Alex LuftA piece of the web dedicated to me… by me!

Something magical took me to the podcasts section in my iTunes library today and somehow I hit the play button on… The Mac Attack.  I haven’t listened to/watched it in quite some time (long enough, actually, to have had iTunes stop auto-downloading it).  The screencast Steve (the host) did was about printing in OS X, and the first few minutes were dedicated to setting up printing - more specifically, adding a printer.  To make a long (and sentimental) story short, it made me want to try one more time and reconfigure my “network-ready” HP all-in-one (AIO).

Why the one more time?  Because I’ve tried a total of ten times before (yes, really - I’m not exagerating) to set this thing up to print via a LAN connection.  It never worked.  So this time I thought I might do something different…
And I did!  It all works now!  I’m in network-printer heaven right now, having disconnected that silly USB cable that ran from the printer/AIO to the iMac.  And now I don’t need to keep the iMac on all the time!

Kudos to Steve Stanger for his inspiration, kudos to me for doing it, and more of the same to HP and Apple for figuring it all out and making it all work.

On second thought… I think that those ten or so times I tried setting it all up before I was using Tiger, not Leopard.  Long live Leopard and its auto-IP detection!

Or something like that…  Now only if I could scan from the LAN…  Can I?

Specs, devices, & details:

• HP OfficeJet 6300 AIO series (with LAN port)
• iMac and MacBook (13″ aluminum) - both running Leopard 10.5.6

There was an attempt by a company called Room 214 to force a Twitter user out of his Twitter handle.  This user has been using Room 214 for some time. Kevin Rose weighed in in this video. What’s interesting here is that the company in question, Room 214, is a “social media agency.” So I find it quite funny that they are only now trying to secure a handle on Twitter - arguably one of the most popular and effective social networking sites. Do these guys even know what they’re doing?

PS: in cases like these, it often is the how that matters, not the what. In other words, it matters how Room 214 tries to get their Twitter handle, not the actual act of doing so.

Watch the video.

So now that I have some time to actually write something here, I am going to do just that!  First, I’d like to extend everybody the warmest of wishes for this holiday season.  I hope that you are spending this time with someone you are thankful to be with.  Do enjoy this time, no matter what other things might be happening in the “real world.”

Second, I’d like to give a status update on what I’ve been up to.  After finishing up the Fall 2008 semester at the University - and what a semester it has been! - I made a deal with myself that I will finally get to record and publish the TechNest Report podcast.  And guess what?  I did it!  You can listen to the first audio episode here and do all the subscription goodness over on the bottom of that page.  It turned out to be a good show, but there are still things I need to improve.  Needless to say, now that I’m on a roll, I’ll be releasing audio episodes weekly - at the least.  I am also planning - with Ariana’s help - a video version.  The videocast will be a little different format - less discussion and more material that actually takes advantage of the video format.  Stay tuned here for news and updates about the TechNest Report videocast.

And here is that “more” part (from the title): I had two surgeries this year: one on the shoulder, the other on the knee.  The shoulder operation came after dislocating it during hockey practice with some of the Florida Panthers players.  Since it was my second time dislocating it, it became much easier to dislocate it during high-intensity/stress situations on the joint.  Lucky to say, I’m well-recovered from it, having gone through three months worth of physical therapy - which I enjoyed!  The second operation was on the knee.  It was a minor adjustment that has slipped through the cracks of the surgeon that treated me when I first broke my femur six years ago.  What was I doing?  Playing hockey, ofcourse!  The knee operation was on Tuesday, December 23, so I’m still not feeling 100%.  But after some physical therapy and much rest, it should be like new (don’t get me down by telling me otherwise)!  I should be skating again within a couple of months.

In any case, here is to another healthy, happy, productive, and adventerous year!  Here is to TechNest Report and to any new ventures I decide to tackle.

Cheers and happy holidays,

You know how car makers camouflage yet unannounced cars when the vehicle is being tested?  This is the principle behind what Apple did with the new MacBooks, wrapping the beautiful aluminum enclosure with old-school black plastic… there’s even a weight attached to the screen - just to see how strong the hinge is.  I kid, I kid.  - end geek humor -

PS: For the sake of attribution, I don’t know where the image came from, I found it on the interwebs somewhere.  I hope it’s fine that I use it.  Thanks for the awesome work!

-Revised Oct 9, 2008, 7:47AM EST: fixed Paul’s last name in title.

While listening to a backdated episode of the Windows Weekly podcast (#67) yesterday afternoon, I realized something interesting about the relationship between journalism and popularity.  Paul Thurrott (co-host of the show with Leo Laporte and of WinSuperSite fame) was explaining how he is giving away and selling certain items he no longer needs: books, DVDs, tech hardware, software, etc. He said that it’s a collaborative process with himself and his wife to de-clutter the home.  But what really caught my attention was the clear distinction he placed when giving away or selling said items.

Like many journalists and tech reporters, Paul receives many review units that he is not required to return. He distinctly said during the podcast that these items are not for sale: he will simply give them away for free.  Obviously, this is the right and ethical thing to do: no conflict-of-interest issues can arise here.

Moreover, there were also items that Paul was selling for a very small fee - not expecting to send his kids “to school”, as he explained.  These items he purchased himself. But what really caught my attention was that he was conducting said giveaways and sales not on his revenue-generating website (WinSuperSite, which is an excellent tech site - by the way).  Rather, he was referring people to visit his old website - internet-nexus.com for the items.  Simply put, no monetary gains from increased website traffic to WinSuperSite were made by Paul during this giveaway/sales event.

This is such a cordial thing to do and is something that isn’t seen in much of the current generation of tech journalists, writers, or reviewers.  It seems that so many of these professionals (and small-time-writers) have used giveaways and other promotional techniques to lure people to their site and/or generate web traffic (yes, I’m looking at you Mr. Kevin Rose and that iPhone). I recognize Paul for his ethics and class: he is now heads and shoulders above the rest.

I just wish that more would follow by example.

Something nobody wants to hear about but must face: death and travel statistics.

Chances of a fatality resulting from an accident:
-airplane: 1 in 1,000,000
-car: 1 in 300,000

I think I’ll start taking the Gulfstream to the university from now on. Anyone wanna “plane-pool”?

Ever had that immediate need for a nice cold glass of water?  This presentation will make you appreciate it!

I haven’t written here (AlexLuft.com) in a while.  There a few reason as to why that is (they’re all very good, I promise!):

1. I’ve been working on a design to the static pages of the site and I’m pleased to announce they are going to be live pretty soon.  I should have them up in about a week or so.  Maybe two.  ;)
2.  I’ve been working on the website for my personal training business - FunctionAll.  You can see the first stage of the site at TrainFunctionAll.com.  It’s a work in progress but is a good first step for me.  I’m planning tp building on it as time goes by.
3. I’ve been helping Ariana out with her clothing line, Uneek Geek.  Check out her Etsy store for some cool geek wear and apparel.  We’re working on getting her own web store up and running using Magento, so that’s taking some time as well.

Between all that and TechNest Report, I’ve been very much tied up, but as soon as the redesign for this site and Uneek Geek are more or less along, I’ll be back and writing more - I promise!

Finally got the long-awaited call from the AT&T rep letting me know my pre-ordered 8GB 3G iPhone has arrived.  I was transferring my number from T-Mobile, so it took about 10 minutes of waiting in the store for that to happen.  This wasn’t really as bad as I was anticipating it would be.  In fact, I was fortunate to have an AT&T rep who new what she was doing. I walked out with my brand-spankin-new iPhone in one hand - ready to make but not yet receive calls and sms - and my old and trusty RAZR V3i in another hand - capable of performing both tasks until its service was terminated.  Here are my first impretions:

• Love the new “feel” of the phone: it’s not slippery as was the first gen.
• Love 3G speeds.  So far, I have always been covered by 3G - Coral Springs/Parkland area (Florida, USA).
• The best part is the App Store: it’s simply amazing.  Besides the amazing iPhone user interface, the App Store is the best thing on the device.  I have downloaded and use the following apps:
  • Twinkle - a location-aware Twitter client (meaning you can specify to received updates from people in a 5 mile radius from you)
  • AIM: seems like this is the best IM app with a “virgin”/not jail-broken iPhone.  There is a “gatchya,” however: no push notifications.  So if I’m not running the app, it won’t let me know that I received an IM until I open up the application.  Sucks.
  • Yelp - a location-aware “places search” - that is kind of like Google Maps but also has an active community of reviewers.  I think it uses Google Maps on the iPhone as the mapping tech
  • Light - turns the screen completely white to simulate a flashlight.
  • Jott - records your voice notes, transcribes them to text, makes it available on the iPhone App or on the web.  You can even type using the keyboard if you don’t want to talk.  Voice-to-text transcription has been very good so far.  You can make to-do lists, shopping lists, and there is a messaging and social-networking feature that I don’t yet fully understand.  To mark a task as “done”, just cross it off with you finger and the effect that follows is amazing - a strikethrough line that crosses that task/item off.  This is my favorite App thus far.
  • Evernote - the best note-taking application.  I have it installed on my Mac, my Vista PC, and even my Hackintoshed Mac.  Any changes I make to my notes on the iPhone are synced up to the cloud (where I can access and edit them) and then synced back down to all my PCs. This is my second favorite app (because the “new factor” has worn off as I’ve been using it for a few months already on the dekstop).
  • Google app - the same as going to Safari and doing a Google search, but without having to do so.  Also searches your entire phone’s contents, including email and Contacts.
  • Apple Remote - an amazing app: allows you to control your iTunes library on your Mac/PC remotely.  Basically, the iPhone becomes the remote for your computer with iTunes.
  • Shazam - put a song on that you don’t know the name of and it will tell you what it is.  It will even offer to take you to the iTunes music store on the iPhone and get the song for you.
  • Urbanspoon - find restaurants based on your location and preference type.  Makes use of iPhone’s accelerometers.  Allows you to “lock in” location, cuisine type, and cost.
  • Check please - a tip calculator.  Allows you to specify cost of check and split the tip (or bill) in x different ways.
  • Save Benjis - performs an internet search to compare prices on items you’re interested in.  Think of PriceGrabber but for the iPhone - natively.

• I haven’t installed any games yet since I don’t really want to pay for them (yet).  Maybe I’ll get Tap Tap Revenge.
• One important tid-bit: during my first sync, I selected the option to restore from my previous iPhone (the first generation).  This brought back all my old iPhone’s podcasts and contacts and information but made the new iPhone really slow.  The delay time and lag between clicks/touches are enourmous.  I wiped it and started over with a clean iPhone, setting it up through iTunes.  This fixed the “slowness” problem.
• Things I’m still waiting on:
  • Native over-the-air (OTA) sync app  for Google Calendar.
  • Push for Gmail and Google Calendar.
  • 1Password: OTA sync through my.1password.com.  (1Password is a password management application for the Mac.)
  • Google Documenets synchronizer that would allow me to edit Google Docs without an internet connection on the iPhone.

What do you use?  Talk to me in the comments.

I found a great Delicous (Del.icio.us) overview online for those not in the know.  I was just browsing around on a site called SlideShare (another useful and excellent site, by the way) when I came across this deliciously-useful -;) slide show.  I’ve been a Delicious user for almost a year now and thought I’ve been using the tasty online application to its fullest.  Apparently this was not the case, as I didn’t know what “bundles” were - for instance.

Check out the slideshow after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »