Category: Information Technology

I have an Associate in Technical Arts in Web Application Development degree, as well as certificates in:

  • Business Systems Analysis
  • Requirements Analysis
  • Database Theory and Design
  • Cisco Networking
  • And I’m one class away from a Desktop Support Certificate

I have a deep knowledge of technical systems and have solved a variety of problems.

Prime Music

Carl Setzer

In case you missed the announcement, Amazon has launched Prime Music. As you can guess, Amazon is the latest tech animal to enter the online music fray. I downloaded the iPhone app last night and have been streaming music at my desk at work today. For now, the music selection is pretty small for the streaming service. As a heavy Spotify user, Amazon is not going to displace my current habits. Prime looks to be supplementing/feeding their mp3 download service. That’s not where I am, at this point. Key phrase: at this point.

I fully expect that Amazon is “in it to win”. They’re fierce competitors, and I expect that they’ll push this service further. Probably, there will come a point that Spotify’s $9/mo service will seem redundant to my Prime membership fee. Then it will be tough. I’m not keen on giving too much control over my life to one vendor. However, I value my cash. Yeah; tough. Or, perhaps, Spotify will be bought by one of the big players and this will become a non-issue. Always in motion, the future.

MaydayPAC and Hope for Democracy

Carl Setzer

I am excited by this project: Mayday, creating a crowdsourced SuperPac to end all SuperPacs (SuperDuperPac?). I’ve long admired Larry’s work, and also have been concerned by cash’s influence in politics. For me, this has the potential to be a profound pivotal moment of the internet age and social media driven democracy. This coming Monday (June 16) at 8:00 pm EASTERN time, Mr. Lessig and Amanda Palmer will be hosting a video conversation that I expect will be very much worth your time. If I can at all make this work with my calendar, I will be online for this.

Update: Here’s some recommended “pre-reading”:  1) http://thebea.st/UhhBVV  2) http://bit.ly/MD-TNR  3) http://bit.ly/MD-Medium 

Annoyed with my iPhone

Carl Setzer

Currently, I’m annoyed as heck with my iPhone. The glorious Jesus phone started doing such things as calling random people, after my screen going black. Weird enough, I guess. My usual solution to such ails is a reboot. And, lo, there’s an update to install. So, let’s combine the two. Dear lord, no, no…never again will I make that combination. Stalled installations, resetting to factory defaults, then reinstalling from a backup (glad I’m a bit neurotic about my backups), all making for a delightful night and morning for me. And I’m still discovering weird tweaks: incomplete syncing of contacts the most recent.

Grrrrr…..

Thoughts on Blogger and Google+

Carl Setzer

As a long time Blogger user, I do worry a bit about how much longer Google will support this. The rise of Google+ drives that. The various features added lastly to + make it look like they compete, and we all know about “Houses Divided”.

It seems that “+” gets all the developer energy, all the press. Blogger is way behind Word Press as far as features. So, probably, I’ll do what so many others I know have done and port this over to WordPress.

Why I love Twitter

Carl Setzer

Been thinking about the mighty Twitter. Why do I like it so much, yet others I know hate the platform? One key thought: chaos. For me, the beauty of Twitter is it’s chaos. This manic, crazily shifting feed of information delights me. Yet I understand how this could be a hard style for others.

I specifically, deliberately follow smart and creative people without millions of followers. The people I follow will grab anything a celebrity would say (that’s interesting) early enough for me to still be in the front of the thought curve. I value unique thinking over most anything else.

Twitter is more global. Maybe it’s my follower curation, but my list does a great job of giving me a global view, more so than I’d ever see reading a US based news org.

If I need order, I have Google or Bing. And Facebook gives me a good look into the macro interests of our culture. Twitter trend to be where I see the cutting edge thinking, the leading stories. And I love that.

Is Smartphone The Right Term Anymore?

Carl Setzer

I remember using the term “smartphone” long before the iPhone. Devices like the BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and the Treo: these were the original “smartphones”. However, these guys are a league separated from today’s devices. As I consider it, the main difference seems to be accessing the web. Today’s smartphones interact with the web as well as desktops, or closely so.

The modern devices easily seen mis-named in comparison. I wonder of a new name is justified? Well, who am I to decide? Plus, even if I were to craft the most brilliant name, would it get traction? Would it get adopted?

Thoughts on the Apple TV

Carl Setzer

My house has moved into the “unplugged” realm; we stream our content via the internet. Our main appliance is an Apple TV, which we love. Mainly, we prefers its navigation in comparison with our Xbox 360.

The one issue many folks might have is what I’ll call release lag. It takes a few days/weeks (or more) for a show to make its way to Netflix or the iTunes store. For me, that’s really not it an issue. However, it will be for some.

Apple has some work to do. Right now, navigating the main screen is tolerable, though a bit clunky. However, with each new app & service, it gets messier. Soon, it will become unwieldy. I want to see the ability to organize this “desktop”. Folders will be critical. Plus, I want to have a “favorites/bookmarks” section. It would also be good to let me delete apps I don’t want.

The range of content amazes and delights me. And the lack of commercials is glorious. And the ability to stream from my iPhone or Macbook further increases the range of content.

I’m convinced this is the future of content distribution. Well, the ala carte model, at least. There is a revolutionary idea out there, getting ready to shift things again. That’s the exciting part.

Oh, Life’s Cruel Ironies

Carl Setzer
One of the cruel ironies of life: when sick, the body mainly needs rest. Which I find nearly impossible, when sick, to get. Perhaps more real than other perceptions, like how traffic volumes directly correlate to how late you are, likelihood of a flat-tire to the dressiness of your clothes, those sorts of things. 

Part of dealing with the sick/sleep issue: medications. NyQuil and it’s sibling medicines certainly help make life better, or at least tolerable. Of course, there comes a point that I start to worry that any other additive to my system will result in my blood becoming corrosive. 
Now, I do utilize some naturopathic techniques. Mostly steamy showers, netti pots and hot teas. Oh, and chicken pho!

I guess you could view this as another area technology has taken solid hold. Do we ever really consider the innovations that all these meds represent? That so many have only been part of western life for a few decades? Yet we do we think twice about them? It’s as natural to me, at least, to grab pharmaceuticals when ailing as I can imagine.  

Google+ and Social Media Movement

Carl Setzer

I’ve been spending more time on Google+ lately (here’s the link to my Google+ page). Twitter has been my biggest site of late, with Facebook being a solid second. However, I’m beginning to see some solid value in the Google+ platform.

The main thing I like: larger posting sizes than Twitter. Twitter was designed around SMS limiting factors. The character limits don’t, as a general rule, bother me. However, there are times I like the larger posts and Google+ seems to fit the bill better.

Also, especially when compared to Facebook, filtering content and controlling what you see, and who sees your posts, Google+ is clearly better. The interface is cleaner and more straightforward.

It also helps that Google has stated on multiple occasions that it is prioritizing Google+ posts and content. One does need to consider SEO value as well.

Lastly, and most important to me, Google+ is still pretty new. The feeds I see are still quite free of trollish behavior. It’s a much more pleasant experience. Will that change if/when the platform takes off? That’s my concern. But, for now, it’s a fun world with interesting discussions delightfully free of troll-bait.