Scothoser's Corner

OS X Mountain Lion 10.8: Early Impressions

2012-02-17T09:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I got a shock: Apple was planning on releasing OS X 10.8 a year after Lion was released. The development process for OS X has accelerated, which comes with it's own share of problems when it comes to training and Certification. That being said, I couldn't wait to download and install the OS to give it a try!

Downloading

Once I got my voucher from the Apple Developer's website, I was taken to the Mac App Store to download and install the OS. This isn't surprising, as Apple started this process with OS 10.7. It took about 30 minutes to an hour to download, it being a large file in and of itself. I then quickly backed up some critical files on my computer (always a good idea before upgrading!), and started the install.

Installation

Nothing changed much from the Lion install here. It was pretty straightforward in upgrading. Once installed I did get one update (which surprised me), but the update was for an HP printer driver. Within 40 minutes I was looking at my new Mountain Lion Mac.

Changes

The first major change that I saw was the Notifications button in the top right hand corner. This is something that has been sorely needed on the Mac, though Growl has done a decent job with notifications to date. But I like the iOS feel of notifications, and how they are accessed.

Next, Messages. I have to say, I'm glad that Apple has opted to add their iMessages into iChat. It's a move I hope will be seen in iOS soon, because I'm all about centralized communications. It helps me keep connected when I need to be, and that's a good thing. There is a potential to be too connected, but I think that's more of an issue with how you use your messages.

Then I needed an update, and instead of opening Software Update, it opened up the Mac App Store! It seems that all system updates will now be coming through the Mac App Store, as clicking on Software Update from the Apple menu launched the App Store as well. It was a surprise, but seems logical given the installation process. Of course, this begs the question: will you need to authenticate to an Admin account AND to the App Store to update your computer? If so, it looks like mass deployments of updates may need to be rethought. I might have a better idea once I get a chance to play around with Mountain Lion Server.

Contacts surprised me a little bit, as it took the place of the Address Book. Though, technically, nothing changed really that I can see other than the name. It took me a little while to find the Contacts app, as it is not in alphabetical order in Launchpad. But, the new search tool in Launchpad helped narrow that down. That, by the way, is very much welcome. I tend to have more than three pages worth of apps on my Mac, and the search tool in Launchpad definitely helps me find the app when I'm thinking about it. Technically I can use Spotlight to find it as well, but if I'm in Launchpad already, it's nice to be able to search at that point.

I'm excited about Reminders and Notes being their own apps in OS X 10.8. Previous to this, Notes was in Mail, and Reminders in iCal. Not that it's bad to have them in there, but separating them out makes it easier for me to focus on that aspect. It's another feature of iOS that is very welcome on the Mac.

The minor change in Safari that I didn't notice until today is definitely a welcome change! Now, there is no longer a separate search box. It seems Safari has finally updated to take the same feature of both Chrome and IE 9 and integrated the search box into the address box. Not a critical, game-changer when it comes to browsing the web, but it's a nice change. Here's hoping in the new iOS release the same will come to the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.

The updates to the Mail, Contacts and Calendars preference pane were great, but I started to see some bugs at this point. It appears that selecting an account doesn't necessarily select that Account: it may still have a previous or next account selected and you are editing preferences for it instead of the intended account. Again, this is a Preview release of OS X 10.8, so bugs like this are expected (hence why I didn't install it on my main production computers).

The one thing that I was disappointed with was AirPlay Mirroring, if only because I couldn't get it to work. When I got home, I looked for the AirPlay Mirroring display option to show up, just to see how it worked. But it never did. Now, it could be that I have my Apple TV wired to my router and the computer is wireless, but they were on the same network so it shouldn't have been a problem. I'll keep playing with it and see if I can get it to work. To date I'm not sure what use I would have for it at home where I have an Apple TV, but I could see a benefit in the workplace for a quick and easy remote monitor solution without needing dongles for VGA or DVI. Assuming, of course, you have an Apple TV box hooked up to your projector/HDTV.

Anyway, those are the features that I had a chance to play around with. Notifications, I'm sure, will start to grow up as more apps start to utilize the process. Game Center is nice, but doesn't interest me a lot right now, though I do like the connection between the Mac and iOS for similar titles. To me it shows a level of growth and maturity in the Mac App Store to parallel the iOS App Store, and that's a good thing for the Apple ecosystem. Gatekeeper, at least for now, doesn't seem to have a lot of application for me. I can definitely see the benefits of it, and for anyone concerned about security in a fairly public arena (Office computers, family computer at home), it's definitely a good idea, though I can see one option missing: only identified developers (no Mac App Store). I'm not sure that's going to happen, as all the updates come from the App Store, but we shall see.

Has anyone else had a chance to play around with Mountain Lion? What are your thoughts?

OS X Lion Support Essentials First Class

2012-02-09T17:37:00.001-07:00

Today I finished teaching my first full class of OS X Lion Support Essentials. And barring the slight network issues and the fact that I had a server completely die on my this morning (and it was sitting in the server room), it was a pretty good experience.

My class size was larger than usual, and the students were extremely bright. All of them caught on quickly and easily, making it possible to cover a lot of topics faster than usual. We even had time to run a certification exam that afternoon (the student passed!).

For those who have not taken the class before, we cover the necessary essentials in managing an OS X Lion computer. We cover installation, configuration, accounts, file systems, Directory binding, providing network services, printing and the boot process. There's more and if you are interested in learning, feel free to register! I call this certification the phone support cert, as it prepares someone to work at the help desk for Mac computers. If you pass the certification exam then you receive your Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) certification, which is an accomplishment. Ask anyone that had to take the exam, and I'm sure they would agree.

I really enjoyed the class today, and I'm looking forward to this April for our Server Essentials class. That will be a blast as well, particularly since I got to contribute to the Workbook on that one!

Review: Treehouse Training and Badges

2012-02-03T09:39:00.001-07:00

Having finished all the available badges on the Treamtreehouse.com website, I thought I would provide an evaluation of what I thought of the website, the learning method, and the delivery.

Website

The website is very well put together, even though there is a feeling of "start-up" on the site. The feeling comes from the three badges (as of this writing) that are incomplete (JavaScript Foundations, Photoshop Foundations, and Ruby Foundations). Also, there is generally a delay in getting to certain pages (like the Profile and Dashboard). When you take the quizzes to get your badge, occasionally some will blank out for no obvious reason, meaning you need to go through the questions again.

But the organization is very well done. It's easy to navigate through the course materials, from one badge to another, and the Dashboard makes it easy to follow up on what your next badges would be. Over all, I really like the website.

Learning Method

The badges are organized by topic, which build upon each other to show which skills you have accomplished. You know you have accomplished the skills, because most badges have challenges and final challenges that require you to show your knowledge by accomplishing a task. It's well built, and equates to a classroom Topic then Quiz learning method to establish skills. I've mentioned the incredible motivating factor that comes from earning a badge.

Straight video lectures with demos are not for everyone. They are great for those who learn in a visual and/or auditory, but those who are tactile in their learning (needing to get hands-on) will find the speed of the videos a little frustrating. Another frustration I experienced was the number of videos or length of videos that will precede a quiz. It requires the student to retain a lot of information. Without more practice for each video, quizzes can get frustrating. In particular I'm thinking about the Introduction to Programming badge and the iOS 4 badge. Both badges had videos that lasted 11+ minutes, and had several in succession, making it harder to retain information for the quiz. And I find that it's the test that helps you learn more than just the lecture.

Overall, I think this is a great way to learn. Video lectures can work well when quizzes are appropriately spaced, and most of these badges do really well.

Delivery

I found the most effective learning experiences with Treehouse were those that had videos lasting no more than 7 minutes, badges (modules) that had no more than 4 or 5 videos, and challenges that preceded a small selection of modules. From there the retention was optimal, while also giving me plenty of content on which to work.

Conclusion

Overall, I would definitely recommend using Treehouse, or any similar badge-based learning method. The motivation you get from earning badges that build into more badges is intense, the ability to show your knowledge in such a clear cut form is refreshing, and the knowledge that you know what you know is even better. Overall, badges are looking like a very viable new way to qualify learning at an incremental level.

Blue Stilton Cheese Shortbread Recipe

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Prior to Christmas, I heard an episode of Kitchen Cafe from a BBC Scotland podcast where a chef was featured making a cheddar and parmesan cheese cookie. The idea of a savory, cheesy cookie sounded so good to me, I immediately downloaded the recipe with the intent to make some as soon as I could.

As the days and months passed, I never could seem to find the time. Then, just recently, I finally tried to make it. But, instead of making it with the recipe as written, I made some changes. You see, I had some extra sharp white Irish cheddar and some Blue Stilton left over from a New Year's party, and I wanted to use it up, so I ended up making Blue Stilton cookies instead.

Here is the recipe:

100g of butter, cut into cubes
150g all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
60g crumbled Blue Stilton cheese
60g grated white cheddar

I pulled out the old Food Processor and threw the ingredients in together, and gave it a good pulse until it could be pressed together by itself. It was a little drier than pie dough, if you are going by texture. It took about 3 minutes of pulsing to get it where I wanted it.
Next, I put the dough into a ziplock bag and chilled it into the refrigerator for a good 30 minutes.
I then preheated the oven to 350 degrees, and pulled out the now chilled dough.
I rolled it out into a snake shape (like with Play-Doh), and cut off about 1/4 inch rounds.
I pressed the rounds onto the cookie sheet, and baked for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until they were just starting to get golden brown.

I call them shortbread beacuse the texture once done was very much like shortbread. It crumbles easily, and melts in your mouth. The flavor of the cheese was muted when they were warm, but as they cooled the flavor got stronger. To date I have very little left. They go very well with soups.

If you do try to make some, let me know how it went!

Parental Training for Autism

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Article first published as Parental Training for Autism on Technorati.

The state of Autism support is daunting. More children are being diagnosed with Autism then ever before, schools are running low on funds and are unable to provide necessary services. Parents are running low on funds to provide services for their children personally. Insurance companies are reluctant to pay for services at the risk of raising premiums for their customers. The government is already running in the red in most States and at the Federal level. The financial situation is daunting when it comes to paying for specialists and therapists to work with children on the Spectrum.

But there is one group of people who are wiling to do the job for free, if they could only find out how: parents and caregivers. They consult with websites, books, and their children's therapists and teachers. They do their research in trying to understand what they need to do. But we as parents are, quite frankly, not prepared. It's not because we don't care, it's because we just don't know. We need training, we need consultation, and we need help.

Luckily, at least in the Granite School District, the school system has had the insight to set up a parental training class on how to help their children with Autism. They have specialists come and talk to each parent about each part of Autism. Last night was the first night my wife and I attended, and we loved it. From what we learned, we are better able to understand the behaviors of both our children, and therefore better understand what they are trying to communicate.

It was also a good opportunity to get to know other parents who have children on the Spectrum. We can talk about shared experiences, goals, and get ideas from each other. It's a social relationship that we can't get any other way, as few others seem to understand our experiences. They don't understand that when your child is yelling "No!" at you and trying to get you to say what they want, even if they are wrong, it's progress.

This type of program is definitely something we need to continue for our schools. In the end, with the help of a few specialists, they are training a legion of special needs aides that will all work for free. That, in my mind, makes for a sustainable way forward in teaching children with Autism.

Autism and Siblings

2012-01-27T10:02:00.001-07:00

It seems these days everyone is looking for fault in the behavior of children. I hear complaints about "learned" behaviors, mimicking, and lamenting that the behaviors are difficult to "undo" in the best of families. I hear it even more so with my son, who, as part of his Autism, vents his frustration and excitement by head-butting. As such, I get complaints about potentially hurting others, or even worse, others mimicking his behavior.

I can understand how frustrating it is when your child starts to behave in a way that is deemed socially unacceptable. It's a constant vigil for most parents of children on the Spectrum as they try to help their children overcome these behaviors to better assist them in their social development. But nothing is more frustrating than having a sibling mimic the older child with Autism.

My youngest of two boys is now 3, and therefore is about the right age to start to see signs of the Spectrum. He has some signs, such as avoiding eye contact, ignoring his name when called, and seems to be between 6 months to a year behind in his speech development. He also head-buts when frustrated or excited. The problem is, we can't tell if this is a learned behavior from his older brother, or if it is a genuine sign of Autism.

If it is Autism, then he most likely will fall under the Asperger's syndrome umbrella, and will be very high functioning. But he seems to be so high functioning that he may not have Autism at all, which merely adds to the conundrum. The only real solution is to have him tested by a specialist to be certain one way or another. The numbers don't look to be in his favor, with recent reports showing siblings of older children on the Spectrum are more likely to be on the spectrum themselves. Not that it will change much, other than give him a head start with preschool Applied Behavior Analysis (and his brother's preschool teacher will get him, which will thrill her).

The thing is, another diagnosis in the family doesn't have the same impact as the first diagnosis. We have since learned a lot about the Autism Spectrum, developed a routine that caters to the spectrum while still demanding appropriate social behaviors, and in general have a good knowledge of what is needed. Basically, as we have already been through this once, we are prepared the second time around. The question is, are we prepared for a neuro-typical child?

Badges: Motivating Education

2012-01-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

For many years Education has had a big problem: It's been seen as being boring, tiring, and a chore. Since the days of "No more Teachers, no more books" to the "Hey Teacher, Leave them Kids Alone", people have been complaining about education. Everyone from parents to teachers have been looking for some way to make education fun again. And it seems something has grown from the video game world that can help: badges.

Badges are, essentially, minor accomplishment trophies, showing a mastery of a skill. Unlike the old "Gold Star on Forehead" methods used by teachers to reward correct answers, badges can be linked directly to a single skill (or series of skills). Video games use them as a way to modivate the player to continue to play the game by giving them something to work toward that takes perhaps less than 15 to 30 minutes. Before long, you have a player that has spent hours playing a game just to get a virtual award and feel accomplished. While many parents have seen these accomplishments as hollow, educators have seen them as a way to keep students interested in learning.

I have to admit, I was skeptical at first when I saw a number of institutions that apply them. How can you be sure they show a level of accomplishment? What is the standard of measurement? How is the badge a sign of a quality of education, and show a quantative, measured result? Well, the only way to know for sure would be to test it out. I found a website, TeamTreeHouse.com, that provided training videos that built the student up with a number of badges. The rates were reasonable for registration, so I signed up to see what it was like.

They (currently) have three main badges: Web Design, Web Development, and iOS 4 Programming. Looking at the number of videos, the length of each video, I figured if I booked through them I might be able to finish the whole training regime within a month, so I selected every badge path they had. Then I started on the first badge, which was an Introduction to HTML. As a learner, you watch a series of short videos (the longest was almost 20 minutes, the shortest was less then 2), and then at the end take a quiz to see how much you learned. After answering five consecutive questions correctly, you are awarded the "minor" badge, and move on to the next. After accomplishing all the minor badges in the HTML badge set, you are awarded the HTML badge, and so move on to the next set. After completing all the Web Design badges, you are awarded the Web Design "super" badge.

Once I saw how it worked, I was impressed. Evaluation of student knowledge is critical to learning, both before they start to learn, and after. By using this method of taking a quiz at any time during the badge sessions, the student can evaluate how much they already know about a given topic, and how much more they need to know. For online learning, this is great, because students have a way to self-evaluate when they need more instruction, how much instruction, and get instruction on targeted skills they seek. Also, as an added bonus, badges show everyone involved in the person's education from the teacher, to the parent, to the student, and even to a potential employer, what skills they truly have beyond having "taken a class". They may be minor accomplishments, but they represent real skills that have been acquired.

There is a caveat to this though: with the automated testing on TeamTreeHouse.com it is possible to continue to try answering questions until you get them right, as the questions repeat from a relatively small subset of questions. Of course that can be easily remedied by having either a larger question set, a limited amount of time to take the quiz, or both. Personally I don't think it's too terrible, as even by answering a question wrong it forces you to rethink the answer, and that in and of itself is learning.

So what about our guilded halls of learning in education, both K-12 and Higher Ed? How can this be implemented? Well, it would be both very easy (at least in concept), and extremely complex (in execution). Most educators have already built a well-ordered lesson plan that breaks down into topics, skills, knowledge, etc. that would directly relate to badges, both minor and regular badges. Continue to collect them, and you get a certificate with all your accomplishment badges, detailing the skills you have learned while studying. The real problem would be keeping track of these badges. An easy way would be to offer quizzes and assign them as each quiz is passed. But someone would need to manage the badge accomplishments, and provide a way to make them "puiblic", either by having physical badges or digital badges.

The logistics of the badge question can be worked out, but it will take time to apply it to traditional education. In the mean time, to illustrate just how addicting learning by badges can be, I started the task of completing all 66 available badges on the site (as of this writing) on Monday and I have just 10 more to go. It is definitely taking less than the month I thought it would take, and that for me is reason enough to take education with badges seriously. If you would like to see what these badges look like, you can view my profile. This is just one very exciting thing I can see coming up for educating a connected generation. What do you think?

iBooks 2 and iBooks Author: A Quick Review

2012-01-19T09:28:00.001-07:00

Apple announced today at their by invitation only event in New York a new initiative for the iPad: iBooks 2. It’s to allow interactive textbooks to be sold through the iBooks store to create a more effective way to carry your textbooks with you to school. In addition to this method, they also created an ebook authoring tool: iBooks Author.

iBooks 2 is essentially the same as iBooks 1, but allows for interactive elements like video media, testing, etc. that have not been available in previous ebook readers. Prior to iBooks 2, these types of interactive books had to be separate apps, though the Yellow Submarine book released by the Beatles and Subfilms, Limited offered a glimpse at what could happen. But other than a significant backend update, the interface and general feel of iBooks 2 is pretty much the same.

The real news, at least in my mind, is iBooks Author. Prior to this app, creating any kind of ebook could be a tedious process. It required a lot of skills that many authors would not have, such as HTML or XML experience, layout skills, etc. And while those skills are still very important for most publishing works, iBooks Author takes a lot of that guesswork out.

The Mac App, free from the Mac App Store, looks a lot like any of the iWork apps. As mentioned in Gadgetbox’s review, it’s like a hybrid between Keynote and Pages, though I would probably take it a step further and say that it looks a lot like Apple’s now retired iWeb app, both in organization and interface.

You are presented with several pre-made templates from which you can select, and add your elements as drag and drop tools. You can add new pages, chapters, prefaces, etc. from the Add Pages tool (top left-hand corner). You can change the view and orientation of the book to see what it would look like in portrait or landscape mode on the iPad, and even preview the book on your iPad when you are done (either with the book or the section.

Once done, you will then be able to publish your book. To publish to the iBookstore, you need to first create an iBookstore seller account. Once you have your account created, you can then download iTunes Producer to submit your packaged book as provided by the Publish tool in iBooks Author.

The really cool thing is that this doesn’t have to be limited to just textbook publishers, or even instructors who create their own textbooks. Anyone can use these same tools to create and distribute their own works for self-publication. That means professional-looking ebooks are now easier to create for the iBookstore at least, and all with free tools. This will have a huge impact on the self-publication industry that is starting to grow.

As an educator, I think this is a great tool. I look forward to creating some sample textbooks to see how the process works, and whether or not it will be something I will be using in the future for my training courses. As a potential author, even of fiction, I think it’s brilliant! The idea that I can take my current work and publish it without the stress of trying to get it noticed by the right agent and going through the publisher’s timeline. Of course there is an argument of quality that would come into play as has been with the self publication market as a whole, but the ease of the process as introduced by iBooks Author takes a lot of the fear out of it.

What do you think of Apple’s announcement?

SEO's next move: Badges?

2012-01-11T08:51:00.001-07:00

Today I read an article about the potential next step in education: badges. It seems that education is slowly moving away from the traditional degree, and adding badges of accomplishment when you learn something. In an educational setting, this is essentially recognizing every task or sub-task level skill that is learned on the way to the degree. And for those who are anxious to see progress in their studies, it gives them incremental feelings of accomplishment that can continue to motivate them to complete their degree. It also shows potential employers the level of understanding and skills accomplished both during and when the degree has been received. A granular view of skills is great for employers, as well as all other students.

But how does that work into Search engine optimization? It seems that Mozilla is working on a way to provide any website with the ability to display badges earned for resume pages. But taking it a bit further, suppose badges are awarded experts and content for their helpfulness? Enter the Google +1 and Facebook Like buttons, but that is not very telling beyond it being liked. Why was the content of the page liked? That is where badges come in.

If a badge system were developed for websites, it would allow visitors (i.e., consumers) to communicate what about the page that they liked. Was it informative, funny, designed well, or helpful? Do they like the services, the company, or just the picture? This information can then translate back to the company's design team to find out what works on their site, and therefore they can increase their focus on better badges.

So is this system likely? I think so. Google already provides badges for articles read in the Google News site based on content. It would just be another logical step to provide badges for sites based on what the user likes about the article/web page/site. Perhaps it would be too much work for the user to add a reason, though by clicking on a +1 they would just need to tick a prefilled reason why. Or, should eye tracking software mature enough to see what someone is reading, perhaps it could be automatically assigned.

The concept is there, the proof has been established. It just comes down to the wide-spread implementation. Though if Academia is moving in that direction, I don't imagine Google will be far behind. After all, the whole Page Rank system was based on academic reviews of papers.

Life Milestones and Autism: Testing Abstract Concepts

2012-01-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Previously posted on Technorati as Life Milestones and Autism: Testing Abstract Concepts.

Autism has an impact in many different parts of a family's life. Families will battle with the condition in order to teach basic self-care skills such as hygiene, dressing one's self, cooking (or at least getting cereal), and so on to be sure their children will have those skills that are necessary to take care of themselves. During these long sessions, other children are reaching milestones such as riding a bike, walking to school with friends, participating in important religious and social events, etc.

Of course parents are concerned that their children are missing out on these important childhood milestones, and look for ways to have their children enjoy as much as their peers. But some milestones require a level of understanding that is demonstrable that may not be possible for a child on the Spectrum. This becomes a problem.

Testing understanding has been pretty basic for most children throughout the years. You ask them questions, and see if they respond properly. Whether testing a belief or knowledge, it all comes down to how and what they respond. With children with Autism that may not be an effective method of testing their knowledge. Creative methods of examination need to be developed in order to understand what they know.

The basic question one needs to ask is, how can my child with Autism show his knowledge? Some can respond using a tablet and software, others using picture exchange. This works great for basic nouns and active verbs, but how does a child demonstrate an abstract thought with pictures and symbols in a way that makes sense?

I'm reminded of an episode of Seaquest DSV, where the dolphin, Darwin, was trying to convey his need to join his pod for a cure to his illness. The crew didn't understand what he was saying, because the concept was so abstract that it didn't translate well. Similar to children who are non-verbal, they may not be able to make sense of an abstract thought based on what they hear, or even if they do understand that thought, they may not be able to translate it with their given tools.

So what is a parent to do? It's a judgement call that parents need to make for themselves, with the help of organizational support. If it is a religious belief that is being tested, then they need to decide whether or not that belief can be properly expressed given the tools they have. If it is a relationship between safety and hunting, judgement calls, etc. from other organizational training that is required to reach a certain level of understanding, then the organization should be able to judge based on what is required to know.

Luckily for parents, this road is being blazed before them by countless Special Education teachers and administrators that need to create quality, quantifiable testing methods for children on the spectrum. It all comes down to finding a way for the child to successfully demonstrate their knowledge. It's a challenge that can be exciting, as long as you have a way forward.

A Merry Christmas to All

2011-12-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have two favorite traditional holidays: Hallowe'en, and Christmas. Christmas to me means spending time with family and friends, eating good food, and focusing on the fun and religious aspects of the holiday. I continually go back to the German for Christmas, as they originated many of our traditions (thanks to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria). The Christmas tree, the holiday confections (though I do occasionally make a French yule log), and the idea that it is a sacred night (Weinacht, in German). The Scots traditionally have had a rather subdued Christmas tradition that focuses on this same concept of a holy, sacred night a long time ago in Bethlehem. I'm not going to quibble about exact dates, because it doesn't matter. What matters is the message of the Christmas season.

So this Christmas, spend time with your family in a slow, fun night. Don't worry about presents, going all out with food or dectorating. Focus on your connection with each other, how much you love each other, and the fun you have together. Because that, to me, is the true Spirit of Christmas.

Frohe Weinacht alle!

The Dickens Festival

2011-12-20T08:56:00.001-07:00

In years long past, my family would make the trek to the Salt Lake Dickens Festival at the Utah State Fairgrounds. We would pay our admission, and enter into Victorian England. The vendors were all in period costumes, street players would be out and about, and you may even run into Charles Dickens or Qween Victoria on your amblings through shops. Then, for reasons later explained but then unexplicable, it went away. There wasn't a Dickens Festival anymore, having moved to Southern Utah, and a family tradition was gone.

Until recently! While it has now closed it's doors for the year, the Dickens Festival, which started the first weekend in December and ran until just this last Saturday, was everything I remembered. They had live theater productions of Oliver and Scrooge (both shortened to 1 hour, but done very well), and they were fun to watch. Even my son, with his Autism, was thrilled with the performance of Oliver. Of course it helps when you know the directoress, and a couple of cast members, but he still enjoyed it with the crowds and all. It was a good experience for him.

The vendors were typical fair vendors with slightly higher priced items, but there were a couple that stuck out for me. The bread vendor had some great artisan breads that were fabulous. The gourmet popcorn vendor had an amazing assortment of interesting flavors (I really liked the coconut and curry popcorn!). There was a wooden toy vendor that had a wooden top with a string and a handle for launching that provided so much joy for my son that I had to buy one. And lastly, there was a vendor for women's dresses that were decidedly Steampunk in nature. I don't mean glued-on gears or that nonsense, but rather a modern take on the bodice, the length and cut of the fabric, and colors. I was impressed. And to top it all off, they had a carriage ride for those willing to brave the foggy air and cold (gee, just like London!), reindeer, and a Father Christmas for the kids.

While it has closed down for the year, it's never too late to check out some of the great theater clips kept by the staff. They can be found at http://dickenstheaterco.blogspot.com/ for those who are interested. Also, if you would like to volunteer next year, that's the place to look! There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes as well as on stage, and they are thrilled for any who would like to help make every year a success.

Thanks for everyone who brought this Christmas tradition back for me and my family, and many others across the valley. The Dickens Festival is a little-known holiday treasure that needs more recognition.

The True Cost of Autism: It's Not Just Money

2011-12-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

Article first published as The True Cost of Autism: It's Not Just Money on Technorati.

A lot has been made in the debate about Autism and healthcare, because of the potential burden it will place on insurance companies, who will most likely trickle that cost down to everyone. I'm not going to get into the debate as to whether or not insurance coverage for Autism is right or justified, but rather I want to talk about the costs of Autism. Or, more specifically, the overall toll Autism plays on families.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is the only therapy or "treatment" that seems to work with children with Autism. It uses the Behavioralist method of teaching by encouraging correct behaviors with rewards. It also uses the Environmentalist teaching method, in that practitioners eliminate distractions from the classroom environment, making it easier for the children to learn. It's great, when done correctly, and it can be expensive.

In order for it to work, you need to have a psychologist on staff, your therapist, an occupational therapist (manages sensory needs as well as motor skills), and a teacher. Most often your staff to student ratio comes very close to 1:1, and that's expensive. These are all highly trained individuals that have worked hard, studied hard, and spent a lot of money to get their education customized to work with these children.

Now, many good school districts, much like the one we are currently in, have great programs that provide all this as part of the Public school system. Most do not, from what I understand. Therefore parents need to go to special private schools, often costing them between $28,000 to $50,000 a year per student. If they have two children, it's doubled, and so on for each child on the Spectrum. It's not the most encouraging sign.

And, of course, these schools and supportive school districts are few and far between. That means either driving long distances, or moving to locations that have support for children on the Spectrum. This limits job mobility, housing opportunities, and a feeling of control that many people have naturally. That goes to piece of mind, and is a hidden stress point on families with children on the Spectrum.

But therapy isn't the only thing that is expensive! When the child goes home, they need to continue the same routines that they are being taught at school. Therefore parents need to modify the home environment to match, as much as possible, the school environment. For some families, that means providing a "sensory room", where children can pull out of their fog by being provided the sensory stimulation or deprivation they need, depending on their sensory needs. So dark rooms, soft music, indoor swings, trampolines, full body massagers, and a ball pit are just some of the things that can help children. Some of those things are pretty cheap, but others can be expensive.

Then there are utilities. One interesting sensory need of our child is a need for showers, regularly. He loves the feel of the water on his whole body, and needs that feeling of being encompassed. If we lived by the ocean, he would spend all his time at the beach. But here in the Rockies, we have showers. Of course, living in a desert, all that water is not cheap, and we have resorted to planting low-water plants in order to save as much as we can for our son. Other children may need constant music or massagers working on their whole body, and that uses a lot of power.

Then, of course, there is emotional toll. Putting aside a "judging" public and their need to judge other's parenting skills, it's emotionally draining to chase down a child that doesn't look you in the eye, doesn't want to be touched, and try to get them to perform their tasks. This constant wearing down takes it's toll emotionally on parents, and at one point it was believed that Autism in the family raises the risk of divorce by 80% (I question that personally). While I don't believe it is a threat for marriages as much (particularly since both parents feel needed), it can cause stress with extended family. Add to that the Holidays, and you have quite a stressful situation for parents on the Spectrum.

This isn't a cry for pity, or a call for social "justice" by making other people give money to support the few. It's simply a call to the realities of having a child with Autism. Add to that the satisfaction of seeing your child perform feats worthy of a child twice their age mentally, those fleeting moments of having a child focus on you and smile, and the visions of a child who improves at school every day eventually becoming a successful contributor to society. All these things bring joy to the family, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Apple Predictions: My Wishlist

2011-12-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

With the end of the year fast approaching, I can't help but think what the new year will bring, particularly for Apple. With the latest OS release for iOS and OS X, the new field for Apple changes will most likely be hardware. While I have no connections with anyone that could even remotely speculate as to what Apple is going to release, here is what I would like to see happen for 2012 for all things Apple:

Apple TV for Gaming: Right now, the Apple TV does video and audio streaming, with some screen sharing when using an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S. That's nice and all, but I would really like to see the Apple TV do more. It's got the guts with it's A4 processor, and with iOS, it could provide a nice gaming platform. All it needs is some sort of controller, be it built into the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad or a new remote control that is WiFi enabled for controlling games. It would require a whole new thought process in Apple gaming development without multi-touch, but it would bring the set top out of the video/audio only and bring it into the realm of gaming. It may require a hardware upgrade, but it hasn't been refreshed in a long time.
iPad with Retina Display: This is what is keeping me from upgrading to the iPad 2. If I'm going to invest in something that is an upgrade from what I have, it needs to be a serious upgrade. Right now, my iPad does everything I want, with the exception of having that Retina display for reading ease. This is probably a no-brainer, with reports coming in that the next iPad (iPad 3?) will have the Retina display I want. Good, because it's on my list for this next year. ^_^
Rack-mounted Mac Pros: With the demise of the Xserve, which concerned a lot of my trainees, Apple no longer has an "enterprise" server for their Server app. While the Mac Mini has pretty much taken the spot, a really beefy server can be handy from time to time. Right now, that's the Mac Pro, but it's large, doesn't fit in a rack well, and doesn't look like a rack server. Make it rack-mountable, and server farms using Apple will be happy.
Apple Blade Servers: This one is totally coming from my wish list, but with the miniaturization that has gone into the Mac Mini, is an Apple Blade Server so far-fetched? It could be something as simple as a bunch of Mac Mini's tied together with Thunderbolt cables, all in the same chassis (so it would look nice). The potential is definitely there, it just needs the market.
Corporate Apple Cloud: iCloud is great for providing access to your iTunes purchases and documents. But many companies would like to keep that to themselves, and setting up a cloud within their network and plugging it into network desktops (virtual desktops?) would be awesome. Cloud computing has a lot of different definitions, so this is not likely to happen by 2012. Still, a corporate cloud that will allow access to any corporate licensed software, protected by login and LDAP/Mobile Management permissions and standardized across multiple servers? I can see that as a huge bonus for corporations looking to move to Apple. It would also justify an Apple Blade Server, by the way. ^_^
Siri for iPad: I can understand Siri being removed as an app for all iOS devices and being released, integrated, exclusively for the iPhone 4S because it is in beta. But it would be nice, perhaps with the next iOS update, to give all devices access to Siri. It would depend on when the beta is over, I suppose, but that would be awesome, particularly for the iPad.
LTE Support: While I will most likely not upgrade my iPhone 4 unless the iPhone 5 is a killer product (not sure how likely that will be), I would like to see an iPhone 5 with LTE support, as well as an iPad 3 with the same LTE support. I would like fast, responsive data (preferably with a decent price tag for a lot of usage), and it looks like the best option out there is going to be LTE. I know there are a lot of problems with offering some 4G technologies (like battery life, for one), so I'm not holding my breath. But with carriers now rolling out their LTE networks, you would think it would be an easy thing to do.
Cable-Cutter Apps for Apple TV: Netflix and YouTube/Vimeo are good starts, as are the various "channels" that come with NBA, MLB, NHL, etc. for the Apple TV, but I would like to see other offerings that will, if not exclusively then combined, let me cut my cable connection for TV. Even it that means signing up with a cable company on a per channel basis for live streaming through my internet connection, so be it! With the rise of Internet streaming, a cable company has become less critical beyond providing Internet service. Perhaps with less cable TV, the Internet portion of my Cable experience will improve. It also reduces the number of set top boxes for my TV to one: the Apple TV. That way I only pay for the channels I want, not channels I will never look at ever again. Another way to accomplish this? Subscription service per show. I realize there are a lot of players in this, so it won't be easy, but it would be great for the end user.

So that's my list for 2012, nothing huge or ground-breaking. I'm not looking for an Apple HDTV, or an Apple car. Just some changes that would make me happy professionally and personally. So, that being said, it's time to hunker down, and look for what the future will bring from Apple.

Passive Marketing

2011-12-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

I’m not the best person for direct connections, as I mentioned in a previous post. Yet, in order to get your name out there, you need to make an impression, and that means marketing. Marketing is, essentially, selling yourself. But for years, perhaps from various movies or certain comics (ahem, Dilbert), we have been conditioned into thinking that Marketing is a method of selling poor experiences.

While it’s true that good marketing can sell poor experiences, what makes marketing even better is when it grows from good, quality experiences. This is what I term passive marketing, as it happens without your active participation. It’s also called word-of-mouth or viral marketing, and is the holy grail of any website or company that is looking to sell goods and services.

So how do you get this holy grail? It’s not as hard as you think, though it’s definitely time consuming. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you do a few simple things:

Provide a Quality Experience: This should be a no-brainer. You need to have something of quality to provide before you can hope to have that quality experience shared.
Provide Value Beyond the Sale: If you are part of a community, then you can build your brand within the community by being an active participant.
Get Connected: Websites used to be the key, now they are just a requirement. You need to go beyond the website to provide value and build your brand. Social networking is a great way to do that.

These are just a few of the things you can do to passively build your brand, build your marketing presence, and encourage viral praise and interest in your goods and services.

Autism's Big News: There's A Manual!

2011-12-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Article first published as Autism's Big News: There's A Manual! on Technorati.

When my son was born, the hospital (now no longer there) offered a free book on childcare to each new parent. I used to joke that it was his "manual", one that we could refer to when something went wrong. Well, it came in handy as a new father when I would panic about hiccups, or other minor things. The manual made all the difference in giving me the piece of mind a new father really needed.

Three years later, when my son was diagnosed with Autism, the one thing we didn't have was a manual. Autism was mentioned in a lot of books, and under general terms, and the web was (and still is) littered with pseudo-science sites and theories based on anecdotal evidence that confused more than clarified when it came to child care. The books we were given as reference were either too expensive, unavailable, or written for psychologists in mind. It took months of research for me and my wife to sift out the truth and fact from fiction and unknowns, and judge for ourselves what was best for our son. How I longed for that manual to help me understand what it was I needed to do for my son.

Well, recognizing the need, the National Autism Center has published A Parent’s Guide to Evidence-based Practice and Autism, a manual for parents through the murky waters of Autism. It's based on research data that has been peer-reviewed, and written for the parent in mind. And the best part is it's a free eBook, and therefore available to everyone. I recommend you download it now.

What does it cover? Well, it explains what Autism is: a disorder. It outlines the basis of the research, treatments available, the professional findings, the importance of professional judgement in collecting data (not critical for family reading, but interesting), and how treatment can be tailored to the family. I've breezed through it so far, and find the information useful. I hope to have a more in depth review of the book in future.

So, if you are interested in learning more about Autism, this book is an excellent resource. It's accurate in it's data, written well, and free.

LinkedIn: A Fresh Look at an Old Friend

2011-12-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of networking for networking's sake. I don't like trying to build relationships based on a desire to get ahead, but rather to make friends. That being said, LinkedIn has been a great resource to see what my friends have been doing professionally, and a great way to connect to friends that don't use other social networking platforms. It also is void of the dreaded games that have become a plague to Facebook (and why I don't look at facebook much if I can help it). Other than that, I haven't seen a lot of need to use LinkedIn, and it has become an infrequent visit beyond reading update emails.

But it's expanded, and in a very good way. Today I got an email from LinkedIn asking me to fill in some skills that I have. As I went through the skills that they had listed for one in my field, I realized that they were building a job-hunting filter for me based on skills in my now virtual resume. These skills were then linked to jobs that were posted by companies both within and without my circle of contacts. These are targeted leads on new positions, and that's a powerful lead for job seekers.

For instance, if I were looking for a job, I could go to all my contacts and tell them to foward anything on to me that they think I would be good at. The problem is, they all have a different view of what I can accomplish based on their personal relationship to me. So while their network may have a list of jobs available for which I would qualify, they are not aware of those jobs or aware of the qualifications that I have. So it's a fatal problem that personal networking can have. But with this method that LinkedIn has created, it allows me to find any jobs posted through the social networking site that caters to the qualifications I set. Therefore I see the jobs for which I am qualified, regardless of the experience my network contacts may have had with me in the past or present.

Let me be clear here, I'm not looking for a job! I'm quite happy working for the University of Utah, and see it as a great opportunity to build a great program here. But should I ever want a new job, it would make sense to use a more efficient method of searching, and LinkedIn provides that service. Of course it requires potential employers to use LinkedIn when posting jobs, but I think with this innovation LinkedIn has shown itself to be a very effective method to find qualified people, if not the most effective method.

So for all those out there looking for positions, have you considered looking through LinkedIn? If not, perhaps it's time you did.

December 7th: A Day that has Lived in Infamy

2011-12-07T13:22:00.001-07:00

I haven't lived long enough to remember that fatal December 7th when so many of our Navy sank in an unprovoked attack. I can't claim to understand that feeling, though the closest that I can come to is the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th. But that doesn't mean I can't feel the impact from that infamous day in my life. My grandfather, one of 6 brothers, was a welder and was moved to Oregon to build Liberty and Victory ships to carry soldiers and goods across the Pacific. My other grandfather, unable to join the Army because of health, worked on the land to grow food for the soldiers abroad, and those at home left to support their families with increasing rations. My father was born during World War II, and grew up with it imprinted by his father in how to appreciate his freedom. My wife's grandfather served aboard ship during World War II, while her other grandfather fought in Europe.

So many members of my family, immediate and extended, have served in the military in one way or another because of the failed promise of World War I that was World War II. The land here in the United States is scarred by the remnants of the internment camps for Japanese Americans, one of which was Topaz near Delta, Utah. One cannot go to Hawaii and not visit Pearl Harbor, the beginning of the war for the United States, and the awakening of the United States as a major military and economic power in the world.

There are so many points in history that can tie back to that one fateful day, and so many lives that have been effected. It's hard to forget such an event, when it penetrates so deeply into your life, and becomes a part of you.

Was I there for the bombing? No. But do I feel it's effect, even 70 years later? Oh, definitely. I think of the sacrifice, the courage, and the fear that shaped the emerging United States, and how it developed into the world of which I am now a part. I am grateful for the sacrifice, impressed and humbled by that courage, and ashamed by the fear that gripped my nation during that period. Perhaps one day the promise of world peace will be reached. Until then, I thank those who sacrifice so much for their country's freedom, and the freedom of others.

Autism and Medical Check-ups

2011-12-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

Article first published as Autism and Medical Check-ups on Technorati.

So often we may find ourselves focused so much on one particular disorder or illness, and forget that people can still get common colds and cavities. And that's the same for my son. I often find myself so caught up on trying to teach him behaviors, focus on speaking and spelling (he's becoming a wizz on the iPod Touch virtual keyboard), that I forget that he has other needs too. And, unfortunately for him, he inherited my baby teeth and now has at least one massive cavity.

Because my son has Autism and is non-verbal, he can't tell us that his jaw hurts when he tries to eat. So we need to rely on body language to help guide us. It's not easy, because any behavior caused by continuous pain could also be caused by his need for constant deep pressure. It's difficult to tell what the problem is, and how to best address it. It wasn't until I started looking into his mouth that I noticed a large cavity forming.

Now knowing that my son has a cavity, a new anxiety can take hold: the dentist. People generally don't like going to the dentist, and people with Autism like it even less. There is the lighting necessary to see within the mouth, and those who are light sensitive can have problems with that. There is the physical sensation of someone placing their fingers and objects within their mouths, and those with sensory issues may not like that. And then there is the need to sit back in a chair for long periods of time, or sit in a waiting room for long periods of time, and that's just not fun at all. So a visit to the dentist is something I have been dreading.

Luckily, within our area there is a dentist that specializes in treating children with Autism. They are sensitive to their special needs, and can cater to them accordingly. I'm not sure how, though our first appointment is this week so I will find out soon enough. It was a relief to my mind to even find a dentist willing to make the effort to work with a child with such sensory needs.

But what about other check-ups? The dentist isn't the only place where children with Autism can have a hard time. What about the doctor's office? You have the same problem: long waits in the waiting room, and then again in the exam room. Then getting poked and prodded by the doctor, injections by the medical assistants (when necessary), and bright lights getting shined in places where bright lights generally don't go (ears, eyes, and mouth among others). It's a sensory nightmare, and getting an impatient pediatrician can make it all the more frustrating.

Again, luckily for us we have a pediatrician that understands our child's needs, and can cater to them. Part of it is because he delivered our son, and part of it is because he works with my wife. But also, he is a very patient man who is willing to make the effort to make sure our son is comfortable.

But that doesn't mean every visit has been event-free. One time we took our son into the Urgent Care for a quick check-up, and he was not handling the experience very well. He didn't feel well, and wanted to run around and get his energy out. Another person, someone bringing in their grandchild for something, became disgusted with my son's seemingly undisiplined behavior. She voiced as much, under her breath, perhaps in hopes what we wouldn't hear, or perhaps wanting us to hear. I, of course, heard, and just when I was about to explain to her our situation, we were called in. So, unfortunately, I was unable to educate this person to the trials of visiting such a structured environment with a child on the Spectrum, and what kind of effect it has on his behavior.

So what is it about the office that makes it so difficult for a child with Autism? Well, children with Autism generally (not always) have more neurons in their brain than most neurotypical children. These neurons remain active, and often do not prune at age 2 like most neurotypical children. As such, when they get a sensory message along those neurons, all those extra neurons fire at once. Imagine, for a second, someone turned on a strobe light in the room you are in, turned up the stereo and television to a very loud setting, and ran them both at the same time. Then add some sandpaper for the walls, gravel floors and seats, and painted everything in bright, swirling colors (imagine the 60's, but brighter). The strobe lighting represents the minute flickering of the florecent lights. The stereo and television reflect a sensitivity to hearing, and hearing multiple conversations at once. The sandpaper walls, gravel floors and such represent the sensitivity to touch. What is perfectly normal to a neurotypical child is amplified x number of times over for a child with Autism. And add to that a long, unpredictible wait (healthcare professionals can and often do get behind in their schedules), and it becomes almost intolerable.

So what can you as a parent do to help relieve the situation for your child? Well, often times finding a provider who is aware of your child's condition can be the best step. They will do their best to schedule you when it's most convenient, and results in the shortest wait time. Next, if your child has a sensitivity to light, often sunglasses or dimming the room's lighting can relieve the tension. If sound is a problem, giving them something to focus on, such as music with headphones, can help calm them down significantly. Some children need something to chew on (gum, a hose, plastic toys, something), while others just need someone to give them bear hugs (deep pressure on the skin and muscles). It may be any one of these, or a combination, which is why as a parent we are the best judges as to what works and doesn't work for our children. That being said, if you work with occupational therapists, they may have ideas you can try.

So if you perhaps see a parent with a child that seems to be behaving with no regard to that parent, it's quite possible that child has Autism. Offer to help if they are obviously in stress, otherwise just a smile and a nod to let them know you understand works wonders. Parents are often more comforted by the nod than by anything else that you can do.

OS X Lion Server Essentials 10.7 Workbook is Available!

2011-11-30T15:17:00.001-07:00

For those of you who are looking for Apple training for OS X Lion, particularly if you have a Server, the classes are now available for registration, and the workbook is available for those classes. And while I am excited that the classes are available and are being taught (some by me, of course), there is another reason: I contributed to the writing of the Workbook. I can share this now with the publication of the workbook, and I'm excited. It's the first time anything I have contributed to has been published, and it's a very good book.

The process was longer than I expected for such a small contribution, but it was a great experience. I was contacted by the project manager/official author of the book to help with the exercises. I chose one chapter, and got to work in my spare time rewriting the exercises to work with the release of Lion. My contributions, with screenshots, were then sent on to the technical editor for review, and he made a ton of excellent suggestions and corrections. I'm not the best at taking criticism, but every one was correct, though not all the suggested changes needed to be made (instead different changes were made). It then went on to editing, where more screenshots were taken, updated, etc. My part ended with the Beta class where Mac OS X experts who had more experience than I did got together and tested out the workbook. More suggestions and corrections were made by the Author, and the final book was compiled.

The publishers and editor at PeachPit were excellent to work with, and the staff at Apple were fabulous. Arek Dreyer, the author of the Workbook and the Reference book, was great to work with, as was Adam Karneboge the technical editor. I loved the experience and would do it again in a heartbeat.

For those of you who are interested in purchasing the workbook, I'm afraid to say the price may be more than you think: It's only available from Apple Authorized Training Centers, and only distributed to students that take the Lion 201 training course ($1500.00). But you get three days of training in the bargain, learn how to use Apple Server to manage a domain, website, file sharing, and Mobile Device Management for Macs and iOS devices. Classes at the University of Utah start in the Spring. Check them out!

Kindle Fire: First Impressions

2011-11-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am a Mac user. I have been ever since that day with Mac OS X when I opened the Terminal app and found the command line. I like the fact that I don't have to configure and compile every little thing to get it to work, and worry that it may break something else. That being said, I like several different platforms for their individual strengths. So when Amazon announced a sub-$200 Kindle tablet with a version of Android, I was intrigued.

I don't have the funds to purchase every tablet out there, and unlike major news organizations I don't have the luxury of companies sending me products for review (but I would be adverse to it!). So when a search for a toner cartridge for a Xerox Phazer 3250 (quite an odyssey in itself) took me to my local Staples, I had to try it out. Here were my impressions:

Reading: The Kindle Fire may be a tablet, but it should be first and foremost an eBook reader. I've read reviews of some people do did not like it, but on the demo, books looked great. It was comparable to reading on my iPad in performance and clarity, though the words were crisper on my iPhone 4 (may be because of the Retina display). Still, it worked well, and I was impressed.
Magazines: Reading books with no pictures is one thing, but magazines are another story completely. The magazine experience was frustrating, as it was pretty much like reading a PDF on a very small screen: nothing was readable unless you blew it up. It didn't flow well, and that's a problem.
The Interface: I liked the interface, as it was similar to Coverflow on the Mac. I'm not sure how it would perform with more than a few apps on it, as it would be easy to get lost in the icons you have in the coverflow view. But for the few apps there, it worked well. When you get to the eReader app, it would blow up to show the books available in a grid, much like iBooks or Kindle for Mac/Blackberry/Android/iPhone, etc. You get the idea.
Web: I was very disappointed here, as I couldn't test the web capabilities on the demo. Instead I got a demo video, which I do not trust. Other reviews I have read were not impressed with the performance of the Silk browser, but until I can test it for myself I can't give an opinion. Instead, I can give you a rather frustrated opinion of the video: I was not happy with it.

I didn't test any of the other apps, beacuse at that point it's pretty much like any other tablet. So my overall impression? As a low-cost tablet, it could function, but it doesn't really excel at anything. But without testing the web capabilities directly, I couldn't recommend it as your only computing device. A larger device that can allow for content creation (like documents) would definitely be a good move if you are looking for a Tablet. If you are only looking for an eReader with touch capabilities, then purchasing the Kindle Touch would be a cheaper and excellent solution. The Kindle Fire works well if you are carrying your Kindle with a laptop.

And, interestingly, I don't need a laptop with my iPad.

Schools, Teachers, Autism: Working with the Specialists

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Article first published as Schools, Teachers, Autism: Working with the Specialists on Technorati.

This week we had our second (and my first) parent-teacher conference with my son's first grade teacher. She just started, has a Master's degree in Special Education, and is very excited to be working with her group of students. But this year, so far, she has been struggling with my son. That struggle has not been because of his inability to learn, but rather her struggle is trying to find ways to connect with him and teach him.

We discussed how we work with him at home, and what they see as a barrier in my son's development. It seems that he is highly visual and tactile, and needs a lot of deep pressure stimulation to calm down enough to perform in class. We talked about strategies for working with him, ideas that would be tried over the next couple of days, and what we can do at home to help him focus and work on learning.

In the past I had talked about how I get defensive about my son and the work we do with him at home. But it took a good talk with his Kindergarten teacher and the school psychologist (who tested his IQ and was frustrated, because there was no way to more accurately test him until he is more verbal) to understand that they were there to help us help them. They were the experts in special education, behavior techniques, and tools necessary to teach him, but needed us as parents to use their methods to reinforce the lessons. It seems odd to say this, as I teach for a living, but we as parents always want to "know what's best" for our children. And sometimes, we don't.

Perhaps that is why so many parents are now quick to blame teachers and schools for their children's failures. Instead of working with the teacher, they fight them for "judging" their child. It's frustrating for teachers, coddles children into thinking they don't have to work if they just make a big enough stink about every little grade, and parents are teaching their children that being a bully will get you what you want in the short term.

So what can we, as parents, do to help our children develop and learn? Something I learned from my parents, you go to the parent teacher conferences with a goal: learn what you can do at home to encourage learning. It's more than just forcing your children to do homework. It requires discussion about the topics, making games that reinforce learning concepts, and instilling a desire to read.

When we came back from our consulation, we came back with specific goals:

Work on writing, spelling, and spacing
Work on addition (mainstream 1st grader skill)
Work on sorting into categories and groups
Work on relationship between verbs and their concepts
Practice sharing and taking turns
Practice coloring
Find a deep pressure sensory solution to help him focus

Some of these skills may seem pretty basic for children in first grade, but they are common problems children with Autism have. But the one thing that got me excited is the fact that my son is getting to the point of being mainstreamed in at least math. It will make his uncle proud, I'm sure, and it thrills me to know that he is focused on learning as much as he can. And with our take-aways from the meeting, we have a way forward to help him.

Autism is a scary business, particularly if you are doing it alone. Having the support of your child's teacher and the school staff is something you definitely need. Add into that a supportive family and, if possible, religious or social community, and you can see dramatic changes in your child's development.

Dual Boot Imaging with OS X Lion and Windows 7 Without Winclone

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

It seems I have a lot of traffic coming in to my dual boot process I created with Winclone as the cloning tool. Unfortunately, Winclone is no longer being developed, and it was an imperfect process at best. No, the needed to be a better way to make an image, and I was determined to find it.

Luckily, I had a comment from another user that put me on the scent to Clonezilla. I had another suggestion from our IT manager about using dd as my imaging of choice. Well, I liked the idea of using built in tools with OS X instead of using another operating system, so I gave it a try. I also tried Clonezilla, which is well documented in a previous post. Which did I like? Let me compare them and then I will give you my conclusion.

dd command

I love the command line. It's clean, it's powerful, and it's the reason I loved Mac OS X when I first saw it. S the idea of using a command line tool to do an image was pretty appealing. So, I took my imaged computer (MacBook Pro 2007 with 100 GB hard drive), and gave it a try. After booting up to target disk mode, I ran the dd command on my computer to copy the entire hard drive and then restore. The copy process took 9 hours, as did the restore. It worked perfectly, but the time delay was just too much to make it worth while. I kept the iso file I had created, but continued my search.

Clonezilla

Clonezilla is a boot disk that uses Linux, some very clever scripting, and Partclone to create your images. It's similar to Norton Ghost, but unlike Ghost it supports the HFS+ file system native to Mac OS X. I tried two methods: imaging the entire drive with the partitions, and just the Windows partition. Both worked, though I really like the first method for lab deployment. The drawback is the reliance on an install disk or USB key to start the image process.

But the benefits? Huge time savings, even over the NetBoot solution that Apple uses natively. It's not as flexible, but it does handle unicasting better than Apple's tool. How does it do it? By breaking up the install image into multiple tarballs and delivering them as needed to the image. It seems to be a sort of hacked multicasting method, and works very well.

So my method of choice? Clonezilla. If you want the step by step process, check out my previous post on the subject, and let me know what you think. It worked for me and my lab!

Perspectives in Autism

2011-11-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

I find it funny that other parents who hear or notice that I have a child with Autism get emotional. They try to empathize, or feel sorry for me, and often wonder how it is we as parents manage to function with a child on the Spectrum. The truth is, we don't know, because we don't know any different,

I'm writing this post after thinking about perspectives. My train of thought ran thusly:
1. A picture of the Utah desert, with it's beautiful sandstone formations and Delicate Arch.
2. A flashback to a picturesque scene of a desert in China from a favorite movie.
3. Now wondering if one could tell the difference, particularly if only given an artistic close up shot of the sand.
4. A realization I had after living in Germany for a couple years: people and places are basically the same wherever you go.
5. Does that apply to parenting?

You see, I adhere to the old Stoic philosophy that nothing in life is unbearable, and that our trials are individual in that they happen to us and not someone else. Should we receive a trial or stumbling block, we adapt to the changing circumstances as best we can by learning and adjusting.

As such, while other parents complain of very talkative children that tend to say too much, we are eager to hear any word from ours. While other parents are worried about performance in school and doing homework, we concern ourselves with repeatedly teaching our son life skills so he can function as a normal adult when he grows up. It's all about the perspective.

So, for this reason, I don't consider myself an overly tried parent. I have very well behaved children that occasionally melt down at inconvenient times, but otherwise are loving and excited to see the world. I look for the positive side of his gifts with his natural mechanical mind and quick grasp of just about any concept (though I would like it if he didn't try to challenge those concepts for validity quite so often).

Now, there are many parents out there who have a child on the spectrum at is more severely challenged than my son, and I realize that. My problems are my own, and I wouldn't want to wish them on anyone else, nor would I want anyone else's problems. My focus is on my family and their welfare, just as anyone else's focus should be on their families. My trials are my own, and for that I am grateful. To have to deal with the trials of other families on top of my own might stretch my abilities.

But then, “Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear" (Marcus Aurelius Caesar).

Siri: Why It's Great for Private Devices Only

2011-11-14T12:51:00.001-07:00

Star Trek has colored all our technological expectations for years. Before the cell phone, there was the communicator. Before the iPad there was the PADD. Now, with the release of Siri by Apple on the iPhone 4S, there is a plausible method of communicating with the computer/television/ship/car/toaster with natural voice control. It's exciting, it's futuristic, and it seems to be all the rage with tech pundits across the Interwebs. But there is one problem: voice control in a public setting, without volume control or voice recognition, just doesn't work with our current technology.

Siri is an innovation in personal computing. Ask "her" a question, and Siri will respond with an answer. Ask "her" to adjust your schedule, and she will do so with verbal confirmation. All this works within the realm of a personal question or personal request, much in the same way a personal question or request of your Personal Assistant would be handled. But how well does voice commands work within a crowded room, without a way to block all the background noise? This is the question technical pundits need to ask themselves before they start gushing on the possibility of a Siri-activated Apple TV.

Case in point: Our Chevy Traverse came with voice activated commands as part of it's OnStar service. When the sales person was trying to demonstrate this for us, he couldn't get it to work without rolling up the windows. To this date it is a feature we rarely use, because the children in the back cannot remain quiet long enough to accomplish anything. So how is Siri going to work in a crowded family room or living room with chatter going on in the background? I don't see it happening. A car I see as being borderline, as you can commute alone occasionally. But in front of a social experience like the old TV, I just don't see it happening.

You see, Television, since it's inception, had always been a "social" event, in that people would gather together and watch what was on. Whether it was "Howdy Doody", "Uncle Milt", or "Ed Sullivan", the family always gathered together to share the experience. Families do that now, to a certain extent, with various programs available now. The background noise alone becomes problematic without using a microphone or voice recognition. But, that would mean only one person is in control at a time (just like we are now with the remote), and adds in the initial frustration of imperfect voice recognition (it's getting better, but still not perfect out of the box).

So when it comes to ideas about a Siri powered TV, I just don't see how anyone can do that. The technology we have currently limits natural voice commands to a personal experience. Now, is it possible Apple could have come up with a revolutionary way to get rid of background noise and make it work? Sure, it's possible. But is it probable? I don't think so. Not to doubt Apple, but I think it's not likely that the tech is ready for the regular consumer.

What do you think?

Changes in Routine: Challenges with Daylight Savings

2011-11-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Article first published as Changes in Routine: Challenges with Daylight Savings on Technorati.

Daylight Savings is great for those who look forward to daylight when they get home from work, but everyone dreads the time change in the Fall and Spring. Do we add or subtract an hour? When exactly does it happen? How will I catch up on my sleep?

These are common questions that I have heard from friends and family. But things are a little different with a child on the Spectrum. For those who are not aware, most children like routine, rules, and order (even if they sometimes don't follow them). But children with Autism need their routine. Changes in the routine can send some children into meltdowns, others become wired and are unable to cope with what would otherwise be a normal daily routine. Parents become frustrated, and often lose sleep as their children have a hard time adjusting to a time change on the clock.

For instance, my youngest son, regardless of what the clock says, will almost always wake up at 5:00 AM. Now that Daylight Savings has changed, it is now 4:00 AM he wakes up, ready to start the new day. It doesn't matter what time he goes to sleep because he still wakes up early in the morning. And instead of taking days to adjust as typical children, it's weeks.

My oldest, who likes to sleep in (relatively, you understand, as he gets up by 7:00 AM), now gets up at 6:00 AM, and has to wait an extra hour for the bus to arrive. Because of this breach in his schedule, he becomes hyper and destructive. The change in the routine has disrupted his life to a point where coping is all he can do until he adjusts to the new time change.

Now, I'm not sharing this to complain about Daylight Savings, but rather to share a small window in the life a child with Autism and how different it can be for the parents. It's something to keep in mind when major changes happen in one's life, so you can better prepare a child for that change.

For every change in our family routine, we prepare our children as best we can. For Daylight Savings, we try to adjust the children's sleeping patterns ahead of time. For vacations, we prepare with small road trips ahead of time. For school schedules and breaks for the Holidays and Summer Vacation, we try to fill their time with activities that distract them from the change in routine.

It's all a day in the life of a parent with a child on the Spectrum.

Fun with iWeb

2011-11-02T13:44:00.001-06:00

Because I never had a MobileMe account, or a .Mac account, I've never really played with iWeb. Oh, it looks nice, but I didn't really see a need for it as most of my websites are integrated with a content management system. But, that being said, I thought it would be fun to take a peak and see what it could do.

When you first launch iWeb, it presents you with a list of templates. These templates are pretty static, in that you can't recolor them in the interface, but they all look really nice. I chose the layered paper interface, as I like the look of good paper. Then you start with the Home page. To change the title of the page, you click on the name of the page in the left pane. Editing fields is as easy as clicking or double-clicking in the text box field. Pictures are also easy to add by either dragging them in from Finder or iPhoto.

Most themes have image placeholders with preset pictures, waiting for you to add pictures yourself. To add a picture, you drag your picture from Finder or from iPhoto into iWeb, and drop it on the picture. You can even adjust the picture to mask parts of the picture you don't want to show (instead of cropping).

Adding pages was easy, just by clicking on the Add Page tool at the bottom left. There are quite a few pages to choose from, including a built-in Blog. It's not as robust as Wordpress, but it works for a news area or general posting tool. Though it can only be updated through iWeb that I can see. Pity, as it has a nice design. Podcasts can also be added the same way, making it easy to set up a podcasting website using iWeb.

But when you try to Publish, it will automatically try to submit to MobileMe. Not a good thing, particularly as MobileMe is no more (or will be shortly). Luckily, if you click on the Site itself, you can edit it to publish to an FTP site, and change your FTP settings to use SFTP. Configuration was simple, setup was easy, and publishing at that point is one-click.

The main drawback to iWeb that I can see is the lack of ability to edit the HTML that is getting published. Each page is a set HTML page, with backup files assigned per page. Also, it's not geared to very complicated websites with lots of navigation (I wouldn't run a storefront from iWeb). If you are looking for something of that calibre, you may want to stick with the tried and true Dreamweaver. But if you are only looking for a simple webpage creator that is not very complicated, it's a great tool.

iWeb is no longer avialable from Apple, as it represents the older software from the iLife suite. I hope it has not been killed, just held back as iCloud rolls out and MoblieMe fades away. I look forward to a phoenix rising of iWeb to combine it's current ease of use interface for building websites with access to the code. If that happens, you will have one sweet HTML editor on your hands!

For an example of what iWeb can do, check out my main website at http://robbclan.com.

What is your favorite website creator tool?

Pontifications about an Apple Television Set

2011-11-01T09:54:00.001-06:00

There have been quite a few predictions that have been drooled over in the technology media about a pending Apple branded HDTV, all stemming from a comment Steve Jobs' made about cracking the TV interface. It has gone viral from mockups to declarations about Siri being the interface of the future TV. The predictions are exciting, all sound great, but I often wonder just how much is actually just pie in the sky dreaming, and how much is practical.

Apple currently has the Apple TV, which gives you access to your iTunes media on your computer and in iCloud (for music and Television shows), as well as access to YouTube, Vimeo, and Netflix. There are even some premimum channels for Sports fans, which each have their own subscription (though it's really nice to have the scores for free!). The menu is easy to update with new features as they come, and there is a lot of potential with the Apple TV and it's iOS operating system. But how would it work with traditional television sets?

One solution is to have Apple create an interface that is universal for all cable companies and their offerings, with only slight differences in what options are presented based on the cable company being used. It's a great idea in principle, but becomes problematic in practice. Apple doesn't have a strong history of being friendly to the dictates of other companies, but to provide their services with the same clean interface as the rest of their offerings they would find themselves in that spot. They would need to work with every cable provider in the US and other countries they provide this "Apple HDTV" experience in order to get them to standardize their receiver interface, or create plugins that will allow Apple to set the interface while correctly accessing the cable companies content. It's possible, but risky if jailbroken Apple HDTV's will allow free viewing of cable content. That becomes a hurdle, and a big one for the cable companies.

Another solution is to bypass the cable companies completely and work directly with content providers with a subscription based service for their offerings. Instead of purchasing a "package", users would subscribe to the channels they want, and only the channels they want, and it would all be done much the same way as Netflix, MLB TV, NBA TV, etc. It's a great concept in principle, because the consumer wins by only having the channels they want, and only paying for the channels they want. But would it work? It would mean increased pressure on bandwidth if it became widespread, as well as cutting cable companies profits from those "cutting the cord" on cable and satellite. That means broadband internet prices could likely go up, and some companies not to fond of competition could, perhaps, start "filtering" specific content or sources. There are a lot of legal issues that would come into play in this scenario, where the customer could ultimately lose.

And then there is the issue of local network television access vs. access to the syndicated content they provide. Will a local channel be able to provide their content on an Apple HDTV with the subscription model with the blessing of the studio? How would it be provided? And what about all the money they have just recently sunk into the new HD broadcast infrastructure? Would they embrace an internet delivery method? One huge issue I can see coming down the pipe is studios no longer sitting on a collection of shows to please everyone, but rather being merited by each show they do provide. It's scary water to be navigating with some well established studios (like NBC and CBS) reaching the brink of bankruptcy. They may be too afraid of breaking anything up for fear of losing valuable advertising. And that brings up another major issue: advertising. Who gets to advertise in this new internet delivery system? Who gets the revenue? How can it be monetized? These questions would need to be answered.

The fundamental question I ask is, how can current television viewing be made better? Not just in what you see, but how you find what you want and how you access it at the right time. That's the question we as consumers should be asking, because that is the same question Steve Jobs and the developers at Apple asked when they looked at a project. It's what those currently working at Apple do every day. They worry not about what features to add, but what features to remove in order to increase usability and fluid design. That's what makes an Apple product, well, an Apple.

Personally, I like the idea of subscribing to individual channels. And I can see this as, well, Apps in the Apple TV App Store (which would need to be created, of course) that would allow you to browse for your favorite channel and subscribe. Not sure you want the entire channel, but just a show? Subscribe to the show instead, and have it stream through iCloud. I see it as the most viable option for Apple, particularly if they can tie in a subscription based service for iTunes in the bargain. But to do so would mean Networks placing their futures into the hands of Apple in a way that even Music didn't, which is scary for so many reasons.

I would like to see someone work out a deal with Networks to provide their materials as a flat-rate subscription, and have users only pay for the channels they are going to watch, or even only the shows they would like to see. Do that all with a simple interface, clean design, and a free update to existing Apple TV boxes, and in my mind Apple would have truly created something revolutionary and magical.

Creating an External Windows Volume

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

This process I took while trying to create a imaging and restore procedure for our MacBook Pro lab for both Windows and Mac bootable partitions. The technique will be geared to the Mac side of things, but can potentially be applied to any OS using UNIX and has access to the dd command.

The dd command is a very powerful tool. You can make a bit by bit copy of data from one media to another without any problems by using this technique. The only drawback is the time it takes to make the copy and the backup, which is why I have ultimately chosen to not use this method. But, as a side effect, it made it possible to restore a bootable Windows image to an external hard drive.

##CAUTION!! Any misstep in this process can destroy your drive completely, making it difficult to restore back again. That's why I don't recommend it as a restoration process. I'd highly recommend you use another process for backing up your Bootcamp volume. You can use Winclone 2.3, though only if you turn just about everything off, or CloneZilla Live (which I am still testing, though they say it can be done).

First, start with a prepared computer/drive. In this case, I had a MacBook Pro with OS X Lion on one partition and Windows 7 on another.
Mount the computer/drive as an external drive. Macs are able to boot into Target Disk Mode, which turns it into a very expensive Firewire or Thunderbolt drive.
Open Terminal (or your command line) and run the command to identify your hard drives on the computer. For the Mac, this command is:
diskutil list
Identify your drive. Most often drives on a UNIX system would be in the /dev/ directory. On the Mac, they are identified as /dev/disk1. For other UNIX computers, you will probably see them as /dev/hda.
Run this command to back up your drive to an ISO file:
sudo dd if=/dev/disk1 of=image.iso conv=noerror
1. sudo is for super user do (run it as root)
2. dd is the command
3. if is the input file, or the drive (or partition) you are going to copy
4. of is the output file, or the location the copy will go. In this case, we are copying the drive as an ISO file in the current working directory
5. conv=noerror will check for errors
6. Expect this command to run for a long time. It took 9 hours for a 100 GB drive with two partitions for me!
Mount your new drive. For me, I unmounted the MacBook Pro, and mounted an external hard drive. The new drive needs to be equal or greater than the previous drive in order for this process to work.
Wipe the drive, for convenience sake. I'm not sure if this is required, but I would still recommend it. To do so, run the following command:
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk1 conv=noerror
Again, expect it to take a long time to run.
Once finished, you can restore the image using the following command:
sudo dd if=image.iso of=/dev/disk1 conv=error

After a long imaging process, about as long as it took to copy and wipe out, you should have a fully restored system to an external drive that will boot to Mac or Windows.

So, what I learned from this was finding a great way to back up and restore a hard drive using an ISO. What I also learned from this is that bit by bit copying takes forever, and is not time effective enough for mass deployment. So the search continues for a usable deployment system for a Mac with a Bootcamp partition.

Two Weeks with iOS 5

2011-10-26T10:00:00.001-06:00

It's been two weeks since iOS 5 had been officially released to the public as a free upgrade for all compatible iOS devices. Since I upgraded my iPhone, iPad, and children's iPod Touch devices, I've come to really appreciate the new features that come with iOS. Here is my list of favorite features:

Notifications: Both the Notification center and the new way notifications are managed in iOS 5 are a huge upgrade for the OS. I can see why it was so popular in the Android platform, and I'm glad to see it on my phone. Features like the stock app and weather app are more useful as they are published to the notification center, and I can view them regardless of the app I am using. For instance, one game I like to play while commuting on the train is Civilization Revolution. But I also need to know the time. Previously, I would need to either check my watch or close the app to view the time (just to make sure I don't have to run to catch the train). Now, with two swipes from the top of my game, the notification center will tell me what I want to know. I can also see current emails waiting for me, and texts I may have gotten that are waiting, etc. I look forward to more apps using the notification center instead of badges, as the latter are very annoying to see on the screen.
Personalized Texting Tones: It's a minor thing, but now you can personalize your text tones per person with ringtones, instead of using the default text notification. Very handy when identifying who sent you the text, and how important it may be.
iCloud: This is huge for me, because I have a bad habit of wiping computers and repartitioning them to test theories. As such, I don't always backup my data properly, like pictures, much to my wife's annoyance. With iCoud, those documents I want to keep get backed up and synced to all my devices, so I always have a copy of them somewhere. It works well with Photo Stream and the iWork suite. I'm looking forward to more apps using iCloud, like, say, an iOS version of Office?
Find my Mac/iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch: Last month, my youngest, in his excitement, managed to misplace both of the boys' iPod Touch devices. We took the house apart looking for them, and was unable to find them until recently when we had our carpet replaced and they took the grill off of the return vents in the hallway. There were both of the iPod Touch devices, none the worse for wear other than having completely drained batteries. I immediately upgraded them, synced them to my iTunes account, and turned on Find my iPod Touch. Now, should they go missing, I can quickly an easily find them using the wireless network by sending a loud tone. While this feature was available for the iPod Touch in iOS 4, it's easier to enable in iOS 5. I also will be getting any pictures my sons take with their devices in my Photo Stream, which will then be shown on the Apple TV. That's just cool.
Newsstand: I've never been a huge fan of newspapers and magazines, mostly because they take up a lot of space when you save them, and even more space when you try to get rid of them. And digital copies on an iOS device using apps was cumbersome. Newsstand does simplify the process of getting and reading your subscription media, and though not all subscription apps support Newsstand, many do, and that has got me actually thinking about getting subscriptions. If only The Highlander would create an iOS app for Newsstand..
Increase Volume Button for Taking Pictures: It's just awesome to use the native camera app and take pictures with the increase volume button.

So those are six things that I have enjoyed since I started working with iOS 5. There are other features, of course, that are just as awesome, but some I can't take advantage of without having newer hardware, and others I haven't discovered. There was one issue I experienced after upgrading though: my battery on my iPhone 4 drained faster than ever before, until I let it drain completely and then recharged it completely. After that, the battery has worked as well as ever, and sometimes even performed better.

How do you find iOS 5?

Imaging a Mac Computer with Bootcamp using Clonezilla

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Creating an image for a Macintosh computer that includes both a Macintosh partition and a Bootcamp partition for Windows is complicated at best with the release of Lion and the demise of the old standby: Winclone. Since twocanoes stopped developing Winclone, I've been looking for another method to create an image that will be, well, reliable. While it is possible to use Winclone 2.3, it's not supported and it's very buggy. And that's just the Windows partition, not the entire drive, and I want the entire drive. So, based on some suggestions I got with previous posts and lots of online research, I decided to give Clonezilla a try.

Clonezilla is akin to Norton Ghost, as it grabs a complete image of a hard drive, partitions and all, and will restore it. Unlike other ghosting software though, Clonezilla supports HFS+, the Mac OS X Extended filesystem, as provided by the core utility, Partclone. That means it can image both a standard NTFS partition with the Mac partition. It sounds great, assuming it would work, so I thought I would test it out and see if it were a viable option for mass deployment of Mac with Bootcamp. Going through the motions, I was impressed with the repository settings that were available. Much like Acronis, the Clonezilla Live CD boots up into it's own OS platform. With Clonezilla, though, it's Linux, and it shows. There are a lot of options to select, and it doesn't have a very friendly UI. But, really, UI is secondary to performance in my case (because I'm used to a command line UI that it presents), so that wasn't much of a consideration.

The first neat experience I saw with Clonezilla was it's flexibility. You can select just about every language and keyboard setup that Linux supports, which makes it handy to deploy. Unfortunely, you need to do it every single time you boot. Perhaps there is a way to build a custom CD, or perhaps settings would be kept with the USB boot, but I didn't see it off hand. The other flexibility option that impressed me was the method of finding your repository. It's actually very easy to find a connection method that will work for you. I really liked the idea of having an SSH repository, making images easy to deploy to and from a remote server if necessary. The only thing to change performance at that point would be the speed of your connection. Internally, if you are on a Gigibit switched network, it will come as close to that speed as possible.

Then we get to the image tool. I only used the beginner options, which probably has a lot of settings that are defaulted, but I wanted to make this as easy as possible. That, and after spending a good 5 minutes on choosing my keyboard and setting up the repository information, I wasn't much interested in spending more time configuring when default settings should work just fine. Apparently you can back up just partitions, or the entire disk. I chose the entire disk because that was what I am looking for, but I kept the partition idea in mind for future projects (assuming it worked, of course).

Below are the steps I took while creating an image, and deploying that image to a computer.

Steps: Booting from the CD

Boot to Clonezilla Live CD
Select boot option for Clonezilla. The default works great at 800 x 600.
Select Language (default is US English)
If you are not using a USB keyboard, select the keymap from the arch list, otherwise continue with "Don't tuch keymap"
1. If you selected to select the keymap, select your keyboard type (default is most common, QWERTY)
2. Select the Keyboard layout (starts with Brazillian)
3. Select your keyboard variant, either Apple USB or Standard

Now you are ready to set up the repository for your image.

Select Start_Clonezilla
Select Device-Image, as you would want to create an image from a device.
Select your repository method.
1. If you have a local device, like a USB drive or internal drive, you can use Local_dev
2. If you have an SSH server you want to publish the image to, use ssh_server
3. If you have an SMB server (Samba, or Windows server), this will be best for you
4. If you have an NFS server (common in UNIX networks), nsf_server will work for you
Depending on what you selected before, you need to verify your network connection (or not if it's local). I selected the Ethernet network (for speed), and then used DHCP. This will probably be the most common setup for everyone.
Since I chose SSH, I entered in my SSH server IP (can use DNS name too), confirmed the port number, and entered in the user ID for the login.
Then enter in the absolute path for the repository. I put it on my Desktop, so I put in /Users/userid/Desktop.
It will then ask you for authentication information to mount the connection. Follow directions (hopefully you already know all this information).

You are now ready to start the image.

Select Beginner mode. It's easy to use, and you don't have to mess with the expert stuff. If you already know what you are doing, then expert would be great. But then, if you already know what you are doing, why are you reading this?
Select Action
1. savedisk: Will image the entire hard drive as an image, with all partitions. This is what I chose for creating the image of my Mac with the bootcamp drive.
2. saveparts: Will image partitions of the drive for restoration. If you don't need everything, just a single partition (like your Bootcamp partition), this will back up just the partition. Obviously this will save you time over the entire disk if you have more than one partition.
3. restoredisk: Will restore the drive from an image.
4. restoreparts: Will restore individual partitions.
5. recovery-iso-zip: Will create a recovery disk of Clonezilla Live for either CD or as a zip for a bootable USB drive.
6. chk-img-restorable: will check to see if an image is restorable or not. This is an option you can turn on while creating the image, so it will be checked after the image has been created.
Input the name you want for your image.
Select the disk or partition you want to back up
Choose to either check the image as it's saved, or skip the check. I recommend letting it check the image (increased my image time by 15 minutes, but well worth piece of mind)
Press enter to continue.

At this point, you are all set! Clonezilla will create an image of each partition in the hard drive (or just the one you selected), and notify you how long for each partition it will take to back up and restore. It took, for my two images, a total of about an hour and a half to back up and restore the image using SSH and the options I selected above on a Gigabit network.

To restore, it's much the same process. Boot to the drive, select your language, etc., and set up your device repository. To restore, you would use these steps:

Select Beginner mode.
Select restoredisk (or restoreparts, if you backed up a partition)
Select your archive as displayed
Select the drive you wish to image.
Press Enter to continue.
It will then ask you if you want your hard drive partitions overwritten, type Y to continue. It will then verify that you are wanting to replace your hard drive partitions, type y.
The system will not restore.

The restoration process is done partition by partition, with each partition taking less time to reimage than it took to create the image in the first place. And the results? Success! The restore booted without a problem, with all settings in tact. That is better than could be said for the previous imaging tools I have tried.

So it looks like I have found a useful cloning tool for imaging my Macintosh computer lab, and pretty much any lab for that matter.

Parenting a Child with Autism

2011-10-17T14:59:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Parenting a Child with Autism on Technorati.

Early this morning, at about 2:00 AM, my son climbed into bed with us. Unlike other mornings, I was aware of this because I was awake, though normally I don't notice him climbing into bed with us. There was no sound, no crying, just a quick jump, flip under the covers, and he was out like a light on my pillow.

Later this morning, as my son woke up earlier than usual, he started to dance around and play with the dog. After a few calls for him to get dressed, he looked into my eyes for a second and smiled, his giggle infectious and infuriating, as he doesn't do as I ask for the fourth time this morning. I help him on with his shirt, hand him his pants, and he gets dressed.

While I'm still trying to get ready for work myself, I savor the eye contact. That shining moment that acknowledges my son's affection for me, and his acceptance of me in his life. It's fleeting, because of my son's Autism. It's savored because I'm one of a handful of adults with whom he will share eye contact.

Parenting is a scary business. It's full of stress as you worry about how your child will grow up and impact the world. Some parents take it easy and just expect their children to do well. When they don't, they look for scapegoats for causes and blame the world (or at least their teachers). Other parents are the diligent type, dedicated to giving their children the best of everything so they will excel in the world and bring honor and glory to the family name. Either way, there is stress, and it's put some people off having children at all, let alone more than one.

Autism is also very scary, in that no one knows what causes it or how it impacts the child's learning. Children can range on the Spectrum from very low functional (highly autistic with low IQ) to very high functioning (often Aspergers, with high IQ and mild Autism), so advice from parenting doesn't work. Generalities can be given, but the devil is truly in the details as you as a parent work to find a way to connect with your child consistently.

Other parents don't really know what to say when you explain the head-butting, hand flapping behaviors as ways your child expresses his emotions. Many offer suggestions, help, criticisms, and even sympathy, but only you as a parent can really connect with your own child. Parents who are truly interested look for the rules you govern your child, and try to emulate them. Some parents in an educational or religious environment, will attempt to apply their own methods in contrast to yours, causing confusion and regression in some behaviors.

To be a parent of a child with Autism is to parent from day to day, looking for every possible sign of success, and expecting regression when it comes. Instead of focusing on long-term plans like financial success or brilliant educational or recreational accomplishments for your child, you look for a successful day without spilling food or drink on the floor on purpose, dumping the dog's water into his food bowl, or pulling out all the marshmallows from the cereal box.

To parent a child with Autism is to place all the anxious future planning of traditional parenting into your daily routine. Effort cannot be diluted with incidentals about which Ivy League schools you want your child to attend when you are still focused on their using utensils while eating. Athletic scholarships are the furthest from your mind while trying to teach your child the necessary hand-eye coordination to write his name. It's too much effort to think beyond the day, the daily successes, and looking after the little things while hoping beyond hope it's true that the big things will actually take care of themselves.

It's scary, not having a well-planned life. I'm the type that likes to have things planned out in sequence in order to provide a smooth transition between two states. With Autism, you don't have that luxury. Development depends to so many variables that having future plans beyond perhaps special things like vacations have too many variables to make a successful plan.

I've voiced some of these frustrations before, so why bring them up now? Well, I read Notes from a Dragon Mom in the New York Times this morning about a mother with a child who has Tay-Sachs, a genetic disorder that will slowly kill her infant child. I found myself identifying with her descriptions of a lot of things, though my son will not pass away because of Autism. But the same loss of concern about the future and focus on the day to day is vary similar to what I experience with my son on the Spectrum. I have the same disconnect between the son carrying that degree from Harvard she had, though for completely different reasons. My heart went out to her because I could, in some ways, to her situation. Dragon parents are amazing, and deserve the admiration of us all.

I'll never be a tiger dad, nor would I think of considering myself a dragon father. I'm just a father of a child with Autism. I see the bark of the tree, and perhaps the tree, but I can't afford to look at the forest because it's changing too drastically to be relevant to what I'm doing. But some times, in those strange moments when I connect with my son, I can see a bright, glorious wooded mountain that is just waiting to be discovered.

Autism Insurance Coverage

2011-10-12T12:19:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Autism Insurance Coverage on Technorati.

California recently passed, and Governor Brown recently signed, SB 946, a bill requiring health insurance companies to cover behavioral, vocational, and occupational therapies for those diagnosed with Autism. The Insurance companies were firmly against it, as they claimed it would increase insurance costs in California by more then $850 million a year (an independent commission estimated the increase at only $98 million a year). David Lazarus, from whose article I received these numbers, sees it as a good argument for a national healthcare system where risk is more evenly divided amongst all tax-payers, thereby lowering costs even more.

Government intervention in the healthcare system is a huge political hot topic right now, with the "Obamacare" issue for the Republicans, the single public "Medicare Plus" plan issue for Democrats, and in the middle are patients that are in need. Right now children on the Spectrum are struggling in schools to learn, not just their three R's, but how to be social. They learn things like why it's important to brush your teeth, look someone in the eye, reply when a question is asked, and how others are reacting based on body language queues with which children who are neurotypical have no problems. In some States, such as my home State of Utah, Autism is not covered at all as a diagnosis. So even getting your child screened for Autism is an expensive proposition if schools are not willing to provide that service themselves through a school psychologist.

There have been numerous genetic links to Autism, showing that Autism is more than just a result of poor parenting as was originally believed. The idea that Autism is anything but a physiological issue has been ruled out. The argument still rages on between genetics and environmental triggers, but cause doesn't invalidate treatment. Regardless of the cause, these children are in need of help. And as such, we as parents are doing everything we can with the meager resources provided.

As a parent of a child on the Spectrum, I spend as much time as I can trying to prepare him for the world. At a tender age of 6 I'm trying to teach him things he would normally have picked up naturally by 4. Things like brushing his teeth, using the toilet appropriately, keeping clean, and using utensils when eating. On top of that are his academic needs, which he tends to excel at when prompted, but still needs prompting in order to keep him on task. All the while I worry about his social skills, and work to help him focus on eye contact and social rituals like shaking hands and high-fives.

The problem is, I'm not there all day to instruct him because of work. My wife isn't either because she works as well. He is currently in school all day (which is very nice), but even then his classroom has other children that are in need. Some have even more need than does my son. That, and with meager resources as well, the school is doing the best they can with what they have.

I'm not complaining about the school, as our school district is better equipped than many others in the State to assist children on the Spectrum, but rather I am concerned about the lack of funds. Governments cannot afford to provide the funds for the needs of those children and adults with Autism, particularly in this economic climate. Parents generally are not in a financial position to fit all of the bill either, for the same reasons. It's become an impasse that few are willing to address, because no one wants to take the burden of cost, leaving individual families to bear the heavy weight for therapies.

We talk so much about research, causes, cures, etc., that we often forget the human aspect of Autism. Parents are struggling and siblings feel neglected because of the attention their sibling with Autism currently receives through family-based therapy. But eventually Governments will start to feel the pinch as parents pass away and siblings (if there are any) are unable to care for an adult on the Spectrum that didn't have the opportunity to receive the important therapy now available. It's no wonder both parents and government entities are looking to Insurance, now mandated because of the recent Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to provide funds for therapy for this biological condition.

The Passing of Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T08:26:00.001-06:00

Last night I heard the news that Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple, had passed away after finally succumbing to his long battle with cancer. The news was a shock and very sad, though I didn't fear for Apple. Having met many people at the Cupertino based hardware and software company, I'm firmly convinced that the company is in very good hands and will continue to innovate for years to come. But the passing of Steve Jobs is a sad milestone.

Steve and company developed some of the most innovative technology advancements that have changed the way those on the Autism Spectrum learn. With the introduction of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and finally the iPad, many parents have had affordable tools with which their children can communicate. Their dedication to those with disabilities has made devices that are accessible to the blind, deaf, and those with mental conditions that make communication difficult. And for that, Mr. Jobs, I salute you.

While he was known to be very opinionated, brisk, and abrasive at times, I have always found that the culture he fostered to be very open to all with ability. The campus was always busy with those who sought to improve the experience at every level for the user, and with their broad proliferation within the consumer market, they have succeeded. I had never met the man personally, though I had seen him once before the launch of the iPhone with the men who brought us that very unique and game-changing device. He was focused, determined, and seemed in a hurry. From all accounts of those closest to him this first impression I had of him was a very telling one, and very true to his nature and his drive.

My heart goes out to the family of Steve Jobs, as they mourn his passing. Know that we mourn with you.

Thank you again Steve, for all that you have done for a growing, often confused Autism community. You will be greatly missed, and remembered as one who, whether intentionally or not, enabled so many of us to help our children.

Autism and Siblings

2011-10-04T15:21:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Autism and Siblings on Technorati.
It seems these days everyone is looking for fault in the behavior of children. I hear complaints about "learned" behaviors, mimicking, and lamenting that the behaviors are difficult to "undo" in the best of families. I hear it even more so with my son, who, as part of his Autism, vents his frustration and excitement by head-butting. As such, I get complaints about potentially hurting others, or even worse, others mimicking his behavior.

My youngest of two boys is almost 3, and therefore is about the right age to start to see signs of the Spectrum. He has some signs, such as avoiding eye contact, ignoring his name when called, and seems to be between 6 months to a year behind in his speech development. He also head-buts when frustrated or excited. The problem is, we can't tell if this is a learned behavior from his older brother, or if it is a genuine sign of Autism.

Apple iPhone Announcement: The Anticipation

2011-10-03T16:52:00.001-06:00

Tommorrow, October 4th, 2011, Apple will be making their iPhone announcement. Much anticipated is the new iPhone, the iOS 5, and iCloud as fit for release. There are some other rumors about some features, and that's what I want to talk about. Why? Because it's fun to speculate, and fun to dream. And who knows? Perhaps one day some of these wishes will make it into a future iOS release.

First and foremost is iCloud. Not a lot has been mentioned here, as most people tend to write off iCloud as a file sharing/email/contacts service that lets you download stuff you have already purchased from iTunes at any time. Doesn't sound too exciting, does it? But there is a whole lot more. First, there are backups of your phone, allowing for quick and easy restoration should something happen to your phone. That alone is a great feature, and well worth the new iOS release (which is expected to be free, I might add). Backups are in general rarely made, particularly photos and documents. We as computer users have been lulled into a false sense of security with better performing software and hardware. Hard drive journaling with Mac OS Extended (Journaled), ext3 and NTFS for Mac, Linux and Windows respectively, have all presented us with fewer corrupted files. The death of the floppy drive and the prolific use of the USB thumb drive have given us more storage that takes up less space. We think our data is secure. That is, until we have a hard drive failure. Then we curse ourselves for not backing up our data. With iCloud, at least for iOS devices, photos, and documents, backups are happening automatically for us. We still need to burn purchased movies and various other applications, PDFs and Downloads, but all in all iCloud will take care of our precious memories and important documents. That is a feature worth talking about.

For iOS 5, there are lots of rumors that voice control and voice activation will become deeply ingrained into the OS. This is huge, because for right now most voice activated apps are narrowed down to taking quick dictation and needing a copy/paste procedure to keep it. While I don't know the depth of the integration, knowing what I do know about the development team I would speculate that voice acivation and dictation could very well be in the cards. And I'm not talking just speech to SMS as Android has, or even speech to text for documents. I'm talking voice control for apps. This may yet be a pipe dream, but I can see a whole host of Assistive apps growing from a core module that allows for voice control. For instance, suppose you wanted to help a child learn to speak clearly? How nice it would be to have an app that would use speech recognition and translation to help them focus on their pronounciation, word usage, and speech. Speech therapists would love to have something like that to help augment their teaching, and parents would injoy it just as much. Not to mention language practice! That would be huge. Yes, that kind of depth would be fabulous. Do I expect it? Not really, I'm expecting some common voice commands and speech to text/SMS. But that is just a stepping stone, in my mind.

Specs for the iPhone have been bandied around, and I'm all for a faster processor when it's necessary or needed, but for right now I don't see that need for the iPhone. I also don't see the need for a more powerful camera, etc. Hardware for me, as the iPhone already has a display that is so highly resolute that the naked eye cannot identify the pixels, is more just icing on the cake. Until the software demands a better phone, I don't see me upgrading the hardware. The software, on the otherhand, is what will drive upgrades for me. Luckily, from the declaration at WWDC, iOS 5 will be supported on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 as well as the new model.

But specs for the new iPod Touch could be interesting. If, as according to some rumors I have heard, Apple places a 3G/4G chip in with the WiFi chipset, effectively making the iPod Touch a mini iPad, then that will be an amazing upgrade. It will effectively broaden the number of devices that can be truely used anywhere and anywhen, allowing for those who do not see the need of a phone to use their web-enabled device for anything they want. And suppose they don't want a cell phone and all the texting/minutes/data issues that carriers tend to add to accounts, yet still want to have mobile phone access? the iPod Touch will support Skype, as well as a number of other VoIP apps (many for free) for calls over the 3G/4G network as well as WiFi. Carriers, instead of being phone companies, could quickly just become mobile Internet companies, providing data usage. I wonder if the carriers would be happy with that?

Another rumor that has since been dismissed is the release of the iPad 3. It's really soon after the iPad 2 had been released, so I don't imagine the iPad 3 will be coming out now. But if it did, the one and only thing I would really be looking for is a retina display. That's what held me off from purchasing an iPad 2 when it came out, and sticking it out with my iPad. I want to see the iPad with a retina display, thereby making it easier to read whatever app is on the screen. For now, the display is still great, and the old iPad still does exactly what I want it to do, when I want.

Finally, there is the rumor of the Assistant, which is a combination of a lot of speech control. The demo circulating the Internet looks really cool, allowing for speech control in a number of OS-level functions (voice calling, searching, web searching, Twitter, etc.). But the rumor also said it will only be available on the new iPhone model, and not any of the previous models. That is disheartening, as I've had my iPhone 4 for over a year (has it really been that long?), and I can't imagine having to give it over to upgrade to the new phone. I'll have to see which way this goes, and whether or not it's a feature I could or could not live without.

So, lots of exciting things to expect from Apple tomorrow. I think it's pretty safe to assume iOS 5 and a new upgrade to Lion (and possibly Snow Leopard) to support iCloud will be available tomorrow after the presentation, and I think there will probably be a new iPhone getting released. I would also expect that a new iPod Touch will be announced with similar iPhone specs, and we may even see the final demise/retirement of the iPod Classic. With iCloud, you no longer really need to have that much storage space, so I think it's pretty clear what's going to happen. As for the other aspects of iCloud and iOS, that's what will keep my attention tomorrow.

Kindle Fire: Amazon Gets It Right

2011-09-30T13:26:00.001-06:00

Since the first Android tablets came out, the world has been waiting for Apple to take a back seat to Google's mighty tablet regime. Unfortunately for Google, it hasn't happened, and all their tablets have been somewhat less impressive than one had hoped based on the Android smartphone presence. And this even after tablets with the Android platform have been provided across several makers with very diverse price points. And then the infamous failure of the HP Touchpad and lackluster sales of the RIM Playbook seemed to cement Apple's dominance in the tablet market. Instead, the industry turned to Microsoft to see their release of Windows 8 Preview in hopes to find a platform to compete with Apple.

Now, I really like Apple, but I also like healthy competition in a market to drive innovation. Apple, having competed in the computer market for years found a way to drive innovation when they introduced Mac OS X and the iPod. They then moved naturally into the mobile device arena by building on the success of the iPod with the iPhone and the iPod Touch, then the iPad and the Apple TV. And why where they so successful? Because they have innovative products that are backed by a very powerful ecosystem of apps and media for these devices. The very walled garden that tech pundits had condemned when comparing the open Android platform has provided a seemless experience of adding media, accessing the apps you want, and protecting the iOS devices from security threats and software piracy that seem to be rampant in the Android platform.

Many of those same tech pundits who doomed Apple to a slow, tortured death because of their walled garden, now were calling on Google to do much of the same things: have more control over the Android Marketplace, provide more user friendly media options, etc. And they wanted Android tablet makers to provide tablets at a price lower than Apple was offering. The makers couldn't see their way to doing that because they didn't have the media sales to help recoup potential losses, or they couldn't build a tablet at the same quality level as Apple. Because they were just the hardware makers, and not the software and media providers, they had little control, little say, and ultimately little ability to compete.

And then Amazon came along with their Kindle Fire. The Amazon Kindle has proven that a dedicated eReader without apps can be hugely successful if priced right. They also have proven that taking a loss on the hardware can be recouped by media sales. They have the infrastructure for their devices, including their own Android Marketplace that can be (I'm not sure if it is) tightly controlled for quality. Essentially, they had the walled garden in place, they just needed the device to put that garden into effect.

Now, I have yet to play with a Kindle Fire, but I would guess the platform is very solid. From what I can read, it's very simple and is geared completely and totally to consumption of media from Amazon. This isn't a bad thing, as a large majority of people out there may just want a consumption tool. For those looking for a little more, such as apps for content creation (I'm thinking primarily documents, worksbooks and presentations here), the Fire may not be your best choice. The screen is too small to type comfortably (if it compares to the Samsung 7-inch tab), so you would be relegated to having to use an external keyboard, and it looks like the Fire doesn't do Bluetooth (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

So, overall, I think Amazon has the right idea. If you have a tablet and a marketplace that can provide the ecosystem that is safe and secure for something as personal as a tablet, then the tablet can succeed. Do I think it will beat out the iPad? No, but not because it's not great, but because the iPad can do more content creation with the iWorks suite, iMovie, and GarageBand. Should Amazon create apps that can compete directly with those, then I think the price point will become an issue. But I don't think Amazon will, because it doesn't make sense. Apple is in the business of building hardware with a great customer experience. Amazon is in the business to make it as easy as possible to consume their content they provide. While both business models overlap at times, they are not the same. Ultimately I see Amazon's Fire taking the wind out of the Android tablet market. And if they move to WebOS as rumored, then Android will be in trouble.

Those are, at least, my first impressions. Perhaps one day I'll get to use a Kindle Fire (hint, hint, Amazon, should you want to send me one!), and I'll have a more comprehensive view of where the Fire will fit in the tablet ecosystem. For now, I see it as a valuable addition, though not the market-dominant device.

Windows 8 Preview: A Review

2011-09-29T13:07:00.001-06:00

While I am an Apple user, and love my Apple products, I love to work with new concepts and new ideas. That's why I was excited to see that the Windows 8 Developer Preview was available for testing. I downloaded it, and once some classes were done and out of the way I installed it into Virtual Box to give it a try.

First of, let me say that I'm a big supporter of Tablets. I have an iPad, love what Android is doing, and was really impressed with the HP TouchPad (and sad to see it go). Tablets fulfill most of your average user's computing needs, in my opinion, as you can create documents, use the web, and interface with your Social Media (oh, and play games too). Most users do not need anything more, so talk about horse power, processor speed, RAM, storage, etc. is no longer the stick by which your computing needs are being measured. Those that do need more, those that use Adobe's Creative Suite, or perhaps do video production, will still need a standard desktop, but most of us will not.

That being said, Microsoft seems to have thrown it's lot in with the tablet. The interface screams touch screen, and I found myself more interested in getting the OS working on a tablet than working with it on a desktop environment. I found it difficult to imagine using a standard keyboard and mouse configuration with this OS.

So how did the experience go? Not well. I couldn't get any of the Metro applications to load with the exception of the Control Panel. And once in, I couldn't get out again. If I loaded it to the Desktop, then it worked great and everything was as expected with the one application available: Internet Explorer 10. It worked as expected, so that was nice. Now, I'm not blaming the problems with the OS on the OS, but rather on (most likely) the use of Virtual Box as the virtual machine. I'm sure if I installed the OS on a desktop directly it would respond better. At least I would hope so. But, I don't think I would ever want to install the OS on a desktop, because it looks like it would only be at home on a tablet. So I found myself looking for a cheap tablet that I could drop the OS on, if only because it would feel more natural.

You would think that you could drag the Start window back and forth, as it has a very touch-based look to it. And I'm sure you can with a tablet, but with a mouse you need to drag the slide bar at the bottom to get to other apps. Or you can use your arrow keys to navigate through the apps, and that's a good thing. But I really wanted to be able to drag the window, because it begs to be dragged. Perhaps that's a UI feature that will be coming in the final product. I would hope it would come in the next Beta release.

The start page was, well, busy. I'm the type that likes my desktop as uncluttered as possible, and having my start window absorb the entire screen is, well, a little annoying. That being said, it's just a quick click into a Metro application and you are absorbed in the task of the day. You don't have other windows that are taking up space, which is really nice for productivity (less distraction). That I like, as I use it with my Mac OS X Lion install. But when a window is open, you don't have any way to close it, or close the application you are in (that I could see), unless the application was on the standard desktop. I assume this will not be an issue, as either Windows 8 will suspend the application or close it when it's not in use (remains to be seen). It would also be nice to have something like Folders on iOS for your apps, so you don't have to scroll as much back and forth to find the app you need.

So, in the end, I have mixed feelings about Windows 8. I really want to test it on a tablet, and would welcome a developer tablet from Microsoft (in case anyone is reading), because I see Windows 8 making it big in the Tablet world. They have a useable UI that, in spite of some problems I saw, is a fresh look at how a tablet should work. And for desktop users? It feels like you are being forced into the Tablet world, whether you like it or not. There may be, eventually, a solution that will return the user to the Windows 7 user interface, but for right now I don't see a compelling reason for a Windows 7 desktop user to upgrade to Windows 8. At least, at this stage, I would not recommend my labs be upgraded to Windows 8 if that basic start page isn't made optional during initial setup (so it can be turned off while imaging).

Have you reviewed Windows 8? What do you think about it? Do you agree, or disagree? Why?

Why I'm Skeptical of Google Wallet (and all RFID Communication) For Now

2011-09-19T10:40:00.001-06:00

Computerworld is reporting that Google Wallet is now live. Google Wallet, if you are not aware, is Google's Near-Field communication tool for payments. Essentially turning your phone into a credit card. While it's a great idea in concept, there are some security risks when dealing with NFC (Near Field Communication) technologies: the signal can be intercepted and utilized for what it was not intended. Google has addressed this issue by requiring a PIN to be entered in in order to authorize payment, which is a real concern and a leap forward for NFC payments, but there is another concern I have with the technology: Is it really needed?

As with any invention, you need to fill a need. Right now there are two types of payments: hand out cash to the teller, or use a card to swipe and enter in a pin number (or signature). Both take moments, rarely longer than a minute. With Google Wallet, you touch your NFC enabled phone (currently only the Nexus S 4G supports NFC), enter in a PIN (a security measure), and make your payment. Again, it would take moments, and rarely longer than a minute. So where is the benefit? Some might say it reduces your need to have a wallet to begin with, but I don't buy that. You still need your ID with you, and other cards should Google Wallet not be accepted. So you still have a wallet, and you are taking about the same amount of time to take out your phone from your pocket vs. taking out your wallet from your pocket. So I'm not seeing a time-based benefit here.

Another benefit might be that you have full control over the payment in that you enter your PIN number on your phone, as opposed to an easily viewable panel by the teller. That could be, and if so that would increase your security for your payments. So there is a benefit.

But what about battery life? For anyone who has ever had their battery die on them while talking, texting, or playing a game, it's frustrating. And if that is the only source you have for payment, you are kind of in a spot. Granted, if you are a true prepper, you would probably have a solar panel ready for your phone (and who wouldn't?), but it still takes time to charge.

So, ultimately, I don't see a benefit for Google Wallet in the short term. That, of course, may change if governments of the world agree to a single method of identification that is computer-based, and any device could access it using some special method of authentication. At that point your ID would be on your phone along with your credit card. Companies that offer cards to provide membership (such as Costco) could follow along, and eventually you would only need a mobile device for all your connections. It's just not there yet.

So am I saying Google Wallet is a bad idea? Not in the least! I think, in principle, it's a great idea, Google just has a lot of hurdles that need to be overcome before Google Wallet can be a success. So for now, don't expect people to flock to Google Wallet as a method of payment, and expect slow growth and adoption. Like other digital technologies, it will have a large amount of inertia to overcome before it will become a power in the marketplace. Hopefully that will give everyone a chance to work through all the security issues and concerns that will come up.

And no, I'm not planning on adopting it anytime soon.

Wandering: The Fear of Every Parent

2011-09-14T13:47:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Wandering: The Fear of Every Parent on Technorati.
I just read that the 8 year old boy with Autism in Southern California, Joshua Robb, was found in good health. The news made an interesting deal about the fact the boy loved Ozzy Osbourne CD's and rescuers were able to use that to their advantage. But for me, it was a flash back to the pain and anguish that I fear every day: my child with Autism running away.

Wandering, where a child takes off without anyone knowing where he is, is a common problem with children on the Spectrum. They tend to just get it into their heads that they need to go somewhere, and take off. They don't tell anyone where they are going, and sometimes they don't even know where they are going themselves, they just go. Children have been lost for hours, some in dangerous locales, in treacherous weather, and the fear is they will not make it. It's a very real danger.

The boy's last name, Robb, is what really caught my attention. I have a cousin in Southern California, and I didn't know if perhaps they were a relation. It turns out they are not, but I'm still very shaken with the possibility that my cousin could have gone through that ordeal.

You see, Autism in my family is rampant, with most members of my extended family having children on the Spectrum. Some are well known for running, hence my concern. And we all have managed to find ways to make our families more secure.

In my own case, I have placed security doors with double-locking deadbolts on my house. Not to keep burglars out, but to keep my son (and dog) from running loose in the neighborhood. It's not that I'm afraid he will get lost, as he follows the same route when he does run, but I'm afraid he will get hit by a car because he doesn't look when he crosses the street. Of course, this doesn't keep him from running when he is at school, or when getting on or off the bus, or even when getting into the car for a trip. But it keeps him from running at night, or when others are distracted during the day.

I feel for the family in California, both for the fear they had experienced, and the relief they must be feeling that their son has been returned to them safe and sound. It's a fear we parents of children on the Spectrum experience every day.

2011 Utah Autumn Carnival for Autism

2011-09-12T12:21:00.001-06:00

Article first published as 2011 Utah Autumn Carnival for Autism on Technorati.

The Utah Autumn Carnival for Autism will be happening this weekend, September 17th from 11 AM to 2 PM at Historic Wheeler Farm. Registration for the event needed to happen by August 25th, but even if you are not registered it is an event of which you should be aware. Why? Because it is specifically for children on the spectrum.

Sahara Cares puts on the carnival every year, and for the now three years we have been attending it has been hosted by Historic Wheeler Farm. The venue is well organized, though there tends to be too much noise for many of the participants. So, if your child is sensitive to loud noises, be prepared with noise-cancelling head gear.

But other than the noise, the carnival is awesome. There are plenty of bounce houses for the kids, giant inflatable slides that my son enjoys the most, and a "train" that the kids can ride. There are plenty of games that focus on sensory stimulation, and my sons both enjoy splashing in the water. The parking is incredibly well organized, or at least has been in the past, making the event a joy to attend, and easy to leave when your child has had enough. There is also a free lunch for registered children and their immediate family members.

There are some potential dangers though. The farm is by a creek, and all water has been running very high this year (thanks to large amounts of snow this last winter, and a late spring). There are also live farm animals and duck ponds that could be problematic. At least, if the carnival was not well staffed with volunteers! That is the most impressive part of the carnival, as children who "run" are quickly searched for and found by scores of staff members. Every game, every ride, every bounce house is staffed with more than one volunteer.

And another great part of the carnival is the presence of the vendors. Autism schools are present every year to talk about how their school programs benefit children on the spectrum. Some are private, some are Charter schools, and both provide great information about their programs. Also on hand are various healthcare representatives. The University of Utah has been there to talk about their music therapy which has seen some success in helping children on the spectrum. Other health professionals have been there in the past as well.

It's a great event for all children, and the fact that it is "Autism-Friendly", even by my own standards, makes it a great event for children on the Spectrum. If you were not able to register this year, look for it next year about this same time. You will be glad you did.

What I Remember from September 11th, 2001

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

I had been married for almost a full year. I was on my way to the University of Utah for my second third semester in Ancient Greek and an Ancient Greek studies class, when I turned on NPR and heard the news. A plane had hit one of the towers at the World Trade Center. I immediately thought it was a terrorist group, but didn't immediately think about which one it could have been. Then I heard about the second plane, and one that hit the Pentagon. I was speechless. We took some time to talk about it, then got back to work translating our material. Now, I didn't have any friends or family at Ground Zero at the time, but I was still devistated. I felt for my fellow Americans in New York as much as I would have if it happened here in Salt Lake City. Because I knew there would be families impacted dramatically. And I got angry.

Days after I heard about dancing in the streets in Palestinian cities. I hadn't been partial to one side or the other on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but that engraged me. But then I heard Yasser Arafat send his condolences, and talk about how terrible it was that so many innocent people had lost their lives. Immediately I had respect for that man, and appreciated his comments. But I was still angry, and more angry that I didn't have an outlet: someone on whom to focus my desire for justice.

The Red Cross started petitioning for donations and blood. Thousands were lining up to help. Canada hosted many Americans that were delayed on their borders do to the no fly zone. A fellow student in my Ancient Greek prose class mentioned a call she fielded at Morgan Stanley about a gentleman who was upset that the New York Stock Exchange was not trading. She had to tell him to turn on the news to explain why.

As the days went by, we as a nation found someone to blame: Osama bin Laden, now buried at sea after his positive identification. We then went through a period of unity, unlike anything I could remember. Both sides of the political spectrum started working together. President George W. Bush, who I had almost written off as a one term president for his lack of action, all of a sudden became animated and took the helm and rode this unity into a war against the Taliban, and eventually against Iraq. Right or wrong (and I'm not saying either), we found an outlet.

Things have changed since that day, and right or wrong, our lives are not the same. Sure, we still go to work, we still eat lunch, go to movies, watch TV at night, or play with the kids, but we do so with the knowledge that someone hates us all so much that they would do anything to try and kill as many of us as possible. Aniversary days, like this decade from the September 11th attacks, become a time of baited breath, as more attacks are expected.

What's interesting is that these feelings never seem to go away, though I don't walk about with the same anger that I did. I found that out when London suffered their July 7th attacks in 2005. Again, I don't have family (at least not close family) in London, or even in England, nor do I have any friends that live there. But they were people who just wanted to go to work, and they were attacked. Britain had their September 11th experience that day, and we in the US knew exactly what they were feeling.

I don't think I will ever forget that day. The feel of the car as I turned onto the freeway, right when I heard the news. I don't think I will forget my shock. And I don't think I'll forget, nor do I want to forget, the overwhelming feeling of goodwill I had for everyone in the United States on that day.

Groundbreaking Autism Research: Biological Identifications

2011-09-07T15:53:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Groundbreaking Autism Research: Biological Identifications on Technorati.

The West.com.au reported a groundbreaking Autism study as announced at the 3-day Asia Pacific Autism Conference. The University of California's MIND Institute has performed the most comprehensive medical examination of children on the Spectrum, finding that there are clear subsets of Autism that can almost be documented. Essentially, this is like breaking down cancer into it's various strains as opposed to treating all cancers the same. And, once you can isolate a type of Autism, you can start to treat it, or even prevent it.

This is huge, this is bigger than huge. This places Autism as a specific medical disorder linked closely with the amygdala, a small mass of nuclei found in the temporal lobe of the brain. It, interestingly enough, controls a person's emotional and mental state. Small wonder, when you look at the behavior that is caused by Autism. And how did they arrive at this conclusion? Genome research and MRI scans of over 300 children on the Spectrum. It's a huge step forward in identifying types of Autism based on biological and medical research, as opposed to just behavior observances.

So what does this mean for parents short-term? Not a lot, other than the knowledge that Autism is not the result of bad parenting but rather a biological disorder. In the near-term, it will mean diagnosis of Autism will start to come from identifying first the type of Autism one has, and then a treatment method that best addresses that type of Autism. I don't imagine it will be anything other than ABA, but I can definitely see differences in focus with modifications being made to address specific types of Autism directly. And the long-term result? Insurance companies can no longer claim that Autism is not a biological condition, and therefore refuse to cover diagnosis and treatment. I consider this long-term because it will take some time for the results to be confirmed and generally adopted by the medical profession, and even then it will take longer for the Insurance industry to recognize Autism as a medical condition and therefore requiring them to shell out cash for diagnosis, testing, and treatment. But it will be coming, and that's very important.

Another side-effect that should come from this news is the slow but steady weeding out of "Autism-like" conditions from the Autism spectrum, and getting them treated properly. An example would be various allergies to food that can cause swelling in the brain, causing Autism-like symptoms. Some rare individuals are unable to process cassein and gluten properly, resulting in a toxin that gets into the brain and causes Autism-like symptoms. They go away when cassein and gluten are removed from the diet, but those with Autism do not experience the same clarity. Removing or reclassifying these disorders away from the Autism Spectrum will give Autism a stronger foundation to work it's way into the covered disorders by Insurance companies.

Frankly, the results presented by the University of California's MIND Institute could be the turning point in Autism research. I'm excited.. are you?

Vaccines and Autism: No Link Found

2011-08-31T19:10:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Vaccines and Autism: No Link Found on Technorati.

Yet again, vaccines have been discounted as a direct cause of Autism, as reported by the New York Times. And this isn't a panel of lawyers, a group of activists, this is a report that came from a panel of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine. The report does site some side-effects and potential risks to vaccines, but nothing suggests that vaccines directly cause Autism, type 1 diabetes, etc.

Why is this so important? Because vaccines are necessary to stave off some of the most deadly and disfiguring diseases of our time. Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Whooping Cough, etc. were deadly in the United States for years, decimating schools when one child came to school sick. Vaccines have given us a way to protect all our children, both at school and really young children at home, by giving them a defense without the illness.

Some parents talk about the need to remove vaccines as a requirement for attending school. Others say we just need to rethink the schedule of vaccinations for our children. Personally, I'm inclined to say as long as your children are vaccinated, it doesn't really matter. The rise of these highly preventable diseases is reason enough to make sure your children are protected. The fact that vaccines do not directly cause Autism should be seen as a relief for those who are vaccinating their children, and no longer a reason to avoid vaccination.

So what causes Autism? That's a whole different discussion, as Autism is diagnosed through behavioral traits and not medical conditions. So while a number of conditions, both genetic and potentially environmental, can cause Autism or Autism-like traits, vaccines, at least, are not a cause.

Thank You Steve, Thank You

2011-08-26T11:52:00.001-06:00

I was on my way home from work when my wife sent me a text, asking me about my opinion about the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO from Apple. I nearly fell out of my seat (fortunately I was on the bus at the time). I didn't think it was possible, as I have always equated Steve Jobs with Apple, and vice versa. I quickly looked for the headlines (it didn't take long), and read the article in the San Jose Mercury News. I never once thought about the Company, as I have always said if Steve Jobs left Apple there would be plenty of skilled, talented geniuses working at Apple to take his place. Instead, knowing that he has battled cancer for years, I was concerned for Steve.

But why would I care so much about a CEO of a company that I've never met, and only seen at a distance once (he was surrounded by his entourage, as it was just before Apple announced the iPhone). I don't work for Apple, so he doesn't directly effect me. No, I was concerned because of the impact he has made on my life. Not just because I'm an Apple user, but because of why I'm an Apple user.

I used to hate Macs. I couldn't stand using OS 9 and all it's buggy quirks. Nope, I was a Linux user, quite used to having to compile the software myself if I wanted it, or writing a script that would do the job for me. Then Mac OS X was announced, and we got a copy in our Mac lab for the new G3 iMac. I opened it, immediately found Terminal, and was hooked. Here was a platform that gave me my UNIX console and commands, but I could buy commercial software (i.e., games like Warcraft 3) and not have to worry about hacking it to get it to work. This, for me, was a huge turning point.

Since then I have been an advocate for the Mac, and I've loved it's user-friendly concepts. Everyone I've encountered that has been intimidated by the Mac has been won over (with a few stubborn people who like to wrestle with their chosen OS). Either it's because of the ease of use iPhoto makes of scrapbooking (which converted my wife), or the simple way Garageband provides music mixing and composing. Sure, there are other programs out there, but none as simple or easy to use. And when Apple started this road, I had always wanted them to do one thing: release a PDA.

At the time I had put up with the Pocket PC, and even flirted with Familar OS and other Embedded Linux distributions, but nothing that felt right. In fact, I often found myself leaving the platform regularly, or leaving the Pocket PC sitting at home, quietly charging. Then I would stop using it, and look for other answers. Why? Because it was so complicated to use. It didn't feel like a useful tool. That's why I wanted Apple to release something the minute I heard the rumor of the iWalk. I wanted to see what Apple would do with it. Unfortunately, it was just a rumor and the product never came out, but something even better came later that literally changed my life: the iPhone.

While I never owned the first iPhone, but once apps were being developed, and I learned that my son was diagnosed with Autism, it quickly became the device I had wanted in a long time. It let the app take over the screen, it let my finger be the stylus (replacing the often broken or lost stylus of my Pocket PC), and it was very easy to use. Soon the Autism community started releasing tons of apps for those on the Spectrum, and the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad have all found a place in my home. My kids love it, my 2 year old learned to spell with it, and my son with Autism uses it to explore his education in a new and exciting way.

I had a chance to thank one of the masterminds, Scott Forstall, for the iPhone and it's sister products. But I've never had a chance to thank Steve or the others involved in the product. So Steve, I hope you get this, but from a father of children on the Spectrum, thank you for having the vision that has brought so much to so many. You will be missed, and I hope all is well.

Dual-Boot Imaging for Mac OS X Lion and Windows 7

2011-08-24T09:28:00.001-06:00

One of the benefits of having a new Mac lab is setting it up for all the classes we teach. Of course, most of them are taught on PC software, meaning I need to have a dual-boot image with Windows booting as the default OS. Not a problem really with a Macintosh computer, though it takes a little bit of tweaking to get it working right as I found out.

I started out by planning how the images would need to be built. The Mac image was not a problem, as it was pretty much the same image that I've been using for years (just upgraded to Lion). The Windows image took some doing and quite a lot of googling as I don't often install Windows, let alone create images. But that was the easy bit. The hard part was looking for an image process that would work for free.

There are quite a few Windows image tools out there that are free and work on a PC hard drive (i.e., MBR partitions). For our PC labs we have used Acronis because of it's simplicity and ease of use. And it works great for the PC installations, but as the Macintosh uses a GUID partition table instead of the Master Boot Record Acronis isn't able to see it and therefore cannot perform a restore. So I needed another tool.

Winclone is perhaps the best known friend of the dual-boot image community, as it makes a cloned image of the existing Windows partition on a Mac and does the restore. It would be a no-brainer to use Winclone, but for one issue: Two Canoes no longer develops Winclone, and the last official version (2.2) barely worked on Snow Leopard and will not work on Lion. Fortunately a hacked version has been released, 2.3, and it will work on Lion with some preference changes.

When you install Winclone, do so on a Mac partition that you intend to use as a NetRestore image. Why? Well, it makes it easier to deploy your Winclone image once you are done (install once, image, and deploy to multiple computers as you go along). It also works better in a NetRestore image rather than a NetBoot image because of the amount of data that needs to be cached and transfered during the image. I have tried both, and find the NetRestore to have far superior restore performance on a single Mac than the NetBoot image.

Once installed, open Winclone and in the Winclone menu select Preferences. Once there, click on all options to deselect them, and select the compressed image (as opposed to the dmg image). The Winclone image process will not work without this step (as the logs will show). Then start your image process. I saved it to the Desktop for convenience, but as long as you know where to expect the image to be, any place is fine. After a while (30 minutes to several hours depending on the size of your Windows install), you should be ready to deploy. You may get an error telling you it wasn't able to complete correctly after running through the whole process, but the restore has seemed to work for me so I have ignored this error.

Once finished with Winclone, you now need to make your deployment image. You can use something like DeployStudio if you have it, but I've always been happy with the NetBoot service for Mac OS X Server. Granted, DeployStudio is great for large deployments because of it's multicast method of restoration, but with a small lab of 16 computers, NetBoot works just fine (and doesn't take a lot of configuration or port management). If you are going to use NetBoot, you will need to use the System Image Utility as part of the 10.7 Server Admin Tools. You don't have to host the new image on a Lion Server, but you need the Lion version of Server Admin Tools to create a Lion NetRestore image. I also like making an autoinstall image using the Custom NetRestore Automator tools that System Image Utility provides. At any rate, build your image and upload it to your NetBoot server. In addition to the image with Winclone, I also have a NetInstall image for Lion, so I can partition.

Now I start by booting to the Lion NetInstall image and partitioning the computers. I have 4 partitions, but really you only need 2: One for the Mac, and one for Windows. For the Windows partition, I used exFAT, though I suppose you could use FAT-32 if you needed. In the end it doesn't matter, because Winclone will replace it with an NTFS partition, so it's all good. Once the partition is complete, I restart to my NetRestore image, and let it run. For my configurations, it took a good 3 hours for all 16 computers to image, but the time will vary based on what you have installed on both the Mac side and in your Windows image.

Once finished, I started Winclone and restored to the Windows partition. This took another hour per computer, but then it's running locally and not on the network, so that makes sense. Once finished, I downloaded rEFIt and installed it for managing the boot process. Technically I could do this with the built in EFI booter, but I like the flexibility that rEFIt gives me. Once finished, I needed to configure it. This is all done in the refit.conf file (located at /efi/refit/refit.conf). I just opened the file in vi and edited the timeout from 20 to 5 seconds, and set the default image to Windows. Once done, I save, and run the enable script (/efi/refit/enable.sh), authenticate for sudo, and it's done! Now I just needed to reboot..

And the install is broken. It seems the virtual MBR that EFI keeps didn't get updated with the Winclone image. There are two ways around this: either I do a fresh install of Windows and then restore the Winclone image, or I can boot off a Windows Recovery CD (or install DVD) and repair the MBR to get it to work. That takes significantly less time, and once done I shouldn't need to worry about doing it again. So I ran the repair and it worked! Everything booted up correctly, the image was done.

In total it took me a full day of imaging for a lab of 16. Add on to that a full day of tearing down the old lab and placing the new lab, it's been a fun week so far. The good news is that now the hard part is over, and I just need to bind the new computers to the Directory, and all will be running smoothly. Though in future, I may think of other ways to run a deployment, either by running a dd backup and restore, or using the Windows Backup tech to deploy the Windows image. It shouldn't be that difficult this next time around, because the initial work is all done. I'll keep you posted on the process as I get it worked out.

Being Autism-Friendly

2011-08-24T08:14:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Being Autism-Friendly on Technorati.

The New York Times posted an article on the Lion King being the first Broadway play to host an Autism-Friendly performance. The idea isn't that shocking, as Disney's The Lion King has a huge appeal to children and families, including those with children on the Spectrum. So catering to the Autism community is one way to build interest in the theatre for those who generally do not participate.

But how do you make something "Autism-Friendly", particularly when those on the Spectrum react to different events in different ways? What makes your event Autism-Friendly? It's something I'm starting to see more and more, and yet it hasn't been defined for me completely. So, in the absence of any clear definition, I've come up with my own:

Distractions

Distractions need to be set at a minimum. If there are lots of flashing lights or colors, lots of background noise, anything that flickers, then it's not Autism-Friendly. Visual and auditory stimulation are the most common ways to set off a reaction in a child with Autism. When I look for a place, such as a place to eat, I look for low background noise. It's getting harder and harder to find a good family restaurant that doesn't have a lot of background noise, but when I do, it makes one point in being considered an Autism-Friendly restaurant.

Staff Understanding

The last thing we as parents want to worry about are staff members that judge us for the behavior of our child on the Spectrum. Yes, parents need to take responsibility for their children, but Autism throws an added level of behavior issues into a situation that can frustrate staff members and parents alike. So the staff need to be understanding. A good example would be the experiences I had with my son at SeaWorld in San Diego and Disneyland. At SeaWorld, my son was often on edge, particularly while waiting to get food. It was a terrible experience, and almost eclipsed the enjoyment my son had at all the exhibits. Disneyland, on the other hand, was such a great experience with all the staff members and their willingness to understand that we had little trouble. Staff make a huge difference in Autism-Friendly designations.

Crowds

I hate crowded places. I've never done well with them, and often walk around the edge of a crowd if I can. My son is much the same way. If a crowd is not well managed, or if people in the crowd are not polite and understanding, the whole experience can become a nightmare. If there are long lines without relief, loud people in enclosed places, or the feeling of having to scrunch up as small as possible just to stand, then it's not going to be Autism-Friendly. That also goes for seating at sporting events, restaurants, theaters, etc.

That, at least, is my list. I have a high opinion of Disney and their dedication to providing a quality experience to everyone, including those who are on the Spectrum, so I am sure The Lion King will be successful. it's a good trend that I would like to see continue everywhere.

A Huge Loss to Mobile: HP is Dropping WebOS

2011-08-18T16:39:00.001-06:00

I'm an iOS user. I love the platform, and I like the stability it gives me when I work with it. But I also like other platforms for their innovation and attention to detail. And today, one of those platforms is being halted. HP announced that, in addition to looking to spin off their PC business, they are going to stop production on their WebOS devices. This announcement comes at a time when Google purchased Motorolla Moblility, the mobile phone arm of Motorolla, and Apple has enjoyed being the single largest hardware smartphone seller in the world. HP had pinned their hopes on the WebOS platform as a way to jump back into the mobile device market (think HP iPaq). But, it looks like they have decided it was not meant to be, and are now going to move it out.

So what does this mean to the mobile ecosystem? Apple is looking pretty good, having pretty much reinvented the smartphone with iOS. Google has saturated the market with a lot of devices of varying capabilities and releases, so they are doing well too. But I had a lot of hopes for WebOS. They get what mobile devices should be, and how they should work. Their idea of a tablet falls well in line with the same concepts that make iOS and Google successful, and it would have been nice to see them succeed and bring their level of innovation into the ring. In fact, it's thought that WebOS could become the darling of another maker with more persistance and deeper pockets, like say Samsung or HTC. It would stave off the tension of buying a competitor's OS (even if it's technically open source) to use on their platform, now that Google has Motorolla (or will have, after anti-trust investigations are done and all goes well for Google).

So WebOS may not be produced for a little bit, but I don't think it will ultimately die. The real strength that HP gave WebOS (and Palm before it) was the optimization of the platform to the hardware. Much like Apple's model, it allows for a much more fluid customer experience. Those that I have spoken to that had a WebOS device absolutely loved it. I would hope, should another company like HTC purchase WebOS, they take that into consideration and keep that same fidelity instead of trying to peddle out the OS to multiple platform developers.

But why invest in a platform that wasn't popular? Well, to be perfectly frank, the failure of WebOS wasn't really in the platform, but more in the way it was introduced. It was released before it was ready, and had no development for it beyond the inhouse apps. And that's to be expected from any new platform. So where do you go with it? Well, whoever buys WebOS (if anyone does) needs to invest a lot of development time into providing a strong ecosystem of apps for the users. If you don't have the app ecosystem, you won't get the users, or even the developers as it will be seen as a weak platform. And that ecosystem needs to be reliable and trustworthy, not riddled with malware, viruses, etc. There is a reason why Microsoft was so hated in the 90's, and it wasn't because they were everywhere. It was because viruses were so common, and they didn't seem to do much to protect themselves. On a computer, that's one thing, but on something as personal as a phone, you can't do that and expect to keep customers. So, HTC, if you are listening and are thinking of purchasing WebOS, keep that in mind.

Anyway, I hope something happens with WebOS that brings it back into the realm of a serious competitor for the smartphone market.

Growing Food At Home: Urban Farming with the Malthus

2011-08-17T14:51:00.001-06:00

We need fresh vegetables and fruits. I don't think there is anyone that would argue that statement. The problem: it's cheaper to buy processed foods than to buy fresh vegetables. And the quality of those fresh vegetables are generally, well, not so good. I don't mean rotten by any means, but they are generally tasteless. And if you don't have any flavor in your food, you don't want to eat it. That's the concern facing my family, and may other families in the world today. How can you afford to eat right, and enjoy it?

The best answer is to grow your own food. Of course that means having land, a good source of water, time to let it grow, etc. It's a long and laborious process to grow food traditionally, and you end up with a single harvest that then needs to be used up quickly or it's lost. This seasonality of vegetables makes having fresh vegetables all year round just as frustrating. And then there is the land issue. Even if most families in the average suburban land plot plowed under all their grass and grew vegetables, they wouldn't have enough for all the family. No, they would need to expand in a big way to get the food they need, even for one meal per person per day. And this is exactly what urban farming is all about: providing a way to grow food in an urban area (including high-rises), either as a supplement to the current diet or complete subsistence farming.

Urban farming has become a very popular topic, it seems. More people are predicting food shortages, uncontrollable pricing, and, well, end of the world type situations where you defend your warehouse full of Twinkies with your rifle. Personally I'm of the opinion that urban farming is something that anyone who is interested in having more control over their food bill and food source should take seriously. Nothing tastes better than food you grow yourself, mostly because it doesn't have to be picked green for better shipping. Real food, like ripe tomatoes right off the garden vine, has a special flavor that you can't get anywhere else.

But what if you don't have the space for a garden, as I found I didn't after my son ripped up my seedling tomatoes and herbs in the back. How do you grow what you need in little space? And what about meat, assuming you are not a vegetarian/vegan? Clearly you need to either move to a better location with more room to produce your food, or come up with a way to grow your food in a high enough density to provide the food you need. As most people do not want to, or cannot move, the best option is to find a way to produce your food in high density.

One way to do that, and one that I find very promising, is aquaponics. For aquaponics to work, you need a tank full of fish (and by extension, their waste) to feed your plants, which in turn filter out the waste to keep the fish water clean. The fish benefit from the clean water provided by the plants (and if you have herbivorous fish like tilapia, food as well), while the plants benefit from the fertilizer provided by the fish. If produced in a high enough quantity, you can produce enough food for at least one meal per person in the house. The thing is, how do you do it, and how efficient is the process?

Well, one design group has built and tested a configuration using commonly found products. Conceptual Devices has built the Malthus, a system to grow within an enclosed space food enough for one meal per day. The concept is pretty clear, and they have a working model in Zurich. It's a great idea, and I think it's something that could easily be deployed in any household. Because it's all spaced vertically, the footprint is low. Salad plants, at least any that are not head lettuces, will continue to throw up new leaves as you cut, making them regular producers. Plants like Tomatoes and Cucumbers will continue to produce if they don't have a frost, though you will need to pollenate them by hand (or with a small paint brush).

The fish, well, that's another story. The fish in the picture are tropical fish that are not, generally, suited for eating. Tilapia, on the other hand, would make for great eating, provided they can be produced in a high enough quantity, which this setup doesn't seem to make possible. No, if you want to have daily fish on the menu, you will need a bigger setup. Still, fish every once in a while isn't bad, and makes a great supplement to the salad being produced.

Anyway, it's definitely a good idea, and one that is worth exploring. So, first off.. how much will this thing cost? Cost of materials would vary, depending on what you have on hand. I might do an estimate on that, though for a one-time expense, as long as other costs (like electricity) can be covered, the materials cost could be recovered over time. So the repetitive cost of electricity becomes a concern. How much power does this use up?

• The first thing I checked out was the LED lights. I found some LED strips at SuperBrightLEDs.com that are about that right size, and pulled the details. Each strip runs at 225 mA (milliamps), or 0.2 Amps at 12 volts. That means for a set of four lights as outlined by the plans, you are looking at roughly 10.8 Watts of power being used every hour it is being used. You would probably want to time it to run about 16 hours, giving the plants 8 hours of rest, so that would be 172.8 Watt-hours, or 0.1728 kWh per day.

• Next, I checked out the water pump. For a good one, you need a pond pump for dirty water applications. I found a small one (shouldn't need a large one) at Aquaticponds.com. It's rated at 5 Watts per hour.

• The Air Pump depends on the size of the tank you get. The one listed in the parts for this setup is a 400 Liter tank, which is about a 100 Gallon tank in the US. You need a fairly large air pump, and the one I found that fits it is the Tetra Whisper 100, which runs on 4.8 Watts her hour.

As everything else is just a one-time purchase (barring any issues), these are your repeating costs of running the setup. All total, you are looking at almost 21 additional watts per hour for the Malthus. You would be running the pumps for 24 hours a day each at almost 5 Watts, making it about 240 Watt-hours, or 0.24 kWh a day. Add them together and you get 0.4128 kWh a day, at the price of 5.9536 cents a day. Monthly that would be about $1.50 more for a daily meal. Is it worth it? That's up to you.

So, it's an interesting concept, and one worth exploring more. Perhaps one day I'll get a chance to build something like this, just to see how it would work. It would be nice to have a fresh meal of veggies every day, just waiting for me.

Autism and Technology: Touch Screens And Learning

2011-07-22T08:25:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Autism and Technology on Technorati.

I haven't posted anything in a while, and there is a reason. Recently, I had an opportunity to visit the Apple Campus in Cupertino, California, and meet with a key person who designed the iOS devices for which Apple is so well known. It was exciting for me, because I know how important those same iOS devices have been for my sons in their development. It was a rare treat for me to personally thank those who had a hand in developing such a key device.

And you know what he said? He said he didn't even think about the Autism community when designing the first iPhone. Instead, he said he was surprised, extremely surprised, and thrilled that the device has been found to act as a catalyst for those on the Spectrum. For him, it showed the ingenuity and inventiveness of developers who took the simple premise of the iPhone's multi-touch platform, and made tools that worked.

And just before this meeting I also had an interview with Brandon Bailey of the San Jose Mercury News about using touch screens and apps to treat autism. He was interested in my take on the HP Hacking Autism project, which focuses on developing apps for all platforms that help children on the Spectrum. And, while I am very biased to Apple products, I said that all platforms have potential, and if the apps are there parents have more choice for their budget.

So, why touch screens? What makes them better than, say, a mouse, or a keyboard? If you think about it, using a touch screen is fundamental. We are used to touching what we want, moving things with our hands, etc. Our fingers are our most versatile tools, and we feel most comfortable with them. Once you introduce another tool on top of that, it complicates the process. Using a mouse means you have to relate the mouse position on the desk (which you do not see) with the mouse pointer location on the screen. Keyboards are about the same way. But a touch screen removes that layer between you and the content, making it easier to utilize. That is why I personally feel touch screen devices are better than using a mouse and keyboard, or even a stylus, for that matter.

So the age of the touch screen became a great age for the Spectrum. Technology is easier to use, making those with learning disabilities more enabled in their learning and ultimately empowering them to progress in ways that were difficult or expensive in the past. It's exciting, and I'm constantly amazed with the apps for Autism that I find out there.

Diversity in Autism: What Makes a parent with Autism a Super Parent

2011-07-10T16:11:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Diversity in Autism on Technorati.

Every child with Autism is different. There, I said it. Just like every 2-year old has their own personalities, every child on the Spectrum behaves in a different way to the same stimuli. In fact, whenever you have a disorder of the mind, even though some behaviors are the same, what sets those behaviors off can be very different. This is a very important fact to know when you notice someone with a child with Autism.

For instance: Autism runs in my family (and my wife's interestingly enough). Some in the family are runners, and will do anything to just get out and run. Others, like my son, is a problem-solver, and looks for ways to get around any barrier he finds (even if it is for his own good). Some only have a couple of behaviors, appearing a little slow in their social interaction but still being very focused and knowledgeable in their tasks. Yet relatives still say, "Well, your son doesn't do X, or he does Y which will lead to Z", as though they know the roadmap for my son better than I do.

Let me first say with all love that relatives mean well. They are concerned for me and my family, and they want to help. But what they don't realize is every attempt to break that delicate balance of sanity between work, working with my sons, keeping up on schooling requirements and techniques to augment at home, and contribute with the house work just creates more stress. And while they are trying to help me focus on caring for my child, they don't seem to see that I'm already doing the job by doing everything right as recommended by his teachers and school psychologists. Instead they see the broad difference between my child's development and those of his neurotypical cousins, and want to push me to push him even more.

You see, a parent of a child with Autism has to be a Super Parent to begin with, just to manage their son's or daughter's condition. We are constantly aware of the environment, trying to make sure that it will not be too stressful through sensory overload. We look for key signs in our child as a method of communication, making us hyper-aware of our children. On top of this we are constantly looking for ways to help our children develop normally and become self-sustaining, contributing members of society. Most parents try to do this anyway, but if they have a child with Autism, they are constantly on their A-game, and it will wear parents out.

So what do you do? As a parent, you need to find some down time. You need to find some time, even if it's in the middle of the night, when you have a chance to relax the brain. Some communities have respite services that allow for a couple of hours a day of free time while their child is being watched by a professional care-giver. This is a great idea, and something every parent should take advantage of when available. For those who do not have this service, they need to find a trusted care-giver that is willing to take the children for short stints when necessary. Generally it would be family members, but it could also be good friends.

If you are a family member that is looking to help, stop trying to look at the child with Autism as an Autistic child. The child, the little boy or girl, is a child first. They have needs like a child, have a personality, and just wants to learn and grow like other children. Instead of trying to stress out the parents by telling them what to do, try engaging with the children. You will get a better feel for the child's abilities through these little stints than otherwise, and can perhaps help the child make intelligent connections between behaviors (i.e., relating sign-language with speech). This doesn't mean that is the ONLY way the child will learn, but it's the way the child will learn with you. Go with it, and enjoy the time. Let the parents worry about their children. There are exceptions to this, but for most parents of a child on the Spectrum, it's pretty common for this method to work.

Windows Cloud on the Mac: SkyDrive and Windows Mesh

2011-07-07T13:33:00.001-06:00

The cloud continues to be the sexy Buzzword in technology today. Everyone seems to need it now, even though many have already been using the same technology through email, network file storage, etc. But now, we are doing in the "cloud", where someone else worries about backing up our data. There are a number of different ways to define the cloud, but for me it means putting files and services on the Internet, allowing any device to access the data as needed. So today, as I look for various ways to back up my data for a trip next week, I thought I would check out Microsoft's SkyDrive and Windows Mesh.

Microsoft's SkyDrive is, essentially, online storage much like web-accessable storage through Dropbox. For the Mac, you upload your data using a web browser, and you can then access that same data using any internet-enabled device. Ideal for documents, the browser-based storage tends to choke when transferring large files. That's too bad, because Microsoft gives an impressive 25 GB of free storage, enough to make any file hoarder drool. Also, if you are looking to upload folders through the browser portal from a non IE browser, you are pretty much out of luck. Active X is required to get it to work, which is a problem for those of us on the Macintosh, or those in the Linux world.

One other feature is the ability to open, edit, or even create a Microsoft Office document from your SkyDrive, making it similar to Google Docs but with more storage capability (at least for free). This is a neat feature for quick collaboration, as you just share a folder with your documents in them and anyone can edit from the browser. If you try to access the edit feature from your iPad or iPhone, it's not there. That's similar to early versions of Google Docs, though now at least you can edit your documents in Google Docs on your iOS device.

But the huge, gaping hole here is lack of access to the drive outside of the browser. There are some software out there that does provide access, such as SMEStorage's Mac Cloud Tools app, but I shouldn't have to purchase software just to use the storage the way I want. You can also upload documents directly

But what about the features that Dropbox has, where you can drop a file in a folder and have it automatically sync to your devices? Well, for that type of feature, you would need Windows Mesh. Windows Mesh is for Windows Vista/7 and Mac OS X 10.5 and newer only, but it allows someone to drop a file into a synced folder and have it automatically upload to another computer. You can view your devices you have synced, and all the folders you have synced from the Windows Mesh website. Once the synchronization is complete, then you can also view the data you dropped in the folder from that same website. What it doesn't do, that Dropbox does, is provide access to the Mesh folders using an iOS device (beyond the web browser). A dedicated app would do wonders for those of us that use iOS. That being said, for documents, you can use Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac to save and retrieve your SkyDrive-saved documents. A very nice feature that will be coming to iWork as part of iCloud very soon.

So overall, it's a nice service. Some features like Dropbox, some like Google Docs, some like the future iCloud, and in general fairly useable. Not exactly what I was looking for, but definitely something I will continue to use.

Lanta's Frozone: Frozen Custard, and Much More

2011-07-06T14:27:00.001-06:00

Over the 4th of July holiday, my family decided to try someplace new. We had never been to a new restaurant on 5600 West called Lanta's Frozone, and we thought we would give it a try. It was very quiet, but then we were on our way back from a trip to the Zoo, and most other people were at the noisy, crowded parades. As we tend to avoid such places for the sake and sanity of our children, we caught them at just the right time.

Lanta's serves up frozen custard and yogurt, and even let you make various recipes and mixtures for your dessert pleasure. But that's not why we went. We went for the sandwiches they advertised. Why? Well, it was hot, and we wanted something less heavy than a burger. And it's a good thing, too.

When I ordered the staff seemed new, but then we were the only one's in the shop so they probably felt it was less rushed then it might normally be. The combinations included either fries, chips, or the "house salad", but no drinks (of which they have one size). My wife wanted the french dip, and I went for the Philly Cheesesteak. They have children's menus with half sandwiches, so we got the boys grilled cheese and ham. I wanted to try the salad, and the rest of the family had fries.

The wait seemed long, though not as long as places like Chili's. What was impressive was how my oldest with Autism took it: very calm, very relaxed. My youngest wanted to run around, perhaps because there was so much free space to run. Anyway, when the food did come, I was shocked. The sandwiches were large. The boys both had what looked like normal-sized sandwiches, at least if they were made with store-bought bread. The rolls my wife and I had were large too, and stuffed full of filling. The cheesesteak was not overly spicy, and perhaps even on the mild side, but very tasty.

But what really surprised me was the house salad. Most "house salads" are tired bits of Iceberg lettuce with a tomato and smothered in Ranch dressing. Not at Lanta's. No, you get a Spring Mix salad with candied almonds and berries with syrup with a vinaigrette and a cube of Feta cheese. It was completely unexpected, and very delicious. The lunch was so filling, in fact, that we didn't have room for any of the custard. So we took a quart home and gave it a try. I can definitely recommend the custard.

So Lanta's Frozone is now definitely on my list of Autism-friendly places to go, at least when there are few people in the establishment. I'm not sure how it would be completely packed, though I'm definitely willing to go back. If only for the house salad, if nothing else. And I still haven't tried any of the soups.

Is Autism Genetic or Environmental?

2011-07-06T13:52:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Is Autism Genetic or Environmental? on Technorati.The Archives of General Psychiatry published a research paper on potential environmental triggers of Autism through a twin study in California. The research compared genetic similarities in twins, and made varying assumptions based on environmental factors surrounding the pregnancies of the parents.

The study took a lot of assumptions into consideration as they calculated the impact of genetic vs. environmental studies, which effected the results of the study dramatically one way or the other as these assumptions were adjusted. The idea is that regardless of the results, there is a possibility of environmental triggers that can cause Autism, and therefore more research is needed.

The study is pretty impressive, as actual subjects were interviewed specifically for the research project as opposed to passive surveys being reviewed to look for common patterns. As such, the study took my attention. Still, I don't see the evidence compelling enough to make the claim so many news outlets take in saying environmental factors cause Autism.

So what does cause Autism? This is the frustrating question so many parents who receive the diagnosis have. How could this happen to us? What caused it? Where does the blame lay? What am I going to do?

The truth is, no one knows for sure what causes Autism. That's because Autism, unlike diabetes, the flu, or even cancer, is not a medical condition. Instead, it is a definition given to those what exhibit a specific set of behaviors. Those behaviors are what defines Autism, not a specific medical condition. Hence any number of things can "cause" Autism, if they cause a specific behavior.

So while I am more inclined to say, based on the research in the past 5 years, that Autism is a genetic disorder, there are those who can claim environmental causes. The difference? Most cases of Autism "caused" by environmental exposure (with the exception of environmentally related damage to the brain) are not permanent. For example, if someone is unable to process cassein or gluten properly with various enzymes can possibly show Autistic tendencies temporarily. But the effect wears off, unlike the majority of children on the Spectrum that I see in my sons class.

So what is a parent to do? Worry about the child, not the diagnosis. Get ready for a fun ride as you deal with behaviors of which you may be unfamiliar, and enjoy every milestone you reach. That is what truly matters. A "cause" or a "cure" may come and go, but your child is yours forever. Make the most of it, and you will never regret it.

The Virtues of Security Doors

2011-07-04T08:23:00.000-06:00

Article first published as The Virtues of Security Doors on Technorati.Security is a really important thing, especially for your family. You want to know that your family and possessions are safe and secure. But if your family includes a child with Autism, who may be prone to bolt, security takes on a whole new meaning. It's not just about keeping bad elements out of the home, but also keeping your family safe within the home.

We have had problems in the past with our son bolting. The kitchen door is not visible from the living room, and therefore makes it difficult to keep track of his comings and goings when he goes into the kitchen. He can also use the sliding glass door to go in and out, if need be. Whether bolting on us or on the babysitter, it became a problem that needed a solution.

We started with just using the deadbolt, which worked for about two days. Once my son realized that the deadbolt was being used, he would just turn it and he was gone. We also tried using a lock on the storm door, which met with the same level of failure. The problem was the ease of locking and unlocking the door from the inside. It just wasn't going to work.

So, we moved on to a security chain at the top of the door. It was too high for our son to reach, and worked for about a month. Then he started using chairs, boxes, the piano bench, whatever he could find in order to unchain the door and run. And then there was the problem of the chain being used when someone wanted to come in: it ended with a frustrating wait until someone unchained the door. And, not to mention, a problem for entry should there be an emergency. And, there was no way to leave the door open to let in sunlight and fresh air on a nice day and still have it be secure. No, we needed another solution.

Then we found security doors at Lowes for a reasonable price, and I liked the idea. Here was a secure way to let in air, while also locking the door down. My wife's grandfather has similar doors for his home in Southern California, and loves them.

But it wasn't perfect, as we needed some way to secure the deadbolt from the inside. And then we found double cylinder deadbolts, which require a key on both sides to lock and unlock the door. This was ideal, making it a great solution for our family. Not only does it secure from little hands, but anyone with a key can still get in when it's in use.

So, as a test we installed the security door on the most critical entry way, which was the kitchen door. It's worked so well we are already planning on doing the same thing for the kitchen door and the garage door, two additional doors that require security (though the garage door is not as critical). The solution works for our needs, and requires less hardware.

It's an interesting solution, and one that I would recommend for any parent concerned with bolting children. It doesn't take the place of a locator device (either GPS or radio), but it at least adds one more level of peace of mind.

Giving the Gift of Life: Donating Blood

2011-06-27T08:16:00.000-06:00

Every day in the United States, 38,000 pints of blood are needed. That's a lot of blood. And up until recently, I haven't been able to give blood. But today I did, and I'm very glad I did.

I haven't been able to give blood until recently because I was in Europe, specifically Germany, during the big Mad Cow scare in Britain. Because of that, a moratorium was placed on all blood donors who were in Europe during the 90's. Not that I was sad, mind you, because I'm not very thrilled to have a massive needle stuck in my arm. Still, it's something that is needed, particularly as I have type O blood, which is in great demand.

So I did some checking, and it seems that the moratorium is only permanent if you lived in Great Britain. For Germany, as long as I didn't live there for longer than 5 years (and I was only there a little under 2 years), I'm clear to donate blood. So today I went down to the blood bus, filled out the necessary forms, and let them stick me with a needle. Within 6 minutes I was done and ready to get back to work.

Some things that made the experience great for me was being well hydrated. I had done quite a bit of bike riding since Monday, and with the increase in exercise I'd increased my water intake. I rarely drink soda (unless I'm at home, or need a little bit of energy), so it wasn't a problem keeping away from that. And when I say increased my water intake, it was over the course of three days, not just the morning before I got stuck, so I was well hydrated. As such I didn't even feel light-headed when I stood up.

But the best thing about giving blood today was the coupon for a free pint of ice cream from Baskin Robbins, which I am sure will be a hit with the family. Not only do I get to do my part to save a life, but I get to enjoy free ice cream. That's just awesome.

The Meltdown

2011-06-25T13:49:00.001-06:00

Article first published as The Meltdown on Technorati.

Parenting a child with Autism has it's benefits. Children tend to be quiet much of the time because of their focus on their current project. But then there is the dreaded meltdown.

Children all have tantrums at some point, pushing their boundaries, testing their limitations, and trying to deal with their frustrations. But children with Autism have an additional cause: over-stimulation. It can happen at any time, and for any reason. Often it is caused by loud and unfamiliar noises, bright and/or flickering lights, or anything that is not part of the routine. This may sound like a typical tantrum that any child can have, but it is not. It's not something the child can control, but rather something that takes control of the child.

Luckily, there are ways to head off a typical meltdown. Helping the child focus on something to block out the cause of the meltdown is important. One way is to use music to block out strange noises. Many parents will pull out noise-cancelling headphones and turn on a favorite tune to help their child.

Others will provide some visual stimulation, such as pulling out a portable device and start a favorite video. Video games, favorite TV shows, and puzzles can all help a child visually block out the distraction and gain control.

Some need some tactile stimulation to help them gain control. Often this comes in the form of deep pressure on the limbs or around the body. My son responds to this very well. I press on his arms with my palms, giving him a constant, even pressure that helps him focus. I'll also give him deep pressure through bear hugs, which he absolutely adores. Autism service dogs are pretty much the same thing. When a child is close to a meltdown, the dog will press up against the child for short intervals, giving the child the same benefit of deep pressure.

What's interesting, and this is just an observation, is that methods of learning seem to run parallel to the methods of managing a meltdown. Perhaps it could be a way to help parents and teachers identify the best way to teach their child.

Should You Screen for Autism?

2011-06-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Should You Screen for Autism? on Technorati.

Reports are coming in about an article published in the journal Pediatrics about Canadian researchers who, through a review, have pointed out the inconsistencies in Autism diagnosis, and therefore find no benefit for screening for Autism. To date I have been unable to locate this article, so I can't comment on the science behind it. From what I understand based on media reports, the researchers did a review of Autism literature regarding screening success, margins for error, and made their conclusions based on this review.

Without reading the article, I thought I would throw my own two cents in regarding this basic concept. Should screening be a priority for your child? The question is very much a "it depends" answer. You know your child best, and you know his behaviors. What's more, your pediatrician knows what behaviors are typical "Autistic" behaviors, and can be an excellent resource. But is screening really necessary?

Yes, in that many states with Autism resources (special schools, funding, etc.) require a diagnosis in order for families to have access. Without a screening by a licensed professional, you can't get access to those services. But if your health insurance policy doesn't cover Autism, then you are looking at one hefty bill, though many states with Autism services have a free screening as part of the services provided.

But, there are some stigmas that can be associated with an Autism diagnosis, I suppose. Your child will be "labeled", and become a subject of curiosity and conversation with family members to complete strangers. Though, honestly, not anything more than normal with melt-downs in public places, anti-social behavior, etc. that is typical of a child with Autism.

And is it necessary to have an exact diagnosis of where on the Spectrum the child is? I contend that it is not important. As every person with Autism is unique, knowing where on the spectrum a child is becomes more a need for labeling, rather than benefiting the child's development. Schools will work out an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for your child based on continuous observation of the child. This continuous observation is far more useful to you as a parent than a "snapshot" diagnosis taken after only an hour or two of observation. Just having the diagnosis is enough, getting the precise label is not as important.

So when wouldn't you want to get a screening for Autism? When your child has no behavior that fits in the Autism spectrum. If your child is not compulsively stacking items or lining them up, doesn't walk really close to the wall, has no fear of strangers, doesn't give eye contact, doesn't yawn with others (did you know it was a social thing?), and doesn't speak or has speech delays. There are other signs of Autism, but these are pretty common and easy to spot.

But what about misdiagnosis, you may ask? Because Autism is currently defined by behavior instead of genetics, and as many different conditions out there can mimic autistic behavior, it's possible to misdiagnose a child on the Spectrum when they instead have something like Fragile-X, celiac disease, or a number of other genetic diagnoses that can cause acute behavior changes. The only way to be sure of an Autism diagnosis is to have a genetic test, which is currently in trial with a high accuracy rate.

So, back to the original question: should you get your child screened for Autism? If you want access to those services, then you had better get your child screened. If you don't think it's necessary, and your pediatrician agrees, it's not as important. Though there was one thing reported about that article with which I completely agree, and that is to learn how your child learns, and cater to it. Nothing can change your child's life more than to help them learn.

Family Heritage: Celebrating Our Roots

2011-06-16T08:19:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Family Heritage: Celebrating Our Roots on Technorati.

Every year in June my family has a tradition: we attend the Utah Highland Games. We attend because of the food, the pipe music, the people, and our heritage. You see, most of my ancestors were from the British Isles, specifically from Scotland. And ever since I was little, my family has celebrated the ties that made us unique.

On this day, I feel a deep connection to my ancestors as I don the kilt and walk proudly amongst my fellow Scottish Americans. We celebrate those things that make our Scottish heritage: The tossing of the caber, the putting of the stone, the tossing of the sheaf, the pipes, the drums, the tartans, the clans, and, of course, the food.

The Games are fun to watch, just like any other sport. Seeing the large caber get thrown in the air, the expectation of it landing just right, it's exciting. And at noon, the Clans gather to the sounds of pipes and drums to march. The Gathering of the Clans shows that though we may come from different families and alliances, we can all get along. The kilts, switching back and forth with each step, feels comfortable in both hot and cold weather, and for the first year my wife thought about getting kilts for my boys (something to save for next year, I suppose).

Scottish food has been colored by tradition and myth. It is very humble, as oats and meats are a large part. And the meats can be a bit, well, different, I don't deny. Haggis has been defined by many to be made on a bet, but it is actually a food that was made to stave off starvation. Every part of the sheep is included, and I can say from experience that it tastes very good (unless you microwave it). This year was the first year both my sons had a taste, and they enjoyed it. I was quite proud.

We didn't stay long, because the noise and heat can be quite trying to children with Autism, but we stayed long enough to enjoy the experience. It gives me a chance to connect with my roots, and is one of three dates when I get to wear my kilt.

And this brings me back to the importance of celebrating one's family heritage. One of the benefits of studying family history is knowing who you are, where you came from, and how past experiences can help shape your decisions. And if you look hard enough, you can find lots of interesting characters to enjoy.

These connections are important. It is the simple carriage maker from Perth, the royal lines of England, Holland, Scotland, and Germany, the harrowed pioneers of the West, and the native Americans that sought alliance that can change your outlook on life. That connection to the past is what makes me want to improve on the future for my own family. And one day, they may look back on me with the same pride as I look back to my ancestors.

So whatever your heritage, celebrate it for what it is, a tie to who you are. It doesn't mean you can't accept others for who they are and where they are from, but it does mean you have a responsibility to make your life better, in honor of who they were.

iOS Post-PC Features Missing

2011-06-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

In the recent WWDC keynote, Steve et al had mentioned embracing the post-PC world, or using mobile devices like the iPad instead of a laptop/desktop to do your day to day work. And for the most part this is possible, when it comes to creating documents, viewing content, even creating websites and publishing them. But there are a few pieces missing that would make it possible for me to give up my PC in lieu of my iPad. So here is a wish list I have for iOS:

iPhoto Publishing: Now, when I talk about publishing in iPhoto, I don't mean publishing to the web, or even syncing to the cloud, as will be available in the Fall with iOS 5. No, what I am talking about is creating books, calendars, and cards from iPhoto on an iOS device, and submitting it to Apple to have it published. This is an essential tool, at least to my wife, and something that is keeping her from being able to give up her PC for the iPad. I don't think this would be a hugely difficult tool to add either, though it would essentially be on the scale as Garageband or iMovie for iPad. But it's a feature I would like to see, as would my wife. It was also a conversion point for my wife, as she loves scrapbooking, but found she didn't have enough time to get pages done the way she really wanted.
Xcode for iPad: Another feature that I would love to see, though I doubt I can expect it because of the scope, is Xcode, or at least an Xcode editor. Often I find it inconvenient to pull out my MacBook Pro to start working on code while commuting, and would find it far more useful to pull out an iPad (takes less space in cramped seating than a clamshell laptop). It would also allow for editing on the fly. Add iCloud support for Xcode or SVN support in Xcode for iPad, and it would allow me to edit my code with any device, make my changes, and then finish it up on a more robust device when I have the time. That would be very convenient.
Microsoft Office for iPad: While I'm getting to love Pages, Keynote, and Numbers on my iPad, Microsoft Office is still the dominant office suite in the business world. Because of this, it would be in Microsoft's best interest to release a version of their software for the iPad (perhaps in conjunction with a Windows Phone 7 release?). Do I think they ever will? Nope, they want you to get a tablet with Windows 8 on it. It's a pity though, because that is a lot of potential revenue for their software just waiting in the wings.
Video Chat for Skype: This shouldn't be that hard, and though I like the idea of FaceTime now being available through 3G with iOS 5, I'd like additional options. Of course, it could just dry up now that Microsoft purchased it.

So that's my small list. Is there anything out there that you would like to see in the post-PC world? It doesn't matter what platform, as ultimately these features could be available to all.

Autism Sanity in an Insane World

2011-06-14T08:17:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Autism Sanity in an Insane World on Technorati.

Our world, with constant access to everyone's opinion through the Internet, seems insane. Political arguments abound, religious arguments continue, and social attacks continue. Everyone seems to want to find someone else to blame for their troubles, and those who get blamed are looking to shift that blame elsewhere. And even in the world of autism, this is true. Arguments between genetics and environment rage on, tearing the community apart when it comes to research and focus of those dollars.

So what, as a family with a child on the Spectrum, are you to do? This is a question I have asked myself often. I study the research (one of the benefits of working for a university), and so I get the real data and conclusions based on methods. But not a lot of people have that opportunity, increasing their confusion when this celebrity or that research scientist say one thing, with other contradicting voices out there.

So let me share with you my secret: I step back and ask one critical question, "Does this change the way I'm helping my son learn?" Most often, regardless of the points, the arguments, the research, the answer is no. All research tend to point to the same fact, which is that ABA instruction is the only proven method to significantly improve learning prospects for those with autism. While many talk about preventing autism, or developing a drug/treatment in X number of decades to "cure" autism, nothing is available now beyond the Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy already entrenched in most school districts.

There are, occasionally, some technologies and therapies that stand out as a promising method: using computers to teach kids instead of social situations tends to be more effective for children on the Spectrum. My son, for instance, loves using his apps on his iPod Touch or my iPad to learn his letters, numbers, spelling, writing, etc. He seems to do better than if I stand over him and try to teach him directly. Of course it's just self observing, but nonetheless it seems to be working and I like a working system. Other therapies seem to have shown some benefits as well, such as compression chambers that raise the air pressure slightly that above normal. But none have had the proven success rate that ABA has enjoyed.

So while my hackles may rise at the mention of vaccines/MSG/solar flares causing autism instead of genetics, it's only for a moment. I can explain my position, provide the research material that prove to me, at least, that genetics seem to be the cause, and let it go. Arguing never convinced anyone, and it's not worth the effort. I think of all that time and energy that could instead go toward benefiting my son, and realize the argument is simply a waste.

iCloud: First Impressions

2011-06-09T09:46:00.001-06:00

I like Apple products. There, my bias has been shared right up front. I don't like them because they are "Apple", and I don't like them because I live in a distortion field of unreality. I like them because they give me a stable OS (UNIX) that I don't have to compile and configure every day. It just works so I can move on with my life. So when iOS 5 and iCloud was announced, I was impressed. Now that I've had a couple of days to digest the announcements, I'd like to share my thoughts.

For iCloud, this was a long time coming, and I'm really impressed with what will be available in Fall. Why? Because once you purchase something, you should always have access to that regardless of whether or not the original media had been backed up. For instance, if a catastrophic hardware failure takes out your music collection, you should be able to download it again for free. This has not been the case with any music distribution channel of which I am aware (please correct me if I'm wrong). I don't blame Apple or the distribution companies, but rather the record labels. This concept of having access to purchased material is great, and I love it.

I also like the idea of the cloud being a central hub, as opposed to the processing center. Part of this is because of the lack of a persistent high-speed connection required for computing to run in the cloud instead of locally, where as file repositories and syncing do not need to be persistent. Can't get a signal? Your computer will still work, all your apps are available, and all your files are available. Let them update to the cloud later, it doesn't matter that much. This will perhaps change in the future when persistent networks are more ubiquitous and reliable, but until then let me have a local OS with cloud accessible items.

So what specifically do I like about iCloud?

Access to Purchases: This is awesome, and something I have wanted for a long time.
Song Matching: This is nice, because there are lots of people out there who have "borrowed" or "backed up" music they haven't specifically paid for, and they now have a chance to protect themselves from the auspices of "piracy". I don't like the fact that I would have to pay to access music that I have already purchased in CD form, but from a piracy standpoint, this is a win for the record labels by giving pirates a chance to come clean without threat of prosecution.
Documents in the Cloud: I already use Dropbox for this, but the space is limited for the types of files I use. but being able to edit on any device and then have it updated, ready to go elsewhere without having to specifically tell it to save to Dropbox? That's a win. I will, of course, still use Dropbox (how could I not?), but now I would no longer need to use it for documents. Here is hoping that Microsoft embraces iCloud with an Office for iPad/iPhone release, and integrate it with Office 2010/2011 or later. Otherwise, I might just permanently convert to iWork.
PC-Free: This has been a goal of mine since the PocketPC first came out. I had an old NEC MobilePro 400 with Windows CE 1.0 on it, and I loved it. Since then I have had PocketPCs (one with Familiar installed), an iPod Touch, and an iPad, and each one I have tried to go PC-less with them. There was always something that would stop me with each one. The PocketPC didn't have networking on it by default. the iPod Touch was too small to do any real work. The iPad still needed to be tethered for file transfers. But now no more with iCloud (activation is also taken care of with iOS 5, but that is another post). We are now finally living in a post-PC world that began with those first pioneers, championed by several companies like Google, and made mainstream by Apple.
Photo-Stream: This is awesome, because it means I don't need to worry about transferring everything to the Mac and then to my iPad for additional editing. It may only keep 1,000 photos at any given time, but archiving them on the Mac isn't the problem. Generally it's getting it from one device to another. That's now taken care of.
Backup: Backing up your device is critical. One reason why I often didn't use a computer to take notes in college, despite being able to type at about 80 words per minute, was because of the chance of a hard drive crash. Now that the iPad is working as a great device for note taking, or recording the lecture, having a back up is critical. Having it back up to the cloud for free is even better.
Shared Calendars: Having a family calendar that everyone has access to is something I have been trying to get running at home. To date it has meant having a Mac OS X Server running with iCal Server to get it working properly. With iCloud, it's no longer necessary. That means $50.00 less in cost with OS X 10.7 Lion, and that's a good thing.
The Price: Free is always a good thing, but even if you are matching your music, $24.99 a year is far better for the amount of music my wife and I have than, say, $200.00 a year. And that is only if I want to bother, which I am still up in the air about. We shall see.

So that is my list of what I like. Is it all exclusive to Apple? Probably not, as I'm sure everyone else has something similar or can set up something similar with a lot of coding/compiling/chanting in binary with five black candles burning. But with Apple, it just works (those parts that are in beta anyway, we shall see what happens in Fall), and that's what I like the most about Apple and their products. I'm optimistic that there will not be another "MobileMeGate".

But what about the missing features? Here are some things I'd like to see:

Video Purchases: We have audio, what about video? I'd like to see purchases for TV and movies be available on all devices without needing to back them up. I'm sure Apple is just waiting for approval from the Studios for this one, and if it's like anything else with those guys, it will be pulling teeth. From a T-Rex. On speed. Hopefully they can reach an agreement by Fall, but I'm not sure I'm that optimistic.
Video Files: We have Photo Stream, what about Video Stream? Can I backup my videos to the cloud when I take them, and have them sync to other devices? Nothing was said, so I guess we will have to wait and see.
Video Viewing from the Cloud: If I purchase a TV show or movie, I may not really want to store it locally, just watch it whenever I want on my Apple TV. As part of the whole "Move away from cable" plan, this would be a huge bonus. I'd like to be able to stream my purchases from the Cloud in future. Again, just like purchase syncing, this may be like pulling teeth, but would be awesome.
Audio Listening from the Cloud: Same as watching video, but I'd like to have access to listen to my audio I purchased without having to download it first. Streaming your audio playlists from the cloud to devices like the Apple TV would be awesome, and I would love to see it happen.

Who knows what final announcements will be coming in Fall for iCloud? Perhaps I'll get to see what I want. But for now, what I'm getting is plenty for me to enjoy the cloud with my Mac devices. Anyone else have an opinion? What do you want to see in a cloud environment for your platform?

Autism In The Family

2011-06-07T08:58:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Autism In The Family on Technorati.

Autism is a devastating diagnosis for any family. It's not fully understood, causes are hotly debated, and there is so much misleading information out there that no one really knows what to do. When we found out our son had Autism, we were expecting another child. Instantly we were afraid that the same diagnosis would be attributed to him, and our dreams of the perfect normal family would be shattered.

Then, we learned more about autism. We learned how our first son's mind worked, and how we could help him learn and grow like any other child. There are still a lot of things we need to teach him and there are plenty of struggles, but overall our son is doing great.

And now our second son is starting to show signs of autism, having turned two years old just recently. His behavior is not as pronounced as our first son, as he is far more verbal than our oldest had ever been, but his signs of frustration, tendency to line up objects, and various other clues indicate to us a form of autism. Most likely he will have Aspergers Syndrome based on the observations we have seen, though we still need to get him formally diagnosed.

I thought it might be scary, having two children with autism. My mind kept flashing back to the horror, fear, anger, etc. of discovery about our first son's diagnosis, I wasn't sure I wanted to repeat it. The frustration that came from learning about autism, the various theories, and finally starting to get into the real clinical research to get a better understanding threatened to overwhelm me. But then I remembered I had already been through all of that.

Our oldest is 6, finished Kindergarten with such high praise from his teacher that he is advancing to the next level, even though she doesn't want to lose him as a student. His performance has been spectacular, his academic achievement has exceeded expectations for his class. And he is, with only a few exceptions to sensory sensitivity and being non-verbal, a perfectly normal little boy.

So I no longer fear the diagnosis for our youngest son. He's also very exceptional. He is quick to see connections and make them work for his favor. He has a slight edge over our oldest in that he is likely to give eye contact, is somewhat verbal, and is less animated in his need to express himself. Having been through the gambit with our oldest, I'm prepared with our youngest. There are bound to be differences, but the autism diagnosis no longer terrifies me.

2011-06-06T09:14:00.001-06:00

Article first published as The School Dilemma: When Do You Advance Your Child? on Technorati.

Recently, while my wife was working with my son's teacher in his class, she was asked a question: would we mind if our son was moved up into a more advanced Autism class? The question was asked because of an influx of new students and my son's ability to get bored very quickly when not challenged enough. The only concern would be my son's lack of verbal communication.

The question may seem to have an obvious answer, but it isn't as simple as putting him in a faster-paced classroom. You see, he loves working with the current teacher and aides, one of which lives nearby. There are some classmates he has had since preschool in the same classroom, which gives him a sense of comfort and continuity. And the teacher loves having my wife and I come to help when we can.

But the benefits are pretty exciting. My son is excelling in his academics in the current class and gets bored rather quickly (and the same thing happened in preschool at the end of the year). He would be challenged more in the more advanced class, focusing a lot on his academics that he loves so much. He would be closer to home, taking only about 10 minutes to drive over to the school as opposed to 30 or 40 minutes. He would still be bussed, which is exciting for him as he loves riding the bus to school. It just comes down to whether or not his verbal skills, or lack thereof, would be a problem.

I'm sure every parent has a point where their child's education needs to make change. Some need to worry about their child getting advanced too quickly into grades higher than their age group. Others worry about their children being held back a year to repeat grades for their benefit. Still others worry about getting their children in the "right" schools to reflect better on their potential collegiate careers. Personally, I'll just be happy to see my son grow into the skills he loves so much, and if that means moving him to a closer school that will better challenge him, then all the better.

So, after a lot of thought and discussion, we have decided to let our son advance to the next level in the autism program. He will be with more social and verbal children, which could encourage his verbal development. And, of course, he will be advancing his education at a pace with which he is more comfortable. It's exciting, and places all other debates on education, insurance, and causes of autism in perspective. This is what parenting a child with autism is really about: making those decisions that will better their lives in the future.

Windows 8: First Impressions

2011-06-02T10:16:00.001-06:00

This morning I started my daily news review by reading articles on the new Windows 8 OS that Microsoft demoed. Reviews are ranging from lackluster to stellar, which has to be very frustrating to Redmond right now. The key features of Windows 8 is that it focuses on the tablet world, almost seeming to leave the PC world behind.

Personally, I think the move shows just how badly Microsoft wants to get into the Tablet game again, one that it started years ago but couldn't get to take off. They needed something dramatic, and looked to their Windows Phone 7 and Zune roots to find it. And they did, with the default Windows 8 environment being the result. This works, in that they have shown their investors that they do not intend to be left behind in the Tablet world, particularly with ARM processors being so popular in iOS and Android devices. They also seem to be mimicking Apple with their centralized Windows App Store, though the apps will be written in HTML5 and Javascript, al-la WebOS.

But the whole problem with Windows up to now has not been their dedication to a platform, but their user interface. When the Windows GUI first came out, it was clunky, but was a huge improvement for most people over the original DOS based interface options. Now they could see, use a mouse, drag things, and have pictures of their kids staring back at them all day long. The interface became the standard, one that has seen duplicates and "reinventions" that were the same but different in other OS releases. But was it the best interface? I don't think so, and I say that with years of being a PC technician under my belt. But it didn't matter, because it was an interface with which people were familiar. Change the interface, and you change the experience. Years dominating a market no longer counts, as you have rebooted the whole game with a new player.

So what do I think of the new OS? I love it! Why? Because it emphasizes the coming Tablet market as the new computing platform, and Microsoft getting into the game throws the final nail into the need for huge towers and clunky monitors. Microsoft finally shows that they get it! They know that the way to compete in the new world of the iPad, Zoom, and the TouchPad is to develop an OS that caters to the user, not to convention. User-friendly is not enough anymore, you have to be almost invisible to the User, getting them to their apps without knowing they are on the OS. That is the future of computing, and Microsoft seems to have seen the light.

That being said, there is going to be a huge learning curve when it comes to the new OS, particularly by those who have stuck with Microsoft through the Me fiasco, and the recent Windows Vista debacle. Much like the interface complaints of Office 2007, Windows 8 is going to take some getting used to. The saving grace is the ability to go back to the original Windows 8 interface if wanted. That will keep just about everyone happy, I would think.

So why do I like Windows 8? From the slideshows and the reports that I've heard, it seems to me that Windows 8 is giving you a more streamlined experience. I'll reserve any final judgements when I finally get my hands on a copy, but it looks like it will be a great day for users who just want to get to their apps and not have to worry about how to get there. Apple has done this with their Launchpad in 10.7, and I think it's no coincidence that Microsoft planned this announcement ahead of Apple's WWDC next week. They wanted to show Apple what they have planned, and it is promising for Microsoft as it looks like it's going to be a good move for the tablet world.

What would I like to see in Windows 8? Stability. And by stability, I mean no Registry. Microsoft has owned XENIX for decades, their licensed version of UNIX, and have the ability to bring the stability and reliability of UNIX to Windows by getting rid of that registry. Do I think they did it? Not in the least, but one can dream. On the other hand, with the new apps being a combination of HTML5 and Javascript, programming for a Windows computer has never been easier. Also, since this technology is hardly system intensive and most likely would not need registry entries, it could provide a level of stability unseen in Windows since, well, since I could remember.

So I think as a whole Microsoft is finally asserting themselves as a new Tech company, and it seems they are primarily targeting Apple and Google in their quest for relevancy. It really does look like they are pandering to stockholders here, but, as stockholders have a vested interest in the company's success, perhaps a little pandering isn't a bad thing.

What do you think of the new Windows 8 OS?

Tools for Educators and Parents: Fast ForWord

2011-05-31T08:51:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Tools for Educators and Parents: Fast ForWord on Technorati.

A few weeks ago, I got an email asking me to check out a tool for educational professionals and parents: Fast ForWord. The tool is designed to help students learn to read, and increase their reading ability. The system is designed to work with a speech and language provider, of which there is just one in the state of Utah. It works much like a video game, which makes it popular with children.

What is really interesting is that the technique has been clinically proven to work. The system was developed jointly by Rugters University and Northwestern University, and shown to build long connections in the brain between the language hemisphere and other parts of the brain.

What are long connections? Well, think of them as highways between different regions of the brain. Whenever you need to do something complex, like, say, reading. Here you are taking a pictograph (the alphabet), and processing those symbols into letters. Those letters are then processed into phonetic sounds to form a word, and that word needs to be associated with something real and tangible. For the neuro-typical brain, i.e., most brains, this is a simple process because of long connections. The highways are able to move each step to the right place quickly and easily.

The brain of a person with Autism, however, has a problem. They don't have as many of these long connections across the brain, and therefore instead of having a highway, it's more like a dirt road trying to move the information around. By contrast, local connections are huge and massive compared to the neuro-typical brain. So a lot of processing can get done locally, but not a lot can get done across the brain.

So tasks like Reading become burdensome, and as language can be closely related to the written form, their speech can suffer as well. And this is exactly what Faster ForWord had addressed in their program.

I got to speak with Dr. Martha Burns Ph.D, and part of the study and development of Fast ForWord. She told me of a case study where a young man with High-Functioning Autism had gone from non-verbal to speaking in a few years. He is now studying at MIT and about to graduate. She provided a lot of personalized information for my son which I intend to use, and recommended our school system look into various tools for him specifically.

After speaking with Dr. Burns, I started going through some of the demonstration tools that are provided on the Fast ForWord website. They seemed simple enough, and I think my son would enjoy them. As to whether or not they have helped him, it's too soon to tell. First, because there is only one provider locally, and second it's only been a couple of weeks since I have known about the program. But I would be willing to try it and see.

So for any of you out there who have tried using Fast ForWord, or have it available in your current school curriculum, I would be pleased with any reports back. How has it worked for you? Would you recommend it for others? What is your take on the program?

A Case Against The Cloud: Local Servers and Security

2011-05-19T09:41:00.001-06:00

When Amazon's cloud network went down, there was a panic on the Internet. Several well known and professional services were down for hours, if not days, and we were reminded once again just how fragile the Internet can be. With all the push for "cloud" computing, this seemed to be a huge argument against it. Couple it with the recent hacking of the Playstation Network and Android's revelation of authenticating users in clear text internally, and I began to think again about security on the Internet.

Sure, it's convenient to pay someone else to host your services, email, etc, so that you can access that data on the go anywhere, but what control do you have over that data? In a private world, it's not that big of a deal, but in the professional world privacy and security are crucial to business operations. Providing security for the data is a top priority, and if you can't rely on your hosting service, on whom can you rely?

The obvious answer is to host the services yourself, in your own server farm. But this can be expensive when you consider the costs of data connections, bandwidth, power requirements, and air-conditioning to keep the server room comfortable with all that heat pumping out from the computers. And then you need to monitor the servers' performance, keep them up to date, patch them with security patches when necessary, reboot them if needed, etc. All the expense that caused businesses to farm out their services to dedicated service hosts in the first place.

So what is the answer? I'm not sure there is one, to be frank. Bandwidth is becoming less of an issue, as more municipalities add fiber optic connections (e.g. UTOPIA), and less power consumption has become a priority with chip makers like Intel, making the power bill for servers less of a headache. That also means less power being converted into heat, so air conditioning needs are dramatically reduced. But there is still the cost of the administration team to keep and manage the servers.

But what is the alternative? I doubt something this big will happen to Amazon again, and even smaller service sites will be better served by the failure on April 21st as they make sure they don't have the same problem. But what control do you have over your services? Let's take a simple thing like email as an example. If you use Google Gmail, then your emails are stored on their servers. But what if they are hacked, and your email is then taken? It's remote, but it could happen (as it has in the past). If you keep your email internal, or even have two email services, one for internal mail and one for a public communication service, you then control your internal mail content.

Perhaps I'm just being paranoid, or over cautious, but it's something to think about. There are huge benefits to the cloud and being able to access your desktop/service/files anywhere you need them. But there are potential costs as people with nefarious intent/nothing better to do will try to attack and glean anything they can from big service providers. It's a dilemma I'm working on for my own potential startup, and one that I think should be taken seriously before I put my infrastructure in place.

So what do you think? Am I just being paranoid? What would you do, if you were starting a business and security was something very important to that business?

Life After High School: Autism in College

2011-05-12T07:43:00.000-06:00

Article first published as Life After High School: Autism in College on Technorati.

To date the discussion of autism has been primarily on the load that is weighing down our public elementary school system. The number of children being diagnosed, the number of children in need of special handling or exceptions, all have become a growing concern to the school system. It then spreads upward to secondary schools for a continuation of those same services. Then what?

There are a number of adults with autism, many of them undiagnosed, and they are also in need of assistance. Many of them are already in college, or at least looking to go eventually, but are not aware of the services that many colleges and universities offer.

As a test, I checked here locally at the University of Utah (of which I am an employee), to see what services are available. Their services are provided through the Center for Disability Services, which is located in the Union building, first floor, in the very back hallway. It's a small office, but don't let that fool you.

So what services do they offer? First and foremost they offer general advising. That is, help in planning their academic future. They will investigate the student's academic strengths and weaknesses to help plan what program would be the best fit for them. They can also refer the student of various other campus and community services that may be available. Utah is not well known for the services they offer, but those that are offered are very welcome to those on the spectrum.

If necessary, they can act as a liaison between the student and faculty or other departments for accommodation needs. They identify the ideal learning strategies for the student, and provide assistance when needed. They can also assist in registration and admissions.

Test taking is very important, because departments need to provide some method of measuring what has been learned. The Center will provide accommodations for test taking (verbal reading of the questions, scribes, and test taking technologies), offer note taker or interpreter services as needed, and so on. They can also provide text books in alternative formats if necessary (such as braille). They also work with adaptive technologies to further the student's learning ability. And, of course, they can work with the student to receive scholarships.

The one thing that the student needs to provide for these services is documented diagnoses for their related disabilities. For autism, that can be a bit of a problem, as many children and adults live without a diagnosis. All the more reason to utilize the University's student counseling center to find a good psychologist that can make such a diagnosis. At that point, the services are available to anyone.

This, of course, is just the University of Utah. All state schools are required to comply with the accommodations outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act, and should provide similar services. Some provide more, but I can't imagine any providing less (and not getting a lawsuit).

So if you are wondering what would be the best school to attend for your young adult on the Spectrum, check first to see what services are offered. You may be surprised by the options available.

Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Review: What It Really Means

2011-05-11T08:20:00.001-06:00

Article first published as Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Review: What It Really Means on Technorati..

There has been a recent preliminary review that has gotten a lot of press lately, as a claim to proof that vaccines do cause Autism. The claim is shocking, as just about every clinical, double-blind study (not falsified with fraudulent data) has conclusively shown that there is no link between Autism and vaccines. Yet still this persists, and now a "Study" can be pulled from the court cases of the Vaccine Courts to prove it. At least that is the claim of many websites, so many in fact that it's becoming a popular link to share.

So, what can one do but review the data?

The article is very telling. It mentions the past compensation offered by the Vaccine Courts to children with symptoms that can accompany Autism, and then the immediate denial of Autism directly as a cause. They then continue to question the fairness of the vaccine courts in an attempt to identify inconsistencies in the rulings. Nowhere does it claim that vaccines cause Autism, or have any relation to the condition. In fact, on page 482, fourth paragraph down, they say, "This assessment of compensated cases showing an association between vaccines and autism is not, and does not purport to be, science." All the authors point out is that the "finding raises fundamental questions about the integrity, transparency, and fairness of this forum."

So what is the article all about? 83 cases of damage related to Autism had been ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and now the Vaccine Courts no longer rule in that favor. They are just drawing attention to this fact in order to call for a review of the courts themselves.

So what does it mean to the rest of us? Vaccines are still not the cause of Autism, and we need to let that argument go. Worry about what to do for your children instead of who you can sue. The review is there to call into question the legal grounds of each dismissed case, not the scientific causes of Autism.

iPad as a Laptop Series: Floor Plans

2011-04-13T12:59:00.000-06:00

I'm constantly looking for new and better ways to design something. Lately I have had an interest in Tiny Homes by Tumbleweed Houses, and have thought about building a camping and traveling trailer as a tiny home. But the thing is, I would need to design it to fit up to 8 people (four adults, four kids). That's problematic with the existing plans at Tumbleweed Houses (most cater to up to 2 people), so I am down to designing my own. Usually this means pulling out the graph paper to draw it to scale. But I thought, shouldn't I be able to do this on my iPad?

Apparently someone else thought that too, as I found several apps for iPhone and iPad that will let you create, edit, and view floor plans and blue prints right from your iOS device. The one that interested me the most is iPlanit ($19.99) and it's free version, iPlanit Lite, which lets you build in each element you are planning on.

The interface is pretty clear, as it's just drag and drop for each element. Once placed, you can rotate the item with some difficulty, resize easily with a pinch, and place items quickly. Within a few minutes I was running through some designs that I thought would work on paper, but clearly didn't work in practice. It's a great little app, and one well worth it. The free version has all the functionality of the paid version, but when you export your plans, it includes a watermark over the image.

Of course, you can use it for more than just planning out trailers! It's ideal for any kind of building or layout planning within rooms, porches, or even some landscaping. I would recommend it highly for your iPad.

iPad 2 Wishlist

2011-03-01T09:48:00.001-07:00

A day before the scheduled Apple event, and I think it's time to mention my wishlist for the rumored iPad 2. For me, the original iPad was a great tool. It's plenty fast for what I want to do with it, it gets the job done, and it's built very well (it's taken a couple of falls, and a couple of head-butts from my son). So, in order for me to think about replacing it with the latest and greatest, I would need to see some pretty crazy changes. What would those be?

First off, you need to realize that there are two things that make the iPad: It's screen size for typing and visual display, and the software it can run. That is what distinguishes it from the iPod Touch, and in the end makes it a truly remarkable device. The list below outlines the changes I would like to see.

Retina Display: Obviously, I would want to see the retina display on the iPad. And, honestly, I'm not sure how you can get any better than that for such a device. Once the display exceeds the number of pixels necessary for the human eye to distinguish between them.. where do you go? Rumors go back and forth on this for the iPad 2, and suggest it may not be there until the iPad 3. We will see.

Camera? Okay, the front facing camera I can almost see for FaceTime. But a rear-facing camera? Can you honestly see yourself holding up the behemoth that is the iPad to take a picture or record video? I don't see it as a practical thing. Rather, I would prefer to use the camera on my iPhone and then sync it to the iPad. That would be cool.

Faster Processor: Better technology, better performance, better speed, less power. All that would make the latest iPad a great buy.

More Memory: Of course more storage would be great, but I'm also talking about RAM. I expect both to be available, and that will extend the capabilities of the iPad and software it runs.

Expansion Ports: Currently the iPad only has the 30-pin proprietary connector. Additional dongles can be purchased for that connector, but for now that's all it has. What would be nice is to see some other standard ports become available. I don't think it would be USB (though that would be nice), but I would like to see the new Thunderbolt port for the iPad, perhaps even replacing the 30-pin connector port. It may not happen with this release, but I would like to see it happen on future releases. The only problem: the port would be bigger than the edge of the iPad would be. Other ports that would be nice would include an SD card slot.

Longer Battery Life: The iPad already has a killer battery life, lasting pretty much all day on normal usage. But the longer I can go between charges, the more I can do with my iPad.

So that is pretty much it for the hardware. Most of these are just wishlist type things anyway, and even if they all happened on the iPad 2, I think I would be fine until the next iteration. But the one thing I am really looking forward to is an iOS update, a significant one. That is where I would like to see changes.

Gestures; Apple has made gestures a core for their software, and I think taking it further would be logical. I've seen rumors for a gesture to replace the home button. That would be awesome.

Better File Sharing Access: Right now I'm getting along well with Dropbox on my iPad, but it would be so nice to use a WebDAV client built in to get access to files, as well as an AFP or SMB client. NFS would rock as well, though I don't see it being particularly useful in a wireless environment.

Speech: I would love to see speech to text and speech commands integrated into the iOS. Why? Because sometimes I would just like to speak and have the thing done, while I'm typing elsewhere. It could speed up a lot of processes.

Great Remote Management: Apple has done a fantastic job with it's remote management tools for iOS, and with 10.7 pushing profiles, it's only going to get better.

So that's my list. Anything you all would like to see? Anything you would not want to see?

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.. A Server In Every Desktop?

2011-02-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

I've been following the comments of a lot of friends out there about Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and how it relates to the Server environment. It seems that Server services are now going to be bundled within Mac OS X, which means Apple no longer needs to provide a Server version of the OS. This is what is inferred on Apple's preview website for Lion, and it has created a lot of buzz over it.

For me, I think it's great! Why? Well, because it means that my vision for the computer world is looking pretty solid. When the iPad came out, I saw the writing on the wall: desktops were going to be relegated to Servers for storage, sharing, printing, etc. while home computer use will be managed through tablets like the iPad. There are exceptions to that, obviously, like video editing and rendering, high end photo manipulation, etc, but for the most part Joe Average at home could do most of his computing on a tablet.

So why even stop there? Well, the Internet in general is not yet reliable enough for cloud based computing (wonder why Chrome OS is so long in coming?), and there are still a number of desktops out there that could be used for a transition in the meantime. Apple has taken the step in the commercial OS business to provide an active migration tool to tablets and Servers, and making it easy to set up and manage.

For those that have used Server Preferences in the past may have known that setting up a Mac OS X Server can be very simple. For those of us who used Server Admin, we know that Apple is great at simplifying the process. From the screenshots I have seen (I've yet to get a preview copy), it looks like Lion will have a Server Preferences like app, but it will look like Server Admin now, or actually more like Finder.

But what about the iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch? Well, it looks like profiles can be pushed out to the iOS devices using Profile Manager, a new service. That's exciting! It's going to make managing iOS devices at home and at work much easier. And the fact that it integrates with an existing directory service (like Active Directory, Open Directory, Open LDAP, Kerberos, eDirectory, etc.) makes it even easier to throw into a network for iOS management.

There are still a lot of questions that need to be answerd, but as it sits I'm really excited to see this move by Apple. It's a good move, and with all the other updates coming from Lion, this is going to be one slick OS.

EEG Test for Autism?

2011-02-22T09:33:00.001-07:00

BMC Medicine published an article today on the results of an EEG study to identify children with a sibling with Autism. The article covered an EEG test to check for mental activity within the speech and social centers of the brain for those siblings of a child with Autism (which typically places them in at a high risk for Autism themselves), and the control group for children with neurotypical siblings. They found, with 80% accuracy, they could identify the children who had siblings with Autism.

So, let's look a the study, which the authors freely admit is just a stepping stone to additional research. The study is looking for brain activity, as measured by sensitive electrodes that rest on the scalp of a child aged between 6 to 24 months. The activity indicate freely firing neurons, which in turn show information processing. It is assumed that with high activity in this area, the child is strongly social, or will at least develop strong speech and social skills.

They found that children who had a sibling with Autism tended to have less activity within the speech and social regions of the brain. They also found that age was a significant factor, as at 9 months the classification accuracy was near 100%, and remained between 70% ad 90% at ages 12 to 18 months. For girls, the classification was highest at age 6 months, and then declined.

So what are we looking at here? Well, on the surface, it looks like it's an ideal way to identify Autism, or at least at this stage show a child has a sibling that has Autism. More study is needed to prove that Autism can be diagnosed through EEG's. But something else comes to mind when I read the results of the study: the accuracy starts to decline at age 9 months for boys, and 6 months for girls. The brain is an amazing organ, and has the ability to retrain itself when given specific stimuli, hence why AAC therapy is so effective with children on the Spectrum. What's very interesting here is the decline in accuracy may actually be showing brain compensations within the children as they develop. That's a fascinating idea, and one that we need to get to sooner within the Autism community.

It seems that too many people see Autism as a static disorder, much like blindness or deafness. But because it is a neurological disorder, it's possible the brain can work itself through Autism, and appear quite normal. As Dr. James Coplan suggested in his 5th post on PsychologyToday.com, time can make the difference if the child's IQ is sufficiently high enough to work it's way through the severity of the disorder. Therefore, I see this study as not only significant, but necessary.

And another side note to the discovery: It yet again proves that Autism is, in fact, a medical disorder, and at least the diagnosis should be covered by health insurance.

Can the iPad, or any Tablet, Replace your Laptop?

2011-02-17T15:04:00.001-07:00

I have found the iPad to be one of the best purchases I have ever made. It's usefulness has gone beyond anything that I could have imagined, and continues to get better as applications that are produced for the iPad get better. But could it really replace a full powered laptop or notebook computer? Does that little piece of glass have what it takes? My answer, based on my experience, has been yes. But let me explain how I have come to that conclusion.

When I purchased the iPad, I bought it for three tasks: mobile video for long periods of time (like on a flight), bigger screen for reading ebooks, and writing while on the go (literally while sitting on the bus). These were tasks I found awkward with a laptop, and found that my iPod or iPhone was not up to the task.

First, for mobile video. Sure, my iPod could do this, but I wanted something that I could use to share with my kids. With the large screen of the iPad, I can sit back with the kids and watch videos, for up to 10 hours. Ideal for along driving trips or plane flights, this worked well. Sure, I could get adapters for the laptop, but it's clamshell design was not the best for watching video. Not as convenient as holding it in your hand.

I never liked reading ebooks on either the desktop or a laptop. The controls were awkward to use, the laptop too heavy to hold, and the battery life was not up to a long period of reading. No, I needed something with a better battery that was light enough to hold while standing and not get in the way. My iPhone works great, but the screen is really small and having a larger screen is very handy when reading PDF files. As anyone who has used a standard Kindle and then got the larger one would tell you, the increased screen real estate does make a difference.

While a physical keyboard for writing is great, I wanted something that would be more mobile than a clamshell computer. The flat nature of the iPad makes it ideal, as well as the wide screen size for typing with more than a couple fingers (or thumbs). What's more, there are full word processor apps that are available for the iPad, as well as very spartan versions that are perfect for writing articles and novels.

So then I started to think, if it can do these three things that justify (if only barely) purchasing an iPad, what would it need to do in order to justify using it as a replacement for a full powered laptop? So, I started going through all the applications that I have on my computer, just to see what it is that separates the laptop from the iPad when in use. What I found was fascinating, and a little surprising. I found that a lot of the apps I already had could replace to a certain degree the applications I have on my computer. Here is what I came up with:

Games: This was a no-brainer, as the iPad and Apple's App Store is at least 25% games. But what about those specific games that everyone is playing? If you are looking for a specific game, then you may be out of luck (no Starcraft 2 or World of Warcraft here), but you can get similar games, so the overall experience is not lost.

Word Processing/Publishing: I've already mentioned that word processing on the iPad is a great way to get things done. Recently I purchased iA Writer, and I love it. I also have Pages, which is phenomenal for creating layouts for my text. I also have Index Card to organize my storylines, PlainText for taking notes (also works decently for writing novels), and Documents 2. I even have SpeakPad for text to speech, in case I want to hear the text I'm writing.

Text Editing: Different than word processing, text editing allows for writing stuff like code. Often times I'll be sitting on the bus, and I may want to just bust out some code really quick. Believe it or not, that can be done on the iPad. Tools like Markup for iPad make it possible.

Pictures: The iPad has a ton of picture editors, though I like Photoshop Express for making quick edits to pictures I've already taken, I also have various sketch apps for releasing more creative ideas beyond a photo.

Communication: Along with iPad's Mail, I can use a number of other tools like Skype, Twitter through Tweetdeck, FacePad for the rare occasions I want to check out Facebook, or even Pocket Metaverse to chat with my buddies in Second Life. And, because of the nature of the iPad, these apps are less distracting than on a desktop or laptop.

Coding: I know I mentioned this under text editing, but sometimes you want to test your code. Well, you can using various tools on the iPad. Right now there are two Lua test environments for the iPad (iLuaBox and Luna), and JavaScript Anywhere works for JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS. More are on the way, though I'm not expecting a full on Xcode environment (but that would rock!!!).

Project Management: There are a number of project management tools for the iPad, but I'm currently looking at Trac Viewer, and Trac as an open source online project management tool. It's supported by my hosting service, so I thought I would give it a try.

So that's just off the cuff. There are some other applications that I don't have and can't to this point, but over all, the iPad makes a great replacement for a laptop for general use. So much so that I gave up my laptop and got a desktop instead.

Families and Autism: When Family Members Don't Understand

2011-02-15T08:52:00.001-07:00

Recently, I've been running into a common problem that a lot of parents run into: family members not understanding their child's condition. In this case, a new behavior that our child with Autism has has been misunderstood.

It is quite common for some behaviors in managing Autism to be misunderstood as child abuse, particularly deep pressure stimulation. Some parents, while on a shopping trip, may need to initiate deep pressure stimulation to get their child under control. Sometimes this means laying on top of the child. In broad daylight, in the middle of the store. Parents with children on the Spectrum fear this scenario, because they have been reported for child abuse at that moment. It's embarrassing for the parent, because they are doing what they are supposed to do, but yet it makes them look bad. It's also potentially a legal issue, depending on how versed law enforcement is on the Autism spectrum.

Though deep pressure stimulation is usually seen as weighted bean-bags, blankets, or bear hugs, my son craves a somewhat sharp sensation on his arm. He will use toy dinosaurs to "bite" his arm, stick his arm in the dogs mouth (much to the frustration of the dog), or even in my mouth. Sometimes, due to the amount of pressure he puts on his arm, this can cause bruising. We were concerned, and talked with his occupational therapist, which said this was perfectly normal. They even taught us some techniques of deep pressure stimulation that would help our son focus more at home.

Well, family members have been concerned about the bruises, thinking that they are being caused by adults mishandling my son. The frustration is, I know what it looks like, but it isn't the case at all. It's a sensory need that my son has to get that stimulation. So, I ended up needing to explain the sensory need my son has. I'm not sure it registered, nor whether or not family members understand. Of course, I would hope that all those who know me would trust that I have my son's best interests and safety in mind, and would be alert to his needs, his situation, and any changes in his habits.

Though the frustration with the misunderstanding is there, it's difficult to place blame on a family member that doesn't understand the sensory needs of a child with Autism. Why? Because even if they have worked with a child with Autism before, every child is different. That is especially true in sensory stimulation. Even if you have grown up with a child with Autism, all other children on the Spectrum are going to be different. So how do you help family members understand what children with Autism need, even if it looks odd?

First, you need to set the foundation. Because of the nature of Autism and the brain, they will need something on which to focus to keep the brain from getting sensory overload. Often times that means either auditory, visual, or tactile stimulation. Deep pressure is common with children on the spectrum, and there are a number of ways to apply that pressure. Most commonly a weighted bean bag will work, or weighted blanket. You can also use your palms on the arms, pressing the arm between your palms. And remember, this is deep pressure, so you would need to press hard (not to tears, but until you feel resistance). Bear hugs also work, or even just a large pet (like a dog) laying on the child or leaning against their trunk.

Has anyone else had similar experiences, or had the need to explain their child's sensory needs to family members?

HP TouchPad Preview: What It Does, and What It Needs To Do

2011-02-10T09:10:00.001-07:00

PC Magazine has a great article with embedded video on HP's announcement for it's new tablet to compete with the iPad: The HP TouchPad. It will be using HP's (formerly Palm's) WebOS platform, and from the demos I've seen from the launch, it looks interesting.

From a basic view, it's pretty much like the iPad. The size, resolution, and even the basic look just screams iPad. They really took a queue from iPad and understand what the tablet should be. When working in an app, the app takes over the screen. They even go so far as to have multiple screens of apps instead of app icons to select the app you want to use now. Orientation is really the same, and I don't see anything that really screams unique in this area.

What it does have that the iPad doesn't is a forward facing camera, and a dual core processor. The software also communicates wirelessly with the HP Pre3 using a proximity sensor to transfer data between the two. That's pretty cool, and I think it would be a neat feature for any smart phone/tablet combination. Why? Because it creates a level of cooperation between the two that enhances the experience, and could create immediate need to purchase both for the sake of that tech. Of course, if rumors are true, the same could be available in the next iPad and iPhone using RFID (much better then using the phone as a credit card that way). What else does it do? Well, it runs Flash, but as I have mentioned before, the power requirements to run Flash make it a non-starter for me in a mobile platform.

So what is it lacking? Apps. The WebOS platform, while starting out really promising in 2009, has always struggled in this area. HP has touted some partners, but the list is still meager. Though one way to expand app excitement was to introduce a WebOS platform for Windows, making it possible to run WebOS apps on your PC. That would increase the install base significantly, though how it's going to be implemented remains a mystery. My guess is it will exist as either a simple development platform, or better yet something like Apple's Dashboard. Either way it would be of benefit for HP in the long run to have a wider app base than their current platform.

As of now though, the TouchPad is still more or less in development. It's not polished, much to the annoyance of Lance Ulanoff when he did the article, and that's a problem because it makes them look desperate. It's very similar to Motorola's Xoom presentation, which was pretty much just videos of what it could do when finished at CES. The difference? HP didn't have an arbitrary date to get everything ready like Motorola did for CES: this presentation was from HP on their own schedule. Perhaps they should have waited until the device was done and ready to go.

So, with the introduction of the TouchPad, the iPad has more competition. What will this mean for Apple? It means they will need to wow everyone with the next release of the iPad in order to stay on top. Do I think that will be a problem? No, because Apple has a knack for producing wow's at their presentations, even if the initial iPad presentation left many tech pundits feeling confused. Personally, I think the tablet in general and the iPad in particular represent a fabulous move forward in the future of computing. I can't wait to see how it all shakes out!

The Delicate Art of Communication

2011-02-03T10:15:00.001-07:00

Often times I find myself in the position of having to interpret someone else's words. Not because they are in German, French, Dutch, Spanish, or even Latin or Ancient Greek, but because I have no idea of the context of their question. And so, inevitably, I need to ask questions about the context of another's question, when they are expecting a simple answer. They, missing the reasoning behind my questions, become annoyed and continue to evade the vital piece of information I am trying to gather. All, apparently, for the sake of avoiding a lengthy but clear explanation.

So it started me wondering, why do we do it? It seems, as a culture, we have become married to sound bites. Little bits of information encapsulated within 140 characters, meant to keep our attention only for a few seconds. Anything longer than that, we become inpatient, unable to wait for completion. And so, we have been left as a culture to interpret the same. And often those interpretations are misunderstood to our detriment.

In the early days, before the days of television and the associated advertisements, people would enjoy the art of conversation. Communication was clear, well spoken, and required thought and attention. While advertisements were available, some with only one or two mentions, usually several paragraphs accompanied to explain the contents and it's relevance to the product. I recall ads I've seen from the early 20th century, some from the 19th, or even the 17th century from documentaries that were very well versed. Everything was made clear,

So what happened? Is it because of Television, the microwave oven, or instant potatoes? I wonder.

Personally, I see a growth of assumptions as to what others are thinking as the problem. People assume you have X knowledge, and base instructions off of that assumed knowledge. For instance, I may be working on a project for one of my classes when a co-worker will ask me a question about putting OS information into a website. The co-worker wouldn't explain what website it is, or in what context the OS question is being placed (we work with four different OS platforms), so I have to follow up with questions. My questions ask what OS is being referred to, and in which context, and the answer I get back is, "I don't know, can you tell me". Inevitably I need to see what the co-worker is looking at in order to understand the initial question.

Similar issues in communication happen when I worked for eBay, Salt Lake Community College, and NEC. Each time I would be presented with a problem that someone else has been trying to solve on their own. They would then assume I had the same level of experience with this same issue when they call, without clarifying the issue itself. Therefore it became my responsibility to get more information through probing questions. It wasn't as though clients, co-workers, or customers didn't want to tell me the problem, it was just that they assumed I had the same level of experience they did, with the answer they needed. While it was often true that I had the answer, I needed to know the full extent of the question before I could provide it, and have it be correct.

Don't see this as a complaint against customers, co-workers, or clients. Far from it! It's more an attempt, through writing, to find a cause for a disconnect in communications.

Often, as I find with interpersonal relationships, it can be a problem of reading too much into statements and jumping to conclusions. For instance, I may suggest to a friend that they clean out their storage of anything they have not needed, nor used in the past five years. As I have friends that are, to a certain extent hoarders, it is a good opportunity to help them take stock of what is truly valuable instead of hanging on to stuff that may be "cute" at one time, or may have some obscure use in the distant future.

But instead of taking me at my word, often times offense can be taken in assuming I have them throw everything away in storage, even priceless (either monetary or personal) heirlooms. Nothing could be further from the truth, but it is inferred, and the friendship is strained until a big blowup happens and feelings are hurt. Easily, the fault could be at my end, as I didn't specifically say heirlooms are safe from the purge. What seems like an obvious exception in my mind becomes obscure in the face of taking offense. So, yet again, because of my lack of clarity in all aspects, a friendship becomes strained.

So, what can be done to repair the communication troubles that seem so common in today's society? What do you think?

Motorola Xoom and Android 3.0: What The Videos Show

2011-02-01T09:09:00.001-07:00

I finally was able to see some of the videos highlighting the new features of Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and I'm impressed. There are some features that I think are interesting, making for a unique user experience. Of course, I have yet to see a device actually use those features (the video for the Motorola Xoom tablet just played videos of the features, but didn't demo them), but the features seem interesting. Here is what I thought was impressive:

1. Scrollable Widgets: I'm not a big fan of widgets on a tablet screen, if only because it should be a launch area, not the point of the interface. That being said, it's an interesting concept: scroll through your content for your apps. Where Apple has you go into the app to see your content, you can see a "preview" of your content on the widget.

2. Screen Size: And I'm not talking resolution (though that was impressive), I'm talking about physical size. Have you ever tried to type with both hands in landscape mode on a Samsung Galaxy Tab? I did, once. It was cramped, difficult, and I thanked my lucky stars that I had an iPad. Motorola apparentlly saw that, and went with a much wider screen. Tablets aren't about putting it in your pocket, that's your smartphone. No, tablets are all about replacing your books in your backpack. And this size that Motorola came up with works, at least in landscape mode.

3. Buttonless Interface: This is rumored to be coming to the iPad in version two, and I'm impressed with the concept. Mostly because both my boys know they can easily exit out of what I'm doing if they press that button. Argh. It would be much better if it were gestures, though that could be easily learned by my boys as well.

So that's what stood out from the videos in the "demo" with which I was impressed. So does it make me want to ditch my iPad for Android? No. Why not?

1. The Marketplace: There are thousands of apps for Android.. but where do you find them all? You can't, unless you check all the various marketplaces. It reminds me of the trouble I had finding apps for my PocketPC.. you really have to hunt, all over, and through various websites to find the app you want. Sure, iTunes is closed, but I can find what I need/want, and move on. Hopefully Amazon can help consolidate the Android Marketplace and make apps easier to find.

2. Keyboard to Screen Ratio: I've heard of a lot of complaints about the iPad's keyboard taking up half the screen when you need it.. Motorola's Xoom with Honeycomb takes up at least 2/3rds of the screen, if not 3/4ths. If you didn't like the former, you are going to hate the latter.

3. Limited App Space: Perhaps it was because of the demo, or the videos, but the apps seemed limited to just the lower part of the screen, and you could have only 6 to maybe 8 there. That's it. Need more apps? I think it changed as you scrolled along the screen, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Why only the bottom of the screen? Because the rest of the space seemed dedicated to widgets. I could be wrong, but it would seem a little.. untidy to have these large widgets mixed up with the little app buttons. It would soon look cluttered, at least from what I could see. Hopefully I'm wrong.

4. Flash: Yes, I will admit it, on a portable environment and on the web, I don't like Flash. It's not because I don't like Flash in general, I just don't like Flash ads on the web. I love the fact that they don't work on the iPad, and I can just read the web. It also doesn't drain my battery, as it has been proven to do on Android platforms that support Flash. Does that mean Flash is dead? No, I think it's future is tied up in a development platform that can make native, well coded apps for mobile platforms. But if a website doesn't have a non-Flash alternative, I'm going to one that does.

And, of course, the most important reason, I love using my iPad. It's a great tablet, and does everything I need. In fact, I found that just about everything I do on the main computer, I can do on the iPad with the appropriate apps. But that's the subject of another post. ^_^

So, does that mean I think that the Motorola Xoom is going to be just as disappointing as the Galaxy Tab? No! I think it's going to be the best thing for both Android and the tablet platform. Google has raised the bar in a number of areas, which will ultimately push the tablet platform into the main computing experience. Well done Google, and Motorola! Let's hope this thing ships, and is affordable for those who choose an alternative for current tablet platforms. And I can't wait to see HP release their WebOS tablet, and see what they bring to the table.

The Autism "Epidemic": Looking Past the Fear, Uncertanty, and Doubt

2011-01-31T14:26:00.001-07:00

The Big Think has an article on their recently convened Breakthroughs: Autism series that addresses the concern of Autism being an epidemic. Autism started as a very rare diagnosis, and held the stigma of bad parenting over the parents.

Originally used to identify a group of symptoms in schizophrenia, it began to be associated with children who had social or emotional problems. It wasn't until the 1060's that Autism was finally separated from schizophrenia, and let to heavy-handed medications like LSD, or using electric shock therapy or pain and punishment techniques to modify behavior. Because of this stigma, it's been rarely diagnosed, and rarely discussed.

But now one seems to hear about it everywhere, and see more children with Autism. Why? Is it because it's truly becoming more common? Are children getting Autism from water, pollution in the air, watching too much TV when infants? Monosodium Glutamate? Witches? What's the deal?

According to Dr. Christopher Walsh of the Children's Hospital in Boston, Autism is simply "suffering" from increased awareness and a broader definition of the term. Because the medical field now has more specialists in the field, better and more diagnoses are being made. Add to that the inclusion of various subgroups of the Autism Spectrum (from low-functioning Autism to the higher-functioning Aspergers), more children and adults are being diagnosed.

The article is excellent, and I would highly recommend reading it, or watching the discussion. Autism has always been here, it's just been known by different names, or has been hidden within families. But the important thing is to stop blaming vaccinations, pollution, the tooth fairy, pixie dust, or low-hanging power lines without any evidence (beyond surveys) that provide proof.

Why Mac OS X? My Journey from DOS to Mac OS X, and Why I Like the Mac

2011-01-26T09:32:00.001-07:00

This is a question I get quite a bit, and often from friends who have known me from my early days with DOS. Why do I prefer the Mac over other computers, and why Mac OS X? Those who use Windows can't understand why I don't just use what they use, and those that use Linux can't understand why I don't go for the completely open operating system. So, let me tell you a story about how I made my choice about my computing platform.

I started with DOS, like most of us did in the late 80's, and I liked the command line experience. I could play various games, write documents, and do generally what most teenagers needed to do with a non-network computer. It worked well, and I was happy. So happy in fact that to this day I have Dosbox installed on my Mac with many of those nostalgic DOS applications installed.

Then Windows came along. I didn't much like Windows 3.x or earlier, because I didn't see the point. It took up a lot of memory and disk space (very precious back then), and didn't give me any advantage over using DOS. So I ignored it. Until Windows 95 came out, and I couldn't ignore it anymore. But it was buggy, crashing constantly, with memory allocation issues and whatnot being the bane of computer users. About this time I started working for Packard Bell/NEC on the NEC technical support line. So I knew computers on the inside, and knew how to troubleshoot them through Windows 95/98 (we will not discuss ME).

So my foray into Windows began, and about this time I was introduced to the Mac OS. Mac OS 9, to be precise, and I was not impressed with it. Sure, it did the job, but it was difficult to work with memory allocation, and I would often get memory leaks that killed the entire OS. It was like working with Windows 95 all over again, and I didn't like it.

Then a friend introduced me to Linux (officially called GNU/Linux, but I'll just refer to it as Linux for simplicity). I had heard a lot about it, and at this point I was getting jaded with Windows and Microsoft in general. I wanted to find something that didn't require purchasing to use (legally), and Linux was the new kid on the block. My first experience with Linux was... frustrating. It didn't work (at least from what I could tell, because of inexperience), and left me with a pink screen and a mouse. What was up with that? It wasn't until a year later after playing with different Window Managers that I realized it was twm, and all I had to do was right-click to get my menu. But after a couple of false starts with Mandrake, I got it working.

Linux was sort of a heaven for me, and took me back to my old DOS days. Most of the free software for Linux was based in the command line, and all of it could be executed from the command line. I was back home again, and I loved it. The only problem with Linux was the time it took to configure a computer. And to get the best performance, it took longer to configure. Now, many people will call this a definite benefit, as you can tweak performance and get the most efficient system for your needs, but my needs became very basic. I didn't need anything fancy, just something that would get me through college and my Masters while allowing a little recreational activities. And that was another drawback for Linux: games. Sure, there are games, but not many of the big name games worked on Linux (though I did spend a lot of time playing Unreal Tournament).

While working in a Mac lab, I was introduced to the new Mac OS: OS X. My boss, an avid Mac user, said I would probably like it because it was based on UNIX, much like Linux. He, on the other hand, wasn't too impressed. So, I sat down on the one Mac OS X computer they had (the rest were OS 9.22), and quickly found the UI useful, and the Terminal application. I smiled, but still wanted to see what would be coming to the new platform. At this juncture, anything released for the Mac short of a view software titles were still only available on OS 9.

And then, while I was working for eBay, I checked out the Mac again. By this time, Mac OS X v10.2, the Mac had matured considerably. It was very well developed, had a great UNIX platform and developer base, and even had big name games that were released for it (like Starcraft). What's more, I had some of that software already. I didn't have the money to buy a Mac computer at this point, but it was the first time I wanted one. So, I configured XFCE on my Linux box to look like the Mac, in preparation for my purchase.

And then, when Mac OS X v10.4 came out, I got a 12-inch Powerbook G4. The hard drive wasn't huge, only 80 GB, and I only had 768 MB of RAM, but it was a great little computer. The computer was powerful enough to do everything I wanted, including play World of Warcraft, and I had all the Office software I needed in Open Office. It was, quite frankly the best laptop I had ever purchased as it had lasted the longest. That, my friends, is why I like the Mac platform.

So what sold Mac for me overall? The first and foremost reason: it does, actually, just work. The OS will get out of my way and let me get the job done. Linux required a lot of high maintenance, much like the pretty but expensive girlfriend you had that you knew wouldn't ever be your wife. Windows went through a lot of reliability issues, so much so that even with as good an OS as Windows 7 is I'm not trusting it. But the Mac, with all the drivers either pre-installed or quickly available through Software Update, the solid user experience, and the overall focus on the product rather than the process makes it a winner for me. It also has much of the same security benefits of any other UNIX environment, which is a huge incentive.

So, that is why I like the Mac. It's not because I was "brain-washed", or that I have a burning hatred of Bill Gates, it's just because the user experience on the Mac is so polished, so simple, and therefore so impressive it won me over. I still use other operating systems for specific tasks, but I find the Macintosh is a fantastic way to get things done and not worry about compiling, configuring, or having to authorize every action you want to do every 5 minutes. The same reasons spill over onto iOS devices, as they have that same level of polish and customer experience that makes it a joy to use when I want to, and easy to let go when I have something else to do. It does the job and gets out of the way, leaving me to the task at hand rather than the process of trying to get the task done.

So, what are the reasons you like your operating systems? What operating systems do you find useful?

Is an Institution the Best Way?

2011-01-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

The Winnipeg Free Press has an article about a man with Autism being confined to his room for 15 days with no free access to a toilet or washroom. The man, a 20 year old at a privately operated institution, had a double lock on his door and could only use the toilet when the staff noticed that he needed it. When they did not notice, he would use a corner of the room.

The outrage of the man's mother is understandable, as is the outrage of everyone that has been questioned in regards to the incident. But Dr. Andre Blanchet, the Massachusetts-based physician tapped for an interview noted that the allegations suggest deeper issues. And I am inclined to agree. This sort of problem is inherent with institutions. Those who are not emotionally invested in the care of individuals can become careless. There are plenty of examples of abuse at general institutions, regardless of Government or private ownership. So is the idea of institutionalizing patients not safe?

Absolutely not. Those signs of abuse are generally the exception rather than the rule, even for disabled individuals. But it does bring up a potential problem, and one that current care-givers need to keep in mind as they contemplate institutions. Private care can be just as bad, or even worse as medical assistance much needed is not given even by the most loving family member.

This case in Nova Scotia is a good wake-up call for all institutions that deal with the disabled: make sure all your patients are getting the care to which they are entitled. My hope is that others will learn quickly from this example, and make sure this outrage will never happen again.

On My Faith: Talking About My Religion

2011-01-18T14:15:00.001-07:00

If you are one of the three people that regularly follow my blog, you will note that I rarely mention religion. And if I do, it is generally in passing. You may also ask why. Am I ashamed of my religion? Not at all. In fact I am quite proud of my religious affiliation. I just don't often feel it necessary to the discussion or topic I'm covering. Generally it's because I feel that Religion is a very personal thing and to share with others should be reserved for genuine love and respect for that person. Also, I don't like to offend others (generally), and the easiest way to offend others it to talk about religion or politics. So I try to keep neutral within my posts.

Today I thought it would be a good idea to share my personal feelings about my own faith, and hopefully answer any questions about why I believe the way I do. I hope not to offend anyone, as that is not my goal. I don't believe that my belief in my own religion requires the condemnation of any other Faith. But I do have specific reasons for my beliefs, and I hope to share them in a way that is informative and clear (if not concise). Please forgive my verbosity here, but there are a lot of potential questions I'm trying to answer in this post.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most people refer us as Mormons, Mormonism, etc, when they are being nice. And I've heard many of the other names from people not trying to be nice. While many people have heard of the LDS faith, few people have bothered to learn more about it than from hearsay or passing media mentions. Let me tell you about it, from my point of view.

My family are all members of the Church, for several generations on most sides. An exception would be my grandfather on my mother's side, who was not affiliated with any religion (interesting story behind that). But then living in Utah, finding people with a long history in the Church is not uncommon. And many people find it convenient to remain a member of the Church, just because they grew up in it. But the Church does not encourage this, but rather encourages all members to gain a personal testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and in the Prophet Joseph Smith. This is a challenge I took upon me when I turned 16.

I had always felt an affinity to religion, and enjoyed growing up in the Church. But, like many people without a personal testimony, or knowledge, about the Church and it's teachings, I had issues with people (including myself) who were not perfect. So, I started to look around at other religions, particularly through reading the sacred texts available to those faiths. I chose the sacred texts based on the premise that such texts should reflect the Divinity being worshipped.

I read the Talmud with several commentaries made by various rabbis. I read the holy Quaran. I've always read the Bible, so for many of the Christian religions I read many of the religious commentaries from their points of view. This way, I would have a wide basis of experience on which to base my conclusions. And, of course, I read the Book of Mormon.

Now Faith is a process, in my experience, and requires testing assumptions and looking for divine confirmation. The first test of my faith was to know whether or not a Supreme Being was there, and whether or not that Being cared for me as a single individual. The only way to know for sure was to ask that Being directly, and so I prayed. I received a comfortable feeling, one of peace, and took this as an answer. This feeling of peace confirmed my belief in a God who loves me personally, and has a vested interest in my welfare.

I continued with my prayerful search for months, reading texts, pondering their meanings, and praying about them. My answer came as I read the Book of Mormon. I have read it many times before, or out of it, but now I read it with a distinct interest in it's authenticity. It's hard to describe the feelings I had at the time, but they confirmed my feeling that the Book of Mormon was true, and by extension the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith was true. Of course I continued to pray about every aspect of the LDS doctrine, and received confirmation each time. As I continued to study, I was struck with the way all aspects of the LDS faith fit within the principles of Faith and Repentance, and the importance of a line of authority for Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit if you prefer, though the KJV of the Bible says Holy Ghost), which were the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With it all fitting together so neatly, the Book of Mormon reinforcing the lessons I read from the Bible, and the confirmation I felt from God made it a logical choice.

So how can I base my whole faith on a feeling? Well, if you believe in a Supreme Being, and this Supreme Being is one that is all knowing, all powerful, loving, good and kind, then you know that he will want you to trust him. I personally don't believe faith comes from flashy displays of Divinity (based on my personal experiences), but rather faith is required for any divine "sign" to be given. Therefore, once you start to exercise faith into action (such as praying, attending services, reading scriptures, being nice to your neighbor, etc.), you will receive a confirmation on whether or not that faith was well placed. The more faith you develop and exercise, the stronger the confirmation.

So through my personal conversion story, I've learned that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. It teaches the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, is lead by Him through his appointed Prophet on the Earth. I know this to be true, and I'm happy with that knowledge.

But what does this mean? There are a lot of principles that are followed in the Church that are often not understood. Let me cover some of the main ones, and hopefully clarify what they are:

Is it true that Mormons do not drink? Not even coffee? Yes, it's true. Why? Because we believe in modern revelation, meaning that God will speak to us directly (when the matter is personal) and through his appointed Prophet (if it involves a larger body), we listen to the teachings of our Prophets. Joseph Smith received such a revelation, which is called the Word of Wisdom. Subsequent revelations have set a rule: no alcohol, coffee, black tea to drink, tobacco to smoke or chew, or any drug abuse. There is also guidance in how to eat healthy, get exercise, and so forth. I see the ability to abstain as proof that I am free, as opposed to being restricted based on chemical stimulants.

Is it true that Mormons have more than one wife? No. But what about (insert polygamous group here)? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has not practiced polygamy since 1896. Groups that do are not members of the Church, and any member of the Church that does practice polygamy is not a member for long.

Why can't Mormon's do (insert something here)? Okay, I get this a lot when someone finds out my religion. They want to know why the Church prohibits something, or why people can't do something else. Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Everything you do in the Church is voluntary, which is to say the Church doesn't MAKE you do anything. The Church has standards, just like any other religion. Those standards are, essentially, the Ten Commandments. Also included there is the Word of Wisdom (see number 1). You have a choice to follow them, or not. The Church doesn't break your kneecaps, publicly shame you, etc.

Why aren't Mormons Christians? Well, we are, and very much so. It is called the Church of Jesus Christ, after all. We believe in God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. So why have you heard that we are not Christians? Well, because we also believe that, along with the Holy Bible (which, by the way, is excellent to read in the original Greek!), another record of Christ and his prophets has been made in the New World, and has been brought forth now as the Book of Mormon. It also testifies of Christ, His mission on the Earth, and God's plan for Salvation for his children. But to claim we are not Christian is very wrong, and shows a distinct lack of understanding (or willingness to understand) just who we are.

There are a number of other questions I've gotten, but I will leave it there for now. I hope this helps you understand the point of view I am coming from, particularly when I talk about Autism. I'm a Believer, and proud of it. If I don't mention my religion much after this, just know that it's because I don't see it as relevant, even more so after this post.

If you have any questions about the Church or it's teachings, I would highly recommend you start by reading the Book of Mormon. Then either contact your local meetinghouse, or the Missionaries in your area. You can also post any questions you may have here, and even whether or not you want them made public (I can and will respect any private comments, if you mention you want to keep it private).

Genetic Tests for Autism Now Introduced

2011-01-12T08:59:00.001-07:00

Lineagen has developed the FirstStepDX genetic test that looks for common genetic markers for Autism and conditions that can result in autistic-like behavior (like Fragile X). The genetic test has been developed specifically because early detection can lead to early intervention, which can lead to a better overall lifestyle for the child with Autism.

The test has been first introduced in rural Utah, with amazing results. It is about 70% accurate, which, short of an MRI scan, is the most accurate Autism medical test available. The reason this is so important is because the genetic markers are there in the child well before Autism starts to show it's symptoms, which may not be until age 3.

But what is even more important here is that Autism can be detected through a genetic test, as opposed to hours of psychological analysis. This saves time for the family, and also saves money for insurance coverage. And that's the kicker, because if insurance companies can save money on a test that is medical, then they are more likely to cover it.

So is there a down side to this test? Well, depending on when the test is administered, there is a fear that parents may choose to abort a pregnancy (assuming it can be conducted before birth), or abandon a child in accordance with safe harbor laws. The simple idea of that sickens me to think that anyone would treat their own child that way, but as people are known to do great acts of kindness, they are also known to do horrendous acts of evil.

My personal take on the test is this: IT'S A MEDICAL, GENETIC TEST! That means Autism is a MEDICAL CONDITION, and therefore should be covered by insurance.

So what do you think?

Closely Spaced Pregnancies and Autism: Does It Mean Anything?

2011-01-11T09:04:00.001-07:00

Another day, another survey about Autism that the media is claiming is a cause. This one is about closely spaced pregnancies and the likelihood of baring a child with Autism. It seems that in a survey of 662,730 second-born children in general, parents were three times more likely to have a second-born child with Autism if the pregnancy were spaced less than three years apart. Yet again, genetics were not taken into consideration, just passive observation.

I've posted before about my, erm, thoughts about this type of passive observation. Just like with anything, simple observation of a few facts without seeing the whole picture, such as genetics, cannot do much more than justify making a pitch for additional funding. The article itself, which will be published in the journal Pediatrics in February (click to see web access to article) indicates that the goal of the survey was to compare pregnancy planning, and nothing else. So, based on the data, they had to draw some conclusion, and that was the conclusion they made.

So is it right? Is it the cause? Well, as it is a one in three chance, I don't think so. Just like a previous survey on proximity to freeways during pregnancy term, a pattern was emerging. But let's step back a bit, and see if there is another possible answer.

Could it be that parents with genes associated with Autism may be slow at developing social skills, therefore marrying late and wanting to have children as quickly as possible? I don't know, seems like a reasonable conclusion, but could only be identified by looking at genetic data along with these pregnancy spacing surveys.

Perhaps it's time we start looking at the whole story instead of just trying to look for environmental causes. If I were to council parents now on whether or not to wait to have additional children, I would have them look at all the facts, family history, and then decide if waiting is something they can do, want to do, or perhaps is something they don't want at this time. Right now this survey shows an interesting pattern, but no real, concrete connection to Autism in children. Until then, look at it as at most an interesting pattern.

Disneyland and Autism: The Good and the Not So Good

2011-01-05T09:57:00.001-07:00

Unlike many other amusement parks, Disneyland is perhaps the best place to go with your family, even if your child has Autism. Sure, there are crowds, and sure, there are long lines, but for the most part Disney tries to make it as easy as possible for everyone. But it's not perfect (like everything in this world), so let me give you a heads up on some of the experiences we had.

First, the Not So Good

World of Color: Disney has a new attraction, the World of Color. It's essentially Fantasmic without Mickey and the Dragon, or any other performers. They do a water display at night and project scenes from movies while shooting colored lights through the water jets. It's really cool, but unlike Fantasmic where you can sit down, everyone is standing. When we went it was an hour's wait after getting a fast pass just to get placed, and then another half an hour until it started. Both my kids were getting bored, and then it started. My son with Autism was good with the loud music for about 20 minutes, but the display went on for 45 minutes. It was just too much for him and we ended up leaving it early. It wasn't bad, nor would I discourage anyone from seeing it, unless you have a little one that can't take the wait.

Fantasmic: We didn't get to see it this year, but then we didn't want to overwhelm our little ones. It's a great performance with both light and characters, but it can be a little long if you are not prepared. For our child with Autism, we often pull out the iPhone or iPods and let him focus on that instead of what is around him. As long as he has something to focus on, he's good. If you are sitting, and you are encouraged to sit for the performance, then it makes it easier to manage meltdowns. I would recommend getting there at least an hour to an hour and a half early, sit at the restaurant there and eat while you are waiting. It makes it that much more manageable.

The Good

First and foremost it is best if you get a Guest Assistance pass. This pass is available for anyone who has a hard time waiting in line. I'm not talking about children who are just unruly, but children who are incapable of waiting in a long, crowded line. Maybe they have Autism, or maybe they are claustrophobic, it works for them. Have a physical disability? It's there for you (and a number of other passes). Also, for any person bound to a wheelchair, more rides are being fitted for wheelchairs, including Monster's Inc, It's A Small World, and the Toy Story Mania ride (if I remember right). Expect more, similar rides to have a special car just for wheelchairs.

The Guest Assistance pass acts as a Fast Pass for any ride that has one, and for those that don't (Pirates, Small World, and Finding Nemo are examples) you enter through either the Exit or designated Assistance lines. If you are unsure of where to go, ask any employee you see. If they don't know, they know who to ask.

If you do get the pass, which is good for 5 guests, please don't abuse it. If the line isn't too long, stay in line with everyone else. If it is very long, take one ride and then move on to another. Don't keep riding in front of all the other people who are waiting, because it breeds resentment, and that's one thing no one want's at an amusement park (least of all at Disneyland). Be respectful of others when using your pass. Also, the pass doesn't guarantee instant access, and you may still need to wait. On New Year's Eve it was packed, and even the Assistance entrance had a long wait. Just move on to another ride or experience.

Also, I would highly recommend the Crush Experience in California Adventures, which is awesome and children with Autism adore. So much in fact that they tend to start talking after the event, a lot more than what is typical. I can also recommend the Muppet Vision 3-D show, even without the glasses (they tend to give me a headache). And a Bugs World is fun, along with any of the other rides there. The Ferris Wheel may be a bit much for children with height issues, as can be Soarin' over California. But other than those, the rides in California Adventures tends toward fun, as will the two new rides slated to open in 2011. ^_^

So, which rides can I recommend? It really depends on the likes and dislikes of your child, but here are the rides and experiences we tended to frequent:

Finding Nemo: Both my boys loved this ride, and we ended up going every day, once a day. I even took a recording of the ride, and though it's a little dark (no flash photography allowed, right?), my sons still watch it, riveted to their seats. If you are claustrophobic it may not be the ride for you, but it is fun. If it's too much for your child, you can get off before you start. You may want to first try out the ride by watching a YouTube video of it with your child, and see how they react.

Haunted Mansion: My kids make me so proud, they both love the Nightmare Before Christmas, and as a consequence of that they like the Haunted Mansion. So much so that we ended up taking the ride every day, once a day. Even packed this ride moves quickly, making it a very popular ride. If your child has terror issues, this may not be the ride for them. Try it out first by watching it on YouTube, just to see how they handle it. And keep in mind that it changes based on the season. If your child or children cannot handle the typical ride but don't mind Nightmare Before Christmas, then you may want to plan a trip first during the Holidays, and then they should be good for the regular ride as well.

Pirates of the Caribbean: My youngest has height issues, and didn't like the initial falls in this ride, but after that loved it. So much so that we went back for each day we there there, and twice on New Year's Day morning (best time to be in Disneyland, I might add! Completely dead!). It's not scary, and they enjoyed the relaxing boat rides. But then both my children love water, so being on the boat was exciting enough. Again, you may want to try out the ride on your child through YouTube.

Oh, and it is a boat ride, so there is a very good chance your seats will be wet. So, unlike the jerks that rode behind us one night, don't complain and stand up in the boat. If you don't want to get wet, don't ride. If you are going to be a jerk about it to the employees and everyone else on the ride, do us all and yourself a favor don't come to Disneyland.

It's A Small World/Storybook Land/Jungle Cruise: These rides are all boat rides, so my kids loved them. They also have placements of Disney characters throughout It's a Small World, making it a great ride for children that adore scavenger hunts. See who can point out the most Disney characters, and name which films they are in. And for the Holidays, I was surprised to see a Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia) figure, which was awesome. Both Storybook Land and the Jungle Cruise are perhaps the most relaxing of all the rides, and were just a blast. These rides are great for kids of all ages, because there is nothing even remotely scary about them.

Fantasyland Rides: All the rides in Fantasyland were favorites of both my kids, as they are geared to little ones. The dark rides are not too scary, and they were fun. Both my kids liked the Teacups, which is beyond me as they have not been my favorite. They must have gotten that from their mother. I would recommend them all.

Tomorrowland: All these rides were fun and exciting for my kids, with the exception of Space Mountain. Not that it scared my oldest (the youngest is still too small to ride), but it wasn't a favorite of his. All the other rides they love, and had a blast in Inoventions. It's a great place to relax while one or the other is taking a nap on your shoulder and you need to sit down.

Adventureland: The surprise here was Tarzan's Treehouse. Both my kids loved this one. It was quiet, an easy stair climb, and gave them plenty to focus on. You also get a great view of Thunder Mountain from the top.

Frontierland: The many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh ride was a favorite, as was waiting in line for Pooh and friends. Occasionally you would see Briar Bear and Briar Fox, but the kids just don't know who they are as Song of the South has not been released. We didn't go on either the Steamboat or the Galleon, nor did we try the canoes. My oldest didn't like Splash Mountain, mostly because of the drop at the end (he loved it all up until that point).

Toon Town: This was great, and if definitely helps if you have the early Toon Town with Mickey voucher, meaning you can get in at 8:00 AM before it opens at 9:00 AM. You can ride Gadget's roller coaster (the youngest just barely made it for this one!), Roger Rabbit's ride, and you get to see a presentation with the Mayor, Mickey. Once done, you get special photos in Mickey's house with the Mayor. My oldest didn't really like this, because Mickey wasn't in the Movie Barn like all the other times. But while everyone else was at the presentation, we got to go through the character's houses with no one else there, which both sons enjoyed.

So, if you got this far, you are probably thinking "Gee, what's so special about this? My kids like/don't like those rides too." Well, yeah, children with Autism are, first and foremost, children. They like all the same things that other children like, they just don't like over stimulation, extensive waiting, and having to leave a ride they enjoy. Children with Autism are just more intense about the emotions, and more likely to be overwhelmed by multiple stimuli. But all in all, Disneyland can be a great trip suggestion for any child with Autism.

Disneyland and the iPhone: The Apps and Video

2011-01-04T09:02:00.001-07:00

For the holiday, my family went to first San Diego and Disneyland. There is a lot I have to share about both trips in relation to both Apple products and Autism, but first let's talk about Disneyland. It's fun, and it's REALLY BUSY around Christmas and New Year's. So you will want to be prepared, both in knowing where you want to go and how long you will have to wait until you get there. So here are a couple of apps that I can recommend.

Skobbler US (free): Turn by turn navigation is very important if you are not sure of where you are going, or how exactly to get there. And Skobbler for the US is a great way to get there. It's managed by a spinoff company from NAVIGON AG, and is completely free! It uses the OpenStreetMap project, and is very accurate. But, because it is open source, be prepared for some interesting events, such as being advised quite often to keep to the right on a freeway (my guess is someone wanted to keep the "fast lane" open). Also, be sure of the spelling of your road, and aware of the iPhone's almost compulsive behavior of "fixing" your spelling. You may also need to increase the voice volume, as it is by default very quiet.

Disneyland Maps (both free with ads and $1.99 without ads): Once in the park, it's helpful to have a map. You can grab the paper map, but how does that help you with wait times? And how do you know where exactly you are in relation to a ride or restaurant? Nope, interactive maps work great in this case, and Disneyland Maps is a great app for both.

The map gives you locations of all rest rooms (in blue), restaurants (in green), and rides (in red). And the rides will have wait times listed, if one has been posted. How do they get wait times posted? They are posted by users of the app within the app. So, if someone else in the park is using the map, you are set. If not, at least you know exactly where everything is located. The only thing really missing from this is menu offerings at the various in park restaurants. Perhaps in later renditions.

Something else I learned: taking video with your iPhone is very dark on most rides (as you are discouraged from using a flash), but 13 minutes of video is about 550 MB of space, to that should give you about 3 hours of recording time in 7 GB of free space. I'll talk about recording and recording options when I talk about the Autism aspect of Disneyland.

So, does anyone else have a favorite app for the iPhone at Disneyland?