JamieMurai.com

What Happens When You Put A Bunch of MIT Grads Together?

Jamie — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:14:10 +0000

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

How To Wrap Earbud Cables

Jamie — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:33:23 +0000

A Visual History of US Presidents

Jamie — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:29:29 +0000

John McCain iPhone App

Jamie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:03:08 +0000

Slicehost Aquired By Rackspace

Jamie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:22:52 +0000

Great news for the guys at Slicehost. Jason, Matt, and the rest of the Slicehosters are an amazing team with an equally amazing product. Let’s hope that this acquisition doesn’t hinder their amazingness[sic?].

Vote For Hope

Jamie — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:22:49 +0000

As Credit Crisis Spiraled, Alarm Led to Action

Jamie — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:07:47 +0000

A well written summary of some of the events leading up to the current credit crisis.

Quick Google Tip: Unit Converter

Jamie — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:18:59 +0000

Google has a really good unit converter that essentially only requires you to tell it what to convert in plain English.

For example, I wanted to know how much the cell phone carriers are ripping us off on text messages. Each text message can be a maximum of 140 characters, which is 140 bytes, and each message costs 15 cents. This is what I typed into the Google search bar:

15 cents per 140 bytes to dollars per megabyte

This is what appeared at the very top of the search results:

(15 Canadian cents) per (140 bytes) = 1 123.47429 Canadian dollars per megabyte

So there you have it! We pay $1123.47 per megabyte if the data is a text message.

+1 for Google.
-10 for Telus.

Bear With Me!

Jamie — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:47:24 +0000

I’m now back on another work term, and so I’ve decided to start blogging again, which I tend to do when I don’t have homework to finish every night. One of the changes I’ve decided to make to the site is to switch to yet another blogging engine called Chyrp. It’s seems pretty lightweight, and more focused on micro-blogging, which is the direction I’d like to head. I’ve come to realize that I don’t have the concentration it takes to write lengthy articles, and that I would prefer to put out smaller bits of information more frequently.

Obviously, if you’ve come here looking for the older posts, you’ve realized that they’re nowhere to be found. This is only temporary, and I’ll get them back up once I figure out how to convert my old Wordpress database int the format used by Chyrp.

So check back in a few days when I’ll hopefully have everything sorted out. I think these renovations will help keep me motivated to post more often.

Buying a Computer at the Apple Store

Jamie — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:00:54 +0000

The recent purchase of my Macbook Pro was the first time I was able to buy a computer from an Apple retail store, and I wanted to post a few of my thoughts about the experience. I think the thing that stood out the most for me, was how smoothly the whole process went. Usually when I go into a computer store such as BestBuy or Futureshop, I’m immediately “attacked” by a sales person who makes it so very clear that he is more than willing to give me any information I may need about a product. I find this rather funny, because most of the time the salespeople actually have very little personal knowledge of the products, and only know what was in the training manual (which is very little). However that doesn’t stop them from trying to pretend to know everything, and in the process making a fool out of themselves. I remember a friend of mine telling me once how a Futureshop employee was trying to convince him to buy the most expensive optical cables because of the superior shielding that would protect them from electrical interference (last time I checked, light pulses weren’t susceptible to electrical interference). As well, if you are not buying the machine that they personally prefer, they won’t hesitate to tell you why you’re making the wrong decision. The whole experience just seems very “used car salesman” like. One of the most irritating things I’ve experienced recently is that Futureshop no longer give internet access to the display models. If you want to use the internet on a computer in the store, you have to head over to a designated station, that consists of horribly slow systems, running some extremely locked down proprietary browser that will basically only let you look at Futureshop online.

Now on to the Apple store. I walk in to a very busy store, with countless display machines available for anyone to come in and use. Random people just come in and check their e-mail all the time, and it is actually encouraged. The staff are very laid back and friendly, and in my experience have actual real world experience with the products they are selling. For instance, the employee who helped my told me he’s a photographer, and explained why he prefers the matte screen over the glossy. However, he really emphasized that it’s all personal preference, and I should go with my gut. I decided on the glossy, and couldn’t be happier. When I told him the model I wanted, he punched in my order into the nearest display model, and a runner from the stock room brought it right out. I then told him I wanted a remote control as well, so he went over and got one for me from the shelf. He asked if I wanted AppleCare, explaining that having AppleCare will improve the resale value should I decide to sell it in the future, but didn’t say another word about it when I told him I would buy it at a later time. I don’t think I need to say what lengths BestBuy/Futureshop employees will go to in order to get you to buy the extended warranties. He then swiped my card, got me to sign, and out the beautiful glass doors I went. No paying at the back, waiting in line at the front for someone to check the receipt, setting alarms off because they forgot to demagnetize, etc. Just a really great experience from beginning to end.

It’s really no wonder that Apple gets the praise it does. Let’s just hope that as their market share increases, they don’t start resting on their laurels.