Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Where would the Web be without newspapers?
I won't attempt to answer the question that's the subject of this post, but I will point out that the Web PLUS local newspapers can yield some cool stuff. Such as this amazing tidbit, which turned up in my Google news alert for "Sandsmark."
From the International Falls, Minnesota Daily Journal:
From the International Falls, Minnesota Daily Journal:
50 YEARS AGO
Fairland’s last remaining dwelling will be moved by the owner, Ed Sandsmark, to Birchdale. Friends and relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Sandsmark, Fairland, gathered at their home Saturday evening for an informal farewell party. Mrs. Sandsmark will operate the telephone switchboard there.
Labels: fun, history, Internet, news
Google Breaks its own Gadget
I've had an iGoogle page for a long time, but am just about ready to give up on it and return to the wide-open spaces of the "Classic Home." The main reason is that it takes a long time to load (not always Google's fault, I realize). And today I got this message.
Check me if I'm wrong here, but is this saying I can't display secure content in an iGoogle gadget? That's not good.
Check me if I'm wrong here, but is this saying I can't display secure content in an iGoogle gadget? That's not good.
Labels: email, Internet, technology
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Advertising your Embarrassment
Websites go down. It goes with the territory. Fasthosts says that 34 percent of companies it surveyed have had outages in the past year. (Sorry, no link.) So, what do you do when it happens?
Advertising Age blushes, and then makes readers smile. This seems as good a strategy as any. (The screen capture was taken earlier today.)
Advertising Age blushes, and then makes readers smile. This seems as good a strategy as any. (The screen capture was taken earlier today.)
Labels: fun, Internet, technology
Time Travel is Real!
You see the news stories every once in a while: a letter, mailed dozens of years ago and presumed lost, appears miraculously at the home of someone. The long-lost letter trope is also used in movies.
Well, it happened to me. How else can you explain this?
That's right: I got an AOL CD in the mail the other day. It has all the hallmarks of AOL mailings of 15 years ago: Unlimited dial-up access! One free month! No credit card required! Even the 10-digit registration number and two-word password that AOL used back in the 1990s.
Pew Internet now finds that 63 percent of US households now have broadband. The target market for this sort of offer must be miniscule. (How many computers even have dial-up modems anymore?) I wonder what the response rate for this kind of offer is, and what the economics of it are.
Well, it happened to me. How else can you explain this?
That's right: I got an AOL CD in the mail the other day. It has all the hallmarks of AOL mailings of 15 years ago: Unlimited dial-up access! One free month! No credit card required! Even the 10-digit registration number and two-word password that AOL used back in the 1990s.
Pew Internet now finds that 63 percent of US households now have broadband. The target market for this sort of offer must be miniscule. (How many computers even have dial-up modems anymore?) I wonder what the response rate for this kind of offer is, and what the economics of it are.
Labels: fun, Internet, ISP, marketing, technology
Friday, July 24, 2009
Source From 2001 Resurfaces
Some days the Internet delivers wonderful treasure. Today's one of those days, when I got an email from a guy I'd interviewed eight years ago. With his permission, I've posted the email here. The article in which he's quoted - published in 2001 - is below his note. (Remember, this was before WiFi or iPhones or Facebook.)
World Wide Wandering
Online travelogues are informative and easy to create, even while you’re traveling
By Fred Sandsmark
Most of us create a packing list - at least a mental one - when we prepare for a trip. It has basics like changes of clothes, credit cards, prescriptions, and maps, as well as other helpful things like guidebooks, beach towels, and binoculars. But these days, many travelers are also packing digital cameras and laptop computers to document their trips - and they're posting their adventures on the Web, sometimes right from the road.
Take Brice Wong of Vancouver, British Columbia. Last fall, before embarking on a 10-day road trip with two friends to go mountain biking in Moab, Utah, Wong packed a "mobile office" - computer, digital camera, PDA, several mobile phones, and an inverter (to run 120-volt devices from the cigarette lighter) - in his Mazda B4000 4X4 pickup, along with the bikes. Wong and friends produced a travelogue, hilarious and occasionally profane (this was a pickup-full of twentysomethmg males, after all), and posted it at www.futurelooks.com. The journal's not just for laughs, though; the descriptions of Moab's mountain-bike trails are frequently as vivid as the famous red rocks themselves.
Why did Wong create the travelogue? "People are nosy," he says with a laugh, "so I figured, why not share our fun and adventures with the world? Plus, it gives people who have never been to Moab a true sense of what it's really like. Sometimes travel agents and magazines and promotional materials really don't give you the whole truth, but if you read someone's journal or diary you're going to get the real deal."
What’s my motivation?
Another good reason to keep an online travelogue: It's easier than ever. A handful of Web sites make travelogue creation a simple click-and-type operation that any technophobe can handle. But the motivation for individual traveloguers varies. For Graeme Renfrew - who quit a "subterranean desk job" in Glasgow, Scotland, cashed in his pension, and set out on a 14-monih trip around the world - a travelogue is an easy, inexpensive way to check in with the family (his travelogue can be found at www.travelpod.com). "It's cheaper than phoning home," says Renfrew. "The Web travelogue lets me tell them everything is OK from a distance. And if they aren't interested, it doesn't bother me."
Vanity drives a lot of traveloguing, too. "We refer to it as ego gratification," says J. R. Johnson, chief executive officer of VirtualTourist.com. "It's the same reason that your grandparents sat you down in front of the screen to see their slide show of Europe. There's some bragging involved in showing all the places you've been."
But Johnson thinks most traveloguers who use his service just want to share their knowledge. "For the most part, our members just really like helping other people," he says. "They had a good time, and they want other travelers to do the same." That often means posting specific restaurant and hotel recommendations, sightseeing suggestions, and hard-won "insider" advice.
Some people use a travelogue for capturing impressions, telling personal stories, and flexing creative wings. (Adjective alert: Amateur travelogues frequently contain prose as purple as the final fleeting flares of a simmering sunset over the tranquil waters of a steamy tropical South Pacific atoll.) Other travelers just post a skeleton of their travelogue as they go, recording events in real time, and then flesh out their account with photos, movies, sounds, and Web links when they get hack home.
Bring it on home
You don't need to carry a lot of equipment to create an online travelogue. Even Wong (of the mobile office) tries to be sensible: "I know there are lots of different sorts of gadgets and stuff on the market," he says, "but sometimes you have to really sit and think, 'How practical and reliable is this thing I'm going to be lugging around with me?' Because, man, I tell you, I hate carrying useless stuff."
People who choose to travel light can use public computers in libraries, copy shops, and hotels. There are also cyber-cafes - coffeehouses that sell Internet access by the minute. They're not hard to find in North America, or even abroad. "Last year while in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I saw five Internet cafes side by side," recalls Luc Levesque, who runs the TravelPod Web site. "Just about everyone, from restaurants to coffee shops to public libraries to laundromats, has a PC with a modem waiting for your five dollars."
Renfrew agrees - and says that these spots can often provide a window into the local culture. "There are Internet connections anywhere there are tourists with money to spend and friends to contact," he says. "One of the places I went into to check my E-mail [in India] was just some bloke's two-room house, with blue-washed walls and ceilings so low I had to crouch to get in. There was a shrine to Shiva in the same room as the clunky PC, and his mum and sister were doing each other’s hair and singing behind me. It wasn’t exactly high-tech - but it worked.”
How to create your own travelogue
Many Web sites can help you produce a travelogue. Here are a few of our favorites; all are free and none require technical expertise.
Blogger (www.blogger.com) creates Web logs or "blogs," which are just simple Web sites whose contents are organized chronologically. A blog can produce a serviceable travelogue, but you must provide the Web space to host it.
By Travelers (www.bytravelers.com) lets you link a map from its library with your travelogue. Otherwise, the site is bare-bones, so the focus is on storytelling rather than flashy features.
TravelPod (www.travelpod.com) can send E-mail to a preset group of people every time your travelogue is updated. It also gives the option of assigning a password to a travelogue, so only friends and family can see it. Photos and movies can be added, too.
VirtualTourist (www.virtualtourist.com) is an extensive travel community site that hosts travelogues. It asks specific questions about hotels, restaurants, nightlife, tourist traps, and such to elicit users’ opinions. One clever feature: You can use photos posted by other members (the site boasts more than 140,000 members) as electronic postcards.
AfterWords:
This article appeared in the short-lived Mazda Zoom-Zoom magazine in winter of 2001. It remains one of my favorites, mostly because I had the good fortune of locating wonderful interview subjects. Unfortunately, I've lost contact with them. Brice and Graeme, if you find this, please drop a line!
Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2009 / Fred Sandsmark / Marble Publishing
Hi Fred,
I stumbled over this article on your website while I was searching google for myself haha. It's Friday and I was bored at work...
Emailing just to say hi, as requested in the Afterword of the piece. I remember answering your questions (I must have droned on and on), but wasn't sure of which magazine it was for. In the end I figured it never got published, which I thought was a shame as I never got to read it. Anyway, glad it did get published and I enjoyed your article (even the stuff not about me!), I'd forgotten about using the internet in the Indian chap's little house.
Anyway, thanks for putting it online. I was happy to read it.
Best wishes for your future publishing undertakings.
Graeme
Glasgow, Scotland
(currently in London, England)
World Wide Wandering
Online travelogues are informative and easy to create, even while you’re traveling
By Fred Sandsmark
Most of us create a packing list - at least a mental one - when we prepare for a trip. It has basics like changes of clothes, credit cards, prescriptions, and maps, as well as other helpful things like guidebooks, beach towels, and binoculars. But these days, many travelers are also packing digital cameras and laptop computers to document their trips - and they're posting their adventures on the Web, sometimes right from the road.
Take Brice Wong of Vancouver, British Columbia. Last fall, before embarking on a 10-day road trip with two friends to go mountain biking in Moab, Utah, Wong packed a "mobile office" - computer, digital camera, PDA, several mobile phones, and an inverter (to run 120-volt devices from the cigarette lighter) - in his Mazda B4000 4X4 pickup, along with the bikes. Wong and friends produced a travelogue, hilarious and occasionally profane (this was a pickup-full of twentysomethmg males, after all), and posted it at www.futurelooks.com. The journal's not just for laughs, though; the descriptions of Moab's mountain-bike trails are frequently as vivid as the famous red rocks themselves.
Why did Wong create the travelogue? "People are nosy," he says with a laugh, "so I figured, why not share our fun and adventures with the world? Plus, it gives people who have never been to Moab a true sense of what it's really like. Sometimes travel agents and magazines and promotional materials really don't give you the whole truth, but if you read someone's journal or diary you're going to get the real deal."
What’s my motivation?
Another good reason to keep an online travelogue: It's easier than ever. A handful of Web sites make travelogue creation a simple click-and-type operation that any technophobe can handle. But the motivation for individual traveloguers varies. For Graeme Renfrew - who quit a "subterranean desk job" in Glasgow, Scotland, cashed in his pension, and set out on a 14-monih trip around the world - a travelogue is an easy, inexpensive way to check in with the family (his travelogue can be found at www.travelpod.com). "It's cheaper than phoning home," says Renfrew. "The Web travelogue lets me tell them everything is OK from a distance. And if they aren't interested, it doesn't bother me."
Vanity drives a lot of traveloguing, too. "We refer to it as ego gratification," says J. R. Johnson, chief executive officer of VirtualTourist.com. "It's the same reason that your grandparents sat you down in front of the screen to see their slide show of Europe. There's some bragging involved in showing all the places you've been."
But Johnson thinks most traveloguers who use his service just want to share their knowledge. "For the most part, our members just really like helping other people," he says. "They had a good time, and they want other travelers to do the same." That often means posting specific restaurant and hotel recommendations, sightseeing suggestions, and hard-won "insider" advice.
Some people use a travelogue for capturing impressions, telling personal stories, and flexing creative wings. (Adjective alert: Amateur travelogues frequently contain prose as purple as the final fleeting flares of a simmering sunset over the tranquil waters of a steamy tropical South Pacific atoll.) Other travelers just post a skeleton of their travelogue as they go, recording events in real time, and then flesh out their account with photos, movies, sounds, and Web links when they get hack home.
Bring it on home
You don't need to carry a lot of equipment to create an online travelogue. Even Wong (of the mobile office) tries to be sensible: "I know there are lots of different sorts of gadgets and stuff on the market," he says, "but sometimes you have to really sit and think, 'How practical and reliable is this thing I'm going to be lugging around with me?' Because, man, I tell you, I hate carrying useless stuff."
People who choose to travel light can use public computers in libraries, copy shops, and hotels. There are also cyber-cafes - coffeehouses that sell Internet access by the minute. They're not hard to find in North America, or even abroad. "Last year while in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I saw five Internet cafes side by side," recalls Luc Levesque, who runs the TravelPod Web site. "Just about everyone, from restaurants to coffee shops to public libraries to laundromats, has a PC with a modem waiting for your five dollars."
Renfrew agrees - and says that these spots can often provide a window into the local culture. "There are Internet connections anywhere there are tourists with money to spend and friends to contact," he says. "One of the places I went into to check my E-mail [in India] was just some bloke's two-room house, with blue-washed walls and ceilings so low I had to crouch to get in. There was a shrine to Shiva in the same room as the clunky PC, and his mum and sister were doing each other’s hair and singing behind me. It wasn’t exactly high-tech - but it worked.”
How to create your own travelogue
Many Web sites can help you produce a travelogue. Here are a few of our favorites; all are free and none require technical expertise.
Blogger (www.blogger.com) creates Web logs or "blogs," which are just simple Web sites whose contents are organized chronologically. A blog can produce a serviceable travelogue, but you must provide the Web space to host it.
By Travelers (www.bytravelers.com) lets you link a map from its library with your travelogue. Otherwise, the site is bare-bones, so the focus is on storytelling rather than flashy features.
TravelPod (www.travelpod.com) can send E-mail to a preset group of people every time your travelogue is updated. It also gives the option of assigning a password to a travelogue, so only friends and family can see it. Photos and movies can be added, too.
VirtualTourist (www.virtualtourist.com) is an extensive travel community site that hosts travelogues. It asks specific questions about hotels, restaurants, nightlife, tourist traps, and such to elicit users’ opinions. One clever feature: You can use photos posted by other members (the site boasts more than 140,000 members) as electronic postcards.
AfterWords:
This article appeared in the short-lived Mazda Zoom-Zoom magazine in winter of 2001. It remains one of my favorites, mostly because I had the good fortune of locating wonderful interview subjects. Unfortunately, I've lost contact with them. Brice and Graeme, if you find this, please drop a line!
Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2009 / Fred Sandsmark / Marble Publishing
Labels: clips, email, fun, gadgets, Internet, personal history, travel, writing
Monday, July 20, 2009
It was 40 years ago today ...
Our family was driving to South Dakota when Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. I remember watching it on a snowy black-and-white TV, somewhere in the heartland. (Normally, we wouldn't spring for a motel - much less one with a TV - so this was a big deal.)
That summer, Gulf Oil gave away paper cutout models of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) if you bought a tank of gas. Mike and I got several of these during the trip, and one survives to this day - it's been hanging in the attic for decades.
Another of the paper models was built with a Black Cat payload. That one never made it back.
P.S. Turns out you can download, print out, and build your own Gulf LEM, along with many other spacecraft. Now that's what the Internet was made for.
That summer, Gulf Oil gave away paper cutout models of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) if you bought a tank of gas. Mike and I got several of these during the trip, and one survives to this day - it's been hanging in the attic for decades.
Another of the paper models was built with a Black Cat payload. That one never made it back.
P.S. Turns out you can download, print out, and build your own Gulf LEM, along with many other spacecraft. Now that's what the Internet was made for.
Labels: history, Internet, news, personal history, science, travel, TV
Friday, December 19, 2008
I don't know why I find this funny
Monday, December 01, 2008
Patient-led Drug Trials
An article by Marcus Wohlsen appeared on the AP over the weekend, regarding ALS patients who are conducting their own clinical trial using lithium. A snippet:
I can certainly relate to the desire to speed up treatment plans. It's part of the need that patients with life-threatening illnesses have to take some control of their situation amid circumstances that feel hopeless. Others might look to nutrition, natural remedies, spirituality, etc. Personally (and quite unscientifically), I think it all helps, because I believe that hopelessness is poisonous.
Wohlsen's article also reminded me of the Virtual Trial being conducted by the Musella Foundation. The foundation deserves a plug here; I hope you'll follow the link to read about the Virtual Trial and the other good work the Musella Foundation does.
P.S. The AP link above will expire on January 1, 2009.
Dozens of ALS patients are testing treatments on their own without waiting on the slow pace of medical research. They are part of an emerging group of patients willing to share intimate health details on the Web in hopes of making their own medical discoveries.
I can certainly relate to the desire to speed up treatment plans. It's part of the need that patients with life-threatening illnesses have to take some control of their situation amid circumstances that feel hopeless. Others might look to nutrition, natural remedies, spirituality, etc. Personally (and quite unscientifically), I think it all helps, because I believe that hopelessness is poisonous.
Wohlsen's article also reminded me of the Virtual Trial being conducted by the Musella Foundation. The foundation deserves a plug here; I hope you'll follow the link to read about the Virtual Trial and the other good work the Musella Foundation does.
P.S. The AP link above will expire on January 1, 2009.
Labels: brain tumor, faith, health, Internet, Jane, medicine, psychology, science, technology
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Technology Changes
We're trying out some new technology here at the Marble Publishing World Headquarters.
Connectivity: I'm testing out AT&T High Speed Internet Pro here at the home office. I haven't yet turned off my Comcast cable modem service, but expect to soon. Several factors played into this decision: I'm not watching TV anymore so having cable is $1200 a year I don't want to spend; AT&T's service includes use of WiFi at Starbucks; and by consolidating billing I can save a few bucks and simplify paperwork. (I opted not to get the U-Verse service, because [again] I'm not watching TV.) I got the setup kit just before Labor Day and the install worked fine. I left the modem running for the weekend and switched the computer over to the service this morning. The DSL modem (a Motorola MSTATEA) is a tiny thing, just 4.25 x 3.5 inches.
Related question: the DSL modem has a sticker reading: "To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL installation is complete. Please note: You can use your DSL service during this time. It is not necessary to leave your computer on, only the modem." Any idea what that's about?
PDA: I've sprung for an Apple iPod Touch. I got the base model on the Apple Refurb store for $200. (It's been months since my Palm Zire died.) I couldn't justify the monthly charges for an iPhone. So far I'm very, very happy with the Touch. I've got it loaded with music, videos, and photos, along with my calendar and contacts. I'm using it occasionally for email and web surfing (including on the AC Transit M Transbay Bus). I haven't bought any apps yet, but I'm looking at some sort of password database.
Desk phone: Call me old-fashioned, but I still have a landline here at World Headquarters. However, because I consolidated phone numbers (510-538-5263 is no longer connected), I wanted a cordless desk phone with an answering machine and two handsets (one for downstairs). I got a Panasonic KX-TG9342T, and so far I like it very much. (Thought the Talking Caller ID is kinda creepy ...)
Wireless router: I got a Linksys WRT54G2. I haven't had WiFi in the house for a while, and bought this router without a lot of comparison shopping. Perhaps a mistake. It works great with the Touch but not with my old G3 iBook. I have yet to figure out what's up there, but haven't put a lot of effort into it yet. I may end up wishing I had splurged on an Apple Airport with Airtunes, especially once I move more of my music collection in that direction.
Connectivity: I'm testing out AT&T High Speed Internet Pro here at the home office. I haven't yet turned off my Comcast cable modem service, but expect to soon. Several factors played into this decision: I'm not watching TV anymore so having cable is $1200 a year I don't want to spend; AT&T's service includes use of WiFi at Starbucks; and by consolidating billing I can save a few bucks and simplify paperwork. (I opted not to get the U-Verse service, because [again] I'm not watching TV.) I got the setup kit just before Labor Day and the install worked fine. I left the modem running for the weekend and switched the computer over to the service this morning. The DSL modem (a Motorola MSTATEA) is a tiny thing, just 4.25 x 3.5 inches.
Related question: the DSL modem has a sticker reading: "To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL installation is complete. Please note: You can use your DSL service during this time. It is not necessary to leave your computer on, only the modem." Any idea what that's about?
PDA: I've sprung for an Apple iPod Touch. I got the base model on the Apple Refurb store for $200. (It's been months since my Palm Zire died.) I couldn't justify the monthly charges for an iPhone. So far I'm very, very happy with the Touch. I've got it loaded with music, videos, and photos, along with my calendar and contacts. I'm using it occasionally for email and web surfing (including on the AC Transit M Transbay Bus). I haven't bought any apps yet, but I'm looking at some sort of password database.
Desk phone: Call me old-fashioned, but I still have a landline here at World Headquarters. However, because I consolidated phone numbers (510-538-5263 is no longer connected), I wanted a cordless desk phone with an answering machine and two handsets (one for downstairs). I got a Panasonic KX-TG9342T, and so far I like it very much. (Thought the Talking Caller ID is kinda creepy ...)
Wireless router: I got a Linksys WRT54G2. I haven't had WiFi in the house for a while, and bought this router without a lot of comparison shopping. Perhaps a mistake. It works great with the Touch but not with my old G3 iBook. I have yet to figure out what's up there, but haven't put a lot of effort into it yet. I may end up wishing I had splurged on an Apple Airport with Airtunes, especially once I move more of my music collection in that direction.
Labels: Apple, gadgets, Internet, ISP, technology, TV, work
Thursday, May 15, 2008
What's Worse Than One Annoying Company?
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Update on Mail Forwarding Problems
I went through all of my domains at Go Daddy and updated the registration information. Some of it was wrong or out of date. This seems to have fixed the problem.
It's a good news / bad news thing. The good news, obviously, is that the problem is fixed. The bad news is that the Go Daddy tech support people I spoke with couldn't identify the problem, and worse said there was no problem.
Anyway, it's fixed and I'm happy. I hope my posting this fix helps somebody else in the future.
It's a good news / bad news thing. The good news, obviously, is that the problem is fixed. The bad news is that the Go Daddy tech support people I spoke with couldn't identify the problem, and worse said there was no problem.
Anyway, it's fixed and I'm happy. I hope my posting this fix helps somebody else in the future.
Labels: email, Go Daddy, Internet, ISP, technology
Monday, April 14, 2008
Go Daddy Email Forwarding Problems?
I use email forwarding through Go Daddy for one of my domains, and in the last week it has stopped working. I called GD and asked if they were having problems; they said no. I tried loosening up the spam filters on the receiving side, but it didn't do any good. So we're foregoing the service, which makes me unhappy.
Can anybody corroborate my experience? Got a workaround? And can anyone suggest a low-cost domain purchase and/or parking service that includes reliable email forwarding? (I don't want to have my domain registrar hosting my email, no matter who it is. Once bitten twice shy ...)
Can anybody corroborate my experience? Got a workaround? And can anyone suggest a low-cost domain purchase and/or parking service that includes reliable email forwarding? (I don't want to have my domain registrar hosting my email, no matter who it is. Once bitten twice shy ...)
Labels: email, Go Daddy, Internet, ISP, technology
