August 27, 2008; 04:20 PM Discussion
0 commentsI don't post this to make fun of someone's public speaking mistakes and blunders, god knows we are all used to that by now. I post this to point out to people that we need a leader who has the ability to think on his/her feet, to bring reason and logic to bear on a situation that is new to him/her. That is not McCain's strong suit. At least not for the past 21 years since he turned 50!
August 14, 2008; 12:28 PM Discussion 0 commentsI fell off the wagon a couple months back and started playing World of Warcraft again after a couple year hiatus. It is much better than it used to be with additional quests and achievements as well as some new stuff coming up.
I am not condoning this behavior but if you want to check it out, email me (b e n @ a l t t e x t . com) and I can hook you up with some goods in game. Plus if you pay for a month of two we both get the following:
Note: This offer not available to new parents, people who need a lot of sleep, or anyone with a history of addiction. :)
August 06, 2008; 09:35 AM Discussion 2 comments July 31, 2008; 02:38 PM Discussion 0 comments
See this and more at FailBlog, thanks to Luke Francl.
Upon seeing a feather on the street you have to stop yourself from picking it up to aid you in your Slow Fall spell.
Shazam is a great app that promises what it says it does. It has been out for a while and I have used it on other phones but for the iPhone it hasn't let me down. When I want to know what song is playing at the bar or in the Volkswagon commercial I simply fire up Shazam and in 12 seconds it lets me know.
July 15, 2008; 04:29 PM Discussion 1 commentsIn a reversal of position, Netflix is now deciding to keep its profiles feature. Citing an overwhelming response of its customers to the news, Netflix sent me this a few minutes ago.
We Are Keeping Netflix ProfilesDear Ben,
You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are.
We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you.
-Your friends at Netflix
Woohoo, the customer wins! Not only that, this feature was boosted out of obscurity to a place of prominence. I found several ways to use profiles that sound pretty cool (i.e. create genre profiles so that you don't have 3 depressing documentaries at home at any given time).
June 30, 2008; 04:10 PM Discussion 1 commentsYesterday Netflix announced that it was discontinuing the Profiles feature that allows users with one account to keep separate queues and ratings of movies and tv shows. This absolutely sucks. I have come to rely on this feature and will be looking for alternatives to Netflix before the feature is eliminated on September 1st. I will look at DVD by mails services like BlockBuster or Intelliflix as well as on-demand services like cable/satellite providers or Apple TV. And yes I would switch regardless of the fact that it is likely that no other service offers this feature, just because of the way this has been handled.
What is even worse than the dropping of this feature, however is the way Netflix has handled it. Today I received this email:
We wanted to let you know we will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account, effective September 1, 2008.Each additional Profile Queue will be unavailable after September 1, 2008. Before then, we recommend you consolidate any of your Profile Queues to your main account Queue or print them out.
While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.
They aren't giving any indication as to why they are pulling the feature, just vague allusions to making the site better.
There is a petition to show Netflix that there is support for the feature. Not sure how far that will go in light of recent claims by the company that is is the "final decision". Here is more from the Hacking Netflix blog.
While discontinuing the Profiles feature is not desirable for the passionate folks who use it, the decision will ultimately benefit all Netflix members. By discontinuing the feature, we will be able to put more focus and resources site and service improvements that benefit everyone, consistent to how we have grown the service over the years.
Netflix makes it sound that only a few passionate users will be affected by this and perhaps the feature was under-utilized. And maybe the folks who use that feature and will be pissed off by this are not the most profitable customers for Netflix (i.e. they watch more movies and so cost Netflix more money) but they are forgetting an important thing here. These customers are the Netflix evangelists. I have told countless people about how I love Netflix since my membership began in August of 2000. I know I have been responsible for at least a half dozen people signing up and who know how many people have read my write-ups here on Alt Text.
Netflix is making a big mistake in killing the Profiles feature but are stepping into an even bigger blunder with the patronizing messaging around the decision. Read more on MetaFilter.
June 19, 2008; 12:30 PM Discussion 3 commentsWhile I still hate McHale and Taylor for what they did to the Timberwolves and for robbing Minnesotans of a chance to share this moment with KG, I have to feel good about KG getting his ring. He is a great player and deserves it. This photo sums it up.
June 18, 2008; 03:30 PM Discussion 0 comments[Via Jason Bock]
June 13, 2008; 12:07 PM Discussion 0 comments| Feature | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Height: | 115mm | 115.5mm |
| Width: | 61mm | 62.1mm |
| Depth (thickness): | 11.6mm | 12.3mm |
| Weight: | 135g | 133g |
| Case: | Aluminum back | Plastic back (better reception) |
| Color: | Black/Silver | All Black or All White |
| Heaphone jack: | Recessed | Flush |
These photos of a Mario Kart-Themed wedding cake were sent to me from someone who had been admiring the photos I took of some friends' Mario-themed cake a couple years ago.
Like this? Digg this!
June 02, 2008; 11:54 AM Discussion 1 comments
I finally got around to uploading some photos from this year's minnebar (un)conference. I didn't take most of these as I was running around from place to place in between presentations and panels. Many didn't turn out because I didn't have the right lens. There are many more photos tagged minnebar up on Flickr. Luckily my awesome wife rectified that situation on for my birthday this year and got me this 50mm f/1.8 lens I have been coveting for years.
May 31, 2008; 03:38 PM * Safe for work if you work at a cool place.
May 28, 2008; 03:31 PM Discussion 0 comments
Hi, I'm Ben Edwards and I have been
posting my thoughts and ideas online
since 1995. Alt Text has been a place
for writing and experimentation with the
web as medium of communication.
Currently, it resembles what has
been (unfortunately) termed a weblog.
// read more
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All content by Ben Edwards, except where noted. Licensed under this Creative Commons License.
