Windows Mojave - A Lesson In Marketing
Microsoft sure knows how to turn some bad press around. This is the audio heard in the first 30 seconds of the new Windows Mojave Experiment website:
So it’s just an informal discussion I’ll be asking some questions, and just answer them as honestly as, as you can.
So why haven’t you upgraded to Vista yet?
Just the bad things I’ve heard about it.
I’ve just heard negative things, I’ve never tried it myself.
I won’t touch the thing.
It’s horrible, we have so many problems.
It crashes.
I’ve heard nothing but bad things about Vista really.
I’d like you to rate your overall favorability of Vista…
...Ok so, you gave Windows Vista a zero.
Bravo, Microsoft… way to confirm what everyone’s thinking in the first 30 seconds. I wonder what the percentage of people that leave your little flash video website before that 30 seconds has passed.
Wait, did I say Flash website? Do you mean to say, even Microsoft doesn’t want to use their Flash Killer™ product - Silverlight?
I wonder how many interviews they did before get those “favorable” responses. Was this guy one of Mojave Rejects?
Aug 03, 2008
Comments Disabled
That’s right, until further notice comments have been disabled on Echo Faith. All previous comments will be left in tact so as to preserve the history of the evolution of this blog but all posts (and future posts) will no longer have comments enabled.
Why the sudden change? Well, I’m going to let some other sans-comments-bloggers do the talking for me.
Reason 1: Ego
aka Read, Don’t Skim
Reason 2: Time/Maintenance
aka Click, Done
Those are 2 big reasons that have led me to the decision to disable comments. The main reason, however is contained within this quote from Shawn Blanc:
If you’ve ever had a blog you know how true this is… it doesn’t matter how many people have read your post, seeing that little 0 Comments is the most depressing thing in the world. I would pour hours into writing and researching a good post and when no one comments on it, I think “did I just waste all that time for nothing?” The disappointment would often cause me to steer away from writing more, fearing another zero comment rejection.
This is not why I started Echo Faith.
Hopefully, communication will stay open through other channels such as Twitter, Email, and such.
Thanks for reading, things are happening soon.
Stay tuned…
→ Share iPhone Apps With Your Wife
Great how-to article by Melvin Rivera on how to share purchased iPhone apps between 2 or more iPhones. Now I can put all my cool little games on my wife’s iPhone without having to pay double price. Very helpful article for any household with more than one iPhone.
Jul 17, 2008
→ Spitting Preacher
Scott Hodge tells it like it is. Hilarious.
Jul 01, 2008
1 Comment
Quick Tip: Unsaved Documents In OS X
Just discovered this nice little tip the other day while working with multiple documents in Coda. Whenever you are editing a document using a program such as TextEdit, Photoshop or Coda, if the document has changes that have not been saved you will notice a small dark dot in the middle of the red document close button / bubble in the upper left of the window. As soon as you save that document the dot vanishes.
After noticing this it quickly becomes part of your sub-conscious workflow - yet another one of those tiny little visual reminder clues that you never really notice until that split second where you wonder if you’ve saved the latest version or not.
I’m not sure if this feature is new to Leopard or has always been a part of OS X, but I’ve been using macs for years and just noticed it for the first time.
Another quick tip from Sean Sperte, for a quick new tab in Safari:
1 Comment
Jun 21, 2008
2 Comments
Grungy Gateway Arch.
Original photo taken by Jesse J. Anderson in St. Louis, MO - May, 2008.
2 Comments
Jun 19, 2008
→ Patterns for Designing a Reputation System
A short article with some nice diagrams concerning the different levels of social competition in a network.
Though it seems to be aimed at social sites such as digg.com, it actually reminds me a lot of how Xbox Live for Xbox 360 works - with its achievement system, leaderboards, ranked gameplay, reputation and gamerscore.
Jun 16, 2008
1 Comment
The Difference Between Greatness And Glory
Greatness is not glory, which clearly belongs to God. Think of greatness as reflected glory: just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, a man who achieves something for God’s kingdom is simply reflecting God’s glory to the world. When we follow the example of Jesus, we reflect his glory to all.
We Christians must stop treating the pursuit of greatness as an affliction.
— Why Men Hate Going To Church by David Murrow
1 Comment
Jun 10, 2008
1 Comment
iPhone 2.0 Software Update
Some of the changes you will see between current iPhone software and the big iPhone 2.0 software update due out early July (most likely prior to the iPhone 3G release date - July 11).
Email
Mass email move and delete, thank you thank you thank you. Every once in awhile my home Comcast connection craps out and kills my spam-filtering solution - the fantastic SpamSieve running on my home Mac Mini. Over the course of the day my iPhone fills up with spam and I have to delete each stinking message one at a time. So, freaking, annoying. This is a feature welcomed with open arms.
In addition, you will now be able to view all Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, and now Powerpoint) and iWork documents (Pages, Numbers, Keynote). Image attachment will now be able to be downloaded local to your iPhone into your photo gallery. In fact…
Contacts Searching
Not something that I will use much, I find scrolling with the letters in the sidebar works just fine, but for business type with hundreds upon hundreds of contacts may find this to be helpful, simply begin typing their name in the top search box to quickly narrow down your contact.
Download Image
Not only will you be able to download images from email attachments, but you will also be able to download images from the web to your iPhone. How this will be accomplished is not completely clear, but I imagine it only works if you have an image as the url (i.e. http://www.website.com/image1.jpg) and using the + icon already in Safari.
Calculator
Most notable is the addition of the scientific calculator, which is displayed with a simple landscape rotation of the phone. Though this is not something I have any sort of interest in, I have seen and heard a lot of people who have really wanted this and it’s great to see Apple respond to that.
In addition to the scientific calculator, the calculator itself (as well as the icon) have gotten a facelift. Gone are the cute bubbly round buttons and the aqua blue faceplate, now replaced with a more mature look with squared buttons (though with rounded edges) and neutral colors.
App Store
Finally - real games for the iPhone! And not the crappy lot you see on most cell phones, easily a contender with DS and PSP.
I cannot wait to get my hands on some of these apps… Gruber said it best:
iPhone 3G Only Software Features
Some of the new software features will only be available with the new iPhone 3G.
Talk And Download At The Same Time
With the 3G network you will be able to receive phone calls and even talk on the phone at the same time as downloading emails, browsing the web, or watching YouTube videos. One of my biggest current iPhone annoyances is missing calls from someone (usually my wife) because I was messing around on Hahlo or something.
Geo Tag Your Photos
Obviously the GPS integrates really nicely with the gorgeous Google Maps and gives you pinpoint accurate directions, but one of the under-mentioned additions of GPS is geo-tagging. One growing trend among photographers today is the ability to geo-tag their photos with pinpoint accuracy - with iPhone 3G all photos take will be automatically geo-tagged.
I hope there is also a way to have it store data for syncing up with another camera later - perhaps there will be an application for this in the new App Store?
Ahh, the infinite possibilities of the App Store…
1 Comment
Jun 06, 2008
13 Comments
Beware of kCFErrorDomainCFNetwork error 302
Still not sure what happened, but after some Google research I believe it had something to do with the Leopard OS X 10.5.3 update, my echofaith.com .htaccess file, and some bad luck.
When trying to load echofaith.com I got a blank page in Firefox and in Safari I received this error message:
My .htaccess file had a couple of different entries in it, one for pushing all of my old Wordpress styled permalinks to my new Expression Engine styled permalinks, and the other was my Class B No-WWW certification code - which I hope to be able to fix soon.
Hopefully, it’s fixed for good now.
13 Comments
Jun 05, 2008
Amazing Christian Musician - Noah Gundersen
My brother David plays backup bass for several different local bands and just gave me a link for a musician he’s been playing a few shows with. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to hear.
I took a listen to Moss On A Rolling Stone, Winter, and The Current State Of Things and was completely blown away. The level carried through every song I listened to - introspective but with a completely new voice and perspective. The quality of song-writing is phenomenal, I’m amazed that he is still unsigned.
Noah Gunderson (myspace.com)
The christian music scene has exploded in the past decade which has been awesome, but also has led to a lot of cookie cutter bands. Noah Gundersen bucks that trend with a voice of truth and honest, heartfelt lyrics. If you live in the Seattle area I highly recommend you check out one of his shows to support him.
Jun 01, 2008
3 Comments
Upcoming New Releases In June 2008
There’s a lot of great stuff coming out this next month so I thought I would highlight all the upcoming releases that I find noteworthy or otherwise interesting. I’m thinking of possibly making this a regular monthly feature, but time will tell on that one if I can continue to keep up.
Movie Release Dates
Kung Fu Panda
June 6 — Looks pretty funny, it’s not going to be an instant classic or anything, but it does look pretty funny. Jack black for the win.
You Don’t Mess With Zohan
June 6 — The more I see previews for this the more I want to actually see it. Stupid? Yes. Hilarious? Absolutely.
The Happening
June 13 — The latest film from the master, M. Night Shyamalan. Team him up with Marky Mark (Wahlberg) and you shoot have one heck of a movie.
The Incredible Hulk
June 13 — The next film in the Marvel universe, setting up for The Avengers. If Ironman is any sort of indication on what this studio can put out there, this is going to be one heck of a sweet film. Which really needs to be, so we can forget about that horrible abomination of a film the original Hulk was. And with Edward Norton, how can you go wrong?
Get Smart
June 20 — Steve Carell was made for this movie, Anne Hathaway and The Rock also look they are going to be a good fit for this summer comedy.
The Love Guru
June 20 — The whole idea sounds incredibly stupid (much like Zohan), but I must admit - I laughed my butt off watching the latest trailer.
Wall-E
June 27 — Pixar’s latest soon-to-be-classic. R2-D2 meets Short Circuit’s “Johnny 5” all alone in space.
Wanted
June 27 — Slingshotting bullets into a curve with a whip of your pistol? Oh heck yes. Has the potential to re-invent gun combat the way the Matrix and Gun-Kata from Equilibrium have. Bring it on.
Music Release Dates
The Sound, The Steel EP by The Wedding
June 1 — I’m a big fan of The Wedding’s first album and I’m hoping their latest release can bring back some of the magic that made them great in the first place.
Summer by Jon Foreman
June 10 — I’ve listened to bits and pieces of all 4 of the EPs and I’m excited to hear the final installment. I’ve held off buying them so I can get all 4 in a super discounted pack somewhere =) (penny-pincher)
The Devil, You + Me by The Notwist
June 17 — I absolutely love their Neon Golden album which I found randomly when looking for more Postal Service type music.
Video Game Release Date
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Xbox 360 & Wii)
June 3 — I’m a big fan of the LEGO Star Wars games and I’m very excited to see this winning formula applied to another classic trilogy I grew up with. If anything this might be a game I can get my wife to play with me.
Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People (Wii)
June 9 — Will this be a good game? I do not know. But I do know my wife and I will laugh the entire time we play it.
3 Comments
May 27, 2008
The Apple Store, From Bottom To Top
Consider this: Apple’s retail market share is 14 percent, and two-thirds for PCs costing $1,000 or more.
Should I repeat those numbers? The share data is for first-quarter brick-and-mortar stores, as tabulated by the NPD Group. Apple’s market share is but one measure of success. Sales growth is way up, while Windows desktop PC sales are way down.
— "Macs Defy Windows' Gravity" by Joe Wilcox
May 25, 2008
Managing Change
Great article on Troubleshooting Change which can be applied not only to implementing change in general, but specifically for change in church.
What happens when you are missing one of the necessary elements for executing change?
Change is a great thing, and thanks to great changers such as Martin Luther, religion does not have to remain in the traditions of the past. However, improperly prepared change can be a vice between the parties involved.
I have been on both sides of this coin - as attempting to lead change without incentive or vision or resources, as well as feeling resistance, confusion, and frustration when someone else does the same. What’s worse is division, the church’s great enemy, that all badly implemented change can cause.
This chart creates a good checklist to prepare for change before execution to help ensure all parties are on the same page.
May 23, 2008
8 Comments
Top 10 Movies (meme)
Just got back from an awesome vacation to Springfield, Missouri to visit some old friends, got to see the St. Louis Arch while we were there and got some fantastic photos of that I’ll have to upload soon.
While I was away I was tagged by Nick Gray for the latest meme - Top 10 Movies. This is going to be very difficult for me, because I absolutely love a lot of movies… luckily the rules specify that they do not need to be listed in order, which should make it a bit easier.
Rules:
And now, in no particular order, are my Top 10 Favorite Movies.
Saving Private Ryan
Easily the greatest war movie ever made. Spielberg’s masterpiece manages to capture many themes of war including salvation, grace, brotherhood, sacrifice, respect, despair, hope, honor, and fear. The opening D-Day scene breathed of an intensity not before seen or experienced in film, and the rest of the film carried that intensity as their band of brothers marched onward. Absolutely one of the best films ever created.
American Beauty
This movie is responsible for my absolute love for film. Before American Beauty I viewed movies simply as a 2 hour entertainment distraction, whereas now I can see the art and beauty in film. Kevin Spacey’s performance is brilliant and the directing is phenomenal. Coupled with a great script and a fantastic score you have another one of the greatest films ever.
Memento
When I saw this movie for the first time I had never heard of it and had no idea of the strange directorial spin I was stepping into. What a roller coaster, I loved every second of it! If you haven’t seen or heard of Memento I recommend going out and renting/buying it now. The director, Christopher Nolan, would go on to re-invent the Batman series first with Batman Begins, and coming out this summer with The Dark Knight.
Unbreakable
I am a huge M. Night Shyamalan fan and have loved every single one of his movies. This choice was a toss-up between Unbreakable and Signs. I went with Unbreakable both because it was the first DVD I ever purchased, and it is one of M. Night’s most under-appreciated films. I absolutely loved the idea of the movie, the self-discovery of a super hero in the real world, and the implementation of it was pitch perfect. I would’ve loved even more if this movie had gotten better acclaim and had evolved into a series, but I guess that will have to remain in my dreams.
Road To Perdition
Another greatly under-appreciated movie, Road To Perdition is a slow moving tale of a father and son escaping the mobster life. Thomas Newman’s score was perfect for this tale and remains some of my favorite film music ever. In my opinion one of the greatest film scenes of all time is when Tom Hanks’ character, Michael Sullivan, is forced to gun down his old boss and father figure, John Rooney. Best. Scene. Ever.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Okay, do I really even have to explain? A New Hope started it all but RotJ has speeder bikes, Jabba the freakin’ Hutt, Boba Fett’s death via Sarlacc Pit, epic space battles, Wicket, the death of the Emperor, the Millennium Falcon basting through the Death Star, Admiral Ackbar yelling “It’s A Trap!” - what more could you ask for in a movie? I’d like to choose all 6, or at least the classic trilogy but if I can only pick one it’s gotta be Return of the Jedi.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Yet another amazing trilogy that ends on a real high note, though it remains to be seen (by me at least) how the new film measures up. Last Crusade is a classic American film with the witty, happy-go-lucky professor/treasure chaser Indiana at the helm.
The blend of humor, wit, puzzles, action, and adventure is top notch with more memorable scenes than you can shake a stick at (i.e. young Indiana’s run through the circus train, smashing the church floor in sync with the librarian stamper, Indiana and his dad tied to a chair in a revolving fireplace with the room on fire, Indiana hanging off the side of a tank headed towards a cliff, Indiana jamming a flagpole into the spokes of a passing Nazi motor-biker, Hitler signing Henry Jones’ diary, Henry shooting off the tail of their airplane, the list goes on and on and on).
No Ticket.
Good Will Hunting
This is one of those movies that is great without actually being able to say why. It is just a fantastically written movie with great performances by Robin Williams and Matt Damon alike.
Adaptation
This was another tossup between Adaptation or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which is also written by the extremely talented Charlie Kaufman. Adaptation is one of the most interesting films I’ve ever seen, it takes a couple of views for the genius to set in. As the screenwriter of the movie is actually in the movie, writing the very movie you are watching, there are lots of little tricks and internal jokes going on throughout the movie. Pay special attention to how the movie changes its pacing and style after Kaufman attends a writing seminar which tells him how boring his film will be if it lacks certain elements.
The Matrix
Unlike some movies out of trilogies listed above, it was not at all difficult to pick my favorite movie of the Matrix Trilogy. Though (unlike many) I actually did enjoy the second and third movies of the trilogy, they pale in comparison to the original. Not only are the action scenes in The Matrix some of the best ever made, if you strip them out this would still be a top 10 movie for one of the coolest plots, scripts and overall design and feel ever.
And the special meme is awarded to...
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