Topic Tuesday #159 2015/08/04 "Moving my cheese"

Topic Tuesday #159 2015/08/04 "Moving my cheese"

I have dove straight into Windows 10. This is not a post about Windows 10, but about migration habits. We have so many things that we use on a daily basis that having it readily at hand is both paramount and sometimes surprisingly difficult. Being an I guy... I have, to be quite frank, too many machines in my armada. I have multiple computers used for my day job, including multiple servers that I log into all the time. I have multiple android devices like phones and tablets that are both for work and play. I have a couple laptops and desktops at home that are for the children and myself as well as development and testing of my skills. I can't even give an accurate number to the mass of hardware I could go through on a day to day basis. So how do I have all the things I need with me? It's not an easy solution, so I have any options and use them all to varying degrees of success.

The cloud is wonderful! Wonderful for small documents and notes and pictures. Anything above 20MB and it becomes a pain because of internet performance, and if you are on a WiFi hotspot and paying for data... FORGET IT. Also there are security concerns. Data breeches are a valid concern in this day and age, so security must also be a component of any solution.

What I end up with is a hodgepodge of solutions. Some in the cloud, some on portable drives that I can take with me, some that are always going to live on a server and network drive that will be accessed by remote control. And many syncing solutions between all of these to ensure everything is up to date and consistent.

Certainly, I am an "edge case". So, I ask you... How do you do IT?

Topic Tuesday #157 2015/07/21 "Home Automation - Part 3 - Amazon Echo and Wink"

Topic Tuesday #157 2015/07/21 "Home Automation - Part 3 - Amazon Echo"

My quest for a Star Trek home experience has led me to Amazon.com. Amazon has released a fascinating device, the Echo. It is an amazing gadget! It is a black cylinder with two high quality speakers, seven microphones, wireless networking, and a brain in the cloud. You wake the device by calling a keyword. It is defaulted to "Alexa" and thanks to that cleverness and a pleasant feminine voice, it is a she, and she is pretty slick.  

Heavy on facts and the occasional dad joke sense of humor, Alexa doesn't have the personality of Apple's Siri, but it doesn't need to be snarky, I have enough of that within my walls. The microphones are pretty sensitive and can listen for the keyword (which can be changed from Alexa to Amazon - but why do that?!) even over music at high volume, and it is very loud when you want it to be. The Echo, just 'Alexa' from here on, has some other tricks up its sleeve- er.. cylinder...

Back in #148 2015/05/19 "Home Automation - Part 2" I wrongly said that Wink was limited to lighting. I was looking at only one of their products lines, the Wink Link, after getting that deal on their z-wave light bulbs. Now that I have been playing with Alexa, I found out that she can talk to the Wink Hub and also another product I am playing with from Wemo.

Wink is rather well equipped for all manner of devices. and has 1GB of storage and 512MB RAM to be ready for the future.

The Wink Hub can communicate with Z-Wave+ (version 4 of the standard) as well as ZigBee protocols, just like the SmartThings Hub. The Wink Hub is also half the price and about 4 times the size of the SmartThings hub. GE, the makers of Wink, are also actively promoting and advancing their product Wink line, with a focus on high end consumers. I am just getting my Wink Hub connected to devices but it promises similar functionality to SmartThings at half the cost with integration to Alexa.

From left to right: The Wink Hub, The SmartThings Hub, Amazon Echo (muted to show the red ring)

WeMo Insight Switch + Bunn Coffee Pot = GLORY

To give you an idea of what the end game is looking like, just imagine Star Trek or Iron Man. This morning I said, "Alexa, turn on the coffee pot." And she did. I had configured the WeMo Insight Switch to be named "Coffee Pot" and after Alexa scanned the network and found the little guy it was able to turn it on or off.

I am not going to lie, I felt like a badass. I was a technomage bending the will of technology to do my bidding by just offering a phrase! Magic. (see Clarke's 3 laws)

Below is a video I found that shows a teardown of the Wink Hub - SO WE DON'T HAVE TO. Crazy informative and in-depth.  Thanks to TheHouseBlog for the research and effort.

Topic Tuesday #152 2015/06/16 "Software-Curses, foiled again!"

Topic Tuesday #152 2015/06/16 "Software-Curses, foiled again!"

Okay, get this: my oldest daughter has been recording herself (with my help of course) doing how-to draw sessions. I was using the cheap cell phone that I got to keep tabs on her (and entertain her) but I am not as steady as a sniper, so the video production quality blows. I'm a techie, so I figure I can do this better than a cell phone. I attached a 1080P webcam, the Logitech C615 http://amzn.to/1JSF2fa to a tripod (it has the mounting built in) and positioned it above her desk.

Awesome!, looks great! but it's upside down... and the angle I have to get things at , it would be over her shoulder and it would be a mess logistically. I don't have another boom that I can incorporate into this, and now it is becoming a huge hassle. I figure I will fix it in software, just flip the image.  

An hour later, and many software trials and failures later, I "think" I can manage it with the Open Broadcasting software (https://obsproject.com/) I was originally using to stream the podcast. But that is less than intuitive to use, so what the hell am I missing?

This would be a problem on pretty much any platform, save smart phones...  The absolute easiest, not the best quality for sure but easiest, is to mount the cell phone to the tripod with a $7 accessory http://amzn.to/1ffUhC8 , manipulate the orientation by just rocking it until the gyroscope kicks to the right angle, maybe give it a charging cable and make sure it has enough space to record, and hit it. Seriously... 2 minutes to setup. Then even if I screw up there was a free app to flip the video. Then just go to the Youtube app and upload the video. No stress, it just works. 

WHY CAN'T MY COMPUTER DO THIS? I love my beast of a desktop and the power of my laptops, but seriously, for simple versatility and functionality a smart phone is absolute champion. Add a couple adapters, and send the video to a big screen and it will function for 90% or more of all you ever do on the web. If you are clever, you can use it to remote to another system, like your power house desktop, and crunch away at the heavy tasks or acquire files you need. 

Life these days is played out in the palms of our hands. It's no wonder everyone you see is looking down at their phones, they are actually living their life on that little screen, falling through the looking glass of untapped potential. I swear once I get my augmented reality glasses, I simply won't know what to do with myself. One day... One day at a time... 

Topic Tuesday #107 2014/08/05 "Some Assembly Required"

Topic Tuesday #107 2014/08/05 "Some Assembly Required"

Today is a day I have been waiting for for a very long time, so even though there are many things in the world I would like to talk about, I can't bring myself to do anything but take pictures and grab a screwdriver. My RigidBot 3D printer has arrived!

I backed the RigidBot KickStarter May 10th, 2013. They had some issues with the manufacturing process and quality control from their China mass production vendors. I don't mind, as life has been plenty busy in between and with age comes a greater degree of patience. That said... I'm outta here like a kid on a new bike at Christmas! See you next week!

Nice custom injection molded Styrofoam packaging.

Layer 1, power supply, stepper motors instructions, etc.

Layer 2, PLA Material, custom cover, and spooler rack.

Layer 3, bottom. Pretty much all the heavy stuff.

@rigidbot @CowenServices

Topic Tuesday #103 2014/07/08 "Wearing Technology"

Topic Tuesday #103 2014/07/08 "Wearing Technology"

I have a confession to make. I *may* be addicted to technology. Hard to believe, I know. But the signs are clear. I have a technolust. Recently, one of my dream fictional technologies has been made a reality. Smart Watches. We are talking Dick Tracy and Batman technology here! Somehow these companies are using Timelord T.A.R.D.I.S. technology to make it all fit inside itty bitty little hunks of expensive glory. I swear this stuff is ridiculous, and we have become completely numb to how amazing it is. This is right in the wheelhouse of Arthur C. Clarke's statement that, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

The rundown of these new wearables start out with Google Glass. Google essentially managed a WiFi/bluetooth tethered android powered camera with a H.U.D. to display small blurbs of data in your peripheral vision. It has various sensors and a GPS radio as well for navigation functions. There are some natural problems with this technology. Primarily, the overt camera wherever you are looking is off-putting to those you encounter. Just seems people don't like cameras pointed at them. Users have garnered the less affectionate nickname: "Glass-holes". Sad really for the folks that forked over $1,500 to be in the Glass Explorer program. The technology, though not exactly revolutionary, was a breakthrough and a rich platform for iterative technology changes leading to the Android Wear codebase that is now integrated into Android Jelly Bean and older. 

Samsung Galaxy Gear Live

Unveiled at Google IO 2014 were three examples of the new Android Wear watches. The Samsung Gear Live, the LG G Watch, and the Moto 360. Samsung has been in this space for a while competing with the likes of Pebble and other upstart start-ups (which I am excluding from this rundown and just sticking to Android). Their first, the Galaxy Gear, has a camera which is pretty cool but the whole thing is tied heavily into their Galaxy ecosystem, making it a non-starter for many who do not own a Galaxy Note 3 or a Galaxy S5. The Galaxy Gear Live, compared to it's predecessors is more for mass market appeal, but does not have a camera, which is a little disappointing in the Dick Tracy gadget department. Since you can use it with any Android device, it is still a huge improvement.

LG G Watch

Apple iPod Nano in Speck Watchband.

LG went with a utilitarian design for the G Watch. Not very elegant. Very boxy. It looks a lot like an iPod nano turned into a watch, before Apple changed the design.  Sadly they didn't build a great deal of utility into it. Unlike the Samsung, it does not have a heart rate monitor. With these devices, fitness is the obvious choice. They have accelerometers, compass, and gyros as part of the system to turn on the face when the watch is raised to a viewing angle, and this naturally works as a pedometer. Additionally the specs seem to all have a microphone, but there does not appear to be any sign of a speaker. You will need your phone with you anyway, as this is a companion device without an internet connection of it's own, so it doesn't really have to have sound.

Then we come to the last of the three, the Motorola Moto 360. Well... It's round! It looks like a watch. A typical watch. The reviews so far have indicated it is quick and feels lighter than some of those really fancy all metal designer watches.  It does have a physical button, though that may just make it look even more like something that should classically be on a wrist, I'm sure they have a plan for it. Given they have not released it yet, the rumors are strong that it will charge without wires thanks to QI (pronounced 'chee') wireless charging that we have seen in the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones. This could mean having to lug around the charging stand one trips away from home, which could be a bit of a bother. All of them seem to feature water resistance (no diving please) which will make for a carefree wearing experience through everyday life. 

Motorola's Moto 360 Smart Watch

These dandy pieces of wearable technology will cost between $199 and $250.  

By the way, my birthday is in November. wink wink nudge nudge.

They are't the VaultTec Pip-Boy 3000, but these will do quite nicely.

Topic Tuesday #93 2014/04/29 "Gun Safety - Hell No!?"

Topic Tuesday #93 2014/04/29 "Gun Safety - Hell No!?"

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The iP1 the first "smart gun" for sale in the United States.CreditMonica Almeida/The New York Times

Last night a story came across my news feed that made me sit up and take notice. It was a beautiful fire arm that I swore was a movie prop. (See Picture) http://nyti.ms/1fHGKgi

The iP1 is quite a stunning looking pistol. It's a .22 caliber and will only fire when a 5 digit pin is input into the watch and is within 10 inches of it. As a technologist, I personally foresee the technology could be embedded in any personal item, as the watch is not as attractive as the gun, that could be a good thing for the $1,800 firearm... That is if the gun, and its technology, are ever able to make it to market. Second Amendment activists flooded social media site like Calguns.net, and called for vigilante-style investigations of Ms. Padilla and Armatix.  One user commented that he had no issues with "...the idea of personally and professionally leveling the life of someone who has attempted to profit from disarming me and my fellow Americans."

The gun lobby in the U.S. is far less concerned (and I'm not being hyperbolic) with the safety of the public than they are with the ability to manufacture and sell guns without any additional safety mechanisms, or smart technology. The company, Armatix, and its chief representative here in the states, Belinda Padila have been ostracized and harassed as part of a campaign to shut down the sale of the iP1 smart gun. They are not alone either, as just last year a study found that 3 other companies came out with a smart safety system for firearms. We haven't heard much about them either...

From the times article:

"Second Amendment defenders argue that once guns with high-tech safety features go on sale, government mandates will follow. They cite a decade-old New Jersey law requiring that within three years of the recognition technology’s becoming available in the United States, all guns sold in the state would have to be “smart.”

“Are we concerned?” asked Lawrence G. Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for gun manufacturers. “Yes.”

The National Rifle Association, in an article published on the blog of its political arm, wrote that “smart guns,” a term it mocks as a misnomer, have the potential “to mesh with the anti-gunner’s agenda, opening the door to a ban on all guns that do not possess the government-required technology.”

Padila and Armatrix continue to look for retailers. Personally, If I was to have a gun in my house, you better believe it would be an owner recognition system. 

A friend pointed out that there may be a better marketing strategy that they missed out on. That if the caliber was the same as is used in the military and law enforcement side arms that they would have a larger target market and potential for more lateral support.  I hope Armatix is listening and coming out with a Desert Eagle equivalent. And if it looks as slick as this model, you might even see it in your next buddy cop film, unless the gun nuts get their way. Eventually, common sense should win out. There have been too many casualties and this allows people to retain their rights to bare arms and adds a layer of protection. Imagine no more accidental deaths from children shooting their siblings in the face. I would like to never see another story like that again.