some people are bloggers...

and some are not.

State of the Internet 2010

It's been a long time.... This is a thought-provoking gap filler.

Did you know?

JESS3 designed and animated this for a lecture at AIGA Baltimore in Feb 2010

2008 Latest Edition - Did You Know 3.0 - From Meeting in Rome this Year

Interesting video

VMware Fusion 2.0.1 - Tools update solution

After updating VMware Fusion 2.o to 2.o.1, I got a message that the VMware tools needed to be updated. I logged into the Win XP pro admin account on my virtual machine. Nope.... For some reason, to update this version of VMware Tools, you have to
- login in the Guest Account (I had to turn it on)
- select "Update VMware Tools" from the Virtual Machine drop down menu (other approaches to updating, i.e., form the VMware Tools Properties option don't seem to work)
- authorize the update by entering your admin username and password into a dialog box that will open
Then the VMware tools will update.
This is odd - perhaps only for those more used to Mac OS logic. Maybe posting here will save someone else a little time.

More update info:
http://www.vmware.com/download/fusion/

making Mac iChat video work with an AIM account

After months of frustration, Yahoo technical and I figured out how to video conference using:

• Mac OS X 10.4.10 (Tiger)
• iChat (3.1.8)
• our AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) Account

For reasons we don't understand, the default AIM server setting doesn't work.

the fix that worked for us

1. Open iChat preferences and click on the Accounts tab
   
2. Select your AIM account
3. Click on Server settings
4. Change the default port (5190) to Port: 1080 (at the top - no need for a proxy server)
   
5. Restart iChat

[This also works for .Mac accounts - free or paid. Change the default port from 5060 to 1080.]

Yes, we have Apple's firewall on, and a Netgear router firewall in action.

solution for Photoshop CS3 crash / freeze problem

After I did the last round of software updates to Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Web Premium edition, PhotoShop CS3 Extended cease to act like the PhotoShop program I have used for years. This is on a MacBook 2 GHz Intel Core Due with 2 GB RAM.

symptoms

1. Try to open an image file and PhotoShop crashes
2. Try to save a new file and PhotoShop crashes
   
3. Try to save an image opened in PhotoShop from Bridge and PhotoShop crashes

self help

After verifying the the disk permission did not need to be repaired and that the hard drive itself was fine, I reinstalled (repaired) PhotoShop CS3 and updated it. Same symptoms. And updating produced this error message:
"Updating cannot be applied to a product. Adobe Version Cue Client 3.1 failed to install. Reinstall the product and try again."
Reinstalling PhotoShop AND Version Cue produced the same error message and PhotoShop crashes.

Adobe tech support

• The first call to Adobe's Saturday tech support was useless. I will forgo the details here.
• A search through Adobe's Knowledge base lead to a ten-page 8/10/07 Technote on "Troubleshoot system errors or freezes in Photoshop CS3 on Mac OS." After going through the beginning and some intermediate trouble-shooting steps, I stopped at #17 (Optimize hard disks) after reading Adobe's disclaimer about not supporting third party disk utilities. I haven't found a disk utility beyond Apple's Disk Utility that I trust.... I finished my need-it-tomorrow photo editing and printing using Apple iPhoto '08 and decided to worry about PhotoShop on Monday. (iPhoto's a decent program, especially in a pinch.)
  
• The second call to Adobe's tech support on Monday was also fruitless. I waited for 20 minutes in the "long cue" to talk to Christopher who suggest that there might be a software conflict. He recommended that I try turn on the computer in Safe Boot mode (hold the shift key while turning the computer on) to eliminate software conflicts. And if that didn't work, create a new admin account and try a safe boot again, opening PhotoShop in the new admin account. I asked for a case number to avoid the long wait should I need to call back.

solution

• The third call to Adobe's tech support on Monday was a bit frustrating, but did solve the problem. The frustration: my case number disappeared into the ether, so I had the long wait again, after an Adobe customer service rep verified my Adobe username and PhotoShop registration; he also provided my Adobe Customer Number - a good thing to know when you call Adobe's tech support.
  
• I repeated everything to Joel who solved the problem and patiently answered all of my questions. He recognized this as a Version Cue issue and directed me to:
  Hard Drive > Library > Applications Support > Adobe > Abobe Version Cue CS3 > Client
  and had me move the 3.1.0 directory to my desktop.
• I rebooted out of safe mode (no Internet connection to run an update) and updated the entire suit using Adobe Updater5 in the computer's Utilities folder. (Updater 4 was still there but we ignored it; Joel did not want me to remove it.)
• While all the software was updated yet again, we talked about Version Cue long enough for me to realize that I did not need it. We also talked about plan C... or D? Uninstalling the suite. Using Adobe's powerful clean up script, which sounded a little scary... We discussed the best way to uninstall the software - from the disk, not the uninstall utility, though I'm not sure why.
  
• Thankfully, although there was an ambiguous error message, Version Cue seemed to update successfully.
• Joel mentioned there was a doc on Adobe's site that dealt with this very issue: KB402521. Unfortunately, my "search of Entire Site for KB402521 did not match any documents." So I thought it best to blog this solution so it can be found.
  

PhotoShop seems to work now. I opened, edited, and printed an image successfully. I haven't verified all of the other programs yet, but I'm hopeful that they will work as expected. When I have some time, I plan to uninstall Version Cue.

Water? Apple bluetooth headset washes well

Apple's Bluetooth headset is my first wireless headset. Its compact design makes it barely visible. No flashing lights and ear hook look. I only wear the headset when driving or sitting at my desk and need two hands for my keyboard. When I'm out, I often drop it into a shirt pocket between car rides.

Two days ago I got home, changed, and threw some clothes in the washer–including the shirt I wore during the day. When the wash was almost done, I realized that the headset was still in my shirt pocket, in the washing machine. When the load was done, Apple's little bluetooth headset lay at the bottom of the washing machine, clean as a whistle so to speak.

At first, the headset was unresponsive. I let the headset dry out for a day and a half. Then put it in Apple's Dual Dock charger. My iPhone recognized the headset and charged it up. Works fine. Relief.... Ah, technology.

Steve Jobs 2007 grad address @ Stanford

Great speech in the perfect medium - a YouTube video viewed by more than a million people in less than 4 months, easily embedded into this free Google blog.

Clearly, Steve Jobs is a key player in the development of our contemporary digital society. Now you listen to and learn from the three insightful stories he shared in his 2007 graduation address at "one of the finest universities in the world" on demand, 24/7/365.

Ah, technology....

for Sprint, breaking up is hard to do

My Sprint Sanyo SCP-7300 cell phone sat on my desk going in and out of roaming on its own – without even being moved. Reception was better on my old Sanyo cell, but its screen melted down about 6 months before my Sprint contract ended.

Although the old Sanyo was the only Sprint phone I used in 5 years, when it broke I discovered that I would have to extend my Sprint contract for another 2 years to take advantage of the "free phone" offered with my most recent contract. Why? Because I didn't get my free phone during the first 3 months of the latest contract, one that I slipped into in order to change my rate plan. This explains why there are so many functioning used cell phones on eBay....

Because Sprint reception is so spotty in my office, home, and community - moving in and out of roaming by going to a different room or crossing the street - I bought the used 7300 on eBay and waited out the months until mid-July 2007, the end of my Sprint contract.

Which carrier to choose? Many local friends and business associates praise Verizon's service, so, initially, I planned to switch to Verizon.

Then the iPhone publicity started. And AT&T's website suggests excellent or good mobile service in my area. A week before my Sprint contract expired, and a week after the iPhone's debut, I bought an iPhone at cost in an Apple store without standing on a long line and after trying the phone to see if it lived up to the hype. My iPhone remained unopened until one day after my Sprint contract expired.

The iPhone exceeds my expectations - from the initial setup to ease of use to features I never thought I would need but now use and love. Reception is great; I get 4 or 5 bars around my office, home, and community. The iPhone feels so much like an elegant mini computer that I wonder if I will even lug along a laptop when I travel. I could go on praising the iPhone, but that's not what this post is about.

A few days ago, I received my final Sprint bill - for 15 cents for 1 SMS text message. : / I used to pay my Sprint bills online. Sprint let me login to my old account and see the advertising, but I discovered that I was no longer authorized to pay my bill online. Okay....

I tried calling the customer service number on my Sprint bill. I couldn't connect to a human Sprint representative until I revealed my old Sprint phone number. I finally got put on hold, with a message saying that there was a 20-minute wait. Okay...

I put the call on speaker phone and got back to work. For a while, muzak played and there was an occasional apology for placing a valued customer on hold. Eventually, the muzak and apologies stopped. One hour and 38 minutes later I realized that while I had not been disconnected, Sprint billing did not want to talk to me. So I hung up...

Rather than spend a lot of time figuring out how to talk to a human being at Sprint to see if I can transfer 15 cents from my checking account over the phone (or if they might waive the fee? Unlikely!), I decided to spend less time writing this post, and write a check to Sprint for 15 cents and mail it to Sprint with a 41-cent stamp.

I'd hate to have my credit ruined because I defaulted on my final Sprint bill....

candidate embraces web 2.0 technologies

A real 21st-century candidate hits the campaign trail. It's refreshing to see a presidential candidate using Web 2.0 technology so well - a blog, YouTube videos, MySpace and FaceBook profiles, and Flickr photos!

In this video, Hillary Clinton asks supporters to vote on a campaign song. Interesting.... Check her site (link below). U2, the Temptations, Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, Jesus Jones, KT Tunstall, Smash Mouth, the Staple Singers.... Great songs – so it's not an easy choice. Rest assured, there are many other video on more substantive issues.

HillaryClinton.com

HC campaign song choices

Middle Ages Tech Support

During the Middle Ages, the printed book was the new, confusing technology. I guess that some things never change....

what's in a domain name?

Get your domain name while you can buy it at a reasonable cost, if at all. This article explores current domain name speculation and cybersquatting.

Domain Name System shows signs of stress from financial maneuverings: Cybersquatting, speculation hurt trademark owners and sow confusion online
by Patrick Thibodeau

April 16, 2007 -(Computerworld)- Cybersquatting — the practice of registering Internet domain names that poach well-known trademarks — is profitable for just about everybody involved. Money is made off of registration fees and advertising, and even the regulator of the Domain Name System gets a piece of the action.

But it’s not so lucrative for corporate officials like Lynn Goodendorf, who heads global privacy at InterContinental Hotels Group PLC.

The Windsor, England-based company owns seven hotel chains, including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, with more than 3,700 properties worldwide. Each day, Goodendorf gets about 100 e-mail alerts concerning potential trademark infringements from three different domain monitoring services.

Goodendorf said that in most of those cases, she doesn’t know the identities of the potentially infringing domain holders. Their registrations often are private, and when identifying information is available, it may be inaccurate. Subpoenas are sometimes needed to uncover the identities of individuals, she said.

Defensive measures, such as registering domain names that cybersquatters might target, can help, but only to a point. “We have tried to register common misspellings or to have letters transposed,” Goodendorf said. But it’s impossible to anticipate every name combination, she added, citing the cybersquatting site capitolholidayinn.com as an example.

Speculators Rule

As Goodendorf’s experiences illustrate, the Domain Name System is showing signs of being out of control. Speculators now use automated software systems to re-register large batches of expired domain names. They’re also helped by a loophole in the registration process that lets domains be tested for their potential profitability as pay-per-click advertising sites during a free five-day “tasting” period.

How Internet Domains Are Used

49% are "parked" on other Web sites, such as pay-per-click ad portals.

---

31% have been developed as functional Web sites by their owners.

---

5% are used to manage affiliate marketing and advertising services.

---

5% are set up to redirect traffic to other Web sites.

---

10% are used for unspecified “other” purposes.


Read the whole story on Computerworld here.

how to paint the Mona Lisa with MS Paint

This YouTube video has gotten lots of attention. I'm not a big fan of MS Paint.... Clearly EclecticAsylumArt takes the software to the limit here and demonstrates the software's power – and the artist's talent.

desktop email vs. browser email

Lately I've had clients and friends who've been forced by a "corporate merger" to use slooooooowwwww browser email. One switched to Outlook Express, Microsoft's free desktop email client; another got a faster gMail browser account.

Windows users looking for a "simple yet powerful email client" may find more than relief with Mozilla's free Thunderbird 2 desktop email software. Mozilla is the company that developed the great Firefox browser software. While I've had no problems using Mac Mail 2.1 to read 1 business account, 2 academic accounts, 2 personal accounts, and My.Mac account, I may check out the new version of Thunderbird for Macs. (Yes, email consolidation is on the horizon too....)

Here's an informative piece posted on Slashdot by Zonk earlier today regarding Why Desktop Email Still Trumps Webmail. p3net writes

"Shortly before the release of Thunderbird 2.0 RC1, Wired held an interesting interview with Scott MacGregor, the lead developer of Thunderbird. He presents some views as to why desktop email clients still triumph, even in this much-dominated web age. 'Some users want to have their data local for privacy and control. Furthermore, you can integrate data from different applications on the desktop in ways that you can't do with web-based solutions, unless you stick to web solutions from a single provider. For example, you can use your Outlook address book with Thunderbird. We'd like to continue to expand the kinds of data you can share between Thunderbird and other apps (both web and desktop applications).'"

• Read more: Mozilla: Why Desktop Email Crucifies the Browser by Scott Gilberston, Wired, 04.09.07.
  
• Mozilla website for Firefox (web browser) and Thunderbird email client. At this point, you have to decide whether you want the stable Thunderbird 1.5 or a Thunderbird 2 Release Candidate.
• Original Slashdot article (above) - Why Desktop Email Still Trumps Webmail

send business email like a pro

More and more people rely on email for inexpensive, convenient business communication. Here are some standard email practices that will help you to present you and your business in a professional way in electronic communications.

professional practices

1. People should be able to recognize your email username as belonging to you. Otherwise your message may be deleted without being read. The easiest approach is to use your real name as your username for business email. First names are fine if your email address refers to your business, for example, susan @ doctorgeek.biz


2. Write a subject line that clearly describes the content of your message.


3. Have a professional-looking email address. Whether or not you have a business website, get a business email address and use it only for business communication.
   
   
   
   1. For professional looking business email, it's best to use an email services that does not insert their own advertisement at the bottom of YOUR message.
   
   
   2. You can buy a custom business email address (email @yourbusiness.com) without a website. If you follow that route, be certain to check what your domain (yourbusiness.com) looks like.... it may have advertising.
   
   
   3. For not that much more money than a custom business email address, you can have a simple, informative one-page website that gives web visitors a good idea about you and your business – for example Aaron Cole's realtor site.


4. Use an email signature (sig) at the bottom of your message so people know who you are and how to contact you.



1. Your sign-off/signature should include your full name, title, company, and business telephone number.


2. Although your email address is on your message, some people believe that your email address should be in your signature too.


3. You may include a fax or cell phone number, website address, Skype username, instant message username and/or company tag line - if valuable to your your business communications.


4. Your snail mail (conventional postal service) address should be included when needed. In a signature, your entire address can be on one line, with comma separators for example:
   your street address, suite number, city, state, zip code


5. Show restraint with the size of your signature - it should be smaller than most messages that you send!


6. Set your email program to automatically include your signature on all outgoing business email. You may want to have more than one signature option, for example a short signature for people at your company and a longer one for "outsiders".


5. Reply to email in a timely manner, generally within 1 to 2 business days.
   
   
   
   1. If it will take longer, send a timely reply acknowledging the message and indicate when you will be able to respond more fully.
   
   
   2. When away for an extended period of time (for a vacation, conference, illness, etc. where you will have limited or no access to email), set up an auto responder on your business email account.


6. Use a separate email account for personal email. Good bets are free email services like Yahoo Mail or Google's gMail or your commercial Internet Service Provider.

email don'ts

1. For your business email account, never use a high level spam blocker that only permits messages from email addresses in your address book. A new client will probably not be in your address book.


2. Many people view spam - unsolicited email sent to large groups of people - as a nuisance.
   
   
   
   1. If you send business messages to a large group of people, include information at the bottom of your message about how to be removed from your mailings. This is good practice even if people sign up to receive email from you.
   
   
   2. Distinguish between networking and spamming with publicly available contact information. It's probably networking to send an infrequent message to members of YOUR chamber of commerce; if you do, use the BCC (blind carbon copy) feature of your email, not the CC (carbon copy) feature - unless there is some reason that you would want one of your chamber buddies to "reply to all."


3. Try not to use all capital letters in your subject line and message UNLESS IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. All caps are like shouting. If you have a critical message for one person, the telephone is more effective and reliable than email. For a group message, one word in caps is often effective.


4. Avoid sending large unsolicited attachments, for example a large PDF. It is best not to send any unsolicited attachments. To send large solicited attachments, consider using a free trustworthy service like dropload.com.


5. Sometimes email is not the best form of communication because the medium can be perceived as offensive (i.e., impolite, discourteous, bad-mannered and disrespectful). Official replies to a serious letter, proposal, or application received in regular mail should be sent through "snail" mail, on letterhead paper. Obviously, this is particular true for sensitive and/or distressing messages. (Thanks to K.M. @ UCLA for pointing this out.)

Intego's Virus Barrier rewriting permissions?

Good Macintosh maintenance includes repairing disk permissions with Apple's disk utility software after installing or updating software, including system updates.

A few weeks ago I noticed that every time I repaired my ol' G5's disk permissions there seemed to be a set of permissions that needed to be repaired again and again: the activity monitor, keychain access, and ODBC administrator. Disk utility could repair the permissions, but the repair only lasted until the system re-booted.

I consulted with my #1 Mac tech support guru, a technical yahoo who admittedly dislikes anti-virus software. After examining the problem and the activity monitor, the guru suggested that we remove the Intego Virus Barrier x4 software and see what happens.

Once the latest version of Virus Barrier software was removed, the problem disappeared: the disk permissions stayed repaired.

I'd been using Intego's Virus Barrier x4 software for months without this or really any problem. It appears that after the latest (March '07) update, Virus Barrier x4 kept changing permissions in the root directory of my Mac.

Here's the disk utility disk permission repair report that kept returning until Virus Barrier x4 was removed:

Group differs on ./Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/Resources/pmTool, should be 80, group is 0
Owner and group corrected on ./Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/Resources/pmTool
Permissions corrected on ./Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/Resources/pmTool
Group differs on ./Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app/Contents/Resources/kcproxy, should be 80, group is 0
Owner and group corrected on ./Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app/Contents/Resources/kcproxy
Permissions corrected on ./Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app/Contents/Resources/kcproxy
Group differs on ./Applications/Utilities/ODBC Administrator.app/Contents/Resources/iodbcadmintool, should be 80, group is 0
Owner and group corrected on ./Applications/Utilities/ODBC Administrator.app/Contents/Resources/iodbcadmintool
Permissions corrected on ./Applications/Utilities/ODBC Administrator.app/Contents/Resources/iodbcadmintool

the machine is us/ing us

This is the final version of what may be the clearest and most thought-provoking explanation of Web 2.0 to date. Watch it and explore the second generation of web-based services that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Kansas State University created the video.

Tungsten T5 updater v.1.1

Last weekend I wrote about restoring my T5's ability to hold a charge. And ended by saying that I would look for updates. I needed to wait several days to cool down from the frustration of attempting to install an update for the T5 released by Palm in 2005.

The "easy" way to install the update requires 16.7 MB free space on the Palm. My Palm had 43 MB free space but I kept getting an error message that there was not enough free space. Evidently not an unusual problem with this updater based on a web search.

So I tried Plan B - Palm's alternate method for devices with less than 16.7 MB free space. This method involves a hard reset that erases everything on the Palm. The alternate method worked until the very end when the installer requested that the Palm be plugged into the charger. An odd request.... The Palm didn't come with a charger. After trying to get this method to work a few more times, I gave up.

Though the updater still on Palm's site, I decided not to update the T-5. Palm admitted that there were problems with the 1.1 updater. Evidently they're still working on fixing it.

v1.1 updater from Palm
Palm forum about the problem
BackupBuddy - if you want to try the updater, back up first. Backing up is a good idea in any event.

Palm Pilot batteries and hard reset

Try a hard reset on your Palm Pilot if the battery does not hold a (full) charge.

Last week I was away for 6 days with my Tungsten T5 running off its battery. Had my appointments, contacts, an alarm clock (World Clock) and played Suduku once a day. No problem -- returned home with a 50% battery charge.

Plugged the Palm into my computer and power strip when I got home to charge it up. Synchronized the Palm with the desktop without a problem. Then I downloaded the Daylight Savings Time Update for Palm OS. I didn't read down on the directions about resetting your device... at least the first time.

Later the Palm alerted me that the battery was dangerously low and should be plugged in to charge. It was plugged in - to my computer and power strip. Then I tried charging the Palm on the outlet in the bathroom – without any success.

I bought the extended 2 year warranty; it ended in January 2007. No comment. Not really relevant.

I called Palm tech support for help. I asked if there was anything I could try to get the battery to hold a charge. Sorry, no. Steve told me that it would cost $199 to replace the battery, and for that money I might want to buy a new Palm. Palm would give me 20% off the price of a Z22 ($99 USD), E2 ($199USD), T|X ($229 USD) or LifeDrive ($399 USD) from the Palm site. Steve gave me as special upgrade code.

Before replacing the T5, I had to do some troubleshooting on my own.

• A Soft Reset brought the Palm back to life. Excellent! But the battery would only charge 50%. Not satisfactory.
  
• I had synced the Palm with my desktop, so decided to try a Hard Reset. Erased everything and went back to the factory default settings. Synchronizing bought everything back to the Palm just like it had been. And the battery is now charged 100%.

Now that the battery is fully charged, I applied the DST updater. Seems fine.

Tomorrow I'll check to see if there are any other updates needed.

Resetting your device in a variety of ways:
http://www.palm.com/cgi-bin/cso_kbURL.cgi?ID=887
Palm DST updater:
http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/dst_palmos.html

shift happens: globalization & the information age

Interesting statistics.... The last part about computers computationally equivalent to the human brain seems quite speculative. At this point, researchers don't understand much about how the brain works. And as my favorite technical Yahoo pointed out, being able to compare/store numbers quickly (all a computer really does) doesn't equal coming up with something original.

Thanks to my new friend Richard for taking this movie as a reminder that "beneath and hidden from the facts, there is meaning that touches us in ways that demand we spin a new form of cloth around our ideas and ideals."