Programming Note:
There is one more week in the calendar year, but I get lazy this time of year. I'll tell you that I'm working on the annual site redesign, but really I'm just sleeping late, playing with the cats, and watching old movies. Still, if you visit the site to read the first program of 2009, you'll notice that the walls are a different color, the furniture has been moved around, and some new cat toys are scattered on the floor.
See you next year!
Ubuntu Linux 8.10: Free, Easy, Imperfect
When it comes to Linux, I'm a bit less ambivalent than I was about Vista. In the 2 years Vista was on my computer, I could never quite decide whether I liked it or disliked it. Ubuntu is easier. I know that I like it, but the question is whether I'll still respect it in the morning. Linux has advantages, and the cost (free) is certainly one of them. Enough applications exist these days for many users. But hardware support is still a bit iffy in some areas and if you depend on applications from some of the big software developers, Linux still isn't for you.
If you install Linux and want to use the WinModem that's included with the computers that still have modems, you're probably out of luck. WinModems depend on the operating system for some functions and Linux doesn't provide those functions. Although you can make them work, it's not easy or simple. That's not a big deal because modems are going the way of the dodo, the floppy disk, and the one-horse open sleigh. If the computer you buy isn't a notebook computer, there's probably no modem. But you do have a video subsystem, and that could be another problem area.
When I installed Ubuntu on my desktop system, I was slightly surprised to find that Linux now supports my widescreen monitor (1440x900 pixels). And Nvidia has made available the appropriate driver for use by Linux users. The primary problem is that the driver doesn't work very well.
Here's Firefox under Linux. Note the title bar: On the right, restore down, restore up, and close appear exactly as they should. Except for the logo in the upper left, you might think this is a Windows machine.
But, when I move the cursor over one of the sizing icons, the result isn't what I expect.
Move the cursor over the close icon and the entire bar fades away like a frightened ghost.
It's annoyances such as this that make me think that Linux isn't quite ready for general use yet. However, on newer hardware (my notebook computer, for example), this problem doesn't exist.
Two Easy Pieces
As I said, I have Linux on my notebook computer. If you've ever wrestled with setting up a wireless connection to a secure network on a Windows machine, watch how Linux does it.
The network cable is unplugged, but the WiFi adapter is turned on. Linux tells me that it can't find a network connection.
Clicking the icon opens a list that shows all of the WiFi connections that the Linux machine can see. If you'd like a larger view, click the image at the left.
On the right (click for a larger view) I've selected my home network (finsterwald) and I'm being asked for the rather long passphrase that I use.
< This is what I see in my neighborhood. It wasn't all that long ago that only one other WiFi network was present in the area. And the good news is that all of these connections are running in a secure mode!
After I type the passphrase and click connect:
Yes, it's really that easy.
How about a USB thumb drive? Also easy. Plug it in. Wait a few moments. Ubuntu mounts the drive and places an icon on the desktop, just as an Apple computer would.
In fact, I'm becoming so used to seeing a drive magically appear on the desktop as a mounted device (Linux and OS X) that I sometimes sit in front of a Windows computer waiting for the drive to show up on the desktop. It never does, of course.
Is 2009 The Year of Linux?
In the 1980s, I kept asking if the year of the CD was upon us and I kept predicting that the next year would be the year that CD sales would really take off. I had to predict that for a few years, but eventually it happened.
In the 1990s, I did the same thing with digital cameras. "Is this the year?" "Is this the year?" As we rolled into 2000 and 2001, digital camera sales finally started to take off. Now it seems that everyone has at least one digital camera.
With the economy in sad shape, some people who need computers for basic office tasks may examine the lower cost of hardware needed for Linux and the cost of buying the operating system and applications (zero). They may then conclude that this is the year of Linux.
Time Flies When You're Having Fun
I forget things. Birthdays. Anniversaries. The cat's name. This does not endear me with wives and daughters. Or cats. And make that "wife and daughters", not wives. So I drop reminders into calendars. I may forget, but calendars don't. They remind me and it appears to all and sundry that I've actually remembered. But I missed an event. It's probably not a very important event as events go, but it's was a milestone for me. So I thought I'd mention it now: TechByter Worldwide has been a podcast for 126 episodes (as of the week before Thanksgiving 2008). I suppose I should have made a big deal out of episode 100, which occurred on May 17, but I was too busy talking about the new version of Carbonite, the dangers of Skype, a Yoda-speaking spammer, and the CBS acquisition of CNet.
That's why I'm talking about it now.
If you'd asked me about podcasting 3 years ago, I would probably have been polite, but I wouldn't have been interested. Most people who have been involved in broadcasting have, or had, a negative opinion of podcasting: "If you're so good," we thought (or think), "why don't you get a job in broadcasting?" Things have changed.
Why Radio is So Bad These Days
There's no way that I can pretend that this part of the story has anything to do with technology, but it does have something to do with how TechByter Worldwide came to be and, maybe, with why you listen to it as a podcast or read it on the Web.
Broadcasters are faced with competition from satellite radio, MP3 players, podcasts, audio books, online newspapers, and more. This would not be a good time to be working for Clear Channel or any other broadcaster. Most of what you hear today on the radio isn't local, except for a few commercials and maybe a newscast or two. Network programming is cheaper than local programming, so that's what station managers choose. You would make the same choice. So would I. But the result is still far from ideal.
In the old days (and by that I mean the 1960s and early 1970s), Columbus had three big stations: WTVN (music and news), WCOL (top 40 and news), and WBNS (music and news). In addition, you could choose WMNI (country music and news), WRFD (farm programming and news), WOSU (classical music on FM, news and talk on AM), or WVKO (R&B music and news). Every station had a news department and those news departments competed to cover local stories. Today only one station in town has anything resembling a fully-staffed news department. The other stations, if they're owned by Clear Channel, receive a news feed from the Clear Channel newsroom. Independent stations employ one or two overworked and underpaid people who do the best they can with limited resources.
I might wish that stations could do better, but they can't. Listenership is down, which means advertising rates are down and the general state of the economy isn't helping. So the stations must cut costs, which leads to lower listenership, which means that advertising rates go even lower, which further reduces the budget for local programming. You can see where this is going.
Possibly hurting the most are stations such as WCBE, the station owned (but not funded) by the Columbus Board of Education and the WOSU stations that are owned (but barely funded) by Ohio State University. Independent stations such as WWCD (CD 101) and WJZA (simulcasting jazz two low-power FM signals) try to provide local content, but are probably just barely hanging on.
The Economics of Podcasting
Until just a few years ago, the business model for creating content and making it available in print or over the air worldwide, or even just locally, was far beyond most organizations and nearly all individuals. Desktop computers, audio programs, the Internet, and particularly the Web have changed the equation dramatically.
Podcasters don't have to pay for engineers, transmitters, or studio links. They don't have to pay for a news team. Or studios. Or audio consoles. A near-broadcast-quality podcast can be created with free open-source software on a $500 computer and distributed worldwide for less than $100 per year. The podcasters might want to be paid better for their expertise and for the time it takes to research, write, and record the program. But the simple fact is that most of us are willing to do what we do whether anybody pays us or not.
When WTVN decided to cancel its Sunday morning local programming, I could have just moved on. Instead, I opted to turn Technology Corner into TechByter Worldwide. I can assure you that I am in no danger of experiencing an income tax increase as a result of contributions to the TechByter kitty, but donations do pay the operating costs every year, and a little more.
So I'll look forward to episode number 200, around the middle of 2010, and I'll make a note to give you a more timely update.
It's Time for the Annual Brief Break
As I mentioned earlier, there will be no program next week, December 28, because I'll be working to finish the website redesign that I try to have ready in time for the first program of the new year. Most of the design is complete, but some of the smaller pieces are still in development and a few decisions remain about colors and what links should look like.
I'll be back on January 4 with a new program and a new look.
Until then, best wishes to you for the holidays and for 2009.
Nerdly News
Macworld Without the Big Mac
Remember PC Expo? The show once known for commandeering every available taxi in New York City hit a zenith in about 1999 or 2000. After that came the Internet crash, the terrorist attacks of 2001, and increasingly difficult air travel. PC Expo once filled nearly the entire Javits Convention Center on Eleventh Avenue, but it passed out of existence following the 2003 show. Macworld has continued, even though it's a smaller show. Now it is threatened as Adobe announces it will not be part of the 2009 show and Apple says it won't be there in 2010.
Shows are expensive. When I visit New York City, I stay at a bed and breakfast, usually in Harlem, so my daily room rate is rarely more than $100. I shop for the best airline rate, even if that means using the airport on Long Island and taking the train into town, I use the subway, and I eat at neighborhood restaurants whose names you wouldn't recognize. Even so, it's an expensive week.
If you're attending the show on your company's dime, you might fly business class, stay at a $300-per-night hotel, pay $200 per day for restaurant meals, and $50 per day for taxis. Companies are cutting back, so attendance is down. For exhibitors, the costs are the same, but you might also drop hundreds of thousands of dollars on exhibit space, construction, and other fees. And you might send dozens of people to the show.
It's no surprise that the trade show is an endangered species.
A year ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed the MacBook Air at Macworld in San Francisco. Jobs and Apple will be there next month and will probably put forth some new and amazing gadgets, but that's the end of the road. In 2009, Jobs won't be delivering the keynote address (for the first time since 1998) and in 2010, Apple will not have a corporate presence at the show. Taking Jobs' place for the keynote address in 2009 is Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
It's just a business decision, Apple said in a news release. Attendance is down and Apple can already reach out to 100,000,000 people through its various retail stores and its website. Trade shows are no longer as important as they once were for communicating with customers, Apple said in a news release.
The decision raised new questions about Jobs' health. He was treated for pancreatic cancer four years ago. This week Apple's stock fell about 2.5%. But sometimes a business decision is really just a business decision. By participating in Macworld, Apple was forced into making some sort of dramatic announcement every January, whether it really had anything to highlight or not.
Show organizers say that Macworld will continue, with or without Apple, but the future is certainly murky. When the company whose products you're celebrating pulls out of the event, questions about long-term viability are certain to follow. Until 3 years ago, the show was a twice-per-year event. Apple pulled out of Macworld East in 2003 and the show ceased operating after 2005. Given that history, the Macworld developers have until until about 2012 to find a way to continue without Apple.
The Big Absence of 2009
Adobe is one of the largest Mac software developers, but the company announced this week that it will not be attending the 2009 Macworld. The company will still have a presence even though it won't have a booth at the show. "Booth" is a bit of an understatement when it comes to describing a company's presence at a trade show like this. The "booth" might be 40 feet by 60 feet, or the size of 24 standard 10x10 trade show booths. And it might have a stage or a theater. The "booth" could have a second floor. It might have private meeting rooms. The cost might be $250,000 or $1,000,000. In other words, it's not the kind of booth you'll find at the annual home and garden show.
So when Macworld opens on January 5th, Adobe won't be there even though the company recently released massive upgrades to its Creative Suite line with Adobe CS4.
Adobe says the Mac community is important to the company and that Adobe will continue its support for the platform. Although most graphics professionals use Macs, the Windows-based market is far larger. Adobe is probably looking there for growth.
CDs are Dead for Smashing Pumpkins
Smashing Pumpkins is a rock band. They say that they will no longer release CDs. Instead, they will rely entirely on Itunes for distribution. This decision might have had more impact if the band had much of a following these days. Still, it's good to see that more artists realize that physical products are not the future. For many, they're not the present or even the recent past.
Smashing Pumpkins took a little break in 2000. The band released nothing for 7 years and the Rip Van Winkle act didn't help their popularity. When they released "Zeitgeist" in 2007, the overall response was "What?" Guitarist and vocalist Billy Corgan says there's no longer a point to making CDs. Instead the band will release singles because people "put it on their Ipod. They drag over the two singles and skip over the rest."
Instead of "killing [them]selves to do albums," Smashing Pumpkins will concentrate on singles. "When Bruce Springsteen puts out a new album, I pay attention," said Corgan. "When we do something it should be taken seriously."
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