Why is MMS such a Mystery to Google?

It's very popular and useful. 

Everyone knows how to use it.

Why then, does Google not seem to even recognize that it exists....?

 

I just now went into my Android "Google Voice" app & clicked SEND FEEDBACK & told them how ridiculous it is that Google Voice can't add attachments & send as MMS.

 

Posted via email from Google Voice Secrets

Google Destroys the Usefulness of the" Contacts" Feature

Google Voice:

 

It's so lame that I can't just click "sms" next to any phone number to send a text to that number from Contacts any more.

 

What are you thinking???

 

:-( 

 

Posted via email from Google Voice Secrets

Trouble Receiving Calls from Certain People on Google Voice ever since Google+ Circles Integration?

If you have had Trouble Receiving Calls from Certain People on Google Voice ever since Google+ Circles Integration...

Here's the Solution I Found:

So certain people call your Google Voice number and they get:

"The number you've reached is not in service."

Or...

The call ALWAYS goes straight to voicemail, without even ringing the phone.

HERE'S HOW I FIXED IT:

(1)   Within Google Voice "Contacts" tab, Put that person's contact record into a new Group.

(2)   Export Contacts:  Select Only that group.  That Group's contact records will be exported to a file on your computer.

(3)   Delete that person's Contact record completely.

(4)   Wait for that Contact to also disappear from your Android phone's Contacts too, as soon as it auto-syncs.

(5)   Try having that person call you now.  The call should ring in normally now.

(6)   Import that Contacts file back in to your Contacts within Google Voice.  

Calls from that person should still ring in normally.

 

This problem seems to have begun on the same day that Google integrated Google+ Circles in to Google Voice.   Who knows why?

 

 

 

 

 

Posted via email from Google Voice Secrets

Google Voice in Three Tweets

p 1 of 3: After YEARS of using Google Voice, I've FINALLY figured out the best way to use it. (continued...)

p 2 of 3: Reply to EVERYTHING (email, voicemail, sms, missed calls) within Gmail, in the order they came in. This way you have every thread.

p 3 of 3: Use Google Voice ONLY on the Contacts Page. Use it as your CRM or Contacts Database. Keep a record of EVERY conversation there. :)

 

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Google Voice in Three Tweets

p 1 of 3: After YEARS of using Google Voice, I've FINALLY figured out the best way to use it. (continued...)

p 2 of 3: Reply to EVERYTHING (email, voicemail, sms, missed calls) within Gmail, in the order they came in. This way you have every thread.

p 3 of 3: Use Google Voice ONLY on the Contacts Page. Use it as your CRM or Contacts Database. Keep a record of EVERY conversation there. :)

 

Posted via email from Google Voice Secrets

Please lose all my numbers and addresses, Jeanne Anne

Dearest Jeanne Anne,

I Have told you 20,000,000 times NOT To use hotmail.

I Have told you 20,000,000 times NOT To call me about your  hotmail problems.

I Have told you 20,000,000 times to Write Down what I tell you.  Instead of asking me the same question 10 times.... On 10 different weeks.

You choose to totally disrespect me. 

You do not pay me. 

You have never paid me 1 red cent. 

You constantly call and bother me --- as if you were paying me. 

Then you spit in my face by calling and asking me to recommend someone that you can actually pay - (well, someone your "friend" can pay FOR YOU, actually, as you said) - after you've taken so much of my time - and after I've told you 20,000,000 times what to do.

You always do the opposite of what I recommend.

I don't know what your stingy self centered problem is.... but I want you rid from my life. 

I've discovered for the first time in my life, that my patience in fact is not Unlimited.

This has been going on for a year and a half or more. 

Enough is enough.

Please lose my phone numbers and my email addresses.

Please do not come to any of my meetings. 

I WILL NOT help you anymore.

I wish you all the success in exploring these issues you have. 

I hope someday you can rid yourself of stinginess and self centered pure selfishness.

My bet is this will fall on deaf ears.

In fact I'll bet 1000 dollars cash.

Good luck,

Bruce

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

From Technology comes Art: Speak this Aloud ...and it's a Poetry Reading

And everything and the hello, hey.
The walkway Mr. I love you
bye delivery.
But you didn't starts
hello operator
but says we've got it right,
you can, yeah So I thought.
Hall, solution some.
But I thought it was.
Hello.
This is an love you bye.
Bye, fast Chris.
Well, Regis page alright.
This is judge, just the, hey hey.
Stef.
Just found sustained store phone
but hello hello. Hello.
Hey, ceremonies.
Since First of all thanks
okay hey so that way.
All if it huh okay, but it 2.
They wouldn't wouldn't okay.
Hey, sheesh, okay ohh Hello hello,
ignorance.
The little bit bigger where you are.
Hey girl.
More, okay.
The alright bro.

-- an automated transcript of background conversation from our office just now

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How NOT to use Email vs. How TO use Email

It feels like spam when you get information you didn't ask for.

Am I right?

We all do it.

You read something... some article or something... and you think of
someone....

"Ahhhh.. Anthony might be interested in this!"

...and then you forward that information to Anthony.

When Anthony gets that email (or text message or whatever), it "feels
like" spam.

99.99% of the time... People don't WANT to receive information they
didn't ask for.

What's better?

"Hey, Anthony! How are you today? Some guy sent me this
information about a shared office space in Midtown West. I
immediately thought of you.... Want me to send you the details?"

THAT is what people want. .....a personal message ....asking
permission ...before sending details.

Don't be lazy.

Respect the time of your friends.

It's simple.

ASK PERMISSION before sending information to people.

( By the way, I wrote this item as a reminder to MYSELF. ;)

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Our Love/Hate Relationship with Forwarding Items via Email: I Propose a New Worldwide Email Syntax Etiquette

I propose a new worldwide email syntax.... a new etiquette, really.

Here are two really important ideas that I think could improve email
for everyone... even without any major new advances in technology:

IDEA NUMBER ONE

When you forward an article or video to me, append the word " //
reading " to the very end of the Subject line.

Like:

Subject: NEW YORK TIMES New Web Service Solves the What to Watch
Conundrum // reading

Then... I created a FILTER within my email application -- (gmail, in
my case) -- to automatically take EVERY MESSAGE CONTAINING THE WORD
"reading" in the Subject line.... and...

(1) Mark it as "NOT IMPORTANT" (in gmail's priority inbox
system) ...and...

(2) Add the tag "reading" to it (optionally) ...or...

(3) Automatically Archive it (optionally)

This way, personal messages written specifically to you... will still
get the Important Priority. Your forwarded articles and videos get
tagged and marked as Not Important (or Low Priority).... or even
Archived or Deleted... all automatically.

So, here's what you have to do:

(A) Tell everyone you know to add the word " // reading " to the
end of everything they forward to you.

As one example, my email signature includes this line:
"Please don't FORWARD anything to me unless you add the word
'reading' to the very end of the Subject line. Thank you for your
consideration."

(B) Create an appropriate Filter within your email application to
filter those "reading" messages appropriately... for you...
according to your own personal preferences.

It could be enforced by requesting all of your friends and family to
do so... in one line in your email signature.

IDEA NUMBER TWO

This is a very low-tech idea.... and is intended to be used in
addition to the first idea... or separately.

Communicate.

(1) When someone forwards an item to you that you really LOVED....
Reply with a, "That was awesome! Thanks!"

(2) When someone forwards an item to you that you really were
totally not interested in.... Reply with a, "I love you but...
Please don't forward items like this to me."

The idea is simple.

Sometimes we really WANT to get those cool tech articles from our good
friend George.... But we really DON'T want those crappy political
emails he also sends.

Email filtering is pretty much an all-or-nothing proposition. You
have to decide between: Automatically Archive EVERY message from
George... or NO messages from George.

So why not put some of the burden on HIS human brain...? He IS your
friend, after all.

Simple TELL him.

When he sends you political emails, say: "I love you but... Please
don't forward items like this to me."

When he sends you tech news about the new phone you just bought, say:
"That was awesome! Thanks!"

When he sends you the religious inspirational video by email, say: "I
love you but... Please don't forward items like this to me."

You get the idea.

Hot Tip: Use Gmail's Labs feature called "Canned Responses" to save
both of the above responses. That way you can reply with the "THANKS"
response, or the "NO THANKS" response, super fast and easy... with
only one click of your mouse!

Better ideas? Please post them in the comments below....

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Email Processing Best Practice in 140 Characters

Email Processing Best Practice in 140 Characters....

Doing Email: (1) One Line Reply Works? Reply+Archive (2) Needs Read/Attention at Desk? Star+Archive (3) Chat? Archive (4) Don't Want? Filter.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Why I Would Never Recommend a Roku TV Box

I asked Roku if it's possible to watch downloaded media, TV, movies,
etc.. from your own computer or network or hard drive.

Here is the reply I just received:

_______________________

Dear Bruce,
Thank you for contacting ROKU Customer Service. My Name is Sunil and I
will be helping you with your query.
We apologize for the inconvenience and delay in responding to your
valuable query.
As of now Roku player does not support this feature.We do not have any
ETA on this.
You could find channels details from this link.
http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store
In future we may extend our partnership with different service.
No updates from our development team regarding this till now.
Any update will be communicated through the ROKU official website.
Please feel free to email us for further queries.
Thank you for providing us with an opportunity to assist you and thank
you for choosing ROKU.
Best Regards,
Sunil
Roku Customer Service.

_______________________

Sorry. Wrong answer.

That defeats the whole purpose of why I would ever recommend a TV box...

I recommend the "Boxee Box" or the "WD HD Live" box.

Only Love,

Bruce

BRUCE RECOMMENDS: We saved $110 per month when we canceled our cable
box... How to Download ANYTHING you want FREE, easy, safe, & LEGAL:
http://freezonetv.com

Feel free to text message me or call me:  646-580-0022

There's only one....  http://OnlyOneTV.com    ;)

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Facebook Time Machine

If Facebook existed years ago...

Only Love,

Bruce

There's only one....  http://OnlyOneTV.com    ;)

You can text message or call me on:  646-580-0022

All of our contact details are here:  http://is.gd/dyFUR

BRUCE RECOMMENDS:  We saved $110 per month when we canceled our cable
box... How to Download ANYTHING you want FREE, easy, safe, & LEGAL:
http://freezonetv.com

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How to Save Hundreds of Dollars per Month while Living in the State of the Art in Productive Technology

I've decided to change Bredtech into a Personal Technology Consultancy practice... where I consultant with people on everything from smart phones to HDTVs to PCs to phone service... teaching them how to save hundreds of dollars a month, while living in the state of the art in productive technology.

Cool, eh?

New rates will be 200 per hour here or over the phone, or 250 per hour at your home/office.

Bruce Wagner
646-789-5960
http://bredtech.com

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How We Use Dropbox as List Manager -- Collaborative -- on Steroids

We simply use one single Dropbox account... (and the Dropbox App for Android, and the Dropbox App for iPhone, and the Dropbox App for Ubuntu Linux, Windows, Mac, Blackberry, etc.) to open any of an unlimited number of plain text files called:

• To Do List
• Shopping List
• Master Projects Outline
• etc., etc. (as many as you can think of)

It works flawlessly and instantly synchs all changes to all 14 of my computers and all 3 of my phones -- even if I edit the files while on an airplane, or on a subway, (with No Service)... 

It synchs instantly as soon as it gets a signal....

Dropbox even has it's own built-in text editor.

It works on EVERY platform...  and is even accessible without any software...  from the Dropbox.com web site...  even from a cyber cafe in Pattaya, Thailand...

Dropbox is free up to 2GB of space.  But, of course, we find it to be indispensable and we use it as our "file server in the sky"... so we have a pay account and have about 120GB of storage space on it.

WE LOVE DROPBOX.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

The 7 Ways to Slow Aging

1. Don’t ever smoke. Smoking is not only hazardous to your lungs and cardiovascular health, but is also found to increase rate of telomere shortening <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507852> , which can lead to dysfunction and instability of chromosomes.
2. De-stress your life. The more stress you have in your life, the greater risk <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15574496>  of increasing the rate of telomere shortening and aging more quickly. How to slow it down? As simple as it might sound, the key is to always have a positive outlook <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19111922>  on life. Plus, enjoy a vacation once in a while, enjoy friends and social activities, receive plenty of sleep every night, and try meditation <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19735238> .
3. Exercise regularly. By increasing amounts of physical activity, especially intense physical activity, research <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19948976>  shows you could keep your telomeres long and healthy, even buffering <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20520771>  the effects of chronic stress.
4. Get your antioxidants daily. When high amounts of free radicals attack cells (causing oxidative stress <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12114022> ), they leave no stone unturned making chromosomes and their telomeres vulnerable to shortening. You can best protect yourself by getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet from eating fruits and vegetables daily and supplements.
5. Never go without fish oil. Fish oil contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are well-known for being healthy to the heart, but recent evidence <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20085953>  has shown that increasing amounts in the diet is associated also with slowing telomere shortening over time. You can get enough by eating fish a couple of times per week and by supplementing with long-chain omega-3s daily.
6. Get enough of the “sunshine vitamin.” Several discoveries have made vitamin D the most popular nutrient of the decade because of its many benefits including an association <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20376837>  with longer telomere length. You can make sure you’re getting enough by practicing safe sun exposure and supplementing with vitamin D daily.
7. Practice safe weight loss. Maintaining a healthy weight is important to keep telomeres long. Incorporating Isagenix products into your weight-loss program such as cleansing and replacing meals with IsaLean shakes and bars is helpful for losing weight and slowing telomere shortening.  

( Source:  Isagenix.   See http://isamovie.com  Contact me for more information at: bruce@brucewagner.com )

Only Love,  

Bruce & Ed

There's only one....  http://OnlyOneTV.com    ;)  

You can text message or call me on:  646-580-0022  

Contact us here:  http://is.gd/dyFUR  

You really need to follow me on Twitter... to stay up with what's going on in my brain...

Bruce Wagner (brucewagner) on Twitter:   http://twitter.com/brucewagner

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Why I Won't be Recommending MetroPCS Any More -- Starting Today

As I just tweeted,

FAIL: "Speed isn't what we are trying to do," Ed Chao, senior VP of
corporate engineering & network operations, MetroPCS. (from
http://is.gd/fqN74 )

And Verizon isn't much better...

"Verizon indicated data speeds on its forthcoming LTE network will
provide average speeds of between 5 Mbps and 12 Mbps." (also from
http://is.gd/fqN74 )

Both networks are obviously WAY under-utilizing the LTE technology.
Speed tests have been done in Japan providing data speeds of up to 300
Mbps.

These speed predictions are Lame... a Huge disappointment.

And now that I know that MetroPCS is only implementing LTE for their
own cost savings... and NOT to benefit the users.... I won't be
recommending MetroPCS any more. Starting today.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

My Letter to Ping.fm - Yes, 'Something is Broke'

Dear, http://Ping.fm

"Something is Broke"

I get this error message 20-30 times a day.

I believe it's true.

Something is terribly "Broke" with your Dashboard.

It never used to do this... before....

You made some change to the Dashboard... (Is it always active and
running or something now...?)

Anyway, I have to Refresh the page every time I use it... Or else I
almost ALWAYS get, "Something is Broke".

No longer amusing. :)

Bruce Wagner

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

An Open Letter to Google: My Wish List for Google Voice

I would love it if I could REPLY to an EMAIL "Notification of a new
Voicemail"... even if that person is not in my Contacts address
book... and have my REPLY go back out to him/her as a TEXT MESSAGE.

In other words, when I reply to a "New voicemail from..." email, I
want the CHOICE to have my email Reply sent back to the caller as....
(1) as an EMAIL... or (2) as a TEXT MESSAGE... EVEN IF THAT PERSON IS
NOT IN MY CONTACTS address book...

See what I mean...?

Only Love,

Bruce

There's only one....  http://OnlyOneTV.com    ;)

You can text message or call me on:  646-580-0022

Contact us here:  http://is.gd/dyFUR

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How to Use Email Properly (Instead of Letting It Use You!)

Email can be your productivity downfall....

Or it can be your productivity Godsend.

It's all in How You Use It.

I treat emails like text messages now.  I look at every incoming email instantly on my phone (Gmail).  I then either:  (1) Archive it, or (2) Reply with a one-line reply & Archive it, or (3) If it needs further attention I Star it & then Archive it.  Then, later at my desk, I'll use my Priority Inbox to see "All Starred" messages.  Each of those need an entry copied & pasted to my To Do List and/or my Master Projects Outline.  Once I've done that, I simply remove the Star (& it stays archived).

Also, every time I think of a great idea... or something I need to do, or to buy... or whatever... I email to myself.... the idea.  Then, I process those emails exactly the same way I do all the others -- as described above.

The result is:

People who need an instant answer from me -- like,  "Are you still interested in that $1million contract?" -- get an instant answer -- like,  "Yes!  I absolutely am! :) "

People who just wanna chat usually get ignored (unless I'm really bored myself! :)

Every time I think of a brilliant idea, I get it captured to a place where it belongs -- even if it happens when I have no pen and no cell service.

I'm able to follow through on commitments to others better, and on commitments to myself better too!

I can also process those "Starred" emails even when I'm away from the computer now....  because I keep my To Do List, and my Master Projects Outline, and my Shopping List, etc... as simple text file documents on my computer.... I can use Dropbox to edit those documents from ANY of my computers, or from ANY of my phones, remotely!  Even on an airplane or a subway ride!   The instant my phone gets a cell signal again, all changes to all documents are replicated to ALL of my computers and phones... instantly!

Love technology!

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

The Epidemic of Email. Email's NOT work. It's Interruption. It's Exceptions. Communication shouldn't interfere with Work.

Here's what you need to keep in mind about email...

Email is NOT work.

Email is Interruptions.

Email is Exceptions.

Communication should NOT interfere with real work (i.e. productivity).

1. Record a voicemail greeting, in your own voice, which suggests...
"Sorry I missed your call... Please keep trying to reach me live.
Or, for a fast reply, please send me a text message, or an email..."

2. Get all communications instantly using an Android phone's
universal Notification Bar inbox.

3. Use Google Voice's "notifications via email" features to be
instantly notified of: incoming voicemail messages, text messages,
emails, and even missed calls.

4. Reply quickly with a one-line reply. Instantly click Send, then
click Archive. Get back to productive work.

5. DO NOT REPLY... if the message is just informational, or chat.
Take a quick skim of it. If you need to give it more attention, or
read it more carefully later, then "Star" it and instantly click
"Archive". Replying to a chatty message almost always generates....
more chatty messages.... endlessly. One of the most powerful
communication tools you have is simply to... Not Reply.

6. Don't let a message take your attention away from what you're
working on. If a message is going to need further attention, or needs
added to your To Do list or Projects Outline, then "Star" the message
in Gmail and click "Archive". Later, when you are at your desk and
it's time to do so... Use your Gmail "Priority Inbox" feature to go
through each of the "Starred" and "Read" emails and copy & paste them
into the appropriate To Do list or Projects Outline or whatever...
Then, Archive them. NOTE: In Gmail's Priority Inbox, set the center
section to "More Options" --> "Starred"... so that it shows "All
Starred". This way, you can Star an item and then Archive it. It
will still show up in the center section until you Un-Star it (marking
that you have handled it, or copied the relevant information to the
appropriate list to be dealt with).

7. Save, and Carefully Organize, all documents in a shared Dropbox
account. Use the Dropbox "Pack Rat" feature to save every version
forever -- even if it gets deleted.

8. Use Google Docs only when you need to simultaneously edit a single
document, spreadshret, etc.

9. Use Google Calendar to share and collaborate on calendars for
different purposes.

10. Use Android phones with its specialized Apps for: Gmail, Google
Calendar, and Dropbox, for superior mobile productivity.... even from
your phone.

ALSO: Great Video on this topic: http://is.gd/flBfn

Only Love,

Bruce & Ed

There's only one....  http://OnlyOneTV.com    ;)

You can text message or call me on:  646-580-0022

Contact us here:  http://is.gd/dyFUR

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Untitled

I just linked my http://Ping.fm Post by Email account to a new blogger blog... This is a test. :)

via Ping.fm

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

I hardly ever get a voicemail message. Yet my clients get near instantaneous results /replies. HOW?

Google Voice does more than email your voicemail to you.

It emails your Missed Calls to you too!

You can even Reply to the Missed Call email... and it will send the caller an email back!

As for filling your inbox.... 2 things:

1.  Archive them quickly.

2.  Call 646-580-0022 and listen to MY voicemail greeting.  Many professional business consultants and coaches are using MY voicemail greeting as a template...
Recommending to their clients that they copy my example.

Result:  I hardly ever get a voicemail message.  Yet my clients get near instantaneous results /replies. 

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How to be More Effective at Communication in this Connected World we now Live in

Here's how I do it...

What you will need:

• a free Gmail account     ( see gmail.com )
• a free Google Voice account   ( see google.com/voice )
• an Android phone with the free Google Voice app, Gmail app, and Google Calendar app

Even though I'm very rarely -- almost never -- available for chit chat.....

I'm almost always available for emergencies... and very urgent and important situations.   

That is to say...   ...situations that I consider urgent and important (not necessarily situations that only the other person considers urgent or important).

No matter whether the message comes in through voicemail, text message, email, instant messaging, or even facebook, or twitter....   It could, potentially, be very urgent and important to me...

I almost instantly reply to every measage with at least something like,  "Hi. What's up?"

If the message is urgent and important to me, I handle it immediately...

If not, I reply with something like, "Cool. Busy now. We'll chat later. Ok? xoxo"

If idle chit chat messages come in (from the same person) after that....  I simply don't reply.

I use my Android phone to reply to all these types of messages instantly. 

I get to the bottom of what the person wants immediately...  and as soon as I'm sure it's just chit chat, I tell them I can't chat... and I stop replying.

I use my phone to read every new email message instantly.  If the email requires a one-line reply, I reply instantly.   If the email will require more time, more reading, more research, etc.... then I mark the email with a "star" in my Gmail app....   Then, the next morning when I'm at my desk, I use Gmail's new Priority Inbox feature to organize the priority....  and process all those 'starred' messages appropriately....  Either dealing with them (if it'd take less than 2 minutes each), or by adding it to my own To Do List (which I maintain in Google Docs).

This is how I deal with the processing of my communications.... and why I am so effective, and accessible... to so many people.

It takes 2 seconds -- maximum -- to reply to a text message or an email with, "What's up?".   

It takes the same amount of time...  2 seconds... no matter whether I do it instantly... or three days later.

If I don't respond instantly, I miss opportunities.   ( like the six free tickets a friend is offering me to see Wicked on Broadway tonight! )    That's real money lost.

If I do respond instantly, decide if it's important and urgent to me or not, and only deal with it if it is....  it costs me nothing.   I do text messaging and emails while I'm waiting for an elevator, while I'm walking to the men's room, while I'm waiting for anything, whenever I'm alone...  any time I have a free moment.... all the time.   It's time I wouldn't be doing anything else anyway.... so it's not time wasted.    And it saves alot of time dealing with that stuff later, at my office, the next day, etc.

I also use Google Calendar to collaborate calendars with my closest family and co-workers.   This way I can see that Ed has a meeting from 3pm to 4pm today... within seconds of him booking it...  without him even telling me....  all from my phone!   

I also use Google Talk for instant text messaging.  It's very convenient, free for everyone, it comes in at the other person's computer and their Android phone, and if the other person isn't available to reply... it automatically converts the message into an email, so they can reply via email later.   It works brilliantly!

These new technologies are amazing, and if you're not using them to their fullest.... You're losing out.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Ever heard of the new network marketing company called Isagenix? What about Quality?

I'm still trying to get one piece of crucial information from the company, but I'm having a terrible time trying to get answers to my questions...

It's a very simple question....    Well, three questions, actually....

1. Are all the ingredients Organic?  ( see http://is.gd/f105n )
2. If so, why do they NEVER mention the word "organic" ANYWHERE on their web sites, videos, marketing materials, product information, product labels, etc., etc., etc...?
3. Does the product manufacturing totally support Sustainable Agriculture?  ( see http://is.gd/f0ZIY ) 

The company has yet to answer me...

Organic?

They seem to beat around the bush a lot.   

Some people tell me that all the ingredients are organic... but only in private conversations, or via email....  It's never in writing, in print, on any official web site or product literature....  not even on a company blog.    

Something's not right....   and I can't seem to get a straight answer as to why...

Are we the only people asking this question...?

Do customers of Isagenix take these products, and their quality, seriously...?   Or are they just ok with being fed lines and lines of marketing hype?

From their blog web site about product nutrition, we were referred only to this page to answer our questions:  http://is.gd/f0YDZ 

It's great that they Test all of their ingredients...    But Where do these ingredients Come From?   And What, exactly, are they testing For?   They're very Vague about it...   They talk about what  "respectable companies" ... "should" do....   

But they almost never explicitly tell you what THEY do.  ....except where they mention the industry standard and FDA compliance stuff.   

So we are left to believe that they follow the same Rigid Nutritional Quality Standards as the product manufacturing of.....  Kraft.....  and Cheez-Its....?

It seems clear to me that they're being intentionally evasive by their choice of words.

Why can't they tell us where these ingredients are coming from?     

What countries even?     What pesticides are allowed in those countries?     Countries which allow use of DDT, which is banned in the United States?

Are they farming the ingredients themselves?     Are they harvested from the wild?     Are they buying them wholesale?     And from where?

Are the ingredients Organic?    Farmed?    Wild?   

And what about Sustainability?

If you're going to create a business based on natural products....   Are you looking out for Mother Earth...  and the Farmer...?   Or, are you just buying ingedients wholesale from somewhere on the open market?

Sustainability?

Sustainable Agriculture is just as important as product quality.  (see http://is.gd/f0ZIY )   It's a whole ecosystem you have to provide for the product.....  in order to sustain its quality, continued availability, and to insure that it doesn't contain any GMO (genetically modified organisms, see http://is.gd/f0Zcn ).

Isn't it important to know all these answers....  If you're going to put your OWN name on them....  to promote them to your friends, family, and loved ones....?

In today's culture, it's critical to provide answers to these questions.  Everyone, at least in our circles, wants to know the answers to these questions.

Otherwise, ya may as well believe what the FDA and Kraft Foods tells you about nutrition....

To the Food Manufacturers of the World:    We aren't stupid.   Not anymore.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

A New Best Practice for Personal and Business Telephone Usage for 2011

At first this might sound odd...  But think about it...

I'm in a grocery store, for example. I get a voicemail. I have to wait till I'm outside, with a good signal, and it's a quiet place, and I have privacy for my call... and time to chat... in order to return the call.

If I receive a text message or email, on the other hand, I can reply to it instantly -- literally, in seconds -- even with No Service, even in front of other people, in 2 seconds, even in the middle of a church service, if necessary.  It's just a more efficient method.  ....a new best practice. 

So...   I've decided to make all of my personal and business voicemail greetings say something very similar to this...

"Hello. Thanks for calling. This is Bruce Wagner (of BredTV).  Sorry I missed your call.  Please call me again until you reach me live.  Or, for a fast reply, please send me a text message, or an email.  Send me a text message to this same number, 646-580-0020, or an email, to bruce@bredtv.com  Thanks.  I'll speak with you soon."

....then I repeat this whole thing one more time in its entirety... to insure that they actually hear the message.

I think this is the future.  If you miss me on a live phone call... text message me to get a quick question answered, to tell me what you're calling about, or to schedule a mutually convenient time to chat on the phone... or even to schedule an in-person meeting.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

I was just commenting on Facebook about Craig Newmark, the creator and founder of Craigslist...

I can attest that Craig is the "realest" celebrity on the entire
planet ...and one of the most impressive people I've ever met in my
life ....because of his amazing convictions, and his ability to stick
to them so steadfastly. But he's so modest, he also hates when people
say stuff like this... He claims that he's "no big deal". ;) But in
reality, of course, he is a very very big deal. Much bigger than most
people think... the way most people think of craigslist. He is
changing the entire world in profound ways--far more than most humans
could imagine. We love you, Craig. Thanks for being YOU!

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Two Questions Everyone Asks that Make me Nuts!

There're two questions that absolutely drive me NUTS.

I don't know the best, most concise & clear way to answer them.

(1) "How much advance notice do you need?"

Why do people ask that?

What kind of answer could they possibly expect?

My availability depends on my appointments; not on some arbitrary "advance notice" rule.

How am I supposed to answer that very clearly, yet very concisely...?

The second question people always ask that makes me crazy is:

(2) "Are you free next Monday?"

If my calendar is clear, I say yes.  Then they say, "Ok. I'll have to see how my calendar goes and let you know."

They never do.

Then Monday morning comes.... and they call me....

But by then, my day is booked solid!

They get all upset!

They say, "I asked you a week ago and you said you were free on Monday!"

Does that mean I will STAY free all day on Monday just for you -- even tho you didn't make an appointment???

What are the best answers to these questions?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Coolest ringtone ever. :)

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Dialup_ringtone.mp3 (210 KB)

the memories.....

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Screw Apple / Steve Jobs and his puritanical tyranny!

Following is my OPEN LETTER TO THE DEVELOPERS OF THE ENCOUNTR APP:

You guys REALLY need to create a web-based interface for Encountr......

One made specifically for iPhone users.... so they can use Encountr and see all the nudity they want....

And one for normal PC users too....

All matching with all the same users.
Screw Apple / Steve Jobs and his puritanical tyranny!

See also:
http://www.queerty.com/16-grindr-profiles-now-banned-under-the-new-puritan-rules-20100414/

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

I now carry BOTH: an android & a phone. I love it! The Android is an HTC Evo, the phone is a MetroPCS Kyocera ($4), service is Google Voice

Yes.

Unlimited Everything.
The two combined are LESS than I used to pay for ONE.
I have two providers so I have 100% coverage.
When you call me, both phones ring.
I have 24 different business numbers ALL ringing in to the MetroPCS phone as well... with the caller id showing me WHICH business they called!
Also, I can read the web, email, apps, etc while talking to you on the phone - with the web in one hand and the phone in the other.
Not to mention, the battery lasts seemingly forever!  My phone battery lasts 3-5 days! ...because I use it only as a phone.
And my Android battery also lasts 2-4 times longer because I never use it as a phone... only data, email, web.
MetroPCS is awesome quality service.  Unlimited Everything.  $40 per month. 
Google Voice is free. You can have 30 or so that all ring in on one phone....
You can have a unique phone number (with sms service too) for each of your businesses, hobbies, organizations, or other special purposes.  .....all for free!
It's a brilliantly useful setup!

Soon, I'll draw a detailed diagram for you to see how I've laid it out.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Our friends and family ask, "Why the new phone numbers for you guys?" / We answer...

Why the new number?

Even after a year, Ed and I could not remember what digits SPELL, "ED-GEL-BY-DAY".....

And I kinda liked....

0022 Bruce
0033 Ed
0044 Bred Media
0066 Viewer Feedback
0077 Bred Media (en Espanol)
0099 Viewer Feedback (en Espanol)

It's easy for us to remember.

Plus, since they're all Google Voice, all of them can receive text messages too.

I hope and expect this to be the last phone number change for a long long time.

:)

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Android / Droid Gmail App Hangs on Sending - The Cause & The Solution

This Android / Gmail App bug, as documented here in this forum thread (as well as many other forum threads on the net) http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-applications/26952-gmail-app-wont-send.html ...still exists.

The Solution:  The method of clearing the data for both the Gmail and the Gmail Data apps, described is the thread above, works every time.  Just go to Home --> Menu --> Settings --> Applications --> Manage Applications --> Menu --> Filter --> Show ALL Applications --> select Gmail --> Clear Data --> Back --> select Gmail Data --> Clear Data.   That fixes it.   After a few moments, Gmail Synch will have restored everything from the internet.... down to your phone, and all will be in synch again.

The Cause:  I believe I may have discovered the cause.  Someone somewhere mentioned that they suspected it might be a file locking issue.  In my case, I use an app called TapeMachine Recorder.  I record a voice message, then select Share, then via Gmail.  I now believe the cause of the problem was that the app still remains open with a copy of the same file open. And I get the "hung on Sending forever" situation.

Now, I follow the same steps, but....  as soon as I send the file via Gmail, I immediately open a new blank document (select New Recording) - effectively closing the current recording file - and bingo!  I haven't had the problem again since.

Conclusion:  Whenever you send something out as a Gmail attachment, be careful to then immediately close that document -- or make sure that any apps that may have it open, close it.   Remember, on Android, apps don't close.... so exiting the app is not enough to close the document (file) that the app has open.  You must explicitly close the file within the app... or open a new file within the app.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Send a voicemail from an airplane or subway at 4am without ringing his phone!

  
Download now or listen on posterous

untitled05.wav (5168 KB)

I love this new app! I can send a voicemail to you from a subway at 4am without ringing your phone!

Play the attached audio file...

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Android vs iPhone 4

There's a graph of phone sales trends somewhere that tells the entire picture clearly.

Market share is NOT Sales..... obviously.

iPhone and RIM are both declining like a fast rollercoaster downhill.

Meanwhile, Android is storming straight upward.

HTC Evo has been out 4 days now.... and it's breaking all sales records for Sprint.

The days of Blackberry and iPhone dominating the US market are behind us.

Android Linux has won.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Having an issue with the Bredtech business model.

Having an issue with the Bredtech business model. We provide unlimited support. But....

The support issues we're getting are all in 1 of 2 categories: (1) What is copy & paste? ...or (2) Hardware issues with old hardware.

Not sure how to deal with these issues...

Tell them in advance: Basic computer training costs extra? Old hardware (6-12 yrs old) is not guaranteed to work?

How should I deal with this?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

And on the Seventh Day, God Made Ubuntu. All Was Well. 2 Awesome Companies Changed the Entire World this Week!

In one fell swoop...

In ONE WEEK...

The whole world has been changed.

FOSS (free open source software), I think is best described as: "A
movement..... A movement of programmers and computer developers all
over the world volunteering and donating their time to create and
improve software.... and then giving that software away... for
free.... as their personal gift to the world... as a gift to all
humanity."

One great example of FOSS is the computer operating system that you
use more than any other. You use Web Sites (Linux), the internet
(Linux), Google and all Google services (Linux), TiVo (Linux), Android
phones (Linux), NASA's Mars Lunar Rovers (Linux), and the list goes on
and on and on....

Linux has been continually being improved for about 50 years now....
by volunteer programmers. That's why it is the best in the world.

I know you've heard of a company called Google...

Another company.... called EditShare ....you might not have heard of before.

But... You've read the headlines this week... Haven't you?

"Oscar and Emmy Award Winning Video Editor Comes to Ubuntu"
http://is.gd/clL6r (and to get it.... http://is.gd/clLhA )

Some professionals claim it is THE BEST video editor in the
entire world... OF ALL ON ANY PLATFORM. Better than Avid, Final Cut
Pro, etc.

It's called, Lightworks.... by EditShare.

The reason it lost

This new contribution to the world of FOSS... is an enormous game-changer.

But... even it.... Pales in comparison to the announcement this
week by Google....

Google announced, at the "Google I/O Developers Conference" this week,
that the new superior, patent un-encumbered, video format for the web,
dubbed "WebM"..... (which, for you techies, is a new name for a
container for VP8 video + Vorbis audio codecs, see
http://webmproject.org )...

Google.... BOUGHT IT.... and then they immediately GAVE IT
AWAY..... to YOU. Merry Christmas in May!

That's right. They purchased it. Then they Open Sourced it. And
now the entire world is free to use it. Royalty-free. Free Open
Source.

And.... Google is currently in the process of CONVERTING ALL OF
YOUTUBE into it this new format. NOW! ( see How to Play WebM
Video on YouTube http://is.gd/clMag ) WOW!

Soon..... And When I say "Soon", I mean, "Within a COUPLE OF
MONTHS"...... The entire internet will have standardized on WebM ---
THE FOSS FORMAT FOR ALL AUDIO AND VIDEO.

This is HUGE! No longer will there be "MP3 Players"....
EVERYTHING will be WebM.... (for video).... and Vorbis...... (for
audio). Superior quality. And totally Free (as in Freedom). No
royalties to pay some Patent-holder.

What does all this mean to YOU.... the average end-user?

It means that 10,000 times more programmers and developers and
creative content creators..... from all over the world.... will be
competing fairly.... to bring you new cool awesome programs, software,
apps, and content.... because they won't have to pay huge fees to do
it!

Isn't the world of FOSS an awesome thing!

People working with, and helping, People. Nothing can beat it!

The World Has Been Changed This Week.

Mark My Words.

If you don't get how big of a deal this is.... Just remember what
I've told you.... And in the future, remember that "you heard it
here first"...

Only Love,

Bruce

http://bredtv.com
646-368-0000
http://bredtech.com
646-719-9000
bruce@brucewagner.com

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Oscar winning Lightworks Open-Source Video editor –IS- Coming to Ubuntu Linux

Read this Comment below...

Then follow the link to the article he's talking about.

THIS IS HUGE NEWS FOR UBUNTU LINUX.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Disqus" <notifications-KBXUG2U870@disqus.net>
Date: May 22, 2010 9:36 AM
Subject: [omgubuntu] Re: Oscar winning Lightworks Open-Source Video editor –IS- Coming to Linux
To: <bruce@brucewagner.com>

Pete_G (unregistered) wrote, in response to Calvin:

For those of you that have never used LW, if it is indeed ported to Linux, you are going to be very happy indeed. I've used it for almost 20 years and can confidently say that it's a fantastic application, especially for straight-forward cutting, where it is faster and more flexible than ANY NLE out there. Don't be put off by the apparent simplicity of the interface, everything you want is there. The GUI is unique and doesn't conform to any other paradigm, there is no menu bar, all menus are context sensitive. It has many unique features; a very powerful, flexible timeline for easy trimming, the ability to have multiple timelines and viewers on screen at any time, analogue audio scrubbing to die for, a fully databased backend allowing for easy FIND functions on large projects and it has always been designed to be used with a special controller that has a STEENBECK like paddle lever to control playing, backwards and forwards at many speeds coupled with user definable buttons for common  editing commands such as Mark,Insert,Overwrite,Delete etc. It has always been stable and backs up in the background, invisibly. Only in the VFX area is it weaker than the competition and possibly in it's abilty to deal well with newer file formats, although I suspect it will catch up on this soon. It is so simple to use that it is suitable for both amateur and professional use. It lost it's market to Avid in the same way as Betamax lost it's battle with VHS, not because it was an inferior product but because of many other reasons.

Believe me, get excited.

Link to comment: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/05/oscar-winning-lightworks-open-source.html#comment-51510269

-----
Options: Respond in the body to post a reply comment.

To turn off notifications, go to: ht...

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Canonical's Big Fail with the Premature Release of Ubuntu Linux 10.04

But what the heck happened!? Did Canonical fail bigtime due to a
forced 6-month release schedule rushing the product out the door?

Perhaps the thinking was/is that fixes can always be done afterward...
and continuously... HOWEVER, if the darn OS won't BOOT... from the
LiveCD... You've got SERIOUS problems on your hands.

How can anyone recommend to their friends an OS which won't even boot
(black screen of death) from the LiveCD...???

I think Canonical is going to have no choice but to do an interim
update of their LiveCD ISO image asap... BEFORE the next release in
October. We cannot have a LiveCD that won't boot... for 6 months... No
way. Not acceptable. What happened to the quality control testing?
This is an enormous fail. If they don't test ANYTHING else... They
need to test that the darn LiveCD boots correctly on every known PC /
video combination they can possibly come up with.

Everything else can be fixed with updates... But BOOTING is a total
deal-breaker. Nothing works if you can't boot it, and install it, and
then boot the installation.

I'm running a business where I am recommending Ubuntu to everyone.
This is embarrassing, to say the least. I'm just going to have to tell
people that they're going to have to have US install it for them. This
process is nothing that any ordinary user should EVER be forced to
even hear about... much less, attempt on their own.

Not to mention the fact that Canonical labeled this release an LTS
release... meaning "Long Term Support". That means that it's
supposed to be around for a very long time. But there's no way it
can be... not in its current form.

I hope Canonical's quality control team has learned a valuable lesson
from all of this.

And we, the users, might want to learn from this too. I've always
said, the safest place to be is.... six months BEHIND...

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

If you can't bring yourself to Delete your Facebook account yet, at Least do this:

Remember, log out of Facebook every time when you are done. Don't just close the tab! Facebook considers you to be still logged in and collecting data from your browsing activity on "partner sites" to other sites... Spying on your internet activity and reporting it back to everyone!

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Android Sync Running Continuously Nonstop

The synch on my Android phone (Motorola Droid) was running CONSTANTLY... slowing down everything to a crawl! I finally just now went in to my sync settings and discovered what was syncing. The official Twitter client for Android. It was trying to match up the 10,600 followers I have on Twitter to my addressbook!!?!? Running nonstop 24/7. And slowing everything else to a near standstill.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Why Can't Android Developers Get Podcast Playback to Work Well?

I love my Android phone (handheld computer, really)....   And I love listening to my podcasts.... like Leo Laporte, FLOSS Weekly, etc.

However, I hate that my podcasts get interrupted almost every time!  Whether it's because Stitcher requires an uninterrupted signal for the entire duration...  Or because Google Listen is just buggy and crashes.... 

The ONLY reliable way I've found to listen to my podcasts is MANUALLY!  I have to go to the web site of the podcast and manually download the MP3 file (using my Android), and then use the simple Music player to listen to it.

This method works beautifully.  The Music player even remembers where I left off in listening to the podcast - even after a reboot!

The drawback is... It's not an app.  I have to do each download separately.

Come on developers.  This is 2010.  You can make apps like Google Listen, Stitcher, etc. work as reliably as the freaking Music player and manual mp3 downloading.  No!?!?

I'd love to see a button on each item, which could be touched On / Off.

On - would download and keep a local copy of the complete episode.
Off - would delete the local copy.

This way I could be assured that I could listen to those episodes uninterrupted on the subway or airplane.

The button should toggle on and off like the Star to Favorite. 

I just want my Podcasts to download automatically - in their entirety,  and play without crashing, and remember where I was through a reboot, and then delete the file when I tell it to.

And I wanna listen to my favorites WITH NO SERVICE.

Music works great. Why can't  podcasts?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

What institution could be more ANTI the teachings of Jesus....?

In 2004, "the pope" asked for forgiveness..... for....

The ruthless murders... by burning innocent and good people alive at the stake, imprisonment of others for life, and torture of others to secure confessions... in Jesus' name.  ...and the stealing of all their money, property, and material wealth... all ordained by The Holy Roman Catholic Church.   They called it The Holy Inquisition....

The Holy Roman Catholic Church declared the most murderous and ruthless of the Inquisitionors... to be Saints.

The Catholic Brothels run by priests and nuns in Ireland to provide prostiution services to all men in the country, for the monetary profit of The Catholic Church, by compulsory sex slavery of certain "orders" of "nuns"...

The slave labor and torture camps of The Magdeline Sisters, operating all the way up until the 1960s...

The condoned and abeded institutional pedophelia and sex abuse crimes still going on today.

And only God knows how many uncountable other evil acts we don't know about.

What institution could be more ANTI the teachings of Jesus....?

It's sad and pathetic.

What's truly blasphemy is to invoke the name of Jesus or God in defending the evil actions of the Catholic Royal Empire throughout history.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Spam You Didn't Send

You probably have a virus on at least one of the computers you use.

Also, anyone whom the virus emailed.... ( everyone that was in your
email addressbook.... ) who then clicked on the link in the spam
email.... may also now have that same virus.

Here's how to Fix it:

(1) Disinfect ALL of the computers you have used in the last six
months. All you need is the FREE version of the anti-virus program
you can get at: http://www.malwarebytes.org

(2) Then, immediately change ALL of your online passwords
(including your email, like AOL, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and your
online banking, etc.) FROM A KNOWN VIRUS-FREE CLEAN computer.

Good luck.

Questions? I'm happy to help.

Bruce Wagner

http://bredtech.com

646-719-9000

bruce@brucewagner.com

PS - Bookmark the link to THIS web page... and then send the link to
this web page to anyone who gets afflicted with this problem in the
future.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

4.1GB = Ubuntu 10.04 Fully Installed WITH 153 extra apps I love

4.1GB = Ubuntu 10.04 Fully Installed WITH 153 extra apps I love

The antidote to:

- bloatware
- viruses
- big brother software extortion
- low budget (free!)
- low resources (requires 256MB RAM, but 384MB is recommended)
- 4.1GB hard disk (including the 153 extra apps I love most)

Ubuntu 10.04 ROCKS! It's easier to use than any version of Mac or
Windows has ever been, and cheaper (free!) ....and 1,000 times better.
Trust me, I've used them all... for about 33 years now I've been an IT
pro. Your grandmother can use the new Ubuntu with NO instruction or
help.

Bruce Wagner
http://bredtech.com

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

I love Google...like a pet pit bull. I love it, but I keep one eye on it at all times and don't let it out of my sight

Regarding, "Verizon Chooses Droid Incredible Over Nexus One"
http://is.gd/bITN5

I don't mind a non-Google-branded phone. There's getting to be just a
bit TOO MUCH Google in my life. That company is so big it scares me.

Don't get me wrong... I use Google, Gmail, Google Voice, Calendar,
Docs, you name it...

But, given the opportunity... I don't mind buying from a company
without Google's fingers all in it...

As it is, Android OS is maintained by Google anyway... And the
Google-branded apps for it are NOT open source. They are as closed and
proprietary as Microsoft or Apple apps.

I love Google.... like a pet pit bull. I love it, but I keep one eye
on it at all times and don't let it out of my sight.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How FOSS Development Groups Could Bring in Lots More Money in Donations

Please spread this idea to all the FOSS (free open source software)
developers you know.

There should be a free app for Ubuntu which uses the machine's actual
usage statistics to calculate how much you use each application, and
each component of the underlying operating system... Then, matches
that usage time up with the Development Groups who maintain that
code... And offers a list of those groups... with a suggested fair
percentage for each...

In other words, if a user ( me for example ), wants to "tithe" --
financially contribute -- to the developers and development teams who
have created this wonderful masterpiece we call Ubuntu Linux and all
its various FOSS applications... I would love a list... showing all
the software applications and components I use most, and their
associated development teams, with a percentage next to each one (
based on my actual usage ).

I would then simply decide..... If I want to budget, say, $20 per
month as a contribution, I could break up that donation to the list of
various development teams / organizations... based on my real world
usage pastern.

Obviously, Canonical/Ubuntu does not create all the applications that
I use. They are not Linux. They are not GNOME. They are not
Mozilla. etc., etc. etc. Many improvements actually come from
various other different distributions altogether -- like Fedora or Red
Hat, for example.

Perhaps the same data that's collected by that "System -->
Administration --> Software Sources --> Statistics" tab thingie...
could be used...?

The resulting list could give me a list of the components and
applications I use most, broken down by percentages each, list the
associated development team responsible for the maintenance of that
code, and even a link to each team's donation web page.

Thoughts on this idea...?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Why Ubuntu is far superior to Windows and Mac

( This is my item in response to Jason Perlow's article for ZDNet
entitled, "Windows Malware: The final straw that broke the penguin's
back", see http://is.gd/bID1k )

I agree that Ubuntu is far superior to Windows and Mac.

However, Jason's case is NOT "...just the reaction of one man to
malware" ...as one commenter stated.

Millions of us have abandoned the crapware of Windows and Mac.... and
joined the bliss of Ubuntu. And more and more of us are doing so
every day.

Ubuntu is so much easier to use than any version of Windows of Mac has
ever been.

Ubuntu has far fewer hardware driver issues than any version of
Windows or Mac ever has... when used on the zillions of different
hardware platform combinations that exist out there.

We have been proudly Microsoft-free and Apple-free for several years
now. We have no need to even run Windows in a virtual machine.

The new 10.04 version of Ubuntu even does MORE than iTunes does for
iPod and iPhone users. Music can be easily copied TO and FROM the
iPod or iPhone with drag and drop ease -- something iTunes software
still refuses to do. ) ( Of course, even though we all have
iPhones, we all use Android Linux phones now. )

We love Ubuntu so much that I even started a business installing
Ubuntu for the "people who can barely use a mouse" crowd. They
absolutely love it! I give them unlimited tech support too... but
they rarely ever need any help!

Bruce Wagner
http://bredtech.com
646-719-9000

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Standard Partitioning Plan for All My Ubuntu Installs

I'm installing Ubuntu on hundreds of machines -- all different hardware -- and want to standardize things in an intelligent way.

The "remnants" left behind in the /home partition after a fresh install (when /home is a separate partition) , I don't like.

On the other hand, I want to be able to easily reinstall the Ubuntu OS and all apps 1-4 times every six months.  That's 2-8 times per year!

It makes no sense to me to backup, and then restore, up to 500-600GB of user data EVERY TIME -- not to mention that it's taking a huge risk of losing that data... each time.

Like you should be, I'm concerned about making my / partition ( which includes /home ) too small.  I'm also concerned about making my swap partition too small (for example, in the case of a tower with 8GB or more of RAM, and I want it to be capable of using the Hibernate function).

That's why the "standard" configuration I am proposing is:

Three partitions on every machine:

50GB for /
      ( where the /home is in this partition too )
10GB for swap
All Remaining Space for /data

On a re-install, the / is formatted (including the /home) , but the /data is not touched.

This way, Ubuntu, Gnome, and all software, finds the / and /home in the same partition, and cleanly freshly installed -- as any normal install would be.

Yet, the users data ( on /data which could be 600GB ) never needs moved because it is never touched.

Of course, I still advise users to backup their data before re-installing the OS,  but at least they don't need to restore from backup.  And even if they don't backup, their data shouldn't be touched anyway.

Giving the / partition 50GB should easily provide enough space for Ubuntu and all the dozens of apps I install ( grand totalling 9.4GB ), plus another 40.6GB which the user can use for any combination of:  additional apps, possible virtual machines, temporary workspace,  and/or temporary download space.

Make sense?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

My Odd Android Droid Wi-Fi Issue

Sometimes, at home, the net gets VERY slow.

It might be my own network.  We do a lot.

I turn Wi-Fi off. It uses 3G.  All is good.

Later, sometimes 3G signal flakes out. I turn Wi-Fi back on.  It works perfect. 

Odd.

It seems like I have to go back and forth.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Go ahead, Tyson, defend the indefensible. (My open letter to Tyson Foods)

To:  "Nicholson, Ed" <ed.nicholson@tyson.com>

( Director of PR for Tyson Foods )

Pretty much everything Tyson does.

Has your mom seen any of the documentary films yet?

It's no laughing matter.

How do you sleep at night?

You're job is to lie to the public about the evil activities of this corporate machine!?

Even your email footer "disclaimer" is very telling.   You think Tyson can "forbid" me from copying any email from you!?

Secrecy is where the evil hides.

"PR" is propaganda you're paid to spread.

Do you really think that I, and we, the public, are that stupid?

Is there ANYTHING..... Anything at all that Tyson does that is NOT pure evil....?

Maybe we should start there.

Defend actions that are indefensible. 
Go ahead.

Bruce Wagner
bruce@brucewagner.com

____________

Note to readers:  Tyson, Monsanto, and all the other evil chemical companies harming humanity for the sake of greed and profits want to keep this dialog off-line.  Hidden.  Out of the public eye.  I encourage you to not let them.  Keep the conversation public.  Post about it on Facebook.  Post about it on Twitter.  Blog about it.  Email all your friends about it - and about documentaries like "Food Inc." AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. 

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

iPad Shortage? Gimme a Break! Apple is a Leach on the backs of Artists worldwide & Least Green tech company on Earth!

iPad shortage?

Gimme a Break.

It's a Marketing Scam / Ploy.

Look: You're going to manufacture and launch a new product.

You have TWO CHOICES:

(1) Make too many, and end up with them collecting dust in a
warehouse somewhere.

Or...

(2) Make too few, and end up creating an artificial "shortage"...
which is great for hype, prestige, and psychologically makes people
believe that its sales exceeded all forecasts...

Which would YOU choose?

The choice is obvious.

Apple makes like 30% of the profits on ALL CONTENT. Apple is just a
leach on the backs of all artists and content creators everywhere.

Apple is also the LEAST GREEN major technology company in the word.
When the battery on your iPod, or iPad, or iPhone dies.... You are
forced, by Apple, to throw the entire computer/phone/device in the
TRASH! ( because replacing the battery costs the same as a new
device! )

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

THANK YOU to all the developers on ALL the teams! The upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx release appears to be the best desktop operating system ever created!

I would just like to express my gratitude to ALL the developers on ALL
the teams... many which are outside of Canonical/Ubuntu...
developers on so many various diverse teams... with members all over
this planet... whose commitment to their various projects, and hard
work... have resulted in this upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx
release.

It appears to be the best desktop operating system ever created. And...

I, for one, am so very grateful for all your hard work. The entire
human race will benefit so profoundly... It's beyond words.

Most people will have no clue as to the magnitude of the effect that
such works will have on human beings everywhere. It's beyond measure.

Thank you sooooooooooooooo much.

See http://bredtech.com

Bruce Wagner
646-719-9000

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

How to Automate the Customizatio of Ubuntu for Mass Installation

There are eight things I'm wondering if there is any way to automate.... like in a script.... or via a program or something.

They are:

Adding some launcher icons to the top panel

Changing / adding some Compiz Fusion settings

Changing / adding some Ubuntu Tweaks settings

Adding some Firefox Add-Ons

Adding some Firefox "Customize" icons within Firefox to the top to toolbar area.

Unchecking and / or Adding applications to the Startup Manager

Changing the desktop background image.

Changing the Screensaver and Power Management settings.

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

The Nightmare of Eczema: What Works? What Doesn't? What Causes It? and Prescriptions that Damage Your Skin Permanently

FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE

When I was 9 (in 1970), a dermatologist at Ohio State University gave my parents some prescription for a concoction that the pharmacist had to mix up himself. I now have no idea what it was mixed up of.  Did they use steroid ointments back then?  Whatever it was, it cured my eczema within 24 hours.  I only wish there were a way I could find out what it was now.  I would get it in a heartbeat -- especially if I knew it was not a steroid.

In the meantime, the modern prescriptions your dermatologist is most likely to prescribe these days, is a steroid... which causes permanent damage to your skin... thinning your skin permanently.  Not good.

Here's what else has worked really well for me over the years:

• Alpha Keri Bath Oil (not Keri lotion, Alpha Keri oil): soaking is a bath of it
• Alpha Keri bar soap (not Keri, Alpha Keri)
• To get that much needed sleep, take half a benedryl (or generic drug store brand "benedryl equivalent") every 4 hours. you'll sleep + you won't scratch = allowing it to heal in the night (instead of getting worse).  My doctor says there is no safer, non-addictive, drug in the world.
• Aloe Vera - the juicy insides of the leaf, applied topically helps. You can buy a whole leaf for $1.
• If you have a flare up on a hand, try putting on whatever ointment you prefer, then cover it with a disposable latex glove. this should allow you to continue to use that hand, type, etc... and even allow you to sleep with it on... hopefully discouraging scratching or messing with it.
• Sun, or tanning beds, help
  

None of these things has ever cured it -- except that mystery prescription cream I got back in 1970...

A Side Note:  Some mention, below, using baby shampoo.... and they have no idea why it works...  I can tell you why baby shampoo works.  Baby shampoo contains a mild anaesthesia in it!  That's why it's "no more tears".  People don't know that!  They are giving this to their babies -- an anaesthesia -- without their knowledge!  ( ...which is probably why it helps eczema... killing the itching/pain. )

EXCERPTS FROM A VERY LENGTHY BLOG COMMENTS PAGE

( excerpts taken from:  http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf738743.tip.html )

The following are things people there have claimed have really helped them...  And other related comments.

Shea Butter 100%
Bare Minerals

Lidex cream

Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula (Fragrance Free)
Neosporin
soaking in a bath with Dead Dea salts in it is very helpful
Noxema
Cerave cream
tanning bed
Anastasia body cream
Triamcinolone .1% (worked overnight)
Hydroxyzine, to stop the itching at night
Vaseline
small portable fan blowing on the affected area
a cause: food allergies: chocolate, sugar. a solution: juice fasts
swimming in salt water
sun
keeping it dry
no hot showers or baths
Bag Balm
not to use soap
use Ivory or Dove soap
Crisco (Vaseline has petroleum, not good for your skin)
cause: stress

"My dermatologist suggested putting smaller injections of the cortisone in the wounds themselves. I had nearly 100 shots on my toes and feet. Yes it was difficult and mildly painful, but nothing compared to what the scratching was doing. I had no top layer of skin. It has been 13 years now, and I have gone thru many more stressful times in my life, but it has not been back."

"I find that neosporin works wonders no joke. It helps clear it up and it moisturizes."

"Try removing foods from your diet like milk, eggs, and flour. Do this slowly and see if it makes a difference."

"I finally go rid of it (all any my new patches) by getting some sun on my leg. It's the UV that does it, so don't use sunblock! I have to be REALLY careful not to burn myself because that would just make it worse, but by getting just a little bit of sun each day (or you can use a tanning salon in winter) and keeping it moisturized, it is completely gone and I have no scars."

"I hated the side effects of the steroids. I thought I'd just try the antibiotics alone and what do you know, everything cleared up. I believe eczema has more to do with dealing with a skin bacteria rather than trying to suppress our immune system."

"I use unrefined shea butter (make sure it's unrefined - basically just scraped out of the nut and plopped in the jar. do a google search and you'll find a number of places that sell it). It was like a miracle after years of steroids and other lotions and therapies. I've also found that noxzema helps if I get itchy."

"Prednisone is horrible!! I also have asthma and have taken it every year. I cried when my doctor prescribed it for me again. I will never take it again, I feel like I am not in my own skin."

"The best thing has been mentioned and that is not to stress, or at least find a way that you can destress. It will have to be your own way. I like yoga, cooking and drawing. Especially cooking ;) "

"I never eat eggs and I don't drink milk very often. This was true with my late teens so it makes me wonder if I have or had an allergy to them. My son started out just like me with allergies, asthma, and eczema from birth. Not wanting him to suffer I had him tested for the causes of his allergies. He has quite a list but at the top were eggs and dairy products."

"It helps me to go to the tanning salon for a few minutes...at first skin is more inflamed, but next day better. exercise helps too. i also get worse with sweat, but after exercising for a week, and just trudging through the worsening, it really gets better. my thought is that the exercise helps with the stress (life stress or just stress of dealing with eczema). also, confronting and dealing with any anger in your life, is necessary to truly recover for long periods of time. I really think that some people get ulcers, some heart disease, some eczema, as a result of genetics and stress. we can't control genetics (at this point), but we can deal with negative stress to at least somewhat help our eczema."

"Soak in a bath of epsom salt, peroxide, and oatmeal...with about a capful of tea tree oil."

"Drink tons of water to hydrate your skin from the inside out."

"She has been feeding herself with pro-biotic and it works wonders. It not only helped her with her eczema problem but also with her overall health and especially it has improved her immune system tremendously. Remember, powder and liquid form does not work, only the live one works."

fish oil capsules

"The vaseline made mine much worse, since it has a petroleum base."

"Hot showers are bad."

"Zinc supplements work well, my zinc level was very low when tested."

"Noxzema has worked well for me."

"Found out I was allergic to soy, much better since eliminating that."

"Selsun Blue has cleared up my scalp completely, what a joy!"

"...food allergies. Wheat and dairy are a major trigger for eczema, it's also considered an autoimmune disease."

"Celiac disease (wheat intolerance that 1 in 5 people have but don't know it) and dairy allergy my eczema seemed to go away."

"...taking supplements like fish oil (pure that you have to refrigerate and not from costco)."

evening primrose oil and borage oil

"A chemical called SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE is something that really causes skin irritations and eczema. It is in almost everything you use that needs to foam. Soap, Shampoo, toothpast...to name a few."

Eucerin, over the counter, worked wonders
baby shampoo
aveeno
aquaphor lotion (over the counter and is by the makers of eucerin lotion)
Cetaphil
Eucerin lotion and cetaphil wash for face and body. I can use Dove White. But no product with perfumes.

"The paediatrician told my parents to bathe me in epsom salts water."

"...told by an old country doctor to mix boracic acid in vaseline and use as a salve."

"The Dr. prescribed Desonide Ointment 0.05%. This has cleared my eczema completely."

"Avoid hot water. It makes it worse. In fact my dr. suggested avoiding a 'complete' bath every day."

"Try a tanning bed. I saw an immediate improvement, and after my third visit, it was completely gone. (I stayed in only about ten minutes each time; the goal is not to get an actual tan.)"

"My doctor prescribed something new to me. Its called Clobetasol Propionate Ointment. Its amazing how fast this stuff worked for me. There is such a change in the appearance of my skin in one application."

"The doctor told me to limit the amount of acidic foods you eat. We don't eat a lot of high acid foods like anything made with tomatoes-- ketchup, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce. And don't eat too many oranges,lemons, limes, grapefruit and limit the juice you drink from these fruits."

"Flair ups from Eczema are usually caused from an allergy.
Try visiting an Allergist and get tested for what might be causing your flair ups."

What has worked for you?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Ed's on a Money Saving Kick. Here's what we came up with... How to Save $400 a Year on Electricity from your Computers, HDTVs, & Phones

It occurred to Ed that we now have 9 computers, 4 smartphones, 2 large screen HDTVs, and various other electronics... all pluggled in and running 24/7.   And with summer coming, the air conditioning has just kicked in....

So, we did a little research.  We read all about how much energy all these things use.  (See one site referenced below.)

Here's what we've come up with:

Go to the dollar store and buy several of those little AC outlet "light switches". They look like a little light switch but they simply turn the power on/off to whatever's plugged in to them.

Use one of these power switches "ahead of" every phone charger, every laptop charger, basically everything that has a "brick" (a transformer or charger).  This way you can leave them all plugged in, but switch them OFF when not in use.  (Note to manufacturers: Such a switch should be built-in!)

Next, keep the HDTVs off when not directly being watched.

Some computers can be put to "Sleep" well...  But some have trouble coming back out of "Sleep" mode reliably.  For this reason, I recommend the following:

Instead of just a screensaver (which saves no energy at all), set your Monitor to Sleep after so many minutes.  This will save a LOT of money each year.

I don't recommend having your computer automatically go into a Sleep mode (since so many are not able to resume reliably), so I recommend simply doing a Shut Down when you're done using it.

Keep in mind that torrents will stop running, Skype will stop working - obviously everything the computer does.... will stop working.  However, if you restart daily anyway, you might as well Shut Down when done...  Then, Startup when needed.

If you run certain things 24/7 - like BitTorrent - then leave that ONE machine on... and Shut Down all the others.  Set the monitor to automatically Sleep after a certain number of minutes.

According to these sites, a household could save up to $400 per year.... per PC.

That's significant!

Turn off 3 PCs when not in use.... and we can all go on an anual cruise with the money we save!

See http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

The Catholic Church Continues to Perpetuate its Own Sex Crimes

The Catholic Church INFURIATES me!

The Pope & Cardinals at the Vatican call it "PETTY GOSSIP".

IT IS NOT PETTY.

IT IS NOT GOSSIP.

HOW DARE YOU!

Words have Meanings.  Just LOOK at the words they choose.

Their words highlight their intention to PERPETUATE the culture of sweeping it under the rug and downplay SEX CRIMES OF THE CHURCH!

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Linux proven to be FAR more Secure than Windows - on Both Desktop & Server

Read this excellent article:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/22/security_report_windows_vs_linux/#execsummary

An excerpt:

"We queried the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) database and the CERT data confirms our conclusions by a more dramatic margin. When we queried the database to present results in order of severity from most critical to least critical, 39 of the first 40 entries in the CERT database for Windows are rated above the CERT threshold for a severe alert. Only three of the first 40 entries were above the threshold when we queried the database about Red Hat. When we queried the CERT database about Linux, only 6 of the first 40 entries were above the threshold. Consider also that both the Red Hat and Linux lists include flaws in software that runs on Windows, which means these flaws apply to both Linux and Windows. None of the alerts associated with Windows affect software that runs on Linux. the alerts associated with Windows affect software that runs on Linux."

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal

Mobile / Smartphone Question of the Month

WHY aren't voice & "3G" cellphone frequencies simply updated with SOFTWARE for switching carriers??

For example, when switching a GSM  device from T-Mobile to AT&T...

Or a CDMA device from Verizon to MetroPCS....

Or, when a carrier buys a new range of frequencies - like MetroPCS did in NYC....

This SHOULD all be a "software update" and/or settings...

Why isn't it?

Posted via email from Bruce's Journal