CyanogenMod 10 On My Nook Color

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 I felt it was time for an update on what I have been doing with my Nook Color. My last post was when I had CyanogenMod 7 on it. Since that time my Nook went around the world and visited Kuwait, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.  In those locations it braved sand, heat, snow and cold. I’ve read over 20 books on the device and watched my son grow from an infant to a toddler. Using Google Voice I was also able to text and keep in touch with my wife as I was far from her. The SD card also helped to hold hours of music and videos for when I was traveling or just left with some down time.

Some where along that journey I found the time to install CM9 and later CM10 on the device. I went from running unofficial betas built by the community as a labor of love to receiving full CyanogenMod official status again. I have to say the developers in this community have done an awesome job keeping this ereader gone tablet going. It’s quite amazing to see what this hardware can do despite the original limitations of design.

As far as general usability I still have to give CM7 some what of an edge. CM10 lags a little and has a slightly lower battery performance. Despite the minor performance drops, I would still recommend CM10 to someone that has already placed a rom on their Nook. It’s fun to have the latest and greatest Android can offer. I can see myself still using this tablet into the future. It fits my needs well.

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Richard Stallman: Intellectually Dishonest?

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In a recent blog post Richard Stallman referred to the Ubuntu Linux Distribution as spyware. Mr. Stallman’s post stemmed primarily from the recent introduction  of the shopping lens into Ubuntu 12.10. This lens is on by default and when a user enters a search into the Unity Dash a user will get back results related to their personal files and search results for Amazon.com. This search is passed through Canonical’s servers and they act as a layer of anonymity between Amazon. If a user makes a purchase from Amazon, Canonical then receives the referral bonus for the purchase. Users are informed of the shopping lens when they read the privacy policy linked to in Unity’s dash. If a user objects to this policy they may disable the shopping lens in their privacy settings or remove it altogether using the Ubuntu Software Center. While many share Mr. Stallman’s privacy concern for Canonical’s implementation of the shopping lens, I would have to characterize his assessment of Ubuntu being spyware as intellectually dishonest.

First let’s look at the definition of spyware. Wikipedia defines spyware as a type of malware (malicious software) installed on computers that collects information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user and can be difficult to detect. Some spyware, such as keyloggers, may be installed by the owner of a shared, corporate, or public computer intentionally in order to monitor users.

Ubuntu’s shopping lens does not meet this definition. The shopping lens is easily seen by design and a user can be informed about the privacy policy in Unity’s dash. In addition a user can easily disable or remove the shopping lens with a few clicks.

While I think the shopping lens is badly implemented, I could not honestly call it spyware. It seems most detractors are content to sling about incorrect terminology as opposed to just saying it’s implemented badly or offering a way it could be implemented better.

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November is for Thanksgiving!

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This year we saw Christmas items hitting the shelves well before Halloween. What happened to Thanksgiving? This has been out of hand for a while but it keeps getting worse. Now I hear “Black Friday” sales are creeping onto Thanksgiving Day. Is one holiday not enough for the stores? Now they have to steal another? Thanksgiving should be a day families come together and give thanks for what they have, while enjoying a good meal together. All these chasing of sales is nonsense.

My plan this year is to enjoy Thanksgiving Day with my family. The following day we will put up Christmas decorations but not before that day. We will also avoid all stores both days. You should do the same and help encourage retailers to allow their employees to also stay at home or on minimum staffing on Thanksgiving.

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Who will win the election?

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It’s closing in on Election Day and only nine states are still competitive for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. I’m not a fan of either politician and I am a member of the Libertarian party. I decided to do an analysis in as unbiased a manner as I can looking at poll numbers and voting history. 

This is an analysis of the state-by-state race to 270 electoral votes, the total needed to win the presidency. These numbers reflect where incumbent Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney stand now. The numbers reflect electoral votes.

UP FOR GRABS (110):
Colorado (9) R
Florida (29) R
Iowa (6)D
New Hampshire (4)U
Nevada (6)D
North Carolina (15)R 
Ohio (18)D
Virginia (13)U
Wisconsin (10)D

SOLIDLY DEMOCRATIC (186):
California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Vermont and Washington.

LEANING DEMOCRAT (51):
Michigan (16)
Minnesota (10)
New Mexico (5)
Pennsylvania (20)

LEANING REPUBLICAN (32):
Arizona (11)
Indiana (11)
Missouri (10)

SOLIDLY REPUBLICAN (159):
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Total Electoral Votes by candidate:
Obama (277)
Romney (244)
Johnson (0)
Stein (0)
So close I won’t even call: 17

If I had to call the race today I would place President Obama as winning the election. It seems most gambling institutions also agree with my assessment and they actually have a good record at projecting outcomes. This post comes from a running total I have been trying to keep.

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