Bill Gaffney Stream
Bill Gaffney

Bill Gaffney is a technology strategist and self-professed geek. He is working with the talented team at LIN Media as their Director of New Media and loving every minute of it.

Note: Everything posted on this site is Bill's personal opinion. It does not represent the views of LIN or its clients.

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November 19th, 7:00pm 0 comments

November is almost over, when will iPad get iOS4.2

For those of us that quickly grabbed the iPad when it was brought to market, it coincided with the iPhone and iPod Touch receiving iOS 4 which resulted in bittersweet joy.  Although the iPad has always worked as expected, it was that glimpse of what could be improved that has hung over it since its release in my opinion.

Ipad

iOS 4 is the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. And soon iPad owners will get to enjoy its 100+ new features and innovations — including multitasking, folders, printing, and more. Look for iOS 4.2 coming in November for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

For those of you not versed in the update, here's a quick list of the featured you can expect:

  • Multitasking
  • Organization thru folders
  • Unified inbox for email
  • AirPrint
  • AirPlay

My only concern is that it is now more than halfway through November -- and aside from some developers hearing from Apple that the update is imminent and unfulfilled rumors -- we have no greater clarity.  So far they've at least provided a month, so their handling it far better than Verizon's handling of the distribution of Froyo to their supported devices.

Still, that this point -- even as a non-Mac fanatic -- I have faith that Apple will deliver.

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November 14th, 12:04pm 1 comment

Jolicloud Install and Shortcut Keys

Late last week I switched my HP Mini from Ubuntu Netbook Edition to an even lighter Linux install with Jolicloud.  So far it has been a good experiment.  Being a cloud based OS, its interface is more akin to the iPhone or iPad with apps (mostly shortcuts to websites via Chromium) that the more traditional menu launcher and desktop.  And for those who need more, the good ol' Linux standards are still there. 

For me, the HP Mini (even with extra RAM) never performed well prompting me to migrate from Windows to Ubuntu and finally to Jolicloud.  Given its primary use is internet based access and SSH, a light install with a "cute" layout so far is doing the trick.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

  • Alt-F1: Terminal
  • Alt-F2: Application text launcher
  • Alt-F4: Closes the current app
  • Alt-Tab: Switches between apps
  • Menu Key: The old application menu
  • Tab: From launcher hit tab and type for search
  • Windows Key: Toggle between launcher and active app
Filed under jolicloud linux shortcuts
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April 11th, 8:12pm 0 comments

30 Usability Issues To Be Aware Of - Smashing Magazine

Since human brain has some limits on its capacity for processing information, it deals with complexity dividing information into chunks and units. According to George A. Miller’s studies humans’ short term memory can retain only about 5-9 things at one time. This fact is often used as an argument for limiting the number of options in navigation menus to 7; however there are heated debates about The Myth of “Seven, Plus or Minus 2″. Therefore it’s not clear how the 7±2 Principle can, could or should be applied to the Web. Miller’s studies.

Filed under design usability
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March 13th, 6:30pm 1 comment

Capo on a bass guitar?

Is there really any reason to ever, EVER put a capo on a bass guitar?  Really?  REALLY?!?

Vampire Weekend on last week's SNL had a interesting, quirky song (true.. I will listen to it again)... but a capo... really? Damn.

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March 13th, 8:59am 0 comments

Hearst Jumps Into the iPhone Apps Business

Great read from the Journal! Excited to see publishers get serious about the distribution of their content (beyond print or traditional web sites) as a viable service... but will they offer these app free of ads -- OR -- are they trying to have their cake and eat it too?

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March 4th, 3:39am 0 comments

Rube Goldberg, OK Go and a quirky little song called "This Too Shall Pass"

All right... I'm kind of late to the game on this one (it launch on the 1st), but if you love the now famous treadmill music video, you gotta see their latest for a quirky little song called “This Too Shall Pass” that features a Rube Goldberg Machine. Do yourself a favor and watch it in 1080.

As a self-proclaimed geed, I've always loved Rube Goldberg and to see his inventions -- that take simple tasks and make them extraordinarily complicated -- enter the subculture in such a beautiful way is fantastic.  
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March 2nd, 3:59am 0 comments

Psyched to rolled out six LIN sites with Yahoo! BOSS API

Over the past couple weeks, we've been quietly rolling out a new BETA search for the LIN network of sites.  Yesterday we doubled those active by turning up KRQE in AlbuquerqueWDTN in Dayton and WWLP in Springfield.

 

While the time to market has been relatively quick, it is largely due to the intuitive, flexible API that Yahoo! has built.

This initial launch offers our viewers five search paths to help them find what they need:

  • News & Articles: 30 days of news that can be sorted by relevance or date
  • Images: Thumbnail presentation of pictures from your site (no term)
  • Full Site: Any content from any subdomain plus related terms to help target search (no term)
  • The Web: The full power of Yahoo search within our frame.  This also has related terms to help target search
  • Suggestions: For those users that may not know the exact spelling, suggestions are available

If any of our sites are local to you, give them a try and let me know how the search is working out for you.  This implementation should allow us to be pretty quick in tailoring to your needs.

 

 

Filed under LIN Search Yahoo BOSS
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