and Another Thing....

Redesigning: Cubicles

2011-07-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

Here's an article from FastCompany, where they asked some folks from the big design firms like Herman Miller and Steelcase to imagine cubicle design to enhance both comfort and collaboration. As much as I wish cubicles would go away, in favor of more open and flexible space, they probably won't, so this design is at least a bit of a compromise towards improving some of the limitations of the design of more traditional cubicles. I especially like the hexagon shape, and I suspect it would also increase person-per-square-foot efficiency. The automatically activating noise-cancellation speakers would be great, too!

Full article here: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/157/redesigning-cubicles

See the full gallery on Posterous

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For a Company That Sells Productivity, A Space That Fosters It (37Signals)

2011-07-27T13:43:00.001-07:00

Inside 37signals' new office in Chicago.

When you're a company that focuses on productivity tools, you set a high bar for your own practices. For the last seven years,37signals, a company that produces products like the project management software Campfire and Basecamp, as well as the popular blog Signal vs. Noise, prided themselves on their flexible working habits, even though those habits were born out of necessity. (read full article here: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662465/for-a-company-that-sells-productivity-a-space-that-fosters-it )

Plus a video:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1755695/creating-a-productive-office-space-with-jason-fried-of-37signals

Jason Fried of 37Signals (http://37signals.com interestingly, they make collaborative web-based products like Basecamp and Campfire), speaking about how workspaces need to be sure to provide quiet areas to help employees concentrate, as well as providing areas to converse and socialize. I thought it was interesting that they are trying to have the area be fairly quiet, but it's 10,000 square feet! There's also an article describing the materials and design of the new space; personally, I think the felt looks great, and I bet it is fantastic at dampening sound.

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Notes in the Cloud

2011-06-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

Let's say that you have a Mac computer (laptop or desktop), an iPhone, an iPad, and maybe more devices. How do you keep all of your notes to yourself organized? Here are three ways to do it; they take a little set-up, but are very easy to use and keep "in sync" after. And, with one exception, all are free! (Note that all of these methods require Internet connectivity in order to sync, but they do keep a "local" copy on each device as last synced.)

Formal Notes

Use Evernote.

Evernote has clients for the Mac OS and Windows, as well as applications for most mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, etc.). In addition, there is a full-featured browser-based client you can use without any download. Just create an account on their website, install the applications on any and all of your devices, and log in. Any note you create in one location is auto-magically synced to all the other locations. The Search feature in Evernote is augmented by a powerful character-reader, which even lets you find text within an image. This really works.

Notes can consist of text, web pages (especially easy using the Evernote Web Clipper for browsers), photos snapped with your phone's camera, PDFs, emails, audio notes, and more. Any of these note types can be created on your iPhone or your Mac. If you upgrade to the Premium account, you can upload any file type. Premium also expands your storage allocation, and allows notebook sharing, all for $45/ year. But there's still plenty you can do with the free version, so try it out!

Evernote Article List on Mac

Evernote Article List on iPhone

Evernote Article List on iPad

Informal Notes

What about all those little tiny snippets of things you run across? Sticky-note type things, maybe something you got on your phone, but you'd like to see it on the big screen of your computer, or conversely, you'd like to take it with you? Temporary-type things, like an address you're about to put into your GPS, or a list of things to edit on your TiVo to-do list. Evernote can do all of these things of course, but what if you don't want to "clutter up" your Evernote notebooks? I've tried a few integrated systems for this, as well as Evernote, but I've recently discovered this method. Note that this solution only works on Macs and iPhones/ iPads; I'm sure you can find something similar on other platforms. So if you'd like to set this up the way I do it, follow these steps:

1. Dropbox

You should be using Dropbox anyway, say, to sync your 1Password file. But here's another way to use it for little snippets of notes. Set up your Dropbox account, if you haven't already. In your Dropbox folder on your Mac, create a new folder called "Notes".

2. Notational Velocity

Download a copy of Notational Velocity (free) and follow the directions to install it (easy, the usual way). After you install it, launch it, and go to the Preferences, and select the Notes panel, then the Storage button. For Store and read notes on disk as:, select the option Plain Text Files.

Back in Finder, open two windows side by side. Navigate one window to " ~/Library/Application Support/" and find the "Notational Data" folder. In the other window, navigate to your your Dropbox folder. Drag the "Notational Data" folder into your Dropbox folder.

3. PlainText for iPhone & iPad

Install PlainText on your iPhone and/ or iPad through iTunes, either through your Mac or directly on your iPhone. After it's installed, launch it, and go to to the Settings menu (little gear icon), and pick Dropbox. Tap the text field to the right of 'Linked Folder' then enter the folder path "/Notational Data". Then enter your Dropbox account name and password. Repeat this for your other iPhones and iPads. :)

Now, any note you make or change on one of your device, will automatically appear on all your devices! I find this so useful I keep my Notational Velocity (NV) notebook open all the time, set to launch at startup.

Notational Velocity Screenshot

PlainText Screenshot

Web Pages

Notice in the above reference to little scraps of information, I didn't mention web links. A common occurrence for me is to get a URL via email or a text message on my phone, but I'd rather read it on "the big screen" of my Mac. I use Instapaper for this, and it works great. Here's how to set this up:

1. Sign up for a free Instapaper account. Drag the "Read Later" bookmarklet to your Browser's Bookmarks Bar.

Whenever you see a web page that you'd like to store in Instapaper, click on the "Read Later" bookmark button in your browser and it will be saved in Instapaper:

2. Install Instapaper for your iPhone and/ or iPad. This costs $4.99, but is a Universal app (which means it runs on, and looks good on, both the iPhone and your iPad--see below). Remember, you only need to buy one copy to use on both your iPhone and iPad (as long as both are on the same iTunes account). After you install the application on your iPhone, launch it and log into your Instapaper account. You will instantly see the web pages you have saved in Instapaper from your Mac, and they've even been optimized for your smaller screen. You can also add web pages from your iPhone and iPad by installing the iPhone Mobile Safari bookmarklet, although if you are syncing your bookmarks from Safari via iTunes, the bookmarklet should already be there.

One of the best features of Instapaper is its integration with other applications, including a variety of Twitter clients and GoodReader. Instapaper has some additional features, like a built-in dictionary and choices of fonts, and even a "Dark Mode" to make reading easier in the dark. It also features the ability to send your webpages to read on your Kindle or other e-reader.

Instapaper Article List on Mac Screen

Instapaper Article List on iPhone Screen

Instapaper Article List on iPad Screen

Text Version of Article on Mac Screen

Article on iPhone Screen

Article on iPad Screen

Finally, remember that the best feature of all of these note-keepers is that, although they require Internet (WiFi or 3G) access to download your notes and web pages, everything is then stored locally so even if you are off-line, you still have your notes. And, any changes and updates you make will automatically be synced next time that device can get to the Internet, so feel free to work away on whatever device you have with you!

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:15:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:09:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:04:00.003-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:04:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:03:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T12:02:00.003-07:00

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look at all the young #Stanford fans playing basketball at Tourney Town

2011-04-03T12:02:00.001-07:00

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Stanford Band playing basketball at Tourney Town

2011-04-03T12:00:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T11:57:00.001-07:00

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watching Pep Rally #Stanford Band best as always. (others boring) #spoiled

2011-04-03T11:55:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T11:54:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T11:53:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably, the Tree knocked out in 2nd round. A&M didn't bring their collie mascot :(

2011-04-03T11:52:00.001-07:00

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watching Mascot Challenge. Inexplicably Tree knocked out in 2nd round, but A&M didn't bring their collie mascot

2011-04-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

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At the WBCA High School Girls All-Star game; here's a picture of the two coming to Stanford. Go Cardinal!

2011-04-02T14:05:00.001-07:00

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Woohoo Stanford Band won Battle of the Bands! Go Cardinal!

2011-04-02T13:27:00.001-07:00

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Sitting across from the ESPN crew (Roz on far left) Go Cardinal

2011-04-02T12:27:00.003-07:00

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Sitting across from the ESPN crew (Roz on far left) Go Cardinal

2011-04-02T12:27:00.001-07:00

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watching Stanford open practice :)

2011-04-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

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Here's our first lucky sign: our lunch bill at airport: $13.13, room floor: 13, Chiney's number: 13!! Go Cardinal!

2011-04-01T09:27:00.001-07:00

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How Telecommuting Lets Workers Mobilize for Sustainability | Reuters

2011-03-14T16:18:00.001-07:00

For U.S. businesses, making the transition to go mobile represents a triple win: It provides workplace flexibility for employees to telecommute or adapt other forms of telework, improves productivity while reducing costs, including reducing the amount of office space needed, and contributes significant environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions.

via reuters.com

While I don’t think the main reason companies should implement workplace strategies and technologies is so employees can work from home (I think the main reason is to support distributed teams), some studies and surveys around telecommuting (another common name for work-from-home) have come out recently.
• in a 2008 survey of 1400 CFOs, one-third said telework arrangements are the best recruiting inducement, while half said it was the second-best (after salary)
• since transportation represents about 26% of (Green House Gas) GHG emissions worldwide, telecommuting is the biggest way to achieve significant reductions in GHG, with a relatively small investment in technology and infrastructure
We are seeing lots of surveys telling us that telecommuting is not only one of the strongest recruiting tools, it’s also one of the biggest retention incentives. These are both good news in these tought economic times for cash-strapped companies, as well as now that recruiting is becoming a little harder again.
Of course, if a company invests in technology and infrastructure to enable its employees to work well together, and to work from everywhere, then these same investments already include what most people need to telecommute.
So why not take advantage of these investments you’ve already made, and use them to offer telecommuting as both recruitment and retention incentives?

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Completely Redesigned Evernote for iPhone and iPod Touch « Evernote Blogcast

2011-03-01T11:47:00.001-08:00

via blog.evernote.com

If you are a mobile worker, use multiple devices (including a smartphone), and are a compulsive notetaker like me, then you should be using Evernote. It automatically syncs with all of your Evernote instances (I use the Mac, iPhone, and web versions; although they have versions for most other platforms), all by itself, with no prompting from you. All of your notes are always with you!
This new iPhone version makes it much easier to add a new note, including incorporating snapshots. This makes it faster to write your notes and include pictures of the speaker and presentation. I use this feature all the time, and the new version really speeds it up for me.
It's also much faster and easier to find your existing notes using tags. This is a huge improvement over the previous version, and best of all, it's free.

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Google Docs secrets: 20 power tips | Office | Working Mac | Macworld

2011-02-28T17:50:00.001-08:00

via macworld.com

I use Google Docs (mostly spreadsheets) all the time to work on documents collaboratively. This top 20 power tips has some good information, but the best one is about sharing with others:
5. Share docs with non-Google Docs users
Google Docs is all about collaboration, and you can even permit people who don’t have a Google account to view and edit your documents.
To share a file, click the padlock icon alongside the document title at the top left of the window. In the dialog box that appears, select Change alongside the Private entry in the list. In the new dialog box, select either Public on the Web or Anyone with the Link. If you want viewers to be able to edit the document as well as just to see it, put a check next to Allow Anyone to Edit. Then click the Save button, and copy and paste the link into one or more e-mail messages.

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TELUS Talks Business - Flex Work Gone Wild

2011-02-28T17:41:00.001-08:00

Research and analyst organizations around the world have given considerable focus to the topics of workforce mobility, distributed work and flexible workstyles.

Telus is a company playing an active role in industry research and in 2010 they sponsored a national study of the changing workforce dynamics (Harris Decima Flex Workstyles 2010.) The study was designed to look at the current state of the union in flexible work and get the pulse of employees and managers across the country on the benefits and shortcomings of flexible work options.

While I will use this one specific study to step you through the major findings, you should note that there is a substantive body of research that goes back 20 years that supports all of the general trends outlined below. So without further delay here are a few of the highlights:…

via community.telustalksbusiness.com

Although this series of articles is and data analysis has lots of interesting points, these two seemed the most significant to me:
• How does Flex Work stack up when employees/managers are considering a new career opportunity… Number 2 on the hit list right behind PAY…
• Almost 2/3rds of employees’ spend a significant time away from their desk but only 33% indicated that they have the tools to work effectively anywhere else…
I worked with Ian many years at Sun Microsystems, and he really is a pioneer in this field. And very good at looking at, and understanding, data and surveys.

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Big Think Interview With Jonathan Coulton

2010-06-10T18:22:00.001-07:00

See the whole interview here, with transcript, at bigthink.com

I'm sure everyone knows by now what a fan I am (see my pictures from his last San Francisco show here). Interesting on his next steps, with a record producer and a real band, at about the 30min mark.

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Health Issues & Social Networking Sites

2010-06-10T18:15:00.001-07:00

Health issues are, almost by definition, a private matter. However, most people with a serious health issue are anxious to find out as much as they can about the treatment options, side effects, and the issue itself. Although websites such as WebMD appeared early on the web, the appetite for health-related information has only increased. This has led to more and more people reaching out to others on the Internet with similar health issues, and even posting much of their personal experiences on public sites.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Ning exist to connect people with similar experiences and interests, so it was a natural fit that groups would quickly be created and joined by people with specific health issues. Just doing a quick web search for "Facebook" or "Ning" and terms like "spinal" or "paralyzed" turns up dozens of groups, with thousands of members. (See attached screenshots, Health Social Sites.)

Here are some reasons for connecting with other people with similar health issues, even if they are remote and you never meet them face-to-face:

help set expectations for things they may have already experienced

advice on practical matters (this style of fork is easiest when held like this)

find advice on local issues (if you come to this town, be aware that the City Hall's south sidewalk is not currently paved)

share tips (best prices, discounts, etc.)

find best practices (set alarms on your cell phone to remember to take your medications)

learn about events, field trips, group outings; as well as find others interested in setting up such activities

Many common features of social networking sites are the ability to share photos & videos, post items on the discussion board (like a bulletin board), create a shared calendar, publish blogs, and some even have games to add a little in-group competition.

Of course, it's not expected that everyone with similar health issues will have similar other interests. But that's the beauty of these social networking sites; you can easily join multiple groups to cover all of your interests!

Each generation spends more time on-line, and becomes more transparent to others, so groups like these are just the beginning. Ensuring everyone, especially those with a new or newly diagnosed health issue, gets connected to others as quickly as possible should help spread information, prevent isolation, and assist with training. And, most people find spending time on social networking sites fun!

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Dawn's First Triathalon

2010-06-05T08:37:00.001-07:00

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Super Mario: BP Oil Spill Edition

2010-06-04T11:47:00.001-07:00

via media.wakooz.com

sigh...

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What I Do While My Roomba Is Running - GraphJam: Music and Pop Culture in Charts and Graphs. Let us explain them.

2010-06-03T16:33:00.001-07:00

via graphjam.com

it's true, it's not really a time-saver

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Aeron Chair Apprentice Invents a New Crutch | Fast Company

2010-06-03T12:04:00.001-07:00

read the rest of the post at fastcompany.com

“We hope when they see it, they’ll look at it more like a piece of athletic equipment than sort of medical device,” he says, the latter which can have a negative connotation. In fact, he says some seniors refuse to use mobility aids because they’re ugly, even if they need them.

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7 Items Employers Want to See on Telecommuters’ Resumes

2010-05-29T20:40:00.001-07:00

When you’re applying for a new job, your resume is often used as a fast way to assess whether you look like a good candidate for a position — at least on paper. That’s just as true if you’re looking for a position that allows you to telecommute as it is if you’re looking to work in an office.

But the skills and characteristics that a hiring manager is looking for on a telecommuter’s resume aren’t always the same as when you’re looking for other jobs. Among other things, employers are looking for the following:

Prior experience. While it’s not always possible for an employer to find an applicant that has already telecommuted, having prior experience can move your resume to the top of the stack. There’s a learning curve that goes along with becoming a telecommuter, and every employer would prefer to hire someone who’s already figured out the nuts and bolts of telecommuting.

Read the rest at webworkerdaily.com

Here's all seven listed:
1. Prior experience (at telecommuting)
2. Self-direction
3. Great communication
4. Technical skills
5. Professional objectives
6. Access to (adequate) hardware
7. Your reasons for telecommuting
I haven't interviewed for a job that was starting out telecommuting, but these are all good points. Much of it is just good business sense, anyway.

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Disaster recovery: Lessons learned from a volcano | IT Leadership | TechRepublic.com

2010-05-27T15:38:00.001-07:00

Disaster recovery: Lessons learned from a volcano

Date: May 5th, 2010

Author: Patrick Gray

Category: General

Tags: Disaster Planning, Ash, Europe, Disaster, Disaster Recovery, Data Management, Toni Bowers

Like thousands of other travelers, I spent several unplanned days in Europe recently due to the ash cloud spewing from the unpronounceable volcano in Iceland. I joked with friends and colleagues that despite several hundred thousand miles of business travel under my belt, if you asked me to write 50 reasons I would be stuck somewhere for several days, I most likely would not even remotely considered including a volcano on that list.
During the 14-hour drive from the shuttered Paris airport to clearer skies over Madrid in one of the last rental cars in Paris, I contemplated what lessons there were for IT and general disaster planning and recovery to be learned from this incident. There were three broad lessons I learned plotting my escape from the ash cloud that have broad applicability to corporate disaster planning...
read the rest of the post at blogs.techrepublic.com.com

These are good guidelines that your disaster recovery plans probably don't already have defined:
Lesson 1: Focus on outcomes not scenarios
Lesson 2: Provide empowerment
Lesson 3: Have a price tag
Lesson 4: Figure out who to talk to

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Video Gamers Have Power Over Their Nightmares

2010-05-27T13:56:00.001-07:00

via kotaku.com

All good news, we should all play more games!
"What happens with gamers is that something inexplicable happens," Gackenbach explained. "They don't run away, they turn and fight back."
Gackenbach hopes to use the information she's gleaned from studying gamers' reactions to nightmares to see if she can apply it to victims of post-traumatic stress disorder, a symptom of which is usually terrifying dreams. Could video games help control PTSD? That's what she aims to find out.

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Our whole world will be a series of games

2010-05-24T10:55:00.001-07:00

Our whole world will be a series of games

by John Moe // Posted: 05/19/10 01:29 PM

We’re talking to Jesse Schell on tomorrow’s show. Here’s a video of a speech he gave not that long ago. It’s about what he thinks your future will be. Lots of games but it doesn’t sound all that … fun. You should probably watch this.

via futuretense.publicradio.org

I agree it does sound a little… not fun, but I think his thoughts at the end are probably pretty accurate. I think his scenarios are also pretty likely to occur!

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Scientists solve millennia-old mystery about the argonaut octopus | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

2010-05-19T23:11:00.001-07:00

via blogs.discovermagazine.com

another cool octopus story

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Work Smart: 3 Apps for Syncing Home and Office | Fast Company

2010-04-27T11:05:00.001-07:00

via fastcompany.com

brief examples of three different syncing methods: Google Docs, DropBox, and Evernote. I use all three, depending on whether I want to share with others, and the level of collaboration I want to do with others. Note that Evernote is also very easy to use from your smartphone (iPhone), so I think it's the best solution for the scenario of sharing information and document between your computer and phone.

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Missing a Meeting Due to Volcanic Ash? Check Out These Tools

2010-04-20T18:03:00.001-07:00

The ash cloud caused by the eruption of a volcano beneath the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in Iceland has caused travel chaos across much of northern Europe, and the disruption is now stretching into a second week. Airports are closed, flights are grounded, passengers are stranded — and many meetings are being missed.

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While in some cases a face-to-face meeting is an absolute necessity, sometimes you can get by using technology. If you’re grounded this week, give these apps a try — they’re all available for very low cost (and some of them are free).

Skype – For a quick teleconference with a few participants, VoIP service Skype is great. You can use a webcam for video calling, and the latest versions of the software enable screen sharing. The basic Skype service is free, and the client software is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and many mobile devices.

Dimdim — For larger meetings, you’ll need a more robust web conferencing tool than Skype. My personal favorite is Dimdim, as it’s got a great feature set for a good price. Other tools available include WebEx and GoToMeeting.

SocialText — Corporate social networking tools are useful for communicating with colleagues and keeping them up-to-date with what you’re working on. SocialText is very full-featured (it’s kind of like Facebook for businesses), but there are other, simpler tools, such as Yammer and present.ly.

5pm — A good project management tool can go a long way toward keeping stakeholders informed about the progress of a project, reducing the need for update meetings. I like 5pm as it’s well-designed, but other good options include Basecamp and Wrike.

OffiSync — The latest version of OffiSync (a nifty little program that allows you to sync Office documents using a Google Docs account) allows for document co-authoring — which means that two or more people can work simultaneously on the same document. While it’s never going to be as good as being in the same room with your co-workers, if you need to collaborate on a document remotely, it’s worth trying. Free.

Tungle — Need to reschedule your meeting? Free app Tungle will help you find a time that’s convenient for everyone.

Are you affected by the ash cloud? What are you doing about it?
Photo courtesy Flickr user thorvaldurkarl, licensed under CC
Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Enabling the Web Work Revolution
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via nytimes.com

I can also recommend Vyew and Google Wave, as well as Google Docs, with all of their new collaborative features (like incorporating EtherPad!).

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Untitled

2010-04-07T13:03:00.001-07:00

via twitterrific

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San Antonio Final Four

2010-04-05T19:09:00.001-07:00

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Untitled

2010-04-04T13:56:00.001-07:00

via twitterrific

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Untitled

2010-04-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

via twitterrific

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Facebook Wants to Be Your One True Login

2010-02-12T11:03:00.001-08:00

Dear visitors from Google. This site is not Facebook. This is a website called ReadWriteWeb that reports on news about Facebook and other Internet services. You can however click here and become a Fan of ReadWriteWeb on Facebook, to receive our updates and learn more about the Internet. To access Facebook right now, click here. For future reference, type "facebook.com" into your browser address bar or enter "facebook" into Google and click on the first result. We recommend that you then save Facebook as a bookmark in your browser.

via readwriteweb.com

okay, this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. Apparently, this article in ReadWriteWeb is being found via Google by people looking for Facebook's login. They had to post the above paragraph to redirect them. The comments are adorable, and a little frightening, as you realize many of these folks seem to think Facebook is "the Internet".
Maybe "our Internet" is safer this way?…

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Fun Saturday!

2010-01-24T22:32:00.001-08:00

We started the day at Fenton's for Kohei's 7th Birthday Party. I didn't eat after Friday early diinner so I would have room for my ice cream sundae; I think several others had the same idea:

We went home for naps, to avoid the sugar crash. We woke up in time to watch the Stanford-University of Washington game– Yay, Cardinal!

Then we left for the City for the Jonathan Coulton concert at the Great America Music Hall.
We were sooo lucky. We were standing near a table in the far back of the first floor, when, just a few minutes before the shows were to start, a Staff Member asked us to follow him. He seated us at a table, in the second row!! We were directly behind Mike Spiff (@spiffworld), at a table with three others who had performed with Jonathan at Yale as part of the a capella Whiffenpoofs. Very fun. I took these pictures with my phone. I wish I had brought a camera, but it's been years since I've been to a concert that even allowed photos. I should have known, with Jonathan Coulton...

(pictures of Jonathan Coulton, with Paul and Storm, and Kid Beyond in geek throwdown during Mr.Fancy Pants which JoCo said was his favorite part of the weekend shows)
As the show let out, I asked Mike Spiff if he was posting a new video tomorrow (Sunday), but he said he already had, he couldn't wait. See both @Spiffworld versions of "Still Alive" here and here! Not sure which I like better…
I also did a little shopping, although Dawn said no one she knows will appreciate my "Re: Your Brains" tshirt, but I'm sure all will be jealous of my "Skullcrusher Mountain" one.

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Wanted: A basic home theater receiver? | The Audiophiliac - CNET News

2010-01-07T12:15:00.001-08:00

via news.cnet.com

I like this article, and love the (doctored) picture! But what connections would I give up? It could only work if I could just specify exactly what I need (and will need).
Still, a great picture, and good points. I just picked one out a couple of months ago, and after spec'ing out the inputs I wanted, speaker support, and the upconvert technology, then it was narrowed down pretty well already. Well, and price...

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Snow across Great Britain : Natural Hazards

2010-01-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

via earthobservatory.nasa.gov

"According to the Federation of Small Businesses, transportation difficulties kept an estimated 10 percent of the workforce home on January 5 and 6, and thousands of schools were closed. Forecasters warned that frigid temperatures could linger for up to a week. Eurostar was operating at a reduced capacity and airports remained open although passengers could expect delays."
Very cool pictures, but I wonder what all of these affected businesses are doing?

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Grand Canyon

2009-12-07T12:09:00.001-08:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Broken Bridge, Snowstorms, and the Flu

2009-11-23T18:52:00.001-08:00

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine wrote a blog post on her experiences during a big Northern California storm several years ago. I also remember that storm, and, although we didn't work at the same company at that time, I also had previously figured out how to successfully work from home (although I really only did that on weekends and late nights). That day, I started out driving to work (from San Francisco to Mountain View). The storm was so awful and frightening, that I finally reached a point where I felt I was endangering my life by staying on the road. And I hadn't even reached the freeway! All I could picture was my dad sitting by my hospital bed, asking me why I thought it had been a good idea to drive in those conditions. In my imagination, I had no answer for him, so I realized how foolish I was being out on the roads that day. I turned around, and had a successful work day from home.
Not only did I find working from home worked just as well for me, I got in my usual full workday. I realized that any of my co-workers who might have made it into the office probably only worked a few hours, as their commutes were at least doubled, if not worse, and they were also worried about their experiences on the drive home.
I know many managers, and companies, are uncomfortable with their staff working from home. The common concern seems to be that, if workers can't be seen, they are probably goofing off. Personally, I think that people can goof off whether or not their boss can see them, so this may actually be a different problem.
But, even if your team works together in an office every day, there may still be times when your manager or company are really okay with people not coming into the office for the day, due to dangerous or unusual conditions. In fact, the manager probably can't or doesn't want to come in on those days, either! A few weeks ago, during the span of just a couple of days, I noticed three situations where workers were unable to drive into work. How many of those workers were able to just work from home? And how many companies just had to close, because no one was there, and not conduct business that day?
Here is a round-up of what happened on those days:
Transportation

http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/09/08/the-daily-dig-cracked-eyebar-edition/
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a piece of the Bay Bridge broke and fell onto the roadway. The bridge had to be closed in both directions while the damage was first inspected, then repaired. This bridge is the busiest in the Bay Area, averaging 280,000 vehicles crossing it each day, including buses and carpools. What happened to all of those vehicles (and workers)? Were they able to fit onto the other bridges, or alternative mass transit? How many started out one way, but had to give up and try another? And how long did it take, assuming they eventually did make into the office?
Weather
(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/slideshow/ALeqM5iQ7wPvNUewsX8bT_zjZDHRhY9q7AD9BLEBN81?index=5
The same week, Denver got several feet of snow in just a few hours. Dozens of roads were closed, and driving was certainly treacherous for those who ventured out onto the roads. Accidents in those conditions throughout the area also slowed commutes. Although snow storms in Colorado are certainly not uncommon, it's still not possible for most people to drive through several feet of snow. It's certainly dangerous to try to drive in those conditions. How many of your workers may decide they'd rather not risk driving on those days? And do you really want them to? Do you want to?
Health Emergencies

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/amelia_schools_reopen_after_closing_to_battle_flu/303184/
Another incident that week was different in that it was not transportation related. As the H1N1 flu pandemic works its way throughout the country, many schools and other public buildings decide to close when the risk becomes to great, rather than expose people to possible other contagious people. Your company may decide that is also the smart thing to do, if the flu is prevalent in your area. But, what do your workers with children do when suddenly the schools are closed for a week, or more? Bringing the children to work is definitely not an option, in this case! And, even if your workers have adequate sick leave to cover their absence, they very likely will need that leave later, when they or their family members are actually sick over the cold and flu season. What percentage of your workforce has children? How many people in your office would be affected by this? What would your office even look like, on a day when all the parents have to stay home with their children?
Even if the managers and company are unsure they are ready to handle a formal, regular, work from home program, it would be foolish to not come up with a plan to handle unexpected situations, such as these. While we all enjoy an unexpected day off (snow day!), most of us have too much work to do to close the business for even a couple of days.
To see my other blog posts on ways to work with a distributed workforce, click here (in reverse chronological order).

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Unicycle Basketball

2009-11-19T23:45:00.001-08:00

Prelude to the Big Game this weekend. This was amazing, and fun to watch. The Stanford-Pepperdine women's game was fun, too.
Go, Cardinal!

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The virtual body illusion and immersive Second Life avatars : Neurophilosophy

2009-11-19T15:39:00.001-08:00

via scienceblogs.com

"the participants reported that the virtual arm felt like their own, and that the sensations they experienced were caused by the ball on the screen rather than by the wand"
I have experienced slight disorientation in-world, such as when I move my avatar and expect to see one thing but see something else. This is especially true when I am familiar with something in "real life" but am experiencing it in the virtual world. I agree that our brains can be fooled into thinking that we are someplace we are not really.

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How an Economist's Cry for Ethical Capitalism was Heard | Fast Company

2009-11-17T20:53:00.001-08:00

via fastcompany.com

"Her concept of "co-op capitalism" -- an idea she plans to develop further over the next year -- calls for businesses, governments, NGOs, and the public to experiment together to design new, more-adaptive business models and financial structures that take both profit and larger social goals into account. Companies should be financially motivated to behave in ways that benefit everyone. "

I also like where she points out how "messy" the world is, and how hard it is to reduce it to mathematical equations.

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Good Dog, Smart Dog

2009-11-05T21:20:00.001-08:00

via nytimes.com

"Their apparent ability to tune in to the needs of psychiatric patients, turning on lights for trauma victims afraid of the dark, reminding their owners to take medication and interrupting behaviors like suicide attempts and self-mutilation, for example, has lately attracted the attention of researchers."
Very cool, and I think dogs do think differently than humans...

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Disney Will Give Mickey Mouse a Makeover

2009-11-05T20:29:00.001-08:00

via nytimes.com

I can't wait for Epic Mickey, I wish it was coming out sooner!

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MPK16 in the Virtual World: Even More Enhancements!

2009-11-02T16:06:00.001-08:00

In previous blogs (see MPK16 in the Virtual World: Enhancements! and MPK16 in the Virtual World: More Enhancements!), I discussed the various configurations of the MPK16 Break Area and Multi-Purpose Room. Now, I'll demonstrate the last two areas in the workspace that have multiple configurations.
Also, we'll now be conducting the Guided Tours of our virtual workspace on the first Tuesday of each month, including tomorrow, November 3. If you’d like to join us, meet at the Sun Employee Island (slurl:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sun%20Microsystems%206/117/110/26) at 10am SLT (PT). (Note: your Second Life avatar must be registered as a Sun Employee; register or get an avatar here.)
Collaborative Studio Configurations
The Collaborative Studios are used by a team, or possibly more than one, to work together. Each desk is self-contained, and only has one connection to the raised floor, for power. It may also have a LAN drop, but that is optional in our Wi-Fi-enabled space. Since each desk is movable, and shaped to allow various configurations of the desks, there are many arrangements possible. Two configurations are illustrated below in screenshots, as well as a video:

1-Studio Row Configuration

2-Studio Pod Configuration
(see video below; also at https://slx.sun.com/1179275739)

Download now or watch on posterous
Studio RoR.m4v (1752 KB)

Team Room Configurations
Team Rooms are used by the groups in the adjacent Collaborative Studios. It can be used for "tiger team meetings," team brainstorming or other collaborations, meeting room, or even as a temporary overflow space for one of the teams in the studio. While it doesn't have all of the A/V equipment that a conference room might have, it has at least one wall as a whiteboard (that is usually only erased by the occupants). The rectangular adjustable desks in this space can be arranged as desks, or with a conference table instead.

1-Team Room Desks Configuration

2-Team Room Conference Room Configuration
(see video below; also at https://slx.sun.com/1179275759)

Download now or watch on posterous
Team RoR.m4v (1795 KB)

If you'd like to read any of my previous blog entries on the Second Life version of MPK16, you can see all entries here (reverse chronological). The other reconfigurable spaces are described in these two entries: MPK16 in the Virtual World: Enhancements! and MPK16 in the Virtual World: More Enhancements! You can read the rest of my posts, on collaboration and distributed teams, here.

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Disney Cruise Line: Ride the AquaDuck « Disney Parks Blog

2009-11-01T16:43:00.001-08:00

via disneyparks.disney.go.com

this looks great, although it seems almost a little too scary to swoop out "13 feet over the side of the ship... with the ocean 150 feet below." Still, great fun to do virtually, just make the video full screen.

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Stanford Basketball!

2009-11-01T16:08:00.001-08:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Egg Carton Cubicles

2009-10-30T17:06:00.001-07:00

via dilbert.com

which kind of company do you work at? :)

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Second Life Helps Save, Improve Lives -- InformationWeek

2009-10-30T16:39:00.001-07:00

(click image for gallery)

Judi Smith heads up training in Second Life for Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Here she is with her Second Life avatar, "Judi Carver."

Great uses of a virtual world!
"In Chicago, Children's Memorial Hospital uses Second Life, with its three-dimensional software representations of landscapes, buildings, and vehicles, for disaster preparedness training, to show employees how to evacuate patients in an emergency. Meanwhile, disabled people use Second Life for peer support, helping one another with the emotional, social, and other problems they encounter in the real world."

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Stanford women studying hard for title run

2009-10-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

via sfgate.com

can't wait... San Antonio here we come!

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Disneyland, Day 3

2009-10-26T17:11:00.001-07:00

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Disneyland, Day 2

2009-10-25T18:43:00.001-07:00

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Disneyland!

2009-10-24T19:38:00.001-07:00

Crowded, but worth it for the Halloween stuff. Here's day 1 :)
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Formal Collaboration with Distributed Teams

2009-10-21T12:07:00.001-07:00

The most common method of formal collaboration is through a scheduled meeting. Have you ever been the only person to call in to a meeting, where everyone else is physically in the room, and everyone (including you) forgets that you are even on the phone? Even when you have something to contribute, good luck getting anyone to hear you. Next time you have a scheduled meeting, especially if one or more of your participants will be remote, try to incorporate one or more collaborative tools. Since you have to schedule your meeting in advance, you usually have time to do a little set-up. That gives you a lot of options in your choice for collaborative tools for your meeting. Some examples of tools and practices are explained here.
Group Scheduling
The first collaborative thing to do for your scheduled meeting is to use a collaborative tool to schedule it! I hate the ~17 emails that sometimes happens when someone sends a note out to all of the attendees asking when is a good time to meet (e.g., "I'm open Thurs pm and Fri am;" "I'm open Fri 11-1, but not on Thursday," etc.) Just schedule it for Tuesday at 3pm and be done with it! Get everyone to use a group calendar (and keep it up to date). Here is a sample using our group calendar:

Using the group calendar, you can look for an open time, as shown above. Just add all participants, and look for the opening. Once you find it, you can add it to everyone's calendar automatically, as well (once they accept it). Some group calendar applications can automatically go out and find the next open spot in each person's schedules. Not only is everyone saved the aggravation and rapidly filling Inbox of the back-and-forth emails, they also get the meeting itself, with all its details, added right into their schedule. In addition, you can make changes and additions to it (e.g., dial-in number, agenda), and everyone will always see the current information.
Meeting Collaboration Suite
Once you have your meeting scheduled, you need to decide which collaboration application you are going to use. Some good choices are Vyew (below) and WebEx. Our team likes to use video (more on that later), so we usually use an application with the following features (some applications have even more features than those listed below, but these are the ones we use all the time):
* upload of documents
* list of attendees (who is currently in the room/ meeting)
* in-room chat, separate from our usual IM-based chat
* video (webcam displays from all participants)
* shared whiteboard
* ability to add comments, highlights, etc., to uploaded documents
* asynchronous support, to allow comments prior to the meeting, as well as for the session to "live on" from meeting to meeting

However, because audio support in web-based applications can be spotty, our team still tends to open a bridge line to handle the audio. I expect that audio capabilities will continue to improve, so we will keep trying to use the integrated audio features. It does seem that, as you add more people (more than three), the audio can degrade too much.
We use this application even if we are all in the same room, and of course it is perfect for a distributed team.
Video Only
If for some reason, we don't need the document collaboration features, we may decide to meet with just audio and video.

If it's a small group (four or fewer), and they all have Macs, we can meet using iChat and our IM server (below) , and we will use the built-in audio. We also get some nice additional features like desktop and document sharing:

If it's for a bigger group, we'll use something like MegaMeeting (below) or MeBeam, but we still usually need to open a bridge line to handle the audio:

High-Definition Video
We have high-definition video systems available for some of our locations. If you are going to hold a meeting where the remote people have access to an HD video system, use that! The quality of both video and audio are just excellent, and people both in the room, and out of it, are full participants in the meeting. This probably has a maximum of 4–5 locations, as otherwise the images just get really small.

In addition to the video connection methods listed above, you can still use a collaborative suite to handle your document collaboration. Also, we are currently experimenting with using a meeting room in a virtual world (Second Life),with either the built-in audio support, or a bridge line. Although not as rich as high-definition video, it can support an almost unlimited number of locations, as each virtual person in the "room" can be connecting in from a separate location. More on this as we work with it more, but here is a screenshot of a meeting we held recently in our virtual meeting room:

Preparation
When you are planning a meeting, think about some good ways to use collaborative technologies, and make sure you have enabled all of your attendees to fully participate in your meeting. After all, isn't that why you invited them?

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MPK16 in the Virtual World: More Enhancements!

2009-10-19T23:01:00.001-07:00
In a previous blog (see MPK16 in the Virtual World: Enhancements!), I discussed the various configurations of the MPK16 Break Area. In this entry, I'll demonstrate one of the other areas in the workspace that has multiple configurations. First, though, just a reminder that tomorrow, as well as for the next several Tuesdays, we'll be conducting Guided Tours of our virtual workspace. If you’d like to join us, meet at the Sun Employee Island (slurl:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sun%20Microsystems%206/117/110/26) Tuesday morning at 10am SLT (PT). (Note: your Second Life avatar must be registered as a Sun Employee; register or get an avatar here.)
Multi-Purpose Room Configurations
There are two conference rooms in the MPK16 Pilot Space: a small room used for video collaboration, and a large multi-purpose room. The multi-purpose room contains a large LifeSize video panel, a big projected digital whiteboard (networked collaborative white board), projectors, and whiteboards on all remaining wall space. You can read more about these features on this Open Work Services Group wiki page (Sun employees only, log-in required).

1-Standard Conference Table

2-Classroom-Style, with a table for the presenter
(see video below; also at https://slx.sun.com/1179275755)

Download now or watch on posterous
Multi-Purpose RoR.mov (5374 KB)

If you'd like to read any of my previous blog entries on the Second Life version of MPK16, you can see all entries here (reverse chronological). We have more reconfigurable spaces, and I'll show those in the next entry.

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Nick's Confirmation

2009-10-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous
and of course, dessert! (Nick-style)

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Remembering the 1989 Earthquake

2009-10-18T00:00:00.001-07:00

okay, everyone sharing their memories of the Loma Prieta quake, here's mine: I was on the 20th floor of my office building, downtown San Francisco, listening to the World Series on the radio. When it started, I looked out my window, and saw the windows of the Schwab building "rippling." I suddenly realized that the windows I was looking out from, must be doing the same thing! I shoved my chair as fast away from the window as I could. The power went out soon after, so those of us on that floor of the building gathered to go down the stairs together. As soon as we opened the door to the stairwell, smoke poured out! We slammed the door back shut. But it wasn't smoke, it was dust from the plaster walls inside the stairwell. When we realized that, we covered our noses and went down the twenty floors.
When we came out onto Fremont Street, the first thing I noticed was the smell: it smelled like alcohol! The bar across the street had lost most of their bottles off the wall, but, because they had no refrigeration, they were giving away free beer! (as in, "free beer"). The second thing I noticed was the sound... it was a loud, crunching sound, coming from everywhere. I realized it was the sound of people walking, on all of the broken glass and fallen brick. Fortunately, most people who work in downtown San Francisco have comfortable, sturdy, shoes to wear when commuting.

A few of us headed up to Market Street, although we could already tell that no buses or undergrounds were running. Someone pointed out the Ferry Building: the flagpole was askew, and the clock was stopped at 5:04. It would stay like that for awhile, as I recall. As we separated to try to find our various ways home before dark, we started hearing a rumor that the Bay Bridge had collapsed. We were right at the western entrance; we turned to look, and as far as we could see, the suspension side looked completely intact (it was, the collapsed section was on the cantilever side).
I hope my friends from then can just look back on it all now as just a memory, and life is good again. It was a scary time for all, and just catastrophic for some, but I hope all are doing well today. I'm thinking of you now (Carole).

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Disney Museum at the Presidio

2009-10-17T22:35:00.001-07:00

New Disney Museum in the Presidio, we only did half today :) but we did get to see "Fantasia" in the new cool little theater. We only found two hidden Mickeys, though
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NASCAR Cancels Remainder Of Season Following David Foster Wallace's Death

2009-10-16T23:13:00.001-07:00

via theonion.com

Okay, I know this article (and news) is old, but I just finished the book! (Infinite Jest, as part of the Infinite Summer project.) This article just seemed to sum it all up. It was great, I wonder when I'll be able to read it again... [ IJ/ 1079/ 388 ]

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Essay - The Collider, the Particle and a Theory About Fate

2009-10-15T20:44:00.001-07:00

via nytimes.com

"the hypothesized Higgs boson, which physicists hope to produce with the collider, might be so abhorrent to nature that its creation would ripple backward through time and stop the collider before it could make one, like a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather"

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Seismic Safety Innovation on the New Bay Bridge

2009-10-15T17:40:00.001-07:00

via baybridgeinfo.org

Either it will be one of the safest places to be, or...

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Scott McNealy names Sun's top 10 tech innovations

2009-10-15T16:29:00.001-07:00

“Top 10 Innovations from Sun.” Here is the list, copied verbatim from Scott McNealy’s slides:

NFS/PC-NFS Technology

SPARC (first 7-10 MIPS workstation under $10K)

Open Source Software

BSD + UNIX System 5 = Solaris

Java (Java card, Java SE/ME/EE and Java FX)

E10K (64-way Solaris)

ZFS/Open Storage/Flash (Exadata)

Project Blackbox, world’s first modular datacenter

SunRay

Chip Multi-threading “CoolThreads”
via blogs.zdnet.com

McNealy said, “I think Larry’s going to like his new toy”

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MPK16 Launches in Second Life!

2009-10-13T16:34:00.001-07:00

We had an excellent turnout in our first official tour of our virtual MPK16 in Second Life earlier today. About forty people (really, avatars I guess) came to look around, hear our descriptions of the replication of MPK16 in the physical world, and try out some of the functionality for themselves. Our friends from the Digital Libraries & Research team even decorated for us!

I didn't know Greylin was such a chef, but she whipped up some dim sum, and a fabulous fruit and cheese platter for our guests. I also saw many folks sampling the punch!

As always, people hung out by the food table, as they waited for the next tour to start. We used Second Life's Voice Chat system, which worked very well, as well as Text Chat. There were a lot of good questions, too, especially from folks wondering how they can get the high-definition video at their location for their distributed team.

I also saw several people trying out the desks with the multiple displays, the height adjustments, and the different media walls with their video playbacks. Watching the rooms reconfigure themselves at a push of a button seemed very popular, too!
We will be offering tours for Sun Employees over the next several Tuesdays, at 10am SLT (Pacific Time). If you'd like to join us, just meet us at the Sun Employee Island (slurl:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sun%20Microsystems%206/117/110/26). If you'd like to try a self-guided tour, come by anytime, and use the Notecards to learn about all of the features in our space (the Notecards are explained in this entry).  (Note: Sun employees only - your Second Life avatar must be registered as a Sun Employee; register or get an avatar here.)

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for our official opening and tour, and especially thanks to all of the people who helped us get everything ready, helped out at the tours, and got us looking so festive for the day!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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MPK16 in the Virtual World: Enhancements!

2009-10-12T17:05:00.001-07:00
One of the coolest things about working with a virtual instance of MPK16 has been that we can add features that are hard, or even impossible, to do in the real world. Two areas that I'd like to highlight are the use of the MPK16 virtual space as a meeting area for many people attending from all different locations; and the ability to rapidly reconfigure a room into a completely different configuration, by rearranging chairs and tables in a matter of seconds!
Meeting Location

A virtual world such as Second Life, or Sun’s Wonderland product, can accommodate dozens, even hundreds, of avatars in one location. Although most people agree that face-to-face (in-person) meetings are the most effective and satisfying way to meet, these days it is getting harder to hold meetings this way, for both financial and time-consuming reasons. In addition, more and more teams, due to the desire to take advantage of the best source of expertise, now contain members who do not sit with the rest of their team(s).
Video is an excellent substitute for face-to-face meetings, but it is most effective up to four or five locations (people); after that the images get smaller to fit on your screen, and the faces become correspondingly smaller. At some point, you will lose the benefits of video, as you can no longer read someone’s face, and you may not be able to even recognize them. In a virtual world, each person is represented by a single avatar, so adding more people doesn’t degrade the appearance nor performance of your overall meeting. Plus, your hair always looks great!

(comparison of video meeting in MeBeam with eight people, Second Life meeting with nine)
Reconfigurability (aka, “Rooms of Requirements”)

One great feature of the virtual world we knew we would be able to take advantage of immediately was the ability to quickly reconfigure a room. Currently, four of the areas in the MPK16 pilot space have multiple configurations, and we are able to use the tools of Second Life to just push a button and see a room rapidly reconfigure itself.
This gave us three quick payoffs:
1. it reminds the designers of new spaces of the features they need to keep in mind for their floor plans, and gives a visual representation they can use to explain these features to their clients
2. the layouts in buildings undergoing a next gen retrofit may not be easily reconfigured to satisfy the requirements of the space, so the multiple configuration views give a visual guide to show the actual requirements of that type of space
3. it gives “instructions” on how to configure the layout of the physical space
Here is an example of the three different configurations of the MPK16 Break Area space:
Break Area Configurations


1-Café Style

2-Theater or Auditorium Style

3-Classroom Style

(see video below; also at https://slx.sun.com/1179275712)

Download now or watch on posterous
Break Area RoR.mov (4471 KB)

I will continue discussing and demonstrating some of the enhancements we were able to show in the virtual world instance of MPK16 in the next post.

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MPK16 in the Virtual World: Replicating the Real World

2009-10-12T15:51:00.001-07:00
Our first goal was to replicate, as best we could, some of the features and functionality of the physical space. This makes the virtual instance of MPK16 a little unusual for a space in Second Life: our ceilings exist and are pretty low, and we have lots of furniture! However, the virtual space is very representative, almost identical, to the physical space, which was our goal. One of the things we found out right away, however, was that most people have very tall avatars, over seven feet tall! But, we still designed our virtual place for more human-sized avatars.
Here are a couple of the features we created in our virtual space to explain and demonstrate the features of both the physical, and virtual, versions of MPK16:

Notecards
Many of the items in the space have flashing “orbs” of light: These indicate the item has a notecard attached, which may contain one or more of the following:
* Instructions on the use of the object; e.g., how to connect a call using the LifeSize video conferencing systems or that a pedestel can be moved around, locked for the day, or sat upon
* A link to further information; e.g., a video on a vendor’s Web site on how to adjust the chair
* Information on an area and its use, such as the Network Den or the Laptop Bar
* A link to reorder a part or something similar, such as a replacement bulb for a projector
The notecard is also useful because some people learn or retain better by reading, rather than listening, and they may keep these notecards as a “take-away.”

Functionality Demonstrations
Some of the functionality we can show using our virtual world instance includes how we have installed the mounted dual monitors on the desks to act as privacy screens. This also allows us to demonstrate that they may have given up cube real estate, with the loss of partitions, but they have gained screen real estate. We have also replicated much of the functionality of the breakaway rooms, the variable height desks and monitors, and the one-plug accessibility of the displays, keyboard, and mouse.
In my next entry, I'll start to explain some of the virtual world features we were able to create, that are enhancements to our physical version!
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MPK16 in the Virtual World!

2009-10-12T15:27:00.001-07:00
Sun’s Open Work Services Group is opening the virtual world version of our MPK16 Pilot Space in Second Life on the morning of Tuesday, October 13! We will be conducting guided tours at 10am SLT (PDT) this Tuesday, immediately following the Sun Expert Chat: Digital Quicksand, as well as for the next several Tuesdays. If you’d like to come on one of the guided tours, meet at the Sun Employee Island (slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sun%20Microsystems%206/117/110/26) Tuesday morning.
(Note: your Second Life avatar must be registered as a Sun Employee; register or get an avatar here)
My next few blog entries will discuss the different aspects of the virtual world instance of our MPK16 Pilot Space, starting out with a little background on the project.

Background
The MPK16 pilot space, in the “real” or physical world, was built to facilitate collaboration for teams that are physically seated together, as well as those that have some distributed members. Currently, most of Sun’s MPK campus consists of closed (four walls plus door) offices, which, while excellent for heads-down and isolated work, is a poor choice for team collaboration. The MPK16 pilot space contains the following features to enable collaboration:
* open plan studios, dedicated to a team
* multiple informal areas for collaboration such as Laptop Bar, Network Den, and Break Area
* formal collaborative areas (conference rooms, Team Room)
All of these areas are enhanced to specifically improve collaboration, both locally and at a distance.
We originally built a virtual world replica of our physical version of the MPK16 space to train and tour our Sun counterparts throughout the world, to let them see the prototype space so they could see the functionality, layout, and obtain training in the use of these newly implemented collaborative areas and tools.
It has since become another “node” in our network of places, in addition to other nodes such as other Sun offices, client sites, travel locations, and employee homes. Most of my co-workers are local to the Bay Area, as I am, but my boss and another co-worker are in other states. Although our first choice is to meet face-to-face, that’s rarely feasible for us, so we can now choose to meet “in-world.”
In our Second Life version of MPK16, you can move your “avatar” around, walk around the space, and see and talk to your co-workers (the other avatars). This space exists in a private area, only accessible to Sun employees, so your conversations and presentations won’t be overheard.


Next, I will explore how we have replicated some of the aspects of the MPK16 real world space.

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Chef Nick

2009-10-11T18:46:00.001-07:00

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T-Mobile Warns Sidekick Data May be Lost — Timely Backup Reminder for All | The iPhone Blog

2009-10-11T13:00:00.001-07:00

T-Mobile has issued a warning that the ongoing, dare we say catastrophic failure of the Sidekick servers could result in permanent data loss if Sidekick users in any way reset their devices during the outage:

“Sidekick customers, during this service disruption, please DO NOT remove your battery, reset your Sidekick, or allow it to lose power.”

Scary, but also an urgent reminder to everyone who uses Cloud Services, including iPhone owners with MobileMe, Exchange ActiveSync, Google Gmail/Calendar, or any other, similar accounts.

Best practices dictate that data doesn’t exist unless it’s in at least three locations: local, local backup, and off-site backup.

via theiphoneblog.com

Backup, backup, backup...
And what does this mean for next month's launch of Microsoft's OS in the cloud? Do they have time to fix everything?

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Toy Story 1 & 2 - 3D!

2009-10-10T14:22:00.001-07:00

How much longer until Toy Story 3??
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AMAZING Jump Rope Performance by US Naval Academy "Kings Firecrackers"

2009-10-09T21:54:00.001-07:00

via youtube.com

My uncle turned me on to these guys (thanks, Uncle Steve!). I'm pretty sure I could do almost all of these things, until maybe the end. Without the rope of course. But the running and skipping, okay most of it.... Anyway, what do these kids have to eat? like 8000 calories a day?

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tongodeon: Barack Obama gets the Nobel

2009-10-09T21:45:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama gets the Nobel
Just over six months after George Bush took office the message he'd ignored titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" came true. Like some King Midas in reverse he turned that disaster into an even worse disaster by alienating our allies, invading the wrong country, then horribly botching the invasion. Along the way he eliminated habeas and trial by jury and legalized torture. Then when people called him on it he didn't say "oops my bad", he fought them all the way to the Supreme Court where he lost repeatedly.
That's just the really big stuff. Not outing Valerie Plame, not covering up Pat Tillman's death, not fighting the science that global warming was real, not posturing impotently while North Korea got the bomb. It's going to be hard to explain the sheer magnitude of stupid evil in the White House for the last eight years, and I provide this summary because otherwise I get the feeling many of us have suppressed it like the distant memory of an awkward date that nobody enjoyed gone horribly wrong.
Every year the Nobel committee awards the Prize "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses", honoring fighters not necessarily winners. They awarded the 2007 Prize to Al Gore and the UN Panel on Climate Change because the panel is right about climate change, not because the panel has successfully ended global warming. They awarded the 2005 Prize to the IAEA because the IAEA was right about Iraq and North Korea, not because the panel stopped the Iraq War and North Korean arms race. They awarded the 1994 Prize to Arafat, Rabin, and Peres "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East" because they were right about needing middle east peace, not because that peace has been created. They awarded the 1991 Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi for "for being on the right side in her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights" in Burma, not because those rights have yet been won.
Barack Obama has won the Nobel "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".

via tongodeon.livejournal.com

I agree. (Thanks, Noah, for this link.)

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These Piano Stairs Will Motivate Even The Laziest of You - Piano stairs - Gizmodo

2009-10-09T21:32:00.001-07:00

via gizmodo.com

If they wanted more people to take the stairs, why didn't they just turn the escalator off? Although, in our stations, they're mostly broken anyway. Still, I like the idea of trying to encourage "better" behavior through fun!

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Mickos letter to EU: Approve Oracle-Sun deal | The Open Road - CNET News

2009-10-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

Mårten Mickos

As the European Commission continues to evaluate the potentially deleterious effects of Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems and its open-source MySQL database, concern is rising that delay will harm MySQL without helping competition.

One who shares this concern is former MySQL CEO Mårten Mickos. On Thursday, Mickos sent a letter to Neelie Kroes, the European Union's competition commissioner, urging that the deal be approved for the good of the market and MySQL. He also spoke with CNET News' Stephen Shankland on Thursday.

Below is the edited full text of the letter.

Helsinki 8 Oct 2009

Mrs. Neelie Kroes
Commissioner for Competition
European Commission, J70
B-1049 Brussels/Brussel
BELGIQUE/BELGIE

Dear Commissioner Kroes,

I am writing to you regarding your review of Oracle's pending acquisition of Sun Microsystems. As I understand it, the EU Commission is concerned about a risk of undue concentration of power in the database market. Having been the CEO of MySQL from 2001 to 2009, and built a business that was serving a new market unmet by Oracle and others, I can agree with the questions posed, but I do not share the concerns that have been expressed. In the following, I will explain why.

In brief, my reasoning is as follows:
Oracle has as many compelling business reasons to continue the ramp-up of the MySQL business as Sun Microsystems and MySQL previously did, or even more.

Even if Oracle, for whatever reason, would have malicious or ignorant intent regarding MySQL (not that I think so), the positive and massive influence MySQL has on the DBMS market cannot be controlled by a single entity--not even by the owner of the MySQL assets. The users of MySQL exert a more powerful influence in the market than the owner does.

Many expected Oracle to harm MySQL as far back as 2005, when they acquired the InnoDB storage engine that plays a crucial role for many MySQL customers. And yet Oracle increased their investment in InnoDB since that time, making MySQL a stronger player in the market.

For further detail on my views on Oracle's intent, please see this interview with me in Forbes Magazine in April 2009.

It may at first blush seem counterintuitive that control of the MySQL assets does not automatically bestow control of the MySQL installed base. But the free installed base of MySQL--enormous on a planetary scale--is voluntarily but not mandatorily coupled to the commercial market of MySQL. It produces huge benefits to the MySQL business, but it is not controlled by it.

Background

The impetus to write this letter comes from my concern with the talented teams of the MySQL business unit and of Sun Microsystems in general. I am also troubled by certain factual distortions about a subject matter that I am intimately familiar with: MySQL and its business model. Open-source business models are complicated and quite different, and it took many years to fully understand and shape the one of MySQL.

A Finnish citizen, I served as chief executive officer of MySQL from early 2001 to February 2008, when Sun acquired MySQL. After that, I served as senior vice president of the database group at Sun until the end of March 2009. Being the only person to have served as the CEO of MySQL and to have attended every board meeting ever held, I believe I have unique insights into these matters.

To be clear, I resigned from my position in March 2009, and I presently have no commercial or financial interests in the MySQL ecosystem, Sun, or Oracle (or any other vendor in the DBMS market, for that matter), other than my loyalty to Sun employees in general and the MySQL team in particular.

MySQL's Markets and Installed Base

MySQL is the world's most popular open-source relational database, and potentially the most popular relational database of all. It has an enormous influence and impact on the usage and the buying patterns of relational databases (also known as RDBMSs), in particular for Web applications. One might even state that the Internet would not be what it is today, were it not for MySQL. Staffed by a highly talented team of passionate employees, the Swedish company MySQL grew the MySQL business from a small one in 2001 to a massive one in 2008.

"MySQL" refers to two things. On the one hand, there is the huge (community) phenomenon MySQL...On the other hand, there is the business of MySQL...Those two meanings of the term "MySQL" stand in a close mutually beneficial interaction with each other. But most importantly, this interaction is voluntary and cannot be directly controlled by the vendor.

In this discussion, the term "MySQL" refers to two things. On the one hand, there is the huge phenomenon MySQL--an estimated 12 million active installations under a free and open-source software license, millions, if not tens of millions, of skilled users and developers, and tens of thousands of corporations who use MySQL one way or the other.

On the other hand, there is the business of MySQL, which is growing rapidly, thus rewarding the owners of the assets (currently Sun Microsystems).

Those two meanings of the term "MySQL" stand in a close mutually beneficial interaction with each other. But most importantly, this interaction is voluntary and cannot be directly controlled by the vendor.

What I mean is that the vast and free installed base of MySQL is using it of their own free choice, unencumbered by the vendor and under no obligation or restraint. That is the nature of open source. And conversely, the MySQL business is supporting the free installed base of MySQL (by improving the product) voluntarily and in the hope of deriving benefit from the installed base.

This is the paradox of an open-source business, and it took me a long time to truly understand how powerful a force it is. It is unlike any traditional business. The key point is that both the users and the vendors of open source are engaged in a powerful free-market dynamic that cannot be contained by any single entity.

It is in everybody's interest that the two sides of MySQL produce benefit for and derive benefit from each other. But neither group can mandate or control the other one. This is a core philosophy of open-source software and more generally of the "architecture of participation" (as defined by Tim O'Reilly). There is a mutually beneficial voluntary relationship, but there is no control by one group over the other. In more colloquial terms: the owners of MySQL cannot force MySQL users to pay up, and the nonpaying users cannot force the business to subsidize them.

Anyone acquiring the MySQL assets will therefore acquire an ability to control the business aspect, i.e., meaning how MySQL is licensed commercially, but only an opportunity (and no free reign) to derive benefit from the free user base.

This explains how the MySQL business can be valued highly in the market ($1 billion, when acquired by Sun in February 2008) while at the same time providing no way of controlling its installed base. This unusual relationship between market share and installed base is at the core of the topic. The market share is small but controllable, to some degree. The installed base is enormous but not controllable. The installed base is, and can be, hugely beneficial to the owner of MySQL, but only to the extent and for as long as this owner of MySQL enjoys the trust of the installed base.

To put it in numbers, it may be useful to see the usage of MySQL, as divided into three categories:

Group A: the free installed base, estimated at 12 million.

Group B: the paying subscription customers of MySQL Enterprise.

Group C: the customers who use MySQL under a commercial license.

Group A is what MySQL is most famous for and what makes MySQL important to the world. This group derives benefit from the business growth of MySQL (because the product improves), and it produces benefit to the owner of the MySQL assets (in terms of brand recognition, vast groups of software experts trained in MySQL, and so on). But group A is not controlled by the owner of the MySQL assets.
Most of the users operate without commercial support from any vendor (many of them don't even realize that MySQL also is a commercial business owned and operated by Sun). If they need support, there are many alternative vendors. If they so choose, they can run on a different variation (fork) of MySQL. If they feel a need to migrate away from MySQL, there are other databases available (both open and closed source). This group cannot be locked into a specific vendor.

Group B represents the majority of MySQL's business and the majority of the future business potential. These customers use MySQL under the GPL license, but they additionally use the products and services available under the MySQL Enterprise subscription offering. The customers are, to some degree, dependent on MySQL the vendor, but they have options that Oracle's acquisition of Sun will not affect.
Some customers are sophisticated enough to be able to continue running on MySQL without a subscription from anyone, including whoever owns MySQL, and those who lack such sophistication can turn to a third-party support vendor. The control that the MySQL owner has over this group is not consequential.

Group C represents the early business of MySQL. It is a different business model from group B. The model itself (called dual licensing) is highly effective and useful, but the target market for it is comparatively small and limited, especially as the world moves towards Web-based and cloud-based software solutions. The customers in group C are dependent on the owner of MySQL to obtain MySQL under a commercial license. If they are unhappy with the vendor, they will need to switch to another database product, or alternatively they can open-source their own software and comply with the terms of the GPL. MySQL's competitors in group C are different from the ones in group B, and they include both closed- and open-source vendors of embeddable databases.

In summary, the owner of MySQL has a high degree of control over MySQL usage in group C, moderate control over MySQL usage in group B, and no control over group A. In terms of the overall DBMS market and market-influencing phenomena, groups B and C are very small, and group A is very large. The owner of MySQL has control over the product, with respect to two groups that are small in size, and no control over the product, with respect to the group that massively influences the market.

MySQL's Strategy: Pursue a New Opportunity

In the software business, usage patterns of customers are very strong. Someone who grew up on a specific DBMS is likely to stick to it for the rest of her career. For a new entrant such as MySQL, this meant that it made (the) most sense to target a new market segment.

MySQL focused on Web developers when Oracle...focused on enterprise developers....MySQL was able to derive significant marketing benefit from appearing to challenge Oracle, but we penetrated the markets faster by, in reality, focusing on new, huge opportunities such as Web databases.

MySQL focused on Web developers when Oracle (and IBM and Microsoft and Sybase) focused on enterprise developers; on so-called scale-out scenarios where the competition was designed for scale-up. This created a greenfield opportunity for MySQL to grow and thrive without having to challenge the usage patterns of the legacy vendors. In the MySQL management team, we decided not to focus on migrations from Oracle and other proprietary databases. We did indeed develop migration tools, but we also knew that such a strategy would not be effective as a main focus.

MySQL was able to derive significant marketing benefit from appearing to challenge Oracle, but we penetrated the markets faster by, in reality, focusing on new, huge opportunities such as Web databases. Key to MySQL's success was its determined focus on markets that Oracle (and others) was ignoring. PostgreSQL, on the other hand, just to mention an example, essentially focused on being as good as Oracle in the areas where Oracle was strong. And hence PostgreSQL, despite being a brilliant product, did not achieve the level of success among users that MySQL did in the same time frame.

Today, anyone studying the markets and the marketing of MySQL will be able to find evidence of both competition with Oracle and avoidance of competition with Oracle. A trained eye will notice the difference between tactical market focus and true, strategic, market focus.

The Future

Although I don't believe it would be a viable, likely, or contemplated strategy for Oracle to try to limit MySQL's success in the future, let us for a moment anyhow assume that this, for some reason, could be the case. What would happen in such a scenario?

Group A - the estimated 12 million users of the free and open MySQL who do not rely on the owner of MySQL for support, services, or subscription.

These users don't care who owns MySQL and what the commercial offerings cost because they don't buy them. They only care about the ongoing development and bug fixing of the product. If Oracle stopped developing MySQL, the defined and prescribed response in any open-source setting is forking. If a product is not evolving at the speed reasonably expected by a main portion of the user base, a fork will emerge.

Indeed, in the MySQL ecosystem, there are already a number of forks. Each one of those forks may perhaps currently be individually weak and unpromising. But the reality remains that if the main steward of an open-source product fails to live up to reasonable expectations, the forces of open source will take over.

Group B - the few thousand customers of the MySQL Enterprise subscription offering.

These customers would be alarmed by a slow-down in development of MySQL and/or in the increase of price of the subscription offering. But they would not be alone. If the product did not evolve, these users could turn to the forks that would emerge. And as for commercial subscription services, they could turn to the various firms that provide MySQL services. If there were a sufficient number of such customers, it might turn out to be a market opportunity for a larger services-oriented company.

I know of a concrete case--a major MySQL customer in the SaaS space. They depend nearly completely on MySQL as their database. Not surprisingly, they are (or actually were) customers of the MySQL Enterprise subscription offering. When they learned of Oracle's pending acquisition of Sun, they abandoned their subscription and turned to a small vendor for MySQL support, maintenance, and bug fixing. This behavior demonstrates that the subscription customers have choice.

Group C - the few hundred active customers of MySQL under a commercial license.

MySQL's commercially licensed (dual-license) business has the same control aspects that a closed-source business has. The owner of MySQL has control over these customers, in terms of pricing and further developments, but this business is not large, and there are many options for embeddable databases. Customers who felt that they could not continue as before could switch to alternative embeddable databases (open or closed source) from other vendors.

Closing words

In closing, I would ask that you, Commissioner Kroes, consider the market dynamics and the facts. Every new day of uncertainty is potentially very harmful to the various businesses of Sun, reducing competition in the market. A delay in the closing of this transaction is therefore only going to work against the respectable goal that you set out to achieve when launching the probe into this acquisition.

I believe that Oracle's acquisition of Sun (and MySQL) will increase competition in the database market. And I also believe that if, on the other hand, it becomes difficult or impossible for large companies to acquire open-source assets, then venture investments in open-source companies will slow down, harming the evolution of and innovation in open source, which would result in decreased competition.

I am at your disposal, if you would like to follow up with me on any of these issues.

Sincerely,

Mårten Mickos

via news.cnet.com

"Oracle has as many compelling business reasons to continue the ramp-up of the MySQL business as Sun Microsystems and MySQL previously did, or even more."
and this
"It is in everybody's interest that the two sides of MySQL produce benefit for and derive benefit from each other. But neither group can mandate or control the other one."
thanks, Mårten, well said.

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Study: Mostly Women Booted By 'Don't Ask' Policy - cbs5.com

2009-10-08T12:33:00.001-07:00

Study: Mostly Women Booted By 'Don't Ask' Policy

SANTA BARBARA (CBS 5 / AP) ―

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Pentagon statistics obtained by University of California researchers show that women are far more likely than men to be kicked out of the military under the "don't ask, don't tell policy" banning openly gay servicemembers.
Every military branch dismissed a disproportionate number of women in 2008 under the policy banning openly gay servicemembers. But the discrepancy was particularly marked in the Air Force, where women were a majority of those let go under the policy, even though they made up only 20 percent of personnel.
Across the military, women represented about one-third of the 619 people discharged based on sexual orientation. They account for just 15 percent of servicemembers.
The data was released Thursday by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

via cbs5.com

This just makes me sad.
It sounds like the military (esp Air Force) is just using this to kick women (gay or not) out. Hard to feel sorry for them when they have trouble recruiting, when it sounds like they are eager to expel otherwise "qualified" people who want to be there.

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Windows 7 Launch Parties?

2009-10-05T11:26:00.001-07:00

via youtube.com

I hope I get invited to a lot of these: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/meetup/default.aspx
I thought the video was fake until I saw the site above. It seems kind of creepy, but I rarely "get" the Microsoft commercials. I hate to advertise their little Stepford parties, but this was just too interesting...

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HowStuffWorks Videos "Discovery News: Dogs and Humans Think and Act Alike"

2009-10-03T16:49:00.001-07:00

via videos.howstuffworks.com

I'm not sure I really believe this; I will try with my dogs. But I guess it would be cool if the dogs did have an ability to mimic humans. But then I guess they'd figure out how to throw the ball for themselves? and what would they need me for, then?

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Dan Phillips - live streaming video powered by Livestream

2009-10-02T12:58:00.001-07:00

via livestream.com

(not sure if this link will work)
This is amazing!! They are live-streaming the NAFA CanAm games this weekend, watch for some very fast flyball! (see the NAFA Web site for schedule & details: http://www.flyball.org/ )

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Chart: the Rise & Fall of AOL

2009-10-02T12:02:00.001-07:00

via link.businessinsider.com

I don't think it's my fault, having been acquired by AOL the end of 1999, and leaving in 2001...

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Digital Roam: Health care napkins

2009-10-02T11:42:00.001-07:00

via digitalroam.typepad.com

ahh, this really does help me understand. Makes me want to get my own colored pens out... (by the way, this presentation also just won slideshare's World’s Best Presentation: http://blog.slideshare.net/2009/09/29/healthcare-napkins-wins-worlds-best-presentation-contest-2009/ )

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New Sun Press Title: Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, Third Edition

2009-09-30T16:32:00.001-07:00

New Sun Press Title: Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, Third Edition
Jeff Gardiner (SL: JeffGardiner SunMicrosystems) and Janice Gelb (SL: Editrix Alter) held a Sun Author Chat today to discuss the new edition of their book. Christy Confetti (SL: Violet Portola) hosted the chat at the Sun Public Island in Second Life.
Summary: a chat with Sun Technical Publications team members Jeff Gardiner and Janice Gelb on the release of the third edition of the industry-leading style guide "Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry". This guide to creating clear, consistent, and easy-to-understand documentation covers everything from writing style to creating lists and procedures to managing schedules and workflow. The book is set to be published in print in November 2009 but is available today online via Safari Books Online.
Pictures from the Author Chat in Second Life, at the Sun Public Island:

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Halloween Time At Disneyland Resort Features New Attractions – Ghost Galaxy at Space Mountain « Disney Parks Blog

2009-09-29T19:59:00.001-07:00

Hi, I’m Heather, Social Media Manager at Disneyland Resort. On the Disney Parks Blog we’re offering some behind-the-scenes looks and updates from around our properties.

Our first update is a big one as Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure Parks have a whole new look. Mickey and Friends are decked out in their Halloween best, and the Disney Villains have some tricks up their sleeves for Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort. Guests will enjoy the spooky atmosphere and this year’s new attractions.

Space Mountain riders will be launched into an uncharted and haunted section of the universe on the new Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. Out of the darkness and swirling galaxies of Space Mountain, ghosts try to pluck riders from their seats as they speed through space. The drops and curves of the journey are even scarier with piercing screams and haunting music.

Check out the video below, and you just might get goosebumps.

Scare alert: If you find these haunting thrills too frightening you can still enjoy the outside of Space Mountain. The mountain’s exterior will transform into a show that includes new lights, audio and eerie images.

Can’t visit the Parks during the Halloween time but still want to be a part of the fun? Then go to www.disneyland.com/halloween and check out the games and crafts. You can play with the Disney Villains and print out coloring sheets and fun masks.

via disneyparks.disney.go.com

ooh, I'm thinking maybe we need to go to Disneyland for Halloween...

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SLS Facebook Era Presentation Notes

2009-09-29T14:18:00.001-07:00
Sun Learning Services Author Chat: Clara Shih, Author of The Facebook Era and CEO of Hearsay Labs (SL: ClaraShih Zufreur)

Where: Sun Campus in Second Life (SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sun Microsystems 1/141/132/23)
When: September 28, 2009 - 5pm SLT / PT
#thefacebookera
Topic: Sales, Marketing, and Business in the Facebook Era
Abstract: Last decade was about the World Wide Web of information and the power of linking content pages. Today, it's about the World Wide Web of people and the power of the online social graph across sites. Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin are rewriting the rules for customer engagement, interactions, and relationships. Social networking sites are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development -- and empowering companies with new tools, insights, and ability to transform customers into true partners and your most effective sales force yet. Bestselling author and social networking expert Clara Shih will walk through the radical business transformation taking place and what sales, marketers, and professionals must do to thrive and win in the Facebook Era.
Clara’s breakthrough idea was that using Facebook, business professionals could get to know the person behind the name and title, and thereby build a larger number of richer, more personal, and longer-lasting business relationships with customers, prospects, business partners, and colleagues.
"Facebook is CRM"

Four Pillars:
Facebook Apps
Facebook Pages
Facebook Ads
Twitter
Facebook has given us trusted online identity
Twitter asymmetric relationships

Big Brother Creepiness? Just Share Less
Ways to manage social media, constant updates: Nutshell Mail aggregates all and updates (I use EventBox)

See and download the full gallery on posterous

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Fountain Blue Virtual Worlds Conference

2009-09-29T13:13:00.001-07:00

Virtual Worlds:
Where We Were, Where We're Going, What Does It Mean to YOU?
[here are my mostly raw notes from this conference]
Ben Duranske, Pillsbury Winthrop (ppt slides): Internet in 1994—walled gardens (AIL, CompuServe, Prodigy); then Mosaic to access anybody's web content. Simlar to virtual worlds today, *bandwidth, process power, ease of access*. technical challenges, reliability, ease if access. Dangerous?
people standing around talking vs. people playing
200+ virtual worlds/ games where people pay
*Panel on Virtual World Business Trends
Sibley Verbeck, Electric Sheep
Virtual Worlds (VW) are a feature set, not a destination.
* kids entertainment
* 13+ year old games & entertainment (incl Facebook)
* business uses (training, events, etc. )
Michael Gold, Electrotank: "questing" can be anywhere, anything; "crafting" (collect ingredients and follow recipe); user-generated content.
Joshua Bell, Linden: standards work for VW. How do we pick which medium to use? phone, email, Texting, Twitter/ Facebook,
narrow- vs. broad-cast
planning World of Warcraft (WOW) raids in Second Life, then go execute
Lotus Same Time 3D, standards
"Puzzle Pirates" figured out (time vs. money) 1 hour of kids time = $0.25 to an adult

future of input devices? 3d mouse, webcams, Wii
>60% SL users non-U.S.
Why use/ have an avatar?
Near term future is with military, corporations lagging behind.

*Panel on Virtual World Case Studies*
mutual admiration society / respect for "heavy-lifting" Second Life did.
PS3 Home real combo of VR, game, 2D & 3D social networking.
balance of a/ synchronous
TiVo taught us to time shift content, on demand.
Training
PS3H "Warhawk" training & strategy space, has sand table, launches directly into game, and back
PS3H 3D data visualization is key, SoCom leaderboad, for game overall, and in space
how first 5 min look, appetite for learning/ time.
Plan for these: 4*30s: 1st 30sec enjoyable, 30min, 30days, 30weeks (6 mos)
input, display, sound
multi-tasking for kids (games, texting, music, homework, etc. ) doesn't a fighter pilot have as much to do/ track?
Augmented reality already exists (glasses, peope walk up to something, pull out iPhone). SFMOMA use? already blurring line between real & virtual life.
*Chris Platz from Stanford, "Sirikata"* open source, Mixed Reality, synchronized timing (accommodates lag) for simultaneous music creation. browser accessible
*Nicole, WonderLand*

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Untitled

2009-09-26T17:40:00.001-07:00

Dawn /finally/ beat Zelda: Twilight Princess
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ProtoSphere – Virtual Collaboration for Business « ProtonMedia

2009-09-23T10:50:00.001-07:00

via protonmedia.com

WebEx meets Second Life, but Windows only? How 1990s... and I thought even Microsoft was discouraging the use of IE6...
Minimum System Requirements
Minimum requirements for running ProtoSphere
Hardware:
Specification:
Processor
2.4ghz Pentium class processor or equivalent
Memory
1GB of system RAM
Storage
At least 300MB of free disk space
Display Size
1024x768 minimum resolution
Color Palette
32 bit
Video
3D-capable video card with 32MB of Video RAM and Direct-X 8.1 min. hardware support
Recommended Cards include:
ATI Radeon 9000 series or better
OR
NVidia GeForce FX 5200 or better
Audio
Onboard sound card w/ external USB headset
Connection Speed
Broadband
Software:
Operating System
Windows 2000 SP4 w/ Direct-X 9.0c,
Windows XP SP2
Browsers
Internet Explorer 6 +
Plug-ins
FLASH 7 +

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ProtoSphere – Virtual Collaboration for Business « ProtonMedia

2009-09-23T10:42:00.001-07:00

via protonmedia.com

WebEx meets Second Life... but Windows only?? How 1990s...
(skip ahead to the 3min mark for the interesting stuff)

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TED Talk: Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense

2009-09-23T09:48:00.001-07:00

via ted.com

The current hardware setup, although less than $350, is a little unwieldy, but I can imagine how great this would be if someone like Apple decided to design it. Can you imagine an iPod Nano VR?

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Another Galaxy Far Away Comes To Disney - Star Wars - io9

2009-09-22T09:44:00.001-07:00

Star Wars
Another Galaxy Far Away Comes To Disney

By Graeme McMillan, 12:20 PM on Mon Sep 14 2009, 7,724 views

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At this weekend's D23 convention in Anaheim, Disney finally officially announced that Star Tours II will be coming to Disneyland next year - and showed a quick glimpse of what to expect. Click through for video.

The new ride - initially announced way back in 2005 - will replace the existing Star Tours attraction and feature HD 3D visuals, a new motion simulator and new locales including Tatooine pod-racing, as seen in the video below. The announcement came complete with a guest appearance from Darth Vader, who showed that Empire upper management is really focused on the details these days:

[YouTube] (Via)

via io9.com

This ride has still stayed fun after all these years, but I love the idea of adding pod racing! I guess it will get long lines again, though, although maybe it will help the lines for Buzz Lightyear and Finding Nemo! :)

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