Standard Deviations » Review

Fantastic Mr. Fox: See It

Parand — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:52:36 +0000

I’m a big fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox. We just watched it again and it was a hit with everyone from the 2 year old to grandma.

The dialog an voice acting are excellent, and the animation is really refreshing. The story is smart and is different enough from your typical Disney fare to be a welcome change.

I recommend it, go see it.

Dell Mini 9 First Impressions

Parand — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:58:15 +0000

My Dell Mini 9 arrived this morning and I finally have a chance to play with it. First impressions:

Cute little thing. It’s tiny. Fatter than I’d expected, but tiny.
The keyboard is definitely not comfortable. I have to do a quasi pecking action to type on it; my hands don’t fit.
Pretty clear that the Windows interface as it stands is not a great fit for a netbook (nor are linux/gnome or OS X for that matter). The screen real estate is too tight; window decorations need to be far thinner and apps need to be much more space concious.
The trackpad is also difficult to use; my son was trying to play a game and the difference between the built-in trackpad and external mouse was ridiculously obvious.
My immediate reaction to the reduced screen real estate was to desire a setup where every app is full screen and you can switch between apps with keyboard shortcuts. There isn’t enough room for multiple windows on screen. I might have to build something with autohotkey to make this happen.
Chrome seems to be the best browser for it because it wastes the least screen real estate.

Overall I like it a lot, but for no reason I can put into words other than it’s cute. Maybe that’s enough reason, we’ll see.

You Should Be Using OpenDNS

Parand — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:39:26 +0000

Some time ago trouble with the Time Warner DNS service led me to search for alternatives, which quickly led to OpenDNS. I remember setting it up and immediately noticing significantly imporved performance in everything internet – it was as if someone had magically hit a turbo button.

Tonight RoadRunner is having more trouble so I setup OpenDNS again and I’m having the same wow reaction – everything is suddenly much faster.

OpenDNS seems to be an excellent service and if there’s a catch I haven’t found it. It’s very easy to setup, just make it your DNS provider and you’re done.

Coelho’s Eleven Minutes: Disappointed

Parand — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:13:17 +0000

I read The Alchemist again the other day and loved it just as much as the first time. There’s something special about that book – it makes you want to get up and pursue your dreams, to think big and open again.

So I had high expectations for Eleven Minutes. Unfortunately it didn’t live up.

Eleven Minutes is a much more conventional novel than the Alchemist. The primary subject is sex and prostitution, with several undercurrents of deeper meaning thrown in for good measure.

Somehow it just didn’t grab me. The latter parts of the book get a bit creepy, and the ending, frankly, disappointed.

Perhaps it’s just the shock of the difference between The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes; looks like lots of people on Amazon reviews found it jarring.

I’m onto the Zahir next, still hoping there’s a lot more Coelho I can enjoy.

Usability Feature: Auto-Next-Page

Parand — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:53:28 +0000

I was checking out projects from local San Diego developers and ran across Swurl. One very neat feature that worked so well I barely noticed it: when you reach the end of a page, instead of having to hit “next page”, Swurl automatically loads the contents into the bottom of the current page, so you get the uninterrupted experience of single long page without the downside of having to wait for a giant page to load. Check it out on founder Ryan Sit’s Swurl page.

Stackoverflow: Surprisingly Good Source of Technical Answers

Parand — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:06:38 +0000

Stackoverflow is a newish service for developers – ask a question, get answers, vote on answers, build reputation. Sort of like Yahoo! Answers but for developers.

I’m surprised at how good the service is so far. I asked a question on IRC and the same question on Stackoverflow. Within 2 minutes I got an incorrect answer on IRC and the two correct answers on Stackoverflow. The voting and reputation seems to really work and there’s no IRC trolls / egos to deal with.

I’m hoping the site will maintain its usefulness as it grows. Well worth checking out. I’m here.

Live Maps Rocks

Parand — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:38:45 +0000

Live doesn’t get a lot of love and with those new ads Microsoft needs some serious help getting the word out, so let me say something nice about them. I’ve been using Live Maps lately, mainly because of the “Bird’s eye view”, and it’s quickly becoming my favourite map app. If you have’t tried it give it a shot: http://maps.live.com/ . I’m guessing you’ll like it.

Cuil: Brilliant!

Parand — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:05:21 +0000

There’s a new search engine in town called Cuil. Started by ex-Googlers.

I am extremely impressed. Not by the search engine itself; I like the multi-column display, but the search results still need a lot of work. For example, a search for my first name returns 0 documents, while a search for my last name returns plenty of documents that include my first name.

What is impressive is the hype and reaction this company has been able to generate in such a short period of time: every tech blog is writing about them, as are many personal blogs. The ability to generate interest is the real genius here.

Color of Paradise: See It Now

Parand — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:18:50 +0000

Just watched Rang-e-Khoda, or Color of Paradise, for the second time. What a breath-taking movie. It’s amazing in every aspect. The casting, the acting, the direction, the cinematography, the story. Every scene is beautiful.

The title is mis-translated. It actually means color of god, which is really what the movie is about.

If you haven’t seen it, see it.

In Bruges: Not Too Bad

Parand — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:01:31 +0000

Watched In Bruges. Really not too bad. The British do good gangster movies – not shy about violence, but also layers of introspection and classical tragedy elements. I recommend it, worth seeing.