The Death of the Palm Foleo

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No a moment too soon, the Palm Foleo has been killed :

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/09/05/foleo-folded-palm-ki.html

This is a space where compromise is necessary to have a portable device that is usable.

And then understand that the device will not be very usable for everything.

Unfortunately, no one likes compromises.

Unfortunately for Palm, the Foleo was compromised in all ways

I don't consider a Treo keyboard very usable. I'd rather have a bigger screen. I also don't consider anything that does not fit in my pocket to be mobile. That pretty much kills full size keyboards.

If it's bigger than your pocket, the decision to bring the device with you is much harder. If it fits in a pocket, it's a no brainer.

The best option I have found for something truly portable with both WiFi and mobile data connectivity is the Nokia N800.

No keyboard, but the touchscreen works well and it will work with a bluetooth keyboard.

8 reasons to not buy a nail gun

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Point that thing somewhere else. Truly cringeworthy. Courtesy of This Old House.

Completion!

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The workshop is finally done. The final inspection took place while we were out today. I was concerned that we had not adequately documented the use of the lam beam, but apparently it wasn't an issue. Now to find a work table.

Thursday : Greek for "Chaos"

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The reorg at work was finally announced. 3 people had already left IT, so they had to make a decision soon. Tomorrow we have a "town hall meeting" (yes, we are fully buzzword compliant) with the other organization. All I know is that I now have a new boss.

URLs and "updated web sites"

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I have a client that came to me with her departments' new web site. I noticed that the new site had a similar directory structure, but all the names had changed.. Every URL that anyone had bookmarked on the site would now be broken. Maintaining the site structure had not even been considered.

This should be the first consideration of a redesign. Is there a good reason for change? If not, don't change it. Your customers will thank you.

The Workshop is (mostly) done

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Finally, my backyard workshop is almost done (it's too nice to call a shed). Mark added the finishing touches to the structure on Wednesday. All that remains is to build a step or deck or whatever we decide to do.

I was very pleased with how the door came out. We had a 50 inch opening to work with, and an original plan for two 24 inch doors. Though I've always wanted a real door. After some brainstorming, Mark and I came up with the concept of a split door. Use a standard size exterior door. In the remaining space, build a hinging panel that can be unlatched and opened as needed.

Now I have the benefit of both a wider door and a conventional door. We ended up using a surplus transom window to fill the gap and it worked beautifully. Pictures to follow.