RKNet Blog... Thing

So after watching the press conference this morning and getting super mega ultra excited, I spent a good couple of hours mashing F5 in anticipation of pre-order.

The press conference was interesting but not mind-blowing. It was, however, nice to get a better feel for the features and see some nice, shiny demo videos. Update: Engadget Mobile has posts galore about today’s unveiling. I won’t get into the few parts I gleaned from the demo.

This eventually lead me to log in, which had me so pumped I thought I would explode. Then… over an hour of server errors.

Eventually T-Mobile disabled phone upgrades altogether - right around 1pm, if I remember correctly - probably to figure out how the hell to handle that much traffic. If I were them, I’d see if they could borrow a server farm from Larry and Sergey until the pre-order is all over.

I will be poking at their servers for the rest of the day. While I realize this adds to their server load, I will not be the only person doing this, and with this kind of outage, coupled with the knowledge that there are supposedly 400,000 up for pre-order, it’s either be aggressive or get left scrambling on October 22nd.
Success must be mine! Wish me luck. :D

I DID IT!

After a day of confusion and mild frustration, as of approximately 3:26pm EST, I am now one of the approximately 400,000 to secure a T-Mobile HTC G1 with Android and all that good stuff!

Because I could not stop for success, success kindly stopped for me. I had taken a break from my rabid F5-ing and decided to socialize with my co-workers, then I decided it was a good time to hit refresh on my T-mobile account page. LO! The upgrade phone link was back! I hit the promo image on the site and it actually worked! Not only did it work, but the site loaded as quickly as you please. I completed my order in nothing flat.

The phone cost, with the “upgrade fee” comes in at $197.99. Just under the originally predicted $199.

The G1 should be in my hot little hands on or about October 22nd. There will be an unboxing and setup post when I get it. Assuming I don’t get so excited that I just tear the whole package apart like a tazmanian devil.

For anyone curious, here’s the official T-Mobile overview page for the phone.

In the spirit of anarcho-capitalist-warm-fuzzy-anti-establishment (alright so that’s pushing it) consciousness expansion and technological empowerment, I am proud to announce the foundation of a series of meeting guaranteed to satiate your curiosity, tittilate your senses, and delight your sense of accomplishment. It’s an offshoot of NH Media Makers geared towards creating a fun learning environment for new technlogies.

The Location: Adelle’s Coffeehouse, 3 Hale St., Dover NH 03820

The Time: Sunday, October 5th 11am to 1pm - Date and Time unconfirmed! Watch this post for changes!
Meeting will officially start at 11:30 to give everyone time to mingle and get settled. Meeting may end earlier or run later than 1pm. Let me know if there are any conflicts here!

The Goal: To provide an open, informal, and comfortable learning environment for anyone who is interested in “new media”, specifically internet-based forms of media, and the systems and tools which make the newest forms of media run, Macs, Windows PCs, and *nix-based systems. If you don’t know the first thing about Macs, Windows PCs or what *nix even is, it’s ok. If using the formatting tools on your email program are intimidating, or if the term “formtatting tools” leaves you at a loss for words, that’s ok too.

Meeting #1: Intro to Blogging

This is for the person who says to themselves “I want to get my writing published on the internet, and I want it to look professional and attractive.” Or “How do I write things to put up on the internet?” Or “What the heck is a blog?”

For this meeting, I can and will personally commit to going over the basics of Wordpress, since I am most familiar with that. I will also go over some HTML 101 topics, which is critical for writers who wish to publish on the internet. I am looking for help for people who want to talk about other platforms, TypePad, Drupal, etc etc.

The only requirement for attending is a desire to learn more about computers and the internet. The requirement for presenting is to have something you want to share with others. That’s absolutely it.

Of course we’ll do our best to stick to one topic per meeting, to give all attendees the best introduction and help on each of the billion topics as possible.

I am also looking for is people who want to learn! Tell everybody and their brother who has ever wanted to publish something to the internet. Come find out how to run your very own blog, and help us decide what the most enticing topic of conversation is for the next meetup!

Future ideas include:

• HTML and CSS 101 - Don’t even know what CSS stands for? That’s ok! Learn the basics of HTML, XHTML and CSS, and get reference resources and practice ideas.
• Video meeting - From the basics of using your webcam to slap a video up on YouTube, to putting together or participating in a web series.
• Photography meeting - Photophiles share their favorite techniques, tips, and equipment recommendations. Figure out how to share your work, get noticed, and enjoy photography more.
• Podcast/audio meeting - Wonder what a podcast is? Want to know how to listen to them, even if you don’t have an iPod? Want to learn how to make audio to distribute via “podcast” or the internet? We’ll go over all that good stuff!
• Image editing - Ever wonder how the captions get on all those lolcats? Want to crop a photo so you can email it? There are all kinds of easy ways to edit images, and lots of folks to share their favorite techniques.
• M$ Alternatives - Don’t want to pay for licenses for the Inext generation of Microsoft Office or Outlook? That new version of AIM really making your computer choke? There are alternatives, and best of all… they’re 100% FREE.
• TV Alternatives - Don’t throw away your television, but do figure out how to make your home network, internet-based content and your TV circumvent your pricey cable bill.
• Windows 101 - Learn more about the system you might have been working with for years. What to turn off, what to keep on, how to maintain and support one of the most popular OSes in the world for the best possible experience.
• Mac 101 - Learn what it takes to make the most out of a system known for it’s sleek, artful presentation. It’s not just for artists and college students! Come see the real thing and learn how enjoyable and approachable the Mac OS can be.
• Linux 101 - No neckbeard required. It’s an open-source (community supported), lean, mean operating system. Linux may run some your favorite sites, but it can run your home computer in ways you might not have expected.

And that’s really just the list of topics I came up with in a short amount of time. There are probably a few dozen that could take up several meetings to cover the basics! Of course no one has to attend ALL meetings, and I’d encourage everyone to follow their passion and speak their mind. These meetings are meant for you, for me, and for anyone else who wants to attend. As I learned from the GI Joe cartoon: Knowing is half the battle. If you’re fighting with your concerns that you just “don’t get” computers, or code, or a specific kind of tech, it’s OK! Bring your questions, bring your lack of experience. We’re here to share!

So please, comment, email, tell a friend. We’ll be here, and we’d love to see you, too.

Note: I’d love to be able to webcast or record the instruction part of the session for future reference, anybody interested in helping with that, email me.

Editor’s Note: This is a direct copy of a stunning email sent by one of my brilliantly hilarious co-workers recently. Some items have been redacted/changed/edited to protect various information out of respect for their overall privacy.

Hey Hey Hey!….

It’s that time again:

no, not for that!…..

yea, thats what im talkin about, more micheivous,

BUT A LITTLE LESS FUCKING SCARY!!!!

some kids might see this.

NO! I’m Serious!

th- , that’s, b-, better?

ok, well, anyway, it’s page writing time. a little fun with 400-5. if any kids are seeing this now, dont try this at home. only for the seriously jaded.

just to make sure you’re qualified,

there. if anyone is still reading after that, youre obviously jaded enough. you may continue.

Your mission, should you choose to use your god given talent, is to write about,

this place.

where is that you ask? Spain! obviously!

Looks like youre gonna need a bit of brushing up before you get going here,

uhm, yea.. if you think that will be helpful.

but I was kind of thinking….

yea, more like that!

It might help our readers too, if you want to talk about what you learn. So in case they go to Spain, they dont look like a victim….

Especially in the lower regions….

I kind of meant, lower regions, of Spain…

yea! You know, Lower, Regions of Spain, like, Costa Blanca, Benidorm, Alicante, that sort of thing. You know, where you can find,

Stuff..

And do all sorts of cool stuff, like,

cut yourself…

Or not!

I mean, some people prefer just reading; theres something for everyone in Southern Coastal Spain.

Just take a look at this site:

[redacted] - You can write a whole page for this site! Check out what this guy has! Get inside his head…

What does he think on average?

How does he want others to see him?

or…

How does he see his site?

How does he want viewers to see his site?

Find out his fears, what he eats, where he sleeps and where he shits…..

What are his motives?

How do people get away with this where children can see?

What are people looking for when they move to Spain?

Maybe a rental so they can explore the country before they move there?

Or do they just want what everyone else wants?

You’re the wheel(wo)man here, Its kind of up to you and your judgement. Im counting on you. And anyone else who gets this message. If you want to, and youve made it this far, maybe submit an article, and we’ll have a contest for which one I send. (j/k Amy, there is only you)

On his homepage, hes putting “…rise in tourism, and hotels and rentals[sic] , which may be a good way for you to explore the country before you move here”.

So, hope that helps…that is, if you need some idea of an angle before you go in….

You can write about this:

or this:

Maye even both. Maybe one of those lower coastal Spain regions like the Costas, “have something for everyone, whether you’re into beaches, or eating zebra carcass.” type deals.

Either way,
I believe in you.

you’re a crack agent.

Again, not quite what I meant, but thats ok. Youve never let me down before.

Except that time,

But hey, I’m over it. That was years ago. Now I just want you to take your creative style, and show me a page like no one’s ever seen before….

yea.

s’what Im talkin about….

totally edgy and unique.

Completely fresh, and without label…

not given to societal norms.

way out in edge city

Like, completely defiant, cuz no one understands.

And no one ever will.

Got it?

k thx bai!

<3

In honor of NoRegretsAtAll!

Jason Calcanis was recently quoted as saying “As Internet people we shoudn’t bother with people who don’t understand the Internet because they’ll be dead soon.”

Oh Jason. How painfully untrue that is. If he knew half the young people I’ve met, and work with, he would be appalled at how undereducated young people are about the internet and computers. Unless he’s saying that there’s going to be some kind of special plague that only kills people who don’t know that “lolcats” are old meme, and that domaining really is a word.

No, Mr. Calcanis. We still have to suck up to these pre-internet types. There are just too many of them to stage a real coup at this point. You’ll just have to deal like the rest of us.

Unless you've been living under a rock without the internet or any human contact, you have undoubtedly heard of a phenomena referred to as “lolcats” or “cat macros” and sometimes “oh god another fucking lame ass meme”.
http://www.icanhascheezburger.com is a collection of these pictures, mostly cat-related but there are a few gems that center around other members of the animal kingdom. Maybe I'm lame for saying so, but I think cats and pictures of cats with really obvious or bizzare or blatently misspelled captions are really funny. I couldn't tell you exactly why I think so; perhaps in this small way I'm rebelling against the blah-ness of what's popularly considered funny. Then again, these cat pictures are getting awfully popular… 473 del.icio.us bookmarks and counting, and about 251 diggs last I checked! WOW! Maybe I'm not such a rebel afterall, or maybe all it means is I'm not alone in enjoying snickering quietly to myself and muttering “oh I see what you did there” at bold captioned pictures of cats!

read more | digg story

Just to give you a taste of what you're in for if you aren't terribly familiar with the whole “cat image macro” thing, I give you the namesake photo of the site!