Monthly Archive for December, 2007

My favourite technology of 2007

Published on December 31, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

In a few short hours, 2007 will be no more and it’s been years since I’ve written those good old top “whatever” of “insert year” lists. Since I’ve read, seen, heard and played maybe one book, movie, album and video game respectively this year and I’ve been focusing more and more on technology with this site, I’m going to list off just that…so here we go:

Google Everything: I’ve been a big fan of Google’s Gmail since the service was still invite-only but this year they took it even further, improving the contact feature, adding IMAP support and many other small improvements to the web interface.

On top of that, there’s Google Notebook which allows me to keep a unified repository of notes and can even access stuff I jotted down on my cell phone.

The improved Google Reader is probably the best RSS feed reader out there right now and finally, when I was seriously thinking of switching my e-mail and calendaring work to a service that would work better with my Blackberry, they made Google Sync, which automatically synchronizes Google Calendar to my Blackberry.

Oh, and on top of all that, there was also Google Gears, which allows some of these fancy web applications to accessed offline.

Plus an interesting third-party added a great to-do list to Gmail which brings me to…

Remember the Milk: Earlier this year, I decided to get more organized and at the same time was looking for ways to use my trusty computers make this easier.

Enter Remember the Milk, a web-based to-do list. At first, it simply had a cool interface and again, I was able to access it from my cell phone so I was never without my list of tasks. But it kept getting better. They added direct integration with Google Calendar giving it the much needed task management function…but the tipping point came earlier this month.

The RTM team created a Firefox extension that added a nice to-do list right in Gmail’s interface…and since I keep Gmail open in a separate at all times when I’m online, this means my task list is always open, too.

So, that’s it? A bunch of web services, you ask…pretty  much. The iPhone isn’t available in Canada without an excessive amount of effort and doesn’t hold much appeal to me anyway. Vista and Leopard? Please, I have no interest in bloated eye-candy.

R.I.P Netscape Navigator

Published on December 30, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Seems one of the biggest tech news stories this week is the death of Netscape Navigator. AOL, who’d acquired Netscape at some point, announced it was over, no more updates and no more support.

Of course, this isn’t a huge shock, I stopped using it years ago when I discovered the wonder that is Firefox, but I can’t help but feel slightly sad. I still remember the old days of using Netscape, I think it was version 0.98, not even the full 1.0 release.

And you know what? I used that browser for years, even though it didn’t support fancy things like frames or even background images (every web site was grey in my world!) Why on earth would I do this, you ask? SPEED! It booted up in a matter of seconds, whereas Netscape 3.0 and Microsoft’s foray into the web browser world, Internet Explorer, were painfully slow on my little 486 with four megabytes of RAM. Once new features were introduced into the web, stuff just became more and more bloated, climaxing with Macromedia Flash, that gave us 10 minutes of waiting for a site to load so the logo could spin.

Things changed though…I finally hit my once-per-decade new PC acquisition and broadband Internet becoming both affordable and available in the little rural town I was living in, spinning logos were no longer something to fear (But I still think they’re stupid and a waste of bandwidth.)

So to you Netscape, I raise a beer.

Are freelancers violating their leases?

Published on December 20, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

In preparation for an apartment inspection, I sat down and re-read my lease and nofreelancing discovered a rather disturbing passage:

The Tenant further agrees not to exercise or carry on in or upon the Rented Premises or any part thereof, any trade, business, occupation or illegal act.

If I read that correctly, I’m effectively committing a violation by writing this at home. Then again, so is the salesman who fills out his order sheets at his kitchen table.

I’ve heard from others that this clause is pretty standard and isn’t used against freelancers, it’s more to specify that a tenant can’t open a store in their apartment. That’s reasonable, but the fact that the wording could be used against someone who telecommutes is frightening. It seems lease agreements are yet another piece of our society that desperately need to be updated to reflect modern realities.

Come on, in a time of increased environmental awareness, why should any lease have a clause that could be used to forbid someone from avoiding a commute to the office?

Video games taught me to read

Published on December 14, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , .

I was about four years old when my parents brought home my family’s first computer. A Tandy 2000 from Radio Shack. A complete joke by today’s standards but state-of-the-art for the mid-80’s.

It was supposed to be a business machine for my father but as with many who get their first computer, my parents developed a bit of a video game habit and I quickly latched on as well.

However, my parent’s taste ran more towards adventure games like King’s Quest which were mostly, if not all, text-based. For a four-year-old who was just learning his ABCs, this posed a slight problem. I had to learn to read.

And so I sat down, doing my best to sound out the words on the screen, frequently asking my parents what the feedback the game was giving me meant (and picking up proper pronunciations from them) so I could slog my way through the quests.

So, what was the result of spending so many hours in front of a screen immersed in virtual adventures? Did I slack off on what little homework could be given in kindergarten? Did I become obese?

Neither. Instead I entered the first-grade able to read at an adult level (and somewhat underweight, I might add.)

From Mobygames.com

Why am I relating this story now? Well, it’s a response to a column in yesterday’s National Post by Father Raymond J. De Souza.

He recounts his own addiction to Tetris the detrimental effect it had on his grades to explain why parents should never let their kids play video games.

Video games are like a black hole into which time disappears. Students today often confess to wasting a couple of hours a day on them. Corporate Canada likely loses whole weeks of productive work to those who are playing games at work. Video games have some kind of addictive allure that means any number of hours is not enough. It is always possible to play again — to rise to that “next level” which somehow acquires near-mystical importance. They are the crack cocaine of the electronic world.

With all due respect to the man, I thoroughly disagree with his assessment that video games are the “crack cocaine” of the electronic world.

Now, I’m not implying that I’d be illiterate if not for the video games. But I wouldn’t have excelled the way I had without that driving force and being able to read at an advanced level probably did mold my early love of books.

Admittedly, I have had many hours disappear into a black hole playing games. Okay, so I’ve probably lost several days at a time into a black hole. But I’ve also lost many hours reading Tom Clancy novels which contain far worse examples of “graphic violence, multifarious delinquency and borderline pornography,” that Father De Souza decries in video games. Yet it’s a more respectable activity, since I’m reading a book.

It does make me sad that the majority of games these days have replaced text with (usually horrible) voice acting so they may not be helping as many kids learn to read, but there are still lessons to take away from them.

Even Tetris.

I’m probably the worst Tetris player around, but many of my friends who’ve spent too many hours playing it are quite proficient. They’re the first people I call when I move into a new place, since they also seem to know how make all my furniture fit properly.

Say it ain’t so: "w00t" is the word of the year

Published on December 12, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , .

I always like year-end lists and one my favourites is the “word of the year” declared by Merriam-Webster Inc…but this year’s pick leaves me in need of a stiff drink.

w00t.

That’s right, with two zeroes.

Yes, I’m serious. I really wish I wasn’t.

The worst part is the statement from Merriam-Webster, taken from Yahoo! News:

Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster Inc. said “w00t” — typically spelled with two zeros — reflects a new direction in the American language led by a generation raised on video games and cell phone text-messaging.

A new direction by a generation raised on video games? Excuse me? I was raised on video games and my spelling and grammar are just FINE, thank you very much.

Then again, I raised on games like Space Quest and Zork where you had to read text and type in commands versus the likes of Halo that dominate today.

I guess I’m also weird since the rare time I do send a text message, I use proper spelling and punctuation. But now I fear for the younger generation…

Or maybe this is just what happens when too many people take ironic humour seriously.

Further ranting about renewal offers

Published on December 4, 2007 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Today my mailbox contained yet another annoying renewal letter from Macleans, offering me some kind of sweet deal if I renew my subscription early. Problem with the letter is, they don’t state the exact amount of money they want from – just that they want my credit card info. Hah!

As I so mockingly stated a while back, it’s not like the price is going to magically change when my subscription actually does run out. And today, Wired editor Chris Anderson confirmed this.

Writing in his personal blog, he flat-out says that words in renewal letters and subscription cards like "courtesy rate" and "guaranteed savings," along with expiry dates for them are, well, giant loads of B.S.

Though, he does accept reality at the end of his posting. To answer his own question as to why his industry lies so much: it works.

I love one of the comments that was left, though, suggesting subscription cards be made more useful by say, including pretty pictures or adding origami instructions to the back.

I should apply for a job at GameSpot

Published on December 2, 2007 in Aside. 0 Comments

Word has it there’s an opening…

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Visual weirdness

Published on December 2, 2007 in Aside. 0 Comments

My apologies to anyone whose come by lately and been confused by the constant changing of the site’s look. I’ve been experimenting with different designs (I’m bored.) Seems right now, though, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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