BitBurn.org
Techno Geek, Musician & Mentally Unstable
Change is inevitable
May 14th
I don’t think I’m much of an activist but I do support The Zeitgeist Movement and try to communicate what it’s all about to everyone, anyone. Here’s the newsletter I got this week which I want to share with you because I think it is very powerful…
On the Gulf Coast of the United States the shock is now setting in for millions of American citizens as we now realize the true extent of the damage caused by our desire for obsolete and dangerous fossil fuels, and our perpetuation of an outdated monetary world society, where the bottom line has always been profit at all costs, be it human or environmental. It is time for a viable solution to deal with a system hardwired for self destruction.
It is with that very unfortunate introduction that we, The Zeitgeist Movement, now must enter the international conversation to express the need for true change. That word is not some jingoist slogan devised by a focus group, but the evident desire of the public for a meaningful transition out of the destructive legacy, the burden of our past mistakes as a maturing civilization. We only have one Earth; there is no reset button here.
We must break out of our established ideologies that have prevented progress. Ending the political duality, economic stratification and false divisions is key to overcoming our apparent historical bondage that says the future we were promised must remain an elusive dream. We must now rethink our society and outgrow those parts of it that serve to paralyze us.
As of Friday, April 30th it was reported by CBS News (US) that the spill had spread to cover 2,100 square miles and was still spilling at a rate up to 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day. As of today, there has been no progress in stopping this catastrophe. This did not have to happen. It happened because we continue to use an obsolete technology for the sake of maintaining a profitable establishment. An establishment that perpetuates vast inequality in its wages to its employees versus its core owners, destroys fragile and vital eco-systems, and pollutes our air.
It is time for real change, not empty promises. No amount of socialism or free market ideology will save us from ourselves, there needs to be a fundamental re-write of what we think we know, to achieve a sustainable human enterprise.
Our generation has stood and watched as our planet has been raped and pillaged, yet we do nothing. Our generation has stood and watched as our government bailed out the very people who created this economic crisis, yet we do nothing. Our generation has stood and watched as our rights have been stripped away from us, and yet we do nothing. Our generation has stood and watched as we have been handed the problems of the countless generations before it, and we are preparing to do the same to the next generation, and
we do nothing.Let us be the first generation to hand solutions to our children and our children’s children. But we can’t do it alone. Let us break down the barriers we have created amongst ourselves. We need all of you, every last one, to say enough is enough in one voice. Not as Americans or Russians, Christians or Muslims, but as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. Let us destroy the lines between us and work to create a world where our children are truly safe and free. Let us create a world where we can tell our children that they can be and do whatever their heart desires, and know deep inside us we are telling them the truth. Let our generation be the one.
We have the tools, we have the knowledge, we have the technology. It is time we make the transition to a world, an economy, and a future we all deserve regardless of geographic location or economic disposition. As long as we rely on legacy systems defined in a 19th century mentality all we will do is spin our wheels while a parade of economic and ecologic disasters visits us again and again. It is time to pull the plug on this charade because as you will find out, there is a better way.
We, the Zeitgeist Movement representatives, reach out to you so that we can all work together to do what must be done. Every man, woman and child has a voice, but together we can create one voice so deafening that no one will have a choice but to listen. But it requires you. It requires you put away preconceived notions you have been told about “the way things are” as if it is the only way, because it’s not! Our way of thinking will no longer sustain us. We can either remain in the house of cards we have built and watch it collapse all around us, or we can, through the best our society has to offer, begin to construct a stable mature and thriving society so that the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, the Exxon Valdez and many others are nothing more then an embarrassing footnote in history.
My Canadian iPad Experience
Apr 25th
So I got my hands on one of those 16GB iPad and, although I’m residing in Canada, it was fairly easy to get believe it or not. Now what do I think of it? Well it is pretty much the coolest, easiest and fastest way to access your stuff on the web, playing games, viewing photos and watching videos that you’ve ever experienced. Seriously. So all the hype was, say, adequate. But it is not without flaws for sure.
It has no file manager, no camera and no Flash support. The first two are a bummer. Flash? Meh it’s no biggy for me and don’t miss it. The biggest bummer has to be the lack of a camera. That is tragic…come on Apple! Think, Skype maybe? Video conferencing? Eeeh how about iChat?! Hey you can’t have it all, right?!
Now let’s talk about some key features…
The virtual keyboard – The keyboard is impressively quite useable. In portrait mode or landscape I have no problem with it at all. It takes a bit of times to get used to it but, once you grab hold of it, it’s just fine. Perhaps not for writing a novel but it works fine for blogging, Facebook and stuff like that.
Positioning and Weight – The darn thing ain’t really light. The specs read 1.5 pounds which may seem like nothing but holding the iPad in the air while reading an e-book can get uncomfortable. Of course, it’s relatively small size and accelerometer allows you to rotate the device to any angle you wish in a breeze so it always remain in a pleasant position. Fed up of reading in landscape then rotate to portrait.
The Web – Steve Jobs was right at the introduction back in January: You’re no longer “browsing” the web your “holding” it in your hands! Surfin’ the web on this thing is just awesome. Smooth, vivid colors; everything looks alive and more personal it seems.
Gaming – Thanks to its fast processor playing games on this thing is really really cool. Mind you I haven’t tried any heavy games on it yet but some of my personal favorites like Virtual Pool HD and Labyrinth 2 HD (both designed for the iPad) runs very smoothly and fast; no hiccups! I’m going to try heavier games later this week.
Needless to say I am enjoying the iPad, so far. I have very little doubt that anyone with an open mind, who’s curious about trying out new techno things will love the iPad. Can it replace your laptop or PC? Well that all depends on what you do. Think of it as a lite computing device for everything that’s done “in the cloud” such as banking, blogging, YouTube, Facebook and so on. It’s an amazing gaming device and book reader as well. But it could also be used for so many other things and for working professionals in various areas.
Q&A for my hommies who can’t wait until late May to get the Canadian version:
Can I access the App Store from the device? No. The Canadian App Store is not up yet. However, you can get a lot of iPad apps through iTunes on your computer then sync them to your iPad. Even with a Canadian account it works. Just open iTunes and do a search for “iPad” and a bunch of iPad apps will show up. Or just search for an app name and iTunes give you both results for iPhone and iPad, if available.
Can I purchase and download iWork apps from iTunes? Nope, not yet. No iBooks either.
Can I download the Kindle e-book reader? Yes, that one is available on the Canadian iTunes store already. Some free and cheap books are up for Canadian customers too.
Can the iPad replace my laptop or PC? It can if you want to! But don’t expect that you’ll be able to install Microsoft Word on it. The iPad is not really designed to replace anything. It’s a new class of computer, lightweight, loooong battery life and very very easy to use it’s not even funny.
Can I carry it to the club tonight? Like I said, it’s not going to be out for another 5 weeks here in Canada so don’t get too drunk because you’ll be crying to your mamma the next morning.
Questions? Don’t be shy…
Opera Mini for iPhone
Apr 13th
Opera Mini is now available at the App Store. I installed it and it’s fast and faster even then Safari. However, browsing is not as smooth. Brilliant move Apple…a week later after pissing off your developers with section 3.3.1, good comeback! Steve, a word of advice for you – Be nice to your developers. Without the App Store your iPhone is just…a zero dollar phone from Bell Mobility!
Speaking of Bell Mobility, I was just on their web site this morning and something struck me: all those “iPhone killers” are either zero dollars, such as the Palm Pre, or selling half what they were a year ago. Even the legendary Blackberry Bold (the only BB I wouldn’t mind having) is down from $299 to $99 now. So the iPhone really is causing a lot of damage I guess. Thanks to the App Store…again.
Google Analytics and WordPress
Apr 7th
Okay so for the passed couple days I really began to get pissed of my hosting service, GoDaddy.com. My site was just crawling and crawling some more every time I was accessing it. I trimmed down on the plug-ins, performed a few PHP tricks, modified the php.ini file but nothing; whole site jammed in first gear…the site and the admin area (yeah, the admin area too).
Turns out I have found the problem: Google Analytics. Removed the script from my site, removed my Analytics account and 5 minutes later – WOW! Houston we have lift off! We are go! Now I don’t know if it’s just a WP/Analytics problem but the two don’t seem to work well together. Either way, now I have to find another way to get some web stats.
If you are using WordPress and Google Analytics and have been successful with your site please let me know :)
Finding The Right Theme
Apr 7th
Finding the perfect WordPress theme is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I have been trying for the right theme for the past 5 hours, trying them, playing with settings, but am still unable to find something I like. And it is not just getting the right design that is hard but also one that loads fast. Maybe I should just build my own. Maybe I should just go to bed cuz I tired. Aah the current one isn’t bad too!
iPhone/iPad No Multitasking Myth
Mar 27th
Call me an Apple fanboy, call me whatever you want but let’s set the record straight for all you iPhone & iPad haters out there aiight: YES THEY MULTITASK!
Proof:
- While you write an email you can listen to music at the same time (duh).
- While you write an email you can press the “Home” button, go watch a porn on the web, then comeback to your email minutes or hours later and it’ll still be there opened waiting for you to continue writing to your girlfriend.
- You can open the Facebook app, start writing something, switch to another app then comeback and resume writing.
- You can be playing a game, pause and answer the phone, comeback and get back to your game. Now if the game doesn’t resume well that was obviously intended by the developer.
Look, I ain’t gonna stand here trying to convince you good people that the iPhone or the iPad are the best devices in the world. They’re not. But before bashing them give ‘em a try OK?! And if you just can’t stand the Apple brand altogether then, well, have a wonderful day…you cheap ass stubborn bastard :D
Goodbye Flash
Mar 12th
As much as we see and depend on Flash everyday, well, it is becoming increasingly irrelevant as HTML5 is being rolled out across the webosphere and support being implemented into web browsers. Soon, with an HTML5-compliant browser (Currently there’s only Google Chrome and Safari that supports it), when you’ll visit YouTube the embedded media player won’t be a poky Flash player anymore but instead something speedier, lightweight and no need for extra proprietary plug-ins such as Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight to run; that’s what HTML5 will bring.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’d be an hypocrite to deny Flash entirely since my own site has a little bit of it and when used moderately its nicely acceptable but what kills me is when I see sites built entirely in Flash, taking forever to load, unstable, just freakin’ annoying. And of course there’s advertisement banners all over the web in Flash, jumping in your face or auto-maximizing inside my browser; drives me nuts!
Anyhow, I don’t think Flash will disappear overnight but it’s good to see measures are being taken to make the web faster, more accessible and without the need of proprietary crap. Amen.
