My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on April 3, 2008

Those of us using Palm Treos (and Centros) are curious as to what’s next in the Treo lineup … and Andrew from the Treonauts blog posted an interesting illustration. He speculates that there is a significant Apple influence at Palm and points to the latest hires from that innovative company. I’m not sure what this means for future Treos, but it is fun to speculate — besides I like the illustration!

The company Elevation Partners has a 25% stake in Palm, and has several ex-Apple guys on board. They are suspected to be intimately involved in with working on the next generation smartphone to sport the Treo nameplate. High on the list of wants needs is a new OS for the Palm; it is rumored that it will operate much more like the iPhone user interface — called Nova OS.

On the other end, improvements will be made on the hardware front. New devices will be designed to run both the Nova OS and Windows Mobile operating system and most assume any Treo device will retain a full QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen. There aren’t any authoritative indications as to what the new phones will look like, but as Andrew’s article lists a few ‘wishes’ … “an ultraslim device along the lines of the iPhone with a full QWERTY rubber keyboard like that found on the Centro along with 3G connectivity, a high-speed processor, flush touchscreen, built-in WiFi and possibly also GPS among others.” I wonder just how realistic this 800p illustration and “wish list” is?

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Posted By RichC on April 2, 2008

The radical looking biodiesel powered circumnavigating boat has delayed their start in going for a record run around the world by two week (see last years blog entries). The re-start was to take place at the end of last month, but according to Captain Pete Bethune the biodiesel supply planned for their stop in Portugal has been held up in customs will delay the start until April 15th or 20th. According to the Earthrace website and blogs, the refurbished boat has even more eye-popping looks with its new paint and electronics. The high speed time trials have gone well although Pete indicated that there was still a slight propeller shaft vibration on the port engine which they will continue to work on. Here’s some audio from the New Zealand captain.

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Posted By RichC on April 2, 2008

As the online social networking trend continues to grow, there seems to be a site for every interest. If you enjoy trading and investing UpDown.com has a smooth running site that might even pay you for your participation. First, if your portfolio beats the S&P 500, you’ll earn monthy monetary rewards. Second, if you are a ‘good’ stock analyst and can write solid views on particular stocks, UpDown.com will pay for top advice. Third, refer a friend using the form and receive a 10% bonus based on how much these people earn money and participate.
Besides the monetary reason to join, the site is easy to used and a great place to gain insight or just fluff from other traders and investors. The mechanics of the site run well and building a watch list, analyzing companies and buying stocks is easy.

I’ve yet to participate in the ‘groups,’ but have read some of the impressive returns of their members. Yes when its ‘play money’ traders can take more risk, but there are a few with pretty good insight at picking stock buy and sell points. There is a 20% maximum that can be owned in any one position and a 5% limit based on daily trading volume of stock that you desire a position in … along with a $100 ‘virtual dollar’ commission per trade. You can only sell short if your buying power exceeds the size of the short position.

UpDown.com Social Networking guys was launch a few months ago by a few Harvard Business School students (same place Facebook founder came from) CNBC did a segment back in September 2007 when the site launched; check it out below.

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Posted By RichC on April 1, 2008

Google Docs , the online Microsoft Office or Open Office substitute, is systematically rolling out the offline component for documents. The popular Internet based ‘free’ collaborating software and document storage solution has now answering the problem of what to do when traveling away from an Internet connection … use Google Docs Offline.
To use Google Docs Offline with Firefox (Mac, Linux or PC), you must first install the Google Gears extension which will allow Google Docs to work without an Internet connection needs to be installed prior to using Google Docs Offline. The rollout for users will begin on April 1st, but only with a small number of users.

Initially only word processing documents can be read and edited in the offline mode, but spreadsheets will be able to be read, although not edited. The Presentations component is something being worked on but will not be initially available. Collaboration on documents when modified or created offline will not be available until the new document has been synced, which happens when you come back online. (icon at the top right turns green indicates an active Internet connection)

Google Gears for Google Docs will require Internet Explorer 6 and above or FireFox 1.6 and above (not including Firefox Beta 3) on Windows, Mac, and Linux. There is currently no support for other browsers including Safari, Flock, Opera, or the various mobile browsers.

Google highlights a few point if you intended to use Google Docs:
1. Security: Google Docs offline is meant to be used on a personal
computer, not a public one.
2. Syncing Changes: To sync up your edits made offline, make sure you
always go back online using the same computer and same browser!
3. Errors while offline: If you do experience errors while working
offline, to ensure you don’t lose work, always save your work to a
text file.
See Google Docs Blog for additional information.

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Posted By RichC on March 31, 2008

My daughter mentioned the movie “Unaccompanied Minors” last week and said, “Dad you’ll love it.” She refused to tell me anymore about it, but was anxious to here my reaction. So I added it to the top of our “one at a time” Blockbuster Online subscription and it arrived in time for movie night. Although it is a kids movie and is more appropriate for watching around the Christmas holidays, it still had me laughing — especially as I watched the dad (Rob Corddry) chugging along in his old biodiesel powered Mercedes. Check out the garage where he
is filling up his vintage Mercedes Benz, you’ll see his blue storage jugs on the shelf, a large caged plastic tote common to home brewers and he might even have an Appleseed Biodiesel Processor. You be the judge?
Eventually the dad’s biodiesel Mercedes leaks out all the veggie fuel and explodes after filling with petroleum diesel (a stretch). In order to continue his trip through the snowstorm, he is forced to drive a Hummer and delivers the best line in the movie: “I’ve already filled you up five times! How can you drink so much … you yellow monster!”
🙂

Rarely do you get a movie that prominently mentions the vegetable based fuel … even if they did sort of confuse biodiesel with SVO/WVO systems. If you are looking for a funny family movie with a twist of environmental and biodiesel humor … check out Unaccompanied Minors on DVD; I’ll include a short clip highlighting the dad’s trip to pick up his kids stranded at an airport below.

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Posted By RichC on March 30, 2008

Since this is a politically hot topic, I’m just going to only briefly mention Earthhour. It is a publicity event taking place around the globe Sunday which aims to draw attention to the environment and climate change issue. Not everyone is on the same “global warming” page as to the cause, but the majority of informed citizens are at least concerned enough to want to make positive choices when it comes to their environmental impact. Millions around the world are connecting today by turning their lights off for one hour at 8 PM (in their time zone) in unity around this cause … and they are hoping to encourage governments, industry and average people to improve their energy use and policies. If you are of the same spirit, consider turning your lights off tonight for an hour.

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Posted By RichC on March 29, 2008

I’m too tired to type much of anything, so will just include a “baby label” and link to a list of Do’s and Don’t with Babies.

Here are a few more labels

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Posted By RichC on March 28, 2008

About a week ago, Sharpcast introduced SugarSync, their new automated Internet backup and synchronization service which allows computer users to backup directories online and also sync multiple devices. (ie. laptop, office computer, home computer) The convenience of keeping 10 plus gigabytes of data safely backed to a server and available on multiple computers ‘might’ be attractive to people on the go. Since there is a 45 day trial period and a 50% off ‘Founders Circle‘ pricing for those who sign up before April 15th, I decided to give it a cross-platform try.

I’m not sure that even with a discount that I’m interested in paying for an online backup service as I can quickly FTP files to a server or better yet store on a low cost USB or Firewire harddrive. I’ve seen several online back up services, which offer 30 gigabytes or so for $10 a month, although the ease of backing up multiple computers and synchronizing the way Sugarsync does is pretty attractive. I wouldn’t mind having at least 10 GB backed up automatically if it were free, but I’m not sure I want to spend $25 (discounted rate) for the first year and then $50/year after I get addicted?

But onward and upward with the trial. The signup with an email address and password was simple, the software downloaded in a snap on both my Vista notebook and desktop Mac, and even the installation went without a hitch … but that was where quickness stopped. Next was the backup and sync of my two computers, and I only selected 4 GB of data to start with. Can you say bog? The reality is that I would have been much wiser to do this initial sync while I was sleeping … it slowed the entire network and Internet connection down substantially. (my advice … do the initial backup at night)

Once backed up, the service works flawlessly. I can open any file on either computer and so as long as I allow the SugarSync software to run and update changed files. At this point I have started to question the security aspect of handing off my private files to an Internet backup service, but suspect I could be wooed into feeling they are safely stored? (who can really guarantee that?) It is pretty cool to watch a modified file change only a few seconds after I save it on one computer then show up on the other. As an added bonus, I’m also able to access with my Treo 700P smartphone with the Blazer browser … although working with the files isn’t all that easy. (although I can pick a file from the back up location and have it emailed to whom ever I want!) The SugarSync site indicates that their service plays well with Windows mobile devices and Blackberries … I wouldn’t know since my Treo is Palm OS.

All and all for a first look I’m impressed. Its not for everyone considering this could get costly and offer a security breach, but I’d have little hesitation in suggesting it to those considering any other online back up service. Be warned, backing up 250 GB this way will eventually run you about $500/year once the Founders Circle discount runs out.

EDIT 4/2/2008: Received and email indicating the ‘Founders Circle’ pricing will be the ‘list price.’

Dear SugarSync Customer,

Thank you for trying SugarSync. Since we’ve announced our pricing, many of you have spoken that you love the SugarSync experience. Over 27 million files have already been synced! But for some of you, the pricing is not affordable enough for you to enjoy it for all your files and media.

Well, we listened to your concerns and as of today, the Founders’ Circle promotional pricing is now our everyday low price. You can subscribe to a SugarSync plan for as low as $2.49/month. There is no promotional period or fine print to worry about. For one low price, you can protect and enjoy your digital life wherever you are.

We hope this will convince you to subscribe and enjoy SugarSync for a long time.

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Posted By RichC on March 27, 2008

This is an older photo that was published in African Geographic in December 2006, but I saw it framed on an office wall and thought it was pretty cool. Can you imagine Kayaking and being tailed by an interested Great White Shark? (by the way … its real — click photo for larger scan or it is available here in poster form.)

I was suspicious as to it being real … so had to check it out myself. (see link)

This amazing photograph shows a great white shark trailing a man in a sea kayak. The photograph’s caption explains:

Sitting in a 3.8 meter sea kayak and watching a four meter great white approach you is a fairly tense experience.

Although some have doubted its authenticity, the photograph is genuine. It was taken from the September 2005 issue of Africa Geographic. The article details a study of Great White Sharks in South Africa by biologists Michael C. Scholl and Thomas P. Peschak. Kayaks were used to study the sharks because, unlike the motorized research vessel, they could manoeuvre more easily in shallow or treacherous water and had no engine noise to disturb the sharks’ natural behaviours. The authors explain more about the incident shown in the photograph:

Although we had extensively tested the sharks’ reactions to an empty kayak and had observed no signs of aggression, this gave us little comfort as we eyed a great white heading straight for us, albeit slowly. Just a metre or so from the craft it veered off, circled and slowly approached from behind. It did this several times, occasionally lifting its head out of the water to get a better look. Then it lost interest, and as it continued on its way we were able to follow a short distance behind. Once we’d come to terms with having nothing between ourselves and a four-metre shark except a thin layer of plastic, our kayak made an ideal research platform for observing great white behaviour in shallow water.

The article provides a very interesting insight into Great White Sharks and includes a number of other excellent photographs.

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Tags: africa, great, national geographic, shark, white

Posted By RichC on March 26, 2008

The space shuttle Endeavour was picked up on infrared camera gliding back to earth on Wednesday evening at the Kennedy Space Center after an ambitious an successful mission to the International Space Station. The crew spent 16 days on 5 space walks and installing the first part of the Japanese Kibo laboratory, as well as putting together a Canadian built maintenance robot. The returning Endeavour crew includes French astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who spent seven weeks aboard the space station setting up Europe’s new Columbus laboratory. He was replaced by NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman. NASA plans 10 additional missions to the Space Station before retiring the shuttle fleet in 2010. The next planned mission is to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope later this year.

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Tags: nasa, shuttle, space