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A Charlie Brown Christmas, Unemployment, Laptop, & Microsoft

2010-12-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

In December, my mom usually plays the same Christmas albums from years past, including:

A collection of holiday songs from Johnny Mathis, Burl Ives, and Mariah Carey.
The album Soulful Sounds of Christmas featuring various soul musicians.
The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

They’re all my favorite, and during the holidays, I still listen to the albums at home, work, and on my Zune HD when I’m out and about. But the one that stands out the most is the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, because it reminds me of Christmas in 2001.

In December 2001, I was just wrapping up my first quarter at Bellevue Community College (now Bellevue College). My parents were both unemployed—through no fault of their own—and staying afloat with strategic use of unemployment checks and, I presume, credit cards. I didn’t have much insight into the whole situation, because I was rarely at home; my college classes extended into the late evening and I worked on weekends.

In Christmas of that year, my sister and I woke up pretty late. It must’ve been at least 10:00 AM because I remember seeing daylight coming through the living room. We opened up our presents, which I’m positive included some kind of underwear from the dog (a common theme since when we were younger) and a couple other clothing items. Then, I opened up a gift and was confused at what I saw: It was a neoprene laptop case. I asked my mom, “Um, what’s this for?” and she responded, “Oh, they were just giving them away at Circuit City, so I got one for you and your sister.” Hm, weird.

After we finished opening our gifts, my mom walked into the family room and came back with two big boxes: one for me and one for my sister. I vividly remember that moment. I unwrapped the present and wondered what could be in the box with computer printing on it. Sure enough, I had gotten my first computer: a Compaq Presario laptop running Windows XP. The feeling was almost like when we first got the Internet (Prodigy or AOL, anyone?); I instinctively knew how to use it, but it felt really good to treat it like something totally foreign.

I remember hearing my mom talk about it with my sister that she had gone to Circuit City and found the laptops on sale. Hoping to get a deal, she found out that they were offering 10 percent off if she was willing to sign up for a Circuit City card, which is good because laptops were still a pretty new concept for typical consumers back in 2001. And although my parents both found jobs after the holiday season, I can’t fathom how long it took for them to pay off the two computers.

I took my laptop with me to school almost every day, wrote tons of papers on it, and watched movies during the long breaks in between classes. No longer would I be regulated to sleeping in the library to pass the time. However, procrastination in school projects was still an issue, but that’s another story.

The laptop also formally introduced me to the Microsoft brand. I’d known about Microsoft before, from using desktop computers running Windows 95 and Windows 98, but having my own computer let me explore how it worked and made me solve my own misunderstandings in how computers operate. It sparked my interest in technology and introduced me to new concepts like developing websites and mobile applications, blogging, finding resources online, and generally shaping my computer skills. I’ve taken advantage of these skills to develop myself academically, professionally, and personally. It’s because of this early exposure that I’m fiercely loyal to Microsoft products.

And now, whenever I listen to the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack, I can’t help but think about that Christmas in 2001: The costs my parents endured to provide me with a tool to improve my education, my first laptop, and my introduction to Microsoft.

Thank you to my parents for buying me my first laptop for Christmas in 2001; it helped transform the way I learn and began my immersion into the world of technology, which is something that I take advantage of every day. I hope you understand how much that investment continues to pay off.

Love you, Mom & Dad!

Longtime No See, Eh?

2010-10-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I haven’t blogged for awhile. This has been a pretty interesting year, but I should have some time in the near future to start blogging again.

Who knows, maybe this time, I’ll actually focus on something?

Uber-Quick Update – Welcome, 2010!

2010-01-18T22:52:00.000-08:00

I got in a car accident on January 1; someone ran a red light and destroyed my car. I’m still feeling pretty banged up—my left wrist, lower back, chest, and lower abdomen are still bruised almost two weeks later. My left wrist hurts the most, so that’s why I haven’t been making any posts and have been trying to avoid typing in general. Shoot, even washing my hands hurts.

That said, I hope the beginning of 2010 treated you a little more gently!

How Aladdin Channel/2channel in Densha Otoko and Twitter Relate and Differ

2009-12-22T00:00:00.001-08:00

Nearly four years ago, I started watching the Japanese drama Densha Otoko (translated as Train Man) to better understand Japanese language and culture. I made it through the first four episodes of the drama series, which was based-on-a-true-story, and then put it on hold to concentrate on finding an English-teaching job in Japan. Lately, I’ve made more time for things other than maintaining websites, analyzing websites statistics, constantly being on top of various social media accounts, and my day job.

When I first watched the drama series, I watched it for what it was: A guy who is dedicated to his hobby, can’t find a girlfriend because of his status as a nerd, and seeks advice on a message board for single men. Recently, though, I watched the final seven episodes of the drama series and found that Aladdin Channel—based on 2channel, a real message board in Japan—is similar to a service that really caught on in 2009: Twitter. As I skimmed the 2channel message board where the true story of Densha Otoko took place, I noticed that, other than random pictures that people created from text, most of the messages were really short, similar to how Twitter has a 140 character limit. The picture on the left is a screenshot of both 2channel and Twitter.

Whereas Aladdin Channel looks like people can only access it while on a computer with a fully functional Web browser, Twitter is accessible in multiple ways; on mobile devices, on laptop and desktop computers, through third-party applications, and through third-party websites. With immediate, anywhere access to a community and a variety of ways to communicate with friends, the networking experience is much more useful. For example, if Train Man had access to Twitter on his cell phone while on a dinner date, he could’ve gone into the men’s bathroom, hid in a stall, and asked for advice on what he should do next. I don’t think a scenario like that is farfetched; I’m sure there’s been a lot of people who have asked for advice through Facebook or Twitter, hoping for real-time support while on the spot. Having to wait until I get home to search for answers and get advice when I’m out and about seems archaic.

Twitter’s platform makes the communication experience more interactive; people can visualize who they are talking to by see profile pictures, pictures and videos uploaded to third-party websites, and where people are currently located, among other things. In the Densha Otoko series, nobody knows what each other looks like because the message board is primarily text only, with some hyperlinks sprinkled in. The most noticeable difference between Aladdin Channel/2channnel and Twitter is the level of personality that people can apply to themselves through profiles.

It’s hard to argue that by making content available on multiple devices and through various third-party applications, building a trusting, reliable community is much easier than being restricted to a desktop or even laptop computer. However, as shown in episode 10 of the Densha Otoko series—where people find out who Train Man is—I don’t think people understand the risks and vulnerability they submit themselves to with open networks. With the various sharing that happens on Twitter—pictures, videos, hyperlinks, name-dropping, divulging peoples’ locations, and sensitive personal or business content, among other things—people should be prepared for their information to fall into the wrong hands. On the plus side, the subjects people talk about could also fall into the right hands, as evidenced by people who have found jobs by using Twitter.

Other Things That Happened in Japan

2009-12-07T00:53:00.000-08:00

I’ve compiled a list of some other things that happened while I was in Japan. Since none of them fit in with the posts I wrote a couple months ago, I decided to wait until now to create the list. In no particular order, here are some thing that I remember happening:

I didn’t know which direction the train station was, so I asked a young guy which way it was and he walked with us a couple blocks (in the opposite direction that he was going) to point us to where the station was.
On my way back to my hotel from my parents’ hotel near Kannai Station in Yokohama, I walked through an area that I thought was pretty harmless at night. Instead, there were a lot of guys in business suits asking me to come into their bars and clubs. I hailed a nearby taxi and asked him if where he picked me up was a bad area and he said “Yes.” Oops.
My parents and I walked into a bar in the Kannai area of Yokohama and the bar owner said “Sorry, Japanese only” in English and smiled.
My friend Brook and I found a soul-music bar called Chap Sweet and Mellow that seated about 10 people. We chatted with locals and made music requests.
On my way back from my mini Japanese bachelor party with Brook and our friend Yuhito, I got on the train, slept, and stepped off the train at its last stop, which was halfway between Tokyo and Yokohama. In Japanese, I asked a guy if a train to Yokohama was coming, slurred speech and all.
While I was preparing for the wedding ceremony, the lady who was helping me asked me to strip down to my boxers so that I could change into my hakama. And then she stood there and watched me take off most of my clothes. Awkward.
After meeting with my friend Doug, I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk near a crosswalk at a busy intersection; he was passed out and it was only 5:30pm.
While I was waiting for Brook to meet me at a train station near his apartment, I watched a kid on his bike get sideswiped by another bicyclist and take a nasty spill. His M&Ms and other bags of goodies were a complete loss.
A child kept pointing to me and calling me “English teacher” in a store.

AT&T Online Ad Attacking Verizon Is Misleading, Justifies the “There’s a Map for That” Ads

2009-11-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

By now, you’ve probably seen Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” TV advertisement, which is aimed at Apple’s “There’s an App for That” TV advertisements (picture to your left). As the only provider of the Apple iPhone in the United States, AT&T did what it thought of as the only thing it could to put a stop to Verizon’s damaging ads… they filed a lawsuit against Verizon, telling the judge to have the ads pulled. No dice. The judge denied AT&T’s request, but apparently, the company will get another chance in mid-December to argue its case.

Scrambling for a response to Verizon’s ad, AT&T did two things: first, it tossed Luke Wilson into a room and had him toss around some postcards that represented AT&T’s network coverage (no mention of 3G coverage—just “network coverage”), and second, it created interactive online advertisements. Good job, AT&T; attack on as many fronts as you can, within your advertising budget. However, I think AT&T’s arguments on why its service is better than Verizon’s are extremely weak and inaccurate.

Starting at the top of this list, we have Nation’s fastest 3G network. Great! Got that out of the way. Take that, Verizon! But, wait, what’s that asterisk? Oh, that would be a disclaimer stating “3G coverage not available in all areas.” This verbiage also appears in TV ads. Isn’t that what Verizon has been discussing in its recent TV ads? This first list item seems to enforce Verizon’s argument.

Second, AT&T has listed Talk and surf or download simultaneously as one of its network perks. This is true. Not much to disagree with here.

The next item on the list, Most popular smartphones, is blown way out of proportion. AT&T definitely has the most popular smartphone in the iPhone, but other than that, the wireless service provider doesn’t have a killer device; Verizon doesn’t really have one, but with the recent release of the Motorola Droid, that’s debatable. Overall, I think this line item should have read Most popular smartphone, singular.

And finally, we have the most misleading, gross misinterpretation of AT&T’s service—Access to over 100,000 apps. It’s well known that the iPhone has tons and tons of apps. However, I think it’s important to note that these 100,000+ apps are only accessible to iPhone users.

Overall, I think this ad is primarily speaking from the point of view of AT&T’s iPhone customers, which still only represents a minority of the company’s subscribers.

Note: I’m an AT&T customer.

Resources: Newsday: Judge rejects AT&T's bid to pull Verizon ads

A Single, Effective Way to Measure Social Media

2009-11-20T08:30:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, a few people retweeted a blog post titled 100 Ways to Measure Social Media by David Berkowitz. After reading it, I felt inspired to use what little knowledge I have of social media to show you how I measure social media. I’m sure that others have already done this before, so feel free to apply what I’ve documented:

Open up an Internet browser that supports tabs and open all of the social media sites you actively use.
Grab a ruler and measure the distance from one tab to another. It’s ok if your tabs start disappearing because you have too many open. (NO CHEATING! I know some of you will use tabs like peopleofwalmart.com and icanhascheezburger.com. Don’t be dishonest.)
Take that number in inches and multiply it by how many social sites you have open in tabs.

For those that need help visualizing how I did this, I’ve posted a picture tutorial below.

Here are my numbers: 9 inches x 8 sites = a score of 72 social media measurements of complete bragging rights. Go ahead. Measure social media on your own and leave your score in a comment. Hell, post it on Twitter if you want.

*Disclaimer: Measurements may vary depending on your screen size.

Critics of President Obama, Since When Was Being Disrespectful an Appropriate Sign of Power?

2009-11-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

President Obama bowed to Emperor Akihito on November 14?? This is a huge deal! Why would the United States, one of the world’s largest powers, show any form of respect to Japan—or any other country? I’m disappointed. It’s absolutely absurd…

… that politicians, who are supposedly the voice of reasoning and leadership for our country, are making a big deal about this.

Seriously. Who in their right mind thinks it’s a bad idea to show any form of respect while you’re a visitor on foreign land? The argument that people are trying to make of this is ridiculous. Just because Emperor Akihito’s father is the one who approved of Japan’s military attack on Pearl Harbor, people think we need to show disrespect toward everyone directly or indirectly involved. Some conservative guy said, “I don't know why President Obama thought that was appropriate.” Wait, so, showing disrespect would be more appropriate? Hm, that’s not what my parents taught me.

To put bowing in perspective, my wife, Yang, said this to me:

“In Japan, bowing is a greeting and showing of respect. In the United States and other Western countries, it’s probably seen more as a display of loyalty.”

If the critics saw President Obama’s bow as a showing of loyalty to the emperor of Japan, then that’s a culture fail on their part. Not being open or at least researching why a culture conducts itself in a certain way is just selfish and creates an unnecessary hurdle for future engagements. What was a showing of respect in the eyes of both parties might now be an embarrassing situation for both President Obama and Emperor Akihito—embarrassment toward the United States’ reaction and the international publicity that followed.

Think about it. If you had a Toyota Corolla that suddenly malfunctioned and you had to take it in to get repairs, would you be justified in treating the mechanics at the dealership with disrespect just because a problem happened that’s beyond their control? Absolutely not. And, if you did disrespect the mechanics, the relationship is tainted; you can’t trust each other. all of a sudden, you’ve got a $2,500 bill for what should’ve been a $500 fix. The same applies to this situation. If you don’t show respect to someone who deserves it or is in a position that is influential, you risk ruining future business, partnerships, and other potentially beneficial propositions. When people say it’s a bad choice that President Obama showed courtesy toward Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, they are either close-minded to the courtesies of other cultures or riding on a mysterious power trip. These people need to get over themselves.

Although I personally haven’t witness much change personally, it’s been less than a year since this guy’s been in office. Sure, some people complain that he isn’t doing as much as he should. But remember, it took ex-President Bush less than a year to show change in the United States, resulting in billions of the world’s population disliking him, for example, the guy from the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq.

I will admit, though, the picture of President Obama and Emperor Akihito is a little odd to me…

… I’ve never seen someone bow while shaking hands.

*Looking for this post in Japanese? A translated version of it is on my Mixi blog (Mixi account required). Thanks for translating it, Yang!

New Sound, Refreshing Lyrics from Lo-Fi’s Recently Released Album, Stereo Soul

2009-11-11T23:47:00.001-08:00

Jazz. Funk. Blues. Breakbeats. Soul.

This is how the Japanese trio Lo-Fi describes their music. Even during singing breaks, the instrumentals by 5 (pronounced Goh; vocals and bass guitar), Yosh (drums), and Nori (keyboard) are ridiculously relaxing. After hearing that their new album, Stereo Soul, was available for download, I purchased it along with their previously released album, Low-Fidelity EP. To the left is a screenshot of the trio’s two albums in the iTunes Japan top jazz albums section. Sales of Stereo Soul, ranked #8, also saw increased sale of Low-Fidelity EP, ranked #18.

I listen to a lot of music, but Lo-Fi’s sound is completely new to me. What’s strange, though, is that the melody sounds familiar, but not familiar like I’ve heard it before; it’s more familiar like I should’ve already heard it. The drums and the keyboard are well balanced, but there’s also times when one of the instruments is deliberately the focus—almost like a solo but with background music.

A huge influence on whether or not I enjoy listening to the artist is whether I feel a connection with their lyrics. In Stereo Soul, the lyrics touch on topics like war, love, social issues, dealing with personal struggles, and friendships, which really draws me in and makes me want to listen. The words are almost like short influential pieces either from a personal view or from a broader perspective.

Just another proof of how social media really connects people and drives others to different experiences, I found out about Lo-Fi on Twitter through 5. Other than Twitter, the trio is active on other social networks, with accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Mixi, YouTube. They also have a website in Japanese and English, a mobile website in Japanese, and 5 blogs regularly both in Japanese and English. I think it’s great that they’re reaching out on so many networks and in two languages; that takes a lot of hard work!

I highly suggest buying Lo-Fi’s album—either on iTunes or on CD Baby. If you’re still skeptical, listen to the previews available on either of those music sites or watch the group’s live performance below. It was this artistic flavor—and this video in particular—that really turned me on to the trio’s music.

"Make That Change" is from Lo-Fi's Low-Fidelity EP, available on iTunes.

After listening to Stereo Soul from an amateur listener’s point of view, here’s how I would describe Lo-Fi’s sound:

Smooth. Social. Spoken word. Mellow hip hop. Familiar.

*Looking for this post in Japanese? A translated version of it is on my Mixi blog (Mixi account required). Thanks for translating it, Yang!

Is One College Athlete’s Preference Worth a University Losing a $3 Million Contract?

2009-11-05T20:06:00.000-08:00

Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan’s son, is attending the University of Central Florida (UCF) and playing on the school’s basketball team. Demand number one? He wants to wear Jordans because they hold a “special meaning.” This is absolutely ridiculous. One problem: adidas had an agreement with UCF to provide the school with athletic gear. Out of all the schools that have Nike as their sponsors, why did Marcus choose a school that adidas sponsors? I think this has more to do with a young, over-privileged kid wanting to stand out.

But what about the school? From reports, it sounds like they’ve been completely clueless as to what the big deal is about. They supposedly told Marcus that he could wear Jordans, even though the athletics program was in the middle of the contract with adidas. After the first game of the season where Marcus wore Jordans, adidas terminated its contract with UCF, and even then, UCF officials were dumbfounded about why adidas decided to cancel the agreement.

Will the university find another sponsor? Probably. I’m sure Nike is cooking up some kind of deal. But if UCF thought that by having Marcus would bring other athletic-gear companies to the table, why burn bridges with adidas? In cases like this, schools need to reinforce what’s best for the school and not take unnecessary risks just because a student wants to get his or her way.

In the team’s first game, UCF won, but did the Jordans that Marcus wore help his game? Let’s see:

1 point (0-3 from the field; 1-2 from the free-throw line)
0 rebounds
1 assist
1 turnover
3 steals
23 minutes

With numbers like that, the only thing he should be demanding is more practice. He’s got a long way to go to be like Mike.

Now don’t get me wrong; I enjoy watching and playing sports. But I just can’t stand the increasing number of spoiled, whiny athletes who only focus on themselves and don’t take their actions into consideration.

My point is, are young, unproven athletes right to wear and do what they want while playing on college teams, even if that means potentially damaging the integrity of the schools in the eyes of sponsors and the public?

Resources: nbcsports.msnbc.com; www.upi.com; ucfathletics.cstv.com.

United Airlines Provides Traveler with Horrible Customer Service Experience, No Eye Contact

2009-11-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

Customer service is not about being a presence. It’s not about the customer always being right. It’s about being listening to customer and potential customer concerns and being respectful. I did not experience this on my most recent excursion with United Airlines.

Yes, United Airlines. Red, white, and blue. A company logo that symbolizes American pride. Flying the friendly skies…

… with a company that has no clue how to treat its customers.

I’ve flown United quite a bit in the last three years and accumulated a decent chunk of reward mileage—more than enough for an upgrade to Economy Plus to have six more inches of leg room. On September 16, 2009, I checked in for my flight to Tokyo and approached the United Airlines customer service desk next to the gate where I was set to board the flight. My plan was to redeem the points that I’d accumulated to receive an upgrade—something I’d been looking forward to for weeks after finding out that my mileage exceed the amount needed to move up.

A woman, probably in her 50s, greeted me, and I asked about using my points for an upgrade. Without looking up my United Mileage account to find out how many points I had, she looked at my boarding pass and said, “You can’t. You don’t have the right letter on your ticket.” Now, I never visibly get upset immediately, so I played it cool and said in a very calm, unaggressive tone, “But I have enough points for the upgrade.”

So she asked for my account number, took a quick glance and said, “No, you don’t have the right letter on your ticket. In order to get an upgrade, you have to have a ticket with a certain number on it.” Totally confused, I asked, “How do I know what letter I get when I order my ticket?” to which she responded, “If you bought this through an agent or Expedia, you need to ask them for tickets with [insert whichever letters she said here], which are more expensive.” I asked, “So I can’t get an upgrade just because I didn’t buy a more expensive ticket with a specific letter?” And then she says in a harsh voice, looking down at her computer:

“I know you’re not going to argue with me.”

Whoa. I was totally startled. This lady was being completely unreasonable and giving every reason as to why she couldn’t upgrade me, and then she throws this disrespect in my face. Without possibly getting kicked off the plane without even stepping onto it, all I could think of saying was, “So, in order for me to upgrade, I need to buy a more expensive ticket? That doesn’t make any sense.” “Her response? “To upgrade, you need to buy a more expensive ticket. If you want to upgrade, you’ll have to pay $115 for an Economy Plus seat or $650 for an upgrade to Business Class.” And then, she straight-up walked away…

Walked away!

All this happened with her making absolutely no eye contact with me. The closest she got to looking at me was looking at the person behind me in line; all other times, she was looking down at her computer or turning her face to the side. Written words alone could not explain how rude this woman was to me and how, from the beginning, she didn’t seem to care about anything I said. It was just a complete failure of showing any forms of life in United’s customer service.

So, I walked away. All I could do was tweet about my experience and call my mom. I was heated. Never in my life had I been treated with such disrespect. I only worked in retail/customer service for three years, and not once did I treat anybody like that. Not once. Not even the times when I knew a customer was wrong. Not even when customers yelled or swore at me. In this situation, there was no compassion in the so-called “customer service” that the United Airlines representative gave me.

After venting on Twitter and to my mom, I sat down, vowed to never fly United again, and listened to music to calm me down. Then, my name comes over the loud speaker to come to the customer service desk. A different lady has me come to the front of the line and says “We moved your seat. We have a family that wants to fly together. You still have a window seat, but it’s on the opposite side of the aisle.”

Yeah, I mean, it’s not like I chose that side for a reason. Don’t worry United. I enjoy opening my window and having the sun shine directly in my face. Eyesight is overrated anyway, right? I once again vowed to never fly United Airlines.

Re-enter headphones for a sleepless 10 hours sprinkled with various complementary drinks. I was determined to dispel my bad experience and arrive happily in the land of delicious raw horse meat and colorful Ferris wheels.

So, what’s this post about? Sure, maybe I was wrong and didn’t read the fine-print of the rewards mileage program—however misleading and contradictory it is to say “Free upgrade… if you buy a more expensive plane ticket”—but this is more about treating people with respect. I didn’t feel like a valued customer in the eyes of United at all.

Looking at what’s being spread around on the Internet, primarily fueled by social media, it looks like others are getting fed up with the lame, disrespectful customer service that United Airlines consistently provides. Good examples of these are Dave Carroll of “United Breaks Guitars” fame and the more recent track suit-wearing executive from Best Buy.

Zune HD – One Month Later: Device Experience

2009-10-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

I’m going to side-step the Zune HD’s audio quality because, like all devices, it depends on what kind of headphones you have. My headphones are nothing to tell your momma about, but having said that, my sound experience has been pretty good while listening to music and watching videos.

Device Experience

The beauty of the Zune HD is its graphical user interface (GUI). It’s all sorts of deliciousness; eat it with a spoon and savor it. I’m not going to touch on every feature because that would make this review a bit too long.

The main interface is pretty simple: Music, Video, Pictures, Social, Apps, Settings, and other items such as Podcasts and Audiobooks if you have any on the device. Then, there’s a sidebar/background list that is visible from the main GUI. This sidebar contains any media that is currently playing or paused, content that you’ve pinned (“pin” is another term for “adding as a favorite”), a history of content that you’ve recently played, and a list of content that you’ve recently added to your device. It’s all about ease of use, and I think the Zune HD really excels here.

When listening to a song, you can click on the center area of the screen and a layer pops up that lets you pause or play and change the volume by pressing the plus or minus button, or sliding your finger vertically between the two. On the same layer, you can change songs by pressing the forward or backward button, or you can press and hold either of those buttons and fast-forward or rewind the song.

From the device, you can delete songs, video, pictures, podcasts, and favorite web sites. This is a pretty big deal for me. I hate having to wait until I sync my Zune HD with my computer to delete songs.

If an artist has a bio and pictures in the All Music Guide on allmusic.com, then that content will be added to the Zune HD. Plus, the Zune Marketplace brings in related artists and, when you’re connected to a wireless network, marketplace discography. From the device, you can read about your favorite artists. This helps me pass the time on road trips or when I get bored of looking up stuff on my cell phone. This might be one of the top three reasons why I bought the device.

The web browser is pretty basic, which really isn’t a bad thing. Connecting to a wireless network is pretty automatic if you have access to a free network or one at your house or a friend’s house. Web sites containing Flash components don’t work, so for now, you won’t be able to watch videos or play games made in Flash. Web pages look great, but when you rotate the device to view them in landscape mode, some images are noticeably grainy. Text looks fine, though, in portrait and landscape mode. The browser lacks advanced features, but I haven’t found myself wishing for them yet. When you close out of the browser and start it again later, you start on the same site that you left off on.

The on-screen keyboard works pretty darn well. Characters bubble up when you press them, giving you better visibility into what you’re pressing on. There’s no predicative text, but I don’t think it’s all that necessary when typing in URLs or updating your status on Facebook or doing a search on Bing.

The apps and games available for the Zune HD are limited, but there’s been talk of more becoming available in November, most notably for Facebook and Twitter. Looks like we’ll find out what will be available in the next couple weeks. The games and apps available now, like Texas Hold’ Em, Space Battle II, and MSN Weather are fun and useful for downtimes. And just knowing that more good things are in the works tides me over until more app and game releases. However, the one downer when exiting games, apps, and even the web browser, is that the screen turns black for a few seconds. I would’ve hoped that there wouldn’t be such a lag with the superb technology in the device, but maybe there’s a reasoning on the software development side of it.

And finally, multitouch. Multitouch on the Zune HD is super responsive. I’m able to zoom in on pictures and web pages with just by lightly touching the screen; I have yet to experience a frustrating, finger-pressing experience. You can either pinch to zoom in, use your thumbs to do a “spread-in” zoom, or any other creative way you can think of to zoom by using multitouch. I prefer the spread-in zoom because then I can avoid accidentally scraping my fingernails on the screen. It’s a fun experience any way you do it.

Pros

Ease of use and ability to interact in different ways with the GUI.
Ability to delete content from the device.
Artist content, such as bios; pictures; related artists; and, when connected to a wireless network, discography available in the Zune Marketplace.
Easy-to-use, accurate keyboard.
Simple, straight-forward web browser that renders web sites and mobile web sites quickly and effectively.
Great multitouch experience; responds quickly to touches and zooms in on the appropriate areas.

Cons

Web browser doesn’t support Flash and some images look pixelated in landscape view.
Lack of apps and games on release day.
Noticeable lag when exiting the web browser, apps, and games.

Miss my Zune HD hardware review? Check it out!

On the Zune Social? Add me as a friend!

Zune HD – One Month Later: Hardware

2009-10-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wait awhile before jumping into a review about the Zune HD because it’s hard to figure out what to like or dislike from a pointless unboxing video or the day after a product is released. I think a month is a fair amount of time to learn about, use, and judge a recently purchased product.

So, here’s what I’ve liked and disliked about the device’s hardware so far.

Hardware

For me, 32GB is more than enough space, of space is dependent on how much you feel you need on the device. In my case, I have a hard to filling just half of that with music, so I have 16GB of TV episodes and movies that I’ll probably only watch when I hook up the device to the TV.

The screen is amazing. Outside in sunny weather and other bright situations, the screen is a little difficult to see. But in typical lighting scenarios, the images are crisp and show great colors. Also, the touchscreen is awesome. I hardly ever feel like I’m touching the screen to change the volume, browse through albums, or type on the on-screen keyboard. It’s really responsive.

The device is really lightweight and feels really durable. I wouldn’t go tossing it around, but it feels like it could withstand some bumps and people-height falls. The casing is a mixture of brushed metal (aluminum?) and hard plastic, and it doesn’t attract fingerprints, which is totally cool with me. Even after using it pretty heavily, I’ve somehow managed to avoid getting smudgy fingerprints on the screen. Also, the screen flushes well with the casing, so there’s less of a chance of dust buildup in the cracks.

From my experience, the accelerometer in the Zune HD responds the quickest out of any device that I’ve messed around with, particularly the iPhone and T-Mobile MyTouch (Android). The lag time on it is pretty much zilch. The tilt sensor is really sensitive, and the game that utilizes it—Space Battle II—has options to reduce or increase sensitivity. On all sensitivity settings, it was super responsive.

I think my biggest complaint about the device is the volume rocker. It really just wakes up the device and forces you to change the volume or move to the previous or next song by touching the screen. It would be nice to change the volume just by pressing up or down on the volume rocker (can it even be called that?). Plus, you have to push it pretty hard for the volume/menu screen to show up, which is nice for reducing accidental presses but a little annoying when you have to press fairly hard when the device is in a case.

There’s a power/sleep button at the top of the device. It’s just your average “on” button. It’s easy enough to press but not too easy that it’ll turn on while in your pocket or in a bag. The “Home” button below the screen is just as advertised; it works and doesn’t require much pressure. It can also be used to flip between the home screen and the sidebar area that contains “Now Playing” content, pinned content, history, and recently added content, which is neat and helps with ease of use.

A minor disappointment was the lack of a lanyard hole. I occasionally like to hang a mobile device from my neck so that I can look like the Flavor Flav of mobile devices. I joke. But it would’ve been nice to have a hole to slip a lanyard through.

To end this part of the review on a high note, I have yet to experience a total battery drain on the Zune HD. I’ve had a few times where the battery has gone down to around 25 percent, but it still keeps kicking. The flight to Japan, including time waiting for takeoff and standing in immigration lines at the airport, was about 10 hours and for 9 of those hours, I watched videos, played games, looked at pictures, did as much as I could with the accelerometer, and had the screen brightness on the highest setting. I was a happy camper.

Pros

Touchscreen is very responsive and surprisingly doesn’t leave much fingerprint residue. The colors really pop out, too.
Device is lightweight and built to fit nicely in your hand.
Accelerometer doesn’t lag, and the tilt is sensitive and accurate.
Great battery life.

Cons

Direct lighting on the device makes the screen difficult to see.
Volume rocker takes a fairly forceful amount of pressing for the volume/track menu to show up.
No hole for a lanyard.

My next post will be about the experience of the Zune HD.

On the Zune Social? Add me as a friend!

My Trip to Japan – Part 3 of 3

2009-10-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, September 27, Yang’s dad ever-so-kindly drove me, my mom and dad, and Yang up through Tokyo.

In the morning, we went to the Toyota Showroom in Odaiba, a man-made island in Tokyo. The picture on the left is of a Lexus hybrid sedan. Lexus has a small section in the Toyota Showroom that shows off about five cars, depending on new model releases.

Droppin’ knowledge: Lexus is a division of the Toyota Motor Corporation in the United States.

From the Toyota Showroom, we went to Tokyo Tower. The main observation deck is 492 feet from the bottom of the structure; for all you Seattleites, that observation deck is 28 feet shorter than the observation deck on the Space Needle. In any case, both are high off the ground and have great views of both respective cities. The two pictures below are of Tokyo Tower and one of the many views from the main observation deck.

After spending about an hour in Tokyo Tower, we made our way to Yoyogi Park so that I could say “bai bai” to my friend Brook. After getting lost in the gigantic park, I finally found him and it took a good while to say “See ya.” He really knows how to find a good time when I’m in Japan.

Then, we drove to Asakusa—more specifically, Asakusa Shrine, which really caters to to tourists. The picture to your right shows a crowd of visitors in the strip-mall area of Asakusa Shrine. It’s a neat area because a lot of the buildings and shops are old-fashioned looking. My mom and dad bought a few gifts for folks back home and walked down some of the residential streets and alleyways. Contrary to what you see in the picture, by the time we left Asakusa Shrine, it was dark outside.

Yang’s dad had to meet with a work customer, so he dropped us off next to the Imperial Palace in the heart of Tokyo. Good news was that the area wasn’t busy. Bad news was that it was dark and impossible to see the palace. Serious bummer. So we walked a few blocks and took the train back to our hotels in Yokohama.

On Monday, we all took it pretty easy. I met with my parents in the afternoon, and we went to Yokohama Chinatown and my parents bought more gifts for people at home. Then, thinking that there was a place for us to buy glasses on just about every block, I took a taxi with my parents to where Yang’s parents lived. I was wrong. No place to buy glasses, except for the one place in a department store… where the Fendi, Burberry, and other luxury brands cost $200+ for frames and lenses. No thanks. I was looking for glasses that cost $50. When Yang was available to meet us around 3pm, we walked to her parents’ place, and then from there, we drove to Yang’s dad’s work office. Then, we drove to a Chinese restaurant that Yang’s aunt’s friend owned. The food was delicious! After being stuffed with food and hydrated with alcohol, we went home and slept well.

Tuesday, September 29, was our last full day in Japan, so Yang and her parents took me and my parents to a place near Mount Fuji called Hakone, which is popular for its natural hot springs. The drive took about two-and-a-half hours, but we stopped for my parents to buy more gifts. After another 30 minutes of driving, we reached our main destination for the day. Time to walk! The air was filled with a strong sulfur smell from the various natural hot springs in the mountain. We passed by a bunch of the hot springs (see the picture to your left), and when we reached the end of the trail, we bought eggs that had been hard-boiled in a hot spring. They were pretty good. Just peel the egg shell off, dash a little salt on it, and indulge. Too bad it gave me a stomachache an hour later.

After eating a corn-flavored soft-serve ice cream treat, we drove to an outdoor art museum. It had a bunch of structures and a sizeable acreage to explore artwork. We even had the chance to get lost in a maze. Once I got in, I realized that there were flowers growing on the top of the walls. How precious… until I realized that the plethora of flowers were attracting bees. Lacking any sense of direction and worried that the bees would maul me, I, naturally, was the last one out of the maze. The last thing we did before leaving the outdoor art museum was soak our feet in a hot bath. If you don’t have access to a foot massager (human or machine) or if you’re too shy about your machete-like toenails, soaking your feet in hot water provides some good, temporary relief.

Heading back to Yokohama, we took a detour to Kamakura and visited the Great Buddha (see image to your right) of Kamakura at the Kōtoku-in Temple. This is the second time I’ve visited the temple… and for the second time, I wasn’t able to go up into the giant statue. Outside of the temple, the street is lined with small shops and traditionally decorated buildings. When we left, darkness hit us pretty quickly, even though in this picture, it looks fairly bright outside. We hoped in the van and made our way back to Yokohama.

Before going to dinner, we had some time to spare, so we stopped by a ferry terminal near the restaurant that we were going to. While doing some walking, below is a picture I found:

I can’t read most of the kanji in the sign, but I’m guessing it reads something like “Smoking results in a fail-whale situation. No smoking.”

We had a pretty awesome Chinese food dinner—and I’m not talking about General Tso’s chicken and egg fooyung. Unfortunately, I don’t remember exactly what I ate, but I know it was good stuff.

The next day, September 30, was our last day in Japan. Yang and I had to pack like crazy because we had our stuff—dirty clothes included—scattered on the floor of our hotel. My parents had already finished and just hung out around their hotel until Yang and I came by. Yang’s dad picked us up at my parents’ hotel and we started our drive to the airport. On the way there, we took a shortcut through the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line, an underwater freeway, and stopped by Umi Hotaru, which is a man-made piece of land containing shops and restaurants and looks kind of like a ship. We were in a hurry, since we underestimate how long it would take to drive to the airport, so we only stayed at Umi Hotaru for about 15 minutes. We got to the airport about 1 hour and 15 minutes before our plan was set to take off. Oops. We had a quick tearful “peace out” and power walked to our terminal… on the opposite side of the airport. We hopped on the plane and we were set. Eight hours later, we landed at SeaTac.

And that’s it! My trip to Japan in an nutshell… or blog, whichever you prefer. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

For more pictures of my trip to China and Japan, visit my China & Japan – September 2009 photo set on Flickr. If we’re friends on Facebook, you can view a few more pictures on my Facebook profile.

My Trip to Japan – Part BONUS of 3

2009-10-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

This post about one day in Japan turned out to be too long to mash my remaining four days into it, so I’ll post the real My Trip to Japan – Part 3 of 3 in a day or two. Enjoy!

September 26. Saturday. What follows is part of the day’s plan: the Japanese wedding reception(s).

I visited the barber to get a shave with an old-school razor. At one point, I fell asleep. I think at that point, he put makeup on me (I think it was to make me look less shiny). Afterward, I went to have the outfitters put on my hakama, a pretty manly looking, traditional Japanese set of garments. Then, I met with Yang, who was in her kimono, and a bunch of her family members plus my mom and dad, and we got our pictures taken at a studio by some uber-professional and detail-oriented photographers. Studio pictures, done (?).

Time for a grand entrance into the reception hall. Shazaam! 70 people, spotlight’s on us walking into the room.

Over the next hour, Yang’s brother and a group of dragon dancers performed a routine for wedding receptions. And then, it was time for me to give a speech. I pretty much started crying after saying “Thank you for coming out and showing us your support….” I’m not good at public speaking in general, but in emotional settings, I’m even worse. I was able to push out a few other words after about 30 seconds of being totally choked up, and then it was Yang’s turn. She handled it better than I did. I did, however, get a sizeable portion of attendees, both men and women, crying. Glad I could be so touching without saying more than 15 words. ;)

After listening to a couple people give speeches, taking pictures with everybody who attended, and cutting cake (see picture to the left), we left to change our attire; I changed into a black tuxedo and Yang changed into a white wedding dress. Then, we took more studio pictures and made another entrance into the reception hall, but this time, we lit candles at each table before we sat down at our main table up front. After another hour of pictures, it was over… Well, the “first reception” was over.

We had about an hour and a half before the second reception started, so everyone gathered to take more pictures in the hotel. After about 30 minutes, Yang went to change into her third outfit—a pink dress—and we took more pictures in the hotel and attended the second party. It was during gathering that I was able to eat. First bites of food equaled a win, but it was around 5pm, which is sort of a loss. During this second party, we took more pictures with friends and had everyone play bingo for some really cool prizes. And then it was over. We said “Thank you” and chatted with folks as they left.

After seeing everyone off, Yang and I met with some other folks in the hotel lobby. A couple handfuls of Yang’s friends were missing, so I thought maybe they had trains to catch. Not the case. They had gone to a nearby izakaya (Japanese-style bar) and were holding a room for us. Awesome! So, went to our hotel room and changed into our Chinese garments and took a taxi to the izakaya. Oddly enough, I was the only one who knew where the izakaya was, mostly because I frequently explore Yokohama on foot when I go to Japan.

We got there and, sure enough, there were about 10 people just hanging out, drinking and eating. I ordered a nama beer (draft beer) and sat next to one of the guys who gave a speech at our second reception. He spoke English, which was really cool, especially since he wasn’t shy about talking—alcohol always helps with that. :) About five minutes later, I grabbed a menu and looked for food to order. And then I saw it… basashi (raw horse meat). Immediately, I remembered Kenji’s YouTube video of him eating basashi, so I decided to follow that up with my own video, y’know, just in case I had an opposite reaction.

To be honest, it hardly had any flavor, but paired with the soy sauce, ginger, and green onions, the flavor just blended really well with the smooth texture of the basashi. I would order it again: It’s cheap (about $4 for 4 slices) and goes good with beer. :)

After ordering up some yakitori and talking in a mixture of Japanese and English to just about everyone, I was ready to call it a night.

I’ve uploaded a few pictures on Facebook of Yang and I in our different wedding reception outfits. They are in the folder named China & Japan + Wedding Receptions - September 2009.

My Trip to Japan – Part 2 of 3

2009-10-07T01:03:00.000-07:00

Before I jump into part two of my trip, I’d like to share one of my passions.

Music plays a huge part in my life. It’s my instant memory refresher that also acts as background music for a mental slideshow of different parts of my life that last as little as two weeks or as long as a year. So it’s only natural for me to choose new albums to listen to when I go on trips or when I’m in a certain mood. On this trip, I had a few albums that I’d acquired the days before I left: Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon; Olu – Soul Catcher; The Filibusters – (Untitled).

The Kid Cudi album (in the picture to the left) was my most played because the beat, the whole rhythm of the album, was kind of how my brain moves while I’m in Japan—dream-like, slow moving while everything else around me moves 10 times faster, but all at my own pace and body movement. Y’know, kinda like those slow-motion music videos that look really corny. Honestly, it made me want to do the robot on a few occasions. Anyway, back to the story.

After coming back to Japan from China on the evening of September 21, Yang and I went to our hotel in Yokohama and had dinner with her family. I was hoping to meet with my friend Brook that night, but dinner lasted a little long and I was pretty tired anyway from the plane ride and the drive to Yokohama from Narita Airport in Chiba.

On September 22, I took the train to Brook’s apartment, which is near Shibuya, a suburb of Tokyo. For some reason, I like to bring a backpack with me when I’m venturing out to Tokyo. Unfortunately, when it’s time to go out, it’s a pain to carry it around. What’s worse is that there’s not a whole lot in it. I use it to carry non-alcoholic beverages, my digital camera, and whatever things I buy, but I rarely buy things when I’m in Japan. Hence, my backpack is pointless… it’s just a koala-like object that is not a koala at all. Anyway, Brook and I met for a couple hours and he invited me to his friend’s potluck, but since I had the man-purse of terror tugging on my shoulders, I decided to go back to Yokohama instead.

Wake up! Bam! September 23. In the late afternoon, I met with Doug, who I’ve known through Twitter since my early days as a “I think I’m talking to myself on Twitter” guy (who knows… maybe I still am?). It took awhile for us to find a bar that was open at 5pm since most open at 8pm, but we had a nice chat over a couple of beers and peanuts. It was really cool to meet someone in Japan, especially since I only know a handful of people. Connecting with complete strangers in a foreign land is tough enough, but we were able to connect with what we knew of each other through Twitter. Then, I was off to the Shibuya area to meet Brook again. We went to a fairly cheap izakaya (Japanese-style bar). After some food and beer, Brook was ready to call it a night because he had to work the next day.

Wait. Not so fast. Instead, we took a short detour and found the holy grail of hole-in-the-wall bars. It was a pretty well-hidden spot—down an alley and three floors upstairs. We walked in and found… A SOUL MUSIC BAR! The bar, called Chap Sweet and Mellow, fit maybe 10 people and was decorated with records, CDs, soul music posters, and a tiny disco ball in the corner. Come to find out later, the bartender/guy who owns the bar is a local DJ. He played pretty much anything we wanted from the soul genre. It was a good chance for me to chat with the locals in Japanese and a cool blend of how people can communicate through music. Me and Brook’s facial expressions would light up on almost every song and the bar owner would ask us what we wanted to hear next.

My parents came to Japan on September 24, but before meeting them at the airport, I took this video of me riding the Landmark Tower elevator in Yokohama, Japan. It’s the tallest building in Japan and contains offices, a hotel, a few restaurants, and a cocktail lounge, which is on the 70^th floor.

I was really glad to see my parents in Japan. We had it all planned out for a couple of months, but just having them there was surreal. I was glad they got to experience why I enjoy visiting Japan so much. I think they were surprised by the food portions—a lot of people think Japan is all expensive restaurants with small food portions. I think we debunked that theory on this trip.

September 25, I showed my parents around Yokohama, but they were pretty tired from the 9-hour flight from Seattle the previous day, so I took them back to their hotel, hung out for a bit there, and then met with Brook and our friend Yuuhito at Chaps for some more soul music. We stayed there for about an hour and then went to the same izakaya where Brook and I went to a couple days earlier. We chatted and drank quite a bit, and they proclaimed our mini-gathering to be my Japanese bachelor party. I even completed the event by falling asleep on the train and worrying about where I was when I woke up.

The next day, September 26, was me and Yang’s wedding reception, but I’ll save that for my next post.

My Trip to Japan (er, China) – Part 1 of 3

2009-10-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

I left Seattle in the afternoon on Wednesday, September 16; flew into Chiba, Japan, on Thursday, September 17, in the late afternoon; and caught a morning flight to Dalian, China, on Friday, September 18.

My favorite part about China has got to be the food; the tastes and types of food are totally different than what we’ve got in the United States. And, as a visitor, I am asked to drink alcohol as part of the whole dining experience with family members and family friends. It’s not exactly a leisurely drink—it almost seems like a sport. Someone will raise a glass of some throat-burning, Chinese-brewed drink, and those playing the game will drink everything in the glass (clarification: strong stuff is in a shot glass; beer is in a typical beer glass). It’s fun but difficult when I’m supposed to have energy when I’m around others. Anyway, I’m sure you know how that goes. :)

On Sunday, September 20, we did a few things:

In the early morning, Yang’s family and a few of their friends banded together and we went to their family gravestones to pay respects. The climb was only about 15 minutes, but we spent about 30 minutes at each site. There was a ton of mosquitoes, but it was a nice experience.
Yang and I had our wedding reception at the hotel we stayed at. There were about 70 people in attendance and it lasted for about two hours. During the reception, we did the usual rituals: took pictures with people, thanked people for attending, cut cake, ate, drank, and talked with guests. After people started leaving, we got in a car and the driver took us to various spots to get our pictures taken and have another guy take short videos of us that he’ll edit into a compilation video.
After having our pictures taken, about 15 of Yang’s family members and I went to a restaurant for my father-in-law’s birthday. By that time, I’d had enough of alcohol over the previous 48 hours, so I refrained from drinking.

Other than eating good food, drinking potent liquor, climbing the mini-mountain, and having the wedding reception, I walked around Dalian with Da Xuan—one of Yang’s family friends. Since I don’t speak Mandarin Chinese, getting around is pretty difficult, so I always had someone else with me and we didn’t venture too far out of the city.

Yang’s brother, Pon Pon, showed me this iPhone application. Apparently, it teaches you how to be a better kisser. It’s pretty simple, you pucker up, kiss the screen, and it rates how well you did.

And, as a heads up, I was unable to access Twitter or Facebook while in China.

For more pictures of my trip to China and Japan, visit my China & Japan – September 2009 photo set on Flickr.

The Filibusters Use Summer to Break onto the Seattle Punk Scene, Bring Energy on Stage

2009-08-21T21:17:00.000-07:00

The Filibusters are a local Seattle punk band that focuses its music on political and social themes. Formed in February 2009, Dan (guitar and vocals), James (bass and vocals), and Dustin (drums and vocals) have had a fairly busy summer, averaging about three shows a month for the past few months, in addition to jam and recording sessions.

Check out The Filibusters on their MySpace and Facebook pages. After their show at The Dubliner in Fremont on Friday, August 28, they’ll be taking a short break (about a month), doing some traveling, and spending time with their families. When they come back, they’ll be in the studio prepping from a full-length album and booking more shows.

I’ve been to a few of their shows and they’ve got some serious energy. They’re not some “organized chaos” band when they play; you can totally see the effort they put forth. It’s all just straight-up rhythmic, which is a nice break away from how some other bands just play to act wild or freestyle their instrumentals. When they play, all of their sounds are easy to tell apart from the music. When some bands play, sometimes you can’t hear the bass because the drums are too loud or sometimes you can’t hear the drums because the vocals are too loud. Not with this band.

If you’re free, join me at The Dubliner on Friday, August 28. Oh, and bring earplugs. Wuss. :P

Here’s a video from their first live show back in May 2009. Sorry for the low quality; I streamed it from my phone in a loud, crowded, dark room.

Recapping Three Months with the Windows 7 RC

2009-08-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve been using the Windows 7 RC since Microsoft released it on May 5, but held off on blogging about it to make sure I had all of my facts and opinions straight. After three months, I might as well have written a review a week after installing it. The RC, which stands for release candidate, is Windows 7 Ultimate, the full-featured version of the operating system.

Setting up Windows 7 was a breeze. So much of a breeze that I installed it twice on my Compaq laptop within 12 hours. Well, there’s a disclaimer on that: The first time I installed it, it took four hours because I hadn’t realized that I selected the option to keep all files on my computer, meaning that my previously installed programs and saved music, pictures, and documents transferred over when I updated. This was not what I had planned, so I reinstalled it, wiping off all files and installed programs. This method of installing took roughly 30 minutes. Yes, 30 minutes, as in half an episode of Man vs. Food.

Note: When Installing Windows 7, remember to create installation disks for your current operating system, Windows Vista or Windows XP. I made the mistake of note creating the disks and cannot go back to Windows Vista unless I call Compaq/HP and pay for the disks. Oops. Guess that’s a good enough reason to buy Windows 7 Ultimate when it’s officially released on October 22. ;)

Setting up the new operating system was pain-free and straightforward. And, I didn’t have any problems with installing drivers that weren’t preinstalled on the computer, such as printers, mobile devices, and flash and external drives.

The only noticeable and annoying bug I experienced for the first two months was this: Occasionally when I moved files from a folder to the desktop, the desktop would not refresh unless I manually refreshed it by pressing the F5 key. The only way to fix this would be to restart the computer, which is hardly ever convenient. For the past month, though, I haven’t had this problem, so I wonder if it was fixed in a recent update. Other than that, I haven’t run into any major bugs, but keep in mind, I primarily use my computer for average tasks, like browsing the Internet and using applications in the Microsoft Office system, Macromedia Dreamweaver (yes, Macromedia) and TweetDeck.

My wife was even jealous to see my computer running Windows 7 that she wanted me to install it on her Sony Vaio laptop running a Japanese version of Windows XP. Not only did she set up the English version in 30 minutes, but she also can switch between English, Japanese, and Chinese anytime she wants to. Because of her higher-end, super-featured laptop, we did have a little trouble installing drivers that should’ve been on the laptop. I think this had more to do with the applications that are never included on U.S. PCs, such as FeliCA. Fortunately, Windows 7 provides thorough directions that help get the drivers onto the laptop.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the Windows 7 RC. From what I’ve seen, Microsoft is really listening to the public about how to make the operating system better, and I think social media is really playing a good part in pushing the Windows brand back to the ranks that it was before Windows Vista. People like Marcus Schmidt, Brandon LeBlanc, and Stephen Rose and online entities like MSWindows on Twitter are very active with promoting blogs and general Windows 7 information on Twitter.

columnbreak in Japanese

2009-07-05T08:25:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Yang’s translating skills, I’ve finally created a Japanese version for this website. Since there are only about five pages to visit, it was fairly easy, except for the JavaScript part. Just remember to turn off “Western European” when creating a JavaScript file that needs UTF-8 encoding instead of Unicode. In Dreamweaver, you can do that through the Preferences option when you’re looking at new templates to use.

Um, that’s it for now. :)

Puget Sound Blood Center Organizes Blood Drive, Social Media Fuels It

2009-06-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

Sean DeButts, Social Media Coordinator at the Puget Sound Blood Center, has set up the organization’s first blood drive tweetup! If you’re in the Seattle area and available on Tuesday, June 23, I highly recommend that you go and donate some blood. Not only will you be donating for a great cause, you’ll also be surrounded by some wonderful folks. Sean will be posting pictures on Flickr and videos on YouTube of people who are donating throughout the day. You can even publish your experience in real time by blogging or tweeting while you donate!

For more information, check out the following links:

Coming late to the party: My social media “wow” moment

2009-06-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

I just had my first social media “wow” moment. Before I explain what happened, I’ve got to tell you that I’m borrowing the phrase “social media ‘wow’ moment” from Kenji_Onozawa and his website, Seattle Social Media Profiles. In his written interviews to the folks that he interviews, that’s one of his questions. If you’re a Northwesterner or just a plain ol’ person who engages in social media, this site is awesome; it really helps put social media and the local people involved in it in perspective!

Oh, that’s right… So on to my story.

I was on Twitter, reading some updates and responding to some of the tweets that I had favorited throughout the day (I typically don’t tweet during the weekdays because I’m too busy at work), and one of my friends, Bloglue, retweeted a question that he had posted the day before asking about programming and the use of 24-hour clocks and AM/PM settings. Since I follow a decent amount of programmers/developers, I figured at least one person might be able to answer… and answer he did! noahcoad answered within 10 minutes of me retweeting Bloglue’s message. 10 minutes! It just blew me away.

It’s just proof that reaching out to others and actively searching for answers for yourself and for others really works online. But you know what? It’s even sweeter when you can meet these people at social events and other types of meetups.

I’m still amazed at how much more I “got it” today. I think I’ll use this as my own proof point for when people want me to explain what the significance of social media is. Now, let’s see how many more online tools I can use to help others…

Been busy with everyday life happenings lately

2009-05-30T15:18:00.001-07:00

Been pretty busy with a variety of things going on in life these days, so sorry for the lack of posting to this blog.

Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past month or so:

Working
Attending social media events
Messing around with Windows 7
Refreshing the columnbreak website and brand.
Generally getting out of the apartment with Yang more often.

So, yup, that’s about it lately. Oh, I’ve also made myself discoverable on Facebook, so feel free to add me. Who knows? Maybe I’ll accept the request. ;)

Collaborative efforts between social media and the slumping movie theater business

2009-05-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

I came up with this rough idea while I was out on my lunch break today: What if movie production studios used Twitter to advertise movies? For example, what if 20th Century-Fox Film promoted the Wolverine movie on Twitter like this?:

20thCenturyFox: Wolverine seeks revenge against Victor Creed for the death of his girlfriend, & ends up going through the Weapon X program. (link)

That’s in pretty basic form. It might grab the attention of people who are interested in movies in general and those who might have heard of Wolverine.

But here’s the more exciting, engaging tweet that I had in mind while I was lunch-break brainstorming:

20thCenturyFox: Weapon XI and Logan's fight moves to the top of a nuclear reactor & it appears Logan is outmatched until Creed shows up to... (link)

This kind of tweet is much more likely to draw in 20thCenturyFox’s followers because it leaves it up to them to click on the link or ponder what will happen. The aim of this kind of tweet is for people to think “There’s action going on here, and someone appears to… to what??” Clicking on the link could take them to either the movie’s Web site that further explains the story or, my favorite, points them to a link of that specific scene. Using the second example from above, if someone were to click on the link, they would be taken to a site that plays the scene from when Creed shows up and a collage of video clips from that scene would play—enough to give the audience an idea of what happens in that scene, but not enough to give away everything that happens.

And, with the variety of ways for tweets to automatically update Facebook statuses and blogs and Web sites that post updates containing predetermined Twitter handles and keywords, something like this has the potential to reach an audience that doesn’t even originate from Twitter.

Profitability-wise, movie production companies would see an increase in site traffic, which could turn into more people who visit the theater when the movie is released. As for Twitter’s profitability from this? Well, I haven’t really come up with a solid idea for how this could increase the company’s income. Maybe a co-branding effort with the movie production company?

Zune HD and brief thoughts on the software and hardware

2009-04-15T01:36:00.001-07:00

Ok, this is going to be really brief, but here are two things that I think the Zune should have: Bluetooth for stereo headsets and speakers and support for Asian languages.

It’s a bit of a long shot, but I would like to see the next-generation of Zunes with Bluetooth. It would definitely give it more firepower against the iPod, but because of the demand on battery power that Bluetooth uses when it’s on, I know that might not be feasible or practical to keep the battery life at such exceptionally high levels. Coincidentally, though, Bluetooth 3.0 will be rolled out to manufacturers soon, and one of the improvements in the technology is lower drain on battery power. If the rumored Zune HD had Bluetooth 3.0, it would probably make it the first device to hit the market with that mobile technology. This sounds completely possible to me with the Zune HD rumored to be released in fall 2009. Having the newest technology in a refreshed device would totally gain followers for Microsoft. The only obstacles for implementing Bluetooth 3.0 into the next-generation Zune are price and battery demand, two of which I have no insight into.

The second should-have (will-have?) for the Zune is the long-awaited support for Asian languages. If the Zune is indeed going international, the Zune must have support for Asian languages for it to succeed overseas.

*The image of the rumored Zune HD above is from Engadget. (http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/10/is-this-the-zune-hd/)

Impressions of leaked pictures of Windows Mobile 7

2009-03-28T00:04:00.001-07:00

~~I’m~~ I was a bit torn on whether or not the pictures that WMPoweruser.com found of Windows Mobile 7 are legit. The pictures, which I’ve posted below, are radically different than Windows Mobile 6.5, which Microsoft is promoting and scheduling to release at the end of 2009, so I wonder why Windows Mobile 7 seems to be a significant change from that.

The screenshot dominated by blue looks pretty decent. The “I am @” feature looks especially intriguing; I’m thinking of a Brightkite-like feature, instead of a Google Latitude–like feature. Location-based features are the thing these days, and I think it’s astonishing to think that neither Google nor Microsoft have implemented an advertising feature. I can think of two ways off the top of my head involving location-based services that could drive a new stream of revenue: targeted ads and an SMS coupon service. (I’ll save the details for these two ideas for a later post.)

The magnifying glass is definitely the right way for Microsoft to push Windows Mobile users to use Live Search. By putting an icon in an easy-to-find spot that is preconfigured into the operating system, and not offered as an add-in, it really provides ease of access and greater market share in the online search business.

I’m not too keen on the battery meter bar or the volume bar on the bottom of the screen. I think the battery meter bar should be on top, with just a horizontal or vertical battery icon that shows the status of the battery. Bars should be only for signal strength. The volume bar should appear in the middle of the screen when the person using the phone adjusts the volume with a hardware button on the phone or an icon on the phone, similar to what we have now, but one that’s easier, finger-friendly, and consistent with the overall look and feel of Windows Mobile 7.

More recently are these pictures from WMPoweruser that are consistent with the previous set of images.

To me, these images all but confirm that this is what Windows Mobile 7 will look like. I’m excited to see what’s in store beyond these screenshots because I think the mobile operating system will no longer have to hide behind OEM skins and developer themes to make Windows Mobile attractive in a competitive market.

How Twitter could tweet its way to profitability through brand promotion and stronger, more focused communities

2009-03-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a heads up by Shauna Causey, I found out that the Japanese Twitter site started posting ads in an effort to make money.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it doesn’t affect me too much since I use TweetDeck on my laptop and TinyTwitter on my cell phone. But on the other hand, that is a pretty gigantic ad.

Adding an advertisement to Twitter profiles and home pages only reaches one demographic. Will we be seeing targeted ads in our streams? Imagine an ad every 50 or so tweets. Something like that would reach every user, but would it drive them away? If Twitter goes that route, will the companies that use Twitter for communication be subjected to the same ads? What about people who use SMS for posting to Twitter? Will they be automatically signed up to receive ads on their cell phones?

My idea for Twitter to make money came to me while I was waiting at a bus stop a few weeks ago, and it goes like this: Have companies create backgrounds of their brand—whether it’s a product, service, or just the company in general—and let Twitterers choose any background from a certain company to use as their background. Twitterers could even customize that background to include their preferred information (the typical e-mail address, Web site address, and picture). If Twitter charged the company for each time a user chose an ad, that would leave the power of monetizing in the hands of Twitterers.

For example, if Microsoft wanted to promote Windows 7, a marketing manager from the Windows team could create a background that contained elements of the new operating system—maybe some icons, a logo, a Web site address for getting to know the product, and a list of Twitterers that are on the Windows team. If I wanted to support the launch of Windows 7, I could choose the background (which would come with an agreement; maybe it would say something like “You agree to use this background for 30 days” or some specified amount of days), add whatever info I wanted to up in the upper-left-hand corner of the screen (a picture of me and what I enjoy doing on the weekends), and post it to my profile. On the back end, Twitter would charge Microsoft maybe $20 for me choosing that background.

With that same idea in mind, there would have to be some way that people who don’t access the Twitter Web site would still be able to market that background. Twitter could send out an automated message selected by the Twitterer every 1 to 30 days, depending on the Twitterer’s preference, that points them to their profile or to the background brand’s Web site—in this case, the Windows 7 Web site. This, too, would factor in to the amount that Twitter would charge Microsoft. For every click that points to the Twitterer’s profile that displays the Windows 7 background, Twitter could charge 25 cents. For every click that points to the Windows 7 Twitter site, @Windows7yay (fake Twitter account; just using as an example), Twitter could charge 50 cents. For every click that points to the Window 7 Web site, Twitter could charge $1. Of course, these rates could fluctuate depending on predetermined pricing plans.

But what’s in it for the Twitterer? Taking a page from the Zune Social site, Twitterers could earn badges that show that they have supported specific brands. This would add more followers to the Twitterer that advertises the brand and the badges could also serve as a point system that ranks Twitterers based on their badges, providing them with more visibility and creating a gateway to other audiences.

Twitter could even aim for nonprofits. Take the same idea above, but instead of Twitter charging for clicks on the Twitterer’s update links, Twitter could donate the amounts back to the nonprofit organization. For example, if I chose a Make-A-Wish Foundation background, Twitter could charge the foundation $50. But imagine if I set my preferences to post an update about the Make-A-Wish Foundation once every three days; if just 10 people clicked on the update containing the Make-A-Wish Foundation Web site link each time the ad appeared within that 30-day period, Twitter would donate $100 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation just for that one person in that one month. Of course, there would have to be a cap for the link clicking, otherwise, Twitter would lose a lot of money (I know I’d go crazy with clicking the links!).

These are just my thoughts on how Twitter should go about making money. Although it puts the profit-building in the users’ hands, I think it could really be successful once people start using it and promoting the brands that they love and see everyday. By giving them incentives, like badges, Twitterers can grow their followers with others that also support the same brands or causes.

“What’s going on? Where’s that voice coming from? Who’s talking?”

2009-03-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

When I lived in the countryside in Japan—Joso, Ibaraki, to be exact—I rarely stayed at my apartment on the weekend. Instead, I would go to Yokohama and spend Friday night to Sunday night there with my girlfriend, who’s now my wife. One of the reasons why I stayed away from my apartment, specifically on Sunday afternoons, was because of this morbid voice that would drive by in a truck and repeat something over his loudspeaker. The video below is what I heard.

Ishiyaki Imo Truck

My immediate thought was “Is that someone going around and warning the townspeople about a typhoon or fire or some other impending disaster?” The first time I heard it, I ran outside to see if people were scrambling to leave the area. What freaked me out was, when I looked around, there was nobody outside and no sound. I waited for a good minute or two until I heard a car drive by on one of the nearby residential streets.

Turns out, the voice I heard on Sundays was the “ishiyaki imo” truck, which is a truck that sells roasted sweet potatoes. And the voice? That’s the truck’s calling—think of it like an ice cream truck in the United States.

After hearing it a few more times in and around Yokohama, the voice and song (or maybe “calling” is a better word") became something that I found humorous. Still, it sounds like a pretty gloomy song, and I don’t think I’ll be buying sweet potatoes from his truck anytime soon.

Change the song, pal!

MBA thoughts, but my math skills are DOA

2009-03-06T00:13:00.000-08:00

Just a really short blog post that doesn’t exactly qualify as a 140-character message on Twitter.

I’m looking into what an MBA at Western Washington University could do for my career. I’d want to pursue a focus in marketing because it’s an ever-changing field that is always challenging. I just have a few concerns:

My math skills are pretty horrible.
I’m not sure if my quantitative skills could get me to pass the required course for my calculus-less academic career.
I’m married and have bills, so having some sort of income is a necessity. And donating plasma only offers around $180 a month if I maximize my visitations.
I would have to move from Bellevue to Bellingham (90 minutes north), which is a huge commitment.

What are your thoughts?

Sad story from a great sport and dedicated player

2009-03-04T00:33:00.001-08:00

This is by far the worst story I’ve read so far this year. Trading a person for inanimate objects is an insult.

This is something like from when I was in my freshmen and sophomore years of high school. I was so bad at sports that I’d joke with my teammates to trade me to the other team for a bag of Doritos and a basketball. Except in this case, it really happened in minor-league baseball.

Never would I have thought that in a real-life situation that something even remotely similar would be reality. I mean, sure, in professional sports, players get traded for cash and the ever-so-vague “other considerations,” but to be included in part of a trade for team equipment is a smack in the face. Who cares if John Odom, the player who was traded, went along and joked with the situation. I’d bet that a good percentage of people make a joke out of unfortunate situations when they’re uncomfortable or suffering from low self-esteem.

Odom should not be dead; he should be preparing for his next game or his next conversation with his agent.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to trade a human being for manufactured pieces of wood is a complete buffoon. I hope those who were involved with orchestrating the trade feel a deep sense of guilt. And if the law plays anything into this, I hope they have thousands of hours of community service to perform.

I just hope it doesn’t have to do with teaching little-league baseball.

Reality checks apparently still aren’t working for celebs

2009-02-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

So, Chris Brown is in anger management, huh? Well, that’s good and all, but it certainly doesn’t make up for a fraction of what he allegedly did to Rihanna. Apparently, he’s taking the anger management classes, as requested by his new publicist, to repair his image.

Maybe that’s how celebrities go about things these days, but in the real world, most people go to anger management to, oh, I don’t know… control their anger? Or maybe talk about the whats, whys, and whos of their anger. Possibly even to seek help for their anger issues? I think right now, Chris Brown needs to worry more about himself than his image.

Moral of the story: Stop worrying about what people think of you; instead, worry about yourself and those around you.

Social networking events and you, er, I mean, me

2009-02-24T00:03:00.000-08:00

My first-ever social networking meetup, which just happened to be a Twitter-focused event organized by Chris Pirillo, went quite well, as if you couldn’t tell by my facial expression.

Tomorrow night, there’s a larger event organized by Social Media Club – Seattle in the Microsoft Redmond campus. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out before I found out about it. But hey, at least there’s no cap on the after-event gathering at the Matador in Redmond! I’ll totally be there with high-school-partner-in-crime, Eric Nguyen.

Thanks to Jean-Luc David for the picture!

Seattle-Area Tweetup on Wednesday, February 18!

2009-02-17T23:12:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow, I’ll be going to my first Twitter-based meeting. I’ll be dragging along rookie Twitterer and long-time friend Eric Nguyen to further introduce ourselves to offline social networking events.

We hope to see you there!

Blog advertising and business

2009-02-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

I’ve been blogging casually since my days as a third-year college student. I think I had a total of four people who I knew read my blogs every day or at least once a week. Now, I’ve jumped on the whole Web 2.0 bandwagon and been more active in social networking. Some believe that sites like Twitter, which I enjoy for short updates, will take over blogging, but blogging really creates more personal expression. In business, it adds even more than what a simple micro-blogging site can do. If done correctly, blogging can be a powerful advertising tool.

Here’s what I think bloggers, specifically business and manager-level bloggers, need to do to effectively draw readers to their blog:

Fresh content. Bloggers should update their blogs three or more times a week for them to be truly effective and continuously attract visitors.
Personality. Most of the blogs I read give probably between 50 to 90 percent personal thoughts or ideas while the rest is dedicated to the facts of what they’re talking about.
Accuracy. Giving accurate information—bonus points for providing a hyperlink that opens in a new browser window or tab—is key in making a blog credible and worth following.
Clean content. Blogs don’t necessarily need superb grammar, but they have to be readable. Using spell check can never hurt.

For people to visit a blog that contains these four fundamentals, the blogger needs to invest some time in blog advertising. This can be done in a variety of ways online, such as through social networks, search engine optimization (SEO), and e-mail signatures. Another good way to promote a blog is to frequently leave comments on newsgroups, forums, and articles. Tons of people read comments, so that’s a sure-fire way to attract a new audience.

Cake the man in peanut butter and let the seagulls have him

2009-02-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

I hope Stewart Parnell, Pleader of the Fifth and President of the Peanut Corporation of America—the company responsible for the current salmonella outbreak in delicious peanut butter products—gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Maybe not to the extent that this ex-health and drug official in China got punished, but hopefully to the maximum extent of the U.S. law.

Justice system, don’t fail me now!

Going the monetization route, but not entirely

2009-02-07T00:12:00.000-08:00

In an effort to help with funding of this Web site, I’m going to start placing ad links in certain blogs that I write. The links will not be cost-per-click links; instead, they will be affiliate links, similar to the image ads on the Ads page. Not each post will have one, so if you’re really against this subtle, almost passive marketing technique, don’t worry.

If I mention a neat product or service like, say, a moderate interest rate on a savings account from ING Direct, then I would add a link to the company’s name, directing you to the site in a new window or tab. (Speaking of which, I just signed up for an Orange Savings Account through this bank last night. It’s definitely worth a look!)

While this is going on, I’m continuing to market this site to a larger audience. Comments to blog posts are always welcome, especially if you have an idea to expand on or to introduce.

Thanks for helping to keep this site running. It’s been a lot of fun so far!

Video submission for a mobile Web site and mobile browser contest

2009-02-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

Last week, I stumbled on a Web site called PocketNow, a Web site dedicated to mobile phone news. One of the articles was a contest for readers who could come up with the most creative ways to use Skyfire, a mobile browser for Windows Mobile. The winning submission would receive an HTC Touch Diamond (a pretty sweet and expensive phone) and the runner ups would receive a Skyfire t-shirt.

I thought my entry was pretty innovative, but I guess I didn’t have the best scenery, which is what they were looking for. Oh well, at least I got a t-shirt! :D

Creative writing was never my strong point, but today, I felt a little inspired

2009-02-04T23:19:00.000-08:00

Update: Oops, I guess I should’ve included the picture that I was commenting about… it might provide more context to the picture above.

During my late lunch at work today, I found an article on Engadget that featured captions for an image about Best Buy’s price-matching policy that the editors found. I left a comment, and here’s a reply that I received shortly after.

Don’t judge me. :)

Get with it, people!

2009-02-04T22:46:00.001-08:00

I'm going to just come out with it; I don't agree with President Obama's decision to postpone the digital convergence from February 17, 2009 to June 12, 2009.

People, we've had two solid years to figure out how to individually handle this transition, either by buying a new TV that meets the new digital requirements, buying a digital converter box, or, hell, requesting a voucher for a free one. I think most people didn’t felt any sense of emergency or just were confused, but really, there’s no excuse for not being prepared. The Internet is for research, and even for the few that don’t frequent the Internet to do research, all you have to do is ask a friend, inquire about it at an electronics store, call your cable provider. There were/are so many resources for people to figure out what’s going on, but nobody takes advantage of them.

Companies like AT&T and Verizon have spent, and now possibly wasted, millions of dollars waiting for the analog TV airwave to become available so that they can use it to develop new technologies and services. Because of this five-month delay, we’re taking a step back not just in technological innovation, but in building new opportunities for our economy.

We've got other issues to tackle, isn't that right, Ashton Kutcher?

2009-02-02T21:25:00.001-08:00

Seems as though Ashton Kutcher agrees with others and is sticking up for Michael Phelps's extracurricular activities.

Seriously, though, I think we have other things to worry about than an Olympic gold medalist who set world records last summer doing what approximately 33 percent (or more) of Americans do in their own time.

I am in no way condoning drug use, but c'mon, kids should be looking up to their parents, and not setting their goals so high, only to be "let down" when things like this happen to their "role models."

Note: In case you were wondering, I have never partaken in any illegal drug use. I'm just a supporter of doing whatever you want in your own free time, whether that involves recreational marijuana use or watching FOX News. Just don't get me involved.

Welcome the newest update to the Web site

2009-01-28T23:41:00.001-08:00

Introducing… the long-overdue Projects feature! I know, I know… it’s been a long time coming. Check it out on pretty much any page, except for this one. In case you don’t know what I mean, follow this link (www.columnbreak.com/japan/joso.html), click the glossy-looking button titled “Stuff,” and click “Projects.”

Voila! Now you know what I work on outside of my 9am–5pm (or 8am–4pm in the summertime) job.

Now, let’s see how long it takes for me to update the “Favorites” link…

Proof that not all companies are invincible in tough times

2009-01-22T21:49:00.001-08:00

I’m sure that most of you know that Microsoft announced 5,000 layoffs today—1,400 of those which are effective immediately. I feel really bad for those who lost their jobs there today… it’s such a hard place to get into, that when you have it, I’m sure that just being there is incomparable to other corporate jobs. Unfortunately, my chances of ever landing a job at Microsoft—which I’ve been trying to land since early 2006—took a significant hit today, but that’s secondary to what happened today. Here’s hoping to swift job creation in the near future!

Note to those at Microsoft who lost their jobs today: Be thankful for your health and look forward to your next adventure! Your experience at Microsoft is invaluable, and you’ll all find jobs soon enough. :)

The device that I never leave home without: An intimate introduction

2009-01-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Other than the obligatory necessities that one can never manage without having when venturing out into the public, such as a wallet; keys; purse, backpack, manbag, or fanny pack; and the occasional jacket, I’d like to focus on my cell phone.

Since early July, I’ve had an HTC Touch Dual. I went all out and bought it straight up without any AT&T branding, which is nice if I want to switch over to T-Mobile or if I want to use it overseas with a prepaid SIM card. I had to get an unlimited data plan because I knew I’d use the bananas out of it—and I have. Since January 2, I’ve used 557.61 MB of data for uploading and downloading. I guess streaming live video gets pretty intensive.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do for my next mobile device, though. I’d like to stick with Windows Mobile because it syncs with my computer really easily. Android looks neat, but I don’t use any Google products, except for Gmail, so I’m not sure how useful it’d be to me. I’m not an Apple or iPhone guy and have no need for a farting application. The Palm Pre is pretty intriguing, especially since the mobile operating system is based on HTML and CSS, making in fairly easy to develop programs for that mobile platform.

I’m really digging phones like the HTC Touch HD and the HTC Touch Diamond, but I just dropped ~~three~~ three-and-a-half-Thursdays worth of pay before taxes to buy the phone I have now, which is still pretty top-of-the-line. It’s set up pretty nicely, too. Some mobile applications include:

Bluehoo for social Bluetooth networking.
Fring for messaging and as a Skype alternative because Skype only works when I use the speakerphone.
Google Maps to find directions, specifically to find directions by bus.
Iris Browser just because Skyfire doesn’t work for me sometimes.
Japanese Pocket Dictionary for those Japanese words that I don’t understand.
Kinoma Play for superb quality of YouTube videos and Internet radio.
Live Search to find places and directions.
Microsoft Tag Reader for when/if Microsoft Tags become widely used.
NetFront Browser, which is one of the best mobile browsers out there. It even shows Japanese characters! W00T!
Qik for shooting live streaming video.
QuickMark for reading QR Codes.
Resco Explorer for document management and FTP access (to post or delete content from my Web site)
Skyfire Beta Browser for a complete, desktop browser experience.
Skype for hoping that one day, it’ll support Bluetooth headsets on my phone.
TinyTwitter for my ColumnBreak Twitter feeds.
Viigo for RSS feeds.
TV Guide for when I actually want to watch other TV shows besides MSNBC, The History Channel, Food Network, VH1, and Comedy Central.

Well, that was pretty exhaustive. I don’t want to run into any legal issues with posting downloadable links as a middle man, so you’ll have to get them yourself (if they’re available) on the product pages provided above.

A neat, all-in-one hotel finder

2009-01-18T14:47:00.001-08:00

I recently found out about this site called HotelsCombined, and it seems to offer some reasonable prices on hotel rooms. I specifically looked for accommodations in Japan—where hotels can be pretty pricey if you just show up in person or go through the hotel’s Web site—and was glad to see that some decent to high-end hotels were offered at significant discounts.

The Web site’s user interface is really friendly and provides reviews from others who have stayed at a particular hotel, maps, pictures, and details about the hotels and their surroundings. You can also narrow your search through a variety of options, such as star ratings, price, and hotel name. Overall, it’s very easy to use and is visually pleasing.

On my next trip over to Japan, I think I’m going to give HotelsCombined a shot at finding me a place to stay.

New sleeping grounds... er... heights

2009-01-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

We got our new bed today—the Thomasville delivery folks dropped it off and set it up in our bedroom this morning. I didn't think it'd be so high, though. It's the box spring that throws me off; what about using just a flat board? To give you a hint, look in the above picture: The bed is as high as the bottom of the window!

It's going to take some time getting used to this monster, especially since the last thing I want to worry about in the morning is a sprained ankle.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

ShoZu for Windows Mobile - A worthy mobile app?

2009-01-17T13:01:00.001-08:00

I'm going that ShoZu for Windows Mobile will inspire me to blog in a different way, without me having to use my text messages. It looks like I can even tag my entries, which is a very nice touch. Guess we'll see how this goes in the next couple of weeks. Hm... I can't make a new paragraph... that might be a deal breaker.

Obvious product naming takes a step back

2009-01-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Was there no other name to choose for this product? A product following the naming convention of "baby carrots" and "baby corn" would have been suitable.

Maybe Farman's was looking for a name that would grab consumers' attention. If that's the case, then I'm just another victim to the food company's marketing... le sigh...

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Updates to the home page

2009-01-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t noticed, I made a significant change on the home page; the videos should now be viewable in Mozilla Firefox 3. I originally created it in Microsoft Silverlight, but I had a few issues with that:

I wasn’t sure when Microsoft Expression Blend (the program that I used to customize the video player) would no longer be available as a free trial.
There’s less of a developer circle for Silverlight.
Adobe Flash already has a solid user base and is installed on most computers.

Let me know if you experience any problems with the new video player. Enjoy!

What’s the RIAA up to?

2009-01-02T16:58:00.001-08:00

If you haven’t read lately, the RIAA—the folks who have sued single mothers and a whole mess of college students—announced that it will no longer pursue legal action against individuals who illegally download media, such as music, videos, and other copyrighted material. Sounds great, right? Sure, sounds good for now.

Here’s what I think about the RIAA backing off of threatening legal action:

Maybe the RIAA decided that suing someone for $4,000 wasn’t worth the legal fees and that allowing Internet service providers (ISPs), like Comcast and Qwest, to shut off a subscriber’s service if they were suspected in downloading copyrighted material would be a good idea.
Maybe instead of shutting off a user’s service if he or she is suspected in illegally downloading, ISPs might start charging a tax that in turn goes directly to the RIAA, theoretically making downloading illegal material, well… legal.

What do you think? Were you affected at all by the RIAA? Have you and will you continue to download copyrighted material? Are you a law-abiding citizen who buys your own music from the Amazon MP3 online store (which, might I add, is seriously the best place to download DRM-free music)?

A formal e-apology

2008-12-29T23:19:00.000-08:00

I didn’t know that the video on the ColumnBreak home page was not in service until I started using Mozilla Firefox regularly… and that kind of irks me. Sorry for not finding it out earlier. Hopefully it hasn’t deterred the steadily growing 20 percent of Firefox users.

Because of that, I’ve now got a new project where I have to convert the Microsoft Silverlight Web component to Adobe Flash, which requires me to learn Flash. Maybe it’s my calling… I started working with Flash, but then I found Silverlight, which seemed to be a more interactive, rich Web experience. Unfortunately, it hasn’t really caught on as much as I thought it would.

Flash and Flash Lite truly provide a lot more opportunities across multiple platforms and browsers, so for marketing purposes, that would be the way to go.

And since I didn’t make this Web site to sell oatmeal cookies, it looks like I might be busy learning more Web technologies for awhile…

Text messaging: urgency and occasionally unnecessary. A rant.

2008-12-23T14:11:00.001-08:00

Up until mid-2006, I never was a fan of text messaging. I had enough minutes to call somebody, so why bother with spending two minutes to type a message on a crammed keypad? Then, I went to Japan, the land of text messaging. Making phone calls is still ridiculously expensive in Japan, so most people send e-mails through their phones to their contacts. The plus is that text messaging/e-mailing from a cell phone is fairly cheap; I remember when I was on my SoftBank plan, I had unlimited text messages/e-mail and unlimited Internet for about $9 a month. That’s about three times cheaper than AT&T’s plan in the United States.

With an unlimited text messaging plan, I didn’t mind getting pointless e-mails because they wouldn’t count towards a limit. But, after I returned to the United States, I knew that I wouldn’t use anywhere near 500+ text messages, so why bother paying $10+ alone for text messaging? I’m on a 200 text messages plan, and I use those for sending people casual notes. I don’t start conversations because if I wanted to talk to someone, I would just call them. I don’t see the point in engaging in a one-hour conversation through text messages that I could have in five minutes through voice calling.

And, seriously people, chain text messages? You don’t need to validate our relationship—as family or friends—with a pointless message that says “Little Sandy is sad. Text this to all your friends, and with the tracking number at the bottom, Sandy will see how many people made her day happier.” Hello~?! “Little Sandy” was probably just a bored intern who thought up “little Sandy” as a marketing technique… 15 years ago. Also, didn’t chain e-mails go out of style, oh, I don’t know, around the same time AOL did back in 2001?

Along the same lines, take advantage of the 160-character count in text messages. Texting back “ok” is fine if you know the person has unlimited text messaging, but when you know the person has a limited amount and gets charged for going over, be considerate. “ok” is not worth 15¢. And, jeez, combine messages if you have to. If someone asks “How’s it going? Did you make it home last night without getting lost?” Don’t reply with “I’m doing fine” and follow it up with a new message that says “yeah, I made it home.”

I’m laying down the law for those who text message me, even if it’s inadvertently. Beware, I will use the blacklist function on my phone.

Limited consumer relief for the holidays

2008-12-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

I went in to Macy's to buy a particular item for a particular someone, only to find out that it wasn't on sale. Ok, ok, whatever, I guess it doesn't HAVE to be on sale for me to buy it, I thought. But then, I thought, what other stores might have it? I checked online, using Google's Product Search Mobile, and found out that online retailers price the item anywhere from 5 percent to 50 percent off--and yes, for the exact style and gender. What makes it even more disappointing is that, after looking on the Product Search Mobilee site, I found out that the item is roughly nine months old.

How can Macy's charge full price for an item that's almost a year old? It makes me wonder if they even care about the economy's current state and its affect on consumers--y'know, the people that buy Macy's MSRP-priced goods. I guess all those Macy's Day Parades during this holiday season really tapped them dry. My only hope is that the company lives up to its promise to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

As for me, this, along with the crowded malls, has reaffirmed my intentions to shop online rather than in stores. I'll continue to shop at the Rosses, Marshall'ses, and Targets out there, but, I'm telling you, the Internet is where it's at for the best deals. Who knows... you might be able to find something for 95 percent to 50 percent of the price compared to what's at the mall... or at Macy's.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Making the gradual transition back to Firefox

2008-12-21T23:43:00.000-08:00

As you may have read on one of my recent Twitter updates, I’m having difficulty with Windows Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2. When I open a new tab, it loads slowly even when I’m just opening a new tab for the heck of it. Also, IE8 Beta 2 crashes regardless of how many tabs I have open or how intensive the page loading is. Below is a picture of when I tried to open a single tab for Facebook and then tried to close it. It’s difficult to tell, but the popup menu window at the bottom is frozen on the screen. Bummer…

Lately, I found out that my friends and family are having the same issues with IE8 Beta 2. Quite frustrating, especially for those who aren’t computer savvy and don’t know that there are other Internet-browsing options such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

I hope the IE team at Microsoft has gotten word of this issue. I’d really rather use IE8 than Firefox 3, but if Firefox consistently gives me a better experience, I might end up sticking with it. In turn, that might make me abandon the Microsoft Silverlight components of my Web site, since Firefox 3 and Silverlight aren’t playing nicely. Oh, if only I could get those development hours back… I suppose learning Adobe Flash a little more in depth wouldn’t be so bad, seeing as how probably 90 percent of Web sites choose that as the platform for delivering an interactive Web experience.

Anybody else out there having trouble with IE8 Beta 2? Is moving to Firefox 3 a bad idea? Comments welcome!

A mobile application for you and even you over there

2008-12-18T21:26:00.001-08:00

I'm building a mobile application in Flash Lite that is aimed at Windows Mobile devices, but it will also work on Symbian phones and, eventually, the iPhone and Android—once those two platforms get Flash Lite support.

Flash Lite is an interesting alternative to mobile development, especially for those who just can't figure out conventional application development methods... *cough* me! *cough*

(To give myself at least a little credit on behalf of my efforts, I do know enough coding to give a user the ability to close a program.)

The application, which will also work on Windows and Mac PCs, is a short, but detailed, guide on Japan and covers topics from sightseeing, restaurants, accommodations, and even music and videos.

I'm hoping for a mid-February release, but it all depends on if Adobe releases the Adobe Mobile Packager in mid-January as planned.

I think having it available before May—the cherry blossom season in Japan—would be really neat and produce some decent downloads. Hm, maybe I should come up with a mini marketing scheme for it...

Stay tuned!

Precursor to the Iraq-Bush shoe incident

2008-12-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Here's how I think the whole situation leading up to the shoe-throwing incident went down.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi (shoe hurler): I'm sitting in on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Bush's speech on Iraq.
Friend: I dare you to throw your shoes at him.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi: No way. I'll have no shoes.
Friend: How about for the freshest pair of Nikes?
Muntadhar al-Zeidi: Jordans?
Friend: Sure.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi: Deal.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

The day after :D

2008-12-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

As many of you know (or maybe just 3 out of 5 of you), Yang and I got married yesterday.

Many thanks to everyone who made it out! I know that Sunday evening probably isn't the most ideal time to be out and about, but I think the turnout was pretty awesome, especially on only a few weeks' notice. Also, thanks to those who wish us well; just because you weren't there doesn't mean that your kind words didn't go unnoticed. :)

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Let's make sure that the Make-A-Wish Foundation gets $1 million this holiday season

2008-12-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

This holiday season, Macy's will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for each "Dear Santa" letter that is deposited in the Santa mailbox at its stores. The cap set on the cumulative donation is $1 million. Everyone should take a couple minutes to write out their own "Dear Santa" letter.

No matter how old you are, there's gotta be something you want. Maybe an iPod? Financial relief? A vintage electric train set? World peace? Be creative!

It'd better to have 10 million "Dear Santa" letters and have $1 million donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation than 500,000 "Dear Santa" letters and only have a donation of $500,000. So grab a few friends, buy a book of stamps, and get to it! Be creative!

Sometimes, being late is OK

2008-11-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

Yang and I were having dinner in downtown Seattle on Saturday, using one of our Entertainment book coupons of course. I wanted to catch the next bus and go home, but she wanted to hang out (shop?) at Pacific Place until the next bus came. We ended up missing it by maybe two minutes, so we headed over to Starbucks and shared a pomegranate ice tea.

We hoped on the next bus about 30 minutes later, and were on our way to the Bellevue Transit Center. When we got there, there were police cars, fire trucks, and medical units clogging one end of the transit center. Hearing from other people's conversations, someone had been stabbed.

When we got home, I browsed the Internet and channel surfer for details on what had happened. To my dismay, just about every local newspaper and news broadcasting company focused on the Southcenter Mall, maybe 15 miles away. There was nothing immediately available to tarnish the perceived pristine image of Bellevue.

Last night, something finally showed up on the King 5 News Web site. Someone was selling stolen electronics, and then they pulled out a knife.

If someone can leave a comment and let me know where it's safe to be this holiday season, that'd be great.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Tectonic happenings in Southeast Asia

2008-11-22T11:05:00.001-08:00

What's up with all these significant earthquakes in the Southeast Asia region? The region has been hit by 6+ magnitude earthquakes twice in the past week in addition to many smaller quakes.

I haven't found much information that backs up the polar shift theory that many believe is occurring right now, but it seems like the most plausible reason.

Any thoughts on why this and so many other recent global natural disasters are happening lately?

My first mobile app... with touchscreen!

2008-11-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

I completed my first mobile application for Windows Mobile devices last night. It might work on other mobile devices that have Flash Lite installed on them or can have it installed, too. It's even got touchscreen capabilities, which is pretty sweet.

The next mobile application that I make will go into my portfolio, along with the other projects that I've worked on over the last year or so.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Creating mobile apps sans experience

2008-11-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

I've started to meddle around in Flash Lite, which is a mobile platform for creating applications.

I'll let you know if I come up with something interesting or totally sweet. I may have just put all of my Silverlight development on hold. :P

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Wedding planning

2008-11-11T00:34:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed that I've been a little absent from blogging lately. Well, lucky for you (and me, too), I've got two good reasons for being busy.

The first is that Yang and I are getting married on December 7 (fairly soon, huh?) and have been planning and coordinating things like crazy. Fortunately, we've have had a ton of help from my mom, who called around to various places to set up the essentials. Last Saturday, we went cake tasting, courtesy of Jacqui's Cakes. If you live in King County or Pierce County, I suggest Jacqui; her knowledge of cake styles and taste combinations really helped Yang and I, who are novice cake eaters. For more details, visit her Web site: www.jacquiscakes.com.

The second is, if you haven't noticed, the new Web site. Yup. After three redesigns that will never have the light of day because they're lost forever in PC Recycle Bin land, I've created a design and structure that I really like. It's simple, and I can make updates to it fairly easily. And, I've come to terms with not having to do so much when I know only a handful of people visit this Web site daily.

That's all for now. Yang and I still have quite a bit to do until we can call it good on getting prepared for our wedding day.

A couple of setbacks won't set me back from this Saturday

2008-11-07T01:55:00.001-08:00

In less than 48 hours, I'll be revealing the new ColumnBreak Web site. Not only will it be nicer for my audience in terms on visuals and content, but it'll also be much more convenient for me to make updates. I won't have to be near my computer to make HTML changes; instead, sometimes I'll be able to make changes directly from my phone or from an application on my computer.

More details to come on Saturday when I've posted it.

Letter from the editor

2008-11-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,

Get out and vote.

-Josh

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Today's menu

2008-10-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

Mmm, chili Sunday.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Public records don't seem so effective after they've been confidential for 50 years

2008-10-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

Public records are now available regarding a pilot who was ordered to take out a UFO during the Cold War era. Here's my theory on the UFO phenomena and the lack of mainstream publicity it has yet to receive.

There were a ton of UFO sightings during World War II and the Cold War era. High-ranking military officers and government figures weren't as aware of UFOs, so they probably thought that the sightings were the results of overactive imaginations of the general public. But, as airplanes became more common, particularly during those two times of constant air patrolling, UFO sightings became increasingly common among military officers. The officers were probably required on a case-by-case basis to deny the sightings to the public or to completely disregard it or suffer the consequences by the government and military.

Well, now, most of these pilots are older and don't have much to lose if they proclaim that what they saw or were told by the government was, in fact, true. The first military figure that comes to mind is Philip Corso. He published his accounts of what happened during the Roswell incident in a book titled "The Day After Roswell." The next year, he died. I really wouldn't be surprised to see more military officers confessing their encounters with UFOs during the mid-1900s.

I think the idea that "the public is ill prepared to come to the realization that we are not the only beings in the universe" is a gross assumption. And, even if we aren't prepared to know that there are other beings out there, I think being educated about it would be more effective than discovering the facts by an incident or incidents that would cause worldwide panic.

The results are in!

2008-10-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

The facts, straight from a text message! How prophetical...
_____________________________

NBC News- Tks 4 ur vote & here are the results: Who helped himself the most in this debate?
10% McCain
90% Obama
Rply MENU for text msg alerts from MSNBC/NBC
_____________________________

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Ooops, my bad

2008-10-16T17:48:00.001-07:00

I found out why the username and password prompt kept popping up; I'd linked to something in a private folder that I set up awhile ago. Ooops. It shouldn't show up anymore, now.

Not the appropriate way to go "green"

2008-10-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

I was just on the bus a few minutes ago and saw about four or five cars that had been shot with green paintballs. I'd like to think that whoever did it would get caught, but even if they did, the kids are probably underage and would get let off pretty easily.

Maybe I should have gone to law school, after all. Harsh punishment for all!

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Someone tell these other trees that it's Fall

2008-10-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Getting sick wasn't in my original plan for this weekend, but I guess I just gotta roll with it. I woke up with a massively sore throat this morning, which explains my recent desire to sleep at in opportune times, such as during meetings at work and while watching The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.

Well, I'm home from work now. It's time to Web dev while the missus is away. >:D

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Whoops, forgot to mention

2008-10-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I neglected to mention that tinytube.net is back up. I think it came back on Friday or a little before then.

Get yer mobile video-watching on!

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Check it out!

2008-10-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've got the cure for what ails ya.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Maybe in the next week or so...

2008-10-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

Sometime soon, I'd like to get the new site up on here. It's not going to be some huge, mind-bending change, but it should keep you entertained for the next year or so.

I'll explain more once it's live for y'all to see.

Posting is difficult while sleepy

2008-10-03T00:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what's going on over at tinytube.net, but it doesn't look too good.

For those who don't know what TinyTube.net is, it's a video portal that grabs the video content that you search for from various video-hosting sites. It's pretty cool; not only can you watch streaming videos, but you can also download videos that are formatted for mobile phones.

Unfortunately, it's been down since at least Friday, Septmeber 26.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Microsoft provides incentives for people to use Live Search

2008-10-02T19:11:00.001-07:00

It's called SearchPerks!, and it's actually a pretty neat idea. You add the toolbar to Internet Explorer, and it clocks your searches made through most different types of Live Search searches, through Live Search, the MSN home page portal, and other search tools. It claims to not track the words you use or the sites you go to, but I'm sure it's stored away in some server somewhere. In reality, though, whatever you search for and whatever sites you visit are logged, so don't let that deter you from participating in this program.

So that people don't abuse this program, the limit for ticket earnings is 25 a day. You get 500 tickets immediately just for signing up. Here's the list of prizes that are redeemable after April 15, 2009. There are some pretty neat prizes, but I plan on choosing the last option at the bottom: Give Tickets to a Preferred Charity.

Shame on you, incomplete packages

2008-09-27T02:33:00.000-07:00

Important tip for those who ship products: Open up the product to make sure that all contents are present.

Sending a sealed, brand new game over to Japan only to find out that the game disk is missing sure is a downer and a waste of international shipping costs.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Editors will never go out of style

2008-09-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

A college distributed school handbooks, marking February 19, 2009, as "Black History Linch and Learn" instead of "Black History Month Lunch and Learn." What an embarrassing typo.

My favorite images of typos can be found at www.engrish.com

JPMorgan: "Guess what?" WaMu: "What?" JPMorgan: "I pwn you."

2008-09-25T23:06:00.001-07:00

Oh WaMu, it seemed not so long ago that you were flying high among large banking institutions. But, with all these banks that provided loans to people who couldn't afford them and grossly overcompensated underachieving executives, you've fallen victim to... well, your own actions. Hate it to break it to you, but you've been seized by the government and auctioned off to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Don't worry, though. Just because you're currently stamped with "largest bank failure in U.S. history" doesn't mean it will remain that way; I'm sure there will be more after you...

.. But, for the record, you are the first.

Those cursed Nalgene bottles and Ziplock food containers...

2008-09-23T18:08:00.001-07:00

Hey all, just a friendly reminder to avoid drinking or eating out of plastic containers, especially those that are labeled with recycling number "7."

Green commuters of another kind

2008-09-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

I know for most people, getting on the bus means getting on the bus; who cares where you sit, right? But, what I can't stand is people who fail to notice—or just flat out don't care—that a line has formed near the bus sign. It's pretty annoying when a group of people walk straight up to the bus doors when they should be at the back of the line.

I guess that's the price us green commuters have to pay.

A.M. firmware means I'm late for the bus

2008-09-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

The new Zune update for the device and PC software came out early this morning, so naturally, I updated.

I just got to work, only to find that I'm the only one here. Guess I should've stayed home for a little while longer to play with the updated software...

What's this feeling? I feel like such a... fanboy.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

11 hours left!...

2008-09-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

Until the Zune 3.0 update comes out.

Oh, happy updates!

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Cell phone doubles as a handwarmer

2008-09-15T00:49:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was calling a friend through Skype on my HTC Touch Dual phone. After we talked, my phone was about as hot as the bottom of a laptop. Our chat through Skype (on my end only) also did a number on my battery—about 20 percent in 20 minutes.

In general, cell phone overheating is common when you use device intensive applications, such as playing music or watching videos, and talk extensively. Be careful of the heat that a cell phone can generate.

But, also keep it in mind during the coming winter months.

*This entry was posted from my Windows Mobile device.

Robust functionality or "Aaawww, cute laptop"

2008-09-04T20:32:00.001-07:00

About a year ago, I was really interested in getting an ultra-mobile computer (UMPC) since I was heading off to Japan for a couple weeks and wanted to check e-mail and update my Web site. I played around with them at electronics stores, but soon realized that, as conveniently portable as they are, the small screen really wouldn't work for me. Also, the price just doesn't justify the weak specifications that these units offer.

Now, the excitement is around these mini-laptops, such as the MSI Wind, Asus Eee PC, and Dell Inspiron Mini 9. I'm not so sure these should be considered the "new" thing because they are just smaller laptops with weaker specs. The price isn't even that attractive, compared to traditional laptops that you can buy nowadays.

C'mon, people... an 8.9-inch screen? Reading anything that you would normally read on a 14-inch or larger computer screen would be so tedious. You shouldn't have to make your icons and text "Large" size just to read them. It's ridiculous. I can't imagine someone who wants to remain productive while on the go wanting one of these mini-laptops.

Having a traditional laptop that is more powerful, has a bigger screen, and is reasonably priced should be much more important for consumers than a mini-laptop that seems to follow today's "cute" trend that appeals to many novice PC users.

Windows Live Writer test...

2008-09-01T00:15:00.001-07:00

If using Windows Live Writer actually works, it would sure be a swell way to post entries, rather than logging in to Blogger. Then, I could write blog entries while I'm not connected to the Internet.

McSweetness.

ICE, scream

2008-08-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of paying for a data plan for my cell phone is that I get to read the news while I'm on the bus heading to and from work. This one happened to catch my eye, and I hope you'll find it as disturbing as I did.

The Associated Press, courtesy of MSNBC.com, reports that Jazz, a subsidiary of Canadian airlines Air Canada, will be removing life jackets to save on fuel.

TO SAVE ON FUEL.

Is this what's it's come to? Jeopardizing lives to save a few bucks on fuel?

One plane, which carries up to 50 people for regional flights, contains 55 pounds of life jackets. The company is now telling passengers to use the seat as a floatation device.

Um... does that mean I need to stay buckled into my seat until the airplane captain says it's OK for me to release my seatbelt?

I hope Air Canada doesn't try to play this as being an environmentally friendly solution. I really don't think losing 55 pounds on a flight will decrease fuel consumption any more than if they stopped serving Pringles and gin on the plane.

Or, maybe they should've told everyone on the plane that they can't use the bathroom the entire flight. I mean, c'mon, the airline only flies a short distance. Customers can hold it in for a few hours, right? Puh-lease.

P.S. The acronym ICE (in case of emergency) is a handy contact in a cell phone. Many police and emergency teams know that the acronym stands for "in case of emergency."

For example, if you're out partying on a Wednesday night because, hell, it's a Wednesday night, and just to happened to pass out on the sidewalk, the police or a medical crew could call your contact(s) listed under ICE. What better way of letting people know that last night was a night to remember... or completely forget...

... Or... um, how'd I get here?

Changes to the Web site

2008-08-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

I think it's time to narrow the focus of what the ColumnBreak Web site is supposed to be, since it's been up for almost a year. When I first started this site, I had this idea that I'd update a bunch of sections fairly often, which turned out to be too demanding. Here's what I'd like to do within the next month:

Delete the News page
Delete the Technology News page
Redo the Japan landing page—just the page with the map of Japan
Redo the ColumnBreak Mobile site
Add new videos to the video player on the main page
Start a new ad campaign through CitySearch
End the ad campaign on Microsoft AdCenter
End the ad campaign on Facebook

Guess I better get to mapping my plans to make these updates.

Didn't quite make it...

2008-08-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

For those of you keeping track, I didn't reach my goal of 10,000 songs on my Zune. My tally was 9,975 songs, which still puts me at about 40 songs per day since December 12, 2007.

Just for those keeping count... :P

Unsportsman-Like Conduct

2008-08-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

Did anyone see the immature antics of Greco-Roman wrestler Ara Abrahamian during the Olympics on Thursday, August 14? He removed his bronze metal, put it on the floor, and walked away because, in his words, "I don't care about this medal. I wanted gold. This will be my last match. I wanted to take gold, so I consider this Olympics a failure."

If there's any failure at the 2008 Olympics, it's the attitudes of athletes who whine. Obviously, those who complain were beat for a reason: They were simply outplayed.

Lay off the steroids, man.

10,000 songs by August 15

2008-08-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I made a goal for myself: To meet 10,000 songs played on my Zune by August 15. As of now, I'm sitting at 9,717 songs with two days left and not a whole lot of time left.

You better believe that I'm trying to get those last 283 songs by Friday.

Check out the ColumnBreak Zune counter to see how many songs I've listened to since December 12, 2007!

Opening The Doors to what's going on in current international affairs

2008-08-11T19:41:00.001-07:00

Russia invades Georgia (not the state... the country), and as usual, the United States wants to play hero, meddling in other countries' affairs. I wish the U.S. government would stop trying to show the world that they are all-powerful world moderators, especially when they can't control situations outside and inside it's own country.

Stop fighting with Georgia? Let's try try to stop fighting—physically and verbally—with just about every other major country. U.S. politicians and other high-status individuals who represent America need to get off of this power trip that portrays the United States as this might being that can do no wrong and can't confess to mistakes.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to relax with a movie that everyone should watch: The Doors.

Mobile blogging!

2008-08-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

It took a little bit, but I'm now able to post from my cell phone, which is one feature that I really wanted.

Now, I just need you to use the other feature I wanted, so post those comments!

Well, that settles it

2008-08-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

I was trying to figure out what to do with creating a comment feature on my blog, and then I started thinking, "Wow, wouldn't it be great if I could also make posts from my cell phone? Maybe I should've majored in computer science so that I could figure out how to do it all on my own...." Well, here I am, relying on a blogging service to do my dirty work.

Mobile blogging sure will be nice while I'm traveling and just bored on the bus.