SamPratt.com

Kirsten vs. The Internet

The Albany Times-Union reports that appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (formerly of Greenport) is siding with Hollywood and music industry lobby groups over, well, pretty much everyone else when it comes to internet censorship. The PIPA and SOPA bills in Congress have inspired numerous sites (from Wikipedia to Boing Boing to Reddit) to go "dark" for the day. More than a passive supporter, Gillibrand actually co-sponsored PIPA in the Senate.

As if to illustrate what such censorship might be like, a reader reports that comments about these bills were being erased from Gillibrand's Facebook page, though now it appears they are coming too fast and furious for monitors to keep up with.

Public outcry has already caused some initial supporters, such as hosting provider Go Daddy, to withdraw support from these measures (which would help rich entertainment businesses eke out a modest improvement in profit, at the expense of free speech). A former attorney for Big Tobacco, Gillibrand has a history of changing her noxious positions if there is enough pressure: she formerly opposed gay marriage, and held anti-immigrant positions such as making English the "official" U.S. language.

But such pressure has rarely come from Hudson Valley Democrats, who have tended to value their personal access to a "local" politician over their own political principles. Will Columbia County Dems hold Kirsten's feet to the fire on this huge issue?

At this link Google has an action page for speaking out to Congress.

Quotable Dash

So, who is this man? He’s the anchor baby of an activist Arab muslim who came to the U.S. on a student visa and had a child out of wedlock. He’s a non-Christian, arugula-eating, drug-using follower of unabashedly old-fashioned liberal teachings from the hippies and folk music stars of the 60s. And he believes in science, in things that science can demonstrate like climate change and Pi having a value more specific than “3”, and in extending responsible benefits to his employees while encouraging his company to lead by being environmentally responsible.

Every single person who’d attack Steve Jobs on any of these grounds is, demonstrably, worse at business than Jobs. They're unqualified to assert that liberal values are bad for business, when the demonstrable, factual, obvious evidence contradicts those assertions.

It’s a choice whether you, or anyone else, wants to accept the falsehood that liberal values are somehow in contradiction with business success at a global scale. Indeed, it would seem that many who claim to be pro-business are trying to “save” us from exactly the inclusive, creative, tolerant values that have made America's most successful company possible. I side with the makers, the creators, and the inventors, and it's about time that the pack of clamoring would-be politicians be put on the defensive for attacking the values of those of us on this side.

— Anil DaSh on Steve Jobs

Changes at Etsy

BetaBeat, a tech journal published online by The New York Observer, reports that Etsy CEO Rob Kalin is stepping down. Kalin is known locally as the driving force behind Etsy’s decision to open a customer service center in Hudson, but from the sound of things this shouldn’t have any effect on the expected 50 or so jobs being created there. A source tells me that six new hires were made there just recently, and are looking to find another 5-10 people by September.

 

Mobile app for Hudson blogs!

For my own convenience (and to brush up some mobile design skills), I created a simple app for my iPhone which lets me quickly check the headlines on a variety of Hudson blogs.

I started with Carole Osterink’s Gossips of Rivertown, Trixie Starr’s Gay Hudson, Scott Baldinger’s GoToHudson, Lisa Durfee’s Tainted Lady Lounge, John Farley’s The12534, and my own site. The widget lets you click on an item to go to the blogger’s full site, if you want to read more than the headline and an excerpt.

To give it a test drive, just load this link into your browser on your smartphone...

http://m.wbx.me/hudson

... and then click on the "+" button on the phone’s web browser to turn it into a Home Screen “app,” or else bookmark the link. It should also work on Android, but I haven’t tried it yet.

The blogs selected are those most focused on Hudson which I check most regularly... I’ve not included commercial sites, political party blogs, and less frequently-updated sites, but the sky’s the limit here, and I’m open to suggested additions (while aiming to keep the clutter down).

Give it a try and let me know if it works, ye mobile-heads. I'm still tweaking things a bit, but it’s ready for beta-testing. Feedback encouraged using the comments link below... If people find this useful, I’ll also make one for Columbia County blogs, Hudson Valley news headlines, and the like. And for now, it’s got some ads from Widgetbox, as I’ve not sprung for a Pro account yet.

Want

The iPhone 3GS has almost completely replaced both my laptop and my digital camera (neither of which leaves the house much anymore). It gives me the ability to read and send email, update this blog, shoot and edit photos, record video and audio, take notes, read books, check Facebook and Twitter, surf the web, watch movies and baseball games, play Scrabble, and dozens of other favorite things. Plus it syncs seamlessly with my office and home computers. The only key task it doesn’t address is typesetting and page layout; but no doubt that, tool will come.

With the addition of a black Case-Mate cover, the iPhone also serves as my wallet. I used to tote around all kinds of gear (laptop, camera, phone, chargers, cables, wallet, notebooks). Now I carry one incredibly compact device in my pocket, plus my keys. That’s it: travel light.

So count me among those “fanboys” who most definitely will upgrade to the iPhone 4 as soon as it’s in stores. The new features are worth it: a much higher-resolution screen, better antennas, a slimmer phone, HD video editing, an LED flash for the upgraded main camera—not to mention the addition of a forward-facing lens for video conferencing—and more. Tip: You can check your upgrade eligibility by dialing *639#.

Some people love to hate Apple, but frankly I think that’s moronic. My life is easier, better, less complicated thanks to Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive forcing the computer  (and indeed the entire tech) world to constantly play catch-up. They’re among the very few people atop our mass commercial culture who have truly advanced design and usability, and delivered it to a broad audience. As kids, we were shown a future full of ubiquitous monorails and jetpacks and Star Trek communicators; the iPhone is the only device I use which seems truly Space Age.

Yeah, I loathe being forced to patronize AT&T... and wish Apple would get some of its  production out of China. But the same goes for Verizon and the rest of the carriers and phone makers, so I’m pretty much boxed in. If I could move to a carrier like CREDO, I would in an instant. Eventually, no doubt that will be possible.

But I’m not getting the first gen iPad. Nuh-uh.

Underwhelmed

So I finally saw an iPad today. It was both smaller and heavier than expected.

"Nice screen" is about the most positive thing I could say about it. Unlike most newly-launched Apple products, it didn't make me want to get one in any hurry. The touchscreen keyboard felt awkward at first, though probably that feeling would go away with more use. The apps didn't seem powerful enough to allow me to eliminate the need for the laptop for real work at home or on the road.

When out and about, the iPhone already serves as a more-than-adequate solution for checking email, updating sites, reading news, and other more mundane applications, without having to lug around a lot of gear. (With a Casemate cover, it also doubles as my wallet.) For watching movies to pass the time while traveling—which seems to be the main thing for which most people will use the iPad—an iPhone a foot from your face is really not that different from a 50-inch television across the room.

Keeping track of three devices is plenty. I really don't want four devices to sync, charge and update—the iMacf at the office, the iBook at home, the iPhone on the road, and then an iPad... for some other functions. Since it can't replace one of the other devices, it’s not a priority or even a luxury purchase.

Plus, this website you're looking at right now didn't load properly, and I don't think that was Typepad's fault. Maybe I'll reconsider when the second generation comes out, if it evolves into more of a laptop substitute.

Honey, I shrunk Steve Jobs

 
Little Steven looks positively tiny next to that iPhone ... At right, see him shrink even more. Shortly after this picture was taken, he collapsed to the size of a pushpin and fell through a vent in the stage, never to be seen again. 

(OK, so you can go to GDGT.com to see photos of the Jobs presentation of the iPad. Presumably Apple will post the entire video shortly. Also, if you scroll down on the Specs page, it’s worth checking out the several keyboard and case options, which allay some of my concerns about regular writing on the device, or just trying to stand the thing up while watching a movie lying down.)

iSplat

What will Steve Jobs name the endlessly-anticipated product which Apple will launch tomorrow (January 27th)? Based on the design of the invitation, iSplat is my contribution to the guessing game. More serious contenders are  iPad, iSlate, iTab(let), iPal(ette), iCan(vas), &c.

Endangered species