Editorials

Cablevision vs FiOS – Choosing Bundled Cable Options

We are finally getting close to moving into our new home, and of course my number one priority is getting the Internet up and running. There are two choices for our area, Cablevision or Verizon FiOS, and both are relatively similar. We had both at our old house, so we are fairly familiar with the customer service pros and cons of both. The bigger issue is the labyrinth of bundled deals available. How do you determine which deal is the right one? I called both companies to get more information, and was very surprised by the results! First, I made…


Amazon Kindle Paper White Commercial a Sign of the Times

  Amazon’s new Kindle Paper White commercial shows just how far we have come in a relatively short period of time. Allow me to offer a bit of personal background. A little over a decade ago, a debate raged within my religious movement regarding rabbis officiating at ceremonies celebrating same-sex couples. My position on it was clear, and I told my Board of Directors. One of my most stalwart supporters, a man whose wisdom guided me on many issues, disagreed strongly and went so far as to almost beg me to vote otherwise or, at the minimum, to abstain. I respectfully told…


Have Electric Cars Become Practical Yet?

One of the things I have been thinking about since the eruption of the Tesla/New York Times feud, is whether electric cars are truly practical yet for the average family. I’m not talking about a $100,000 Tesla S, or taking a road trip up the Mid-Atlantic coast in the middle of a harsh winter; I’m talking about for local driving, commutes around town, etc. Can electric cars fit into a real life scenario well, or are there just too many drawbacks? For me, the biggest issue is the range. Even if it’s just tooling around town, the miles can add up…


Tesla Motors vs The New York Times

When something comes from a trusted news source, it carries a certain cachet; there’s an expectation of truth, integrity, and objectivity. The only time objectivity gets a pass is when something is entitled “opinion” or “editorial”, but reviews are always expected to be reasonably objective. So when The New York Times published John Broder’s scathing review of the Tesla Motors Model S electric car, it was natural for their readers to assume that the review was accurate based on the experience of the reporter who wrote it. But as it turns out, John Broder may have exaggerated his experience in…


Is Nokia Dumping Samsung for Copying Their Technology?

I have been critical or at least suspicious of Samsung for many years for simple reasons: I find that they employ an ‘end justifies the means’ mentality, paired with a ‘fast follower’ technical approach, that allows them to overtake competitors with solid products that too-closely resemble the competition. Micron was the leading memory company in the world until they fell victim of Samsung, Apple is parting ways with Samsung after a few years of bitter lawsuits over technology copying, and now AppleInsider poses the question “Is Nokia dumping Samsung for copying their technology?” in their post Nokia rumored to join…


Utilizing Smartphones in School

When I began teaching, no students and few teachers had cell phones. Most of the classrooms did not even have internet and everything was accomplished with books, pen and paper. Of course, as of late, every student has a phone. In fact, in my current classes, every student but one has either an iPhone or an Android phone. As phones began to become more prevalent, it was a constant battle making sure they were turned off and never in sight; this was a cat and mouse game that drove teachers and administrators to their wit’s end, although as long as…


Windows 8 Upgrade Odyssey – When the Poop Hits the Fan!

I have to give you a disclaimer right up front:  So far, BOTH computers I have that run Windows 8 have required a complete re-installation of Windows 8.  I do not find the OS to be inherently stable, and if you are buying a new computer or tablet that runs Windows 8, I would encourage you to BACK UP FREQUENTLY.  If I had the option to choose between Windows 7 or Windows 8 on my computer, I would choose Windows 7 every time.  However, for a tablet running Windows 8 that was designed to do so, it is less of…


Microsoft Surface and Windows RT: Playing in the Windows 8 Sandbox

A Little History… A while back I took the plunge and made the shift from an iPhone to a Windows phone, first with a Nokia 900 and later with a 920.  It was an interesting exercise.  I learned a lot, discovered some new ways of working, and learned to make some compromises.  I even learned that some things I thought were “critical” to my daily functioning really weren’t so critical, after all.  True, I am heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem for apps and movies, but music is pretty much DRM free these days.  Books are still problematic no matter…


Smartphone Cameras Change Everything: Winter Storm Nemo vs Blizzard of ’78

This week marked the 35th anniversary of the Blizzard of ’78, and as a result we have seen some of the iconic images from that storm on web sites and social media. I have a few pictures that I’ll share here. The other day it was snowing – pretty snow floating to the ground and coating everything. I snapped a picture with my smartphone camera that went to our photo stream, and my wife saw it and remarked that it was a pretty shot … and that is likely the only attention it will ever get. And as snow started…


USPS Saturday Service Cut: The Revolution Will Not Be Sitting in Your Saturday Mailbox

For as long as anyone alive can remember, the mail has come on Saturday. Since 1863 the mail service has offered delivery six days a week, through rain, snow, sleet or hail! Well, that last bit has softened, and we have already missed one day this winter since our local carrier couldn’t get into our neighborhood safely. But in the same way the post office itself is open on Saturday to get out letters or mail back those Netflix DVDs, delivery came on the weekend which gave you a chance to grab a movie from Netflix or a game from…


Bar Mitzvah VINvite – Technology Meets Tradition as Bar Mitzvah Invitations Get Streamed

Back in the fall of 2009, Judie wrote a post entitled Technology Meets Tradition: And a Kindle Shall Lead Them. It discussed my use of a Kindle DX on the bimah (pulpit) during the Jewish High Holy Days. Some thought my use of an eBook reader was a bit odd, but for me it was simply a matter of my replacing one book (dead tree) with another more modern version. In addition, as someone on the progressive side of my tradition, I am not bound by the traditional restrictions regarding the use of electronics on the Sabbath or holidays. From…


2013, A Windows “Upgrade” Odyssey – Part One Preparation & Installation

When Windows 8 was first coming out, I knew I wouldn’t like the Metro IU very much on a desktop computer and so I never even considered “upgrading” my desktop. A surprising set of circumstances brought me a Windows 8 tablet, and that was my first experience hands-on with the new OS. I can say that on a tablet computer with very limited memory, that the Metro UI is actually fun, and is not entirely dissimilar to iOS or Android tablets. The added benefit of actually running a full version of Windows 8 in the desktop mode however, is amazing!…


Why ChromeOS Is Positioned to Attack Windows 8, and Windows 8 Deserves It

I have something of a unique perspective on ChromeOS. See, one day in December 2010, I came home to find a mystery package on my doorstep from Google. It turned out the “Sure, I’d like to beta test a Chromebook” form I’d filled out netted me a CR-48, one of the original beta Chromebooks. So I’ve seen the operating system mature from a simple web browser to a capable operating system over the last few years, and I have to say, it’s impressed me immensely with its stability and flexibility. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Acer is seeing…


The Image That Helped NewEgg Crush a Patent Troll

The idea of a ‘patent troll’ has gotten taken way out of context in the past few years, with the Apple-Samsung cases being used by some to state that Apple is a patent troll. But while it could be debated that some of their patents are overly vague, or that they are over-zealous at prosecuting others, they are anything BUT a patent troll – because the patents in question were created based on an actual product that THEY made! A patent troll is someone who doesn’t really create anything, but instead files patents against holes in existing IP where new…


Why Barnes and Noble’s Store Shutdowns Are Not The Real Danger Sign

In the Harry Potter books, Voldemort’s symbol appears above the houses of wizards who have been marked for death. Lately, it seems like Barnes and Noble’s stores have the Dark Mark over them. No matter what the company says or does, the news is always greeted with the same reaction: DOOM! The latest round of “B&N WILL DIE” is due to comments from the company that they plan to downsize their stores from almost 700 to closer to 450 in about ten years. Is this the beginning of the end, or a natural and planned contraction? Will there be a…


Cyberlink Ultra FAIL!

I’ve been working to recover from a major hard drive crash. Fortunately, I knew it was coming…those telltale crashes from nowhere and other glitchy warnings. I have what I thought was a pretty safe backup set up, and so I haven’t “lost” anything exactly. I got my backup drive up and running, but decided that I was going to take the plunge and prepare a different drive to upgrade to Windows 8. To get ready, I got a different hard drive, and did a completely clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate. I’ve actually never done that before. My backups all…


Attack of the CES Booth Bimbos

My apologies for the rather sexist title of this post. I tried to find something more “PC” but could not come up with anything that was even close in its accuracy when trying to describe the situation we ran into time and time again during CES 2013. As is so often the case at trade shows, there were numerous attractive women in scantily clad outfits showing off the latest gear. In fact, in some cases, referring to them as “scantily clad” would be an overstatement. For example, on the first morning the show floor was open, I happened to pass…


Lance Armstrong’s Offenses Transcend Cheating, Are More About Abuse and Coercion

Last summer, I wrote about Lance Armstrong saying that he gave into the “need to be seen as better than all others that they are willing to go to any length – and take any number of people with them – to feed their ego-trips and need for adulation. Including cheating, and conspiracy, and use of drugs that have shown long-term health effects, and so on.” In his interview with Oprah he more or less confirms ALL of that … but as Carly pointed out, his motives were very likely not particularly pure. In terms of the interview itself, some…


Why Lance Armstrong Deserves That Lifetime Ban Despite His Confession

I never really gave Lance Armstrong much thought before this summer’s news of lifetime bans and sanctions for doping. It was shocking to see some of the reports and the depth of performance enhancing drug use that had penetrated professional cycling. As much as it shocked some people (or confirmed the suspicions of others), professional runner Lauren Fleshman has a more personal view as a fellow athlete. Her response to Lance’s confession, and rumors that he is only confessing to get his ban on competing lifted, is an insight into how much of a dirty shadow Lance casts over professional…


Bus Shelter Infographic Advises to ‘Stop Being Black’ to Avoid Police Searches

We would like to think we are living in a ‘post racial’ society, where someone would be judged based on their merits rather than the color of their skin or national origin or religion. But we only need look at the last political election to realize that racial and other discrimination issues continue to exist, along with a rising ‘victim mentality’ in the white and Christian majority communities that complicates any progress towards finally ending the conflict. The issues trickle down to the way people are treated by police, and has been detailed by a group calling themselves “Racism Still…


Interesting History Lesson on the 2nd Amendment and Slavery

There is something about the mental image of 20 six and seven year old kids shot to death, some as many as 14 times, by an American citizen using perfectly legal and licensed weapons, that causes people to demand that SOMETHING must be done about the level of gun violence in our country. Others say that ANY restriction of guns is an attack on the 2nd Amendment. This isn’t meant to be a diatribe on gun violence or ultra-powerful lobbyists or what I think we need to do or anything else. It is more about the history of the second…