Silence is Golden

"Enjoy the silence" goes the Depeche Mode song, and with the Bose QuietComfort2 Noise Reduction headphones I got, I can do just that. After reading about, hearing about and seeing them many times on planes, I went to a Bose store and tried them (next to a speaker issuing airplane sounds). What can I say? Until you put them on, you have no idea how much noise you're exposed to on an airplane.
These headphones don't come cheap: they cost $300 ($299 in American :)). They work for 30 hours off a single AAA battery. They come with a nice carrying case (that has a place for my iPod Mini) and include plugs for an airplane headphone socket and a stereo system.
Basically you can enjoy 3 levels of noise reduction:

1. Just by just putting these ear covering headphones on, you block some of the noise around you.
2. Turn them on, and white noise (such as airplane engine, train, car etc.) will be actively tuned out. You can even disconnect the cord and use this mode for sleep.
3. To achieve maximum noise reduction, attach a sound source to the headphones, which will enhance the sound and block the white noise around.

Couple of facts:

• A newer model by the name of QC3 exists (retails for $349) - It has an on-the-ear design and a rechargeable battery. I tested both and went for the QC2 for comfort, and the fact that it's easier to carry an extra AAA battery than a power plant :).
• I tried using these at a dentist, to block the annoying drills. Mixed results - apparently if the source of the sound is in your mouth, it gets in your head in a different way :).
  

Tech Podcasts

While I do try to read as much as I can to keep updated about tech news, a huge chunk of my life that I spent with no internet access. I mean, of course, the time I spend on airplane and in rental cars.

Well, no worries, since I can always take with me my trusted iPod Mini (green version - always reminded me of an Apple :) ), and equip it with the latest podcasts. A podcast is simply a media file (audio or video) attached to an RSS feed. Periodically (based on the author's schedule) such a file would be downloaded automatically to my PC. All that's left is to connect my iPod to the PC and let iTunes synchronize it.

But what if you don't have to have an iPod or even iTunes to listen/watch podcasts?
- Every MP3 player would do, and any RSS reader could download the media files.

So, what does a Traveling Tech Guy listen to?

Name	Description	Subscribe
TWIT (This Week in Tech)	By far my favorite. Leo Laporte's weekly panel of technology experts, discussing all manner of tech news. My favorite is the cranky Jon C. Dvorak. Leo has many podcasts and vidcasts out there. Try his site for more fun and technology.	audio
David Pogue	David is the New York Times lead technology columnist. While he's not always funny, he is always informed	audio
Hak .5	A pair of Canadian hackers will show you how to hack everything: from wireless networks, to RFID chips, to gadgets. No one is safe...	video
Cranky Geeks	John C. Dvorak, crankier than ever, in his own show.	audio
French Maid TV	A bunch of "how-to"s, presented by sexy French maids. Guaranteed you'll watch every episode more than once (...to learn, of course).	video
Diggnation	Kevin Rose (Digg's owner) and Alex Albrecht discuss the latest news on Digg, while slowly getting drunk of exported beers on a sofa. This show is so funny that people on airplanes tend to look up when I start snickering :).	video
Geekbrief.TV	Light-on-the-eye Cali Lewis delivers 3 minutes of daily gadget news. While she doesn't drink, her peppiness suggest too much sugar in her diet :)	video
And now, for something completely different (non-tech)
Wallstrip	An interesting take on rising stocks. Funny, informative, innovative. And a great host :)	video
Ask a Ninja	A "ninja" answers questions in one of the funniest podcasts out there.	video
History Podcast	Every week, a new subject/period/occasion in history is discussed. The amount of general knowledge I got out of this constantly-improving podcast, is enormous.	audio
Tiki Bar	No description - has to be seen to be believed.	video

How to use the table:

• Links on the right are subscription links. Add them to iTunes or another RSS reader.
• If you don't like the formats (audio, video) I've selected, many of the podcasts offer different ones. Use the links on the left to browse to the homepages of the podcasts and locate your favorite format.
• The homepages would also allow you to download single episodes, without subscribing. Try before you buy :).
• Videos can be watched on your laptop, if your player lacks video capabilities.
• Find more podcasts in either iTunes or at Podcast.Net.
• Finally, if you'd like to subscribe to the entire list (and a few more) mentioned above, download this OPML file into your reader.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

For people who don't want to bother with RSS feeds, I've added the ability to subscribe via email:

1. Click the envelope icon (on the top, or on the right)
2. Enter your email address
3. Fill in the captcha (a scrambled text image, that verifies that you're a human and not an evil spam-seeking computer).
4. And from now on, every time I post to the blog, you'll get a nice email.

Privacy statement: I will NEVER distribute any email address, nor do I collect them. They are saved on a blind mail server dedicated to subscriptions only.

The Megalomaniac Pleasure of Creation

Guy Kawasaki, the original Apple evangelist, wrote a post about a couple of guys making millions from Google Ads by getting eyeballs on their sites. These guys claim they work no more than 2 hours a day. (I guess I need to get my traffic numbers up to get there. Mom! if you read this, please click a Google Ad on the right! :) ).

Glenn Kelman, founder of RedFin, replied with an interesting post explaining why he thinks effort, sweat and pain are the way to succeed with a startup. He also details the "10 ways a startup can feel deeply screwed up without really being that screwed up at all". I loved item 1, the reason is evident if you read my last post :).

And thanks to my friend Yaniv for pointing me to the post.

Language Wars

If you wonder which development language/environment you should use to develop your next enterprise-level web site, read the article Language Wars by Joel Splosky.
He discusses 3 language/environment pairs: C#/.Net, Java/J2EE and PHP/Apache and arrives at the conclusion I got to myself: use the one you know best (or have people around you who know it well).
Like everything Joel puts out there, an interesting read.

Surf Securely and Stealthily

Whenever you surf the web, you leave behind you a trail of crumbs on your machine: offline files left in cache, history of the sites you've visited, cookies and in extreme cases downloaded components.

From a security/privacy point of view, this is a mess. Anyone who access your computer can learn about your browsing habits, where do you shop, bank, read etc. If you're like most users, you may also have your browser "remember" your passwords for you, meaning access to your online accounts is granted to anyone who has your computer.

On the other hand, I probably don't need to discuss the mess of spyware, malware, tracking cookies etc. you're exposed to during a normal day of surfing the web.

There are many "security applications" out there that would "block intrusions", "clean after you", "erase tracks" etc., but as Mister Miyagi told Daniel-San: "best defense - don't be there". Don't use your browser. Don't even use your computer. What then...?

If you've been reading my earlier posts you know the answer already: use a VMWare virtual machine. More than that, use the VMWare Player with the Browser Appliance - a VM that contains a minimal operating system (UBuntu Linux in this case) and a FireFox browser. Whatever gets downloaded is trapped in the VM. At the end of browsing just shut it down and start with a new one next time - all tracks gone. And it's free.

BTW, this is my 50th post since this site went on the air (well, not technically true, but my lawyer advised taking a specific post out, because it's an ongoing issue). Here's to the next 50!