• College football bowl schedule for 2009-10 season - NCAA Football - SI.com

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  • GMAC

• Catan Portable Edition

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  • Catan Portable Edition™

Programming for Today’s Kids: Why NXT-G, Kodu, Scratch, Alice, Small Basic, KPL / Phrogram and others can reignite the imagination and understanding of technology for today’s kids.

As Kids growing up in the 70s and 80s, we did not have all the technical resources available to us as they do today.  Computers were rare, under-powered, and very difficult to use. Hand-held calculators weren’t even widely available, no public Internet, 3 TV channels, etc., etc.

What we did have was an accessible programming language that came with most computers: BASIC.  In fact, there wasn’t even much software that you could buy for your computer.  You had to write your own, and the language and environment was built-in to the machine.  A little later came LOGO, and even later came HyperCard for the Macintosh.  So for a kid with access to a computer, and a little interest, motivation, and summer break, you could spend hours programming and creating basic games with text, graphics and even sound.

Ironically, with all the advances in 30 years we have largely lost the entry-level development environment that kids can experiment and get started with.  Sure there are free tools for .NET, Java, PHP, etc. but they start at a much higher level and have so many commands and options that it is easy to get confused.  What kids need is a “level 0” or “level 1” type environment that is limited but easy to use (and did I mention fun?).

Not every kid needs to learn to write complex programs.  But a generation of kids growing up without even a basic knowledge of how computer programs are written make them unaware of how things work and end up victims or slaves of the very technology that is meant to help them.

So for the last 4-5 years I’ve been on an active search for current options for kids who are even mildly interested in programming.  They need to be risk-free (i.e. kids can play around with them without damaging anything), fun (no kid-assembly language primers here), and have the ability to scale to average homes.

I have made no conclusions here, but I wanted to list the environments I am using and “tracking” currently.  We started the “Bots on the Rock” robotics club in January 2008 and that has been doing well with kids 8-15.  In just the last month I started using Kodu on the XBox 360 at home, and now on the PC with the idea of using that with the club as well.  I am going to do a quick listing of what’s available, with more details to follow. 

Kodu: Game Programming Lab (XBox 360, PC (in Beta)) – 400 XBox “points”

The latest item on my list is Kodu: Game Programming Lab from Microsoft Research.  I put it first mainly because that is what I’ve been “talking” about on Twitter/Facebook which lead to this post (i.e. can’t explain all of this in 140 characters). Kodu is available today for the XBox 360 and and Academic version is in beta test for the PC for release in the near future.  As of today I have the PC version running on my laptop and I will be working with that more over the weekend.  We’ve been using the XBox 360 version for just under a month, and all of my kids really love playing with it and are making their own games – in fact they’d rather “play” Kodu than many of the other “real” games.

Kodu is difficult to explain in words, and really needs to be demoed – here is one of the better YouTube videos out there.

Basically all of the programming is done with an XBox controller (even on the PC) with a very intuitive series of “sensors” and “commands” (e.g. when I see a ball go towards it).  It also controls a very robust scene generator which enables a huge variety of terrains and elements to be included in the games.

The recent update of Kodu on the XBox 360 allows for much easier sharing of games that you have created.  You can even create multiplayer (local) games, and quickly learn about the headaches that come from multiplayer games on the same screen. 

There are a whole series of posts that could be written just about this environment, but for now I’ll leave you with the links.

NXT-G: Lego Mindstorms (PC, Mac) – Included with LEGO Mindstorms Kit ($275)

NXT-G is the graphical programming environment that comes with the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics kits.  The environment is a “click and drag” programming surface where programs are created by stacking and ordering blocks on the screen (much like building LEGO buildings, hmmm).  Blocks are called “Move”, “Loop”, and have sensor blocks that correspond to the robotic sensors in the kit (e.g. touch sensor, ultrasonic (distance) sensor, sound, light, and now color in the 2.0 kit).  The NXT-G application is actually an implementation of National Instruments LabVIEW graphical programming software which is used professionally by engineers and scientists.  In fact, you can use LabVIEW to do some advanced things with the robots that NXT-G will not handle.

The Education version of the NXT-G kit is now up to version 2.0 and contains separate modules for doing data logging and support new sensors like the temperature sensors.  In addition third party sensors can be added for specific needs – for example we added Compass and IRSeeker sensors from HiTechnic when we were doing our series with the robotics club on LEGO Soccer (i.e. needed to “find the ball” (bright IR source) and know “which way” was the opponent’s goal).

Dragging and dropping controls is quite easy for most students – in fact the biggest challenge continues to be slowing kids down and having them try to think through and plan out a solution instead of just barreling right into programming.  Probably an ongoing struggle for many programmers out there.

Small Basic (PC) - Free

Small Basic came out of Microsoft’s DevLabs as a simple programming language for kids to get started with.  It is unique among many of the rest in that it allows for the direct entering of programming code, whereas most of the others have gone to a graphical programming language.  It also preserves a lot of the BASIC syntax (15 keywords) so it will be comfortable for many adults that are assisting and mentoring kids who are starting to program.  It also means that the age range probably scoots up a few to perhaps 10-16.

The power of Small Basic comes in it’s simplicity (look at the tool bar compared to Visual Studio, Eclipse, or any other professional tool set).  There is only so much you can do and experimentation is easy to get into and execute.  Another part of the power comes from the .NET Framework.  There are many libraries included (Flickr one is shown) and others are being developed.  If there is something you want your Small Basic program to do, that it doesn’t to right now, develop a Class in your favorite .NET language and Small Basic will be able to access the functionality.

Scratch (PC, Mac) - Free

Scratch has been developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab as programming language for kids 8 and up.

Like Kodu, this is better demoed than described (pardon the music and volume level, but the later content is very helpful).

Many educators using it with a lot of materials freely available and ready to go.  With the backing of the Media Lab and some key educators (and as it is free) this is a platform that is growing in general adoption and use.  It is probably also in the 10-16 year age range and has many key features.

One of the other programs, besides BASIC, that I really miss is “Storybook Weaver” which enabled students to write stories with animated and multimedia features included.  Scratch, and next Alice, offer a lot in the way of storytelling in addition to programming.

Alice (PC, Mac – Java) - Free

Alice is unique programming environment out of Carnegie Mellon in that allows creation and manipulation of custom 3D characters and objects – which is really cool.  Creating 3D objects is hard but not impossible, and better tools are coming out all the time.  There are freely available 3D models that are being created by the community for use by others in Alice.

I have not used Alice, but that is only because of a lack of time and resources and not because of any other reason.  Here’s a video promoting Alice and showing many of its features.

Like Scratch there is a nice storytelling component in Alice which is currently called “Storytelling Alice” (soon to be “Looking Glass”).  So whereas the Alice 2.0/3.0 environments themselves are better suited for a formal class in programming, a more informal and easy-to-use version for storytelling (and basic programming) is available.

Now strongly allied with Java, Alice is extensible via Java which makes many other possibilities available for more advanced porgrammers.

KPL / Phrogram (PC) - $35-$50 + more for additional libraries

Lastly, to be complete in this list I wanted to include the Kids Programming Language (KPL) which has been retired, but has resurfaced as Phrogram.  The KPL effort was intended to create a simple programming language for kids that would allow for rich graphics capabilities and be extensible using the .NET Framework.  Admittedly I have not used or tried using the product since it became Phrogram, so I can’t make any recommendations.  On the surface it appears that the communities surrounding the other products are more active and current.

In Conclusion – there are no Conclusions

I am glad that the market for kids programming environments is heating up and that there may actually be competition instead of a big giant hole.  I am actively using NXT-G on a regular basis and am really starting to like Kodu (more each time I use it).  In considering a class or even formal curriculum for “next steps” I am watching Small Basic, Scratch, and Alice and expect to be using one or more of these in 2010.

• GR Social Marketing (grsm) on Twitter

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  • GRSM is tomorrow, 12pm @ the GRCF building. @spearia is presenting. Take some time, learn in the small groups after the presentation

• Where’s Lou » Blog Archive » Spark output caching

  Potential caching option for MVC

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• Free Samples!: :

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• Dell Latitude 2100 Netbook Sold in More Than 500 US School Districts - Dell sees successful launch of Atom-based netbook - Softpedia

  tags: 2100, netbook

• Dell Latitude 2100 “kidbook” - Detailed First Impressions and Tips

  Getting some good feedback on the Dell 2100 blog post - may need to write a second one with updates and more info.

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• Text Message (SMS) Polls and Voting, Audience Response System | Poll Everywhere

  Interesting Ruby app to use Polls in presentations and other areas where audience can use cell phones, Twitter or the web to vote on active questions.

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• neccunplugged - home

  Online from NECC for those of us who can't be there to see this exciting conference for those involved with Educational Technology

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• Sugar on a Stick - Sugar Labs

  May be a way to try out the Sugar / XO OS on a netbook.

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• Diigo - Web Highlighter and Sticky Notes, Social Bookmarking and Annotation, Social Information Network! - Annotated

  Interesting tool for finding and sharing links

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Kidbook vs. Netbook

I wrote almost a year ago of how I’ve been looking for a netbook that would meet some basic requirements for use by kids for their daily work.  There have been a lot of netbook models which are basically all the same specs, but none have really stood out as something that was designed and intended for kids, especially younger kids, to use on a daily basis.  Enter the Dell Latitude 2100 “kidbook”.  I’m calling it a kidbook because it adds some important features.

The 2100 is designed from the ground up for daily use in schools – it is not generally intended to be a consumer netbook.  This means some important things.  First, it amazingly comes with no promo/demo/annoyware installed.  While this isn’t really a feature, it saves perhaps an hour or more of uninstalling to get up and running.

The unit feels solid, has a rubberized shell, and is somewhat ruggedized – perhaps not to warehouse/government standards, but it definitely feels sturdy.  It immediately makes me think that this is what a “Little Tikes” or “Rubbermaid” laptop would look and act like. Also, the bottom of the unit has no access points for memory or drives, etc.  In fact if you even remove the four screws on the access panel it will not come off – there are three more screw under the keyboard (see below) that need to be removed to access the hardware. This adds a nice level of security from interested eyes, but adds some complexity of adding memory, etc.  Interestingly this also means that desktop spills could avoid damage as there are no access holes or vents on the bottom surface.  The 6-cell battery option raises up the base even more for additional clearance.

The 2100 is a barebones and utility machine.  It is not a tablet (though we did get the touch screen, see below), there is no thumb scanner, or firewire ports (3 USB).  The keyboard is solid and nearly full sized, but there are no multimedia keys other than volume/mute controls.  Did I mention there is no CD/DVD drive – typical for a netbook, but still something to get used to from desktops and laptops.

Finally the 2100 is very budget conscious – starting under $400, about $450 with the additional memory, touch screen, and webcam on these units.  I remember in 1991 when I was teaching computers and we got some Apple PowerBook 100s to pilot with some teachers and students.  These were $2,500 each in 1991 money.  Even the Newton-PDA inspired eMate 300 device was $799 in 1997 and didn’t even run “real” software.  The netbooks are finally a device that has enough power at a reasonable price for 1:1 student use.

Screen

Let’s get right to my biggest concern about the units the screen resolution - 1024 x 574?  Huh?  Computer monitors have traditionally been in a 4:3 ratio (e.g. 640x480, 800x600) and more recently 16:9 (1280x720) but netbooks have commonly chosen WSVGA resolution of 1024x600.  This is trouble enough as it doesn’t match any typical resolutions of monitors, but by the 2100 dropping a mysterious 26 pixels off of this causes additional problems.

Many web sites are expecting at least 700 pixel vertical resolution, so you end up having to scroll down to get to the active parts of many web sites.  But this is true of all netbooks and web sites are adapting to the netbook trend.

However, software installers can check minimum resolution before installing or setting themselves up.  Some software will see a vertical resolution of under 600 and set up for 640x480 which makes an awkward little box in the middle of the relatively big screen.  Others will not install without at least 800x600 resolution.  To get around this you can temporarily change your screen resolution to 1024x768.  This means you end up scrolling the screen up and down to see the full screen by moving the mouse up and down.  This will allow the software to install.  Then you can change the resolution back and the software will typically run (may clip the bottom a little).

But, 1024x576 is not one of the choices in the typical “Display Properties” dialog box – so how do you switch back.  It turns out it is not that straightforward, but here is the scoop.

In “Display Properties” Settings, choose the Advanced Button.  One of the Tabs will now be called “Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Mobile”.  Here there are two things: 1) the button that takes you to the actual screen you need, and 2) a “Show Tray Icon” checkbox that will enable access to this panel directly from the System Tray.  If you find yourself needing to switch resolutions to support certain software, having easy access to his panel will be helpful.

On this screen, finally, you can find the “native” resolution of the 2100 (1024x576).

An additional tip, the new Chrome web browser from Google has a unique functionality (that I hope gets picked up by IE, Firefox, etc.) that allows you to find a page on the web and then “Create Application Shortcuts”. This does two important things: 1) Drops an icon on the desktop, start menu, quick-launch bar, etc. for that web site (and picks up the favicon as an icon for the shortcut) and 2) removes all the UI chrome at the top (i.e. no address bar, tabs, menus, just the window title).  This enables kids to get to pre-selected sites very quickly and maximizes the vertical “real estate” on the screen for maximum use.

Touch Screen

I opted for the touch screen because I am developing some software that uses it, but I was surprised at how the kids started using this feature right away in many of the applications.  The kids must not have the hang-ups I have about touching a screen to get it to do things because they use it all the time.  In fact in some software like Rosetta Stone (foreign language – nice) it is much more instinctive and natural to use the touch screen than maneuver with the touchpad.  Not much more to say about this yet – I am eager to get some software going that will use it even more.

CPU

The 2100 uses the common combination of the Intel Atom N2170 CPU and Intel 950 GMA (graphics media accelerator).  This combination does a very respectable job of running most software very well.

The notable exception is software that requires significant graphics memory and 3D acceleration.  Two failures in this regard were Age of Empires III and Civilization IV.  A general rule, if you considered buying a new video card to run a game or program, then it will probably have issues on a netbook

The 2100 plays video well (avi, mov, mp4, and even DVDs, see below), but don't expect to record or edit videos on the machine itself.  The performance was very respectable with photos (even large ones) consider the higher-end (2Gb) of memory if editing and manipulating images will be important..

Integrated Camera / Microphone

We also opted for the integrated webcam and digital microphone.  I was very pleased when installing Skype (video conferencing) at how well it worked with the hardware with the standard install.  The device comes with software for basic webcam recording and still picture capture.

The one trick we found was actually enabling the integrated digital microphone in applications like Skype and Audacity (audio/podcasting).  There is only one microphone driver/input in the software but there is an external jack for microphones and an internal digital microphone.  I only found one place to switch between the two.  If you open the control panels there will be one called the “Realtek HD Sound Effect Manager”.

Opening this up you will find a tab called “Mixer”.  Once selected you will have the option to select the radio button for either the external or integrated/digital mic.

Memory

There are really four configurations of memory in the 2100: 512Mb, 1Gb, 1.5Gb, and 2Gb.  The interesting thing is that the initial memory configuration is very important.  The first 512Mb or 1Gb of memory is actually permanent on the motherboard of the laptop – that is, it can’t be removed or upgraded.  There is one slot for memory that can take an additional 1Gb of memory.  So starting with 1Gb maximizes your memory potential.  This is how I ordered the units because additional memory was $29 for 2 1Gb DIMMs online (and I was over budget because of the touch screen and webcam already).

Adding the second sticks of memory turns out to be more involved than any laptop I have ever used or owned, and this is saying a lot.  It turns out that you first need to remove the keyboard (2 screws) to get to the internal screws attaching the bottom cover (3 screws) and then you need to remove the bottom access cover (4 screws).  One note here is to be careful with the keyboard cable clip.

This clip opens upwards (see above) and stays attached – or should stay attached.  One one of the units I had this clip (the white part) completely detach which lead to 20 minutes or so of anxiety before my wife (with better eyes and smaller fingers) got the clip to click back on (thanks Laura). 

The second 2100 memory upgrade went fine with the keyboard clip but the memory did not “seat” correctly so I had to re-remove the 9 screws, keyboard, panel, etc. and do it all over again – good experience, but, again, not as “friendly” as many other laptops.  Perhaps having Dell install the 1Gb when building the machine is worth saving $10 on memory.

On the plus side, this really keeps curious kids from getting into the device (it’d be nice if you could get a replacement set of outer screws that were Torx or at least not Phillips-head screws to slow them down even more.  On the down side this makes a typically easy memory upgrade a much more involved task.

Operating System

Ubuntu Linux, Windows XP SP3, or Windows 7 – not considering Vista as a practical option right now.

This is actually a pretty easy decision for us. Linux won't run most of the educational software (out of emulation). Likewise Windows 7 won't run much of the software and “Virtual XP” mode is not supported on Atom processors.

Macintosh OSX not available on non-Apple equipment - will Apple release a netbook / kidbook?

So Windows XP SP3 is probably the most stable and understood Windows operating system in use (since Windows 98SE) and runs the important software we use.  Microsoft has stated that the XP downgrade option will be available for 18 months after the release of Windows 7, after that a CPU and memory upgrade will probably be necessary to achieve similar results.

Networking

Unsurprisingly the 2100 supports Wi-Fi and wired connections (no 3G or WiMax, but not needed).  But surprisingly it supports 802.11n high-speed Wi-Fi and 1000 Gigabit Ethernet wired connections which are not common on typical netbooks.  They also have the ability to “wake on LAN” which enables solutions like the upcoming “Managed Mobile Computing Station”.

This unit enables 24 of the 2100s to be docked for charging, storage/security, and remote updates (even includes it’s own wireless router so you can plug in one Ethernet cable and wirelessly power a room).  But at close to $4,000 this kind of kills the whole “on budget” theme for a classroom – hmm, 10 more 2100s or a fancy cart.

Bluetooth 2.1 is available as an added option (we didn’t opt-in).  This was tempting for use with the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kits, or wireless mouse, but I can imagine the pairing and management of a classroom full of Bluetooth devices could get challenging.

One other thing is the somewhat hyped feature of the Network Activity Light.

This is included on the cover of the netbook and shows if any network interface is being used (i.e. light on if activity, light off if no activity).  I’ll stop short of calling this a “gimmick” but in our experience the light is always on because the network is always on.  If there were an easier way for kids to turn the network on and off, or some software uses this for other purposes (a promised API from Dell for educational software programmers may be coming soon), then this may have a larger use and impact.

Battery

Dell offers a 3-cell and 6-cell battery for the 2100.  The 6-cell adds a little bit of height but is barely noticeable.  One unique feature is that there is a clear plastic “window” on the battery where you can slide in a strip of paper with a particular student’s name (or other identifier) on the unit.  This gives a clear way to identify different machines in what may be a crowded classroom situation.

Keyboard

The keyboard is nearly full-sized and I had no time with my huge hands typing e-mail and other tests.  Another unique option here is an antimicrobial protected keyboard option. In a shared environment could be a real plus with the flu and colds going around.  For 1:1 use this may not be as much of a benefit (did not opt for this either).

CD-DVD Options / Issues

Sometimes there is no getting away from using external media.  Ironically all the backup and recovery software for the 2100 comes on CD, which you can’t ever access from the 2100 directly.  Also, some curriculums include physical DVDs (e.g. One Year Adventure Novel) and others have a lot of media that needs to be accessed from the disc (e.g. Rosetta Stone language software).  In these cases you have two options.

The first is an external CD/DVD drive.  The best of these will require no external power and can be powered directly from the USB port.  Dell has an option for this when building the machines for $90 which includes PowerDVD (playing DVDs) and Roxio Creator software (burning discs).  I was watching for deals and found a Samsung drive on sale at NewEgg for $49 which included Nero 8 (playing and burning).  This has worked well for installing software, running CDs, and playing DVDs – I was impressed that the laptop played the DVDs so well with the limited power.  I am sure when you are running off of battery power that this would significantly reduce battery run time.

The other option is to use disc images on the hard drive.  Utilities such as PowerISO will allow you to create an image of most CDs/DVDs and store them on the hard drive, and later mount these images as virtual disks.  This essentially mirrors the content of the CD/DVD to the hard drive.  This image can then be run using just the hard drive.  This raises all kinds of copyright issues and licensing headaches.  This is a topic for another post, but make sure your licensing allows for this type of use and that you are covered for the number of simultaneous installs and users that you have. Some discs have copy protection on them and will not work with this method of mounting – this clearly shows the intent of the publisher – contact them directly as I am sure this will be a common issue going forward.

Ideally software will move away from distribution by disc, and even installing locally on the netbook at all (more below on this).  But until then there are still options for curriculum that is distributed and/or must run with a disc.

Pros

Marketing material is one thing, but a well designed “kidbook” is worth lauding.  If I haven’t mentioned it before I am in no way associated with Dell and don’t get any compensation from them.  That being said, I really do like the 2100s.  They are solid and do what they claim to do, and don’t do what they don’t claim to do.  The price point is quite reasonable considering the power and functionality provided.  Unique options like the touch screen, anti-swine flu keyboard, rubberized and secured exterior, etc. are very nice to see.  The touch screen and web cam enable more “natural user interface” options that enable use of the 2100 beyond the keyboard and mouse/touchpad.

Cons

The biggest “con” is the screen resolution (1024x576).  I would predict that this gets a remedy fairly quickly because of the non-trivial impact that it can and will have on software installs and execution.  Unfortunately early adopters will be somewhat left behind by this – but that is one of the risks of being early to any technology.

Recommendations

When I was young and foolish I leased a 1995 Dodge Cirrus based on a popular consumer's magazine "Car of the Year" award (because I had finished my Masters degree, and had a full time school administrator's job, and "deserved" a new car).  I only mention this because it was the worst car I have ever owned, recalled twice, in the shop for mechanical failures 5 times, and all in the 24 months of the lease.  This is/was the last new car I ever bought and I learned an expensive lesson about cost and value (and how leasing is 95% of the time a terrible option).  I also learned not to give or trust recommendations without a significant amount of hands-on time for new models.  Interestingly the said consumer magazine has also adopted a similar policy for new models.

And you probably realize where this is going - I am going to hold off on recommendations concerning the Dell 2100 until we've spent some real-world time using it.  Unfortunately models change so fast with computers that waiting a year to make a recommendation will probably find the Dell 2115 in production with the first or second round of enhancements.  But I am in no way sending them back, and am cautiously optimistic that these will really be helpful going forward. I am also realistic that there will be improvements (1024x576) and tweaks and being on the cutting edge is exciting but sometimes you get a little cut up in the process.

Overall I’d give the 2100 “4 of 5 stars” or a solid B+, which means there is a little room for improvement but it is a solid offering and unique today in the marketplace.

Products Installed / Mentioned Here

• Rosetta Stone (Language Learning) http://www.rosettastone.com/
• Skype (Audio/Video Calls/Conference) http://www.skype.com/
• Lego Mindstorms NXT (Robotics) http://mindstorms.lego.com/eng/Egypt_dest/Default.aspx AND http://www.legoeducation.com
• Teaching Textbooks (Math, 4th-Pre-Calc) http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/
• PowerISO (create/mount disc images) http://www.poweriso.com/
• One Year Adventure Novel (Writing 8th+) http://www.oneyearnovel.com/
• Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org
• Google Chrome (web browser) http://www.google.com/chrome 

Implications

This is already 2 or 3 times the size of a good blog post, but I plan to add another post at some point about the implications of netbooks in the marketplace.  Some technology analysts predict that in 5 years 50% of internet connected computers will be netbooks. Software and services targeting (or at least supporting) netbooks will be an important market.  Software distributed via the network, or better yet delivered in real-time over the network, will be in demand.  Also, software that can adapt to the screen size of the user (from 10” netbook to 30” desktop monitor) will be popular to enable use and features based on the power and size of the particular install.  Some examples of recent posts on products of this type are below.  I’ll have to also post some samples of what we are doing with Silverlight and dock panels and view boxes to show some of the latest technology to help enable functionality in installations on different screen resolutions.

http://eeepc.net/netbook-office-suite-launched-by-corel/

http://eeepc.net/thinkfree-office-suite-available-for-purchase/

UPDATE: Had to fix the URL "slug" it was messing things up (never include a quote in a slug).

I wanted to write a 2008 post for a couple of reasons: 1) for “historical” reasons to look back on later, and 2) to let new (and old) people who actually read this blog know a little bit more about me.  So without further ado….

2008 Milestones

• Space Shuttle Launch at Kennedy Space Center – Saw a live launch of something that actually left Earth.  It’s been a life-long dream and was well worth it.
• Two new puppies – Kirby and Bella, our little 2-3lb Yorkie-poos.  Bella is sitting at my feet even while writing this.  Very loyal, but tiny.
• Laura’s ankle-fusion surgery – after years of pain from bone-on-bone rubbing in her feet and ankle, we decided to have the surgery this summer.  Months of no weight-bearing and still in recovery, but should lead to many more options for us this next summer.

Favorite New Gadget - Remote Car Starter

• Probably the least “hi-tech” of any new technology, but this winter it has really been awesome.   A “must-have” gadget, to me, is one you really didn’t know much about, then you got it, used it, and now can’t figure out what you would do without it.  This definitely fits here.
• Runner Up - iPod Touch – also a birthday present, and probably the gadget with the most potential.  I’m going to learn a bit about how to program software for the iPhone and Touch next week, and really like the device (far beyond music and videos).
• Runner Up - Craftsman Snowblower – an early Christmas present saved us from 50+ inches of snow in December, and made it easy enough to help others on our street and help move cars that were stuck in the snow.
• Runner Up - Wii / Wii-Fit – Really an amazing achievement from both a technical and programming standpoint – you really have to see it or try it to understand.
• Runner Up - HP Tablet PC – small (12”) portable machine that’s been with me to work, robotics, quizzing, church and really anywhere I’ve needed something.  Looking at the possibility of getting “netbooks” for the kids this year.

Favorite New Technology - Silverlight 2.0

• I have to pick Silverlight because I’ve been programming in it non-stop for the last 7-8 months.  In short, Silverlight is an environment for programming really interactive applications that can be contained in web pages (much like Flash or Java Applets).  The advantages of Silverlight are technical and would require another post, but I really believe that it will make a big impact on how web and mobile applications are written going forward.
• Runner Up - ASP.NET MVC – better way to write web applications.
• Runner Up – Twitter/Facebook – got to meet and interact with several hundred new and long-time friends on an informal basis and keep track of all that is going on with them.  Great way to keep track of people so you can really catch up quickly when you see each other face-to-face.
• Runner Up – iPhone apps and web apps – I really want to be able to program for people that are “not at their computer” and iPhone and Touch applications may be a very important way of doing so.

Best Movie - WALL-E

• So I don’t get out much to watch movies – five or less all year (see more on DVD, but not that many more).  I really liked WALL-E for a number of reasons.  A robot “star” (love robot stuff), amazingly limited dialog (movie “says” so much just through “body language”, context and situations.  And the movie actually had some pretty “deep” things to say about relationships, personal responsibility, consumerism, and appropriate use of technology.

Best New Activity - Family Swim Night at the YMCA

• We’ve been going swimming as a family on Friday nights and Sunday afternoon since Laura started her rehab after surgery.  This has been great as a family activity and for getting some good activity during the winter months.  The YMCA had a promotion where we could start up again at no charge (we’d been members a while ago), so it was a deal we couldn’t pass up.
• Runner Up - Bots on the Rock -  We wanted to get an informal group going who liked creating, inventing, programming and playing with LEGO robots, so we started a group with some friends to do just that.  We’ve been going for a year now and have even more plans going forward.  Fun and learning all in one.

Most Interesting Book - The Shack

• Unfortunately I read for pleasure lately even less that I see movies, but I did squeeze in a couple books this year (and have a booklist already started for 2009 to remedy this issue). The Shack was a book that I missed in the “first pass” and heard a lot of people talking about at church, work and on Twitter/Facebook. And when I say people talking is was really a lot more like debating or dialoguing about the book and everyone seemed to have an opinion or idea about it.  So much so that folks wanted to get together and discuss it.  So I picked it up and read it and had a similar response.  In short it is a fictional account of a man who has had some significant loss and tragedy in his life, who through a series of events has an experience, dream, vision, or something where he ends up having a dialog with characters who represent God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Sound strange?  It is.  Worth reading and discussing? It was.
• Runner Up - The Appeal – I do like John Grisham, and my mom and grandma both recommended reading it.  It is another book that evokes an emotional response – mostly anger that this is really probably the way things happen in “real life”.
• Sad note on the book front, we lost Michael Crichton this year – one of my favorite authors growing up.  I’ve read his books like: Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Congo, Sphere, Jurassic Park, Disclosure, State of Fear and at least 5 more less popular titles.  He had a great imagination and perspective on technology and issues surrounding technology, and great suspense and action.  He will be missed.
  

Biggest Bummer - Michigan Economy

• The down economy seems to have impacted every part of our lives.  From friends losing their jobs, to houses losing value and not selling, to retirement plans dissolving, travel plans changing, and just a general gloomy feeling.  We’ve all adapted and changed and perhaps grown closer because of it.  But a positive change in 2009 would be very helpful.
• Runner Up - Seeming demise of the Grand Rapids / West Michigan User Group – This is related to the economy as well as many programming jobs have gone away, and many companies don’t have discretionary money to donate to such causes.  So individuals stop attending and can’t support the group and companies stop supporting the group.  Even the leadership of the group is impacted.  Hopefully the new year and new jobs will encourage people to get interested and involved again.  I’ve seen these things go in cycles and soon the should be a void that the group can fill again.
• Runner Up - Car died – enough said.
• Runner Up - Detroit Lions – too much has already been said.

I am sure I missed something major or noteworthy in 2008 that failed my mental recall attempt this morning, so I’ll update this post as needed.  E-mail me (bruce@abernethy.com) if you think of something.  Blog comments are “unworking” – yes a blog software update is high on the list for 2009.

Another tool I use almost daily for documentation and presentations is Window Clippings, by Kenny Kerr.  There have been screen capture utilities out there since ... well ... since there have been screens, so why is this one different?  There are several reasons.

First, as with other really useful tools, Window Clippings integrates seamlessly into your system and just seems to become part of the operating system.  I hit "PrtScrn" and get Window Clippings.

Second, it does the most common things I need with a simple click of the mouse.  Most often when doing a screen capture you are selecting an entire window - Window Clippings knows this and lets you select a window directly.  Also, it is "Vista Friendly" - what I mean by this is that Vista introduced all kinds of transparency and "Aero" features which can lead to other windows (or your desktop) bleeding through transparent areas on windows that end up in your screen capture.  Window clippings isolates the window clears whatever is behind the window from the screen capture.  Nice clean window capture.  After selecting a single window, the most common thing I need is to capture a section of a window (or the entire screen).  Window Clippings lets you crop or expand the capture area before you capture the image so you only get what you want.

Third, Window Clippings gives you options of what to do with the captured image.

You can copy the image to the clipboard, save the image to a file (even pick the file type - PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP), and even add a "post-save event" to post-process the image once you have taken the picture (never done that - sounds interesting).

The last thing I really like about Window Clippings is the ability to set a time delay before the picture is taken (kind of like the timer on a camera).  This lets you set up things like opening menus initiating pop-up windows or other "strange behavior" on the computer that you couldn't capture with a keypress (i.e. the keypress would either not get through or would take focus away from what you were trying to capture).

There is a free version that implements many of the functions and may be enough for some people's needs.  I dropped the whopping $10 for the full version (adds cropping and time-delay, and more).  I can easily recommend this tool to others.

I know Spring Breaks are coming up (or in progress) and people are heading for Florida.  Having just gotten back from a great trip there, I wanted to share a few more things we found there that greatly exceeded our expectations.  This one is Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island (both Florida State Parks).

If you are on the "gulf side" of Florida, and anywhere in driving range of the Clearwater Beach / Tampa area, this one may be for you ...

The first thing you will notice about the islands is how (relatively) few people will be there (compared to Clearwater Beach or other public beaches).  This is for, in my opinion, three reasons.  First, it is out of the way a bit - you need to drive a little ways to get there, and it is away from any major city.   Second, there are no hotels, motels, restaurants, bars, etc. on the islands - bring a lunch/drinks with you (or settle for the "snack bar" type food there).  Finally, you have to pay to get in - only $5 per car to Honeymoon Island, add $9/adult and $5.50/child to take the ferry to Caladesi Island (yes you can only get there by boat, but it is worth it (see below).  My point is, you need to make an effort (in driving and money) to get there which many/most people will not do.

So why is this place so great?  Let's start with the obvious - it's the #2 rated beach in the country (and stands up to that rating).  I've been to Coco Beach, Daytona Beach, Hilton Head Island, Clearwater Beach, Grand Haven, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and a few others and I can say that Caladesi Island is the nicest beach I have ever been to, by a significant margin.

Next, since it is a State Park they have done a lot to not only protect wildlife, but also guide you to see it.

At the entry of Honeymoon Island there is a nature center / ranger station.  There they had a huge deck with a bunch of spotting scopes where we could see herons, egrets, owls, hawks, tortoise and a bunch of other wildlife (even a Nine Branded Armadillo).

The tide was heading out as we got there, and there were more shells (empty and full) than we saw in all our other "shell hunts" combined.  We found many sand dollars and great samples of all kinds of other shells.

One of the ladies that worked there had found a stranded (living) starfish which we put in a pail and watched for a time.  We put him/her/it back out deeper in the ocean before we left to live another day.

They had kayaks to rent as well as chairs / umbrellas if you wanted them.  This is nice as you don't have to haul your own over on the boat, or lay on the sand for 3-4 hours.

I forgot to mention that. The ferry to Caladesi Island leaves from Honeymoon Island every hour (or half-hour).  The ferry holds about 30-35 people.  Now the only way off the island is the same ferry going the other way, but there isn't room for everyone who came out during the day to head back after sunset.  So you get pre-booked on the return ferry that leaves four hours from the time you came over.  We came over at 11:30 so we were pre-booked on the 3:30 return ferry.  You can show up for an earlier (or later) ferry, but those who are pre-booked for the return ferry get preference.  So you may have to wait 30-60 minutes for the next ferry if it fills up.  They will run until everyone gets back, but they try to make each run as productive as possible.

So, if you like a great beach, nature, shelling, sunshine, boat rides and a little adventure - then this might just be for you.

Enjoy - let me know if you go - we can share some more stories.

I occasionally run into some cool software tools that I end up using a lot, and wanted to blog about them.

I have a few that I want to post soon - here is the first.

ZoomIt is a simple free utility developed by Mark Russinovich at Sysinternals and distributed by Microsoft.  It basically does three things, and only three things, but it does them very well.

I use ZoomIt primarily when doing presentations (on a projector or working with several people on a single computer).  When you press a pre-determined key sequence (Ctrl + 1 as a default). The screen will zoom in 2x centered on your current mouse location.  It is a nice animated zoom that clearly shows what is being magnified.  If you want to increase (or decrease) the level of zoom you can use the mouse-wheel or up/down arrow keys.  Hitting the ESC key or right-mouse button returns you to normal operation.  This enables you to quickly zoom up on some text or controls that may be too small to see (or see well) on the screen.  This is allI use ZoomIt for 95% of the time.

But for completeness there are two other functions that exist.  The next is "Draw" mode.  This is kind of a "John Madden" draw-over markup of the current screen.  If you want to highlight, circle, point to, or even type on the screen (in 5 fabulous colors) you can with this function.  It will remind you of working with a very limited paint program, but can be very effective at drawing attention where you want peoples attention (bad example below).

You can also type "w" or "k" to wipe out the screen and turn it in to a temporary whiteboard or blackboard.

The final thing that ZoomIt will do for you is pop-up a timer in the middle of the screen.  It is a no-nonsense block of red text on a white background that will count down the seconds for the amount of time that you set.  It defaults to 10 minutes and you can use the mouse-wheel or up/down arrows to adjust up or down the number of minutes.  This is useful if you want to start a presentation on time (i.e. a count-down timer to start), or take a 10/15 minute break in the middle of a presentation, or give your audience a specific amount of time to complete a particular task.  Again, a very simple no-nonsense approach, but well implemented if this is something you need.

ZoomIt v1.8

Last night was about as perfect as a lunar eclipse can get (other than the cold).  The skies were completely clear.  The total eclipse was at a late enough time (10:01) that it was dark enough, and not too late that you had to get up in the middle of the night to see it happen.

We went out every 20 minutes or so starting at 8:45 and discussed what was happening in between.

I had forgotten just how dramatic the red color of the moon was at the peak of the eclipse.

We didn't watch the "other side" of the eclipse - maybe in 2010 it will be a summer event and we can camp out under the moon.

When I first heard about Twitter in late 2006, I thought it was the latest example of just another social experiment that seemed trivial and an amazing waste of time. You joined up and started posting very short (140 characters) messages about what you were doing or were thinking about. Then other people could follow you and see your messages and you could follow other people. You only saw messages from people you followed, so you could control how much you wanted to monitor. And people could choose to follow you (and if someone creepy was following you then you could block them).

But, in the last six months or so I have been really starting to use Twitter for actual business use and found it really helpful. This is mainly because of the quality of people that are using it which makes it valuable to follow them. There are at least three types of people I follow: (1) industry leaders (people who are leading the way in technologies or trends that I care about), (2) acquaintances (people you’ve met a handful of times and want to keep in touch with, and may occasionally e-mail), and (3) peers (people who you know by name and face and could e-mail or call up as needed).

So Twitter is really about half-way between e-mail and IM, with a little "blogishness" thrown in. It is asynchronous so you don’t have to be online at the same time as other people, but also nearly real-time as you can react or respond to messages within minutes or hours of their sending. It is much lighter than blogging (say what you are going to say in 140 characters or less), but has been called "microblogging" as it is a stream of ideas and thoughts that map to an individual.

So what are the practical "use cases" for Twitter in business? Here are a few.

(1) When you are stuck in a technical or programming problem and could use some outside help. Spamming your closest friends with your issue might be a solution here but you certainly wouldn’t e-mail lesser known people and bother them. You probably wouldn’t blog about each thing you are working on or having issues with either. But with Twitter you can put up a short message about what you are doing and see what might come back. Conversely you can occasionally monitor “the feed” to see what others are working on and see how you might be able to respond or help out.  But on a busy day you just let the posts flow by without feeling the inferred obligation that an e-mail might create or the interruption of an IM.

(2) Stating what you are learning about or trying out for the first time. Then others may be able to recommend books or resources on the topic, or remember to contact you when they go down that road in the future.

(3) Communicate about local events that people may be interested in attending or hearing about.  When/where/why/who

(4) Follow industry current events and announcements that may have an impact on what you are doing. You can’t get to every conference, presentation or other industry event but you can follow those that are attending and/or presenting.

(5) Words of wisdom or wit to inspire and amuse people and remind us that we are all still human.

(6) And just plain staying connected with the wide world of people who share some type of interest with you (or following those who have taken a different path than you to be able to compare and contrast your positions).

This all being said, there is a lot of junk out there and I have stopped following a people because of the quantity or content of their messages. But that is the beauty of Twitter – the opt-in, opt-out nature – that and the short messages (it is a real skill to say a lot in a little space). You can easily keep up with your timeline/stream in under a minute and it takes even less time than that to update your current message or respond to someone. The time/value ratio is very high (in my opinion).

Anyway, if you are on Twitter or are considering it, my Twitter ID is "babernethy". If not I still e-mail, blog and IM.

When was the last time you heard someone say, in real life, that something "delighted" them, or it was "delightful".  If you are like me it has not happened in recent memory.  But the word seems to keep coming up on vacation so I've been thinking a lot about it.

First, being at the Universal parks in Orlando this week has almost been like visiting a foreign country.  There are literally 2-3 times as many people here from Europe or Eastern Europe than there are from the USA - and they aren't the most populous group.  The #1 language spoken in the park this week, by a factor of 10, is Portuguese - the Brazilian Portuguese (which apparently is as different from the Portuguese from Portugal as the Spanish spoken in Mexico is different from the Spanish spoken in Spain (and perhaps the English spoken in the USA is from the "Queen's English")).

I'll go with this tangent for a second.  Brazil is on "summer vacation" right now and there are work-study groups that bring college-aged kids to the USA as tour groups (for fun for a while) and then they work in the park until late March when they return home at the end of their work/study visa.  This seems like a huge win-win for all - there are tons of paying customers at Universal from Brazil (they even have their own printed materials, maps, signs, etc.) and there are nice student workers who speak the language and are willing to put in the long hours away from home.  I got to speak to several of them this week and my view has changed a bit about what it means to the economy in the USA to have foreign workers (here legally, paying taxes, etc.).  The issue is much deeper, but the many hundreds of Brazilians here, for the most part, were very well received.

Anyway, back to "delight" - the first mention of it was from a British woman speaking about how enjoyable one of the rides was.  (BTW, some of the British families here make "the Dursleys" look well-adjusted).  Next came this kiosk.

It was a "fruity drink" vendor (hard to keep hydrated in the 82 degree heat .... how's the snow?) And it occurred to me that the word "delight" often comes in the context of food (e.g. Turkish Delight). 

But what does "delight" mean?  Why isn't the word used much?  It seems antiquated or "stuffy" when you say it out loud.  I think there is something here though - something that has maybe been lost and needs to return.

I am hooked on the word - I want to "delight" people with the work and things that I do.  I want to do more than "meet expectations" and have people be visibly pleased with what I've done.  Don't want to "shock" people or "surprise" people, but go the extra mile and bring a smile to their face.

I'll write more on this once I've thought it through a bit more about it - I have some ideas.  It isn't easy, and takes extra time and effort.  But it certainly is hard to compete against, and would be impossible to automate or outsource, and is just plain good for everyone.

Headed for the beach for 4 days, and then on to Cape Canaveral for a hopeful launch of STS-122 (watching a bent hose that has got some attention lately,and then back home.  See you soon.

We've been in Florida since about midnight yesterday after having the wrong size plane show up, then having a "unscheduled maintenance opportunity", and then about 30 minutes of de-icing.  Not to mention Budget rent-a-car completely messing up our car reservation (thanks to Avis for coming through with some real customer service).  Anyway, it is hard to complain when I can now do this ...

This was my basic view about 4:15 this afternoon.  My big foot and a book I am reading by the pool with the palm tree, my kids and wife in the pool, and the tiki hut preparing frosty beverages pool-side.  Literally not a cloud in the sky, but not quite 70 degrees (80 by Friday).

I have my first recommendation of the trip - it is a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes (http://www.sweettomatoes.com/ ).   The main theme of the place is "fresh" ingredients - they are making everything in real-time in front of you.  They have the biggest  salad bar I have seen (with just salad stuff on it) with every vegetable known and lots of other toppings.  Then a pasta area, 8 fresh made soups, bakery stuff, and deserts.  It is all done basically buffet style.  So if you have a family who eats different foods, and need something fast, healthy, and a very fair price - this is the place.  It'd be a great place to go to lunch or an informal dinner.  I am sure we will go again before we leave.

BTW, it turns out it is a franchise or at least a chain.  I'd be first in line to help invest in something like this if it came to West Michigan.  I know we have some soup and salad places in town now, but nothing done so well.

So I assume this happens to many people, every so often - you need to retire a fire extinguisher as it is past its "last good date" (sometimes by almost a year).  So you collect the one(s) that is being put out to pasture and get replacement(s).

Now what do you do with the old ones?  You clearly can't just throw them in the trash - they can/will explode when they get compressed.

I found a little advice online...

I've had a long-term discussion/debate with a few people about the market reality of a full-time profession for computer help in the home.  Sure there are Geek Squads and FireDogs now associated with big-box stores, but will there be room for a "profession" for computer help in the home.

I say yes.  This week Apple announced two new "appliances" for the home - the "Time Capsule" (home server) and "Apple TV" (2).  Essentially these are two devices you need never really "see" you just "use" them.  Like the already announced Microsoft Home Server, the market is realizing that people are amassing large amounts of important digital files (e.g. digital pictures, media, tax forms, etc.) and need to back them up.  The other is basically a device to watch/listen to your media (oh and "rent" digital movies, and watch hi-def movies without having to choose HD-DVD or Blue-Ray (and who wants to store physical discs and cases anyway?)).

A large portion of the population "needs" to do backups and watch TV/movies/audio.  But a large portion of them is not technically capable of setting things up or, in increasing numbers, simply wants "someone else" to help them out.

In the "olden-days" personal computers were built by hobbyists, and the Internet was something a handful of geeks and researchers did over a slow modem connection.  Now PCs (and more often laptops) are as common as TVs, and homes are built pre-wired (or wireless) for Internet connections.  More importantly computers (and servers/appliances) need to be setup and configured in the home, and they need to be maintained.  This is evidenced by the "pain" I have witnessed in poor individuals who have lost their Internet connection for "almost a week" or had one (or more) hard drives die on their computers.  These people can feel quite helpless, as if their pipes have burst.

So now I am thinking there are at least two public professions ready for talented individuals.  Since the computer industry often borrows terms from "real" professions (e.g. Architects, Engineers, etc.) why not call them "Handyman" and "Plumber". 

The "Handyman" is the creative proactive role - help people with their dream house - set up a wireless network with great coverage of all their property, wire up the Internet connection, set up the "server closet", set up the entertainment center in all its glory, maybe even configure the universal remote (home automation?).  This would be a lot of fun, and everyone would be happy - there is good money in happy.

But then things also go wrong - you need a "Plumber".  Hard drives fail (all do eventually, if you've got >3-4 years on one, you are on borrowed time), viruses and other malware are common, upgrades are necessary or desired, Internet connections fail (and foreign tech support is rarely helpful), and bad things happen at the worst time.  Sometimes it is a simple fix and people are back up and running.  Other times the sad truth needs to be spoken and drastic measures have to be taken - there is good money in desperate drastic measures.

Man.  I do "computer stuff" every day, have built 4-5 of computers from parts, and seemingly install an operating system on a computer every few weeks.  But, even in writing this, I wish I knew a good Handyman or Plumber to call on when I am at the end of my rope.

I also know I am neither of these people (so this isn't an announcement or advertisement) - I love software and development too much.  But watch and see how this develops (some will say it is already here).

I have to get 7 cub scouts started tonight on creating a mousetrap car. This is in addition to the pinewood derby car they are already working on, and some are working on LEGO robotics creations as well.

I've Googled it, bought some supplies (but still don't have the mousetraps), but lack any real practical experience in doing this myself.

Anyone done this before and have some words of wisdom/warning?