Mountain Lion Usability Update

 

Hot off the presses!

It's still not usable. At least, not on my mid-2011 iMac 27″ Quad Core 3.4 GHz i7 with 16 Gigs of RAM, a 240 Gig SSD, among other things.

When I play video, after 5, 10, or longer the video slows down and I lose audio altogether. This seems to happen more frequently in fullscreen mode.

I thought maybe if I downloaded the 10.8.1 full version that it might solve the problem. It did not.

Back to the safety of Lion (10.7.4) for now.

Update (9/25/12) – Mountain Lion Update 10.8.2 has been released. It still does not address the serious audio/video problem. According to folks in the Apple forums, Apple seems to be ignoring the issue. My guess is that they know about it and may not know how to fix it. Since this problem is among certain Mac models I would guess that its a driver issue. Perhaps, if we start replacing audio/video drivers with those from Lion it would fix the problem? Oh well, crossing fingers again.

Windows 8 Versus Mac OS X Thought

Macintosh OS 9

The Mac operating system has changed over the years but not in very dramatic ways. In fact, anyone who has used OS 9 will know exactly how to use OS X. If you have used Tiger (10.4) then you can use Mountain Lion (10.8) without much todo or fanfare.

Steve Jobs knew that tablets were the future of computing and built the entire Mac eco-system around that idea. The features you find in iOS are readily becoming available in Mac OS X. This is deliberate.

What Microsoft is doing with Windows 8 is try to bridge a gap that has been building over a period of years. They are trying to jump ahead to a point that they were not preparing for. While Windows dabbled in touch screen interfaces, they saw something that was really “cool” but didn't really know how to apply it and use it to their advantage. I remember seeing Vista for the first time and listening to Microsoft tell me how awesome it was and was going to become. I also remember yawning and noting that all of those “cool new features” had been in Mac OS X for months or even years.

I am willing to bet (without having read the entire Steve Jobs biography) that Steve saw an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation's use of the PADD and snapped his fingers. I don't doubt that for a second because after watching the show, I myself wanted such a device. Man, the things you could do with a tablet computer! Steve Jobs did the same thing with the Xerox interface. While Xerox may not have fully understood what they had, Steve Jobs did. That is vision.

That is what Microsoft doesn't have.

This version of Windows is such a big jump from Windows 7 and so confusing to such a large base of users that this whole thing simply “smells” bad. Big jumps in OS are usually bad for consumers. I haven't even mentioned IT folks that may end up abandoning Windows in the workplace all together. They will have to weigh training hours, troubleshooting time, and costs against other alternatives that are much cheaper and offer less of a shock to their users. Let's face it. Windows in the workplace is expensive.

Windows 8 is such a big jump that it would be like paying someone to shoot you in the face if you are an IT guy.

Just. Sayin'

 

Mountain Lion Issues

I was hoping that Mountain Lion Update 10.8.1 would fix my streaming audio/video issues on the latest iMac 27″ you can buy from Apple.

It does not.

I am fairly certain that my issues will pale in comparison to the legions of Windows users who believe what Microsoft tells them about how easy the upgrade to Windows 8 will be only to find that they can no longer find anything. (insert most family names you know here.)

Back to 10.7.4 where its safe.

Battleship Review

I have played Battleship as a kid and even as an adult many many times. I thought the iPhone app was awesome. Later, Hasbro introduced the iPad app. Heaven!

I heard they were making a movie based on the game. “Oh man! This is going to be great!”, I thought. In my own mind, I quickly came up with 5 ways they could have written this movie.

A few months later, I finally got to see the trailer.

Aliens? Wait. What? Wait. WTF?

What do aliens got to do with Battleship?

Answer = nothing.

Sometimes. Hollywood just doesn't get it. This is one of those times.

It is like they are using frog DNA to fill in the missing sequences to their plotlines. The frog DNA is this case is aliens. (If you've seen the original Jurassic Park movie, you'll understand the reference.)

You don't need the personal relationships. You don't need aliens to make a great movie.

Battleship The Movie should have been a “no brainer” and one of the easiest movies to write. Instead, Hollywood took a chance that you are all a bunch of morons who need to be entertained using the same formula over and over again.

Yuck.

Science Fiction or Not

Sometimes, we don't really need to involve aliens in a screenplay to make the story interesting. I bring this up because my current project is one that could have easily incorporated an alien element and I'm sure it would have made for an entertaining movie. I decided to take the much harder path and not involve anything “alien” in the plotline. In fact, this movie may be a science fiction piece but just barely.

Most things in life are best enjoyed by not taking the easy path. I continuously choose the more difficult paths in everything I do because I find the rewards to be much greater. I think writing fiction is no different.

Ahem. Ok. You can go back to doing whatever…

Photoshop JPG Problem Between Platforms

I recently downloaded a batch of pictures from the internet. The iMac refused to read those files as JPG so I did a little digging (actually Command-I on one of the files) and found that these particular files were saved with Photoshop CS5.1 for Windows. The following graphic shows what the files look like on OS X 10.8

 

Incorrect JPG Files on OS X 10.8

The next question you're probably asking is “how to I fix this?” The solution is rather simple but will require a 3rd party program unless you like renaming multiple files by hand. Great, if you only have a couple of pictures to fix but if you have a whole bunch then I recommend Name Mangler. I'll explain why.

Simply changing the name of the file to say “waterfall.jpg” won't fix the problem or at least, it didn't for me. What we need to do is change the extension as well. So, instead of JPG we need it to be JPEG. Name Mangler will allow you to make that change. Once, you rename the files with an extension of JPEG..boom! You have your files in a completely readable format by OS X 10.8.

Note - Append file extension is unchecked

 

How about Adobe Bridge CS6? I've tried converting with Adobe Bridge and it just wouldn't cooperate. Sure, you could actually view the photos and see how they were saved originally but that's it. If anyone knows of a method that works in Adobe Bridge, please let me know (me at smpmike dot com)

 

A Nice July Update

July has been an interesting month for many reasons. Since I do not live out my life on Twitter, Facebook, or even this blog, suffice it to say that I've been writing.

Writing code, short stories, and developing a few screenplays in an environment that is unfriendly to all of the above.

I live in a loud building.

And now for something interesting…

Pennsylvania may have been a blue state in the last few elections but that may change in this next election. Why? You ask. A new law that requires you to present a valid photo-ID when voting will quickly eliminate most of the non-eligible voters that have plagued PA elections in the past. That means no dead people will be voting, older folks who park their asses at home and haven't driven in years won't vote because they will be too lazy to obtain a new ID even though it's free if you tell PennDOT that you need it to vote, and younger lazy people and lazy people in general.

The cities are blue in PA but the rest of the state is not. It will be interesting to see how this election plays out but one thing you can be sure of is that mostly legitimate folks will be voting.

A seriously bad economy almost guarantees that a pet rock could win against Obama in November.

Taking Pictures…of our food?

Perhaps, it's one of the most perplexing questions of our time.

Why do people take pictures of their food?

For some reason I can't explain, I'm not impressed. In fact, I feel sorry for people who take pictures of their food because it tells me that their lives really don't have much meaning. Let's face it. You have a camera and can take pictures of anything but you choose to take pictures of your breakfast.

I remember taking a picture while I was out with friends a number of months ago. I remember deleting the picture and asking myself why I was taking a picture of food and more importantly, who cares? I mean really. Who gives a shit?

We are a nation of fat overweight slobs and the best we can do with our cell phone cameras is take pictures of food.

We deserve to be smashed out of existence by a big huge asteroid.

 

Scarey Nanny Crap

While reading the NYT this morning, I came across this article about technology that allows parents to monitor their kids online activity.

The problem with the article (a point that they sneak in at the very end) is that monitoring your childs every move is not only “not very productive” for you but also sows the seeds of dis-trust.

Spy on your kids. Go ahead. Don’t be surprised when they grow up to distrust.

You know that kids don’t inheritantly lie. They need to be taught to do so. Most often, they learn that from their parents. Parents then turn around and get pissed off because “little Bobby” lied to me about where he was going. I guess that is sort of like mommy lying about where she has been to daddy.

This has to be the worst generation of parents that I have ever seen. No amount of software is going to make you a better parent, I’m afraid. Because the regular day care (school) is closed for the summer, I see parents dropping their kids off at the rec center. Parents just have to be able to drop their kids off somewhere don’t they? When I was a kid, my father gave me a dollar and I was on my own for the day until dinner time. I did not need dropped off anywhere. My dad trusted me enough to give me a dollar and let me be a kid. When he asked me what I did later, I simply told him. That is how it is supposed to work.

Spying on your children robs them and you of a relationship built on trust.

Baaaad parents.

My Problems with Farmville

 

1. Way Too Much “Sharing”

2. Way Too Many “Notifications”

3. Notifications literally can interrupt game play, thought processes, and bring the game to an abrupt halt. I’ve been in “placement mode” only to have a notification kick me out of it. Same with plowing or planting seeds. I’ve had to literally go through the process of buying seeds two and three times because a notification has kicked me out of what I’m doing.

4. At this point, Farmville does more of “getting in your way” than anything else.

Ok, small semi-enthusiastic rant over.

 

Under The Influence

I’ve written a small skit last month and while writing this thing I was also putting down a few Lagers. The piece ended up being very funny and everything about it just clicked.

I’ve written another piece along the same lines this month except that now, I’ve written it without the influence of alcohol and the piece doesn’t seem to be as good as the other one. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s still good work but something feels like its missing.

I’m cutting out the beer because of the amount of calories and the amount of fat its given me. I’ll just have to get used to writing without it and hope it all works out in the end.

Who knew?

Why We Have More Gays and Other Fun Facts

Sometimes when I listen to the shows that I produce, I learn a little somethin’ somethin’. Yesterday was no exception when I taped Brass Balls Radio with Wendy Sullivan and Kimberly Haney.

The discussion led to excess estrogen in the water supply and how it gets into the water supply. You will have to listen to the show to get the details because yes, I pimp my own shit from time to time. Once you get over the initial laughable context and the light goes off…well, you’ll understand when you listen. The ladies suggest that the connection explains an exposion of gays and lesbians. Not sure how accurate that is but it is very interesting.

Strictly Right contains a clip of a union worker claiming that democracy is dead because his candidate lost. Huh? Actually, his candidate losing proves that democracy really works. The education system that he attended obviously doesn’t.

 

A Quick One

Sometimes writing comes easy to me and sometimes it doesn’t. Most times, my head fills up with ideas and then I just need to find the right “valve” to use to control the flow to paper. Usually, that is exactly how the process works for me.

Sometimes, it doesn’t.

I’m working on something now that has a bunch of funny pieces and elements to it but they don’t want to fit together and play nice.

I guess I’ll blame the lack of alcohol. The last time I wrote a piece like the one I’m trying to finish I did it while drinking some lager and the piece ended up being quite funny.

Oh, well.

Now I have this Eddie Murphy skit in my head. “You can win Jesse. You can win cause you’re bigger than motherfu**in’ Harold Washington. F*** Harold Washington. F*** ’em.”

That still makes me laugh.

Political Battles and Winning the War

This one might actually go pretty quickly.

There is a war on right now. A war for the White House. The Republicans think they have a real shot of “de-throning” Obama. Due to the major amount of ammunition at their disposal and because Obama’s fake life makes this so easy, I would tend to agree. Anyone who thinks that Obama wasn’t groomed for the White House going back prior to his run for the Senate is simply not paying close enough attention nor are you able to step back and see a bigger picture.

With that being said, if you wish to “de-throne” Obama there are a couple of small things you need to keep in mind. Simple “do this thing” or “don’t do this thing” type stuff. Here we go…

Campaign participation not whatever-con participation is what is needed during a presidential election cycle. Conferences should be put on hold. They serve no purpose other than to make money for the people hosting them and none of that money goes towards the folks who really need it. The hundreds you spent over the weekend to participate in whatever-con would have been better spent on a presidential campaign. That is simple common sense.

Circle Jerks. Talking to the same people over and over again will not further your cause. They already subscribe to your podcasts, they already met you at whatever-con, and they have less influence than any run of the mill lobbyist. I have several political podcasts in my iTunes feed and I cringe whenever I see the exact same names pop up in a podcast over and over again. If we are recycling the same people in radio, podcasts, and television then I suppose the new ideas aren’t flowing very freely either. How could they? I can think of a couple of folks that I could have on shows tomorrow in which I would already know exactly what they are going to say. See what I mean? How does that help anything?

Everything has to be on the table. Obama’s faults are too numerous to mention here but don’t go taking anything out of play just yet. McCain made this mistake in 2008. He tried to take the “high road.” Well, this is war and while I appreciate taking the high ground in war, this is certainly no time to take the high road. Not if you have plans of winning. In 2008, the Democrats fought to win. In 2008, the Republicans let them win. I have to say that I don’t feel like the Republicans are ready for a fight this time around either. I’m sure we’ll hear phrases from the Romney camp like “I’m not going to stoop to that level” or “I won’t attack Obama’s relationship with Jeramiah Wright because “I’m better than that.” That is why Romney will probably lose.

These are just a few things off the top of my head. Stay tuned. I’m sure there will be more.

Containment


I’d like to talk about the term “containment” as it relates to forest fires. Is it appropriate to claim 5% containment on a forest fire? Ah..no. Could you say that the fire is 5% “under control?” Ah..no.

What does the word “containment” actually mean?

Containment to me means positive control. If you have 85% containment then that tells me that you have 85% control of the situation. If you were to tell me that you have 5% containment then I would have to question your use of the term “containment.” In other words, you have no containment to speak of. You have 5% of the fire contained but what about the other 95% that isn’t contained.

Containment used in this context seems and feels wrong to me.

There has to be another word.

 

Stuck in Culture

First things first. I made a logo for this 15 minutes of blogging in the morning thing. It’s crappy but then again, I’m no artist. Pretty sure we can all agree on that. Shut up Jennifer. Nobody asked you. 🙂

Now, let’s get on to the thought of the day. What kind of a person are you? Do you concern yourself with your day to day life or do you generally tend to look at a bigger picture?

I just wonder about folks that are so out of touch with the modern business world in general that they don’t even know enough to know that they don’t know anything.

Imagine being stuck in a business culture for about 10 years. You really wouldn’t know anything else would you? Your expectations are going to be based on the things you know. For the last ten years, the company you work for is all you knew. I remember working for a company in the not so distant past where I was forced to schedule back hauls based on emails that I would get throughout the day. Another employee watched me go through the email process and pointed out that my methods were painfully old fashioned and that I needed to move into the current decade. His advice was valuable and helped me cope with a changing office culture. Doing backhauls the old fashioned way was all I knew and I had no idea that it could be done another way. Some people have called this type of thing “thinking outside the box” but sometimes we don’t even know another world of ideas or possibilities exist.

I would also suggest that I’ve had a bit of a culture problem with my production websites as well. I was used to running out of bandwidth and space and I accepted that I would have to make periodic adjustments along the way. It is the way it is…or so I thought. After getting frustrated enough with my current server hosts, I decided to shop around for something else. Not only did I end up finding something better but I found a place where bandwidth and space problems do not exist. I also ended up saving about $400.00 a year. Why didn’t I look for alternatives a long time ago?

Ok. I’ve been typing at this off and on all day long and the idea behind this is to write about what I am thinking about when I first get up.

I’m done now.

15 in the AM for May 30, 2012

This could be the title of my latest book, “How to Neuter Your Computer.”

The idea behind using a computer to make you or your company more productive is to actually allow the computer to do most of the work. Some companies follow that philosophy and some don’t. I often look around and wonder why we still have so much paper floating around when computers were supposed to change that too. They did. People just haven’t caught on yet.

Human beings have a real problem with change. They will go ahead and write an article on their word processor but still need a “hard copy” to file away in a file cabinet somewhere…just in case. The paper copy is my backup. Huh? History really needs to get past people like you and quickly.

Processes at companies that should be relying on computers are deligated to a person to “watch” over a process to make sure it runs correctly. Huh? Instead of using a computer to filter results we manually task a human with that. I want such and such a certain way…and so forth rather than programming the computer to do so.

We don’t trust computers to do things correctly so we rely on the guy who can’t remember what he ate for lunch yesterday to do it. Fabulous.

Progress will happen if we just get out of our own way.