Summary of this week:

October 26 Microsoft to release Surface and Windows 8
Lots of discussion and possible censorship regarding NBC and Olypmic coverage
The biggest power outage in the history of the world in India
A brain drain at Facebook

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Monday July 30, 2012

On this day 29 years ago, I married Karen Ann Bundy. The smartest thing I ever did.

October 26 will be a big day for Microsoft as both the Surface tablet and Windows 8 will arrive. We shall see if that saves or sinks the corporation or if it is just another day.

And as a preview, Microsoft announces their Wedge Mobile Keyboard and Wedge Touch Mouse.

It is not surprising that they are having data bandwidth problems at the Olympics. Everyone wants to tweet text and tweet photos and they event sponsors are expecting wide open data channels and they are all in the same place at the same time and...welcome to the real world.

Building custom skateboard decks and living out of the back of a truck. I am sure they have tough days like the rest of us, but it looks idealic.

There are many challenges in having an internal social network that your people will actually use.

One professional's computing environment this summer. I have experiences many problems with mine this summer. It all goes to the desire to keep up with Apple's OS X updates. I should have sat on my OS X and not updated. My troubles are forcing decisions on me. I would rather sit back with my HMTL editor, vim editor, and Unix command line, but that is just me.

Marissa Meyer's first action at Yahoo: free lunches. Substance to follow.

It seems that it is okay for computer algorithms to predict crime. When people do it, we slam them as racial profilers or something like that.

This is fascinating - is requiring mathematics in school squashing students who would otherwise excell? I knew many students in college who would have majored in Computer Science except for the math. They loved programming and problem solving, but couldn't pass the calculus classes required. I don't know that we will ever answer this question.

This is too bad, a few instances where Craigslist sued instead of welcomed people who created ways to help you use Craigslist.

Data for 8.7 million customers hacked and sold. Is everyone ready for national electronic health records?

Email me at d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page

Tuesday July 31, 2012

These are pretty good DIY projects. I like the simple iPad holder. I use a jar of pickles on the table and lean my iPad against it.

Michael Arrington takes another view of Craigslist and disrupting others' attempts to build on it. Arrington also points out that sometimes style or design doesn't matter - data does.

Panasonic returns to profitability.

It seems that much in the way of coded free speech is happening inside of China on the Internet. I hope this is true. The PC and fax machine played major roles in bringing down the tyranny of the Soviet Union. Perhaps...

"The Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems" At least one other person recognizes this.

A story is developing about how NBC was able to force Twitter to suspend the Twitter account of a critic of NBC's coverage of the Olympics. I hope there is nothing to this as the alternative is not good.

Much is being written and said about NBC's coverage. I watch a lot on the Internet, but I have a cable TV subscription ID etc. that allows me to do so. Many people I know got rid of those things the last few years because they could watch what they wanted on the Internet. Sigh. I don't like what NBC is doing either.

Apple changes its MagSafe connector - for the worse.

Apple's goal isn't to make money - then why don't they lower the price of all their products and increase the salary of all their retail store employees?

CodeAcademy is adding Python programming to its list of courses.

It appears that the American flags "planted" by Apollo astronauts are still standing.

Three million downloads in four days makes OS X 10.8 the most successful OS launch in Apple's history. I'll wait at least another week before downloading and "upgrading." I am most interested in the dictation feature.

Digg is attempting a comeback. The site digg.com is "under construction" this morning. We shall see what happens.

Is the personal printer going the way of the Post Office? Why print when you can post to the net?

A look at an updated Dell workstation-class desktop computer. Yes, people still use these thing to produce content.

Email me at d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page

Wednesday August 1, 2012

Here is a technical review of the Intel 3330 Solid State Disk.

And here is a line of inexpensive SSDs that you can use to upgrade the performance of your computer.

Apple now has a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adapter.

Google releases version 21 of the Chrome browser.

It only took 12 years and $600million, but the FBI has gone “paperless” and digitized everything. I am skeptical. I bet anyone a lunch that I can walk through the FBI offices anywhere in the U.S. and still find lots of paper files.

United Airlines receives its first 787 from Boeing.

The lights went out on 600 MILLION people as India has what is probably the largest power outage in the history of the world.

Five inexpensive ways to upgrade the performance of your portable computer.

Digg.com is back on the air.

The ten happiest jobs.

An Indian company releases an Android tablet at $125.

Hackers from the government of China are hitting governments and businesses worldwide. Is everyone ready for national electronic health records? I’ll bet anyone a lunch that you won’t see health records of Chinese Communist party officials online.

I don’t know much about this man and woman who make skateboard, but the woman is a star. Watch her on the video.

The reasons seem complex, but startup businesses succeed more often when started in the home town of the founder.

It seems that Twitter actually did suspend the account of a person who criticized NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. It also seems that Twitter and NBC are partners in the coverage. It also seems that this is a very bad thing for Twitter to have done, and NBC is also complicit in this censorship. Someone has apologized, but I have to wonder about the persons who decided to do this.

This question seems 20 years late. Is Phoenix becoming the next Silicon Valley. Twenty years ago I saw engineers leaving Silicon valley to start companies in Arizona due to its much lower cost of living.

MobileWorks has an algorithm to help assign little tasks to inexpensive workers in developing countries. This might become something.

Email me at d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page

Thursday August 2, 2012

Sharp is losing billions of dollars and is laying off 5,000 people.

"If the government needs to "step in" to help your business model, maybe you shouldn't be in business. " Well said.

Android accounted for 68% of worldwide smartphone sales last quarter.

People are worried about a brain drain from Facebook. Facebook is a software company that makes it easy for people to show the world photos of their cat putting its paws in a cat birthday cake. Brain drain? From where?

Research in Motion is collapsing, and with the collapse comes the pain in Waterloo, Ontario.

Some really smart people in the government of the State of California assumed things about the price of Facebook stock and tax revenues. Guess what? They were wrong.

Professor David Cheriton at Stanford loaned Page and Brin $100,000. He now has $1Billion in stock. That is risking money. He could have nothing today. And people scream about how capital gains taxes are too low. Risk your own money on these things and then decide about tax rates.

The Commodore 64 is 30 years old.

It seems that development on Windows 8 is completed. Microsoft is releasing copies to manufacturers.

Excellent thoughts from Godin on how you treat your customer and how you treat yourself in the process.

Eight things to help you understand introverts.

Portable WiFi hotspots are banned at the Olympics, and this guy has the job of finding them.

A water-proof, Bluetooth speaker for music in the shower. Silly, but they will sell a bunch of these come Christmas.

Email me at d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page

Friday August 3, 2012

Some people are all excited about screenshots of the real Windows 8.

Apple takes another step forward in building a data center in Reno.

Some of the follies that occur everyday inside government offices. The IT department blocks WebEx conferences from people who are directed to participate in WebEx conferences.

The TSA continues to ignore the law and court orders.

And if we don’t use taxes to subsidize writing, there will be no professional writers in the future. The silliness continues. It seems that silliness and August have a high correlation.

How much is Facebook really worth?

Americans are forgoing pay TV. 400,000 homes this year have turned off cable and satellite TV. My son and his wife did this last year.

Learning how to hide yourself from Kinect sensors. Yes, it is silly, but learning how to hide yourself from this sensor and that sensor may become important in the next decade of sensors everywhere.

New, detailed aerial photos of the Apple data center in North Carolina.

A “white board” that folds and fits in your (large) pocket.

A “rugged” USB thumb drive from Lacie. The ruggedness comes from the great big foam rubber pad that wraps around the drive.

Three months’ experience with a Nest thermostat.

Email me at d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page

Saturday August 4, 2012

The site nbcolympics.com has four times the traffic as the last Olympics site. I have enjoyed it. I like watching sporting events with no one telling me what I am seeing with my own eyes.

The life of a Gizmodo writer goes haywire after people hack his iCloud account. Is everyone ready for national electronic health records?

"Novelty plus dread plus a good story equals overreaction." Well said.

More on how persons in the government of California bet 2% of the state's budget on estimates of the Facebook stock price. Silliness seems to pervade government at all levels.

Not only is Apple using their own maps in iOS6, they are using better technology to give clear, sharp map displays.

Early adoption of Google Fibre in Kansas City is high. Why not?

But not everything that Google tries works. Here is another series of shutdowns of Google projects.

Daily builds for software? How about Facebook updating its software twice a day?

India plans a mission to Mars in 2013. Good for them. NASA and the U.S. need competition to get us out of the doldrums.

Speaking of NASA and doldrums, NASA is proud to announce that they have plans to put astronauts into space in just five years. Are they kidding? How about five weeks or five days. Five years? I didn't realize how low NASA had sunk. That is pathetic.

The TRS-80 from Radio Shack is 35 years old. Fondly known as the "trash 80," it worked and provided competition for a lot of people.

IBM keeps pushing the Power series of CPU chips.

Seagate completes the purchase of a controlling interest of Lacie.

"Remember the Rule of Three says that if I have just one solution it’s a trap, two solutions is a dilemma, and three solutions breaks logjam thinking and helps me think of more possible solutions."

Email me a t d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page

Sunday August 5, 2012

A good post on making an emergency thumb drive to carry while traveling.

Combine a robot arm, 3D printing, and a beach - looks pretty good.

A look at advances in robotic "hands" at Harvard.

Lacie shows new USB 3.0 external drives that work especially well with Apple computers.

Some thoughts on Sunday night's hoped landing on Mars. The writer appears to be a fan of space exploration. I too am a fan of such exploration. I'm not a fan of NASA as it currently exists.

The ten best closing lines of novels.

Freelancers have to pay taxes, too. Often their taxes are far more complicated.

Differences between blog writers and print writers.

How to work fewer hours and earn more money. This can be done. I think you need a little luck, but it can be done.

Is self-employment less risky than having a paying job? It can be less risky in that you have more control. Still, there are plenty of influencing factors that are outside your control. Be careful.

Sitting is the new smoking (?). Well, I admit it isn’t really good for you, but smoking? Still, there are a few things you can do for your health.

Why one iPad owner has switched to the Google Nexus 7.

”Create The Habit Of Capturing Creativity Wherever You Are” This is one of the very few pieces of advices that I recommend to everyone.

How one person began a freelance writing career online.

A 7-step write a book fast program. Note, this person considers the typing of the words to be writing. I consider all the other things they are doing before typing words to be part of writing. For example, when someone asks me if I am writing another book, I always answer, “I’m always writing another book.” Because I am.

Some notes on writing in a journal. I highly recommend this practice. It is one of the few practices that I recommend for everyone.

You are a writer, be business like and stop apoligizing.

Email me a t d.phillips@computer.org
Go to Day Book Home and pointer to previous weeks
Go to Dwayne's Home Page