Nathan Laan

I've worked on a few projects lately in which most or all of the team was situated remotely and I've noticed something interesting about the way things get done. A single day on a typical project in which the team is working locally might involve several short meetings but it typically also involves a significant amount of what I would call "local communication". This is the kind of communicaton where team member turn and talk to each other or yell across the room or stand up and talk over cubicle walls for a quick minute or two, usually just to clarify some small point or figure out...

Here is a video from Google explaining Google Chrome OS. Obviously this OS isn't going to be for everyone, but as a Netbook OS this might be pretty compelling. Here is a demo of Google Chrome OS:...

I broke Xcode :-(

Several years ago I was backing up my computer and I needed a simple utility for creating an index of all of the files and folders within a directory. As always, I stuck this utility in my personal source code repository (I use subversion ). What do you know; six years later I needed it again. I needed to update it to do things a little different (and I updated it to .NET 3.5 at the same time), but it reminded me why I always try and save these kinds of things. Anyway, here it is . Maybe someone else can use it. Requires .NET Framework 3.5....

Here is a video demonstrating the Microsoft Courier Tablet . This device looks very interesting, although, curiously, I don't see any onscreen keyboard being demoed. Also, while I think this device could be very interesting and useful (and it's not even official let alone released) I don't see how this device ties into other Microsoft devices and initiatives. I'm just not sure where they would or even could go with this.

Microsoft Security Essentials , the new Antivirus, Malware, and Spyware protection application from (obviously) Microsoft, just came out of beta. I've been using this for a while on my Windows 7 laptop and Windows Vista desktop, and it works great. It's absolutely a first class product, and, in my opinion, it should come on every Windows PC.

The future of computing as I see it centers around mobility. The computing device that I am waiting for is a phone-sized device with the power of a current desktop computer that I am able to carry with me everywhere I go. When I am mobile this device would function as my phone, web, and email client, utilizing a touch-screen interface, much like the interface provided by the iPhone. When I am at work or in my home office, this device would connect to a dock (or via wireless) and the user interaction would take place via more traditional keyboard, mouse, and monitor input and output. The device...

I picked up an iPhone 3GS last week, and spent a few hours trying to figure out how to access my EDS email on the iPhone using the Exchange support built in to the iPhone Mail client. Here is what I've learned so far. EDS currently allows syncing Microsoft Exchange with iPhones (and any other SmartPhones AFAIK), although I've been told that it's "unsupported", meaning you must resolve any technical issues yourself. Fair enough. Before you can begin configuring the iPhone, you must complete the following steps: Login to the Gemini EDS Services web site on the EDS intranet. Select your...

I’m not sure I’d pick a Palm Pre over the iPhone, but it’s nice to see that companies are starting to create competition for the iPhone. I guess the reality is that most phone makers were probably a little blindsided by the iPhone, and now they’re just playing catchup. To be fair, it probably also takes about 2 years to design and create a phone of this caliber, so the fact that we’re just starting to see iPhone competitors shouldn’t really be surprising. David Pogue's review of the Palm Pre . Walt Mossberg's review of the Palm Pre . Engadget's review of the...

Over the past three months, I've spent some time using a number of different operating systems for use on my Lenovo S10 netbook. Thus far I have tried the following: Ubuntu 8.04 Ubuntu Netbook Remix Good OS (gOS) Windows XP (this is what my netbook came with) Windows Vista Windows 7 Beta I'd love to write up something reviewing each of these in depth, but I just don't have the time. Instead, I'll offer up a few basic, point-form comments. Lenovo S10 Specs Atom 1.6GHz processor 1GB RAM 16GB SSD 10.1" 1024x600 Display ExpressCard 34 Slot Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (GMA 950) Integrated...