Maybe I’m just a humorless jerk, but I didn’t find this funny:

#SarahPalinFilms “Iron Sky” nflx.it/11AZvLR twitter.com/netflix/status…
— Netflix US (@netflix) May 1, 2013

You see, the lefties had started a Twitter hashtag #SarahPalinFilms trashing the former governor and GOP vice presidential nominee. Netflix saw fit to join in the Sarah-bashing.

Then, when asked about it, lied. So that’s two strikes. But, the first is enough for me.

Now, had they done such a thing with Barack Obama also, then there’d be the chance that Netflix was ragging on both sides of the political spectrum. But, no. They only poke fun at the right. So, this right wing nutcase isn’t sharing any more of his money with Netflix. After all these years, I’ve canceled my Netflix account:

I’ll be able to find enough to watch without them. It’s a shame, though. I’ve been a customer a long time.

Too bad they don’t respect their customers. At least, their right-wing customers.

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Calling Dr. Killbot

Robots have been in the news lately. There’s a robot that’s been operating on people, and killing some of them.

I know. You’re thinking that the Three Laws won’t let that happen. Well, guess what? The Three Laws are just fiction. Killer medical robots are real.

There’s an AP report out of Chicago that tells of one busy robot:

… a million-dollar, multi-armed robot named da Vinci, used in nearly 400,000 surgeries nationwide last year …

Did you know that? Some multi-armed robot has been doing surgery all across the country, at the rate of over 1,000 a day.

And, if that’s not enough, it’s a killer robot:

… the high-tech helper is under scrutiny over reports of problems, including several deaths that may be linked with it …

If I had told you when Congress was getting ready to pass Obamacare that in 2013, we’d have killer robots operating on people, you’d've said I was a right-wing nutcase.

Yeah, well, the Associated Press backs me up. We got killer robots playing doctor. And not in the fun way.

You thought all you had to look out for was drones. But now you have to be wary of multi-armed killer medical robots.

If I were you, I’d play it safe and avoid all multi-armed robots. For a while, at least.

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In my quest to find the best cable-cutting setup, I’m looking at something called Simple.TV (that’s not just its name, it’s its Website).

Simple.TV is a DVR. Only, it doesn’t connect to your TV. Which sounds kinda odd. But, here’s how it works.

The idea is to connect the Simple.TV box to your input (cable, or, in my case, antenna). Note that it only works with unencrypted (ClearQAM) digital channels. That means if your cable provider is sending analog signals (some still do), then it won’t work. It also won’t work on encrypted channels (Comedy Central, AMC, HBO, etc.). But, since I cut cable and am using an over-the-air (OTA) antenna, I’m good.

You need a hard drive for storage. They don’t include any onboard storage, but the device will work with most USB external drives. But, you gotta buy that extra.

The Simple.TV box also has to be connected to your network via ethernet port. That is, wired. As in not wireless. Which means you either need to have a cable/antenna connection near your router, a good network extender, or a really long LAN cable.

The final thing is, you need a Roku box.

Remember when I said that it doesn’t connect to your TV, which is kinda odd? Well, they get around it by using Roku. That also means that a single Simple.TV box will support up to 5 TVs. Most DVRs are for a single TV, so that’s a nice feature.

So, how does it work? It works okay, but it’s got some bugs.

Here’s the good: price.

Compared to TiVo, it’s cheaper. A lot cheaper. Both a Simple.TV box and a TiVo Premier box run $149. The Simple.TV setup requires a hard drive (around $69), so that makes the initial cost more. But, it’s the cost of the service that makes the savings of Simple.TV over TiVo.

A year of Simple.TV service is $49. TiVo is $14.99/month, which works out to $179.88/year. And there’s your savings.

Now, here’s the bad: it’s not as polished as TiVo. In fact, it’s barely polished at all. The TiVo interface is vastly superior. Vastly. Did I say “vastly?” Well, I will: vastly.

Using the TV interface (via Roku) to schedule a recording is a pain. The selections say “Beta” and they mean it. It’s not ready for prime time. You can view what’s currently playing, and what’s coming up next, and … that’s it. There’s a “Browse Upcoming” area that’s not totally useless, but with a little work, could be.

The best way to schedule recordings is via the Website. Even then, there are some simple things that Simple.TV didn’t think about. For example, you can’t rearrange the priority of the shows. TiVo makes that fairly easy to do. Simple.TV? Not so much.

I won’t sit here and trash Simple.TV, but I will say that it’s inferior to TiVo in many respects.

What would make Simple.TV better? Multiple tuners, for one. Or, at least a way to seamlessly link two devices to one account. But, that’s a nice to have. They need to fix the other stuff first.

Like what? Well, they should improve the interface. I’d like to be able to easily find and schedule shows. You can’t do that via the interface. Sure, the Website is an option, but that’s not simple. As in Simple.TV.

They also need to fix the Website. If you want to change the recording options for a program, the screen tells you to go to the Website to do that. Only, that page doesn’t exist. And, looking around the pages that do exist, there’s no readily apparent way to alter the recording options on a show.

I suggest someone at Simple.TV pony up and buy a TiVo. Use it. See how it’s done. Look at the functionality TiVo offers in finding and recording shows via the interface. You don’t have to clone TiVo, but you do need to look at what they offer, and find a way of offering the same functionality. Or, at least, make your functionality easier to use. You know, simple.

As you can tell, I’m a fan of TiVo. But, it’s expensive. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great service. But I wish there were cheaper alternatives.

Simple.TV shows a lot of promise, but they haven’t yet delivered on them. I haven’t given up hope. I’m not yet ready to recommend it, but I haven’t sent mine to the cornfield yet.

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Upgraded my Kindle recently.

The more accurate way of saying that was I passed my Kindle — what was a good little e-reader — along to someone else and bought a Kindle Fire HD to use.

Why did I spend the money? I mean, the little Kindle device worked just fine. Well, if I hadn’t had some Amazon gift card credits that offset a good portion of the cost, I may not have made the purchase. At least, not just yet. And, without the credits, I may have purchased the standard Kindle Fire, rather than spending the extra money for the HD version. But, I did so I did. And I’m glad I did.

Again, nothing wrong with the standard Kindle, not even the low-end cheap one I had. But, the Kindle Fire is a great little e-reader, plus it’s a very good little tablet.

The one I got is the smaller, 7-inch version. It’s just a little bigger than the standard Kindle devices. It connects via wifi only. The larger 8.9″ Fire HD has AT&T 4G LTE capability starting at an additional $50/year. The Kindle Keyboard and a version of the Kindle Paperwhite have free 3G connectivity included.

It’s kinda hard for me to compare the Kindle Fire to a standard Kindle e-reader without breaking the functionality into two categories: e-reader and tablet. I’ll cover the e-reader part first.

The standard Kindle e-readers currently come in four varieties: Kindle, Kindle Keyboard 3G, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Paperwhite 3G. The Paperwhite versions, which I haven’t used, come with a built-in light. I hear it’s nice. The Kindle and Kindle Keyboard models don’t have a light. If you need a light, they sell covers with extendable light sources. Or, you can turn on a lamp.

The Kindle e-readers (the non-Fire Kindles) can be easily used in direct sunlight, just like a book. As e-readers, they’re great. I love the convenience of having a lot of books available in one little device.

The Kindle Fire doesn’t need a light source. Just like you don’t need a light to see the content on your computer screen, you don’t need a light to see the content on your Kindle Fire screen. The drawback is in direct sunlight. While the Kindle Fire does appear to do a better job at handling glare than my older iPad (1st generation), the standard Kindle has no glare, and therefore, problem at all in direct sunlight.

The Kindle Fire is a color screen, and allows to set the r-reader display to black text on white background (default), white text on black background, or black text on sepia (my preference).

With the standard Kindles, you press the buttons on either side to turn the pages. On the Fire, a touch on the edge of the screen or a swipe will change the pages.

The most obvious difference is the e-reader displays are black-and-white (just like a book) while the Fire displays are in color. When browsing the store for more content, the color is nice.

Strictly as an e-reader, the Kindle e-readers are slightly better — but only ever so slightly — than the Kindle Fire, in my mind.

That brings us to the tablet portion of the comparison. And, there’s no comparison. The Kindle e-readers are strictly e-readers. So, it may be better to compare the Kindle Fire to the iPad. And I will.

As a tablet, the iPad is a better tablet than the Kindle Fire. But not a lot better. While the iPad is an excellent tablet, the Kindle Fire is a very good tablet. Make that a very, very good tablet. Almost excellent.

The advantage the iPad has is in the apps. The Apple App Store has a really huge selection of apps. The Kindle Fire, although an Android table, doesn’t access the Google Play store. Amazon opted to go the Apple route. You get your apps from Amazon. That does help weed out a lot of really useless apps, like is common in the Google Play store. But, it also keeps out some good apps.

When I started adding apps to the Kindle Fire, it had the apps I wanted to add first. Of the apps on my iPad that I use regularly, it’s primarily local news apps and games that are lacking. For the news apps, the Web browser covers adequately for my purposes.

Where the Kindle Fire shines is music and videos. The integration of those categories into the interface is seamless.

The Kindle Fire integration with Amazon Instant Video is better than the iPad integration with iTunes. Switching between your local library and the online store simple refreshes the content on the page with the Fire. On the iPad, switching from local library to the online store obviously switches apps. While it’s not a problem with the iPad, the Kindle Fire does it better.

Overall, though, I like the iPad as a tablet a little better. I don’t like the iPad as an e-reader, though. While iBooks works well, and while there is a Kindle app for the iPad, the Kindle Fire does a superior job of integrating e-reader functionality into the tablet experience.

So, as an e-reader, the Kindle standard e-readers are better than a Kindle Fire, but not by much. As a table, the iPad is a better tablet, but not by much.

I suppose the best way to boil it down would be for me to assume I have none of the devices, but had experience with all the devices. That is, if suddenly, if I had to replace them, what would I do?

I’d buy a Kindle Fire.

And that’s someone who really loves his iPad talking.

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Bill Gates wants a better rubber. Not necessarily for him, mind you, but for people in general.

According to the Grand Challenges in Global Health project of the Gates Foundation, they want a better rubber:

We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.

They’re serious about this. They’re offering $100,000 to help you get the project up … so to speak. They think that’s enough to cover it.

Now, I’ve never considered taking on such a project, but I suspect it would be hard. But, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would love to go hands-on in such an adventure. And, if they succeed, I’m sure good things will come.

There one thing, though. Despite the fact that Bill Gates is no longer running Microsoft, there’s the natural association of him with the software giant. He founded the company, and ran it for years. Bill Gates and Microsoft are still thought of as one.

Add to that the fact that one of the primary uses of a condom is prevention of disease. They’re not just for stopping pregnancy anymore; they’re for stopping the spread of disease. Viruses.

What’s Microsoft’s record at stopping viruses?

Consider this: if someone says they got a virus, do you immediately thing of a disease? Or are you wondering if their Windows computer is infected?

Heck, I recently spent a couple of days removing trojans (the sneaky virus kind, not the prophylactic) from someone’s Microsoft computer. Really. It was a very serious, very hard-to-fix problem. Ended up having to reformat the hard drive and restore the computer to factory settings after all other efforts failed.

So, should you trust something from Microsoft to stop a virus? Not on your life.

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Not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’ve added a new button to the posts here. Look down at the bottom of this post. See it? It says “Send to Kindle.”

What does it do? It sends the post to your Kindle.

Now, it helps to actually have a Kindle, although it also works with a phone or tablet that has a Kindle app. Not so much with computers (Macs or PCs), though. But, any Kindle device or device running a Kindle app — anything that allows you to set up a Send-To-Kindle email address.

So, what’s it for? Let’s say you’re starting your day with a healthy dose of IMAO. Only, there’s that meeting you’ve got to prepare for. Or, the alarm didn’t go off. Or you keep wishing you had some IMAO to read later in the day. What do you do?

Run down the list of posts and send the ones you don’t have time to read — or just want to read later — to your Kindle. If there’s more than one Kindle (or Kindle App device) on your Amazon account, you can pick one, or send it to all of them. When the devices sync, the posts will be there for you to read at your leisure.

True, it’s probably only useful to conservatives, who actually have jobs and real deadlines and such. But, we hope it will come in handy for some of you.

Let us know what you think.

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Yesterday, Frank J. mentioned that I sometimes help out with behind-the-scenes support of this blog. Some of you may not know what all is involved to, as Frank put it, “keep IMAO up and running.” So, here’s a support event.

19:00 – Email alert sounds.

19:08 – Commercial starts. I pick up the Roku remote and hit pause.

19:12 – Having finished preparing sandwich, I pick up the phone and check email. Read Harvey’s message:

Unable to access IMAO. Anyone else having issues?

19:12:20 – Eat sandwich. Press play.

19:13 – Email alert sounds.

19:19 – Commercial starts. I press pause, put down half-eaten sandwich, pick up phone, and check email. Read Frank J’s response:

I’m having trouble accessing, too.

19:19:30 – Launch browser on phone. Key in http://imao.com/

19:21:45 – Find correct URL, key in http://imao.us/

19:21:55 – Receive Error 500 message. Set remote aside.

19:22 – Return to email. Hit “Reply to all”

Yeah, I’m having trouble getting to it, too. My research shows that

Pick up laptop, Google ‘Error 500′

it could be a plugin conflict.

Read search results, discover the first page is no help, so I Google ‘Error 500 WordPress’ but those result summaries are no help either. I’m going to have to click a result to find an answer. Or…

Have we installed any updates recently?

Press “Send”

19:24 – Put down phone, pick up remote, press play, pick up sandwich.

19:27 – Email alert sounds.

19:31 – Commercial starts. I press pause. Pick up phone, read email from Harvey:

I’ve not installed any upgrades.

Email alert sounds. I press “Next” to read new email from Frank.

Let me know if I need to open a support ticket.

19:32 – Put down phone. Pick up remote. Press play.

19:41 – Commercial starts. I press pause. Put down remote. Pick up phone. Hit “Reply to all”

My research shows that

I pause. Pick up remote, flip it in the air, causing it to spin along the long axis. “Heads, database; tails, disk.” The remote lands on the couch buttons down.

disk problems can cause this. Sometimes, if file permissions are incorrect,

Okay, this next bit needs to be really good.

it’s unable to use the server hard drive as a physical backup cache and will throw a generic 500 error.

Hey, that actually sounds pretty good. I can use that one at work.

Let me try one more thing before you open a ticket.

Press “Send”

19:43 – Put down phone. Pick up remote. Press play.

19:46 – Email alert sounds.

19:50 – Show ends, closing credits roll.

19:52 – Return from kitchen with Coke refill. Pick up phone, read email from Frank J:

Thanks.

19:53 – Pick up remote, hit “Back” to return to Hulu queue. It’s empty.

19:54 – Pick up phone, hit “Reply to all”

Ruling out plugins, the only other cause would be

Flip remote. Heads.

database permissions. I’m out of options here. You may want to go ahead and open a ticket. Let them know what we’ve found.

Press “Send.”

19:56 – Pick up remote, scroll to Netflix. Ah, Firefly. Haven’t seen one of those in a while. Press play.

20:01 – Email alert sounds.

20:03 – Press pause. Put down remote. Pick up phone. Read Frank J’s email:

I’ve opened a ticket and gave them the information you provided. Thanks again.

20:04 – Press play.

20:38 – Email sounds.

20:40 – Email sounds.

20:41 – Firefly episode ends. Pick up phone, read email from Frank J:

Support says it’s back up. Thanks for your help.

Go to next email, from Harvey:

Thanks again, Basil. You’re a lifesaver!

20:42 – Hit “Reply to all”

Glad it’s back up and running. Let me know if I can help any further.

20:43 – Press send. Pick up remote. Press play.

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Ever since I dropped cable a little over two years ago, I’ve been a big fan of the Roku device. It’s one of the primary devices I use to watch TV. I’m such a fan that I’ve bought other boxes for some other family members as gifts.

The first generation Roku box — my first — worked well, and still does, in fact, though not for me. It became a hand-me-down (though a popular one) after I bought a Roku 2 a little over a year ago.

Well, now I’ve bought the new Roku 3 box. And, I like it, too.

When you get right down to it, all the Roku boxes are pretty much the same. If you use it as its original intent — streaming content from the Internet to your TV — then the cheaper models ($49) are just fine. But, if you want the little extras that, quite honestly, I rarely use, then the more expensive models (up to $99) may be the thing to get.

Let me stop for a second and give you a rundown on the current models of Roku boxes, and the one that was just dropped from the lineup:

• Roku LT is the $49 purple box. Straight-forward Internet streaming. 720p output via HDMI or composite (yellow video, red/white audio). It’s wifi-only, This one is probably the one to get, unless you need a feature on a more expensive model.
• Roku HD is the $59 box, and isn’t very different from the LT. It uses less power (2W vs 4.5W) and comes with a slightly different remote (includes a 7-second replay button), but otherwise, they’re practically the same device. Unless that 2.5W difference makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or you just gotta be able to back a video up 7 seconds, there’s no real reason to get this one — unless you find it on sale for $49 (which happens sometimes), or unless everyone’s sold out of the LT and this is the next cheapest option. It also has HDMI and composite connections.
• Roku 2 XD runs $79. The only difference between this one and the HD is that this model supports 720p and 1080p output. It, too, has HDMI and composite connections.
• No longer available: Roku 2 XS, at $99, was essentially an XD with a LAN connection, a USB port for local playback of video (MP4/H.264, MKV/H.264), and a microSD slot to allow more channels or games (not content), and a bluetooth gaming remote, as well as HDMI and composite connections.

The new box, the Roku 3, currently comes in just one model, and it replaces the Roku 2 XS. It’s $99, has the LAN port, a USB port, and a microSD slot. The remote is wifi, not bluetooth, and includes a headphone jack for private listening (works, too). The wifi connection supports dual band (which means that 5 GHz is now available).

The Roku 2 bluetooth remote doesn’t work with the Roku 3. The Roku 3 power adapter isn’t interchangeable, as the previous ones were across the other models. It’s also HDMI only. Roku has dropped composite output on the Roku 3.

The most apparent cosmetic difference is the rounded appearance, which is a slight departure from the previous appearance.

The most noticeable difference in using the Roku 3 is the interface. The previous interface, while functional, was in dire need of an update. The new interface looks very nice, and is very responsive.

The new menu looks great.

The channel selection layout is much improved.

The Channel Store redesign was needed, and works.

Search finds content on Amazon, Blockbuster, Crackle, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and VUDU.

There is good news for owners of the older models, or for those looking at buying one of the cheaper models: the new interface will roll out to the older boxes within the next two months. The only way to get the new interface today is via the Roku 3, but if you’re patient, it’ll come to the older boxes soon.

If you have a Roku 2 XS, or and XD, is it worth upgrading? Probably not. But, if you’re looking for a top-of-the line set-top-box for Internet streaming, the Roku 3 is a great choice. But don’t fail to check out the Roku LT, HD, and XD models. They may do the job you need, and save you some money in the process.

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The iWatch is coming!

Maybe.

Nobody really knows what it is. But there is all kind of speculation that Apple is building some great new fancy device that you’ve gone your entire life without but once you know about it, won’t be able to live without.

Like the iPod did. Unless you don’t have an iPod.

And like the iPhone. Unless you don’t have an iPhone.

And like the iPad. Unless you don’t have an iPad.

Or a Roku. Oh, wait. Apple didn’t invent the Roku. They got Apple TV though, which is pretty cool, but it’s no Roku. Though it is close.

Anyway, Bloomberg (the news organization, no the idiot mayor) reports that Apple is building something they’re calling the “iWatch” — as in wristwatch.

And, it’ll be an Apple invention. Something nobody would every have thought of before. Ever.

And, you’ll want one. You’ll never know how you got by without it.

Then, it’ll be racist to have one, because the fat unemployed lady with food stamps and an Obamaphone doesn’t have one — even if she’s white and looks like a Honey Boo Boo family member, it’ll still be racist because … SHUT UP!!1!!!.

So, there’ll be a new tax, and your Verizon bill (or whoever runs the service behind the iWatch) will go up so they can fund handing them out to useless people.

iCan hardly wait.

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I finally dropped Netflix.

Okay, I still have Netflix, but streaming only. I dropped the disk service.

A lot of people got all upset with Netflix a year and a half ago when they dropped the bundle package. That’s where you could get streaming and disks for something like $10/month. When they did away with the bundling, the cost of streaming and disk went up $6 month. And a lot of people were really ticked off. I wasn’t. I expected it. I knew streaming was the future and that disks were becoming a drain.

I kept the service because it was the only way to watch some movies. You see, not everything Netflix carries is in their streaming catalog. Some movies and TV shows are only available on disk. And, I had a lot of stuff in my DVD queue, so I kept the disk service.

A few months ago, I asked myself, I said, “Self, how many of those movies or TV shows do you really want to watch?” And the answer was, “About half.”

So, the one’s I didn’t care to watch, I removed. Some had come available on streaming and I put those in my streaming queue. And, some were actually available on Amazon Prime (got that for shipping years ago; Amazon added some video streaming content a year or two ago), and those I added to my Amazon Instant Video Watchlist.

This past month, the DVDs in the queue got down to a small number, and I canceled the service. They continued to send DVDs in the queue until the service month was up. Well, it’s up. And I no longer get DVDs from Netflix. There were five DVDs in the queue when the cancellation took effect. The fact that I don’t even remember what they were means it won’t be a great loss.

Still, I think I’ll miss my DVDs. Of course, I also miss my Tandy 1000 computer, but wouldn’t trade my MacBook Pro for it.

Now, I no longer have to walk all the way over to the TV to put a disk into the DVD player. And, if I’m sitting on the couch eating a sammich when I want to watch a movie, I no longer have to worry about getting mayonnaise on the disk.

The Roku remote could use a cleaning, though.

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The White House wants you hackers to hack.

Yep, on June 1 and 2, they want you to participate in a National Day of Civic Hacking. They’re wanting hackers to participate in all 50 states. As I write this, 27 cities are participating, including 5 in Georgia, counting Columbus (where I am).

I don’t see Boise on the list, so I don’t know if Frank is going to participate. I think Harvey is within 100 miles of one of them, but I don’t know if he’s going to participate. It’s a weekend, so people that have Monday-Friday jobs will be able to play along.

Am I going to participate? I don’t know. A lot, but not all, of the computer hacky types around here are goofy liberals. I might show up just to piss them off.

Anyway, if you were to participate, what would you do?

How would you “hack for a cause?”

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It’s over, iPhone. Pack it up. Throw in the towel. You’re history.

Well, to hear teens talk, that’s the story, at least according to Forbes:

“Teens are telling us Apple is done,” says Tina Wells of the youth marketing agency Buzz Marketing Group. “Apple has done a great job of embracing Gen X and older [Millennials], but I don’t think they are connecting with Millennial kids. [They’re] all about Surface tablets/laptops and Galaxy.”

The problem seems to be that parents are getting the newer iPhones and iPads, while giving the kids the older models. So, kids want the Samsung Galaxy S III phone or the Microsoft Surface tablet. That doesn’t mean they’re getting one of those, just that’s what the kids want. On the other hand, Apple has cut orders for iPhone 5 parts.

If you never joined the iPhone brigade, it’s too late now, if you want to be seen as one of the cool kids.

Because I always make my several-hundred-dollar purchases based on what some 14-year-old thinks.

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I have always been fascinated by robots. I’d laugh at the silly robots from some of the early science fiction films I saw on TV, although I loved the Class M-3 Model B9, General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot from Lost In Space.

I never thought of the Tin Woodsman from The Wizard of Oz as a robot, but I suppose he was. Maybe not. The chick in Metropolis was definitely a robot, though she didn’t look like it for most of the film.

The robots in a lot of Isaac Asimov’s stories and novels were always lots of fun to read about.

I even liked Johnny Five from Short Circuit — though the robot was cooler than the movie.

Of course, I had a Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots game when I was a kid.

I’m not sure what fascinated me about robots. Was it their near-human appearance that was both frightening and fascinating? Was it the idea that a robot could do work I didn’t want to do? Like Rosie from The Jetsons?

Not consciously, but maybe, in the back of my mind, that was there.

There has been an advancement in robotics. No, they haven’t turned a Roomba into Rosie just yet. They’ve made a robot that can vomit.

Seriously.

They’re studying how the spray can pass along viruses or something else just as disgusting.

That’s a pretty specialized use for a vomiting robot. But, it still has applications beyond the laboratory. If I had one, I’d have it sit in front of the TV and watch Obama, and then vomit in disgust, so I wouldn’t have to.

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Photo: backyardbrains.com

Technology is amazing. Sure, they come up with silly things, but the genius of technology isn’t just developing the new tech, but the applications for the tech.

For instance, there’s a technology that controls roaches. It’s called RoboRoach. Well, now there’s been an advancement in robotic roach technology. Seems someone figured out how to control RoboRoaches through the Twitterz.

During certain time periods, according to the article, they allowed tweets to control roaches, using hashtags like #TweetRoachLeft and #TweetRoachRight.

The next step? I suggest using Democrats. Shouldn’t be a big jump in technology to control a slightly (but only slightly) more complex life form than roaches. Democrats would be perfect.

Only, anyone who sends #TweetObamaLeft needs to be beat with a stick.

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© iThinQware, Inc.

There’s now an app where you can report crimes in Marion, Virginia. It’s called iWatchMarion.

Now, don’t go being all silly and downloading it and then reporting a bunch of crazy stuff. First, that’s the wrong thing to do. And, if that’s not a good enough reason, keep in mind that it knows where you are. Yes, it tracks the person that submits the report!

Because iWatch Marion uses global positioning technology, the system intelligently forwards information to the Howard County Police Department based on where the handheld device is physically located at any given moment.

Yeah, this whole “See Something, Say Something” thing kinda bothers me. Oh, sure, I have no problem with neighborhood watch programs. One got Trayvon Martin off the streets, after all. But anything from the Department of Homeland Security — one of the most useless government departments, if not the most useless — can’t be all good. Or any good.

In fact, the maker of this app has a whole series of similar apps for different areas. And, like I said, something about it bothers me.

But, having said that, I do like the idea of reporting criminal activity. Where’s the iWatchObama app?

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When it comes to dropping cable (or satellite), you must find ways to replace the content. To do that, you need content providers, and a device to get the content to your TV.

Last time, we talked about content providers. This time, we’ll look at ways to view the content.

There are many ways to watch the content. I’ve used several, including:

• HTPC
• TiVo
• Xbox 360
• Roku
• Apple TV

There is also just watching on the TV directly. I haven’t done that in a while, but there are two reasons to use that method.

One is you go with over the air (OTA) antenna only. If that’s the only method you want to use to watch TV, you don’t need anything more than a TV. Now, if you’re helping someone on a fixed income, or have an older TV you just can’t bear to part with, you need a digital-to-analog TV converter box.

The other reason a TV might be enough is that some TVs come with apps built in. Usually, you’ll find Netflix, but you may also find Hulu Plus, Vudu, Amazon, or other apps for other providers.
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An unhappy Cable Guy. Photo: Crown Publishing

For a couple of years now, I dropped cable and have gone to watching TV over the Internet. Oh, not on my laptop or on a desktop, but on my TV. But, I’m getting content from the Internet. Almost all of it. Some I’m watching from an antenna.

About three years ago, I wondered if there was a way to save money on cable. We already had the basic service, but that was kind of expensive still.

Cable TV runs a lot. And satellite packages do, too. More than I want to pay. So, I took a year, noted every show we watched, then looked up the various ways it was available, and how much each way cost.

What I looked at were:

• Cable
• Satellite
• Over the air antenna
• Hulu
• Hulu Plus
• Netflix
• iTunes
• Amazon Instant Video

Yes, there are other methods available to get content, but these sources allowed me to easily watch content on my TV. Hulu (not Hulu Plus, but Hulu; there is a difference) was a little more involved, as you’ll see.
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According to reports, the Democrat Party has agreed to phone voting. Text voting, actually.

The Initiative to Develop 10 Technologies includes voting by phone as one of the 10 technologies covered. They 10 technologies are:

• Interconnected computer networks (the Internet)
• Personal cellular communication (cell phones)
• Portable message systems (Text messaging)
• High-definition home entertainment systems (HDTV, etc)
• Global position systems (GPS)
• Video communications (Skype, etc)
• Wind energy
• Solar energy
• Electronic voting
• Rail travel

The initiative has been around for years, and some of the technologies overlap. For instance, video communications often use the Internet. And, now, with the Democrat Party on board, electronic voting and text messaging are merged.

This means that people can vote for Obama without going to the polls. They can simply text their vote to the Initiative to Develop 10 Technologies. They simply text “OBAMA” to, on their cell phone, I, D, the number 10, and T.

Be aware that the Republican Party has not signed on, so people can’t vote for Romney this way. People wanting to vote for Romney have to show up in person at the polls. But, Obama voters can simple text “OBAMA” to I-D-10-T.

Isn’t technology wonderful?

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The world ended last night.

That’s right. Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple.

It’s not like Barack Obama resigned or anything. If that happened, Joe Biden would take over. That is, one incompetent would be replaced by another incompetent. So barely a blip would occur if Obama was gone.

But Steve Jobs? You know what this means, don’t you? Your iPods will all quit working now. Go try yours. I’ll wait.

See? A little sluggish, wasn’t it. And, when you put the songs on shuffle, that one song you really don’t like played, didn’t it? Know why? Because Steve Jobs quit.

And, if you bought in to the hype and switched from Windows to a Mac, you’re doomed. DOOMED!!

The next version of OS X won’t be like the the last few. Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion? No more. The next one will be OS X LOLCAT. And, after that, OS X Snagglepuss.

That Apple TV you bought? Instead of streaming TV shows and movies from several studios, you’ll only get Current TV. Steve Jobs was the only thing standing between you and Apple board member Al Gore. Now, you’re screwed.

Your iPhone? It won’t make calls. It’ll be like you’re on AT&T or something.

And your iPad? Angry Birds doesn’t work any more.

Steve Jobs is no longer running Apple. He’s been replaced by a guy who went to Auburn. Auburn!

In no time, Apple will be only the second-most valuable company in the world.

Yes, your life has ended. I’m sure George Bush is to blame. Or global warming.

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Sit back. We’re going to talk a little shop. Then we’re going to play a game.

Once upon a time, way back when Frank J. first started doing his blog thing, things were simpler. Not just in the world we live in, but in the world of blogging. Then, people discovered how to spam blogs using comments. And, some people were simply asses and left naughty comments.

So, blogs started using spam filters. Some worked really poorly, and others worked even worse. And, depending on what platform you used — Blogger, MovableType, WordPress, or something else — you either had no option, or limited options.

Today, though, things are a lot better. And most blogs that run WordPress — including IMAO — use Automattic’s spam filter Akismet. But WordPress has customizable settings that can affect how and if comments post.
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