May 16, 2012
In this week’s episode of SchwarzTech Radio:
Eric & Matt discuss iOS maps, Matt’s email rules, T-Mobile and the iPhone, the network TV up-fronts, and much more…
Make sure to subscribe and rate us on iTunes.
May 15, 2012
Okay, four new rules before you email me.
1. Place attachments first. Daily, I receive three to four emails that say “documents attached” that have zero documents attached. This drives me nuts. More so, because when the sender remembers that they failed to send the attachments, they then send another email that says, “Opps. I’m dumb. They’re attached now.” Now I have to keep track of two emails – one, the email that explains the documents not attached and two, the one that actually has the documents. Apple has fixed this. If you want to share a photo or document from an iPhone or iPad, you first have to go to the attachment, then share via email. If you go to mail first, you realize that you can’t attach anything to the email. So, rule one. When sending an email with attachments, place the attachments first.
2. Complete the subject line last. If you try to write the subject line first, then compose the email, often you will find that the subject line you first wrote doesn’t most accurately describe the email. For example, a subject line of “important stuff” really doesn’t tell me anything beyond, you think this is important and I, likely, don’t. Worst, now I can no longer go back and search for your email by subject line because instead of being able to search for “[Proper noun] contract documents”, I have to remember “important stuff”. Rule two. By writing the email first, you can create more appropriate subject lines.
3. I’ve created a rule for email marked as “high-priority” that sends the email to a folder titled “not nearly important as you think it is, so check at my convenience”. I know, “Matt, really passive aggressive.” But, don’t we all do email the same way? Read emails on the top first. Prioritize appropriately. I’ll eventually get to your email. Honestly, it wont’ take long. But the first time you mark something as “high priority” that isn’t a high priority, diminishes the effectiveness of the function. Rule three. Just because you think an email is important doesn’t mean I think it is.
4. Email is not a substitute for a text message or a phone call. If you send an email with one line, you should have texted. If you send me an email with a bunch of questions that requires several back-and-forth correspondences, use the phone that you’re likely writing the email on and call me. This is particularly true for things of large importance. I don’t check my email every minute of every hour. So, if its important, the phone is the best way to get my attention. Rule four. Email is a convenience, but not always the optimal communication medium.
I’m instituting a no-forgiveness policy. The first time you offend, I’ll just respond with a link to this post. The second time, don’t expect a response. Harsh? Perhaps. But, it’s my time your wasting.
Aaron Sorkin delivering the commencement speech at Syracuse University.
Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of the Social Network, used his particular blend of wit and principles to deliver a stirring commencement adress at Syracuse University on Sunday.
Sorkin, a graduate of the university in 1983, regaled students with stories from his own life– when he failed a class in college and later his battles with cocaine addiction. Above all, he told graduates, “Don’t ever forget you are a citizen of the world.” Oh, and most hilariously, “You are a group of incredibly well-educated dumb people.”
Genius.
May 5, 2012
Julie Watson and Kevin Freking of the AP on 23 year-old Daniel Chang, who was left forgotten in a cell at the DEA.
On the third day, he began to hallucinate. He urinated on a metal bench to be able to drink his urine. He stacked a blanket, his pants and shoes on the bench and tried to reach an overhead fire sprinkler, futilely swatting at it with his cuffed hands to set it off.
Then, the engineering student says he gave up and accepted death. He bit into his eyeglasses to break them. He says he used a shard of glass to carve “Sorry Mom” onto his arm so he could leave something for her.
He managed to finish an “S.” He says he considered ending his life with the glass to quicken his death.
“I pretty much lost my mind,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Help came after four days, when agents on a fluke opened the door and found him covered in his own feces. He says a bewildered agent asked: “Where’d you come from?”
Chong is suing for 20 million dollars which is about a billion dollars less than he should be. Honestly, who’s holding government agencies accountable these days.
May 3, 2012
For the last month, I’ve been using the iPad Sleeve from ColcaSac. I’ve used the MacBook Sleeve for years. ColcaSac is known for making stylish cases for Apple products from mostly-organic materials. Purchasers can select an iPad sleeve specific to their generation of device and includes options to fit smart covers. The sleeve provides a good amount of protection, particularly in my messenger bag where it’s stuffed in there with a bunch of other shit. It fits snug, utilizes a scratch free, quiet Velcro strip rather than a zipper, and has a pocket on the front to store a charger or headphones.
ColcaSac offers seven different designs starting at 35 dollars to 60 dollars for the juan valdez sleeve made from recycled coffee bags (my favorite). If you’re in the market for the perfect iPad sleeve, your search ends here. The price tag is a little higher than you’ll spend on most, but these are far better than those ugly things Best Buy sells. Head over to ColcaSac and shell out a few more sawbacks for something nice.
April 30, 2012
Dear Education Week,
If you’re going to make people subscribe to read all of your content, dispose of the ugly, obtrusive ads.
Kind regards,
Matt
Eric at SchwarzTech on iOS 6.
I’m not trying to say that one isolated incident of who-knows-what is the reason Apple is doomed or any other anti-Apple garbage that spews from some tech pundits’ keyboards. Instead, I’m saying that rather than some whiz-bang new feature, Apple should be working to make iOS more reliable, responsive, and more connected with iCloud.
On point. Though, I’m expecting new maps.
In this week’s episode of Schwarztech Radio:
Eric & Matt discuss WWDC, iOS 6, Apple’s Earnings, satellite radio, and the obligatory clicky keyboard discussion…
You’ll have to forgive the opening. Tell Eric how dumb getting satellite radio would be here. Feel free to subscribe on iTunes.
April 29, 2012
Out, again.
John V. Lombardi, the Louisiana State University system president known for his combative style, was fired on Friday by the system’s Board of Supervisors.
Mr. Lombardi, who was hired at LSU in 2007, has locked horns with every board he has served in higher education, and his firing in Louisiana was the third presidency of his career to end with tension. Before he went to Louisiana, Mr. Lombardi was pressured to step down as chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He was similarly forced out of the University of Florida presidency, in 1999.
Maybe, third time isn’t a charm.
Marc Parry at The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting article about Virginia Tech professor John Boyer, who uses technology to teach class sizes in the thousands.
The moment marked the biggest coup yet in Mr. Boyer’s experiment with supersizing the classroom. Conventional wisdom deems smaller classes superior. Mr. Boyer, a self-described “Podunk instructor,” calls that “poppycock.” He’s exploring how technology can help engage students in face-to-face courses that enroll from 600 to nearly 3,000 students.
I’m sure there has to be a critical mass. The approach might be more advantageous than traditional approaches when educating larger class sizes, however I can’t imagine that class sizes of 10-15 aren’t more preferable. Certainly, Boyer’s teaching style is critical. Still, the use of technology is interesting.
