The Interfaced World

Butterfly and Thistle

MJW — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:59:55 +0000

Small Crab Apple

MJW — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:29:37 +0000

Would you trust facebook with your location?

MJW — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:57:24 +0000

Welcome to another slippery slope! Yes I do have a lamebook, err facebook account. I set it up to plant my flag, before anyone who also shares my name or those that would spoof me staked their claim. (metaphor overload).

I don’t use it and hope to never be put in situation where I must use it (multilevel marketing anyone!?).

Location based facebook is coming! A.k.a.: “Places” And of course based on their past history, you can be sure that facebook won’t overshare your information…

Check this out from Dan Gillmor at Salon.

Google + Verizon, isn’t that just perfect!

MJW — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:26:28 +0000

Update: Check out this article at Wired; great explanation of this issue:

Why Google Became A Carrier-Humping, Net Neutrality Surrender Monkey (UPDATED) By Ryan Singel

“Don’t be evil” How quaint!

If you want your big bandwidth delivered to your _wireless_ device, you’re gonna pay!

Give up now- just build for iPads!

Google and Verizon Announce Net Neutrality Proposal via NYT

Google, Verizon and net neutrality: what does it mean? via Guardian UK

Red Sumac

MJW — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:04:05 +0000

Silicon and Sand

MJW — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:20:57 +0000

First Thistle

MJW — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:08:11 +0000

Thistles grow fast. The flowers are beautiful, the plant is impressive – at the end of the season, they can reach six feet tall! Later this year, Goldfinch will feast on their seeds.

Questionable Material

MJW — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:03:14 +0000

Not sure what this white material is – perhaps ash?

Facilities Topsoil Territory

MJW — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:01:55 +0000

What would Elvis do?

MJW — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:30:35 +0000

The government of Iran has issued a decree regarding Hairstyles for men. It’s true, there are certain hairstyles that do not conform to the Governments’ rules. Ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes are outlawed!

Hen of the Woods

MJW — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:21:24 +0000

Guerilla Christian Burial

MJW — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:35:55 +0000

This disturbed soil and cross appeared on public land within a park near my house. I wonder: What’s under this soil? Why here?

Parking Lot Geometry #1

MJW — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:15:38 +0000

Watch out for the propellers

MJW — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:11:31 +0000

AT&T Really? Part 2

MJW — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:01:37 +0000

This deal is no deal… AT&T’s bandwidth capping plan is a monster in the closet. As I wrote last week, it’s one thing to view web pages, emails and maps online. But once users begin to download and watch videos, they will reach the data limit, quickly.

AT&T’s $25-a-month DataPro plan, $5 less than the existing unlimited plan, offers two gigabytes of data, which amounts to 10,000 e-mail messages without attachments, 4,000 Web pages, 500 photos and 200 minutes of video.

200 minutes of video! An hour long TV show will use approximately 550 Mb, A streamed movie from netflix will use approximately 300 Mb. That’s 3.63 TV shows / month. So I guess you better hope your favorite show is on repeat or hiatus for one week a month or you’ll hit the limit.

Here’s a quote (my italics):

Sugar Inc., the blog network for women, has an app with videos featuring celebrity gossip and interviews. “Video for us is growing extremely fast — and it’s going to cost us and the consumer a bunch of money, because of the data going over the wire,” said Brian Sugar, chief executive and a founder of the company.

His company is already considering how to offer people lower-bandwidth video. “Back in the olden days on the Internet, you’d always have the high-bandwidth and the low-bandwidth version of your Web site,” he said. Sugar might ask users whether they want to view a high-quality video or a lower-bandwidth, more pixilated one.

This is progress?

We’re back to designing on line content for those with low bandwidth data caps and high bandwidth caps. Those of use who have been in the internet world for a while know that this isn’t hard to do – it’s just a lot of extra work that will evolve again (hopefully) to being unnecessary.

What a shortsighted bait and switch scam.

Link to: App Makers Worry as Data Plans Are Capped, via NYT by Claire Cain Miller and Brad Stone

Addressograph in the Woods

MJW — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:44:25 +0000

Beansprout

MJW — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:01:00 +0000

AT&T Really?

MJW — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:53:45 +0000

AT&T: Really?

[Links below]

Yesterday AT&T announced changes to their data plans. No longer can you run an unlimited plan, high data prices are up.

Those of you that use your iPhone to listen to music, via lets say Pandora for perhaps hours / day will be unpleasantly surprised when you get your bill. Price increases for large amounts of data also are coming for the iPad.

Also, a Verizon representative states that we won’t see the iPhone on Verizon’s network any time soon.

And, a customer who emailed the CEO of AT&T a letter expressing dissatisfaction with the changes in pricing received a warning of ‘’Cease and Desist’’ if he continued writing.

Using an iPhone on AT&T’s network is like driving a Ferrari on a road full of ruts, it will work, but not well. But now – they will change the price of the gas while you’re in the car!

Really AT&T? I guess at least you’re not BP.

For those of you who want a solution go Verizon with a Droid!

Also – if you think you’ll never use 2GB of data / month now -how ’bout when we’re all ‘watching TV’ on these devices?

AT&T warns customer that emailing the CEO will result in a cease and desist letter By Nilay Patel Via engadget

Say Goodbye to AT&T’s Unlimited Data Plan For The iPad 3G By Rosa Golijan, Via Gizmodo

AT&T Kills Unlimited Data Plan For iPhones, iPads by Peter Svennson Via AP

Verizon Spokesman: No iPhone Plans in ‘Immediate Future’ by Eric Slivka, via MacRumors

Water, Light, Seaweed

MJW — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:43:14 +0000

Bonfire

MJW — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:09:28 +0000