News Aggregators, et al

Again, more evidence toward proving my guilt as the worst kind of geek: I don't use a news reader, aggregator, or anything that takes posts from blogs I read and puts them all in one place.

Why? I feel that the people who write and design the blogs do so with the visitor or reader in mind. The colors they choose, the layout they designed are all part of the experience of visiting their site. There are some really beautiful sites out there, and there are some really crappy ones too, but I tend to not visit the crappy ones. Why? Crappy design. Duh.

Some argue that it's all about the content. If it's news about the debt ceiling, Egyptian revolution, or protesters being shot in Syria, then I agree. But when it's about cell phones, operating systems, gadgets, radio controlled airplanes, or cars, then I think that the visuals are just as important. "But Edge, there are readers that bring in the post photos as well." Yes, that's true, but somehow, they never quite do it as well as the presentation on the websites themselves.

I have an Android tablet (the Viewsonic gTablet for those of you who are interested) that I use quite a bit (more often than I would have ever expected, btw). I have Pulse installed, and while I used it quite a bit when I first got the tablet, I find myself just reading the usual sites in the web browser more often than not. That's not to say I don't use Pulse; if there were a single site aggregator that I would use if I were forced to only use an aggregator, then it would be Pulse. However, such is not the case, and I continue to use my browser.

Would I consider an aggregator on the PC in the future? Perhaps, but the one I would use daily and even before I would consider going to the site itself for the content hasn't been developed yet.

Some would say this makes me some kind of late-adopter or someone who is against change, because surely reading sites via an aggregator is superior. To those, I would reply that I vehemently disagree, and that we all have choices in how we consume our literary content. We also have our personal preferences, and mine is to visit the site for the content and experience it the way the writer/developer intended for me to do so in the first place.

Merry Christmas

We held our Christmas celebrations yesterday and I received a watch that I've been wanting for years: the Seiko SNAB65 which is based on the 7T62 movement.

It's a pretty watch, and functional too. It's also the first watch I've had in probably 20 years that has an alarm.

I'm really excited and happy to have such an elegant and handsome watch to augment my old Citizen. I love my old watch, but after wearing the same watch for over 15 years, I figured it was time for a change. Get it; time for a change?

Why do I make the videos?

Here's a message I got just a few minutes ago:

Thank you so much.

You are the reason why I bought the Viewsonic and I'm in love. I swore myself to never ever buy an Apple product again but I honestly considered the iPad before I saw your videos.

Thank you so much,

And then there's this one I got earlier today:

I wanted to also say thanks, your videos definitely helped out many here set their tablets with these great roms.

I get many messages every day, and I enjoy them all. I even had an Apple troll assail the G-Tablet and everyone who uses Windows and Android within two comments.

Anyway, that's why I do it. And also because I absolutely adore the G-Tablet with Tnt or VEGAn-TAB firmware.

Viewsonic G-Tablet

I will be posting a lot of content about my new-found love; the Viewsonic G-Tablet. This device is phenomenal. I can't come up with a better word to describe this device. Running Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor with 512 MB RAM (PERFECT for running Flash, btw) and 16GB built-in memory along with a Micro-SD slot, full-size USB port for thumb drives/mice/keyboards/etc, Mini-USB for file transfer and connection to the computer, and a proprietary port for HDMI out.

I have been posting a number of videos on Youtube regarding this tablet, so I'll post one of those videos here now. I will likely post them all here as well, but for now, here's the latest video.

Goodbye, Walkman

Last week, Sony announced the death of the Walkman. As someone over 40, I remember the birth of it quite well.

The early 80's were a time of fun. They were also a time for great music. New Wave and Punk took off in the late 70's and reached their potential in the 80's. Rock music was yielding to Hair bands and metal, and soul was moving into rap. The cassette tape was quickly becoming the medium of choice for high school kids wanting their own soundtrack, and the boom boxes were born.

There were a few problems with the boom boxes, though. First, was the size. They really were pretty darned big (and some got HUGE). Then there was the cost; they weren't cheap. Then, to add to it, they took huge D-cell batteries which were expensive and didn't last all that long. I remember a kid in high school who carried his boom box with him everywhere he went. He always had it in class with him, obediently keeping it off to keep from having it seized and sent to the office. Oddly enough, the kid never got it taken away, and only played it (at a low volume) at lunch and before/after school.

The utility of having your own music with you was not lost on us kids. We all wanted that, but what we didn't want was to have to carry a suitcase-sized device with us everywhere we went. Then came the Walkman.

The Walkman was the first viable portable music device. Batteries were still not nearly as good as they are today, so keeping a Walkman working was quite expensive, but to have your own music, on cassette, with you at all times? Why, that was priceless!

I got my first SONY Walkman when I graduated from Marine Boot Camp in 1987. I bought it at the exchange within hours of graduating. I had made a point of making it the first thing I purchased with my first official paycheck. It cost me around $150, but I didn't care. It was cool, it was small, and it was mine.

That SONY Walkman lasted me at least 15 years. The last time I saw it, it was in my daughter's bedroom, and she was using it (this was about 7 years ago). I'm sure it's still around somewhere, buried in some closet or at the bottom of some box.

When the iPod was released nine years ago, the second-to-last nail was placed in the Walkman's coffin. It wasn't until last week that it was truly nailed shut, thrown into a hole in ground, and covered up with six feet of dirt. Regardless, the Walkman will always hold a special place in my music-loving heart as the first truly portable music player.

Apple as Big Brother

There's an excellent post on Gizmodo about how Apple has turned into the very thing they advertised against 25 years ago in their iconic "Big Brother" commercials. Back in the 80's, the commercials were aimed at IBM, then the world's largest PC and computer maker. Today, IBM is bigger in point-of-sale machines and business servers than in PC's, and companies like HP, Dell, and Gateway are leaders in the PC market. Apple, however, is making up for lost time through their iPhone, iPad, and Mac notebooks.

Their latest step into making more money, the Mac App Store, feels more and more like big brother and less like the company Apple wanted to be way back when. They are closed, rife with censorship, and more tightly controlling than any other company on the planet (save for some defense contractors, but I think Apple gives them a run for their money).

I won't go into everything that the article on Gizmodo goes into, but suffice it to say, I'm still shying away from any future Apple purchases, and the latest step by Apple with their Mac App Store more firmly cements my distaste for their business practices.

Sharpie Liquid Pencils: Yes, they get permanent (after a while!)

I bought a box of these the moment I read on Engadget that they were available. I started using them on August 17th, and while they were not permanent within three days as advertised, I would go back and test erasing week by week. I keep a journal for work of all calls made, meetings attended, and I also keep a task list in my Moleskine planner, so it's perfect for just this type of unscientific testing.

Finally, this week, as I went back to erase marks made on August 17th, they appear to be permanent. What is interesting to me is that when you write with the Sharpie Liquid Pencil, it's very erasable, and after a few days, it's still mostly erasable, but after a month and a half, it's permanent, as if written by pen.

My conclusion: it appears that the Sharpie Liquid Pencils are permanent after about a month and a half.