Author: Kent

Reader, writer, arithmeticer. Proprietor of Newsome.Org, a tech, music and life blog.

Windows Vista

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I’m not all that excited about the (late next year) forthcoming new version of Windows (now called Vista, previously called Longhorn), mainly because it sounds like Microsoft has decided to leave a lot of the previously heralded features out and the end of next year is a long, long way away (plus the release date will undoubtedly move back several times).

However, Paul Thurrott (Windows guru) has an interesting review of the recently released beta version 1.

Installation seems to be easier. I’m dubious of the new desktop search, because it can’t be as good as, but may spell the end of, my beloved X-1. My Documents, which is somewhat of a nightmare now, especially in Windows 2000, seems to have miraculously become more confusing, which is not what most computer users need. The Parental Controls stuff sounds promising, since my kids will be well supervised computer-wise by the time Vista ships. Tabs in Internet Explorer 7 looks very useful and is, as Paul points out, very overdue. Microsoft still seems to be optomistically pushing voice recognition, but everybody knows that its no more than a neat toy that is utterly useless for increasing productivity for most users (though undoubtedly of great value for people with disabilities). Networking (perhaps the most important thing) looks spotty in this release, but will undoubtedly be fixed in future beta releases.

I was a beta tester for Windows 95 and it was sort of fun. But these days I just want my computer to work. I think I’ll wait until the end of 2006 or better yet, the middle of 2007.

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TIVO, HDTV, Media PC = SOL

I continue to read with interest (both the curiosity and vested kind) the discussions and debate regarding the future of PVRs and Media PCs, especially as it relates the the delivery of HDTV.

Here’s where we are to date:

1) TIVO, which I have used for years but is dying on the vine due to its break with DirecTV, has a great interface and, for a few more months until the HDTV models become incompatible with the DirecTV stream, delivers HDTV, both via satellite and over the air antenna. This is good, but DirecTV is about to switch over to MPEG4, which the current HD TIVOs cannot decode- thus they will become $1000 paperweights.

2) DirectTV has abandoned TIVO in favor of its forthcoming DirectTV branded HDTV compatible PVRs. TIVO is not a medium or long term solution for satellite owners.

3) Media PCs are nifty (sort of), but don’t truly support HDTV (over the air doesn’t really count because not many TIVO or Media PC owners get most of their programming over the air).

Now the current debate, led by two smart guys whose blogs I read literally every day.

The Thomas Hawk camp argues that Microsoft is catering to the Hollywood cartel by not leading the charge to make Media PCs HDTV friendly. I dislike the Hollywood cartel second only to the record label cartel, so this argument is appealing to me.

The Ed Bott Camp argues that unless the voices of reason, led by the EFF, get the DMCA overturned by the Supreme Court (which Ed implies is unlikely and I couldn’t agree more), Microsoft cannot bring HDTV to Media PCs because of the differential treatment of PVRs (closed box) versus Media PCs (open box) under the DMCA. Granted, I don’t practice in this area, but based on my reading of the DMCA, I believe Ed is correct.

The issue I have is not so much why Microsoft doesn’t turn its nose up at the Hollywood cartel and do it anyway – because the feds have a history of beating up Microsoft over alleged federal law violations, and all they need is an excuse and a bunch of compaign contributions to try it again. My question is why can’t Microsoft and everyone else with a brain cell to dangle and a dollar to be made line up against the Hollywood cartel and let it know that it needs movies distributed at least as badly as a Media PC needs HDTV. Tell them that they can be reasonable and play fair, or they can keep churning out copy-protected DVDs that can languish on the shelves of empty Blockbuster stores (though Netflix would stand to profit nicely from such an outcome).

One of the first rules of negotiation is that when you have no bargaining power in a certain situation, change the situation so hopefully the disparity in bargaining power will be lessened.

I say let’s make this issue not “how we will be forced to distribute your content” but instead “we are the gatekeepers to the new generation of viewers and if you want us to distribute your content, here’s how we will do it.” Yes, that would put Media PCs at a disadvantage over DVD Players and whatever replaces TIVO, but there is plenty of content that would readily be licensed and before long someone would break ranks with the cartel. Once that happens, momentum has shifted and truth and justice will prevail.

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Keeping the Balance

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There are a couple of interesting new posts regarding a topic that is dear to my heart: trying to keep a balance between your work life and your family life. Fred Wilson writes about a lecture he attended a few years ago at which the speaker said that if you don’t connect deeply with your kids before they become teenagers, you never will. I bet now the applicable age is even younger. Kids grow up so fast these days. One day they are learning to ride a bike and the next day they are heading to a friend’s house for their 3rd sleepover of the week.

As my kids move into primary and elementary school, I’ve noticed all levels of parental involvement, from almost none (my kids have some friends whose parents we have never met, but whose nannies we know well) to very involved (which is the position we and our close friends have achieved and work hard to maintain). Some folks won’t like to hear this, but based on my experience the more involved parents have the happier kids. I’m talking happy here, not well behaved. My kids, while very happy, are not always so well behaved, but (most of the time) I’ll take that trade. A kid may listen to her 24/7/365 nanny, but I can’t help but believe on some level she wonders where her parents fit in the equation. To be clear, I am not equating nannies with uninvolved. Lots of involved parents have nannies. Lots of uninvolved parents have them too. The test is whether or not the nannies are accretive (good) or parent-substitutes (not good).

Complicating things is the fact that when it comes to connecting with your kids, you only get once chance and then only for a short time. I feel like my oldest (now 7) was born a couple of years ago. I feel like my youngest (now 4) ought to be maybe 18 months. If you don’t show them from day one that you are very interested in them and their daily activities, you’ll lose that important connection. I have seen it happen with guys I know who never intended to ingore their kids- their kids just grew up while they were working on some deal (or more accurately a series of deals). It wasn’t an intentional thing. But it happened and now there’s no way to get it back.

So how hard is it? Maybe it’s me, but I sense that people in general are pretty understanding in 2005 if you aren’t available on a certain date due to a family event (I refuse to use the word obligation). When I first had kids, I felt a little uneasy telling someone I couldn’t make a meeting because I had to go to a soccer game or ballet recital. Even now it feels residually odd. But I (and lots of other big firm lawyers I know) do it fairly regularly. We do it because if we don’t we’ll miss out on those special memories that bond families together. Not because they are related, but because they are a family in every sense of the word. Plus, it’s fun to see your kids play or dance or swim. I can’t think of one time where a client has reacted badly to it, nor can I think of one deal I lost because of it. In fact, most of my clients are committed dads who appreciate my priorities. The lawyers who work with (for) me know that it’s not only OK to make a soccer game, it’s expected. If we have to work a little later that night after the kids go to bed, that’s just fine. Improved technology makes it much easier now to be efficient and productive from home. My colleagues know that if need be, I’ll review a document or respond to an email after 10:00 p.m. Better that than for all of us to miss the dance recital or swim meet.

Fred’s post cites another post by Brad Feld. Brad writes a great post about failing and then finding balance. Brad sets forth a 5 part plan he uses to create balance. While there’s little I can add to his ideas, I have a couple of additional things I try to do to keep a deep connection with my kids.

1) I try to never, ever blow them off when they want to tell me something or show me something. It blows my mind how often I see (even good) parents blow their kids off. Soon enough my kids won’t want to tell me anything as daddy transforms from best friend to teenager fun police. So I try to treat every single story as a blessing. I try to ask questions- not throw away questions, but real ones to show that I am listening and I care. It sounds cliche, but this one trick works wonders when I remember to do it well.

2) I try to spend some one on one time with each child at least every other week. We are blessed to be a part of a wonderful group of families who do family-oriented things en masse several times a week. But it’s also good to go one on one with a kid on a regular basis, so she can get all of my attention. My kids know they are lucky to be part of the “tribe,” but they also look forward to our Saturday lunches at our “secret place” (a local hamburger joint).

3) I try to let my kids be kids. There seems to be a movement lately to make kindergarten on up into some sort of Harvard-light. I want my kids to do well in school (trust me), but I also want them to have fun. There will be plenty of time to obsess about academics later. Go play. Catch a frog. Set up a lemonade stand.

I don’t do these things perfectly all the time. But I try hard to do my best, and I believe one day my kids will look back happily at the stuff we did together. I am sure they won’t look back and wish I had worked harder or closed more deals. Yes, balance is a hard thing to achieve in this highly competitive rat race that most of us run. But it’s too important not to try and you only have once chance to do it.

Here comes my daughter with a deck of cards. Time for some Go Fish. Maybe tonight daddy can win his first game of the week.

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Extreme Website Makeover (Part 1)

About once every 2 years I decide it’s time to update the look and feel of Newsome.Org. I’ve been doing that for the past month or so.

I’m good at computers. I built the one I use now myself. I used to be good at software, having written shareware and served as a game designer. But time passes fast when it comes to software and related applications. Now, every time I get into the recreation of these pages, I have to learn a bunch of new technology that has made my pages obsolete in the 2 years since I last went through the exercise. This time, I’ve had to learn CSS, RSS and XML (surprisingly, at least to me, the hardest by far for me was CSS). In the process, I’ve picked up a trick or two that I think makes website creation and management much easier for the technically proficient as well as the technically challenged. Hopefully, my trial and error will benefit those of you who decide to create a new site or update an existing one.

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Here, in no particular order, are some things I have learned:

1) Use blogging software, whether you consider your site a blog or not. It automates the creation, addition, editing, archiving and deletion of content. In sum, it makes what used to be time consuming and difficult fast and easy. I use Blogger as a front end (although the pages are actually located on my server), because it is convenient and enables me to add content from anywhere. If you don’t have a server, you can easily set up a site via Blogger- and Blogger will host it for free. If you want more flexibility (and you are good at computers) there are other options, such as Movable Type and WordPress. My advice, start out with Blogger and work from there.

2) Look around for helpful add-ons that make your site more user-friendly. I use Haloscan for my trackbacks (Blogger has no native trackback capability). It’s free and seems to work well. On the other hand, I don’t want my comments hosted somewhere else, where they might be archived or deleted after a period of time, so I use Blogger’s built-in commenting system (in lieu of Haloscan’s) along with Haloscan’s trackbacks. The place to go to see how to do this, and to learn about many other blog add-ons, is the excellent A Consuming Experience blog, and specifically this post. I also use Forret.Com’s free trackback tool to send trackback pings to other sites that I quote or write about. One word of caution- use add-ons that make the site more useful for your readers. Resist the ones that merely add cyber-bling bling.

3) Once you get your site up and running, syndicate it. This makes it easy for people to subscribe to it in their news readers. I use FeedBurner, another free service, for syndication. If you use Blogger, the FeedBurner page has easy step-by-step instructions for getting set up.

4) Add some photos with Flickr. Flickr is simply the greatest photo site on the internet. You can upload photos for free, and show them on your blog via a Flickr Badge. Flickr integrates easily and deeply with your blog, so adding and managing photos is simple. Plus you can share photos with friends and family for free. You can also create sets of photos that are only visible to the people you select- family, friends, anyone or only yourself.

I’ll continue this discussion in Part 2 later this week. If anyone has any additional tips, please add them via Comment or Trackback.

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