31 May 2002

Fri, 31 May 2002

Jakob Nielsen in WSJ on cell phone annoyances

Career Journal from the Wall Street Journal:



But Ms. Page also thinks owners should mute their machines whenever they can.


I usually set my own cellphone on vibrate, although that's not a perfect solution, either. Some people see red when my phone goes off on a hard tabletop.


Cellphone makers, fully aware of the growing backlash, promise improvements. They're promoting cellphone-courtesy campaigns, hoping users will voluntarily curtail their bad behavior. They're also pushing phones with polyphonic ring tones that use a greater range of frequencies and should be less annoying than the squeaking variety.


Don't bet on it. The new cellphones also play "MIDI" files—scratchy, AM-radio-quality renditions of any sound ever made. The most-downloaded rings in the U.S. include Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and Metallica's "Enter Sandman," according to Openwave Systems, a Redwood City, Calif., wireless software company.


"People just aren't satisfied with the plain ring—now they have to have the collected works of Britney Spears," says Mr. Nielsen, the technology consultant. "Do you want a rock band in your meeting room?"


It gets worse. A Nokia spokesman tells me he was in a meeting recently when a state-of-the-art cellphone suddenly began emitting human screams.


They could have been mine.[WSJ Career Journal]


As a cell-phone owner who doesn't own a land line, and a musician who appreciates fine music and silence but not the computerized bleeps of a cell phone playing Beethoven, I know this story all too well. My solution? Leave the phone on my belt, 24x7, on vibrate. Ignore it most of the time, answer it if it won't interrupt the flow. Do unto others. Please, don't destroy my next fine steak with some Britney Spears rehash. Spare me.


Posted at: 14:43 | permalink

A belated Memorial Day Thank You

On Memorial Day, I wanted to say thank you but megnut said it better than I could've possibly hoped to have done. [megnut]

Posted at: 13:34 | permalink

Kevin Mandia's Book - Incident Repsonse: Investigating Computer Crime

I came across this looking for an old pic of my friend Rick Mandia. Turns out Kevin Mandia, who is Rick's brother, wrote a book last year and didn't even tell me! The book's got some great ratings. I'll have to pick it up. Last time I talked to Kevin was a couple of emails that I traded with him while he was on his blackberry in a cafe in Washington, DC. Kevin played guitar in one of the many bands that I had in high school. Kevin was a phenomenal player. Kevin's got some interesting streaming media pieces on the Chandra Levy case. I miss the brothers Mandia. They were both unique. Haven't met anyone quite like either of them ever since.

Posted at: 08:30 | permalink

Radio can't subscribe to valid RSS in the news aggregrator

If you're an expert in RSS and Radio, could you take a look at this and offer an opinion as to what's wrong? I'm trying to subscribe to http://news.kak.net/backend.php which appears to return valid RSS but Radio doesn't like it. Radio's error messages could really use a technical writer. Sigh.


Posted at: 07:59 | permalink

Big brother is watching

Your Boss May Know Where You Are. A German company releases a Big Brother application. Also: Openwave's two wireless companies ... Vodafone's financial woes ... another hurdle to 3G ... and more.... In this week's Unwired News. By Elisa Batista. [Wired News]

Posted at: 07:38 | permalink