For those of you who use GMail mobile (as I do) there is a new version out. Go to http://m.google.com/mail to get it.

New Features

I'm not looking at the exact features, but these are the ones I noticed right away.

Pros

• Account Switching - This is huge. I have multiple Gmail Accounts. The two I use most are my personal one and the one for my newsgroups. Normally on the phone I'd check one, log out, then log into the other one and read. It was kind of a pain, but it worked. Now you can just add multiple accounts and switch between them with a few clicks. AWESOME. 
• Offline reading. I can open my email that I opened yesterday without being connected via the phone (if I have no signal I can still read some email)
• Better interface - The scrolling is smooth. The error handling is a 'bit' better and the loading of the app initially is still great.

Cons

• On my Windows Mobile 6 Device (T-Mobile Shadow) the app is STILL in JAVA. Come on now Google. ... you gave me a Google Maps app that runs as a Windows Mobile App. However you give me Gmail (which is used 10 times as much) and its in JAVA? In order to get to this I have to go to Apps, To Java, Start Java, Then Start Gmail, Then log in. Google Maps? Click the icon and go.  Simple.
• Error Handling Sucks. Above I said it was better, but still.. it sucks. On a scale of 1-10, last version it was a -2, right now its a 1. Examples: Sometimes I'll send an email and it will just crash the app. Click send == SUPER FAIL. If I click on a link in an email Windows Mobile will raise a warning informing you that it may cost money if you don't have an unlimited data plan (I have unlimited so it didnt matter) ... but... I decided I didnt want to load the link anyway so I clicked no and got a Java Exception that hung the app. I reloaded it again and tried the same exact operation, yup, same error. FAIL.
• The Address book is COMPLETELY BROKEN on two letter keyboards (shown below). If I add a recipient via the address book and type 4 for "D or F" (which is what I would expect as this is how the keyboard is laid out) I get "G, H or I". What the hell?  Apparently the app is hard coded to treat all keyboards as if they were a normal phone. A normal phone's #4's letter combo is "GHI". So that's very frustrating. Its unusable.

Even though there are some very frustrating items with Gmail Mobile, its support for threaded conversations is the real reason I use it. If Microsoft every developed a Threaded conversation that mimicked Gmails, hmmm... I might have to kiss Gmail good bye.

It's an interesting name to say the least. Why the "sharp" symbol? Sometimes newcomers get it incorrect at first (usually people BRAND NEW to programming) and call it "C POUND". It Almost sounds like a hip-hop thing as the "pound" word has different context in that arena.

The knocking of fists as a form of greeting, departure or respect. - Urban Dictionary

But, alas, this is NOT what it means in terms of programming.

Here's Where The Name Came From

In the October 3rd 2008 edition of the CIO article "The A-Z of Programming Languages: C#" Naomi Hamilton interviewed the men of men, the one and only, Anders Hejlsberg (lead architect of C# - and other languages Pre c#). In this article he described where the name came from. The C# language was originally called "Cool" but it was changed. Here's the scoop:

[CIO] Why was the language originally named Cool, and what promoted the change to C#?

[AH] The code name was Cool, which stood for 'C like Object Oriented Language'. We kind of liked that name: all of our files were called .cool and that was kind of cool! We looked seriously at keeping the name for the final product but it was just not feasible from a trademark perspective, as there were way too many cool things out there.

So the naming committee had to get to work and we sort of liked the notion of having an inherent reference to C in there, and a little word play on C++, as you can sort of view the sharp sign as four pluses, so it's C++++. And the musical aspect was interesting too. So C# it was, and I've actually been really happy with that name. It's served us well.

Make sense?

If you use Google IG like I do to read RSS feeds, note... there is one flaw with it and you may not be getting the latest content. I figured this out because it accidentally happened to me and to the guys at Foo Theory. I believe its used to happen to Peter Brombergs UnBlog as well. looks like its fixed now.

Basically what "I think" is happening is that when a feed publishes too many items, Google IG cannot handle it and it barfs somewhere.  It will give you something to look at, but it stops at a certain point.

Lest say you have 500 posts on your blog. A "normal feed" is somewhere between 5 and 30 posts. Google IG handles this just fine. But, if you post all 500 posts into your feed, Google IG will not display it properly. It will load to a certain point (displaying posts from maybe 18 months ago in time) and display that, and that only. It seems as if there is some buffer that fills up and once that is full, game over - nothing else is shown.

Just an interesting tidbit... Make sure your feeds are only displaying 5-30 of your last posts.

Microsoft announced their new version of Windows is going to be called "Windows 7" here.

Hmmm... How creative. Perhaps I'm just used to real code names.... so... to make this "my own" I came up with a better one with the "7". Here's my rendition:

"Windows se7en, an operating system so gangster it'll cut you if you slip, son."

Ok, maybe that wouldn't work, but hey, its funny.

I'm not a big fan of stating political beliefs on technical blogs, but I am a gigantic fan of good music and musical talent. I know there are a lot of beliefs on "who" and "why" someone should be elected, and this is not a debate for this. This is a chance to download some good music. Forewarning though: If you're into Obama then this may interest you. If not, it probably wont work for you. :) 

DJ Z-Trip has posted a free download which is about 54 minutes in length and its pretty good. Its in MP3 form, so download and listen away. I'm about 40 minutes into the mix and its had music from the 70's, 80's, 90's, up until now. From Rage to Public Enemy, its all in this mix. Definitely good stuff. I think that Z-Trips ability to manipulate many different pieces of music via mixers, turntables, samples, etc is absolutely amazing. He's been doing this for years, but I just thought I'd post this now so everyone could enjoy a free listen. :)

You can download it here or click on the image above.

Jason Bock posted this awhile back - but I thought I'd post it for my subscribers. It's been hectic with a new kiddo and all kinds of stuff going on so I'm just getting around to posting this now.

I have joined ...

Background info: I recently moved to Minneapolis to explore other opportunities and to live in a city that I've adorned for years. Having moved up here is one the best things I've ever done. I absolutely love this place and the seasons. For some reason when I tell that to the locals they look at me like I have 3 heads. Oh well. Grass is always greener I guess. Some people hate the winters, some love them. I'm someone who loves snow. After being in Phoenix for nearly 10 years, snow and cold is a thing of beauty.

I was working for a few other shops/clients independently in MPLS wasn't really working out that well so I looking around to see what the city had to offer. I didn't have to look far to find a premier partner that I've been following for some time, Magenic. Some of you may know of the company, it houses quite a few MVP's and genuinely brilliant people. They speak throughout the country at various events and I can honestly say that I've seen a few of their presentations and I was impressed. I'm very honored to be part of this team and I  look forward to the interesting years ahead.

If you'd like to learn more about Magenic, click here.

Other Magenic Bloggers:

• Jason Bock [MVP]
• Chris G. Williams [MVP]
• Rockford Lhotka [MVP] (Author of CSLA.NET)
• Kristin Juhl
• Anthony Handley
• Aaron Erickson [MVP]
• The Magenic Blog Feed

I'm sure there are other blogger's on our team, I just have not met them yet. So if you're one of them, let me know and I'll add you to the list.

Be Prepared - A Practical Handbook For New Dads

Being a new dad is sort of like anything else in life that you've never done before. Its confusing, its hard, its fun, its rewarding and well, its just plain hard to figure out. Babies are like computer viruses that always adapt. You have to figure out how to keep them within their sandbox before they get out and destroy everything. Before you can confine them to their sandbox, you have to figure out exactly how and what you need to do that. When it comes to babies, simple tasks can be quite daunting to a new dad. Some of these tasks are:

- How to Change  Diaper

- How to hold a baby

- How to decipher the different screams

- How to know how to "swaddle" them.

- What to look out for in your hormonal significant other after birth.

- etc, etc, etc.

The problem with most "daddy" books is that, well, um ... they SUCK. Real Bad. I'm not joking, try reading one. They make you want to puke or gouge your eyeballs with a turkey baster. Typical daddy books and other new baby books are instant cures for insomnia in my opinion. You get 5 pages into the book and they're talking about all the happiness in the world. Yeah. Right. Sure.

They are full of typical puppy dogs and ice cream nonsense.

I need a book that's for MEN. Plain and simple.

About two months ago while shopping for some baby gear at baby consignment shop I saw this half priced book store next to the baby shop. We decided to visit it and low and behold, I found the holy grail of daddy books.

"Be Prepared - A Practical Handbook For New Dads"

The image shown above is actually the cover image of the book.

You're probably wondering ...

Why this book is "SOOOOOO MUCH BETTTERRRRRR" than other daddy books?????

Well, lets be honest, it just is. But my opinion is just that - an opinion. Lets help you identify your own opinion and in this case an example is 10x better than reading boring lame-o text.

Upon cracking open this golden nugget of information goodness you're set up with a nice mental image of what the rest of this book will be like ...

Page-1 (source: beprepared.net):

Page 2:

One word for this.

AWESOME.

Finally a book that tells it like it is. A real-deal-holyfield approach to daddy books. I don't want a book that sugar coats everything for me. I want the book to explain exactly how life with a baby should be and will be. Be Prepared is that book. Hands down, this IS the book for new dads. If your significant other is asking you to read a daddy book, get this one. It will save your life, probably your babies life and it will help your relationship. :)

The Book provides tips and tricks all the way up to 1 year old. It covers it all.

- How to soothe a baby (and cool tricks I never thought of)

- How to change diapers

- How to bath the baby (at different stages too)

- How to deal with a hormonal woman

- How to read sports illustrated to the baby (get your sports and your kid bonding time at once!)

- How to take a baby camping

- How to handle crazy relatives who want to hold the baby, but you don't trust them

... and a TON more. This is only a grain of salt compared to the shaker of awesome-ness in this book. Literally, this small book is PACKED with goodness. It's so good I'm going to go buy a couple and give them to my friends who are going to be new dads.

The web site (www.beprepared.net) has all kinds of goodness too.

To view more sample pages check it out here: http://www.beprepared.net/sample.html 

If you're tired of reading nonsense baby books that your significant other has given you (not that they're full of bad content - just mind numbingly boring) then pick this book up.

Disclaimer: No, I did not get paid to write this. I honestly feel this is the best daddy book out there. Period.

It never fails... I'll boot up, start a program, walk away, log back into my PC and all of a sudden the disk light on my laptop or desktop is lit up like a Christmas tree for the next 10 minutes. The computer is rendered useless until its done "working". I can't do anything at this point but wait. A WASTE OF MY FLIPPING TIME.

The Problem With Task Manager

The problem is: I can't do anything while the disk is tripping on a couple of tabs of electric ecstasy ... opening task manager shows me... WELL... nothing. Task Manager says not a single process is utilizing CPU, and not a single process is over utilizing memory. Then I look at Disk I/O (which is presented in Read/Write/Other fashion) and It provides no valuable information at quick glance.

565234 Reads

88723412 Writes

WTF!?!

What I Want

When I look at task manager I want to see what tasks are my computer doing and what affects do each of these issues present. Right now I can only determine if something is a memory hog, or a CPU hog. I may see that SVCHOST.exe is running at 79% CPU utilization, but what the hell is running under the svchost context?!?!! Since svchost is a general host process name for services that from DLL's, I can't determine WHO is causing my pain.

So please tell me... Mr. Task Manager. WHO THE @#%! is spinning my disk. THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO KNOW.

You would think that after hmm.... 13 or so years of Windows OS's, Microsoft would have implemented this functionality. Its fairly rudimentary and actually VERY helpful in troubleshooting.

What I Did About  It

Fortunately this exact problem is something that other companies have recognized and have since developed an application I use regularly. Since I recently set up my PC I forgot to load this tool and I decided to write about it.

<Disclaimer>No, I'm not getting paid to write this about this product.</Disclaimer>

When I want to see what is going on in my PC I use Anvir's Task Manager Free Portable App (download link on the bottom). I bring it with me on my portable drive and flash sticks. Being a consultant who works on many machines, servers, or VPC's its nice to see what's going on.

Anvir has many features, but the one feature that I use it for the most is the "Disk Load". It shows exactly what is utilizing your disk and at what rate. You can sort on this column, therefore when your disk is playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Staryou can see what is causing it.

Here's a screen shot of what I'm talking about: (Click for larger)

I can now look at what is causing my disk to spin (as long as I can get AnVir open)! Anvir also allows me to see the processes under the svchost as well as look at startup items, processes, services, etc. It has a much more interactive and feature rich set of tools that you can use to help diagnose your troubles.

I've written about portable apps before - and I'll say it again - the nice part about this being a portable application is that I can use it on anyone's machine without having to install a thing. That's a thing of beauty. I can log into my mothers machine via SharedView and utilize it on her machine to see what her issues may be. Or even have her run it and tell me what she sees. Instead of seeing "svchost" I can now navigate to the service that svchost is working with. FINALLY.

I realize this may not be the BEST tool for this type of use, and if you have one that you feel is better, please leave a comment.

Last night I needed to wipe a machine of mine clean - back to factory settings. On the 6400 series there is a D partition that has all of the factory settings. It even has a little utility called "PCRestore.exe" that looks VERY promising.

However, if you double click it it will ask if you would like to reformat. Of course, you say "yes" and then it starts and then you get a brilliant dialog error.

I don't have a screen shot of it, but basically, its an error box that has the error icon (big red circle with an X in it) and an OK button. No error text. Click "OK" and the thing shuts down.

*Smacks forehead on table*

Crap. Great. What do I do now? This is not the most intuitive process in the world.

So how do you restore it back to factory defaults?

(This is mainly here for my own personal notes, but hopefully someone else finds this through the magic of the "internets").

If you look on the web you will find a ton of info instructing you to:

1. Reboot
2. When the "Dell" logo shows up on reboot while the BIOS is being read hit CTRL + F11 over and over and over.

Yeah. Sure. Didn't work. I tried it, literally 20 times. Maybe I'm an idiot, who knows ... but take it from me... on my PC it did not work.

The real way is to do the following (I could be a little off on this exact location of the settings, but you get the idea):

1. Start > Programs > Accessories
2. System Restore
3. Restore back to factory settings

Run that and like magic, it will reboot into the restore image and in about 10 minutes your computer will be back to factory default. Schweet.

Normally I try not to post non-technical items here, but this is big enough news to warrant a post in anyone's personal blog!

I'm happy to announce that this last Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008 at 8:07pm, Sophia Felker entered the world at a healthy 7lbs 8ounces. Sophia and mom are doing great. The wife did such a kick butt job, I'm very proud of her. No drugs, all natural water birth. Way to go wifey! :)