Harry Chen Thinks Aloud

I attended the SocialDevCamp East today. It was a lot of fun and very rewarding. The event was kind of like a conference, but unlike a typical research conference it didn’t have any specific agenda or planned breakout sessions. I have attended many planned research conferences in the past, but this bar camp (bec it has free beer after 4pm) was definitely a unique experience. I would recommend future bar camps to anyone who is interested in technology.

My lessons learned from this event are as follows. First, the start-up culture on the East Coast is very different from which of the West Coast. On the East Coast, it’s difficult to find either VCs or angel investors to fund start-ups that don’t a sustainable revenue stream. Second, there is a large pool of talents on the East Coast (in the DC/MD/VA area) that is not currently being utilized to create social web and social media innovations. Third, it’s possible to get non-AI developers to be excited about the Semantic Web.

By chance, I hosted a session on the Social Web + the Semantic Web. My original intent was to get people to talk about Semantic Web technologies and businesses that are crucial to the success of Social Web applications. But, it turned out that the audiences were very interested to explore the possibility of using Semantic Web technologies as differentiators to help them to stand out in the fast-change social media world. If you missed the discussion, you can find our discussion topics in this Twitter stream. Also you can find materials covered in my Social Web + Semantic Web slides.

I’m convinced that Twitter is useful (sometimes). While I was attending the conference, I sent my wife the Twitter stream of the SocialDevCamp (#SocialDevCamp). She was able to follow my session and see photos of me in an almost real-time experience.

Some people are crazy about Twitter. I don’t. I joined Twitter when it first came out. After few weeks, my enthusiasm for micro-blogging has gone to nil.

Recently I saw Twitter discussions in few different blog posts. I wonder if I should start using Twitter again? After some thinking, my conclusion that is that it’s better for me to stay away from Twitter.

Why I gave up on Twitter:

1. Don’t want to tell the world what’s on my mind too often.
2. Posting too much Twitter messages can gave people (esp. my boss) a false impression about me being a slacker.
3. Posting Twitter messages can’t advance my writing skill.
4. Don’t feel comfortable with strangers following me on Twitter.
5. I’m already too occupied with other social media (Facebook, my blogs and gnizr etc.)

Do you share my experience? Or are you a Twitter lover and have a different perspective?

Let me know.

The legal immigration system of the United States is extremely complex. The typical process for obtaining a Green Card (i.e., becoming a Permanent US Resident) is lengthy and sometimes adventurous. If you plan to go through this process, hire a lawyer and don’t try DIY.

Here is a story from the law offices of Carl Shusterman.

After marrying a foreigner, instead of hiring a lawyer, Mr D. who is a US citizen tried to applied a Green Card for his wife. With an everything DIY mentality, he followed every steps of the application. Close to the end, the US Embassy notified his wife that she would be barred from entering the US for 10 years. The reason was because his wife had studies in the US and stayed in the country after her student visa was expired.

Now what? It turned out that the wife could file for a waiver if she can prove that a 10-years separation from her husband can cause the couple to suffer “extreme hardship”. Sounds easy? Not really.

After filling for a waiver, they received a letter from the government:

… the applicant’s situation, based on the record, is typical to (sic) individuals separated as a result of deportation or exclusion and does not rise to the level of extreme hardship.

It’s time to hire a lawyer. At the end, the lawyer solved the problem for the couples using some legal maneuver. The wife got her visa to enter the US and joined her husband.

Read the full story… Read the rest of this entry »

Next month, Nintendo Wii Fit becomes available in the US stores. The Web is full with speculations and rumors about Wii’s future prospect. This includes a conspiracy theory on how the company sells its Wii products in a weak US economy.

Some speculates that we will continue to see a shortage of Wii console in the US stores, at least for another six-nine months. New advertising of Wii Fit will likely drive up the console demand. On Ebay, Wii continues to sell for above the typical store price. One month before the Wii Fit release, bids for the pre-orders of Wii Fit are also selling above the store price.

Some people asked why it’s so hard to find Wii in the US, but not so in other countries. For example, if you live in Japan or Germany, it’s not hard to find Wii in the stores. Some speculates that Nintendo has intentionally reduced its Wii console shipments to the US. The theory is that Nintendo can profit more by selling the consoles in countries with a strong currency.

I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen this X’Mas. I wonder if Wii will continue to be out of stock in Best Buy and Amazon? Maybe the current console will eventually be available to everyone once Nintendo releases Wii 2.0.

Spotted on:

• Wii Fit to Spark New ‘Boom in Demand’ for Wii
• Wii Fit Release to be Turning Point of ongoing Wii Shortage?

Apple Time Capsule is a data storage device that allows users to backup and restore data through a Wi-Fi connection. Also, it can be configured to extend the connectivity of an existing computer network.

After running a Time Capsule device at home for few weeks, I’m quite happy with its performance. But, during the setup process, the software configuration was not as smooth as I had hoped.

Some tips on using the Apple Time Capsule (TC).

TIPS #1: Know the difference between a Network Bridge and a Network Router. Configuring TC to extend an existing computer network, you have two options: (1) configure it as a Network Bridge, or (2) configure it as a Network Router. Choose (1) if you already have a Router on your existing network, and you want to keep the current Router configuration as it is. Otherwise, choose (2).

I choose to setup my TC as a Network Bridge. I connect to my broadband network through a Westell 327W device. It’s both a Router and a Broadband Modem. It also supports 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. Because I want to keep the current Wi-Fi network, I setup TC as a Bridge. My TC connects to Westell through an Ethernet cable, and TC serves only 802.11n connection.

TIPS #2: Adjust your Wi-Fi Channel. If you experience poor Wi-Fi connectivity after setting up TC, check if there are multiple Wi-Fi stations in your close vicinity. If so, check if they are configured to broadcast signals over the same Wi-Fi Channel as your TC. When multiple Wi-Fi stations try to communicate over the same Wi-Fi Channel, you’re likely to experience poor communication performance.

TIPS #3: Reconfigure Airport Express. If you currently use an Airport Express to stream music from a Mac/PC to a set of speakers, consider putting the Airport Express and the broadcasting Mac/PC on the same Wi-Fi network. I had trouble streaming music from a Mac to an Airport Express that each of which connects to two separate Wi-Fi network. After putting both Mac and Airport Express on the TC network, the streaming runs very smoothly.

TIPS #4: Secure your TC device. (1) If you plan to backup important data on TC, when asked to enter a a password to secure the TC disk, use a password that is different from the current Wi-Fi password. (2) Consider to setup TC to allow Wi-Fi connections only from a restricted group of devices. To do this, you explicitly define a list of MAC addresses that are allowed to connect in your TC. A MAC address is a unique device ID of your Wi-Fi device.

Time Capsule is a great product that solved my backup problem. Whether it’s a PC or a Mac, TC takes care of my data backup and restore. Now I can sleep peacefully at night because I know my photos and documents are in the safe hands.

No democratic society can progress without giving people the right to free speech. Unfortunately, people in democratic societies often abuse their rights to the freedom of speech. Here is a typical example. Supporters of an independent Tibet raged strong protests in Paris as the Olympic torch travels through the city.

Whether or not Tibet should be free from China is an issue requires serious debates. This problem doesn’t have a simple solution. Exploiting the 2008 Summer Olympics as an opportunity to impose an extreme politic view on the issue is both irrational and uncivilized. Violent protests can’t solve any problem. They can only create more violence and more disagreements.

The Olympics is a world event that promotes peace and unity. Through the Olympic Games, nations put aside their culture and political differences, and participate in one united sports competition. We celebrate the Olympics as a united human race.

Preventing China (or any other countries) to host the Olympic games is an active destruction of world peace and unity. While the Tibet issue is an important issue, but it’s far less significant comparing to a successful completion of the Olympic Games.

If you’re interested in world peace, you must accept that Tibet and the Olympics are two separate issues.

Updated (April 9, 2008):

• Non-violent protest turned violent? (Paris, France).

According to researchers, there are three kinds of practical jokes. One of those can be good for people, They satirize human fears or failings.

The 1960s activist and prankster Abbie Hoffman reportedly divided practical jokes into three categories.

The bad ones involve vindictive skewering, or the sort of head-shaving, shivering-in-boxers fraternity hazing that the sociologist Erving Goffman described as “degradation ceremonies.”

Neutral tricks are more akin to physical punch lines, like wrapping the toilet bowl in cellophane, depositing a massive pumpkin on top of the student union building, or pulling some electronic high jinks on a co-worker’s keyboard (though on deadline this falls quickly into the “bad” category).

What Hoffman called the good prank, which humorously satirizes human fears or failings, is found in a wide variety of initiation rites and coming-of-age rituals. The Daribi of New Guinea, for example, have children make a small box and bury it in the ground, telling them that after a while a treasure will appear inside but they must not peek, according to Edie Turner, a professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia.

Invariably the youngsters succumb to curiosity — only to find a sample of human feces.

The Ndembu of Zambia have an adult in a monstrous mask sneak and scare the wits out of boys camping outside the village as part of a coming-of-age ritual in which they are showing their bravery.

Read more: April Fool! The puprose of prank

April 1st is the one day in the whole year that you can make jokes, sometimes cruel jokes, and can still be forgiven by your co-workers, friends and families.

April Fools’ Day:

The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools’ errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

Given that many of us practically live on the Web, April Fools’ Day has gradually become a special occasion for people to spread fake advertisements to attract Web readers and communicate fake personal stories to trick friends and families.

I Got Fooled.

This morning I got fooled by GMail’s announcement of a new feature called “Custom Time“. Supposedly this feature allows users to custom the time when they want their email to be sent. Without noticing this is a hoax, I was looking for a clickable link to “Custom Time” in my GMail account. After 5 minutes, still unable to find the link, I realized that it was an April Fools’ joke.

April Fools’ on Facebook.

A friend of mine and his girlfriend announced that they are engaged and the girlfriend is pregnant. They changed their Facebook profile information and status the night before. Also, they published few photos of an engagement ring etc. Not too surprised. Friends on the network called them and inquired whether the news is for real.

Wii Got Fooled.

My wife called me this morning and told me that she saw Best Buy selling Wii Fit, and asked whether she should go wait in line for a Wii Fit. Without a second thought, I say “Yes! Go Now”. Moments later, I discovered that she had tricked me. I should have remembered that Wii Fit is not available until later this year. I got fooled again!

More April Fools’ Hoaxes.

• USB Pregnancy Test
• Wii Pii Pii Brothers
• Google buys the US Government for $2 billion