Rapid Austin growth to continue...for 30 years! #DemographyGeek

IHS Global Insight recently named Austin the US city with the biggest potential for population growth over the next 30 years. The average expected population growth for US metropolitan areas is around 30%. By contrast, Austin's expected growth is a staggering 91%! If you're a patient sort of person it may be time to invest in some real estate...

Tech panel in two weeks #SpeakingGeek

My next technology speaking panel engagement happens in two weeks.  I love these things and wish I had the opportunity to participate in more of them.  This one will be a private event sponsored by a local tech company and attendance is restricted to its own employees so.... let's describe the expected turnout as "intimate".  While it's always gratifying and humbling to think that any group of people might actually care to hear what I have to say on some subject, the real thrill for me is simply in meeting and talking with attendees.  I always learn something, make interesting new contacts and come away with a renewed sense of purpose to go immerse myself in some new technology or another.

If you need to fill an empty speaking-panel slot at your next tech event please keep me in mind!  I also have very reasonable "talking tech" rates for birthday parties, weddings, Quinceañeras...

Revisited: JSON bigger than XML???

A little over a year ago I stumbled across a Google code sample comparing JSON and XML that caught my eye for a reason completely unrelated to Google's intended subject:  the sample JSON-encoded data was larger than its XML equivalent!  This represented an unlikely exception to the generally-accepted view that JSON is the leaner data format.  Still, I was recently wondering if others have made any serious efforts to point out the fact that XML can be leaner than JSON...

OpenSpan Certified (and there was much rejoicing)

I'm now certified in a nifty software automation product called OpenSpan.  The initial in-person teaser demo I saw back in 2011 was quite interesting.  Later, hands-on use of the product itself quickly highlighted a number of limitations. That said, I do believe it to be a worthy automation solution for the right type of problems...

Forget the Numbers...Tablets Aren't PCs (yet) #AnalystGeek

New projections by NPD DisplaySearch (a display chain consulting firm) indicate that more tablet PCs will be sold by 2016 than notebook PCs.  This announcement was immediately picked up by eWeek, PC Magazine, VentureBeat and others.  Increasing sales of tablets is good news for mobile computing fans.  The underlying premise of the "tablet vs. notebook" sales comparison is faulty, however:  tablets as we know them are not on par with notebooks (so please stop suggesting that they should be compared apples-to-apples...)

Excellent food, decent prices and no wait #EatAustin

With small kids in the mix my wife and I don't get to try new restaurants as often as we used to.  This weekend was different: we managed to sample some new spots (kids included) and still stay finances-friendly.  In all I added three new food vendors to my growing list of preferred Austin eateries.  In this post I'll share our experience with a new "kids eat free breakfast" find and, true to the atxgeek blog theme, manage to clumsily tie-in and rant about something technical in the process...

B4A adds Object Oriented support

Last year I began dabbling in Android programming.  Just for fun and only as time permitted so....not a lot.  I did manage to find time enough to run across Basic4Android (B4A), a visual IDE and language similar to VB.Net.  Though not overly advanced, B4A was inexpensive to get into and much easier to set up and churn out a first app than Android Java + Eclipse.
 
This week B4A took a big step forward by adding support for classes and, therefore, objects -- the fundamental requirement for object oriented programming (OOP).  Suddenly B4A is looking a lot more attractive for serious app development...

Westinghouse tracks Over-The-Air TV use #TVGeek

I finally got around to unpacking a recent bargain buy: a 37-inch 1080p Westinghouse LCD TV at an ultra-low price. Westinghouse TVs are definitely on the inexpensive (read: cheap) end of the spectrum but have tended to source fairly good screens for the money. These are ok sets if you can stomach the warranty (often with no returns to the store, only direct to Westinghouse), the hit-or-miss compatibility with universal remotes and the weak audio typical of most flat-panel TVs. However, I was somewhat shocked during setup to learn that I had to get a special code from Westinghouse in order to "activate" the built-in tuner to watch free over-the-air (antenna) channels...

Me, an Apple III and programming the 6502 #CodeGeek

Way, way back -- back when I was a grade school kid with plenty of free time, my father brought home an Apple III computer.  Although I'd previously tinkered with a loaned Sinclair ZX80, the Apple was the first computer that was ours (er, mine!)  My father's company had moved to using Apple III and Lisa systems and, always the forward-thinker, he was determined to have the same capabilities at home.  Though unintended, that decision determined my own life's direction...

Did Symantec really just send me that?!? #SecurityGeek

Yesterday the usual unwelcome snail-mail spam included an envelope with a letter and ad slick from Symantec.  I barely even glanced at the slick but was immediately struck by the opening of the letter.  Its contents triggered three "red flags" in my mind even before the start of the first sentence.  Did Symantec, a leading security company, really just lead its marketing pitch with warning signs I often coach users to steer clear of?...

New year, new panel (#SpeakingEngagements)

Month one of 2012 and I'm engaged for another small panel event.  This round involves speaking to the marketing group of a leading global tech company although I'm more on the supplemental end of this one rather than being front and center.  This will also be a bit more "under the covers" as I've been asked to sign an NDA and am not allowed to mention the name of the (Fortune 50) company...

Enhance your phone for free via Google Voice

I've been using Google Voice since mid-2009 -- not long after Google acquired the company that originated the service, GrandCentral.  Google Voice adds features to most any phone not already linked to an IP-based phone service.  Because it's been around for several years and has proven to be dependably good, useful and free, I'm often surprised when I mention "Google Voice" to tech-savvy people and get blank stares in return.  Why haven't more people caught on to this under-appreciated service?...