Thinking Cap

My first practical application for Twitter

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:25:34 -0800

It's interesting the amount of hype Twitter has gathered this year. Why fight it, I thought, and got myself a few accounts - personal, other blogs, and for some clients.

Aside from the obvious marketing channel it presents for some, is there a real practical purpose to the thousands of "tweets" that pour in by the hour?

Will seven be Microsoft's lucky number?

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:11:03 -0800

There's something symbolic about Microsoft's announcement that their next Windows OS update will simply be named Windows 7. Simple is the operative word here. Windows 7 has an opportunity to redeem the company in ways that have eluded them so far.

First, let me reiterate that I think Microsoft has been on the wrong path for a long time. Vista, the widely criticized Windows Operating System upgrade from last year, was a bit of a pig. Bloated in too many ways to name, unintuitive, and uninspired, reminded me of version six of another famous piece of software. Word 6, released sometime in the mid-1990s, was an embarrassing heap of toolbars and bloat. Vista kept up the curse of the number six when it comes to software versions.

Seven may be Microsoft's lucky number. They might respond to a world that is increasingly shifting to the adoption of the simplicity, and sex appeal, of Apple's suite of products and applications. Conversely, it may be the final straw for consumers.

Over to you, Microsoft. Respond to what consumers want, not what your bureaucracy thinks.

Tons of ink spilled over Hi-Def DVD formats

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:58:42 -0800

This week marked the demise of the HD-DVD format pioneered by Toshiba. I was impressed by the rather noisy response by web and technology writers. It really was a torrent of discussion and analysis. I realize that the early adopters of this format are thinking they have an expensive doorstop now, but that's the risk of buying too early.

Sony's BlueRay wins, but I don't think there will be a big rush to the format for at least another year. Discs are too expensive, and so are the players. People are still investing in 1080P format TVs, and high definition tuners. Regular DVDs look very good, especially on upconverting (1080P) players, which you can buy for less than $100.

Project with Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival launches

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:53:20 -0800

Thinking Cap is pleased to launch the 2007 Playhouse Wine Festival Symposium Highlights, featuring streaming video, downloadable mp3 clips, and graphical survey data. The wine industry forum is gearing up for their 2008 event, and we worked with the Festival to create an e-marketing strategy to promote next year's Wine Symposium.

Can Google rescue us from high cell phone costs?

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 09:18:04 -0800

Matthew Ingram of the Globe and Mail is skeptical about Google's entry into the cell phone market. A rumoured "GPhone" has apparently been the buzz of Silicon Valley for some time.

What many feel is that data transfer costs for cell phone use seriously inhibit the ability to make PDAs and iPhones ubiquitous communications devices with web access. The bill for an average high use for data transfer is huge. See this shocking graph of average costs in Canada.

Google apparently might have an answer for this. They are rumoured to be buying up unused cell phone bandwidth in order to compete with major carriers. It is the latter who are keeping costs unfairly high.

We can only hope that a company with the respectability and vision like Google will come into the market and shake things up.

Google to distribute StarOffice

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:00:03 -0800

Google Pack's productivity bundle will will now include Sun Microsystem's StarOffice. This can only be a good thing. We've felt for a long time that Microsoft Office needed a strong competitor.

Word processors and spreadsheet software does not need to be rich with features. Most of us write simple documents using Word and Excel.

Outlook is still the reigning calendar/email/contacts database solution, and that will remain for some time until a true competitor steps forward. For now, if you want to unchain yourself from Microsoft, then you can try StarOffice for free.

Microsoft Vancouver: Stirring controversy back home

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:05:41 -0800

While received as a big blast of good economic news here in Vancouver, BC, Microsoft's decision to open a software development studio in the Great White North is stirring some controversy back home, says the Seattle P.I.

If you look at the numbers of Microsoft employees in Washington state, the rest of the US, internationally and here in Canada, the vast majority are still based at the Redmond, WA campus. Over 35,000 employees are there as opposed to just over 200 planned for Vancouver.

Movable Type 4 is a great leap forward

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:40:21 -0800

There are lots of reasons why Thinking Cap prefers Movable Type as its preferred web publishing platform for client sites. But our main reason for liking MT is that they are committed and passionate about their core product, Movable Type.

We've just done a brief test run of the first Movable Type 4 beta version, and we very much like the direction this software is headed.

Anil Dash, their company evangelist, previewed MT 4 for Thinking Cap back in February at the Northern Voice Conference. Anil's unaffected and honest approach, plus his keenness for great user experience, really impressed us.

Here is Anil's excited description of what MT 4 has to offer. We're looking forward to continuing this great relationship with their parent company Six Apart, and their evolving product Movable Type.

iTunes upgrade is great news

Wed, 30 May 2007 13:40:26 -0800

For those who have changed over to digital downloads as their main source of music consumption, the upgrade of iTunes is welcome news.

iTunes songs will be sampled at a high quality bit rate, which will make them indistinguishable from CD quality to listeners. Plus, they will be offering music (from select labels) with no DRM (digital rights management). This means that music can be shared.

I think that the music industry has woken up finally, albeit too late, to the fact that this is the future for music buyers. iTunes is the king of them all, and it is a great sign to see them make their service better.

RSS feeds challenge us to rethink the web

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 08:45:20 -0800

Vancouver blogger and technologist Darren Barefoot provokes interesting discussions on his personal blog. A recent post by DB about RSS feeds got us thinking about where this tool is taking the web.

Google moves in on Microsoft's turf: Why it will work

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:48:20 -0800

Thought this news was interesting - a Google Package Challenges Microsoft from the New York Times website.

Is the world ready for 'online only' word processors and spreadsheet applications? Probably not yet. Is the next step an integrated online/offline application to compete with Microsoft's category leading Office suite? Josh Bernoff adds some analysis here.

It is worth looking into Google Apps, but keep in mind that these tools are going to evolve, and soon. The fact these programs were built for online first, then later for offline, will be why they might catch on.

In the long run the feature rich yet overpriced Office "brand" may not be enough to save it.

Publishing dinosaurs try to stake their turf

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:22:18 -0800

This recent story about a Belgian newspaper publisher suing Google for caching its French-language web articles, and distributing via Google News made us smile here at Thinking Cap. Any webmaster worth their salt knows that Google adheres to the "robots.txt" standard.

If you don't want Google to index your content (we don't get a lot of call for this, but sometimes people want some info, like identities, kept hidden from the search giants), it's as simple as placing a single small text file in your web root folder, or a "noindex" tag in your page header.

The issue of a court penalizing Google for "spidering" a European website raises many other questions about content ownership. When you put something on the web, what rights can you keep to the ownership of it?

The Creative Commons has already tackled this issue, by creating a set of open standards for the fair use of digital content.

Here are some additional and insightful thoughts on this topic from Josh Bernoff.

Looking at the Movable Type 'Community'

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:47:19 -0800

Noted blogger and Movable Type spokesperson Anil Dash describes the unusual bonds that arise in the blogging community, and specifically those that are spawned by the Movable Type publishing system. Since Thinking Cap adopted MT as its content publishing system of choice, we've come to know Anil, Brad, Elise and young Arvind through their excellent work.

The world of modern web applications is moving at a blistering pace. We're impressed with MT's parent company Six Apart, and their commitment to their affordable and scalable Movable Type publishing system.

And that's why Thinking Cap likes MT.

Thinking Cap president appointed to Vancouver City Planning Commission

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:24:06 -0800

Michael Klassen has recently been appointed to the Vancouver City Planning Commission. The Commission assists City Council in an advisory capacity regarding issues affecting long range planning, including development, governance, transportation and the public realm.

For more info visit VCPC website

CNET's devastating assessment of Vista

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:32:39 -0800

Just continuing to list the reasons why you should avoid buying Windows Vista: a poor review from a reputable source, CNET.

The bottom line: Windows Vista is essentially warmed-over Windows XP. If you're currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade. On the other hand, if you need a new computer right now, Windows Vista is stable enough for everyday use.