Comments for Robservatory

Comment on Tiger Woods for iPhone has a difficult(y) problem by Jason

Jason — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:48:23 +0000

I agree, it’s way too easy. I actually enjoy hitting it into the water just because I almost feel a sense of accomplishment when getting a bogey. It’s so easy that it’s not even fun.

Comment on Trip report: Destin, Florida by Rob

Rob — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:44:48 +0000

The traffic does suck,, but have you ever drove in Atlanta?, and there is no beach in Atlanta

Comment on A useless analysis of OS X release dates by Paul Wilburn

Paul Wilburn — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:47:33 +0000

I run a plastic cards company and we use macs for everything. We have top end mac pros and macbook pros running snow leopard and some older machines (I cant bare to get rid of them) G5 power macs and G4 power books that run leopard.

I find that with snow leopard, apple mail is much nippier than it was on leopard but in general, a 8 core mac pro – feels sluggish.

I love using macs and will never go back to using pc’s but they just don’t seem to have any speed about them these days.

I remember many many years ago when I bought my 1st G4 powerbook, it was great and speed wasn’t an issue but now, installed with the most upto date OSX that will run on it, it is rather sluggish to say the least.

Comment on Review: Numbers by Blanch Halburnt

Blanch Halburnt — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:21:18 +0000

I was talking a look at the ipad on Amazon and I read that the Applecare section for the ipad only said it is only 2 years. Does anyone know why is not lasting 3 years like every other Apple product? Ok, well the iphone/ipods now says it is 2 years too on the Applecare. When did they all change to 2 years and not 3?

Comment on A non-review of Avatar by Paul

Paul — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:17:19 +0000

Rob, I agree too. Though it has been weeks since I last saw Avatar (yes, last – I had to go twice – so far), the sense of immersion has remained with me. Movies normally fade in memory into flat cartoons. Not this one. Cameron has crossed the uncanny valley and taken many of us with him to the other side.

Comment on In search of iPhone golf GPS and/or scoring apps by Erin

Erin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:06:40 +0000

Hi Rob,

Qualnetics has developed a rangefinder that uses the camera in your iPhone and does not require GPS to work.

Check it out at http://www.qualnetics.com/Golf-n-Scope

I can score you a free download if you would like to try it out.

-Erin

Comment on How to (not!) Fast Play a Disney DVD by John

John — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:23:33 +0000

Now awaiting Disney’s newest feature, HyperPlay.

Comment on A non-review of Avatar by James

James — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:40:12 +0000

I didn’t have a problem that the plot was predictable, I had a problem that the third act was overly violent and just plain dumb. I won’t go into details here because you have avoided spoilers.

The final scenes were not enjoyable beyond the flashy graphics. Overall I think if you have any interest in the genre at all or are just fascinated by technology then it is worth a look but I hope that future uses of the technology also includes old-fashioned screen writing as well.

Comment on A non-review of Avatar by Deb

Deb — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:22:10 +0000

i agree completely, Rob. The comparison to the first time I saw Star Wars at the Graumann’s Chinese Theater, twice, standing in line for 2 hours, and the awe from the start with the ship coming seemingly over my head. Now, Avatar, and for 2.5 hours I must have said “wow” 50 times.. completely into the ‘reality’ of the story, and when it ended, I wanted to go back to Pandora and fly with them. Yes, parts of the story were predictable, but oh well, just good storytelling and a satisfying ending. It’s what I like about the movies. My favorite movie of 2009, and my husband said, it’s the best movie I’ve ever seen!

Comment on A non-review of Avatar by Chip

Chip — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:29:50 +0000

I also agree, also entirely. I wouldn’t have compared it to Star Wars, but I can definitely see the comparison. I’ve been wanting to see this since the trailer first appeared, and I wasn’t disappointed. I think this movie would still be spectacular in regular projection, but the 3D does generally add to the movie. One word of caution though, for those who wear corrective lenses, it can be difficult to be comfortable with both pairs. Fortunately my distance vision is more than adequate and I left the prescription glasses off for the movie.

As Nike says … Just do it!

Comment on A non-review of Avatar by Me

Me — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:40:38 +0000

I agree with this entirely, what’s funny to me about your review is someone just told me that someone told them to see it because it was the equivalent of a modern Star Wars in the visual effects area.

Comment on In search of iPhone golf GPS and/or scoring apps by Jerry Antoine

Jerry Antoine — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:40:10 +0000

Phone Golf Apps — New Betting App

Hi Rob,

A few weeks ago I commented about a golf app called GolfBet. We now released it under a different (and more appropriate) name.

The new app is called iBetOnGolf.

This app is so simple to use. It lets you keep track of your foursome’s stroke counts, calculates handicaps, and keeps score of any number of ongoing games between the members of the foursome. Included are Match Play, Nassau, and two versions of Skins. Upcoming versions will include lots more games.

Check it out !

(see iBetOnGolf at the iTunes App Store !)

– Jerry
Jerry@gcatech.com

Comment on In search of iPhone golf GPS and/or scoring apps by robg

robg — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:44:20 +0000

Just so we’re clear, the GPS isn’t needed to find the ball, but to find the distance from the ball to the green, or to some other point of interest, such as to clear a water hazard.

-rob.

Comment on In search of iPhone golf GPS and/or scoring apps by boden

boden — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:16:28 +0000

I’m sorry, but if you need GPS to find your ball… you should pick another sport.

Comment on Now for something completely different… by boden

boden — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:05:56 +0000

Whichever your wife says is better for you. Is better (in the long run)

Thou shall not prove your wife wrong, or you shall feel the wrath of a woman corrected.
Ishtar 3:16 (lost book of the bible… i think :)

Comment on Tiger Woods for iPhone has a difficult(y) problem by Yuri Schimke

Yuri Schimke — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:31:37 +0000

Don’t you find it is still too easy. i.e. you might end the tournament at 40 under instead of 61? And once you buy all powerups you can smash it into the rough and still birdie every hole.

So you pretty much have to not use the putt preview, don’t buy the equipment upgrades.

Why don’t they just fix the game in a new update?

Comment on One way to password protect a WordPress site by MattR

MattR — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:46:48 +0000

When you login on WordPress the default action is to take you to either the DashBoard area or your own Profile area in the admin menus. The location is based on the users WordPress role. The redirect plugin simply sends you back to the front page instead of the default action.

Comment on Now for something completely different… by Sam

Sam — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:40:28 +0000

The ingredient list is very important since alot of these numbers might not mean much. For example in the Daily Value of Iron companies are allowed to use very broad metrics to calculate how much Iron is included, when in fact only specific types of Iron are readily absorbable by the human body, so if the manufacturer `supplements’ their white bread (that has maybe 1% DV of Iron) with 14% DV (or 3% DV if Bread 1 is the white bread) of iron that your body can only absorb 1% of, then the nutritional `fact’ for Iron is useless.
Also the amount of sodium these breads have shouldn’t matter at all…most people only are affected by high levels of sodium when their intake is order of magnitude higher than this. Also, `winning’ in the Carbs department by 0.5% is irrelevant, and although the ratio of sugars to carbs is higher in bread 2, it’s not as large as it looks.
The bottom like is that Bread 2 clearly wins if most of the extra stuff isn’t due to additives.

And, btw, Calories from Fat is usually not measured in grams…it’s usually measured in Calories.

In any case, the differences aren’t that large, and if you want to eat healthier the bread department isn’t where you’ll be making most of your important decisions (unless Wonder bread is still an option).

Comment on In search of iPhone golf GPS and/or scoring apps by JerryAntoine

JerryAntoine — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:56:45 +0000

Hi Rob,

At MEJA Tech, we are just finishing up a golf app called GolfBet (TM) that fits in a category by itself — Golf Betting Apps.

GolfBet starts by giving the user a unique and very quick way to keep score. The widgets we invented for this purpose let you enter scores for all four players in under four seconds! We expand on this by automatically tracking any number of concurrent wagers. Included are standards like “Match-play”, “Stroke-play”, “Nassau” and “Skins”, plus a huge number of additional games.

When the user selects a game, a list shows all of the possible participants. For example, with a foursome, match play is typically played against two pairs of players or as a ’side game’ against individuals from opposite pairs. So if the players of a foursome are A&B and C&D, the possible games are A&B against C&D; A against C; A against D; B against C; and B against D.

Keeping track of these games and their scores means taking into account the handicaps of the players participating in each specific game and their resultant net scores. GolfBet automatically does this and presents the results on a beautiful expanded, scrolling scorecard. It even keeps track of any “Press” or doubling that might raise the stakes any of the many games that might be concurrently played.

The scorecard can be emailed to your computer in PDF form for archiving or printing.

We plan to release this exciting series of games in stages. The first version (to be released in about 1 month) will only include one or two betting games. The extended version will contain a larger gallery of games. We are still considering whether to allow “InApp” purchase of new games through the application, or through iTunes app purchases.

If you like we would be happy to send you a pre-release version for your review.

With kind regards,
Jerry Antoine
MEJA Tech
jerry@gcatech.com
617-921-2959

Comment on What are the chances? by roberto

roberto — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:29:28 +0000

great piece of writing and a most ‘amazing’ read :-)

- you know, some would say, there’s no such thing as ‘chance’!

spooky eh…

Comment on Now for something completely different… by Deb

Deb — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:21:43 +0000

Apparently, part of what matters is the percent of whole grains it says it has, somewhere on the packaging. Higher is better. Weight Watchers website article says you’re looking for 16 grams of whole grains in a serving. The amount of sugar in Bread 2 is a red light to me. Seems it might be more processed than Bread 1. According to Margaret Wittenberg in her book, “New Good Food”, : Here’s what to look for in breads:

Whole grain flour
A simple ingredients list with little more than flour, water, salt and a leavening agent
Preferably 2 to 3 grams of fiber per slice
Minimal sweeteners, preferable none.

Based on that, the sugar amount is the ‘leavener’ (pun intended); so I’d go with Bread 1.

Comment on Now for something completely different… by Jon

Jon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:44:39 +0000

The ingredient list is important, the much higher fiber, folic acid, and calcium count is a red flag to me, as food producers can now put in an additives such as fiber that may not processed by your body the same way natural fiber is, Slate did a thing about the fiber additive a while back. Basically your question is one that is still up in the air I think, as to whether artificially fortified foods are better than their natural counterparts.

Comment on Literal music videos by Jordan

Jordan — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:24:49 +0000

Total Eclipse is the one possessed of true genius. However, I quite liked the Creed – With Arms Wide Open one.

Comment on Time flies faster than reality in 24 – updated by zookies

zookies — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:58:38 +0000

I always wondered how Jack Bauer would get back from China to do another action packed day of torture and being tortured. Now after this season, if Jack has any more major exposures to nerve toxin, they will have to combine 24 and House, and Gregory House can be his full time doctor.

Comment on Five easy steps to a heart attack by Ben

Ben — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:16:42 +0000

After careful analysis of your story, and taking into consideration that you have a child in the house, and that for some reason, you don’t expect anyone else in the house to stir, and that when they do, your monkey brain is triggered at the gibbering fear level…

I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank you for the Mac hints site, and say goodbye before you kick off, which I suspect will happen very, very soon if you don’t get used to the idea that anyone in your family could be up at any time, and it’s *ok* to hear noises in your house at night, and intruders are of *extremely* low likelihood (or if not, you’ve got a duty to call the alarm company that you’ve been neglecting…)

So, goodbye, farewell, etc. :)

Also, BOO! [cackles madly]