Adam Caudill

Need a cheap phone charger quick? Buy a Tracfone.

I recently discovered that I had left the changer for my BlackBerry Tour behind (I’m in the process of moving, and left my changer at the old house), and needed a new one that night. So being late in the evening, my only option was a trip to the local Wal-Mart where I found the typical cheap off-brand charger for a somewhat pricey $15.

Had the quality been better, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought – but I’ve purchased a number of those changers in the past and they are poorly made and it never fails that they break within a few months.

Rails 3 & Dreamhost PS

I recently had an idea for a small web application, and seeing as I’ve not spent as much time as I’ve wanted to using Rails – I opted to build it the latest version of Rails. A decision that caused far more grief than I expected.

If you are using Dreamhost’s PS offering (a managed VPS for those that don’t know), the seemingly simple task of getting a Rails 3 application up and running is actually quite complex. The root cause of this is that Dreamhost’s OS image is based on Debian etch, which was released in April 2009 and has since been replaced; which means etch has become fairly outdated.

Google Chrome and H.264

In a somewhat (but not entirely) surprising announcement, Google is removing support for H.264 video from Chrome. This change to their implementation of the often controversial HTML5 <video> tag is both a major step by Google and a furtherance of the already complicated world of video online.

… To that end, we are changing Chrome’s HTML5  support to make it consistent with the codecs already supported by the open Chromium project. Specifically, we are supporting the WebM (VP8) and Theora video codecs, and will consider adding support for other high-quality open codecs in the future. Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.

Read more…

Thoughts on the iPad, from an Apple hater

Before I get started, let me make a couple of things clear:

1. Apple is evil; pure and simple. I’m fully convinced that Steve Jobs has weekly planning meetings with Lucifer himself¹.
2. Apple’s policies are anti-everybody. From bloggers to developers², Apple seems to make life as hard as possible for those that use their products for profit.

With these facts in mind, I tend to shy away from their products when I have a choice (which isn’t always the case); though a while back I decided to buy an iPad for some reason. I’ve wanted a tablet for quite some time, and despite my hopes of there being a Microsoft-based solution that would do what I needed, there wasn’t anything announced that had the features I wanted in a price range that I could justify.

Rosen Shingle Creek

I recently had a great idea; a trip down to Florida to visit family and celebrate our second anniversary – the idea turned out to be a bit less great than I had hoped. Of the seven days we were there, on three the wind-chill was less than 40F. On the upside, I had booked a room at a newer (opened in 2006) 4-star hotel; if we’re going to be stuck inside, no reason not to be in a great room.

Buying a MacBook from CowBoom.com

I have a project coming up that will require some iOS development – which means that it has to be done on a Mac. Seeing as I didn’t own a Mac, and as the more I spent on acquiring one, the less money from this project will end up in my pocket; I needed a cheap solution. In the end I acquired a very nice 13″ MacBook from CowBoom.com; so this is both about the deals that are available and a review of my experience with the seller.

WikiLeaks Biggest Problem: Julian Assange

WikiLeaks has a growing issue that could easily lead to its downfall, and that problem is its leader, Julian Assange. As time goes on, he is becoming the persona of the organization, and as this happens he becomes more of a target, and more of a threat to the organization’s stability. There are rumors of death threats and assassination plots, on top on the fact that he is wanted in Sweden for what he has claimed to be trumped-up charges. Those that seek to stop WikiLeaks are increasingly attacking Assange directly, and focusing less on those behind the scenes or the organization itself. One outspoken leader doesn’t make the organization.

Being Fair

A couple of weeks ago, Hulu Plus shed its beta tag and opened to the general public. When this happened, the price was changed and a new one week free trial was added. As a subscriber I was happy to hear about the new lower price, though my main concern was wondering if I would have to contact them to get the price break. That concern, thankfully, was the furthest thing from the truth. Soon as the news hit, I found this email waiting for me:

Thinking before you speak

The recent release of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks has caused many to stop and think – which is always a good thing in my opinion. Of the many comments I’ve seen on this subject, one by Jeff Atwood seems to be the most relevant:

WikiLeaks is preaching a message I've always practiced: there should be no difference between internal and external communication

— Jeff Atwood (@codinghorror) November 30, 2010

Be it for a personal vendetta, political reasons, or perhaps just the love of chaos; there is always somebody that would love to take your secrets & thoughtless words and expose them to the world. Even with the best security systems that the US Government could build, one person that wanted it all exposed was able to leak hundreds of thousands of documents before exposing himself and ending his crusade.