We went to the Fenrichs' tonight for our annual Halloween party. It was raining like cats and dogs for most of the night, but we still managed to do some trick or treating and the kids had a big time.

Raina, putting her pregnant tummy to good use, was a jack-o-lantern. Delaney was Ariel (the mermaid, not Prospero's ghostly servant, but that would have been cool too). I was a werewolf and Cassidy was a "spooky spirit" (Delaney has Cassidy's wig on in the photo) Rachael (Cassidy's pal) was a groovy witch. All of the kids and most of the grown-ups were in full costume atire. We had a great time walking around the neighborhood.

It was a lot of fun.

Technorati Tags:
halloween

Duncan Riley has a feature at The Blog Herald, an excellent blog that has been on my daily reading list forever, called 100 Blogs in 100 Days.

Newsome.Org was selected for today, day number 54 (which, perhaps appropriately, is also Halloween). I am truly honored to be selected. I have blogged quite a bit about how hard it is for a relatively new blog to get noticed, and this is, without a doubt, the best "notice" we have received. I have found a lot of interesting blogs via this feature, so hopefully a few folks will find me.

Many thanks Duncan!

Technorati Tags:
blogging

The other night at dinner someone said that Halloween was primarily an American holiday. I didn't say anything to the contrary because I wasn't certain, but it turns out that's not the case.

Here the Wikipedia page for Halloween. Lots of information about the origins and celebration of Halloween.

Here is a site that describes how Halloween in celebrated in other countries.

Technorati Tags:
halloween

I trashed my first stab at a podcast and replaced it with the beta version of the now renamed RanchoCast.

This one only has 3 songs, including one of mine- Haunted House, which I co-wrote with Ronnie Jeffrey. It's still in early beta, so we'll see if and how things progress.

I am beginning to formulate a plan for how this podcast might work. Cassidy recorded some on the microphone tonight and seemed to enjoy it. My plan is to implement a family podcast, with everybody selecting a song each week- sort of like Fred Wilson does.

It's going to have to be fast and easy for me to do it regularly. I'm not there yet, but the fact that I'm considering a regular podcast shows that I've come a long way.

Technorati Tags:
podcasts, ranchocast

Old Haunts is a neat web site that includes old photographs of Halloweens long past. Lots of cool stuff.

I wish someone would do a wiki or other collaborative site to compile this sort of thing. I really enjoy looking at vintage stuff about Halloween, Christmas, etc. A few years ago I even bought a couple of 60s era Sears Christmas catalogs off of eBay just to look at all the stuff I used to long for as a kid.

Technorati Tags:
halloween

After I crapped all over podcasting, I went and tried to make one.

Here is the very alpha version of my first KentCast. This is just 5 songs that happened to be in my Playing Now window when I hit the button.

I'll post more later, but I believe the combination of the soon to be released version of Media Center, which I have used for years as my primary music player and highly recommend, and King Sparta's Podcast Creator Plug-In may just be the tools needed to make podcasting easy enough to be useful.

We still have the elephant in the room, and I'll take this podcast down after I test it in favor of some other stuff that I might actually have the right to podcast. But at least I can now create a podcast with a push of a button. Now if I can just find something I can legally podcast that anyone would want to listen to.

UPDATE: I tested and deleted that podcast and replaced it with the beta version of the now renamed RanchoCast.

Technorati Tags:
podcasts

And I own nary a one.

I think of myself as a gadget hound, but maybe old age is catching up with me. C|Net has a list of the Top 10 Must Have Gadgets, and I don't own any of them. Recall that I own or used to own 7 out of their 10 Best Products of the Past 10 Years.

Here are C|Net's current top 10 gadgets and why I don't own them:

1) Sony Play Station Portable: I'm over computer games (with the lurking exception of Civilization IV). Plus I have 2 kids who don't know video games exist and I want to keep it that way.

2) Apple iPod: I don't have many occasions to use a portable MP3 player. If I did, I'd certainly consider an iPod.

3) Sling Box: If I knew it would work flawlessly with my soon to be obsolete TIVO and whatever subsequent box DirecTV forces on me, I'd think about it. But I just don't have many occasions to want to watch my TV from somewhere else.

4) Sony Ericsson W800i: If I don't want a portable MP3 player, I certainly don't want an MP3 phone.

5) Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513: I'm very happy with my Thinkpad Tablet.

6) Archos Gmini 402: A fancier MP3 player that also does photos. Looks neat, but I'd never use it.

7) Nokia N9: I'm not even sure what this is, but I'm certain I'd never use all of its fancy features.

8) PalmOne Treo 650: I wish my firm would switch to these, but they gave me a Blackberry and a Blackberry I shall use.

9) Motorola Razr V3: Another fancy cell phone. Again, I use a Blackberry and if I could change it would be to a Treo.

10) Logitech Harmony 880: I may own one of these one day. I have been a long and loyal user of the MX-800, but the more I read about the Harmony, the more interested I become.

Technorati Tags:
personal technology

One of the most ridiculous things I have ever read came in the mail today.


Some outfit called National Deed Services, Inc., which surprisingly claims to be based in Washington, DC as opposed to Nigeria, wrote me this official looking letter telling me that the U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center "recommends that property owners should have a certified copy of their deed." These kind folks offer to get me one for only $69.50.

Where to start...

First of all, a Google search for the "U.S. Government Federal Citizen Information Center" leads to a lot of pages citing that esteemed web site, but no web site with that exact name. I suspect the reference is intended to be or appear to be a reference to FirstGov.Gov, the "U.S Government's official web portal." I searched for all the likely terms on that page and couldn't find anything advising me to get a certified copy of my deed. So while it may be a good idea, I don't think the U.S. government is screaming for me to pay these folks $69.50 to get me a certified copy of my deed...

Especially when I can easily get it myself for $62.50 less than these folks want to charge me. That's right, you can get a certified copy of your deed from the local clerk's office. In Harris County, the charge is $5.00 for the certification plus $1.00 per page. I have a 2 page deed so it would be $5.00 + $2.00 = $7.00.

I'm not the only person who has a problem with this so called service.

As noted in the article above, it's not illegal to charge someone a high price to do something that can otherwise be done cheaply, so there's nothing illegal about this offer. Plus, there is the language at the bottom that as much as tells you that you are being wildly overcharged (I suspect that some attorney general somewhere required them to add that language). Nevertheless, it's wrong to scare people into thinking this is something they should do to protect themselves and then charge them almost 10 times the cost to do it.

Technorati Tags:
scams

The BBC has an article about a rare black squirrel that regularly visits a garden in England.

I saw a black squirrel when I was a kid. One afternoon, after school, my mom and I were driving from my hometown to my mom's hometown a couple of hours away. The route leads through a lot of pine forests. Somehow my mom noticed the squirrel foraging around near the edge of the woods beside the road. She stopped the car and backed up along the shoulder. We slipped out of the car and watched the squirrel for a few minutes.

I hadn't thought about that squirrel in a long time until the other day when Cassidy asked me if there were red or black squirrels. I told her there were and that I had seen a black one one time. Then a few days later I see a link to this story on Robert Gale's web site.

Technorati Tags:
wildlife

I have written many times about Flickr, the photo storage and sharing web site and community. I think it is the single best addition to the internet in many years. In fact, I did a little experiment and tried to drag my friends and family into the 21st century by getting them to appreciate and use Flickr (the experiment was a total failure, but that had zero to do with Flickr and is a topic for another day).

Today's news is that Flickr has added the one feature that it needed to add to become the undisputed king of photo sites- the ability to order prints. Like everything else at Flickr, this feature was added seamlessly and with many options.

With this addition, you can easily order posters and glossy photo books, prints and even postage stamps, right from the Flickr page. You can select who can order prints of your photos (friends and family or anyone) just like you can select who can see your photos.

Flickr is simply brilliant. If you are a digital photographer and would like to share them with the people you select, Flickr is simply the only choice.

Technorati Tags:
flickr, digital photography

Livermore's Centennial Light is a web site dedicated to a light bulb that was installed in a fire station in Livermore, California in 1901 and has burned continuously since then. There is even a live web cam that shows this old and interesting light bulb.

Technorati Tags:
favorite links

There's an interesting post on Thomas Hawk's page about DirecTV's difficulty in putting together its TIVO replacement boxes.

DirecTV has selected LG Electronics to make the DirecTV branded PVRs and has hired another company to help support MPEG-4. We have no reliable idea when we'll see the HD PVR replacement. A lot of work just to be rid of TIVO. Plus, DirecTV risks losing some loyal TIVO customers who don't want to switch to the new box.

All in all, I'm not sure who is really benefitting from this mess. Obviously DirecTV thinks it can put the money it was paying TIVO into its own pocket- maybe so, but there's just not all that much money to be saved. And everyone other than DirecTV is certainly going to suffer.

Technorati Tags:
tivo, directv

Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has spoken out on DRM and its effect on the listener's ability to use and enjoy the music he or she has supposedly purchased. Almost everything in The Wall Street Journal bores me to tears, but Walt's technology columns are always well written and interesting.

He takes on objective, even-handed view of the issue, recognizing that both sides have legitimate issues. He concludes with this excellent suggestion:

I believe Congress should rewrite the copyright laws to carve out a broad exemption for personal, noncommercial use by consumers, including sharing small numbers of copies among families.

Because of Walt's reputation and reach, perhaps the priority challenged RIAA will actually listen and reward its customers with some logical and fair proposals. If not, perhaps Congress will.

Technorati Tags:
digital music, drm

jkOnTheRun, another Houston guy, has an interesting post about his recent troubles with Roadrunner.

His descriptions of his calls with various tech support technicians are as humorous as they are frustrating. I know well the feeling you get when you identify the script they are reading from and know exactly where they are trying to lead you (almost always to the door that says "not our problem- call someone else"). The problem is that there are only a few alternatives for broadband internet access. DSL is too slow and unreliable. No one uses that DirecTV satellite internet stuff. For me, it's either Roadrunner or Roadrunner. Fortunately, after a very rocky start, my Roadrunner connection has worked very well.

I have been a Roadrunner customer since the service became available several years ago. JK's experience brings back memories of those early, frustrating days. I called more times than I can remember trying to get the cable light on my cable modem to stay on. After I wrote may scathing posts to the Roadrunner newsgroup to no avail, I finally called the President of Time Warner Houston, who had been a client of mine, and begged for help. Finally some guys showed up and got me up and running.

Since then, and for most of the past 4-5 years, Roadrunner has been very reliable for me. Only once or twice in the past couple of years has my service been down- and then only for an hour or so. In fact, I didn't lost my internet connection during Hurricane Rita.

So while I still have bad memories of my prior wars with Roadrunner, my service at the present is stable and reliable. Knock on wood.

Technorati Tags:
roadrunner, cable modem

This is the fifth part of my Thinkpad Tablet PC adventure. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here and part 4 is here.

After a ball of confusion courtesy of Lonovo's wildly unreliable order status page, my Thinkpad tablet PC arrived on Tuesday. The second battery arrived the next day.

Here are my initial impressions.

It is very light- which will be a good thing when travelling. It is even lighter than the Fujitsu I was using- and it has a lot more features, most importantly a keyboard.

Set up was simple. I added the security key to my wireless network and the computer connected right away. I updated Windows and Norton Antivirus, installed Office 2003, updated it, and imported my RSS feeds and bookmarks. In less than 2 hours (most of which was download and install time), I was up, completely updated and running.

A very nice touch is that the battery comes charged, so you can get started right away.

The screen is bright and clear, the trackpoint is firm and easy to use (I like it a lot better than a touchpad) and the keyboard is excellent as you would expect from a Thinkpad.

The conversion to and from laptop to tablet is easy and the connection between the computer and the monitor is very firm and sturdy.

It is easy to hold in your lap and use, whether in laptop or tablet mode.

This computer is going to be fun and easy to use when I travel. So far I am completely pleased.

I'll post at least one more review after I take it on the road, but so far I give it high marks.

Technorati Tags:
thinkpad, tablet pc

You know the drill. Open up your jukebox of choice, point the shuffle feature to your entire library of songs and list, without exception, the first 10 or so songs that play. Each week, I add a little commentary about some of the artists, songs, albums, etc.

That's the Day - Dale Watson (Cheatin' Heart Attack) (1)
Union Square - Tom Waits (Rain Dogs) (2)
Cowboy Romance - Natalie Merchant (Tigerlily) (3)
One Good Year - Said Cleaves (Broke Down) (4)
Makin' It Natural - Dr. Hook (Doctor Hook) (5)
What You Want - The Mertons (Girandole) (6)
End of the Party - The English Beat (Special Beat Service) (7)
Night Riders Lament - Jerry Jeff Walker (Ridin' High) (8)
Don't Keep Me Wonderin' - Allman Brothers (Idlewild South) (9)
Girl About a Song - Jonathan Gregg (Blue on Blonde) (10)

(1) Dale makes good, real country music that sounds like the stuff I heard on the radio as a kid. There's nothing particularly notable about this song, but I'm real happy there are people who still make this kind of music.

(2) My buddy G-Man and I went through a phase back in the late 80s during which we listened to Tom Waits almost exclusively. I love his great songwriting and his ragged howl. This is a fine example of both off of a great album. Sadly, that howl became more and more unintelligible over the years until it turned into just noise sometime in the 90s. I don't buy his new records, but I love his old ones.

(3) I run sort of hot and cold on Natalie. Just when I decide her songs are too generic, I hear one like this one that's so wonderfully wistful. This is a fine song that is going onto my current MP3 CD so I can listen to it in my truck.

(4) Slaid makes good, melodic Americana music. This is a mighty fine song about trying to get your stuff together. In one way or another, that's what we're all doing.

(5) I have always liked Dr. Hook. After the famous Cover of the Rolling Stone, this is probably my favorite Dr. Hook song. Because of the drug-related content, I won't play this one for my kids. But it's a clever and funny song.

(6) The Mertons are exactly the kind of band that makes alternative country (which is a little more ragged and rock influenced that Americana) my favorite musical genre. This is absolutely one of my favorite records and will certainly end up on my Top 50 list. Highly recommended.

(7) I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard this song- the one that really turned me on to new wave music. This is one beautiful song that I will always associate with my discovery of a lot of fantastic new wave bands back in the 80s.

(8) A fine song off of one of JJW's two great records from 1976. He was a little rougher back then- more of an outlaw than an Americana statesman. My favorite JJW record is the much overlooked A Good Night for Singin' from that same year.

(9) A funky guitar driven romp off of one of the best albums by the greatest rock and roll band of all time. This song rocks in a way that simply didn't exist pre-Allmans. If you can listen to this song and sit still, you better check your pulse.

(10) I can't recall how I found out about Jonathan Gregg, but this is the best song on a fine album.

Technorati Tags:
music reviews

Engadget reports that Netflix has abandoned its efforts to reach a deal with TIVO to facilitate movie downloads.

The problem: the Hollywood cartel won't grant the necessary licenses to allow movies to be distributed via download to a TIVO. As Engadget points out, everyone and their dog knew this would happen when the Netflix/Tivo deal was first discussed.

As I have said before, I have loved my TIVOs- even though my primary soon to be obsolete HD TIVO is sputtering to a premature and not uncommon death as we speak. TIVO's efforts at grabbing for a rope while the waves crash around it was noble at first. Now it's just sad.

Technorati Tags:
tivo, netflix

Ultimate Flash Face lets you create a sketch of a face by selecting various facial features- sort of like a police sketch artist would. I tried to create a sketch of someone I know, but I couldn't get it just right.

It's still a neat diversion worth a few minutes of web time.

Bonus link for Friday night surfers: NPR is going to webcast a Son Volt concert at around 10:00 p.m. central time tonight. The show hasn't started yet, but I'm tuned in and waiting.

Technorati Tags:
favorite links

This is the fourth in a series.

(1) I was in Mrs. Rivers' third grade class at Cheraw Primary School. When we misbehaved, we had to stay in the classroom during recess (by far our favorite part of the day) and write "I will not do [bad act] again" 100 times on a sheet of paper. One day just after I finished writing what I would no longer do 100 times and was headed for the door, the bell rang, signaling the end of recess. Without thinking, I said a word I had heard an older kid use. I had no idea what the word meant, but as soon as I said it, all hell broke lose. I was sent to the principal's office to wait as both of my parents were called to an impromptu conference. It was the infamous "f word." I can't recall if I was told what it meant at the time, but I knew for sure that I shouldn't say it again within earshot of a teacher.

(2) I distinctly remember when Robert Kennedy was assassinated on TV. I am not certain if I was watching it as it happened or watching as it was replayed later in the day. I do know that I was the one who told my grandfather about it.

(3) And of course the defining event that year was my dad's death on November 14. I wrote a little about that day in this installment of Five Days in April.

Technorati Tags:
3 things project

I have used My Yahoo as my primary news and information page for many years, and overall I am still very happy with it. With the increasing presence of blogs and other RSS content on the web, however, I have found that many of the pages I read regularly have RSS feeds that can be read via feed readers or other RSS aggregators. In fact, My Yahoo now allows you to add RSS content, and I have done so. But My Yahoo stuffs the RSS content into the existing My Yahoo layout and configuration. That's not a bad thing, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have more control over the layout and the way content is displayed.

Now comes Netvibes. This free web service lets you create a personalized page, similar to My Yahoo, with any RSS content you like. It's still in beta, so it's a little rough around the edges and the true potential lies in what the developers may add in the coming weeks and months. So far, so good, however. It has a very flexible and configurable interface. If you sign up and get login information (which is not required to begin using the service), you can access your page anytime and from any computer (again, much like My Yahoo).

You can easily add content and move it around the page until you get the perfect display. Better yet you can import OPML files as well. You can even import, download and listen to podcasts without any additional software (though I have not tried this yet).

If you use Gmail for email, you can integrate your email account into your page and access your email instantly.

The developers have a blog where you can read about the current and planned features. It's a work in progress for sure, but keep your eye on Netvibes.

Technorati Tags:
favorite links

This is the fourth part of my Thinkpad Tablet PC adventure. Part 1 is here, part 2 is here and part 3 is here.

The good news is that I received a package from Lenovo. The bad news is that is wasn't my Tablet PC. The worse news is that I have no idea when the PC will ship. Very frustrating.

The package contained only the copy of OneNote that is supposed to come with the PC. Of course since the PC doesn't have a CD player, it will be a challenge to install it when the PC finally arrives. That's not a big deal, though. What is a big deal is not knowing what year, much less what week or month the PC will be shipped.

Upon further (and much closer) review of the shipping email from Lenovo (see Part 3), it says that "part of my order" shipped and the part is this lonely copy of OneNote.


To make matters even more frustrating, the Lenovo order status page helpfully reports that my order is in "Packing" and has been for days. Packing must take a long time since the same chart indicates an estimated shipping date of 11/8/05. I conclude from all of this that none of these dates or status designations mean anything. The PC will show up at some unknown future date. Unless I want to call Lenovo again and try to get someone on the phone with whom I can successfully converse, that's all the information I can count on.

The verdict: My once great desire for this computer continues to diminish. If I had a shipping date I could count on, that would help- even if it was a month or two away. The uncertainty is highly frustrating. The new Gateway tablet continues to call my name.

Technorati Tags:
thinkpad, tablet pc

This is the sixth part in my series of favorite records. The list so far is here.

When I lived in Nashville from 1982-85, one of my favorite musicians was John Scott Sherrill. I saw him and his band many times at the Goldrush and other local watering holes. While he is one of the most successful songwriters in Nashville, I can find very little John Scott Sherrill the performer's music on CD, or even LP (occasionally you can find some 45 promos on eBay). The one recording that is available is the only record by Billy Hill, a band he was in in the late 80s with fellow Nashville great Bob DiPiero and some of Nashville's other legendary songwriters and session players.

The Album, I Am Just a Rebel is a virtual clinic of real country music songwriting and playing. Too Much Month at the End of the Money is the kind of songwriting that would have been a huge hit had it been recorded by one of Nashville's marketed stars. Just in Case You Want to Know is a bluesy country tear jerker that you can imagine playing on the jukebox while you drink away your sorrows. One of the best and most unusual covers ever is a countrified version of the Four Tops' Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch. You've got to hear it to believe it, but it works. My favorite song on the record is either the beautifully forlorn Drive on By or the country-rocker Rollin' Dice.

There's great writing and great playing on this record. It's pretty obscure, but fortunately it's available at Amazon and perhaps elsewhere.

Technorati Tags:
top 50 albums, new music

This is the third part of my Thinkpad Tablet PC adventure. Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.

When I got home tonight I had an email from Lenovo telling me that "all or part" of my order has shipped. When I went to the Thinkpad web site and checked my order, the information page reported that the computer has shipped. The extra battery is treated as a "related order" and still has the very confusing dual notation of "2 weeks" and 11/9/05 (more than 2 weeks). This is no biggie, as the computer is the main thing I want, and I can wait a week or two for the extra battery.

I should have the computer on Thursday. In sum, Lenovo's web site is a little confusing and the order status page isn't terribly accurate, but the computer shipped 22 days after I ordered it and, given the demand and the estimated shipping dates, that is pretty good.

I'm satisfied with the time to ship. After Thursday, we'll see how I like the computer.

Technorati Tags:
thinkpad, tablet pc

I think President George W. Bush may have finally lost it.

According to the BBC:

President George W. Bush told Palestinian ministers that God had told him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq - and create a Palestinian State, a new BBC series reveals.

"I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.'"

If these are accurate quotes, I understand this.

I thought for a minute I was reading The Onion.

As a general rule, almost everything about politics bores me, so this is in no way a comment one way or the other about the various wars we are fighting or the possibility of a Palestinian state. But those quotes bother me a lot.

Technorati Tags:
politics

If you're interested in a little more detail on the DVD format war I discussed the other day, Business Week has a very interesting article about it.

The story reads like a high tech barroom brawl, with the Hollywood cartel promoting DRM and lots of it while Microsoft tries, seemingly unsuccessfully, to promote its vision of the PC connected home and keep the X-Box in the race. It's a great read, even if you don't care about the technology involved.

Technorati Tags:
dvd

This is the second part in my Thinkpad Tablet PC adventure. Part 1 is here.

I checked my order status last night (using Internet Explorer, of course, since Lenovo's order status page won't work in Firefox).

From the first time I checked my order status until last night, the information page has always stated that my computer was back ordered for "2-4 weeks." I was hoping we were getting closer to 2, since I ordered the computer nearly 3 weeks ago. Alas, such is not the case.



Last night, the information page reported only that my computer was "back ordered" and suggested that I call for further information. The "Estimated Ship Date" column, however, has an estimated ship date of 11/8/05 for the computer and, oddly, 11/9/05 for the extra battery. A little more than a month away, assuming (which I do not) that this date is accurate.

I really want this computer, but my zeal is beginning to fade. Now that Gateway has released its new Tablet PC (heavier, but with more stuff on it), I am rethinking my commitment to the Thinkpad.

The verdict: I still slightly prefer the Thinkpad because this will be a travel computer and it is lighter. But I am not so committed to it that I will wait and wait and wait. I'll give it another week and see where we are.

Technorati Tags:
thinkpad, tablet pc

Delaney had her first soccer game this morning. She jumped right in and played as hard as she could. She kicked the ball a few times and (mostly) paid attention to the game.



With a little more practice, she can be a good player. Most importantly, she had a good time.

I wrote an article for the October edition of the RED News, a Texas commercial real estate publication. It's an article about negotiation strategy, using as an example an actual negotiation I had with Cassidy the other day over an Icee.

You can read it here or at the RED News website.

Technorati Tags:
negotiating, real estate

The New York Times has an interesting article about the forthcoming DirecTV brand digital video recorder. A few highlights:

1) DirecTV is spending $30M on an ad campaign to market its new digital video recorder. The non-HDTV model (which no one should buy since the future of TV is HDTV) will be available in late October. The HDTV version, which DirecTV hopes will be an HR10-250 (the HDTV TIVO I and many others paid $1K a piece for) killer, will be available in mid-2006.

2) The TIVO/DirecTV contract requires DirecTV to pay TIVO around a buck a month per TIVO subscriber. All of this for a buck a month. I'd gladly pay another buck a month if it would keep TIVO on DirecTV life support.

3) DirecTV will continue to "support TIVO" without marketing it. That's great for non HR10-250 owners, but the HR10-250s don't support MPEG4, which DirecTV is moving to, so they'll be obsolete doorstops soon regardless of DirecTV's stealth support.

4) The TIVO/DirecTV contract expires in early 2007, so even the stealth support may end then. Given that possiblility, why would anyone who uses DirecTV even think for a second about buying a TIVO. That's right, they wouldn't, which is exactly what DirecTV wants.

5) TIVO has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against EchoStar, the owner of Dish Network, a DirecTV competitor, over Dish Network's digital video recorder. Certainly, this raises the possibility of a suit against DirecTV.

TIVO continues to look for a way to reinvent itself in a market that is sadly moving against it. I wish it would work, but as a DirecTV customer, TIVO is no longer an option for me. It looks like people who want to keep using TIVO are going to have to switch back from satellite to cable. I just don't see that happening to any significant extent.

Technorati Tags:
TIVO, DirecTV

One of the primary purposes of Newsome.Org is to introduce and explain computer-related programs and features to other in-betweeners like me- people who are the parents of the youngsters to whom computers and the internet are as integral as the telephone and the children of our parents who have no intention of ever embracing computers.

These days almost everyone has a work laptop and those of you who don't soon will. Wireless network connections for connecting to a home or office network and the internet are becoming commonplace in offices and in hotels. In fact, the Days Inn in Cheraw, SC has something the very upscale Barton Creek Resort and Spa doesn't have- free, high speed wireless internet!

In any case, wireless networking has gone mainstream and most newish laptops have wireless network capability. This is helpful for home networks- we have a secured wireless network at our house that allows me and our guests to use our laptops anywhere in the house. Wireless networks in offices allow visitors to connect to the internet in conference rooms. Wireless networks in hotels allow you to use your laptop from the easy chair, bed, etc. The problem is that many hotels, even nice ones, don't yet have wireless networks. Rather, they have a cable-connected network, usually via a little box on the desk. This works fine until you want to move to the easy chair on the other side of the room- beyond the reach of the network cable.

Well, thanks to Linksys there's a cheap and easy solution to this problem. I bought a Linksys WTR54GS Travel Router from Newegg for $79.99. I took it on its first business trip last week, and it was invaluable. Here's how simple it was to use.

I plugged it into the electrical outlet in my hotel room (the built in plug is retractable for easy storage). I plugged the hotel room network cable into the router (the router comes with its own network cable just in case the hotel room or other location doesn't supply one). I turned on the router. Immediately I had a fast, stable network connection. Simple as that. I didn't even need to use the installation CD that came with the router.

Granted, my instant network was unsecured, but it's easy to set up a secured network and you only have to do it once. After that, a secured network is equally instant.

The router is small and comes with a handy carrying case for the router and the supplied network cable. All in all, this is a must have for the frequent traveler.

Technorati Tags:
wireless network

I have never seen a more aggressive attempt to stuff a cat bag in the bag than the idiotic one currently being waged by the record label cartel against anything the doesn't involve paying $15 for a CD that costs about a buck to produce. Now they're after satellite radio.

I guess if I'd been riding the backs of artists and their fans for as long as the record labels have, I'd try to stuff that cat too. The problem is that it won't work. The digital age is upon us record label friends and all you're going to accomplish over the long run is to alienate people like me who used to buy a lot of your product.

Here's what needs to happen. Some smart person needs to creat a company that duplicates CDs and creates and duplicates the associated packaging the way Qoop produces photo books. The same company could distribute the music on CD either by itelf or via Amazon and other online stores. The same company, or even the artist himself or herself, could distribute the songs electronically via MusicMatch, Yahoo Music, etc.

That would show the record labels that they don't control the game anymore. Let's put the power and the money back in the pockets of the artist.

Technorati Tags:
digital music, music industry

Here's a really cool combination of technology and the great outdoors. National Geographic has a live webcam at a watering hole in Botswana. Unlike 99.99% of the webcams in the world, this one actually works.

It pans around the watering hole and seems to zoom in when the computer detects movement.

I've seen quite a few animals over the past few days- wildebeests, some sort of an antelope looking animal and a bunch of birds. An