Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
John C Dvorak - Stop Complaining about .docx!
I'm a big fan of yours, John, but one thing that really grinds me is your condemnation of Microsoft's 2007 office file formats. As you know, they changed .xls, .ppt, and .doc to .xlsx, .pptx, and .docx. This annoyed consumer users when they started getting attachments in this new format. It's a shame that Microsoft didn't inform the public enough that downloading and installing a compatibility pack takes care of the problem.
What Microsoft DIDN'T do in the morning is highlight the incredible benefits of this new format. Files saved in this new 2007 format are sometimes more than 50% smaller than the same file saved in the 2003 format. For a consumer user, this is no big deal since chances are, most consumer use of Office documents doesn't get too heavy duty. However, the only people who actually pay $500 for an Office license reside in the corporate world and use Office for corporate use. This means sending big-time presos, excel database table exports, and large training manuals just to name a few. These files are being thrown through emails and choking email servers, not to mention setting everyone over their corporate imposed mailbox limit in no time.
I took some sample files that I received in my email inbox that were saved in the Office 2003 format. I resaved them in the same folder in the Office 2007 format. The file size difference was massive. Take a look at the photo below to see the results.
Again, if you are a consumer user, please don't use office unless...
1. You go to a college that has one of those great deals with MS where you can get Office for $45. I got my copy for $10.
2. Your business gives you a license for "work purposes" on your home computer.
3. You have a bootleg copy that seems to work ok.
There are plenty of free options such as Open Office that work just as well.
What Microsoft DIDN'T do in the morning is highlight the incredible benefits of this new format. Files saved in this new 2007 format are sometimes more than 50% smaller than the same file saved in the 2003 format. For a consumer user, this is no big deal since chances are, most consumer use of Office documents doesn't get too heavy duty. However, the only people who actually pay $500 for an Office license reside in the corporate world and use Office for corporate use. This means sending big-time presos, excel database table exports, and large training manuals just to name a few. These files are being thrown through emails and choking email servers, not to mention setting everyone over their corporate imposed mailbox limit in no time.
I took some sample files that I received in my email inbox that were saved in the Office 2003 format. I resaved them in the same folder in the Office 2007 format. The file size difference was massive. Take a look at the photo below to see the results.
Again, if you are a consumer user, please don't use office unless...
1. You go to a college that has one of those great deals with MS where you can get Office for $45. I got my copy for $10.
2. Your business gives you a license for "work purposes" on your home computer.
3. You have a bootleg copy that seems to work ok.
There are plenty of free options such as Open Office that work just as well.
Monday, January 11, 2010
One clarification about internet service
When you see an internet speed advertised... as in.. FiOS Internet 15Mbps/5... or Comcast Performance 15Mbps/2 etc, this does NOT mean Megabytes per second.
Internet speeds are measured in Megabits per second, NOT Megabytes. We think of Megabytes because of the size of computer files etc... For example, your average 10megapixel point and shoot photo is 2.5 megabytes. This is different than your internet speed.
Here is how it works.
There are 8 bits in a byte. Simply take your internet speed and divide it by 8. That is how many megabytes per second your internet provider says is the fastest you can go. I have 15Mbps service from Comcast. So I can expect to see transfer speeds cap off at about 1.875 MegaBYTES per second.
One way to see the difference.
MegaBITS per second usually can be seen as Mbps.
MegaBYTES per second normally is listed as MBps.
Note the difference in capital letters.
Just a bit of clarity for anyone who might be wondering.
Internet speeds are measured in Megabits per second, NOT Megabytes. We think of Megabytes because of the size of computer files etc... For example, your average 10megapixel point and shoot photo is 2.5 megabytes. This is different than your internet speed.
Here is how it works.
There are 8 bits in a byte. Simply take your internet speed and divide it by 8. That is how many megabytes per second your internet provider says is the fastest you can go. I have 15Mbps service from Comcast. So I can expect to see transfer speeds cap off at about 1.875 MegaBYTES per second.
One way to see the difference.
MegaBITS per second usually can be seen as Mbps.
MegaBYTES per second normally is listed as MBps.
Note the difference in capital letters.
Just a bit of clarity for anyone who might be wondering.
I love Comcast.... for now.
Got a great deal upgrading my internet from 1Mbps to 15Mbps.
Look what I can do!!!!
Look what I can do!!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Starbucks just doesn't get it
Starbucks announced that in return for signing up for their rewards program and/or purchasing a $5 gift card, its customers will have 2 free hours of AT&T wifi. Am I missing something here? I do a ton of traveling for work, and I never go to Starbucks because the internet is not free. If I am in between appointments, I scour the city for a Panera Bread because I know they have free wifi at all their stores where I can catch up on my email. What I can't understand is why doesn't Starbucks do what every other coffee shop does and offer ABSOLUTELY FREE WIFI. This is a major reason that sales type businessmen like me do not go to Starbucks. I really can't fathom why this is such a difficult concept for them to grasp.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Google Ads
Why do all my google ads talk about sex offenders? What is going on here? Maybe it's because of the article I posted from the Economist.com.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Big Day in Tech News
Carl Icahn is launching a proxy battle in an effort to oust the Yahoo board and re-negotiate Microsoft's bid for Yahoo. My take? I say the Yahoo board is shaking in their boots right now. This is a clear opportunity for Microsoft to low ball Yahoo and offer 29-30 per share. Microsoft eventually upped the offer to $33 per share before withdrawing it leaving Yahoo shareholders very irritated. Maybe the Yahoo board will cave and accept a lower offer to avoid battling one of the most legendary financiers.
CBS announced a purchase of CNET networks sending CNET's shares up 40+%. It's a bummer I didn't buy a few months ago since I've had the "hunch" that CNET was going to be bought out for a long time. I guess investors should worry about the future and use the past only as a learning experience. CNET owns a number of tech media internet outlets.
CBS announced a purchase of CNET networks sending CNET's shares up 40+%. It's a bummer I didn't buy a few months ago since I've had the "hunch" that CNET was going to be bought out for a long time. I guess investors should worry about the future and use the past only as a learning experience. CNET owns a number of tech media internet outlets.
Monday, May 5, 2008
These people can only scam the world for so long
So, I've had a little to drink this evening. I have a moral question.... This country is pretty much a scam - politicians in general do a great job of rallying the populace to their phony causes in order that they get votes. These scammers care not for the "common man," but for some reason, we keep voting for these clowns. They just inflate our money and scam us left and right. It's got me thinking here. Is it better to just say "screw it" and join them to succeed in life, or is it better to just live a mediocre lifestyle and sit back and lament the guys on top while keeping a clean conscience? I don't know about you, but morality hasn't really gotten anyone anywhere. Please name one person who was principled who actually made something of himself without selling his soul once or twice along the way. Answer = zero people. Bottom line - if you want to make something of yourself and also make a MEANINGFUL difference in the world, there will be times where you will need to lay your ethics aside and engage in shady dealings. Damn.
On the bright side - once one is at the top and has power, the opportunity to set an example and inspire others to succeed in ethical practices is wide open. Once one is rich and famous, he/she has ample opportunity to inspire others to follow the rules, be ethical, and rise to greatness. Horrible advice if you expect to make it beyond mediocre in this world.
Speaking of those who will sacrifice all to achieve success - how about Larry Ellison giving a big f-u to the Justice Departmen prosecutors during the anti-trust trial regarding his acquisition of Peoplesoft. I know this happened several years ago, but come on, this is HILARIOUS....
BTW - Ellison and Oracle won this case.
On the bright side - once one is at the top and has power, the opportunity to set an example and inspire others to succeed in ethical practices is wide open. Once one is rich and famous, he/she has ample opportunity to inspire others to follow the rules, be ethical, and rise to greatness. Horrible advice if you expect to make it beyond mediocre in this world.
Speaking of those who will sacrifice all to achieve success - how about Larry Ellison giving a big f-u to the Justice Departmen prosecutors during the anti-trust trial regarding his acquisition of Peoplesoft. I know this happened several years ago, but come on, this is HILARIOUS....
Everyone loves a good show, and Ellison delivered. Besides the initial salt-of-the-earth musings and gunplay discussion, Ellison, the billionaire yachtsman, showed few executives can swagger like he can. When he testified at an eventual antitrust trial that could have blocked the PeopleSoft takeover, Ellison arrived in celebrity style (with cameras swarming outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco where the trial was held) in a natty charcoal suit with patriotic red tie. On his way to the witness stand, he swiped a bottle of water off the Justice Department lawyer's desk, sat down, opened the bottle, and took a deep, satisfied swig. It was a moment of pure arrogance. Classic Ellison.
BTW - Ellison and Oracle won this case.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Hillsdale College is the greatest college in the universe
There are many reasons why this is true. I won't have time to outline ALL of them, but here goes....
I've outlined several google services on this blog, but this one will be the most interesting. Most in the internet world know about google alerts. It's pretty simple. Each day (or week or month - whichever you specify), google searches its index for new appearances of a certain word of phrase that you specify. I know for a fact that many people at Hillsdale College sign up for a google alert for the phrase "Hillsdale College." Each day, they receive an email listing links of all the places on the internet where that text occurs. Some may be news articles about a speaker visiting campus. Others are results of a Hillsdale sporting event. Sometimes, there are random blog posts from alumni, prospective students, or parents.
So what's the point of this post then? Well, I'm running a little experiment here. Since the text "Hillsdale College" is in this post several times, I expect to see a spike in the visits to my blog since this post should be linked in the emails of many Hillsdale College employees - at least the ones who didn't exclude blogs from their alerts. Google analytics will work it's magic to log all the hits and tell me how many came from Hillsdale, MI. Pretty cool. This will give me an idea of how many individuals at the college sign up for this alert. Now, I only get a hit on my blog if someone actually clicks on the link that google sends them in their email. That is why I put in the sensationalist title. Hopefully, it will encourage folks to click the link.
Well, let's see what happens. Hmm.. maybe I'll get a comment or two.
I've outlined several google services on this blog, but this one will be the most interesting. Most in the internet world know about google alerts. It's pretty simple. Each day (or week or month - whichever you specify), google searches its index for new appearances of a certain word of phrase that you specify. I know for a fact that many people at Hillsdale College sign up for a google alert for the phrase "Hillsdale College." Each day, they receive an email listing links of all the places on the internet where that text occurs. Some may be news articles about a speaker visiting campus. Others are results of a Hillsdale sporting event. Sometimes, there are random blog posts from alumni, prospective students, or parents.
So what's the point of this post then? Well, I'm running a little experiment here. Since the text "Hillsdale College" is in this post several times, I expect to see a spike in the visits to my blog since this post should be linked in the emails of many Hillsdale College employees - at least the ones who didn't exclude blogs from their alerts. Google analytics will work it's magic to log all the hits and tell me how many came from Hillsdale, MI. Pretty cool. This will give me an idea of how many individuals at the college sign up for this alert. Now, I only get a hit on my blog if someone actually clicks on the link that google sends them in their email. That is why I put in the sensationalist title. Hopefully, it will encourage folks to click the link.
Well, let's see what happens. Hmm.. maybe I'll get a comment or two.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Windows Mobile
There are two things that ruined my Windows Mobile experience. I use the HTC Mogul phone with Sprint. Say what you want about Sprint, but they have the best coverage in Hillsdale, the town where I reside. Their EVDO data network isn't all that bad either. I was given the phone to use for work and was quite excited to start using it. The Mogul is a HUGE upgrade from the RAZR that I used before. The Mogul has a touch screen, a slide-out keyboard, wifi capability, and great access to downloadable software. It syncs up easily with exchange and gmail. It even has a 2MP camera with a white LED bulb to use as a flash which, in a pinch, conveniently doubles as a flashlight. Needless to say, the first couple days using this phone were fantastic.
So what ruined it? First, the memory management. On Windows XP or Vista, when the little red 'x' in the top corner is clicked, the program closes and almost all the memory it used frees up for other programs to use. Not so much with Windows Mobile. If I open up my work email to check it, and then exit the email program, Windows Mobile keeps it running. The longer I use my phone, the more programs keep running. Because of this, every time I try to turn the camera on, the phone reports that there is not enough memory available. My RSS reader, a program called Viigo that was a "featured download" on Microsoft's website constantly crashes due to memory issues. So every time it does this, I have to pull up the memory manager program in order to manually stop each program from running. This is the equivalent of hitting ctrl-alt-del and clicking "end task" every time a program is to be closed in XP or Vista.
Second, let's talk about the user interface. Let's just say that unless you want to pull out a stylus every time you use the phone, the touch screen interface is impossible to use. Here are a few examples. In order to scroll, you really have to mash your finger in to the very bottom right hand corner of the screen to hit the down arrow or do the same thing to grab the scroll bar and drag it down. Each of the items on the startup page is very small. If I want to use my finger at all, I have to be very precise about exactly how much pressure to put on the screen and be extremely careful with placement. How about making a phone call? After all, the primary use of this device is to make and receive calls. Let's say I want to call my friend, Charles. Seems like a pretty simple task. Not so much. I press the phone button to bring up the dial pad. The contacts button on the screen is very small, so I have to be careful to push it exactly right. Ok, so I got that part done. Now all I have to do is find Charles in my contacts. Easy enough, right? Again, not so much. I have two options. First, I can scroll down to Charles' name. Scrolling sucks, though, so we don't want to do that. My other option is to press the button on the screen that corresponds with the first letter of his last name. Of course, this is a tiny button that is next to other tiny buttons, so I have to take great care to make sure I press the right one. After using the phone for over a month, I'd say I still only have a 70% success rate doing this. There are a number of other issues I can bring up, but what's the point? You've probably stopped reading this post by now anyway.
Normal evaluations have three points, but I assure you, after dealing with these two issues (and I assure you, there are PLENTY more aspects of the UI that are asinine) you will want to throw the phone into the wall. Instead of spending the time to create a carefully crafted gourmet meal topped off with a nice scotch and cigar, Microsoft went to GFS, grabbed the essentials and threw it all on a plate followed up with a 45 degree plastic cup of Natty Ice. No thanks!
So what ruined it? First, the memory management. On Windows XP or Vista, when the little red 'x' in the top corner is clicked, the program closes and almost all the memory it used frees up for other programs to use. Not so much with Windows Mobile. If I open up my work email to check it, and then exit the email program, Windows Mobile keeps it running. The longer I use my phone, the more programs keep running. Because of this, every time I try to turn the camera on, the phone reports that there is not enough memory available. My RSS reader, a program called Viigo that was a "featured download" on Microsoft's website constantly crashes due to memory issues. So every time it does this, I have to pull up the memory manager program in order to manually stop each program from running. This is the equivalent of hitting ctrl-alt-del and clicking "end task" every time a program is to be closed in XP or Vista.
Second, let's talk about the user interface. Let's just say that unless you want to pull out a stylus every time you use the phone, the touch screen interface is impossible to use. Here are a few examples. In order to scroll, you really have to mash your finger in to the very bottom right hand corner of the screen to hit the down arrow or do the same thing to grab the scroll bar and drag it down. Each of the items on the startup page is very small. If I want to use my finger at all, I have to be very precise about exactly how much pressure to put on the screen and be extremely careful with placement. How about making a phone call? After all, the primary use of this device is to make and receive calls. Let's say I want to call my friend, Charles. Seems like a pretty simple task. Not so much. I press the phone button to bring up the dial pad. The contacts button on the screen is very small, so I have to be careful to push it exactly right. Ok, so I got that part done. Now all I have to do is find Charles in my contacts. Easy enough, right? Again, not so much. I have two options. First, I can scroll down to Charles' name. Scrolling sucks, though, so we don't want to do that. My other option is to press the button on the screen that corresponds with the first letter of his last name. Of course, this is a tiny button that is next to other tiny buttons, so I have to take great care to make sure I press the right one. After using the phone for over a month, I'd say I still only have a 70% success rate doing this. There are a number of other issues I can bring up, but what's the point? You've probably stopped reading this post by now anyway.
Normal evaluations have three points, but I assure you, after dealing with these two issues (and I assure you, there are PLENTY more aspects of the UI that are asinine) you will want to throw the phone into the wall. Instead of spending the time to create a carefully crafted gourmet meal topped off with a nice scotch and cigar, Microsoft went to GFS, grabbed the essentials and threw it all on a plate followed up with a 45 degree plastic cup of Natty Ice. No thanks!
Windows Mobile is horrible
I hate Windows Mobile with a passion. I don't have time to adequately display my rage right now, so look for an explanation later. It looks as if I will have to bite the bullet and buy an iPhone once I no longer have a free phone through work. I swore I would never buy one, but now that it works with Microsoft's Exchange Server and ActiveSync I think I just may bite. Now that I think about it, I remember something about the first Android based phones being released in early Q3. Maybe I can wait to see what those look like. Well, I'll explain why Windows Mobile really irks me a little later. It's time to head to the Elks for quesadillas and perhaps a cigar.
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