February 12, 2012 by Eric
Here’s a simple idea that surprisingly I’ve yet to see implemented. On major sites like Amazon and Newegg, searching for a product gives you a guided search bar, which helps narrow down what you’re looking for. For each category, you can only pick one option. The idea is this: allow me to eliminate categories that I want excluded, in effect letting me pick more than one option.
For example, if I’m looking for running shoes, allow me to “cross out” Puma and leave Nike, Adidas, and Asics. It’s really that simple. Sometimes when I search for things, I know exactly what I don’t want and not necessarily what I do want. If I had only selected Nike, I may very well miss that new Asics shoe that works better for me.
Edit: Here’s a different example that might be better. Say I’m looking for music. Let’s take Jazz for example, and I’m interested in the record label Impulse. So I search “impulse records” on Amazon and out pops a bunch of albums under a ton a different genres. Wouldn’t it be nice to eliminate the categories for which I have no interest, allowing me the opportunity to explore the rest? Obviously, I could go category by category, but that’s way more tedious and takes away from the buying and exploration experience.
Tags: amazon, ecommerce, newegg, search
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January 24, 2012 by Eric
Not that I know anything about food etiquette, but an observation about people and common sense.
On two separate occasions, the person in front of me at Chipotle has done something that really makes me scratch my head. While these people didn’t do anything wrong per se, their actions defy common sense. At least my version of it.
The first thing that happened was a fellow who asked for his tacos to be remade. The story goes something like this. Guy orders tacos, asks for salsa, hot sauce, etc. After everything is put together and the lady is about to wrap them up, he asks for sour cream. She obliges. Unhappy that she just put it on top, the customer mumbles about having his tacos remade but is wishy-washy about it. They end up being remade while everyone else just waits.
There’s nothing wrong with asking for the tacos to be remade, but two things irked me. First, this guy could have avoided this problem by asking for sour cream after the salsa was added to his tacos. Waiting until your tacos are about to be wrapped before asking, what did you expect her to do? Second. If you’re going to ask for tacos to be remade, be definitive about it. Tell them exactly what you didn’t like and how you would like them made. Is that so hard?
On to the other occasion. Simple. Who uses a $100 bill to pay for Chipotle?! It’s $7 and change. First of all, I can see the credit cards in your wallet. Second, you have not only annoyed everyone behind you, you have annoyed the cashier with that sheepish grin and chuckling about it with your buddy. I’m sorry. It’s really not that funny.
Tags: chipotle, common sense, etiquette
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January 11, 2012 by Eric
Trying to put together a list of overrated players is more difficult than I imagined. A player’s salary is definitely a factor, and expectations are linked to a player’s perceived value. I also looked at usage rate and win shares.
Guard: Russell Westbrook (USG: 31.6% | Win Shares: 9.4)
- His usage rate puts a number on how heavily involved he is in the Thunder offense, and win shares prove that he’s an impact player. He has been heavily criticized lately for his decision-making and taking possessions away from super star Kevin Durant. Watching him play, it’s hard to disagree. Just one example: On fast breaks, Westbrook puts his head down and gets called for offensive fouls even when there is clearly a second option.
Guard: Kobe Bryant (USG: 35.1% | WS: 10.3)
- The Lakers need Bryant; there’s no doubt about it. His usage rate and win shares help illustrate how integral he is to the Lakers on the offensive end. He does, however, make a ridiculous amount of money. Part of what makes him overrated is the fact that from time to time, he’ll shoot the Lakers out of games. He also isn’t as good defensively as he’s been in the past, which also affects his “value”.
Guard: Joe Johnson (USG: 26.3% | WS: 4.2)
- This is a case where the “quiet superstar” is overpaid. His 2010-2011 stat line looks something like 18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists per game. With a win share of 4.2, his contributions to his team’s success do no warrant the max contract he just signed. I’d say he’s an average defender and an average 3-point shooter.
Forward: Carmelo Anthony (USG: 32.5% w/Nuggets & w/31.0% Knicks | WS: 4.7 w/Nuggets & 3.2 w/Knicks)
- Clearly excels in a system where he can dominate the ball, but he hasn’t shown that he can be the primary playmaker. He’s one of the best scorers in the NBA who passes the ball as a last result. Over 8 games this year, his usage rate is even higher at 34.4%, which has undoubtedly affected Stoudemire. Looking at win shares, don’t contribute to enough wins.
Center: Andrea Bargnani (USG: 28.1% | WS: 2.6)
- Pretty much a guard stuck in a center’s body. A 7-footer should not be averaging 5 rebounds and less than a block a game for his career. His solid points per game on the stat sheet mask his weakness as a defender. Looking at his win shares number shows how little he contributes to his team’s wins.
Stats from Basketball-Reference.com & ESPN
Usage Rate | Win Shares
Tags: hawks, knicks, lakers, nba, raptors, thunder
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January 10, 2012 by Eric
Subjective? Yes. But my picks nonetheless. These are some players who may be overlooked or perceived as one-dimensional.
Guard: Stephen Curry (2010 PER: 19.4 | EFF: 19.3)
- Known more for his shooting, Curry has proved he can play point and has some solid assist numbers (almost 6 per game) to back that up. Most people probably remember him as the guard from Davidson with unlimited range, pre-Jimmer.
Guard: Arron Afflalo (2010 PER: 13.6 | EFF: 13.6)
- Plays good defense and usually guards the opposing team’s best perimeter player. His low PER does not reflect his defensive contributions. He also knocks down 3’s in a high scoring Nuggets offense.
Forward: Al Horford (2010 PER: 20.7 | EFF: 22.5)
- Sometimes gets lost in the Hawks offense because he’s not the first option. Even when other players dominate the ball, he’s been able to average nearly a double-double every year.
Forward: Luis Scola (2010 PER: 18.4 | EFF: 19.6)
- Crafty big man with an array of post moves. He’s been a consistent player who may be overlooked because his team is mediocre and has had a rough string of bad luck.
Center: LaMarcus Aldridge (2010 PER: 21.5 | EFF: 23.1)
- Aldridge’s game has developed a post game to go with his jump shooting. He was All Star snubbed last year and easily forgotten playing on a small market team out in Portland.
6th Man:
Guard: James Harden (2010 PER: 16.4 | EFF: 12.2)
- High expectations for the Thunder have put them under the microscope this year, and people are starting to notice how much Harden does for them. He’s got a game that lets him score in a variety of ways and is a solid defender. Might not stay underrated for long.
2010 stats are listed instead of 2011 because few games have been played and thus a small sample size. 2010’s highest PER: 27.3 and EFF: 28.6 both posted by LeBron James.
PER: Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating where a score of 15 is considered average. Largely measures offensive performance and does not always reflect the impact of defensively oriented players.
EFF: Also favors offensively minded players and is calculated with the following formula: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK – FG missed – FT missed – TO)
Tags: blazers, hawks, nba, nuggets, rockets, thunder, warriors
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January 5, 2012 by Eric
Figure out a way to group similar articles in your news feed? I subscribe to multiple tech blogs/websites, and they often post the same news articles. I obviously don’t want to read or see these multiple times. You can’t expect it to be perfect, so there so be an additional feature to split up any given grouping. To keep the Google UI consistent, it could look similar to Gmail’s email threading.
Jump to the newest post immediately after your last read article? Right now all it does is send me to the most recent. And if there are too many unread, I get lazy and end up not catching all the way up. Would be nice to be able to pick up where I left off. Additionally, what happens if I read 50 of 150 new articles, leave and come back? I would then have say 50 read articles sandwiched between the new articles and no easy way to get to the older unread material.
Update 1: Remember where I was? Similar to the previous point, I wish Reader would remember the last article I read so that if I click on another folder and come back, I’ll be taken to the last article I was reading.
To be continued…
Tags: google, google reader, googlereader, reader, rss
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January 5, 2012 by Eric
Perhaps a slightly different take.
One of the big knocks against Duke is that while they are a good college team, they don’t put out great NBA players. On the other hand, UNC in recent memory has been stocked with NBA talent. They key being talent.
Surprising at least to me, since 2004, both Duke and UNC have put a similar number a players into the NBA. While UNC has put out better players, the disparity is not as great as I had anticipated. I would say there are a similar number of good players with no real great players from both sides.
Duke:
- Luol Deng (2004) – Bulls
- Chris Duhon (2004) – Magic
- Shelden Williams (2006) – Nets
- J.J. Redick (2006) – Magic
- Josh McRoberts (2007) – Lakers
- Gerald Henderson (2009) – Bobcats
- Lance Thomas (2010) – Hornets
- Nolan Smith (2011) – Trail Blazers
- Kyrie Irving (2011) – Cavaliers
UNC:
- Marvin Williams (2005) – Hawks
- Raymond Felton (2005) – Trail Blazers
- Brandan Wright (2007) – Mavericks
- Tyler Hansbrough (2009) – Pacers
- Ty Lawson (2009) – Nuggets
- Wayne Ellington (2009) – Timberwolves
- Danny Green (2009) – Spurs
- Ed Davis (2010) – Raptors
Going further back, active Duke alumni include Shane Battier, Grant Hill, Carlos Boozer, and Elton Brand. UNC alumni include Brendan Haywood, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison. Considering this list, Duke arguably has more impact players while Haywood is the only one on this list with an NBA championship.
Source: Wikipedia (Duke | UNC)
Tags: basketball, duke, nba, ncaa, unc
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January 4, 2012 by Eric
Why get one? It’s bigger, heavier, and more expensive than point-and-shoot digital cameras. But it’s smaller than, as flexible as, and has a similar feature set as dSLRs.
There’s no arguing that there’s a definite market for micro four-thirds cameras, with nearly every major manufacturer releasing an enthusiast “mirrorless” camera. Yet every time I look at them, I wonder where they fit in the digital camera landscape.
One major consideration is price. With a more advanced feature set than compact digital cameras, they are justifiably more expensive. Many also sport interchangeable lenses—a plus for the budding photographer. Investing in these lenses, however, quickly pushes the price of a micro four-thirds system into the realm of a dSLR system.
Some may be okay with paying the premium over say a Canon S100 in order to take advantage of having additional lenses. But at the same time, the selection of lenses available is limited at best. There are a few lenses made specifically for mirrorless cameras, yet the segment is young and many manufacturers aside from Nikon, Canon, and possibly Sony do not have established lens systems for micro four-thirds users to take advantage of.
For maximum flexibility, an adaptor is required to access the powerful lenses meant for dSLRs; this adds to bulk and ultimately affects portability. At this point, wouldn’t it just be better to get a dSLR? The frame of a mirrorless camera may be lighter and more compact, but by investing heavily in a lens system, the size and weight advantage once held over a dSLR has largely been negated. I also happen to enjoy using the viewfinder on my dSLR, which many mirrorless cameras lack—a compromise to preserve size.
A camera like the Canon S100 scales back on the flexibility of having interchangeable lenses and is more compact as a result. It also maintains most if not all of the advanced features that enthusiast photographers desire.
As someone who already owns a dSLR, I’d much rather have a camera like the Canon S100 for the times when I don’t want to carry my dSLR. It’s hard to imagine spending a similar amount of money on a micro four-thirds camera when it can’t quite replace my dSLR. I am curious how other current dSLR users would reconcile adapting their existing lenses for use on a micro four-thirds system.
Ultimately, it’s up to the photographer to choose what suits their needs and how much they are comfortable spending. And this came out from The Verge as I was writing: Camera Buyers Guide
Tags: cameras, digitalcameras, dslrs, microfourthirds, mirrorless
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December 28, 2011 by Eric
A Casual Music Lover’s Perspective…
Since its introduction, I’ve always seen XM as a niche product. It was an alternative to the standard AM/FM radio stations that offered some exclusive content, primarily in the form of talk shows (Howard Stern comes to mind).
However, a few significant obstacles prevented its widespread adoption. The first of which is a high cost of adoption. A car without built-in XM would require not only the purchase of a compatible head unit but also an accompanying antenna. Couple this initial cost with a monthly subscription fee and you’re left with a very limited audience.
The rise of streaming internet radio amounts to a coup de grace. Cars are now able to harness the internet connectivity of smartphones. It’s evolved from a simple audio line in to full blown Bluetooth integration with platforms such as Ford Sync. And a sign of times to come is BMW’s ConnectedDrive—built-in internet connectivity.
How does XM compete? Even packaging a free 6-month trial subscription with new cars can’t save XM. While most friends I spoke to took advantage of this, none of them elected to pay monthly for a radio service that still had commercials. The bottom line: Why pay extra for something you can already have for no additional cost? And if FM isn’t good enough, services like Pandora or Rdio are able to fill that need.
To survive, XM seems to have piggybacked on top of commercial airlines like JetBlue. And maybe that’s what they need; a shift away from selling directly to the consumer. Instead, become the go-to service that replaces the terrible music on airplanes. A place where Wi-Fi isn’t widely available… yet.
Tags: internet radio, music, xm
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December 26, 2011 by Eric
This post started as commentary on battery life but has since morphed into a bit of a Motorola Droid Razr critique of sorts. So here goes…
With widespread rollout of LTE by Verizon, Verizon launched a handful of 4G capable devices—among them, the HTC Thunderbolt. One of the chief complaints about this device and LTE capable devices as a whole was battery life. Under heavy use, people seem to get maybe half a day. A friend of mine has a HTC EVO 4G on Sprint’s network. The first thing he did? Install an extended battery.
Poking around various tech blogs and websites has revealed that power consumption while running anything 4G (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon) is abysmal. And it’s not a HTC centric problem; the LG Nitro HD, Samsung Galaxy II Epic 4G, and Motorola Droid Bionic, to name a few, all suffer the same fate.
Then the recent release of the Motorola Droid Razr got me thinking. The Razr is a mere 7.1 mm thick and has an awkward camera hump. It digs into my hand, and I’ve found this phone difficult to wield. In terms of battery life, it shoots par for the course. But why not make the back flush and increase the battery size/life to set the Razr apart from its competition?
I happen to think this change would make the phone easier to hold. You can brag about the Kevlar backing, aluminum frame, and Gorilla glass all you want, but a phone’s useless if it’s out of battery. Presumably targeted at geeks and power users, a phone that lasts longer than its competitors would be more attractive, no? Having made the battery inaccessible to the user that’s the least you could do.
Of course, a change like this would just reshuffle the list of pros and cons.
Tags: 4g, android, batteries, mobile
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December 23, 2011 by Eric
What would make my ideal smartphone? This list is meant to be fluid and won’t include no brainers like wifi, bluetooth, etc. Just to get started…
- 4 in. retina display: The current iPhone 4 screen is a little on the small side. I’ve tried the 4″ screen on the Samsung Focus and think it’s the ideal size. For me, a 4.3″ or larger screen becomes too bulky and goes from holding to wielding.
- Expandable storage (microSD): Sometimes you just need extra store for music, pictures, etc.
- Decent camera: My iPhone 4 camera sensor takes pictures that look great on my phone… but terrible everywhere else.
- Dedicated hardware camera button: It just makes life easier.
- Battery life: As in, I can use my phone for more than a day without worrying about recharging. This can be somewhat mitigated by an accessible battery compartment allowing you to hot swap batteries.
Update: Looks like Samsung wants to do something about that battery life. (http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/17/samsung-commits-to-improve-smartphone-battery-life-in-2012/)
Tags: mobile
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