Nels Wadycki

Nels W

Writes Code, Fiction

  • Google Calendar

    Nels W

    My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,
    And their like
    It’s better than yours,
    Damn right it’s better than yours
    – Milkshake, Kelis

    Well, since I was so excited (and subsequently disappointed) by the release of the Yahoo Mail Beta… I feel obliged to post about Google’s launch of Google Calendar.

    While I have continued to be re-astounded by Gmail (after being disappointed by the new Yahoo Mail), Google Calendar hasn’t hit me the same. Yes, it’s fast, and I like the invitation system built it, but it hasn’t made me want to switch over from AirSet yet. AirSet is just too robust and well designed. Google Calendar doesn’t feel as solid yet. The fact that I can’t get notifications from any calendar except my primary one is also a deal breaker. The ability to set reminders on other calendars is something that will probably come when they address getting more notifications, but it was something that confused me a lot at first (until I realized I wasn’t getting reminders for those events anyway).

    On the plus side, I was able to import my calendars from AirSet quickly to allow me to evaluate Google Calendar very easily. The Agenda view is, for some reason, nicer than the same sort of view provided by AirSet, but the starting day seems to jump around a bit at random. I also like the ability to set the custom view to a smaller number of days than the next week. The biggest plus is that it shows the coming events starting with the current day. For some reason, AirSet doesn’t do this (although I have suggested it to them), and it’s pretty annoying to be checking the calendar on Saturday and have the past week of events in the view instead of those coming up.

    I imagine that in another few months – maybe when the contact management and to-do list have been built up and added, respectively – I will be ready to switch over to Google Calendar. Until then, I’m sticking with AirSet (and not maintaining 2 calendars… tried that for a couple days and it was not fun).

  • Last.fm + Pandora = PandoraFM

    Nels W

    I just discovered Pandora and Last.fm last week (separately), and then found out (thank you Bloglines) that you can link the two via PandoraFM. Unfortunately, my iTunes library doesn’t really represent my currently listening habits since I’ve been listening to my Yahoo Music radio station for a while. I added a bunch of old and new stuff to my iTunes this weekend, though…

    I’m posting this mostly just so I can track when I started using Last.fm and use if for comparison of time frames. If you want to check in on my still somewhat skewed listening habits, you can do that here.

    Just when I thought they had me roped in, I’m falling further away from Yahoo…

  • Return of the Prodigal Sun – Pt. II

    Nels W

    Coyote Ugly

    Baby when the lights go out
    Every single word can not express, the love and tenderness
    I’ll show you what it’s all about

    – When the Lights Go Out, FIVE 

    So, Yahoo’s probably not going to be too happy about posting me as the first word in their link shout-out the other day. Why? Because, like the prodigal son (or Web 2.0 early adopting tech ship jumper) that I am, I’ve returned to Gmail. It’s not that Yahoo Mail isn’t good. It’s just a little Coyote Ugly (in the sense that I got drunk and went to bed with something that I thought was better looking that it really was). It’s certainly better than what they had before. I think people who have only had the experience of using Yahoo are going to be more happy with it than I was.

    My reasons, as concisely as I can put them, are as follows:

    • Loading time. I said it was almost as fast as Gmail, but that is just long enough to make it, well, not as fast as Gmail.
    • No tags. I thought I wouldn’t miss “labels” (or would be able to go back to folders). I was wrong. The ability to add multiple labels to a single conversation has utility far beyond that of folders. And the ability to classify emails without actually moving them anywhere just compounds the usefulness.
    • Speaking of conversations… I have really only run into about 2 times in 2 years where having Gmail group my conversation threads together has caused a problem. Maybe people who use Gmail for their business might have more problems, but really, having emails from my wife grouped together because they have the subject of “hey” or “so…” isn’t all that bad when you consider the benefit of having all the Struts, JSF, Lazlo, etc… email lists grouped by topic. I know Thunderbird does this as well, and if I wanted a desktop-based email program, I’d probably choose Thunderbird. Grouping like that was practically visionary on the part of Google. I’m a little surprised that Yahoo doesn’t even offer the option in the new Beta.

    There are several other things, like free POP access, free forwarding, the ability to send as though from a different email address, and – yes – relevant ads that don’t annoy the crap out of me. These are all small things that really only continue to tilt the thumb in favor of Gmail.

    Maybe this post will help convince Manmohan Juyal that I am not the Yahoo Mail team.

  • The XMLHttpRequest Object

    Nels W

    That’s what I like to see.

    Thanks to AJAX Magazine.

  • Multitasking Really Works!

    Nels W

    April Fools, fools!

    intel_old_school_computer
    Guess what? Your computer doesn’t multitask.

    Yup. That’s right. All those applications in the Start Bar System Tray? They are not all running at the same time. Your computer just makes you think they are.*

    What’s the point?

    Don’t multitask. Yes, your brain can do about a million times more calculations than your computer, but do you think you can handle all that consciously? I’m guessing that the majority of the human population does not have that capability. Your computer can make you think that it’s running all those programs because it’s designed that way. But you and I all know what happens when you are trying to run too much stuff on there and your computer starts to run out of RAM… it starts to perform like Vince Carter in Toronto. The same thing is going to happen with your brain. But worse. You can switch back and forth between programs on your computer easily (especially with Alt+Tab), but when you are trying to do a million times as many calculations, it’s not as easy to make that switch. Maybe you have a memory that earns your mind comparisons to steel traps. I know I don’t. I can’t easily store the context in which I am doing one activity, switch to doing something else, and then resume the first activity without any productivity loss. Neither can you. Trust me. It doesn’t happen.

    I know we all want to get on that phone conference, compose a blog post, and watch some TV (on mute) at the same time. There’s a reason this post has the title and date that it does. I’m just warning everyone, because there was a day a few weeks ago where I did so much context switching and psuedo-multitasking that I seriously burned my brain out. I had that fuzzy-type, can’t-really-think thing going on. I don’t want that to happen to you (or me, either).

    * I’m making an assumption that you have not yet acquired a dual-core machine. I believe if you have more than one core, then you can actually run more than one program at once.

  • Multitasking Really Works!

    Nels W

    intel_old_school_computer.jpg
    Guess what? Your computer doesn’t multitask.

    Yup. That’s right. All those applications in the Start Bar? They are not all running at the same time. Your computer just makes you think they are.*

    What’s the point?

    Don’t multitask. Yes, your brain can do about a million times more calculations than your computer, but do you think you can handle all that consciously? I’m guessing that the majority of the human population does not have that capability. Your computer can make you think that it’s running all those programs because it’s designed that way. But you and I all know what happens when you are trying to run too much stuff on there and your computer starts to run out of RAM… it starts to perform like Vince Carter in Toronto. The same thing is going to happen with your brain. But worse. You can switch back and forth between programs on your computer easily (especially with Alt+Tab), but when you are trying to do a million times as many calculations, it’s not as easy to make that switch. Maybe you have a memory that earns your mind comparisons to steel traps. I know I don’t. I can’t easily store the context in which I am doing one activity, switch to doing something else, and then resume the first activity without any productivity loss. Neither can you. Trust me. It doesn’t happen.

    I know we all want to get on that phone conference, compose a blog post, and watch some TV (on mute) at the same time. There’s a reason this post has the title and date that it does. I’m just warning everyone, because there was a day a few weeks ago where I did so much context switching and psuedo-multitasking that I seriously burned my brain out. I had that fuzzy-type, can’t-really-think thing going on. I don’t want that to happen to you (or me, either).

    * I’m making an assumption that you have not yet acquired a dual-core machine. I believe if you have more than one core, then you can actually run more than one program at once.

  • The moment of Yahoo Mail Beta has arrived!

    Nels W

    I was accepted into the Yahoo Mail Beta last night! I almost yelled out Yahoo! Except that it was late. And I was tired. I left the window open all night (even though it was cold outside), just so I could make sure it wasn't some sort of cruel dream. Sometimes known as a nightmare.

    Behold! In the morning it was still there. And I love it. I think it increases the amount of memory that Firefox uses, but it is worth every byte.

    I remember reading – oh so long ago – about how it seemed to take a really long time to load. Well, my friends, and people I've never met, it doesn't. I don't know if they cranked it up since the first people were accepted in, but I did some tests and it seemed to only take a little longer than Gmail does to load up all that Javascripty goodness. Sometimes it ran even faster than Gmail. I'm not going to post any numbers since it wasn't like I was doing scientific testing.

    But, it is pretty. And it goes fast. And it comes with a keyboard shortcut for "Delete" (Google, are you paying attention?) I'm not sure about the RSS in my mailbox thing – at least not with the way they have it right now (sans folders/tags, differentiation of new vs. read, and a lack of "keep this one"-ability. And that's fine, since I have 2 good feedreaders as it is.

    As an added bonus, it doesn't trap my keyboard the way the Yahoo Maps beta does.

    Speaking of bonuses! It looks like WordPress has upgraded to the newest version of, well, WordPress. No more gruesome pop-up windows to handle links and HTML editing – it's all in the div's now!

    Tag, you're it! , , ,

  • Gladwell and Simmons

    Nels W

    http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2006/03/sports_guy.html

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060302

    There are two people writing in the Simmons column. I liked reading one of them. No offense (well, actually, some offense, I guess), but I am not feeling Bill Simmons much anymore. Of course, while I am at it, I’m not feeling FreeDarko that much anymore either. There is something to be said for inserting random pictures in your blog posts… but do you really need 4 of them in every post?

    I digress… I just started reading Gladwell’s blog a few weeks ago, and it’s impressive. He can certainly write. I was supposed to read the Tipping Point back in MBA school, but I never did. Too much Madden I guess. I was also supposed to read Crossing the Chasm. Neither were for a class, though, so the priority slipped.

    Again with the digression. So far, I have enjoyed reading Malcolm as much as I used to enjoy reading Simmons, and so far, haven’t been burned out by him. Maybe that’s what happens when you just write whenever you feel like it, instead of having to write a column every week whether you like it or not. I mean, I’m not exactly one to talk, right?, since I’m not exactly the best nor most prolific writer ever. But there is a point where things just start getting old. I reached that point with Simmons just as I am with FreeDarko. It will be interesting to see how long I continue to read and be entertained by YaySports. It is funny and somehow still insightful in a way that has very rarely failed to amaze me. And I’m not just saying that because Brian The Cavalier is my friend on MySpace.

  • Qwerty watches the prodigal sun rise

    Nels W

    sunrise_apollo.gif

    Who I am hates who I’ve been. – Relient K

    So, my Dvorak experiment is over. I made it 2.5 months with the new language, and was getting pretty fluent in it (thanks to the little stickers on my keyboard). But the other night, sitting in the Hostelling International Chicago, and pounding away at a keyboard that I barely recognized I realized why it was time to return to Qwerty.

    Portability.

    One of my favorite things is (are) web applications. Not because of the “corporate” style benefits they provide (along the lines of “ease of deployment and management”)… No, my reasons are selfish ones. I like being able to log in to an application anywhere in the world and have all my personalized data there. My Gmail is ready and waiting (and soon my Yahoo will be too, if they ever roll out with that Beta version). My Bloglines still knows what I’ve read and what I haven’t. And my Yahoo bookmarks are there instead of being held captive by my browser. I am free (so long as I am still tied to a computer). I don’t actually have a need for that kind of portability, and I really don’t make use of it that often. But it helps me sleep better at night knowing it’s there for me when I need it.

    So, I thought, as I sat there struggling to control a computer that was ringing up 10 cents a minute…. how arrogant, oxy-moronic, and traitorous I was to work so hard for that portability, and just throw it all away.

    I’m sorry Mr. Dvorak (and to all those who struggle to bring his method to the mainstream)… I cannot sacrifice something for which I so yearn. I cannot turn my back on portability. The best don’t always win.

    10_sha.jpg

    iverson_duncan_stunned.jpg

    betamax.jpg

  • Bloglines Beta Environment

    Nels W

    I see you.

    What are you hiding behind those password protected doors?

    oz_wizard.jpg