Author Archives: brad

Marc Canter writes: One of the things that has befuddled me – is why TiVO hasn’t taken off more? I mean – it totally changed my life. Why haven’t mroe people picked on it – faster?

Robert Scoble replies: It hasn’t taken off because the acquisition and implementation cost are too high for most people. Look at the rats nest of wires behind most AV systems and you’ll see just what I mean. Also, most people are scared of technology. Seriously. You really gotta get on planes and talk to average users to really understand this one.

Dave Winer writes (about his parents): I couldn’t understand why they don’t get a TiVO. I offered to install it. But I don’t think they understood what it does, or why they would want it. The idea is foreign… TiVO hasn’t reached the masses yet. It surely will. The technology is just too rational for it not to.

Surprisingly, Dave Mancuso has yet to write anything about his TiVO.

TiVO, to me, is almost like a solution searching for a problem. An answer yearning for a question. A response looking for… you get the idea.

If anything, we watch way too much TV these days. Why invest in a device that
a) Makes it easy peasy to watch even more mind-rotting garbage
b) Is usually accompanied by a recurring fee of some sort

I just don’t get it. The technology makes sense to me, and I guess if I were still 22, just out of college, working as a substitute and playing in a band, I’d like the convenience that TiVO offers. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to afford it, because unless my memory is going bad, we couldn’t even afford the Weather Channel back then.

Now that I can afford it, I prefer to spend my time on other pursuits, like spending time with my wife and daughter, reading, playing and listen to music, writing software. You know, healthy, mentally stimulating things. The only time I watch TV anymore is when I’m sick in bed and unable to get to my computer. And even then, in my typical semi-lucid state, I marvel at the craptacularity (look it up) of the crap on the screen.

Now, I used to watch a lot of TV. I mean, a lot. Our evening schedule every night was determined by what was on. Thursday was the NBC sitcoms followed by ER. Tuesday was Frasier and… something else. I don’t really remember anymore. When Grace was born, I pretty much stopped watching TV recreationally, except for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I gave up on shortly thereafter for unrelated reasons.

The only TV I watch these days is the Weather Channel (which I can now afford), Disney Channel, and PBS Kids. And every now and then, if Grace goes to bed early enough, we’ll watch some HGTV.

So, there you go. I understand, comprehend, get, dig TiVO. I just have no justification for it. Maybe there’s more people out there like that than everyone thinks.

Maybe that’s why TiVO hasn’t caught on.

Because in the end, all you’re really going to record is a bunch of crap anyway.

That’s all you have to pick from.

The good news is that Frequency 2.0b2 is running on Windows.

The better news is that Mike’s surgery went well.

The bad news is that I still feel like crap.

My head weighs about 90 pounds right now, 65 pounds of which is entirely comprised of a substance suspiciously like Elmer’s Wood Glue. That’s the thick, yellow stuff that real men use to stick wood to wood, not the thin, runny, white stuff little kids use in school.

But the good news is that Frequency 2.0b2 is running on Windows. All features check out OK so far. Once I hit b3, I’ll let my Windows testers take a crack at it. I’m sure there will be much to fix. Dave found a few minor issues with b1 last night, but I was able to wrap them pretty quickly.

On another bright note, I’ve discovered the joys of remote debugging with REALbasic 5.5. It’s amazing. Makes life so much easier than it used to be.

Well, I’m off to bed. If I feel again tomorrow like I did today, I’ll likely stay home (I did go in today).

Ack.

Sore throat.

Stuffy head.

Lots of drippage and related nastiness.

So I stayed home from work today and plugged away on Frequency 2.0. I’m happy to say that, due to possibly the most productive sick day I’ve ever taken, Frequency 2 has reached beta status, at least on OS X. I still need to test the Windows build, but being sick and all, I was way too lazy to get out the XP laptop.

It has real support for multiple weblogs. Right next the file menu, there’s a Weblogs menu that lists everything you’ve set up. The first nine can be accessed with command or control and the corresponding number. Pretty nice. And you can switch weblogs in the middle of writing a post or doing whatever. Drafts are shared between all weblogs. Each weblog also has its own preview font.

I’ve also added FTP file transfers. Each weblog has its own set of FTP settings. You can this to copy single files or folders of files up to your server without ever leaving Frequency. It’s all just drag and drop once it’s configured.

No Atom support yet. Atom’s only at 0.3. I’m waiting until at least 0.8 or 0.9 before release anything based on it.

Based on the new features, the price will be going up. $19 for new users. $9 for registered users of Frequency 1.x.

On my desk, slightly to my left, sits Hempfield School District’s 2004-2005 Kindergarten Handbook.

Gracie will be a Kindergartener this fall.

I can’t believe it.

How am I even old enough to be a dad, let alone the parent of a Kindergartener?

When did this happen?

I’m not ready for this.

Fortunately, I think Grace is. She’s very bright, if I do say so myself, and enjoys reading and writing. Her biggest weakness going into school would have to be her social skills, but she gets that honestly, from her anti-social father. She’ll adjust faster than I will, I’m sure.

She’s worried about making friends, though. Nobody in her preschool will be at her elementary school. There is a set of twin girls around the corner from our house who would have been in her class, but we learned today that they’re moving. Grace was very disappointed to hear that. And frankly, so was I.

She’ll do fine.

From BBC News: David Aucsmith is Microsoft’s security architect, and he came to London this week to ask forgiveness for his company’s former sins. Speaking to an audience of senior police officers and security professionals at the E-Crime Congress, he admitted that when Windows 95 was released to the world it came with no security features at all.

This really pisses me off.

Don’t misunderstand: it doesn’t surprise me that Windows 95 shipped without security. It’s fact of which I am painfully aware. I am slightly surprised that Microsoft admits this, although it fits well with their “Everything we made before is crap; buy our new stuff cuz it’s great!” marketing machine.

What pisses me off is how much time and energy I spent trying to secure Windows 95 for years. Why did I spend so much time? Because I had Windows 95 deployed in four high school computer labs. They need security; otherwise some punk kid will trash the machine for kicks. (No, I’m not saying all kids are bad; I’m saying there are some who are. I know this because I’ve had to deal with their aftermath.)

We installed third party software. We worked with user, group, and machine policies. Nothing worked. We were utterly unable to secure the machines in the end.

And now Microsoft says, “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. We didn’t really have any security measures in place back then. But you should try our new stuff, because we’re taking it seriously now.”

Riddle me this, Microsoft: WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU NOW?

Well, here it is. Our first full GarageBand creation. This is a re-recording of an old Anonymous Joe song called “It Happens All The Time”, which first appeared on our self-produced album, Strange Days, in 1997, and was later re-recorded for WJTL’s Unite CD in 1998. I did the vocals and acoustic guitar, Jen did the bass. All the rest is loops and samples. I hope you enjoy listening to it. I’d appreciate any feedback you’d like to provide.

Click here to listen to “It Happens All The Time” in MP3 format. It’s a 4.5 MB download, so if you’re on dial-up, please be patient.

It Happens All The Time

Somebody asked me once,
“How do you know that everything is gonna turn out fine?”
I told him I don’t know
I just believe and it happens all the time
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time

Someone said I was wrong
He said, “Do you want you want to do but leave me out”
I looked him in the eye
And said, “You don’t even know what I’m about”
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time

It happens all the time
I say everything but they just don’t see
They don’t know what’s on my mind
But they don’t see me on my knees
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time

One day I shut my mouth
And kept it shut and everybody looked at me and said
“He finally gave it up.”
But I can’t have that on my head

It happens all the time
I say everything but they just don’t see
They don’t know what’s on my mind
But they don’t see me on my knees
And it’s just like I told a friend of mine
It happens all the time
It happens all the time

Apparently I am 65% Dixie, which is a definitive Southern score.

How do you rate, y’all?

Frequency 1.6 is out. Enjoy!

Let me know what you think!

No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation.
-Fran Lebowitz

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
-Anonymous

Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.
-Ann Landers

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
-Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
-Andrew A. Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.
-M. Acklam

Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.
-Sigmund Freud

I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl.
-Penny Ward Moser

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
-Rita Rudner

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.
-Robert Benchley

Dogs need to sniff the ground; it’s how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard.
-Dave Barry

Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
-Franklin P. Jones

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.
-James Thurber

If your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise.
-Unknown

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That’s almost $21.00 in dog money.
– Joe Weinstein

Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul — chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we’re the greatest hunters on earth!
-Anne Tyler

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Outside of a dog, a book is probably man’s best friend; inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx

Thanks to Dave for the quotes.

Sometimes, you see something that just seems so totally and completely unnecessary.

This is one of those things. The other day in the mail, I received an offer to sign up for a Linux credit card.

I will be the first to admit that I use a General Motors MasterCard. That card, however, has saved me somewhere in the neighborhood of two thousand dollars on vehicle purchases. I doubt that the Linux MasterCard will save me money on my next Linux purchase. I mean, it’s open source; do the math.

To be honest, I don’t what other benefits or rewards this card may offer. I laughed and threw it away. It just seemed so self-consciously techno-hip.

Besides, the letter said, “Dear Linux Supporter” in the salutation. I have no problems with Linux (aside from some usability issues), but I don’t know that I’d label myself a Linux supporter. At one time, I really wanted to dig into Linux, but then Mac OS X came out, and I haven’t had much interest since.