Using The MBTA's Rapid Transit App

Having used the Massachusetts rapid transit system (a.k.a the "T"), run by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA), for a very long time; I am still amazed and impressed at how quickly technology has come to the transit system. Especially within the last few years. This includes Wi-Fi in Commuter Rail cars, and as of the last couple of months, an app (code name mTicket) that lets Commuter Rail riders purchase electronic tickets. The MBTA plans on providing purchase functionality for other modes of transit in the future.

mTicket is an elegantly designed and simple-to-use app that allows commuters to purchase single, round-trip, or multiple trip commuter rail e-tickets via credit card in advance (or on-board, if you like to cut it close). Once a commuter purchases an e-ticket, the commuter can view the e-ticket and is prompted to activate the purchased e-ticket once on-board. The activated e-ticket shows the ticket zone, and has a button that once clicked, will display the e-ticket's bar code.

My biggest surprise (considering m-Ticket is in its infancy) was that the conductors were all very confortable with me flashing my iPod Touch with the e-ticket displayed. Plus, for those of us whose closest Commuter Rail station requires purchase on-board, you'll save money off the nominal fare.

mTicket is currently available for Apple iOS and Android mobile devices. A Blackberry version is in development.

The Emancipation Proclamation At 150 Years

A happy new year indeed. On this date in 1863, a different United States president hailing from the state of Illinois; Abraham Lincoln, brought forth the Emancipation Proclamation.

What I remember being taught about the Emancipation Proclamation in elementary school was that it freed the slaves and brought a victorious end to the American Civil War for the North (i.e. armies of the Union). While this is not false, it's not the complete picture. Still, it was appropriate for that point in my elementary education.

It wasn't until I read, several years ago, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, did I get a deeper perspective of the Emancipation Proclamation. Most importantly the path to its birth, including the political jousting between President Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

I learned that its purpose was primarily to end a costly war and reunify the fractured United States by defeating the South economically and militarily. More specifically, to end the economic engine of slavery in the South and enlist black men, able and willing to fight, for the the Union army. To expedite this, the Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves in states that had seceded from the Union were free. Now if you were a black man in 1863, that was a heck of an incentive, considering the alternative.

Without the Emancipation Proclamation and what it brought to pass in the history of the following century, odds are I wouldn't have volunteered for the military, nor I suspect hundreds of thousands of black men over the decades.  I salute you comrades.

Old School, New School, Microsoft Windows Battle-Install

Something old...

Something new...

Guess which took the most skills to install this week?

December 17, 1903

The Wright brothers made history on this date in 1903 with the first powered flight. Celebrate! Go try to fly something! It's okay if it doesn't work out the first time you try. Keep at it. Keep believing.

A Well Regulated Militia...

...being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. That's the text from the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Unfortunately, the United States Supreme Court recently (2008 and 2010) decided arms possession is an individual right unconnected to service in a militia, without much guidance on how our nation might enact laws to bridge the gap between the inevitable errs of individual freedom and the duty of personal responsibility. 

If you Google "what is a militia", you (may) get this first result:

mi-li-tia

Noun
1. A military force of civilians to supplement a regular army in an emergency.
2. A military force that engages in rebel activities.

While the necessity of such a militia no longer exists today in the United States, the reason for such commitment in writing that such a militia be well regulated was clear then, and even clearer today.

Until we as a nation agree, enact, and enforce the "well regulated" part of the Second Amendment, we will continue to suffer the inexplicable loss of our citizens unconnected to service in a militia.

Remembering Why We Are Independent

This is a post I had drafted about four years ago but forgot to publish apparently.

I just saw The Great Debaters and am reminded that freedom and independence and democracy are ratified by each of us one debate at a time. Whether the parties be North vs. South, Choice vs. Life, Red State vs. Blue State, or Mac vs. PC.

A Whiff of Microsoft's Developer Program

I heard folks for years criticize Microsoft for just waiting a bit, watching Apple, and then copying what Apple does. I've never had issue with Microsoft on that, insofar as no laws have been broken. It's like when my son asks for ice cream and his year-younger cousin, standing right next to him, exclaims, "Me too!"

So at my Windows 8 Meetup group last night, the moderator briefly showed (the app management portion of) Microsoft's equivalent of Apple's iTunes Connect. This was to give current and prospective Microsoft app developers a view into what tools are available to manage their app pre-, during, and post-development. Very much a meet too experience, but very well executed in design. Definitely not what would have been typically expected of Microsoft a few years ago.

I lost power half-way through this post. Thank God for the cloud :)

The caveat is that you do need to pay the $99 USD, for the Microsoft app developer program (same price as Apple), to get access to the tools. However you do get more in terms of basic analytics, in terms of how a published app is doing, including more detail on: who, how, and from where the traffic originates with multiple graphing layouts. An additional caveat is that these additional analytics are based on users opting-in to be tracked accordingly. The issue with that is that you're never guaranteed a complete picture of the additional details in terms of percentages, for example. Still, it's a starting point.

So, the next time someone's offering good ice cream, don't be bashful. Say, "Meet to!"
It's efficient. Plus, I think Steve Jobs would approve.