Published 1 Month, 4 Weeks ago
in internet.
Gah — I hate online bulletin boards. People on them forget how to be civil to one another and race to see who can scold a new poster for not reading the entire thread (or searching for an answer) before asking a question. I imagine the folks doing the scolding are people who were once scolded for the same action.
Another tactic some veteran users like to do is pick apart someone’s post by asking them to define certain words or phrases used. In real life, do these same people listen to someone talking about their love of the color blue and then say something like, “Define ‘I really like the color blue’. Do you like cerulean blue or is it sky blue you are gushing about?” Gee, can’t someone profess to like the color blue without having to go into detail?
I think it has to do with pecking order. Some people feel better about themselves if they put other people down. Then if the person being put down complains, the putter-downer either accuses the put-downee of being too sensitive or misinterpreting their earlier comment or being not open to challenge. Perhaps they really feel that way, but I doubt it.
I should know better than to post in online forums, because no matter that I’ve been posting in online forums longer than some of the members in forums have been able to type their names I’m often considered a “n00b” because I’ve only posted one or two comments in the couple of forums to which I still belong.
So last night I had a blogging dream. I dreamed that I carried a sharpie everywhere I went and as I did things, I wrote on the wall or pavement what I did. (even when I used the toilet)
Or perhaps it was a twitter dream.
Whatever it was, it makes me wonder if the dream was telling me that I reveal too much.
Published 5 Months, 3 Weeks ago
in internet.
I’m still not convinced Twitter is right for me. If you’ve never used it, this is how it works:
You sign up and then send updates to the world of what you are doing. The updates must be short - 140 characters or less (that includes spaces, I think). Not much happens until you start following people though. Then you get their updates. You can reply to them by typing @ before their username. Sometimes they reply, but sometimes they don’t. It’s like a dysfunctional chatroom.
I only “follow” 12 people. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I followed hundreds - I’m already distracted when one of the 12 I follow updates what they are doing.
We’ll see.
You know the phrase “it grows on you”? I’ve never really believed it until recently when a couple of things have gown on me.
One is a movie I’ve tried to watch a couple of times: The Science of Sleep. I’d had high hopes for this film when I saw the previews and knew that Gondry was involved, but the first couple of times I began watching it, I didn’t like it. I thought it was contrived and silly for no reason.
Then last night, I sat down to watch it again. I began from the beginning and watched it all the way through and LOVED IT.
I wonder what was up the first two times.
Another thing that has begun to grow on me is Facebook. I joined because I could. My kids were on it and I wanted to know what the pull was. I found little to interest me - no one but my teens and their friends seemed to be on it. I got lots of friend invites when I joined, but because I didn’t know those people online nor off, didn’t accept the invites.
Recently I was “friended” by a former classmate of mine - someone who got me sent to the hall in 3rd grade. It’s interesting to see what his life has turned out to be - although since his brother married Dean’s cousin, I could have easily found out that way.
In the past few days I’ve begun to explore that (and Myspace) more and I think I could become a convert.
That’s all I need - another Internet addiction.
Published 7 Months, 2 Weeks ago
in internet.
It’s a small thing among all the other annoyances in life, but ever since I’ve been using mapping software the marker for my address is about 7 houses away from where we really live. I’ve always wanted to grab that darn pointer and put it where it belonged. Mr. Monk would have been proud of my desire.
I even bought a GPS device that accepted corrections so it drove me exactly to my home, safe and sound. (Can I help it if I get lonely in the car sometimes and like listening to various voices from the British Isles?)
So, imagine my delight when I noticed a new feature on Google Maps tonight — the word “edit” next to the green marker. Further playing around and suddenly, my house was where it belonged and all was right with the world.
Their promo video is pretty good too.
Question of the day- Is Comcast screwing with us?
A few weeks ago we switched to Comcast for telephone, cable TV and internet. So far I have to report that I’m not delighted. We’ve had at least three outages of the internet and two of the telephone. The technician who came out last week told me it was because we had “too much signal” coming into the house - it caused what I invisioned as a potential broadband heart attack. We had high-speed hypertension. Cable clogged coronary. The way to fix it was to have a “line guy” come out and reduce the incoming signal.
After that the phones and internet went out again. I called and the phone technician said the only thing he could see was too strong a signal coming into the house. While we were on the phone it fixed itself.
Earlier this afternoon I noticed that most of the lights on my modem were out. For a while I could still connect to the internet, but then even that was messed up. I called Comcast and talked to a friendly person on the phone. Again, while I was on the phone the problems cleared up.
So, while the issues may be very temporary, they are still issues. I make my living by being connected to the internet. A slight hiccup and I lose data. We never had this issue with RCN.
Maybe we should have tried Verizon Fios.
Too late now, we have a 2-year contract with Comcast. (And that’s subject for another post)
I must have been more excited about Revish’s Grand Opening than I realized because last night I dreamt about it.
I walked into a bright shiny new office and was greeted warmly. I was told to stick around so I could meet Dan. I did wait around and saw several employees go in and out of the office – all wearing black trousers or skirts and white button down shirts. Someone named Barbara had to leave early, so the manager (not Dan) asked if I would cover for her. I was not sure what to do, but said I would be happy to help.
Then I woke up because the cats decided to have a fight at the foot of my bed.
The only other thing I remember about the dream was the copious amount of ice cream being passed around, and everyone carrying thick books.
Oh, and I never met Dan - but I heard him on a podcast this morning.
Published 1 Year, 5 Months ago
in internet.
Sometimes Amazon recommends something that actually makes sense and is helpful. Sometimes I shake my head. For instance, the other day one of my teens was looking at an acne zapper device on Amazon. Today when I went to Amazon’s home page, I was greated with some statistics.
So the vast majority of people who view the Zeno Acne Clearing Device purchase it. 2% purchase the replacement cartridge instead (let’s hope they already own the device) and 6% purchase an electric razor. Do you think they are going to shave those pimples right off their face?
If you are a reader and like to talk about the books you read with others, you might be interested in a brand new kid on the block called Revish. I’ve been one of a handful of folks helping Dan Champion, the founder of Revish, test the site for the past week. Since Dan is a web standards Guru, this site is sure to be accessible and usable.
Revish is kind of like your local book club combined with the book section of the newspaper. As a member you get to write reviews, list the books you are reading or have read. You can also comment on reviews written by others. What makes this place different, among other things, is the quality of the reviews. If you write a review you are asked to follow a set of fair, but definate guidelines as to the length and depth of the review. No “I liked this book, it was good” for Revish.
If you’re interested, head on over to www.revish.com and sign up for the beta. They are going to invite more people to help test the site, so if you’re interested, don’t delay.
Published 1 Year, 6 Months ago
in internet.
There, I’ve said it. I love betas. I join beta groups because I want to be the first to know. My email address must be out there in hundreds of beta databases, even ones I’ve long forgotten about. Especially in ones I’ve long forgotten about.
Sometimes I realize I’m not a good candidate for the beta group - either as soon as I sign up or when it moves out of beta. Very occcasionally I find a perfect niche, a place I feel as if I really belong.
What is best about betas is this - especially if you are among a small group of testers - you get to be part of the in-crowd for a while, especially just when the beta goes out of beta. You already know the ropes and perhaps you had a say in some of the features. It’s like high school and you are one of the popular kids!
The best way to find out about betas is the website of Saurier Duval, Museum of Modern Betas. Add it to your favorite RSS feed and learn about new betas daily. Go ahead, you know you want to.
Recent Comments