Tretakoff Musings

As regular readers of this sometimes neglected blog know, I'm a gadget guy. The newer the gadget, the more I want it. And for my gadget habit, Apple is often my dealer of choice: not only do they make some primo gizmos, but they do it with such style, such aplomb, it's hard to imagine any resistance. So, it's with some shock that I find myself strangely immune to today's launch of the latest Apple world-changer, the iPad . I can honestly say I simply don't get this one. For those that somehow have managed to avoid the hype machine, the iPad is pretty much a huge iPod Touch, about the size of a hardcover book and Apple-svelte. It's not a laptop, nor a game machine: it's a brand new category of...what? See, this is my issue: I don't understand what problem the iPad is trying to solve. The iPod solved the UI and synchronization issues that held MP3's from going mainstream. The iPhone made your phone a one-stop device, and finally launched smartphones fr...

I harbor a particular love of web services that make my life easier. TripIt makes organizing my travel plans a joy. Mozy makes backing up my computer automatic and worry free. And Trillian takes care of my IM and social network monitoring on any platform. Each of these take a need that was handled through a combination of multiple tools and manual toil and elegantly makes them seamless and smooth. So, on my recent marathon business trip that had me traveling for: 7 days 6 cities 5 hotels 4 flights 2 rental cars I truly dreaded the expense report work. Hours of filling out a spreadsheet, stapling receipts to pieces of paper, printing out online receipts...the whole process would numb my brain. On the first day of my trip, I looked at this looming problem and fired up the App Store, in search of a better way. And, good readers, I am delighted to tell you I found one. Expensify is just what the doctor ordered. It works simply and elegantly: you just take a photo of the receipt with your ...

TechCrunch has an article on the new "GooglePhone," the NexusOne, and "why it still matters." In essence, it's been revealed that you can buy it, unlocked to any carrier, for $530. The article makes an attempt to justify that, while the cost is high, it still is amazingly groundbreaking. I could not disagree more. Let's have a look at what the argument is for "why this still matters," and why it's a crock. Google is supposedly selling this $530 Nexus One completely unlocked. Uh, so what? This is a GSM phone, which means in the US, that vaunted "unlocking" lets you not only use it on T-Mobile (the preferred carrier), but all other US GSM carriers. What's that you say? Who are the vast selection of others? AT&T. That's it. Yep. So, let me get this straight: I can spend nearly twice as much for a phone that I can choose to sign a contract to use...with all of 1 other carrier? Oh, and if I do want to use this with AT&T,...

GigaOM has a snarky post today on the "wacky" questions that are asked during job interviews. In looking them over, as well as who's asking, I'd actually say that many of these are very smart and reveal more about the interviewee than a typical open ended question. Examples: What was your best MacGyver moment? – Schlumberger junior field engineer Why the hell would you NOT want a person who can answer this, if you are putting someone who needs to be able to come up with solutions, alone, in the field? This is brilliant. If two cars are traveling in a two lap race on a track of any length, one going 60 mph and the other going 30 mph, how fast will the slower car have to go to finish at the same time as the faster car? – Morgan Stanley trader You have a job that involves making quick calculations and forecasting. Again, this question illustrates how fast you can respond to either. Tell me how you would determine how many house painters there are in the United States?...

I've been dipping a toe with trepidation into the world of location-aware social networking. I say "with trepidation" because I have had many primal concerns about broadcasting my location to the world...and I am questioning that trepidation. The immediate fear is about a loss of privacy, yet I am a staunch proponent that privacy is an illusion: with the advance of Google, the growth of social networking, and the ubiquitous presence of smartphones, the reality is that privacy has long been gone. Think those text messages you send are private? Wrong . How about those pictures and videos you publish to Flickr and YouTube? Please. Watching cable or renting a Netflix disc? Yup, those companies know just what you like and can be compelled to share that info. Your GPS and cell phone can't be tracked, surely? Are you kidding me? Every single device we use to make our lives easier with increased communication has a dark side: those same communication paths can be followed bac...

No, the NFL season continues on. But my Fantasy season has come to an inglorious end. I've had several great seasons , but this one doesn't rank up there. In 2006, I took it all. 2007, I came 1 win short of the title. Last year, I snuck into the playoffs after having given up, and managed to even get through the first round. This season? Not so much. Despite having the #1 pick of the draft (which I did NOT arrange for, as commissioner, despite conspiracy theories to the contrary) which I used on fantasy stud Adrian Peterson, and my beloved Cowboy gunslinger Tony Romo as my QB, and even a new iPhone app to manage my team , I failed to make the playoffs for the first time in my fantasy career. I finished on a high note, as the image shows here, with yet another strong performance. In fact, in my league, I scored the 4th most points all season. Yet I could not overcome the attention deficit that my work life imposed, causing me to make late adjustments and poor lineup choices. Th...

Thanks to a wonderful Xmas gift last year, I have been catching up on a decade and a half of missed comic books without the frustration of the actual books. Marvel's Digital Comics have thousands of digitized comics, all laid out for enjoyment. And Marvel has introduced version 3.0 of their reader , which has made the experience far more seamless and rich. I still dislike the gaps in the issues, and the difficulty in reading the crossover events (would it kill you to index the Civil War and Secret Invasion series, folks?), but this reader is a definite improvement. Now, Marvel, make me an iPhone version, and we are seriously talking. Hey, you already offer issues for sale for reading through Comics X on the iPhone; can you just extend my subscription to those?