New Google Chrome Notebook

About a week or so ago I saw that Google was accepting applications to test out a new Google Chrome notebook.  It appeared that the offer was to receive a free computer; the only thing one had to do was test it out and give feedback.  The offer looked legitimate, so I decided to fill out an application.

Today, when I checked the mail, I had a notice that I had a new package.  I assumed that it was one of a couple of Christmas presents that I had ordered online.  When I got the package, it was a large, heavy box with no "Amazon.com" markings on it.  I opened it up and saw a slightly smaller box that looked like this:

I couldn't think that anything I had ordered which this box could be.  Then I opened it and saw that it was a new Google Chrome notebook (or Cr-48 Chrome Notebook, as this model is officially called.)

Much to my surprise, Google just sent me a free computer.  I was excited to set it up because I had heard so much about it.

It runs on Google's Chrome OS.  I had seen this video about it:

The idea is that it is a computer, but it's stripped down to just the Internet browser.  There are certainly many settings where I just need the Internet (especially since I started using services such as Google Docs.)  This has the advantage (supposedly) of making the computer faster and safer, and an overall cleaner experience.

The computer itself is pretty cool.  It is a plain black computer with no logos of any kind, which I find super cool and exclusive.  It has a different keyboard than most computers:

If you can see, the top line is different than on a standard keyboard.  There are buttons for things such as "back", "reload", etc. which tie directly into the web browser.  There is also no caps lock button; instead there is a search button in its place.  I am told this is because UNLESS YOU WANT TO MAKE INSIGHTFUL COMMENTS ON YOUTUBE you don't really need caps lock.  However, if I really want caps lock, I can change the settings.  The touch pad is similar to a mac.

It has a 12 inch display and weighs 3.8 pounds.  My current laptop is very large and heavy, so it is much nicer to carry around.  Here is a side-by-side comparison:

It takes about 10 seconds to boot up, as compared to a normal computer which can take a minute or to.  If I close it, when I open it, it pops up in about 1 second.  This aspect is very nice.

This notebook needs Internet connection to be any good.  It has one program: Google Chrome.  It's a test product, so I was warned that I may need to have patience with it.  Today I needed patience to figure out why my Wi-fi was being so slow.  I finally figured it out, and learned a lot about my Internet router in the process.  The Internet is decently fast.  I would say that it is a little bit faster on my old laptop, which also runs Google Chrome.  This thing was free, however, so I don't know what I was expecting.  When they actually start selling Chrome notebooks for real, I imagine the processor on those things will be a lot faster.

If Wi-fi isn't available, 3G is an option.  This test notebook comes with 100 MB of data per month (for two years) via Verizon, and then offers more at "reasonable prices".  I don't envision myself using the 3G too much since 100 MB isn't that much. (Plus I have a smartphone with 3G.)  Fortunately, Wi-fi is widely available these days, so I will be able to use my notebook extensively in a lot of public places.

The version of Google Chrome on the notebook emphasizes "apps."  The idea is that I will be able to replicate a lot of programs on a standard computer by installing Internet-based apps.

There are a lot of cool and intriguing things about this Chrome notebook.  I'll update in a month or so to share how this new gadget fits into my lifestyle.

Is It OK to Lie During a Game?

Here are some different examples I have been thinking about.

Bluffing Games


There are a lot of simple games of chance that one can play which require some element of bluffing.  For example, I am familiar with a game called BS where bluffing is a central element.  In these games, it is encouraged to "trick" the other players with bluffs.

Sports


There are different ways that one can misrepresent the truth in sports.

For example, in soccer, sometimes players will "flop"--that is, they fall over as if they had been fouled by an opponent.  If a referee calls a foul, the flopper's team can get a free kick or even a valuable penalty kick.

I read about another example a few weeks ago.  In college football, California played a close game with Oregon, who is number one in the country.  Oregon's style of play is to do everything they can to start each play as quickly as they can.  This has the effect of wearing down the opposition who is not used to such a fast style of play.  California employed the strategy of faking injuries.  After certain plays, a player would pretend they were injured.  The protocol when a player is injured is to stop the game and examine the player.  Faking injuries had the effect of slowing down the game enough for California players to catch their breath.  Was this worse than flopping in soccer?

Survivor


I have seen many seasons of the TV show Survivor.  Honesty is one subject that is brought up.  One school of thought is that players ought to be as honest as they would in real life.  Anything else is compromising their integrity.  Another school of thought is that it is a game like poker.  If you lie, it is OK because it is a bluffing game; it's not as if you are a dishonest person.

How I Unsubscribed from Annoying E-Mail Lists

The other day Allison won tickets to a concert.  When she signed up for the promotion, she gave out her "alternate" e-mail address because she didn't want to receive annoying e-mails from them.  Unfortunately, she doesn't check her alternate account on a regular basis, so she got an "important" e-mail about the concert a couple days late.

In my Mr. Know-It-All way, I told her that it was easy to unsubscribe from e-mail lists.  I told her that all you have to do is click unsubscribe at the bottom of the e-mail and you stop receiving those e-mails.  I decided as an experiment, I would test out my words to see if I could unsubscribe myself from e-mail lists.  As of a couple weeks ago, I regularly received junk e-mail from several sources.  I hadn't taken action until now because I wasn't bothered by receiving the extra messages.  What happened was that I was able to get off of most e-mail lists by clicking unsubscribe.  The best e-mail lists have a simple unsubscribe button on the bottom of their e-mails which can be clicked and presto: unsubscribe successful!  It was easy to unsubscribe from things like Target, Office Depot, Amazon.com, and Kimpton Hotels, just to name a few.

The Worst Offenders

There were just a few, however, that kept coming even after I was sure that I had unsubscribed.  I was wrong in telling my wife that she could just click unsubscribe on all e-mail lists to stop getting those e-mails.

First, Ebay Daily Deals kept coming to my inbox.  When I clicked unsubscribe, it took several minutes to figure out what I needed to do to unsubscribe.  When I finally did that, it said that it would take up to two weeks to get my name off, as if they didn't have the computing capability to remove my e-mail address until then.

Next, I kept getting e-mails from Busted Tees, a website that sells funny t-shirts.  I have enjoyed their t-shirts, but I have been unable to unsubscribe from their e-mail list.  When I clicked unsubscribe on their e-mail list, it asked me to enter my e-mail address to finish unsubscribing.   Apparently didn't work, because in a few days I got another e-mail from them.  I did the unsubscribe again and once again it didn't work.

Finally, the most disappointing offender is Deseret Book.  After I unsubscribed, I kept getting just as many e-mails from them as ever (which is to say, pretty much every day).  When I would unsubscribe to one, it would say that I had unsubscribed from some obscure sublist of their overall list.  I gave them more benefit of the doubt then the other ones, but despite my best efforts I ended up still receiving daily e-mail from them.

I just don't see what's the point of forcing me to be on their e-mail list.  I read in a book the following sentiment: don't take no for an answer is the wrong attitude; people can't or shouldn't be forced to do anything; the right attitude is don't take maybe for an answer, because a maybe is waiting to be talked into a yes.  I think continuing to send me unwanted e-mails is taking no for an answer and not taking maybe for an answer.  I just feel like it actually makes me want to deal with them less for doing that.

Solution


My brother mentioned to me that I could just set-up an e-mail filter and stop receiving any unwanted e-mails. I went ahead and did this.  I am currently using Gmail as my primary e-mail service.  On each unwanted message, I clicked "More Actions" to drop down a list, and then clicked "Filter messages like these".  It sent me to a menu where I could fill in criteria or simply choose all messages from an e-mail address.  Once I did that, it gave me options of what I wanted to do with those messages.  I decided to choose to delete them all.  Problem solved.  Even better, I even have the ability to filter certain school e-mail lists which I am unable to unsubscribe from.

Update (01/21/11)


The filters solution is working well.  I have really reduced the amount of unimportant e-mail coming to my inbox.

I have peeked at my trash folder to see if these offending e-mails are still coming to me.  It looks like Ebay Daily Deals finally stopped; I just think it's annoying that it took so long.  Also, it doesn't look like I received anything else from Busted Tees after I unsubscribed from them the second time.  I am therefore not mad at them anymore and would like to say that they have some cool, funny t-shirts.  As for Deseret Book, I still don't understand why they need to keep spamming me.  What do they gain by antagonizing my e-mail inbox?

If you would correct my sentence fragment...

I have noticed that I have the tendency to say a lot of sentence fragments starting with "if" in place of asking questions or making direct requests.  For example:

• What I say: "If someone could pass me the butter."
  Proper English: "Could someone please pass me the butter?"
• What I say: "If you guys would do your homework."
  Proper English: "You guys should do your homework."

I noticed that lots of people speak like this.

Which is better: Classical Music or Today's Pop Music?

I recently watched the movie Amadeus about Mozart.  One scene in the movie showed a clip from a four-hour-long opera.  The scene showed Mozart's rival Salieri riveted as he watched it.  I realized that musical consumption was much different back then.  In those days, they did not have record players, a Walkman, a CD player, or an iPod.  Music was less accessible, and there was no skipping tracks or fast-forwarding.

I realized that I would have a very hard time keeping my attention span fixed on a four-hour-long piece of music.  My music consumption lately has been the same as my Internet consumption: I skim over lots of songs and rarely have the patience to process anything complex.  I wonder if this is why pop music is so simplistic.  I would venture to say that the average person today would pick their favorite modern tunes over anything classical, but is it because (a) pop music is better or (b) they have a much different musical pallet?  I think it is probably (b).

My opinion is that top notch classical music is probably "better", but you have to have the pallet to enjoy it.