So I have decided to spend 30 days with Ruby on Rails and blog it right here. Stay tuned for a daily post on rails, it will be fun.  I am starting my journey with TekPub’s Rails 3 production at http://tekpub.com/view/rails3/1

The most popular phone so far is Samsung Focus standing at about 42%. 

Interestingly, 38% of users have the latest version of Windows Phone 7 i.e. version 7.0.7390.  This leaves me wondering why they downloaded my app in the first place.  I am assuming they did it for the stats. 

Another interesting tidbit is that 62% of users are in the US.

Surprises

Dell Venue: One surprise was that the Dell Venue is not as popular as I thought – standing at a mere 1.5%.  This surprised me because I have seen the Dell phone and it rocks.

Samsung Focus: 20% of Samsung Focus phones have the NoDo update – I am assuming they used the Chevron workaround or they have an unlocked phone somehow

Screenshot

Here is a screenshot at 9:50 AM EST of the global stats (numbers are going exponentially)

IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind that this is based on the number of users using my app and is not indicative of the total number of actual windows phone users.  Although, it does give an idea on what phones are popular and the available versions in the market. 

UPDATE 2: See some interesting windows phone 7 stats over here.

I was really shocked with the success of "Dude, Where Is My Update?" (DWIMU) windows phone 7 app; but I guess that shows how desperate people are for the NoDo update.  On a side note: personally I just got the update on one of my development devices and WOW it is awesome.  I can’t wait to get it on my primary phone (Samsung Focus).

I decided to update DWIMU with some really cool features.  You can now get all kind of cool stats about the number of people using different phones in different locations and a version breakdown.

Phone Stats

This shows your phone and version as well as the number of users with the same phone and then a version breakdown specific to this phone. 

Local Stats

This shows your location (country) and version as well as the number of users in your country as well as version and phone breakdowns in your country.

Global Stats

This will show you the global/worldwide number of users and version and phone breakdowns across the world.

It’s Up To You

Obviously, it goes without saying that for these stats to work a lot of people have to download it, so you need to do your part and spread the word.  The more people, the more accurate.  We will never get an exact number since that will require every single user to install that app, but at least we will have a good idea and a good measure of the health the windows phone 7 community and platform.  An awesome platform, if I may say so myself.

Get It Now

If you have a developer account and can’t wait for version 1.1 to get approved, you can download the XAP file here.

NOTE: If you don’t know what to do with this file, do NOT download it and wait for the update to show in the Market Place – should be out in a couple of days. 

Thanks and if you have any questions email me at dude at dotnetfactory dot com

DWIMU Progress & Reviews

Check out the reviews at http://bit.ly/gYe43e (200+ in one day).  Thanks for downloading and if you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can get it from http://bit.ly/gamGev

We are all patiently waiting for the Windows Phone 7 update.  A few lucky ones already got it, but a whole lot of people including myself didn’t get it yet.  I find myself insistently checking blogs, twitter, Facebook and Google to figure out if and when the update will be available.  To pass the time and to simplify my life and reduce the stress of figuring out the status of the update, I built a free little WP7 app called “Dude, Where Is My Update?” or DWIMU for short.

You simply select your region and phone or operator and get the bad/good news.  I have a Samsung Focus, so unfortunately, I will be waiting for a long time.

But if you are in Sweden with the Hutchison Group then you should be getting the updates a lot sooner.

How does it work?

Right now, the app simply gets the data from Microsoft’s website at http://bit.ly/eMukfH.  I will write another blog detailing the technical implementation of the app.  I built a web service in Python and hosted it with Google’s AppEngine (because it is free).  DWIMU pulls the data from my web service which I will keep updated and in sync with Microsoft’s website.

Why you should download the app?

The future plans is to crowd source the update detection to get a more accurate indication of when you will be getting the update.  By simply running the app you will be able to see how many people already received the update for your selected network/phone/region.  Of course, this will only work if there is enough people using the app.  If I get enough downloads, I will release an update that will enable automatic detection.  So download it now and spread the word, if you want me to add these features.

Results

Here is an output of the results after 40 hands for:

player 1 – http://pastey.net/139513

player 2 – http://pastey.net/139514

dealer – http://pastey.net/139515

Here is another run:

player 1 – http://pastey.net/139516

player 2 – http://pastey.net/139517

dealer – http://pastey.net/139518

Screenshot

Disclaimer

you WILL EVENTUALLY LOSE.  I ran the simulator for a long time and I was down over $90k.

Source Code

You can get the source code for the application here – http://github.com/eibrahim/BlackJackSimulator

So, I need to start/create a new product or service and need your opinion on what to do next.

I created a very short questionnaire (only 1 required question and no email address is required).  Can you please take 5 seconds and guide me in the right direction?

It is located at http://bit.ly/hIk1p

If you decide to fill out your email (optional), I will use it to send you a free copy/subscription of whatever I (we) decide to create.

I will announce the results of your votes on twitter after I close voting. 

Thanks for your help in advance.

PS: You can also help by re-tweeting – http://bit.ly/1uIuvI my request for feedback.

PSS: I will make the results public once voting is closed.  I just don’t want the current results to influence your vote.  I will also make public the ideas suggested by you – some are really fantastic (thanks).

PSSS: Some related discussions here

It was a breeze to setup. I basically entered the Url, username and password for my blog and that was it.

I was able to see my previous posts as well as edit and preview them.

Here is a screenshot I took of the write screen using the iPhone’s built-in screen capture (home + power buttons)

Update: I found a bug. The save buttons disappeared while I was creating the post. I hit the home button then relaunched the app and it restored the post back!!!

Consultant

My name is Emad Ibrahim and I am a consultant specializing in .net development. I architect, design and create software. I can do it faster and better than the competition. Unlike other consultants, I don’t want to milk a contract to make more money. I want to finish on time and under budget, so I can have a happy customer and repeat business. Call or email me for a free consultation – I would love to help you even if you get someone else to do the job.

Entrepreneur

My name is Emad Ibrahim and I am an entrepreneur specializing in web development and new media.. I create software applications and web services using the latest technologies and embracing new web and social trends. I understand the online landscape and stay up to date on what is hot and what is not and how to tap new technologies to improve your business and your life. Contact me for partnership opportunities. I have learned that I can’t do it all alone.

Superhero

My name is Super-E and I am a super hero. I can read and write computer languages incomprehensible to humans. I also have the ability to create self-healing programs and an expert bug exterminator. I like to guide people and business on how to use computers to improve their work and personal life. If you have any questions that only a superhero can answer, then call on Super-E.

photo credit: zukker

Create your own 15-second pitch for free at http://www.15secondpitch.com

I would rather have a real conversation or a real meeting – if possible of course – than spend the whole day tweeting about how good my soup is and what show I am watching or pondering if the fridge light stays on when I close the door.

photo credit: Lee Coursey

With that said, what this post is really about is that I found a new online addiction – Hacker News. I love this site. It is simple. It is easy. It has quality content. It has quality users. There are no advertisements. The collective community seems intelligent, decent and very active.

My post a few days ago got submitted on hacker news and I received tons of comments – useful and helpful comments. Take a look for yourself http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=142154

Hacker News is new to me, so I don’t know much about its history but based on my few days of experience, it is simply a community driven news site not unlike digg, newsvine, mixx, etc… The only difference is that this site is not about traffic, is not about gaming the site to get to the front page, is not about advertising revenues, is not about emailing hundreds of your “friends” to “digg” your post, it is ALL ABOUT CONTENT. Just a simple place to go read what like-minded techies think is hot or worthy of reading. With today’s information load, I can definitely appreciate any help I can get – specially if it is from the collective wisdom of the crowd.

I am curious though to know the age group of the readers. I get the feeling there is a lot of people in their 20s but I also feel there are wiser voices in the crowd – aka older :)… Maybe I will setup a poll sometime for the hacker news readers – what do you think?

This is the breathtaking story of Daniel Tammet. A twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet the scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. He also meets the world’s most famous savant, the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in the Oscar winning film “Rain Man“.

PS: Increase your blog traffic. Get a blog rush.

Increase your blog traffic.  Get a blog rush.

She went to the Buddha and asked him.  He told her that he has such a medicine but in order to make it, she will have to get some ingredients.  She was told to get a handful of mustard seed and she immediately agreed.  Then he told her that it has to be from a household where no child, spouse, parent or servant has died”

She agreed went from house to house in search of the mustard seed.  At each house the people agreed to give her the seed, but she couldn’t find a home where death has not visited.  Seeing that, she realized that she wasn’t alone in her grief and let go of her child’s lifeless body and returned to the Buddha who told her “You thought that you alone had lost a son; the law of death is that among all living creatures there is no permanence.”

If you want to reserve a spot for free with no commitment, go to http://www.thegreatpyramid.org/wp/?page_id=20

xtimeline – Explore and Create Free Timelines  [via Blog Posts Timeline]

1. Start Task Scheduler
2. Click on “Create Basic Task” on the right hand side
   
3. Go through the wizard
   1. Setup a name e.g. Wakeup for Bootcamp
      
   2. Setup the frequency e.g. Weekly
      
   3. Select schedule e.g. 6 AM, Monday through Friday
      
   4. Select “Start a program”
   5. Type “c:\Program Files\skype\phone\skype.exe” in the program/script textbox
   6. Type “/callto:0017039891092″ in the arguments textbox
      
   7. Click Finish…

Skype will call you at 6 AM every weekday. Don’t forget that you will be charged for that call about 2 cents per minute. Don’t forget to pickup and then hangup again otherwise, it will go to your voicemail and Skype will leave you a really long and silent message (and you will be charged for it).

1. Click the Clip button in the OneNote Toolbar
   
2. Or you can get to it from the menu
   
3. Or you can use the shortcut key Win+S.
4. Then draw on any part of the screen.
5. OneNote will create a note with the clipping
   
6. It will also copy it to the clipboard
7. Now, all you have to do is paste it somewhere

All screenshots above and pretty much all the ones in my previous blog posts were taken with OneNote.

PS: Increase your blog traffic. Get a blog rush.