Posted By RichC on April 5, 2010
Posted By RichC on April 5, 2010
We had a nice gathering and Easter Dinner at our house with my side of the family on Sunday. A good time of animated talk was enjoyed by all. My dad brought along an album never seen by most of us from his time in Korea during the war — interesting commentary by him from a not so enjoyable time. His memories are not all that positive (I’d still like to borrow the album over a weekend to scan and archive the photos).
My wife Brenda was, as usual, an outstanding hostess and served up a delicious Easter dinner on a beautifully set table. Holiday gatherings are the few times of the year we enjoy eating off of her grandmother’s china and setting the full table in the dining room. The seeming short day had me wondering just how many more times everyone will continue to be able to make it … school, work, a family of their own and health?
By the time the day ended and the kitchen was ‘being cleaned’ I was the first to leave in order to drive my son back to school (not purposely to get out of cleaning up). It was one of the few time I’ve seen my son concerned about having time to study for an exam; he is showing maturity.
Today I wanted to be up to watch one of the final Space Shuttle launches. Discovery rocketed on a beautiful pre-dawn mission — the last — to the International Space Station for STS-131. As one of the memorable lines of early NASA space exploration goes … “Godspeed” Discovery.
Posted By RichC on April 3, 2010
Once more Apple has inspired their devoted advocates into waiting in long lines for the chance to get a limited number of “first” iPad tablet computing devices — link. Many believe that the new product will usher in a new wave of computing, one that is slotted between the smartphone led by the Apple iPhone and the notebook computer. Personally I’m planning to wait for version 2 or 3, but am interested in the device as a better reader, one that makes the most of the written word as well as web based audio and video content.
The device is by all account excellent for a first release, but falls short in my list of important features:
Still … I do love this gadget. It might not be a notebook computer killer, but might just do away with existing eReader devices like the Sony eReader, Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook.
Posted By RichC on April 2, 2010
When a small school like Ohio Northern University, located in an even smaller town of Ada, Ohio, has one of its colleges profiled on the Discovery Channel, it seemed worthwhile to archive the video. Although I wasn’t part of the profiled program, the Raabe College of Pharmacy was where my wife received her degree. The 125 year old program is highly regarded and continues to maintain its reputation for graduating excellent pharmacists in today’s changing medical world.
Posted By RichC on April 1, 2010
VW’s North American CEO, Stefan Jacoby, let slip that the yet-to-be-named Passat replacement – currently known as the “New Mid-Size Sedan” (NMS) – will be available with a diesel in both the U.S. and Canada when it goes on sale in 2011.
Autoblog LINK
Posted By RichC on April 1, 2010
Time Warner notified me that they needed to upgrade the existing cable cards in my Series 3 Tivo box with a multi-stream card 
AND install another piece of hardware in order to continue receiving their content (some sort of 2-way frequency sharing box or something). After they added some new wires and stacked the odd sized Cisco box on top of my DVR and DVD player, I thought: “this is a ridiculously complicated way to receive a couple basic cable stations in HD” … we watch fewer than 10 channels.
The headache aside of having to schedule an afternoon off to meet the cable guy — very nice guys BTW — I was disappointed with how professional cable installers left the wiring in our basement. If this wasn’t in my house it would actually be funny!
Tweeted the photo and to Time Warner’s credit they picked it up and
asked me to schedule another appointment to correct the wiring.
Posted By RichC on April 1, 2010
Posted By RichC on April 1, 2010
A new webOS 1.4.1 update is available for the Palm Pre and Pixi … at least for Sprint users here in the U.S. The feature improvements (listed below) are welcomed fixes to the 1.4 release, but what I’m really looking forward to is tethering with the the new 4G access that is now available to Palm Pre and Pixi users!*
* FYI … April fools … sorry no 4G without new hardware.
😀
Version information
Version: webOS 1.4.1
Release date: 31 March 2010
New applicationsNONE
Feature changes to existing applications
App Catalog
- You can now purchase and download apps that are for sale, in addition to downloading free apps.
Bluetooth
- This release fixes an issue so that the phone now correctly connects with supported BMW car kits.
Camera
- This release corrects a lag in the shutter sound when you take a picture.
- This release fixes an issue so that newly taken photos and videos do not overwrite existing ones.
Contacts
- If you crop a picture before adding it to a contact, the picture appears cropped correctly in the contact entry.
- If you previously assigned either the Z or the B key as a speed dial, you can now continue to create speed dials.
Doc View
- If you open a file and perform the back gesture, the app now returns to the file list screen.
- Pinching in/out to zoom out/in now works correctly.
Messaging
- If you try to attach a video to an outgoing multimedia message, the list of available videos now displays only videos you recorded.
PDF View
- If you open a file and perform the back gesture, the app now returns to the file list screen.
- Pinching in/out to zoom out/in now works correctly.
System
- This release fixes an intermittent issue so that the volume slider no longer appears onscreen incorrectly.
- This release fixes an intermittent issue so that after the screen more reliably turns on after a single press of the power button.
Touchstone charging dock
- When the phone is on a Touchstone charging dock, the screen now consistently turns off correctly (displaying the lock icon and the time) after the shut-off interval.
Videos
- If you record a video, upload the video to YouTube, and send a link to the video via email, the email recipient can click the link and view the video. Previously, clicking the link displayed an error message.
- This release fixes an issue so that when you upload a video to YouTube, the file always includes both video and audio.
Web
- The forward gesture now works correctly in the browser.
Posted By RichC on March 31, 2010
Gizmodo posts a few first look iPad review snippets from the “pro” technology gadget reviewers. Do you want an iPad?
http://gizmodo.com/5506824/first-ipad-reviews-are-in
The first iPad reviews are in and so far they’re sounding pretty great with very few reservations. Here are the highlights of what the early reviewers are saying:
The WSJ’s Walt Mossberg is in love with the iPad’s interface and design:
The iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it’s a real challenger to the laptop and netbook.
USA Today’s Edward Baig was impressed:
Apple has pretty much nailed it with this first iPad, though there’s certainly room for improvement. Nearly three years after making a splash with the iPhone, Apple has delivered another impressive product that largely lives up to the hype.
NYT’s David Pogue was sure to clarify just where the device excels:
The iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it – books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience – and a deeply satisfying one.
PC Mag’s Tim Gideon also realizes the iPad’s limitations, but praises it nonetheless:
Is the iPad a perfect product? No. And the omissions will give the anti-Apple crowd plenty of ammo. Why do I need this extra device that’s not a full-fledged laptop? Where’s the camera? What about Flash? Um, how about multitasking? These are all valid complaints, but one thing I can say about most Apple products, and certainly the iPad: There may be things it doesn’t do, but what it does do, it does remarkably well. Aside from the aforementioned limitations, there isn’t a lot else to gripe about. And to my great surprise, you can actually get real work done with the iPad.
The Houston Chronicle’s Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus agrees with our thoughts that the iPad is a whole new category of mobile devices:
It turns out the iPad isn’t as much a laptop replacement as I thought (though it could easily be used as one). Instead, it’s an entirely new category of mobile device. For example, now when I want to surf the Web from the couch or back deck, the iPad is the device I choose. Starbucks? Same thing. Think of the iPad as a new arrow in your technology quiver, an arrow that will often be the best tool for a given task.
I had high expectations for the iPad, and it has met or exceeded most of them.
BoingBoing’s Xeni Jardin was thinking ahead while trying out the device:
Maybe the most exciting thing about iPad is the apps that aren’t here yet. The book-film-game hybrid someone will bust out in a year, redefining the experience of each, and suggesting some new nouns and verbs in the process. Or an augmented reality lens from NASA that lets you hold the thing up to the sky and pinpoint where the ISS is, next to what constellation, read the names and see the faces of the crew members, check how those fuel cells are holding up.
I like it a lot. But it’s the things I never knew it made possible – to be revealed or not in the coming months – that will determine whether I love it.
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Andy Ihnatko thought the iPad lived up to all the excitement and hype:
The iPad user experience is instantly compelling and elegant. It’s not every computer and every function. It’s a computer that’s designed for speed, mobility, and tactile interaction above all other considerations.
The Root’s Omar Wasow thinks the iPad has something for everyone:
Apple pulled off a remarkable balancing act in that it has designed the iPad in such a way that in can simultaneously appeal to both newbies and nerds. For low-tech users looking for an affordable entry-level PC, the iPad is a computer without all the distractions. […] For the tech-savvy with $500 to drop on a gadget, the iPad offers a convenient way to consume and enjoy digital media without being tethered to a computer all day.
Posted By RichC on March 31, 2010
The federal government after the Civil War expanded in both its size and influence over states and individuals. The United States did this to regulate industry as businesses grew to encompass several states. The concern over securing civil rights for all citizens as well as providing some social services continued by Washington D.C. as the century came to a close.
The Great Depression once again saw people turn to Washington, which welcomed its expanding its role over states; its power over people grew once again, although many protested that Federal legislators went beyond their constitutional bounds. Even as more federal control over social programs expanded again in 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed silent. They did not conclude that Congress overstepped any federal statues until 1995, when the Supreme Court ruled that Federal expansion wet beyond the Commerce Clause; they overturned justification for its use in United States v. Lopez.
Once again we are facing the case of and overstepping Federal government. It’s a challenge that will no doubt be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Several state attorneys general have concluded that dictating all citizens purchase a Federally prescribed health care policy as unconstitutional. While having health insurance may be a responsible and wise thing for citizens to do, it would seem to to me to be an infringement by the Federal government on an individual states rights … not to mention the liberty constitutionally given to American citizens.
Here’s a one-minute sound bite on Federalism from Judge Andrew Napolitano …
federalism101_100331.mp3 (197 KB)