Yesterday was a very long day of travel. I didn't get home until after 1am last night due to a number of circumstances beyond my control. Now I am headed to Seattle for a Postgres Conference. I'm just glad I didn't have to spend the night at some airport.
I was happy to get on the earlier flight home but it turned out to be a false hope. I finished writing my BLOG entry and boarded the plane. They were just getting ready to close the door when the pilot came on and informed everyone that we had a flat tire. We all had to get off the plane so they could fix it. I thought that was weird because I have been on a plane while they fixed a flat in the past. As we started to go, we were told to bring all our personal belongings. That was my plan anyways but I was disheartened when they brought me my gate-checked bag and told me the plane wasn't going anywhere.
We got off the aircraft and were directed to one of two lines to rebook our travel plans. Naturally I was at the end of the line. They then opened a third line and I jumped at the chance to move up. I went from the very back to fourth. The only problem was that the first person in my line took a complete hour to rebook his flight. In the mean time the rest of us were wondering what we could do to help things move along. I decided to give the airline a call on my mobile phone.
When I completed my BLOG yesterday I had about half my battery left on my iPhone. While I plugged my phone in to charge it the previous night, I also turned off the lights in my hotel room. The wall socket I used was connected to the light switch for the hotel and so by turning off the lights, I turned off the charge to my phone. "No Problem," I thought in the morning, "my iPhone can last several days without needing to be recharged." That was before a busy day on the road.
I used the phone to find directions to our meeting (people are amazed to find out that the GPS and map feature with directions on the iPhone is free . . . I wonder if it costs on other phones). I then used the map feature to find a place to find a specific store in Louisville. I then used the map to help us get back to the airport as I was the navigator for the driver. Now I was using it for its primary purpose: to call people. The airline wasn't able to help me on the phone but I was taken care of anyways. The moment my existing flight was cancelled, the computer immediately rebooked me on my original itinerary. Then I had to make arrangements to get a ride home from the airport. When I finally got home last night after 1am, I had a small sliver of battery life. So I guess an iPhone's battery is good for about one day of constant use. That is good to know and a better reason to keep the thing charged.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Travel Today
I am at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. I thought I would see how tough it is to make today's entry on my iPhone. It is about what I expected. That means it is going to be a very short message. I could probably pull out my laptop, pay $10, and have a much easier time. However what would I learn? I just hope my battery lasts.
Today was a great day and I was able to see a demo of my software with real customers. The only problem is all the time it took to get here. It is nice that I get to travel home on an earlier flight though. My associates are stuck on the original flight. Being a frequent traveler has its advantages.
Man this small keyboard is tough to type with.
Today was a great day and I was able to see a demo of my software with real customers. The only problem is all the time it took to get here. It is nice that I get to travel home on an earlier flight though. My associates are stuck on the original flight. Being a frequent traveler has its advantages.
Man this small keyboard is tough to type with.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
iPhone Not Perfect
Yesterday I had my first real glitch with my iPhone. The phone is over a year old and I had heard about others having problems with it but thought I had a perfect phone. As it turns out, I was wrong.
I had to give somebody a call and reached for my phone. Normally the screen is blank when I pull it out of its holster but this time it wasn't. When I tried to slide my finger across the bottom to unlock it, the screen remained frozen with the usual background being displayed.
Luckily I was at home and so I could log onto the Internet and do a quick search. Had I been on the road, there would have been no way to figure out how to reset the phone. It turns out you just have to hold the only two buttons on the iPhone to cause it to reboot. You have to hold them both down together for four seconds when the screen will blank out. You continue holding the buttons until the Apple logo appears. That was it. The phone works again.
I wish I knew what caused the problem so I could tell Apple. I really hate it when my phone doesn't work and I'm sure it is going to cause someone else a problem in the future.
I had to give somebody a call and reached for my phone. Normally the screen is blank when I pull it out of its holster but this time it wasn't. When I tried to slide my finger across the bottom to unlock it, the screen remained frozen with the usual background being displayed.
Luckily I was at home and so I could log onto the Internet and do a quick search. Had I been on the road, there would have been no way to figure out how to reset the phone. It turns out you just have to hold the only two buttons on the iPhone to cause it to reboot. You have to hold them both down together for four seconds when the screen will blank out. You continue holding the buttons until the Apple logo appears. That was it. The phone works again.
I wish I knew what caused the problem so I could tell Apple. I really hate it when my phone doesn't work and I'm sure it is going to cause someone else a problem in the future.
Monday, October 12, 2009
DOC vs DOCX
There should be a special place in Hell reserved for Microsoft developers. Anybody who has received a DOCX file from someone using a newer version of Mirosoft Word will probably agree with me.
My daughter just came home from school with an electronic version of a document she needs to edit. She tried to edit it using the family computer and was surprised when she got an error relating to not being able to read the file. She erroneously thought that because the file was created on an old computer at school, she needed to find an older version of Microsoft Word to read it. So I emerged from my office listening to my daughter yell about how her teacher is an idiot for giving her an old file that none of our newer computers could read.
I asked my daughter to explain the problem because I knew I could help her. I have every copy of Word since it was originally called "Word For Windows 1.1." She handed over her thumb drive and started talking crazy. I couldn't really understand what she was saying other than she hates her teacher and thinks that anyone who would assign such homework should die spitting blood. I made sure to keep my distance as I tried to help.
I plugged the drive into my trusty MacBook and immediately saw the problem. The Mac Mini that my kids use at home has an old version of Microsoft Office that doesn't read DOCX files. Instead it only understands DOC files. I have a newer version of Office on my computer and could easily read the file. I then saved it to her thumb drive in the DOC format.
My daughter thought she needed an older version of software when she really needed the newer version. This leads one to ask, "Why would Microsoft take one of the most ubiquitous file formats in the world and change it?" The answer is actually quite simple. The DOC file format has been around since the late 80's and has had so many things added to it that nobody really understands how to decode it anymore. In fact, Microsoft embeds an older version of Word in their new version simply to read old DOC formats. Once old documents are read into memory, they are internally converted to the new format. If you try to save the edits in the old DOC format, it tries to save it using the old version of Word. If you just happen to use a new feature not available in the older version, it throws away part of your document.
How do I know that? I actually prefer to use OpenOffice.org which looks an aweful lot like Microsoft Office. When someone from Microsoft was asked to comment on a new version of OpenOffice.org and how it can read DOC files, the Microsoft employee explained how they couldn't reliably read old DOC files so how could anybody else. He then went on to explain what I just explained above.
Doesn't that instill a sense of confidence in Microsoft products? Maybe that is why I prefer Linux. Now I just need to secretly install the newer version of Microsoft Office on the kids' computer to avoid any future outbursts.
My daughter just came home from school with an electronic version of a document she needs to edit. She tried to edit it using the family computer and was surprised when she got an error relating to not being able to read the file. She erroneously thought that because the file was created on an old computer at school, she needed to find an older version of Microsoft Word to read it. So I emerged from my office listening to my daughter yell about how her teacher is an idiot for giving her an old file that none of our newer computers could read.
I asked my daughter to explain the problem because I knew I could help her. I have every copy of Word since it was originally called "Word For Windows 1.1." She handed over her thumb drive and started talking crazy. I couldn't really understand what she was saying other than she hates her teacher and thinks that anyone who would assign such homework should die spitting blood. I made sure to keep my distance as I tried to help.
I plugged the drive into my trusty MacBook and immediately saw the problem. The Mac Mini that my kids use at home has an old version of Microsoft Office that doesn't read DOCX files. Instead it only understands DOC files. I have a newer version of Office on my computer and could easily read the file. I then saved it to her thumb drive in the DOC format.
My daughter thought she needed an older version of software when she really needed the newer version. This leads one to ask, "Why would Microsoft take one of the most ubiquitous file formats in the world and change it?" The answer is actually quite simple. The DOC file format has been around since the late 80's and has had so many things added to it that nobody really understands how to decode it anymore. In fact, Microsoft embeds an older version of Word in their new version simply to read old DOC formats. Once old documents are read into memory, they are internally converted to the new format. If you try to save the edits in the old DOC format, it tries to save it using the old version of Word. If you just happen to use a new feature not available in the older version, it throws away part of your document.
How do I know that? I actually prefer to use OpenOffice.org which looks an aweful lot like Microsoft Office. When someone from Microsoft was asked to comment on a new version of OpenOffice.org and how it can read DOC files, the Microsoft employee explained how they couldn't reliably read old DOC files so how could anybody else. He then went on to explain what I just explained above.
Doesn't that instill a sense of confidence in Microsoft products? Maybe that is why I prefer Linux. Now I just need to secretly install the newer version of Microsoft Office on the kids' computer to avoid any future outbursts.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Geocaching
Tonight I am headed on a Scout camping trip without my boys. This evening is a District camp out that my troop elected to miss. Next week we will be doing our annual trip to Southern Utah and visiting Goblin Valley State Park instead. Since I am part of the District leadership, I will be going tonight to help make sure everything runs smoothly.
The theme of this year's district camp out is Geocaching. We will be setting up something similar to a map and compass course. The difference is that the Scouts will be using global positioning service (GPS) devices to locate hidden prizes. The idea is to provide a list of coordinates and then let the Scouts go wild. It should be a lot of fun.
If you think this sounds like a great activity, there are close to a million different geocaches all over the world. The best place to start is at Geocaching.com. You can sign up for a free account and then get a listing of geocaches in your area. When you find one, the idea is to sign the log, take one of the souvenir's, and then add a souvenir of your own to the cache.
When we were putting together this activity there was the question about enough people owning GPS devices. Fortunately most mobile phones are now made with the GPS chip built into the device. My iPhone uses the GPS to help provide directions. You can also download several application from the AppStore that turn it into a fully featured GPS. Similar programs exist for many of the other all-in-one phones.
Knowing how to use a GPS is an important skill to have. Once I tried to find a safe harbor for my sailboat during a massive snowstorm using my GPS. Unfortunately I didn't have much experience with the device. The snow was coming down so hard, it was impossible to see the bow of the sailboat. It was pure luck that I found the entrance and didn't run aground. Since then I have made it a point to learn how to use my GPS and games like Geocaching are one way to do that. Now if I can just remember where I put my winter sleeping bag, I'll be ready for tonight.
The theme of this year's district camp out is Geocaching. We will be setting up something similar to a map and compass course. The difference is that the Scouts will be using global positioning service (GPS) devices to locate hidden prizes. The idea is to provide a list of coordinates and then let the Scouts go wild. It should be a lot of fun.
If you think this sounds like a great activity, there are close to a million different geocaches all over the world. The best place to start is at Geocaching.com. You can sign up for a free account and then get a listing of geocaches in your area. When you find one, the idea is to sign the log, take one of the souvenir's, and then add a souvenir of your own to the cache.
When we were putting together this activity there was the question about enough people owning GPS devices. Fortunately most mobile phones are now made with the GPS chip built into the device. My iPhone uses the GPS to help provide directions. You can also download several application from the AppStore that turn it into a fully featured GPS. Similar programs exist for many of the other all-in-one phones.
Knowing how to use a GPS is an important skill to have. Once I tried to find a safe harbor for my sailboat during a massive snowstorm using my GPS. Unfortunately I didn't have much experience with the device. The snow was coming down so hard, it was impossible to see the bow of the sailboat. It was pure luck that I found the entrance and didn't run aground. Since then I have made it a point to learn how to use my GPS and games like Geocaching are one way to do that. Now if I can just remember where I put my winter sleeping bag, I'll be ready for tonight.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Friendly Recommendations
Last night was my monthly Board of Directors meeting for the Snowbird Sports Education Foundation. During the meeting we talked about attracting more members and the topic of online media came up. One of the board members had just attended a seminar on viral marketing and using sites like Facebook and MySpace to increase memebership.
I sat there quietly listening. I actually am in the process of getting a patent for some software I wrote that is used for viral marketing. I understand the lure of low-cost marketing methods and can see why organizations would want to embrace them. However I also understand the difference between theory and reality. It is one thing to talk about success cases but quite another to actually implement one.
The idea behind viral marketing is that people are more likely to purchase something based on a friend's recommendation than an ad seen on TV (unless it is after 9pm and you see a fast-food commercial . . . they make me hungry). For example, if a friend goes to see the latest action movie and comes back with a glowing recommendation about how exciting it was, I am more likely to go see the movie than if I read a review.
The problem is how to get people talking about the movie and recommending it to their friends. Unless someone asks me what I did over the weekend or if I have seen a specific movie, I am reluctant to share my thoughts about it. I am also careful about what movies I recommend to whom. I was once on a business trip with one of our salesmen. We arrived at our hotel and saw that there was a movie theater across the parking lot. We quickly checked in and ran to see if we could catch a late showing of a newly released movie. We made it and had a great time watching the film. But it was a "guy" film and most of the women in the audience came away thinking less of their dates. Naturally I would never recommend that film to anyone but guys. Furthermore I would recommend they see it with other guys and not their wives or girlfriends.
How does a company leverage "friend's recommendations" to sell product or, in our case, increase ski team participants? With the ski team, you want the current kids to have a great experience and talk about it to their friends. I think that is already happening as shown by the number of team members that live close together. The real trick is getting outside the existing circle of influence. If all your friends are on the ski team, there really isn't anyone else to recommend.
I guess my only advice with viral marketing is to proceed with caution. Some strategies work while others just sound good on paper. As for me, I'm just trying to figure out how to get more people to read my BLOG.
I sat there quietly listening. I actually am in the process of getting a patent for some software I wrote that is used for viral marketing. I understand the lure of low-cost marketing methods and can see why organizations would want to embrace them. However I also understand the difference between theory and reality. It is one thing to talk about success cases but quite another to actually implement one.
The idea behind viral marketing is that people are more likely to purchase something based on a friend's recommendation than an ad seen on TV (unless it is after 9pm and you see a fast-food commercial . . . they make me hungry). For example, if a friend goes to see the latest action movie and comes back with a glowing recommendation about how exciting it was, I am more likely to go see the movie than if I read a review.
The problem is how to get people talking about the movie and recommending it to their friends. Unless someone asks me what I did over the weekend or if I have seen a specific movie, I am reluctant to share my thoughts about it. I am also careful about what movies I recommend to whom. I was once on a business trip with one of our salesmen. We arrived at our hotel and saw that there was a movie theater across the parking lot. We quickly checked in and ran to see if we could catch a late showing of a newly released movie. We made it and had a great time watching the film. But it was a "guy" film and most of the women in the audience came away thinking less of their dates. Naturally I would never recommend that film to anyone but guys. Furthermore I would recommend they see it with other guys and not their wives or girlfriends.
How does a company leverage "friend's recommendations" to sell product or, in our case, increase ski team participants? With the ski team, you want the current kids to have a great experience and talk about it to their friends. I think that is already happening as shown by the number of team members that live close together. The real trick is getting outside the existing circle of influence. If all your friends are on the ski team, there really isn't anyone else to recommend.
I guess my only advice with viral marketing is to proceed with caution. Some strategies work while others just sound good on paper. As for me, I'm just trying to figure out how to get more people to read my BLOG.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
First Snow
The mountains behind my house now have a fresh coat of paint. I guess you could say that Utah really is a two-season state: Summer and Winter. On September 29th, it was over 80 degrees at my house. Then a cold front moved in and we had snow in the mountains. Over the next couple of days it continued to snow and so I decided to see if there was enough to ski.
On Monday I took my youngest son with me up to Alta (pictured above). It is only ten miles away but 4,000 feet higher than my house. We drove up the narrow canyon and watched as rain turned to snow and then started to accumulate. When we got to the Alta Ski Resort parking lot, it was full of cars. It seems others had the same idea.
There was more than enough snow to ski and so we put on our boots and slung our skis over our shoulders. The lifts were not running and won't start for another month. That means if you want to ski, you have to do it the old fashioned way and hike up the hill. It took us about an hour to climb to our usual starting point. I pulled out my iPhone and took my son's picture to prove that there was snow at the beginning of October. Furthermore you can see that the snow is coming down pretty good.
Our run down only took a couple of minutes but it was a lot of fun. We stopped along the way and took a few more pictures. My son even insisted on taking a picture of me. Since I am always the one behind the camera, it is nice to have a picture or two.
So what does this have to do with computers and technology? Absolutely nothing. I thought about mentioning how my phone has a camera and so I find myself capturing events that would normally be missed. However that is a bit of a stretch. I could have talked about how it also plays music which made my hike seem to go quicker. However I took this chance to talk with my son as we walked up the steep mountain. That also made the hike go quickly. I guess all I can say is that sometimes you don't need technology to have a good day.
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