Big bowl of entrail-looking things was a little too weird for people to try at the SNM (http://www.snm.org/) Halloween Celebration this year, but I like eating it, so it's all good. The dessert is actually Chi Chi Dango, a sweet mochi, item that's really simple to make. I used the common recipe found on allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chi-Chi-Dango-Mochi/Detail.aspx) but left out the food coloring and cut it into strips. Same taste but with a creepy look. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Tonight, Barack Obama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama) is running a 30-minute ad across the major networks, excluding ABC. It would seem obvious that I would watch it, but it's not like it'll sway my vote, so why bother? Oh well, it's not like I follow Pushing Daisies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_Daisies) any more, and for all I know, he's got a surprise in store (probably not). [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Update! I watched it, and it was really good. Much more engaging than I'd expected. Very refreshing in contrast to all the negative ads that are bombarding us. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
It seems like only six weeks ago (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/08/pandora-should-stop-whining-and-start.html) I was describing Pandora's battle over royalty rates as one I hoped they'd win, but one that was secondary to generating more revenue. Thus, it comes as no surprise to me that even with their legal victory over fixed royalty rates, they're still not making enough money.
Yes, in an article from the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/technology/internet/27radio.html?_r=1&oref=slogin), it's been revealed the ability to negotiate royalty rates may not help as Pandora is still not generating enough revenue. They've laid off 14% of their workforce and those new banner ads aren't drawing in the bucks. Perhaps now is the time to seriously consider those brief audio ads and email newsletters I also suggested. Maybe you could also make the "buy this song" option more prominent or double up the banner ads. Seriously, pursue at least one of those or some other avenue for more revenue. I won't complain. In fact, you'll actually stop my complaints. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
There's a raccoon that does a regular circuit through our complex. We call her Molly. She usually comes up to the door to taunt the cats, I think, and then meanders off after a few minutes or if I show up. Last night was different.
Molly, instead of walking off, stuck around and started scratching at the door, as if she wanted to come in. Not only was she not scared, but she wanted to hang out and probably eat my food. Fortunately the only cat with me at the time was Homer, who seemed to reciprocate her interest. Spooky came up later and hissed a lot. Patty slept though the whole thing. If he'd been there, he'd be really pissed.
Anyway, I had my iPhone on me and took a ton of shots. Low light and lot of motion, but a few came out pretty well. Posted on Picasa (http://picasaweb.google.com/sumocat666/MollyTheRaccoon#). [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Will Ferrell as George W. Bush endorsing McCain/Palin. Fred Armisen playing around with a big multi-touch electoral map touchscreen! And it's only halfway through! Awesome! [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Today at the GBM forum (http://www.gottabemobile.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6756), I was given quite a compliment on a suggestion I made. It's a bit of advice I hand out every now and then so it's worth repeating here: Don't look at the pen tip; look at the cursor.
Whenever you're working on a screen with an active digitizer, that is, one that responds to a special pen, not pressure. there will always be some difference between the cursor position and the tip of the pen. The digitizer recognizes a component within the pen, not its tip. Thus, that difference, called parallax, is unavoidable.
New tablet users often don't know that and knock themselves out recalibrating the screen trying to keep the tip and cursor perfectly aligned. The thing is, they don't have to be perfectly aligned. The pen controls the cursor, but the cursor is where the ink originates. That's where the ink flows. That's what to watch. Want proof this works? You're looking at it. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Lot of noise today over the RNC spending $150k on their VP candidate's wardrobe (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/21/rnc-has-spent-over-150000_n_136736.html). If it diverts funds from telecampaigning, I hope they spend more, and it's not my money so what do I care?
More importantly, the McCain camp also dropped some coin on a voice coach (http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Get_Out_The_What.html?showall) to fix, among other things, her pronunciation of the word "nuclear". Even before I started working for The Society of Nuclear Medicine, the sound of someone saying "nook-u-ler" was fingernails across a chalkboard to me. Thus, I'm glad to hear they're fixing that.
Update! Oh crap. I just noticed the coaching took place before the convention, yet she slipped right back into "nook-u-ler" during the debate. Guess that money wasn't as well spent as I thought. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Since I started rocking the new version of ritePen (http://www.ritescript.com/Products/ritePen.aspx) with its magic macros (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/08/ritepen-nircmd-round-up.html), my usage of the Windows Taskbar has dwindled to next to nothing. It's just easier for me to launch an app by scribbling anywhere than by hunting down an icon.
As a result, I've been keeping the ritePen toolbar pretty handy. Alongside it, I use InkSeine's (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/02/inkseines-floating-tool-ring-rocks.html) tool ring for quick screen grabs and scrolling; the former is oh so convenient for my ink blogging. However, as useful as these tools are, I wish they were arranged a little differently...
[mock-up]
Size is based on the scrolling area, which is the largest of the group. I toggle ritePen a lot so a larger button would suit me. The layout is vertical so it will be unobtrusive along the side of my screen.
When Dell finally entered the Tablet PC market, they did so under the pretext of fixing all the frustrations of us tablet users. They punctuated their point with web videos showing other tablets getting beaten tike piñatas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rMYzBT0Lts) or run though table saws (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J92EhE2DIdo) by frustrated users. They set the bar pretty high, so I wasn't really expecting them to deliver (and the price point pretty much killed my interest). However, I am really surprised that not one, but two, prominent tableteers are openly questioning if Dell should recall their Latitude XT Tablet PC.
The XT is the first and only Tablet PC to feature a multi-touch capable digitizer, similar to the iPhone's. I say "capable" because it still lacks the software to really take advantage of it. And, according to Rob Bushway (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2008/10/20/dell-and-n-trig-ive-had-it/) and Loren Heiny (http://www.lorenheiny.com/2008/10/20/dell-latitude-xt-tablet-pc-time-for-a-recall/), it has so many other issues that Dell should consider a recall. Ouch.
Oh well. Even through I've never used an XT, I must admit I've never quite forgiven Dell for their displays of tablet destruction. Maybe next time they won't bash the competition (literally) before proving they won't be just as bad or, as is being claimed, worse. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
In case you were wondering why I haven't sounded off on the "netbook craze", (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netbook)you need to pay more attention. I've made it quite clear I don't care for "inkless" notebooks (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2006/10/time-to-redefine-term-notebook.html), and I don't like cramped keyboards. Obviously, cramped little notebooks don't appeal to me. Little tablets, on the other hand, are awesome, and that's what Intel's new Classmate netbook is.
Full photo gallery is at Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/17/ctls-2go-classmate-pc-netvertible-due-in-january-for-under-500/) (I saw it on GottaBeMobile (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2008/10/17/intel-classmate-tablet-slated-for-january-2009/)). It is very reminiscent of the OLPC XO (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XO-1), including the handle, except with a touchscreen. Photos and video of it were posted at jkkmobile (http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/08/meet-new-convertible-classmate-from.html) a while back, but now there's a price point (under $500) and release date (January 2009).
Between the price, size, and touchscreen, the new Classmate may be the computer that finally delivers on the UMPC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMPC) promise, except it has its own custom launch screen, rather than Microsoft's origami UI. No doubt we'll see one modded with that shortly after release. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
It seems like only yesterday I lamented the lack of awareness of the Tablet PC by Gartner. Actually, that was yesterday (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/10/gartner-counting-is-overrated.html). Thus, I was doubly disappointed to read today (via GBM (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2008/10/16/touch-screen-announcements-targeting-windows-7/)) the Wall Street Journal is equally clueless.
Really? They're "now" developing a consumer notebook with touchscreen? Funny. I could have sworn they did just that last year with their tx1000 entertainment notebook (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2007/02/28/hps-pavilion-tx1000-touchscreen-tablet-pc-now-on-sale/) with option for touchscreen, which has been updated to the tx2500 with touchscreen included in all models. Seems strange they'd be "now" developing a machine they've sold for more than a year.
In fairness, they did mention HP already had a touchscreen notebook... after crediting the Touchsmart (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2008/06/10/introducing-the-new-hp-touchsmart/) desktop as the beginning of their touchscreen push, even though the txl000 was released first... Tablets get no respect. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
The third and final presidential debate of 2008 is over and the big winner is Joe the Plumber. This guy is moving up to a higher tax bracket because he's going to be making more money. He won't be fined if he doesn't provide health benefits to his employees. And he's now buddies with John McCain, a guy with plenty of plumbing in his seven houses, even though they've never met.
Aside from that, we saw another cool. controlled performance from Obama, and more crazy old guy stuff from McCain. Sorry, but the man simply was not professional tonight. He did hit Obama hard on equating him to Bush, but Obama knocked back on what's going on in Columbia and stated straight out the fine McCain keeps bringing up would be zero.
One puzzling theme McCain repeated was how Sarah Palin understands autism, yet he never mentioned Down's Syndrome, which is what her son has. I understand the situations are similar, but why specify a different ailment?
Flipping through the reactions to the new Macbooks, (which, by and large, have been missing the point), I ran across this little gem about touchscreens.
Touchscreens on notebooks not really likely from major computer makers? Typically on desktops? How did this guy get to be a VP at Gartner? Certainly it wasn't due to his knowledge of the market. Lenovo, Dell, and HP have all released notebooks with touchscreens. Not just pen input but "press your finger on the screen" touch. Dell's XT is even capable of multi-touch. Hard for something to be "not really likely" when it's already happening.
As for the assertion touchscreens are more "typical" for a desktop model, there's one touchscreen desktop from a major PC maker, and it's HP's Touchsmart (http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/touchsmart/). Compare that to Lenovo's X200 (http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=329576204C9E42289967E79E0E7C9A2D), Dell's Latitude XT (http://www.dell.com/tablet), and HP's tx2500 (http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Brand&v1=HP+Pavilion&series_name=tx2500z_series), not to mention HP's pen-only 2730p (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-321957-64295-3740645-306995-3784558.html). I don't know what fancy analysis is involved in claiming touchscreens are more typical on desktops, but using my old-fashioned method called "counting", I'm pretty sure notebooks win out here. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Finally put my Microsoft MVP badge (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-whats-that-mvp-award-mean-to.html) up. Originally, I wanted it up in the menu area, but due to rules on displaying it (which I had not interred from other places it's been displayed), I dropped it on the sidebar instead.
Also new to the sidebar is an ad widget for Allegiance Technology Partners (http://www.alltp.com/). John Hill at ALLTP shot me an email about a new affiliate program they're rolling out, and I was more than happy to jump onboard. ALLTP specializes in Tablet PCs. I scribble exclusively on Tablet PCs and am now an MVP in that area. How could I say no? Besides, other than getting tagged as a scrapbooker (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2005/11/im-not-scrapbooker.html), my past dealings with ALLTP (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2005/09/got-my-1gb-flash-drive.html) have been quite favorable. Certainly there's no reseller more dedicated to the Tablet PC and its community. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
