friedman: always supply your comparative advantage

Yay, I was eligible for the free 25GB Skydrive upgrade (vs 7GB for new users). To see if you are eligible for the free Skydrive upgrade click here.

Because I used Windows Live Mesh in the past (or maybe because I tested out Skydrive in the past, I don’t know), I was eligible for the free upgrade. Without this free upgrade I probably wouldn’t have used either Google Drive or SkyDrive because their free storage options (5GB and 7GB respectively) were not quite large enough to contain all the contents of my pictures (7.5GB) and key files (2.5GB) directories.

While I was an enthusiastic early user of Dropbox, I prefer SkyDrive over the new Google Drive and DropBox primarily because I can sync any number of disparate existing folders from my PC. Google Drive and Dropbox limit your sharing to only one dedicated folder.

[Update: After reading the Paul Thurrott piece listed below, I discovered that, unlike Live Mesh before it, Sky Drive does not yet allow you to sync multiple disparate folders . It appears to have the same dedicated folder limitation that Google Drive and Dropbox have. Alas, while I’m happy to have the 25GB upgrade, it won’t be used until I can use SkyDrive to sync multiple folders.]

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If the warning above annoys you as much as it does me whenever you open an attachment in Outlook 2010 (or outlook 2007) the video below shows you how to get rid of it.

[Note: This is a reprise of an earlier post where I showed how to do this in the context of Outlook 2007.]

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There is a known video rotation issue when importing videos into Windows 7 that were taken in landscape mode with the iPhone 4 and 4S . In Windows, iPhone videos will be upside down if, when you took them, you held the iPhone horizontally with the recording on/off controls at the top. Turns out that if you want your video to be right-side-up when importing them to the PC you will need to hold the iPhone upside down when taking the video.

Also, all videos taken in portrait mode on the iPhone will appear sideways when imported onto the PC. There is no way to take portrait videos on the iPhone 4 and 4S without them appearing sideways on the PC.

In the video below I show you how to use the terrific free ‘Freemake Video Converter’ app to solve this problem by rotating your imported videos to the proper orientation.

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There is a known Windows 7  rotation issue with portrait photos taken with the iPhone 4 and 4S. Unlike with the 3G or 3GS, photos taken in portrait mode on the iPhone 4 and 4S do not auto-rotate when imported in to Windows 7. This is the case: (i) whether you sync your photos via iCloud; or (ii) whether you physically import them via USB; even when you explicitly set the Windows import utility to auto-rotate them on import. The issue is being discussed here, here , here and here on the Apple support forums and here on the Microsoft support forum.

To make matters worse, a good portion of these photos end up locked in such a way that you cannot subsequently rotate them with the various photo rotate tools built in to Windows 7 (see error message in the image above).

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As part of my ongoing move to a ‘ paperless’ office, I purchased a Doxie scanner. It’s small, easy to use and does exactly what I need – scan to an app or the cloud.

The key benefit of this scanner is that I can scan into any app that accepts images or documents. Most importantly for me, it scans directly into Evernote. I’m finally able to ‘easily’ get rid of any number of rag-tag pieces of paper that collect with odds and sods of information.

I have a Brother copier, printer, scanner but its too difficult to use. To scan documents on it I have to, place it in the scanner, close the lid, press a whole bunch of buttons, open the archaic Brother ‘Control Center 3’ software, scan in the document (at a glacial speed) where it store the document somewhere on my computer. From there I have to find it, sort it, open it and do something with it.

With the Doxie, on the other hand, I just place the paper in the scanner, press the Doxie button, it scans (faster than the Brother) then it asks where I want to send it (to Evernote, Flicker, Paint.net, Google Apps, most any app on my PC) and then it sends it to where I want it stored/used.  It’s so much easier. There is no file where the document/image is stored on my PC unless I want it.

The only issue I have with it is that I still have not found a way to scan directly into OneNote. For now I scan into Paint.net, then copy it over to OneNote.

Bottom Line, it’s fast, easy, and exactly what I need.

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I bought a brick for the Twit Brick House and received this Certificate of Appreciation:

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As my friends know, I’m a Charlie Rose fan (witness this earlier Charlie Rose post) and a U.S. political junkie. Over the last 15 years, with TiVo at the ready, I have rarely missed an episode.

I’m also an admirer of the Pulitzer price winning, George Will, a level-headed, conservative-leaning, syndicated Washington Post columnist that appears weekly on the ABC Sunday morning news show This Week.  While an ‘admirer’, I often (perhaps, usually) disagree with him. George can fairly be characterized as both a thoughtful and principled Republican pundit. I, on the other hand, would characterize myself as a centrist – a fiscal conservative and social liberal. If I could vote in U.S. elections, I would be an Independent.

On August 9, 2011, Charlie Rose interviewed George Will for the hour (you can watch the full interview here – click on the image of George on that page to start the video).  George happily states that he’s a proud Madisonian – the fundamental characteristic of which is the notion that the U.S. Constitution imposes ‘a government full of blocking mechanisms’ that make it extremely difficult (usually taking a lot of time) for things to change – including for progress to be had and fundamental justice to be realized.

This is one area where I profoundly diverge from George – the belief that this is necessarily or always a ‘good’ thing. At the 18:34 mark in the interview, George states:

“I can think of nothing that the American people have wanted intensely and protractedly that they did not get. The system works!” 

CONTINUE READING →

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Before I purchased my Nexus S, I was sure that I had heard/read somewhere that it can natively (ie: without rooting the device) provide mobile hotspot tethering to other devices – ie: set it up so that other devices, like my laptop, iPod Touch or iPad, can connect to it as a hotspot, to share my Rogers 3G data account with all my non-3G, Wi-Fi enable devices.

When I purchased the Nexus S at the local Rogers store a couple weeks ago the sales people assured me that this was not possible –that I’d have to pay Rogers a separate, extra $5 fee each month to turn tethering on. Turns out the  Rogers guys were wrong – at least in the case of the Nexus S. No doubt this is true for all other non-Nexus branded Android devices. I bought the Nexus S primarily because it is a stock Google Android phone with no carrier-futzing limiting what it can do.

Despite being told it wouldn’t work, I got around to testing it out today. I set up a portable hotspot on my Nexus S called ‘Dale’s Android Hotspot’ – see instructions below. I turned on my iPad, opened the Wi-Fi settings and, voila,  it saw the ‘Dale’s Android Hotspot’ (see image on the right). I typed in the password, fired up mobile Safari, and had full Internet access through my Nexus S hot-spot. Email worked too. Wonderful!

This means that when I’m out and about with my laptop or iPad, I can access the Internet from anywhere I can get 3G access (subject, of course, to Rogers wireless data caps and overage fees). Heck, I can even use this hotspot to connect my now SIM-less iPhone 3GS to the Internet.

I’m very happy about this.  I’m love’n my Nexus S more and more every day!!

How to Setup the Nexus S as a Portable hotspot:

• Go to the Android’s Settings screen
• Select ‘Wireless & networks’
• Select ‘Tethering & Portable hotspot’
• Click the checkbox beside the ‘Portable Wi-fi hotspot’
• Click on the ‘Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings’ item
• Click on the ‘Configure Wi-Fi hotspot’ item
• Name the hotspot in the ‘Network SSID field’ – I named mine ‘Dale’s Android Hotspot’
• On the security pull-down menu select ‘WPA2 PSK’
• Type in your desired hotspot password
• Click ‘Save’

That’s it. Now turn on your iPad, iPod touch, laptop, whatever, search for the named hotspot, type in the password and you are off to the tethered races.

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Because there is no Hulu in Canada,  in the past I have written about various, albeit limited, online TV streaming resources available to Canadians (see, for example here and here). 

Today I received an email from Seppo Sahrakorpi of Pilvi Computing announcing his new ‘Streaming Guide’ which links to all the disparate TV streaming offerings available to Canadians. I tested it and it works well. The interface is rather sparse, yet simple and effective.  It’s a simple alphabetical list of all TV shows that can be watched online in Canada. You can sort by various genres.

While this worked well on my PC, unfortunately, owing to the iPad’s lack of support for Flash, I couldn’t get any of the shows I tested to work on my iPad.

Putting this together must have been an awful lot of work. What’s more, to keep it up-to-date, will require a herculean ongoing effort. Let’s hope Seppo is up to the task!  Thanks for all the hard work Seppo.

NOTE: Last I tested it, Hotspot shield still allowed Canadians full access to Hulu.

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I have long lamented the myriad products and services available to our American friends that, for a large variety of reasons, have never made their way to Canada. 

Zappos Canada was one of the rare exceptions. Sadly, as I turned to Zappos Canada to order a pair of running shoes today I found this depressing message (click image for larger view):

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This week, Netflix launched its long awaited and much coveted Netflix Canada service. Unfortunately, the content selection cupboard is mostly bare.

The limited offerings (and lack of DVD service) explains the $7.99 Cdn per month price. The minimum monthly fee that Americans pay for their Netflix service is $9.95 U.S.. For that they get a DVD-by-mail service and a substantially broader array of on-demand offerings.

Limited Launch Offerings:

Browsing through their movie and TV offerings, it appears that there are only about 100 older movies available – too many of which are third-rate movies. There are no new movie offerings.

There are only 18 TV series available at launch, with Heroes seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 constituting four of the 18.  Mad Men seasons 1, 2 and 3, but not any of the current Season 4, make up another three of the 18. Several of the available TV series I’ve never heard of (Hoarders, Paranormal State, The Boondocks, Drop Dead Diva?). Aside from Heroes and Mad Men, there are no other past or present broadcast or cable network prime-time hit TV series available at all.

Happily, the service is not chock-a-bloc full of the made-in-Canada TV content that riddle the Canadian versions of the Apple TV & Xbox 360 on-demand services. In fact, there isn’t a single made-in-Canada movie or TV show available through the service.

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Back in May, 2009 I reported that Hulu had managed to defeat Hotspot Shield. As of September 9, 2010 the latest Hotspot Shield seems to be effective at defeating Hulu’s anti-circumvention measures.

At this moment I can access each of:

• Hulu: I can access full episodes of shows on Hulu now. Below, for example, is Episode 2 of Season 1 of MasterChef:

• Pandora: I had happily used Pandora for a long time before they cut off access to Canadians. I’m delighted that I can access it again.

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Since upgrading to iOS 4 a couple months back my iPhone 3G has ran as slow as molasses. So frustratingly slow that I have been considering replacing it with an Android (though Android handset choices in Canada are few).

Today iOS 4.0.1 was released. As you can see below it purports to include iPhone 3G performance fixes.

After futzing around with my updated iPhone 3G for an  hour I can report that the update has fixed the problem somewhat. Apps do start and function quicker than they have recently. But the device and its apps still run noticeably slower than pre-iOS4.

I’m still considering an Android but, for the time being,  am unlikely to completely abandon the iPhone. I’m  hoping future iOS updates continue to fix 3G performance issues. But, I’m not holding my breath.

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I was listening to the above Episode 7 of the ‘This Week in Venture Capital’ podcast today, where Mark Suster interviews Dana Settle, a partner with Greycroft Partners.  See podcast summary here.

At the 8:35 minute mark, Mark and Dana discuss a new venture capital market segmenting trend where different funds are available to startups /ventures at different stages of their growth cycle. In this way VC’s can better focus on the different issues that affect startups at various stages.

I found this intriguing. I summarize the segments they discussed below:

Note: [CB] references below link to more info from CrunchBase on the applicable fund and its recent financings.

Super Angel / Seed Funds

• Funds with $25 million or less in capital
• Write cheques from $100K to $500K
• Funding pre-product in some instances
• Representative Firms: Founder Collective on east Coast, Dave McClure’s Felicity Ventures [CB], Jeff Clavier’s Softech [CB]. On west coast, CrossCut [CB] and Rincon Venture Partners [CB].

Early Stage Funds

• Smaller than traditional VC
• Funds with $50 to $125 million in capital
• Write cheques from $750K to $1 million
• They like to see a product launch with first cracks at revenue generation to prove the idea can be monetized
• Representative Firms: First Round Capital [CB], Greycroft Partners [CB], True Ventures [CB]

CONTINUE READING →

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I’ve been waiting patiently for my Flipboard invite since its launch last week. I received my invite earlier today and have been playing with it ever since.

The generic Flipboard interface is nice, but, for me, its killer feature is its Twitter integration. I feel almost as excited about Flipboard as Robert Scoble .

At the moment I follow 74 terrific Twitter users. About 75% of their tweets contain links to interesting articles on topics dear to my heart. Flipboard turns this curated feed of news stories and blog posts into a beautifully personalized eZine. As I flip through Flipboard, instead of links to the stories in my Twitter feed, the first few paragraphs and accompanying picture from most of those linked stories are attractively and interactively displayed on my iPad. If I want to read the full story, I tap it and am instantly taken to the underlying story on its originating website.  Another tap and I’m back to my Flipboard eZine. See the demo below:

CONTINUE READING →

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Leo Interviews the writers/creators of the wildly successful ‘I’m on a Horse’ Old Spice commercial. They explain, step by step, how Isaiah Mustafa got from the shower to the horse.

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This is a good analysis of the physics behind why Roddick has the fastest serve on  tour. Thanks to Bob Prichard at the Somax Performance Institute for forwarding this along.

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Having recently updated my Adobe Flash Player software for the umpteenth time on two different PCs, I discovered that if you download and install it in the normal way, you end up with a new and unwanted Adobe Download Manager Firefox extension that cannot be removed.

Here’s how to avoid this:

On the Adobe Flash Player download page, uncheck the “Free McAfee Security Scan Plus” option (who knows what that will add to your machine), then click on the yellow “Agree and install now” button:

CONTINUE READING →

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Note: The narrated video above is hard to see because its dark. It is easier to see it on full screen. See the non-narrated version of the same event (below) taken 5 minutes earlier. It is a bit easier to see.

A few days after a man was arrested in front of my building with gasoline tanks and various items that could be used as weapons (see pictures below), a largish Toronto G20 protest took place under my window.

There were about 75 to 100 sit-in style protesters on Toronto’s The Esplanade, between Scott and Lower Jarvis (about 1/2 mile from the G20 fences). The protestors blocked the road, stretching about 5 people wide, between the Keg on one side of the street and the Novotel (where low-level G20 officials are staying)  on the other. Easily 100 to 150 police in full riot gear showed up in successive waves. While an initial group of police surrounded the protesters (2 lines, 2 officers deep), another phalanx of police organized at Front and Scott. They marched in formation (about 5 x 25), banging batons on shields with each step. After that group arrived, the police arrested the protestors one by one – dragging them into a dozen or so waiting paddy wagons as two helicopters hovered overhead. While all that took place a dozen or so police per street corner blocked all adjacent streets ensuring that no more protestors could arrive.

Non-Narrated Version of Video recorded 5 Minutes Earlier

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As with the rest of the world, I have upgraded to iOS 4. Straight from the update install screen itself, below is the list of new features included in this update.

See Also: TiPb’s terrific iOS4 Walkthrough.

* Requires iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 3rd generation
** Requires iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 4

Be Warned: Downloading and installing the update takes awhile. It took iTunes and my 16 GB iPhone well over an hour to be updated.

—–

This update contains over 100 new features, including the following:

• Multitasking support for third-party apps*
  – Multitasking user interface to quickly move between
     apps
  – Support for audio apps to play in the background
  – VoIP apps can receive and maintain calls in the
     background or when device is asleep
  – Apps can monitor location and take action while
     running in the background
  – Alerts and messages can be pushed to apps using
     push and local notifications
  – Apps can complete tasks in the background
• Folders to better organize and access apps
• Home screen Wallpaper*

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Google Apps Sync (see video below) for Outlook is a Godsend!

Until recently I was using:

• iMap to sync email between Outlook, Google Apps Gmail and my iPhone/iPad;
• Google Calendar Sync to sync my calendar between Outlook and Gmail; and
• iTunes to sync contacts and calendar with my iPhone/iPad.

Until Google Apps Sync I had no way of syncing contacts between Outlook and Gmail. When iTunes version 9.1 crapped out and stopped syncing contacts and calendar with my iPhone (this was fixed in iTunes 9.2 by the way) I made the decision to pony up the $50 a year for Google Apps Premier which includes Google Apps Sync.

It was worth every penny. I am rid the sync hodge-podge described above. I now have an end-to end, email, calendar, contact sync solution across my PCs, Google Apps Gmail, my iPhone and my iPad.

The Problem – How to Sync Only Selected Contacts

I only want a relatively few current contacts synced from Outlook to Gmail, my iPhone and iPad – about 250 or so contacts. But, I have accumulated some 800 contacts including historic clients and colleagues from prior law firms, restaurants from when I lived in different cities, old friends I no longer keep in touch with and so on. I don’t want to lose these contacts but I also don’t want them cluttering up my Google Apps Gmail, iPhone or iPad contact lists.

While you can segregate contacts within different contact folders inside the Google Apps Sync account in Outlook, all contacts such segregated contacts continue to sync into the unified Gmail, iPhone and iPad contact lists – regardless of the contact folder structure you set up inside of Outlook.

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Contrary to what I read and heard on Twitter and multiple podcasts over the last week, I believe that Zuckerberg did not:

• self implode
• have a panic attack, or
• evade questions.

at last week’s D8 Conference. I think he acquitted himself well. Yes it was hot in there and he sweated a lot. Yes, he’s not an ideal public speaker. But at 26 years of age, for who he is, I think he did well.

At a few points there were noticeable gaps in time before he answered a question. Some characterized those gaps as a panic attack. I characterize it as the response of a careful and thoughtful person. Thinking before speaking is an admirable quality.

I understand why people disagree with Facebook’s privacy policies (most notably Jason Calacanis), but I don’t understand the rabid Facebook villainization I’ve  witnessed recently.

The D8 interview was interesting. Certainly the most insightful Zuckerberg interview I’ve seen.

Watch the video above (larger version here) and judge for yourself.

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Due to a recent rash of spam commenting, for the time being I have changed The Daleisphere’s comment settings to permit comments only from registered users. When leaving a comment you’ll be asked to identify yourself through any of the accounts shown in the graphic above – ie: by using any of your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo or OpenID accounts. Note: This is secure. Neither I nor Disqus gain access to your account details when you login this way.

Unfortunately I’ve had to delete hundreds of spam comments over the last few days. Hopefully Disqus will soon get a handle on whatever technique comment spammers are using and put a stop to it. Otherwise I’ll have to seriously consider moving to IntenseDebate. Sorry about this.

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Overcoming his surprising French Open 2009 defeat to Robin Soderling, Nadal easily beat his clay-court nemesis in this much-anticipated rematch.

This win is Nadal’s fifth French Open title and seventh grand-slam win. Nadal need only win one more French Open to match Borg’s record 6. He also tied Borg’s record of two French Open tournament’s without losing a set.

The first set was terrific. It looked like the maturing Soderling might do it again. But Soderling collapsed in the 2nd and third sets. Despite the tough first set, Rafael easily won the match.

It was a bit surprising how emotional Nadal was after his win. Having lost the French last year, followed by pulling out of Wimbledon, being injured for much of 2009 and having gone through the remainder of the year without winning another tournament, Nadal may have been questioning whether he had another slam in him. Given the caliber of his French Open play, I have little doubt that Nadal  has several more slams in him.

In his post game interview with John McEnroe, Nadal made the point that he is looking forward to the U.S. Open – the only slam he hasn’t won. This is interesting because normally players would say they were looking forward to Wimbledon.

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In what will probably be her only grand slam win, veteran Francesca Schiavone beat Samantha Stosur  6-4, 7-6 to win the 2010 French Open – a few days shy of her 30th birthday.

I must admit that I know little about Schiavone.  Turns out she is the first Italian woman to win any grand-slam in the modern era.

Aussie Stosur was rather emotionless. Schiavone played with passion and grit. It was a pleasure to watch. The tennis quality from both was high. The match was terrific.

Stosur did the heavy lifting for Schiavone having previously taken out world #1 Serena Williams 6-2, 6-7(2), 8-6, four-time French Open winner Justine Henin 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 and world #4 Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2.

Ultimately, it was nice to enjoy a well-played women’s French Open final. Something that doesn’t happen often enough.

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