When Work Swallows You Up

Where have I been? Why, with the exception of that bit about Arnold mentioning BC in his appearance at Meet the Press last Sunday, have I been so silent? It’s nothing very exciting. I’ve been working, head down, pretty much every day for about 3 weeks. Aside from going to the Vancouver User Experience (VanUE) meeting on Tuesday night — and not even staying for the after party, as I had to get back home and to bed in order to get up before 6 AM the next morning, and I knew that if I didn’t get enough sleep, I’d have gotten sick again—I’ve kept to bed, computer and client site (this past week).

I’m finally looking at a day off tomorrow, and all of the weather forecasts are for a day like today, full of rain. Pam has class for most of the day, so I think I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a long time; I’m going to go to an afternoon matinee. I don’t even know what I’m going to see, but the prospect of popcorn in a nice warm movie theatre taking in a little bit of entertainment on a rainy day sounds awfully good to me.

I’ve checked the local theatre listings, and am not sure what I’m going to see, but I can tell you it won’t be a big, depressing movie or a love story, and it certainly won’t be anything that in any remote way reminds me of Information Architecture, Prototyping or User Testing.

Except for bittorrent, I haven’t watched all that many movies. Why do I resort to bittorrent?  There is no Netflix here in Canada, and I’ve heard many people tell me that the equivalent, Zip.ca  is not very good. There is also no streaming of movies over TiVo here and unlike the American version of the store, there are no streaming movies on Amazon.ca either.  Even the iTunes store doesn’t the variety of movies for Canadian accounts as it does in the American store, so the AppleTV is not as useful either (unless you buy giftcards on the other side of the border and load up an American account). So CRTC or whoever is responsible for our Cinematic Rights Time Warp, don’t you realize that you’ve actually forced me into bittorrenting movies, because there is really no convenient, reasonably-priced alternative? Video rental stores are kind of a pain (and seem so…20th century), and I’m not really interested in buying DVDs (and certainly haven’t popped for a Blu-Ray player).

On the subject is Video Rentals, I couldn’t resist sharing this little nod to Abbott and Costello by Chris Gavaler, that I saw a while ago:

Who’s on First?

By Chris Gavaler

(A CUSTOMER steps up to a video-store counter with a stack of videos.)
CASHIER: Hi. Did you find everything you wanted?
CUSTOMER: (Handing over membership card.) Yes, thanks. (Pause.) When is this one due back?
CASHIER: The day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: Yeah, when’s it due back?
CASHIER: The day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: Yes. The Day After Tomorrow.
CASHIER: Right.
CUSTOMER: Right. When’s it due back?
CASHIER: The day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: I mean the movie. The Day After Tomorrow. When is it due?
CASHIER: Oh! I get it. That’s funny. You thought I meant-right, OK. It’s due the day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: The Day After Tomorrow is due the day after tomorrow?
CASHIER: Exactly.
CUSTOMER: And Before Sunset?
CASHIER: Anytime before 10.
CUSTOMER: Is it the same as The Day After Tomorrow?
CASHIER: We close the same time every day. Ten o’clock.
CUSTOMER: But what day is the video due?
CASHIER: The Day After Tomorrow?
CUSTOMER: Why are you asking me?
CASHIER: The Day After Tomorrow is due the day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: I know, but what about Before Sunset?
CASHIER: Anytime before closing.
CUSTOMER: But what day?
CASHIER: The day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: Before Sunset?
CASHIER: You can bring it then if you want to, but we’re open till 10.
CUSTOMER: The movie! Before Sunset. When is Before Sunset due?
CASHIER: Oh! We did it again, didn’t we? Isn’t that just like that … what’s that sketch called? Anyway. Sorry. Before Sunset is due the day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: Thank you. (Pause.) Is that the same for the others?
CASHIER: You’re not renting The Others.
CUSTOMER: Why not?
CASHIER: I don’t know. You can if you want to.
CUSTOMER: Well, I would like to rent the others, please.
CASHIER: I’ll check the computer.
CUSTOMER: For what?
CASHIER: The Others.
CUSTOMER: What’s in front of you?
CASHIER: (Looking through stack.) Well, we have The Day After Tomorrow and Before Sunset. Then Seven, After Hours, 48 Hours, Ten, and Before Sunrise. Hey, that’s funny, “before sunrise”-we could have gotten confused about that too, huh?
CUSTOMER: Yeah. Could you ring them up, please?
CASHIER: So you don’t want The Others?
CUSTOMER: I want all of them.
CASHIER: But not The Others?
CUSTOMER: I want everything sitting right there in front of you.
CASHIER: OK, I’ll ring them up. (Pause.) I’m sorry, but your account limits you to six rentals.
CUSTOMER: Oh, OK, I won’t rent Ten.
CASHIER: Excuse me?
CUSTOMER: Get rid of Ten.
CASHIER: You have seven here.
CUSTOMER: I still want to rent Seven.
CASHIER: You’re not allowed to.
CUSTOMER: Why can’t I rent Seven?
CASHIER: Because it’s over the limit.
CUSTOMER: Right, but I want Seven. Get rid of Ten.
CASHIER: (Pause.) That would leave negative three.
CUSTOMER: Excuse me?
CASHIER: You know what? We’ll just let it slide this time.
CUSTOMER: Thank you. (Pause.) Is that one due back the day after tomorrow, too?
CASHIER: Yes, you have 48 hours.
CUSTOMER: But is it due with the others?
CASHIER: You don’t have The Others.
CUSTOMER: What did you just ring up?
CASHIER: You want me to read these to you again?
CUSTOMER: No, just tell me when they’re due.
CASHIER: The day after tomorrow.
CUSTOMER: But what about the others?
CASHIER: You don’t have The Others.
CUSTOMER: Is 48 Hours due the day after tomorrow?
CASHIER: Yes, by 10 o’clock.
CUSTOMER: Is Ten due the day after tomorrow?
CASHIER: Yes, by 10 o’clock.
CUSTOMER: What about After Hours?
CASHIER: There’s a late fee.
CUSTOMER: For what?
CASHIER: If you return after hours.
CUSTOMER: The day after tomorrow?
CASHIER: All of them.
CUSTOMER: So it’s due the day after tomorrow?
CASHIER: By 10.
CUSTOMER: What about Seven?
CASHIER: You can bring it then if you want to, but we’re open till 10.
CUSTOMER: The movie! The movie! When is the movie Seven due?
CASHIER: (Holding up each video one at a time.) Seven is due at 10 the day after tomorrow. The Day After Tomorrow is due at 10 the day after tomorrow. Before Sunset is due at 10 the day after tomorrow. 48 Hours is due at 10 the day after tomorrow. After Hours is due at 10 the day after tomorrow. And Ten is due at 10 the day after tomorrow
CUSTOMER: Thank you! (Noticing the last video after a long pause.) But what about Before Sunrise?
CASHIER: (Pause.) We’re not open before sunrise.
(CUSTOMER gives up and walks out.)

On the other hand, the movie theatres here are really nice, and I’m looking forward to that.

On Sunday, the sun is supposed to come out, but alas, I will have to be getting back to work, and hopefully won’t be too far behind from having taken a few hours off.

My Brother Hits the Big 10K (Patent, that is)

I got an email from my brother, that a patent that he was one of the four researchers working on (and now, awarded) turned out to be the 10,000th patent by his company, Microsoft.

I had visions of streamers, party hats and the like, but his boss at the time, one of the other people on the team, ended up getting most of the attention. I guess that’s how the media covers things. There was some CNET coverage which only referred to my brother as a ‘colleague’ (Boo, Hiss!) and this press release from Microsoft itself which mentions him in a capsule area, but only because he was also the co-recipient (with the same boss again) of the 5,000th patent. (How crazy a coincidence is that?)

This patent (10,000) was for a User Interface idea for Microsoft’s ‘Surface’ computer, which I’ve actually written about in my other blog. According to the Microsoft press release, the patent:

…applies to surface computing technology and outlines how users can place real objects – anything from cell phones to their own fingers – on the computer’s tablelike display and the computer will automatically identify the objects and track their position, orientation and motion. This allows the objects to be associated with data or media, like a specific collection of music or photos.

The really big coincidence is that this past week, at the Interaction Design Association’s IXD09 Conference that I attended this past week in here in Vancouver, there was indeed a Surface Computer from Microsoft (along with the Project Manager for that product, Joe Fletcher), and we placed our badges on the computer, which recognized us by our 3D Barcode or QR Code on the back of the badge (which I’ve scanned here):

When the badge was ‘recognized’ by the Surface, we could connect to another user who placed their badge on the computer by dragging from one badge to the other with our fingers, prompting the computer to send an ‘I want to connect to you’ message on the IXD09 web site. Kind of silly, when you think of it, since you were usually right in front of the person you supposedly wanted to connect with, but it was a fun demo, all the same. The strange sensation of seeing my badge sprout extra graphics under it when placed on the glass coffee table computer was like a real world version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with cartoon or 2D elements seeming to exist seamlessly and interact with the real things around them. Now, knowing that it was my brother’s patent that was behind this piece of techno-magic makes it even cooler.

So, I hope he at least gets a T-Shirt or something ( Maybe it could say, “I Got Microsoft its 5,000 and 10,000th Patents and All I Got Was This T-Shirt”). Maybe his own Surface Computer?  C’mon Microsoft, the guy(s) who hit the 5 and 10K mark for you in the Intellectual Property race deserve more than a press release!

Update: Happy to see that ZDNet did a better job recognizing his contribution!

My Friend the Photoshop Goddess

While I worked at IBM, I met some pretty impressive people. A fellow contractor, Maria Masiar, recently achieved what I’d call deity status, having been to Adobe’s Photoshop Conference, also known as the Art Directors Invitational Master Class in San Francisco for two years, and both of those times, won prizes for her work during the conference (First Prize the first year). Maria, who moved here recently from Toronto, has now just had one of here projects here appear on Photoshop Magazine’s cover as a runner-up in the Fourth Annual Photoshop User Awards. Because I know the artist, I not only got a copy, but also the original photo that she used to produce the final one. It’s helpful to see it, because it shows Maria as the model, and then her as a flesh-eating zombie, and a damned frightening one at that! Click on each photo to see larger, more detailed versions:

So not only is Maria a Photoshop Goddess (or Guru), she’s also got to be her own model.

Having Photoshop ‘chops’ like Maria’s means that you can pretty much do anything and make it look believable. The next time I need some synthetic reality (I’m thinking, perhaps, of a photo for my wall of me sitting like Forest Gump at the White House with President Obama), I know who I’ll call.

Missing Macworld

For the first time in a long time, I won’t be attending Macworld Expo Trade Show in San Francisco this year, which opened today. There are many, many journalists and bloggers covering the show, Steve Jobs is not giving the keynote tomorrow, and frankly, in recent years, aside from the pleasure of visiting one of my favourite American cities with seeing many friends there, I haven’t really gotten that much out of the show itself, either in terms of anything I didn’t already know or new business. So, this year I’m sitting it out, but that doesn’t mean that it’s out of mind. For that reason, this piece by the Onion came as a welcome surprise:

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

As usual, the Onion hits it out of the park. Bravo.

Update: I can hardly believe it, but apparently a blogger thought this was a real product and reviewed it.

Santa, Please Bring Canada Tech Stuff

Before go any further I want to first say that I do appreciate that there’s a lot that’s gotten better in our tech lives since our move to Canada. That includes overall faster Internet connection speeds,  a great feature from our ISP that forwards a copy of any telephone voicemail to my email as an attachment (and which I can actually open and listen to on my iPhone – FTW!), and a fair amount of free Internet Wi-fi in cafés nearby.  I also appreciate that our online banking works very well (with the exception of not being able to pay US credit card balances from our US dollar account, but international rules are rules, I suppose), and that paying for purchases at your average store or even fast-food chain can almost always be done with your ATM card – something that we could never expect with any regularity in the US (Is this still the case, US readers? I haven’t checked lately.) Now, even the El Gato EyeTV software on my Mac finally gets listings for Canadian TV channels (it only took them 4 years with me bugging them at every Macworld Expo for this). Translink has 2 mobile apps for the iPhone (if you count Google as one of them), and buying movie and concert tickets online is almost something we now take for granted.

However, there are a few things in the tech realm that just plain suck in Canada. I’ve already written ad nauseum about cell phone rates being outrageous, but I had gotten used to that, except for the fact that it keeps making itself known in all sorts of places, when you least expect it. Like, for instance, Twitter, the microblogging service that I sometimes post to or use to follow the status of others. If you live in the US, you’ve probably never seen this annoying little message in your Twitter page:

If there were only some way to have that message go away already… We know, we know, Twitter, Canadian data rates are prohibitively expensive for you to send us messages from Twitter. At least you could stop adding insult to injury by constantly reminding us of this fact, and let us turn the stupid, ugly thing off.

Other tech things I wish we’d get in Canada? Hey, how about being able to see TV reruns online, via the service called ‘Hulu’. Whenever I bring up their screen from a Canadian Internet connection I see this:

And of course, our Amazon.ca is only a pale shadow of Amazon.com, with a fraction of the selection, and we can’t use Netflix, Zappos, or Mint. Our non-HD TiVo is all but laughed at in Canada (despite the superior interface) because the HD TiVo will never be sold here. The reason is that it requires CableCard, the technology partially adopted in the US that allows you to use a simple magnetic card to connect to HD cable rather than the big, ugly boxes they have here (often bundled with ugly, hard-to-use PVRs). I’ve heard that the current version of CableCard, v. 1.0, is imperfect because it doesn’t support 2-way communication or on-screen guides.

C’mon, Santa. You finally got us the iPhone and an honest-to-goodness Apple store. What about something this year? And Blackberries don’t count, since they come from here (Besides, most folks already know that the Blackberry Storm is an Epic FAIL.) So Mr. Claus, could you see fit to get us v. 2.0 CableCard (which fixes the whole 2-way communications problem) accepted here in Canada, and that eventually we once again catch-up to the States? Failing that, Zappos, Netflix or Mint working here wouldn’t be bad, either. Whaddayasay, Santa?