I am at day two of the Media Skills Workshop at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. Former SF Chronicle reporter Rob Collier just finished a talk about how to work with the news media. This is a great workshop and I am very happy to be here. Andrea Buffa, to the left of Rob is one of the facilitators of the seminar.
This sign was in front of the Martin Luther King library in downtown San Jose, CA. This is an iPhone photo.
I have been a long standing advocate for the safe use non-motorized vehicles on and around SJSU. I have taken this position not because I am an old man standing on my porch yelling at kids running across my lawn. I have taken this position because I have seen far too many people hurt and am aware of the risks involved to both cyclists and pedestrians in an accident. We need to remember that most of the folks we see riding bicycles on our campus also ride them on the streets around our campus. This accident was a block north of SJSU.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Yesterday I spent the day at Apple attending a session on computer lab dual-boot deployment and management. This is something of interest to me as we are planning on setting up the 15 iMacs in our computer lab up as dual-boot, Mac OS X and Windows, systems. The ability for our customers to use the Macs as either Mac OS or Windows computers should allow us to better server their needs with less hardware required. One of the problems with this scenario is the tools we use to manage the Macs in the lab are not the same as we use to manage the lab's PC's. I learned about a number of strategies and software that should make this work better for us.
Technorati Tags: Windows, Microsoft, Apple, ssloansjca
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Cameraphone Post: Prepping for commencement
Tonight I attended a Journalism & Mass Comm commencement for the first time as a faculty member. That was a real thrill. In this photo you can see Department Chair Bill Briggs adjusting Bill Tillinghast's robe before the convocation.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Camera Phone Post: "rms" speaking at SJSU
Richard Matthew Stallman who launched the GNU Project (Gnu's not Unix) expousing Free Software that sought to and finally brought to the world a free version of UNIX (with help from Linus Torvolds) spoke at SJSU today. Most of what he said I have already heard, but what a thrill it was to hear rms (lower case intentional) say it himself. In the first edition of the Hacker's Dictionary, he wrote, "'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'." This was the name he used in him computer accounts. Hacker, in those days, was a term for a person who made things work through unique and creative methods and it did not have the negative connotation it now has.
Cameraphone Post: iPhone talk at SJSU
Dane Riley is shown here while giving a talk on the Apple iPhone today at SJSU. What a cool device this is. It is going to be especially fun to see where this platform goes. I shot this with my Treo and then posted it right to my blog via Instant Messaging.
Camera Phone Post: Bob Bain
After work today Bob and I attended a meeting of the SJSU Photographer's Guild. It is times like this that makes me appreciate working at a university.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Cameraphone post: One Contractor's "Truck"
Contractors have long had special permits for them to park their "trucks" on campus so they can unload tools and items like sinks, appliances and heavy equipment. This is provided so they can get their work done for the university.
Here is why I did not buy a sexy iPhone
When it comes to batteries, it is just like an iPod! Here is a battery for my unsexy Treo! Note: I do not approve of vandalism.
Technorati Tags: iPhone, Apple, ssloansjca
Camera Phone Post: Contractors get preference
Employees at SJSU, even President Kassing, have to park in lots and parking spaces around campus. Contractors, however, get special sidewalk parking permits to park on the sidewalks on campus. According to one employee who works with a contractor, even contractors who carry no equipment and just walk in the building and sit at a desk are able to park right on the sidewalk outside of the building where they work. Hey, that is the life!
I love my new non-iPhone
I know it is about as sexy as a Pentium II, but my new Treo 680 is a great tool for getting work done. That is why I have it, not for taking content away from my computer to play with when I am not at a keyboard, it is great for creating content to take back to the computer. I can take notes in the field when I am shooting. The raised letter keyboard is fine for text input like Mobblogging, IM and E-mail. It has a web browser, which leaves much to be desired, but I will seldom use and a camera that is good enough for taking quick pictures and posting to my blogs or Flickr. If I want to take serious pictures, that is why I have serious cameras. I know it is not sexy, but for how I use it, my Treo rocks!
Technorati Tags: iPhone, Treo, Apple, smartphones, ssloansjca
Robert Scoble got it (for his son or his wife?)
What a surprise to see Robert Scoble on the cover of Saturday's Mercury News. The former "voice of Microsoft" was on the cover of the Saturday paper. First he said Marayam was getting it, now I think his son got it, OR he got two and we know what Maryam is getting for her birthday! Robert is swearing by, and sticking with, his Nokia N95.
As for me
I am waiting for my new Treo, which is almost free after the rebate. For what I save I can afford a backup battery and a charger and a leather case and still pocket some cash! I like being able to swap batteries and I have three iPods (including an 80GB) already. When I want a camera I use a real camera. When I want to mobblog, 640x480 is good enough for what I post or for pic messaging. I can always go back and post high res shots from my Nikon D2Hs or scanned film later.
Technorati Tags: Microsoft, iPhone, Apple, Scoblizer, Scoble, ssloansjca
Why my next phone will NOT be an iPhone
Why I am about to buy a Treo!
My next phone will not be an iPhone, but the one after that might be. For me a phone is a tool, not geek bling. Version 1.0 of anything should be considered with great caution and only adopted in dire need. No matter how much a product is tested in the lab, the best way to learn about and improve a product is to put it in the hands of real users. This is true of everything from cars to computers. When purchasing a new car I always try to avoid any new models or new body styles. With computers, how many times have you heard about new models of laptops having problems like batteries catching fire? Version 2.0 is better, version 3.0 is even better of almost anything.
I also have some possible performance considerations with the new iPhone. Right now I have an aging cell phone (if you consider over two years aging) and several newer model iPods. When my batteries die on an iPod it does not affect my phone. My phone allows the use of multiple batteries. No matter how good the iPhone is, I want a model that I can easily put a replacement battery in. I can do that with my current phone. I cannot do that with most of my iPods. That is their Achillies heel. I don't want that problem with a phone!
I have a Treo at work and really like it. A lot of what I use a portable device for in the field is for taking notes. I can do two finger text input with my Treo. Text input is more important to me than is watching YouTube when I am away from my computer. I want to be able to take content from the field back to my computer as well as take content from my computer into the field. For me, the former is more important than the latter. Easy text input for IM, Mobblogging and Email is an important consideration for me. I am not convinced the iPhone will be a good platform for that.
Great web browsing is an important plus with the iPhone. But, I want to be sure I can subscribe to RSS feeds and podcasts without having to go back and dock to the mother ship. I also want to be able to have multiple batteries so I can take them with me on long trips and have one charging while I am using the other one. I also want to be able to know the thing is time tested and proved to be durable. In other words, I am waiting for iPhone 3.0 or better. Perhaps that is the phone I will buy in a couple of years to replace the time tested and proved Treo I am am about to purchase now. But, only if Apple addresses my issues.
Technorati Tags: iPhone, Treo, ssloansjca, Apple
