This'll Work

Idea In The Wild: Movable Woodworking Shop

2010-02-11T14:28:35Z

The idea being set loose here is a hobby or crafts level woodworking shop set up in a truck or bus, so that it can be moved from place to place.

My folks recently moved to an assisted living complex. A great place where most everything is taken care of for the the people that live there; something like being on a cruise all the time but without the glitz. Life is stable and well cared for, based on routine. To break up the routine, of course, there are hand crafts programs and such but there are no programs for the guys who used to do things like work on their cars or make things from wood. My Dad really misses his woodworking tools.

]]> Thinking about having a woodshop at an assisted living place, it was easy to pile up reasons against it. Dangerous tools, wood dust, and fire hazards just to name a few. But it reminded me of back in rural grade school days when a fellow would come around with a stepvan full of tools and woodworking materials. Once a week, this fellow would come around and set up in a crafts area at the school so that we students could have some quality time with woodworking.

Perhaps it would be possible to mount up a portable woodshop to go around to these assisted living centers!

Hauling the tools out to the crafts room might work, but another approach might be to build a shop into a truck or bus chassis. The tools don't have to be monsters. Mostly it's hand tools, clamps, and vices that are needed.

If larger powertools are needed then maybe computer controlled tools would be the way to go. Going that route would solve for safety and help with cleanliness too as they usually operate in enclosures and/or do some cleaning up was they work.

But the main necessities are some wood and hand tools. Maybe some progject patterns or pattern-making tools, and a little paint? Happy times on wheels.

Maybe it would be possible to extend this to the guys who liked to work on metal or cars too? Not as likely... but maybe. Something like a high school auto shop, with a designated project car? It's worth some thought.

A Cure For the Common Schizophrenia?

2010-01-12T17:01:45Z

A bio-research team, led by professor Cedric Feschotte,at the University of Texas, has found traces of virus DNA in the hamn genes associated with schizophrenia and other mental and/or mood disorders.

So; does this mean that there might be a vacine for mood disorders someday? That would be wonderful. (Unless you're the maker of mood-fixing pills, of course. LOL)

Feschotte says, according to news in the research journal Nature, that he examined a class of viruses called bornaviruses that have been ignored by other researchers because it doesn't normally infect primates. His research found far more of this viral DNA in our genome than previous studies. The virus type, called bornaviruses, typically infects hoofed mammals and birds, but, Feschotte's research suggests that it got into primates sometime in the distant past. What he found are fragments that are now permanently part of the human genome.

These bornaviruses have been connected to schizophrenia and othe mental disorders in humans, though the actual nature of the connection isn't fully understood. And so it follows, of course, that there is much to examine and test and argue about Feschotte's new findings, but there's enough known to make imaginations fire up with all sorts of ideas.

Like suppose if depression could be treated like the flu and be subject to vacines? How swell would that be? A preventative shot for schizophrenia? Wow.

ATT Stops Online Sales of iPhones in NYC

2009-12-28T19:46:22Z

Luke (Wilson), the Force has bailed on you!

AT&T has blocked online sales of iPhones to residents of New York City. So reports the Examiner NY, Reuters, ABC News and a host of others. Apple has no comment and ATT tap-dances around the issue by saying that the Apple cell phones are still available at walk-in retail outlets.

Here's hoping that Apple will read the writing on this map wall and finally make the iPhone available on more networks.

Cable Phone Service Can Be Failsafe with Failover Cell Service

2009-12-27T23:40:02Z

Here's a free idea in the wild; a cable telephone modem that automatically switches to cell phone service whenever the cable phone stops working.

Let's face it; cable goes out. And when cable TV goes out, the cable phone services goes out with it.

The local cable company, Comcast, has been trying to improve service and reliability; and for the phone service reliability it seems to be succeeding. But the fact is, the cable does go out. And when the cable goes out, the phone goes out.

I've mentioned this before, that in our semi-rural area 60 miles or so north of New York City, there are still plenty of back-country roads where people live year 'round. These are the way-back places where long-time residents live. The older folks who need better services, but also need bargains. Naturally, the less expensive cable telephone service is attractive.

]]> Unfortunatly, the cable company sales people (Comcast here, but I know it happens in the next town with Time-Warner service too) don't warn these folks about how vulnerable their service is to back-road issues. It's a terrible situation when the service goes out and these older folks have no way to communicate with the outside world.

So here's my idea in the wild to fix this problem:

Cable VOIP modems with fail-over to cell phone service. No extra charge to the cable phone customers because, naturally, they don't use the cell phone service by choice but only when the cable goes out and only for as long as the cable phone service is not available.

Automatic fail over.

People who call in to the cable customer's phone number still ring through to the cable customer's phone. And when the cable customer needs to call out, they don't notice a thing because, as it should, the phone just keeps working.

The way this works is that each cable voip modem has a built in cell phone gizmo that, automatically takes over when the cable's phone service is not available at that modem.

The first thing that this cell phone gizmo can do when it takes over is to send an SMS text message to the cable company's service office notifying them of an outtagle. That's really cool because, not only the the customer's phone keep working, but now they don't have to put up with the stunning frustration of trying convince somebody at the cable company that the service is actually down. Way cool.

So there it is; cell service failover for cable VOIP service. Go forth and make it happen.

Teleconference Etiquette: Maybe a Requisite Business Course?

2009-12-23T09:57:55Z

Constantly improving teleconferencing technology plus the general corporate desire to cut travel expense (for one green reason or another) have made teleconferences regular events in the business day. But, no matter how much this has been written about and forumlated, too often it is still just a big hassle to get a teleconference to work well.

Unsuccessful teleconferences sometimes grow out of iffy technology -- bad connections, and such -- but more often come out of someone not realizing the special manners needed for a teleconference.

Here's some points that may be helpful. Please add your own in the comments below. I'll skip the stuff that's common to any meeting -- like "be prepared."

]]> Tele- and Videoconference manners start with just good manners. But being polite needs extra attention when you're not in the same room.

1. Speak clearly and just a touch slowly. Teleconference distance can introduce both a distorted signal and cultural ambiquity. Avoiding colloquial references even more than usual, and never use an expression that requires a gesture to be fully understood.

2. The introductions and roll call. The meeting leader should call the roll and ask each person to introduce themselves.

This is not hokey, but, rather, is crucial. The participants need to know who is on the line and who is in the room just to listen.

Even if not expected to participate vocally, the listeners should introduce themselves. It ends up giving everyone else a better sense of "who's here".

3. The meeting leader should keep a firm grip on the virtual gavel. Keep the conversation low-key and civil. Stop cross-talk immediately and make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak without interruption.

During the meeting -- before the pressure of the meeting close -- the moderator should ask each person for comments or added information. Make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak before being squeezed by the close of the meeting.

4. Wisecrackers and side-chatters: stop. Teleconferences put everyone in the center of the conversation and your little asides will distrupt the flow of the meeting and probably give you a little more attention than even you want.

5. As for any good meeting, have an agenda and stick to it. Brief and with specific points. For each point, the moderator should ask if anyone has anything to add before moving on.

6. Send out the agenda and supporting materials well in advance. Encourage participants to send their own material to everyone else before the meeting. Distributing and reading material during the meeting slows things down and makes noise on the line.

7. The meeting leader should be sure that everyone has access to appropriate technology and has a chance to try it out before the meeting. Don't assume that everyone can just figure out the newest teleconference gizmo or website.

And by the way, meeting leader, make sure that you try it out yourself. The technology of conferencing does keep evolving. Make sure that you know how to take advantage of it.

8. Send out a reminder about the meeting and include a comment or two about basic etiquette, like always identifying themselves when they speak. ("This is Mike in Pawling, and I'd just like to add that...")

Mainly; be polite and make sure that everyone gets a chance to be heard.

How To Back Up Your Files

2009-12-22T23:02:11Z

It used to be that family photos were always nice and safe in albums and shoeboxes and that was that. But that won't do anymore.

Ditto for all the letters, term papers, Quicken files and iTunes music tracks, not to mention email messages and addresses in your email address book.

Your computer is handy for storing all these things, but it's also very quick to lose them all when something bad happens: like a visitor accidentally erasing files or a hard drive failure, or a virus attack.

These things can happen quite suddenly and once those files are gone, they're pretty much gone for good. So now, we make backups. A sort of digital shoebox.

Simple copies or automatic backups

If you don't store a lot of photos and documents on your computer then making an occasional copy of important files may do for you.

All you need is to make a copy of your files onto some storage gizmo that is external to your computer. A CD-ROM will do just fine if it has enough capacity to hold your backup. For more than around 700MB you'll want to look at a "flash drive" or an "external hard drive."

You can find flash drives at a drug store or super market that will hold up to 8 or 16GB (gigabytes) but if you need to backup more than 4GB, you'll want to look at external hard drives too. You can find those at a computer or department store.

For small backups on any computer - Mac or Windows - you can drag-and-drop files and folders from your computer's hard disk to the backup device whenever you wish.

Email software often keeps the mail and address books in hidden away places on the computer. If you want backups of your email you should think about an automatic program.

Automatic Backups: Using a Backup Program

External hard drives usually come with an automatic backup program that help handle making backups for you. Both Mac's and Windows also come with programs for making backups. The Mac system, "Time Machine", is especially easy to use and works with many external drives.

Another option gaining popularity for both Windows and Macs is remote backup. For a monthly fee, a service company will back up all of your data at a secure "undisclosed location" someplace on the Internet.

These off-site backups are nice because they are fully automatic, completely safe from local dangers like theft or fire, and the backup service provides the backup software as part of the deal.

Computer disasters can come quickly and right out of nowhere. With so many easy ways to make secure copies, there's almost no point in not being backed-up.

Adobe JavaScript Vulnerability: Dangerous But Easy to Avoid

2009-12-16T18:41:51Z

1. The sky is not falling.

2. The Adobe Reader that just about everybody uses -- Mac and Windows -- to open and read PDF files has a security vulnerability that seems to affect all versions. Adobe has not announced a fix for the problem yet, and the problem seems to be dangerous enough that I thought I should let you know.

This vulnerability allows a multi-level attack on your computer and your personal data. Malware that uses it has been found "in the wild". Fortunately it is easy to avoid.

Just turn off the JavaScript support in your Adobe Reader.

1. Start the Adobe Reader. Find it on your desktop or in your list of Programs (Windows) or Applications (Macs).

2. Go to the "Edit" menu and click "Preferences".

3. Find and click "JavaScript" in the list of categories on the left.

4. Uncheck the box labled "Enable Acrobat Javascript", then click "OK".

5. Close the Adobe Reader. All done.

This is just for the genuine Adobe Reader. If you use an alternate to that, like the "Preview" program that comes with OS-X on Macintosh computers, then you don't need to do this.

What is CPM On the Web and Does It Matter to PR?

2009-12-14T14:41:49Z

A friend in the PR arena asked about page view counts on the web and how they relate to press exposure. A client wanted a report on all of the page views on all of the sites where the client's content had appeared. A lot humongous web site traffic numbers were gathered but how, the friend wondered, could these giant numbers possibly be relevant to their client. And how do these numbers compare to the familiar print measure of impressions -- CPM?

This is the huge question of the web and has been since the first web ads were placed. To try to answer it briefly is almost impossible, and adding the context for publicity throws all of the ad-oriented discussion (and it all is ad-oriented) out of whack and in need of new definitions.

]]> CPM is a term that is used for the web, but aside from the literal "cost per thousand [impressions]", on the web it has several different meanings from the old print standard, all of them depending on the context of "impression".

In print, the term impression comes from the act of printing; that is, to make an impression with a press. For advertising, though, it is reduced to the circulation numbers for the newspaper or magazine being measured. This makes a vague basis for estimating how many times an ad might actually have been seen. But on the web "impression" means pretty much the exact number of times that an ad was fully delivered to a web browser. Much closer to an actual human being actually coming in contact with the ad or story or whatever. This is something that web technology can readily count.

If a web site shows an ad 1000 times that would be 1000 impressions. Similar to the print idea but not at all the same. On the other hand, the web technology can tell if those 1000 went to the same internet ("IP") address -- i.e., "probably the same person" -- or if they went to 1000 different addresses ("uniques"). Because the technology can count such things, the advertisers want the benefit of it, so "CPM" might mean 1000 unique IP addresses regardless of how many actual ad deliveries (impressions) had been made.

A long time ago, in the old days of the web, web site ads were sold by CPM.

Nowadays most ads are sold by CPC ("click") or by CPA ("action") rather than by raw impressions. Only a fraction of a percent of the most influential sites can sell by CPM or placement. Most Google ads, by far, are CPC.

When a website publishes its gross page views, it is something like the print "circulation" count. It's the total number of pages delivered to a web browser from that site. But, 1000 page views could be 1000 pages viewed once each, or it could be one page viewed 1000 times.

Using that gross number to measure PR exposure is really tough. You need a specific per-page count from the web server to know what sort of exposure, if any, your piece received from that site. You can use the pageviews numbers to compare the volume of traffic at different sites. That might be helpful in estimating the comparative influence of the sites that ran your piece. And you do get kudos for scoring on the big sites -- the CNN's and such. But without the specific pageviews for your piece, you're really not going to have a measurable sense of how many people saw your story.

All is not lost, however. Good estimates and even some actual counts are available. For web and social media exposure, a communications department or agency might want to go to another type of firm that specializes in gathering all of the metrics that are out on the web and digesting them into a usable form. Symscio (www.symscio.com) is one of those. You can find a few more by Googling: "how to measure PR on the web".

Another helpful place to go might be "Google Trends" (trends.google.com). The main focus there is to help you see comparable trends in searches for certain terms on the web, over some period of time. But a secondary chart at Google Trends always shows you the "News reference volume" for your search terms and that might be just the thing for a PR success report.

Dedicated Boxee Box Getting Closer

2009-12-12T19:43:41Z

The Boxee team has revealed the first dedicated device for their open-source Internet-TV media center software. There's no date set yet, but the "Boxee Box" is expected to go on sale sometime after March 2010. (Congrats to the maker D-Link on grabbing the obvious and catchy name.)

If the picture looks a little strange it's because this set-top-box is designed to look like it's sinking into the surface it's sitting on. That would be weird for a big lumpy box in a universe of 19" wide TV accessory units. And maybe it's weird and inconvenient and maybe just a bit lumpy; but it isn't big.

If you look at the picture of the rear panel with its few connections you can see that the Boxee Box is going to be pretty tiny. The official site doesn't give dimensions yet, but using the ports on the back to make a questimate it looks like the cube's dimensions are only about 4" or so on a side.

There are other boxes that run Boxee but without the clever name. One cool little box that is turning out to be pretty cool that way is Apple's "Mac Mini". Another nice, tiny package that runs Boxee very well and will play all of your other online and networked media as well, including your iTunes movie rentals. The Mac Mini has an added feature, in that it will actually sit flat in your media center. Maybe D-Link will rethink the cute approach before it hits the market.

Wave Notifier Makes Google Wave Useful

2009-12-08T15:18:17Z

Update: version 1.0 is released December 11, 2009.

Lots of talk about Google Wave around the web these days. From wondering if it's going to be a paradigm changer to people begging to get into the beta to reviewers raving and poo-pooing.

I'm in the beta (thanks RGP!) and, at this point, I'm quite sure that Wave is swell. A few days ago I was leaning more toward, "it's probably a big deal, but I'm not sure how to use it" because, of all things, Wave by itself won't let you know when things are happening!

Thankfully, Danny Tuppeny, a thoughtful developer in the UK, has built the crucial but missing part of Google Wave; the Wave Notifer.

]]> The gist of Wave is that as an online center for collaboration. Sort of. You've heard that before, but to see how Wave is or can be different you actually have to get into it and try it out. Because, of course, there's more to it than that ("TMTITT").

It's not just that people can collaborate with you. You can also call on robots and "gadgets" to work with you too. No; really! If you start poking around in it, it starts getting interesting pretty quickly. But to try it out you need somebody to collaborate with and, of course, you need to know if or when they are actually doing some of that collaboration. But, of all things, Wave doesn't tell you that! And that's where Wave Notifier comes in.

Wave Notifier is a nice, efficient little program for Windows that simply goes to your Wave account every few minutes to check and see if you have a new or unread "wave" waiting for you. As natural, if you will, as a phone ringing when someone calls, Wave Notifier lets you know when your waves are at work.

So; thanks Danny Tuppeny for filling this huge gap with your nifty little program. At this writing, Wave Notifier is still in early stages at version 0.74, but the generous programmer is keeping up on suggestions and bug reports and has published many translation versions. If you're in the Wave beta and on Windows, you'll want to download this one. Oh; and it's free! Double thanks for that, Mr. Tuppeny.

USB Power Outlets ~ Charge Without Wall Warts

2009-12-08T05:15:01Z

This is a pretty cool idea. For around $10 per unit, you will be able put electrical outlets in your wall that include two USB power outlets. Then charge your iPod or cell phone without a lumpy wall wart transformer messing up your view.

It would be even cooler if these actually connected to a massive USB network in your house, but that'll have to come later. For now, you just get the 5 volts that is USB standard and you can use that for charging just about anything that will charge through a USB connection. That would include iPods and most other MP3 players, some digital cameras, and many mobile phones.

These aren't available just yet, but FastMac, the company that makes them, will accept advance orders now for delivery in "early 2010".

They call it the "TruePower UCS Power Outlet With Built-in USB Ports". Catchy. Find out all about it at this link.

Sans Warrant; Sprint Gives Customer Info to Police

2009-12-05T18:08:49Z

Actually; it appears that all of the mobile phone providers are giving customer data to law enforcement agencies without warrants.

Its just that Sprint has come right out and said that they do it. According to a report on "Security and privacy analysis" by Christopher Soghoian, a PhD candidate at Indiana University, the information includes calls made (to whom and when) and calls received, web sites visited, web searches, and the exact GPS location of the phones when these things were done. Soghoian says that, "Sprint Nextel provided law enforcement agencies with its customers' (GPS) location information over 8 million times between September 2008 and October 2009."

Sprint has apparently set up a website for law enforcement agencies where police can find out pretty much anything they want about a cell phone's use just by entering a search for the number, No warrants required!

Soghoian has a tape of a Sprint executive describing the tools that they make available to police, so Sprint is the one out in the open here, but it seems that all of the mobile service providers have been pretty much bullied into this by ... anti-terrorists?

This is nuts; and way not American. Part of the "Patriot Act" mentality that anything is OK for the anti-terrorism cause. Nah. If we say that, then the terrorists have won. Big time.

Fake H1N1 Alerts Deliver Computer Virus

2009-12-03T16:03:40Z

Heads up! Cyber crime authority US-CERT issued an alert yesterday (Dec. 2) about new batch of spam is flying around the 'net pretending to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The subject lines say things like:

"Governmental registration program on the H1N1 vaccination"
"Your personal vaccination profile."

The messages include links to take you to a faked CDC web page with a registration form. The page will drop a drive-by virus into your computer and the form, of course, will take your private data. But even if you don't fill in the form, they've already given your computer the bad-guy flu.

Recommended protection:

As always; keep your antivirus programs up to date and turned on.
Get and install updates for your operating system.
Get, verify and install valid updates for Java and Adobe Reader and all other software add-ons in your computer.
As most already know; be aware that that requests for information that you did not initiate are always suspect and should be avoided.
If you think that there's a possibility that the request is genuine, then close the email and go directly to the agency's website.

For example; if you received an email like the ones described here, and you wanted to check to see if perhaps the CDC or your state health agency really did want some participation from you, then the thing to do is:

Don't click on the link in the email. (Repeat; don't ever click on the link in the email.)
Open a fresh web browser (that's your program for getting on the web: MSIE or Firefox or like that).
Go directly to the CDC or your state agency's website and look for a "News" link.
If you see the story there, then click the link that is on their website. If you don't see the story, then you know it was fake.
Delete the email message. (Some would say make this one #1.)

For more info on avoiding spam based scams and virus lures, see the PDF document at US-CERT that is all about "Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams".

]]>

Bluetooth Proximity Alarm: Can't Walk Off and Leave It

2009-11-28T21:56:58Z

Here's something I could use; a Bluetooth Proximity Alarm. I want something to tell me when I'm getting too far away from pocket valuables; like an ipod or cell phone or flash drive.

I don't see it out in the web so I'm inventing it right here and now. If somebody else want's to develop it; great; give me a call.

]]> The Bluetooth Proximity Alarm ("BPA") is -- or will be -- as I see it, a tiny little device made of two, miniature, paired bluetooth transceivers each with a miniature alarm transducer (speaker) on board.

It needs to be very small, so that it can be unobtrusively stuck on the side of an iPod or a glasses case or whatever it is that I don't want to lose. About the size of a USB plug, or so.

The BPA functions quite simply: when the two units become separated by some certain distance, they each set off their alarms. Electronically calling out, "don't leave me!".

The distance at which the alarm goes off is not exact, but is set as an approximate sensitivity to its paired signal. When it's paired signal drops below that level, the BPA sets off the alarm.

Perhaps the sensitivity can be user selected or it can be preset to approximate ranges and sold that way. As long as it went off before I got, say, 3 or 4 meters away from the tagged item, I'd be happy.

It needs to be low-power, obviously, so that it can idle along for a long time on watch battery power. And it does need to be small enough to stick on the side of a flash drive without making it too much larger than it is.

There it is. An idea in the wild.

Warranty Co. Discloses Laptop Failure Rate

2009-11-27T15:12:15Z

Looking at 3-year trends, SquareTrade, an extended warranty company, has published a report on failure rates for laptop and netbook computers. The report covers hardware failures and accident-damage separately so it's easy who's making the more reliable computers.

Here's a chart of the top ten brands listed in order of relability. Using their own actuarial data, SquareTrade, has actual numbers for failures within 2-years of purchase and then has projected a 3-year trend,

This is pretty disheartening for the HP/Compaq lines and for the Acer/Gateway group too. Just going on the 2-year numbers, one in 6 or so is going to have a failure by year two. On the better end of the line, it's still a bit of a surprise that one in 10 will have a fault in two years. Shouldn't that be more like one in 25 or 50? A laptop should work for two years, shouldn't it?

A couple of surprises here: from my own anectotal experience as a local computer guy, I would have expected to see Toshiba and Acer switch places. My experience has been that the Acer's are usually more reliable than the Toshiba's for the last several years. Guess I'll have to look again at Toshiba.

A point of interest in the dataset is that netbooks don't seem to be as robust as notebooks. In fact, the chart belows seems to be saying that, across the board, the more a portable computer costs, the better chance it has to work without failure. Netbooks, though seem to have a distinct disadvantage.

I'm not sure if the laptop makers will agree, but this report is a great service for laptop shoppers. Hopefully it will help set some new goals for laptop makers too.