So far I’ve been having a great time in Chicago. The weather has been nice and cool for summer time. I had a good time with some great friends last night reminiscing about days gone by, and I went to brunch this morning with my brothers.
One thing that I always forget about when I’m in Seattle is how much more amazing the architecture in Chicago is by comparison. There are some simply beautiful buildings out here. Especially the older museums, etc. I also saw Trump Tower for the first time yesterday, and it’s quite impressive as well.
The wedding festivities begin in a few hours with the rehearsal dinner, so I’m getting ready for that. Hope Seattle is doing fine without me, but I’ll be back soon.
While checking Google Analytics recently I found my website statistics to be interesting. When compared to “All sites of similar size” my blog has the following benchmark measurements:
2,375.10% longer time spent on the site
4,564.71% more visits
6,000.00% more pageviews
I say this not to say that my site is a big hit, or even that great. What I’m trying to point out is that “All sites of similar size” is not exactly an accurate statement. I think multiple thousands of percentage difference might constitute a new site size, but what do I know, right?
In case you have been unaware, we are setting records today for the hot weather in Seattle. It’s over 100 degrees practically everywhere, and I’ve heard reports that many surrounding communities have even topped 110°. This heat comes just in time for me to leave town and go to Chicago tomorrow, where ironically, it’s a good deal cooler.
I’ll be there throughout the weekend. My good friend Sam is getting married on Saturday. I’ll try to eat some delicious Chicago food while I’m there, and enjoy everyones air conditioning.
Concerning Google Voice and other communication apps recently being rejected/removed from the app store, I recently had the following conversation.
Chuck: I’m a little disappointed with Apple. They could be putting way more pressure on AT&T. Apple seems like they have a stronger position for negotiation in the relationship. Sean: Agreed Chuck: AT&T needs to suck it up, and just start new pricing. Seperate charges for minutes/texts/wifi is outdated. Sean: Again. Agreed. Blog it
So I’m blogging it. I really think Apple’s folding into AT&T on all this stuff is weak sauce. I don’t care what happens, but I’m paying AT&T way too much each month for them not to be giving me the best user experience technically possible.
Recently I’ve been feeling like my facebook friends list is a little bloated. Granted, I only ever accept friend requests from people I’ve met face to face, but many of those interactions are short-term. I feel like I would rather have facebook be a place for people I’m well connected with.
However, thinking about ‘un-friend-ing’ people seems a little harsh. Which leads me to my main thought: It is way easier to Ignore a friend request, than to disengage the friend later. That might be something you want to keep in mind when you get friend requests. Facebook friends get a lot of access to your life that you may not be thinking through each time you click that Accept button.
I’m not a photographic genius. I don’t have all the best equipment. I haven’t had significant training. There are professional photographers who travel all over the world to the most beautiful locales imaginable, and capture timeless masterpieces. There are professional photographers who run around our cities and urban landscapes, and capture the beauty right at hand. There are professional photographers who hit the most high profile events, and capture history for us all. But there is one thing I can do that none of them can: take pictures of my friends.
The new camp video debuted last night at GC. It kicked it up a notch even above last years smash hit. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is Ted & Sean:
Last night Google announced that they will be releasing a lightweight operating system later this year to ship with netbook PCs in the latter half of 2010. Google Chrome OS in and of itself seems innocuous, but I think it could have a bigger impact than many people realize.
Microsoft Windows has been a dominant force in the OS realm since probably as long as you’ve been using computers. Even with Linux and Mac OS options many people still consider Windows to be the only choice. Google Chrome OS is clearly not positioned as a direct competitor, but what it will do is muddy the OS waters. With Intel pushing moblin and linux variants continuing to become more user friendly, what I see happening as Chrome OS gets released amongst all these options is consumers being confused.
And thats where I come in… When people have a question about computers they ask me. Well, ok, not always me, but some reasonable facsimile. Over the last 5-10 years I’ve had this conversation dozens, if not hundreds, of times:
someone: Hey Chuck, what kind of computer should I buy?
me: Well, what do you plan to do with it?
someone: Check my email, watch YouTube, and use (waste my time on) Facebook (for 6 hours/day).
me: Buy the cheapest thing with a warranty, and buy a new one when it breaks.
Over the last 4 years “the cheapest thing with a warranty” has almost always had Windows on it, but when you look at what most people are using their computers for it’s clearly overqualified. I don’t think my advice will change too much, and unless Windows becomes free (which might be a good idea Microsoft) I’m pretty sure you’ll see much better deals on netbooks with Chrome OS.
But Chuck, not everyone buys a computer for such simple tasks. What about people who need more?
Aside from the internet stuff, what people tell me they want from their computer more than anything is multimedia. People want to record their music, make a website, edit their photos, or make videos. Clearly you see where I’m going with this. Buy a Mac. However those aren’t the only things people do. When I break down the demographics, I see two main types of people that are still bound to Windows. Gamers and business people with specific software needs. For gamers, the many popular console options (which Microsoft has joined with XBox) have already helped to dilute the PC gaming market, and made gamers question if they should be spending $2,000+ on a gaming rig every few years. And if you have a job centered around computing, look around, I bet you’ll find many of the critical tools you need have slowly migrated to the web. The Windows-centric workplace is fading into the internet-centric workplace, and this is exactly where Google is positioning Chrome OS.
Just like Firefox hopped in and mixed up the whole browser situation causing people to question their allegiance to the mighty Internet Explorer 6, I think Google has a chance to shake up things in the OS world. For many people, buying a computer with Windows will no longer be a given.
The fans of Scribblenauts keep blowing me away. Yet another twitter follower, Scribblenauts Fans, came to my attention today. Apparently, they’re working on getting a community together to build a site for our game by fans for fans.
