I just caught wind that the MSN Election Guide, powered by Microsoft Silverlight is now live.  You can browse through the latest news, up to date positions on the issues and even video clips with results powered by Windows Live Search.  My favorite feature is the ability to compare candidates positions interactively.  This is a tool I will definitely be using.  My only wish is for an RSS feed for each of the issues. 

Hot on the heels of Tafiti powered by Silverlight earlier this week, there are some very interesting things happening.   Congrats to the MSN and Windows Live teams!

My wife just sent a link to the funniest entry I've ever seen on Ebay.  A mom with six kids recounts her story of going to the grocery store only to have the kids sneak Pokemon into the basket.  A sampling:

Shipping is FREE on this item.  Insurance is optional, but once I drop the package at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility.  For example, if my son decides to pour a bottle of glue into the envelope, or my daughter spills a glass of juice on the package, that's my responsibility and I will fully refund your money.  If, however, I take the envelope to the post office and a disgruntled mail carrier sets fire to it, a pack of wild dogs rip into it, or a mail sorting machine shreds it, it's out of my hands, so you may want to add insurance. 

If you're a parent, you'll understand.

For fellow road warriors, I came across SeatGuru.com for finding the best seats on airplanes for comfort.  There's even a mobile version.  Bookmarked!

Some of you have noticed my summer hiatus.  I was going to lose some vacation at the end of the year and negotiated an extended leave of seven weeks (5 down, two to go).   We're off learning to live as a new, nuclear family with our newborn son, and just finished a marathon four weeks of family visiting.  I have tons of pictures to upload to Flickr and have also spent some time with Expression Web and Photoshop helping some fellow BBQ'ers create the Pacific Northwest Eggfest site.  Home improvement projects a plenty, and we just did our first major (10 hour) road trip with geek toys which I'll blog about later.

Thanks to all for your inquiry emails- I'll be posting a lot more often here once I've finished recharging!

Taking 5 minutes from new baby time tonight to check in on Peter Moore's press event at E3 - apparently Disney is releasing movie starting tonight in HD on Xbox live. My wife approves a little more.  No word on title(s) yet.

A few of our friends at Jackson Fish Market just launched their first web app- a virtual florist service called, "They're Beautiful".  My wife and I both worked with founders of the company and were elated to receive virtual flowers from multiple friends this weekend from the service.  While I'd love to see a Silverlight version (we're still in beta), the Flash DHTML UI is very nicely done. Each flower was created from paper and was artfully scanned. There's also a tamagotchi-style feature where you can plant he flowers in your greenhouse and have to water them regularly. Thanks to everyone for the flowers and congratulations to Hillel, Jenny and the team at JFM and their sponsor Vosges Chocolatier. 

Introducing a new addition to the ADM family - Tristan Alexander, born July 6th 2007, a whopping 10lb 3oz.  He arrived a day early as mom went into labor instead of waiting for the planned 7.7.07 c-section. He's already asserting his independence. Both mom and baby are doing fine as is little brother.

Ready for my Closeup

Big Feet

A big brother moment

All pictures were taken with a Nikon D200. The surgery was filmed on a Canon HV20 1080i HD camera (ok, there's the gadget part).   Thanks to all for their well wishes via facebook and email (sean_alexander on that hotmail site) - I'm sharing with Mom.  We're likely to leave the hospital today -

This AM, the meme is buzzing about Skinkers and Silverlight.  Matteo Berlucci the CEO of Skinkers is one of the most impressive people I've met in a long time. Matteo gave an excellent presentation during my keynote at Streaming Media East and I'm encouraged to see the great coverage they are getting for LiveStation, which uses MSR P2P technology and Silverlight to enable stream-slinging.  No, they are not a competitor to Joost, and are more complementary than anything else in this emerging market.  Don Dodge has more over here.

Whoops gotta go- our son apparently wants to arrive a little early (c-section was scheduled for tomorrow and things are happening) so off to the Dr to check it out.

It seems everyone needs to post their thoughts on the iPhone.  I think I saw it in the license agreement actually.  So here are my thoughts, composed as haiku:

Activation pain;
Where is Exchange ActiveSync?
Best iPod ever.

Feel free to contribute your own.

My wife and I like to play Guitar Hero II as a family event.  Our son loves to rock out, dancing and jumping around while we do. It's the first Xbox 360 game where my wife is better than me.  Not by just a little bit- she's significantly better than me, chalking it up to her classical cello training.  Well I've marked down what I'm going to get her for Christmas already- Rock Band.  Adding wireless drums, a mic, and wireless guitar/bass to the mix and this could be the ultimate party game.  Check out this video. "Welcome to the Jungle" is a good start- now if they'd just license more music for both games, I'm ready to buy.

Last night about 10pm I picked up an iPhone at the Bellevue Apple Store. It was a great purchase experience until I got home.  I plugged it in, fired up the Mac and upgraded iTunes.  Then I registered and... nothing except a message:

"Your activation requires additional time to complete."

You will receive an email confirmation sent to [foo] once your activation is complete.

Nine hours later, still no activation.  Looks like I'm not the only one either. Whoops, I realized Apple let me use my expired .Mac email address for the account.  I have another email I wanted to switch to so I called AT&T and was on hold for 30 minutes with no end in sight.  When I gave up and called back, went into another queue and was told I'd have about 10 minutes to wait.  I was super-pleasant with the CSR but it was clear she wanted me out of her queue- talking over me to the point I had to ask her to stop and listen to what I was asking her to do (she wanted me to sign up again when all I wanted was my email address changed).  She seemed really annoyed when I asked how long they expected it would take.  Her response, "There are millions of people trying to activate this phone, we have no idea".

Wow... I wonder if I'll see anything today. Hopefully Jobs is working the AT&T exec lines this AM. 

(Fingers crossed)  The design is superb but I can't do anything other than make emergency calls until activated.  You can't even use the iPod functionality.  I just want to play with what I paid for. :)

Update: 9:00am - finally activated :)

 One of my favorite designers, Celso Gomes has just launched, "Nibbles: Snack tutorials for hungry designers". Eventually it will include WPF samples but for now, is focused on Silverlight!  Not a designer you say?  You should still check out his samples.  Celso is an incredibly gifted designer and inviting others to submit.  He has a blog set up too for feedback and updates.  Nibble away.

Breaking news: Yahoo stock is up on news that chairman and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. Terry Semel is stepping down.  Semel joined Yahoo in 2001 after 24 years at Warner Bros.  Jerry Yang, co-founder and former executive at Yahoo will be returning to active duty to replace Semel .  Let the "return of Steve Jobs' impact on Apple" prodigal son comparisons begin.  Personally, this is one of the most encouraging moves I've seen.  I wonder what Furrygoat will have to say about this.

Update: It looks like it took Valleywag all of 2 nanoseconds after the announcement to post the obligatory "Jerry Yang is no Steve Jobs" story.

A cool video I had to watch three times.  Starts off slow but you get to see all the details of who was where when the plane crashed.

CNet's Webware site is billed as "Cool apps for everyone".  So when we heard that Silverlight was nominated for a "Webware 100 Award" in the publishing category we were elated.  Today, the 100 best Web 2.0 products were announced, chosen by you.

So on the heels of the Popfly PC World announcement, you can imagine my surprise when I learned about two hours ago (under embargo) that Silverlight is a Webware 100 winner.  My favorite quote:

We're already starting to see some pretty good-looking Silverlight Web applications crop up, although the platform is both young and lacks some of the expert developers that Flash has under its belt. Given time though, this could be the next big thing.

And we're only in Beta. Congratulations to the Silverlight (and Popfly) teams!

It appears the guys at DivX have unveiled their rumored hardware, the new DivX GejBox -  a reference/test set-top entering an already questionable field.  No, I'm not adding that wink for giggles, it's really in the product name, which Engadget refuses to include on principle.  DivX has been trying for nearly a decade to build some street credibility as a video format, originally popularized by movie traders on the internets. You kind of have to hand it to them, they have staying power.  A few asian manufacturers support their offbeat MPEG-4 profiles (which have been beaten by XviD in every codec shootout since 2003). Let's forget the company was named the same as a failed (and despised) timebombed rental disc program Digital Video Express, but to build a box, and then name it after the hacker handle used by a co-founder doesn't smack of responsible marketing.  At least it has HDMI and wireless though I doubt many consumers will be picking this up over an Apple TV or Xbox 360 (for Extender). 

The meme is all gaga over an MIT project demonstrating the ability to power a 60W light bulb up to 6.5ft away from a wireless power coil using magnetic waves. Funny thing is this isn't news - the announcement was made last November. Two other companies, Powercast and eCoupled are doing similar things. If it proves out, this is a very cool development but the real question I haven't seen asked is: how efficient is it?  Does it take 90W of power to support a 60W bulb? Can it scale to support multiple devices like a wireless power strip?

Wireless charging of your cell phone may be just the break the iPhone and other multi-function devices will need to avoid the Russian Roulette game of managing your power consumption between music, video, email, and voice calls so you're not caught with a dead phone.  Will it replace all your cables in your home?  I'm highly skeptical.

In 2006, CBS introduced a new series, "Jericho", about a small midwestern town banding together to survive after a series of coordinated nuclear attacks across the US.  Part "Red Dawn", part "The Day After" I'll admit I got hooked on the show.  CBS cancelled the show a few weeks back, prompting outrage among some viewers.  A bit of hilarity ensued when nuts of all sorts started to show up via mail at CBS, sent by fans of the show.  In a tip of the hat to the show's reference of WWII's General McAuliffe's one-word response to a German surrender ultimatum ("Nuts!"), online groups started to mobilize.  In all, a reported 20 TONS of nuts were delivered to CBS Entertainment in CA and NYC.  The result is of course, CBS has reversed its decision to cancel the show (which was slated against American Idol). It will return as a mid-season replacement with at least 7 episodes.

I first heard about this two weeks ago when I stumbled on NutsOnline's "Save Jericho" campaign.  This is a great example of a small business identifying an opportunity and connecting with a smart marketing and social networking component. 

And how did CBS make the announcement?  On the JerichoWiki @ CBS.com of course.  My favorite line:

"P.S. Please stop sending us nuts :)"

Speaking of the nuts, from what I've learned, CBS is donating them all to our troops overseas.  A smart move.

(The first of a three part series)

I'll admit it.  I tried to break my Drobo on Day 1.  No, I didn't drop it or mangle it.  I just did everything backwards.

1. I plugged it in before installing the dashboard app.  It showed up as a "Protected USB device". Oookay...

2.  I downloaded installed the software and installed it... via Remote Desktop.

3.  I put four of the five drives in- starting with a piddly 42GB drive, a 160GB, a  320GB and a 500GB'er. Did I forget to mention I put the last two drives in backwards?

4.  Did I forget to mention that I put all the drives in before powering it up, and then proceeded to format the two drives?

5.  Then I put the bottom 320GB and 500GB drives in correctly. Drobo Dashboard found and automatically formatted the drives.

6.  Next I started a big copy - 23GB.  Started off great, though a  little slow.

7.  Then I got impatient about 10GB in and pulled the 42GB main drive OUT and dropped a 400GB in.

8.  Transfer went fine.  Then I took 300GB and let it run overnight.  Logging back in in the morning- all my data was there.

So what happened? Not a hiccup. The Drobo protested with blinking yellow lights that I wouldn't be protected against a single HDD failure.  But I didn't have to re-format, everything just worked as expected.  You have to get over the confusing fact that the drives will always report 2TB to Windows (or greater) but the actual storage is much smaller.  A large portion of the available space is also taken up for buffer so even after formatting I had on the order of 100GB unavailable. I suspect this is buffer space. The Drobo Dashboard gives you a true view of space on the drive (psst- where's the Drobo Dashboard Gadget?)

As with most USB transfers however, it felt a bit slow.  Here's to hoping for an eSATA version in the future or if someone can figure out how to "channel bond" two USB ports for faster throughput (send my patent check in the mail please). :)

(Next up: Serving HD video off the Drobo- Media Center Style)

The site says, "On June 5th, Data Robotics will change the way you think about storage forever".  RAID-style expandable storage at any point?  It sounds too good to be true!  As one who just filled my 500GB RAID1 setup (largely with recorded MCE TV programs) this product sounds like an ideal solution- automatic backup, mix and match HDD sizes, makes and models, and it will work with my Mac or PC. If this works as advertised, I may be sitting in a pool of storage soon. 

The question is simple: "What are the best Web apps?"  Silverlight hasn't shipped 1.0 yet but is already named a finalist in the publishing category.  Feel free to vote for your favorite here.

After a marathon memorial day weekend of edging, hauling, de-weeding, flower planting, and laying out nearly 8 cubic yards of mulch (thanks Larry), we're almost ready for summer.  I must have dumped nearly 500 lbs of 3in deep grass & refuse in the back half of yard (hidden from picture), away to compost.  The french drain that runs through our back yard was so overrun that we had to dig out all the old mulch down to the black matting.  I really should have done a before and after picture. 

Then, our 5 year-old Samsung HLN-507W starts screaming like a banshee.  The darn color wheel has burned out multiple bearings.  After doing some research, I learn that the replacement is no small feat - a simple $100 part, much more in labor.  For that price, I might as well get a new TV then attempt to fix the Samsung myself, moving it upstairs or reselling.

So I've gone throug the obligatory RPTV vs. Plasma vs. LCD debate.  The Samsung was bought for our old house and I discovered for our viewing distance, I need a larger TV (darn). With the budget I had, a Sony Wega 60" 1080p SXRD was the way to go. I had a coupon for BBY that brought the price down to $2000.  After setting up the TV, I have to say it's phenomenal.  I hooked up my TiVo Series3 and a Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player via HDMI and even at 1080i, once calibrated (through my meager efforts) it looks vibrant, much brighter than my 5 yo set before, and no more rainbow effect when playing Halo 3.  My only complaint is video garbage when the TiVo is switching between menu and native mode TV playback (I could set the TiVo to manage but want a pure signal). 

As for gaming, even over component, there's so much more detail in Halo 3 than I saw before, part of it due to better color reproduction, upsampling and contrast.  (Any ISF-certified techs who want to be showcased in a video on your calibration services, please let me know. )

Now I just have to find a way to try out an Xbox 360 Elite to see 1080p in its glory.

Speaking of calibration, my father is really getting into digital photography and needs a good calibration solution for his monitor/printer.  I've heard good things about the ColorVision Spyder2express - any thoughts out there?