Archives for category: Review
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In a post TV world

July 23, 09 //
1

I looked getting cable television when I moved to Sweden, but looking at the channels offerings I decided my money could be more wisely spent. What I really want is Hulu, but without some IP address voodoo magic, this is only available in the US and I still try to obey the law. But I also wanted something like BBC World News, which is what got me looking at cable in the first place.

Today I discovered Livestation, which gives users live access to BBC World News, Al Jazera and number of other television stations. It looks legal and legitimate, but I am no lawyer. I found it as a recommendation through either This Week in Tech or MacBreak Weekly.

Livestation was recommended as the future of TV. In addition to the traditional TV viewing feature, it also provides notifications (MSN style) if there is breaking news on one of your preferred channels. Also, when you start viewing a channel, you become connected to a chat room of people watching the same channel.

Every now and then I read the comments section on a controversial/provocative post on a blog/YouTube video/newspaper article/etc … And I am always disappointed at the level of “discussion”. It seems that basic comprehension skills are lacking in most people, but this doesn’t stop them sharing their opinion. My favourite ones start, “I didn’t read this article, but [insert bigoted slander here].” (I wonder if the same would happen in academia, as proposed by this PhD Comics cartoon.)

My first impression of the chat feature on Livestation was more positive, but the level of discussion was superficial to the point I wouldn’t bother. But I can see the potential for this kind of reality augmentation, if you can discuss a story with an expert or someone who is at the scene of an incident.

All in all I am very impressed with Livestation. It is available in all the traditional flavours – Linux, Mac and Windows. Now they just need to expand Hulu beyond the US border …

My Picks: Netbook and free software

July 14, 09 //
1

On the weekend I bought myself netbook – specifically an HP Mini 2140. I chose this one because of the keyboard. There were cheaper options with a similar spec, but as I will use this to write during my two and a half hours of train travel each day the keyboard was important and I thought the HP 2140 was the best in this regard.

So far I have been very happy. While it is strange going back to Windows XP after OS X, it is not as painful as I expected (except for all the useless bubbles that pop out of the system tray). My intension was to run Ubuntu Remix, but as yet have been unable to get the sound working, which is unacceptable given I want to use my netbook with Skype while travelling. So, given my unexpected happiness with Windows XP, I have decided to stick with it for the time being.

So far I have decked it out with free software, and this has prompted me to get rid of my paid for Mobile Me service.

  • Chrome is the best browser for a netbook as it provides the greatest amount of viewing space on the small netbook screen. This is one of the main reasons I am not jumping to the Ubuntu ship (and will probably end up jumping straight to Chome OS when it arrives).
  • Like my colleagues, I am becoming more and more dependent on Google applications. My current vices are Google Mail and Google Reader. For new mail notification I am using Google Talk.
  • Going back to Windows brings with it the need for anti-virus protection, for which I am using the free Grisoft AVG.
  • Given I am primarily using my netbook for work I will want to open Microsoft Office documents, without paying for Microsoft Office. Thus OpenOffice.
  • Skype has become my de facto phone service provider. I have it on my mobile, and want to be able to use it when I travel.
  • VLC plays every audio and video format known to man. At least every video I’ve ever wanted to listen to or watch.

But the gold star goes to Dropbox, for their ingeniously simple solution for keeping the files in sync between my desktop, work laptop and netbook. Previously I was using Apple’s Mobile Me iDisk, but have found this to be clucky for the price you have to pay, especially when I want to add a Window/Ubuntu machine to the mix. My three day experience of Dropbox showns that when I save a file on my desktop it is up-to-date on my netbook within seconds.

Using Dropbox made me reflect on my Mobile Me account and I have resolved not to renew my subscription. I opened my account when I bought my first Mac in 2006.

  • I used iWeb the webhosting feature for my blog until I became frustrated at not being able to update my blog while I was on holiday, so I moved to WordPress.
  • Next to fall was email. I have a verement dislike for Lotus Notes, so like many of my colleagues decided to use Google Mail instead. It made email so much easier, so I now use it for my personal email too.
  • As I have already said, I gave up my iDisk for Dropbox, because it just works.

Now I only have three Mobile Me services left – photo galleries, calendar and bookmark sharing. As you can see I am moving my photos directly onto this site. I have been thinking about using Google Calendar anyway. And while I am not a big fan will use delicious for bookmarks as paying the Mobile Me fees for this service is ridiculous.

I am still looking for a text editing and firewall software that I am completely happy with. Any suggestions?

Three is a [less] magic number

June 23, 09 //
1

My name is Sebastian and I am an internet addict. My problem is that in a normal week I spend over over 12 hours on a train, and one day per week I work in a location where I cannot connect my laptop to a wired or wifi network.

In order to combat my internet withdrawal for these 20ish hours I purchased a Three Wireless Broadband package. While I have been happy enough, I recently updated the software drivers and now wish I could downgrade.

For the past year I have generally been happy. It is fast enough for my type of usage, and the coverage is sufficient, even if I know every point along the train line between Karlskrona and Copenhagen where the signal drops out, and I know how long I can wait before I can reconnect.

But just before I presented my licentiate thesis my hard drive crashed. The IT guys returned my computer freshly formatted and I diligently downloaded the latest drivers and reinstalled my Huawei E220 modem.

At first I was impressed with the new software. I was able to see all of the SMSes I had received in the past year and the strength of the signal. But my problems started when I went to Amsterdam for work.

Not wanting to fork over the roaming fees I instead tried to use the hotel and conference wifi connections, only to find that the new modem drivers had disabled my AirPort and ethernet connectivity!!?! The only way I found to rectify this problem was to delete the network location profile attached to the new software from Three. This in turn meant that on my return to Sweden I was unable to use my modem until I completed my two hour train journey and could redownload the drivers from Three.

Having more time to play on my return I concluded that the modem drivers were intentionally crippling the wifi and ethernet. At first I was a complete loss to explain this brutal behaviour, but then concluded they didn’t want me to share my Three wireless broadband connection with other computers.

While I think the ethics of stopping internet sharing are questionable this is not something I was doing, and to break my computer to a level my parents would be unable to fix is unacceptable behaviour! I want to use ethernet at work, wifi at home, and wireless on the road – and I don’t think this is an uncommon situation. Now I have an ugly fix where I have to make two changes in System Preferences every time I change from the wireless internet connection to a wifi network.

Now I am even more jealous that I cannot get a MiFi, a product designed with both my laptop and iPod Touch in mind. The MiFi connects to the internet via your ‘friendly’ mobile broadband provider, and produces a 10 metre wifi bubble in which you can connect all of your internet enabled devices. Sadly this is not available in Sweden (yet?). In the mean time I will just look for the old drivers and do a Windows Vista style downgrade.

War bussing and related adventures

September 25, 08 //
2

I wanted a new iPod and decided against the iPhone – I already pay for mobile broadband and couldn’t justify the plans for my style of usage. Also I resent the feature block as I currently use Skype on my mobile and would want to share the Internet connection with my computers.

So I got an iPod touch. Between it and iTunes 8 I am very happy. After getting my iPod and synching it with my computer I formatted my computer without backing up my music purchases. When setting up my iPod I was only given the options to sync and clear, or do nothing. Resigned to the loss of music, and needing to sync other things, I said to sync and clear. But then I was asked of I wanted to transfer before they were lost, to which I happily agreed.

The one feature of the iPhone I really miss, however, is one of the alarms – it sounds like total nuclear warfare is imminent and we must evacuate planet earth. That said it is now how I would choose to wake up in the morning, and I appreciate that my iPod can actually wake me up now.

The other thing that surprised me is the number of wireless networks. I catch a bus to and from work with free wireless internet. When I went to select the wireless network I was confronted with about ten networks that I can only assume came from the surrounding houses. Fearing signal issues I just connected to the bus.

Finally I have been enjoying Coffee Break Spanish. It is a weekly podcast that teaches Spanish from the beginning. I would find the pace a little slow, but luckily it has been going for almost two years, so I have plenty to catch up on before Oziel and I go to Mexico in January.

When Monday’s turn around

September 15, 08 //
0

When I woke this morning I was tired, but could not press snooze. The water to my apartment block is being disconnected for eight hours today, and I did not want to be covered in soap and shampoo when that happened.

At work today I had a meeting that I organised three months in advance – just so I could get all the people I needed together in a room. The two most critical people had to pull out at the last minute for different reasons, so I had to cancel the meeting.

On top of that my Skypephone died over a week ago, in-so-far-as the screen works until the keypad locks, and then it shows various incarnations of garbled images. I am using my old phone, but the microphone doesn’t seem to be what it used to, and people complain they cannot hear me. This is also why I am not always online with Skype at the moment.

But my phone is still under warranty and with any luck I will get it back by the weekend. Then I will be back online on Skype all the time. 3 were very good, not caring that I didn’t have a receipt for the phone.

The missed meeting meant I could attend a seminar, saving me from an extra assignment.

I rebooked the meeting and found a time everyone was able to make it next week – a far cry from the three months of my last attempt.

And Nina and I are currently writing up an experiment on how attitudes to risk affect (effect?) the value people place on software requirements. We have been planning to submit this to RefsQ 2009 for some time, and just saw the call for papers today. The special theme for the conference will be Values and Risks, so we think we might just be able to position our paper appropriately …

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