So I realize that nobody in the family ever knows what I'm up to. For example - how many times has mom spread rumors about me being: a) engaged? b) graduated? c) employed? d) enlisted? e) in shape?
In light of the lack of information known about me (not that being anonymous really bothers me), I figure I'll update a few big decisions I'm making as of late...
PhD
Yes. More school. Yes. Still in Logan. No. Not Mechanical Engineering. I'm currently standing with one foot in Mechanical Engineering while I finish my MS and one foot in Engineering and Technology Education while I begin my PhD.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Google+ and the Glory of Group Video
What is Google+ ("Google Plus"), you ask? Why it's the latest, greatest, not-yet-fully-accepted social networking site.
What does this mean for you? It means you no longer need to send 18 texts to you buddies to figure out where you're going to eat, you can just do a "huddle". See this demo.
More importantly and to help sustain our family's laziness, it means we can group video chat. (Same demo as above - use the tab called "hangout"). So if Adam and Punjab have their computer on video chat, Luke and Piemer have it on theirs, Con and Rob (who's combined age is nearing 150yrs - the equivalent of almost six of me...) are online with cameras, Mary and Min repent of their no-technology stance and turn back on their computers, Beth and Joe turn theirs on, Sarah and MC do as well, and Theo and I each have our respective camera-enabled computers on... WE CAN ALL SEE EACH OTHER AT ONCE. There will be one big screen (displaying the loudest of us - probably either Luke or Kate), and all our little videos below.
In order to have Group Video a.k.a. "Hangout", you'll need to have: 1) a computer with a camera, microphone and working speakers (most of us can check this item), 2) a decent connection speed (Wireless N or hardwired in would be ideal. Wireless G would be wanting.), and 3) a Google+ account. If you don't have a Google+ account (currently Mom and I are the only ones), you'll need to be invited. It was open to everyone for a while, but it became so popular that it bogged down Google's servers. They're handling the traffic by having invitation-only adds for a while. You'll also need to add the rest of the family into your social circles.
Once we're all to that point, we can argue just like the good old days - face to face.
What does this mean for you? It means you no longer need to send 18 texts to you buddies to figure out where you're going to eat, you can just do a "huddle". See this demo.
More importantly and to help sustain our family's laziness, it means we can group video chat. (Same demo as above - use the tab called "hangout"). So if Adam and Punjab have their computer on video chat, Luke and Piemer have it on theirs, Con and Rob (who's combined age is nearing 150yrs - the equivalent of almost six of me...) are online with cameras, Mary and Min repent of their no-technology stance and turn back on their computers, Beth and Joe turn theirs on, Sarah and MC do as well, and Theo and I each have our respective camera-enabled computers on... WE CAN ALL SEE EACH OTHER AT ONCE. There will be one big screen (displaying the loudest of us - probably either Luke or Kate), and all our little videos below.
In order to have Group Video a.k.a. "Hangout", you'll need to have: 1) a computer with a camera, microphone and working speakers (most of us can check this item), 2) a decent connection speed (Wireless N or hardwired in would be ideal. Wireless G would be wanting.), and 3) a Google+ account. If you don't have a Google+ account (currently Mom and I are the only ones), you'll need to be invited. It was open to everyone for a while, but it became so popular that it bogged down Google's servers. They're handling the traffic by having invitation-only adds for a while. You'll also need to add the rest of the family into your social circles.
Once we're all to that point, we can argue just like the good old days - face to face.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Web Apps
So remember last post how I mentioned that I keep my budget online using Google Docs? Well, today there's a lot more you can do online.
Here's what I'd recommend: switch your browser to Google Chrome (here's the link). It's generally faster and less cluttered than even Mozilla Firefox. The only tricky thing about Chrome is that you type your search in the same spot that you'd normally enter a URL - so there's not two bars at the top. The latest Google Chrome is version 8. Version 8 has access to something called the Chrome Web Store (link).
You'll basically find everything there. For instance, Leah can give up mathematics and go back to designing houses and rooms with Autodesk's Homestyler. It's free, and it lets you create cool images and designs of your rooms like this:
There are tons of apps and they're easy to sort though. You can find shopping ones, productivity ones (basically all of your Microsoft Office type of stuff), photo editing, video editing, blogging, games, etc. Most of them are free.
Google has been pretty sharp lately. It's not going to have too many of its aces land before Christmas, but you'll see a lot more about Android (especially tablet computers that compete with the iPad), and a fair bit about Chrome OS notebooks.
Here's what I'd recommend: switch your browser to Google Chrome (here's the link). It's generally faster and less cluttered than even Mozilla Firefox. The only tricky thing about Chrome is that you type your search in the same spot that you'd normally enter a URL - so there's not two bars at the top. The latest Google Chrome is version 8. Version 8 has access to something called the Chrome Web Store (link).
You'll basically find everything there. For instance, Leah can give up mathematics and go back to designing houses and rooms with Autodesk's Homestyler. It's free, and it lets you create cool images and designs of your rooms like this:
There are tons of apps and they're easy to sort though. You can find shopping ones, productivity ones (basically all of your Microsoft Office type of stuff), photo editing, video editing, blogging, games, etc. Most of them are free.
Google has been pretty sharp lately. It's not going to have too many of its aces land before Christmas, but you'll see a lot more about Android (especially tablet computers that compete with the iPad), and a fair bit about Chrome OS notebooks.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Technology Update
So as I peruse through this family's blogs, I'm rather aware of a handful of recent advancements that we all probably don't know about. So as I'm lunching at work, I'll jot down a few things that technology lets us do here in the 2000's.
Motive: Within a couple of years, we're going to see the way we use devices change. And since our family falls behind in everything, I figure it'll take a year or two to get us ready.
WiMax
This is the buck nasty baby of WiFi - that term mentioned at every hotel, etc. WiFi is simply a wireless connection - like the one your router sends out. WiMax is a standard that will increase the range of those from about 30-40 feet to 3-4 miles. It'll be available in two or more years.
Application - Luke will be able to use the wireless from his house to check deals on ebay while sitting at Taco Bell.
"The Cloud"
You may have seen Windows 7 ads say "to the cloud!" and wondered what it means. The cloud is an imaginary place where all the stuff you'd normally save on a computer gets saved and accessed online. That means it doesn't matter if you're using a library computer or your cell phone, you can pull up whatever data you saved. Decent nerds are concerned about this currently - seeing it as a form of Big Brother trying to steal our identities and data. Expect paranoia to become widespread.
A good way to test this out the cloud in a wimpy fashion is with Google Docs. You can save a document online and access it from anywhere. I have a ongoing budget sheet I keep in Google Docs. Note that you can also set permissions - so if Leah is working on a paper, we could all chip in/tease her for her inabilities.
Application - mobility and connectivity. Think of it as a way to link all your electronics together.
Media Storage/Playback
You may have heard of some reference to set-top boxes or media boxes. These little babies are replacing mom's storage room full of DVD's and VHS's. They hold the data at a high quality, and output it with HDMI - so you can have BluRay quality shows all saved on a dinky little device meant to sit on top of your TV. The set-top boxes also act as a cable/satellite provider through your internet connection. Some new TVs come with this stuff built in - like Google TV, etc.
Every movie (DVD and VHS) mother owns could fit on about 2TB of data.
Application - less clutter, higher quality movie nights.
For now that's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Plus I should get back to reading papers and writing code.
Motive: Within a couple of years, we're going to see the way we use devices change. And since our family falls behind in everything, I figure it'll take a year or two to get us ready.
WiMax
This is the buck nasty baby of WiFi - that term mentioned at every hotel, etc. WiFi is simply a wireless connection - like the one your router sends out. WiMax is a standard that will increase the range of those from about 30-40 feet to 3-4 miles. It'll be available in two or more years.
Application - Luke will be able to use the wireless from his house to check deals on ebay while sitting at Taco Bell.
"The Cloud"
You may have seen Windows 7 ads say "to the cloud!" and wondered what it means. The cloud is an imaginary place where all the stuff you'd normally save on a computer gets saved and accessed online. That means it doesn't matter if you're using a library computer or your cell phone, you can pull up whatever data you saved. Decent nerds are concerned about this currently - seeing it as a form of Big Brother trying to steal our identities and data. Expect paranoia to become widespread.
A good way to test this out the cloud in a wimpy fashion is with Google Docs. You can save a document online and access it from anywhere. I have a ongoing budget sheet I keep in Google Docs. Note that you can also set permissions - so if Leah is working on a paper, we could all chip in/tease her for her inabilities.
Application - mobility and connectivity. Think of it as a way to link all your electronics together.
Media Storage/Playback
You may have heard of some reference to set-top boxes or media boxes. These little babies are replacing mom's storage room full of DVD's and VHS's. They hold the data at a high quality, and output it with HDMI - so you can have BluRay quality shows all saved on a dinky little device meant to sit on top of your TV. The set-top boxes also act as a cable/satellite provider through your internet connection. Some new TVs come with this stuff built in - like Google TV, etc.
Every movie (DVD and VHS) mother owns could fit on about 2TB of data.
Application - less clutter, higher quality movie nights.
For now that's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Plus I should get back to reading papers and writing code.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Hold Off the Fake Santa Nonsense
I'm jotting this post down due to Beth a.k.a. "the problem child" (I don't know why mom always calls her that behind her back. Seems a little mean...)
As per a phone call this morning (I'm using a light definition of 'morning' here - 3:30pm.), I realize that the upcoming generation are starting to be lied to earlier than normal this year. Mino must be in need of behavior-enhancing motivation because Beth called me up wanting to do the typical "Fake Santa" routine.
This troubles me. We're not even through Halloween yet. I have to go buy yellow socks tonight to complete my Penguin/Linus-Torvalds costume. But here I am being plagued with Fake Santa calls? Gadzooks!
Be it known across our lie-to-my-kids-for-fun family that I will not participate in the role of Fake Santa until after Thanksgiving.
I suggest calling uncle Roger upon the next need of behavior motivation, or just spank the crap out of them.
As per a phone call this morning (I'm using a light definition of 'morning' here - 3:30pm.), I realize that the upcoming generation are starting to be lied to earlier than normal this year. Mino must be in need of behavior-enhancing motivation because Beth called me up wanting to do the typical "Fake Santa" routine.
This troubles me. We're not even through Halloween yet. I have to go buy yellow socks tonight to complete my Penguin/Linus-Torvalds costume. But here I am being plagued with Fake Santa calls? Gadzooks!
Be it known across our lie-to-my-kids-for-fun family that I will not participate in the role of Fake Santa until after Thanksgiving.
I suggest calling uncle Roger upon the next need of behavior motivation, or just spank the crap out of them.
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