I’ve been classified as a Google-hater before. I think that’s unfair. I don’t trust Google to do what’s right in their pursuit of the future, but I think their goal of bringing the future to us today is admirable. It’s their methods I often question. I’m excited about the use of “big data” to help users find answer to the information that they seek. But, because they make their money on advertising, I don’t trust that they’ll give me the most relevant answers over the most profitable. I’m also excited to live in an area of the world that will have access to Internet at speeds we could only dream about for years.

This isn’t to say that Apple doesn’t do things that irk me, as well. The key difference is that Apple has never made me feel as though they don’t care about my privacy. Are they perfect? Definitely not. But, they’re better than almost every other company out there at making a product I love and that suits me. And I sincerely hope that Google can one day be a company that returns to that same level in my life.

All that said, a comment from Mike Knopp on Ian’s final post was worth reading as it summed up very succinctly my concerns:

Google isn’t evil because they are anti-Apple, they achieved that all on their own.

I have to completely agree with Dbabbage. I have no interest in dealing with a company whose entire business seems to rely on them using *me* instead of me paying to use them (their product).

Is Google hypocritical? I believe that they are, but also believe that they aren’t likely aware of it. From listening to Page speak, I truly think that he truly believes what he says.

My response to that is a very old, and cliched quote, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Sayings don’t become cliche by being false. I see Google’s business model as the apple on the tree of knowledge or Pandora’s box. If the world accepts their offer the consequences will not be good. At least not in my mind, but in people like Page’s mind, I guess things are different.

After all, if you use Google’s products be very aware that Page’s view of privacy is, “If you don’t want people to know about it. You likely shouldn’t be doing it.”Think about that the next time you are looking up medical info on something you don’t want people knowing about or looking for a new job. Page thinks that these things should be public knowledge. Do you?

Do I think Google is evil? No, I don’t. I think they view privacy in a vastly different way than I do and that the consequences for that world view have not yet fully played out. Sadly, by the time they do, we may not be able to put the safeguards in place that we should be building today. As to the hypocrisy, that’s for others to decide. I don’t know what Larry Page believes, only what he says out loud. It could be carefully crafted PR bullshit, or it could be exactly what he feels. It’s up to us to decide where our cynicism ends and our hope for a technological utopia begins.

So, when I tell you that I’m excited for Marvel’s new TV series about S.H.I.E.L.D., keep in mind that what I’m really saying is that I’m excited for Joss Whedon’s return to television. Especially since he’s got a franchise behind him that will almost guarantee that we get 5 seasons from the show. It’s not a Firefly revival, but it’s a start.

Anyway, the trailer for the new series was released yesterday and it’s awesome. I highly recommend you take the next three minutes of your life and watch it now.

Aren’t they all?

He smirked at the thought of being locked up in the lush penthouse, something he knew all too well as a child, when he had been a prisoner in his own home. That had been ages ago. Just before he’d met Iris.

Iris!

The last few hours came flooding back to him. The fight in the lobby, the inhuman creatures doing his lover’s bidding, the way she drugged him and brought him here. Zeph had to assume the last bit, as he’d been unconscious, but it certainly seemed the most plausible scenario. He should have seen this coming, of course. He had broken Iris’s heart too many times through the years. It was only a matter of time before she did the same to him. He wanted to be upset, but realized it was futile. She had done what he had forced her to do.

The only thing to do at this point was to find a way out of here, and if he was very, very lucky, find a way to save Iris. If it wasn’t too late.

Zeph wondered what Notu had offered her. He could only assume he was in one of Notu’s dungeons under Anemoi Tower. Zeph never should have left the family business when Notu began to turn dark. If he had stayed, he might have been able to prevent the devastation of the last several months. But he had more pressing matters at the time.

Like the demon-spawn under Chicago, of course.

There was a scraping at the door and Zeph quickly feigned unconsciousness. The rusty hinges creaked as though the door hadn’t been used in years. It probably hadn’t, as Zeph and his brothers made a pact to seal them off in the ’50s, when their father passed. The gaoler entered slowly, cautiously. He had been warned of Zeph’s heightened constitution. Zeph leapt off the table in a flash, snatching the keys from the gaoler’s waist and slipping through the door. He slammed it shut behind him. The gaoler let out an alien growl. Notu had found this particular lost soul deep underground. It was accustomed to cramped passageways, but it didn’t take kindly to being trapped. It furiously and repeatedly threw itself against the door.

The gaoler’s strength proved great indeed, and the frame on which the door was hung began to shake, despite its sturdy nature. Flakes of rust showered down as the metal rattled. Zeph decided it was probably a good time to leave. He sprinted down the hallway and took a left at the first junction. The cell door came clattering off its hinges behind him and the gaoler roared so loudly that the ground shook beneath Zeph’s feet.

As he rounded the next corner, Zeph came face-to-face with three more of the creatures that attacked him in the lobby.

Good. Payback time.

Zeph threw his left leg out in a half-split and dropped into a low crouch. The Drowling, as he would later learn they were called, were caught off guard by his sudden appearance and hadn’t yet formulated plan of attack. Zeph’s smile grew so large it threatened to eat his face. He was going to enjoy this.

He quickly stood up straight and snapped one leg out at the throat of the closest Drowling. His foot connected hard and the Drowling crumpled to the ground. Down, but not out, the creature immediately began to rise again, gasping for air.

Okay, so they have to breathe, Zeph mused. That’s one way to kill them.

The second and third rushed right at him. Zeph ducked as the second hurled itself forward, shoulder first. Too slow, Zeph collapsed onto his back as the beast careened into him. Rolling through the fall, Zeph threw the Drowling down the hallway as the gaoler rounded the corner at full speed. The crunch of bone and flesh echoed as they collided and his two assailants collapsed into a heap, struggling to disentangle themselves. The first Drowling was back on his feet and breathing much better, though he still wheezed a bit. The third was upon him and Zeph raised his arms to protect his head as the Drowling pummeled him from above.

Enough of this.

Zeph sucked in as much air as he could while being punched in the chest and exhaled as hard as he could. The force of the wind from his mouth hurled one of the Drowling into the air above Zeph. Pinwheeling to his feet, Zeph spun round and hit the creature as it fell. He aimed for the dead center of the chest, hoping to stop the Drowling’s heart, but as he connected, he sensed that the beast had a drastically different cardiovascular system to his own. A psychic flash in his mind revealed the heart was much lower in the abdomen. With the speed of a striking cobra, Zeph brought his other fist up and crushed the creatures heart with force of the blow. It was dead before it hit the ground.

Two ways.

The last standing Drowling turned suddenly and ran away. Zeph, confused, turned to see the gaoler and other Drowling clawing at their eyes as rivulets of blood poured from them. Iris stepped around the corner into view. She raised her hand in warning and Zeph froze.

His pulse quickened and, for a moment, he was happy to see her. One look at her eyes and he could see the hate burning through her. He knew that this was no rescue.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

“My love, don’t you know?” mocked Iris. “Hell hath no fury like a witch scorned…”

Enjoy!

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Robot Unicorn Attack 2 is in the App Store. For free (as in beer). It’s pretty. I like to play it. If you enjoyed the first one (or the other two), then you’ll probably like this one. It’s a free-to-play endless runner that looks like it was vomited up by Lisa Frank. That’s a compliment, bee-tee-dubs. I was saddened when I first fired up the game and didn’t hear Erasure’s “Always” filling my ear holes with it’s beautiful melody. The song that comes with the game is still quite excellent and feels very 80s child fantasy (like from Legend or The Neverending Story). The good news, however, is that once you reach Rank 4, you can purchase new songs to listen to while playing the game for $0.99 apiece. Those purchases come with 500 Unicorn Dewdrops (I don’t know if that’s what they’re called, but I like calling them that), the in-game currency. So, if you really can’t bear to play this game without some rockin’ 80s music, there’s a small, but decent selection (including “Never Ending Story” by Limahl and “Always” by Erasure).

Another new feature is the ability to customize the appearance of your unicorn (also available at Rank 4). This is one of two ways to spend your Unicorn Dewdrops (the other being to buy one-time use power-ups before your run). There are a number of different skins and accessories to buy for your unicorn, all of which affect the gameplay by adjusting the running speed, the number of times you can jump in the air, or even letting you fly at top speed.

So, if you’re a fan of the original, or endless runners, or you just want to have your cutesy-awesome buttons pushed by a robot, you should download this game.

Seriously, why are you still reading this? Go!

“Always, I want to be with you, and make believe with you, and live in harmony harmony oh love…”

UPDATE: I joined Team Rainbow, when given the chance. Those of you that choose the Dark Side and join Team Inferno will be on my watch list.

So, naturally, we decided to record ourselves and throw together a podcast. Interestingly enough, despite the ease with which we had access to Marvel comics and the fact that we both know and love Marvel’s characters more than DC’s, we decided to start by reading some DC comics. Maybe it’s the great unknown, or maybe it’s because The Death of Superman was one of those moments in my own history that kept me interested in comics over the years, but that’s what we decided upon.

Anyway, the first episode, in which we introduce ourselves and discuss our plans for the podcast, is online already and the second (wherein we discuss The Death of Superman) will be online Soon™. If you want to follow along with what we’re reading, I highly recommend checking out the website and subscribing to the podcast. We post which issues we’re reading so that you can listen in and follow along. We’re also on Twitter and App.net if you just want to jump into the discussion with us.

“Tech office.”

“I need your help troubleshooting a computer problem,” began the teacher on the line. “I can’t get the projector to work.”

“Did you restart it?”

“Yeah, it didn’t fix it.”

I rubbed my temple, knowing a headache was on its way. The familiar beep of another call to my line chirruped in my ear. I ignored it. I knew the most likely solution would require me to do a bunch of simple, but fancy techno-geekery to fix the computer. I wanted to do it in my office. I almost asked the teacher to bring it to me. I didn’t.

“Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

I made a mental note of the teacher’s room and hung up. I looked at the computer in my lap, completely forgetting for the moment what I was doing with it. The door to my office opened and the police officer assigned to my building walked through. He needed information on two computers that had been reported stolen. I started to print them out for him.

The phone rang again.

“Tech office.”

Immediately, the “call waiting” chime went off in my ear again. I ignored it. Again.

The librarian on the line needed help getting someone connected to the Internet. I listened patiently and mapped a path through the building to the two separate destinations I needed to go. I hung up the phone.

I looked at the computer, no longer able to remember the names of the students whose computers were stolen.

“What were the kids names again?” I shouted to the officer next door. He gave them to me. I looked at the computer on my lap again. I remembered which software needed to be installed on it and grabbed the appropriate flash drive. I stood to go make my rounds when a student walked through the door. I expected the phone to ring any second. The officer came to pick up his printouts and told me the student had done her community service to pay for her computer. I directed her to the treasurer and left my office, laptop in hand.

As I left the office area, the front desk receptionist stopped me.

“They need you in the library.”

I let her know that they got a hold of me and I was on my way up there. She immediately turned to finish her conversation.

I installed the software as I walked. I arrived at the library first. The moment I walked in, I was informed that the issue had been fixed. Another teacher popped in and mentioned the same. Turns out, it wasn’t something I could have fixed anyway, and they simply chose to use a different machine. One down, one to go.

I ventured back into the hallway and toward the stairs back down to the ground floor. I trekked across the commons and down the hall to the teacher with the projector issue. I found him at the very back area of the art room. I made my way toward the laptop when I heard him speak.

“I fixed it.”

“What?”

“I fixed it,” he said again. “I unhooked everything and hooked it all back up, and it worked.”

I suppressed a grimace, nodded to the teacher and said, “Okay.”

Secretly wondering why I bothered leaving my office, I left. I walked back across the building and sat down in my chair. The laptop was still installing software, so I set it down to finish. I looked at the clock. It was 8:26.

I took a deep breath and looked for my coffee mug.

The phone rang.

Honest.

Every day I sit down at my computer and think of all the projects and ideas I have that would require some attention. They scamper about my brain like rats, trying to avoid being caught. And the moment I manage to clamp a glass jar over one of them and start to examine it so that I can maybe drag 500 words out of it, The Great Distraction Beast rears its ugly head.

Someone knocks at the door, the telephone rings, my computer makes one of a hundred different “beep beep beeps” that mean something wants my attention. I try to tune these things out and focus, but fail miserably, time and again.

Worse still, there is always more content to consume. It’s very difficult to be a creator, but it’s oh-so-easy to be a consumer. Especially when you can lie to yourself that you’re consuming content to stoke the fires of creativity in your own mind. And so, after watching eight hours of Stargate on Netflix, even though you’ve already seen every episode at least twice, you sit down to write again, but all you can think about is watching more Stargate. Or that new web series that was just released. Or checking the news blogs to see if anything has happened since you last checked them 2 hours ago.

And there’s the rub. With so much content in the world and so little time to access it all, how does one choose what makes the cut and what doesn’t? And if one is a content creator, how does that same one cut off from it all and focus?

I’m asking, because I don’t know and I really need to know.

Writing used to be easy for me. I used to have pent-up anger and depression and all sorts of other feels that made me all angst-y and writer-y. But now, I’ve got a good life. Beautiful, loving wife. Three adorable children. Steady pay from a relatively easy job.

And so, I sit and I stare at a blank page and I choose to write about writing. Because anything else would probably be too hard, and plus TGDB is waiting for me to get a great idea so it can stomp it into oblivion.

I’m challenging myself to write every day. Even if I fail and only write once-a-week, it’ll be an improvement over now. But how do I hold TGDB at bay?

Okay, I’ve got a number of books to go try to read now. I should be done with them in about 30 years. Maybe I can write more then.

Enter AirServer and Reflector. Both apps have a very similar feature set, with the edge going to Reflector, which allows you to record video directly from within the app. This is an excellent tool for developers wanting to show off how their app works. However, for those that don’t need that specific feature and simply want to stream video to their display (or, those that prefer to use QuickTime Player or another tool for capturing video onscreen), AirServer feels simpler and easier to use. Plus, AirServer has a number of excellent pricing alternatives for students, teachers, and those that need a volume license.

One major advantage to AirServer is its ability to present a higher quality video stream out of the box. Reflector defaults to 720p video only, while AirServer takes into account the specific device connecting, allowing 3rd and 4th generation iPads to display 1080p video with no configuration. Reflector appears capable of doing the same, however it gives a warning that iOS devices only support 720p video, which is no longer true. Both devices allow multiple inbound video and audio streams at a time, which is also pretty cool if you want to display more than one device at a time. In an education or corporate environment, that can be handy for allowing different pieces of a presentation to be offloaded to multiple devices so that presenters don’t have to switch between apps on the fly. Or, if you just like showing off technology, it can allow you to play multiple games on your TV at once.

Another great benefit to AirServer over Reflector is the ability to treat inbound streams as individual windows, complete with close and minimize buttons and a full-screen toggle. You can also hover your mouse over the video to access music controls, allowing you to play, pause, and skip music playing from your iDevice’s library through your computer speakers.

If I had to choose only one app to use, I’d currently go with AirServer due to the greater pricing flexibility and the fact that it’s a smoother experience out of the box. However, if you want more control over capturing video, Reflector has a definite advantage.

You can get more information about AirServer at their website here. Likewise, Reflector’s site has additional info, as well.

So, to get out ahead of it, I’m posting this in the hopes that anyone currently getting regular email updates from my blog switch to a different service called Blogtrottr. It’s free, and I’ve even made it simpler for you by putting a simple link in this post. Just click the button below, enter your email address, select your update schedule from the drop-down menu on the right, and select the FEED ME button below.

See you starside!