Year: 2007

Notes for 1/14/2007

Here are my weekly notes:

  • We finally launched an update to Podcast Spot on Wednesday, as Dickson explains. We’ll be turning on new features starting this week.
  • This article is interesting, to say the least. Shows you how out of touch the older generations can be.
  • Sure the fact that Beckham is going to play in the U.S. is big news, but it’s not like it was totally unexpected. The move makes excellent business sense for all parties involved.
  • It seems strange to me that Microsoft would be so flippant about the Zune having gaming capabilities in the next 18 months. I doubt the Zune will play games. It’ll be a new device if anything.
  • I forget where I came across this link, but CNN has a story about CBC’s “Little Mosque on the Prairie”. I haven’t seen the show yet, but it sounds funny.
  • My Dad is back to blogging again! One of the things he has been posting is fairly detailed recaps of Oiler games.

Engadget Numbers and Misconceptions

Post ImageAs you probably know, Engadget is one of my favorite blogs. I read it all the time because I know I’ll find something new and interesting. And as last Tuesday proved, I’m not the only one who reads Engadget! It has been widely reported that Engadget had 10 million page views that day (with CES and the Steve Jobs keynote going on). Managing editor Ryan Block says the numbers were actually higher than that, and sets a few things straight:

Again, we quoted that traffic was “into 8 figures”, counting the rest of the Engadget network (Mobile, HD, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish) and that’s even more still. I’m not going to discuss numbers, but I was very proud of what we accomplished, and I’d have been proud if we only did 10m.

He also says they had increased uniques, suffered absolutely no downtime, and attributed most of the reliability and performance to WIN’s Blogsmith platform. Whatever the actual details, it’s clear that Engadget did amazingly well on Tuesday.

Congrats to Ryan and team, and keep it up!

Read: Ryan Block

Outlook 2007 HTML rendering is crippled

Post ImageThe more I learn about it, the more Outlook 2007 continues to suck. First it was problems with downloading POP email, and now David Greiner tells us that HTML rendering in Outlook 2007 uses the Word engine rather than Internet Explorer:

Imagine for a second that the new version of IE7 killed off the majority of CSS support and only allowed table based layouts. The web design world would be up in arms! Well, that’s exactly what the new version of Outlook does to email designers.

You can see a full list of what is and isn’t supported at MSDN.

David wonders why Microsoft has done this, and suggests security, consistent rendering, and “they hate us” as possible explanations. I suspect security is the main reason, but like David points out, IE7 is a big step foward in security! They should just require use of IE7’s rendering engine.

So what does this mean for the average user?

All it means is that a lot of HTML emails in Outlook will be garbled and difficult to read. Nothing more, nothing less.

That sucks, especially since IE7 is pretty darn good at CSS rendering. And to be clear, it doesn’t matter if you think the world should only use text-based email. HTML email is not going to go away, and if Outlook is going to render it, I’d rather it do so correctly.

Read: Campaign Monitor

Shopping Malls: Canada vs. China

Post ImageQuick – which shopping mall is the world’s largest? If you said Edmonton’s own West Edmonton Mall, you’d be wrong. Despite holding the title for two decades, WEM is now number six on the list. A building boom in Asia has landed that continent nine of the world’s ten largest malls (the article says eight, but Wikipedia says nine):

Just three years ago, the top 10 list would have included a pair of popular California destinations—South Coast Plaza in Cost Mesa and Del Amo Fashion Center in Los Angeles—along with the famed Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

Here in North America the shopping mall is kind of passé, replaced by big box shopping centres like South Edmonton Common. A logical question to ask, then, is if the shopping malls in Asia will one day be seen as passé?

I think probably not. It seems to me there are two main differences between North America and Asia (when it comes to the importance of shopping malls). The first is population density – in Canada it is a mere 3.2 people per square kilometer, and in China it is 137 people per square kilometer (and these numbers are probably even more different if you look at just urban areas). There is clearly more space in Canada to build big box stores. In China, perhaps the shopping mall makes more sense because it is a more efficient use of space.

The second difference is in transportation. More families in North America own a vehicle (or two) than families in Asia do. This is changing, to be sure, as the income levels of countries like China and Thailand continue to rise. If you have lots of cars, it’s easier to drive to big box stores. The large number of vehicles in North America has probably helped the switch from malls to big box stores.

The first difference (population density) is more important than the second (transportation), in my opinion. Even though more Asian families will have vehicles in the future, the problem of population density will probably only worsen. For that reason, I would guess that shopping malls will continue to be important in Asia for a very long time.

As for the future of malls like West Ed, I am not sure. They seem to be doing okay for now, even if growth isn’t what it used to be, but that may change in the future. I think shopping malls in North America will probably have to reinvent themselves one day to stay competitive.

Read: USA Today

Education is about grading – and that sucks

Post ImageIt is no secret that I have a lot of issues with our education system. I think there are lots of things that could be done better, especially fixing this:

“All through school, from kindergarten up, you were taught that mistakes are a bad thing. You were downgraded for the mistakes that you made.

It is perfectly apparent from what [schools] do in examinations where errors are identified, [that] education is not about learning. It is about grading. Because if they were interested in learning, they would give you the same examination back a week later, to see if you had corrected your mistakes. But they’re not interested in that, they’re interested in giving you a grade.

So it is impressed on you, mistakes are a bad thing. [Ed: And learning by making mistakes is a bad thing.]”

– Russell Ackoff Talk, ISSS Cancun 2005, 49th Meeting

Experience should confirm that some of the most important lessons you learn in life come after making a mistake. Too bad the education system doesn’t feel the same way.

Note that in the above quote he doesn’t mention teachers, just schools. I know there are a lot of teachers who would rather help students learn than simply assign them a grade, but their jobs depend on assigning marks. And unfortunately, I think too many teachers put this fact (that they need to produce good test scores) ahead of the educational well-being of their students. For more on this, you should definitely read the first chapter of the wonderful Freakonomics.

Read: Nivi

Breakfast at Starbucks

Post ImageWhen I go to Starbucks I order coffee and nothing else. I avoid the pastries because, well, they suck. Even the rice krispie squares, which are one of my favorite treats, just aren’t very good at Starbucks. I’d definitely be willing to try one of their new breakfast sandwiches though (via Starbucks Gossip):

In the frenzy of grab-and-go breakfast that seizes the nation each morning, the trek from Starbucks (for coffee) to McDonald’s or another destination (for food) has become a familiar one. Even as Starbucks has developed a mass following for its dark, super-roasted coffee and its iced, frothed, blended and flavored offspring, the company has struggled to get its food up to par.

Thus, the latest move by Starbucks is a big one: challenging McDonald’s by introducing hot egg-and-cheese sandwiches on English muffins, just as McDonald’s is promoting its new higher quality coffee.

And from the sounds of things there is more food on the way. They don’t have kitchens in the stores, but instead have invested in “high-speed, high-heat” ovens. It appears as though lots of effort has gone into solving the no-kitchen-problem, and even McDonald’s is impressed with the solution Starbucks has come up with:

“It’s a fine technology,” admitted Mr. Thompson of McDonald’s. “We won’t use it, but it’s surprisingly good.”

I’m a big fan of the Egg McMuffin, but who knows, maybe the Starbucks ovens can really produce something good. Hopefully some of the Canadian Starbucks stores get updated soon so I can find out!

Read: NY Times

Cisco sues Apple over iPhone

Post ImageI knew it was too good to be true. Turns out Apple did not manage to work out a deal with Cisco, who currently owns the “iPhone” trademark, and today they were sued by the network-equipment manufacturer:

Cisco filed the lawsuit Wednesday seeking injunctive relief to prevent Apple from copying Cisco’s iPhone trademark.

“We certainly expected that since they had gone ahead and announced a product without receiving permission to use the brand, that meant that the negotiation was concluded,” said Mark Chandler, Cisco senior vice president and general counsel.

Obviously I am not an expert on trademarks or anything, but I think it’s pretty amazing that Apple is “very confident” they will prevail. Too bad Apple is so tight-lipped, or we might be able to learn their side of the story.

Read: Yahoo News

Podcasting will win big thanks to the iPhone

Post ImageThe iPhone has already had a big impact on the technology industry, what with the stock prices of both RIM and Palm falling sharply today, and it will continue to have an impact over the next couple years. Certainly when it launches this summer, we’ll find out if all the hype is justified. And there will most certainly be copycat designs.

In any case, I think the launch of the iPhone bodes well for podcasting.

Apple describes the iPhone as “a breakthrough Internet communications device” thanks to its support for Wi-Fi and EDGE. We know that it runs OS X under the hood, and that it supports Widgets. It isn’t entirely clear just yet if it’ll be possible to get a podcatcher running on the iPhone, at least from everything I have read, but the idea certainly seems plausible.

Apple’s iPhone will let you walk around with Wi-Fi Internet access in your pocket. Even if it can’t podcatch all by itself, other device manufacturers and future editions of the iPhone most certainly will. The iPhone will open up the “pocket Wi-Fi device floodgates”, so to speak.

Heck, maybe it will even prompt Microsoft to open up the Zune’s Wi-Fi capabilities.

It might not be apparent for quite a while, but I am confident that the iPhone will have nothing but a positive impact on podcasting.

Apple drops "computer" and launches iPhone

Post ImageThe main story people are buzzing about today is the launch of the iPhone from Apple. I don’t know how they can use the name, considering Cisco has already used it, but there it is. Engadget has a ton of photos up from the announcement, and I have to admit, the phone looks awesome. Okay, okay, it looks downright sexy.

Sweet, glorious specs of the 11.6 millimeter device (that’s frickin’ thin, by the way) include a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen display with multi-touch support and a proximity sensor to turn off the screen when it’s close to your face, 2 megapixel cam, 4GB or 8 GB of storage, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP, WiFi that automatically engages when in range, and quad-band GSM radio with EDGE. Perhaps most amazingly, though, it somehow runs OS X with support for Widgets, Google Maps, and Safari, and iTunes (of course) with CoverFlow out of the gate.

You can see more at the official Apple site.

I wonder which carrier(s) will be selling the phone in Canada. Hopefully it’s not just Rogers. I would totally buy one of these if Telus sold them (or, alternatively, if we had number portability)!

Apple announced a bunch of other stuff today, but perhaps most interesting is that it has dropped “Computer” from its name and will now be known simply as “Apple, Inc.” If that doesn’t scream where Apple’s focus is, I don’t know what does.

Read: Engadget

I will not pay to access my assignments!

Post ImageI have three classes this term – one on MWF, one on TR, and an evening class on Wednesdays. It’s a pretty sweet schedule actually, because my weekday classes are at 3 PM and 3:30 PM which means I have most of the day to work or sleep. My first class was today, and it was ASTRO 122. It did not go so well. Here’s a rundown:

  1. The professor introduces himself. Here’s his website, and here he is on ratemyprofessors.com.
  2. While going through the course outline, he comes to the point about assignments. He says they are done completely online, using webassign.net. I’m thinking “wicked!” I hate paper.
  3. Then he says we only have access to webassign for two weeks. After that we need an access code. Apparently the code comes with the textbook or can be purchased separately for $11.

At this point, I stuck up my hand.

Me: “Are you saying that I need to pay to get access to my assignments?”
Him (hesitating): “Yeah, that’s right.”
Me: “Well that’s kind of dumb.”
Some of my classmates chuckled…

At the end of the lecture I went up to talk to him. I said that I thought it was ridiculous that I had to pay to get access to my assignments, and that this had to be against some kind of university regulation. He really didn’t say much so I went on and on and on and finally he asked if we could take this up in his office later. I said sure, and left.

The only time he really spoke as I was complaining was to disagree with me about the textbook. He said it was required, so it was assumed that I should have the code. My argument is that you are NOT required to purchase a textbook simply because a professor says it is required for the course (I have searched the Calendar and have found no such regulation). Furthermore, you are NOT required to purchase a new textbook, which would be necessary to get the access code in question.

Here is the message that the webassign website shows after I log in:

According to our records you have not entered an access code for this class. The grace period will end Monday, January 15, 2007 at 12:00 AM GMT. After that date you will no longer be able to see your WebAssign assignments or grades. After you enter an access code, you will again have access to your assignments and grades.

The assignments are worth 20% of the grade in this course. I don’t believe I should have to pay anything beyond the registration for the course in order to get access to the assignments. If there is optional material that requires an extra expense, that’s one thing. There’s absolutely no way however, that I should have to pay extra for something that counts towards my grade.

I’m going to do something about this, I’m just not sure what yet.

I almost feel like I should try to do something beyond just this single issue. The root problem here is that professors are free to use any system they like for course materials, or no system at all. What the U of A needs is a campus-wide system for courses. Something like WebCT, but better. And all professors should be required to use it. In my time at the U of A I have used WebCT, Moodle, ulearn, and many other “systems” that a professor has hacked together. It’s a truly sad state of affairs.