Binary Kingdom

RAID (and I don’t mean bug killers)

papa — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:44:47 +0000

The demand for storage is ever increasing. There some technologies that have been in the professional realm for years that is drifting down into the consumer market. I ran across this video on youtube and thought I’d share it with all y’all. The core concept is how to protect your data in the event of failure.

Buying a Mac is like being French, it’s all about the culture

papa — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:39:52 +0000

For years I’ve been asked, “Which operating system is the best ?” and my response has been “Buying a Mac is like becoming French”. Here’s my perspective, every company creates products from their core belief system. IBM is server centric, Microsoft is workstation centric, and Apple is user centric. That is to say on a IBM system the operating code, hardware and user interaction is designed to protect/favor the back end server environment. With Microsoft, the desktop is king; user security and protecting the workstation is where the administrative emphasis is placed. BUT the Mac… Apple has always been about the end user. Ever say something bad about a Steve Jobs in front of a Mac user? It’s like burning the Bible (I’m exaggerating … a little).

Let’s take the smart phone for example. The difference between the iPhone and a Droid phone is not so technically vast that there is no comparison, that is, they both make calls and run apps. The major difference is the philosophy behind how the user interacts with the device. The iPhone is easy to navigate, all apps have similar layout and feel. You know that the app you just downloaded will work. You don’t have to relearn anything if you go from an iBook to iPad to iPhone; everything is fluid. On the other hand, the Droid platform is like the Wild West. The Motorola version of the Droid OS is slightly different than the HTC with how the interface is laid out. The apps may or may not work right depending on your build number and manufacturer. BUT, the Droid platform is more open source. If you want to make changes to your experience you’ve got more options. That has everything to do with the underlying philosophy of the company that created it (Google vs Steve Jobs).

Here’s the take a way. Sure, how you use your system has a lot to do with what you want to get out of the experience, but how the product was designed will influence what the system will do. Find out what your technology philosophy is and seek the tools that are in line with it.

One in the hand is worth two on the Net

papa — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:00:51 +0000

Let’s face it, the computer isn’t going to type itself. I know some of you believe that it has a mind of its own sometimes but at some point you’re going to want to tell the computer to do something. We geeky type call this “utilizing an input device.” Now don’t try saying that to the next tech support guy or the help desk dude at the office. He’ll just look at you funny then go back to his office an laugh at you. When I say “we geeky types call it” I mean we’d never say it out loud (we don’t like being laughed at either).

Here’s the take away. There are lots of ways to get what’s on your mind into the digital realms. The keyboard and mouse are the most recognizable input devices. It used to be that you could start up a computer without at least a keyboard, but this is the 21th century and we’ve got lots of options now. So here’s the noninclusive, abridged and appreciated, short list of input devices:

Keyboard
Mouse
Finger (that thing at the end of your hand) for touch screens
Voice
Eyeballs (all be it more limited to military implementations)
Hands and feet (think Wii)

This probably wasn’t a brain stretching concept but my hope is that you’ll start to broaden you view of computing. Put another way, this should not have been an a-ha but a Ahhhh…

Introductions and Salutations

papa — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:25:46 +0000

The great thing about Time is that it’s linear. In my life and my career I have both enjoyed and despised that fact. At this point in the Time Continuum, I’ve been in the technical support field for more than a decade and more importantly my oldest child is about to enter her teens. It is the later fact that has prompted this endeavor.

As our children begin their adventure towards adulthood many will spend more time on internet than they will in front of the TV. From the article Tweens would miss web and mobes more than TV researchers found that 12-15 year-olds were using their discretionary recreational time to utilize digital media via the Internet (they were watching TV on the Web)

In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changin”. I realized that I was equiped to keep pace with my children’s technological exploration (maybe) but then I’m a geek by trade. What if your not a computer nerd? What do you do if you have to ask your 10 year-old to make your phone work on the home wireless because they set it up two years ago? Well… that’s what this blog is intended to do; help parents use technology as a tool to stay connected, relevant and ahead of the digital gap.

I hope to lend my years of technical experience and insights to give you a leg up on raising the next generation of netizens.