Reed Me : gadgets

The app that would get me to buy an iPhone...

reedme — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:51:34 GMT

I’m afraid to go look in the App Store, because it might be a real iPhone app and I might be kicked out of the ninja camp for talking like a pirate all the time. Doh!

Although, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to write one for Windows Mobile. I’ll add it to the long, long list of code that I’ll write Someday™.

I wasn’t concerned about warbots. Until...

reedme — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:44:54 GMT

The quote is long to provide context, but the bold part is what worries me. Ruh-roh.

A recent study prepared for the Office of Naval Research by a team from the California Polytechnic State University said that robot ethics had not received the attention it deserved because of a "rush to market" mentality and the "common misconception" that robots will do only what they have been programmed to do.

"Unfortunately, such a belief is sorely outdated, harking back to the time when computers were simpler and their programs could be written and understood by a single person," the study says. "Now programs with millions of lines of code are written by teams of programmers, none of whom knows the entire program; hence, no individual can predict the effect of a given command with absolute certainty since portions of programs may interact in unexpected, untested ways."

Killer robots and a revolution in warfare (Reuters)

It’s not bad enough that we’re giving the robots guns, we’re not entirely sure what they’ll do when we tell them to shoot.

How do I make a Mobile Tag for /dev/null?

reedme — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:11:17 GMT

I’m not going to say that the fact I broke down and joined Twitter in a moment of weakness today made me think of /dev/null... it’s probably just a coincidence. Meh.

A new tagging system? I wonder how much visual appeal had to the need for this instead of old-fashioned barcodes? If we can process these crazy tags on a mobile device, I’m sure we could do the same for bars.

Microsoft Tag - Linking real life with the digital world

Well, here goes nothing!

(No, that’s not a tag for /dev/null. It’s just a tag for this blog. Heh.)

That’s not teen spirit I smell…

reedme — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:50:19 GMT

I’m not sure that I’m ready to smell my video games yet…

Researchers in Birmingham have been developing new technology to add smells to the virtual world of video games. Firm adds smell to video games (bbc.co.uk)

We’ve already got people getting nauseas from the visual input alone. I haven’t played the demo for Mirror’s Edge yet, but it sounds pretty cool even though Some People™ seem to have trouble keeping their lunches where they belong. I will admit that some of the game play in Prey made me a little queasy… and I’m a skydiver.

Although, I kind of wonder what Imulsion™ from the Gears universe smells like. Crude oil? Something more refined? Hrm. Makes you think of that sewer scene from the factory in the original Gears of War. I’ll pass.

Even though Mirror’s Edge is supposed to release on my birthday, it’ll have to wait. As soon as I’m done chasing achievements in Gears of War 2 and Dead Space, I’ll get there. Oh, wait. What do I do about Left for Dead? Talk about a game that I don’t want to smell!!

No, I’m positive that I’m not ready to smell my video games yet.

Voice Command: FORMAT C: [ENTER]

reedme — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:40:55 GMT

Well, that’s how the joke used to go about Vista voice command... Apparently somebody thought it would be fun to actually implement something similar in their mobile o/s. On purpose or not. Heh.

The bug can hardly be called a security problem, given it requires access to the handset, but the fact that until the fix was issued today any G1 user typing a text message containing the word "reboot" would see their phone resetting is truly stunning... Google fixes world's most stupid bug • The Register

It’s hard to imagine why one would use the same editor/parser for text messages that is used for phone commands, or have a text sink that hooks in at the system level and parses commands out of all input, but... it’s funny either way. I love the Law of Unintended Consequences™.

As often as I have to reboot my own mobile phone, a voice command for doing this would save me from having to pop the battery off so often. <envy />

LCD Panels are sooo yesterday...

reedme — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:46:18 GMT

Since I had lasik done, I haven't missed my contacts a bit... but I might be willing to put them back in my eyes if it means better resolution, image quality and portability than this enormous pair of LCD panels on my desk.

Adding displays directly onto the lenses, visible to the wearers but no one else, could project critical information onto windshields for drivers or pilots or superimpose computer images onto real-world objects for training exercises. And with a wireless connection to the Internet, the lenses could allow bus or train riders to surf the Web on virtual screens suspended in midair or pave the way for gaming enthusiasts to immerse themselves in virtual worlds with no restrictions on their range of motion (although perhaps adding a further nuisance for fellow commuters).
The vision of the future seen in bionic contact lens - Frontiers - MSNBC.com

I like the part about not needing batteries, too. Fiction keeps getting closer to science!

No. Yes. Zune!

reedme — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:26:05 GMT

As if I have to answer, but...

Every dumb yuppie poser has an iPod. Your parents and grandparents have iPods. Do you really want to be like them? Or are you a rebel, a hipster, the first on your block to have something different?
Zune's New Tune (Forbes.com)

No. Yes. Zune, Zune, Zune!*

Sara Itani (17yoa) told Forbes:

"I love it. It's better than the iPod Nano. The interface blows me away. It's more efficient. And the Zune software is really pretty. It makes iTunes look like a spreadsheet, honestly."

She said, "iTunez == Spreadsheet. Heh."

The subscription feature absolutely rawks! I didn't know that iTunez fell short in the regard... but that would've been a deal-breaker. I loved Urge, too, but the Zune no workie with Urge.

* With humblest apologies to the Mazda marketing team and the original, geriatric artist. ;-)

Wow. A first time for everything...

reedme — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:15:41 GMT

I've had the Halo 3-branded Zune since the first day of their public availability... It's been what, seven, eight months now? More? I still remember when the delivery guy dropped it off at the front door. Doesn't seem that long ago.

I thought I'd found (drum roll) a Microsoft product that never needed to be rebooted! Well, I found the next best thing. One (non-software upgrade) restart in well over half a year. Not bad. I have to reboot my phone all the time! I think I've had two, maybe three, software/firmware/whatever upgrade restarts of the Zune in that time.

To reboot your Zune:

It doesn't have to be a simultaneous press: you can first press the Back button then while holding that button, press and hold the control pad upward.
How to Reboot Your Zune (Zune Thoughts)

Ah, that's what I get for finally trying to delete the preloaded junk (besides the Halo soundtracks).

Still not sure I like the new Zune software. At least it's not brown! (Brown's not the new black, J. I'm sorry. Black is black. Brown is UPS. If I didn't have the Master Chief's Zune, I'd have a black one.)

Fashionable PCs? How about...?

reedme — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:01:22 GMT

While I'm not opposed to sleek, sexy computing power, there are other priorities that I'd like addressed...

Typical consumers simply purchased their devices out of necessity, but the scales are beginning to tip with demand growing for hardware that performs well, but looks good at the same time. As the form factor of computers evolve to be more attractive, they are transitioning from being the eyesore in the bedroom to the centerpiece of the living room.
Microsoft: The future is in fashionable PCs (BetaNews.com)

I don't mean to go off on a rant here (with apologies to Dennis Miller), but... I'd like a PC that:

Really works like a pad of paper and a pen (i.e. won't boil my eggs if I happen to set it in my lap, if you know what I mean)
Can be viewed easily in direct sunlight (and doesn't require juice just to keep the screen on while I'm reading)
Have a startup time that isn't measured in parsecs, glacial cycles or prehistoric epochs (I was kidding about parsecs; I know that's a measure of distance. Inside joke for Star Wars fans.)
Has a battery life long enough work all day and get something useful done without recharging (Heck, my Windows Mobile 6 phone can't even do that!)
Has a walking around weight less than my mountain bike (I've had to carry my bike uphill to the office, trust me when I say my Tablet PC weighs less.)

Maybe I'm just jaded and still angry that my fully-charged Tablet PC ran out of juice during a team meeting this morning that was less than 90 minutes, but... I'd like my wifi-enabled, quad-core, bubble ink Tablet PC with a side order of terabyte flash storage to go, please. Hold the extra old-fashioned RAM, spinny hard drive thingy and the obsolete spare batteries, if you would.

Fun with software bugs in GPS units.

reedme — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:51:42 GMT

I'm sure it didn't tell him to stop and leave the car there, but...

A computer consultant driving a rental car drove onto train tracks Wednesday using the instructions his GPS unit gave him.
Man using GPS drives in front of train (Yahoo! News)

Sometimes it's fun to see where you'll end up following inexplicable directions from a GPS unit. But if the computer tells you to stop on the railroad tracks, you've obviously done something to offend SkyNet. Start keeping an eye out for Terminators because your days are numbered...

We did this last Spring just for giggles driving from Redmond to Houston after Ranger camp; we were pretty sure that the GPS was very confused when it told us to turn off the paved road, but morbid curiosity kept us following the Garmin Streetpilot's directions to Yellowstone National Park... until the unpaved road disappeared into the Snake River in the middle of a private ranch, at which point we decided that we should probably get out the old-fashioned dead-tree map instead.

Here’s a picture of where the GPS took us in Wyoming. In the GPS’ defense, the wife was driving. (You can see my aircard antenna stuck to the windshield while I was updating Streets & Trips' maps to see if its directions would continue to agree with the Garmin's. They did.) There were a lot more cattle out of frame on either side of the van…

We still laugh about it from time to time when the GPS misbehaves. The five-way (or more) intersections that are common in Redmond give the navigation system in the Sequoia fits occasionally.

Drive friendly!

Souvenirs

reedme — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:58:00 GMT

Bobbie was sure right about the best laid schemes and a' that. I certainly felt about mouse-sized towing a 5x8 trailer in my two-wheel drive minivan crawling through the Rocky Mountains this time! So much for blogging the move from Houston to Redmond in real time, though... I blame that on the streptococcal pharyngitis -- I really meant to be more disciplined about blogging. I did collect some unusual souvenirs along the way (besides the bacteria). I'll spare ye the pictorial account of our drive northward. Heh.

Location	Date	Souvenir
Houston, Tejas	up to Friday 14 December 2007 (when we left)	200+ cartons of household goods, approximately 15,000-pounds gross weight accumulated over 15 years of marriage (seven in the same house). It all fit (surprisingly) in 3/4 of the Graebel moving truck. We only had about 20 cartons of stuff the moving company refused to transport (don't ask) in our little 5x8 Uhaul trailer behind the van.
San Antonio, Tejas (Fort Sam golf course)	Saturday 15 December 2007	I got 3rd place in the 2007 Reed Classic golf tournament (limit to 9 holes due to inclement weather and the early wintertime sunset). Have to schedule this in Yuma, Tucson, Sedona or maybe Prescott next year. In July.
San Antonio, Tejas	Sunday 16 December 2007	New winter coats, gloves and hats for the kids from Burlington Coat Factory (since we know that we'll need them before we get to Denver).
Abilene, Tejas	Monday 17 December 2007	Strep throat (probably contracted earlier and incubated all weekend). Ouch! Didn't make it very far driving in this condition, but I didn't really realize what it was until I woke up the next morning.
Amarillo, Tejas	Tuesday 18 December 2007	Injected and oral antibiotics (taken continuously for the next seven days). Thank goodness for great traveling health coverage from Microsoft!!
Denver, Colorado	Wednesday 19 December 2007	Skipped visiting friends and family to avoid infecting people we care about with streptococcal pharyngitis. No memorable souvenirs collected. Aaron & Steve, I promise to ship the gifts we didn't get to deliver!
Rawlins, Wyoming	Wednesday 19 December 2007	Replacement drive belt for 2004 Toyota Sienna (we were very lucky to find this part 500+ miles from the nearest Toyota dealership). It's amazing how weird the electrical system behaves when the alternator's not turning! We also got our first opportunity to tow the Uhaul trailer through unplowed snow on the streets of Rawlins (where they apparently don't bother plowing side streets). We were very afraid of being stranded in Wyoming over the coming holiday because all but one mechanic in town (there were only 3) couldn't help us until the following Monday! I did get a good view of where I want to put a summer place on Elk Mountain, though. We'll definitely be back to Wyoming!
Ogden, Utah	Thursday 20 December 2007	Raced a snow storm all the way out of Wyoming, but it caught us halfway to Snowville, Utah (that's really what it's called!) and we had to turn around and camp in Ogden for the night. I should've followed the snowplow, instead of passing it in a hurry. Whoops!! The wife is starting to understand why I wanted to buy the 4x4 before we left Houston. C'est la guerre. Had the most expensive bad room service of the entire trip in Ogden. Utah's a lot prettier than my mental image suspected it would be, though. I think I could live here, even though I'm about as not-Mormon as you can get.
Near Juniper, Idaho	Friday 21 December 2007	Decided to brave the snow and the mountains (despite the fact that we can't find anywhere in no-man's land to buy tire chains) and try to push through quickly before the big snowfall projected for the weekend. Shouldn't have. Got stuck for a bit in the snow going uphill just north of Juniper; finally powered out of the snow drift (trailer and all!), but burned up something inside the van -- it never acted "right" after that. I successfully won the "we should've bought the 4x4 before we left argument" but I'm probably going to have to concede the "we should've taken the boring route through California" point. See? We're both right! Heh. Idaho is a lot prettier than I expected, despite the fact that they only run snow plows on the "easy" sections of the road, not on the mountain faces that really need it. Grrr. We're on a first name basis with AAA by now, even though they really haven't been able to help us yet (besides providing a calm voice in a warmer clime on the other end of the phone).
Pendleton, Oregon	Friday 21 December 2007	Really wanted to make it to Redmond today, but after wending our way through the Blue Mountains in the dark (not as much fun towing a trailer as you might expect), we decided to camp and race the projected snowfall in the Cascades tomorrow. Umatilla Indian Reservation is gorgeous; we'll definitely be coming back for some hiking later!
Snoqualmie Pass, Washington	Saturday 22 December 2007	We lost the race. Because the Cascades are so much lower in elevation than the rest of the mountains we've driven through so far, I chalked up the name Snoqualmie to an odd homonym taken from a Native American dialect that just happens to sound similar to frozen precipitation. I was wrong. The snow was coming down by the bucket! And then some. We were less than 90 minutes from our new home when we had to turn around and take a seven plus hour detour back through Oregon; we didn't even bother trying Satus Pass or the others since they're all about the same elevation and the forecast called for snow all weekend. Still no tire chains to be found anywhere. Everyone else has 'em, but nobody knows where we can buy 'em for our van. I promised the wife that as soon as we buy the 4x4, we're coming back through Snoqualmie so that I can thumb my nose at the mountain. It did look like great snow for skiing, too. Samia bought a mug at some interstate truck stop to commemorate our strategic withdrawal from Snoqualmie. Grrr! We got in very late (two days after we'd originally planned to arrive).
Bellevue, Washington	Saturday 29 December 2007	Belated souvenir. Way late, but better late than never own a 4x4. After unpacking all the boxes and starting to get the house in order, we traded in both cars (the Camry that got shipped up from Houston -- the long way, though California -- and the Sienna that barely survived the trip through the beautiful Rockies) on a 2008 Toyota Sequoia Platinum. It doesn't snow enough in western Washington justify the 10mpg monster 4x4, but I do have an upcoming rematch with the mountain. And my wife is starting to believe my threat to buy a summer place on Elk Mountain in Wyoming. Oh, yeah! I won't be held hostage to mere snow anymore. Stupid mountain. Stupid snow. Heh.

Needless to say, I love my wife's new vehicle. It's the best 'souvenir' that we got this trip. I'd never heard of the Platinum trim level, but I do wish (in retrospect) that we'd bought it in Houston. (No, I don't need another car. I'm still planning to bike to the office despite what everyone else thinks. I even bought a new bike to demonstrate my resolve! Heh.) Arctic Frost Pearl is an appropriate color for our new land yacht. The kids are upset about not being allowed to eat (or anything else except breathe) in the new vehicle. C'est la vie. I have to make sure to buy spare everything, though, before we venture back into no-man's land where they don't believe in stocking parts for "foreign jobbies." Note to self: buy tire chains before you need them. Duh. They're probably easier to find from home, with internet access, than interviewing locals who can't understand why I'm not driving a Chevy, Dodge, GMC or Ford.

We're planning to assault Snoqualmie next weekend and go for a hike around Toppenish Ridge or Yakima. The kids are already having flashbacks from the Great Grand Canyon Hike of 2007. Heh. It'll be fun.

Pray for snow!

I think they're eventually going to have to give it away for free...

reedme — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:01:08 GMT

Just my guess... Even if they priced ebooks under dead tree books (they're not right now), it would still take a lot of ebooks to amortize the $400 reader cost to a justifiable level.

Amazon sells own gadget to boost e-books (Yahoo! News)