August 22nd, 2009, 3 Comments »
For the fifth time, I’ve been at Gnomedex this weekend. It’s the usual melange of fascinating speakers, good friends and general nerdiness. Derek aptly described it as “a web society annual family reunion”.
I’ve been collecting a few of the better quotes I’ve heard over the past two days, and thought I’d share:
Phil Plait: “You know what you call alternative medicine when it works? Medicine.”
Phil Plait: “Your lips say 0, but your eyes say 1″.
Todd Friesen: “Pay Per Click = PPC = ‘Pills, Porn, and Casinos’”
Chris Brogan: “Twitter is a good way to tell the world what you’re thinking, before you think about it.”
Jim Ray: “Are there any Django or Python hackers in the room? Well we got the guy who invented Django. So [with a certain gangster pose], what?”
Jim Ray: “Every journalist in the country discovered Twitter on January 15 of this year.”
Chris Pirillo: “Does anybody still use Second Life? [A very quiet room] One person?”
Beth Goza: “You’ll see there’s a felt Sarlacc pit. Who doesn’t want one of those?”
3 Comments »
March 11th, 2009, 1 Comment »
We’re shortly off to South by Southwest, the big interactive, film and music conference in Austin, Texas. We’re there for eight or nine days, though we’re taking a little side trip into the countryside for a few days. I’ve never been to SXSW or Texas before, so there should be lots to discover.
The scope of the event is a bit daunting–more than 10,000 attendees, 108 film screenings, and hundreds of musical performances, panel discussions and parties. I’ve been paying attention to an unofficial SXSW blog and the Twitter search for ‘SXSWtip’ to try to get a handle on things. I’ve also been using this excellent web app from SCHED to assemble a schedule of what I plan to attend.
Posting may be light over the next week–we’ll see how it goes.
1 Comment »
February 2nd, 2009, 23 Comments »
This week I got a new iMac. It’s the first machine I’ve had that’s running OS X 10.5 (that would be Leopard for all you cat-lovers), the current version of Apple’s operating system. I thought I’d ask on Twitter about the Apple desktop apps that the cool kids are using. Here’s what I heard back. I expect that Apple power users will be familiar with all of these.
UPDATE: If this post interests, you might want to check out part two as well.
1Password - A password manager and form completer.
Adium - The popular all-in-one instant messaging client.
Bento - “Personal file organization and database”. I’m a little unclear on why I’d want this. Anyone?
Boot Camp - The app that enables you to run Windows on my iMac. Assuming I can acquire a copy of Windows, I plan to install it for running Windows-only games.
Caffeine - “Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back.” I gather this is for when you’re watching longer web-based videos, where the screen goes dim without inputs after a while?
ClicktoFlash - A Safari plug-in that turns all Flash elements in a web page to gray boxes until you click them. I’m a Firefox user myself, so FlashBlock looks like the equivalent.
FileVault - Software for encrypting one’s files. Boris assures me that I “can ignore FileVault — it’s for encrypting your home directory. Only uber nerds use it.” I am not an uber-nerd, so I’ll take his advice.
FileZilla - An open-source FTP client. I’ve always used CyberDuck, for no particular reason. They both have incredibly goofy names.
Fluid - Make site-specific browsers for your favourite web apps. I’ve been using Google Gears to get certain web app icons in my desktop’s dock, but this will work better.
HandBrake - “An open-source, GPL-licensed, multi-platform, multithreaded, DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.”
KeePassX - Another password manager. Yes, I’m troubled by that creative spelling of “key”.
Layers - If I understand it correctly, it enables you to build multi-window screen captures? Seems kind of like a nail in search of a hammer, but who am I to judge?
Mailplane - This is kind of a custom email browser for Gmail that makes the web-based email app act more like desktop software. I’ve used this on my laptop for a while, but lately (probably due to Gmail, not Mailplane itself) I’ve found it rather sluggish. So these days I’m giving Apple Mail a try.
PersonalBrain - A mind-mapping tool, from what I can gather.
Quicksilver - Hard to describe, so here’s Wikipedia: “allows users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform tasks such as launching applications, manipulating files and data, running scripts, or sending e-mail.” I’ve had this installed on my laptop for some time, but I barely ever think to use it.
Skitch - The very handy, exceptionally usable screen capture and quick illustration app.
Snackr - An Adobe AIR app that, I gather, turns part of your desktop into a kind of CNN news ticker, powered by the RSS feeds of your choice.
Storyist - A word processor designed for novelists and screenwriters.
TextMate - A fancier TextEdit. I used NotePad++ on my Windows desktop–I must check to see if there’s a OS X version.
Things - Task management software. Boris, if I recall correctly, described the Areas of Responsibility feature as a ‘game-changer’.
Ted - Combines RSS and BitTorrent to automagically download the TV shows you specify. I’m familiar with another app that does the same thing, TVShows.
Time Machine - Apple’s fancy backup system.
Tinderbox - “A personal content assistant that helps you visualize, analyze, and share your notes.”
VideoLan - The workhouse, almost-never-fails video player I’ve come to know and love. Nowhere is Apple more irrational than in its ridiculously narrow native support of video formats.
Yojimbo - Yet another information manager.
Thanks to Avi, Ian, Chris, Miranda, Graeme, Andrew, David, Kerry, Derek, Chris, Ryan, John, Danny, Martin and Masey. Apologies if I referred to you as a geek if you are, in fact, a Normal Human.
That’s a good start. What favourite app would you add to this list?
23 Comments »
August 4th, 2008, 2 Comments »
I’m organizing a little field trip this Wednesday night for a media preview of a Vancouver store opening. It’s the sort of store that would appeal to the geekily-inclined, and it’s got a couple of exciting wrinkles. I’ve invited some local bloggers, but we’ve got spots free for a couple more.
If that sounds appealing, send me an email and I can provide all the details.
I apologize for being obtuse, but I’d prefer not to disclose the details publicly, lest I scoop all of the journalists and bloggers in attendance.
UPDATE: I think I need to cut things off there. Thanks for your interest.
2 Comments »
December 19th, 2007, 1 Comment »
Roland recently wrote up a 2007 Social Geek Gadget List for the Web 2.0 geek in your life. Then he decided that list was a little materialistic. Now he’s written another list, “some Vancouver-centric suggestions for getting away from the screen”
- Get your SGeek to play in the snow. Tubing, Tobogganing, Cross Country Skiing and Snow Shoeing are inexpensive. Get a gift certificate or buy a lesson at a place like Cypress.
- On your bike sunshine! We are blessed with a mild but rainy climate. Get your SGeek a light (under $20) or some raingear and bike in the rain and the dark! It's fun and great exercise.
- Theatre tickets
- Dance tickets
- Music Tickets
- Gift certificate at fav restaurant
- Knit him or her a scarf. Essential and stylish in Vancouver.
As somebody who never wants anything for Christmas, I fully approve.
1 Comment »
June 28th, 2007, 19 Comments »
By reputation, IT professionals are lousy dressers. Wander into any software development office, and you’ll be able to verify this first-hand. You’ll see plenty of sneakers, jeans and shabby, XML.com ‘98 t-shirts. You may even spot a few utility belts.
It doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve got a strategy for improving the average geek’s wardrobe. This approach should appeal because it’s:
It’s “What Not to Wear” meets Linux.
Before I continue, some disclaimers:
- Lord knows that I’m no fashion plate.
- There are plenty of geeks who do dress distinctly and impressively. This article isn’t for them.
- There are plenty of non-geeks who are shabby dressers. This article applies to them, too.
- There are plenty of girl geeks, shabby and sharp dressers alike. The general philosophy may apply to you, but the specifics probably don’t.
Read more…
19 Comments »
