Nine Eleven

10 years ago today I was moderating a conference at the Omni hotel. A lady walked into the ballroom, came up to the podium and handed me a note.

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It’s been 10 years. It feels like yesterday. It changed forever.

Delaney Wins Kingwood Triathlon

Delaney finished first in her triathlon this morning.

She works hard, and I love to see her reap the benefits.

Why is National Geographic Killing Science Blogs?

I don’t care whether Yahoo merges with AOL. In fact, other than serving as a synonym for Huffington Post and a foil for Mike Arrington, I’m not really sure what AOL is or does. Can you still log on to AOL? I honestly don’t know. I’m guessing not.

I used Yahoo for a long time. My Yahoo was only supplanted by iGoogle as my old school news page about a month ago. I still use Flickr some, but it seems to be in the post-purchase, pre-death coma that plagued Delicious for years (Delicious eventually got bought- or given away- I’m not sure which, but it still looks pretty sleepy). If Google Apps users ever get to use Google+, I’ll probably move my photos to Picasa. If I’m not too old to use a computer by then.

The death of things internet is inevitable. Remember Prodigy? Compuserve? Genie? MySpace? TechCrunch? Kidding, sort of.

That’s OK. Take Yahoo. Take AOL (please).

science-blogs

But what in the heck is happening to Science Blogs!?

It would be hard to overstate how much I have enjoyed Science Blogs over the years. I have an entire folder in Google Reader for science-related blogs. Almost all of them used to be Science Blogs blogs.

Until a series of staggeringly bad decisions conspired to kill them.

Last year saw Pepsi-gate.

Earlier this year National Geographic bought Science Blogs. You’d think that would be a good thing. Stability. Cred. Money. Cool photos. But maybe not.

nationalgeographic

I’ve read National Geographic. I was a subscriber back when I read printed magazines. I like the publication. But I liked Science Blogs better. Liked.

Because now there seems to be an exodus. Some of it seems to be over the new corporate overlord’s decision not to allow people to blog under pseudonyms. That is a horrible, and probably fatal, policy change. And I’ll tell you why.

Lots of the Science Blogs bloggers are, directly or indirectly, involved in academia or government. And there is simply no way someone in either of those fields- or any field for that matter- is going to write as freely or as interestingly if they have to write under their real name. Plus, if you use your real name and those (quacks in some cases) who disagree with you do not, you are incubating social terrorism. There is a reason why I have rarely mentioned my day job here. Well, actually there are two. One, it’s boring. But, two, people know who I am. If I could go back in time, I would probably blog under a pseudonym. Thor. Or Persifal. Or Cat Daddy.

I don’t know the full back story at Science Blogs, but Drug Monkey dropped some pure wisdom in one of his/her last posts:

It is pretty clear that when corporate flacks ask you for your opinion in response to their reflexive stance they are not in fact going to be influenced.

That is an absolute fact. Less than a month later he/she split, in search of more progressive bananas.

Mike the Mad Biologist soon followed. And set up shop here. Greg Laden is sort of leaving. And sort of staying.

At least Tara Smith, one of my favorite Science bloggers (lower case) who shares my wish for a time machine, is hanging around. I just wish she’d blog more.

I don’t know what’s happening to the internets these days, as old media tries to conscript parts of new media. Do what you will dinosaurs. But keep your hands and rules off my Science Blogs.

Cat Daddy, signing off for now.

A Better View Through Thinner Windows?

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the digital diet that Windows 8 seems to be on. A diet that is as promising as it is overdue. Let me be clear. I think it’s wonderful that the next version of the venerable, but a little long in the tooth, operating system is looking to shed some bloat.

In fact, I think Windows 8 can be a game changer. On the desktop and on various mobile devices.

How much of a game changer depends on whether Microsoft is being visionary or reactionary. If the former, Windows 8 could set the stage for both the reinvention of the desktop and Microsoft’s long awaited push into the mobile space, after a few starts and stops.

But let’s not kid ourselves. Microsoft has to recreate Windows. Because the world is going small and mobile and the current and past versions of Windows are not well suited for small and mobile. I remember trying to use Windows 7 on an HP Netbook. It was a horrible experience, because of the hardware and the software.

On the other hand, Windows 7 on a regular laptop or a desktop is mostly a wonderful experience. And that’s saying something. Microsoft has to make an operating system that will run on an almost infinite number of devices. Apple, on the other hand, has to make an operating system that will run on a handful.

Microsoft’s biggest advantage is its biggest problem. Zillions of hardware makers jacking around with its product. And its image.

Start a Windows machine for the first time, and get it set up the way you like it. Then do the same thing with a new Mac. The initial Windows experience is, at best, a time consuming chore. The initial Mac encounter is simply cinematic. Some of this is not Microsoft’s fault. I refuse to buy an HP machine, because they put so much bloatware on them (it still chaps me that they make you uninstall those stupid games one at a time).

Fortunately, it looks like Microsoft is in the process of addressing many of these issues. Bloatware, via the Signature program. Yet another ridiculous name, but I applaud the intent – as long as it’s not a half-baked smokescreen to drive people into Microsoft Stores (the horror). Bloated load times are under attack via a combination of a traditional boot with hibernation. This is excellent news.

And, of course, look for a bit of mandatory cloud integration. Which makes the primary job of the operating system to load fast, and get out of the way.

Yes. All of this is really good news.

I use Macs, but I run Windows via Parallels, all the time. I’m writing this blog post via Live Writer. But even after installing Windows 7 on my iMac, I had to go in and remove a bunch of stuff I don’t want. And that’s from a downloaded (via TechNet) Microsoft iso. It’s ten times worse with an OEM machine.

So…

I have very high hopes for Windows 8. I have reasonably high hopes that Microsoft will be successful in reducing the bloatware that ends up on PCs. I just hope Microsoft gets in front of the curve. It’s time to stop playing catch-up.

It’s time to lead quickly, load quickly, and get out of the way.

Has Spotify Achieved Non-Geek Traction?

This post has a soundtrack. If you don’t have Spotify, for the love of Duane Allman and Jerry Garcia, go sign up. If you can’t get an invite, and I know or know of you, leave a request in the Comments and I’ll try to round one up for you.

The current Jukebox DeLuxe playlist.

It’s no secret that I really dig Spotify. It has almost completely replaced all of my other music applications and services. Including my huge local music collection on my network server. If I want something Spotify doesn’t have, I add that file to my Spotify library. Not the other way around.

When Spotify was released, I was certain it was going to roll over the social web like a tidal wave. I’m not sure that happened.

My Facebook Friends list is a good mix of three kinds of folks. My high school friends, who are mostly very non-geeky. My tech writer friends, who are extremely geeky. And fellow musicians, who are all ranges of geeky, but very interested in music.

Of my 247 Facebook Friends, exactly 14 have signed up for Spotify and enabled the social sharing features.

Of those 14, four had early access to Spotify. Another one of them is my daughter, who begged for an invitation after hearing me rave about it endlessly. That leaves 9 people who signed up on their own after Spotify officially launched in the U.S. That’s not many. Heck, I’ve sent out 5-6 invitations and only my daughter has signed up.

All of this makes me wonder.

As someone who has tried countless music services, I can tell you unequivocally that Spotify is the best music service I have ever used. I love it, and am happy to pay for a premium account.

But the money is in the non-geek crowd. Because there are a lot more of them. And based on my admittedly non-scientific sample, Spotify doesn’t have the non-geek reach I thought it would.

I hope I’m wrong. Because Spotify rocks.

All the Dead Horses

Here’s the thing with tablets. None of them that don’t have an Apple logo on the back are worth a crap. All of the other OS’s suck, except Android. And the haphazard way Google and the hardware makers administer (or not) versions and upgrades cripples Android to the point of logical irrelevance.

There are only two possibilities for tablet alternatives. Amazon, who will subsidize the hardware and probably has enough sense to maintain some control of the versioning process. And Microsoft, who would be a major player, if it would only get in the game. My guess is that Microsoft is so busy thinking up stupid names for its non-core applications (and then changing them over and over) that it hasn’t realized there is a tablet space, with the second seat open and available. Even so, Microsoft will, one way or another, eventually be a player in the tablet game.

Everyone else is just throwing away money, and hoping that consumers will do the same thing.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t love to read about other entries into this one-horse race.

maylong

Take the exciting, if not so new, Maylong M-150. Somehow I missed the buzz that surely surrounded its release last year. And I don’t think I’ve seen one in my many trips to the local Walgreen’s, where they are- or were- on sale for $99.00. Maybe Walgreen’s has dumped them for one of the other dead horses. But courtesy of a post at Mac Forums today, I had a good laugh. Take a look at this review by Ars Technica, from last year. I don’t read Ars Technica because the name sounds too pretentious (like pre-owned cars and whatnot), but if this is how they roll, then I’m in. Even better, take a look at the follow-up by… wait for it… the Best Buy blog. Best Buy has a blog? For real? That’s sort of like a dinosaur having a Segway. It reads like it was written by a dinosaur while riding a Segway.

Anyway, based on these reviews, it looks like a Maylong may make you long for the days of DOS. Somebody could make bank by starting a humorous review site. I still miss Mirsky’s Worst of the Web.

There’s no competition in the tablet space- yet. But at least there’s a little humor.

We need more of that.

GoodSongs: Hillside Blues

Here’s a little gem for your holiday listening.

Mick Taylor demonstrates why he is one of the most under-appreciated guitarists on earth.

Yes, I was tripped out on a hillside. I broke down my head and I cried.

Extreme Irony: Apple II Emulator Edition

You just can’t make stuff like this up.

I have raved for years about how much I loved Odyssey: The Compleat Apventure, back in the 80’s. My long lost brother in law and best man Garry turned me on to the four computer games that dominated my interest like no others. Odyssey, Star Flight, Sim City and Civilization.

Here I am, with my only semi-long lost cousin Janet, rocking some Odyssey in December of 1985.

So, this afternoon, while messing around on my new iMac and feeling all smug, I came across Virtual Apple. They have tons of old Apple games you can play right from your browser. I looked, and lo and behold, there was my digital grail.

oca

So I happily prepared myself to relive the glory of exploring the Sargalo Sea.

But, no. Because the Apple II emulator plugin only works in…Windows. So I had to open Chrome, in Windows 7 via Parallels. After which it worked perfectly.

Awesome. Really.

But at least I got to fight and lose to a wandering wizard and his apprentices.

Why I Paid $774.00 for Windows Live Writer

Windows Live Writer is Microsoft’s flagship application. Whether they know it or not. There are companies being built on plugging the one remaining Mac hole.

wlw

When I capitulated to Mac, I wanted to go all-in. I really did not want to install Parallels. The only Windows program that either (a) I haven’t realized I don’t need, or (b) I haven’t found a (generally superior) Mac substitute for, is Windows Live Writer.

How crazy is that? I don’t need Windows 7. I don’t need Office for Windows. I don’t need any of that stuff.

But I do need one little free program that writes blog posts. Because it is infinitely better than the WordPress native editor. And infinity times infinity better than any of the crappy Mac blog editors.

Which means that I had to buy Parallels 7, which so far is really elegant, and runs perfectly under Lion. And I had to keep a Windows 7 license. The latter being no problem since my TechNet subscription is still in effect.

But if it weren’t, I would have eventually forked over a $120 or so, just for the OS that will allow me to install Live Writer on my Mac.

And there’s more. Knowing that I’d probably have to do this, I bought extra RAM when I bought my iMac. 16 GB, when I would have otherwise settled for 8.

Let’s recap.

Just to install Live Writer, I bought:

Parallels Upgrade $54
Windows 7 $120***
8 GB RAM $600.

$774.00. Just for Live Writer. Sounds crazy, I know. But after suffering through the alternatives for a couple of weeks, it seems like a great deal.

*** I didn’t have to pay any extra because I have a TechNet account, but I would have had it come to that.

I’m not the only Mac user who has installed Windows 7 primarily to use Live Writer. All of this tells me that some smart developer could create a really good Mac blog editor, sell it for $50 or so, and make a fortune.

The No. 1 Reason Why I Hate Bricks & Mortar Shopping

Lines. Out of control.

Yesterday I had to go to Micro Center to get an external hard drive to archive some of my old Windows stuff. There were exactly two cashiers, and probably 25 people in line. There were some other employees milling around aimlessly. I told one of them they needed more cashiers. He said he would try to find a manager, and promptly went back to milling around.

Today, I needed a magazine. So I went to Barnes & Noble. There was exactly one cashier. And he soon stopped taking customers while he waited for someone, who was undoubtedly busy goofing off somewhere, to bring a cash drop. You know, change for those 20 or so people who were waiting in line. To give Barnes & Noble some money.

I don’t have many rules. But one of them is this: if someone wants to give you their money, do not make it hard for them. Make it easy, so maybe they’ll give you more later. Long lines and empty cashier stations is a recipe for going out of business.

Bricks & mortar stores have forgotten the most important rule of all. Make the customer experience a positive one. So customers will be conditioned to come back.

When I buy something from Amazon, it shows up at my door two days later. Movies, music and software are instantly downloaded.

Hard drives from Micro Center and magazines from Barnes & Noble? An exercise in needless frustration.

All of which leads to this…

Show me someone who prefers to buy things at a store that can be easily purchased online, and I’ll show you someone who either has a lot of free time to kill or is a very inefficient liver.

It’s up to the bricks & mortar stores to change this. I’m not holding my breath, or waiting in lines I can easily avoid.

Mars Edit Update: I just couldn’t handle it. I’m back to using the native WordPress editor, which also sucks. Never has a market been any more ripe for the taking than the Mac blog editor space.