I’m a storyteller. I find cool new things, use them to make my life better, and teach others to do the same.
The first part of my Wii bundle order arrived! A classic controller, WarioWare, SSX Blur, Elebits, Super Monkey Ball, Trauma Center, and Excite Truck. And the Wii itself shipped yesterday, but UPS says it won’t be here until next Thursday. WalMart forced me to pay 40 dollars for slow boat Ground shipping. 
But soon I’ll have all the pieces! Then Wii play (har)! 
- Taken at 6:48 PM on April 13, 2007 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu
Check out this video (by Intel) about the potential future of how an ultramobile device, like a UMPC, could work for you in your life. Sure, this is all “vision”, and future stuff, but it’s what we’re working towards, what we’re trying to make happen. At IDF Beijing next week, Intel is going to take the wraps off of the 2nd gen Ultra Mobile PCs. I haven’t seen or heard any details about it other than what’s been publicly available (I need to cultivate better friends in the Ultra Mobile group!). But it’s a step towards the kind of thing that you see in the video.
Check it out. Some parts of it are kind of hokey, and some can be done today, but I love to think about what cool new stuff I’ll be able to do with new gadgets. Sure, I love gadgets just for themselves - who doesn’t love a new toy? But there’s real, life-changing benefit to them, too.
What do you wish technology could do for you in the coming year?
Every once in a while I like to pick a new WordPress theme, to change the look of TinyScreenfuls.com. I had been running a very plain, simple theme called 281 by supergeek Paul Stamatiou for a while, but tonight, I switched over to one called “Sunburn“. I like the colors (orange on black), and it’s nice and stable enough to have been picked as one of the themes that users of the free wordpress.com can use on their blogs.
Let me know if you notice any weirdness or issues, or just let me know what you think!
Scored Super Paper Mario and a spare nunchuck. They were out of Wii Play, which I’m going the get to have a second Wiimote.
Sent wirelessly from my
Windows Mobile device.
A little birdie sent me this YouTube link to a video that shows what the world would be like without software. Made me smile.
I’ve been seeing these tiny little cars - Smart Fortwo, made by Mercedes, but still rare in the U.S. - around Beaverton the last little while, and I’ve noticed that the Carr auto dealerships have been carrying them on the lots. I happen to be at Carr Subaru this morning, getting my 2002 WRX its 60K service, so while I was waiting, I meandered out onto the lot, and took some pictures. They have two of them, a black one and a dark green one, conveniently parked next to a Mini Cooper for size comparison.
I was talking to one of the service writers about the Smart cars, and he said that so far, they’re being imported by a private party, “americanized” for safety and emissions, and resold through dealerships. He said a guy bought 30 of them, and all of the service, etc. is handled through a private third party, not the dealership. Because of all of these extra steps, you pay premium to be the first on your blog to drive one of these. They’re selling for $27,000. Even though they’re cute, and get 60MPG on a tiny 3 cylinder 0.7 liter engine, that’s still pretty steep. Once an official dealership network has been established, the price should go down. The service writer said that they’re expected to sell for $16,000 next year.
You can see all 33 photos I shot, interior and exterior, in this photoset on Flickr. Here are some of the more interesting ones:
I just posted this in a bunch of threads on the Intel Software Network Graphics forum, in response to a lot of heated discussion that’s been going on there. There’s also the video I did with Intel’s Chuck DeSylva, explaining why there are not and will not be any WDDM drivers for Intel 915 integrated graphics to run all the fancy “Premium” UI features (eye candy like 3D tab flipping and Aero Glass) in Windows Vista.
I’d really like to put this to rest soon…
Here’s what I wrote:
OK, guys, here’s the deal.
There’s “Vista Ready” and “Vista Premium Capable”. Microsoft decides which is which:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/capable.mspx
The 915 graphics chip is “Vista Ready”. It runs Vista just fine. It is NOT “Vista Premium Capable”. From the above Microsoft site:
Some Windows Vista Capable PCs have been designated Premium Ready. These PCs will provide an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience. Features available in specific premium editions of Windows Vista, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, may require additional hardware.
Confusing? Yes. Deceptive? Well, some people think so, and have brought a lawsuit against Microsoft for this exact issue:
In fact, since that lawsuit, Microsoft has gone back and made a change to that paragraph I quoted. Read about what it used to say:
http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2007/04/09/microsoft-redefines-vista-capable
So.
To everyone who bought a laptop with Intel 915 graphics, because it was labelled “Vista Ready”, you were NOT deceived. It IS “Vista Ready”. It runs Vista just fine.
But.
If you somehow thought that “Vista Ready” meant that you could run the cool 3D tab flipper, and the fancy “Aero Glass” high end 3D interface, you were wrong.
I’m sorry you didn’t understand what you were getting when you bought a system with an old, low end, legacy graphics chip. I’m sorry the Microsoft marketing material and logo labels confused you. I really am. I wish none of us had to deal with this.
Is Intel ever going to release a “beta”/unofficial driver for 915 graphics?
I’m not the “official” person to answer this, but I’d say “no”.
Why?
Because it’s an old, low end, “legacy” part. There aren’t any people at Intel dedicated to writing new drivers for this part. Intel laid off 10% of its workforce last year - 10,000 people. Ten thousand. The rest of us that are left are trying to get all the work done. Obviously, we can’t do the same amount of work. Some things have to get dropped. Decisions have to be made about what projects are going to happen, and which ones are going to get cut. Like I said, I’m not the “official” person to say, but my guess is that there just aren’t people sitting around, collecting a paycheck, that could be thrown at writing an unofficial “beta” driver. Wouldn’t it cool if it happened? Of course. Would Intel like to do it if we had the resources? Certainly! But we live in the same reality that you do, and we have to make our budget balance just like you do. We can’t always do everything that we’d like to do.
I hope this serves as a “final word” on this discussion. If you have more questions, please do continue to discuss it here, email me, whatever. But I’m hiding anything or holding anything back - I’ve laid it all out on the line, here, and I hope it helps you guys understand.
And if I could buy everyone a drink to make you feel better, or a brand new “Vista Premium Ready” computer to run the Vista eye-candy, I would. But there’s that whole “reality” thing…
I don’t do link exchanges, or trade links, and frankly, this blog isn’t “big and powerful” enough to really broker those kinds of deals. But fellow Portlander Samuel John Klein posted an honest and heartfelt comment to my last post, about having a personality as a blogger. Samuel lamented that he was doing all that - putting a lot of effort into his blog, and himself as a blogger, but still wasn’t getting much traffic.
I want to say two things.
First, even though it’s easy to get caught up in thinking this way (I’ve been there), remember - you are not your blog stats. Traffic is not that important in the grand scheme of things. Besides, the REALLY important metric is how many people subscribe to your feed. 
That being said…
Go check out Samuel’s ZehnKatzen Times blog. It’s interesting, well written, and, well, good. He writes about Portland and graphic design. I’m subscribed. Maybe I should talk to him about that TinyScreenfuls logo I’ve been wanting.
Samuel, I hope this brings a few more people your way. Don’t give up - keep blogging, even if no one is reading!
I just had an epiphany!
Reading a blog that never shows any personality, never cracks a smile, always sticks religiously to the “topic” is like talking to that guy who only ever talks about ONE subject, never shuts up, never deviates, no matter what the “real” topic of conversation is.
Don’t be “that guy”.
Cross posted at the Intel Software Network blog.
This is a video interview I did with Rajshree and Sateesh, both of Intel's Software Solutions Group, right after their GDC2007 session on the Intel Laptop Gaming TDK. The video is about six minutes long, and weighs about 12 MB. You can download it directly at this link.
The Laptop Gaming TDK is a tool kit that any developer can download for free, and use in your applications to check on the state of a laptop - things like "am I plugged in?", "how much battery is left?", "what's the wireless signal strength?"
Once you know about those things, you can make your game more "laptop friendly", by providing warnings to the player that their battery is about to die, or dynamically scaling things like the detail level or other aspects of the game to maximize battery life when playing unplugged.
You can download the Intel Laptop Gaming TDK for yourself, and try it out (it's free to play with and/or include in your games or other applications). We do ask for an email address, but we promise we won't spam you. We hate spam, just like you do.
If you want to learn more, or want to get in touch with an Intel software engineer that can help you, make sure to visit the Mobility community on Intel Software Network, including the Mobilized Software Development forum. We're here to help, at your disposal, so make good use of us!
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Need to lighten up - I’m doing a "Twitter Boot Camp" with the ISN team in 1 hr. # # # # # # http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ # # # http://tinyurl.com/5gswmy # # # http://tinyurl.com/5hla4f # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # I hear @motherpopper’s around somewhere. # # # # # #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # AP said its an "educational" software company. Guesses? # # # # (That goes for anyone else, too.) # # # # # # # And, uh, what does "PR’d" mean? # http://tinyurl.com/3pcktn # I’ve still got it if you want another copy. # # http://tinyurl.com/4gnccd # Look up my code via @wii. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
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