a gthing science project

Posted by Sam at February 27th, 2007

Among the ongoing online nerd battles, none is more popular and controversial as browser choice (except Mac vs. PC). Do you use Firefox or IE or Safari or Camino or Opera or what?

I’m here to tell you today what I use, so that you may benefit from my superior computer knowledge.

My browser of choice: Lynx.

Lynx gets rid off all the crap - the images, the flash, the javascript, pretty much everything except the text. Run in full screen mode with a classic terminal emulator like GLTerminal (complete with 2400bps modem emulation and screen flicker), Lynx is about the fastest no frills browser around. I’ve been using it since 1992.

Here are some shots of my Macbook Pro running Lynx.

gthing.net

google.com

Digg.com

Posted by Sam at February 27th, 2007

A lot of chatter is going around the intrawebs about how the iPhone is going to be Apple’s next Newton. In fact, independent research even confirms that almost nobody is willing to pay the high price attached to the iPhone.

The research claims that only 1% of people would actually be willing to switch carriers, and pay for an iPhone. That’s right, only one percent. The article suggests that if the price was closer to $200-$299 it would be a sure win, with 42% of people saying they would buy it.

What a miserable failure. They’ll be off the market and populating Wal*Mart discount bins before the end of the year.

Wait a minute … what exactly was Apple’s target market share for the iPhone? Let’s see, Steve Jobs said in his keynote that they are aiming for … yup, one percent of the market.

It’s interesting that leading research aimed at making the iPhone look like a failure and Apple look bad in actuality just confirms exactly what Apple was going for. It took them six weeks to say what Steve Jobs already said in his keynote. If anything, the “research” just confirms that iPhone is going to be a great win for Apple.

One percent of the cell phone market is huge.

In other news, leading research suggests that 42% of potential Ferrari owners would buy one for $20,000, but only 1% would pay $400,000 for it. The Ferrari has been declared a miserable failure.

Disclaimer: I am not buying an iPhone, at least not a 1st generation one.

People say the iPhone is nothing spectacular, because LG and others are coming out with similar looking phones. What people don’t realize is that the hardware is nothing special, it’s the interface that will make the iPhone revolutionary. I’m looking forward to more competition in this space. As long as phone makers keep missing the mark, every phone will be a PITA to use.

Posted by Sam at February 23rd, 2007

You may recall my recent article about the Cingular stores owned by Spring Communications in Orem and Provo. I wanted to update you all as to the status of my complaint because some very interesting things happened with Cingular themselves as well as with Spring.

As I noted in my article, Cingular went into damage control mode and gave me a great deal on the phone I wanted to convince me to stay on their network. This was pretty amazing in and of itself, but the most impressive response came from Spring, the main reseller for Cingular in Utah and Colorado.

If you look at the comments on my article, you will see a comment from Jason Ellis who, as it turns out, is the president and CEO of Spring. In his comment he apologized on behalf of Spring and asked to get in touch with me. I emailed him my phone number, wondering if he would ever actually call - I mean Spring is a fairly sized corporation and Jason probably keeps himself busy enough without having to contact pissed off customers.

To my surprise, Jason did call after all. After a little phone tag Jason got ahold of me on Monday. Apparently my article had gotten some exposure, and even though I never directly reported a complaint to Spring, it came to Jason’s attention and he wanted to take care of it personally.

Jason apologized again for the poor service I received in the Orem Spring store, and asked for another chance at having me as a customer. He admitted that they had had some other complaints from that particular area, and that the problem was most likely not employee level but with management and that he would have to look into better training or whatever needs to be done to fix the problem

And you know what? I believe him. I didn’t sound like corporate-speak to me. Jason sounded genuinely sorry and like he was really going to take action to fix the problem. I was very impressed with the conversation I had with him, and even that he would contact me directly - I mean what’s one customer after all? How much can I and my website really effect their bottom line? But it didn’t seem like the bottom line was what Jason was worried about - he was worried about fixing the situation first, and I’m sure as a result his bottom line will be improved.

Jason explained that he felt like saying sorry wasn’t enough, and wanted to offer me something for all the trouble I had been through. He insisted that I take something. He offered any wireless device I wanted or any accessory - basically anything I wanted for free.

Now, my first instinct here was to turn down his offer, let bygones be bygones. But he was insistent, so my second instinct was to go for gold and ask for another 8525. I could sell it on eBay or something and make a quick buck. But after considering that for a minute I decided it wouldn’t be right to do so - I mean, after all, I never did actually end up buying anything from Spring - I’m not really their customer because they drove me to working with Cingular directly.

So I told him a bluetooth headset would be pretty cool. Not to pricey, but it would be cool to have and Jason could still send me something. He promised to send “two of the latest and greatest” headsets out overnight the next morning.

As promised, I received the two headsets wednesday morning. He didn’t lie either, he sent me the latest and greatest headset available. I actually ended up trading one back in at one of the stores for a pair of bluetooth headphones (nice Jabra ones).

Jason also promised to give me a good experience in the future. He gave me the contact information for the Utah South regional manager, Lance Paulson, who is familiar with the situation. He told me to contact Lance next time I was ready to upgrade my device or for anything that I needed. I was promised that Lance would meet me in the store, if necessary, and make sure I had a good experience the next time around.

Let me just say that Spring’s response, in particular that of Jason Ellis, was outstanding and exemplary. To be contacted by the president of a large company because you had a bad experience in their store is simply amazing. I’m sure Jason doesn’t spend a lot of time on the phone with customers, so it made me feel like Spring really cared about what I thought of their store and the crappy experience that I had.

So Cingular and Spring brought me back - a pissed off customer who was ready to leave both companies behind for something else. Like I said before, I have been reasonably happy with Cingular and would have been sad to leave. I’m glad it didn’t come to that.

I will continue to recommend Cingular as a service provider, and specifically Spring as a place to get a phone, because I know they will back up their commitment to excellent customer service. There are two Spring stores located in East Bay, one in the mall, and two in Orem - on University Pkwy and 800N and State.

Thanks to Jason Ellis for contacting me and rectifying the situation - and thanks for the goodies!

Posted by Sam at February 23rd, 2007

Thepiratebay, a popular bit torrent tracker (read, a place to download movies and music), has long stood up to the constant pressure from the RIAA, MPAA, and even their own government in Sweden.

Last month, the guys who run the pirate bay announced they were going to buy their own country,
(read: an off-shore platform or an island), declare independence, and be done with international copyright law forever. They solicited donations to help them buy such an island, which fizzled somewhere around $20,000 according to them.

In an interview with one of the founders, he basically said the whole thing was just a way to get more press, and that the only reason they wanted to buy an island is so that they could “see their name on google earth.”

Now all their users are up in arms. People who donated were promised citizenship in the new quasi-country. Their users are now talking about suing the pirate bay for soliciting money under false pretenses.

Now, just so we’re clear: These people gave MONEY to PIRATES. PIRATES.

I really hope the irony isn’t lost on everyone.

Posted by Sam at February 20th, 2007

I arrived at work today to a package sitting on my desk from my brother Daniel. I assumed it was just a package from one of our suppliers that he slapped a label on, but upon opening it I found a note from him:
(Outside) Congratulations, you’re old and fat!

(Inside)
Happy Birthday
Dear Fatty McFat Fat,

(Then there is a picture of balloons with the caption “birthday ballons”

You’re so fat that it make me nauseous. Which is a problem because even when not looking at you, your fat creeps into my peripheral vision.
Please, please, please try to look less like a beached whale.

Love, Dan

P.S. I’m surprised you can even read this with all that fat drippin’ over your eyes - You’ll never be a model lookin’ like that. It’s disgusting - Happy Birthday

Then there were two cases of SlimFast below the note.

Posted by Sam at February 19th, 2007

Preston’s sister in-law is visiting work today and working on her awesome website. Go check it out for all your bunny base needs.

Posted by Sam at February 16th, 2007

I recently got a new Cingular 8525. Unsatisfied with any themes I could find, I made my own. Here it is for anyone out there using a Windows Mobile device.

Behold it here:

Get it here:

GrayBot.zip

Install it in the Windows directory on your Pocket PC.

I think the file contains everything that is needed. Let me know if you have any problems. Enjoy!

Image from here via pixelgirlpresents.com.

Posted by Sam at February 16th, 2007

As some of you may already know, I am a big Brian Regan fan. He manages to pull of a unique and hilarious blend of physical comedy, impressions, and interesting observations on every day life that makes him a great comic.

One of Regan’s greatest points is that he is also a comic that you can watch in mixed company. His jokes are not inappropriate in any way, which is more than I can say for most comics. He really does a good job of showing that your jokes don’t have to exclusively deal with sex and racism to be funny.

A friend of mine from work recently set up a Brian Regan fan site. I was actually impressed, he put some good thought into it and has a lot of great content. Don’t miss out on the videos section, which is full of clips of Regan’s most popular sketches - including many I had never heard before. There is also a transcripts section which is promised to be released soon - which I think shows some real dedication. Although, I’m not quite sure how funny his sketches will be when they are written down.

Posted by Sam at February 14th, 2007

Here is Danny’s Mac (it’s actually a powerbook G4) sitting on his glass-top desk.

Danny was unaware of a battery recall, because his battery was not included in the original recall which he checked, and was added to the recall in a letter which was sent to him. Having checked the website, he didn’t look at the letter to see that his battery had, in fact, been recalled.

Yesterday the battery became so hot that it cracked the glass below it. Apple agreed to replace the battery. Danny said he was sure that if he left it on it would have started a fire it was so hot.

Apple is not paying for the damage to the desk, but since they sent Danny a letter saying the battery is unsafe, I would venture to guess they are not responsible.

Posted by Sam at February 14th, 2007

I came home tonight to find Skillet, my sugar glider, sprawled out on the top ledge of her cage not moving. She appeared to be dead. After watching her for a few minutes and seeing no signs of life, I reached in and pet her on the head a couple times and noticed that her tail was moving.

I removed her from her cage and brought her upstairs. For the next few hours I tried to keep her warm, offered her water and food, and kept her awake. She is really weak and appears to be very sick. After a few hours she did perk up a bit and start trying to walk around, although she was really shaky. She drank a lot of water, but hardly touched any food.

After she seemed to wake up enough and regain her strength, I left her in her cage with plenty of food and water. I also made sure the room was plenty warm.

I’m not sure if she’s going to make it. She’s so weak she can’t even climb to the top of her cage. She keeps trying but just losses her grip and falls. I left food and water on the level, so it’s not out of reach. I’m pretty sad. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but I hope she makes it. I’ll check on her in the morning.