Post-MacWorld Opinions: Time Capsule opportunities

When Steve Jobs announced Time Capsule last Tuesday, I thought it was a great product for computer “idiots” – something I would give to non-geeks for mindless backups. In fact, Time Machine already is considered to be the “idiots’ tool” for backing up. And this is not a bad thing – it’s very important to backup and Time Capsule will allow regular users who would otherwise not have backups to keep a copy of their data.On second thought, however, it’s a disguised competitor to Microsoft’s Windows Home Server (WHS), in a sleeker package. The purposes of both solutions is to perform routine and simple backups of networked computers. Microsoft has built in some added functionality into WHS like remote access to data and media streaming to media center PCs. With Time Capsule, I think I can encapsulate Apple’s future direction (pardon the pun). With a firmware update, Time Capsule can gain the “back to my Mac” feature of Apple’s .Mac service – only this time for Time Capsule. This would allow remote Macs to access back-up data created by Time Machine on Time Capsule, letting users “roll back” their data just as if they were at home on their Mac. Of course, this would make the most sense for notebook computers, as they “leave” the home network more frequently (I am not a rocket scientist and so I can make this statement without pointing out it’s blatantly obvious). And it would work the other way also – allowing users to make Time Machine backups to Time Capsule remotely. Of course, this can already be done with some smart configuration – after all, Time Capsule is just a router with a hard disk. However, it would still be difficult for the average Mac user to set up. With Apple putting their weight behind the remote backup initiative, this process would become just a few button clicks away.Some may say that Apple wouldn’t do this, since they already provide a back-up service with .Mac. .Mac, however, is expensive and has data storage limits and data transfer limits, limitations not crippling Time Capsule’s imaginary remote-backup service.But the fun doesn’t have to stop there! I think Apple is slowly building out a network of connected services and devices that, when used in conjunction with one another, provide the most benefit to the user. We have already seen Apple TV 2’s renting capabilities without a computer and its ability to transfer purchased or rented content back to the computer and then on to iPod and iPhone. However, there are still a few scenarios that Apple hasn’t yet addressed. Let’s focus on one here: purchased content and portable computers. Let’s say Nick purchased a season of Lost from the iTunes store. He has it on his brand new MacBook Air. Nick and his wife Jenny begin to watch the episodes on their big screen TV using Apple TV, streaming the content. In a few days, Nick leaves for a business trip to Italy and takes his MacBook with him, and along with it – all the Lost episodes. Jenny is now at home and would like to watch some Lost content, but she realizes that the content is not on the Apple TV but on Nick’s MacBook in Italy. How would she access the episodes now? (For this imaginary story’s sake, let’s say Nick is coming back in a week). Does this mean that poor Jenny is to be left in the suspense of Lost episode 4 for an entire week? Well, she can always repurchase the episodes or season from iTunes. But that isn’t really an “elegant” solution. So here’s what I propose: since Nick is a smart man who values his time, he has purchased Apple’s Time Capsule and performed automated backups of his MacBook to the capsule. Before he left, his MacBook connected with it and backed everything up on his machine. (Here’s where Apple comes in with a software update to Apple TV or Time Capsule or both and enables Apple TV to read Time Capsule iTunes backups). So now, Jenny can simply navigate on the Apple TV to Time Capsule volume on her network and select Nick’s back-up as a source. From there, Apple TV will just allow her to access iTunes content from Nick’s Time Machine back-up to Time Capsule that his MacBook automatically performed before he left (that’s a mouthful). Result? Jenny is a happy Apple customer and can watch the Lost episodes she purchased.Although this is a very nifty solution, the problem could have been avoided in two ways. 1) Nick could have transferred the purchased Lost episodes from his MacBook to Apple TV before he left, or 2) Apple could allow re-downloads of purchased content from the iTunes store. With the ladder, of course, the studios and record labels would have to be on board, and we all know how difficult they can be.So here’s just a glimpse of where I think Apple will take Time Capsule in the future, and they can do it with a simple software update.Let me know what you think,Alex

Posted in Apple, Blogroll, Decisions, Mac, Software, Uncategorized

Half Hour Baby! Just another half hour until MacWorld 2008!

I can’t believe that another MacWorld is just around the corner – it starts in 30 minutes!Looking back at everything that I’ve been through this year (and no, my year doesn’t start and end at MacWorld!), I have learned much. Sure, a lot of it has been in school, but I’ve learned an over-the-head “amount” about relationships, love, and well, their death. I’m sure you know what I mean.. (And I’m still learning). Gosh Ari, I miss you.So, what do you think it’s going to be this year? Here is what I would like to see, from the most important to the least:1) Revamped notebook lineup: MacBook lineup is joined – no more plastic MacBook – all are aluminum and glass. The 13″ MacBook is now available with a dedicated GPU. $200 price drop across the line.2) iPhone 2.0, iPhone SDK, iPhone 1.0 software updates3) Headless Mac below the MacPro. User-upgradeable, 4 PCI slots, 3 bays for hard disks, 2 bays for optical drives. Starting at $999.4) Subnotebook – 11″. “There’s something in the air”.5) iNewton tablet.6) Steve Jobs picks his successor, introduces him/her. Jonathan Ives, anyone?What do you think?P.S: if my #1 isn’t met, or they don’t drop the prices, I am not buying a Mac portable any time soon. In fact, those $1300 HPs and Dells look pretty good compared to the same-specced MacBook Pro.

Posted in Apple, Blogroll, Mac, iPhone

Are we coaching our youth hockey athletes correctly?

Working as a hockey coach for many years and being a player myself throughout my life has taught me many lessons – both on and off the ice. For a few months I’ve been thinking about the current “coaching” system of youth hockey on the ice.From the first time that a youngster can skate, he or she plays the same game of hockey that professionals play: structured, 5 on 5, whistles, face-offs, and penalties. First I’d like to say that these are all important elements of the game and should be learned. However, are they important elements of the game for children? Children’s hockey games don’t involve much puck handling; they involve much more skating towards the puck, then touching it, and then either throwing it away or shooting it. Then the cycle starts over. In a 40-minute scrimmage, the average atom or squirt player gets an average of ten minutes of ice time and during this time, the young player handles the puck less than ten times. Add to that the time spent traveling to and from the ice rink, getting dressed, undressed, and then cleaning up after getting home, and the time it took to get those ten minutes of ice-time and 15 seconds of puck time totals 3 hours! (It’s even worse with out-of-state tournaments and games!)At the youth level the most important aspect of hockey is to develop the basic fundamentals: skating, shooting, passing, and – in some countries/leagues – body checking. It’s a great task, one that requires many hours, days, months, and years of dedicated practice. Body awareness, agility, and technique all need to be addressed in a young player. So why is it that during this important development time, our youth hockey programs provide such an inefficient opportunity for our young children to develop their skills? I don’t know the amount of time one needs to practice stick-handling in order to  perform the task above average, but I’m sure it is well over 15 seconds! Those three hours that are used by the player (and by the parents) to get those 15 seconds’ worth of stick handling during a regular game can be used by the player to (for example) stick handle for an hour – 15 minutes, 4 times, while in his or her garage! Or this can be done during a well-structured practice!I suggest that the youth players have more practice instead of game time. The “fun” aspect, however, should not be forgotten – since these are kids we are talking about – kids who like to have fun on top of everything else. It’s in their nature to do so. So perhaps a youth practice should end with 10 minutes of in-zone scrimmage time more often than not. This way the players are more compact and will get to:

1. Handle the puck more often
2. Come into contact with other players more often, and will have to avoid others if the player is puck-carryin
3. Get more ice-time

My train of thought is simple: give young (atoms, mites, squirts) hockey players more of what they need most – the basic foundation of hockey and play less professional-style hockey games. They will always have time to play pro-style games in the future, but if they learn the foundational skills quicker, they will be able to enjoy themselves more faster. A common analogy I like to use is: if a boy is going to become a business leader in his future career, he doesn’t start out his childhood by wearing a suit and tie to school.Let me know what you think in the comments,Alex

Posted in Athletics, Blogroll, Hockey