This morning, Pat Dryburgh posted an interesting article on his blog on choosing a blogging platform. As I’ve mentioned before, Patrick is someone who I respect and admire, but in this case, there are a few points that I have to disagree with in his article.
Patrick mentions that whenever someone asks him what they should use to start a blog he points them towards Tumblr and Facebook. Leaving Facebook aside, because I personally don’t understand how you can blog with it, I personally don’t feel comfortable recommending Tumblr to someone who wants to start blogging. My reasons for not feeling comfortable recommending Tumblr, are pretty much the same reasons that Patrick does recommend it.
Tumblr is certainly an easy to use platform, with little to no barrier to entry, but that belies its shortcomings in my opinion. Patrick mentions that geeks like us will complain about things such as data portability, and control over the software we use, but I personally believe that this is a concern for anyone who wants to blog.
Everytime we write a blog post, we are making an investment into our blog—an investment of time, energy, and commitment. Given my background in banking and finance, I liken this to making a deposit into a savings account. Would you deposit money into a savings account that you can’t withdraw from if you need to? This is the way I see Tumblr—a blogging platform that provides no way of withdrawing your investment.
Patrick also argues that he tries his hardest not to force frustration upon people he cares about, but my personal opinion is that by avoiding a mild level of frustration at the start of someone’s blogging “career”, he may be setting them up for even more frustration if and when that person outgrows the recommended solution.
I started blogging about 6 years ago, using Google’s Blogger service, which, much the same as Tumblr1, has next to no barrier to entry, but after time I outgrew the capabilities of the system, and the limitations became too much to bear, so I moved to a self hosted WordPress blog. I was able to import my entries from Blogger into that blog, with little to no effort. The frustrations caused by doing this from Tumblr are much higher than the initial frustrations of setting up a WordPress blog from the word go. Ask my friend Ian Hines about moving from Tumblr to WordPress, and I’m almost certain he would say the same thing.
Patrick also mentions that if Tumblr were to come out with an awesome iPad app, he would recommend the purchase of an iPad and the downloading of the Tumblr software, stating
How could you go wrong with two of the most beginner-friendly products on the market today?
Oh, right — they aren’t “open.” Well, I’m sorry, but “open” is not synonymous with “awesome.”
Its probably the long-haired, open source loving, linux hippie that is deep inside of me, but locking someone into a proprietary system because its “beginner-friendly” and “awesome” despite its lack of openness is shortsighted in my opinion. I do agree that “open” isn’t synonymous with “awesome”, but I’ll personally take an open, if slightly awkward and initially frustrating, option over an awesome, but short-sighted, and locked down option.
In closing, I respectfully disagree with Patrick, although I can see where he is coming from, and why he is coming from there; and I hope I haven’t offended him. If you have an opinion on the matter, have your say in the comments.
Footnotes
Although not as cool, or as pretty, or with as much mindshare amongst geeks. ↩
I think its fair to say that I am not a morning person. For as long as I can remember, I have never been a person who wakes up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. On the contrary, I wake feeling lethargic, frustrated, sore, and agitated. I have a problem with sleep, and its all my own doing.
You see, I have to fight myself to go to bed at night, let alone to get to sleep, then once I finally do get to sleep, I never want to get out of bed. After waking, I can easily lie in bed for another few hours, dozing on and off, or falling back into a deep sleep.
It’s an incredibly frustrating position to be in, during the working week for obvious reasons, and on weekends, because I spend half of each day in bed, and lose more half of my weekend to the bedroom. It has to be frustrating for my partner as well, never having me come to bed at the same time, and always waking up hours before I do.
On a typical work day, I wake between 7:00 and 7:30 in the morning, and contemplate the pros and cons of calling in sick, then rolling back over to sleep some more1. Then I drag myself into work, feeling like I probably should have stayed at home to sleep some more, and promise myself “I’ll have an early night tonight”. Of course, I never do have that mythical “early” night.
I could postulate any number of reasons for why I have this problem, but the reality is, any of the reasons I put forth are likely excuses, not reasons. I need to simply take the necessary steps to ensure that I get a good nights sleep, and end the cycle.
With that in mind, I’m off to toss and turn in bed for a while before finally falling asleep.
Footnotes
I have never actually done this, and don’t ever plan to, its just part of my morning routine. ↩
It’s only the second day of autumn, but already the seeds of another bleak and dreary Melbourne winter have been sown. Stretching from March to October, Winter turns this already dreary city depressing.
With daylight lasting merely a few short hours, the sun a distant memory, and a constant wind that cuts to the bone, winter in this city is my least favourite time of year. The city turns a paler shade of grey, and any splash of colour is subdued.
A Melbourne winter brings with it not only the struggle to stay warm, but a struggle to maintain a level of happiness. Time outdoors is limited to cigarettes and the daily commute. Lethargy quickly sets in, and getting out of bed becomes not only a struggle, but a fight.
This year, I’m not sure I have the strength to fight it.
As I sit here and begin to write this post, I am using my old Windows machine that has lay fallow (at least as far as my using it is concerned) since I was lucky enough to be gifted a brand spanking new 13-inch white MacBook as a very early Christmas present last year. Unfortunately, I have had my first problems with that MacBook—a number of dead pixels and anomalies in the LCD panel, and a cracked/broke keyboard topcase which meant that a trip to the Apple Store was required.
I had hoped, at least in part, that perhaps I would be told that due to the fact that there are two problems with the Mac, one entirely cosmetic, and one not so much, that it would be replaced, and that I could then say “Well, seeing as its being replaced, how about I pay you the difference and upgrade to a MBP?” Unfortunately that was not meant to be, and I was told that the offending parts would be replaced. Figuring that they would probably have the parts in stock, and considering the fact that it was a warranty repair, I figured that the repairs would be undertaken posthaste. That was not meant to be.
After was given a Work Authorisation form, told that the parts would need to be ordered in, and that I would be given a call once the parts came in, I was on my way home with my still damaged White MacBook. I was given the impression by the Genius that once the parts came in, it would be a matter of dropping my machine off at the Apple Store, and I would receive it back, fully repaired that day.
I received the call the next day1 to say that the parts had arrived, and that I had seven days to bring my machine in for the repairs to be undertaken2. Two days later, with a newly tattooed foot (more on that at a later date), I headed off to the Apple Store arriving at precisely 11.00 am fully expecting to be headed home that evening with a fully working, fully repaired laptop. Unfortunately, none of the four(!) people who served me, including the store manager, in the half hour I was in the store were able to give me any better estimate than “probably not today” as to when my machine would be ready to collect. Told I would receive a phone call later that day with an ETA for repair and collection, I wandered around the Chadstone shopping centre killing time in the vain hope that I would receive a call to say that the repairs had actually gotten done today, and that my machine was ready to be collected.
Approximately four hours after I walked out of the Apple Store, I left the shopping centre none the wiser as to when my MacBook would be ready for collection. I’m now sitting here, a full 8 hours after leaving the shopping centre, and 12 hours after walking into the Apple Store, and I still have literally no idea what is happening with a laptop that my girlfriend had to stretch herself to buy me.
There are number of factors about my dealings with the Apple Store I am less than impressed with. Firstly, the seven day period I was given, on a Friday no less. Seven days is not an adequate timeframe to expect someone to be able to make a trip out of their way to have something that shouldn’t require repairing in the first place repaired. Especially when the only two weekend days within that seven days are the next two days. My Saturday was booked solid, with four hours dedicated to getting my foot tattooed, and I had budgeted my Sunday for recovering from the tattooing, and getting tasks done around the house. A more acceptable timeframe would be 14 days. It’s a fairly standard timeframe in most industries for holding onto parts. This would have given me more time to organise a trip out of my way to have my machine fixed. I work full time, 40 minutes (in clear traffic) from the closest Apple Store, so a midweek trip to the Apple Store is out of the question, without prior planning.
The second WTF was the fact that four people were needed to serve me. Admittedly, I was served within moments of walking into the store (a stark contrast to my first visit), but I can see no reason why at worst the second person couldn’t have stayed with me until the “quick drop” process was completed.
The third problem is the fact that the staff didn’t, or rather haven’t yet, honoured their promise of contacting me to give me an ETA on when my machine would be able to be collected. My girlfriend spent a large chunk of cash on this laptop, and aside from that fact, and the fact that I use the machine daily, the machine means a LOT to me as it was an amazing gift from the person I love most in the world. To be without it for a few days is bearable, but to not know when I will get it back, or even that it has made it to the intended destination, is incredibly disconcerting.
Finally, the fact that the repairs on this machine happened well within the warranty period, and realistically, shouldn’t be required at all, indicate, to me at least, that these repairs should be at least somewhat of a priority. The problems are no fault of my own, and Apple should be trying incredibly hard to ensure that I have as little disruption to my life as possible.
All in all, the whole experience has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth about dealings with Apple, and when taken in the context of Apple as a whole, and the possibility that repairs being performed before mine are those that will put more money in Apple’s pockets, I’m left with further indication that Apple cares more about getting every ounce of cash out of people as quickly as possible, and not caring so much about keeping customers happy.
I’m probably being a little melodramatic, and more than a tad unfair, but I can’t help the way I feel, and I am, at this point, definitely not a satisfied Apple customer.
Update: So, it would seem that someone at the Apple Store Chadstone is a liar. I’m not sure which occasion I was lied to, but I was called last Friday to say that the parts had arrived for the necessary repairs, then I contacted the store today to check on the status of my repair—due to still not having heard from them—only to be told that the parts only came in yesterday, a full 5 days after I was originally told that the parts had already arrived. Pretty ordinary.
Footnotes
Probably the only positive aspect to the story was this quick turnaround of delivery of parts↩
To clarify this, I was told that “the parts will be held for seven days”. Nothing more, nothing less. I assume that this means that after seven days, the parts will be released for anyone to have. ↩
Bloody hell! It’s been two weeks to the day since I last posted here, and ironically, my last Project52 post was bemoaning the lack of content that the project has created.
It seems like writing a complaint about the lack of content has caused all the things in my head to dry up. Except, not. I still have a heck of a lot of things to write about, its just that life, stress, and a whole bunch of other stuff got in the way of me actually getting those things out of my head and into this box.
I’m not too sure if this constitutes failure, and I must admit that I have contemplated pulling out of Project52 over the last week and a half. The things going on in my life haven’t resolved themselves, and probably won’t for another month or so at least, and without the time to sit and write, there really is no point in considering myself a part of a writing project.
Who knows, maybe now that I have admitted my failings, I’ll magically find the time to write again. That would just be another stroke of irony and hypocrisy to really take any credibility out of my blogging, wouldn’t it?
It’s an oft recited strawman statement that good manners have, or are, going the way of the dodo. Particularly a statement made by the older members of our society, I’m noticing more and more that it seems to be true. Manners are becoming increasingly unlearned at best, or ignored at worst.
I witness the vast majority of these crimes against good manners on an almost daily basis, and by people who seemingly were raised at a time when manners were still valued and taught. I am constantly surprised at the types people who I see commit these transgressions.
Open Mouthed/Audible Chewing – One of the most annoying, and disturbing habits. It literally takes no extra effort to close one’s mouth whilst chewing food, yet increasingly, this seems to an outdated expectation. It really makes my stomach turn to hear the sounds of you chewing. Yes, there are foods that make this unavoidable, but 99% of the time, its just ignorance.
Uncovered Coughing/Sneezing – Thanks for sharing your illness, dimwit. There are times when a cough or sneeze will occur so suddenly that its impossible to cover your mouth, but when you are coughing repeatedly, or for a prolonged period of time, its inexcusable to share your germs with those around you.
Talking With Your Mouth Full – Not only are you uninteligible, but you spray pieces of half chewed food around. Its not too much effort to finish chewing your food, then swallowing before opening your mouth to talk, is it?
Of course, I am guilty of doing all of these myself, but I try to avoid them wherever I can. In the end, it comes down to thinking of others, rather than just yourself. Manners and common decency are not antiquated practices that need to be stamped out, but rather a means of ensuring that we are allowing everybody to enjoy our environment in the same way we are.
That’s what it comes down to, in the end. We are all so caught up in thinking that the world revolves around us that we fail to see the impact that these effortless considerations can have on those around us.
So, it appears that Project52 has all but died already. I’m keeping up, just, but judging from the “now-slowed-to-a-trickle” feed that was hastily set up by one of the participants at DesignMoo, it seems that most people aren’t.
It’s a crying shame really. All I wanted from Project52 was the chance to both create, and to consume some new, and hopefully substantial, content. Of course, the content that I have been creating hasn’t been terribly substantial. I have ideas, but then I start to write, and they lose their lustre, or I think twice about finishing them because they could be seen as confrontational, or patronising1.
At a time when the entire internet seems to consist of pro or anti-iPad opinion pieces2, I am really hanging for some serious content to enrich my life, or at the very least my day. Some of my favouriteblogs—those that really make me think, or react, or just enthralled—have quietened to a trickle, or ceased entirely. I am yearning for a well thought out diatribe, or something that will encourage repeat readings.
Of course, there are exceptions to this. Sam Brown3 wrote a very timely, and interesting article called Allowing visitors to leave comments has many benefits. The post came at a time when I had just reintroduced comments here, and struck enough of a chord with me that I weighed in with the longest comment I have ever written.
Aside from that singular post though, I feel like that Ancient Mariner“water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink”. I am surrounded by content, but I can’t consume it. Not because it will make me ill, physically anyway, but rather because it won’t slake my thirst for something more substantial.
I’m sure the content is there, but I can’t seem to find it—feel free to point me in the right direction in the comments.
So, compadres in this challenge of ours, this Project52, even if you think you have failed so far, please don’t give in. Stand up and create content that is enjoyable to create, and substantial to consume. After all, wasn’t that the point?
Footnotes
For a perfect example, please see yesterday’s post on life philosophy, where I cut myself short about halfway through. ↩
And, of course, I am most definitely not without blame here. ↩
For some reason, I spent some time the other night reading a forum I never thought I would be interested in reading—the “Christianity Community” on Amazon. I was honestly disturbed by the amount of vitriol and hatred that was spread within the various threads that I browsed. These people who claim to follow a loving God were spreading messages of hate and bigotry.
Don’t ask me why I was reading thesethreads, because I simply don’t know. I happened across one and it escalated from there. The time wasn’t a complete waste, however, as it ended with me contemplating my own theological point of view. My views haven’t changed any, and in actual fact, have probably been strengthened by what I read.
Over the years, I have formed a moral standard and philosophy based upon my life experience, and the environment in which I was raised. That philosophy really boils down to a single, simple statement—live your own life, your own way, and don’t hinder others ability to do the same.
In the end, I think that’s better than looking down on, or in some cases hating, people because of their lifestyle choices, who they are, who they sleep with, and what they do. How about you?
A list of people who, for one reason or another, I really respect and admire right now. Whether it be for the quality of the design work they have done, or just for being a really cool person. No reason is shared, because thats for me to know. You need to follow these people wherever/however you can to find out your own reason’s to respect and admire them.
I was in the lift when it hit me. I’ve been looking at it all wrong. I have been looking at it as a computer, but that’s just plain wrong. It, of course, is the iPad.
You see, I was looking at it as a computing device. A device that is intended to be the future of how everybody uses a computer, and intended to, one day and in some form, replace the desktop computing paradigm. But it’s not, and it never will.
People like me, who value their computer for real computing are all probably looking at it wrong. The iPad is not a computer. It’s a media and content consumption device. Email is no longer a computing task, but a communication and content creation task for the bulk of people. Nothing that can be done in the iPad as it stands is truly a computing task, with the vague exception of the new iWork apps.
I was, and in fact still am, concerned about what this device could mean for the future of computing, but I’m also realising that because this isn’t a computer, it really probably won’t have as much of an impact on the future of computing as I originally thought it would. Most people, possibly up to 95-99% of people in fact, have no need for a computer. The only things that they do on a computer is consume media, and communicate. A computer is largely wasted on these people.
Instead, true computer use will, eventually, fade back into being an enthusiast hobby for those who have a desire to learn. Sure, people may still feel like they need or want a full blown computer, but they will come to the realisation that its unnecessary and switch back to using a content consumption device.
In that respect, the iPad probably is a revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, device. And in that respect, I guess I hope it does succeed. Just not at the complete expense of real computing.
Hi, I'm Dean, and this is my blog. A collection of random rantings, and half written musings with the occasional completed, and even somewhat researched article. More.
