All Things Ng

Geist: Canada's Wireless Crisis

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-08T01:10:18-04:00

Michael Geist on Canada's wireless crisis:

Canadian wireless market is hopelessly behind the rest of the world with limited competition, higher prices, and less choice.

Ars Reviews Hardy Heron

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-08T01:03:07-04:00

As we have come to expect, Ars produces a nicely detailed review of Ubuntu's latest release, Hardy Heron.

The verdict?

Ubuntu has achieved Linux desktop dominance by offering a significantly better experience and more usability than competing distributions, but with the others are starting to catch up in those areas, this is a bad time for Ubuntu to be stumbling. Fedora 9 and openSUSE 11 are both right around the corner and they might finally give Ubuntu a real challenge on the desktop.

UrlGreyHot: A Great User Experience Resource

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T22:14:06-04:00

UrlGreyHot is a great web site for application designers. There are a lot of useful resources for information architects, web designers and more.

Information Design Patterns

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T22:08:59-04:00

If you're an information design buff, niceone.org has a nice reference for common patterns.

Torontoist: Sue Johansen Retires

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T15:47:41-04:00

The Torontoist is reporting that legendary Toronto media personality Sue Johansen is retiring.

OpenOffice 3.0 Beta Released

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T15:31:26-04:00

OpenOffice 3.0 has been released for beta testing.

Some notable items... Office 2007/2008 files are supported, and this is the first native Mac version.

Personal Password Algorithms

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T15:19:50-04:00

There's a good article on Lifehacker on how to create and memorize unique passwords across various services.

New Site Section for Evernote Users

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T14:37:54-04:00

A little bit of administrivia: I've added a new section to the website that should be self-explanatory.

As a heavy Evernote user, I've decided to add a section to this site that is geared towards providing tips, reviews and news related to Evernote. I won't be posting any more Evernote bits on the main page, so if you'd like to subscribe to the Evernote feed, you can do so from the Evernote section.

Three Fields: Getting More Out of Evernote

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T01:59:46-04:00

Evernote is a deceptively powerful application. At first glance, Evernote is simplistic note taking tool. You have notebooks and notes. A notebook is not very different from a folder in your filesystem, and a note has three only fields — a title, a tag list and a rich text body field. Pretty boring, but if you think about it, you can do a lot with three fields.

By thinking out-of-the-box, you can do some pretty neat things. Here are ten ways that I've been using Evernote.

I create a notebook for each of my Evernote "applications". In terms of selecting how to use the Title, I had to think about how I prefer to sort those types of items. Feel free to adapt these applications to your own personal work style. Most of the field uses below are self explanatory, but in some cases, I've provided some examples to get you started.

1. Software License Manager
Title: Name and Version of Application, e.g., WriteRoom 1.0
Tags: Platform and usage of the software, e.g., mac, word_processor
Body: Insert key and other required information here

2. Job Hunt Manager
Title: Company - Title - Application Date, e.g., Apple - CEO - 20080501
Tags: Keywords and Status, e.g. executive, rejected
Body: Job description, research, links, contact and activity log

3. Source Code Clipper
Title: Short but Descriptive Function of Code/Algorithm, e.g., Quicksort
Tags: Language, keywords, e.g. java, recursion
Body: Source Code

4. Reading List
Title: Book Title, e.g., Hackers
Tags: Keywords, e.g., steven_levy, computers, technology
Body: Online bookstore link

5. Meeting Minutes Tracker
Title: Meeting Date
Tags: Project Name, e.g, big_software_project
Body: Minutes

6. Movie/Music/Book Tracker
Title: Book, CD or DVD Title
Tags: Keywords/Categories
Body: Location, CD Sleeve #, Lent To, IMDB information

7. Password Manager
Title: Web site, e.g., Gmail
Tags: Function of web site, other keywords, e.g., e-mail
Body: Password, using Evernote's built-in encryption (not supported on all platforms... yet)

8. Issue Tracker
Title: Issue
Tags: Status, Assignments
Body: Issue body

9. Weekly Work Log
Title: Week of {Friday's Date}
Tags: Keywords of things you worked on
Body: Breakdown of things you worked on by day

10. Expense Tracker
Title: Date (yyyy-mm-dd is the best format for sorting dates in titles in Evernote)
Tags: Expense category, Location, Vendor, e.g., travel, gas, shell
Body: Scanned image or textual information on the expense

Good Brad Bird Interview

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-07T01:02:26-04:00

GigaOm has a good summary of an interview with my favorite Pixar mind, Brad Bird.

What does a departing TechCrunch blogger write about?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-06T23:52:03-04:00

Interesting, Duncan Riley is leaving TechCrunch, and interestingly enough, his blog post covers his favorite apps/services.

At the top of his list? Evernote! Interestingly, number two is an app that I also have mucho respect for - Things.

Clearly, I'm not the only one who is cuckoo for ~~Cocoa Puffs~~ Evernote.

Opera Releases Dragonfly

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-06T23:29:51-04:00

From TechCrunch:

Dragonfly will also show the most up-to-date document object model (DOM) of a page, not just its initial construction. This means the effects of dynamic changes to a webpage, whether Ajax-driven or not, will now be much more transparent and traceable.

This should make debugging DHTML heavy a heck of a lot easier.

Wired Explains High Gas Prices

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-06T23:13:37-04:00

Not that new, but still relevant. Wired has a good outline on the sad outlook of gas prices.

It definitely makes the premium on hybrid cars look palatable.

HTC Diamond Hands On

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-06T17:03:12-04:00

Engadget has a hands on (with video) profile of the upcoming HTC Diamond, with an addendum.

An interesting tidbit on the OS:

HTC has made hiding WinMo away something of a priority; CMO John Wang stated, "You wouldn't even know this device was Windows Mobile. You would just think it's TouchFlow 3D."

Gee, I wonder why they don't want you to think it's running WM6?

Non-Confirmed Blackberry 9900 In the Wild

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-06T16:51:27-04:00

The guy at crackberry.com is one lucky Canuck.

He ordered a pre-release 9000 off eBay from the UK and got it. He's got his first thoughts up on the site now. The kicker is that the phone hasn't even been confirmed by Blackberry yet.

The display looks amazing. Almost enough to get me to stop drinking the iPhone Kool Aid. With a list price expected to be around $900-$1000, I think I'd rather buy 2 iPhones instead.

7 Linux Distros Compared

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T15:48:54-04:00

Information Week has a shootout of 7 popular Linux desktop distros. The winner? Not surprisingly, Ubuntu.

From Win32 to Cocoa, Part 2

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T14:32:49-04:00

Part 2 of an Ars series on a "Windows user's conversion to Mac OSX" is now up.

I have to say, that even as a Mac supporter, I didn't think that Peter Bright's comment (in Part 1) that "writing software for Windows is a pain" is all that fair. I tend to think that Microsoft has done a fantastic job with its development tools in terms of making life easier for Joe programmer. With a little bit of effort, anybody can write a Windows application.

It must be said, however, that not everyone is cut out to be Joe programmer, which is why I think Bright's observation (also from Part 1) rings true:

The third-party software ecosystem for Windows is big, no doubt about that. But it's also incredibly shoddy. Most Windows applications—from both major software companies and minor ones alike—are ugly, poorly-thought-out, clunky pieces of crap. While there are a few artisan developers for Windows, most Windows devs just don't care.

It is also true that on average, the typical "indie" Mac application has been developed with more careful thought in terms of design and user interaction than a comparable Windows application. I tend to think that this is simply due to the fact that developers realize that Mac users have higher expectations of applications, and that the higher degree of difficulty that comes with Mac programming also attracts a different breed of programmer. Quite often, you see Windows enterprise software carrying price tags of over six figures that don't look or run better than shareware apps developed by weekend programmers.

Using Evernote as an example - I've been using Evernote for a couple of years on Windows now. I love the utility (and the price) of the Windows app, but the GUI always felt a little Mickey Mouse to me. Evernote 3 is the first time Evernote builds a native Mac client, and while not perfect, it has a very polished and efficient design, reminiscent of iTunes and iWeb. These design improvements have now been migrated over to the Windows version of the application. As a result, the Windows application is now significantly better than the 2.x iteration of the product.

If you're interested in understanding the difference between software development on both platforms, this series is worth a read.

Tesla's First Dealership in LA

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T14:17:02-04:00

The first Tesla dealership will be popping up in Los Angeles.

Jason Calacanis was talking about his experiences with his new $100K electric roadster on this week's TWiT. He said that on a $4 charge, you can go about 250 miles. He also mentioned that in Tesla's product roadmap that a $50K 4-door is on its way, and even further in the future, there should be a $30K vehicle.

Sweet.

Zexy Lenovo's Shiny Ideapad U110

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T14:13:07-04:00

The boys at Engadget have a nice overview of the Lenovo U110. They've also got some video of this glossy notebook.

HTC Diamond Phone has VGA Screen

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T14:01:55-04:00

The upcoming HTC Diamond looks to be a pretty nice device. The biggest draw will be the 2.8" VGA resolution screen. The dealbreaker will be that its operating system is Windows Mobile 6.1.

Where's my iPhone, Mr. Rogers?

Eee 9" Screen on 7" Unit

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T13:53:43-04:00

Some guy has ripped out the 9" Eee screen and tested it on a 7" unit, and it works. Sort of.

Maybe there will be a grey market for screen upgrades on the 7" unit.

What's the Deal with John Cusack?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T13:33:48-04:00

I am calling bs on John Cusack's indie cred. When he's good, he's really good (High Fidelity, Say Anything). But do all the people who give John Cusack indie cred simply forgive him for the mainstream dreck he's been in?

I saw Martian Child this past weekend, and it is probably one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. Watching this movie reminded me of how bad Serendipity was, and well, it was really bad.

As chance would have it, I was flipping channels yesterday evening, and while waiting for King of the Hill to start, I was subject to the last few minutes of another Cusack trainwreck, America's Sweethearts.

Lucky me.

Some Printables

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T13:28:01-04:00

I had to print some graph paper recently, and found a couple of good links for some printables.

For graph paper, incompetech lets you roll your own templates.

For ruled paper, you can check out a recent posting on Lifehacker.

MediaLink 1.5 Released

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T13:09:50-04:00

Nullriver has released Medialink 1.5, their software for streaming media from your Mac to your PS3.

The main new feature is Aperture support. Would be nice if they published a more detailed changelog on their web site though.

Next Toronto Apple Store: Fairview Mall?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-05T13:04:36-04:00

Looks like the next Apple store in the GTA is going to be Fairview Mall.

Too bad, because I know we could really use one in Markham or Vaughan.

Homer Simpson, Drawn By CSS

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-01T17:06:45-04:00

Via Daring Fireball: Some dude creates a Homer Simpson using text and CSS. Fan-freaking-tastic!

Dark Room, Writeroom for Windows

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-01T16:48:01-04:00

I'm a big fan of Writeroom for the Mac, even though it took me over a year after buying it to start using it. I use it to write my longer blog entries, as well as writing correspondence.

If you're looking for the same type of functionality on Windows, check out Dark Room. It's free, and it works just as well as Writeroom. Seeing how Writeroom is not free, it's actually a better deal.

Photos of Blackberry's First Clamshell in the Wild

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-05-01T14:12:18-04:00

Photos of the Blackberry clamshell are now out in the wild. Gotta admit, it's probably the sexiest crackberry I've ever seen, but I still think I'd rather drink Apple's iPhone Kool-Aid.

Workspace Managers for Windows

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-30T16:44:28-04:00

If you're looking for virtual desktops on Windows, and the XP Powertoy isn't cutting it, consider Dexpot, which is freeware.

If you've got some cash burning a hole in your pocket and want some additional whizziness, Otaku Software has a couple of apps that might tickle your fancy. TopDesk gives you the functionality of Expose that you see in Windows, while Deskspace gives you the same functionality as Dexpot, except with a spinning cube, a la Compiz on Linux.

Ars Reviews Evernote

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-30T16:35:39-04:00

David Chartier gives a review of the state of Evernote, as well as an exclusive preview of the iPhone client.

The more I use the new Evernote, the more I love it. I haven't had a chance to test run the Windoze or Windoze Mobile versions of the beta yet, but that should happen soon.

The biggest problem with the new Evernote for me right now is the need for filtering the tag list. When you select a notebook, only those tags that apply to that notebook should be visible. On the whole, however, I'm ready to become a paying customer for the sync feature as soon as its available. The fact that they have a synchronized tool with such broad platform support makes them a killer app in the note-taking space... competitors be damned.

SFGate Profiles Chef Michael Mina

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-30T16:32:52-04:00

SFGate has an interesting profile of chef Michael Mina.

Lenovo's Mockbook Air Ad

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-29T14:50:28-04:00

Torontoist's Take on the iPhone

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-29T14:47:08-04:00

Torontoist has a good bit on the terse Rogers iPhone announcement.

New York Subway Diagram / Helvetica

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-29T13:33:53-04:00

Conde Nast is selling signed prints of Massimo Vignelli's updated but timeless New York subway map.

Vignelli was profiled in the Gary Hustwit's documentary, Helvetica. It's an amazing documentary about Helvetica, the font, and about typeface design in general. While the film's appeal may be limited outside of font nerd circles, it provides amazing insight into one of the most ubiquitous and perfectly designed sans serif fonts ever created.

iPhone + Canada = A Reality

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-29T13:01:53-04:00

The iPhone is apparently coming to Canada. For real this time.

This better not be a hoax, Mr. Rogers! I've been waiting a long time for this, even if it means scrapping my overpriced, one year old, piece of junk Windows Mobile phone.

Eee on 'Roids for Auction

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-28T23:49:29-04:00

A hyper-modified Eee is being sold on eBay for over $3000. Hard. Core.

Zoho Spreadsheets Add New and Worthy Functionality

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-28T20:44:16-04:00

Zoho, a popular source for applications on the cloud, is now offering macro and pivot table functionality to their spreadsheet app.

Salesforce.com Going Mac

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-28T20:42:43-04:00

Valleywag is reporting that Salesforce.com is going to become a Mac shop. Nice.

More on Ubuntu Hardy Heron

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-28T20:36:14-04:00

With Microsoft's most recent misstep in Vista, some opportunities have opened up in the desktop OS space. Apple has had one of its best quarters, and now Canonical has put its best food forward with its latest release of Ubuntu, Hardy Heron.

OSNews has a roundup of reviews of Hardy Heron, while Lifehacker offered a detailed and well written primer to getting started with this popular distribution.

While not a perfect distribution by any means, there is a lot to impress. It runs snappily on obsolete hardware. It definitely felt faster than XP on my Eee, and that was with the visual effects turned on. Where Ubuntu, and ultimately Linux on the desktop fails, is driver support. I have yet to have a painless experience getting wireless to work on the Eee, and that's even after switching out the wireless card to a more compatible broadcom version.

Ubuntu has as slick a GUI as I've ever seen in a Linux distro, although the interface designers do need to come to the realization that brown is not the new black.

In any case, if you're just looking to get up and running, without a lot of customization, Ubuntu can fulfill most surf and mail requirements. Once you have to dig a little deeper to tweak the system, you'll definitely be in need of a little more patience. I do believe that the goal of a viable Linux based desktop is well in reach. 

Typeracer: Test Your Typing Speed Against Others

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-25T14:22:27-04:00

Typeracer is a nifty little web game (appears to be AJAX) that lets you test your typing skills against others. It's quite fun, actually. My modest 99 wpm is nothing compared to the high scores of over 200+ wpm (wtf!) that some players are getting.

Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.0.4 Released

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-25T13:53:30-04:00

If you're a closeted Linux worshipper, the latest and greatest update to the best desktop Linux distro has been released.

Open Source Usage on the Rise in Canada

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-25T13:53:30-04:00

More evidence on the gradual commoditization of software development from Michael Geist:

Statistics Canada reports that open source software use is on the rise among Canadian private sector firms. Seventeen percent report using open source software, up from 10 percent last year.

Writer

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-25T13:53:30-04:00

Writer is a cross-platform, web based writing tool, not unlike Writeroom, which I reviewed for the Mac last week. Did I mention it's free?

John Cho Interviewed in Wired

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-25T13:53:29-04:00

John Cho, that Asian guy from American Pie, is arguably the biggest mainstream Asian American actor who isn't famous for his martial arts moves. Wired interviews him on the latest Harold and Kumar buddy pic, as well has his involvement in the next Star Trek movie.

illegalsigns.ca

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-24T00:13:48-04:00

The illegalsigns.ca web site has seen it's share of controversy in recent days, but I never really bothered taking a look at it until Google Reader recommended it to me as a feed. It's a very interesting site, and definitely worth a look. I admire the courage in putting up a site like that. After all, enemies are made when you come between people and money.

Stitching Panoramas

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:20:09-04:00

Lifehacker has a nice little explanation on how to create your own stitched panoramas using freeware.

Funes

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:19:15-04:00

Funes is a nice little freeware app for the Mac that allows you to rate your music from the menu bar. This is very useful for those of you who like to create smart playlists using ratings as part of your boolean criteria.

Wired Reader Macro Photo Contest

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:17:45-04:00

There are some eyepopping images among the ten finalists of the Wired reader macro photo contest.

RapidWeaver 4 Preview

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:15:10-04:00

Realmac Software gave Ars an exclusive preview of their upcoming Rapidweaver 4 release. Rapidweaver is the software that I use to publish this web site. While not perfect, it is effective for my workflow.

Missing from the new release is still the ability create a blog post from another app, which would have been nice, but I guess the biggest change is that the GUI has undergone a major facelift. My main quibbles have been the lack of a one-click publish (which is slated for the v4 release), the flaky cut and paste of graphics into a blog entry, and the SEO unfriendly hexadecimal hashed file naming of permalinked files. They have never been showstoppers for me, but definitely would have been nice to have.

Digital Camera Sensors Explained

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:14:30-04:00

Gizmodo has a very nice explanation on digital camera image sensors for the technically uninclined.

DIY SSD

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:12:45-04:00

Century has a CF-to-SATA adapter coming out soon. Considering how cheap high-speed CFs are, it might actually make a ding in the SSD market.

GearGripper

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:11:26-04:00

The Gear Gripper looks like a nifty little gadget that will make phone/ipod/pda charging on your nightstand a little easier.

Better GReader

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:10:09-04:00

Gina Trapani of Lifehacker has cobbled together a handy Firefox extension that should make your Google Reader experience a little better.

How to Avoid the George Costanza Wallet

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:08:39-04:00

Lifehacker has a bit on trimming down the crud in your wallet.

Device Charging Holder

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-23T19:07:05-04:00

The Driin Mobile Phone holder is a neat gadget if you only have one or two gadgets to charge and if the socket is in a convenient place. Not for me, but could be good for you.

Make Your Own Gorillapod

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-22T22:39:53-04:00

Instructables has a new entry on how to make your own Gorillapod.

PETA's $1 Million X-Prize

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-22T21:43:20-04:00

Looks like PETA has its own version of the X-Prize. $1 Million bucks to the lucky scientist who can create realistic fake meat.

Panamatic - Panorama Photography Made Easier

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-22T21:38:25-04:00

The Panamatic is an interesting device that makes it easier to create panorama photos without having to stitch misaligned shots.

Evernote Beta, Mac Version

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-20T16:42:41-04:00

Well, there is finally a version of Evernote for the Mac, albeit a Beta version. If you haven't signed up for the beta, now's a good time.

While not perfect, the developers have done a good job of Mac-ifying one of my favorite Windows apps. The new version of Evernote is ambitious - Evernote is attempting to go multi-platform, and I'm not just talking about Windows and Mac. There is a web version, as well as mobile flavors. This one of the first total solutions that I've seen for a consumer-level unitasker. When I refer to Evernote as a unitasker, I don't mean it in the pejorative sense either. It does its one task very well.

A welcome piece of functionality to the Evernote puzzle is tagging. While I would only say that the tagging feature is in its infancy, it is definitely a major step ahead of the hierarchical categorization of its predecessor.

On the Mac, there is no shortage of competition for Evernote: VoodooPad Pro (which I own and use, but not nearly in the same way that I use Evernote on Windows), Yojimbo (I'll leave it to the Mac zealots to wet their pants over BareBones' apps — I am not a fan) and DevonThink (I think I have a license from a previous MacHeist, but I was already using VoodooPad) are no slouches in the note-taking realm. While some may arguably be better than Evernote as Macintosh applications, none of them are cross-platform, syncing applications. A key distinction for any Mac user who lives in the real world.

A lot of Mac users among us are multi-platform computer users, with most of us being Windows users during the day, and Mac users the rest of the time. Plenty of us have non-iPhone smartphones also. Evernote makes a serious effort at bridging our multi-platform needs, and I commend them for that.

I've been using the Evernote Beta for the Mac, and I'm ready to say goodbye to VoodooPad. I've been waxing evangelical on Evernote for over a year on Windows — the free version is an indispensable tool for business. Now that Evernote is going to be a syncable, multi-platform application, there is good reason to pay for that premium feature.

WriteRoom

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-18T19:50:07-04:00

I was rummaging through some of the old software bundles that I bought and realized that I had a license for WriteRoom from a MacHeist bundle last year.

WriteRoom is a peculiar little app in that it is a writer-centric text editor that also helps you to focus on your writing.

A little old school in the sense that the default view resembles a "green screen", but in many ways, it's quite effective. By hiding all other windows, your attention is not drawn away some annoying Growl alert demanding your immediate attention.

As there is no formatting or font control, you're focused on... get this, the words you write on the screen, as opposed to layout or any other esthetic distraction.

This piece of software is a gem if you've got anything substantial to write, be it a technical document, a blog entry, or even a letter.

iPhoto Library Manager

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-18T19:36:29-04:00

With over 11,000 photos in my iPhoto library, now is a good time to start pruning. Being a bit of a digital pack rat, I can't get myself to just delete photos. My main iPhoto library, however, has bloated itself to over 25GB in physical space, and the only logical solution was to split it into multiple libraries. I could simply burn the older libraries onto a DVD to clear up space as well.

Library management is not a task that is easy to do within iPhoto itself, so I had to look into some shareware alternatives.

The clear winner, based on reviews, was FatCat's iPhoto Library Manager (IPLM) which costs $20.

Clearly not the fastest tool around, IPLM does the job. For the past few years, I've been struggling with the cleanup and organization of over a thousand photos taken from my wedding, and still haven't really gotten around to finishing up the job. One of the reasons why it's taken so long is that I don't spend a lot of time in my home office when I do have time to make the edits. Breaking up the wedding shots into a separate library will allow me to work on them on my laptop whenever I have some spare time.

Moving the items is a pretty easy task. In my case, I simply dragged the events from the source library onto the target library and let IPLM have at it. Pretty simple indeed.

iPhoto Library Manager appears to rely on AppleScript automation to work its magic, which also appears to be why it works so slowly. This shouldn't be too big an issue, since it would be even more time consuming to make these changes manually, and because breaking up a gigantic library into smaller pieces is usually a one shot deal.

Twitter Clients for the iPhone Reviewed

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T18:38:49-04:00

John Gruber has a detailed comparison of the various Twitter clients for the iPhone.

I'm fascinated by Twitter's massive popularity but just haven't been able to get into it myself. The same can be said about the iPhone.

Things vs. Remember the Milk — Who Wins?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T18:27:13-04:00

You might remember a while back that I wrote glowing praise for Cultured Code's Things application. Things is indeed a great Mac task management application. My only criticism with Things is... that it's a great Mac task management application.

What?

Like many other Mac users, I'm a multi-platform computer user. At home, I use a Mac, and at the workplace, I'm most likely using a flavor of Windows.

This is perhaps the biggest reason behind my bias towards cloud-based applications. I've already found that I have no need for Microsoft Office on my home computers. My migration to Google Docs has been seamless. The best part about using Google Docs is that I no longer need to worry about backing up any files. I don't find that I'm missing out on a lot of functionality, since I'm one of those 80-20 users.

I know there are other free web-based task editors out there, but Remember the Milk has broad support and works nicely with Google Calendar and Jott. Remember the Milk has a workable interface, although it definitely pales in the beauty of Things.

My dilemma with using Things has always been that I work on several different computers at different times of the day, and I don't want to be dealing with synchronization issues.

This issue is a dealbreaker for me. Fortunately for me, Things hasn't gone gold yet, or I would have been out the money that I would have paid for the license.

It's a painful decision, because Things is truly the first task manager that I've ever used that really works they way I think. If Things pulls an Evernote and moves towards a multi-platform client with a web service, I'll definitely consider going back. But for now, Remember the Milk is the winner.

Behind The Google Hating

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T18:07:31-04:00

Conde Nast Portfolio has an interesting bit on the background of the three congressmen who have come out and criticized Google's recent losing bid on the FCC spectrum.

You can always find out a lot about someone's real intentions if you follow the money trail.

No, That Close Door Button on the Elevator Doesn't Work

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T17:59:09-04:00

Gizmodo has a nice little summary of a New Yorker article about a guy who got stuck in an elevator for almost two days. There's quite a bit of interesting elevator trivia, especially this bit:

...the Door Close button is there mostly to give passengers the illusion of control. In elevators built since the early '90s. The button is only enabled in emergency situations with a key held by an authority.

Ars Reviews Gamepark GP2X-F200

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T17:53:18-04:00

Ars has a spot-on review of the emulator nerd's handheld, the GP2X F200.

I've had one of these babies since the beginning of the year, and they're pretty good for retro-gaming fans. I had to get a PSP fighting pad cover to stick over the D-Pad so I could pull of a Dragon Punch, but now I can get my fix of 2D fighting games on the go.

Asus EEE Pc Reviews

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T17:32:00-04:00

CNET and Trusted Reviews have new reviews of the 9" EEE PC.

I love the new screen, but I think the price boost takes away the "cheap appeal" of the original Eee. Once you breach the 600 dollar range, it's a hard call between buying a full powered laptop and a portable surfing device. With HP's new gear, the small and cheap laptop space is going to get crowded.

Having said that, the Eee's form factor is near perfect when you're traveling. My first generation Eee was indispensable during my trip to San Francisco. I was able to plan my itineraries and book restaurant reservations from the convenience of my hotel room without having to lug a full sized laptop during my travels.

XP SP3 To Arrive April 29

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T17:27:46-04:00

Service Pack 3 is due to arrive on Windows Update on April 29. Apparently Microsoft says that you can expect a 10% speed boost. So why do I need Vista again?

Jott

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T16:57:27-04:00

I know I mentioned this a couple of entries ago, but it merits an entry for itself.

Jott.com is a very neat service that lets you call in with your cel phone, and leave actions to yourself. The voice recognition software is pretty good (provided your command of the English language is too) and you can integrate it to your Google Calendar, Remember the Milk and other web services accounts.

It's very handy to use if you're not near your computer but need some tidbit of information sent to one of your computer-related services. Best of all, it's free and available to Canadians.

Gorillapod

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T16:54:58-04:00

I've seen GorillaPods before, but as I was listening to the MacBreak podcast, Andy Inhatko reminded me of how cool these things are.

Very cool.

PC World: Organize Your Life With Free Online Tools

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-17T16:25:03-04:00

Lifehacker's Gina Trapani wrote up a nice little list for PCWorld on free online tools that can enhance your life.

Gems on the list that I like include:

Remember the Milk, a to-do list editor
Sandy, a virtual assistant
Jott, a text-to-task converter, which by the way now has access numbers in Canada

GIMP 2.5 Looking Good

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-16T23:15:16-04:00

The new screenshots for The GIMP 2.5 are looking pretty good. Looks like they took user feedback to heart.

Sun: MySQL Source To Close

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-16T23:00:53-04:00

There's a Slashdot thread on the closing of portions of MySQL's code base. I suspect this could have a negative impact on MySQL's popularity.

DSLR Camera Pick of the Moment, Average Joe Edition

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-16T02:36:17-04:00

The new Sony Alpha 300 series of DSLRs have been making their rounds on review sites. David Pogue reviewed the A300 for the New York Times, and CNET and Digital Trends have reviews of the A350. Imaging Resource has a very detailed review of the 350.

Let me tell you why I'm a big fan of the Alpha 300 in particular. The differences between the 300 and 350 aren't huge, and if you've been reading any photography blogs in the past little while, you'll know that at some point, more megapixels result in diminishing returns, particularly in the areas of noise and write speeds.

Honestly speaking, the Alphas don't have the best picture quality or lens selection out there. Canon seems to rule the roost on picture quality, and Nikon seems to dominate with optics. Having said that, the Alpha are no slouches. Unless you're a hardcore photography buff (and therefore not the target of this article), you're likely to be more than happy with the pictures that come out of an Alpha.

The key, however, is to remember that the most important part of photography is the photographer's eye. Let me give you a good example: at my wedding, there must have been a dozen relatives with more cutting edge and expensive gear than the guy we hired to take pictures. When I look at the pictures I got from my wedding - there were many photos from relatives that may have been superior in clarity and colour, but none that were superior in composition or craft. Clearly it takes more than a great camera to take a great picture. Combine a great eye with great gear, and then you've got Daily Dose of Imagery.

The second most important part of photography is how easy the camera is to use. Sony's Live View is currently the best implementation on a digital SLR. At this moment, Live View is enough of a reason to consider the Alpha 300 series over its competitors. You can take pictures from low and high angles more easily than any other DSLR. By using a second sensor, there are no mirror tricks, and you get the same ease of use that you would from a standard digital point and shoot. The speed of the camera is pretty peppy, so all in all, it's a usable camera.

The Alpha 300 is a great camera for average Joes who are looking for a little more than a point-and-shoot or super zoom camera. It's affordable (for a DSLR, at least), at around $800 CDN with a zoom lens. Note that the Alpha 300's big brother, the Alpha 350 goes for the same price without a kit lens. At 10MP, the Alpha 300's picture quality is more than enough for most weekend shooters, and it's super easy to use. Add a Lensbaby 3G, and you'll be taking spectacular pictures in no time.

Just a little postscript to this recommendation: When it comes to lenses, I'm not a big fan of zoom lenses, but I'm a lesser fan of lens swapping. I tend to think that for most hobbyist photographers, these are the lenses that should be bought:

Wide to Moderate Zoom, i.e. 20mm - 70mm
Short depth of field lens, like a Lensbaby
If you find yourself taking a lot of group shots, get a good quality wide angle lens as well

Note that I'm not a fan of telephoto lenses. They're expensive, heavy, and harder to use. Telephoto lenses are better for people who really know what they're doing. Sad to say, but a lot of people who have telephoto lenses don't know what they're doing.

Two Good How To Sites

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-15T13:41:31-04:00

If you're ever wondering how to do something, there are two sites that could provide you with the answers: WikiHow and Instructables. Both are extremely useful sites.

Mac "Clone" Hullabaloo

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-15T13:21:22-04:00

There was much made over Psystar's Leopard "hackintosh" bundles yesterday. It was certainly a big enough deal that Psystar's site buckled under the traffic load, leading to speculation that the site was down as a result of an Apple cease and desist order.

The thing that seems to got everyone bent out of shape is that Psystar has offered to sell a legal copy of Leopard and then break the Apple EULA and install the software on the box itself (for an extra fee, of course).

Ars has a pretty good analysis of the situation.

I'm surprised that someone hasn't done this sooner, there is a lot of activity on Insanely Mac's forums on what specs make the ideal hackintosh.

Apple could easily put a company like Psystar out of business without even unleashing their lawyers if they simply provided a consumer level tower. Forcing users to spend the big bucks on a Mac Pro fuels the motivation to create a hackintosh among many of those who can't afford it. Of course, there will always be part of the population who just won't buy a Mac under any circumstance, but there is clearly an untapped market for Apple out there.

The Rather Difficult Font Game

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-15T12:53:44-04:00

An interesting font identification quiz.

I feel pretty good about my 31/34 score, considering I'm not even close to being the font nerd I was 20 years ago... It also feels good because current font nerd John Gruber got 32.

Cancer Therapy without Side Effects

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:42:35-04:00

Wired is reporting that a new cancer therapy without side effects is close to entering the human trial phase.

Kanzius RF therapy attaches microscopic nanoparticles to cancer cells and then "cooks" tumors inside the body with harmless radio waves.

RED Pwns NAB Again

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:32:36-04:00

RED has made another huge splash this year at the NAB show.

Particularly of note is their new 3K Scarlet mini camcorder. This 3K resolution camera is not a consumer camcorder, but at its reported price of $3,000, it is within the price range of a hardcore prosumer.

Wedding videographers, film schools (and students) and professional video podcasters will be lining up for this beauty.

Fisher & Paykel CookSurface - Zexy New Gas Cooktop

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:25:34-04:00

Until now, there was no sleek cooking surface for gas purists. Electric is no way to cook (although it is the way to bake), and so far, induction has not made everyone a believer. So, gassy home chefs have been relegated to the ugly metal grates to suspend their pots over their beloved flames.

Well, say hello to Fisher & Paykel's upcoming CookSurface gas cooktop. The surface is glassy smooth when not in operation. When in operation, risers appear to suspend your pots above the flame. Neat stuff!

E-mail, Old School

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:23:12-04:00

Think Geek is offering old-school e-mail for those of you who are feeling a little nostalgic.

Vista Wants To Piss You Off

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:13:08-04:00

Anybody's who worked with Vista for even a few minutes knows of the annoying torrent of security dialogs that pop up. Heck, Apple even made a funny commercial out of it. Apparently, Microsoft designed this feature of Vista to annoy its users.

The "feature" in question is called the User Account Control. It's basically the traffic cop that nags users on various operations that might have even a smidge of risk.

According to Microsoft's David Cross:

The reason we put UAC into the platform was to annoy users. I'm serious.

Are You Ready for a Dr. Pepper?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:09:48-04:00

Rumor has it that Guns N' Roses have finally finished the long awaited Chinese Democracy album.

If you're a lucky American, you might be in for a free Dr. Pepper this year!

Mandriva Linux 2008.1 Review

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T14:08:02-04:00

Linuxseekers has posted a review of the recent Eee-friendly Mandriva Linux 2008.1 release.

For Sale: 30 Years of Walmart Videos

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T13:49:49-04:00

Amazingly, 30 years of confidential Walmart videos are for sale. Legally.

From the article:

In recent months, Flagler has opened its trove of some 15,000 Wal-Mart tapes to the outside world, with an eye toward selling clips. The material is proving irresistible to everyone from business historians and documentary filmmakers to plaintiffs lawyers and union organizers.

Joel on Software Conference

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T13:41:22-04:00

My programming hero, Joel Spolsky, has organized his first conference, the Business of Software Conference 2008.

Scheduled for September 2008, he's managed to line up an impressive array of speakers, including Seth Godin, Eric Sink, Richard Stallman, Jason Fried, and of course, himself.

Weiser Smart Series Locks

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T13:02:17-04:00

It turns out the Kwikset Smart Series locks aren't really available in Canada... at least not under the Kwikset brand. Instead, they're marketed in Canada as a Weiser lock, one of their sibling companies under the Black and Decker umbrella.

The two key product benefits of the Smart Key system are bump-key resistance and easy rekeying. I can definitely vouch for the rekeying simplicity - I was able to rekey a lock in less than 30 seconds. If you've got a bunch of doors that you want to lock with the same key, you no longer have to have them done by a locksmith or the keying guy at Home Depot. Unless, you have a key grinder in your house, you'll still have to pay to get copies made, but that's not a big deal.

Since the pricing of the Smart Key system doesn't really come with a significant premium, I think it's a worthwhile investment to change your locks, lest you haven't seen any bump key videos in the past year (where have you been!!?).

I originally investigated the idea of buying a Medeco cylinder, but they are very expensive.

In the end, if someone does want to break into your house, they will find a way. For me, the key is that they break something to get in. The last thing you want to be doing is arguing with an insurance company over whether you locked your door... after all, a bump key burglary leaves no trace.

New Nintendo DS at E3?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T12:57:31-04:00

Some gaming sites have been reporting a rumor of a new DS at E3. Should be interesting. The Macbook-like clamshell form factor of the current design is already excellent. Maybe Nintendo's engineers have worked some magic and are making a DS that looks like a Macbook Air? Nah, that's just crazy talk.

Brando SATA Dock

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T12:52:53-04:00

The Gadgeteer has a review of the Brando SATA Dock. I think this is a very good gadget for the IT professional or PC hobbyist. The price, however, is ridiculous, considering what the going rate of a drive enclosure is.

It looks like a company named Sharkoon has a similar product line from the same OEM.

MicroSDHC to MS PRO DUO Adapter

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-14T12:47:23-04:00

PocketGamer is reporting about a new adapter that lets you use a microSDHC card as a Memory Stick PRO DUO in Sony devices, including the PSP.

This shouldn't be of interest only to gamers, you should be able to use this device with a Sony camcorder or camera as well. Given the low price of SDHC in general, it could be a useful device for many Sony customers out there.

Update: New MacHeist And MacUpdate Bundles

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-11T19:42:34-04:00

Turns out my previous post was partially true. There is a new MacHeist, but it won't be featuring Parallels. Parallels, however, will be featured in MacUpdate's new bundle.

The new MacHeist bundle is a retail package that rehashes some of the software from the two previous efforts, for those that missed out.

Zexy New Sony HDR-TG1 Unboxed

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-11T13:30:40-04:00

Tracy and Matt have unboxed one of those hot new Sony camcorders (well, the European version, at least, which has a slightly different model number) and posted their first thoughts. This one in particular is special because it's small and records 1080i.

If you're willing to give up a pile of bells and whistles, this is an awesome camera. The common dilemmas with this type of hardware relate to size vs. quality and size vs. features. Since the size vs. quality dimension is eliminated, you need to evaluate whether the small size is worth giving up more advanced features. Of course, it all depends whether you're a budding Quentin Tarantino or just Joe Average.

If you've finally realized that you are not the next Cecil B. DeMille (and it takes a big man -- or woman -- to admit that), I tend to think that this is a very nice camera to consider picking up. The Sanyo Xacti's are nice too, but when it comes to consumer camcorders, your two best bets are usually Sony and Canon.

Opera Mini 4.1

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-10T00:34:55-04:00

Opera Mini 4.1 is now out. It's a fantastic multi-platform browser that can help allay a little of your iPhone envy. Check it out.

Desktoptopia - Free Wallpaper

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-10T00:28:41-04:00

Desktoptopia is best described as a competitor to Webshots. It's available for Windows and Mac, and the quality of the backgrounds is surprisingly high.

It's free, and worth a looksie.

Sync iTunes Across Multiple Macs with Syncopation

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-10T00:21:08-04:00

I've been looking for a solution to synchronize my purchased iTunes songs across my Macs for quite some time. The built-in iTunes sharing functionality doesn't really seem to do what I want. Enter Sonzea's Syncopation. For 25 clams, you can sync your music (and subsets) across up to 5 macs.

Los Angeles' Transit Dilemma

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T23:59:30-04:00

Wired has an article on Los Angeles' challenges with respect to its transit system. I think that the article is interesting in that L.A.'s challenges are not very different from the ones faced by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

DimDim - Free Competitor to Gotomeeting and Webex

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T23:51:15-04:00

DimDim is an interesting little offering. It's a free web meeting service based on an open source platform. If you're not into spending money on a Gotomeeting or Webex account, you might be interested in this service.

You can sign up for a beta invitation now.

Who Owns Promotional CDs?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T23:39:24-04:00

There's an interesting bit on Ars about the legal issues surrounding ownership and distribution of promotional CDs. The gist: The record label gives you a promo CD. But only you are licensed to use it, you can't give it away, sell it, or even toss it.

When you buy a CD or DVD, you are buying a license to play back the content. Fair enough.

There is a lot of confusion, however, because you are also buying the physical media. As such, people assume they "own" the music or movies they buy. It also doesn't help when you see a TV commercial for a new DVD release and the voiceover guy says "Own the DVD now!" Technically, that's not true, is it? Well, it does sound better than "Buy a restricted license to this DVD now!", but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

If the advertising regulations for prerecorded music and movies were as strict as they were for pharmaceuticals, they'd sound a lot like those side-effects voice-overs you'd hear at the end of those drug ads you hear.

New MacHeist?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T22:59:57-04:00

There are indications that a new MacHeist bundle is on its way.

Speculated to be in the bundle: Apps listed - Parallels, Sound Studio, Leap, StoryMill, MenuCalendarClock, Art Text, Typinator, DVDRemaster Pro, Hazel, BannerZest.

The price? $64.99

If all is accurate, getting Parallels for 64.99 will be a steal. All the other apps in the bundle would be gravy. I've bought both previous MacHeists, and while there are some apps I don't use, the ones I do use more than justify the price.

Fujitsu Scansnap S510M

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T13:14:19-04:00

On the short lived Mediawiki incarnation of my blog, I wrote a review of the ScanSnap 510M document scanner from Fujitsu. Since I didn't restore any content from that version of my site, I've decided to write a new review, one that reflects the six months of use that I've given this fantastic device.

As we're now in spring, and it is also tax season, I've just started my annual ritual of cleaning out the office before I do my taxes. Part of the office cleaning has been scanning all the documents in my file folders. In the past few days alone, I've probably scanned over a thousand pages.

The ScanSnap 500 series, while expensive for consumer scanners, is actually a pretty inexpensive document scanner. Not a lot of people are going to spring $500 for a scanner that doesn't even really do a good job of scanning photos. The key to appreciating the ScanSnap is that it is a one-trick pony that does its one trick especially well.

The ScanSnap is only one of three scanners that I have. I also have a flatbed scanner (for photos and slides) and a sheetfed scanner on my all-in-one printer. Neither are truly up to the task of bulk document scanning. Believe me, I've tried. And tried. And tried.

The ScanSnap is a fast and quiet duplex scanner with a tiny footprint. It's also extremely easy to use. Unlike some other inexpensive scanners that can duplex, the ScanSnap scans both sides simultaneously. Because of that, it can run through a stack of pages very quickly. The software that comes with it is also smart enough to throw out blank pages, and to rotate any misfed pages so that they are saved appropriately. The scanner can also autodetect whether a page should be saved as a colour page, or a black and white page.

To trigger a scan, you just feed a stack of pages into the feeder, face and top down, and press the scan button. That's it. The software handles the rest.

I try to keep a very simple workflow with my scanning, so I don't bother with OCR or proper file naming. I just use the default mode of scanning into a date stamped PDF file. Part of the price of the scanner includes the full version of Adobe Acrobat and some OCR software, and once you factor the price for a full version of Acrobat ($449 US list), the scanner doesn't seem very expensive at all.

Now let me tell you why I don't really bother with OCR. For me to maintain any level of discipline in using this scanner regularly, the workflow has to be simple and fast. OCR takes time and effort for a feature that I don't really need. All of the files get dumped into a single folder, and then I use another app (Yep) to simply tag the files. I try to use very simple tagging: subject matter and year.

Before I got the scanner, each year, I'd finally sit down and spend a few days going through stacks of papers and putting them into proper folders in my filing cabinet. My new methodology is to have a couple of Rubbermaid Boxes for a given calendar/tax year. One box for non-tax related items, and the other for tax-related items. I don't bother with sorting, I just toss the scanned document into the box. If I need to look something up, well that's why I use Yep to tag them. Because I do need hard copies to include with my tax returns, the tax-related box makes things a lot easier to find every April.

My big hopes for this workflow is to reduce the buildup of paper clutter in my home office, and spend less time filing stuff that I rarely pull back out. I think I'm on the way to achieving this, but I won't really know until next year. I've finally had a little time to work on finalizing the complete conversion of paper in our filing cabinets into electronic format, so the true test won't happen until that effort is complete.

In terms of limitations for the scanner, there really aren't any if you factor my previous comment that this is a one-trick-pony. Software support is a little limited, since this is not a TWAIN scanner, but I have yet to use any software outside of the pack-ins.

If you are looking to pick up a Fujitsu Scansnap, there is only a big gotcha related to it, and that's more related to software licensing than anything. There is no such thing as a cross-platform version of the scanner. You have the choice of Windows or Mac. It's literally a black and white decision. The black scanners are for Windows, and the white scanners (suffixed with an M after the product number) are for Mac. Since the scanners are bundled with full versions of Acrobat, I suspect that Adobe didn't want to grant dual platform licenses for the software to go as a pack in with the scanner.

I highly recommend this scanner if you're trying to reduce the amount of paper in your life. It works extremely well at the task it is designed for.

The Real Homer Simpson

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T11:35:19-04:00

Like the Real Mario I posted a while back, Pixeloo has created a creepy looking Real Homer.

If you want to be creeped out even more, check out the talking animated version.

Subdomain Hijacking?

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T01:03:39-04:00

You've got to be kidding me.

iPhone Review Defies Words

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-09T00:40:17-04:00

I can't really seem to put words to Xiaxue's iPhone review, but apparently she is one of the most popular bloggers in Asia. Quite fascinating when she discovers that touch screens are for fingertips, not fingernails.

Al Jaffee Profile in NYT

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T18:46:04-04:00

Gleaned from Daring Fireball last week: a really good article about Mad Magazine's Al Jaffee in the NYT two weekends ago. Some of the multimedia links are especially worthwhile for Mad aficionados.

Segway RMP = Badass

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T18:43:21-04:00

The new Segway RMP looks like a very angry (and creepy) skateboard.

MAKE @ RobotBusiness 2008 Segway RMP - video powered by Metacafe

Android Running on Nokia N810

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T18:40:28-04:00

Several of the gadget cites are reporting that someone has managed to get Android running on a Nokia N810. That's quite an impressive feat.

Now if someone would only do the same for my lowly HTC S621 (aka T-Mobile Dash). I soooooo need to eviscerate Windows Mobile from my phone.

Webcam Crimefighting

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T18:26:40-04:00

An enterprising nerd who was wondering where his Netflix deliveries were going decided to use a webcam to keep an eye on his mailbox... and caught a neighbor stealing his inbound DVDs. The outcome? A $750 fine and enrollment in a first offender program. Mail theft is a federal crime in the US, so the guy got off pretty lightly.

I had a similar problem with one of my old neighbors, who was putting their overflow garbage on my lawn on garbage day. Back then, the City of Toronto had a 5 bag limit (biweekly), and because I only generated 1 bag, they thought they could put their excess garbage on my side without asking me (how they could come up with that much garbage still befuddles me). I used a webcam to collect some evidence, but I was finally home one day and caught them red handed. After that, they put their overflow on my other neighbor's lawn.

Chopstick Canoe

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T18:25:28-04:00

Some guy made a canoe out of chopsticks. Awesome.

Samsung's Odd Monitor

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T18:21:14-04:00

Samsung has a new and novel monitor - a dual display, so to speak.

While it may look a little bizarre, I imagine there must be some utility to it. It's probably useful for keeping an IM window or mail window open. The second 'head', a 7" monitor, connects to your PC via USB, and can be placed anywhere on the frame of the main monitor.

Computerworld OS Smackdown

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T13:40:52-04:00

Computerworld has a nice little series of essays pitting all the major desktop operating systems against one another.

While I am a Leopard man myself, I do work with other OS's quite frequently, especially in my professional life. I've always been a little sad that Windows 2000 was my favorite version of Windows, but with the crap that is Vista, I would have to say I gotta like XP on newer x86 hardware. I've always wanted to like Linux, especially Ubuntu, but I feel that they do have a little ways to go before they can supplant Windows XP as my second favorite OS.

Truecrypt

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T13:18:04-04:00

Truecrypt is a very useful piece of cross platform software. Running on Macintosh, Windows and Linux, you can create encrypted volumes to protect your data.

With the proliferation of mobile devices, maintaining privacy and security for company data is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. Having tried Truecrypt on my Eee during my vacation, I have to say, it's a fantastic little program, and I recommend it to anyone who has any private data to protect, especially for mobile and usb key users.

HP Mini-Note 2133 Wants to St-eee-l Some Market Share from Asus

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-08T13:13:35-04:00

Looks like the freshly minted HP Mini-Note 2133 is a nice little contender to the cheap and small notebook niche currently owned by Asus.

Flow 1.0 Released

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-07T13:28:03-04:00

Flow has gone gold. Now Mac users have yet another pretty FTP app. This could end up stealing a little business from Panic, who sells the ever popular Transmit.

Out of all computerdom, why is it that Mac nerds are the only ones who wet themselves while forking out $30 for an FTP client ? I'll stick to the free Cyberduck, thank you.

My San Francisco Trip: Eating

iam@steven-ng.com — 2008-04-07T10:34:32-04:00

My wife and I spent four evenings in San Francisco, and one of the purposes of the trip (aside from R&R) was to eat great food, and for the most part, we did that. Most of the dining tips came from my friend Dave, a foodie who lives in SFO.

Westfield San Francisco Center Food Court
This mall has a surprisingly upscale food court like I've never seen before. With some offshoots from big restaurants, it has a nice selection of good eats. We enjoyed the Thai food at Coriander for lunch after our arrival. My wife especially liked the pumpkin curry, a pleasant and unusual dish. We were disappointed to find out the food court wasn't open on Sundays, but I think we would have eaten lunch there every day if we could. We went back on the Monday, but had to eat a light lunch to starve ourselves for Michael Mina.

The Slanted Door
Our first real meal came from the Slanted Door, a modern Vietnamese restaurant at the Ferry Building. Some highlights from this meal included the live scallops, grapefruit and jicama salad and roasted pork belly. Surprisingly good was their Hong Kong milk tea. Overall, it was a great way to start this eating expedition. The Slanted Door also has an offshoot in the Westfield San Francisco Center's food court.

Colibri
Colibri, a Mexican restaurant connected to our hotel, the Hotel Diva, was a nice meal. My friend Dave, who lived in Mexico for a time, said that this restaurant was as authentic as it gets, north of the the Mexican border. The biggest hindrance to enjoying the dinner there was that we had a big late lunch, which didn't go with an early dinner. We had their guacamole, which is made at your table. The tortilla soup was quite nice, and because I got stuffed on the guacamole, I can't even remember the other entrees. I remember something about chicken, and some pork carnitas. We did have a pitcher of mango Agua Fresca there, which was quite refreshing.

Michael Mina
Michael Mina, located in the Westin St. Francis Hotel, was to be the dining highlight of our trip. We had the tasting menu, which consisted of six courses. The meal was quite spectacular. My wife's favorite dishes were the amuse-bouche, which was a tiny little oyster, and the crispy skin branzino, which was perfectly accompanied with some beautifully prepared calamari. My personal favorite was the California squab breast, which came with fava beans and foie gras that just melted in your mouth. To give you an idea of how big a deal the squab was... I don't really like squab, so for it to be my favorite dish, it had to be incredibly good. Our least favorite dish was the Kobe Beef (both our first time), not because it was bad, but because a little went a long way. Hard to believe, but true. It was also nice that Michael Mina provides "alternative beverages" for non-drinkers. My wife had a fantastic faux-martini made with pomegranate juice and ginger beer. The restaurant is spendy, but highly recommended.

Lulu
On our final night, we went to Lulu. The best way to describe this restaurant is that it is a franco-italo version of one of my favorite Toronto restaurants, Seven Numbers. Some fantastic dishes there were the fresh mussels, rosemary scented chicken with warm potato and lettuce salad, and the endive and watercress salad.

All in all, we have to say that we thoroughly enjoyed the San Francisco restaurant scene. From what I've read, San Francisco has the among highest number of restaurants per capita in the US, so one can only expect good things. We would have liked to try French Laundry as well, but you can only do so many things over a four night stay. I'd also like to note that in general, service in San Francisco puts Toronto restaurants to shame. I don't know what it is about Toronto, but service generally sucks. Even the Starbucks out there put their GTA counterparts to shame.

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