Posts Filed Under ‘Hardware’
Email, IM and the web is a huge distraction, especially for those with short attention spans. My new friend Clay Johnson uses interval training techniques to lengthen his attention span the same way he trained his body to run a marathon. Clay writes:
Paying attention, for long periods of time, is a form of endurance athleticism. Like running a marathon, it requires practice and training to get the most out of it. It is as much Twitter’s fault that you have a short attention span as it is your closet’s fault it doesn’t have any running shoes in it. If you want the ability to focus on things for a long period of time, you need attention fitness.
Clay raises his attention fitness level several ways: by using a timer for work sprints (this works; I do it), by ditching his second monitor and stashing apps like Twitter and email in a separate virtual desktop that he hides while he works, by keeping his browser tab count down to a minimum, and by listening to lyric-free music. He's also looking into a standing desk. Test out your attention fitness level by seeing if you can read his post in its entirety--it's lengthy but full of interesting material that supports his approach.
How to Focus [InfoVegan.com]
The muscle soreness I'm experiencing today after walking around Comic-Con all weekend made me realize: I've got to incorporate more standing and walking into my daily routine. Maybe a treadmill desk? There are some expensive desks made to fit over a treadmill (sold separately), but someone on Hacker News modified an IKEA Jerker desk to do the job. The discontinued but beloved model of desk, which I already own, plus one of those utilitarian wire shelving units gives you a wide monitor stand with plenty of component/wire storage and keyboard and mouse room. Click on the image to see the whole setup. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it looks really tempting to try. The owner says:
Coding while walking works fine for me. As far as the mechanics, it's not hard to walk and type at the same time. 2MPH isn't very fast. I can't draw with the mouse while walking, so the occasional graphics work has to be done standing. Mentally, the consistent motion sometimes helps with flow, sometimes not. It's hard to tell, but switching between walking and standing seems to be enough for me to support the various required mental states. I've been doing this for about two months now, and while I have no hard data, I've done what I consider to be some of my best and most creative work ever in the last two weeks, so worst-case the walking isn't too great an obstacle to my coding. And this is indeed a huge improvement for my back over both sitting and standing.
I pace while I think, so this whole walking-while-typing thing is something I'd love to try. For now, I may just adjust my Jerker tabletop to standing position, and try that for awhile, before making the treadmill investment.
My Treadmill Desk [Hacker News]
Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 yesterday in his WWDC keynote, and it's a gorgeous device with software upgrades that include multitasking, a video chat app called FaceTime, and more. I'm still a happy Android user, but I have to hand it to Apple. They continue to school the industry on aesthetics and marketing. Case in point: the FaceTime demo video.
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TWiG: The Un-iPad Episode ·
Hopefully better late than never: in this week's episode of TWiG, Jeff reboxes his iPad to return to the store, we talk Twitter developer relations, and my tip of the week was a web front end to the Android Market, at thanks to doubleTwist. · April 16th, 2010, 1 comment
A few months back I bought Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog--a great book about beating procrastination that I cited in a recent Fast Company video--on my Kindle. Today I got an interesting email from Amazon. To quote:
We're writing about your recent Kindle purchase of Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. The version you received contained some errors that have been corrected.
An updated version of Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time is now available. It’s important to note that when we send you the updated version, you will lose any highlights, your last page read, and bookmarks made in your current version and the locations of any notes may not match the updated copy of the book.
The whole part about my losing highlights and bookmarks stinks. But Amazon reaching down into my Kindle and correcting errors in a book I bought months ago? Wacky!
Update, 4/12/2010: I posted this in a rush last week and didn't include the entire text of the email, or fully-baked thoughts about it. To clarify: the updates to the book are indeed optional and opt-in. The email ends thusly:
If you wish to receive the updated version, please let us know via e-mail at amazonkindle-feedback@amazon.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused, and would like to thank you for your business with Amazon.
My apologies for making it sound like this update was not opt-in. While I wish Amazon would provide a diff between the revisions so I can see exactly what I'm getting when I ask for the update, they won't touch my book unless I ask them.
I’m Not Buying an iPad This Weekend · Even though I'm desperately curious how one looks and feels and works, I'm not buying an iPad--just yet, anyway. I'll head down to the Apple store and fondle one on Saturday, just before TWiG, so that I can talk about it on-air. But I'm already suffering from gadget overload, with a netbook and an iPod touch and the Nexus One and a Kindle, so bringing another gadget into the house just doesn't makes sense. I will buy a tablet in the next year or so--after I eBay my Kindle and my iPod touch and get to see some of the Android models in person, too. If you're on the fence about whether or not to succumb to the iPad, read this: Why You Shouldn't Buy an iPad (Yet). · April 2nd, 2010, 7 comments
Alex Payne on the iPad · "The iPad leaves me with the feeling that Apple’s interests and values going forward are deeply divergent from my own. The future of personal computing that the iPad shows us is both seductive and dystopian. It’s not a future I want to bring into my home." al3x on the iPad. Read it. · January 28th, 2010, 12 comments
iPad First Impressions · Based solely on live blogs and a choppy audio feed: Terrible name, gorgeous device, great price point. I may be an Apple critic, but I'm not made of stone--this thing is beautiful. Instantly my Kindle seems like a joke. Kottke may be right: The Kindle app plus Instapaper installed on the iPad may very well be a much better reading and browsing experience than the Kindle itself, plus you get everything else it does. Here's Apple's official iPad page. And you? · January 27th, 2010, 34 comments
The Uncelebrated Engineer · "We live in an engineered world. Every second of each day is mediated by some product created by a team of engineers. Your clothes are made on machines that are astonishing to watch in action. A humming infrastructure feeds power, water, and data into our homes. No matter what sort of transportation we use, from the bicycle to spaceship, it is the product of an obscure group of engineers. This Christmas season electronics flew off the shelves. How many teenagers ever stop to think about the design efforts poured into that iPod or Wii?" [Embedded.com via] · January 11th, 2010, 7 comments
BillShrink hits it out of the park with a handy infographic which compares the cost and features of the current generation of smartphones: the Nexus One, the Palm Pre, the Motorola Droid, and the iPhone 3GS.
Looking at this you realize 1.) there's no clear winner in the bunch feature-wise and 2.) we all spend a ridiculous amount of money on mobile phones and service. My only nitpick with this chart is that the T-Mobile/Nexus One "Average Usage" plan should be listed at $79.99 a month, not $89.99 (unless they're counting taxes and fees). Update: BillShrink has updated this graphic to correct prices. Head inside and click to enlarge the big picture to check it out.
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Nexus One Flash Impressions · Google announced the Nexus One phone today, which is on sale from Google here. My current contract is up, I'm sick of living with Edge, and I don't want to depend on good enough data coverage for Skype, so I bought one with the T-Mobile plan. As a former iPhone user and soon-to-be-former G1 user, I'm excited about getting a thin and light phone with replaceable battery and a true headphone jack. I'm a huge fan of the trackball in general, so I'm loving that the Nexus One's trackball doubles as a notification system; however, I do fear I'll miss the G1's awesome flip-out keyboard more than "never." I mostly use my smartphone to email/text/Twitter, so I'm looking forward to speaking email with voice input, multiple Gmail account and Undo support. More Nexus One goodness as I discover it... now, to wait for FedEx. · January 5th, 2010, 7 comments
The Decade You Fell in Love with Your DVR · Over on PVRblog today, I got to briefly explain how TiVo changed television for me, alongside some of my favorite web folks. Caterina has my favorite quote: "It's not hard to find someone to sleep with, it's hard to find someone you'd WANT to sleep with. It's not hard to find something to watch, it's hard to find something GOOD to watch." Yup, the 2000s were the decade of DVR. · December 29th, 2009, 2 comments
Jeff Bezos on Reading in the Bathtub · "I put my Kindle in a one-gallon Ziploc bag, and it works beautifully. It’s much better than a physical book, because obviously if you put your physical book in a Ziploc bag you can’t turn the pages. But with Kindle, you can just push the buttons." [NY Times via SvN] · December 6th, 2009, 4 comments
A friend complained to me that after only two years, she had to replace her laptop's battery because it wouldn't hold a charge. I found myself telling her that she shouldn't keep her notebook computer plugged in continuously, because it would kill the battery faster. Then I stopped myself: Was this just outdated geek lore rendered obsolete by modern batteries?
Yes and no. It depends, of course, on what kind of battery you have. Battery technology has come a long way over the years, and surely in 2009 you don't have to worry about how long your laptop's been plugged in. However, one major notebook manufacturer (which ships Lithium-ion batteries) thinks you should, and suggests adding a reminder to your calendar to deplete and recharge your battery once a month. To quote: "Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time."
My friend, however, has a two-year-old Dell. Cursory Googling for her model didn't turn up the equivalent of Apple's definitive statement, only lots of opinions which ranged from "it's a non-issue" to "yes, it kills batteries!" Dell.com's battery recommendations page doesn't say anything about not keeping your notebook plugged in. HP's battery tips page doesn't answer the question, either. I pored through my wife's ASUS Eee PC user guide and didn't find any warning about continuous charging. A non-mention might make you think it's a non-problem, but if this is an issue for Apple notebook batteries, it is for PC notebooks with lithium-based batteries too. When I asked, my Twitter followers returned mixed replies, but many notebook users (both Mac and PC) DID report anecdotal battery problems when the machine was plugged in constantly.
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I'm not dead. I've just moved into a new place where there is no internet connection yet, which is the equivalent of dead when you work and live online. Up until now I've resisted "rooting" my Android phone because I didn't want to go down the iPhone jailbreak road. (A major reason I have Android is so I don't have to jailbreak my device to get it to do something interesting!) But desperate times call for desperate measures. Living somewhere with no computer internet connection is a really good reason to root your Android phone. With a rooted phone, you can tether your Android device to your computer and get some internet love wherever you are. (There are quite a few other good reasons to root Android, too, not the least of which is speed boosts and early Donut access.)
If you're paying attention and reading the instructions, the rooting process isn't that difficult. I made the mistake of trying this out without my phone's USB cable (which was still packed away in some box) and in a loud sports bar during the first Chargers game of the season, with one eye on my screen and the other on my beer. Things didn't go so well. This morning I was able to finish up the process and get tethering working just fine. Here's what (and what NOT) to do when you root your Android phone.
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