Google Flight Search = Full of #fail

I saw recently that Google Flight Search (which I assume came as a part of the of ITA acquisition) has launched so I was eager to give it a try.  I fly quite regularly (this year though I have driven more) and was excited to see what cool things Google would bring to flight search.

NOTE:  I don’t see any “beta” tag or “preview” tab in anything here so I’m assuming it is a full product

I live in Grand Rapids, MI and have to make a connection anywhere I go, makes getting status on hops/segments pretty easy and there are no flights available between Grand Rapids and anywhere

That’s right no flights available.  I played with the “Any number of stops” section, “Any Airline” portion, “Any Connection”, etc and still nothing.  Next try was a location that flies directly from Grand Rapids: Chicago, Detroit, Dallas/Ft. Worth, etc. and nothing.  No flights available at all.  Maybe I was looking at the wrong date?  Tried changing dates and no flights. 

However I live in a big city (hub?) there are plenty of options and the system looks great. 

I really enjoy how quickly it seems to respond and I like the different options.

 

However I will probably never use Google Flight for booking my travels.  Sorry you loose

The Bible App I’m looking for

I’ve been looking long and hard for a Bible app to take notes offline with.  I have several devices that I am constantly switching between, my iPad (wireless only), Android, and several laptops. 

Knowing how much I like to take notes in the sermon or when I do my devotions my wife bought me for my birthday several years ago (more than 5 know)  a wide margin Bible to allow me to take notes, jot things down, etc.

I’ve been looking for the same thing electronically.  I’ve been a big fan of Youversion, but there is no way to take notes offline.  My church doesn’t provide wireless and there are also many other places I might not have web connection.  Youversion seems to provide the most version of the Bible include my primary version, the English Standard Version.  Youversion allows me to download a local copy of the Bible but no offline sync.  Great that it is on Android, Web and iOS.

I thought Olive Tree+ would be a pretty cool thing as it labels itself as “an amazing way to read & study" the Bible.”  It allows one to take notes and then sync w/ my phone/iPAD, etc and doesn’t require a constant internet connection.  Great idea, however the ESV from Olive Tree+ is about $40 which seems a bit crazy.  Olive++ is also not cross platform enough for me, need on Android

The other app I’ve tried is Bible.is, which is a site and app I’ve never heard of.  An interesting point here is there is an “app” for it on the Chrome store.  However the additional versions cost money.  The app itself is very slow to load, but has the benefit of allowing offline note taking.

To sum things up, if Youversion had the ability to make notes offline I would love it and use it all the time.  As it stands I will continue making notes in my Bible.  But please oh please can you add offline note taking?

Graphical Hypervisor or Virtual Machines??

The title might be misleading as I don’t know what to call what I’m looking for.  I run a lot of VM’s (Windows, RHEL, Ubuntu, etc) but right now my host OS (Windows 7) consumes a lot of memory.  I would like to run the most stripped down boot on my laptop and then run a large # of VM’s.

Things I need to run:

• Windows Client OS (see some of my previous posts on the reasoning behind this)
• Windows Server OSes (for multiple demos I must run: Altiris, Symantec DLP, etc)
• RHEL (for testing w/ Altiris)
• Kubuntu/Ubuntu for my contribution to the Ubuntu Community

As far as I understand most Hypervisors, ESX, Xen, Hyper-V boot to a stripped down OS, then allow you to run multiple virtual machines.  However I would have to use some other type of device to access those VMs.  Example:  RDP into my Windows Server running on ESXi.

My goal would be to boot into the Host OS, then start up the needed VM.  If I needed Windows I would power on my Windows Client and access/work in a graphical environment.

Does what I am looking for make sense?  Does something already exist?  Or am I just smoking something

Why I like Microsoft

THis post is a direct response to a blog post on Planet Ubuntu.  Asking the question “Why do you like Microsoft?“

I will answer this question in response to this quote:

Fortunately for me, Microsoft is as good as dead anyway, the economics and the technical effects are going to roll right over them. Nothing to do with my idealism or my social concern, but a happy coincidence for me. A Microsoft without a monopoly might well change it’s tune, but are people really trying to convince me that I ‘ort to trust them right now?

First I appreciate the lack of the silly M$ in this post, and will concede the places I know Microsoft maybe be on the way is Search (though Bing.com is nice for certain things) and Internet Explorer (which is loosing market share)

Let explain why I like Microsoft and in fact feel that it is not dying.  I am a consultant that works mostly on Windows machine, so the number one reason is it pays my bills.  Secondly Windows 7 is everything that Vista that was supposed to be and in fact most of my customers are already making plans to migrate.  Based on what I am seeing with companies moving full force to Server 2008, Exchange 2010, and Windows 7 I see MS far far from dying.  In fact it will probablly recover from the stumble that was Vista as these enterprises skip Vista and move right to 7.

The other I like Microsoft is the ecosystem that is built around the product.  Active Directory is a great product and things built around using it are great.  Sharepoint is getting HUGE adoption in the corporate world and only increasing.  Tools built around Sharepoint is a great place to be.  Microsoft CRM/Dymanics is a great product and a just as good ecosystem is developing around these products.  While some developers maybe leaving the Microsoft product line there are just as many companies building around it.

The other reason I like Microsoft, on the personal computing side things just work.  They work out the box, I put my Install CD in and it installs.  I have yet to have a license problem, yet to have a system lock up on me because of some DRM issue.  Games work without problems.  I don’t have to use some third party emulator to get everything to work correctly.  My music plays, my iPod syncs with iTunes.  The list could go on and on and on.  I’m sure that all of this could/can work within the FLOSS world.  It’s just a lot of time it doesn’t.  And I’ve tried a ton of distros since early editions of Slackware.

Response to: “MS’ new OS still needs anti-virus software”

Read a blog posting on one of the planets that I subscribe, either Debian, Fedora, or Ubuntu that questions why Windows 7 should still need a virus program.  It touts how great Linux is due to it not needing a virus program.

why is it that in the year 2009, Microsoft cannot make operating systems that do not ever need anti-virus software? It cannot build any operating system that is safe and virus-proof?

The question may better be asked is why do the people who make viruses and malware target the Windows Operating System insted of the Linux eco-system?  Could it be that Linux now has a whopping 1% market share compared to the rest of the Operating Systems out there?  Could it be the people who fall to most virus/malware would run the most dominate operating system type out there?

My parents use Windows, they have no interest in running Linux, in fact I don’t want to “convert” them to Linux.  Mostly it is because I don’t want to try and support thier needs.  My dad does a lot of photo editing with the different Adobe products, he has some books, went to a class on using the products, etc and I don’t want to have to be the one who needs to find the best OSS product out there for him.  There are other programs that just run correctly with Windows XP/Vista they are not interested in learning a new product.

But they need virus/malware protection.  Why?  Simple, the people who write these target Windows users.  Because they can make money off them.  Also remember there are more flaws in OEM software in the WIndows world  then on the OS itself.

Am I suprised Windows 7 is recommending Anti Virus?  No, I am glad it gives me a warning when I don’t have a product out there

2/3 of Americans Without Broadband Don’t Want it

A posting on Slashdot has made me smile.  Apparently a recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicates:

when we look at the overall reasons why Americans don’t have broadband, availability isn’t the biggest barrier. Neither is price. Those two, combined, only account for one-third of Americans without broadband. Two-thirds simply don’t want it. The bigger issue is a lack of perceived value.”

The funny part is the amount of people on Slashdot who think it is just those that are old (60+) who don’t want high speed Internet.  I would argue against that.

I have friends who don’t have high speed, and in fact I have at least one friend who doesn’t even have an email account.  They don’t want it and don’t need it. Also for a long time the only high speed connection I was at work.  I did everything via dial-up because it was too expensive.  In fact my “high speed” connection is the slowest speed that AT&T DSL provides, because it is the cheapest.

But back to my friends who don’t have high speed.  The reason is they spend more time connecting with real life friends and doing things in the great outdoors, then hooked up to to the Interwebs.  They probably have never heard of Twitter, FriendFeed, or Identi.ca.  Only one has a Facebook account and there is no need for the others.

I think people who don’t have a high speed connection are people that either a.  have a job where they don’t sit in front of a computer all day (a farmer, an electrician, a construction worker) or they grew up in families that didn’t value technology as much as mine did.

How many people that read this post, don’t have cable, or satellite?  I know several people.  Does that make them less connected?  Nope, they talk with friends over cell phones, and in person.

Your blog is not your resume, your resume is your resume

My friend Robert Scoble recently posted a blog article on how to socially network once you are fired, or if you looking for a new job.  And I disagree with him…..

Robert’s first point is “Your blog is your resume” and I would disagree with him.  Your resume is your resume….  Let me give you an example…. If I’m looking for another instructor to join my company I will not go searching different blog sites to find who can write the best how-to articles, or who can write the best article.  I would be looking for an actual trainer, someone with experience training, not writing how-to manuals.  Also I would hope that person would send me a resume complete with references and other ways of verifying the individual was actually a good trainer.

Secondly, Robert argues one should remove all LOLCats from our blog…  Sorry Robert, your blog should be able to personal and fun but it shouldn’t be all LOLCats and stupid drinking photos.  I will search for you on Google/Facebook but you should be allowed to be personal on your blog.

If your blog is nothing more then getting yourself a new job, consider other steps to get that name recognition on whatever you are doing.  Submit an article to a magazine, post some blog posts, hang out in forums, call companies, do a job search.  I will not find you and hire you based only on your blog.  An example:  I am a Symantec Consultant/Trainer and if you are looking to be a successful consultant spend time on the forums, either forums.altiris.com or juice.altiris.com or other Symantec related forums helping people out.  That’s how I will find you, not a blog post…..

Again the statement that kids/hobbies shouldn’t be more then 1% of your public persona is something I disagree with.  I have this blog and also a family blog, my flickr stream is full of family pictures…. Facebook is full of personal information.  Does that change who I am?  Does that affect my job?  I doubt that… Does it mean I’m stupid as to what I post on those services?  No, I have a real life and demonstrating that I am a real person with a real life makes me a better worker and a better person.

I think this advice is geared more towards those that exist within the same bubble that Robert does and want to continue to exist in that same bubble.

And Robert, a search for Robert Scoble blog on google and live search both turned up your old worpdress blog as the first two links, so you might want to take a look at your own SEO.

 

Jonathan

Frustartion with VMWare Workstation 6.5 and NAT Service crashing

I recently upgraded VMWare Workstation 6.0 to VMWare Workstation 6.5 on Vista 64-bit and I am constantly receiving notification server that my VMWare Nat Service has crashed.  This happens all the time and I can’t figure out what exactly is going on here.

Attached is the dump file from the Windows Vista Problem Reports and Solutions section:

Product
VMware NAT Service

Problem
Stopped working

Date
10/1/2008 9:24 AM

Status
Report Sent

Problem signature
Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH
Application Name:    vmnat.exe
Application Version:    6.5.0.4558
Application Timestamp:    48d2fb61
Fault Module Name:    ntdll.dll
Fault Module Version:    6.0.6001.18000
Fault Module Timestamp:    4791a783
Exception Code:    c0000005
Exception Offset:    0002f897
OS Version:    6.0.6001.2.1.0.256.6
Locale ID:    1033
Additional Information 1:    fd00
Additional Information 2:    ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160
Additional Information 3:    fd00
Additional Information 4:    ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160

Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID:    942273558

Things I’ve learned from a friendfeed discussion

The other day I got involved in a discussion on FriendFeed with my friend Robert Scoble and his friends that centered around politics and the current election.

I learned several things:

1.  How great FriendFeed is for discussion.  People I would have no other contact with I got a chance to disagree with and also to learn new things from. Their points caused me to think, hopefully something I said caused them to think as well.

2.  A majority of people on FriendFeed seem to hold Democratic beliefs.  I only state that because it seems a lot technologist learn towards the “left” as opposed to the Republican/Conservative side.

3.  The Religious Right is still blamed for a lot of things people view are wrong with the country.  I wonder how much political sway the “religious right” still has?  I am religious, I am conservative, but I wouldn’t label myself as belonging to the religious right.  And yes I read the sites posted to me, and frankly don’t agree with the bias they start with.

4.  People are worried that if Senator McCain is elected to President he will die shortly after being inaugurated.  Is this a valid concern?  If so why?  Are people hoping Senator McCain doesn’t live long?  What is going on here?  Does age really play so much  in deciding how a person feels about a politician?  I doubt it, a persons mind is made up way before age even comes into play.

 

Thanks again for the discussion

A wake up call for all politicians

My friend Robert Scoble and I have disagreed a lot lately in  the current discussion on politics that have take place on FriendFeed but on his most recent blog entry I agree with him on a lot of things

I would argue that his post should be titled “A Wake Up Call for All politicians” and not just Democrats.  There are some things towards the end that I disagree with but let’s look at what I think should be a wake call for all:

1.  Our education system:  Why is our education system lagging?  Is it because we have teachers that need to be removed but can due to tenure?  Is it because of the classroom size?  Or is because our colleges are not training the students correctly?  Maybe our education system is broke because the parents are not taking the vested interest they should?  But I totally agree the education system needs to be fixed.  No Child Left Behind was a start, but so much more needs to be done.

2.  Our taxation and infrastructure is whacked:  Yes our taxes are way too high but no one (Republican or Democrat) wants to cut programs or cut spending.  Plus our invovlement in Iraq is costing us a fortune, which in turns is costing us a ton in debt and taxes.  Lower taxes and make the current tax cuts permanent.

I think before we worry about broadband and other technologies we need to worry about our physical infrastrucutre. Our power grid is way outdated, in fact this is going to be a bigger and bigger problem as more and more people use alternative sources of energy (wind, solar, etc).  We lag behind the world in Nuclear Power Plants, lag behind the world in Oil Refineries, lag behind the world in so much…

So focus first on our infrastrucutre and then worry about things like IPTV, broadband, etc

3.  Our health care costs:  Not only are business drowning in costs, but people are drowning in health care costs.  I took my son for his 2 month shots and they were over $350.  Thank goodness for insurance covering all of that.  Why are these costs so high?

4.  Our immigration policies:  Congress voted to build a fence and also the money for a fence but nothing has been done.  Why?

And not just our borders w/ Mexico but the different workers that are coming to work and live in America.  When MS has to open an office in Vancouver just to help meet the needs of its foreign workers there is a problem.  We are losing great minds, their income, the secondary jobs they provide for spending that income, plus everything else they and future generations would provide to America

I disagree with Robert on some of the concepts he brings forth in the last two points but everything else is something every politician should be promoting.  Now if we could find real men and women who would stick up for their beliefs and help make America a better place it would be great.

Where and what is this generations Moon Shot?