Please don’t send me large files via email
If you’ve ever sent me a large file through email, you probably know how much I hate it. No one escapes a lecture! Just because GMail and other services give you gigabytes of storage, doesn’t mean that it’s okay to send really large attachments. I was happy to read that one my favorite blogs posted about the subject today. From the Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog:
Putting any issues with your e-mail service provider’s limits on large messages aside, sending large attachments through e-mail is still a bad idea for a number of reasons.
In the post, Outlook Program Manager Ryan Gregg outlines a few of the reasons why you shouldn’t send large files via email - mail servers may reject large files, mailboxes may go over their quota, attachment bloat, attachments may be out of date, etc. He also outlines a number of alternatives, including SharePoint or a Shared File Server, Office Live, photo sharing sites like Flickr, and video sharing sites like YouTube.
When you use one of these alternative ways to share files with your friends, family, or colleagues you help them keep your mailbox and theirs clean, and you can be sure that your file will be available no matter what service or program your e-mail recipients are using.
I would add a couple more reasons to avoid sending large files: slow Internet connections and small devices. If I’m checking email on an unreliable connection, the last thing I want to do is wait for your images to download. If I’m checking email on my iPod touch or a cell phone, I might not be able to read the files anyway.
If you’re sending photos, why not stick them on Flickr and email a link? Same goes for video - use a site like YouTube. Some other alternatives include Box.net, Amazon S3, and SlideShare.
It doesn’t take a lot of extra effort to stick your file online somewhere first, so why not just do it? Send links to large files via email, not the files themselves!
Tags: communication, email, files, internet, networking, outlook, technology
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Upcoming Edmonton Events: Pecha Kucha 2 & DemoCamp 3
Attention all “creatives” in Edmonton - two popular events are happening again in our city in September that you don’t want to miss!
The first is Pecha Kucha Night 2, taking place on September 11th. The first Pecha Kucha in Edmonton took place back on May 1st, and it went very well. Essentially a dozen or so presenters will each have the opportunity to show 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide. Typically the content is arts & design.
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: TransAlta Arts Barns, Westbury Theatre, 10330 84th Avenue (map)
Cost: $5 at the door
You’ll need to RSVP to nextgen@edmonton.ca. You can find more information here.
The second event is DemoCampEdmonton 3, taking place on September 17th. Local entrepreneurs and developers will show off real stuff they’re building. You can read about our first two democamps here and here.
Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Location: E1 017, ETLC, University of Alberta (map)
Cost: Free
If you’re planning to attend, add your name to the wiki page.
Should be a couple of great events. See you at both!
Tags: arts, democamp, democampedmonton, design, edmonton, events, nextgen, pecha kucha, technology
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Vancouver Trip Recap
My original intention was to blog notes at the end of each day of our trip like I normally do, but that obviously didn’t happen. Instead, here are some notes for me to look back on. Day 1 notes are here, and the wedding notes are here.
Sunday:
- Sunday was spent eating and sleeping! We slept in a bit then made our way to Starbucks for coffee, and we also tried one of their breakfast sandwiches. I’d rank it a distant third behind McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s.
- After that we headed over to Granville Island for a few hours. Sunday was wet and gray, but that didn’t stop us. We walked around the market, visited a bunch of shops, and ate lunch at Bridges. Sharon once again had the margherita pizza, and found it different but not necessary worse than last time. I had the fish and chips, which was excellent.
- For dinner we walked up Granville Street to Vij’s. Arriving about 15 minutes before it opened, we found ourselves roughly 20th in line. We were seated right away, and were immediately impressed with the service - they were incredibly efficient! Sharon and I both really enjoyed the meal, though we were absolutely stuffed.
- Before heading back to Triumf House, we stopped at Blenz for some tea and wifi. Well, wifi for me - Sharon read the Georgia Straight.
Monday:
- Woke up early to check out of the hotel, and then set off for Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe. I’m a sucker for diners, and Sophie’s definitely did not disappoint. The food arrived quickly and was quite tasty, our coffee was refilled often, and the decor was incredible - the walls are covered with memorabilia! Very cool…probably my favorite food stop on the trip.
- Because Sophie’s was so darn fast, we had a bit of time to kill after breakfast, so we walked around the neighborhood, checking out a bunch of neat little shops. Kind of reminded me of Whyte Avenue.
- Our next stop was Gastown for a free walking tour. Sharon and I were, not surprisingly, the youngest on the tour. It was very interesting, but the tour definitely stayed in the tourist-friendly parts of Gastown. We saw some of the less friendly parts on our own though, as we made our way to and from the bus stop. It’s amazing how different things look just two blocks apart.
- Our final stop before heading to the airport was WorkSpace, a shared work environment in Gastown. I’ve read lots about it, so it was great to check it out in person. I’ll be writing more about it soon.
It was a fun trip, but like all vacations, ended too soon. Sharon and I agreed that we’d like to explore more of Gastown next time. I also need to schedule some appointments with people - there are so many friends and colleagues that I didn’t get to visit!
My photos from the trip are here.
Tags: restaurants, travel, trips, vacation, vancouver
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Notes for 8/25/2008
Here are my weekly notes:
- My quick vacation to Vancouver was fun, but it definitely was quick. Not quite ready to go back to work tomorrow! Also wasn’t great to come back to rain.
- Here are some recent statistics on telecommuting.
- Another Olympics has come and gone. We caught some of the closing ceremony highlights last night, and it seemed long and drawn out as expected. Vancouver 2010 will be here before you know it - we saw tons of merchandise for sale all over the city.
- Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate this weekend. Here are some facts on Biden’s voting record - he doesn’t sound very tech-friendly.
- Check out the most expensive bed in the world. Looks awesome!
- CBC was granted approval for a new digital sports channel this week, tentatively being called CBC Sports Plus.
Can you believe August is almost over? Time flies.
Tags: mastermaq, notes
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Congratulations Michelle & Steven!
Yesterday my friends Michelle and Steven got married here in Vancouver. They had a relatively short ceremony in the early afternoon, followed by a reception in the evening at Fortune House Seafood Restaurant. They both looked so happy yesterday, it was great to be a part of the festivities!
Yesterday was also a great excuse for a large group of my friends to get together again. It was just like old times with most of the gang here in Vancouver for the weekend! The wedding was the main event, of course, but we also took some time for lunch and to catch Tropic Thunder. It seems like forever since the last time we took up almost an entire row in a movie theatre. Good times!
Congratulations Michelle and Steven! Enjoy the honeymoon 
Tags: friends, travel, vacation, vancouver, weddings
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Vancouver Day 1
When we got back to the hotel tonight, both Sharon and I were just exhausted. I remarked that we didn’t walk much further that we might have on a normal weekend in Edmonton, and she said yes, but we usually do so with a purpose. Today we did a lot of wandering, which while enjoyable, probably made us feel a bit more tired than normal.
We started by getting coffee and then trying to get an Egg McMuffin at McDonald’s, only to find out that they stop serving breakfast at 10:30am. Is that the case for all of them? I thought it used to be 11am. I suppose it was probably best that we didn’t get the greasy food after all. We made our way downtown, stopping for lunch at a salad place before walking to Stanley Park.
We spent a little bit of time in Stanley Park, but mostly headed right for the Vancouver Aquarium. Sharon was a little surprised to find it smaller than she expected, but she had lots of fun watching the sea otters (her favorite). The Aquarium was mostly as I remember it, except that the Beluga shows are all canceled on account of the new baby girl.
Our next stop was the Bentall 5 Cactus Club Cafe on Burrard and Dunsmuir, and it turned out to the highlight of the day for both of us. Similar to an Earl’s or a Moxie’s with something a bit extra, I really enjoyed the restaurant and the food. And I was especially happy to find that the restaurant had free wifi! Sharon will be posting a complete review on her blog once we return.
We did some wandering, at the Pacific Centre Mall and on Robson, before heading over to Chinatown for the Chinese Night Market. It was kinda neat to see, but man was there ever a lot of junk! I’m not much of a trinkets guy I guess. On our way back downtown Sharon found a dollar store and couldn’t resist making a stop. Again, not my thing, but she bought me chopsticks! Heh.
Tomorrow is the wedding and reception, so it’ll be a long day in fancy clothes and shoes. Should be fun though, and I’m happy that I’ll be able to help Steven & Michelle celebrate!
My photos are still uploading - you can find them here.
Tags: travel, trips, vacation, vancouver
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Where do you want free wireless Internet access in Edmonton?
Slowly but surely, the Free WiFi Project here in Edmonton is growing. We’ve added a number of new locations over the last week, including Boston Pizza on Jasper Avenue and 106th Street, Boston Pizza in Mayfield Common, and Transcend Coffee on the south side which just went live today. And despite being down for much of the week, our nodes at the Fringe are back up and should remain that way. We’ve learned quite a lot with that particular setup!
We need to expand the network to make it more useful and to fulfil our vision of free, accessible wireless Internet access for all Edmontonians. We’re actively working on that, checking out potential locations and getting some marketing information together. Still, I figure a little informal market research can’t hurt! So I’m asking you - where would you like to have free wireless Internet access in Edmonton?
I’m curious to know where you want to use it. We think cafes, restaurants, and similar locations are the most obvious, but maybe we’re missing something? We have received a few suggestions already, such as the Legislature grounds and more mobile setups like the Fringe.
Leave a comment here with your suggested locations, or use our contact form! Thanks!
Tags: edmonton, free wifi, internet, wifi, wireless, yeg
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Everyone for Edmonton
There’s a really cool event happening on Saturday that unfortunately I’m going to miss (as I’ll be in Vancouver). Everyone for Edmonton is the largest event of the year for volunteers, donors, and non-profit organizations.
The event takes place on August 23rd from 9:00am until 4:30pm at the Shaw Conference Centre downtown. Debbie Riopel, a founding member of the World Kindness Movement, will deliver a keynote to start things off. Her presentation is called Heroes for a Better World!
If you’re interested in volunteering, or if you just want to learn more about the various non-profits that exist in Edmonton, you should definitely take some time on Saturday to check out this event. One of the things we talked about at ALT.NET in Calgary last weekend was how to find out about potential projects - this event is a great way to do just that.
Admission to Everyone for Edmonton is free. If you’d like more information, you can contact EEDC or email everyoneforedmonton@edmonton.com.
Tags: community, edmonton, events, shaw conference centre, volunteerism, volunteers
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Make Windows XP look like Windows Vista
You might think I’m crazy, but possibly my favorite thing about Vista is that it’s black and glossy. You’ve got to admit that Vista is an attractive looking OS! In comparison, Windows XP just looks terrible. The first thing I usually do is switch the default blue theme to the silver one. Even still, I have often longed for something better.
Recently, I came across BricoPack Vista Inspirat Ultimate 2. Quite the mouthful, but it’s really quite simple - download and install it, and it transforms your desktop into a Vista theme. Normally I wouldn’t give something like this a second glance, but I was feeling particularly curious one day, so I tried it. Of course, I created a restore point first, and I strongly recommend you do the same (here are the instructions). I didn’t run into any problems though.
I have to say, I love what Vista Inspirat did. My taskbar and windows are black and look like Vista. The “Start” menu has been replaced with the Windows orb. The icons, cursors, and sounds all mimic Vista. Two small programs run in the background to provide extra effects - Y’z Shadow adds a nice border and drop shadow to windows, and UberIcon provides some nifty animation for navigation. And best of all, I haven’t noticed any performance issues. The only two problems I have are that the user icon doesn’t show up in the start menu (it’s just a white box, big deal) and that “screen artifacts” appear somewhat more regularly (you know, parts of a window not refreshing right away). Otherwise it’s great!
One thing to note is that Vista Inspirat includes a utility called RocketDock, but it is an out-of-date version. I’d definitely upgrade to the latest version as it is more stable and includes some useful new features. RocketDock is pure eye-candy:
Looks like Mac OS X! It works quite well as an application launcher though. All you need to do is drag shortcuts or files to the dock.
One other thing you might need is the UxTheme Patcher, which enables you to install custom themes like Vista Inspirat. I say might need, because I already had it installed, so am not sure if it is strictly required. Here’s the download if you have Windows XP SP3.
Have fun, but be careful - backup anything important and make a restore point first!
Tags: bricopack, rocketdock, software, themes, user interface, vista inspirat, windows vista, windows xp
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Talking Twitter & Social Media on SmibsTV
A few weeks ago, local entrepreneur Peter Urban invited me to take part in one of his newest projects - an Internet TV show for small businesses called SmibsTV. Specifically he wanted to explore how small businesses can use Twitter to help themselves grow. I thought it was a great idea and jumped at the opportunity! The episode went live today.
Here’s what Cam wrote about Smibs on Techvibes a couple months ago:
Peter Urban, the company’s founder and President, said that Smibs was conceived out of years of consulting SMBs and finding a common small business frustration: the difficult balancing act of staying in touch with your network and on top of your sales activities, while working on projects that pay the bills. Urban’s solution to that challenge is Smibs and their first extension: Doorbell, a web-based sales software application for “non-sales people”.
You might recall that I gave Smibs my “demo of the evening” at the first Edmonton DemoCamp. It was my first exposure to the company, and I’ve been continually impressed ever since. Peter and his team use social media very effectively, so it was a treat to talk to him about it.
Check out the episode at SmibsTV and let me know what you think!
Tags: business, edmonton, entrepreneurs, microblogging, micromedia, smibs, smibstv, social media, startups, twitter, web2.0
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Notes for 8/17/2008
Here are my weekly notes:
- I had a good time down in Calgary this weekend at ALT.NET. Was great to meet some new people and put faces to names. Thanks to the organizers for hosting a great event!
- Canada finally started winning some medals in China! We currently have 7, but with only 2 gold are ranked 19th. If Michael Phelps were his own country, he’d be ranked 6th.
- Looks like the RIAA is getting a taste of its own medicine! They have paid $107,951 USD to a lady who counter-sued the group.
- Ever wish you could be invisible? The capability might be here sooner than you think!
- The Free WiFi Project is growing really well here in Edmonton! I wrote about it this week on the newly revamped Techvibes.
- This week is going to be a busy one. Going to a couple Fringe shows, have a bunch of meetings, and then Thursday we leave for Vancouver!
Tags: mastermaq, notes
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ALT.NET Canada in Calgary
I came down to Calgary early this morning for the ALT.NET Canada conference being held at the University of Calgary. For those of you new to the term, ALT.NET refers to “a self-organizing, ad-hoc community of developers bound by a desire to improve ourselves, challenge assumptions, and help each other pursue excellence in the practice of software development.” When I first started hearing about ALT.NET in the developer blogosphere last year, I got the impression that there was an “us vs them” kind of mentality. Either you believed in ALT.NET or you didn’t. A number of other developers I’ve talked to remarked that ALT.NET seemed somewhat cult-like. Given that, I wasn’t sure what to expect for this event. I’m happy to report that it has been great so far!
The conference is an “Open Spaces” style of event, which as far as I can tell is basically an unconference. There is no set agenda, the attendees are the discussion leaders, and there’s lots of open spaces for people to use for breakouts. About 75 people came out today, most from Alberta but some from Vancouver, Winnipeg, and other parts of Canada.
I think the sessions are a bit long at an hour and a half, but that doesn’t stop people from going off and having their own discussions so it’s not all bad. The first session I went to was on the web UI of the future, and then I joined the discussion on telecommuting. After lunch I went to a session on occasionally connected apps, and finished off with a session on volunteering development time. All very interesting and thought provoking.
A large number of people went out to Schank’s tonight for beer and food, so that was good. There are two sessions tomorrow morning to finish off the conference. The sessions are being documented here, and there’s even some video up. You can see my photos from the event here. Also check out #altnetcalgary on Twitter for more discussion.
Tags: .net, alt.net, alt.net canada, calgary, canada, conferences, developers, events, open spaces
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Recap: EdmontonTweetup2
Tonight we held our second tweetup here in Edmonton. Our last tweetup was held during the day on a Saturday, so I expected that we’d have a different audience out this time and for the most part we did. Of the 18 or 19 people that came tonight, I would guess that only 5 or 6 of us were at the first tweetup. To me that’s great, because it gets new people involved and illustrates that the Twitter community in Edmonton is quite big! Hopefully we’ll have a tweetup one day that everyone can make it to.
I only took a couple photos tonight, but @bruceclarke took quite a few shots with his fancy camera! You can see them in the Edmonton Tweetup set. Thanks Bruce!
The venue was The Billiard Club on Whyte Avenue, which worked really well. We made our way to the patio in the back to soak up the sunny, thirty degree weather. There was no wifi access, but that didn’t stop us from having some really interesting and lively discussions!
It’s always great to be able to put a face to the username and chat with some of the most interesting people in the city. That’s what I love about the tweetups, and that’s why I think we’ll continue to have them every now and then.
I’ve added as many of the attendees as I can remember to the wiki page, but if I missed you, please feel free to add your username. Also add your links to blog posts and photos, etc. I’ve also created a page for our next tweetup, so if you have ideas, post them!
Thanks to everyone who came out tonight!
Tags: edmonton, edmontontweetup, events, technology, the billiard club, tweetup, twitter
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The CBC Olympic iPhone site rocks
We’re almost a week into the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and Canada still doesn’t have a medal. About a half an hour ago, swimmer Mike Brown finished fourth in what was probably our best shot at making the podium. Much to my surprise, the iPhone site at CBC was updated with the news almost immediately!
Swimming in Lane 5 at the National Aquatics Centre, the 24-year-old Brown touched the wall in a time of two minutes 9.03 seconds, missing the podium by just 9-100ths of a second.
Sad news, yes, but I’m really impressed with CBC. They have by far the best mobile site I’ve seen for following the Olympics.
Visit http://www.cbc.ca/iphone/olympics on your iPhone or iPod touch, and you’re presented with the screen to the right. Along the top is the menu bar which enables you to drill down into news related to your favorite sport. Underneath that are the overall medal standings with the three leaders and Canada. And underneath that are the latest Olympic headlines.
For me, the site is perfect. All I want to know at a glance are the medal standings and the headlines. I can quickly scan both, and if I want to, I can tap on a headline to read the entire story.
When I started looking for a good way to follow Olympic news on my iPod touch, I definitely didn’t think of CBC. The first thing I did was check the App Store, but there was nothing there that looked useful. So I started searching, and eventually came across the CBC site. I’m glad I did!
The only bad part about the site, of course, is that it’s getting tiring seeing the four red zeros beside Canada!
I haven’t watched too much of the Olympics on TV, pretty much just some of the major swimming finals. From what I’ve seen though, CBC has been doing a good job there too. I’ve read nothing but complaints about NBC online.
Tags: 2008, beijing 2008, canada, cbc, events, iphone, ipod, ipod touch, olympic games, olympics
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Offline access is more important than ever
Even though we still don’t have “wireless everywhere” (as I like to say), access to the Internet is indeed becoming more pervasive. Until the world is blanketed in wireless however, there will always be a place for offline applications. Sometimes you need to get some work done, with or without an Internet connection. Unreliable access or no access at all might have been the driving force behind offline applications in the past, but now there’s a new reason: cloud computing.
The term “cloud computing” is a bit like Web 2.0 in that it is used as a blanket term, but essentially it means accessing applications and services via the Internet (”in the cloud”) without worrying about the infrastructure that supports them. One of the best examples is GMail, Google’s email service that lets you manage your messages in any browser. It’s also a good example of why offline, synchronizing applications are so important - GMail went down completely yesterday:
Gmail is having a systemwide outage affecting multiple countries, and a whole bunch of its 100 million users are screaming about it on Twitter. Around 20 million people visit Gmail each day, according to Comscore, and they’re all seeing the same message. The first outages were reported at about 2 pm PST, 44 minutes ago.
One of the things that makes cloud computing different than services in the past is that more and more businesses rely on things like GMail to operate. When it goes down, so does a significant part of their business.
There’s a transition underway. Businesses are realizing that it doesn’t make sense to operate their own data centers and services when Google, Microsoft, and others can do it far more efficiently. But don’t let those names fool you, as GigaOm points out:
If an outage of this magnitude can strike Google, the company with a fearsome infrastructure, I wonder who — if any — can plan for the worst.
It’s extremely difficult to maintain 24×7 operations, even for a company like Google. The only reasonable thing to do is assume that service will go down at some point, and to plan accordingly.
For that reason, I think offline access and synchronization are two things that developers will need to focus on in the future. Like the other big challenge facing developers, multi-core computing, improved technologies and toolsets will be needed. Vendors are working on it, Google with Gears and Microsoft with the Sync Framework, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Cloud computing is great, and I’m excited about the opportunities that it provides. We have to realize that it’s only part of the equation, however. Offline access and synchronization are more important than ever.
Tags: cloud computing, connectivity, developers, gmail, internet, offline access, synchronization, technology, web, web2.0
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