john walker live

I did it ... got me an iPhone

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:29:00 GMT

Well, so much for me waiting for the next iteration of the iPhone before buying one :) I broke down and bought one today with a little holiday cash that came in. What can I say? I'm a sucker for pretty gadgets.

Over the past few days I've been eyeing my wife's iPhone and grabbed it whenever I could. I couldn't find any show-stoppers in terms of how I work with devices, so I pulled the trigger.

One thing I will miss is the ability to build applications on it with .NET. I may just have to move them up to the cloud as web services and build a web front-end on them. I'll have to look and see if there are any .NET iPhone toolkits out there yet to get that iPhone look-and-feel that some of the better existing iPhone web apps have.

NOTE: While I've purchased several pieces of Apple hardware over the years for my wife, this is actually the first piece of Apple hardware I've owned. Good for me.

NOTE2: My wife was PO'd that I bought one. Not because of the cash, which you might expect, but rather because for a brief moment in time had a cooler phone than me. Funny!

Gmail's IMAP Support

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:54:00 GMT

I work for a small software development shop consisting of 5 employees. We're all spread out throughout different parts of the country. Therefore, we've all have been using our own Internet host's POP email account for our company email. The hosting company that hosts our company domain allows us to forward emails that come into our company email addresses to our actual local Internet email accounts. This has worked fairly nicely, but there are downsides to this approach. For example, if you live in MS Outlook like we all do, you have a problem when you need access to your email while you're away from your main desktop PC. Your Outlook and Gmail and your mobile device are never really in sync.

So, several months ago I switched over to GMail and had my company emails forwarded there. All has worked out pretty well. I was especially excited when they introduced IMAP support. This means I can work in Outlook and everything is synchronized up to the cloud. When I switch over to the Gmail web interface, everything is there. I mentioned in my previous post that this is essentially the Holy Grail of email.

Unfortunately, all is not perfect yet. The biggest downside is that there is currently a bug with support for Windows Mobile devices and Gmail's IMAP support. Most messages viewed on the device come up with blank message bodies. This has been widely reported and I'm a little surprised at how slow Google has been to come up with a fix for it, especially considering how many devices these days run Windows Mobile as the device OS. It's been a little over a month now, and no resolution yet.

Another downside has little to do with Gmail's IMAP support and much more to do with MS Outlook's support for IMAP. Things are at times painfully slow with Outlook. Seems like there are some threading issues blocking the UI when certain things are occurring involving synchronization of messages with Gmail. Not enough to get me to quit using IMAP with Outlook, but enough to make me think that IMAP is not something Microsoft is really focussed on making better (Outlook has been notoriously bad with IMAP support for ages).

So, one can hope that Google gets the IMAP fix out there for Windows Mobile devices and that Microsoft can do something with their lousy IMAP support in Outlook. One can hope, right?

My Thoughts on the iPhone

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:31:00 GMT

The iPhone has been out for some time now and, of course, I've wandered into the local Apple store a few times to get my hands on it. My opinion has been pretty darned positive. It's a beautiful device and seems to be well executed. I've held back from purchasing it, being fairly content with my Windows Mobile devices.

Tonight I purchased an iPhone for my wife as an early Christmas present since her Moto Razr finally kicked the bucket. Here are my thoughts on the Out-of-box-experience (OOBE). I let my wife take care of it all while I carefully watched. I did this mostly because she's a non-techie type and is intimidated by new technology. I wanted to see how the Apple experience would be for her.

First of all, very nice packaging...like opening a gift. Classic Apple.
Once we downloaded iTunes and installed it on my wife's laptop (I helped with that process), she proceeded seamlessly though the activation process. My wife switched from Verizon and was able to keep her number. I found this whole process very well done, especially considering all of the complexity that I knew was going on behind the scenes.
The iPhone synced right up with iTunes, and her contacts came across nicely.
Next up, I assisted setting up Gmail's IMAP account info on the device. My wife lives in Gmail and was delighted to know that now everything would be synchronized across both Gmail's web interface on her laptop and the iPhone. It was like she found the Holy Grail.
She uses Google Calendar as well, and I'll have to investigate ways of getting that info synchronized into the built-in iPhone Calendar. In the meantime, Google has done a nice job with the web version of calendar for the iPhone which she'll be using.

Of course, once she put it down for the night I got my hands on it. I was impressed with how easily it connected through to my wireless router. My Treo 750 doesn't have wireless, so it was great to browse with high-speed access on the device. I don't think I'll be buying another device without it in the future.

After about an hour on the device, I must say, I'm sold. The email interface, and, especially the browsing experience with Safari seems much nicer than Windows Mobile. I don't rely on Exchange integration, but I can understand that if I did it would be a deal-breaker on purchasing an iPhone. Oh yeah, did I mention the screen? Nice and big and you fall in love with the touch functionality.

So, will I get myself one of these? Not yet. I'll be waiting for the next iteration which I hope includes 3G support and native 3rd party applications. That said, as a long-time Windows Mobile fan, I think Apple really nailed this device, especially considering this was their first try. Gotta hand it to them. Nice job, Apple.

NOTE: The only bad experience we had was when we paid for a track using the iTunes feature of the device. The track downloaded fine and played perfectly. However, once we synched with iTunes, iTunes removed it from the device. We tried synching again, however, iTunes reported that we didn't own the track and therefore couldn't sync it. Damn DRM!

UPDATE 1: Turns out we just needed to have my wife authorize iTunes purchases for the iPhone in iTunes. Don't know why, but once that was done, the tune came down to her iPhone. I still don't advocate anyone purchasing DRM-laced tracks from iTunes.

UPDATE 2: I broke down and bought one of these.

Are Web Apps Better than Win32 Apps?

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 22:33:00 GMT

For years now, I have preferred using Windows rich client applications over web-based applications. The UI, responsiveness and total experience with a native Windows application has always been much better. More and more, however, I find myself preferring web applications. Why?

Surprisingly, I am finding that the speed of web-applications is simply faster than Windows applications, especially start-up time. For example, try launching MS Outlook and then launch Gmail. Which one is faster? Providing you have a broadband connection, my experience has been Gmail. This perception has trickled in slowly for me, but I realize that my first instinct when I want to quickly check my email is to reach for my browser.

Having your data available to you in the cloud is also compelling. Take, for example, Google Reader which is my RSS reader of choice. Having my feeds synchronized across any machine I use is a huge win for me. I no longer have to worry about synchronizing a Windows-based reader across multiple machines. It's all done automagically for me simply by being a browser-based application.

Of course, there are still many downsides to web applications. The UI's are not consistent or standardized enough for my liking. I'm technically saavy, so imagine the experience for someone who isn't. Also, the whole authentication mechanism is broken. I have numerous accounts and passwords spread across the different sites I use. I have to sign into each of these services far too often, even with the ability to keep myself signed in at some of these sites. I hope Windows CardSpace or one of the other mechanisms takes hold and makes the whole process much easier.

The holy grail, in my opinion, will be technology like Microsoft's Silverlight or Adobe's Apollo, enabling very rich, responsive UI's to give us all a more desktop like application, without the pain-point of installing an application.

Omar Shahine has an interesting post along this line of thinking regarding mapping applications. You can read it here. I couldn't agree more.

Baby Jack Speaks ... Almost

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:43:00 GMT

This is kind of funny. We caught my little guy trying to speak. Have a look at the video.

My First Father's Day

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 01:32:00 GMT

three generations...John Walker, Sr. (right), John Walker, Jr. (left, me), John Walker, III (middle)

Today was my first Father's Day. What a great day. We spent the first half of the day at my mom and dad's and then headed over to my in-laws to spend the second half of the day. I couldn't ask for anything more. Great day.

Robocopy - Where have you been all my life

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:05:00 GMT

I don't quite know why I've never used Windows' RoboCopy tool in the past. I've always used XCOPY to move files around at the Windows command line, but RoboCopy is just sooo much better. I haven't had to do much command line file manipulation in the past, but with lots and lots more data on my PC, I find I now need to run scripts to backup files and folders more frequently now.

Windows Vista has a pretty good backup utility, but my biggest gripe with it is that you cannot choose which folders and files to back up. Basically it tries to be "Smart" and will automatically go out and find files like photos, videos, documents, etc. and will back them up. Unfortunately, this means it will miss a lot of things I need backed up like source code and Virtual PC image files. So, I'm using Windows Vista's Task Scheduler to run some batch files to automatically back up that stuff.

Enter RoboCopy...

The simple syntax for Robocopy is the following:

C:\> robocopy C:\DocumentsINeedBackedUp E:\MyBackupLocation

I find that using the /MIR flag is great too, because it will mirror an exact copy of the source directory into the destination directory. Great stuff. So, using the above example, here's the syntax:

C:\> robocopy C:\DocumentsINeedBackedUp E:\MyBackupLocation /MIR

This ensures that the contents of E:\MyBackupLocation exactly matches the C:\DocumentsINeedBackedUp location. If a folder is removed from the source location, it is removed from the destination location. An exact copy.

The greatest thing about RoboCopy is that it really is "Smart". It won't copy over items that haven't been changed. This is fantastic, especially when you have very large files to copy over. If the file hasn't changed, no time wasted. Give it a shot. You won't miss XCOPY :)

Web Browser Request #2399

Tue, 01 May 2007 02:51:00 GMT

Tabbed browsing...since I started using Firefox, I can't do without it. It's just great. IE7's tabbed browser features work great too. So, I've got a new feature request for all tab-based web browsers. Here's the setup...

Have you ever been browsing with several tabs open and one of them has some video running? Of course you have. So, how to continue browsing while watching the video? You can't. You either choose the tab where the video is, or you choose the web page you want to read. Here's my solution...

I want to drag the tab where the video is running off to the desktop, essentially pulling it into a new browser window that I can move onto my other monitor. Seems easy and obvious to me. At the same time, I'm a software dev and I can see that while seemingly simple, this might be very complicated code-wise. Anyway, this would be a great feature. Do you agree?

Windows Live Hotmail - AKA Windows Live Mail

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 02:43:00 GMT

I live in Outlook and so most of my email experiences are not web-based. However, I have Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Windows Live Hotmail accounts that I use for different reasons here and there. I think all of them are very good.

Gmail seems the most feature-complete...offering POP access and even allowing you to specify an alternate email address that appears as your "Sent From" address. This is helpful when you need to use Gmail in a pinch, but want it to appear as though it came from your work account. It's not perfect since in Outlook it says, from XXX@gmail.com sent on behalf of youremail@companyname.com. Still, better than Yahoo! Mail and Live Mail.

Yahoo! Mail has a very nice UI, but I've found it a bit slow. Recently Omar Shanine mentioned that Windows Live Hotmail just released the newest beta code. I've been testing it out and it is VERY quick. Much more responsive than it has been. My guess is that a lot of the beta code has been optimized and perhaps some debug modules have been turned off. If you haven't tried it out, then do so.

The UI is also much nicer and richer than it was with earlier milestones. I think I still prefer the Yahoo! Mail look-and-feel, but Hotmail's is very nice too and the use of check-boxes as you hover over mail-messages is slick. Give it a shot.

Online Backup Solution - Mozy Fits the Bill

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 01:52:00 GMT

For some time now I've been looking for a good off-site backup service. About 2 weeks ago, after reading a blog post from Scott Hanselman, I was alerted to a very cool service called Mozy Online Backup.

There are 2 plans - a free one with a 2GB limit, and a paid plan for $4.95/month which gets you unlimited storage. I signed up for the paid plan since I have at least 30GB of data to backup.

Here's how it works. You sign up and download the software and install it. It runs as a service and walks you through a configuration wizard to select the file types to back-up. You can also choose items directly from the file system to include in the backup plan. The first back-up plan took several days for me, but once complete, it just uploads changed data. Very nice.

I did have a couple of problems with my Virtual PC images. Since I use them all of the time, it seemed to confuse Mozy a bit so that it never did actually complete a full backup of my system. When I de-selected them from my backup plan, things worked as advertised. I'll need to investigate the VPC stuff at some point and re-add them.

That said, it's a comforting feeling knowing I have my files backed up to an off-site location. I'm part of a small company spread-out across the country, so all of my source code is with me. Of course I have an external drive back-up plan in place that backs up my files nightly, but that wouldn't really help if something like a fire happened at my office building.

I'm really looking forward to the release of Windows Home Server which sounds like an amazing way to keep all of your data backed up. I think that in conjunction with Mozy will be a sweet solution.

As for performance, so far I haven't felt any adverse affects with Mozy running. It backs-off when your computer is in use and takes advantage of idle time. Again, very nice.

So, if you're looking for a good online backup service, Mozy is one to check out. My experience so far has been very good.

Vista - So how's it going?

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 01:23:00 GMT

I've been using Vista now since Beta 2. So how's my experience been since installing the RTM version? Well, for the most part good. I think's it's fair to say that I don't like getting back on my XP laptop. Once you become used to the Vista UI, Start Menu changes, and general user experience, XP seems dated.

One of the things that I really love is the "Previous Versions" feature. I've used it on more than a couple of occasions when I've accidentally permanently deleted some files and folders. Just right-click the parent folder, choose "Properties", and then "Previous Versions". Restore one of the shadow copies and Bob's yer Uncle. Awesome stuff. I just wish they included this in the Home version. It's a must have.

As I mentioned before, the UAC thing for me is no big deal. I think the added safety net is well worth the occasional prompt for permission.

What don't I like? The one thing that really stands out to me is the slow file operations. Sometimes, and I'm not sure exactly why, when you attempt to copy a bunch of files or delete a bunch of files, it sits there forever calculating the time it will take to do so. Really ridiculous waste of my time.

I've also encountered some problems with my CD/DVD writer locking up when attempting to burn some files. The worst part is that my drive just sits there whirring away forever. Try to click "Cancel" and my entire Vista box becomes unresponsive. I can't even get to Task Manager to kill Explorer.exe. Have to to a hard reset of the PC. Unacceptable. Sure, it may be a driver issue with the drive, but I have no way of knowing what the problem's root cause really is.

All-in-all, a pretty good user experience. That said, there are certain times when quirks pop up and I really question whether this is fully baked. I'm looking forward to SP1.

What would I recommend to my family and friends? First and foremost, if you've got an existing PC, and especially a notebook PC, stick with XP. If you're purchasing a new PC or notebook PC, go for Vista.

iTunes to Sell DRM-free Music - Wow

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:49:00 GMT

Wow, this is big news. Seems that EMI will be offering DRM-free music via Apple's iTunes music store. The music will be of better quality than normal tunes found on the service and will have none of the DRM stuff embedded in the files, meaning you can move your music around to different PC's and devices without the hassle. These DRM-free tunes will cost a little more than other iTunes music, but I think that might be a fair price to pay in the long-run. I've mentioned before that I've been burned by DRM when moving purchased music to new PC's and lost music I've already purchased, so spending a little more up-front seems reasonable to me. Then again, you can continue to purchase CD's and rip the music to your PC.

This is good news and I think signals a trend that will take hold with other music vendors following this move. Progress me thinks!

Accidental Videos Part 2

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:30:00 GMT

Ok, so here'e another one of those accidental videos (hosted on YouTube)...a compilation of videos taken by my wife with our Canon Powershot by accident. She thought she was taking a photo, but had the camera on video by accident. Here's Jack playing peek-abo for the first time. I love this...

I will miss you always, Pop

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:08:00 GMT

The above handsome fellow is my grandfather, affectionately know to all his grandchildren as Pop. He was 85 years old and, sadly, passed away tonight. This photo was taken just 3 weeks ago. I will miss him immensely.

A little about this wonderful man. He spent a lot of his youth in Brooklyn, NY and self-admittedly liked causing a little mischief at Coney Island with his friends. He told me that one time he ordered 100 pounds of french fries from Nathan's, only to be told to go away by the order-clerk. He thought that was so funny, and the way he told it made me think so too. Interestingly, in the recent past Nathan's aired a commercial showing a clip of the old Nathan's stand on Coney Island and amazingly that clip showed pop standing next to it.

He went on to marry my grandmother (Nanny) and just 3 weeks ago they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Think about that. He spent two years away from Nanny on Guadalcanal in the South Pacific serving his country. We loved to hear Pop tell stories about his time in the Army. Those stories will be with me forever.

More than anything, though, the most important thing to Pop was his family. We all knew how proud he was of us. He had four children, ten grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren if I've counted correctly. During Christmas time, up until the later years, Pop would be the one to hand out the presents one-at-a-time to everyone. Pop's rule was that you had to wait until the person opened their present before moving on to the next one. He loved watching everyone enjoy their new-found loot.

Another memory that has made a lasting impression was our trips to the candy store during all family holidays. After a big dinner he'd gather up all of the grandkids and announce that we were going to "ease-on-down the road". We all knew it meant candy, and as a kid that's all we focussed on. Of course, I now realize that it was his way of spending some quality time alone with us as we walked to the store.

A couple of years ago when he was in his late 70's he called me, knowing I'm a computer guy, and asked me to build him a computer. And so I did. I was amazed as he got online and started using the Internet. The first time I got an instant message from him absolutely floored and delighted me. He continued to use his computer (having moved on to more and more powerful systems) up until he fell ill this past week. I loved his willingness to learn new things. I hope I'm that way years from now.

I am so happy that he held my baby boy shortly after he was born last year. After holding him he confessed that it was the first time in over 20 years he had held a baby. He had always been afraid of dropping them before. I'm so glad I convinced him to do that. He loved it.

I got to see him in the hospital this past weekend and it was so utterly painful to see him in his condition. I'm glad I did, though, because he recognized me and understood everything I said to him. I got a chance to tell him one last time how much I loved him and for that I am so grateful.

So, my dear Pop, I will miss you. I hope I can lead the kind of life you did and that I learned all of the life-lessons you passed on to me. I love you always.

Your grandson,

Johnny

Mac Security...Just sayin'

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 01:32:00 GMT

We've all seen the Mac ads and I think they're brilliant and funny. The most recent one about Vista and the UAC control is the best yet. Can't help but laugh. You can see them here if you'd like. One of the brilliant things about them I think is that although they're not really 100% accurate, it's pointless to even try and argue against them. The perception is there and it's reinforced by the ads. Great marketing IMHO.

That said, I saw an interesting post (found here) about Apple releasing a mega-patch fixing 45 security holes, some of them where the hacker could take full control of the compromised machine. This is the seventh security patch from Apple in three months. Bravo to Apple for making the fixes. That said, let's get a gut check and some intellectual honesty here. Security is not a Windows-only problem. It has the potential to hit any software system or OS since none of them are perfect. Just sayin'.