The Humble Geek

All of our advanced technology usually has one drawback. How long does it take to start up? This may range from a few seconds, but in the case of a computer it falls in the range of a few minutes. Hardware has to be initialized and configured for use and that takes time. Are there ways to alleviate that time? Yes!

Tweaking boot times is no light matter, and you will need to have some knowledge about how a computer works internally. I'll be referencing Linux to begin with and Windows to conclude. There's a nice tool to visualize boot times called bootchart that displays each process that runs during the boot process. This ingenious tool can pinpoint locations of high latency, but you the user will have to work on fixing any problems. Linux distributions, such as Fedora, are using this tool to speed up boot times and will show benefits in Fedora 9, which is due to be released in a few weeks. The tool will continue to be used as to prevent regressions and further speed up boot times. My own personal usage of this tool allowed me to shave off 10 seconds by disabling the Red Hat Graphical Boot program. On the other side of the island, things are not so bright. Sure, Microsoft gives it a good go at limiting boot up time, but it isn't customizable or configurable. There isn't much else to say about it simply because there's nothing you can do about it. Usually a network driver causes longer delays and you're stuck at the animated scroll bar for extra unnecessary seconds. However, in the future it may be possible to have next to nothing boot times as we will have dozens of CPU cores and hyper fast solid state drives.

Yes, those are the pores in a face. Each individual hair strand is visible. The eye lashes are indistinguishable. The next revolution in technology is the centerpiece in everyone's home - the high-definition television. Already disgusted? Either way, it's a subjective point and not a point to be considered in your future TV purchases as HD is here to stay. This post won't be a history lesson as the Internet is there for that, rather I will cover the new terminology and related technology for high definition television.

HDTVs are essentially computer monitors on a larger scale. They can function on a large number of inputs and resolutions. The largest, and best, resolution is 1080p, which equates to a screen of 1920x1080 pixels. The "p" indicates a progressive picture that is drawn with whole frames. Traditional television is drawn with interlaced frames, indicated by an "i", due to the TV technology of cathode-ray tubes at the time. Broadcast television uses interlaced high definition streams due to their lower bandwidth requirements. Unfortunately the technology to transmit the larger picture wasn't quite available as it is now in 2008, and we're stuck with interlaced pictures on broadcast TV for the foreseeable future, at least until 4k, which is the next step in video imaging technology.

Content to satisfy the thirst of any HDTV is still lacking, due to the inability of TV networks to provide it. Financial reasons seem to be the determining factor, and I would like to know the real reason why it takes networks years to upgrade, when the technology is freely available right now. The best option, currently, is to use DirecTV as they offer the largest amount of high definition channels. Blu-ray is obviously the best option for hard copies of high definition media. With a high capacity of 25 gigabytes per layer and a protective hard coat layer that prevents scratches, your first Blu-ray movie will cause you to stop wanting DVDs all together. However, there doesn't seem to be a sure winner when it comes to a brand as everyone is flucutating on the technology they are using, but rear projection using DLP is the best available at the moment. Plamsa uses too much power and will wear out within a few years. LCD is suseptible to motion blurring due to high response times. You may think a "flat TV" means a good HDTV, but you would be wasting thousands of dollars on one. Sure, it may look better than your old CRT type TV, but when you compare it to a DLP TV you will be shocked, even then.

The experience is where it counts when it comes to HDTV. You may find that it's impossible to watch a normal TV after seeing some of the best HD content. Blu-ray movies are a must. A Playstation 3 is a must. A Canon or Sony HD camcorder is a must (I'm drooling to get one of these). You may be thinking "I could never afford this" but when you sit down and see a high definition setup, and then look at the price tag, you know you can afford it because you need to have it. Not want; need.

The world is never the same place for more than 10 seconds. Why should those boundaries stop at computer software? Ask yourself this when you wonder why people would use an operating system other than Microsoft's Windows, Apple's OS X, Sun's Solaris, SCO's OpenServer, etc. The general public has been stuck with newspaper clippings and TV reports about the computing world. This left them with the assumption that computing started and stopped with the Windows logo, the Apple logo, etc. As long as the computer functioned enough to let them work, they were satisfied; however, notice my diction. Now that broadband has reached almost every home, consumers are branching out and learning that computers are more than just tools for word processing. The boundaries they were accustomed to were artificially set in place by classical marketing techniques of those with power of commercial software enterprises, and are now broken down with the fluidity of information pouring in from websites across the Internet. If none of my previous sentence made any sense to you, I feel you are still trapped in a box from a retail store. I suggest you get a box cutter and metaphorically cut yourself out of it. Use a free operating system!

Yes, I realize there are dozens of statements similar to my own, however, I wish to differ in their points with reaching out at the facts of life, rather than strictly matters of opinion. The rest of this post is targeted at baseline consumers and the IT infrastructure of corporations everywhere (not for employees). The freedom that is brought with open, free software is always underestimated. People cannot imagine a life without Windows. From my own experiences growing up, I was instinctively stuck in a Windows rut from DOS 6.2, Win 3.1, Win 95, 98, ME, 2000, and XP. AOL, to the Internet. I used Internet Explorer religously until 6.0 and always had PC games instead of consoles. I have seen these same thoughts residing in my friends, family, and co-workers. Corporate software companies have a perfect grasp around the necks of countless consumers. The old saying "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" rings true here, but I have an answer to that question. As most people recognize in my character, I have a knack for being curious, and the corporate software world couldn't fill my curiosity as American politics can't fill Amercian needs. This lack of innovation, along with money, are just two reasons of many, but they are the most important of them all and the only ones worth mentioning without boring you half to death. You're already halfway by now, so I don't want to kill you before you got to the end.

The world changes every 10 seconds and so should you, unless you like sitting on the couch all day, but then you wouldn't be reading this so I have you covered. Corporate software is based on the requirement of meeting requests that have the highest bid. Cash is everything, and this is the number one reason why you should look else where. Abandoning the software you have used forever (and emptied your wallet on) is the first step of cutting yourself out of those boundaries. If you are stuck on the fact that you need Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, or Crysis, you need to seek professional help. There is no sarcasm here. The future computing world is about freedom and choice, not boxes with price tags. This is not a matter of opinion, as what I speak of has been happening for the past decade. The movement of free software has been small and quiet, but it has not faltered or missed one step.

To make that second step and completely exit the box, you have to change the core of your computer software as well - the operating system. I will not, in this post, recommend that everyone go out and download a Linux distribution and blow up their hard drives and install it; it's silly, and no one should ever mention it. In hind sight, I will dictate that consumers read about the options that Linux, and other open operating systems bring to the table. A fine example of this learning process can be seen in my friends and family whom I've shown Linux too. They initially were weirded out, but that's completely normal. After they used it, they found the same simple operating processes worked the way they knew them, and adapted to oddities as they used the system. What I've shown them is only about 5% of the Linux world. The other 95% is another made up Internet percentage, which is largely unexplored even by myself. It would also take a few hundred blog posts to explain more than I've spilled out here, and I may continue in the future, but that would require you, the consumer, to start cutting out of that box first.

Before I hear some thirteen year old pizza-face tell me that Windows is "easy" and "lolz better," or from a fourty-year-old IT guy whose job it is to clean mouse lint, I wish to remind them that they failed the reading comprehension test of this post and they should be beaten with a stick. The same learning principles apply to Windows as does any computing software. If you picked up a native from deep in the Amazon jungle and threw Windows Vista at them, would you dare refute the fact that it wouldn't be that easy for that individual? If you would, you only support my second opinion - I hate people.

Work flew by and with the threat of huge thunderstorms outside I'm indoors as I am every night. I was prepared to update my Nokia N95 up to the latest version of the operating system, but Nokia is delaying the update rollout for some unknown reason. Bah!! I am dying to have Flash 9 support in my web browser. This feels like the Flash 7 -> Flash 9 wait on Linux a few years back. Of course, the phone update is available via other means, but I am going to try and remain patient for the official update from the Nokia updater software.

How about those mavs? They easily beat the worst NBA team on Sunday, but they have the three toughest teams ahead. I have no idea if they will win; if they do I am sure they can head to the Finals with ease.

Australian F1 was a blast. Only 7 cars finished? The lowest ever I believe. Amazing race to start the 2008 season. BMW placed a strong second, and it was Heidfeld's second, second place!