Invited to Google Voice

I opened Gmail yesterday to find a Google Voice invite. Prior to the invite I hadn't given the service much thought. I figured it was probably handy for someone with several different numbers to juggle or someone who wanted to keep an old number as well as get a new one? In any case, the reality of the interface is much more familiar than I'd originally thought.

Think Gmail for your voicemail (cause that's basically what it is). It takes no more than five minutes to setup and get acclimated. You can have the Google Voice number forward to any other phone number that you have access to. I've yet to fully explore the integration with Google Talk due to PC troubles, but I'd expect that Google's aiming for a Skype-like app.

One cool feature is the transcription of your voicemail into an inbox message. I can't it's all that accurate though. It transcribed this, "Hey Mike, eh, the cubs just struck out in the bottom of the third and the score's tied three to three so starting the fourth inning. Bye bye," to "hey mike either have a comes just truck out in the bottom of the 3rd tennis course tag 323 so starting before thing bye bye." A cool feature, but totally impractical if this is representative of the quality of transcription. All in all it's cool, but not that amazing.

IE8 finally working on my netbook

The netbook is back! I'd set it aside a few months ago after getting the MacBook from work. Don't get me wrong, I still used it, but just not quite as much. Then I foolishly decided to let Windows Update install IE8, and the crash-on-launch behavior of IE8 began. I got frustrated. There didn't seem to be a quick fix, and so I quit using the 1000HE (IE isn't my primary browser, but is easiest for me to check my work email).

Now that my main Windows box is still experiencing the sniffles from a full blown virus, I've returned to the netbook and am happy to report that IE8 is all better. As part of the repair process for the desktop I went through the Control Panel to reset all Internet Options to the factory settings. This proved to be the fix for IE8 on the 1000HE. If you happen to have a similar problem or hear of someone who does, suggest this simple solution. You'll loose all your customizatinos, but you should probably be using Firefox or Chrome as a primary browser anyway.

HTML5 Drum Kit

This is just cool.

http://www.randomthink.net/labs/html5drums/

Enough said.

Dave Brubeck at Symphony Center

When my mom first asked me about going to see Dave Brubeck at Chicago Symphony Center, it was a kneejerk yes. Dave Brubeck has long been one of my favorite Jazz musicians and I doubt he's going to be touring much longer. The concert itself certainly didn't dissappoint. In the second half of the show he played Three To Get Ready and Take Five, both of which are favorites.

I have a few live recordings of Dave Brubeck, noteably the Quartet at Carnegie Hall, and I was somewhat ambivalent of what seeing Brubeck at Symphony Center, from the balcony, when he's in his late 80's would be like. Like I said before, he didn't disappoint. He wasn't quick on his feet, but he's great in front of a piano. The crowd also got into it, which livened it up more than I had expected.

Launched a Facebook Application

We launched a Facebook application for AutoTrader.com today. It's a relatively simple application, but was built with extensibility in mind, so we can add quizes, questions, answers, etc. without much work. It's not the largest undertaking, but definitely something to be proud of.

What Kind of Car Am I?

The Cloud Explained

Erin's said that I don't describe tech things very well to non-tech people...and she's probably right to some extent. A couple months ago, I tried to explain the could to my aunt and it don't think I got the point across. Anyway, I saw this article on NYTimes.com and it gave an descent outline of data centers and the could.

“In reality, the cloud is giant buildings full of computers and diesel generators,” Manos says. “There’s not really anything white or fluffy about it.”

Article, Photos

Funny - VC Non-Admissions

Humorous deck I saw on TechCrunch:

VC Non Admissions

View more Microsoft Word documents from vcobserver.

CMMY Prom 2009

A few weeks back we had an awads party at work. With this economy it was a low-budget affair, but was just as fun as anything we've done in a while. Oh, yeah...Did I mention it was prom themed? Not what I would have chosen, but I got through with a tux-tee handily.

Photos

Now Would'ya Look'it That!

USB Ultrasound device coming to a Windows Mobile phone near you?

Did I ever mention that I worked with these two professors on a Capstone project at Wash U? We developed a USB-powered harmonic ultrasound system. Prof. Zar had the imaging software and Richard was the professor for the hardware design class. It was my by far my favorite hardware class at Wash U.

Tasks for the desktop

I've been looking around for a nice Google Tasks widget for the Dashboard but so far have only found this neat AIR based widget.