Category: Computers

Fixing Subversion branch and trunk directories

The other day, at work, we came across a bad situation with Subversion (a version control system).  We had created a secondary repository for a common library (YUI) of code that we want to use in multiple other repositories.  YUI doesn’t provide a subversion repository, so we had to create one “in-house.” I’m sure nobody…
Read more

A doorbell for the geek in me

I’m not sure how my wife would feel about this doorbell, but I think it’s rather elegant.  A must have for any true geek.  The problem… it’s not even close to available.  It’s just a design concept from renown designer, Li Jianye. Come on ThinkGeek, hope on the stick with this product. It’s so cool,…
Read more

A 3D/virtual world for the masses

Second Life (an online virtual 3D world) has been around a while now.  It’s incredibly popular and even has its own economy.  You can enter Second Life and “live” a life completely different from who you really are.  It’s somewhat of a game, but it mimics real life as much as possible. Companies (mainly IBM)…
Read more

New LDS.org Mapping

Have you ever been on vacation and wanted to know where the closest LDS Church is?  How about moving to a new area and wondering to which ward you belong, to which building you should go and what time are services? The IT team for the church has just released a beta version of their…
Read more

Go get Firefox 3!

Today will be a day of infamy fame, err… it’ll be cool.   Ok… maybe not that amazing, but it might be cool.  The Mozilla Foundation has just released the latest version of Firefox. What does version 3 give you?  It’s faster, sleeker, consumes less memory and gives more functionality. Today is special because they…
Read more

First few days on a MacBook Pro

Some people say that Apple Macintosh users are elitists. If that’s the case, I just became rather elite.  I’m now typing this on my shiny new MacBook Pro. On Wednesday, I started a new job at the Wasatch Front Regional Multiple Listing Service (WFR).  When I started, they gave me the choice of what kind…
Read more

Next generation laptop batteries

You know the feeling.  You’re right in the middle of something important on your laptop.  You’re in deep concentration and nothing should interrupt you. Then all the sudden… [BEEP].  That dang battery warning. It seems like you just barely charged the thing. Laptop batteries are what make laptops so amazing.  But at the same time,…
Read more

Where is the world is Santa?

Ever wanted to know exactly where Santa is on Christmas Eve? Well, usually you would have to wait for the news or something similar. But this year, the traditional Santa trackers (NORAD) and Google have teamed up to give you the best way to track Santa. Santa can now be tracked through Google Earth. If…
Read more

New Google Earth (GoogleSky?)

As you may recall, I wrote about Celestia a while back. Celestia just got some serious competition. The new version of Google Earth, 4.2, will include a feature many have dubbed “Google Sky.” And if you haven’t guessed it from the name, Google Earth can be “turned around” to show you the stars. And it…
Read more

Familiarty vs Superiority and cognitive-lockin

A recent study from the Journal of Consumer Research and highlighted by ars technica indicates that most consumers are a little duped when it comes to judging the superiority of consumer products. Too often the average consumer is loyal to a product simply because of familiarity. That’s not all that bad, but they mistake that…
Read more