Last year, I had purchased a one year subscription to Windows Live OneCare.  I had tried it for thirty days, liked it and bought the one year subscription.  I got it at Circuit City for ten bucks, on sale.  The nice thing about it was that it could be installed on three computers.  It has a bevy of options and does quite a few things.  I could also manage my ‘circle’ from one computer and it let me know how the others were, as far as scans, over all ‘health’, etc.  I really liked it, but it had a few things that puzzled me and I did not like.  First, I was never really sure when it scanned or the frequency of the scans.  I guess that I never could tell was good, that meant it was not obtrusive.  On two of the computers, it always worked fine.  On my wife’s Vista Basic machine, it started to act up once SP1 was installed.  Over several months, the problem got worse and worse until I finally uninstalled it and put AVG free on the machine.  That’s been upgraded and does quite a bit of what One Care does.  So, last month, my one year subscription ran out.  Not wanting to pay fifty bucks to renew the subscription, I uninstalled it and put AVG on the other two computers.  I thought I’d wait until I found it cheap again.  Don’t get me wrong, Live One Care is certainly a good product and, for most, is worth the fifty dollars.  My problem with it is that we should not have to pay ANYTHING for a function that should be inherent to the operating system.  The OS should protect itself.  I’m willing to pay for the program-even fifty dollars-but to have to pay that every year is ridiculous.

AVG Free is a good anti-virus and has been upgraded to handle a little bit more.  It adds-if you let it-a really cool tool bar and plug in to Firefox and Internet Explorer that lets you know the known status of a page, and adds that notification to Google.  So, AVG Free works great, what’s the catch?  Well, the catch is that you have little control over it.  You cannot, for instance, schedule updates and scans more than once a day.  Also, it scans all attached storage…which is a major problem for me.  I have like six attached drives.  AVG Free clocked over 18 hours scanning time and had not finished.  What to do.  Well, I was going to go back to One Care.  But…I found AVG at a local big box warehouse for twenty five bucks.  I’ve installed it and set up the updates and scans.  So far, the system SEEMS a tad more responsive-which is purely psychological-and I feel a bit better by patronizing Grisoft.  Oh, the package contains a two year subscription, so I don’t need to think about this again until 2010.

As for One Care, it is a great product, I just don’t care for the model.  Too bad Microsoft could not put it’s functionality into Vista.  Can you imagine the outcry THAT would cause?  Symantec, I think, blew a gasket over the kernel…they’d go ballistic if Microsoft actually put into the OS what should have already been there.  Sigh.

I do.  It was the first computer that I ‘built’.  It was available in kit form or as a completed computer for more money. The cost of the kit was $99 and I remember saving up for it and sending off that hundred dollar check (plus shipping and handling, of course.)  Imagine, an ENTIRE computer for one hundred dollars.  Wow.  And it had graphics too!  TRS-80 model one style, fat pixel, monochrome graphics.  Lower resolution than the trash 80. 

I remember getting the computer kit and eagerly opening it up.  I read the Basic Language manual-which, if I recall correctly,was first class and very easy to read-and the assembly instructions.  I cleared off my working area, fired up the soldering iron and got to business.  I spent several hours soldering, checking and re-checking.  Finally, satisfied that I had done everything correctly, I connected the computer to a little TV and plugged in the power.  And…nothing.  Knowing a tiny bit about computers, I unplugged the power, waited and plugged it back in.  Nothing.  I was perplexed.  I spent another hour scratching my head and re-checking my work.  Finally, in desperation, I had my father look at it.  He was an engineer and built computers and paging equipment for a living. After checking the computer on his scope, he determined that a resister was missing.  The resister has something to do with the reset pin or something like that on the Z80 microprocessor.  In put the resister in place and plugged it back in. To my delight, the screen turned gray and a black inverse K appeared on the screen.  The computer was working.  I connected my cassette recorder up, which now would do double duty on my TRS-80 Color Computer that I would get later that year for Christmas, and entered some of the sample programs from the manual and that I had found in magazines.  I spent all night and most of the following day entering code and playing games.  That little computer was a blast.  It was so limited in what it could, but I did not care.  I learned how to do graphical programming and crude games.  I even wrote a small and very limited Visi-Calc like application.  Much of what I learned on that tiny little machine translated well to the bigger and more capable computers I would get later on, including the aforementioned Color Computer, Xerox-820 and other ‘serious’ computers.

Fast forward to today and I found a web site, Zebra Systems, that is selling unbuilt kits.  These are complete kits and they have fifty or so left.  Unfortunately, they  are priced at two hundred dollars.  You can check that out here.  There are many sites devoted to this little computer as well as it’s somewhat better companion computer, the Timex-Sinclair 1000.  There is a web-ring devoted to the line and you get to it here.

What computers bring the nostalgia out in you?  I had several favorites including the ones listed above and the Vic-20, Epson HX-20 portable and the-don’t laugh-Mattel Aquarius. Ah, the Aquarius, the computer for the seventies.

Last week, while speaking to a German publication, Howard Stringer said that the Wii is not more fun than the PS3, no it is just different.  He went on to say that PS3 titles are for those who play a lot.  Sooo…I suppose that suggests that Wii games are only good for five minutes?  What? 

In his comments, he claims that Nintendo has a superior business model: It sells more consoles and makes money on them.  You know, unlike Sony who can’t sell it’s consoles very well and loses money-still-on each PS3.  To be fair, Sony has taken measures to help make it’s current console profitable by doing such things as:  ripping out backward compatibility which saved them ten bucks; removing half of the ports they had (another buck saved); confusing the hell out of the consumer with a multitude of units: original 20gb; 40gb; 60gb; TWO 80gb units…I think there were two different 60gig units but I’ve lost count. The new 80gb unit lacks backward compatibility and has a small number of USB and memory card ports.  The current PS3 bears less of a resemblance to a first gen PS3 unlike Nintendo, whose current Wii looks just like the first gen Wii. Hmm, is that good or bad?

Stringer also told of how Sony first had the casual gamer with Singstar but decided to focus on other gamers (read ‘hard core’) and that that might have been a mistake. Singstar? Seriously, Howard?  Umm…no. 

Bottom line is that Wii is not hurting Sony.  Not at all.

As you might have heard, a NASA computer(s) contracted a virus recently.  I don’t know about you, but to me, that is outrageous, silly, stupid, amazing, awesome and just dumb all at the same time.  How in the world can NASA allow a computer to get sick?  Really.  How?  That’s just…sigh.  C’mon…you guys went to the moon using computers dumber than today’s toasters.  You repaired the bloody Hubble telescope….while it was in space.  How does a computer, IN SPACE, get a freaking virus?  NASA, NASA, NASA.  You have to teach your astronauts the basics of safe computing.  Seriously.

Actually, getting the virus is not that bad…it means NASA finally has more modern computers…IN SPACE.  Let’s face it, they’ve been behind the times with the old computer.  Until a few years ago, OK, maybe ten years now, the most modern CPU that they used was the RCA 1802 because they could ‘space hardened’ CPU’s.  Hey, at least they were made of silicon and we did not have VACUUM tubes, IN SPACE.  (Funny there, because space is a vacuum and….oh, never mind.)

By the way, the virus was the W32.TGammima.AG – which sounds like a NASA named star, doesn’t it?  It is spread using USB Flash drives.

Much has been said and written about Microsoft using Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates to pitch Windows Vista.  Indeed, many Mac fans have pointed out that Seinfeld once did ads for Apple and that he had a Macintosh on his desk during the show.  Yeah, so what?  If anyone remembers, there were several shows during late 95 or early 96 where there was a Windows 95 box on the same desk with the Macintosh.  I always wondered if producers put it there trying to glom on to the Windows 95 hype and did not realize it would not work on that computer (I’m guessing they did not care) or if Microsoft paid them to do so.  I’m guessing the latter.

People really seem bent out of shape that Microsoft is paying Seifeld a cool tem million dollars for the ads.  I really don’t understand why they have their shorts in a wad like that.  What the hell does it matter?  There are better things to get bent out of shape over.  Get real.

Anyway, I think Seinfeld is a great choice.  He may not be hip like Justin Long, but he is certainly funny.  Better than ‘PC’?  Maybe.  At any rate, Seinfeld and Gates are sure to be a hoot.

Microsoft today released the second public beta for Internet Explorer 8.  The newest release features private browsing, like Apple’s Safari and also disables cross-site scripting in an effort to cut down on malicious code.  From the download page:

Overview

Internet Explorer 8 is the latest version of the familiar web browser you are most comfortable using, helping you get everything you want from the web faster, easier, more privately and securely than ever before.

• Faster Internet Explorer 8 is more responsive with new pages and tabs, opening up fast and reliably. You can now get to the information you care about most, in fewer steps; one click access to your webmail, favorite news sites or other online services.
• Easier Reduce the steps to accomplish many common tasks, and automate your access to real time information updates. You can keep track of your favorite sports team, news, weather with a single click.
• More Private Helps protect your privacy and confidential information where ever you go on the web.
• More Secure Helps protect and stop malicious software from reaching your PC, and makes it easier to detect when a website is an imposter.

You can get it here, but only if you are running Vista, Vista SP1 or Windows Server 2008.

Ugh.  What are these people thinking?  Companies do stupid things too…

• PETA wants to buy a SeaWorld, set the animals free and replace them with animatronics and ‘virtual animals.’  Uh huh.  They say that they have a wealthy donor lined up to cough up the dough to buy a SeaWorld. Who would want to go to a theme park and see a bunch of phony baloney animals?  (Disneyworld….shhhh, we won’t talk about that!)  Just leave Busch Gardens (both of them) alone, will ya?
• Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama-a decidedly smart man-did something not so smart:  he TEXT MESSAGED his choice for his running-mate.  Now, to be fair, the stated goal was let his supporters know first.  Problem is that the news leaked out much sooner than the text message went out.  Some say that they never got it, others said they got it after 3am PDT, while others claimed to have gotten it around midnight.  No matter, it was not the smartest thing to do, though I applaud the Obama campaign’s use of tech.
• The aforementioned VHS/Blu Ray disc player.  ‘nuff said
• The sheer number of stupid ‘10 reasons why Linux is better than Windows’, ‘15 reasons why Linux is taking over the desktop’, ‘40 reasons why Apple will crush Microsoft’ or, my new favorite, ‘the 15 Hottest Olympian Medallists/females/whatever’.  Now, on that last one, I have nothing at all against looking at pretty people, but these lists are just stupid and they show up all the freaking time on DIGG.  Admittedly, the ‘x best Science Fiction weapons/robots/computers/disasters/etc’ lists are way more compelling than the stupid reasons why Linux is best/Windows is best/Why Windows sucks/Apple is best/Why Apple sucks (I have a few to contribute here.)’ DUMB.  C’mon, don’t you have anything better to do than make lists?
• Industry Analysts.  Especially those who proclaim “Apple will have another profitable quarter” or “Nintendo’s Wii will fall by 2012” Saying Apple will have another profitable quarter is as dumb as ‘Hollywood sees increase in profits’.  Well, yeah, when movie tickets are 10 to 15 dollars a pop, they are bound to make a buck or two.  Likewise, when a company like Apple gouges it's customers they way they do, they are bound to a couple of dollars profit too.  Oh, the Wii, well, yeah.  2012 is probably when the three big consoles get replaced, maybe sooner.
• Application kill switches in devices you PAY FOR.  Recently, the company of fruit admitted that they do, in fact, have an application kill switch, just in case that rogue application gets on the iPhone.  Now, since they CONTROL the applications that you can buy-via the App Store, which they control, using iTunes, which they control or over the air from the app store, which they control.  Now, it seems to me that the only way for a rogue application to actually get on the phone is if you 'jail break' the phone.  Oh, wait, that same store-which they control-did allow the thousand dollar icon to get through and the voip like application.  I guess they need that kill switch after all.

I met the Popcorn Kernel today…I told him I’d give him a shout out, so here it is.  You thought I was I kidding, didn’t you Jeff?

For most of you, this won’t make any sense, but to the Boy Scout leaders, you know what this means.

Well, ok, that’s very misleading.  Got your attention, though.  So here’s that deal.  Apparently, Ars Technica is reporting that MacRumors is reporting that ‘certain retailers’ are being told by Apple not to place orders for more Mac minis, MacBook Pros, iPods or Cinema Displays. That could only mean that new or refreshed versions are on the way. Or Apple is throwing in the towel on one or more of those devices.  I can wish, can’t I?

Anyway, Apple apparently has penciled September ninth for another of it’s ‘special events’.  So, be prepared for the hype machine and the reality distortion field to go into full effect.  Some of that has already started…Kevin Rose claims to have some inside info on the new Nono…er, Nano.  You can go to Engadget and read about that one.

The next month should be interesting and entertaining.  I, uh, can’t wait.

Here’s a link to the Ars Technica story about the MacRumor story.

Cody Byrne's attended the Michigan NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Michigan.  He wanted to see his favorite driver, Carl Edwards, race.  Cody and his parents saw Edwards, who was walking by, and gave him the thumbs up.  Cody, who is a wheelchair bound teenager, was just excited to see Edwards.  What happened next is the stuff of movies.  Edwards, seeing the flag on the back of Cody’s chair, walked over to him and said ‘Hey buddy, I’ll tell you, if I win that trophy today, now that’s if I win, I’ll give you that trophy.’  I can only imagine how excited Cody was.  He and his parents realized that Edwards had a good chance to win because he went 27th to first in about sixty laps.  Edwards did win the race.  He signed the trophy ‘NGU’ for ‘never give up.’  Cody has that trophy now.

Most of the drivers in this sport are like that. They get rough and rowdy on the track, but when it comes to children and the fans in general, they are very generous.  Tony Stewart has donated or raised millions of dollars for the Petty’s Victory Junction Gang Camp-a place that I can personally say is tremendous.  The camp is for children who are chronically ill.  It takes millions to run the camp each year and NASCAR and it’s corporate sponsors have been more than generous.  My son, who has an immunodeficiency condition, had the opportunity to go to the camp several times.  We have attended family weekends there and the place is truly remarkable.  It is sad, too.  One little girl, that we had the pleasure of meeting, attended the camp the same year that my son first went there.  She was just a joy.  She did not make it the next year.  Sadly, her condition was just too much to overcome has she passed away.  Her mother wrote the camp and thanked them and said it was the most enjoyable time the girl had had in years.

Victory Junction is just one of the many worthy causes the drivers, NASCAR and the sponsors get behind.  Most of the drivers have established a foundation that takes care of the donations and money they raise.  They help organizations to find abandoned pets new homes, wildlife habitats, bone marrow and more.  They not only give money, but also time.  They have precious little time as it is, yet they find time to raise money, make appearances at hospitals, Victory Junction and other places.  Like them or not, they are amazing people.

Ok, in the annals technological dumbness, this one is near the top of charts:  A Blu-ray/VHS combo player.  Panasonic has released the DMR-BR360V combo player in Japan.  The deck boasts analog and digital tuners, a 320gb hard drive for dvr like operation, USB and an SD slot.  The unit is not cheap, about $1500(US).  You can check out the weirdness here.

Just what makes it weird? Well, glomming on the VHS tape deck.  No matter how much trickery you perform, VHS is never going to come close to the Blu-ray in terms of quality.  I’m betting, too, that there’s no legal way to transfer that massive VHS commercial movie collection you may have.  Storing VHS quality (or worse) video on a Blu-ray disc sort of defeats the purpose of the Blu-ray.  You may be able to store a ton of VHS quality (or worse) video on a Blu-ray disc, but, really, what’s the point?  Most of those movies can be purchased on DVD or even Blu-ray disc.  With the possible exception of home videos, this is a rather pointless device.  If you absolutely MUST have VHS, buy a separate quality deck.  They are getting more difficult to find, but can still be had-cheaply.  If you look hard.  And the moon is full…

The 2008 Olympics are done.  Politics aside, they were the best that I can remember. (Side note:  In my humble opinion, politics should stay out of the games.  The athletes should not suffer or be slighted in any way due to the host country’s politics.)  Technically, the games were the best covered games in history.  From high definition television to the Internet to mobile phones, you could get your Olympics coverage just about anywhere at any time.  Here in America, they were covered by NBC television.  NBC did a terrific job in the coverage.  Yes, they were a bit commercial, but I did not mind too much since I did not have to pay a dime to watch them.  I was able to watch them on television, over the internet via Silverlight—which, for me, was spot on perfect, but I did not take full advantage of the internet.  I could have swiped my wife’s Palm Centro and watched them, but, sadly, on my Moto Q, it was a bit more challenging.  I could even get coverage on my Zune, how damned cool is that? 

Silverlight, which many questioned the wisdom of it’s use, did a great job.  Video was smooth and, while home on my broadband connection, it never skipped a beat.  Don’t try if you are on dial up though.  NBC’s Olympic website, while busy, was very handy.  I had little trouble finding things (the complaints from some blogger's and podcasters is puzzling) and the all important medal count was super easy to find.

The Chinese wizardry was simply amazing.  From the architecture of some of the venues, to the use of the gee-whiz technology, they certainly presented the most modern games in history.  Again, politics aside, the Chinese are a wonderfully rich people, culturally and technologically, though the contrast is stark at times.

While the technology involved was amazing, the participants were simply incredible.  It does not matter if they won medals or not, they did something that most of us will never do and they did in front of the whole planet.

Well, they’ve done it again.  First, Apple quietly gets Safari on Windows user’s PC’s, now they are putting the plumbing for MobileMe on them.  I noticed that on my desktop computer, I saw some references to MobileMe in a couple of the network configuration windows.  Then, this evening, I find on my laptop computer that there is a startup process called MobileME.  See the image below.  Now, I’m pretty sure I never authorized either MobileME plumbing installed on any of my computers.  I have not tried the service, nor do I see any good reason to do so since Microsoft’s version actually works and is currently free.  The fact that Apple put this code on my computer without my knowledge really irritates me.  I am guessing that the code is installed during one of those ‘Apple Updates’ that do not tell you exactly what it’s doing. I was not so bothered about Safari since I actively sought it out.  But this, I did not.  I might have tried it, just to compare it with Live Mesh, but this clandestine method has killed even that little enthusiasm I had. 

The real rub here is that they will get a free pass again.  “They are just helping me have a good experience by pre-loading the code on my machine.”  I’m sure that’s the line I’d hear.  How do think people would react if Microsoft secretly put the Mesh client on Apple computers?  People would freak. 

I’m off to de-crapify my PC again.

UPDATE:  Wow, I’m a bit behind.  After originally posting this, I did some checking and discovered that this happened back in July and was written about in several places. I must have had my head buried in the sand. 

I am a big fan of the Zune but not to the point where I cannot point out it’s short comings.  There aren’t many, at least for me.  Several months ago, I subscribed to the Zunepass.  Zunepass is a monthly subscription where you can download ‘all you can eat’.  Well, only to a point.  Zunepass is a pretty good deal: you pay about $15 a month for the privilege of downloading music.  As long as you pay, you keep the music.  You stop paying, it stops playing.  Only, it does not quite work that way.  Recently, I spent a week at the beach and had very limited dial up Internet access.  Since it was slow going, I never bothered to sync the Zune.  Not syncing for such a long time has a nasty side effect:  your Zunepass music stops playing.  Yep.  I’m guessing that everytime you sync, it is going out to the Marketplace and renewing some token or something that allows that music to keep playing.  Stop connecting for a few days and that token (or whatever) expires and so does the music.  Very annoying.  I would expect it to do that after a month, but not after only a few days.  Also, even if something is listed in the Marketplace, it does not mean you can get it via Zunepass. In fact, there’s a lot you cannot get.  Plus, it does not apply to videos at all.  Currently, you cannot rent video, only buy it.  Don’t get me wrong, Zunepass is pretty nice, but these little shortcomings are a bit aggravating.

I have an original Zune 30gb player.  It is, basically, pretty decent hardware. It is the right size for me, has a good feel and the weight is about right.  The screen size is nice and it is fairly sharp and bright.  The problem I have with it is the video out.  The quality of the video out is just a bit better than VHS tape.  I used to think it was ok, but the more I use it, the less inclined I am to suggest people actually use this feature.  Now, before I go on, let me stress that this ONLY applies to the first gen Zune.  The Zune 80 actually has really good video out via the sync connector.  In fact, there are a couple of docks that have component output for the Zune 80.  Resolution, from I understand, is better than the newer iPod's . On the Zune 30, though, the video looks muddy on bigger screens.  This limitation really hit me while on vacation.  The composite video on the Zune 80 is, I am guessing, similar to the Zune 30 so if you have an 80, I’d suggest using a sync cable with video out.

Another major aggravation with Zune is the pc software.  The version 2 software is better in many ways than the first gen software, BUT…it is so SLOW.  I do all the tricks to speed it up, but after only a few syncing’s, it slows to a crawl again.  I should not have to fiddle with the software as much, it should ALWAYS be snappy and responsive. Downloading and Syncing seem to be where it really slows.  I also wish it were a bit more customizable. I’d like to sort different ways as well as be able to selectively stop an item from syncing while the sync process is taking place.  Sometimes, I might be in a hurry and do not want to wait for a certain file or files to finish.  Being able to right click a file and stop the sync would be tremendous.

My final aggravation is a big one.  For what ever reason, Zune Marketplace often times puts multiple copies of the same file on the device.  For example, last weeks ‘This week in photography’ is on the device FOUR times.  Yet the software only show one time.  Makes it hard to cleanup the device.  And the dupes eat up space.  Microsoft needs to fix this.

That’s what bugs me, how about you?  What issues to you have with the Zune (or iPod, for that matter.)

Microsoft unveiled Photosynth only yesterday (Wed, Aug. 20, 08) but seems to have seriously under estimated how many people would try the service in it’s first hours.  Indeed, I found that two of my Synth’s had just stopped.  I have to recreate them now.  No biggie, I was just playing around, but it demonstrates that people are really excited about this technology.  The service was actually unavailable for a few hours today.  Microsoft, in an effort to control the service, throttled the uploads back for a few hours.  They then attempted to tweak the database but actually introduced problems.  The problems caused a number of errors for a few people.  They rolled back the database changes and brought the service back online.  They are still experiencing some problems, but most seem to be resolved.

Go here to read a short explanation for some of the problems.

Just as I posted that Photosynth was going public, the site went live.  After playing around with it for about an hour, I’ve found it both intriguing and a bit puzzling. Of course, I just dove in and did not read Microsoft’s tips on creating the 'synths.  I created three: two based on photos taken at Kings Dominion (a Virginia theme park) and one of a skyline in Cherry Grove, South Carolina (just north of Myrtle Beach.)

I am currently using the Internet Explorer 8 beta in IE 7 mode.  Interestingly enough, Photosynth does not work with this browser.  I had to use Firefox 3.  The site says it will have a Mac OS version soon.

After downloading and installing a small 8 mb file, I was up and running.  It is super easy to create a synth and upload it.  You have to create a profile on the site and it uses Microsoft’s Live ID, but it is free and you get 20mb of storage.

The results of my synths were a mixed bag.  The photos in your collection must all be related, that is, they have to have enough in common so they can be stitched together.  My first collection, of the Dominator rollercoaster, was composed of photos taken at many angles and locations around the ride.  Photosynth created several 3d renderings, but most of the photos were displayed singly. The applet will tell you how ‘synthy’ your collection is, the higher the number, the cooler the results.  It seems that you have to take photos with this application in mind for the best results.

This technology has a lot of promise.  I’d love to see a desktop only version that allows you to create and view your synths as well as being able to upload them to share. 

Last week at the SIGGRAPH conference, Microsoft discussed a successor to Photosynth that handles night and day photos and more.

You can check out my synths by going to http://photosynth.net and searching for geogray.

Sometime in the day or so, Microsoft’s very cool tech demo will become a real, live product of sorts.  Photosynth takes a collection of photos and assembles them into a three dimensional like presentation.  Depending on the photos in the collection, you can ‘fly’ in, around or above the scene in the photo collection.  For example, I could take a collection of photos shot around Times Square in New York City.  I could zoom in and out, fly around the area, etc. The technology is amazing and now that it will be available to the public, it will be interesting to see the ‘synths that people make.  Microsoft is offering twenty gigabytes of storage which equates to about 60 Photosynth of about 150 photos each, which is the upper end of what Microsoft says you need for a comprehensive Photosynth. 

You can read more here and check it out here when available.

This Sunday, several Cedar Fair theme parks will host children who, for various reasons, are underprivileged.  Various state and local agencies will participate and bring the children to the Carowinds park, Knotts Berry Farm, Cedar Point, Canada’s Wonderland, Michigan’s Adventure and Soak City.  The event is a tribute to Shirley Slesinger Lasswell who passed away last year.  She was most known for her association with the Winnie the Pooh franchise.  She licensed the characters to Disney and then later sued them over royalties.  Her daughter, Pati, says that her mother wanted to bring joy and smiles to children.  This event is one way of doing that.

Read more here.

Here are some things that got my attention, in no particular order…

• Today is photography’s birthday…well, not quite, but on Aug 19, 1839, the Daguerreotype was unleashed to the public.  Wired has a great article about it here.
• Virginia Governor Tim Kane is, supposedly, a front runner for the VP spot on the Obama ticket.  I hope not.  He’s not done all that much for my home state (er, Commonwealth) and we’ve now got a big deficit and the Commonwealth is now facing a billion dollar shortfall.
• Apple tries to placate it’s MobileME users by giving them another 60 days of free service.  It took a LEAKED memo to let the world know that Apple CEO Steve Jobs admitted they took on too much in releasing as much as they did at the same time.  Clearly, they miscalculated the demand for MobileME and were not ready for real business.
• Michael Arrington of TechCrunch theorizes that Apple needs to shape up or risk becoming irrelevant again (my words, not his).  Go here to read this interesting article.
• Microsoft has started a new blog detailing the design of Windows 7.  Called ‘Engineering Windows 7’, the blog will be maintained by Steve Sinofsky.  I have not yet had a chance to peruse the first entries, but from what I can tell, there is going to be lots of interesting reading.  Along those lines, Microsoft says it will detail some of the features of Vista’s replacement sometime in October.
• Not really news but…Now you, too, can have Captain Kirk’s command chair.  Yep, for a cool grand, you can now buy a real command chair from the bridge of the Enterprise. Pretty dang cool, eh?
• The Olympics have been quite enjoyable to watch, much more so than I had thought. Though, beach volleyball and the men’s swimming have proven to be the most exciting, the track and field events have been pretty enjoyable as well.  I don’t care for basketball at all, but I have been pulling for the ‘redeem team.’  Microsoft has proven that Silverlight can hold it’s own. I’ve heard lots of praise for the online stuff.
• The Joe Gibbs Racing team-the Nationwide series teams-were caught cheating.  They were not cheating to win a race. The event was over. No, NASCAR was about to dyno test the cars when they discovered magnetic shims were placed under the gas pedal, preventing the engine from being run ‘full throttle’.  See, Toyota has already been penalized for FOLLOWING the rules:  NASCAR has imposed a restrictor plate on all Toyota motors at all tracks to cut 15 horsepower so they are on a ‘level playing field.’  What it really was: placating Hendrick, Roush and Childress who were crying because the 18, 20 and 32 cars were winning races-15 of them.  Last year, though, Chevy won more than the other three makers COMBINED. NASCAR did nothing.  The Gibb’s teams were, I suppose, just trying to protect their own interests.  Not the way to do it, but I can’t say that I blame them either.  Sadly, it will taint those wins this season. 
• The Katrina destroyed theme park of Six Flags New Orleans may yet get a new lease on life.  There is a company that has been actively pursuing the dead park.  Six Flags will more than likely sell since they are still on the hook to reopen the park.  The lease they have stipulated that they reopen it, but only to the value of the insurance claim, so they could open a much smaller park.  Six Flags, though, has been on the path to recovery itself and can hardly afford to reopen the park. They did offer to buy out the lease, but Mayor Nagan wants a park there.  The new company says it would erect flood walls to protect the property in the future.  I doubt they would get enough business to justify the cost.  The park opened as Jazzland and was immediately in trouble.  Six Flags purchased the property only a few years ago and it had never turned a profit.  It may have become profitable as Six Flags was upgrading the park even during the 2005 season.  Alas, Katrina blew into town and caused the levies to break and, well, you know what happened.

I’ve put together a short video highlights of our visit to the park. You can check it out on Youtube or view it below.