I’m getting frustrated. My laptop, a HP DV6748US is about a year or so old, maybe a little older. I’ve been through one battery and I got it replaced. That one died and now I’m on my third. The first one eventually gave out, apparently part of a recall. I got that replaced only to get the second one which died 6 months later. Both at the end of their lives would only get, at most, 7 minutes of battery life. It was clear that the battery was shot. Now my third one is a different matter. It lasts for 45 minutes before promptly shutting off with no warning at all.

Okay, here’s some background.

The computer originally came with Windows Vista and when Windows 7 beta came out I downloaded and used that. I upgraded every time a new version came out, straight through the RC (release client) and the RTM (release to manufacturer) versions. Finally, when Windows 7 was released to the masses I bought a copy of the final version (two actually, one for each of my computers).

Now Windows 7 runs great, EXCEPT for a small “pesky” problem. The battery will run down to 42% and just shut off. No warnings, no courteous dialog saying that my battery is reaching the end of it’s charge and to run, not walk, to the nearest outlet. No, it just shuts off.

Paul Thurrott discussed the issue very briefly on a Windows Weekly a month or so ago and when Microsoft “investigated” and said it wasn’t a Windows 7 issue, Thurrott promptly moved on. I’ve searched the forums with no avail. Many of the posts are from this time last year and dealing with teh RC and even sometimes the Beta.

One is the loneliest number…

Honestly I know I’m not the only one with this problem, but where is the fix? HP… Microsoft… Thurrott… is anyone listening? I bought a laptop to be portable and well I’m hardly portable with 45 minutes of battery life. I guess I should be happy that I have that much before I only had 7 minutes.

Have a solution? Does this happen to you? Know of someone who is working on a fix? Want to vent? Post you thoughts in the comments.

Take a minute, close your eyes and imagine Internet speeds reaching not megabits but gigabits. Super-fast video, more advanced Web app development. Now imagine the influence such speeds would have on a city like Philadelphia. Imagine the growth of the local technology sector and the influx of venture capital money.

To the casual outsider from Europe or Asia gigabit Internet might not be all that exciting, but in the United States where the average user is on much slower megabit Internet connections, if not dialup, gigabit Internet access is a “just beyond our reach” Eden.

Google is running a contest for cities to compete to be the first city to have the Internet giant’s new gigabit Internet installed in their community. Philadelphia could be it.

Philadelphia is in the running for this fiber network. A group formed as a joint effort between the City of Philadelphia’s and the grassroots technology, creative and business communities called Gigabit Philly has taken shape and is asking for your support to help persuade the powers that be at Google to choose the City of Brotherly Love as the first city to get the service.

Philadelphia is a city of firsts:

• Philadelphia is home to the nation’s first public grammar school, now known as the William Penn Charter School, founded in 1689.• America’s first life insurance company, The Presbyterian Minister’s Fund, was opened in Philadelphia in 1717.

• America’s first botanical garden, Bartram’s Gardens, opened in 1728.

• Philadelphia is home to the nation’s first public library – the Free Library of Philadelphia – founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731.

• The first volunteer fire department, the Union Fire Company, was founded in Philadelphia in 1736 by Benjamin Franklin.

• The Pennsylvania Hospital, founded by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, opened its doors in 1751 – the first hospital in America. In addition, Philadelphia is home to the nation’s first medical school, first children’s hospital, first cancer hospital, first eye hospital, first nursing school and first dental school!

• The concept of lightning being electricity was discovered by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 when he was able to draw lightning from the clouds by means of a kite.

• The first flag of the United States was sewn in Philadelphia in 1777 by Betsy Ross.

• The first university in America, the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1779, traces its roots to a tuition-free school founded in 1740.

• The Pennsylvania Bank, the first American public bank, opened in 1780. It was later renamed the Bank of North America, the first incorporated bank chartered by the Continental Congress.

• Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States from 1790 – 1800.

• The first stock exchange in the United States was the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which organized in 1790.

• The first mint in the United States opened in Philadelphia in 1792. For the first time standardized coins were issued for the new nation.

• The first municipal water system in the country, the Philadelphia Water Works, began operation in 1799.

• The first art school and art museum in America, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, was founded in Philadelphia in 1805.

• The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, organized in 1827, is the oldest continually operating horticultural society in the United States. The Philadelphia Flower Show, first held in 1829 and sponsored by the Society, was the first large flower show in the country.

• In 1874 the Philadelphia Zoo became the first zoo to open in the United States.

• The first World’s Fair held in the new world was held in Philadelphia in 1876 to mark the centennial of the United States.

• The PSFS Building in downtown Philadelphia became the nation’s first modern skyscraper (notably fully air-conditioned) when it opened its doors in 1932.

• The world’s first computer, ENIAC, was built at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946.

(About.com)

So it would only be fitting for this great city to have this as a first as well. Gigabit Internet

So what can you do? Show your support by going to GigabitPhilly.com, follow them on Twitter and fan them up on Facebook. Spread the word and share your ideas. Together we can help get this important first to happen in this city of firsts.

The whose-who of the Philadelphia Twitter scene converged on the Manayunk Brewery in the Manayunk section of the city for the 140 Conference Meetup. The 140 Conference an international conference all about the microblogging site and overall phenomenon, has been hosting smaller meetups in locations across the globe.

In the interest of all things social about social media. I’m posting pictures from the event.

[View with PicLens]

I saw this on Gizmodo and had to share it. We sure could have used a Roboplow in Philadelphia this year with the record snowfall we saw.

Though it seems like the weather’s warming up now, think back to February when Mother Nature was piling on the snow with callous indifference. Feel that bitter cold on your face, that strain in your lower back. Now meet RoboPlow.This is the idea that every geek has had, but the guys at IdeaLaboratories were just fed up enough to actually see it through. The RoboPlow sports a 50″ blade, six wheel drive, and a bad attitude when it comes to all things snow.

In fact, watching this formidable machine slice its way through snowbanks, I’m wondering if the RoboPlow isn’t a little too powerful, if we didn’t let this arms race with Mother Nature push us to create a technology that should never have been created. Watching this video and seeing the RoboPlow barrel down the driveway, I felt a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was just going to keep going into the street, plowing straight on through the traffic. (Gizmodo)

Check it out:

Would you buy one? Post your thoughts in the comments.

We’re all guilty of it, some more than others. Tweeting without thinking about the consequences of what we write is almost a right of passage on social media and on Twitter especially. The quick and easy nature of the Twitter makes it a great place to blurt out ideas and thoughts. But beware of what you say – there are almost always some type of consequence.

A great example of making this mistake was seen recently when Twitter engineer Alex Payne tweeted about some new features being developed at Twitter. This tweet, now deleted, made technology news headlines and according to TechCrunch many many third party app developers worried.

Payne wrote, “If you had some of the nifty site features that we Twitter employees have, you might not want to use a desktop client. (You will soon.)”

Apparently after seeing all of this commotion his tweet had caused, Payne tweeted an apology on March 1st.

“Still regretting wasting everyone’s time this weekend over nothing. Learn from my mistake: talk about your business carefully.”

Neville Hobson over on Social Media Today put it best in his post:

It’s a good example of what the consequences could be when you engage publicly in conversation and where you don’t apply all your common sense to what you’re saying. It also illustrates the value to everyone of an organization helping employees be clear on what they should or should not discuss publicly by providing clarity though guidelines or policies. If Twitter doesn’t have those, they ought to.

Obviously there was a breakdown at Twitter. If something like this wasn’t a purposeful leak, which it could have been, then there should to be some more careful guidance or regulation given to the employees on what is kosher to say on the network and what isn’t.

Although, in the end regardless of whether or not it was an approved leak or just a mistake, we can all sympathize and learn from Payne’s mistake. The moral: Think before you Tweet.

The Economist magazine has a special report online about the growth of social networks and the power they carry. The Economist at one point predicted the end of social networks, but it hasn’t happened yet.  Martin Giles, senior business corespondent for the Economist, says that it might still happen but as of right now these networks are showing no sign of dying. Giles points out that social networks will continue to grow but like Myspace, they will reach critical mass and people will lose interest.

This interview is worth a listen. What do you think? Will social networks ever go by the wayside? Post your thoughts in the comments.

<Image Credit: The Economist>

Update: Jason Calacanis contacted me via Facebook today to tell me that there are plans to have ThisWeekIn.com be the place where all the shows are cataloged. Thanks Jason!

So for those who know me, know I’m a huge fan of Leo Laporte and the TWiT Network. Leo Laporte, a TechTV alumnus, Tech Guy radio show host, and the man behind the vision that is TWiT, is an amazing guy. He’s created such a brand for himself and all those involved.

On his main site he streams his shows live as well as providing audio and sometimes video of the shows. Now if you don’t watch the live stream, you might never know how big this brand actually is. But it’s actually much larger than what is seen by those who just go to the TWiT homepage.

There are 3 main players, or maybe even more, involved with the production these shows. Leo is the main one, of course. Then there is Jason Calacanis, of Weblogs, Inc. and Mahalo.com fame, and Alex Lindsay of the Pixel Corps, a merry band of media guildsmen.

With just these three, there are at least three or more sites with different programming on it. Leo runs TWiT.tv, Jason runs ThisWeekinStartups.com (and he has This Week in Youtube on Youtube), and Alex runs a few shows over at PixelCorps.tv.

So you can see how it gets a bit confusing. I know what most people are going to say, “But you can find them all in iTunes.” That’s not the point. Not all of us like to use iTunes. I still go to the individual sites and download the mp3’s or watch/listen to the shows there. What’s more I’m sure there are plenty of new shows coming out on the TWiT Network, which those who are not die hard “live steam” watchers won’t know about.

There is nothing wrong with having unique shows with their own branded Websites or pages, but they should also be featured on the main TWiT site. I’m aware that the shows are not all produced by Leo or sometimes even his crew, but they should keep the “This Week In…” brand together in a cohesive group for both easy surfing and continuity.

Of course this is just my opinion. What do you think? Post your thoughts in the comments.

Google’s email services, GMail, is great. It offers so many great features, but lacks one that many find essential to a great email program – a HTML signature.

Gmail is more than 5 years old and finally out of Beta, but for some reason the Googlers still don’t see the necessity of an HTML signature.

There are many hacks available on the Internet, but many of them are browser specific and for that matter computer specific. This means that your HTML signature resides in a specific browser on a computer. Though you can duplicate the install on multiple computers it’s not that streamlined, to say the least.

There is an easier way that is cross browser and multiple computer friendly.

What’s Needed

• A GMail Account (duh)
• An HTML Text Editor or a WYSIWYG Editor
• Web Browser
• Canned Responses (GMail Lab Feature)

Let’s Get Started

First, you’re going to need to code up your signature in HTML. You have to use some deprecated code, because email systems don’t support external stylesheets and other newer coding standards.

Tables are a must (and this is the only time you’ll ever hear me say it) if you wan’t any layout to your signature.

Okay, I have my HTML Signature coded now what?

Well, first you have to save it as a .html or .htm file. Then open it up in your favorite flavor of browser. I suggest Firefox (that’s where this worked the best).

Once it’s previewed in the browser window, open another tab and open up your GMail. Now go to to your GMail Labs area and enable Canned Responses.

Now click on compose. Go back to the other tab with your previewed HTML signature. Highlight the HTML signature and copy it (command+C or ctrl+C). Go back to your GMail and paste it into your email.

Now go up to your Canned Responses tab and click “Save Canned Response.” Title it what you want.

Now I always suggest giving that email a subject and save it as a draft for safe keeping in case your signature gets screwed up.

Chris Brogan has a great post over at his blog where he makes a very important point about the differences between Journalism and Publishing:

First, let’s be clear: the pursuits of journalism and the pursuits of publishing aren’t the same.

Journalists seek to create compelling information that is helpful and news-worthy.

Publishing seeks to push more product, deliver higher circulation value, and create more value for sponsors/advertisers/money-holders.

Publishers need content creators of some stripe to do what they do. Journalists don’t need publishers, but publishers pay, so that’s a decent place to connect with an audience and be paid.

But never confuse the two.

Chris is RIGHT. There are the journalists/content producers and then there are publishers. Part of why newspapers continue a downward spiral to extinction is that the PUBLISHERS are still trying to stick to their old models of revenue and not adapting. They are getting rid of the journalists instead of reshaping their business plans.

Will journalism ever die?

The simple answer is no. Journalism in some form or another will always be around.  Journalist will always be around. They will be reporting the news, highlighting heartwarming and gut-wrenching stories and being the storytellers for generations to come.

In Chris’ article he talks about how AOL is snatching up displaced journalist that have been let go from the newspapers and media outlets. Many think this is the whoring out of journalism, but it’s not it’s the evolution of the industry. Yes, some will end up writing smut and gossip and keyword ridden drivel, but others will continue to write and investigate the important stories yet to come.

And yes, may journalist are indeed becoming publishers. They are becoming self-publishers. With the growth of blogging, software like Wordpress and services like Wordpress.com, Typepad and Blogger are enabling journalists are no longer tied to the traditional forms of publishing, to share the news, their viewpoints and stories. What we are seeing is the democratization of both the content producing and publishing worlds.

Publishing as we know it gone, unless…

Unless the publishing giants can figure out how to monetize without constructing a pay wall and/or blocking Google from indexing these media Citizen Kane-esque megaliths are  going the way of the dinosaurs – extinct, dead, gone.

But in the end…

In the end let’s make one thing perfectly clear. Journalist are not publishers in the old, dying sense of the term. Not even close.

My friend Bill Larson is an amazing guy… an inspiration. He has lost more than 160 lbs without surgery and is sharing how he did it with the world.

Bill is an avid tweeter and blogger. He has made a bunch of appearances on shows such as Dr. Oz and the New York Fox affiliate (video below). He really is a great role model for a country whose people struggle with weight on a daily basis.  It really shows that something can be done. It’s never hopeless.

Bill points out something in the video embedded below: You have to love yourself enough to realize that you need to make a change for the better. You need to have want to lose weight. There are going to be good days and bad days. If you have a bad day, don’t give up, just do better the next day. The key is to not give up.

I am lucky enough to know Bill and have his support as I continue to fluctuate on the scale and fight with my weight, and for that I’m grateful. I am also very lucky to have the support from my friends and family. That and the love for yourself and your own well being is also so very important.

For daily tips, podcasts and inspiration, be sure to follow Bill on Twitter, Facebook and on his blog: DeterminedtoSucceed.com.

Let’s Shed the Weight America!

Before Bill lost the weight.