Category: Information Technology

I have an Associate in Technical Arts in Web Application Development degree, as well as certificates in:

  • Business Systems Analysis
  • Requirements Analysis
  • Database Theory and Design
  • Cisco Networking
  • And I’m one class away from a Desktop Support Certificate

I have a deep knowledge of technical systems and have solved a variety of problems.

La Vida Smartphona

Carl Setzer

One of my Facebook chums just got her first smartphone (an Android for those keeping score at home). Thus, she was looking for some suggestions to get the best use of the thing. Which got me thinking; and that’s a dangerous thing. I gave her some pointers, but kept it brief out of respect for her Wall. But, since this is my blog and I can do whatever-the-heck-I-want, I’m going to elaborate.

Smartphones have been a key part of my life for years. It was a small conversion at the time, as I had Palm & HP handhelds before. Shifting from two small devices to one was wondrous. Geekous maximus. In the smartphone realm, my first was a Treo, then to Blackberries (when Treos finally annoyed me enough). Then I got a iPhone, followed with a brief foray into Windows (both a WinMo 6.1 & the WP7). So, I think I know how to use the devices efficiently.

Anyway, here are the basics of how I use mine. Some things I’ve used for years, some are only germane now with post iPhone smartphones.

  • email: should be evident. It’s dangerous, though, to be always online.

  • calendar: my phone is my calendar. It’s always with me, so I’m able to commit to time requests right off. My wife and I send each other appointments so we know when we have larger commitments. Also, I’m now very dependent on alarms. It’s synced, of course.

  • to-dos: I downloaded a feature rich to-do app since this is critical for me. Pop-up reminders are important for me on this, too.

  • Notes: having notes that sync to my computer has become critical for me. I also take voice memos and having a tool that integrates them all is priceless.

  • Traffic/GPS: it’s great to be able to check traffic as I’m walking to my car, or for my navigator to check while I’m on the road. There’ve been a few times where the GPS directions have really helped me out.

  • financial: my bank and broker have apps, which are quite helpful. Not life-or-death, but quite slick.

  • I love Urban Spoon and Yelp! for guidance when dining out. They’re really useful when I’m in a town I don’t know.

  • music: when the iPhone first came out (I held out for a cycle, keeping my Blackberry), I downloaded some music to see the value. I thought the convergence of phone and music player to be dumb. My notions have mollified. Now, I use my iPhone’s iPod all the time. I especially like podcasts during my commute.

  • games: invaluable tool to kill time in lines, the dmv, et al.

  • reading: relatively new to me, using the phone as a reader has been a boon in times of boredom (see above).

    • This has been a simple stream-of-consciousness list. Hardly all-inclusive. Have anything you want to add? Drop a note in the comments. I’d love to hear it.

    How to be an Analyst

    Carl Setzer

    I zipped out a snarky answer on TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) and thought I’d share…I am rather proud.

    (Setting the scene: Gwydion commented that “I want a job as analyst, I can say any silly thing and be paid for it” [comment #1])

    “Gwydion, it’s not quite that easy. First, you need to collect copious amounts of BS data. Proceed to dump into the spreadsheet of your choice. Then torture this into the most eye-burning/bleeding set of graphics and slides that you can. That is a critical step, for it instills a sciencey note (giving credibility) and causes intense dizziness, which enables you to use your hypnotic skills (there’s an app for that, I’m sure). Then just make sure to include that Steve Jobs is/will be giving Steve Ballmer an economic wedgie and off you go.”

    Linux & Me

    Carl Setzer

    I’ve spent the better part of today getting Ubuntu working on an older laptop (Compaq Presario R3000). I installed it several days ago, but was fighting with getting my wifi card to work. ‘Twas a bit of challenge due to its agedness. I was trying to get a Broadcom 4301 802.11 b card running with Maverick Meerkat. This is old enough to not be supported, so I needed to get creative. I’m geek-proud of myself for getting it worked out (uninstalled the built in broadcom driver and then utilized the “Windows Wireless Drivers” app & the original driver that shipped with the thing).

    The more I think about it, the more I’m surprised that I’m only now getting into Linux. Well, I fiddled a bit with it a few years back, but never went anywhere. When I consider my values, my tendency towards “anti-corporate” & anti-commercial and my love of all things geeky, this should’ve been a slam-dunk. Well, it took a bit, but here I am. We’ll see where this world leads me.

    A Day Made of Glass… Made possible by Corning.

    Carl Setzer
    Very exciting stuff for the techy in me. I find these utopian visions of the future very interesting and compelling. I wonder, though, how sustainability fits in. Can these products be crafted without destroying the environment? And is this only limited to the rich? Or will the poor of our globe have any benefit from this glorious utopia?

    Social Media Expertise

    Carl Setzer

    Lots of folks are running around billing themselves as “social media” experts. Most of my cohort online finds them annoying at best, and fraudulent at worst. In the spirit of self-exploration, and a wee bit of sarcasm, I present reasons that I (little ol’ me) could bill myself thusly.

    Reasons I can call myself a Social Media Expert:

    1. I’ve been reading Wil Wheaton’s blog since before the term “blog” was invented. And I didn’t know what to think when he shifted to Word Press.
    2. Got a Facebook account back when you needed to request an invite, and the email had to be a .edu email address.
    3. Had a “blog” before the term was invented. Each update hand-coded (html, if you don’t know…but actually care), with my archive needing a great deal of thought and strategy. (It was hosted on my “free” webpage that came gratis with my Earthlink account.)
    4. With said blog, was excited to plug in a counter and delighted in watching it tick upward
    5. I had a Geocites site (multiple pages, so truly a “site) before the Yahoo! acquisition.
    6. Became part of a Webring.
    7. I’ve had accounts on MySpace, Friendster, Yahoo!360…
    8. Got a gmail account back when the only way was via an invite.
    9. I was involved in many vigorous and interesting Usenet discussions
    10. Actually know about Usenet…and where the archives are.
    11. I’ve explained to people what a blog, Facebook, etc are before any reporter (other than tech/geek columnists) had written about them.
    12. Remember when ZDNet was a tech forum focused on professional IT.
    13. I’ve made comments on Dilbert’s List of the Day.
    14. Know what an In-Duh-Vidual is.
    15. Have actually used Mosaic.
    16. Have actually used Lynx.
    17. Had discussions about search engine optimization before the term “search engine optimization” existed.
    18. Started my Blogger site before Google’s acquisition.

    Some of these really should read “why I’m a web geek”, but, well, whatever.

    iPad Thoughts

    Carl Setzer

    As a musician, I think there’s great value with the iPad for music display. No more flipping pages due to breezes, ease in organizing (adjusting play lists), quickly shifting pages (a simple touch) and the ability to have a huge sheet music library at your fingertips. If you’ve ever lugged several Fake books to gigs, you can see the potential. Of course, the device is relatively fragile (as any electronic device is), so there’s a challenge. Nothing should frighten musicians more than the thought of losing your performance materials.

    History & Predictive Text

    Carl Setzer

    Predictive text will add a new challenge to the historians of our future. Before, reading through journals, we just muddled our way through the occasional misspelling or illegible word. Now, we need to be ready for strange word transpositions. Words appearing at random. Historians will need to incorporate an understanding of querty, and the possible mis-adjustment contemporary predictive text programs can use for substitutes.

    The End of the Print World as We Know It

    Carl Setzer

    Ah, Negroponte is at it again! Stirring up the masses with a prediction. This time, the doomed in focus is our old friend, the printed paper book. Negroponte points to the fact that ebook sales have overtaken hardcovers, and are expected to outpace paperbacks within the year. Of course, this statistic is solely for Amazon. When Barnes and Noble makes such a prediction, this might be more valid…at least from a larger, macro-social perspective. I expect there will long be a market for paper based books. I expect a good many things need to happen before e- truly replaces print as the way books are consumed.

    Before print ‘dies’, first more and more materials will be printed solely electronically (I expect many top tier/NYTimes bestsellers, for instance). Also, the cost of readers will need to come DOWN. Until there are <$50 versions available, i.e.: until the e-reader has become commoditized, will this distribution method truly become mainstream. With that, I expect that the cost of e-publications will need to come down further in price before attaining true mass-market appeal.

    Anyway, I see many challenges before Negroponte’s prognostication about print books being dead in 5 years (with whatever qualifiers you mix in there). Really, this is very aggressive and likely vapor. I do expect e- to replace paper, but slowly and iteratively. Printed, paper-based materials will be with us for quite some time.

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    Edit: I felt the need to adjust this sentence: “Anyway, I see many challenges before Negroponte’s prognostication about print books being dead in 5 years (with whatever qualifiers you mix in there) is very aggressive and likely vapor.” Mid-sentence as I type, yet my mind is well on to the next topic. When I lose focus, sentences merge.

    Web 2.0 or Me vs. We

    Carl Setzer4 Comments

    One of my chums posted a very thoughtful piece about the Web 2.0 and how it is resulting in more ego-centrism (give the Angry African a read here). Thoughtful thoughts should beget thoughtful thoughts, don’t you think? Well, here are mine (for what they’re worth…money back if not delighted).

    One great danger of Web 2.0 comes from our ever demanding ego. The temptation is great to simply feed it by tracking our followers on Twitter, reviewing our blog stats, ever checking our Technorati ratings, ad nauseum. Also, the temptation to simply post things to generate more readers is challenging. I see this thinking related to the adolescent mind. The form of thinking that only sees the group in terms of me. Group acceptance is paramount, even though it stems from a desire (or so claimed, at least) for independence.

    Perhaps the issue, really, stems from the fact that the web, like all societal institutions, is accessible to people regardless of the state of maturity. Thus, we’re stuck with people focusing more on the numbers of interactions than on the quality. The members of our society are evolving at different rates, starting at different times. Web 2.0 loves them all.

    The Angry African also brings up poverty, and the resulting lack of access. My sincerest hope is that Moore’s law combining with the economies of scale will bring these tools to more and more people globally. However, until that time, we are left with hoping their voices are heard. Most of that comes from those who “care”. Sadly, many of those are drowning in paternalism. Finding ways to ensure the voices of the impoverished and exploited are heard in a genuine way is deeply challenging.

    For me, the medium summed up as tech, offers the world so very much. Perhaps I’m too Pollyannaish.