too many uses into a single platform.
Monday, December 31, 2012
The End of 2012 and the Start of 2013
It seems appropriate that this New Year's greeting is coming to you from a plane at 32,00 feet over the Tennessee/Kentucky line, as a good bit of my time in 2012 was spent in the air and a good bit of my time in 2013 will be spent here as well.
I have much to be thankful for as I look back at 2012. I'm blessed with a great job, friends I can tolerate, and an awesome family. My wife and kids make the many cool things I get to do possible and I appreciate that. They could easily be selfish with my time but they choose not to be.
We are returning home to frozen Indiana having spent the holidays in sunny, warm southwest Florida. We are returning tan, rested and refreshed, ready for another exciting year. 2013 promises to be a great year in ministry as well as for our family and me professionally. It also looks to be an exciting year of technological advancements.
"To whom much is given, much is also required." Take a moment and make some plans for next year. Don't make foolish resolutions but rather make some obtainable goals that you can measure your progress towards. Then when 2013 ends you can look back and see how far you've come. Be specific, loose weight isn't specific enough.
As for me, my goals are set and I'm looking forward to what's next.
See you in 2013!
I have much to be thankful for as I look back at 2012. I'm blessed with a great job, friends I can tolerate, and an awesome family. My wife and kids make the many cool things I get to do possible and I appreciate that. They could easily be selfish with my time but they choose not to be.
We are returning home to frozen Indiana having spent the holidays in sunny, warm southwest Florida. We are returning tan, rested and refreshed, ready for another exciting year. 2013 promises to be a great year in ministry as well as for our family and me professionally. It also looks to be an exciting year of technological advancements.
"To whom much is given, much is also required." Take a moment and make some plans for next year. Don't make foolish resolutions but rather make some obtainable goals that you can measure your progress towards. Then when 2013 ends you can look back and see how far you've come. Be specific, loose weight isn't specific enough.
As for me, my goals are set and I'm looking forward to what's next.
See you in 2013!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Windows 8 - Tenth Pass: Driving the Touchscreen
It is obvious that Microsoft plans to drive the touchscreen as being the primary way we interact with a PC in the future, much in the same way we interact with smartphones and tablets now. I agree that it is the future but it isn’t now. Window 8 however is relying on that being the future and those unhappy with not being able to touch the screen of their desktop in their cubicle at work will eventually get over it.
Several times during the launch event, they referred to the start screen as “beautiful” and that it work great with both a touchscreen or with a keyboard and mouse. I found it interesting that during the rest of the demo they didn’t use the keyboard or mouse once, confirming to me that it really isn’t designed for a keyboard and mouse but that if you care to figure it out it will work with a keyboard and mouse. In other words, the intuitive part of it is only for touchscreen-based devices.
Fortunately, for them the second demo did use a keyboard and mouse the entire time. I actually learned a few new keyboard and mouse shortcuts for interacting with the start screen on a non-touch device. While that helps me use Windows 8 on my existing non-touch laptop it does mean I have to remember how to interact with the operating system based on the type of hardware I’m using. Microsoft must think I’m smarter than I really am.
The best part of the start screen demo was when the elephant in the room was finally brought up. The presenter asked if the Start Button worked for people as opposed to the Start Screen. I along with half the room raised my hand. This is what I had been waiting for; tell us why the Start Button was gone forever?
According to Microsoft, the Start Button took too long to use. Think about that for a while and then do some trials comparing how long it takes you to do the same functionality between the Start Button and the Start Screen on a non-touch enabled device. Oh, wait. There it is. A non-touch enabled device. The Start Button is very difficult to use with your fingers and since Windows 8 is all about the touchscreen, you now have your answer, at least according to Microsoft.
As the demo concluded they emphasized that Windows 8 brings work and home together. I look forward to seeing how that pans out. How many work computers will get touchscreens? How many corporate IT shops will allow users to login using personal MSN accounts to access corporate resources and then take those some accounts home? How many supervisors will want users bringing in games from home?
Microsoft admits that the change to start screen is a big change and that there is no legacy mode. They don't admit why.
Several times during the launch event, they referred to the start screen as “beautiful” and that it work great with both a touchscreen or with a keyboard and mouse. I found it interesting that during the rest of the demo they didn’t use the keyboard or mouse once, confirming to me that it really isn’t designed for a keyboard and mouse but that if you care to figure it out it will work with a keyboard and mouse. In other words, the intuitive part of it is only for touchscreen-based devices.
Fortunately, for them the second demo did use a keyboard and mouse the entire time. I actually learned a few new keyboard and mouse shortcuts for interacting with the start screen on a non-touch device. While that helps me use Windows 8 on my existing non-touch laptop it does mean I have to remember how to interact with the operating system based on the type of hardware I’m using. Microsoft must think I’m smarter than I really am.
The best part of the start screen demo was when the elephant in the room was finally brought up. The presenter asked if the Start Button worked for people as opposed to the Start Screen. I along with half the room raised my hand. This is what I had been waiting for; tell us why the Start Button was gone forever?
According to Microsoft, the Start Button took too long to use. Think about that for a while and then do some trials comparing how long it takes you to do the same functionality between the Start Button and the Start Screen on a non-touch enabled device. Oh, wait. There it is. A non-touch enabled device. The Start Button is very difficult to use with your fingers and since Windows 8 is all about the touchscreen, you now have your answer, at least according to Microsoft.
As the demo concluded they emphasized that Windows 8 brings work and home together. I look forward to seeing how that pans out. How many work computers will get touchscreens? How many corporate IT shops will allow users to login using personal MSN accounts to access corporate resources and then take those some accounts home? How many supervisors will want users bringing in games from home?
Microsoft admits that the change to start screen is a big change and that there is no legacy mode. They don't admit why.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
12-12-12
Today is December 12, 2012, or 12-12-12. This date fascinates me a bit, as the mathematics that makeup our calendar limits the number of times you can have such a date. In my lifetime I’ve been fortunate enough to live through 01-01-01, 02-02-02, 03-03-03, 04-04-04, 05-05-05, 06-06-06, 07-07-07, 08-08-08, 09-09-09, 10-10-10, 11-11-11, and now, and finally, 12-12-12.
Even if the Mayans are wrong there still won’t be a 13-13-13 so as this day fades in my time zone I can’t help but wonder what the world will be like when this pattern starts all over again and we reach the next 12-12-12. In 89 years we will hit 01-01-01, that’s January 1, 2101. Odds are I won’t be around then but when you look back at where we’ve come, it is intriguing to think about where we will be.
Think about the last round of dates, starting back in 01-01-1901. Back then, we didn’t even know how to fly. Now we’re landing small cars on Mars via sky cranes.
In 01-01-2001, we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Foursquare, or iPhones and iPads. Laptops were just starting to become more readily available and email was still something you had to be on a computer with a modem to access. Music was only available on round silver disks or cartridges of magnetic tape wound around sprockets.
By 07-07-2007, Twitter and Facebook were emerging on the scene and we had our first iPhone.
Now on 12-12-2012, the date is trending on Twitter and we are connected to email all the time by small pieces of glass we won’t leave home without.
So, lift a glass to the Mayan’s being wrong and the next 12-12-12!
Even if the Mayans are wrong there still won’t be a 13-13-13 so as this day fades in my time zone I can’t help but wonder what the world will be like when this pattern starts all over again and we reach the next 12-12-12. In 89 years we will hit 01-01-01, that’s January 1, 2101. Odds are I won’t be around then but when you look back at where we’ve come, it is intriguing to think about where we will be.
Think about the last round of dates, starting back in 01-01-1901. Back then, we didn’t even know how to fly. Now we’re landing small cars on Mars via sky cranes.
In 01-01-2001, we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Foursquare, or iPhones and iPads. Laptops were just starting to become more readily available and email was still something you had to be on a computer with a modem to access. Music was only available on round silver disks or cartridges of magnetic tape wound around sprockets.
By 07-07-2007, Twitter and Facebook were emerging on the scene and we had our first iPhone.
Now on 12-12-2012, the date is trending on Twitter and we are connected to email all the time by small pieces of glass we won’t leave home without.
So, lift a glass to the Mayan’s being wrong and the next 12-12-12!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Windows 8 - Ninth Pass: The Sales Pitch
Last week I attended one of the many official Microsoft launch events for Windows 8. Naturally I arrived with a bunch of questions I wanted to get answered but I was also very interested in how they were going to pitch the various changes I've already discussed here to a room full of several hundred IT Professionals.
If you've wasted any time reading my blog as of late you know I not a big Windows 8 fan, but despite my bias I went in with an open mind to allow them to sway my views. Unfortunately that didn't happen. While I understand the 'why' a bit better I'm still not sold on the 'how'.
It was obvious from the keynote that Microsoft believes that Windows 8 is as much of a game changer as email, the iPhone (they even gave Mr. Jobs a shout out), and even the printing press. They believe they are changing the game in terms of tablets and smartphones now being integrated together for the first time on a single platform - Windows 8. Microsoft is leading with the software of the future as opposed to the software we need today.
I agree with the premise but the implementation is where it fall apart for me. This is a good example of software driving hardware. Windows 8 is designed for the end of the desktop - a future whose ending hasn't been written yet. Microsoft believes the rate of change is going to be fast enough to justify their changes now. I agree the pace is fast but the implementation could have been done in a way that made the changes easier to adopt. From their perspective it is easier to just make the changes and deal with the fall out of user adoption. Speaking of adoption, according to Microsoft it has been low however Windows 8 has only been public for just over a month now.
It was obvious that Microsoft believes they are on the right track with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Time will tell.
If you've wasted any time reading my blog as of late you know I not a big Windows 8 fan, but despite my bias I went in with an open mind to allow them to sway my views. Unfortunately that didn't happen. While I understand the 'why' a bit better I'm still not sold on the 'how'.
It was obvious from the keynote that Microsoft believes that Windows 8 is as much of a game changer as email, the iPhone (they even gave Mr. Jobs a shout out), and even the printing press. They believe they are changing the game in terms of tablets and smartphones now being integrated together for the first time on a single platform - Windows 8. Microsoft is leading with the software of the future as opposed to the software we need today.
I agree with the premise but the implementation is where it fall apart for me. This is a good example of software driving hardware. Windows 8 is designed for the end of the desktop - a future whose ending hasn't been written yet. Microsoft believes the rate of change is going to be fast enough to justify their changes now. I agree the pace is fast but the implementation could have been done in a way that made the changes easier to adopt. From their perspective it is easier to just make the changes and deal with the fall out of user adoption. Speaking of adoption, according to Microsoft it has been low however Windows 8 has only been public for just over a month now.
It was obvious that Microsoft believes they are on the right track with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Time will tell.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Fun with Symantec
At a recent Microsoft event I was at I had the chance to speak with the folks from Symantec at their booth. They were giving away little footballs as swag and naturally I needed one of those. Of course in exchange for said football I had to talk with them and let them scan my name tag.
As I was talking to the rep I told them that I was already a customer. He asked me what version we were using and I told him the latest. Then, as if he didn't hear that I was already a customer and already sold on their products, he started to explain to me how great the latest version was and that it was "killing it" out there. He also explained how their technology was superior because they were moving away from definitions and using signatures to detect infected files which was not only more secure but faster.
What the rep didn't know was that I was looking for just such a segue. You see, the week before the event our latest version of Symantec, the one "killing it", let a bug through from a web link in an email. This gave me the perfect opportunity to point out that while their product may be "killing it" they missed a bug that wiped an entire workstation.
The rep then tried to sell me on the idea that I should have submitted the infected files and they would research it and update their signatures because they had the best team in the world for doing that. Again, I'm already sold on them but I had to explain to the rep the role his company plays in our environment. In the ideal world I'd have plenty of time to send samples to them but most times I'm depending on them to "kill it" and be one step ahead. Otherwise my time is spent fixing the bug that got through as opposed to post infection analysis.
I'm still sold on Symantec and I understand that even with our multiple layers of protection things still get through, especially this time of year, I was just enjoying, perhaps too much, pressing the front line guy Symantec happened to send to the same event I was at. I'm sure he'll go on his break if he sees me coming at a future show.
As I was talking to the rep I told them that I was already a customer. He asked me what version we were using and I told him the latest. Then, as if he didn't hear that I was already a customer and already sold on their products, he started to explain to me how great the latest version was and that it was "killing it" out there. He also explained how their technology was superior because they were moving away from definitions and using signatures to detect infected files which was not only more secure but faster.
What the rep didn't know was that I was looking for just such a segue. You see, the week before the event our latest version of Symantec, the one "killing it", let a bug through from a web link in an email. This gave me the perfect opportunity to point out that while their product may be "killing it" they missed a bug that wiped an entire workstation.
The rep then tried to sell me on the idea that I should have submitted the infected files and they would research it and update their signatures because they had the best team in the world for doing that. Again, I'm already sold on them but I had to explain to the rep the role his company plays in our environment. In the ideal world I'd have plenty of time to send samples to them but most times I'm depending on them to "kill it" and be one step ahead. Otherwise my time is spent fixing the bug that got through as opposed to post infection analysis.
I'm still sold on Symantec and I understand that even with our multiple layers of protection things still get through, especially this time of year, I was just enjoying, perhaps too much, pressing the front line guy Symantec happened to send to the same event I was at. I'm sure he'll go on his break if he sees me coming at a future show.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Windows 8 – Eighth Pass: Official Launch
Even though I’ve been quiet over the past month that doesn’t mean I’ve grown to love Windows 8 any more.
Tomorrow I’m attending the Windows 8 Launch event in Indianapolis. As you know I’ve not been very kind to Microsoft’s latest flagship operating system. I am not anticipating that tomorrow will do much to change my mind however; I’m hoping it at least allows Microsoft to better explain why they think Windows 8 is the best way to go for the future of the desktop, laptop, and tablet. And no, I don’t buy the argument that the desktop and laptop as we know them today are going away anytime soon.
At the Server 2012 Launch, a lot of time was spent talking about the cloud and very little time spent talking about the improvements to the operating system. Part of me wonders if that isn’t also going to be the focus tomorrow. I predict a bit of dancing around the issues and very little addressing of those issues.
I’ll be posting what I learn and maybe even posting that I’ve had a change of heart, feel free to contact your bookies now to place your bets.
Tomorrow I’m attending the Windows 8 Launch event in Indianapolis. As you know I’ve not been very kind to Microsoft’s latest flagship operating system. I am not anticipating that tomorrow will do much to change my mind however; I’m hoping it at least allows Microsoft to better explain why they think Windows 8 is the best way to go for the future of the desktop, laptop, and tablet. And no, I don’t buy the argument that the desktop and laptop as we know them today are going away anytime soon.
At the Server 2012 Launch, a lot of time was spent talking about the cloud and very little time spent talking about the improvements to the operating system. Part of me wonders if that isn’t also going to be the focus tomorrow. I predict a bit of dancing around the issues and very little addressing of those issues.
I’ll be posting what I learn and maybe even posting that I’ve had a change of heart, feel free to contact your bookies now to place your bets.
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