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Carpenter Pencils


Pencils.com productI like the big, square, carpentry pencils. I give them an 8 out of 10.

I’ve been made fun of for using these. “Why don’t you just use a regular pencil?”

Well, I’ll tell you why. I like the solid, square feel of these in my hand.  Sure they’re a pain to sharpen.  You have to use a knife or utility blade, or else use a specialized sharpener that will inevitably get lost.  But I think they’re actually quite handy.  I started using them in the workshop and on jobsites, for the uses for which they’re intended.  Namely, drawing cut lines on pieces of wood.  But I’ve taken to keeping them with me all the time, and using them in the office, at work, and even keeping one in my computer bag.  I know – what’s more analog than using a pencil in the digital age?  Guess I’m just old fashioned.

I like these writing implements, and I think if you gave them a chance, you would too.  march-033

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2013 05 18 David Speiser Tools Comments (0) Permalink

Sigh

charlie-brown-sighSigh.  It gets a 6 out of 10.

Breathe in, and then expel your breath in a huff.  Look wounded, tragic, or depressed. Slump in your seat, and give your shoulders a defeated caste. IF you can achieve the above, you are in possession of a perfect sigh.

But sighing is mostly a plaintive action.  Maybe it’s well deserved; perhaps you had a long, tough day. So be it, you’re entitled to a big, self-satisfying, self-gratifying sigh.  That’s cool.  Nevertheless, you should recognize that it’s still plaintive.  You’re allowed to be plaintive, but it’s important to recognize it for what it is.

Based on the plaintive nature of sighing, I give it a 6.  I don’t condemn, but neither will I glorify.

NOTE: I will say, there are other types of sighs.  A satisfied sigh might complete a complex or lengthy project. A relieved sigh might accompany a positive diagnosis at the doctor’s office.  A gratified sigh could accompany an amorous experience with your significant other.  These are all different from a plaintive, unhappy, tiresome sigh.  Still and all, a sigh is an accompaniment, a footnote of an experience.  Still a 6.


 

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2013 05 14 David Speiser Beyond Categorization
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Audible.com

Audible gets an 8 out of 10. audible-logo

I love audiobooks. I listen to books on CD all the time, while I’m walking the dog, driving in the car, cooking dinner… you name it. Most of the books I listen to I get from the public library (a review of the public library is coming soon.) But sometimes there’s a title, or even an author, that’s not available in audiobook format at the library. What to do.

I’ve known about Audible.com for a long time, but the cost always seemed a bit steep. But Amazon (who owns Audible) has done an effective job marketing to me, and I finally decided to take up their offer of a free book plus a free month. What did I discover? Audiobooks.

I know, hardly a surprise. But here’s the two most salient points imho:
1. The selection is great
2. The service is excellent

First #1. There are lots of titles. Very few authors are underrepresented (though Parke Godwin is noticeably absent, which I find irksome.) But in general, most authors, and most of their titles, are available.

#2, the service is well done. Books on audible are not as expensive as I thought they would be. The MSRP on many audiobooks is $25-50, and that’s a lot of money to pay for something you might only listen to once. But many of the titles on Audible are discounted, and I’ve found awesome books for $8-12. That’s start becoming a whole lot more reasonable, comparable to a print title in many cases.

Aside from cost, the service is intuitive and easy to use. Books are simple to purchase, and quick to download. Various formats (MP3, WMA, etc.) are available and easy to select. Once you purchase a title, it’s yours forever; even if you discontinue your monthly subscription, you can still download a book that you’ve purchased. The mobile apps seem solid (though truthfully I haven’t spent as much time in the app as I’d like – another possible review.)

Bottom line here is, the selection, pricing, and usability of the site and service at Audible is excellent. Good enough for an 8 out of 10. That’s pretty high on the awesome-meter. Go Audible. Yay.

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2013 05 09 David Speiser Technology Comments (0) Permalink

AT&T is desperate to keep iPhone customers

On a scale of 1to10, AT&T is scared to death of losing their iPhone customers to Verizon.

Screen shot 2011-02-02 at 12.05.52 AMIn a very visible, transparent, and elucidative email to their current customers, AT&T is making a blatant plea to current subscribers to stay on board at AT&T.  Touting their well publicized advantage of web browsing while on the phone, AT&T has sent emails to their customer base (and even dedicated portions of their website)  to building a sandbag dike against the flood of Verizon-bound customers.

The ad says it all (look right dude).

On a scale from 1to10, this smacks of desperation. Nevertheless, if you got it, flaunt it.  It’s an advantage, albeit a fleeting one, and they need to keep all the subscribers they can.  Go get ‘em. Er, keep ‘em.

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2011 02 02 David Speiser mobile
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Add a robot to your data backup plan

drobo_logoOn a scale from 1to10, the Drobo FS is a freakin’ 10.

You may have noticed (or probably not) that I have an obsession with data, with data backup, and with storage.  We ran an entire month of posts all focused on data backup.  Anyone who’s lost data before tends to have this kind of an obsession.

I’ve used external HDDs, and set up RAID systems in my PC, but I’ve never found a perfect solution.  Maybe perfection doesn’t really exist in data backup.  But the Drobo FS is pretty freaking awesome.

I’ll backup a second.  I use multiple external HDD’s for various purposes.  I have one for Time Machine, one that’s plugged into my Xbox 360 for watching local media, and one that’s plugged into my Pogoplug for easy backup and easy sharing of media.  It all works well, but it also all requires a lot of manual management and work.  The drive that’s plugged into my Pogoplug has been clicking and that’s ominous – usually means an impending mechanical failure. I live in dread.

As I mentioned, I did have a RAID 1 set up on my PC, but the RAID broke when I upgraded to Windows 7, and I haven’t wanted to go through the hassle of fixing, re-formatting, or updating my motherboard BIOS. If all of that sounds incomprehensible, you’re not alone.

drobo_left_angle_hiI’ve had my eye on a Drobo for a long time.  For the uninitiated, Drobo is a type of external storage solution for consumers, semi-pros, and commercial data backup.  The name comes from Data Robot. I’ve hemmed and hawed for a long time, because these are not cheap devices.  Costco finally got a good deal for the Drobo FS (my preferred model) with 3 1TB HDD’s for $799.  It’s a good price, and includes the Costco guarantee, so I decided to pull the trigger.  I’m only bummed I waited this long.  Couple of benefits to the Drobo FS:

  • Holds up to 5 internal Sata Drives  (super easy, just plug them in, no cables or plugs)
  • Drives are hot-swappable (if you run out of capacity and want to put in larger drives, or if a drive goes bad, you can just yank out the bad / smallest drive and plug in a new one)
  • Data is striped across multiple drives (if a drive goes bad, you don’t lose any data. It’s backed up across the other drives)
  • It’s future-proof (you never need to run out of capacity.  When you fill up your drives, you simply buy bigger ones and replace the smaller ones.  The investment doesn’t go bad or get filled up.)
  • Networked solution (you can move the data onto Drobo via your local network. Also possible to stream to various devices.  More on this in a later post.)
  • Can be used for Time Machine (in Drobo you can set up multiple locations that you can label and designate for a specific purpose – these are called “shares”.  You can create a share specifically for Time Machine if you like, or to hold all your movies, or just to hold all the data on a given machine, etc.)

What I like most about Drobo is that it’s available on my network, and that it offers a redundant solution for storage.  If a drive goes bad (and all mechanical devices, including HDDs, will eventually go bad) you can pull it out and replace it.  When you run out of space, you can go to Fry’s and upgrade capacity with whatever the new price point drives are available.

I sleep a little better knowing that I have a storage robot minding my data, keeping it safe and redundantly backed up.  It was spendy, but I’m glad I made the investment.  The loss of family photos, or just the countless hours I’ve spent ripping my movie collection would be catastrophic.  This is good insurance.

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2010 12 19 David Speiser backup
Gadgets
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Some favorite Apple vs. Android Pics

I’m an iPhone user.  Have been since the day the first one launched.  But I’m also a fan of Android.  I like Google, I like open-source (at least *more* open), I like open systems, and some of the handsets are awesome.   I still don’t think Android has the usability of IOS, and it probably never will, but I’m not convinced that’s a bad thing.  Not everyone likes their technology spoon-fed to them.  And competition is a very healthy thing in any marketplace.

One other enjoyable side-benefit of all the competition between Google and Apple, as well as their various fanbois is all the fun art that comes out of it.  I decided to make this post not just a re-hash of the differences between Android and Apple, but a celebration of the fun pictures.  So enjoy.  If you have a good one youreslf, post a link in the comments.

This is not really an Android-related pic, but this t-shirt made me smile.  Poor Adobe.

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2010 09 16 David Speiser mobile Comments (0) Permalink

Why isn’t anyone calling it what it is (New Apple TV = Set-top box)

100901-atv-press-g03On a scale from 1to10, the new Apple TV is a set-top box.

Apple announced today the new version of Apple TV, a tiny little device for streaming HD movies to your home television.  This is very cool – the form factor looks awesome and beautiful, as we might expect of an Apple product.  It’s eschewed the HDD in favor a small amount of flash memory for programs and buffering, and otherwise is streaming only.  A bunch of cool streaming services (like Netflix, Flickr, etc.) are also embedded.  All of this is great.

What’s funny to me is that no one seems willing to call this thing what it actually is: a set-top box. (Abeit a tiny one that’s cool looking.)  Engadget, Crunchgear, Boy Genius Report, and about a zillion other blogs have all posted about Apple’s announcement.  But all of them are consistently leaving out the set-top nomenclature which has, at this point, accumulated a lot of negative mojo.  It’s also conspicuously absent from Apple’s press release.

100901-atv-press-g01I think this is because no one likes set-top boxes. They’re clunky, take up space on the media console, take up an HDMI input on your receiver or TV, add a remote control to your coffee table, and cost extra $$$.  Lots of companies are focusing instead on embedded devices, including Google TV and VUDU.  (Disclaimer – I’ve worked with VUDU in the past.)  Basically these folks embed their streaming services into televisions and Blu-ray players, so that instead of needing an extra device on the console, you stream content directly into the device you already own.  This is more efficient for the consumer, and adds value to the manufacturers of devices people are already planning to buy (like TV’s and BDP’s).  It sort of leaves hanging the folks who make set-top boxes, like ROKU and Apple.

It’s just strange to me that no one is willing to call this thing what it is.  One blogger refers to the new Apple TV as “streaming-focused device…” which is true by the way.  But it’s also a friggin’ set-top box.

100901-atv-press-g06I don’t know why this bothers me.  I’m an admitted Apple fanboi.  I’ve had three generations of iPhone, own several iPods, am on my second Macbook, and want to get an iMac. I might even get an Apple TV – it looks sexy. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s a set-top box, and I think it should be labeled (pigeonholed) as such.

If I were going to rate the new Apple TV set-top box (sight unseen) on a numeric scale from 1to10, I’d call it a 9 (until they prove me wrong.)  But if I were going to numerically rate their fishy attempt to avoid an ugly label that is nevertheless true, I’d call it a 2.  The sauce is weak.

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2010 09 01 David Speiser Beyond Categorization Comments (0) Permalink

Please be a Smart Alec

smartalec088On a scale of 1 to 10, the Smart Alec from Tom Bihn is smarter than I am.

Tom Bihn is a boutique bag maker.  Our senior correspondent, Sol, remembers Tom Bihn from his college days in Santa Cruz in 1995, though now the company is based out of Seattle, WA.  As (both) of our steady readers are aware, I have long been on a search for the *perfect* laptop bag.  This might be a messenger bag, it might be a shoulder bag (as distinct from a “messenger bag”), or it might be a backpack with a laptop sleeve. I haven’t found the perfect bag yet, and that does include the Smart Alec (the backpack which is the subject of this review.)  But I will say that this bag that the folks at Tom Bihn sent me comes closer than anything else I’ve used so far.

That’s no faint praise.  I’ve used some good packs (back and otherwise) and I’ve used some terrible ones.  I look at size, comfort, versatility, aesthetics, materials, and a number of other categories.  On almost every level the Tom Bihn Smart Alec kicks ass.  I’ll dive into some details.

The bag is a good size.  You can fit a remarkable amount of crap inside, especially considering the clean, svelte look of the bag.  It has a narrow profile and a sparse exterior (which I like), and that appearance belies a capacious interior with just the right amount of organizational versatility (i.e., pockets.)  :)

smartalec087Comfort is the (only) area where the Smart Alec falls a little short for me.  I’ve been looking for a bag that suits all purposes, which is admittedly a patently unfair criteria.  I use it for walking around conferences, for car commuting, and for commuting on my bicycle.  The bicycle commuting was the only issue for me – the backpack straps were a little thin and hurt my shoulders a bit.  This is when I’m loading the bag fairly heavily (macbook pro, charger, clothes, shoes, notebook and a cup of coffee), and riding a relatively long time (45-55 minutes.) With that load and over that length of time, I found that the bag hurt my shoulders a bit.  Not unduly, but not cushy either.

In terms of versatility, I’ve never seen a better designed townie pack.  (That’s as opposed to a mountaineering pack.)  The laptop sleeve, called a brain cell, clips into the pack with the hands down absolute best clip system I’ve ever used; one that’s easy to open and close, and that fits intuitively and easily.  The sleeve is easy to install and remove, and makes the bag useable for a variety of purposes from commuting to grocery shopping to day hikes. It appears to be pretty darn safe too, as this video demonstrates. (Wonder how many takes it took.)  It also has great pockets, intermal and external both.  The top loader style has a wide, oval-shaped main opening that’s easy to open and to use, and the two side pockets are elliptically shaped and proved an enormous amount of space without any sense of being bulbous or oversized.  (Easy to fit a Nalgene bottle in there.)

Aside from long distance, heavily weighted (dis)comfort, the other main issue is price.  $130 for a daypack isn’t the *most* exorbitant price I’ve ever heard of, but it’s far from the most reasonable.  If your budget is flexible (i.e. you have disposable income) this is a great buy.  Also, an argument could certainly be made that this bag will last a lifetime, and pay for itself over a period of blissful, pack-filled years.  Certainly in the course of 6 months of daily, all-weather use, I’ve seen no signs of wear or fallibility, and that’s pretty impressive considering how much I abuse my gear. This pack ain’t cheap, but in my estimation it’s giving damn good value for your money.

I’m not the first person to review this pack, and likely I won’t be the last.  They’ve been making this design for a number of years, and it doesn’t seem to have changed much.  That’s for good reason – they made it the right way.  Both MacNN and our friends at LIVEdigitally reviewed this pack in the past, as have others.  But my review is better.  Smarter.  Bigger. Longer.  Uncut.  If I were forced to give this pack a numeric rating between 1 and 10, it would get a 9.  They did it right, and aside from a minor quibble or three, I’m pretty impressed.  You can buy one here, right now, and you probably should.

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2010 08 21 David Speiser Gear Comments (0) Permalink

Irony, peace offering, happenstance, or the all mighty dollar?

Screen shot 2010-05-14 at 11.08.36 AMOn a scale from 1to10, I just can’t decide what this means.

In my email today (picture below) I got an email from Apple, pushing the new Adobe Creative Suites software.  In the midst of the brouhaha over Apple trying to kill Adobe’s Flash software, they’re still pushing other Adobe products.  Is this:

  • Apple being fair-minded?
  • Apple making an explicit peace offering ?
  • Just a random occurrence based on product availability and consumer email marketing schedules?
  • Is Apple just trying to make more money on a lucrative software suite ? (likely)
  • Is Apple being ironical? (That would be awesome, but not super likely methinks.)

In any case, it caught my eye, so I’m sharing it with you, satisfied reader.  You know who you are.

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2010 05 14 David Speiser Humor
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How to fold the perfect t-shirt… with an iPad

On a scale from 1to10, it’s hard to justify a $600 purchase of a device for which I don’t have a clear purpose.  That didn’t stop me from buying it anyway, but since making my purchase I’ve struggled to find new ways to make use of the iPad.

It’s awesome for playing music, reading eBooks, and watching movies – the Netflix app rocks if you already have an account.  But still, is all that worth the six hundo? Probably.

But, just in case you needed one more reason to own an iPad, see the video below.

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2010 04 06 David Speiser Gadgets
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