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Author: Alan

iPods and Zune

iPods and Zune

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My first MP3 player was a Creative Muvo. It only lasted a year.  Then I got some generic MP3 player with a small one line screen.  It supports playlists and generally works pretty well but the design is not very friendly.  It’s David’s now.  Then I bought an iPod shuffle for Jane followed by a shuffle for Cassidy. A few months ago we upgraded Cassidy’s shuffle with an iPod 4gig Nano.  I’ve "inherited Cassidy’s shuffle, Jane is still happy with her shuffle (Jane wants me to include that she ROCKS because of this).

My next portable music player will probably be a Zune.  It may or may not match the experience and design of an iPod, but I bet it will at least come close.  The least expensive Zune compares favorable with an iPod Nano.  They both cost the same at $149.  The Zune has a built  in FM tuner and can sync wirelessly.  The screen can also display in both portrait and landscape.  Although in recent years I’ve split my allegiance between Apple and Microsoft (Jane’s mini, our 3 ipods), we are an XBOX family and the Zune has some nice integration features with XBOX and Windows Media Center that I’m eager to play with.

Yeah, my next portable music player will probably be a Zune, unless I opt to go with the Apple iPhone!

Here are a few interesting articles regarding the Zune:

Zune vs iPod
Zune vs iPod specification smackdown

8 Zune Myths

Zune vs iPod, the final word on who should get your money

Door-to-door solicitation

Door-to-door solicitation

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Door to door solicitation is a a common problem in neighborhoods and one that comes up periodically in mine.
Municipalities can pass rules governing solicitations but the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional right of missionaries, politicians, and others to knock on doors without first getting permission from local authorities. Go here from some references on this ruling: 1 2 3

The Berkeley Police Department offers this advice on handling Door to Door solicitations:

If you feel that the person who has come to your door is trying to sell or solicit anything under false pretences, please immediately telephone the police. If the solicitor threatens, intimidates you or refuses to leave, please dial 911 for immediate service.

We also recommend that you acknowledge anyone knocking at your door or ringing the door bell.
After not answering a knock at the door, residents occasionally find that they were victimized by the person who had just knocked at their door. You should never open the door to someone you do not know, but always acknowledge that you are home. If you prefer, go to the door with the phone in your hand.

None of this is intended to say that all persons going door to door are doing so illegally or that they are criminals, although historically, there have been many persons soliciting under false pretences. You are the only who can decide if you feel that the solicitation is suspicious. If you are not certain, call the police for assistance. You have the right to ask them to leave printed materials so that you can check into the business or organization. Then you are able to do your own research and if you decide, you may send them a check at a later time. Never provide a door to door solicitor with a check or credit card number. As you may know, identity theft is the fastest growing crime internationally.

There may also be a correlation between someone soliciting and persons casing your house and neighborhood for burglaries. Even if you do not give someone money or buy their products, someone else in your neighborhood may become a victim. Call the police anytime you feel the person or solicitation is possibly illegal. It is also a good idea to let your neighbors know, in case the solicitor tries to victimize them also.

Visual Studio 2008 Install

Visual Studio 2008 Install

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I got my January MSDN update in the mail yesterday. In it came Visual Studio 2008. The installation did not go smoothly. I got errors that it failed. I ran the setup again in “repair” mode and it got further.

I tried creating a simple C++/MFC application and it did not compile complaining of missing windows.h and winres?.h. I can’t remember the letter missing from the file but it wasn’t winres.h it was looking for. It was looking in ./Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0/VC/atlmfc/include.

I tried repairing again and the files did not appear. I then ran the setup, went to add/remove components and deselected the C++ MFC component, then ran it again and selected it to reinstall it. Though the files that were “missing” did not appear, something changed and when I tried building an C++ MFC app, and Win32 app, those files were not referenced and the projects built successfully. Weird. I then tried compiling a 2005 C++ MFC project I had and it built fine as well.

Relevant Links:
What’s new in Visual C++ 2008
Breaking changes in Visual C++ 2008
Visual Studio 2008 Readme

Digital Picture Frame & Photo Sizes

Digital Picture Frame & Photo Sizes

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My in-laws received this Westinghouse DPF-0802 Digital Picture Frame for Christmas. Pictreframe

They also received a 1Gig card which came preloaded with 512mb of family photos. 

The frame has a resolution of 800×600 pixels and has 128mb of internal flash memory.  It supports the following memory cards: CF I,II / MD / MS / MS Pro / MS Duo / MS Pro Duo / SD / MMC / XD.

I located a very nice free image resizing program called VSO Image Resizer and promptly went about resizing all photos stored on the 1g card; some up to 5mb in size.  I  reduced the disk usage from 512mb to 30mb !

I wanted to copy some photos to the internal memory but they didn’t have an appropriate cable (USB to mini-USB).  I went shopping and a basic mini-usb to usb cable cost $27. Rediculous.  Fortunately I passed by the console accessories aisle and found a mini-usb to usb and charger combo cable for the PSP for $4.95.  I bought it and it worked fine.

Though with the Image Resizer program, the internal memory was sufficient to hold all their photos, it became clear that the easiest workflow would be for Sue to simply pull the 1gig card from the Picture Frame, plug it into her laptop which has a camera card slot, copy over the photos she wants and plug the card back into her Picture Frame.

I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a universal card adapter to  buy.   The  Picture  Frame  with it’s support for numerous cards could actually serve as an adapter to move files from one card to another.  I  was able to copy photos from Jane’s new Sony Cybershot camera.   She didn’t have her USB pc cable but I was able to read her Memory Stick Pro  Duo 2g card from the Picture Frame and connect my laptop using the cable I bought to download them.

Sonyw80

Technology gets more accessible but remains as hard for normal  folks to use.

Survivor China: James is a class act

Survivor China: James is a class act

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Survivorchinajames Never have a group of folks been so scared of repercussions for going behind someone’s back when voting a trusted tribe member off.  James was physically strong, assertive, a force.  But I have to say James’  final words were the classiest I’ve heard.  He basically said he wasn’t mad, they did what they had to do,  it was a smart move on their part, and the  most impressive, he blamed himself for throwing the dice one too many times and not playing one of the TWO idols in his possession.

Hats off to you James!

I’d like to see a show where the “social” aspect is deemphasized and the “survivor” skills more emphasized.  The most worthy ones rarely win.