tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123666882024-03-14T02:34:02.445-07:00And I Color Toojonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.comBlogger237125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-30625811122026979252010-02-08T13:13:00.000-08:002010-02-08T13:25:15.224-08:00Voting with your Feet coming to Fruition? Google Maps Suggests Places You Might Like<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/S3B_s7461iI/AAAAAAAABXs/jkEh83M4oZQ/s1600-h/UbiComp2006_VotingWithFeet_ppt_icon.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 188px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/S3B_s7461iI/AAAAAAAABXs/jkEh83M4oZQ/s400/UbiComp2006_VotingWithFeet_ppt_icon.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435985160203589154" /></a><br />At Intel Research in 2005, I ran a study called "Voting with your Feet" that examined the relationship between a person's place preferences and their place visit behaviors. We were exploring a simple question: could a location-based system make recommendations about places that you might like based on your travel history? We looked at features like travel distance, place visit frequency, whether you visited the place alone or with others...<div><br /></div><div>Our results were mixed (see UbiComp2006 paper <a href="http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/jfroehli/publications/UbiComp2006_VotingWithFeet.pdf">here</a>); it turns out, place visit behaviors are a fairly noisy signal when it comes to expressing an implicit preference. Although we tracked thousands of place visits, we only had the resources to follow 16 participants. Now, current technology like Yelp Mobile, Foursquare, and Google Latitude/Maps Mobile should make studying this question much easier. Indeed, Google now has "<a href="http://mashable.com/2010/02/05/google-maps-nearby-places/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Mashable+(Mashable)">Google Map Suggest</a>", which suggests places nearby that you may like. Although <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/02/nearby-places-you-might-like.html">they are ambiguous about what features</a>, exactly, they are using to make these recommendations, it's an interesting development for automated real-world recommendation systems.</div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-70932817173000030172010-01-06T12:52:00.000-08:002010-01-06T12:56:30.626-08:00Anonymous Methods for Control.InvokeI found a <a href="http://blog.guymahieu.com/2006/11/15/systemdelegate-is-not-a-delegate-type/">blog post</a> about something I've been trying to do forever: use anonymous methods to get around InvokeRequired issues with C# Form Controls. <div><br /></div><div>Answer, cast delegate with MethodInvoker, ala:</div><div><div>this.Invoke(</div><div> (MethodInvoker) delegate { this.Text = "x"; }</div><div>);</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks <a href="http://blog.guymahieu.com/2006/11/15/systemdelegate-is-not-a-delegate-type/">Guy Mahieu</a>!</div></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-38032780272406532152009-12-21T18:11:00.000-08:002009-12-21T18:12:56.480-08:00Batch Change/Rename File Extensions in WindowsSimple answer, open command prompt, type:<div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>ren *.(current extension name) *.(extension you want)</i></div><div><br /></div><div>For example, to change the extension from .jpg to .png:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>ren *.jpg *.png</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>From <a href="http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/batch-change-rename-file-extensions-in-windows/">addictivetips</a>.</div></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-69599036330871865842009-12-17T20:36:00.000-08:002009-12-17T20:38:27.692-08:00How to select the first/least/max row per group in SQLThis is an extremely understandable and useful article on common SQL queries (<a href="http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/12/07/how-to-select-the-firstleastmax-row-per-group-in-sql/">link</a>).jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-32660649854730488872009-12-17T12:22:00.000-08:002009-12-17T12:37:06.091-08:00Protovis How To<div style="text-align: left;">I've played around with both of <a href="http://hci.stanford.edu/jheer/">Jeff Heer's</a> prior visualization toolkits (<a href="http://prefuse.org/">Prefuse</a> and <a href="http://flare.prefuse.org/">Flare</a>). <a href="http://prefuse.org/">Prefuse</a>, in my opinion, has one of the best designed APIs ever. Jeff is now a professor at Stanford. One of his students, <a href="http://graphics.stanford.edu/~mbostock/">Mike Bostock</a>, worked with Jeff on a (relatively) new toolkit called <a href="http://vis.stanford.edu/protovis/">Protovis</a>, which unlike his previous toolkits, is SVG and Javascript based (perfect for web 3.0!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I just started experimenting with Protovis yesterday but could not find even a simple example showing how to put together a line chart. Although the Protovis website lists a large number of <a href="http://vis.stanford.edu/protovis/ex/">beautiful visualization examples</a>, most of them were over my head as a beginner (when first looking at the code, it reminded me of <a href="http://www0.us.ioccc.org/main.html">The International Obfuscated C Code Contest</a>--you can do a lot in a small amount of code, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be understandable).</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem was one of documentation--although Protovis has a fairly fleshed out set of docs <a href="http://code.google.com/p/protovis-js/wiki/ReadMeFirst">including a multi-page "quick start" tutorial</a>, I was still searching for some simple examples to work through on my own. The problem was, I didn't realize that the icons on the left side of the docs page were clickable--I thought they were just there for aesthetics!</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SyqVsKjsovI/AAAAAAAABWM/pYRkPO0ls3U/s400/protovis.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416306087847305970" /><div>Now I'm good. Although I'd still love to see some very simple time series visualizations.</div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-30168049719469702852009-12-17T12:19:00.000-08:002009-12-17T12:22:07.509-08:00SVN/CVS Update Like Command in Mercurial<div>Took me way too long to find <a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/HgHowTos#Updating_your_sources_from_the_server">this</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To update your sources, you can use:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">$ cd main $ hg pull -u </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This will pull other people's changes from the server into your repository. It will also update your working copy to the latest version.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you have made your own changes in this repository (even in a completely unrelated directory), you will need to merge your changes with other people's changes. This requires running hg merge.</span></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-35028531973953192122008-08-21T07:23:00.000-07:002008-09-11T00:15:21.506-07:00The Death of a Laptop, Dell M1330I have been a Dell customer since 1996, when I bought a Dell Pentium 166 equipped with a fancy 17 inch CRT for over $2,000. I've since purchased three more Dell desktops and three laptops and made recommendations to countless others.<br /><br />My current Dell laptop, the XPS M1330, has been a lemon almost since the beginning. Purchased in March of 2008 by April it had already exhibited strange behaviors, which I attributed to Vista. By mid-April, Vista blue-screened and I could not reboot even in safe-mode. Unfortunately, I was traveling in Europe at the time. My laptop became a brick that I had to lug around Italy and Greece. When I returned to the US, I spent two days reformatting the drive and installing applications from scratch. This was the first time I have ever had a computer fail to the point of requiring a complete reformat and yes I am a lifelong Windows user (maybe I've been lucky?).<br /><br />At the present time I am again in Europe for business and, once again, my Dell XPS M1330 has failed me. This time, no amount of technical knowledge can solve the problem--I've been hit by the <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/28/dell_nvidia_chipset_glitch/">defective NVIDIA GPU issue</a>. On Sunday (five days ago), my laptop screen started to freeze up and automatically reboot. This happened seven times in five hours (I'm stubborn and I was working on a deadline). Now my laptop refuses to boot at all--or, more accurately, boots with these beautiful vertical lines (see below). And no, plugging in an external monitor does NOT fix the issue. This is a video card problem, not a monitor problem. I should note that I am extremely reliant on my laptop--it is my primary computer (I'm almost like a Mac person in that way... perhaps I should take the hint and switch to a Mac?). Thus, I have incurred considerable cost in work time trying to remedy this issue not to mention the fact that I am now stuck in Europe without a computer.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G7YD05wI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/yCNcKz9Z5g0/s1600-h/IMG_4987.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G7YD05wI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/yCNcKz9Z5g0/s400/IMG_4987.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236990296330659586" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">An early indication of failure?</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G6uGp1ZI/AAAAAAAAA04/3lpt-vrDEcY/s1600-h/IMG_4978.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G6uGp1ZI/AAAAAAAAA04/3lpt-vrDEcY/s400/IMG_4978.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236990285068227986" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G60SrmnI/AAAAAAAAA1A/3lufBlBQJrU/s1600-h/IMG_4981.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G60SrmnI/AAAAAAAAA1A/3lufBlBQJrU/s400/IMG_4981.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236990286729288306" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G717pZcI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/muUcnHUjk14/s1600-h/IMG_4993.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK2G717pZcI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/muUcnHUjk14/s400/IMG_4993.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236990304349414850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The current state of my machine. Unusable</span></span>.<br /></div><br />Fortunately, Dell support has been incredibly responsive, answering my requests for help only hours after the initial email. However, since I am in Europe they want me to upgrade to international warranty coverage in order to receive support here. I most certainly do not want to blow this out of proportion but that offer seems a bit ridiculous. You would think that in the case of a known hardware defect, they would make some compromises in their regular procedures. From a Dell support email:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">...since you are in Europe right now, if a service call needs to be processed to repair your system, I do regret to inform you that your current warranty does not support International coverage. You can either return first to U.S and have your system serviced there, or Transfer your system's ownership to Spain so Dell Spain Support will be the one assisting your for this matter, or lastly you can contact our Ext Warranty Department at 800 247-4618 to upgrade your warranty to have an International Support so we can process your request and provide service on any country that are covered by Dell International Warranty support.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Some Background on the Issue</span><br />In early July, NVIDIA informed stockholders of the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/02/nvidia-says-significant-quantities-of-laptop-gpus-are-defectiv/">problem</a>:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">...the company just informed investors that "significant quantities" of previous-generation graphics chips have been failing at "higher than normal rates," and that it's lowering its Q2 estimates due to pricing pressure. NVIDIA will be taking a $150M to $250M charge against earnings next quarter to cover the cost of repairing and replacing the affected chips, but didn't specifically announce what products were defective, just that they include GPUs and "media and communications processors." Laptop makers have apparently already been given an updated GPU driver which kicks in fans sooner to reduce "thermal stress" on the GPU, and NVIDIA says it's talking to its suppliers about being reimbursed for the faulty parts<br /></blockquote>Dell's initial strategy was to release a BIOS update, which essentially keeps the laptop's CPU fan on continuously to decrease the temperature. This <span style="font-style: italic;">is a major <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kludge">kludge</a></span> in my opinion but better than nothing, the major downsides are that #1, it does not really address the problem and #2, the resulting noise and decrease in battery life. From <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/26/dell-explains-nvidia-gpu-issues-throws-out-bios-updates-to-help/">engadget</a>:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">...quite a few NVIDIA GPUs <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/10/all-nvidia-8400m-8600m-chips-faulty/">have been acting up</a>. Nothing new there. However, Dell's attempting to help its laptop owners out by making a few notable BIOS updates readily available for download. Apparently the issue "is a weak die / packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations." In order to combat the problem, Dell's BIOS flashes "modify the fan profile to help regulate GPU temperature fluctuations," though the Round Rock powerhouse only promises that the updates will "help reduce the likelihood of GPU issues." Hit the read link and give it a go -- it can't hurt... we hope.</blockquote>Many are upset with Dell's strategy here as a BIOS update <span style="font-style: italic;">does not fix</span> the problem, it only decreases the likelihood that it will occur. As many have pointed out, this could simply delay the problem until the laptop is out of its warrenty period. From the <a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/12/nvidia-g92s-g94-reportedly">Inquirer</a>:<br /><span name="intelliTxt" id="intelliTXT"></span><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><span name="intelliTxt" id="intelliTXT">To make matters more laughable, the fix that NV is forcing on Dell, HP and everyone else does not fix the problem, it simply makes it less likely to occur during the warranty period. With HP now offering an extended warranty period, and Dell looking likely to do the same, this will only multiply the cost. Add in the fact that Nvidia is sending out defective parts as replacements (there are no good ones), and you have a recipe for a long and expensive tale.</span></blockquote>On Monday of this week, perhaps as a result of HP offering a similar deal to customers, Dell released this statement on their <a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/08/18/nvidia-gpu-update-dell-to-offer-warranty-enhancement-to-all-affected-customers-worldwide.aspx">direct2dell blog</a>:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">NVIDIA GPU Update: Dell to Offer Limited Warranty Enhancement to All Affected Customers Worldwide. Dell will offer a 12-month limited warranty enhancement specific to this issue. For all customers worldwide, we plan to add 12 months of coverage for this issue to the existing limited warranty up to 60 months from the date of purchase for the following systems:</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where Do We Go From Here?</span><br />However, what remains to be seen, is exactly where do Dell customers, like myself, go from here? It appears that there are, in fact, no good reliable NVIDIA video cards available and Dell is absolutely drowning in the problem. Also, from the <a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/12/nvidia-g92s-g94-reportedly">Inquirer</a>:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"We just got our first casualty from the Nvidia mobile graphics [expletive deleted]. Laptop used by one of our senior engineers started acting up this past weekend. Won't boot except in SAFE mode. Called Dell, they tried a few things, gave up, stated it was the graphics module, and said that because they were SO swamped dealing with that issue, they were just going to send a completely new laptop!"<br /><br />There are two messages here which have echoes in earlier emails received over the past few weeks. First is that Dell is replacing full laptops over this, contrary to what they claim (read the comments here and here for more). The second is that the small 'under control' problem is far from that. If they had a handle on it, they would not be so far behind and drowning in backorders. Anyone want to bet Dell isn't going to get stuck with the bill here?</blockquote>If Dell chooses to send me a new laptop, I hope it's a laptop with an ATI mobile graphics card or even Intel's own integrated graphics chip. Many are asking whether Dell is still shipping laptop's with defective parts and whether replacement parts are also defective (there is speculation that NVIDIA still has not corrected the problem).<br /><br />Some related posts:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/07/25/nvidia-gpu-update-for-dell-laptop-owners.aspx">Dell Post #1: NVIDIA GPU Update for Dell Laptop Owners </a><br /></li><li><a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/08/08/latest-on-the-nvidia-gpu-issue-for-dell-laptop-customers.aspx">Dell Post #2: Latest on the NVIDIA GPU Issue for Dell Laptop Customers </a><br /></li><li><a href="http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/08/18/nvidia-gpu-update-dell-to-offer-warranty-enhancement-to-all-affected-customers-worldwide.aspx">Dell Post #3: NVIDIA GPU Update: Dell to Offer Limited Warranty Enhancement to All Affected Customers Worldwide </a></li><li><a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/12/nvidia-g92s-g94-reportedly">Desktop NVIDIA Cards Also Failing, Nvidia G92s and G94 reportedly failing</a></li></ul><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Update 08/21/2008 6:07PM GMT +1:</span> I just had an online chat with a Dell customer agent by the name of XPS_Michael_135201. Here's the transcript:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> <span style="font-size:85%;">5:40:55 PM Agent: May I ask if you are in the united states currenty?</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:41:10 PM Me: i am not currently in the united states which is the essence of my problem<br />5:41:16 PM Me: i am traveling for business<br />5:41:37 PM Me: this makes my laptop even more significant to me<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:42:01 PM Agent: You need a new motherboard/integrated video card, sir</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:42:12 PM Me: that is true<br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" >5:42:26 PM Agent: This is a known Nvidia problem.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:42:31 PM Me: yep, i know that<br />5:42:39 PM Me: but this is a dell system<br />5:42:45 PM Me: nvidia doesn't sell computers<br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" >5:42:57 PM Agent: have you contacted international support?</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:43:16 PM Me: i was informed by a previous support agent that i would need to "upgrade" my warrenty in order to receive international support<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:43:53 PM Agent: I would get you one immediately for next day service if you were in the United Sates</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" > 5:44:00 PM Me: Great. i am in Europe.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" > 5:44:07 PM Me: let's talk about what you can do for me here</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:44:10 PM </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" >Agent: one, moment please</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:47:27 PM Agent: XPS_Michael_135201 pushes page, http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/international_travel?c=us&l=en&s=gen</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:48:03 PM Agent: you could place a local phone call to where you are at to get that replaced.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:48:18 PM Agent: Is there anything else I can help you with today?</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:51:41 PM Me: ok, assuming i got the next day onsite service, would the replacement motherboard/gpu contain a new revision of the Nvidia hardware<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:53:13 PM Agent: The Nvidia problem, was a weak series of chips in the actual construction ( a weak die-cast) the replacement would not be from that line</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:53:25 PM Me: could i get an ATI chipset instead?<br />5:53:34 PM Me: or could i opt simply for the intel integrated video?<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" > 5:55:36 PM Agent: We can offer to replace it with a good part that is the same as what you purchaced.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />5:57:41 PM Me: ok<br />5:58:10 PM Me: thank you for your help.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Update 08/22/2008 7:38PM GMT +1:</span> Some people have asked for more pictures and a better description of how I knew my laptop was failing. It took five days from the first day of experiencing problems to complete failure (e.g., a completely dead laptop). My first indication that something was wrong occurred on Sunday, August 17th (six days ago now). I was using Excel and Word and then suddenly my screen would change color, look pixelated and Vista would freeze. This transformation usually lasted about 5-10 seconds before Vista would either blue screen or simply force-reboot my laptop. I had not heard of the NVIDIA GPU issues so I (ignorantly) thought this was yet another Vista bug. I do not have any photographs of my laptop screen in that state in Vista, unfortunately, but here is a picture I took on Monday when trying to run a diagnostic tool that froze mid-session:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK7-Nst5P1I/AAAAAAAAA2A/MJrvg7oeDK4/s1600-h/IMG_4984_private.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK7-Nst5P1I/AAAAAAAAA2A/MJrvg7oeDK4/s400/IMG_4984_private.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237402927973875538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >This is what the diagnostic screen should look like.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK7-OBnXPlI/AAAAAAAAA2I/7LerPTzngSU/s1600-h/IMG_4982_private.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK7-OBnXPlI/AAAAAAAAA2I/7LerPTzngSU/s400/IMG_4982_private.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237402933583625810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">You know things are bad when even the diagnostic tool crashes (note the vertical lines)</span></span><br /></div><br />After Monday, things only got worse and by Thursday I could not boot my laptop at all. Or, more specifically, the laptop would boot and look like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK78g9kwzGI/AAAAAAAAA1w/LeJYYpk7Vh8/s1600-h/IMG_4996.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK78g9kwzGI/AAAAAAAAA1w/LeJYYpk7Vh8/s400/IMG_4996.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237401059893234786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK78hNSXsTI/AAAAAAAAA14/Wmd7Cio3R1w/s1600-h/IMG_4980.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SK78hNSXsTI/AAAAAAAAA14/Wmd7Cio3R1w/s400/IMG_4980.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237401064111059250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Update 08/25/2008 01:00PM GMT +1:</span> Dell sent a service technician to fix my laptop, who, I must say was both incredibly efficient and friendly. Unfortunately because my Spanish is far from as good as my English, I was unable to gain much more information from the technician about how rampant and widespread this problem is. The "fix" for this issue, incidentally, is a whole new motherboard, which requires one to take nearly everything apart in the laptop and then put it back together. This particular technician had clearly dealt with many M1330 before as he was able to take apart the laptop, put in a new motherboard, and reconstruct the laptop in under 15-20 minutes.<br /><br />Note that I am not certain whether this "new" motherboard is really new (or just a refurbished one). Nor am I aware of whether this "new" motherboard contains a fixed NVIDIA GPU. The BIOS software read A08 upon first boot. I immediately upgraded it to A12; however, the A08 number gives some indication as to the age of the laptop (e.g., when was the A09 BIOS firmware released?). Here are some pictures.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEee_qwRI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/DUyMcJSnfu0/s1600-h/IMG_4998+%281024x768%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEee_qwRI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/DUyMcJSnfu0/s400/IMG_4998+%281024x768%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244657794068168978" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEektySJI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/6nXs_blKafQ/s1600-h/IMG_5001+%281024x768%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEektySJI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/6nXs_blKafQ/s400/IMG_5001+%281024x768%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244657795603777682" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEe1n16FI/AAAAAAAAA2g/3p2CD23RmW8/s1600-h/IMG_5003+%281024x768%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEe1n16FI/AAAAAAAAA2g/3p2CD23RmW8/s400/IMG_5003+%281024x768%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244657800142252114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEe1hkAFI/AAAAAAAAA2o/-AhthJT_MJY/s1600-h/IMG_5006+%281024x768%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEe1hkAFI/AAAAAAAAA2o/-AhthJT_MJY/s400/IMG_5006+%281024x768%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244657800115912786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The faulty GPU (the chip just above the label WWAN)</span></span>.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEfCTyfCI/AAAAAAAAA2w/qvX7tF42Rk0/s1600-h/IMG_5009+%281024x768%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SMjEfCTyfCI/AAAAAAAAA2w/qvX7tF42Rk0/s400/IMG_5009+%281024x768%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244657803547802658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >The screen works!</span><br /></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-15325819676746058242008-07-14T13:25:00.001-07:002008-07-14T13:33:19.722-07:00I Don't Want To Be Your Friend<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object width="425" height="350"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/8nTFjVm9sTQ" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/8nTFjVm9sTQ" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p><p>The music blogs are ablaze with this new video by Radiohead. It's hypnotizing. House of Cards is among my favorite tracks on the album. Also note that there is a "making of" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyQoTGdQywY&hl">here </a>and some interesting background on the data visualization technique <a href="http://code.google.com/creative/radiohead/">here </a>(hosted by code.google no less)</p></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-25231396617959216772008-07-12T05:16:00.000-07:002008-07-12T05:21:27.442-07:00Open Innovation: New Corporate R&D StrategiesA short article on how Microsoft, IBM, and HP are shifting research strategies.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pundits in recent years have taken to bemoaning a retreat by U.S. industry from basic research in science and technology. And indeed, it's easy to cite research labs whose glory days have come and gone -- Bell Laboratories comes to mind. But consider this: IBM, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard together spend <span style="font-weight: bold;">$17 billion</span> annually on research and development.</span><br /><br />from: <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9108098&intsrc=hm_ts_head">The new face of R&D: What's cooking at IBM, HP and Microsoft</a>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-86933884705559343552008-07-09T03:15:00.000-07:002008-07-09T03:21:22.452-07:00Google Earth Crashes on Polygon EditRecently, Google Earth (4.3.7204.0836, Apr 24 2008) started crashing <span style="font-weight: bold;">whenever </span>I selected the "New Polygon" tool. Though the "New Polygon" dialog box would appear, I could not click on anything and the mouse icon, which is supposed to change to a cross hair (to place the polygon), would remain an arrow. Then, a crash report dialog would pop-up and I would be forced to close Google Earth. Quite frustrating. To fix this, I switched from using DirectX, which is the default, to OpenGL in the Tools->Options->3D View->Graphics Mode settings. I have heard that others have fixed this with enabling safe mode (located in the same settings dialog); however, this did not work for me. Apparently, there are some strange video card driver interactions occurring here.jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-14720818187011813862008-07-07T04:40:00.000-07:002008-07-07T04:46:35.966-07:00Auto-Generate KML C# ClassesUsing the xsd.exe tool (in a default installation, you can find it here: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin), you can auto-generate KML C# classes. Make sure you have ogckm122.xsd (<a href="http://schemas.opengis.net/kml/2.2.0/">here</a>), atom-author-link.xsd (<a href="http://schemas.opengis.net/kml/2.2.0/">here</a>), and xAL.xsd (<a href="http://docs.oasis-open.org/election/external/">here</a>) in the directory where you are executing the xsd command.<br /><br />>xsd /c ogckml22.xsd atom -author-link.xsd xAL.xsd<br /><br />This will generate a C# file called ogckml22_atom-author-link_xAL.cs.<br /><br />Thanks to these two blog posts for the help: <a href="http://john.selkirks.net/2008/06/03/xsd-command-and-multiple-xsd-files/">xsd command and multiple xsd files</a> and <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/mapo/archive/2008/02/20/xsd-exe-error-generating-classes-for-schema-myschema-xsd-the-element-http-schemas-domainname-com-types-mytype-is-missing.aspx">Error generating classes for schema 'MySchema.xsd'</a>.jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-16192363190360543922008-07-02T01:04:00.001-07:002008-07-02T01:45:06.788-07:00Google Maps Street View in Middle AmericaMy sister's family lives in a small Nebraskan town with an estimated population of 3,000 people and an estimated median house value of $127,000 (was less than $100,000 in 2000). Nonetheless, Google has taken its mapping technology to these streets and captured my brother-in-law and niece on film (without their permission). It appears Google truly does want a visual index of all streets in America. Indeed, according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View">Wikipedia</a>, "Google has stated that its ultimate goal is to provide street views of the entire world, although the company has not disclosed in advance the exact dates when any particular locations will be added"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGs3o4k6ocI/AAAAAAAAAzU/B0jkwDqBwlc/s1600-h/Erin+and+Steve+on+Streetview+-+Obscured.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGs3o4k6ocI/AAAAAAAAAzU/B0jkwDqBwlc/s400/Erin+and+Steve+on+Streetview+-+Obscured.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218325768760369602" border="0" /></a>Now, there have been plenty of write-ups online about the chilling implications of this technology from a privacy standpoint (see end of this post). Admittedly, I had not paid much attention to said implications until now. What I find startling here is not just that my family was captured on film and automatically uploaded by Google but that this picture was taken while my brother-in-law was on his private property in front of his own house (with my little niece no less). Further, if you click on the "Full-screen" link, the Street View photo itself increases in size, which is even more unsettling. It just makes one feel invaded. Note, here, however that there is evidence that Google is running automatic face detection algorithms and blurring faces. Automatic face detection is pretty much considered a solved problem in the computer vision world (face detection is not the same thing as face recognition). It's difficult to tell if Google is in fact explicitly obscuring the face here or if the overall photo quality is just poor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGs5nrFffXI/AAAAAAAAAzc/DyiJT-XqZLk/s1600-h/Erin+and+Steve+on+Streetview2+-+obscured.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGs5nrFffXI/AAAAAAAAAzc/DyiJT-XqZLk/s400/Erin+and+Steve+on+Streetview2+-+obscured.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218327946982292850" border="0" /></a><br />Although the photo quality published online is rather low, I would not be surprised if the original captured image was of much higher quality, which likely still resides in a Google database somewhere. I would imagine that Google has plans to apply computer vision algorithms for automatic object detection, 3D-routing, sign reading, sidewalk routing (for people routing, rather than car routing), etc. Thus, there would be little reason for them to invest the money into Street View and not capture the highest quality imagery possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Some related links</span><br />Wikipedia's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View">Google Street View</a> page has a <span style="font-style: italic;">Privacy issues</span> section as well as a long list of links to articles and news items related to Street View's growth, governmental concerns, and privacy implications:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Privacy advocates have objected to this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google" title="Google">Google</a> feature, pointing to views found to show men leaving strip clubs, protesters at an abortion clinic, sunbathers in bikinis, cottagers at public parks, parents hitting their children, males picking up prostitutes and other activities, as well as people engaging in activities visible from public property in which they do not wish to be seen publicly.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View#cite_note-18" title="">[19]</a></sup> Google maintains that the photos were taken from public property. Before launching the service, Google removed photos of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_violence" title="Domestic violence">domestic violence</a> shelters, and allows users to flag inappropriate or sensitive imagery for Google to review and remove.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View#cite_note-19" title="">[20]</a></sup> When the service was first launched, the process for requesting that an image be removed was not trivial;<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View#cite_note-20" title="">[21]</a></sup> however, Google has since changed its policy to make removal more straightforward.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View#cite_note-21" title="">[22]</a></sup> Images of potential break-ins, sunbathers and individuals entering adult bookstores have, for example, remained active and these images have been widely republished.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View#cite_note-22" title="">[23]</a></sup></span><br /><br />Mashable has a <a href="http://mashable.com/2007/05/31/top-15-google-street-view-sightings/">Top 15 Google Street View Sightings</a> page including pictures of a possible crime in progress, female sunbathers, and men coming/going from adult related entertainment venues. Some more Street View oddities are listed on <a href="http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-06-03-n48.html">this blog post</a>. The New York Times has an article entitled <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/technology/01private.html">Google Zooms In Too Close for Some</a>, which is also worth a look as it briefly explores the idea of public vs. private and ownership of data.jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-2146096459931429392008-06-30T01:38:00.001-07:002008-06-30T08:19:30.526-07:00Skinny Love Primavera Sound Festival 2008<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object width="425" height="350"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/BTqQ5fLqumU" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/BTqQ5fLqumU" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p><p>A friend I was with recorded this video of Bon Iver at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. We were sitting in the third row. It was my favorite show of the entire weekend. If you have an opportunity to see them, it's an amazing musical experience--I strongly recommend it. (Plus, it doesn't hurt that Bon Iver is a Wisconsinite, support your local midwest artists!).<br /></p></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-62338089884754057332008-06-25T02:35:00.000-07:002008-06-25T04:16:06.118-07:00Skydiving Spain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIl8FS5B-I/AAAAAAAAAyQ/CpFeNwTzmfs/s1600-h/IMG_0010_resized.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIl8FS5B-I/AAAAAAAAAyQ/CpFeNwTzmfs/s400/IMG_0010_resized.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215773032592246754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGImAVvs6sI/AAAAAAAAAyY/W--cSFNu3nc/s1600-h/IMG_0011_resized.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGImAVvs6sI/AAAAAAAAAyY/W--cSFNu3nc/s400/IMG_0011_resized.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215773105727531714" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIV9c-4EWI/AAAAAAAAAyA/OCiwb-ER078/s1600-h/IMG_0013.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIV9c-4EWI/AAAAAAAAAyA/OCiwb-ER078/s400/IMG_0013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215755463944573282" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIV9iPVgMI/AAAAAAAAAyI/OFT3bKGE-uA/s1600-h/IMG_0016.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIV9iPVgMI/AAAAAAAAAyI/OFT3bKGE-uA/s400/IMG_0016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215755465355788482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIoQgYQpAI/AAAAAAAAAyw/FrRp33wQkiY/s1600-h/IMG_0025.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGIoQgYQpAI/AAAAAAAAAyw/FrRp33wQkiY/s400/IMG_0025.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215775582483162114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGImCA_e_GI/AAAAAAAAAyg/YuYE9BkiYVA/s1600-h/IMG_0020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGImCA_e_GI/AAAAAAAAAyg/YuYE9BkiYVA/s400/IMG_0020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215773134516321378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGImCROW9LI/AAAAAAAAAyo/HhgdT1tjLQ4/s1600-h/IMG_0033.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SGImCROW9LI/AAAAAAAAAyo/HhgdT1tjLQ4/s400/IMG_0033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215773138873676978" border="0" /></a>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-75919631997164236612008-06-19T03:30:00.001-07:002008-06-30T01:39:44.408-07:00Nokia Morph Concept<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/IX-gTobCJHs" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/IX-gTobCJHs" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></p><p>The new nano?</p></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-8206871215735103142008-06-19T03:27:00.000-07:002008-06-19T03:28:29.447-07:00My Bicing Commute<iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=41.392897,2.175596&spn=0.039438,0.096339&t=h&msid=105269731854504081539.00045002557ff3c640fe5&output=embed&s=AARTsJqLRcpQWPDAccMG6dBPo3PsO-LIUQ" scrolling="no" width="425" frameborder="0" height="350"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=41.392897,2.175596&spn=0.039438,0.096339&t=h&msid=105269731854504081539.00045002557ff3c640fe5&source=embed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-28789761054078619342008-06-15T01:50:00.000-07:002008-06-15T03:05:55.857-07:00Querying Big Datasets with MySql and JavaI received this error when calling the executeQuery() method on a PreparedStatement object. You'll note that within the JDBC MySql code, there is a method invoked called "readAllResults." It appears that the default behavior of the executeQuery method is to read all data records into memory before returning! This simply will not do when dealing with large datasets.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Exception in thread "main" java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space<br />at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.nextRow(MysqlIO.java:1444)<br />...<br /></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" >at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.readAllResults(MysqlIO.java:1746)</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br />...<br />at com.mysql.jdbc.PreparedStatement.executeQuery(PreparedStatement.java:1885)</span><br /><br />The solution was non-intuitive but an easy find with Google. <a href="http://benjchristensen.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/mysql-jdbc-memory-usage-on-large-resultset/">From MySQL JDBC Memory Usage on Large ResultSet</a>:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >If you are working with ResultSets that have a large number of rows or large values, and can not allocate heap space in your JVM for the memory required, you can tell the driver to stream the results back one row at a time.</span> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">To enable this functionality, you need to create a Statement instance in the following manner:</span></p> <pre><span style="font-size:85%;">stmt = conn.createStatement(java.sql.ResultSet.TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY,<br /> java.sql.ResultSet.CONCUR_READ_ONLY);<br />stmt.setFetchSize(Integer.MIN_VALUE);</span></pre> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">The combination of a forward-only, read-only result set, with a fetch size of <code>Integer.MIN_VALUE</code> serves as a signal to the driver to stream result sets row-by-row. After this any result sets created with the statement will be retrieved row-by-row.</span></p><p>There are a few caveats, which are described in the following links:<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.databasesandlife.com/reading-row-by-row-into-java-from-mysql/">MySQL JDBC Memory Usage on Large ResultSet</a></li><li><a href="http://www.databasesandlife.com/reading-row-by-row-into-java-from-mysql/">Reading row-by-row into Java from MySQL</a></li><li><a href="http://mysql.mirrors-r-us.net/doc/refman/5.0/en/connector-j-reference-implementation-notes.html">JDBC API Implementation Notes</a></li><li><a href="http://javaquirks.blogspot.com/2007/12/mysql-streaming-result-set.html">MySql Streaming ResultSet</a><br /></li></ul><p> </p>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-37957140371464545712008-06-06T07:52:00.001-07:002008-06-19T03:28:49.205-07:00Bicing Usage Survey Now Live!As part of my ongoing research in "green computing" I have been working on a project at Telefónica Research on improving the Bicing system. As a first step in this direction, we have created a <a href="https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56481">Bicing usage survey</a>. <a href="http://www.bicing.com/">Bicing </a>is a shared biking system in Barcelona, Spain (think of it like a shared car system ala <a href="http://www.zipcar.com/">ZipCar</a>). Citizens pay 24 Euros a year for the ability to use bikes parked around the city. There are a few really clever ideas that Bicing employs. <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Bicing Overview</span><br />For the 24 Euro a year payment, you can ride for 30 minutes for free. After that, each 30 minutes costs 30 cents up to 2 hours. Bicing is meant to be used for commuting--thus, if you surpass your 2 hour limit, monetary penalties begin to emerge (3 euros / hour). Bicing applies <a href="http://www.bicing.com/servicio/tarifas/tarifas.php?TU5fSU5GT1JNQUNJT05fVEFSSUZBUw%3D%3D&NA%3D%3D">service penalties</a> (reduced access to Bicing) if you exceed the two hour limit on more than three occasions. Note, however, that you can bike <em>everywhere</em> in Barcelona easily within an hour so two hours is more than enough time. If you keep the bike out for 24 hours, you pay 150 Euros (the cost of the bike). Bicing is meant to provide an alternative form of transit in the city (e.g., to reduce congestion). As a result, it is not a service for tourists, only for residents of Barcelona (and surrounding areas). The kiosks are in two languages: Spanish and Catalan (Catalan is the regional language here).</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElOv6_sCaI/AAAAAAAAAv8/RK-CufEhn5c/s1600-h/IMG_4134%20%28768x1024%29%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; width: 180px; height: 240px;" alt="IMG_4134 (768x1024)" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElOzIRKsXI/AAAAAAAAAwA/5orUsz0uQo0/IMG_4134%20%28768x1024%29_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO0I7ZctI/AAAAAAAAAwE/u5Utzt1OMiI/s1600-h/IMG_4199%20%28768x1024%29%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; width: 180px; height: 240px;" alt="IMG_4199 (768x1024)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO1AI5WiI/AAAAAAAAAwI/C2I8gnnr_N8/IMG_4199%20%28768x1024%29_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" /></a></p> <p><strong>Figure 1. (left) A Bicing kiosk. (right) A close-up of the Bicing LCD screen. Note that only two languages are used: Spanish and Catalan.</strong> </p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Checking-in / Checking-out Bikes</span><br />The Bicing system relies heavily on technology to control and enforce usage. The Bicing cards are RFID. To check out a bike, one simply swipes their Bicing card at the Bicing kiosk. The kiosk contains an LCD flat screen that tells the user which bike was just unlocked for him/her. If the Bicing station contains no usable bikes (e.g., either it's empty or the bikes at the station do not work), the Kiosk informs the user about other stations close by. To return a bike, the user simply drops the bike at another Bicing station and the bike is auto-locked back into the grid. Note that since this system is so digitally oriented, it's very amenable to being studied (e.g., usage data comes nearly for free--kind of like real-world click through data). Bicing users can log into the Bicing website and see a chronological log of their usage. Note that this data only shows temporal activity and does not include data on which Bicing stations are used. The aggregate data of which Bicing stations are full/available is available online as well (see below).<br /></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO2hgABvI/AAAAAAAAAwM/X3rM0jRr_7c/s1600-h/IMG_4153%20%28768x1024%29%5B2%5D.jpg"></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO3lG0QnI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/O_ZvxneZ9ME/s1600-h/IMG_4151%20%281024x768%29_safe%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4151 (1024x768)_safe" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO4nm4f2I/AAAAAAAAAwU/VGBmzrJWvlA/IMG_4151%20%281024x768%29_safe_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="144" width="186" /></a><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4153 (768x1024)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO5VCCfjI/AAAAAAAAAwY/YSjuAdlfwv8/IMG_4153%20%28768x1024%29_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="244" width="184" /> </p> <p><strong>Figure 2. (left) The Bicing RFID card. (right) A user scanning his RFID card across the Bicing kiosk.</strong></p><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SElbDg1hAVI/AAAAAAAAAxg/yAHOVnkKze0/s1600-h/IMG_4128+%28768x1024%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SElbDg1hAVI/AAAAAAAAAxg/yAHOVnkKze0/s400/IMG_4128+%28768x1024%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208794559942820178" border="0" height="244" width="184" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SElbD9Ofe3I/AAAAAAAAAxo/piAWLkiE3YI/s1600-h/IMG_4129+%281024x768%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SElbD9Ofe3I/AAAAAAAAAxo/piAWLkiE3YI/s400/IMG_4129+%281024x768%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208794567563770738" border="0" height="244" width="184" /></a></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Figure 3. A bike is automatically unlocked after the Bicing user scans his/her RFID card. The bike is automatically locked back into the station once the two prods on the underside of the handle bars are placed into the appropriate nodes.</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Real-Time Bicing Information</span><br />The Bicing website uses the Google Maps API to create a near real-time geo-spatial visualization of bike usage (so you can check online if a Bicing station near home or work has bikes available). Here's the <a href="http://www.bicing.com/localizaciones/localizaciones.php?TU5fTE9DQUxJWkFDSU9ORVM%3D&MQ%3D%3D">official website map</a> and here's a <a href="http://www.statistings.com/">slightly better version</a> created by a Bicing user. <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO6_bE9DI/AAAAAAAAAwc/wIsI6io3Go0/s1600-h/Bicing%20Map%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="Bicing Map" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO8HT_rgI/AAAAAAAAAwg/Z_aaFt6gCcI/Bicing%20Map_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="226" width="398" /></a></p> <p><strong> Figure 4. The Bicing map displaying stations with bikes available (in green) and not available (in red).</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:130%;">Bicing Bike Design</span><br />The bikes themselves are made of custom parts that do not interoperate with normal bikes (thus, thieves have little incentive to steal them). They are also quite unique in shape and coloring. Two self-powered lights are used (one headlamp in the front and one red light in the back) for safety. A three-speed gear shifter and a bell chime are located in opposing positions on the handlebars. Also, a handy basket is located on the front handlebars for carrying groceries, bags, or other things.<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO9w72ntI/AAAAAAAAAwk/9te3PNSwnjo/s1600-h/IMG_4127%20%281024x768%29_cropped%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4127 (1024x768)_cropped" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElO_Axv_mI/AAAAAAAAAwo/KMx334rIkr4/IMG_4127%20%281024x768%29_cropped_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="302" width="400" /></a> <strong>Figure 5. Two Bicing bikes locked up to a Bicing station.</strong><br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SElZ3amgBpI/AAAAAAAAAxY/tsM4cRI9G78/s1600-h/IMG_5904+%281024x768%29_cropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/SElZ3amgBpI/AAAAAAAAAxY/tsM4cRI9G78/s400/IMG_5904+%281024x768%29_cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208793252599170706" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Figure 6. Bicing baskets being put to good use (photo credit: Dave Chiu).</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Some Bicing Problems</span><br />One problem that the Bicing system faces is that of load balancing. Often times the bikes become disproportionately distributed in the city. This is probably due to two factors: (1) Barcelona, as a city, is built on a hill. Thus, we speculate that many Bicers choose to bicycle downhill but not uphill (e.g., they commute on Bicing in only one direction). (2) The resident and commercial density of the city is not evenly balanced (i.e., many Barcelona citizens commute in the same directions). As a result, Bicing uses trucks to move bikes around the city. We spoke to a Bicing truck driver last week. He told us that the city has multiple trucks, each driver is assigned to a region of Barcelona and is informed via mobile phone on where to pick-up/drop-off bikes. The problem of load balancing is significant as it is a major deterrent to usage. Many Bicing users complain about going to a Bicing station to pick up a bike and finding it empty or arriving at a Bicing station to drop off a bike and finding it full.</p><p>Another issue which many Bicers are quick to point out is that although the Bicing service runs 365 days a year, it is not open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. From Sunday through Thursday: the service is open all day except for between 12AM and 5AM, at which time you can only return bicycles (you cannot check them out). On Fridays and Saturdays: The service operates 24 hours. I would imagine that this constraint is based on some agreement with the city and has to do with safety.<br /></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPBC8VUKI/AAAAAAAAAws/RW1xW14HLK4/s1600-h/IMG_4185%20%281024x768%29%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4185 (1024x768)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPCA3_N_I/AAAAAAAAAww/sMYN0lnOVi0/IMG_4185%20%281024x768%29_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="146" width="189" /></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPFwudfyI/AAAAAAAAAw0/ap-fbHMTbl4/s1600-h/IMG_4187%20%281024x768%29%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4187 (1024x768)" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPHCYWZWI/AAAAAAAAAw4/YE7uYFjBwiE/IMG_4187%20%281024x768%29_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="145" width="189" /></a> </p> <p><strong>Figure 7. (left) A Bicing truck. (right) The inside of the Bicing truck.</strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPIdUCMQI/AAAAAAAAAw8/xfYMKIJxtvY/s1600-h/IMG_4122%20%28768x1024%29%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4182 (1024x768)" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPJGYOnmI/AAAAAAAAAxA/X1Ev_niFAH0/IMG_4182%20%281024x768%29_thumb%5B6%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="147" width="189" /> <img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4184 (1024x768)" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPJ95DM8I/AAAAAAAAAxE/wkxIT9-ylmk/IMG_4184%20%281024x768%29_thumb%5B9%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="149" width="189" /> <img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4122 (768x1024)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPLG-_IDI/AAAAAAAAAxI/9Js_YDs1yV8/IMG_4122%20%28768x1024%29_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="251" width="189" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPMWk8XII/AAAAAAAAAxM/AqHWWgZnesU/s1600-h/IMG_4193%20%28768x1024%29%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ;" alt="IMG_4193 (768x1024)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/jonfroehlich/SElPN5HSqHI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/AQ-DydFw65Y/IMG_4193%20%28768x1024%29_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" border="0" height="251" width="189" /></a></p> <p><strong>Figure 8.</strong> <strong>(top) A Bicing truck driver moving bikes into an empty station. (bottom) The before and after.</strong></p><span style="font-size:130%;">The Bicing Usage Survey</span><br />We created an advertisement to promote our survey in three different languages: English, Spanish and Catalan.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spanish</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">- Llamada a todos los usuarios de bicing!</span><br />Somos un pequeño grupo científico de Telefónica Investigación y Desarrollo trabajando en informatica ecológica y sostenible. En uno de nuestros proyectos, estamos estudiando el sistema Bicing en Barcelona. Nuestro objetivo es aplicar tecnicas de inteligencia artificial e informatica avanzada para mejorar el sistema Bicing y vuestra experiencia con el. Por ejemplo, uno de nuestros objetivos es conseguir que las bicicletas estén distribuidas de una forma más eficiente. Este es un proyecto nuevo y queremos involucrar a la parte más importante del sistema Bicing: sus usuarios!. Por ello, hemos creado una encuesta online para recoger vuestra opinión y experiencia de uso con Bicing. La encuesta solo os llevara entre 5 y 10 minutos y los datos son totalmente anónimos.<br /><br />Contamos con vuestra colaboración.<br /><br /><a href="https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56870"></a><a href="https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56868">https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56868</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Català</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">- Crida a tots els usuaris de bicing!</span><br />Som un petit grup científic de Telefònica Recerca i Desenvolupament treballant en computació ecològica i sostenible. En un dels nostres projectes estem estudiant el sistema Bicing de Barcelona. El nostre objectiu es aplicar conceptes de intel•ligencia artificial i recerca en informàtica per millorar el sistema Bicing. Per eixample, un dels nostres objectius es que les bicicletes estiguin distribuïdes d'una forma més eficient. Com que aquest projecte està començant volem involucrar la part més important del sistema Bicing: els seus usuaris! Doncs, hem creat una enquesta online per recollir l'opinió de l’ús (positiva i negativa) de Bicing. Trigareu entre 5 i 10 minuts a realitzar l'enquesta, les dades son totalment anònimes.<br /><br />Esperem la vostra col•laboració<br /><br /><a href="https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56870">https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56870</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">English</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Call to All Bicing Users!</span><br />We are a small scientific group at Telefónica I+D working on "green computing" research. In one of our projects, we are studying Barcelona’s Bicing system. Our goal is to apply advanced concepts in computer science to improve the Bicing experience, so that, for example the bicycles are better distributed in the city. This project is just beginning and we wanted to involve the most important piece of the Bicing system: its users! Therefore, we have created an online survey to acquire feedback about your experience (positive and negative) with Bicing. The survey will only take about 5-10 minutes to fill out and is completely anonymous.<br /><br />We look forward to your feedback!<br /><br /><a href="https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56481">https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56481</a><br /><br /><a href="https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/jfroehli/56868"></a>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-8060612828156534232008-05-24T03:49:00.000-07:002008-05-29T14:56:02.274-07:00Anything to Make You SmilePurchase Band of Horses <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cease-to-Begin/dp/B000YN32BM/ref=dmusic_cd_album">Cease to Begin</a></span> album for $7.99 on Amazon's MP3 download service. No DRM. Here's their new video from a track on that album called "No One's Gonna Love You".<br /><br /><object height="314" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://video.pitchfork.tv/mediaplayer.swf"><param name="flashvars" value="file=http://pitchfork.tv/node/989/embed.xml"><embed src="http://video.pitchfork.tv/mediaplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="file=http://pitchfork.tv/node/989/embed.xml" allowfullscreen="true" height="314" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />And while you're at it, purchase <a href="http://www.amazon.com/For-Emma-Forever-Ago/dp/B0013IKUIK/ref=sr_f3_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1211627156&sr=103-1"><span style="font-style:italic;">For Emma, Forever Ago</span></a> by Bon Iver (fellow midwesterner). Here's my favorite track from that album: "Skinny Love" being performed live. The music starts at 45 seconds in on this video (don't mind the Brits).<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GHyo33XLP24&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GHyo33XLP24&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-56329423926558249912008-03-20T22:47:00.000-07:002008-03-20T22:53:10.743-07:00Vote for David Gillette!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yvideoblog.com/blog/2008/03/13/yahoo-video-awards-best-non-fiction-video/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.yvideoblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/banner1.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="400px" /></a>My friend David Gillette, a talented artist and animator, has been nominated for a 2008 Yahoo! Video Award. Cast your vote for him <a href="http://www.yvideoblog.com/blog/2008/03/13/yahoo-video-awards-best-non-fiction-video/">here</a>.jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-16148621762655522522008-03-03T21:43:00.000-08:002008-03-05T20:40:56.229-08:00Music Makes Silence More AliveA powerful look at music and the role it can play as people transition from life to death (music thanatology). Well worth your time to <a href="http://www.kuow.org/mp3high/m3u/KUOWPresents/KUOWPresents20080303.m3u">listen</a>. It's the third chapter of four in <a href="http://www.kuow.org/programs/kuow_presents2.asp?Archive=3-3-2008">this NPR radio program</a>.jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-89909573290141847412008-03-02T02:01:00.000-08:002008-03-02T02:06:43.857-08:00Dalton, Murdoc and, Most Importantly, MacGyverUm, <a href="http://www.cbs.com/classics/macgyver/video/video.php">yes</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cbs.com/classics/macgyver/video/video.php"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R8p7K5f8ZjI/AAAAAAAAAs8/WvklZLmemRM/s400/macgyver.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173082549152146994" border="0" /></a>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-39256599150872103752008-02-04T18:50:00.000-08:002008-02-04T18:59:46.364-08:00Sony Misinformation CampaignI went to the Sony Style Retail Store in University Village (<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Sony+Style+Retail+Store%E2%80%8E,+seattle&ie=UTF8&ll=47.657872,-122.275515&spn=0.050412,0.135269&z=14&iwloc=A&om=0">here</a>) and the following interaction took place:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Salesguy:</span> Hi sir, are you looking for a new laptop?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span> yep.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Salesguy:</span> These models here have the Core 2 Duo.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>what does that mean?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Salesguy:</span> It means they have two hard drives so they can write files twice as fast.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span> really?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Salesguy:</span> Yah, it's sort of like having two brains.<br /></span><br />Hrm, I think even my father knows the difference between a hard drive and a processor. Note that Sony laptops easily run upwards of three grand. You would think for that amount of money, the sales people would be educated about their product.<br /><br />Oh and no, the laptops I was looking at did not have two hard drives (just the Core 2 Duo). And, yes, the last thing he said was somewhat accurate, but only if he was referring to the processor.jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-85969527369619266952008-01-31T18:08:00.001-08:002008-01-31T18:12:05.755-08:00Scooter Style<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/ywXRkgLppGs" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/ywXRkgLppGs" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></p><p>If you pause the video at 11 seconds in, you can see <a href="http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/toomim/">Toomim</a>.</p></div>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12366688.post-91417262756971316662008-01-28T09:05:00.000-08:002008-01-30T10:13:37.201-08:00Snowy SeattleOnce or twice a year it snows in Seattle; I woke up to fresh snow this morning. Here are a few pics from the bus stop by my house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C3i_3n7OI/AAAAAAAAArA/ifhPwoT8D4k/s1600-h/IMG_0635.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C3i_3n7OI/AAAAAAAAArA/ifhPwoT8D4k/s400/IMG_0635.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161326984854760674" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C3kf3n7PI/AAAAAAAAArI/Wccw_veTLmw/s1600-h/IMG_0636.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C3kf3n7PI/AAAAAAAAArI/Wccw_veTLmw/s400/IMG_0636.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161327010624564466" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C1lP3n7MI/AAAAAAAAAqw/YcKNmtu90g0/s1600-h/IMG_0633.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C1lP3n7MI/AAAAAAAAAqw/YcKNmtu90g0/s400/IMG_0633.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161324824486210754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C1rf3n7NI/AAAAAAAAAq4/hJlgQJJNvG0/s1600-h/IMG_0634.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6c2szosoN6o/R6C1rf3n7NI/AAAAAAAAAq4/hJlgQJJNvG0/s400/IMG_0634.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161324931860393170" border="0" /></a>jonfroehlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15642573762258876817noreply@blogger.com0