Quality Control took Valentine's Day off

Every year as Valentine's day approaches and in the weeks following I become addicted to Sweethearts. There really is no explanation for it, the texture equivalent of chewing chalk.

One thing I noticed this year, during the consumptions of pounds of these talkative little treats was, Necco's quality control department must have taken the holiday off. I could only read the message on about one of every four hearts out of the box. Some of the "ink" was way off center, others were pock marked, some completely blank, and others were cracked in half.

Below is a sampling of a single box (they all looked like this), I didn't pick the bad ones out, I just poured them out and flipped them over:

But seeing as this is about the only time of year these things are relevant, I can understand why half-assing them might be acceptable, oh wait, no... I can't.

Netflix/Latitude/Recite [Tech Tuesday (Really late)]

Here comes another onslaught of Windows Mobile applications I've found rather interesting in the past few weeks.

Netflix
First is the Mobile Manager for Netflix released on the Windows Mobile Access page (thanks @windowsmobile) . Its a small application that connects you directly to your Netflix account. The application gives you the ability to view your queues (both DVD and instant) as well as add movies to either. Another nice feature is the ability to view trailers for most movies from your search results without having to go through your phone's browser.

Registration is required for download, but as always your Windows LIVE ID is will be your ticket (same ID as Windows Live, Hotmail, Xbox LIVE, etc).

Microsoft Recite
Next up is Microsoft Recite. Currently billed as a "technology preview" its still a bit of a bare boned application. You basically record a reminder message such as "Get eggs, milk, and bacon at the grocery store." Then when you want to search your recordings you simply speak what your looking for like, "grocery store" and the program will search your notes and play back the most relevant message. I tried it a couple times making a few dummy "reminders" and then searching them and it worked flawlessly (that is, until I tried to actually show people how it works). It's a pretty cool application (when it works), and up until this point I've been taking pictures of things I need to remember (serial numbers, registration codes, etc), so this might be a more convenient way to go.

@WMExperts has put together a great article going a little more in depth about the application.

Google Maps Mobile 3.0 with Latitude
Google released an update to their Google Maps Mobile application that now includes Latitude functionality. Latitude basically allows you to quickly see where your friends are (via GPS or cell tower triangulation) and their current Google status (same as Google Talk). It also allows you to quickly IM, call, or search around thier location by clicking their location pin.

Location sharing is controlled via "sharing requests" which are similar to Myspace or Facebook friend requests. You can either accept or deny the request and when accepted you have the option to share your "best location" (usually within 30 meters of your actual location if using GPS), "city level location", or you can hide your location from them (i.e., stalk them :) ). One of the nicest features is you can control your sharing level per friend, so if are sharing with close friends you can share your exact location and share only city level location with acquaintances. You also have the ability to shut off location sharing at anytime (it doesn't always have to run).

It's fun seeing what your friends are doing, but the downside is if you leave the program running it tends to drain your battery. Still, even if you don't use the Latitude functionality, the Google Maps Mobile applications other features definitely make it a must have!

Facebook: "Your soul... is mine!" (not really though) [UPDATED]

The twitterverse was abuzz today with grumbles and ramblings regarding the new Facebook ToS (terms of service). The feeding frenzy started by an apparent post on The Consumerist. At first glance the new ToS basically gives Facebook perpetual rights, and the right to sub-license (give to a third party) anything you post or upload...even after you cancel your account.

There seems to be a bit of an apocalyptic tone to the original post (which was actually posted almost two weeks after the February 4th update), which caused the panic. The truth of the matter is, we live in such a litigious society that companies are having to take some drastic measures to cover their assets. Yes, the new ToS appears to give Facebook godlike rights, but only when promoting Facebook or Facebook branded products.

There is an excellent counterpoint article written by J. F. Quackenbush on Wet Asphalt (I'm thinking that's a nom de plume) that breaks down the ToS update and what Facebook could and couldn't legally do. You do have to wade through a bit of flaming (against the Consumerist article author), but it's still a good read. Favorite quote from the article:

I just think it's idiotic that hordes of Facebook users, many if not most of whom are regularly participating in all manner of digital piracy, are now all aflutter with the fear that Facebook is going to steal all the money they could be making by selling pictures of their cats.

This ToS seems even more benign than the original Google Chrome ToS, but as I've said before: read the Terms of Service before you click "I Agree"... especially if you disagree.

Update: Here is Facebook's official response to all the hubbub.

My tepid coffee to become more tepid---er

Rumor has it, over the next year several Starbucks in Fresno will be closing down. And several of them happen to be the ones I frequent the most. When we bought our house, we had a checklist of things we wanted: a nice area, good schools, and easy access to Starbucks: check, check, and check. If and when the proposed Starbucks closures happen I may have to...*gasp*... give up my morning fix, as the one remaining on the way to work will now be packed and is not in a very convenient shopping center. I know whine whine whine, but other than me being grumpy until noon, you have to think about the other ramifications: even though Starbucks seems a bit over saturated in some areas, they still provide jobs to people, particularly college students. The benefits and perks of working there were great, as well as having it on your résumé coming in to your next job (you'd be surprised how stuck on that one fact interviews get).

Below is a map of the proposed "siren slaughter" in my area, lets hope its just a rumor.

XIII [Winning Wednesday]

Back in 2003 I purchased a game called "XIII" and didn't really know much about the background of it. I was drawn to it by its unique cell-shaded style. After playing through the game I was totally enthralled by it. The game itself is based on the first five volumes of a Franco-Belgiam comic series by the same name. Last Sunday (Feb. 8th), NBC began a two part mini-series based on the same comic. Needless to say I was very interested when I saw the previews for it.

The basic premise of the game/mini-series is a man with no memory, awakes to find himself accused of assassinating the President of the United States and is being hunted by the US government. Although his memory is lost, all of his training and instincts are in tact. Throughout the series he must regain his memories and prove his innocence. If you're thinking this storyline sounds a lot like Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity, that's because the writer Jean Van Hamme (art by William Vance) was inspired by Ludlum's book.

I just finished watching part 1 via Hulu and have to say this is definitely worth checking out. The final part of the mini-series is on NBC next Sunday from 9pm to 11pm (at least on the west coast) and stars Val Kilmer (as The Mongoose) and Stephen Dorff (as XIII).

If you missed part one its available on Hulu: XIII mini-series part 1 and NBC.com (requires installation of a plug-in).

Microsoft My Phone and Google Mobile Sync [Tech Tuesday]

Switching phones has often been a bittersweet thing for many people. On one hand you have a nice shiny new phone, that can do a bunch of new things. But on the other hand you have to re-enter your contacts and other vital information. And what about your pictures? Music? Ring tones? Most of the time they're gone when you switch phones and you have to take the time to download them all over again.

Some carriers have tried to alleviate some of the pain in getting a new phone by allowing you to sync to their network's servers. Microsoft and Google are trying to make it even easier by providing the service themselves. Coming out in the near future (Date still TBD), Microsoft is releasing the My Phone beta on an invite only basis. The first version of My Phone (formally known as SkyBox), will synchronize the following (up to a max of 200MB) contacts, calendar appointments, tasks, photos, videos, text messages, music, and documents between your phone and your My Phone web account. Any synchronized information will be available to view from a password protected webpage. Syncing all of the information to a new phone, would be as easy as a click. A future release (v 2.0) will also add the ability to completly manage your phone remotely (add applications, change ringtones, etc.). Details are still a bit few and far between as Microsoft "accidentaly" leaked the website early, but rumors are that more information will be given at this month's Mobile World Congress (Feb 16-19).

For those of you who want something now, Google has released the Google Mobile Sync Beta. Blackberry users had the privelage of Google Mobile Sync for sometime now, but now iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Nokia phones are supported. GMS basically syncs your Google Calander and G-mail Contacts with your phone. The WinMo and iPhone versions use the ActiveSync protocol and stays up-to-date throughout the day based on a user defined interval. This also takes care of the problem of switching phones by easily transfering the information from an old phone to the web to the new phone.

If you've been using Outlook to store your contacts/calander events, there is an easy way to transfer your information to Google.


sources:
http://i.gizmodo.com/5148541/microsoft-my-phone-free-mobileme+style-syncing-for-windows-mobile

http://www.google.com/mobile/default/sync.html

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/myphone/moreinfo.aspx

Hidden embarassment [Life's "metagames"]

For the most part, I am pretty proud of my musical diversity, I have things in my collection ranging from the 1930's group "The Ink Spots" all the way to some of today's mainstream and indie groups.

There is however, about 2% of my music collection that I am, well... ashamed of. Some of this comes from "Zune freebies", some are residual from a time when my wife and my collections were combined on a single computer (I'm not saying my wife has bad taste, but to have Brittany Spears in my collection is something I often have to explain), and some are guilty pleasures (Third Eye Blind much?). This didn't used to be a problem, as I was able to keep my collection secret from others. But since I bought my Zune and joined the "Zune Social" (which displays your favorites, most played, and recent plays), these little awkward gems occasionally come floating to the top.

The Zune software does a nice little job of taking the album art of several albums in your collection and making a mosaic of them as the background while the player is running. No matter how many times I refresh it, there is at least one of these "shame albums" hidden somewhere in the "quilt". This has led to a little game I play; I call the game: "WTF? Musical Where's Waldo". It goes like this, at any given point I will look at the player and try to find the album that I need to cover with a post-it. Here is a screen shot I took, see if you can play along (click the picture for a blown up version). Look at the album art and when you come across one that makes you say "Why the hell does he have THAT?", you've won!