Dave Burke : Freelance .NET Web Developer specializing in Online Communities

Everyman Links for May 17, 2008

Linksys Security Enabled Routers aren't for everybody. Cisco should make securing their ubiquitous Linksys routers easier for Everyman.  I'm not complaining, of course.  I'm enjoying free Internet access throughout the week while supporting my little girl's after-school activities.  During her piano lesson on Tuesdays I can jump on a Linksys in a neighboring condominium and while at soccer practice on Thursdays I can choose from 3 or 4 obliging routers on the Burlington South Side.  To be honest, my router was open for probably a year until I created a family WEP key.  I feel kind of bad about it being closed sometimes.  Tonight my Comcast broadband connection was really sucky, for instance, so I jumped on my neighbor's DSL Linksys (I don't know which neighbor) and I was back in action.  I should be able to reciprocate.

Google Chat for Family Unit post-it notes. My little girl is 10 years old and has a PC in her bedroom.  It's the only Vista machine in the house and is the most powerful as well.  She ran into my office after school today while I was still working, asking what song was playing on my PC.  She wanted to add it to one of her Pandora stations.  She suggested I open a Google chat session with her and paste in the name of the artist so she could copy it from her PC. 10 years old... 

Song Intro from the Golden Age of Rock-n-Roll. Grand Funk's Survival Album was released in 1971 and I've been listening to it tonight.  Since I mentioned a Tool intro a few days ago, I thought I'd share another intro that I always enjoyed.  Here children are describing their concept of God in "I Can Feel Him in the Morning."   "...and he can still see us when we're bad."

Man says JetBlue made him sit on toilet. Either the guy suing JetBlue is a jerk or the pilot is, but there's got to be more to this story.  Here's an excerpt from the article, "Gokhan Mutlu, of Manhattan's Inwood section, says in court papers the pilot told him to "go 'hang out' in the bathroom" about 90 minutes into the San Diego to New York flight because the flight attendant complained that the 'jump seat' she was assigned was uncomfortable, the lawsuit said."  This is yet another example why I'm happy to be a developer.  As I always say, computers are easy.  People are hard.

The Zune Clock Has Arrived!? I'm sorry, but the Zune should already have a clock.  I shouldn't have to download and install XNA Game Studio Express on my Zune so it can tell me the time.

Inflicting my Nerdiness on my wife and daughter. I watched the first part of FDR - The American Experience on PBS this past Monday and kept thinking about it on Tuesday.  I stupidly deleted the DVR recording, so I put it in our Netflix queue.  It arrived today and I cajoled my wife and daughter to watch it with me.  They're not as fascinated by it as I am, but they seem very interested in it so far.  Maybe it's a nerd thing, but I think most of you will enjoy the chronicle of this great man's life as much as I do.

 

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Posted on 5/16/2008 10:55:32 PM by Dave Burke
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Comments (4) -

5/22/2008 10:38:38 AM Permalink

Still loving your Everyman Links, Dave.  Please continue with this great feature of dbvt.com/blog.  My remarks, if I may?

Linksys router security - Roger that re: your thoughts on a mid-point between completely opened and secured.  As technologies like 802.11n become more ubiquitous, we'll be able to get good, strong connections from all those 'Linksys' SSIDs out there.  I think most consumers are completely baffled by the security aspect and consider the job done as soon as they can get out to the Internet.

Google Chat and kids on the Internet - When I stop and think about it, it's mind boggling who kids use the Internet.  My 18-year old and most of his friends have been hardwired to MySpace and AIM for several years now.  I'm still proud to say that when he can't print, or the "Internet's being weird," he comes to the old man to fix it.

Grand Funk Railroad, Dave?  Seriously?  Next stop after this comment posting is eMusic.  I just got a strange craving to hear "We're an American Band"

JetBlue toilet seat story - Sounds like BS to me.  I don't fly that frequently, but the odds seem better to me that a passenger would be the culprit.  Remember the two girls that said Southwest kicked them off the flight because they were "too pretty."  I saw their interview and I think "too drunk" was more likely.  Check out this link with the two sides of the story:

hotair.com/.../

I like the fact the Southwest put their rebuttal on YouTube.  And don't be fooled by the pictures of the gals from the CNN piece.  I saw them on an interview on the Today show in HD, and HDTV does not love them. True, they are prettier than me, but hardly too pretty to fly commercial.

Zune clock?  Remember what Colbert said about the Zune, Dave.  (BTW, have you gotten your Wrist Strong bracelet, yet?)

FDR special - Did they watch the whole program with you?  You should NEVER doubt the depth of Leah and Molly's love for you if they watched even 15 minutes.  And for the record, I saw it and loved it. Nerds rule!

PS - Can you rig Community Server to spell check comments?  I hope I caught all my typing errors.

Mike K |

5/22/2008 1:39:38 PM Permalink

Mike,  Judging by your comments, you should start your own Everyman Links at statestreetnetworks.com.  Great stuff!  _I_ think you're pretty, btw.  I'd watch you  on HDTV anytime.

daveburke |

5/28/2008 8:22:44 AM Permalink

Dave, Just a follow up to our dialogue on the Zune.  Not sure if you've read it, but there's an interesting article in the current issue of FastCompany about the ad agency that MS has hired to make them more 'cool.'

www.fastcompany.com/.../...it-or-not-hes-a-pc.html

Regarding the Zune, I'll be interested to see how they attempt to hurdle this obstacle in their efforts to gain market share on the iPod.  I don't know the device as a user, but I know that you're an astute judge of technology, so I truly believe there is some real substance to it.  However, the market doesn't always judge products in a rational manner.  Until the 'kids' start adopting the Zune in favor of the iPod, I don't think it's going anywhere.

I can relate to your support of the Zune.  For now, I've chosen the Blackberry over the iPhone, and it's resulted in more than a few jeers from my iPhone-toting friends.  I've not completed my iPhone vs. Blackberry bake-off, but the lack of push email on the iPhone is a deal breaker for me.  True, there are some killer features and advantages to the iPhone, but I made a 'business decision' on this.  The clincher was also the $99 price tag.  Even if I give to a friend when some future rev of the iPhone meets my needs, I've more than gotten my money's worth.

Mike K |

5/29/2008 6:43:43 PM Permalink

Hi, Mike!  I remember when the Zune just came out, a doctor friend of Leah told me about his 14 year-old son and all of his friends who had Zunes and loved them!  I'll have to ask the youngster what happened and report back.

daveburke |


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