When did I get this old?

Thursdays are the days you get to know me a little better – I never know what I’m going to write about… although it’s usually tech related, some times I still use this as a personal blog and reveal a little more of who I am. I write my articles on weekends and at night. If you think I’m up at 5 writing these so they’ll publish at 6 AM, you might just be off your rocker! If I’m up past midnight, then I get a bad night’s sleep, I’m cranky. I’m out of shape. I hate going out. I don’t like loud music (unless it’s my own). I’ve become my father, and I’m only 27!

My friends and I called my father Red when I grew up. The parallels between what was happening in That 70’s Show and my life weren’t just relatable moments, they were frighteningly accurate. So when we all got a little older, we called my old man Red. Which is who I feel like, already.

Surely that can’t be. I’m not married; have no kids; I don’t have a mortgage or a car payment; my only real debts are student loans; I have no family drama; no particularly scarring events from my childhood that really ruined me for life… so what’s my problem? Why am I so much more content with staying in and watching something on Netflix with my girlfriend, rather than hanging out with a group of people? Why couldn’t I care less what everybody else is in to?

Perhaps this is just a phase and I’m being a rebellious in my own way, since I wasn’t particularly rebellious as a teen. Maybe this is my rebellion. I am going against the norm by being so placid! Well, whatever it is, it needs to change. At least some of it. I’d like to get out of this funk. A night listening to an orchestra is a fine way to spend an evening, or around a fire with friends. Perhaps it’s time to get myself in to some form of better shape, too? Maybe I should take advantage of my health insurance and see a General Practitioner for the first time in several years… maybe I can involve the few loyal readers I have to somehow light a fire underneath me and start to turn things around. I’ll find a way to involve you all, yet.

Windows Phone 7’s only problem

Windows Phone 7 is a beautiful operating system. It is an environment that is unapologetically different from the things that came before it. It is efficient, fast, simple, vibrant, easy to use, distinct, professional, and fun. It’s so many different things at once that you think it would be confusing, or contradicting… but it isn’t. At every turn and from every angle, Windows Phone 7 has it’s act together. Sure people mention that some apps are missing from Windows Phone 7, but really there is only one big problem with Windows Phone 7: t doesn’t solve any problems that the other options competitors in the field don’t already solve. Continue reading “Windows Phone 7’s only problem”

How CISPA is both BETTER and WORSE than SOPA

CISPA supporters say that the bill has nothing to do with seeking out people who pirate movies and music, and shouldn’t be looked at as the next SOPA. Although I think the true goals of the CISPA Cybersecurity bill are more innocently motivated, and the overall efforts of the bill should even be applauded, the problem isn’t what the bill contains. CISPA wants to allow business to share information about hackings and cyberthreats with government agencies – to more quickly identify and respond to cyberattacks. Imagine a network of information sharing, where large scale business, the likes of Google, Sony, Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL (you know them now as Engadget, Joystiq, TechCrunch, Huffington Post, et al…) all actually worked together to protect your privacy. All of that is fine. It’s what CISPA leaves out that frightens me the most. Specifically, CISPA leaves out any language that clearly identifies what it should be used for. One could, quite easily, argue that ‘criminal activities’ and ‘hacking’ can simply be defined as file sharing, and thus your information goes to the government and they can have you arrested. You could be strong-armed to stop using BitTorrent by your ISP (even if you argue that your use is not for illegal purposes), by them saying “quit it, or we’ll sick the feds on you.”

CISPA, like nearly every technology-related bill to date seen on Capitol Hill, has vague language that can be interpreted and bent in many, many ways. It does great things at its core, but could easily be twisted in to making something like MP3 swapping a near-felony, if the ambiguous phrasings of the bill were later left up to interpretation by a judge. We shouldn’t throw it out there and sort through it later; the bills proposed should have cleaner language and specific, targeted purposes. These are laws we’re enacting, after all.

And on over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website and see how they break down CISPA for a better understanding of why it’s important that this bill not be enacted as it is right now.

And who are you?

As you may have noticed, I do a little self promotion from time to time. I think every blogger does, we have to. I find it most fascinating when I am practically BOOED away from one social network or another, as though I am just your average spammer.  Trust me, the eight cents I earned from AdSense didn’t make it “worth it.”

When I recently posted my own opinions on what Microsoft hopes to accomplish with Windows 8 to various sites, it got mixed reviews.  The websites that allowed simple down voting without reason interested me the most.  It’s almost as if people are asking questions like “and, who are you?” Or, “why should I care what you think?” Then again, it may have just been people habitually down voting anything with the word “Microsoft” in it.

Still, I pondered the “who am I” question. I suppose I don’t have a direct answer to that. I’m just someone like many of you who have been around computers and technology a long time. I don’t pretend to be a knowledgable source with any insider information… I just look at situations and technologies, then talk about them.

I invite comments on the blog, and even tried to make it easy using Disqus.  I just hope people take a little bit of time to learn about me, both personally and professionally, and give a little thought to some of the things I say.  If I’m not making any sense, then let’s talk about it in the comments!  I’m always interested in what people are thinking.