VelociPeek

Song Of The Day: She Blinded Me With Science - Artist: Thomas Dolby

So this morning I decided to fill up at the gas station, at a Sunoco station, because my fuel gauge was running low.

This is typical for millions of people around the world, but it seems like such a hassle to stop and fill up. When I do, that’s when I wished I lived in a city where I could jump on public transit. For example the Bay Area is wonderful with things like BART and Muni. For a few bucks you can get most anywhere. $6.50, gets from the airport and back–at least it used to.

Okay. Anyway. Back to my somewhat non-public transit world of Northern Virginia! :) Sure. We have Metro, but for local, practical purposes, it is still easier, and more convenient, to drive a car around.

So filling up is one of those minor annoyances in life I guess; and of course, there always seems to be some additional nuances to prolong the pain :)!

For example, outside of the obvious issue of dipped, but still high prices, anyone else ever miss the touch screen option “Would you like a car wash?” As you’re standing there wondering why the gas isn’t pumping, the winter wind blustering around, it’s prompting you “yes” or “no.” You think, “Damn it. Will it just start pumping!”

Well, today, I was in such a situation; except now, there is something new to pass the time away: Sunoco TV!

With advertising and broadcasting blasting (i.e., the volume pretty loud) I fingered away at the screen to press “no,” again, for a car wash, all the while wondering why anyone would want to endure such an annoyance. Okay…so maybe I’m being harsh, but that was my initial impression as I battled the gas-pump elements.

And guess what, it’s not just Sunoco who is assisting the gas station TV future: CES 2008 presented Pumptop TV–coming to a gas station near you. The one associated with Sunoco TV is GSTV (Gas Station TV), which broadcasts programming from CBS, etc. It’s just recently started branching out after being in pilot mode for some time.

I didn’t care much for the broadcasting today, showing some advertising and short CBS news clips, but I could see traffic and weather reports being useful during my 4 1/2 to 5 minutes (see GSTV demographic info below):

Reference: Gas Station TV

More after the jump…

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Song Of The Day: Bulls On Parade - Artist: Rage Against The Machine

The short answer is: they’re still focusing on something other than the customer.

So last night I decided, more for nostalgic purposes I guess, to click on the AOL icon that still existed in the dock after an upgrade from OS X Tiger (10.4.x) to OS X Leopard (10.5.x).

The version of the AOL all-in-one software was 10.2.6, quote old, but decided to see if would still work.

The software fired up, then displayed the following splash screen:

Now for anyone that knows anything about AOL, and it’s past initiatives, the software is basically an all-in-one connection and communication application. Also, most know that the company went advertising based a couple of years back in an attempt to transition from its subscription-based revenue model. The company transition and client software message is all fine and good by me, so far.

So why the entry and headline today? More after the jump…

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Song Of The Day: The Pot - Artist: Tool

So finally I got around to watching the interview with Brendan Eich on ZDNet, published 1/18 or so. If you love or hate JavaScript, and Firefox for that matter, then you’ll want to know who Brendan Eich is. He’s the CTO of the Mozilla Foundation and the creator of JavaScript!

Nothing too earth shattering in the interview, but Brendan does talk about Firefox 3 Beta 2 and the browser as a platform. Things us “web weenies” want to know. :)

Some of the more interesting notes from the interview after the jump…

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Song of The Day: Extreme Days - Artist: tobyMac

So it’s been about a week since MacWorld and Steve Job’s keynote presentation, but thought I’d still write a few thoughts. The major gadget introduction was the MacBook Air. However, the reviews have been mixed, but I think some miss the point of the new product.

There are probably 3 ways of looking at it:

• Consumer View
• Investor View
• Strategic/Business View

I can understand a little about the consumer view. For example this CNET Crave blog entry compares the MacBook Air with the G4 Cube: “Overpriced and underconfigured.” Although I understand, that doesn’t mean I have to agree. To be honest Crave’s post is non sequitur, apples and oranges really. More always seems better than less by default, but for the record one is a portable while the other a mini system. Hello? It’s better to compare the Mac mini with it. I wonder if the reviewers are using Apple products when I read stuff like that. Also, complaining about no ethernet port when there are USB-to-RJ45 adapters? Isn’t mobility about defaulting to less while having add-ons for more? The price is a little easier to understand on complaints, but I guess that’s the price when getting a simplistic, elegant 3.0lb laptop with full keyboard, 13″ screen, 802.11n, BlueTooth EDR, and OS X Leopard.

Anyhowzy.

I am a little surprised by the investor view, mostly because the product bodes well for the future of Apple.

More after the jump…

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Song of The Day: Best Of Both Worlds - Artist: Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus

Today’s entry may seem a bit bizarre, but I just had to write something about last night’s hottest concert ticket in town: Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.

Although persons in my family went, I was perfectly content playing with computer stuff at home :). However, I have to admit that I’ve caught the TV series on the Disney Channel a few times and and it’s pretty good. However, the teen sensation continues to surpass my expectations with all the hype!

So why the entry about this today? Well, for those not fortunate enough to hit the concert tour, or for those that didn’t get enough of the tour, there is a 3-D movie coming soon. That’s right! You too can see what the hype is all about.

More after the hop…

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Be careful if you buy SIIG-based ExpressCard/34 technology and you are using Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5.x). It may not work.

I specifically bought the eSATA II 2-Port ExpressCard/34-M, Part #: SC-SAEE22-S1 desiring 3.0Gb/s transfer speeds for video. However, the product and driver doesn’t work with Leopard.

Since the system requirements state that the product will work on Mac OS X 10.4.6 or newer (i.e., on the box and on the website the last time I checked), I inquired about the lack of support from SIIG. The response from SIIG:

Hi,

We do not have another driver for Leopard for this expresscard. Nor do
we think it will work in Leopard. We are working on a different
version expresscard for Leopard, however, it won’t be available for at
least 3-4 more months.

Please return this product to your vendor for refund,

Regards,

Although disappointed, I am happy that SIIG was straight-forward.

I’m looking for a current product that will work with Leopard. If you know of one please drop me a comment! If I find one I’ll update this entry later.

Tags: Eric O’Laughlen, Mac OS X Leopard and eSATA II ExpressCard/34

If anyone is reading today, besides search engine robots, Happy New Year! To commemorate this, and the holiday gift of Guitar Hero III, I thought I’d announce one of my New Year’s resolutions: better Guitar Hero III finger-licking-speed. To show where the current, unattainable bar is, check out this expert-level play on We Three Kings:

The finger-licking-speed in this capture is awe-inspiring! Perhaps I should change my resolution to losing a few pounds.

Tags: Eric O’Laughlen, Happy New Year, Guitar Hero III