I’m back.
September 29th, 2008, 10:55pm by Jake
Go Sox!
Archive for September, 2008
GPS systems
September 27th, 2008, 4:55pm by MikeHey, anybody still reading here?!?!
Not that this is a new thing, but I’m shopping around for a GPS unit, and I’m thinking about getting one before December, when we’ll be heading out west for Christmas/New Year’s. I’ve always liked the TomToms — seems like they’re pretty into the online updating, and they have some pretty innovative stuff, like averaging over many users to get average speeds on roads, etc.
But last week, Navigon, as well as Garmin, have announced that they’re releasing models with built-in real-time traffic, which seems like a great thing. They use FM-based systems, for which TomTom charges $120 (for the antenna) plus a monthly charge. Seems outrageous.
Do any of you have traffic included with your GPS, or use your phone to get traffic info? I’m curious how comprehensive the traffic is. For example, I want it mainly for drives to and from work, where my options are the Mass Pike (I-90, which is definitely covered by traffic) or US Route 9 (which is a highway with traffic lights, not definitely covered). Looks like NAVTEQ, which at least Garmin uses, covers both, but TomTom’s optional traffic service doesn’t.
The tradeoffs to this free traffic seem to be ads (in the case of Garmin) and generally bad reviews for the Navigon. Also, the Garmins seem to be more expensive. I was previously thinking about the TomTom GO 730, for ~$350.
Anybody think that free traffic is the wave of the future, and that TomTom will wake up and smell the coffee anytime soon?
Manhattan Beach Open
September 20th, 2008, 2:04am by Jake
I walked down to the pier today to watch some mid-tournament action at the world’s premiere beach volleyball tournament. I was lucky enough to notice Kerri Walsh signing autographs & posing for pictures, so I got in line. First time I’ve ever met an Olympic gold medalist! Ironically, this was just minutes after I was hassled by a security for taking a photo of Misty May-Treanor while she was at another sponsor’s tent. I stood my ground, he backed down, and I got 4 very lousy photos.
Still uploading photos, check them out.
Los Angeles Triathlon
September 18th, 2008, 9:41pm by Jake
Hey I think I managed to do that panning thing!
Cause I hate to see the homepage empty. Check out more here.
Family Camp 2008
September 9th, 2008, 2:30am by JakeI’ll point you to Jake’s Adventures for the full report, and I’ll just introduce you to Flickr’s new slideshow embedding feature here. This is the portrait collection which features all my friends from camp. Enjoy!
Just a public service announcement for the loyal reader(s) of Pyslent, a lot of our activity has now moved to Twitter. If you want to follow me on Twitter, you can probably find me without too much work. We now return to our regularly schedule, all-Lucas all-the-time, programming. Thank you.
Photo Op
September 5th, 2008, 1:02pm by Kelvin
We’re waiting in line for a passport next door to Palm headquarters, so I thought I’d take a postcard photo for you. Wish you were here!
Outlook Web Access: Google vs. Microsoft
September 4th, 2008, 11:48am by KelvinOne of the cons about using firefox as my main web browser is that it doesn’t support the latest version of Outlook Web Access, as does Internet Explorer. This is probably a result of some shenanigans by Microsoft, but the bottom line is that I get a richer, more native app-like experience by sticking to IE. Google’s new Chrome browser has the same issue. I’m not sure if this is related to the version of Exchange we are using at work; I don’t even know which version we use.
OWA in IE
OWA in Chrome (same as in FF or Safari)
Art of the Dunk
September 3rd, 2008, 5:51pm by Kelvin
Photo & haircut inspired by a classic Michael Jordan poster. Pictures taken by Steph.
Noisy boys at work
September 2nd, 2008, 12:49am by Kelvin
Lucas and Brandon spent the afternoon at Fairy land in Oakland. We got a late start, so they didn’t get to see all of the park, but they had fun nonetheless.