Windows Home Server makes for a happy family

June 17, 2009
Smart Home, Uncategorized
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Once again the most amazing consumer product Microsoft has ever created, Windows Home Server, has saved my family [disclaimer].  Today I was in a meeting and I got a text message from my 15 year old daughter. It read (spelling and txt errors verbatim): “daddddd o my god. i think i just deleated all my pictures from freshmen year. please call meee!” I texted her back “Ok, don’t touch anything. I’ll call you when I …Continue reading →

Kindle Tips & Tricks

June 15, 2009
How To
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Here’s a list of tips, tricks, and hacks for the Amazon Kindle that I’ve uncovered. Some of these are valid for the original Kindle and some are valid for the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. Keyboard Shortcuts Alt+Shift+M – Start a game of Minesweeper.  While in the game you can press G for a version of “Go” Alt-T – Shows time (only on the original Kindle; does not work on the Kindle 2 or Kindle …Continue reading →

Peter F. Hamilton

June 13, 2009
Books, Uncategorized
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Last year I discovered sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton and have now read the following books by him on my Amazon Kindle 2: The Night’s Dawn Trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction The Neutronium Alchemist The Naked God Pandora’s Star Judas Unchained The Void Trilology The Dreaming Void The Temporal Void It’s taken me a while to read all these because I read a few other books in between (see list below) and because they are all …Continue reading →

Kindle DX Review

June 13, 2009
Books, Uncategorized
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Yesterday my new Amazon Kindle DX arrived and here are my initial impressions. I’ve owned a Kindle since November 2007 when they were first released. We currently own 4 of them: CJ has an original, Julie has a Kindle 2, and I now have both a Kindle 2 and the new DX. The moment Amazon announced the Kindle in the fall of 2007 I was enamored with the concept and have been a fan ever …Continue reading →

Kindle Support

June 4, 2009
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Amazon continues to impress me. This time it is their customer service. This week CJ somehow (he claims he has no idea how it happened…Really!?!?) broke the screen on the original Kindle I had handed-down to him. It was completely toast. At the same time I realized that my Kindle 2 was not working right in sunlight. The text on the screen would appear faded if there was direct sunlight on it. Covering a portion …Continue reading →

Windows Live Photo Gallery rocks

March 8, 2009
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Lacrosse 2009-03-07 203 Stitch Originally uploaded by ckindel I love digital photography but not so much that I feel like I need to become an Adobe Lightroom whore. I just like really simple tools that just work. I’ve found Windows Live Photo Gallery simply Just Works for 100% of what I do with digital photos (which is probably 80% of what hard core amateurs do). For instance, take this panoramic stitch. I shot 6 photos …Continue reading →

Amazon Kindle for the iPhone Review

March 6, 2009
Books, Uncategorized
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Amazon is brilliant. They released a version of their Kindle reader for the iPhone the other day and it’s just brilliant.  Wow. I have an iPhone (that I currently don’t use as a phone; my job requires that I play with other phones) and I immediately downloaded it to check out. It is very cool. What I like: Super easy to download books you’ve already purchased for your Kindle onto your iPhone. I can read …Continue reading →

Mini Book Review – Use of Weapons (Kindle Edition)

March 3, 2009
Books
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I just finished Iain M. Banks’ Use of Weapons on my Amazon Kindle 2. First book I read (actually I started it on my original Kindle and finished it on the Kindle 2). I don’t think I’ve read a Banks book before so I’m not sure where all the context around the characters is, but I’m guessing he uses “The Culture” and other aspects of this universe a lot because the thinking on it is …Continue reading →

You Can Buy the Amazon Kindle 2 Now!

February 7, 2009
Books, Uncategorized
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It looks like Amazon is very close to announcing and making available a 2nd generation Kindel electronic book device. Did you know you can pre-order it now!?! As you know, I love my Kindle. Besides my phone and laptop it is, by far the electronic gadget I use the most an is easily my favorite. I am a veracious reader and I can’t image buying or reading books "the old way" any more.  But the …Continue reading →

Best Free Sci-Fi…Ever!

August 11, 2008
Books, Uncategorized
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I don’t understand. I keep blogging about Cheesburger Brown and his amazing sci-fi books but he remains un-discovered. You would have thought this blog, which is read by billionsdozens of people, would have elevated him to Asimov status by now. Oh, well, I’ll just keep trying. Seriously, his stuff is really good and almost all of it is FREE: The Darth Side: Memoirs of A Monster (Darth Vader’s Blog). Written in 2005 leading up to …Continue reading →

Stop using Google!

August 11, 2008
Uncategorized
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[Update June 15, 2009 – Updated with Bing info] Use Bing! Bing is sooo much better. Yes, I know "Google" has become a verb but the reality is Bing’s search results are (finally) better. Live’s mapping (http://maps.bing.com) is far superior. Better directions, better satellite imaging, better local information, better looking, and easier to use. The bing.com search page loads just as fast as Google’s and is far more interesting (see below; every day the image …Continue reading →

I Love Amazon.com

August 11, 2008
Uncategorized
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I’m pretty vocal about products, services, and stores that I love.  I’m just as vocal about those that frustrate me. I’ve had an iPhone 3G since last Thursday and, frankly, I’m frustrated by it. So frustrated that I’m composing a pissy review in my head that I plan on posting here soon.  But I want to skewer it right, so I’m prepping by posting this rant which is about just how great Amazon.com is.  Charlie’s …Continue reading →

The Wicked Witch Is Dead!

July 21, 2008
Smart Home
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From the Windows Home Server Team Blog: The team is pleased to announce that Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 has been released to manufacturing (RTM) and is now available on the Microsoft Download Center! This update fixes the data corruption bug that was found in Windows Home Server in December (and has great new functionality too). From Wikipedia, regarding the song “Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead!” from the movie The Wizard of Oz: The …Continue reading →

Great car photos by Sandro

July 17, 2008
Cars, Uncategorized
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E-Type Jaguar Originally uploaded by smenzel An old co-worker of mine, Sandro Menzel, has been doing an amazing job capturing fine automobiles and then doing really great digital touchup. Check out his Flickr collection here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smenzel/

Extreme auto paint care

July 16, 2008
Cars, Uncategorized
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In 1997 I had "Stongard", a clear 3M film applied to the lower 12" of the hood and other leading edges of my 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera  to protect the paint.  After 11 years the film started to yellow and corners were coming up in spots so I had it professionally removed (to avoid risking having the clear coat come up).  Unfortunately the edge of the film on the hood left a horizontal line all …Continue reading →

ǝɯ ʍolloɟ

July 14, 2008
Uncategorized
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Every few months I make a renewed effort to do the "social networking" thing. I download the latest tools, poke around, post status updates, read other people’s stuff, and basically try to "live it".  I’ve been pretty consistent with using Facebook regularly. Last week I jumped in again and discovered that the tools and the actual "network" are far better than they were last time I tried.  I’m now updating my status on Twitter using …Continue reading →

Hacking the Kindle

June 17, 2008
Books
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When I left my Amazon Kindle on the airplane after I arrived from Taipei last week I realized that someone finding it would have no way of knowing it was mine. Fortunately Northwest Airlines knew I was sitting in seat 5B and let me know it was in the lost & found. I did some poking around and found that it is possible to put your own screen saver pictures on the the Kindle. This …Continue reading →

Kindle update

June 7, 2008
Books, Uncategorized
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Wow, has it really been since December that I last blogged? I guess I’ve been busy… Those of you paying attention (not that I actually believe there are very many of you) will probably understand what I’ve been so busy with. It’s probably been the hardest 6 months of my career. But hard work pays off, right? Watch the Windows Home Server Team Blog for some exciting news any day now… Even though I have …Continue reading →

Kindl. Kindel. Kindle.

December 10, 2007
Books, Kindel
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Back before the invention of the printing press my great, great, great grandfather came to the United States from Bavaria. His name was August Kindl. At Ellis Island the immigration officials added the ‘e’…hence my family’s name. We pronounce it Kindl.  Not Kind-el. Kindl translates to "child" in Bavarian. Those who know me well will find this fitting. Amazon recently launched their Kindle reading device. Pronounced the same way as my last name. I find …Continue reading →

Book Review: Halting State

December 10, 2007
Books
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This was my first Kindle book. That’s right Charlie Kindel bought a Kindle. I have to say it’s getting annoying having everyone saying my name… Here’s my quick review of Halting State by Charles Stross… The big idea is an interesting one: the future world where MMORPG gaming becomes so ubiquitous that the following happens Humans participate everywhere because their mobiles are powerful enough to get them in the game.  Gesture based control with head’s-up-displays …Continue reading →