The scratchpad, the holding area, the ranting place
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No, I’m not claiming credit just because I asked for it (unless my mom read the post and told them) BUT I am happy to see that Google Reader now supports embedded YouTube (and other) videos: Link.
Google Reader: The most productive way to lose productivity.
Technorati Tags: Google Reader
I swear, I installed DivX on my E61 with the intent to watch the occasional podcast or TV show, and did so much before reading that Telus is going to start selling mobile porn. Apparently they did actual market research of their customers’ browsing habits to support the notion that people might like looking at naked people doin’ it.
Technorati Tags: Telus
So I wanted to install DivX on my Nokia E61, but the installer kept giving me a “certificate error, please contact phone supplier” and since I wasn’t going to contact eBay about it, I had to poke through the menus a bit, which is something I needed to do anyway, and still have to on a daily basis, because a Nokia UI is a tad different than the Motorola one I’m used to…
Anyway, I guess the issue is similar to trusted content on the web, and the phone’s trying to protect me from installing something that says it something else, but in this case I downloaded the file from DivX, so unless they’ve been hacked, I’m about as safe as I am installing, well, pretty much anything else that I find on the interweb.
So. To install software that has a certificate error, you need to change the installer setting to “ignore the certificate,” which is probably less safe and may result in 553 yaks appearing in your living room, use your judgement, etc. To start the madness, follow this menu path:
Menu, Tools, App. manager, Options, Settings, Software installation, and change this to “all.”
In my case, it let me watch AVI files from Google Video (downloaded and transferred from a PC). Now I’ve got to go buy a bigger memory card… Knowledge is expensive!
This may be old news for some, but if you’re looking for online tech talk videos, Google has a whack of them (254 of them at last count) covering a range of topics: Link.
So as I mentioned earlier, I’ve been using an exercise ball for an office chair since Monday, and it’s been working pretty well. My back is still a bit sore at the end of the day, but it’s getting better, which leads me to think that I’m getting stronger and not just straining something.
More importantly, I’m getting a lot better at sitting relatively still without putting my legs on the floor. I can’t do much while I do this though, so I’m limited to reading a screen or talking to someone, and most of the time I’m busy actually working (blog breaks notwithstanding).
But hey! You know what would have made a good practice time? Waiting for compiles. Remember compiles? Ahh, good times. Curse you, interpreted languages and continuous integration build machines for stealing my quality exercise time!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to work on my next challenge - no feet on floor while drinking tea.
(P.S.: filed under “load balancing,” natch)
OK, if Google Reader is so great (which it is), why oh why can’t it do anything with embedded YouTube videos? It’s like they’re not even there.
Yeah, I guess that just makes the case for GR being the most productive newsreader ever, but still. Someone from Google should talk to someone from YouTube, you know?
I got this gem in the mail from Rogers last night: on the front of the envelope, it says in big red letters “browse the internet for FREE on your phone.”
Free mobile internet? Whuzzah?
Of course, the letter inside has some minor details: “now there’s no charge to launch your phone’s Internet browser or to shop in select categories from your navigate mobile Internet home page… If you’d like to check e-mail, chat, or need immediate access to the Web, select the following chargable [emphasis mine] mobile internet categories.”
Yep, the store is the internet, as far as Rogers is concerned.
Coincidentally I got this message the same night I picked up my new smartphone with Wifi. More on that later…
Technorati Tags: mobile web, Rogers
Nat Torkington: “Mike Loukides pointed out that movement in salaried labour means the industry is booming. Similarly, when people like Simon Willison, Matt Biddulph, and Alex Russell all return to contracting from salaried employment then you know that there’s a ton of demand.”
Figures that this would be when we’re looking to hire, huh?
As ScottGu announced, ASP.NET AJAX (formerly ATLAS) is finally out of beta and can actually be considered for my next project! Like I didn’t have enough to do…
The local computer retailer chain has started a couple of new initiatives in their advertising - watch for these trends in your home town!
For starters, dual core CPUs are now being advertised in “equivalent speeds” derived by multiplying the processor speed by 2 to reflect the two cores inside. Of course, that assumes that both processors are loaded evenly (and fully) for that to work, but the whole megahertz business has gotten pretty abstract over the years…
I’ve only heard this second hand, but apparently they also managed to lower their price on laptops by… wait for it… excluding the battery.
Of course, none of these practices would necessarily deter me from buying anything from them, but I’d sure check the packing slip carefully before signing anything.
Then again, when I see that they’re advertising “Genuine Microsoftl [sic] ® Windows Vista” as an upgrade, I’m not altogether sure if it’s a typo…
Technorati Tags: Marketing