The FuzzyBlog!
Marketing 101. Consulting 101. PHP Consulting. Random geeky stuff. I Blog Therefore I Am.

Wednesday, June 19, 2002

WiFi.  It'll Change How You Compute I'm blogging this right now after a long day.  And I'm on the 2nd floor of my house connected by a WiFi link.  And I'm sitting up in bed with full Internet access.  This is just plain cool.  Here's some of the places that I've used my WiFi link from: Bed -- blogging Attic -- surfing Basement doing IM to Norway while folding laundry Kitchen -- reading www.slashdot.com while cooking Kitchen -- doing IM with Norway, California and Watertown, MA while I did the dishes Upstairs Bathroom -- No, not that! -- I was regrouting the tub while also doing an IM discussion with someone explaining my comment about how bookmarks just plain don't work Kitchen Table -- reading blogs while eating dinner or breakfast or lunch (yes, I do live alone) Front porch -- in a rocking chair while watching the sun rise So here's my contention -- Wifi is fundamentally changing how I compute.  I'm still plugged into the "collective" but I am also able to get other things done at the same time.  I'm no longer desk bound and that feels wonderful.  And, while some people will say that this is being just unbelievably geeky, I'm not so sure.  Is this really all that different from talking to someone on the phone while you do dishes?  Or work around the house?  Or is it that I'm now able to interact with some of my favorite people in a way that I really like?  And that helps with the thinking process (a lot of these essays are a result of an IM interaction).  This honestly doesn't feel geeky at all -- if anything it feels very human. Here's the other dimension that's being changed by WiFi: I read more.  Let's be honest here -- reading in a desk chair basically isn't a lot of fun.  It's not all that comfortable and when I really want to read is NOT when I'm doing email or trying to code or write documents.  I want to read when I am comfortably sitting on the couch or at the kitchen table while eating dinner or even sitting up in bed.  I can honestly see this actually cutting into the number of magazines I read regularly.  And, what do I read?  Mostly blogs to be honest.  And slashdot and I'm now starting to read Kuro5hin. WiFi.  You won't expect it to but it really can change how you compute.  At least for me, it makes the computing experience much more human by liberating me from the confines of my desk.  That's wonderful. 9:51:59 PM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

BlogSpace versus NPR or TURN OFF YOUR NPR TOMORROW! From http://slashdot.org/articles/02/06/19/1438200.shtml?tid=96: jonkl writes "National Public Radio's linking policy at npr.org has caused a fuss within the blog community that's hot and getting hotter. The policy's simply stated in two sentences: 'Linking to or framing of any material on this site without the prior written consent of NPR is prohibited. If you would like to link to NPR from your Web site, please fill out the link permission request form.' This is buried, of course, in a page linked to the site's footer, but somebody noticed and mentioned it to Howard Rheingold, who passed it on to Cory Doctorow of boingboing.net. Cory wrote scathing commentary, calling the policy 'brutally stupid,' even 'fatally stupid.' The outrage is spreading; this has to be a rough day for the NPR ombudsman who's deluged with email by now... ~24 hours after Cory's report." Reminds of the KPMG policy. This is just plain unbelievable.  I could expect this from the traditional media but from NPR?  How stupid, how boneheaded.  My suggestion: Turn off NPR Tomorrow. 9:34:27 PM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

I Got the iBook ... And I am in Awe... Of How Good it Is The iBook I mentioned a day or so ago arrived and I gave it to my partner and walked her through it.  By about 2 minutes in I was impressed, by the 5th minute I was fascinated and by the 7th minute I was in awe.  Everything from the OOBE (out of the box experience) right down to the littlest details like the screen savers was just plain, well, perfect.  And for all the people that have commented negatively about the eye candy (the animations when things launch) --- loved it!  I honestly don't think I have ever been so impressed by a computer.  Maybe when I saw the Mac for the first time perhaps.  It was just that good.  I'm still just grinning from it. You should note that I am a die hard Windows PC guy.  I've made commercial software for Windows boxes, and even for DOS boxes (yup) ever since 1987.  And this is the first time that I have ever even considered Apple a viable alternative.  Heck, it's not just viable -- it's a good alternative.  Take a look at Apple's new switch campaign and take it seriously: http://www.apple.com/switch Oh and my partner?  Did she like it?  How'd she feel?  I've never seen someone so enthralled by a computer.  She's just in love.  Oh and Kudos to Stephen Pierce of www.pcconnection.com for getting it to me on time and without any pain at all.  Apple iBook.  Strongly Recommended.  Two Thumbs Up and Snap.  Add Superlatives Here. It's Just a Wonderful Machine. P.S.  I just saw an Apple Switch to the Mac about 10 minutes after writing this.  Nicely done! 9:17:53 PM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This

Slow Morning Here...Groggy. Serious insomnia last night so I'm just plain groggy this morning.  The flow may be off consequently.  A couple of thoughts that I just had. On Sales: Email Only Isn't Acceptable I'm still battling what I would call "Attack of the Idiot Hosting Company" or perhaps we've now arrived at "Revenge of the Hugely Idiotic Hosting Company".  Still, I am learning from the experience and have thought back over the best and worst SysAdmins I worked with / had report to me.  I'm writing an essay like "How to Know a Great SysAdmin".  There are a lot of traits to look for and, in an IM session, over a period of a few weeks you can pick the winners from the stinkers.   I've been thinking that someone I know fits my great criteria and yesterday it was confirmed.  Coming soon. Now... Back to the title of this subheading.  I'm shopping around for contingency hosting plans (belt and suspenders folks and then a little rope around the waist to boot) and a friend recommended a company.  I like what I see but I didn't see a clear price list.  So I dug deeper and it was there.  Good for them.  Then I wanted to talk to a real live human.  So I hit the contact page.  And I got this: Mail is the most effective way to contact a pair Networks representative. Please select the most appropriate e-mail point of contact from the list below. I don't doubt that email is the most effective way -- for them.  It's not for me.  To my mind, the more competitive a business is the more you need to make it easy for customers to buy.  I can dial up RackSpace on the phone any time and talk to a great rep like Michael Burke.  That's very cool.  Perhaps these guys have the same ... I'm not sure I'll take the time to find out.  And this is another reason why -- someone else I just tried to get this kind of info from another company that I emailed yesterday and it's now about 19 hours later and still now response.  I know that we're all supposed to be this anonymous cyber entity but I find that if the sales people don't, well, suck -- that the whole company is good.  That's a generalization but it seems to be true for me at least. On Sales: How to Get Great Service Regularly When I have a repeat relationship with a great sales rep (say someone like Stephen Pierce of www.pcconnection.com -- one of my favorite sales folk of all time and one of the best), I use a pretty simple technique to make sure that I get great service.  If I don't order something when I am on the phone with the sales person, I ask one simple question: "If I don't order this now, how do I order it so you get the commission?" Trust me on this one -- they'll love you to death that you even thought to ask.  And if they do get the commission then it's even better for them.  You should always bear in mind that even sales folk are real live people with the same issues and concerns you have.  Heck... Some of my best friends work in sales. Telemarketing: Anyone Know if this is Legal I have been registering domains lately through www.000domains.com and it's worked out quite well.  But last night I got a telemarketing phone call from a "Richie" at www.websiteplus.com trying to sell me hosting services.  Now I thought that Internic records were not to be used for telemarketing purposes.  Of course they are but does anyone really know the law here? 8:56:49 AM  Google It!  comment []   IM Me About This