brent phillips

cambridge

brent — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:30:48 +0000

I’m in our New England office today (the NERD – or New England Research and Development Center). I’ve got a great view of the Charles River and the Citgo sign and keeping a watchful eye out for the pending blizzard…Charles is freezing over in parts and a there is a low ceiling, but so far no snow. I hear that Waltham got a few inches last night - I’m heading over there for early afternoon meetings then out on a 6:30…(hopefully )

- B

the kids asked about black holes…

brent — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:24:13 +0000

…which seemed like a tough nut to crack. So after a bit of digging around, I came across the hubble site which has a very awesome kid friendly, interactive overview (kids loved it!). Here are a few others if you’re heading down a similar path…World Wide Telescope - bring the universe to your desktop…Dangerous Book for Boys (+ chemistry), skinned a rodent lately? Daring, and Double Daring, Book for Girls, Thames and Kosmos and for techie fathers, geekdad…

Windows 7: New Life for old Hardware

brent — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:35:32 +0000

Over the holidays, I had a chance to speak with a number of friends and family who had tried Windows 7. Several had invested in new machines (and, for the gadget prone like myself, there’s nothing quite like buying a new machine…), but quite a few more had opted for an upgrade. What amazed me was 1) how easy the upgrade was…Vista is seamless…XP is straightforward but takes a bit of ‘lifting’ on the user’s part to migrate data and reinstall applications; and 2) how well the OS ran on older hardware. A few models that were ‘revived’ included a Toshiba Tecra M4 (c. 2006), a Dell Inspiron B130 (c. 2006), and – most surprisingly – a Dell Latitude D600 (c. 2003). In all three cases, the RAM had been upgraded to accomodate the 1GB requirement, but these were relatively low investments resulting in well-running machines.

If you’re in the market, recommendations for new machines can be found at the Microsoft Store. If, on the other hand, you prefer to upgrade (and there’s a good chance you can)…check out the upgrade advisor and weigh your options. For folks seeking to get another year or two out of an existing box, Windows 7 might give you the mileage.

PS. If you’re already running Windows 7, or have an interest in some of its features, check out 18 cool things Windows 7 can do that Vista Doesn’t. Great set of tips and tricks…

merry christmas!

brent — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:12:40 +0000

…and if you need to know exactly where Santa is, check out http://www.noradsanta.org…

minimal

brent — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:47:12 +0000

Great post on minimalistic web design. I tend to lean this way myself – great examples and guidelines for pulling back on composition complexity…

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/12/minimalist-web-design-when-less-is-more/

10 great online spots for gifts

brent — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:08:49 +0000

I’ve been ‘e-shopping’ this Christmas with better than expected success. I’m not done yet, but pretty close – and haven’t set foot in a mall. This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but I am sharing a few sites that have fulfilled a need, or at least inspired some thinking – especially for those few who are perpetually ‘hard to buy for…’

perpetualkid.com – best sellers include ‘lump of coal’ soap and bacon flavored lip-balm
thinkgeek.com – from stainless steel wallets to universal travel adaptors (and many, many things in between)
scientificsonline.com – astronomy, engines/machines, magnets, robotics and more
retroplanet.com – if you like new stuff that looks old
bhphotovideo.com - great prices on camera and video gear
guitarcenter.com – all things for the musically inclined
classicshaving.com – take shaving up a notch
backcountry.com – outdoor gear galore
abebooks.com – mainstream but also rare and first editions
amazon.com – ok, not too creative, but the breadth and depth made for great one stop shopping…

Any other suggestions?

R30

brent — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:40:13 +0000

Watching Neal Peart from R30 in Frankfurt, Germany. Solo. Amazing. He’s here: http://www.neilpeart.com/…

GoGo

brent — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:03:32 +0000

Checking out the new in-flight wireless service with Delta. Great service and connection, however my laptop being open doesn’t coordinate so well with the person in front of me who has reclined to take a nap…

NatGeo

brent — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:33:19 +0000

Are they weakening their brand? There is something authoritative and interesting about “National Geographic.” Perhaps it’s insider jargon? Perhaps a desire to be more “2.0?”
Not everything needs to sounds like a web address…

sharpie culture

brent — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:27:00 +0000

I caught a presentation on social media this week by Bert DuMars, VP of e-Business and Interactive Marketing for Newell-Rubbermaid. Among other things, they make Sharpie Pens…Apparently Sharpies aren’t just for labels anymore. Check out the bike below and check out sharpieuncapped.com for more creative…or flickr to get to the pics…