Just out of curiosity
Is there anybody that is Happy with the 2.5 upgrade of WordPress. I have heard very little happy chatter, and after installing it on my test server, I have to say, I am quite concerned.
So, Happy? Unhappy? Wait until 2.5.1?
What say you all?
TechParent: Twitter in Plain English
I am in a bit of a bind time wise, so this week I am letting somebody else do the heavy lifting for me on TechParent, and it is from the folks at Commoncraft.com. If you are not familiar with them, Commoncraft has started doing something they call Paperworks videos, which are simple “lessons” such things such as online photosharing in plain english, Blogs in Plain English and now Twitter in Plain English (and other topics as well).
Now I am willing to admit, I was one of those people that dragged their feet before finally jumping into Twitter. Simply put, I didn’t “get it.” And seems to be the common thread around those that are either on or not on Twitter. If you “get it” you are probably on it, if not then you probably just don’t understand why people would want to do this. Well, with a simple video and explaination, the folks at Common Craft have made it easy, so that the next time somebody says they don’t understand why people “tweet” you can just show them this video.
A place for your face
Don’t want to spend the money for Photoshop CS3? (Not that I can say anything, that damn package is expensive). Would you like an online solution? Well, Adobe how now unveilved Adobe Photoshop Express (Beta), and is FREE with up to 2 GB in storage for you to save (or share) pictures with.
It is supposedly easy enough for the novice to be able to use, but still have some features that more experienced people would appreciate, I haven’t had an opportunity to play with it yet, and will write a full review on TechParent Tuesday, but in the mean time, you may wish to sign up and check it out.
Is that an RFID in your pocket or …
Despite what some people may think, I am not all about government intrusion in our lives, but the government is supposed to be there to protect the people, especially from the likes of monolithic corporate giants that have nobody’s interest at heart but their own.
Why isn’t that the case any longer? Why do special interest groups always get their way? (Yes, I know it is all about the money and re-election funds… it was a rhetorical question. Just follow… OK?) An excellent example is the recent first in the country RFID laws passed in Washington State.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, RFID chips are being put into and used in “everything” now, or at least they will be very soon. That “touch-less” Gas-N-Go card you have from the Station? RFID, Those new “intelligent” passports that are coming? RFID, the new digital Drivers Licenses that are being rolled out? RFID. Even some of those frequent shoppers cards. You have a lot of information that is now accessible, just by walking past an RFID reader set to grab that information.
Now rightly, there is cause for concern, and the laws they were pushing in Washington made sense. There were basically two parts; the first is making it illegal for anybody to attempt to access your information for fraudulent purposes. Rather obvious, and somewhat redundant, since fraud is already illegal, but I guess this would be another tacked on charge, or perhaps you can simply be arrested for “attempted” fraud. Whatever, I don’t have a problem with that. If somebody is “skimming” my information, then sure he should get in trouble for it without me having to be an actual fraud victim. But then there is the second part of the law, or more correctly, the original bill… because it never made it into the law.
That part, required retailers and other businesses to only gather information about you on an opt-in basis. As is always the case… it seems, the retailers and their lobbyist fought this part of the law, and eventually got it pulled out. So, now skimming is only illegal for an individual; corporations that are skimming are free to gather information about you, how long you shopped in their stores, where in the store you went, how much time you spent in each section, just by strategically placing some RFID scanners, and you will be none the wiser as they gather this information.
But don’t worry, I am sure some company will come out with some sort of RFID blocking wallet, that will be ugly, cumbersome and expensive, but will “protect” you from the “snoops.” Yup that is right, to have the privacy you should expect by default… you will have it. As long as you pay for it. (Maybe!)
Is it time to run out and get a Blu-Ray player?
I had much grander plans in delving into the specifics of Blu-Ray this week, but I ran into some stumbling blocks. Namely, it is not as clear cut as I had originally anticipated.
Yes, the war is over and and Blu-Ray has defeated HD DVD. But does that mean that it is time to rush out and get a Blu-Ray player? The best answer at this point is… maybe.
Prices have come down on Blu-Ray players a bit, but now that there is no longer any competition from Toshiba and HD DVD, I suspect prices will start dropping a bit slower as we move forward. Also, be warned of a Blu-Ray trap. Unlike HD DVD, Blu-Ray was fully “cooked” when it first came to market. There are several models of Blu-Ray players on the market that appear (relatively) cheaper than most models. Those are the version 1.0 machines. Version 1.1 is already out and version 2.0 is due very soon. (Version 2.0 players will have Ethernet connectivity, allowing future updates to be downloaded to the device, much like the PS3, but more on that in a moment).
Unlike when the “switchover” from VHS to DVD took place, where for a time the DVDs actually cost LESS to entice people to make the switch, at this point you will pay a premium for Blu-Ray discs. I am not saying they are not worth a premium (but DVDs were certainly worth a premium over the quality of VHS as well, and that had no bearing on price).
Now please bear in mind, the point of this is for those sitting on the fence, for those that are trying to find the best balance of value for the money. If you can afford to drop the cash on a Blu-Ray player, I am not saying you absolutely shouldn’t (well, with the exception of the 1.0 outdated players).
But at this point, I don’t yet see the real value, and would tell most people to hold off for now. The only exception being, if you are looking to go the Blu-Ray format by picking up a PlayStation 3. Then it probably makes sense. You get the added benefit of having the gaming console, plus it is already Network ready, so you can get updates for it when the Blu-Ray 2.0 specification is completed without obsoleting your unit.
On a side note, if you say, have a Flat Screen TV and would really like to see some benefit, here is a neat little trick you can consider while waiting for Blu-Ray players to come down in price. Look for one of the now on sale and quite cheap HD DVD players that are on fire sale everywhere now. For somewhere around $79 or maybe even less by now, you can buy the HD DVD play which will “upconvert” your DVDs (in simple terms, upconverting takes your 480i DVD and plays it at 720p or 1080i). Will it be the same as getting Blu-Ray? No, but you can use your existing DVDs and get a better experience, while waiting for Blu-Ray to come out with the 2.0 spec and the price of the players to drop (because you know sooner or later they will.)
At this point, my bet is that it will around Xmas time when the studios are going to want to see a profit and start leaning on the Sony and other hardware makers to start pushing down prices. I’ll even bet that this year on Black Friday, it will be the Blu-Ray player and not that cheap PC that lures people to wait on line all night to rush in for a bargain.
The time to make the move to Blu-Ray may be coming, but it isn’t here… yet (except for PS3).
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