Mikes Thoughts » Ideas

Android Tablets Coming!

Michael Perry — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:20:36 +0000

Android tablets are all over ebay. I bought one and its rough but it works. I think this is the same type of evolution as the phones went through. But now the new formations are arriving. Viewsonic has their viewpad coming and Samsung has their galaxy S tab. Archos has announced their lineup. Everyone seems to think being at Android 2.2 is so very important. I think its more a case of user requirements or needs. Lets just say I wanted an android tablet because I believe its more stable, more hackable, more oriented toward open development so I veered away from the iPad consumer thing. Well, realistically I want to use the things and not consume it. My take on everything apple is that its consumed only. Its like going into a supermarket and buying a box of donuts. You don’t use the donuts. You don’t drill out the donut holes and add something else in there. Well maybe you do. If you do, you’re strange and wonderful . So the analogy does not work if you do strange things with donut holes. But you consume the donuts for the most part. There is no “use”. So there is no “use case”. There is not a reason why you choose it besides to consume it. If you are a consumer of electronic goods, stick with the silo that is apple stuff by all means. You and it are meant for each other.

In my world though, I choose to use. If I choose to whack the warranty its mine to do so with. If I want to install some coolicious new ROM on it, I want the freedom to do it. Its a mutual use thing. I get value out of making it do something that google or HTC or Samsung did not give me. The company gets value because I paid top dollar for it. I made the use decision. How is this different than consuming? Simple and easy peasy. One is passive and one is active. One you just twiddle the knobs and dials and you may get something (except for flash on the iPad). The other you take an active role in the ownership. You make it do something else.

There is a dynamism in this type of use. We act and react with pleasure, challenge, use. We may drop the use as a new thing comes along or reflash it with some new and wondrous mod. Do the apple folks even get this type of use? I don’t really think so. I think they’re stuck in this wonderful Cupertino world-view where the device is given them, they consume it.

Android devices are meant to be used. iPhones are meant to be passively consumed.

What world do you want?

Kudos

Michael Perry — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:10:07 +0000

I used to work for someone who would stand on a chair and when you did good would toss you a kudo. It always felt good to get that Kudo. Remember that Dave? It made us all laugh because you would actually toss the candy out to us. There are different kinds of kudos though. There is the one like Dave Sifry would toss signaling a job well done. Then there are life kudos. We sometimes earn these for ourselves and perhaps we generate a little reward system with psychological kudos which make us feel like we just had that bar of chocolate. Another place I worked we would have a team event at Gordon Biersch in San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Back then they had these great Hoisun Ribs and Ed and I would drink up the Marzen and eat the ribs. This was back in the Gap, Inc days and the kudos came regularly so we had a lot of team events. The GB’s was only 50 feet from my office then. My office was called “the keep”. It was a smallish room crowded with a variety of GAP-ordered IT supplies and I labored mightily to keep inventory all separate. The GAP was very keen on accountability and I prided myself never losing a single piece of inventory. Well almost never. One day with a cart full of MAC stuff, it toppled over and broke. I was completely discombobulated. But Art cheered me up. Thanks there Art. No kudos that day. Truth be told, GB’s leaves me uncomfortable to this day due to a friend that took me there for beers that I later lost. The DaveR. That loss still stuns me to the day. No Kudos there either and GB’s always feels a bit uncomfortable because I remember so well the table we sat at, the Seinfeld jokes we traded. The raw humor that bounced across the walls. Seriously, DaveR was full of himself, life, humor. So GB’s now is a mix for me. I still go there with Art sometimes but it I feel torn with it.

Now Kudos are fun to get but they are also fun to give. They are a mark, a moment, a reward. For many of the people I work with on a daily basis in Singapore and those that I will leave behind from Celestix India, here’s a kudo. I respect, admire, and am touched by you all. Thanks to you guys. I’ll miss you. Chennai has become a special place but more than that you are all special people. Kudos to you.

There is a group in other places which are not so deserving of Kudos. I’m pretty sure that all those same places, regardless of religious affiliation understand the concept of Hell. I won’t mention names because those that don’t get Kudos will get other rewards as you journey through the moments of your life. Just as I am sure of the Kudos I give I am sure also that you less rewarding types will get the rewards you so deserve. Its hot down there guys. Don’t be afraid though, you will have plenty of company. People that lie, cheat, mis-represent never get Kudos except from the Devil. And we know what those are like.
Ouch, Burned Fingers, Ouch.

We never know from whence Kudos will come next. The future is shrouded in mystery but I have parted the veils. I can see that things will change and evolve. Because nothing ever stays the same.

Considerations, Ruminations, Deliberations

Michael Perry — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:24:00 +0000

Its come to me more than a few times doing technology work. You pretty much know when you reach the end point of a game. Sometimes the rules change, sometimes the people change. Sometimes you change. Technology is not a pretty mistress all tied in buttons and bows. She is merciless, holds your creativity sometimes for ransom. Can leave you with nothing. I’ve given more and different. I’ve invented myself more than a few times. What I’ve come away with is that its time to be serious. Consider. Ruminate. Deliberate.

This weekend in Chennai other than moderate alcohol intake because it soothes the terrible feelings I have about what I’ve done here; I am going to reach back into myself. Find that more pure spot that we all have. Perhaps its sitting by the pool with my Kindle.

In technology as in life, there is a tomorrow. We just have to wait so long and when it gets here, its not tomorrow after all. Its still today with brand new rules.

Rethinking how we Travel

Michael Perry — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:58:37 +0000

After my last post, I thought I would “serious up” here a bit and tell you some stuff I am looking at for future travels both here in the states and internationally. I end up traveling here every few months somewhere and internationally every few months as well. Packing a bag, selecting what I need to take, wondering why I always over-pack and take things I never use; has been a interesting sidetrip over the past few days. Let me ask you fellow travelers. What is it that you really want when traveling? I want a single bag that I can check-in which will hold the sum total of the stuff I really need for the trip. Laptop, kindle, mp3 player, clothing, toiletries, medications. Is that even possible? One bag to rule them all? Well this site says so. I really have not bought any new luggage for quite some time and have gotten by with a two bag approach. One larger laptop bag I carry-on to flights and a roller bag which is checked. Its a hassle though checking things now. At some airports I end up waiting for almost 45 minutes for the bag to exit. So I embarked on a virtual trip to find a bag which is highly recommended and forget the cost since I figure its made up more than a few times with the travel I do. I ended up getting a RedOxx Air Boss as the first new piece of luggage I have procured in some years.

I will also revolutionize how I pack this bag according to the data on the One Bag site. But the main thing I always contend with is all the jinky little plugs and adapters it seems technology travelers are forever stuck with. The worst thing is losing one that cannot be replaced in some far distant hotel. So enter some devices which I think solve that in a few ways:

Chargepod Cellpod – This cute little thing was first recommended by my friend Setuid from a facebook posting about getting things all charged up. I took this thing with me to Portland, Oregon on a test run and it works really well. It powers my phone, my Archos 5 media player, and my kindle all at one time with one little adaptor valued at 110 to 240 which means it goes with me as is to India and Singapore.

Fellowes 4 Port Charger – Next get one of these things which will enrich your hotel electrical supplies. Face it travelers, when have you found a hotel business area which offers sufficient power? This travels easily and well. Count the number of things now I will plug in here. First is the cellpod that does 6 different devices. Second is the netbook or laptop adaptor.

Some International Power adapter like the Kensington – So the order with this little goodie is to plug this in first, then the 4 port charger. Make sure that the 4 port charger will work where you are going. For me, it all works in Singapore, India, KL, and Japan easily. But be careful. Electricity unmanaged will ruin your whole day.

Now you need a bag to put stuff in. I have come to realize in my new goals for travel, that the stuff you bring should do double duty. In other words, you pack a daypack type bag into your carry on bag and it will provide comfort for you on the airplane or train journey but also give you a flexible day of walking with the same bag. Why carry extra bags? I settled on this one. We’ll see how it does.

Now I am down to a single bag for my upcoming 10 day trip. A packing approach which will mean no more checked luggage for this kid. Abiding by the TSA rules for liquids means I adopt a leaner and meaner toiletry list of articles. Next trip is one to India for some time coming up. We’ll see how that goes in planning. Now I have a packing list I am still working on and I am going to only take what’s on the list. No more sets of clothing I never really wear. No more multiple AC adapters which all add to the weight. Lean and mean for this kid. This next trip I only go with my Ubuntu powered netbook. As I have blogged about before Linux makes a great travel OS. Its secure, networking just works, and you select when to reboot.

As I get closer to my departure, I will be packing my one bag, checking out how things work and keeping some detailed log and journal diaries on my personal wiki on what works and what needs help.

If you are the one or two people who happen to read the junk I put out; remember that this is a personal website that I own. My feelings, philosophies, technology leanings should not be construed as representing how I feel about work. This is just my passion at a personal level. I am very passionate about work at that level as well. What I say here stays here hopefully

Leaving for Home Today

Michael Perry — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:58:53 +0000

Today I check out of Motel Hell/Six and hit the road on AMTRAK back home. I leave at 225pm so I get to see the sights until 930pm or so this evening which gets me back to California just about. Its been an interesting trip but I forecast I will not do a repeat to OSCON until they drop their costs down to a reasonable level. Never have I seen so many MAC this and that than at this conference. iPhones, MAC laptops, iPads. These guys/gals come iPrepared for iConference at the iConvention center. So what becomes clear seeing all the expensive hardware is that these guys can afford the passage costs to this show. For open source quality in a reasonably priced show, I’ll stick to SCALE and their announced 9x show. The price to attend this one is down at a level that regular human beings and not the iCreme of the crowd can go. It also has more signal to noise ratio than OSCON.

Mr. O’Reilly lower the costs to OSCON. The show is not open when you forbid a whole segment of folks from attending due to price. Drop the session which don’t provide any real value and trim the tutorials down. Drop the lunch or make it a sandwich thing. In other words, make the show accessible to the wide range of open source enthusiasts that would love to attend but cannot. Perhaps then we would see more Linux laptops and other Android stuff at the show.

Anyways, I pull out of this wondrous Motel 6 adventure by noonish today and head back to the PDX AMTRAK station for my train ride home. Next week is a week full of work; same with the following week. Then I head to Boston for a show lesser in cost but with many interesting sounding papers. I know some of the folks that will attend that show having worked with them before.

Catch you all on the flipside of the train tracks.

2 Year Service Rips

Michael Perry — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:51:27 +0000

For a long time, I purchased cell phones and their plans. I bought into the same mentality which Yahoo! reports on here. Each new phone not only cost me the phone itself but with ATT (always terrible telephone/graph), I also got suckered into paying separately for each service. One time I traveled to singapore with the phone (A Windows Mobile MotoQ). The phone was set to manually sync my exchange email; but after an evening of a few beers, I inadvertently left it doing “push”. So my wallet was pushed. ATT has this terrible approach to charging lots of dollars if you do not have a plan which covers charges. When I got back home, my cell phone bill was 599.00. All of it was international data.

At that point, I got tired of the whole thing boys and girls. I decided to move to another phone provider and chose T-Mobile. T seems more open about a few things. I ported my good ole number over which I have always loved and actually got first at Sprint. Then I purchased my pick of a new phone; the Nexus One. But this time, I chose to buy the phone unlocked. So when I travel now, I open the phone up, plop in a new SIM card for Singapore or India and off I go. Its only here where we have this strange and demented set of carrier conditions. In India, things are much more open. SIM cards are everywhere; so my office got me a post-paid card which they pay for me every month. I also purchased a card in Singapore which was as easy as going to a 24-hour convenience store and getting it.

Then I inherited a second Nexus One and went to the big T and got a month by month plan with the android data plan on it. When I tire of, its canceled. I’ve loaned it a few times to folks. Its handy to have a second plan and phone for a variety of reasons.

My advice FWIW. Don’t give in and spend the 200.00 plus the coupla K for the plan. Go to the big T and get a month by month. Change it out and get an unlocked phone. It costs more; but what the heck. What’s more important? The phone or the number?

Satriani – Just the best guitar solo in the known universe

Michael Perry — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:57:08 +0000

Check it and disagree if you can.

Kindle-ing without the Kindle

Michael Perry — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:36:59 +0000

I love to read. I tend to travel even here in the good ole US every month. In July I am heading up to Portland, Oregon on the AMTRAK. In August, I fly to Boston and then back on the train from Boston all the way to California with stops in Chicago, Denver, and Reno. By far the best time I spend is reading when I cannot judge the passing scenery. Reading is a escape for me; but carrying pounds of books is not. When I used to travel internationally, I would carry three books. Then I bought my 3g Kindle. The Kindle thing has changed my reading habits in so many ways. Truth be told there are choices. I could have done the Nook thing from Barnes and Noble or the Sony reader.

But all that has gotten to be less of an issue now with the release of the Kindle reader on Android. Now things like travel or tour books like Lonely Planet can be reviewed on my NexusOne or my Archos Android tablet. Its so easy and effortless now to travel and do the walking tours I love to do. Tokyo especially is my city of walking. I love seeing the places in that huge city of cities. Before though I lugged around the kindle and worried about it. Now I can download the tour guide I want and carry just my Archos tablet and have music, photos, books. Wow!

Reading has just become even easier. The android app also lets you buy books right from the phone or tablet. Very nice work.

We’ve all heard of convergence devices where a number of uses come together. Applications like Kindle for Android extend and enhance our use of the written word and make it extensible and worthy of use.

Thanks google for android and i mean it! You have upped the ante of my enjoyment of the entire phone thing to a level of hackery, kernel downloading, ROM installations, themes. Its all cool. Then when you add some good applications which may seem simple but that do the rest. Wow! You have this platform that is converging.

This makes tablet computers that much more useful be they iPad or my preferred green robot OS.

Powershell, CMD, Bash

Michael Perry — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:18:28 +0000

You know how you get used to typing things in a certain way? Like if you are a Linux guy, you tend to use commands like “ls” or “df” or “free”. You also can do some nifty things like CTRL-R and get access to a bunch of the previous commands. Very helpful. Finally, the greatest one is command completions. This has to be a labor savings device but yet its so simple. On Windows 7, I have used the command shell or CMD. Then I used Powershell. CMD is too simple. Powershell is something else. I don’t understand actually why they wrote it when they could have just included BASH style support in Windows. Its a POSIX standard right? I would have bundled an RXVT like terminal much like what I get now.

I can hear folks. Why go to all the work to install cygwin, hack on an rxvt terminal when Windows 7 ships with Powershell? There are at least three reasons. One is familiarity. I grok the Bash thing much better and I can edit a simple file like .bashrc and make it do different things. Second is I get a few other tools by bending Cygwin to my will. Tools like ssh, rsync. These are significant to my everyday computing and makes this Windows 7 toy more like a grown up OS. Third is; lets face it. The Windows CMD terminal sucks. It always has. Then Monash or Powershell or whatever came along. I don’t get it. Back to number 1 I guess. Familiarity. Anyways, now on my Windows 7 laptop, I have access to these tools that I sorely miss on Windows and its easy to get things going. If you want to see how to bend RXVT to your every will and desire, check
this page out. It does it all and some more.

I also get a full-bodied terminal shell environment from which to manage/mangle directories and files, run windows programs, etc. You can type into rxvt names of Windows programs and they just launch. Very useful. I also don’t got to learn Powershell scripting which seems to take a lifetime of learning. Tell ya what. I’ll settle for BASH, BASH completions, RXVT on the Windows desktop. You can learn Powershell.

Mkay?

Yoyo Factors of Life

Michael Perry — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:30:43 +0000

Life is like a yoyo. Up and down. The string jerks us around; makes us see incredible sights but then in a moment it takes it all away from us. Leaves us tightly bound in some alternate reality. Recently at work, I saw this happen with some colleagues that were let go. This is never a happy thing. In my Linuxcare days I survived 5 restructuring events. Finally the 6th one got me and almost on my birthday in December of 2001, I was termed. Flash forward to the days of Levanta. I lasted a year at Levanta basically when it was discovered that I was not a good fit there and never would be. Imagine lasting a year somewhere and then being told you are not a good fit. I’m convinced though that the entire management team(s) were reprobates at a few levels. Its that yoyo affect again. It grabs you sometimes around the neck and sometimes lower and hoists you all around.

Its just like some work colleagues I have either had the pleasure or extreme frustration to work with. Some of the Linux guys I have worked with are just brilliant and I learned so much from them. I count myself very lucky to have had the association. Then the yoyo pulls again and there are the reprobates which seem to think more of themselves than anyone else does. I’ve had the displeasure and angst at working around a few of these in the past and even now. Why is it that people act a certain way in a work relationship that they never replicate in other social, life, marital, or other relationships? Why is work an okay yoyo to make people ride along in your stupid orbits? I imagine if a life partner happened to see that other yoyo’s affects they would probably beg off. Yet people feel justified to simply act like assholes at work. I’ve seen this way too many times with people I otherwise would respect and enjoy working with. As someone at Linuxcare once remarked about this strange sensation… “Why can’t people treat us with professionalism, respect, and dignity?”. I know why. Because they are f**king assholes. But their extreme assholedness only comes out in the work thing. Then its okay. If you are one of them, shame on you. If you are the yoyo in one of their orbits; I feel sorry for you. Hopefully your wife, significant other, lifelong pet; or whatever never sees that side of you. Even a dog would have its day with the way some people I have seen get jerked around.

Anyways, I feel badly for the folks let go now. I’ve reached out to a few and will try to help my friend Rajesh who was treated really badly.

Here is the moral for the story. If you think its okay to act like an asshole always remember that its my right to also act that way. That’s the entire 360 of the yoyo factor of life. So many times in the past, I got to see these guys who made others sink down to their up and down.