Yonah Talks Tech

Yahoo's Big Comeback

2007-02-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

A bunch of years ago, before I was introduced to a small project called Google, I used to use Yahoo! for my searching. It was clean, easy and relatively well organized. It also had all kinds of great free services like personals, classifieds, e-mail, etc. But then Google came along, and started to gain steam, and I like many others left Yahoo for Google.

But Yahoo!, it seems, is making a comeback. First they bought Flickr - the photo sharing site, then they announced their new mobile tools at CES - http://go.yahoo.com (which alas, isn't available for my blackberry; during CES, they also went to MacWorld, to announce their partnership with Apple on the iPhone), and now they have come up with Pipes.

While Google has come up with tons of innovative ideas lately, this one is one of the greatest I've seen of late. What is pipes? It is a very simple tool that let's you combine website data - visually. For example, pipes can take a bunch of RSS feeds, mix them together and sort them so that you get a giant super feed, without having to a lick of programming.

The potential for pipes is huge, especially because it enables developers like me to do more with less work.

It will be interesting to see how Google answers Pipes!
Go Yahoo!

Data Centers in the Wilderness

2007-01-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

Since the dawn of the dotcom days a decade ago, there have been many cities that have sprouted up as high-tech hubs across the country. Most of these cities of course are large cities in general, but their tech-specific growth originally was due to a handful of factors - primary of which seemed to be the abundance of technical talent. For example, places like Research Triangle Park in North Carolina (Duke and UNC are nearby), or the SF Bay Area (Stanford and Berkeley), or Austin Texas (U of Texas).

And along with the tech growth in these areas, all of the major ISPs opened data centers in them or nearby, so that the Tech Giants would be close to their data and that they would rely on someone else to manage it.

But now it seems that the trend is reversing. Recently, companies like Yahoo, Microsoft and Google are opening up data centers in rural Oregon and Washington, and Google recently announced plans to build a data center in western North Carolina, far from the big cities.

Why this boom? Two reasons - Power and Prices. Both real-estate and utility charges are lower in this area. In addition, these areas look forward to cash-laden companies who want to help develop their local economies.

It is also interesting to note that the whole dotcom era practice of using outsourced data centers is seemingly reversing a bit.

Two things people aren't really saying about the iPhone

2007-01-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

So apple introduced the iPhone last week. While it has all the makings of a potential hit (even at the ludicrous price point -$5-600 with a 2-year deal), there is a lot of talk about how effective it will be and how it will change the face of telephony.

I am not going to jump into that fray right now, as there are millions blogging and reporting on its features and its future. I will, however point out two things that, if they have been mentioned by others, have not been mentioned with as much fanfare:

1. Palm is on its last legs - While the Treo was revolutionary, it never quite garnered the market for business wireless e-mail the same way that BlackBerry did. So, it quickly became the darling of the Prosumer (i.e. High-end consumer world). While the Q-Phone and Blackjack were starting to take market share away from Palm, the iPhone will ultimately do it in. Palms devices are in a form factor that is already tired and lacking inspiration. Why would I want a bulky Palm 750, when I could have a much more svelte Blackjack or Q-Phone running the same Windows Mobile software? Yes the Treo 680 is a nice consumer phone with a lot of plusses, but how many are they really going to sell? I give Palm about 18-24 months left before it goes belly-up or gets acquired, unless it comes out with something innovative.

2. This iPhone isn't anything more than a stopgap measure - If I haven't learned anything about Apple and the iPods is that the first iteration is just a stopgap to wider innovation. Think about it. The first iPod was only 5GB and retailed for 500, with a mono screen and only connected to macs. Dana Carvey once joked to Jay Leno that he considered buying an iPod one morning, but then decided to wait until after lunch when the new ones came out. The iPhone will hit the street in June, which means the blogosphere will not be buzzing with real-world reviews of it until August - just in time to coincide with the MacWorld 08' rumors. Interestingly enough, the form factor of the current iPhone would make for a good iPod as well, and Flash Memory now comes is sizes up to 32 MB. My advice, unless you're one of the true apple faithful, don't jump on the first iPhone. Wait until a year from now for the next version.

Web 2.0 Mashups are so yesterday

2006-12-29T09:51:00.000-05:00

While everyone and their sister is trying to come up with code mashups (i.e. plot your flickr pictures on Google Maps), a guy named Chris Hughes (see the accompanying video), has found a way to use a Nintendo Wii remotes motion sensing capabilities to control his Roomba. This is such a great concept. 20 years ago, even our phones were closed boxes, now everyone can be their own hacker. Don't like your alarm clock? Want to use your cell phone to shut your lights on and off. And if you don't want to go onto the Internet, you could just as easily buy books on these subjects in your local bookstore.

Kudos to you Chris Hughes, and all of the other people out there who don't ask why, but why not.

The second end of the VoIP Candle

2006-12-27T23:41:00.000-05:00

As Murphy's law dictates, a newer better technology will come along the day after you bought the latest and greatest technology, rendering it obsolete. Just the other day, I blogged about SkypeOut and my new Skype phone, and today I discovered that T-Mobile has rolled out its Hotspot@Home service. Essentially, for an extra $20/month on top of your T-Mobile bill you get a phone that can connect to either a wi-fi network (your home or any other public wi-fi network) or to the cellular network. When on Wi-Fi calling is free anywhere in the US and unlimited. It can also supposedly switch over seemlessly from Wi-Fi to cellular networks and back again.

Of course, I am trying to see the real benefit in this? I guess this works if you have broadband at home but bad cellular coverage, or if you talk a lot in proximity to wi-fi networks and the $20 unlimited will provide you with cost savings. It goes without saying that if I am in a Foreign country and I can get my US phone to ring without having to pay international roaming, this would be tremendously beneficial.

But all that aside, the concept of UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access), and T-Mobile's launch of it, shows that the VoIP candle is being burned on both ends. On one side you have startups like Skype and Vonage that are trying to bridge VoIP to traditional phone networks using PSTN access points, and on the other you have cellular carriers looking to roam seamlessly between their Cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

A couple of years ago I made a prediction that in 3-5 years everything will be running off a giant IP-based platform. At least one of my predictions is coming slowly to fruition

Now if they could only make it in a minivan

2006-07-26T17:20:00.000-04:00

I really hate hybrids. Yes they are good, yes they will save you a few bucks on gas, but I still think that the hype is overplayed. Sure there are the ethanol cars that can run on either gas or biofuels, but I am willing to wager that not too many people are using more ethanol than straight gas.

But that's precisely why I love the Tesla Roadster. This thing is gorgeous, and green all in the same breath. It can go up to 250 miles on a full charge. Which makes it practical for local use, but no long-haul road trips (until the adequate infrastructure is in place).

I heard that a lot of the pre-orders have been bought by some Google Billionaires, including founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page. This is a great car, there is only one problem. It's just a two-seater. If only they could come out with one of these in a minivan for those of us who buy cars for practical reasons, I would give it three thumbs up.

Trying to have some fun with Google Maps

2006-12-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

Back in the day, in the B.C. (before children) era, I used to code for fun. To some of you the very notion of coding in general sounds bizarre in and of itself, yet alone as something that someone might enjoy.

On Thanksgiving, something cool happened - I was showing some family members aerial photos of my in-laws new place down in Florida using Google Maps. Everyone was impressed with the levels of detail, down to the pictures of my in-laws backyard. Upon seeing all of this, my Grandma asked if they had the same maps and pictures for Europe. I wasn't sure, but we put in the address of her childhood home in the Alsatian city of Saarbrucken. Sure enough, she was able to zoom in down into her old neighborhood, and all of the childhood memories of street names came echoing back.

It was than and there that I started thinking that there was a lot more to maps than simple driving directions and traffic reports. People are developing mash-ups with Google maps of all kinds, but those mash-ups, for the most part, so far, seem to be primarily 'kick the tires' products. i.e. Flickr photos on the map, or a topographical view of our contacts. But GIS (Geographic Information Systems) have hundreds of other purposes that have yet to be invented. One good example, law enforcement. The NYPD and other law enforcement agencies have use GIS for years now to help map geographic crime patterns and help solve crimes as well as investigate and discover environmental factors that lead to more crime.

I have started reading the maps API docs from Google, and I am thinking about ways to create a fun, but practical GIS tool. Any suggestions?

My Review of the iPhone (uh... the Linksys CIT 300)

2006-12-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

I know what you're thinking, but unfortunately I do not have the 'Inside Scoop from Infinite Loop'. I do however enjoy the many benefits of VoIP. While I have been using Skype for a while, I never quite viewed it as a true VoIP phone, in the vane of VoIP providers like Vonage, OptimumVoice, and Broadvoice who actually provide me with something akin to a traditional phone experience. Skype was too IM-like for me to consider using. But then the lovely folks at Skype offered free calling to any phone in the US and Canada for free to the end of 2006. Since my phone calls at work are metered (we are only allowed a certain amount of long distance calls for non-business use per month), I starte using Skype to make long distance calls via the PC. And while it wasn't perfect, I was definitely impressed with the call clarity, and its ease of use. Although I didn't use them, Skype also had dirt-cheap rates for international calling.

Still, as impressed as I was, I didn't look to skype as a full-time replacement for my VoIP phone - that is until last week. Last week Skype upped the ante in the VoIP wars - it began offering a full year of unlimited calls to the US and Canada for $29.95 (only $14.95 if you sign up before 12/31/06). In essence, Skype's annual rate is what its competitors charge monthly! While I was very intrigued by this, I knew that I couldn't sell skype to my wife without having a 'real' phone to call on. Since our VoIP phones offer low international rates, we actually use that as the only source to keep up with family and friends overseas.

Thankfully, I discovered the CIT 300 - one of new Linksys's new iPhones (touche Apple!) that connects to your PC and landline (i.e. it's a two-line phone) so that you can choose to make calls either from Skype or your home phone. I also discovered that with a $10 Linksys Rebate and Google Checkout's $20 discount, I was able to get this phone for $50 (a lot cheaper than the current Wi-Fi skype phones which run about $150 on the street).

So I bought the CIT 300, and have since installed it half-way (I don't have an available landline near my PC) and here are some of my impressions so far:

For starters, the phone has several large drawbacks. First and formost, this phone is just like all of the other USB phones that one can use for Skype in that it requires you to interact with the existing Skype application to work. This means that your computer will always need to be turned on with Skype running and you being logged in. Essentially, the Skype phone is set up so that all of your audio for Skype calls is routed through the phone. This means that if you don't have the phone handy (or if someone else is using it for a landline call), you won't be able to answer a skype call with your PC. In addition, there is no way (that I have discovered yet) to make a call directly from your PC without dialing it from the handset. So if you are sitting at the computer and want to call someone, you need to initiate it from the phone first, or change your Audio settings.

Another inherent issue with Skype is that it allows you to log in from multiple places at once. If someone tries to call you on Skype, and you are logged in at Work and at home, it will ring in both places, but whoever picks up first, wins. So if your CIT 300 is at home, and someone answers it while you are waiting for a work call, you won't be able to pick it up. It can also be annoying to have the phone ring at home even if they know not to pick up.

2 other pet peeves of mine about this phone - to dial a landline using Skype, you need to either prefix your number with 001 or a + sign, otherwise it won't go through. In addition, there is no way to bridge the gap between the landline and Skype - so if you want to make a three way call, you will need to do it with SkypeOut and not the landlines.

Quirks aside, this is a good phone. All of my skype contacts come through to the handset for speed dialing (both Skype contacts and landlines that I have added to Skype as SkypeOut contacts), and the speaker phone is great. Call Quality is as good as your skype quality - i.e. it's not the phone's fault, and the backlit keys make it easy to dial in the dark.

All told, this phone is a decent option if you want to use Skype for VoIP, but if you can afford it, you will get a little more flexibility with a Wi-Fi skype phone or Linksys' CIT-400 iPhone (which has skype built-in, and doesn't require your computer to be on to work).

One more note, it seems that these Linksys phones allow for multiple handsets, but I have yet to find where they offer an individual handset for sale. However, since they just released some new products in the 'iPhone' line, it could be that those are not too far away.

Off the Spot?

2006-11-29T11:22:00.000-05:00

A while ago, there was a lot of buzz about Microsoft's SPOT Technology. SPOT was an information delivery technology that used FM radio frequencies to send data updates to small devices like watches and clocks. In addition to getting atomic time, you could also get stock quotes, sports scores and the weather. While people initially greeted it with great fanfare, it seems to have fizzled out a little bit.

Yes, just like Microsoft always does, it seems to be fiddling with new uses for it, and maybe in the 3rd round of revisions they will get it right, but I wonder, will its promise be utilized? Melitta thinks so, they created a coffee maker with SPOT built-in to give you the weather and time along with your daily grind. I wonder what comes next for SPOT? I wonder if Microsoft has any SPOT announcements brewing (pun intended) for CES?

Regardless of the early adopter caché of such devices, will people really shell out $200 for a coffee maker that tells you the weather?

Why Open Access Trumps Open Source

2006-11-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

A handful of years ago, during the dotcom boom, there was a period where Linux and other Open Source technologies were getting a lot of headlines and attention on Wall Street. They were the next revolution. While some of the spotlight on Open Source seemed to flame out a bit along with the dotcom boom, companies continued to (and still do) take it seriously. Despite that, many companies realized that just because the software is free doesn't mean it has no cost. While there are many Pros (and Cons) to Open Source software, people have come to realize that using open source software does come with it's own costs - hardware, maintenance, training and customization aren't free. While many companies find Open Source to be a good fit, many others see it as too costly. Quite frankly, the latter have come to the realization that sometimes, for specific needs, COTS (Commercial - Off-The-Shelf) software is a much better, less costly alternative. But therein lies the rub.

One of the biggest benefits of Open Source is your ability to customize it. As a Software Professional with over a decade in the industry, one of the key pain points for CIO's is Integration. If I had a Nickel for everytime I was asked to help with an Integration issue, I could've bought YouTube myself! Yes I can buy great COTS for CRM, and for ERP, and for Financials, but how do I get them to talk? How do I get my website to talk with my fulfillment and inventory systems? How do I get my suppliers and customers systems to talk to my own? How do I create unified reports across all of these systems so that I can get a clear picture? With two incompatible COTS packages this can get very tricky. Open Source seemed to solve some of these issues, because it enabled companies to get at an applications underlying data structures and make them integrate with their neighbors. But along with power comes responsibility. Using open source meant that you had to keep up with patches, that you had to do regression testing that you had to work harder to ensure your own data integrity. While this worked for many, it was obviously not the most ideal situation.

Enter Web 2.0, the birth of the 'New' web, blogs, and rich content recently caused two very important things to happen - first, it bolstered the popularity of a little-known technology concept called AJAX (I was using the underlying technologies of AJAX in 1997, but they weren't called AJAX then) and as people became more and more creative with AJAX, the advent of the Mashup. These two concepts have given people the ability to visualize a new concept - Open Access.

In my definition, Open Access is the notion that a developer of commercial software provides its users with an API or Web Service that allows them to directly interact with the application's data. IMHO, Open Access is great. It enables me to leverage my existing COTS by scripting integration points between them. By utilizing COTS with open access, my development staff can focus on specific integration needs without having the extra burden of maintaining software patches for Open Source Software. Interestingly enough, Open Source also benefits from open access, as it now becomes easy to even integrate Open Source and commercial products.

As companies like Google, Salesforce, and even Microsoft open up these Web Services and APIs, it will give new dimension to the trials and tribulations of integrating software.

Now if only I can discover that killer mashup? :)

e-mail 4rmal-t? - u have got 2b j/king

2006-11-09T14:06:00.000-05:00

For those of you who actually read my blog, you know that I am a big fan of G-Mail, and Google Talk. I was very pleased that they integrated IM and presence into e-mail. Just like Microsoft has done, albeit with a different set of features, to outlook and office. Yet today, Yahoo announced that it too is integrating IM into it's web mail client. Finally we are seeing the convergence of IM and e-mail, with the only distinction to be whether or not the user is currently available to chat. I would think that this is a good thing, but there is one reason holding back the rays of light between the clouds - my Brother.

No, my brother isn't some kind of evil dictator nor does he work for any of the aforementioned companies. But my brother is, at least for me, a prime example of what might soon happen - the loss of formality in e-mail. My brother is one of those people who's first exposure to communications on the Internet was IM. What's wrong with that? Simple - its not a formal means of communication.

When e-mail was introduced, it was simply a means to communicate formal communication via an electronic medium. In simple terms, people used e-mail to type up the same memos as before, however they now didn't need to make 500 physical copies of them, but could distribute them almost instantly. Despite the influx of spam, forwards, and viruses, e-mail today still has that level of formality.

IM on the other hand, was a way of talking with text (and now voice and video via the computer). Since we all talk faster than we type, a shorthand evolved. And since e-mail was primarily an informal means of communication, people were willing to forgo things like grammar and punctuation for the sake of expediency.

Enter the AOL generation. Somehow, because they are IM'ers first and an e-mailers second, the lines between the two are very blurred. These are the people who will use IM shorthand in e-mails all the time. The people who are reminded by their first bosses that e-mail communications needs to be formatted in proper English. It's a hard enough battle as it is, think of how much harder it will be now that the software companies are blurring those lines.

I hope that despite this innovation, people will still be able to write a decent letter every once in a while.

Second-class Google Accounts

2006-11-08T23:20:00.000-05:00

I have been using Google Apps for my domain for a few months now, and by and large, I have been very satisfied with their service. But all that aside, there is one big problem that I have with my Google Apps accounts - that I can't use them in any other services aside from those setup for my domain.

If I want to use Orkut, the new Blogger Beta, or even the Google Toolbar's custom features, I still need to use my old G-Mail account. Granted, this isn't a major inconvenience, but I would much rather have an opportunity to do this with just one account, and just one password - it would make things a lot easier.

Are you listening Google?

If you Write it, It Will Come + Applesque Simplicity

2006-11-07T17:05:00.000-05:00

No sooner did my last posting about wanting an iPod hit my RSS feed, did I win an iPod in a raffle (which is weird, because I never win anything). No, not the 4GB Red Nano that I wanted, but even better - a 30 GB Video iPod. (Of course, I would still love the Zegna iJacket, and maybe a Mirage Omnivibe to go with it, instead of the Nike + Sport Kit). I have been wanting one for a long time, and I in my first few days I have been enjoying and playing with it.

In my first impressions, I have been discovering the beauty of Applesque Simplicity. I wanted to start studying things, and thought that an MP3 player of any kind would be beneficial for me, so that I could, say, learn a foreign language, or listen to lectures or audiobooks (and of course, the ocassional vodcast). I thought subscribing to podcasts would be hard - but it's so simple. With just one click, I add a podcast subscription and next time I sync the iPod - presto, it's there. It just works. No downloading multiple MP3s, or 5 different software packages, or worrying about compatibility between my player, it's loading software, my favorite music software, and the web site producing the podcast. It Just Works!

This is precisely the reasoning that Microsoft is creating the Zune. To provide its users with the same kind of user experience. Of course, Microsoft has a lot of work to-do, as Apple is currently perched at the top of the mountain.

Still wish I had one...

2006-10-16T15:51:00.000-04:00

The iPod is just about 5 years old, and I, of all people, still don't have one. Personally, at the moment I have conjured up a 100 reasons to justify me buying one, but none of which pass the Spouse/Sleep test (i.e. if I buy one without spousal approval, will I still be able to sleep in my own bed). The irony here is that an iPod isn't just about playing music. Firstly there is Podcasting. Podcasting is great. Not only can you get Music and video podcasts, but you can also get all kinds of Radio and Learning programs on the Podcast. For example, you can subscribe to a PodCast to help you learn the Talmud or even download MP3 and other files to help with your workout. Speaking of workouts, in addition to giving you the inspiration and motivational music you need to keep going, the iPod can also track your workout . Finally, what is a good ipod without accessories? That's why you need to buy a good jacket with iPod controls.

I just hope someone is kind enough to get me one :)

Windows Live Writer Review

2006-10-04T10:23:00.000-04:00

Google, insofar, seems to be the king of the Web 2.0 space. There are other players in this arena ranging from Google's search Rivals Yahoo to newer startups like YouTube, Digg, Technorati, et al. The only key player seemingly not making big strides into this new world is Microsoft. Yet, while they are playing their Web 2.0 stuff closer to the vest and not promoting it with a lot of hoopla, they are definitely making great strides in developing products under the radar. Case in point - the tool that I am using to write this entry - Windows Live Writer.

This small little tool has been in beta for a few weeks now and is available for download at Microsoft's Live Ideas site. I have been using this little tool, and so far I am loving it, primarily for one key feature- it gives me a WYSIWYG way to create and edit blog entries while offline.

Up until using Windows Live Writer, I would either need to edit my blog online or edit it offline with word or a text editor. Yes, there is a plug-in for Word that allows you to post postings to Blogger, but that still didn't give me a good way to see what my posts would look like when uploaded.

Windows Live Writer on the other hand, downloads my posting templates and style sheets so when I edit, I can see (even offline) what my posts will look like exactly on my blog. It also makes it easier by providing drag and drop uploads of pictures and allows me to easily insert 'Tags' for meta blog sites.

I also have the option to save entries locally, as drafts on my blog site, or publish them immediately. It also has built-in spellchecking that is, IMHO, much better than so of the other lackluster tools that are part of blogging sites and/or web toolbars.

And you might be thinking that because this is Microsoft, it will only work with Microsoft Live Spaces blogs - but you'd be dead wrong. Microsoft finally learned that it's software needs to play nice with others to gain acceptance. So it decided to utilize standardized blogging apis to enable you to use Windows Live Writer to post to blogs on TypePad, LiveJournal, MoveableType, Blogger and other Blogging services (I have been using it with much success with all of my Blogger Blogs, however, I have not yet checked against the new Blogger Beta version).

Windows Live Writer is a great little tool that will only get better with time. Download it and see for yourself.

Free Wi-Fi In Jerusalem

2006-09-08T14:58:00.000-04:00

Apparently, with all of the discussions of Municipal, Free Wi-fi (like the kind Google Offers in Mountain View, CA) I missed that Jerusalem has also started setting up Free Wi-Fi as well in a project called Unwire Jerusalem. Now I just need to get a plane flight there.

Wi-Fi without power

2006-08-02T13:20:00.000-04:00

Today I discovered an organization called Green Wi-Fi. Green Wi-fi's project is a great idea. The premise is that there are hundreds of places on this earth that don't have reliable (if any) electrical power. While the One Laptop Per Child project is working on PCs with hand cranks, people wondered how those laptops would get networking power?

That's where the folks at Green Wi-fi Come in. They developed a solar powered Wi-Fi Router that can take part in a Mesh Network. While its still in the design phases, it is definitely an amazing idea who's time has come. The most unique and interesting feature is that to optimize power efficiency and keep costs down, they developed a power control module to regulate bandwidth when power is low (i.e. at night or during long periods of rain where sunlight is limited).

Would you pay almost $300 for a headset to use with a free service?

2006-07-18T09:57:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I feel like I work for Google :). Okay, wishful thinking, I know, but I do use and like a lot of their products. I happen to like their e-mail, Calendar and talk products a whole lot. I was pleased to see that Google started to sell headsets for Google Talk, but to my chagrin, the wireless one (to the right) costs almost $300! I can imagine that there are a handful of people out there willing to shell out for something with a Google logo on it. But if you really want a wireless headset to use with Google talk or any other VoIP or Voice chat service, why not get a bluetooth one? For under $100 you can get a decent bluetooth headset and probably even a USB Bluetooth adapter so that you can use it on your PC, and even better, you can use the same headset for your Bluetooth phone to boot.

Now I need to decide on which Voice chat client I like best and then get other people to start using it.

Google to Go

2006-06-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

Back in April, I finally bit the bullet and started wearing a company issue BlackBerry on my hip. Of course, being the gadget head that I am, I took every opportunity to customize it. In short order I found two great applications from - guess who - Google. I started using both Google Talk and Google Maps right away on my BlackBerry and received instant gratification from each of them.

For starters, Google Talk helped push me to push more of my friends to start using this IM/Voip service. Now, even when I am on the go, I can get IMs from people at work and friends. It also has several key features that differentiate it from amongst other IM services - namely, I can start a conversation on my BlackBerry, and seemlessly continue it on my PC. I simply go to the talk client on My PC, double-click the name of the person I am chatting with and Voila!, my conversation history is already there. The other feature is that it integrates with the BB's inbox, so when new chats arrive I automatically get notified as if it was an e-mail coming my way.

Maps has also turned out to be a lifesaver. Never again will I need to carry tiny scraps of paper directions with me on business trips anymore. It's great, just put in an address and go.

And now Google has promised to improve and expand its wireless offerings, I am looking forward to them.

Can you hear me now?

2006-06-12T15:35:00.000-04:00

Apparently, kids not only outsmart adults when it comes to computer tech, but in bio-tech too. As reported by CNet, kids have taken advantage of the fact that there are certain sounds that are inaudible for adults, but that kids can hear just fine. Using this fact, kids have created ringtones that their teachers can't hear, thereby making it easier for them to pass text messages in class.

We've come a long way from the 'clothesline' note-passing system of the 80's.

The return of the Transportable Computer

2006-05-31T12:56:00.000-04:00

Many, many years ago, when I was a starry-eyed, 12-year-old geek, I would thumb through computer magazines and drool at the ads for the new and super fast 286's (yes, that long ago).

Compaq Computer - an upstart in those days - had a transportable model, it had a tiny screen and weighed a ton, but you could, in theory, carry it from place to place. That is a far cry from all of the laptops I currently own. Obviously, as time went on, laptops became smaller and more powerful.

But recently, there has been a more interesting phenomenon, in that it would seem laptops are overtaking desktops as home computers. Maybe this is because of their inherent portability, or because laptop firepower (i.e. display size, cpu speed, etc) has pretty much caught up to that of the desktop. In addition, Wi-Fi wireless networks have made it even easier for you to move your laptop around the house and surf the net - seeing that you are no longer chained to within 12 feet of your DSl/Cable modem.

And just as the cost of PC's has come down significantly, so to have the cost of laptops. For between $500-1000 today you can get a brand new laptop these days, and while the $700 laptop isn't powerful enough for a corporate road warrior, it is definitely powerful enough for the average e-mailing/photosharing/mp3-playing/word-processing consumer. (In fact, there is a project out now aiming to produce a $100 laptop for children in 3rd-world and developing nations). These laptops are also aimed more at the 'moveable desktop' concept - that is for people who plan to use these at home and never move any further then from the den to the living room and back again. In that vane, Dell has introduced the XPS M2010.

The M2010 is an interesting cross between an all-in one desktop and an oversized laptop. It has a 20.1" LCD, a wireless keyboard and very interesting looking CPU. The whole thing can be carried like a giant laptop (complete with handle) from place to place and also used as a TV or DVD player (it is Windows Media Center enabled and comes with a remote).

It is a very cool piece of hardware, however, I have to say at $3500 - there are probably not that many people who will buy it. Even Dell alludes to their target market - the tag line on the base configuration reads - Be a show off.

Someone Listens to me, part 2

2006-05-26T16:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, so maybe lightning does strike twice. Earlier this week I discovered that D-Link was making a wireless print server that also connected you to the scanner function of your MFP. So that you can print and scan wirelessly. Since one of my pet peeves have been fulfilled, it was only a matter of time before someone else solved another one of my tech pain points.

What is my next tech pain point - digital music. My wife and I are not audiophiles, yet we still listen to music. Our kids, on the other hand, are big music buffs. They listen to their favorite albums all of the time. Of course, since each one of them wants to listen to something different in a different room of the house, it means we need multiple CD players - one in the living room, in each of our bedrooms, and the den, etc. Thankfully there are CD burners and the like so that I don't need to buy more than one copy of each album. But, as anyone with little kids knows, the CDs are always getting scratched. I also have various music scattered on computers around the house as well.

I would be so much easier if I had a single digital system that let me have one central digital music system and wireless satellites around the house that could access the same music but each pllay their own playlist.

While Sonos has something like this, a new company called Olive has developed a really solid solution. Their Symphony music player (above) is a household uber system that work with standard wi-fi (even acts as a wi-fi gateway) and in addition to its own 80gb hard drive, it can also access music stored on PCs and macs around your house. Heck, it can even act as your wi-fi router and gateway and has a 4-port ethernet switch for any other ethernet devices you have in your rack. It comes with a built-in CD burner so that you can rip your existing CD's and burn new ones.

What's more is that they have another component called sonata which is a a wireless receiver that can be placed in any room and access all of the music you have on your symphony. This system is one of the first that I have seen to meet all of my music needs and desires. Well, all of them, save one - the price point. The Symphony costs $899 and Sonatas are $199 each. (Olive also has two-higher end music systems that cap out at $2400). For the config I want, it would probably run me about $1500. Hardly chump change.

However, I'll hold out in the hopes that folks from Olive will stumble across my blog and give me one to review (okay, so I will need to return it, but it will be fun to play with).

Finally, someone listens to me

2006-05-25T09:58:00.000-04:00

Back in February, I wrote an FAQ of sorts about wireless printing. One if my laments then was that while wireless print servers will let you print to a Multi-function printer, they will not let you use the scanner or other features. Someone at D-Link must have been listening because now they just introduced Wireless Print Server that actually let's you scan from your MFP.

Biometric Security - the Rube Goldberg Device of Password Entry

2006-03-15T10:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I helped a friend setup a new laptop with a fingerprint reader, and today Walt Mossberg expounded on the subject in his column. While I think that biometrics are truly a great convenience, it is my opinion that they don't offer any greater security, especially on the web, and here's why.

Consider what happens when your fingerprint reader fails? What about when you take your laptop on a business trip and don't bring along your external fingerprint reader? Or better yet, how you log in to corporate e-mail from home?

Because biometric devices are not a de-facto standard on most computers, even computers that utilize them still need to accept standard passwords. This means that those passwords are still vulnerable to cracking. This is doubly true for the web, because for the most part, biometric password utilities that allow you to 'web login' with biometrics, simply store your username and password and then send them to the web site when you swipe your finger. While this might help protect you against keystroke logging software, it will not proctect you against someone sniffing your network connection or against someone trying to crack passwords on a web site.

Bottom-line, the only real benefit to biometric security is when it is the ONLY method of logging in, until that day comes, the only real use I can see for it is encrypting files on your computer and as a convenience to prevent you from having to type in those 8-10 characters in your password.

Nike - The New Titan of Web 2.0

2006-05-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

I like to think that I am a sports nut, although I definitely don't exercise as much as I used to. I have been a big fan of the Nike brand for a long time (although my current sneaks are Reeboks that I've had for 3 years and have very little wear).

Nike has gear for every sport - Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, Hockey, heck, they even have Tae-Kwon-Do Duboks (alas, no Judogi yet). But short of their watches, Nike wasn't really much of a technology company. However, today I came across two sites that made me change my mind.

First off, Nike is teaming up with Google to produce a Social Networking Community site for Soccer Players called Joga. Joga is designed to help build up the world and local soccer communities and its launch is tied to the World Cup in Germany that's just days away (Go USA!).

Secondly, I discovered this site today: Nike+ . Apparently, Nike has teamed up with Apple to not only create iPod friendly accessories and gear, but they've also developed a tool to enable you to use your iPod Nano to track your workouts. (I now have yet another reason to buy an iPod).

The new iPod gear also connects to the web and uploads your stats!

If that isn't what Web 2.0 is really about, I don't know what is.