Go Jeeves Go!

Tuesday, September 21st, 2004 | Geeking | No Comments

While most of you netizens out there are Google users through and through, there are a percentage of punters who are avid Jeeves fans. I’m talking about Ask Jeeves, the alternative and somewhat irritating search engine that started with the idea of ‘humanising’ internet searches.

Instead of entering: Flight to Majorca
You can enter: Find me a cheap flight to Majorca, Jeeves ol pal!
and off he’ll trundle and hand you the nicest links he can possibly find, my lady.

It’s all very nice, and very British. What, what.

But Jeeves, the good old chap, has gone on holiday. Just vanished by jove!

It’s now totally possible to customise your Jeeves to be whomever you choose:

One for the money,
Two for the show,
Three to get ready,
Now,
Go! Jeeves, Go!

What we do in life, echoes in eternity. Or just on our own personal blog. Same thing, really.

Well… it entertained me, anyway.

MT - Shiteth doth hit the fan

Tuesday, May 18th, 2004 | Geeking | 1 Comment

After witnessing the blood bath at Six Apart over their new licensing scheme, it’s a nice gesture for 6A to readdress thier pricing structure to best the needs and desires of their customers. Because they are customers now. Not just users.

Mind you, I’m not sure if it’s a case of “too little, too late”.

I might, with a bit of jiggery-pokery, manage to squeeze into the free license of version 3.0. But that’s not my main objection. I really wouldn’t mind paying $20-$30 for a piece of software that will improve my current situation. I’m currently paying that for a LiveJournal, simply so I can network with friends on the LJ-Communities.

I’d upgrade in a heartbeat, if I thought it would be worth my time. I dont have a problem with my current installation of 2.6.6, so if it aint broke….

I feel for Ben and Mena. They’ve invested such a lot of time and energy into this software, for such a long time. Movable Type has become such a huge part of their lives. The software package itself is such a solid, usable piece of good looking code that it’s no wonder that so many users feel so attached to it.

I want to know who advised them on their original pricing structure. Was it a fellow geek? Was it some corporate suit who couldn’t get past the dollar symbols? Whoever it was, didn’t really understand the community that has been built around MT.

Six Apart sure as hell hit the rewind button as soon as the furore erupted all over the net. I’ll be tuned in to see the next developments, and see how the situation pans out. I know there’s been a lot of development all over the net at competitors forums and sites, and I think that even with this latest readdressing of the pricing scheme, this shock has prompted a lot of people to investigate other solutions to their needs.

Perhaps this will diversify the Blogging world? Besides, change isn’t always a bad thing!

Geek is loose!

Thursday, April 8th, 2004 | Geeking | No Comments

I’ve recently fallen in love with eBay; Not in a big romantic way, just a subtle crush that sends me scurrying off to check my bids every half an hour.

My latest (and greatest) purchase is a Polar M32 Heart rate Monitor, with a soft band strap and funky wrist monitor. It has all types of funky technology, even letting me know when I’m training in my optimum heart rate zone. My zone! Wicked.

It arrived this morning, and just after tearing it from the box I hastily put it on and pushed the buttons til I got something that looked like a heart pulse on the wristwatch. I don’t know if it’s mine. I hope it is. Since then, I’ve been doing all sorts of things to see what my heart rate does.

Just sitting here, coding in basic PHP keeps my heart rate around 72 bpm. Shell scripting usually boosts it to 74 bpm, but whenever I have to send a fax, my heart rate zooms through the roof and zips up to 85 bpm!

I need to get fit! Send me more faxes! Abandon the tree-friendly email! FAX ME!!!
Feel that body burn!!!

Now I understand!

Friday, February 27th, 2004 | Geeking | No Comments

I got a little bit overwhelmed with an icon generator… Although, I really think some of them are true classics.

Goggle at Google

Friday, January 9th, 2004 | Geeking | No Comments

We always take things for granted. It seems, the better something is at its job, the less we notice it.

Take for instance: Google.
It’s always there, it’s always working, it always provides us with the answers we need.

In fact, Google has invaded our popular culture, and our language. To “google” something is now commonplace, and Googlisms has its own devoted web site.

Results of my own Googlism:
jacqui is ready for gold rush
jacqui is recognized in the community for her expertise in working with couples
jacqui is diverse and energetic
jacqui is a born artist
jacqui is in elk geval een zeer opmerkelijk gitarist
jacqui is an artist of figurative subjects with life and energy
jacqui is our shop photographer
jacqui is a gift to interview
jacqui is an undergraduate student of merit
jacqui is her ability to accept me as I am and for who I am in spite the fact that she knows me so well

In fact, it’s so damn good, that Microsoft is getting envious and has plans of rolling out there own version of a super-search engine later on this year. Phhhht. Like they have a chance!

So we take it for granted. Google is a rock on which internet subculture is built. It’s there. It’s always there. Have you ever seen a Google Error Page? Neither had I. In 4 years of Google usage (Yeah, so what. I’m a google early-adopter snob! What of it?) Google has always been there, until this morning when it wasn’t there.

Google Error Page

It’s a mark of quality when even the Error Pages are given their own special worth.
Go Google, Go!

Size Matters?

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003 | Geeking | No Comments

Does size matter?

Is performance directly proportional to size?

Some of us are not gifted with the ability to chose our size. Some of us are too small, some of us are too big. I once said that size matters not, but then, I was always well proportioned and didn’t have a size problem. And I don’t have a penis.

The arguments for each side are varied but clich?.
It doesn’t matter what you have, but it’s what you do with it that counts. Any more than a mouthful is a waste. Small things come in good packages? Or was it large things comes to those who wait? What? Anyway, yadda, yadda, yadda. I’m 100% sure that every one of you have heard it all before.

But this is totally different.

There’s a G5 sitting 2 feet away from me.
Feel the raw power.

It’s got a 20-inch flat panel monitor. Looks like the whole wall is taken up by crispy dynamic graphics. Brilliant graphics. Brilliant resolution. Brilliant design. This thing even has a built in USB hub.

Under the gorgeous brushed steel casing its got a 64bit processor, which is double that of any PC that’s commercially sold. The 1GHz frontside bus is more than enough bandwidth for the most power hungry application, and yo, I just saw Microsoft Mac-Office install itself in under 60 seconds. I saw that on the 20-inch crystal clear display. The fact that it’s also got a 120Gb hard drive and 1024 Mb of RAM seems to fade into the background. All of the other PC’s in the office are turning a violent shade of green.

Envious? Of what?
Did I mention 20 inches?
*whimper*

Lets face it.
Size matters.