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Creative titles aren’t my specialty… Anywho, today I decided to try something that really made sense, and strangely enough, it does exist! Perhaps this is not news to anyone, but I really don’t recall seeing such a handy Map and Photo mashup available on our beloved Flickr.com site, just try Explore feature!

We were thinking of finally taking a one day trip to the little mountain town of Helen, Georgia. So, I did regular searches on Google and others to find out tourism attractions and other things about the town. I must say, there was very little available in terms of entertainment for family, perhaps because the town is truly little. I did hear they have most wonderful nature and scenery, so that itself probably worth the 2 hour drive. Scenery led me to think of Flickr, so I went there and just typed name of town. It actually sent me to a screen with good geo-positioned photos, showing you the place in images! I recommend you try it out, before your next trip to anywhere.

I have been using similar handy feature on Google Earth Desktop software, but I was sure Flickr would have many more photos available for any given spot.

As I wrote this, I decided to dive back into Google Earth and play around with options. It is Astounding how deep that tool is and how it is improving every day! Not only was I able to find tons of photos and useful information, I was amazed to discover YouTube integration! This essentially allows to Click certain locations to see VIDEO popup from YouTube, related to that place! Now That’s a Mash-up! Perhaps this is their secret true reason for buying YouTube in the first place !

My next question is — when is this kind of functionality coming to my iPhone? Or will this be an Android-only feature, to try and win over iPhone early adopters?

Now, if only instead of all this site seeing on the Internet, we would actually get into the car and get going there! That, my friends, is a technological challenge of a different nature…

UPDATE: Flickr is your best source for breaking news-in-photos, as I forgot to mention. Take a look at this happening Documentary of Hurricane Gustav in Photos. Gives you chills and definitely brings us closer to the affected people.

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It’s been only few days since I got my phone, but I feel like I can type up 10 posts about it, and still not be done. But, I will try to focus on most important points for now, with more to follow, for sure.

• Battery Life - Dismal or worse. First day I turned off WiFi, turned down screen brightness, yet still towards the end of the day the battery was practically dead. Next day I turned off Push email also, and that seems to make serious difference. Still, with normal use, one full day is your best bet. I don’t think this is critical for me, I’m getting car charger, plus charging it daily is easier to remember than twice a week, etc.
• Internet Browser - Is everything I ever dreamed of and more. Truly Internet in your pocket, with JavaScript and tons of features. I love YouTube support, but I had no idea it streams and plays QuickTime embedded videos from the web ALSO!
• Application Store - Amazing! And when combined with Internet Access, GPS and 3D capabilities of the device, the cloud computing is finally here!!! I will write-up a separate post on some of my favorite (mostly free) Official Apps for iPhone. Meanwhile install Google App, the Google Reader is killer Apps for iPhone IMHO!
• HTML Email - Amazing killer feature also, truly properly implemented, finally I can review and delete/respond to my email right on the mobile device!
• iTunes Software - I blame Apple, (though some may try to blame Windows Vista). Either way, pathetic piece of technology, really dismal. Probably the most annoying part of the whole experience and would be main reason for me to reconsider.
• Camera - Not impressive at all, and of course no Video capture (though Qik has app that will add such capability, hopefully it will be in Official Apple store soon). But, I did not expect much — I still prefer to take my photos/videos with dedicated device.

That’s it for now, I am trying not to overwhelm with very long posts, but for summary I want to just say that I LOVE IT! And the cool features galore truly worth the little inconveniences.

I also want to point out that my first experience with Apple products has thus far been mixed bag, but I was fortunate to find this video after a quick google search on the second day of iPhone use. Plus, I am also lucky to have iPhone, Zune and Blackberry in my active daily use going forward, so I will try to offer some comparative perspective, or try, at least.

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Today we watched opening ceremony in HD on our big screen. A day late, but I prefer to watch things on my own schedule, even sporting events! The ceremony was Inspiring, especially in all the High Definition glory on the wall.

You will need specific setup, to bring the best quality available Olympic coverage to your Big Screen TV. First thing you’ll need is Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition. Next, you will need an XBox 360 connected to home network, or you can skip this in case your Windows Vista PC is already hooked up directly to TV (it happens!).

Now, simply install TVTonic add-on on your Windows Vista MediaCenter PC, and start it. You can use it on your Windows Vista PC or naturally view it via XBox 360, using the Media Center extender functionality.

Actually, TVTonic brings a whole world of Internet TV to your local computer. It is actually similar to Miro and others, in that it simply pulls RSS feeds of Podcast style broadcast shows. It comes with pretty impressive guide with all kinds of Internet shows, including Dilbert, and GameTrailers in HD, both of which me and the kids enjoy tremendously!

Of course, you can always simply visit NBC Olympics site and watch highlights or even full events, steaming and online.

I am very pleased with this progress! The TVTonic client is completely free and brings home very high quality video, for convenient viewing on the Big-Screen TV. We have configured it to download specific sports, like soccer and fencing, automatically as they become available!

If you have Vista 64 Bit edition (very rare still), they are promising to make it available soon (via EngadgetHD).

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I am calling upon you, my readers, family, friends, everyone, Save Me from this madness that is iPhone 3G Mania! Everything and Everyone and Everywhere, all they talk about is the new iPhone 3G.

I am really trying to resist the urge. Though my contract is long up, and my Windows Mobile Smartphone, which I really love, is started to act up, I am still trying to fight the temptation. I know I posted about this before, how I don’t really need an iPhone, but I did not know then about the App Store!

As the old saying goes – It’s the Software, silly! What!!! Do I need to recap again how Microsoft made Billions Trillions and virtually created a Monopoly in many markets (not just Operating System), by focusing on Software?

So are they missing the next computing revolution again, just like they almost missed the whole Internet thingy, back on Billy G’s watch? The mobile revolution is just as critical, if not more so!

What’s more, this is a monumental shift away from bulky desktops, to tiny, powerful and mobile devices, which naturally lend themselves to cloud computing. These devices will rapidly become faster internally (CPU), with faster connection speed and more sensors (like GPS, Accelerometer, etc.). Bigger screens, projected screens and virtual input devices, precise speech recognition - such features are a given. But the most exciting are the capabilities that extra sensors bestow on our computing experience. Geo-tagged photos, virtually unlimited world of streaming Video over the air, purchasing items from Vending machines with your device, are just few simple and existing computing experiences right now.

Try to do that with your desktop PC! And therein lies a problem — pretty soon we won’t need the old clunky desktop computers, that used to run Windows (remember that monolith!!?). Already most people rapidly shifting to Laptops, for example.

So where is Microsoft? I am not just concerned as a client and user here, but as a shareholder! Windows Mobile is something I have been using for years, on all kinds of devices, from version 1.0 in fact! And it has rapidly went Nowhere! Here we are in 2008, all we got is barely version 6 and it offers no major features. Where is the long overdue Deepfish browser? Will it support JavaScript or Flash or some fancier features that people need on the mobile platform? Why no Java on Pocket PC editions of Windows Mobile!? That kills thousands of applications that could really enable that bigger touch-screen!!?

It’s the Apps, stupid! Windows Mobile is still way too complex to develop for. There is the need to support virtually any resolution, plus touch or non-touch screens, plus different built-in device capabilities and CPU speeds. Does that sound simple to you!!? Versus, the iPhone Apps — One platform, modern operating system, AND developers have a trusted set of features and capabilities! Plus, their programs go through Apple quality control, before being released to device. That is actually good, IMHO.

So why this post, why the blues? Because It’s the Echo-system!!! I will be the last to accept iTunes, in fact I don’t allow it on any of our computers here at home, but given the iPhone, it will have to “sneak-in”. This is just a stepping stone, I already see myself buying our first ever Mac down the line, perhaps to develop iPhone Apps. And I HATE Mac OS X !!! Starting with the insulting single button mouse, all the way to supposed “simply works” moniken, which simply isn’t true!

Here I am, torn between the “need” to enter the Cloud Computing age, and the resistance to enter the whole new Apple echo-system, via the iPhone 3G? I am not really viewing it as a Music Player, nor a Video Player, and not even a Phone! I mean gosh, every $0 phone can do these things today!

It’s the REAL BROWSER and the Application Platform, and of course the big screen, these are the exciting things! So friends, family, readers, and just Apple haters, join in and Save Me by commenting below.

Better yet, Microsofties, come and comment and tell me why are you missing the party! Help save me and perhaps thousands others from switching over to the “other-side”. Please, only something that really coming, and no insulting references to limited devices. I have looked at technologically impressive Samsung Omnia, but no USA carrier picked it up, nor there is any serious Browsing or Java features promised! And where is the amazing Android mobile OS from Google? It is also promising, but a huge challenge. Thus far I hear more delays are on the way, not good… Heck, even the mythical Zune Phone (Yea, I know it’s coming, no secrets from me!), with gaming, video and audio, is still unconvincing! Why? Because they will “forget” the Real Browser, and Apps platform, especially if they rush it out in less than a year…

Save Me……!!!!

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I just spent most of today upgrading to WordPress 2.6 platform, which is powering my site.

Our exciting new features are…… well, there aren’t many new features actually. The big change is that I scrapped Categories completely, in favor of Tag Cloud based approach. Now, under each Post title are relevant Tags instead.

The 10 minute upgrade took most of the day. Considering I was still on 2.3 or so, issues were expected, but this image upload issue exceeded all my expectations. Here’s the timeline:

1. A lot of time was spent reviewing the many Plug-Ins that my site uses or even In-Active ones. I had to decide what to remove forever, and for others I was making sure there isn’t a newer version available that should minimize my chances of incompatibilities.
2. Upload of new WordPress.org PHP and related files, was rather painless. Don’t forget to review additions to wp-config.php in root directory, it needs to be kept, but it has to have additions, and 2.6 had 3 more parameters than my older config.
3. Upgrade of DB itself was easy, don’t forget to backup database before the move!
4. I quickly found that my Categories got all messed up. In-fact they were there, but without any names. I think it is a result of my having one category with single quote in it (O’Rly). At first I picked up database backup, found what used to be in wp-category table and applied the category names onto records.
5. But that was only half the story, since I used Simple Tags plug-in in the past, I was trying to figure out how to move from those old Tags into the new world. Well, apparently there is a nifty embedded tags importer, thanks to simple tip in FAQ.
6. Once All Tags from old posts were imported/converted and such, I setup a Tag cloud Widget on my sidebar, and made minor change to my Theme to show Tags under posts, instead of Categories.

At this point I was sure that Upgrade is done, and I decided to celebrate the success by posting something. Funny thing, the Draft uploaded just fine through my Windows Live Writer, which I often use, but the final Post didn’t want to go up. Kept failing.

Took me a couple of back and forth to realize that the difference isn’t "Draft’ to "Publish", the difference is the fact that I added image, as I often do towards the end of post creation.

Well, long story short, many hours of investigation, logs review, forums checking, later, it looks like there is a freshly minted WordPress bug. Seems that whatever fancy technology generates Thumbnails for uploaded images, is hard-wired to default to /wp-content/uploads directory. Granted that many blogs have their images there, but mine are elsewhere!!

Hopefully this is just a small thing that Matt and Co can work out quickly. So just wait until inevitable 2.6.1 version, like I should have…

Meanwhile, I decided to spice things up just a little bit to celebrate the Upgrade. Presenting Virtual Chat Room, where you can interact with me and/or other visitors of this blog. I know I am not much of an interior decorator, but I will try to improve in the future! Meanwhile, visit the new Chat page and Suggestions Welcome!

PS: Note how there are no images on this post ;-)  Nor can I figure out how to add Tags from Live Writer… As my daughter brilliantly noted: "I thought Upgrade was supposed to improve things, not break them!"

UPDATE: I can not explain it, but today I changed my upload directory back to just say uploads, and it works fine, at least from Online uploader. Perhaps I did something wrong on Sunday, but first, I shall try the live writer next, to confirm that it uploads from there!

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