2005 Year in Review - The good and the bad

2005 was a year of ups and downs. Here are the highlights from my point of view:

• Good - My wife and I bought our first house
  
• Good - I lost over 30 pounds on Jenny Craig
  
• Bad - My best friend Doug found out he has cancer
  
• Good - Microsoft tries to be more like Apple
  
• Good - My 2005 Civic Hybrid gets stellar gas mileage
  
• Good - agámi launches NAS storage product
  
• Good - We switched to Vonage IP phone service
  
• Good - My brother's company, Carcrafter Engineering, gets a graphic and architecture overhaul, thanks to my friend Darryl (architecture code) and me (design)
  
• Good - D&D Dogs, our online virtual pet dog business in Second Life, continues to do quite well in sales.
  
• Good - Google expands portal services
  
• Bad - Microsoft faces $2.4 Million/Day fine
  

Second Life reaches 100,000 residents!

The online virtual world of Second Life announced today that they have reached 100,000 residents. This is a huge milestone for a "game" where there is no monster killing, level grind, or even plot for that matter.

It is a testament to the fact that there is a niche market for a creative outlet where digital artists, programmers, architects, business people, and socialites can gather together to build a virtual world all their own.

For those of you who know me, I have been involved with Second Life since their early beta in 2003. My blog portrait is actually a picture of my avatar in Second Life. It's nice to see SL grow and mature, and here's hoping to an even better 2006!

My new music/technology blog

I noticed that I kept posting here about how technology and music come together, so I decided to start a blog dedicated to the topic. Come see Silicon Music!

What I got for Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas, and that means there's torn wrapping paper all over the floor in the living room, the cats are trying to eat it, and I'm slowly slipping into a chocolate induced coma. Gotta love this holiday!

So what did I get? Well, here's the list!

• Garmin StreetPilot 2720 GPS for my car! Yay!
  
  
• 2006 Monty Python Trivia Calendar - That's even better than.....a shrubbery!
  
  
• $50 gift certificate to ThinkGeek.com - For the geek in me :-)
  
  
• $100 gift card to Target - Gonna go crazy!
  
  
• A Home Depot gift card - Not sure for how much
  
  
• Enough chocolate to make Jenny Craig roll over in her...well...bed.
  

It's been a good Christmas :-)

Self tuning guitar

Engadget reports on the Transperformance System, which allows for a guitar to tune itself. Quickly change your tuning at the touch of a button! Very interesting!

Microsoft faces $2.4 Million/day fine

This is freakin' ridiculous. The European Commission has threatened to fine Microsoft up to $2.4 million a day if it fails to open up Windows to competitors. Microsoft legal chief Brad Smith says "We've shipped a new version of Windows, we've paid a historic fine, and we've provided unprecedented access to Microsoft technology to promote interoperability with other industry players...In total, we have now responded to more than 100 requests from the Commission."

What ever happened to free enterprise? Why should Microsoft have to bow down to the competition just because they got to be so powerful? Screw that! Microsoft owns Windows and they should be able to do whatever the hell they want with it. Period.

Things like this reek of socialism to me. If Microsoft makes it difficult for rivals to compete, then they are doing their job right. That's business. Competitors need to innovate and think outside the box to try to one up Microsoft. Don't go crying to governments saying they aren't playing fair. Makes you look like big cry babies who can't make a better product or can't market a better product properly.

Stop crying, you little pussies. Start competing the right way. Remember, if you can't stand the heat...

Microsoft trying to be more like Apple?

People who know me know that I have an aversion to Apple, and a soft spot for Microsoft. I know, it seems backwards by today's concensus, but Apple has always proven to be an arrogant, elitist company, which rubs me the wrong way.

That being said, I have always acknowledged Apple's talent for user interface design and style. Sure, it pisses me off that I have to say I like something about them, but I have to be honest. Their designs rock...more than Microsoft's.

Well now, that may all change. ZDNet has announced that Microsoft has hired user interface guru Bill Buxton, a designer known for his work in human-machine interfaces. This is an attempt to bring Microsoft up to speed on better usability for their products, and hopefully add an Apple-ish flair for style.

GO BILL (both Gates and Buxton)!

'Second Life' turns attacker in to FBI

The online virtual world of 'Second Life' is so open ended that the entire world is created and programmed by it's digital citizens. This open-endedness can come at a price, though. It is fairly trivial within the world to create a denial of service attack that can bring down the entire grid. The scripting tools to do so are built right into the environment.

But hackers and script-kiddies take note: C|Net reports that Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life, are coming down hard on the attackers...turning them over to the FBI. Second Life citizens are actualy happy about Linden Labs hard stance...it keeps their world up and running if attackers fear the consequences.

Google expands portal services

Yes, Google keeps adding stuff! This time around they added user created content to their homepage portal. Check it out.

Also, they've added Web Clips to Gmail, which is basically customizable RSS feeds that display over your inbox. More ways to get the info you want!

Zubbles! The colored bubbles!

Now this is a good idea! Made with a special dye that actually disappears and doesn't stain, these bubbles are the culmination of 10 years of development.


Now Zubbles are going to take the toy industry by storm. Watch for them soon!

Intel creates a Tablet Telecaster

Yes, Intel has teamed up with Fender to create the world's first Tablet PC/Guitar hybrid. Personally, I wish it wasn't a Telecaster, as I'm not too fond of them. Gimme a Les Paul or Paul Reed Smith any day!

Who's fault is it when someone diesfrom online gaming?

Red Herring reports on a Chinese boy who jumped to his death re-enacting a scene from World of Warcraft, an online role-playing game he was addicted to. The boy's parents are suing the makers of the game, Blizzard Entertainment, for the death of their child.

Worse than that, the Chinese government is looking into how to restrict online game playing time for the entire nation to try to avoid similar incidents. Apparently, gaming addiction is big in China, and this is not the first fatality related to it.

But who is really at fault here? Blizzard? The parents? The boy? I can't say, but I will say that it should NOT be Blizzard. Just because they make a very successful game does not hold them responsible for people who have trouble telling reality from fiction. This law suit should be thrown out of court, in my opinion.

100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English

Very interesting site. How many of these words do YOU mispronounce? Check it out.

Does this mean what I think it means?

I shot this picture with my camera phone when we stopped at a gas station the other night. This sign was hanging over their garage.

Does this seem odd to anyone else?

What crazy holiday falls on your birthday?

Mine is "Run Up the Flagpole and See if Anybody Salutes It Day". What's yours?

History's 10 worst Software Bugs

As a computer programmer, I've seen my fair share of bugs. But none of my bugs have EVER killed anyone! Check out History's 10 Worst Software Bugs as compiled by Wired News.

e-paper coming!

Now this is cool! Imagine opening a magazine and seeing a video play as part of an article. Or having animated instruction manuals.

Gizmag reports that Siemens has developed a printable, low-cost, disposable video display that can be printed on paper, cardboard, plastic, just about anything!

Coming in 2007...Check it out!

Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 3

(This is part 3 of my post titled Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 1 and Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 2)

There's no question that open source vs. commercial debate is interesting, heated, and neverending. I liken this debate to traditional bipartisan government politics. On the left we have the bleeding heart liberals, fighting aganst the man, struggling to make the little guy heard. On the right there's the corporate big-wigs, who support big business and share a laissez faire attitude.

Let's see...which is which? Not too hard to see that open source = left and commercial = right. The interesting part about all this is that almost all the people I talk to out here who are big open source supporters are also left leaning, Starbucks hating, Microsoft bashing, tree huggers.

Now I consider myself independent and non-partisan in my views. I believe in many Democratic ideals, as well as having some strong Republican views. Not to mention some of my Green Party and other leftist viewpoints as well. So you might say I am a political "mutt" with left and right wing leanings.

I like Starbucks, Microsoft, WalMart, Target, and all the other big businesses that have come to signify "the man", as well as Adobe, Windows, Macromedia, and other commercial software. I also like PHP, MySQL, Linux, Apache, and other open source software that I use daily in my career.

So where does that leave me here in Silicon Valley? Basically, nowhere different than anyone else. That's the magic of the Bay Area. Tolerance. Diversity. I have shared my views with many and have very interesting debates, but then continue with what we were doing. It's all good.

Which brings me to my conclusion on this entire topic. Open source vs. Commercial? Simple...it's all good.

The first annual World Usability Day

This is an important topic for everyone who has to deal with end-user products. So, basically, everybody. World Usability Day was created to help everyone know more about the ways to help create a better user experience of our world. Basically, take a user-centric approach to design.

Alternative uses for the bible

Interesting web page. I am not saying I condone these alternate uses for the bible, but I thought it was quite an interesting read!