Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Customer Service - Amazon

I ordered a Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player that arrived on Friday.

I hooked it up and was very impressed with the picture.

In browsing around Amazon for some other stuff, I noticed the player had gone down in price.  Snooping around Amazon, I see that they have a 30 day price guarantee.  I shot off an email (on Sunday) to see what they would do.  Within 4 hours I had a response from them.  They reviewed the order and credited my credit card for the difference.  I think that is excellent.

There is a site at www.nukeprice.com that will watch the items you have ordered and notify you if the price goes down.

Day 27 - Post 18

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Various Thoughts

We had a nice Thanksgiving.  My parents and sister were over.  Jason had his girlfriend over. 

I usually do the appetizers.  I try to do something different, but this year I just wasn't inspired.  I thought about it for quite some time, but never really came up with anything unique.  I worked off the appetizer for last year and made mini meatball and sausage pepper and onions subs.  They were good, but nothing exceptional.

It is amazing how much work goes into creating the dinner and how quickly it is all over (except the leftovers).

How much is it worth to wake up early to get a deal on Black Friday?  I'm not sure.  Jason and I ventured to BJ's where we picked up an Olevia 47" 1080p LCD.  We were in and out, back home by 8AM. 

The TV is installed (partially) and looks great.  I also picked up a Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player.  Previously I only had the 720p through the LG.  There is a difference in the viewing experience.  I'm not sure who's going to win the format war, but we have both bases covered.

It doesn't look like I'm going to make the 30 in 30.  I'll get some more up over the next few days, but not 30.

 

Day 26 - Post 17

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

VS2008 Download

After turning off the pop up blocker on IE7, I was able to get the professional version downloaded.  If I had bothered to read the instructions, this would not have been an issue.  I need to learn to read instructions more.

Install was not an issue.  I only ran the beta in a vm so there was nothing to clean up.

Now, let's see if I can learn something here.

 

Day 21 - Post 16

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Ink Post

I just checked the ink post and there are two sets of ink up there.  I wonder if I hit publish twice is there is a bug in the ink blogging.

I'll have to try another experiment.

I am off this week, but have more things to do that I can accomplish.  I need to break out the tablet to VPN into work, so maybe later today.

 

Day 20 - Post 15

Gardening

The weather has been excellent for putzing in the yard the past couple of weeks.  I have been working to get some of the weeds in the beds under control, but it is tedious work and only temporary.  There is some satisfaction in looking at freshly mulched beds even if it is impermanent.

I'm trying my hand at some adenium seeds.  There are some sprouting which is cool.  One of my recent trips to Atlanta I picked up some magnolia seeds.  I just started them yesterday.

I also have picked up some adenium (through eBay) from these guys http://adenium.com.tw.  They shipped the plants on Friday and the PO tried to deliver on Tuesday.  That amazes me.  The world is getting to be a tiny place.

Amarylis have been something I've grown, but the standard Home Depot type variety.  I see that more and more of the unusual are coming out in catalogs and websites.  I picked up some nice bulbs from www.royalcolors.com.  The are in their pots awaiting activity.

Day 20 - Post 14

VS 2008 - Ships

I am probably the last person who blogs to post this, but it is available (supposedly) to MSDN subscribers.  I can only find the Team System Architect version.

I can't imagine what it takes to build, test and deliver a product of this magnitude.  It boggles my mind.  Congratulations to the VS team at MS.  They have a lot to be thankful for this Thursday.

 

Day 20 - Post 13

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

What's in my bag?

Every now and then, there is a question in the Gotta Be Mobile Forums about what is in your gadget bag. Here's my list:

Lenovo X60t Tablet PC
HTC Touch Phone
160 Gig Silver iPod Classic
one of several pair of ear buds (another bad habit - Shure, Etymotic, Ultimate Ears or Westones)
a couple of USB thumb drives
USB 2.5 drive enclosure with 120 gig HD
cables for the iPod, USB enclosure/Phone
lapis lazuli mala blessed by the Dalai Lama
altoids
Lamy Al-Star fine point fountain pen
a couple of magazines (odds and ends, Buddhist magazines, Code magazine, The Week, Mental Floss)
Smartphone Programming

Day 14 - Post 12

Tablet Bag

I picked up a Booq Mamba S for the tablet.

I love bags. Probably as much as Rob Bushway.

I had been carrying a Kensington Contour Backpack. I like that bag, but I stuff it full. It was heavy. For out of town travel, it can't be beat. Fits under the airplane seat, holds a ton of stuff.

The bag is very nice. The size is good. The construction of the bag is very nice. I'm not quite used to the messenger single strap. One thing I like is the number of pockets and pouches in the bag. I like having things in separate compartments. Two things that are missing for me in the bag are a clip to hold keys and the little loops to hold pens. Otherwise it is a great bag.

Day 14 - Post 11

Smartphone Programming - Not!

I have been getting my brain sucked dry during the day at work. I just want to come home and drool on myself. I've made it through the introduction, but that's it.

I am enjoying the phone more and more. Now the question is do I return the phone, and rebuy it with the 2 year contract (possibly trading in the Q) or do I keep it, eat the $250 and not be tied to Sprint for two years? If I take that route, I need to replace Renee's phone at the same time.

Day 14 - Post 10

Sunday, November 11, 2007

1/3 the way through

It is (just over) the 1/3 mark for the 30 days and 30 posts.  How am I doing?  Not well.  I've only done 7 posts in the 11 days (not counting this).

 

I do have some drafts of the trip to Las Vegas for VSLive!.  In addition, I am going to start the Smartphone Programming tonight.  I'll be working through it at lunch during work.  That should provide some material as well.

 

Day 11 - Post 8

Friday, November 09, 2007

Smartphone Development

I've been going to Weight Watchers.  I've lost 25 lbs.  One of the ways is to count your points.  Points are determined by calories, fiber and fat. 

A while back I had developed a small points calculator for a Palm device.  It worked well, but is long gone.

I have Smartphone Programming and it is finally time to crack it open. 

The points calculator seems to be a nice simple app to start with. 

Phase I, simple calculator.  Touch interface, no persistence.

Phase II, add ability to describe point value food and store

Phase III, add ability to track daily points

 

Day 9 - Post 7

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

HTC Touch Day 2

I've had some time to use the Touch.

One of my issues with the PDA phones has been the ability to hear the calls.  What good is the phone if I can't hear the caller/callee?  None.  I can hear the calls with the Touch fine.

I've got the phone syncing with my tablet.  First sync took a little bit of time, but everything came over.  One thing that I've had issue with is recurring appointments.  Work email/calendaring is Lotus Notes, the Outlook connector is somewhat flaky so I don't use it.  I either add my tablet email to the appointment or there is a rule to forward all appointments to the tablet.  Either way, the end up on the tablet.  The problem has been the recurring appointments seem to show up in Outlook OK, but on the phone 4 hours early.  I figured it was the phone, but under WM6 on the Touch it was happening too.  I tried saving the appointment in Outlook.  The next sync had the appointment set OK.  Strange.

I've done a little customization to the phone, but not much.  Email is set up.  I am having issues with touching links in the emails. 

The onscreen keyboard has a traditional full keyboard as well.  I need more time to get used to the 20 key keyboard. 

My fingers are a little fat for the accuracy of the touch screen.  I think that is a practice issue.

There is a mobile IM client.  I haven't set up the mobile email as a Windows Live ID, but will do that soon.

So far, I like the phone. 

Day 6 - Post 6

Sunday, November 04, 2007

HTC Touch - I got one!

I have a Motorola Q, it works well, but I guess deep down I do have iPhone envy (there, I said it).  I looked the the iPhone when it first came out and was very impressed.  The main thing that kept me from buying one was the AT&T network.  I have Sprint.  I don't know which is better, but to change 3 lines seemed to be more than I was willing to do at the time.  Oh, and that initial price killed it for me too.

The company I work for has a deal with AT&T.  But, in looking at the plans, it would cost me more money for the same thing.  Granted I would use less minutes since 75% of the people I call are probably AT&T.

Then the Touch came.  Like all the cool phones, it wasn't on Sprint.  (Recently the Centro and the Mogul seem to have broken that trend).  I started reading it would be out on Sprint soon, then 11/4.

I called around to the local stores to see if they would have it.  Most didn't know what I was talking about.  One local store did say they would have it.

We wandered over to the mall and there it was.  The Sprint guy said it was not a good example since their claw was causing things not to work.  I asked about seeing one out of the box, but the guy that had the key was gone.  Be back in about an hour.  Ouch.  He did take it out of the claw for me.  It seemed cool, much smaller than I expected. 

Wasted an hour and went back.  Big line.  Lots of people, one actually looking at the Touch.

I ended up paying full price for it.  If I like it, I'll return it and commit to the contract.  If you pay the contract price and return it, you're still stuck with the contract.  WTF?  If I don't like it, I'll return it and sit down with someone from AT&T to see if they can meet my needs.

First impression is cool.  I played very little with it since I had it.  I'm leaving tomorrow on a trip, and will take it and the manual with me.  And the charger, not sure how long the battery will last.

More to come.

Day 4 - Post 5

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Is Fall finally here?

It was 65 when I woke up. Compare that to the 70s we've been having. This is the first time since April or so it has been in the 60s.

Since I have been travelling a lot since the middle of August, the yard and plants have taken a beating. It looks bad out there. With this weather, it is time to get out and get this cleaned up. Unfortunately, down here, when it is cool it is also dry. With the current water restrictions, it will be a balancing act to keep things going, plant new things and keep them watered.

I still have about 50 orchids. They don't hold my interest as they did. Now it is passiflora, aristolochia, amaryllis and adeniums that I find interesting. Today is the Mounts Fall Plant sale. It is a great place to wander around and look at interesting things. Coupled with this weather, it should be a great time.

Day 3 Post 4

Friday, November 02, 2007

Media System

I have a modest HD setup in my office, LG 32 inch LCD 720p, Sony surround sound system, Sony Blu-Ray and Tivo HD.

HD is through on the air broadcasting from an antenna. I'm lucky in that most of the major networks have towers within a few miles of my house. The exception is ABC which gives me the most trouble. I love the picture. Since the LG has an optical out, I can run that to the Sony and get 5.1 for the HD shows.

The Blu-Ray is amazing. I can't imagine how much better it would be in 1080p or a larger screen (living room to be upgraded to a 42 - 50" 1080p at some point). The player is pig-dog slow though. I am amazed how long it takes for the thing to turn on and be able to put in a disc. Once it is in, it is beautiful.

The Tivo. I loved my dual tuner SD Tivo. Actually, so did my wife. I could set the wish lists and season passes and we'd get it all. Wonderful. I could transfer to the PC and burn to DVD to watch anywhere. No HD though. I gave in and bought the HD. A concern was the recording length. With the new shows on, and me having been travelling recently, would it hold everything? Don't know. I didn't run out of space, but I did feel a crunch sometimes and felt I had to keep clearing out space. Recently Tivo enabled external storage for the HD. I picked it up and now have over 80 hours to record. So far no issues with storage. I can't get the TivoToGo to work. I had it installed under Vista, but I reimaged the machine and now it will install, but not run. No biggee, it'll get figured out.

Take the time and invest in a system. I enjoy it immensely.

Day 2 - Post 3

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Tablet Upgrades

In the quest for a speedier tablet, I have been changing around some of the components.

Basic tablet info:

Lenovo x60t
1.83 core duo
SXGA
Ultrabase & DVD
4 cell & 8 cell batteries

When I got the machine it had the 5400 rpm 100 gig drive in it. That had to go. I went to a 100 gig 7200 rpm drive. To be honest, I don't know how this affected battery life.

Then, I went from XP to Vista Ultimate. Do I regret it? No. Vista (for my needs) is a much better OS for inking. The process from Lenovo was easy. Install Vista, install the Lenovo update utility, run it a few times.

I was somewhat stuck at this point. Not much else that I could do, 2 Gig RAM sticks were still expensive.

Ahh, 160 gig 7200 RPM drives are out. And not that expensive. Ok, sign me up. The drive went in, I have a new partition for storing stuff. No affect on the battery that I noticed, a little more vibration on the machine.

I looked (drooled over) the x61t. Ooops, out of the budget. Maybe next year.

RAM dropped in price. Ok, I know it will only see 3 - 3.5 gig of the RAM, not all 4 gig. I went for 4 anyway. Put them in, no issues. The OS sees 3.062 Gig of RAM. Battery life may be a little shorter. I seem to notice it on the 4 cell more. Windows Experience Rating went from 3.0 to 3.1.

Next steps? None really. I think I am at a dead end at this point.

Oh, I hear there is a widescreen x61t on the way.....

Day 1 Post 2

30 Posts in 30 days

I was reading that the way to become a better blogger is to post more and consistently.

For the month of November, I have a goal to post 30 posts in 30 days. They may not be 1 a day, but I am shooting for hitting that mark.

Day 1 - Post 1