Fargo works great in a web browser on larger screen computing devices. The arrow pad helps make it easier to use on tablets and smartphones, but it is not ideal. What I wish I had was a native Android app that worked with the OPML files that Fargo stores on Dropbox, but the kick for me personally is that it would support files encrypted by Fargo. #

I would use the "Fargo" app on a smartphone and tablet to manage personal information, not for writing blog posts, which is why I want the encryption support. One of the basic problems with all of the To Do app services I've used like Any.do is that they don't encrypt data at rest, so any information in my To Do file is at risk of being compromised. If the data was encrypted on the device before sent to a storage service like Dropbox, then I would be more comfortable using it for work and personal information.#

The other feature I would like is the ability to send items to my linkblog (this site) like I do with the bookmarklet today. Sometimes I read information on my phone that I want to share here and the only way to do that is to save the tab, then open the tab on my desktop to push it over to this outline. #

My guess is that the only way to get my wish is if I wrote the app, but I am not a programmer. I doubt that there are any, or many, Android or iOS apps out there at read and write OPML files, but I really ought to start there.#

What it really is about is keeping the Internet a free market. In other words, if you support Net Neutrality, you support keeping the Internet a free market so that any person with an idea, people like Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Williams, can become successful.#

The people who oppose Net Neutrality are the people who are already making tons of money from the Internet and its use. As often happens with monopolies, the people and companies who make it to the top of the mountain want to stay at the top at any cost. The most natural response for these companies is to use whatever means is possible, be it government regulation or anti-competitive measures, to keep competition away. The purpose of the Sherman Antitrust Act is to control these "natural" actions by such companies.#

Competition means that those at the top of the mountain might not get every possible dollar out there, and more importantly, competition means that consumers (read you and I) benefit by getting either better products and services or lower prices.#

The reality is that for all practical purposes there is no competition for providing homes and businesses with fast access to the Internet. While there are exceptions, in most homes you may only have two options for Internet access: cable or DSL. DSL is not considered by most to really be fast Internet access. Frankly, two options does not provide competition and is for all practical purposes a monopoly.#

Others oppose Net Neutrality because they don't want any U.S. government regulation on the Internet. The problem as I see it is that the establishment of "fast" and "slow" lanes on the Internet, which is what the companies at the top of the Internet want, is itself government regulation. You are going to have regulation here, no matter what, the real question is, will the regulation benefit the majority of citizens of the United States or will the regulation benefit the minority of citizens who have already become rich from the Internet. #

If it were me, I would change the slogan/title from "Net Neutrality" to "Keep The Internet A Free Market." The Internet has made all our lives better because it is a bizarre, not a cathedral. #

Stop and think about how we have all benefited because everyone has equal access to highways, to electricity, and to phones, all of which are highly regulated so that they benefit citizens. Could you start a shipping company if only the corporate shipping companies could afford to pay to use the interstate freeways? What if you could only afford to have electricity in your business or house for three hours a day? What if you couldn't afford to have a phone line?#

The Internet is the first utility of the 21st century, and we seem determined to forget lessons of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is the free market, for now. #

Empowering people to do more, be more. Unifying theme across Microsoft. Mobile first, cloud first? #

Why hardware? #

Microsoft didn't go to the Apple school of product launches where you let the product speak for itself. Too much effort being spent trying to convince me they have a better product. #

Surface Pro 3#

No Surface Mini. My first reaction is that a $800 price tag is too high, so Microsoft is probably not going to get my money.#

While the Surface Pro 3 is definitely better than the Tablet PCs of yore (see the background image), there still remains the question, is this what people want? Will they buy it at that price?#

Another test. I added siteTimeZone of "-4" to the linkblog outline. Left the computer on Central Daylight Time. Let's see what happens.#

I am back home and the date title issue I have been dealing with has returned. The computer is switched to Eastern Daylight Time. I am now testing after a switch back to Central Daylight Time to see if that "fixes" the problem.#

My goal was to get through this entire trip without having to take out my Macbook Air, but that has not gone as planned. I have found that for some reason, the Chromebook is long loading some pages. I suspect that there is some type of issue between this "version" of Chrome and the hotel's Internet service provider, Time Warner Business.#

During my drive yesterday I listened to the GigaOm Chrome Show and learned about the Sunrise calendar app for Chrome OS. It looks like a nice app that I am hoping I can use to consolidate a couple Google calendars for viewing on my Chromebook. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to load an additional account on the Chromebook.#

Sunrise does have documentation regarding an issue with adding second Google accounts, but it wouldn't even add Facebook. The account add page would render, so I took out my Macbook Air to set up the additional accounts.#

Now, the issue could be caused by the fact that I am using the developer edition of Chrome on this device, but I now have some doubt about the viability for only traveling with this device.#

While I bought the Chromecast right when it was available, I had not even tried it until this evening. I guess I had not been too motivated to use it, even though we bought a new TV that has HDMI ports many months ago.#

Of course, Chromecast is not really designed to be used in a hotel, rather, it is set up to work on home networks where you provide the network SSID and password to connect to the network. In the old days of hotel WiFi, they gave you the SSID and password when you check in to the hotel, but now days most hotel WiFi networks broadcast their SSID and use a web page to authenticate and connect to the network.#

The problem is that there is no way to access a web page from the Chromecast. To set it up, you can establish a point to point connect between a laptop and the Chromecast, but Google did not see fit to provide a way to connect to a hotel WiFi and then transfer that connection to the Chromecast.#

My solution was to use the portable hotspot feature of my Moto X, and connect my Chromebook and the Chromecast to that WiFi network. By doing this I was able to update the Chromecast software and try out the basic features. I've Chromecasted a tab and the desktop on my Chromebook, and although there is some lag, it is certainly usable for presentations.#

I Chromecasted a tab to check out live.twit.tv, and then I went to YouTube and Chromecasted a video to see the full effect. When I get home, I will connect the Chromecast to our TV and do some more experimentation. Long term, I plan to get a new monitor that has HDMI inputs and use the Chromecast with it, our Samsung TV has plenty of apps for me to use.#

For the price, I think the Chromecast is very worthwhile having. If I traveled more frequently, I would consider buying a travel WiFi router and with that I think I would be able to use all the features even in a hotel room.#

Lake Michigan Tour 2014 is under way, earlier than normal because this year I am making a quick trip to Menominee to visit my mom on Mother's Day. Another difference for this trip is that I drove all the way to Marinette rather than stop at Manistique.#

The trip went really well, the weather was very nice with sunshine and blue skies the entire way. It was pretty cold at the Mackinac Bridge with 49 degree temps and a brisk wind. Definitely not the weather to be wearing shorts as I was wearing.#

A note for those traveling north on I-75 from Detroit. Construction just south of the Zilwaukee bridge started last year continues, and you will be sent on a detour via I-675. A bigger construction issue looms near Pinconning, with barrels and signs set up for what looks like nearly 10 miles of construction to start soon. I have a feeling people traveling "up north" this summer are really going to dislike construction season this more vehemently than other years.#

Last week when Motorola put the Moto X on sale for one day, I pulled the trigger and ordered one using Moto Maker. While I wish I had selected the darker green for the back, I've otherwise have been very happy with the Moto X. #

I know the reason why it was put on sale is that Motorola is preparing to announce new phones next week. The reason why I pulled the trigger is that I fear the Moto X+1 will replace the Moto X, and I am not sold on the rumored specs of the new phone, particularly the larger screen size.#

I hope the "sale" price ($300) will become the "new" price of the Moto X, but the worst case is that they stop selling the Moto X. While I understand the appeal of a larger screen (the 5 inch LG Optimus G Pro is perfect for my work phone), I personally like a smaller size phone for my daily driver. And it's not like the Moto X is tiny, it has a 4.7 inch screen! #

The Moto X's software features are fantastic! One of my fears is that the features were heavily influenced by Google and won't continue under Lenovo's ownership, which is another reason why I pulled the trigger last week. #

The features I like the most are the Active Display that shows the time and notifications nearly continually on the phone, and Trusted Devices that bypasses the screen lock while the phone is connected via Bluetooth to the devices I specify. With Trusted Devices I don't need to enter the unlock code on my phone when I am in my car, or while I am using my Bluetooth headset. #

I need to write more about the Moto X because features like Active Listening, provide for the type of personalization of computing that I have been blogging about. My hope is that Motorola continues to provide and improve these software features.#

I spent a few hours this afternoon at Starbucks, drinking a carmel macchiato and writing. My time there reminded me of college. My favorite place to study in college was the student union, which was usually crowded and not nearly as quiet as the library.#

For some reason, I've always enjoyed being amongst people, not necessarily watching nor participating, just being there. Perhaps my hearing has something to do with it, I am deaf in my right ear and rooms full of talking people blend into white noise. If I am not in a situation where I have to hear, the crowded room can be comforting to me. #