Degutis Insights

CNET’s Rafe Needleman wrote a piece titled 10 Worst Web glitches of 2008 (so far) which many have used to point out why cloud computing won’t work.  I love the idea of using just about any computer to access my data.  I am also concerned about the cloud, not only because of reliability but also accessibility.  We live in a rural area with a water well, septic tank/field and slow Internet access (grant it, our 144k iDSL is better than dial-up).  Even if Internet services were more reliable I still face a bandwidth issue.  Plus, there is the issue of access while traveling. Just about any hotel provides Internet access, but some (it appears to be the larger ones) still charge.  For example, I stayed at a Marriott hotel in June for a conference and they were charging $10 per day.  That was on top of the room charge at this “full service” property.

Yet, I like keeping my data, or some portion of it in the cloud for easy access.

I download my small business email to Outlook via POP which acts as long term storage.  All of my other email clients, which are the ones I primarily use on a daily basis, utilize IMAP.  This allows me to access recent email from a web browser (i.e. webmail) on any computer, my iMac, or Macbook Pro.

Another favorite hybrid cloud computing app I use is Evernote.  My like somewhat manual approach to sync’d email, Evernote stores a copy of my notes online.  These notes can be accessed, and sync’d to, my Mac or Windows computers.  One weakness, in my opinion, is that the awesome text recognition feature, which can also “read” text from images, is done on the Evernote servers, hence in the cloud.  Should the servers or Internet not be available, newly entered local notes would not be searchable.  I’d like to see the text recognition feature for non-images take place locally to cover those situations.

I’ve been trying to use Microsoft’s Live Mesh to sync data across multiple machines. The primary problem is that there isn’t a native Mac client, yet.  So, accessing my Live Mesh data requires the use of a browser which is clunky.  Live Mesh has a lot of promise and the peer-to-peer syncing that Paul Thurrott brought to my attention is very exciting… once there’s a Mac client that supports it.  It would be very cool if Evernote supported peer-to-peer sync as well, though I don’t think it’s critical.

It’s all about syncing with a central location, but having access to most, if not all, at any time.

Posted by Al Degutis

It arrived yesterday.
The packaging was awesome:

Not only did it continue the “skeleton look” into the packaging but it wasn’t the standard hermetically sealed plastic that requires sharp instruments to open.  The cardboard outer packaging is easily removed and the inner plactic packaging pops open with your figures. Nice.

My white iPhone before:

and then transformed:

It fits perfectly, the buttons are easily accesses and it looks cool.  I have to admit that the white isn’t as white as the iPhone itself but then again Steve Jobs probably spent millions getting the formula for the ultimate white.

I had a hard time deciding between a few of the CapsuleRebel covers.  I almost bought two.  I may even pick up a second (or third) one for use in different occasions.  Maybe.

Posted by Al Degutis.

From the Oops Comic Strip I created as a teen.

I’m a beta-whore. I tried to categorize myself as a beta tester, an early adopter, and various other, nicer labels but my wife insists that “beta-whore” fits best.  I enjoy technology and feel my jack-of-all-trades skills can be beneficial in a beta test.  I sign up for many beta programs and devote more time to some and less to others.

A trend I’m seeing is development by newbies.  I don’t mean people new to development/programming, but people who are unfamiliar with using external testers.  Based on my experiences, here are a few pointers for those considering the use of beta testers.

1. Set goals - Are there any specific areas you’d like to have tested?  What has changed since the last  alpha or beta version?  You may not have a list of items for the testers (e.g. if you’re trying to determine how intuitive an app/service is) but if you do, let them know.
2. Set a timeline - How long is the beta period?  One week, one month, one Google-beta (i.e. indefinitely)?  Give the testers a timeframe on when to report issues they uncover (e.g. as they occur, once a day, once a week, etc).  Keep in mind that beta testers have lives and jobs outside of testing your app/service.
   
3. Define how you want feedback - Should the beta testers email you with their findings?  Do you have a forum or GetSatisfaction page set up?  Be clear and upfront.
4. Don’t rush the beta period - Understandably, you want to get the app/service out there but broken software does more harm than good.  At the same time don’t be a Google.  I believe that short beta periods (e.g. 24-48 hours) are too short to be useful.
   
5. Pick good beta testers - Sure, I’d like to beta test a lot of apps and services, but that does not make me the right choice.  Be as selective as you can.  If you’re running back-to-back beta periods, be sure to include/invite people that have provide valuable feedback in the past.  If a beta tester’s first actions is to blog that they’re beta testing something, their interests may be self-indulgent.  Beta testers should be helping make the app/service better.
6. Invite me to be a beta tester - Sure it may contradict #5, but you won’t know until I’ve had a chance to beta test your app/service.

Post by Al Degutis

In the last three weeks I’ve spotted three of the Smart ForTwo cars, at least I think it was three. Two of them were on the I90 toll road near Chicago and looked like this:

Image take with my iPhone through
a dirty front windshield

The third one appeared to be a convertible Smart ForTwo, but I’m not sure they make convertibles. It was going in the opposite direction so I didn’t have a lot of time to check it out, or even snap a pic.

Charlie Anzman spotted a couple of these cars in Central PA.

- Al Degutis

From the Oops Comic Strip I created as a teen.

I was on the phone trying to get in touch with the Customer Service group of Other World Computing about an order. As is too common nowadays, they use an automated phone menu system, but this one forces you to talk to it which I particularly don’t like.  I had to grab my voice recorder to capture this after my first attempt:

Customer Service phone call attempt (MP3)

Ironically, in a different part of the menu it did have the option to “customer service.” Unfortunately, I had stopped recording and wasn’t going to go back into menu hell to capture it.

- Al Degutis

From the Oops Comic Strip I created as a teen.

From the Oops Comic Strip I created as a teen.

From the Oops Comic Strip I created as a teen.