Livescribe even caught my wife’s attention, back when it was Fly

A couple of years ago, my wife showed me an article about the Fly Pen, a pen that used the paper on which it was writing as its user interface.  Brilliant.  It used a special coordinate system provided by “micro-dotted” paper to help the pen know where it was on the paper.  Amazing technology from a team led by Jim Marggraff at LeapFrog (makers of the LeapPad).  The FLY Fusion Pentop Computer itself was very cool but never really caught fire as a kid’s toy.  The micro-dot coordinate system went on to be used in LeapFrog’s popular Tag Reading System book products.  (Admittedly, at the time, I thought the Fly pen was just a ruse to sell special paper.)

The idea is simple; cram the computer into the pen, make the pen the computer. Jim Marggraff left LeapFrog and started a new venture to push this idea forward.  His company released the Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen with some fanfare, and has recently released the more sleek and higher-capacity Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen.  They look like all kinds of “wow.” 

According to the Livescribe folks, “Echo™ and Pulse™ smartpens are functionally the same.”  The older Pulse model uses a proprietary pen cradle for connecting and charging, while the new Echo provides a much more universal micro-USB port directly on the pen (read: no more freak-out if you forget the cradle at home).  You can see their official word on the other differences here.

I really want an Echo, though I’ve been down a similar road before.

I have terrible memory skills; truly atrocious memory skills.  If I don’t write it down, it will not likely be remembered.  I’ll doodle symbols and representations of concepts as mental placeholders to replay my meetings in my head, recounting the journeys to the hard-won conclusions.  Without preserving these epic tales on paper, the previous battles are lost and we are prone to retelling and reinventing the entire process at each meeting, burning my clients’ valuable time and money.  One of my responsibilities as a consultant is to be a good steward of their time and money.  As such, I send meeting recaps/summaries (usually along with my bill).  The more detailed and precise the recaps, the more forward progress we can make and the better I look in my clients’ eyes.

I have wound my way through countless note-taking techniques.  I refuse to type on a keyboard during a meeting because it is impersonal and rude.  Somehow, writing on a piece of paper conveys a collegiate respect while typing on a keyboard conveys a disconnection, as if you’re working on your thesis instead of listening to their wisdom.  Also when I’m talking to my clients on the phone, I don’t want them to hear me typing.  As such, my note-taking is almost always pen-based.  I have tried paper notebooks, note pads, and even pen-based tablet computers with MS OneNote, but they have always crushed me under their redundant effort; either I ended up with mountains of paper to transcribe (and the doodles need to be recreated in Visio), or I was forced to sync the tablet with my desktop and be tempted to use both the laptop and desktop (risking dreaded sync issues).  Also, the tablet computers just didn’t have the resolution, flexibility, reliability, or battery life of a pen and paper.  When you think about it, you just can’t beat the “pen and paper.”

So, the siren song of the Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen is calling me once again to the shore of note-taking paradise.  It’s features are sexy; audio recording automatically linked to your drawn notes, text OCR, bookmarking, search, you can print your own special paper from your (compatible) laser printer, and the note management software looks ridiculously-great.  You owe it to yourself to watch the demo videos.

So, will the Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen be my last stop in my journey for the perfect note taking workflow?  I can only hope.

Windows Phone 7 ‘Bar napkin’ template PDFs

I’m a pencil and paper kind of guy.  I like scribbling and drawing arrows on dead trees.  I like doodling on napkins and drawing stick figures.  That’s just the way I roll.

As I was noodling around with a Window Phone 7 app idea, I realized that I needed a visual canvas on which to explore my genius. The Design Templates for Window 7 is an excellent start, and there are some other great resources available from the official developer site, but I needed some sheets with blank mockup screens… so I made some. Read on to view and download the files…

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Should I run updates even if my computers are working?

Had a great question from one of our customers:

“Should I update my tablet computers even though they seem to be running OK?” 

It sounds simple on the surface but, as usual, there are some nuances that deserve attention.

There are four kinds of updates:

1. "Windows Update" updates,
2. Software Vendor application updates,
3. hardware manufacturer updates,
4. BIOS updates

Here is the rundown and rules for each:

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Len does “Villains” for Monsters By Mail

I created the character “Complexitor” to embody our tendencies to over-build projects.  That is why Len Peralta’s “The Cleverer” caught my eye.  Len is doing ‘villains’ for his summer “Monsters By Mail” theme, and he created “The Cleverer” for one of his customers.

You must go check out Len’s work, and you should order your own custom/personal/one-of-a-kind villain for just $25.  It’s a ridiculously-cheap gift idea for yourself, or for the one you love to hate.

See “The Cleverer” at Len’s Villains photo stream on Flickr, and visit his Monsters By Mail site for the details no how to get your own.

Step right up. Domain names for sale!

Back in “the day,” I bought domain names like penny candy.  I have kept many, expired many, and transferred some.  I have a few more domain names coming up for renewal that I no longer want to mess with.  Let me know if you want them, and I’ll participate in a transfer with you if you cover the renewal fee.  Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for them to expire and for the grace period to expire:

• PODSURVEY.COM
• PODBABBLE.COM
• BRAINCASA.COM

This one is also available for discussion/negotiation, though I still have some ideas for it:

• IWASADEMOCRAT.COM

p.s.  The fact that I own this domain name does not indicate or reflect my political views either way.  Don’t read too much into it.

Lying to Netflix about Loving It

I lied to Netflix today.  I have been lying to Netflix for some time now.  The first time I did it, I felt dirty and wrong as if I was betraying my core principles.  While it has gotten easier for me to lie to Netflix, I still feel much more conflict in my soul than the issue deserves.

My infraction: I rated Star Wars Episode I: Clone Wars as "Loved It."

I assure you that I did not love that movie. I found much of that movie unbearable, peppered with collisions between "fantastical visual effects" and "hollow, wooden performances," all girded by weak dialogue.  Being a child of the 70s’-80′s, a part of my childhood died the day that I saw that movie.  Even so, I told Netflix that "I Loved It."

I lied because I love the Science Fiction genre.  Serenity is a surprising and wonderfully-built movie based on a brilliant FireFly, and the new Battlestar Galactica was a brilliant and epic work.  I suppose that being a SciFi fan is a bit like being a stock car racing fan; it’s as much about the crashes as it is about going fast.  Well, Star Wars Episode I was a car crash.  Even so, I told Netflix that "I Loved It."

Why lie?  I feared that, if I told Netflix the truth, they would think that I dislike all science fiction.  I feared that, if I dis’d on such an iconic movie (or a member of such an iconic franchise), I would somehow be banished to the kiddie pool with My Little Pony and Dora.

This illustrates one of the problems with the ‘black box’ systems, systems inside which you have no visibility; I don’t understand how the Netflix Ratings system works so, in the absence of an official explanation from the creators of the system, I will just make something up and call it the truth.  It’s what we humans do.

I ‘know’ that the Netflix rating system (called “Cinematch”) is a complex system involving millions of data points, each one describing the intersection between "the taxonomy of a movie" and the human feeling of "connection to that movie."  Both dimensions of that single data point are hopelessly wishy-washy and difficult to quantify.  I know that the success of the Netflix rating system is predicated upon massive collaborative filter, correlating the individual ratings with elements of taxonomy, weighted by category preferences, and sugared with demographics and profile matching to other people who have similar preferences.  The system is likely so complex that even the makers of the system do not understand why the resulting correlations exist; they just do.  Is this an example of a system whose resulting complexity exceeds the creators understanding?  If Netflix recommends a movie called "42" to me, I’m crawling in a hole and waiting for the apocalypse.

How personal and contextual are Netflix ratings? How many levels of discrimination are in the Netflix rating system?  If I rate "Star Wars Episode I" as a "Didn’t Like It" movie, will that poison the entire Sci Fi pool for me? I’m too chicken to try.  I fear messing with such a powerful and mysterious system.  I fear that the system will not forgive me and that it might cache my mistake forever, even if I change the rating back to "Loved It."  There’s a cautionary phrase in my business;  If it ain’t totally broken, don’t fix it worse.  I am heeding that advice.

Sometimes I wish that I could substitute my own questions about some of the movies on Netflix.  When I am conflicted about a movie that should have been better than it was, I’d like to answer one of these questions instead:

• "How much did you want to like this movie, or the idea of it?"
• "How disappointed were you by this movie?"

The Netflix ratings model is simple, and it seems to work… mostly.  (Except when it considers "CHiP’s" a cop drama.)  I’ll just continue to lie to it occasionally, I’ll continue to feed it $15/month, and it will continue pooping out relevant and entertaining DVDs for us to watch.

For all of the underlying complexity, the Netflix Cinematch rating system really is remarkably accurate and easy to use.  Instructions: Rate each movie by clicking 1-5.  *Duh*  I like simple, and the whole Netflix experience is simple.  You add movies to your list.  You get a red envelope in the mail, you send a red envelope back. Rinse and repeat. 

If you’re not a Netflix member, you really should Try it for FREE!. In the interest of full disclosure, using these links to create your new Netflix account will also send a little ‘commission love’ back to yours truly.

Pimpin’ Wally

Pimpin’ Wally.  Not only is it fun to say, it’s fun to DO!  If you’re a .NET web developer, be sure to check out Wally McClure’s podcast about “Routing with Webforms.”  The dude is an accomlished author and an independent software developer, so he knows his stuff.  We could all use a bit more Wally in our lives.

My Vista has RLS

My laptop has restless Leg Syndrome.  It’s not running anything special, but it wiggles around every so many seconds. No SQL Server, no “programs” running, nothing special.  Yet, look at the Task Manager:

Jeez.  I wish my laptop would settle down and relax.

Embarking on an affair with Ubuntu

I am a die hard Microsoft guy.  Vista really is a complex masterpiece offering countless features that are not visible to the users. I’ve been running Vista Ultimate for two years without a hitch.  I just installed the (1 hour) Service Pack 1, so I hope that doesn’t screw the pooch.

While Vista is evolving to be a rock-solid and secure operating system… I find that I don’t need much of it. Needing Vista’s security architecture is a bit like needing Kevlar body armor.  Sure I would be safer walking around downtown wearing full battle gear, but wow it’s heavy and slow.  I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of safety for convenience.  I personally believe that Microsoft has overcompensated in Vista for the years and years of abuse, and the latest operating system is now a paranoid “end-of-the-world” nut that never leaves the apartment without a well-armed security force.

Meanwhile, Ubuntu and Google Chrome are skipping la-dee-da through the streets naked.  I am jealous of their trust and freedom.  Those bastards.

So, I am downloading Ubuntu now so that I can try it.  They’ve offered me a hit off of their huka, and I’m going to inhale.

I can’t go entirely Linux-crazy;  I am a software developer with large knowledge investments in the .NET and MS SQL spaces, so I will have to stay close to Windows for the near future.  Only time will tell…

UPDATE (2 hours later):  The Ubuntu experience is inferior.  No thanks.  I’ll stick with Vista, thank you.

Things people say during roll-out of v1.0

My wife attended a training session at her work for a new ‘super-duper computerized system’ that is replacing an old paper-based system.  Things are not going as well as they had hoped. 

So, the new computerized system looks pretty, but time and time again the trainers had to say things like:

• That’s not working yet.
• We’ve called [the vendor] and no one has called us back.
• We thought we had that fixed, but it’s not working.
• We have that one the list.

 AAACCCKKK!

Love you!

I have delevered a couple of ‘version 1′ products in my lifetime, so I understand the challenges of that first roll-out.  That’s why we “grizzled ancients” cost so much to hire.  We might not get it perfect the first time, but we track ALL of our problems, keep the process as transparent as possible for the customers, and we know how to answer the damn phone when customers call. 

Delivering a v1 product is not about delivering perfect software and then watching the money roll in; it’s about delivering a product that mostly works and answers 90% of their needs, providing confidence to the customers that you are deeply comitted to their hopes and desires for the other 10%, and that you will not quit on them and disappear.  (Ironically, that is exactly what happened to our customers when my last company closed its doors, so you can imagine that I have some deep-seated feelings about comittment, as well as some unresolved disappointment in my last company’s owners.  Never again.)