Well, I guess the Google image captures it best – very understated.

Yes, the Web is 25 years old today – ah, it seems like it’s both been here forever and just a recent innovation.

I was actually on the internet before the WWW came along – I was using Delphi and (unknown to me) executing UNIX commands to do stuff: Veronica, Gopher, Finger and so on. UUencode/UUdecode.

But then Mosaic came along (what the hell is a winsock??), and – shortly thereafter – Netscape. Graphics. Hyperlinks. Magic.

The web has changed my life – I do web development for a living (an occupation that wasn’t one 25 years ago), and I live on the web in many ways: Write on this blog, post some of my pictures on my online gallery, by stuff via Amazon and other sites. The web has fundamentally changed so many lives; it’s hard to believe it was just begun 25 years ago.

Happy B-day WWW – and thanks, (Sir) Tim Berners-Lee!

Updates 3/13/2014:

• Tim Bray had one of the more interesting takes on the B-day. He’s always a good read. The one sentence that resonated: “The Web’s a container; it’s what it carries that matters.” That is so true – without the content, the APIs and the mashups, the web is just a protocol, and a pretty vanilla (but brilliantly clever) one at that.
• To be clear, 3/12 was the day Berners-Lee turned in his proposal for the web, not the day the first server (also by Berners-Lee) fired up. One could also count the release of Mosaic as the birth of the web. Whatever.

More detail to follow, but I replaced the RTA Sauder dark bookcases with real wood (cherry veneer) bookcases from 57th Street Bookcases (the Evanston, IL store).

Good choice.

Before:

After:

I gained about 3 feet of lineal storage, with much better looking bookcases. Very happy.

Count the shelves: Before, six. After, seven. Key to it all.

The stuff in front of the books is inconsequential; but I actually ADDED a few feet of (computer) books, and the shelves are still a little empty. Awesome!

Some random notes about this purchase:

• While these are veneer cases, they are solid wood – veneer over plywood. No particle board.
• Both the faceplate (the “frame” around each bookcase) and the front edge of each shelf (about 1/2-inch deep) is solid wood. So there are no veneer-to-veneer edges that can make this type of construction look less polished than solid wood.
• Not sure what kind of wood the veneer is (ash? birch?), but it has a nice grain.
• I opted for the cherry finish, in oil and wax (as opposed to stain and wax). Very happy with the look and especially the feel. Nice smooth – but not plasticy – look and feel.
• Had bookcases delivered, and the delivery men – independent contractors – were very good (we have a tight staircase).
• On the other hand, it took three tries to get confirmation of final payment (half up front, half on delivery). Kind of annoying.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the web, both in terms of news and news makers.

Here are some highlights:

• Facebook purchases WhatsApp…for $19 billion (yep, with a “b”). Time will tell whether this is a smart move or not, but I like MG Siegler’s take on this, that it’s “the strongest signal yet that we’ve fully entered a new age in the world of computing where mobile is now the kingdom” – the web has been dethroned as the biggest deal (kingdom). And, to Siegler, that big price tag for the acquisition means that there isn’t any king in this new kingdom. Interesting take.
   
• Tim Bray is leaving Google. Why? Because he lives in Vancouver, and Google no longer deems his telecommuting as viable. Bray is very even-handed about it, and even goes as far as to agree with Google. But he doesn’t want to move. So they part ways. It’s a loss for Google, but it’ll be interesting to see where he pops up next. He’s too smart and way too curious to just pack it all in. And he promises to keep blogging – good! He’s always a solid read.
   
• Om Malik gives up journalism. Malik was one of the first – maybe the first – tech bloggers to go out on his own (no newspaper/print backing) and create an online information hub (GigaOm.com). Yesterday, he announced he was giving up the 24-hour news cycle and taking on other roles. While I’m sure he’ll turn in an occasional article, his voice will be missed. He often had a way of cutting through the fog/hype and seeing an acquisition/hiring for what it really was.
   
• NBCnews.com redesigns – and I stop going there. I’ve made fun of both NBCnews.com and cnn.com in the past for having a lot of non-news on the allegedly news sites (especially cnn.com), but the NBCnews.com redesign has made it more like … People magazine? It employs the same responsive design/picture-heavy design as Yahoo’s new tech site, but it works for Yahoo Tech – but not for a breaking-news site (see pics, below). I have to go down four screens to see an update on something that blew up in some country X days/weeks ago. Can’t scan headlines. I’m pretty sure this is not me just “not liking change,” but I could be wrong. But – for now – NBCnews is rarely visited.
   

Amazon came out with a new addition to its mobile app – Flow (another review) – that is just short of amazing. (NOTE: Currently only available for iOS; I’m sure the Android version is right behind…).

What is it?

It’s a visual search – select Flow in the search area of the app (instead of typing in search or scanning a barcode), and your back-facing camera turns on. Point it to what you’re interested in, and – no taking pictures, in real time – the app tries to identify the product and, if found, displays its price/availability/etc at Amazon.

The blue dots you see are dots that continually flash, attempting to identify the product outline/features and so on.

Works great with books and other flat, stock Amazon items – the CD pictured is from 1981 and it was found in seconds. I didn’t find a book or software box it couldn’t identify (Paintshop Pro 8, Windows 2000 Professional Edition, XML for Dummies… )

3D objects are a little more of a challenge (hand lotion was found; flashlight, tape measure and Chapstick not found).

Yet it just launched today – it’s only going to get better. (FYI – battery hog!!!!)

I have a grasp of how they are doing all this, and it’s mind-boggling that it does as well as it does right out of the gate.

And it’s a brilliant move by Amazon that must be terrifying brick-and-mortar vendors. I can stand in a store, just view an item with the app (no noise of picture snapping) and get what it’ll cost at Amazon. If I decide to go with Amazon, hell, toss it in cart, use one-click to buy it (I’m on Prime, no shipping cost issues) and *bam!* I’m done.

Less than a minute from checking it out to having it delivered. This has the potential to change retail in some significant ways.

About a month or so ago, our basement fire/carbon monoxide alarm began chirping, signaling low battery.

And – of course – the chirping started in the middle of the night…

Seeing as how this would be the third set of batteries in that unit in about six weeks, I figured the unit was a goner; time for a new one.

I got to thinking about Nest’s – the thermostat maker – new product: The Nest Protect: A combo fire and carbon monoxide detector/alarm.

Long story short, I bought one. It’s considerably more expensive than other detectors – the Nest Protect was $129; the one it replaced was around $40-$50.

After purchase, installation and use of the product for more than a two weeks (installed ~ two weeks ago), here are some first impressions, in no particular order:

• It’s smaller than I expected. While pictures of it up on the ceiling/wall don’t give a real sense of scale, I pictured it larger (but am glad it’s not!). It’s about the size – WxLxH – of three regular plastic CDs cases stacked.
• Heavier than I expected. There grill appears be be metal (or some non-plastic). Good.
• Brilliant design from a looks point of view. It’s a sexy looking product. When have you ever thought that about a smoke alarm?
• Software is brilliant as well. From the different colors of the collar around the Nest logo to it’s alert design – smartphone message as well as just the audio alarm. Behavior-wise, there’s a lot to like about this little unit.
• Overall, this is the first non-Apple product that looks and acts like an Apple product – and that’s high praise. Apple sweats the little details (maybe too much, but that’s another entry), and in the case of the Nest Protect, it too reflects this holistic approach to design.
• Nest was founded by two former Apple employees, including one largely responsible for the iPod. So the Apple-ish of the Nest Procect is no surprise.
• The (replaceable) batteries are designed to last a “couple of years” – the documentation says they cannot yet make that claim officially, because it hasn’t been in testing that long. But if true, that’s a real selling point, as well – especially for those hard-to-reach detectors it could replace.
• Just an FYI – have to have a smartphone (to run the free app) as well as a WiFi connection for this to really work as advertised.
• One complaint – the notifications to the smartphone come to the Nest app – I’d prefer a text message. The Nest app might be buried down on screen four; text messages are always up front. The notification comes in, but if you don’t check right away, you might think it was something else. Nest – address this please.

Again, handful of weeks with the unit, and so far so good. The batteries could crap out tomorrow and then I might be less than thrilled, but – for now – very happy. Worth the extra cost for the extra features (especially the remote notification) at this point.

Also, the Nest Protect and the Nest thermostat are the first real “internet of things” items that are getting into average (non-geek) homes. Interesting to be seeing this from the ground floor.

* Picture from screenshot @ nest.com

Wow, cold and windy outside.

What did I do this weekend?

Shoveled snow.

Snow dropping off, but cold is getting colder.

Update Monday, Jan. 6 – Chicago broke an all-time low record today @ about 8am: -16°F. At the same time, it was only -11°F at the South Pole. ‘Nuff said…

All things told, 2013 wasn’t a bad year for us (Romy & I), but it was certainly nothing remarkable.

One the upside, we refinanced our house, had a better-than-expected trip to South Dakota and we’re both still employed – the latter no small feat in this sluggish economy.

On the downside, we lost some friends and family this year: Doris, Mary Rose and, of course, Action Jackson.

Weather overall was just … whatever. Never too long a spell of hot or cold, but not a good year for growing a garden.

All in all, 2013 kinda sucked. Not at all sorry to see it go.

Doris Newlin – my aunt
1918 – 2013

Actually, make that two Christmases, a wake and a funeral.

We did Romy’s parents’ Christmas on Dec. 24th and 25th down in Valparaiso, IN. These yearly sojourns are extremely secular, immediate-family affairs – more of an excuse to eat and drink than much else. Sushi, German cold cuts, herring salad, BBQ chickens, filet mignon, brats and more. And we brought home a fridgeful of leftovers.

I just got back from my Dad’s house, where we held the Geistlinger Xmas palooza. More of a traditional affair, with a tree and other decorations, lots and lots (and lots – basically, too many) gifts and good food (again, almost too much…).

For my side of the family, this holiday was a bit more somber. My 95-year-old aunt, Doris, died on Dec. 21st after a year of health difficulties. Had she hung on for another month, she would have hit 96. We had the wake for her the day after Christmas and the funeral the following day (yesterday/Friday).

While always a blow to lose a family member – especially close to an event in which the member was to participate (our Xmas) – Doris lived a long life, outliving two husbands and basically doing more in a day than I do in a week, pretty much up until the last year of her life. By all means mourn the loss, but don’t forget to celebrate the life!

She’ll be missed, as will her cookies – she was a great baker. You know how when you’re in college and you get a “care package” from home? Food, money, socks and so on? Well, my Aunt Doris would send tins and tins of awesomeness. When a package from her arrived, well, I was everybody’s best friend.

Fortunately, I still have a few days off before I go back to work, so perhaps – perhaps – I can get some (one?) of the projects I had hoped to at least make a stab at before it’s back to the regular routine.

All in all, both a very normal Xmas and not-so-normal Xmas season for me this year. And right around the corner is 2014.

What ya got in store for us 2014?

Really, why argue against?

The refusal of Republican states to accept Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion surely ranks as one of the most sordid acts in recent American history. The cost to the states is tiny, and the help it would bring to the poor is immense. It’s paid for by taxes that residents of these states are going to pay regardless of whether they receive any of the benefits. And yet, merely because it has Obama’s name attached to it, they’ve decided that immiserating millions of poor people is worth it. It’s hard to imagine a decision more depraved.

Conservatives hate it when you accuse them of simply not caring about the poor. Sometimes they have a point. This is not one of those times.

Kevin Drum

I signed up for Dropbox over the weekend. Here are some first impressions, fresh off the install/uploads:

• I bought the Pro plan (100G; $99/year [prepaid]), so if you’re using a different plan, your mileage may vary, but I doubt it.
• Install a breeze (Windoze 7).
• I have good backups at home, but I wanted an off-site backup for my digital pics. Dropbox seemed to be the best solution for me.
• It took over 30 hours for the initial upload (~65G of images), but the process was smooth, indicators on the local box and web site kept me informed of what was going on.
• Very, very seamless. It’s like having a folder called “dropbox” on your machine (actually, that’s exactly how it appears on your PC) – except it goes to the cloud, so copy work there. (I haven’t had to pull anything out of history yet; that’ll be another story.)
• Dislike No. 1: I uploaded two folders; one with just loose pics, the other with multiple directories. I expected – at both high level and in drill down – a way on the Dropbox.com site to see the number of files in given directory, perhaps the size total etc. (like a PC). Nope. Kinda disappointing.
• Dislike No. 2: I kind of expected the local Dropbox folder to act like rsynch (which, behind the scenes, it probably uses), where you put 10 files in the folder – nine old and one new – and it would examine all 10, and just upload the new one (or another file if it had been modified). But it acts like a PC file system, saying this file already exists etc. Probably good for most users, but not what I was expecting.
• The slideshow feature (on the web) is remarkable. I think I like Flickr’s better (link is Cornell’s Birdshare Flickr account), but this does a tremendous job. As mentioned above, I just uploaded pictures, and … nicely done, Dropbox!

That’s all I have right now – overall, a very positive experience (and if I was doing the free service, it would be really awesome!).

Update 11/28/2013 – After I put my photos in the cloud, I decided to move my iTunes there, as well. Another 17G+. I upped my account to 200 Gigs; worth it? For peace of mind, yeah. Cheapest offering? Nah, but I’m looking for hit-by-a-bus backup. I like Dropbox – and for those of you out there who need just 5G or less, by all means use their free offering. Slick.