Broadband.gov, brought to you by the same fun folks that bring you … the IRS … has a tool that enables you to test your connection. You need Java and to just say yes to the usual applet security prompts. Additionally, the paranoid among us (like me) may not like the fact that you need to enter your address. Not sure what happens if you enter a fake address – perhaps your next connection test will be from Gitmo. Anyway, the test itself takes less than a minute. My results, which also show the format and explanation of the test results (and their story of why they want your street address), after the break.
Archive for the ‘Web Community’ Category
I’m from the Government and here to help
Saturday, March 13th, 2010My Birthday Cake
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
[courtesy of one of my students, Kash]
True Tech Love On Valentine’s Day
Monday, February 15th, 2010
MyRealityTech (the blog of my friend Jenna Gonzalez) has a fun article on how geeks can say “I do” on Valentine’s Day, or any other day for that matter.
Personally, I think the pictured Cat5 ring would be perfect for the love of your life. After all, what is marriage if not the networking of two people?
Of course, your love may not be into Ethernet. They may be more into USB perhaps? If so, this USB ring should be perfect!
Team Sam II
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
I wrote about six months ago about TeamSam. Margot Hutchinson is my literary agent. She and her husband Neil have three beautiful sons. One, Sam, was diagnosed in January 2005 with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a very serious childhood cancer. Margot has chronicled the last 5 years in her blog, TeamSam.
Sam’s tough and a fighter. But for the parents, as you can imagine, there are good days and not so good days. Please drop over to TeamSam and post a comment. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Thanks. Jeff
CES Train Wreck
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
I sometimes envy professional bloggers who get journalist credentials for free admittance, goodie bags and private screenings for events like CES. Then I read the experience of Jason Dunn of PocketPC Thoughts, ranging from his Kafkaesque experience with the Canadian version of TSA to the stomach flu from hell at 2 am in his Las Vegas hotel room. His article is entertaining, though I suspect this is due to retrospect, not how he felt at the time.
Now I feel better for missing CES. I hope Jason feels better too.
The Year 2009 Explained Through Google Wave
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010Nice. But I wish I knew how to use Google Wave 
My fault though. I still haven’t read the online book.
[via Android Central]
Myrealitytech.com
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Today’s site recommendation: Visit Myrealitytech.com. Jenna Gonzalez (Twitter avatar pictured) started this site recently. I met Jenna when we both did some work on pocketnow. Her background is different than your average tech blogger; her day job is a senior fashion buyer in the Big Apple. Perhaps as a result, she has some very interesting and unique tech perspectives, particular on design issues. Check it out!
jkOnTheRun’s Weekly Observations
Friday, November 20th, 2009
James Kendrick of jkOnTheRun likely will never be our diplomat to the United Nations. That’s a compliment. James just tells it like he sees it. If a manufacturer or vendor doesn’t like what he has to say, tough. While I might disagree with James on subjective matters, I can always count on him to give his honest opinion, untainted by any need to stay in the good graces of a manufacturer or vendor.
James calls his home Mobile Tech Manor (pictured). He has a weekly series called This Week in Mobile Tech Manor. This week’s is #66. As usual, he has some interesting observations, this time on touchscreen notebooks, the Motorola Droid, and eReaders. I’d like to discuss them with you, my readers.
Google Wave Online Book
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Google recently released Google Wave. It’s at a preview stage. It’s also invitation only. Being excluded during my school years, even by the “out crowd”, I wanted in! One of my former students, HotDogWater, mercifully sent me an invitation. So now I’m in! But in what?
NanOsNotes
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009One of my readers (we’ll call him Steve) has an interesting blog called NanOsNotes. His blog header says: “I cover new technology as a user – and someone who actually buys this stuff. I don’t get free trials from manufacturers.” I can relate.
Most of his posts do concern gadgets, such as HP DreamScreen. However, there’s humor too, such as his explanation of the difference in meaning of the term “knock up” between the UK and US. Anyway, check out NanOsNotes.
