shahine.com/omar/

No soup for me. I guess all the buzz out there fails to mention Vista isn't supported.

Maybe I should get a Mac so I can be a fanboy again?

BTW, I'm with Torres. The video on the Apple TV looks like crap. And Scoble, it's not a sharpness issue, it's the fact that the iTunes videos are 640 x 480 and generally look fine at 480p but not anything greater.

I'm not even sure why they have them on display in the store. What I saw would not convince anyone I know to buy one. Maybe it's good for Music and Podcasts, but not for TV Shows. Right now I can play my iTunes Video on my Vista Media Center in full screen using iTunes and it works fine.

I was in the Apple store the other day and the output was correct.

Not sure why the Apple TV has HDMI since it's pretty much useless given the video quality sux.

I was kinda floored this week, when talking to the SmugMug folks at ETech, I found out that Thomas Hawk (a pretty prolific blogger and amazing photographer) uses a Pen Name. His real name is NOT Thomas Hawk. Maybe I'm the last person to find this out, but I had no clue.

He actually says so right on his blog (I never noticed). He explains why he uses a Pen Name in this article.

Scott: Why the pseudonym? Can you discuss your decision to go with a pen name in the context of the emphasis on transparency in the Web 2.0 world?

Tom: I use a pseudonym because I have a day job in the investment business (in a non technology related field). Because the investment industry is highly regulated and because if I used my real name I would have to have my boss review everything that I write, I have chosen to blog under a pseudonym. Many people know my real name and it's something that I openly share with friends. I state that I'm blogging under a pseudonym publicly on my blog and it is the only pseudonym I use. I don't particularly hide my identity (anyone can do a "who is" search) and if I were ever to leave the investment business I would be more open about my identity. I feel that I'm pretty transparent about my situation and have found most people accepting of that. My salary at Zooomr is $0 as we try and build it out so I still need to pay the bills somehow.

Now here is the kicker. As far as I know he really is the CEO of Zoomr, an online photo site like Flickr. I think it's very strange that some one using a Pen Name can use that when acting as the CEO of a company. I guess if the company is private who cares right? Oddly enough he isn't mentioned anywhere on the About Zoomr page.

I don't know, I just think it's weird. I would imagine that he would have to have some kind of moonlighting agreement with the investment company. Does it really make it OK to do all these things just by using a Pen Name? That seems to easy. I know that if I engaged in any side activities at Microsoft I'm required to complete a Moonlighting Agreement and get that approved by my manager. This includes any official positions at any company... using a Pen Name doesn't make this requirement go away.

Do other's find this just strange?

I love the name, I love the product. I've been using it since December and it's my 2nd favorite Windows Mobile application right after Windows Live Search.

You can find out more here.

Josh Einstein is a poster child for pushing the envelope with new Microsoft Technologies.

Josh, the creator of TEO (Tablet Enhancements for Outlook) was pushing the envelope with ink and Outlook a few years ago... his latest app is a program that renders your OneNote Notes in a Calendar view inside an application.

What I find interesting is that this program:

• Is the first application I have ever used that is a ClickOnce application.
• The install experience is how it should be. No downloading some temp MSI/ZIP file to some folder that I can't get to later etc
• Takes advantage of the new OneNote 2007 APIs
• Uses the new Vista Control that you see in Media Player and Photo Gallery

All things that I've not used before in any third party applications.

Nice work Josh!

Last year I had an awesome time at ETech. I'll be going again this year, and it looks like it'll be a fun conference. I hope that it's sunny and warm this year in San Diego.

I'm sure I'll be using twitter like everyone else.

Yes, everyone out there has seen Tim Heuer's Foxit PDF Preview Handler. This allows you to preview PDF files in Outlook 2007 or the Vista Preview Pane.

Well I didn't install it cause I stopped using Foxit now that I can install Adobe Acrobat Reader 8 without much of the prior annoyances.

Anyway, Ryan Gregg, has released a PDF Preview Handler that uses Adobe Acrobat's ActiveX Control. I've been using it for a few weeks (Ryan works on the Outlook team and had an internal version for a while) and it's fantastic.

Thanks a bunch Ryan for releasing it.

I have been meaning to blog about BitLocker since I set it up on my new ThinkPad T60. Why did I use BitLocker? In case my laptop is stolen then my hard drive will just look like a bunch of unintelligible 1s and 0s. I would not use BitLocker on a desktop machine, but for a Laptop, especially one with confidential Microsoft info it's a no brainier.

BUT WHERE WAS THE BIG FAT EASY BUTTON?

Setting up BitLocker was a PITA for me. I followed the step by step instructions to enable BitLocker but each time I installed Vista I was told my drive configuration was not suitable. Finally I gave up, created a big fat partition and installed Vista. I then got the new Windows Vista Ultimate Extras BitLocker enhancement and it did all the dirty work for me. Why oh why didn't I know about this first? It would be nice if the Technet article mentioned this easy tool.

Anyhoo, I write this today because Lifhacker has an article comparing BitLocker to Apple's FileVault. Now I dig and respect Lifehacker but Gina totally missed the most important aspect of BitLocker. YOU DON'T NEED A USB Key to use BitLocker. My Laptop came with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM Chip). Most PCees come with one these days. They are usually disabled in the BIOS so you must turn them on (not sure why they are disabled as they are pretty benign when not being used). In fact I would never have considered BitLocker if I had to use a USB key (BitLocker does allow to you use a PIN and or USB Key in addition to the TPM Chip).

Anyway, with a TPM chip the "key" is essentially a chip on the motherboard. However, if the system detects and significant change it will force you to manually enter the key and disable/re-enable BitLocker. This ensures that if some one lifts your laptop and takes out your hard drive it won't be readable. This mode of operation is called Transparent Operation Mode:

Transparent operation mode: This mode leverages the capabilities of the TPM 1.2 hardware to provide for a transparent user experience – the user logs onto Windows Vista as normal. The key used for the disk encryption is sealed (encrypted) by the TPM chip and will only be released to the OS loader code if the early boot files appear to be unmodified. The pre-OS components of BitLocker achieve this by implementing a Static Root of Trust Measurement – a methodology specified by the Trusted Computing Group.

I had to experience this fist hand the other day when some kind of change caused my BIOS to think that my machine changed enough to require me to enter my key (I suspect it was one of the early boot files being modified by an OS update). Now you can insert a USB KeyChain with your key (which didn't work for me, not sure why, need to muck with the bios to find out) or enter it in manually from a print out or in my case the key that was backed up to the Windows MarketPlace Digital Locker (another Vista Ultimate Extra).

So, while it's nice that Gina gave BitLocker the win over FileVault, she neglects the two coolest features:

• Support for the TPM and hardware key
• Support for backup of your key to the Digital Locker on Windows Market Place

BTW, if you do use BitLocker with a TPM I highly recommend that you have a copy of your key somewhere you can get to if all you have is your laptop. In my case I store the key on my Samsung Blackjack using eWallet. I would be pissed if I were on a plane, tried to boot my laptop and I was locked out.

This is genius. My metrosexual self needs hair stuff, and I happen to love Bumble and Bumble Sumo Tech. Only problem is I always forget to re-order it and run out. It's not easy to find and I don't know or frequent the women's beauty shops to know where to find it.

Anyway, I just noticed Amazon now has a new feature called Subscribe and Save.

What Is Subscribe & Save?

When you order through Subscribe & Save, you'll automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select at a discount on our everyday price. Plus, all subscription orders ship free. We'll charge your credit card for each order only when the item is shipped, and you may cancel at any time.
To start a subscription for this product, choose a quantity and delivery schedule, then click "Subscribe now!" You'll be asked to provide a shipping address, credit card, and billing address. Once the order is placed, your first shipment will be processed and your subscription activated.

I LOVE YOU AMAZON! .

Jott is a great service for GTD type folks. When you are out and about, you call a phone number and leave a message. Within seconds you will get an email with a transcription of your message.

For example, I called  the Jott number (after the registration process) and left a message "Call mom about her flight tomorrow". A few seconds later this appeared:

Very cool indeed.

[via Scoble]

Brilliant... Ordered my t-shirt.

Ok, I happen to like "The Wow" ads that Microsoft is running for Vista. However, in the last week I have seen/heard at least two people say something like "Where is the Wow in this product" and "The wow effect".

I have a bad feeling that this silly phrase will be repeated for a long time to come. I find it annoying.

"The Wow" is clever marketing. It should not be used to describe or promote your feature product IMHO. I'm pretty sure people building Vista weren't thinking about "The Wow" when they were writing specs and code. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Even at Microsoft it seems some people didn't get the memo. I witnessed a meeting today where a nameless person who relied on their Samsung Blackjack missed the meeting.

Windows Mobile needs software auto-update.

Funny how you think you know about ever hidden feature and shortcut. Well Sean tells us about Inline Autocomplete and what it does. I for one had no idea and am glad I found out .

I had the exact same experience as Dennis when I reported a bug in Turbotax.

Basically Turbotax 2003 screwed up my mortgage interest deduction on amortized points. When I sold my condo last year I was eligible to take that mortgage interest deduction for the point that I paid.

However, it never reported that I paid any points in the year that I got the loan, and didn't amortize anything. As a result the calculations were incorrect (only off by a few dollars) but if I corrected it I would not be able to e-file.

Anyway, the emails they sent me were exactly the same. You cannot respond to them.

This has become one of my favorite Vista SideBar Gadgets.