Polara Golf Balls......Fixing Your Slice (The illegal way!)

So you're out on the golf course and your mood just isn't in the right spot. You've missed the fairway from the tee box all day long. You need a great drive on the final hole of the day which happens to be the longest par 5 on the course. With water left and out-of-bounds to the right, you need to keep it straight. Time to go with the safe club and not driver right? Wrong. Reach into that bag and grab yourself a Polara golf ball my friend!

I promised a fellow golfer I would put this "tech review" together on the Polara golf ball review. I had heard of the Polara golf ball from a television commercial I saw. Deemed the "anti-slicing and anti-hooking golf ball" that could keep your drives up to 75% straighter. Instantly just hearing that for any golfer makes something in the brain want to know more about the golf ball. Let's start with the basics.

First off, the Polara golf ball is NOT USGA conforming. The line of Polara golf balls is aerodynamically asymmetrically designed. There is a special dimple pattern to the golf ball that makes the flight of the ball so straight. The USGA banned such golf balls from tournament play and also made a revision in the rule in 1981.

I went out to a local sporting goods store and purchased two sleeves of the Polara golf balls. One was a red sleeve of the XDS line, and a green sleeve of the XD line. The red sleeve said it was to have more distance, speed, and spin. The green was for distance and speed.

As you can see from the picture, Polara makes sure their name and design stands out on the golf ball. As a golfer with about a 7 handicap, I chose to try to play the red sleeve of balls first. Before I begin, let me give you a little on where I was before hitting the red sleeve of balls. Off of the tee box with my driver, a TaylorMade R7, I usually play a soft draw from left to right (as I am a left handed golfer). If I find the fairway, usually with roll-out of the ball, my average drive is about 270 yards. 

I played the red sleeve of balls first. There is only one thing you have to do to get the golf ball lined up correctly. Simply line up the arrow on the golf ball with your "target" and swing away. My results are as follows:

Hole 1 - Fairway 260 yards

Hole 2 - Fairway 263 yards

Hole 4 - Fairway 257 yards

Hole 5 - Fairway 259 yards

Hole 6 - Left rough 245 yards

Hole 8 - Fairway 253 yards

Hole 9 - Fairway 255 yards

I played the entire front 9 using the red line of XDS Polara golf balls on the tee box. Here is what I have discovered. The design of the golf ball does indeed straighten out your flight of shot. The ball flies almost dead straight! However, there was a significant loss of distance from my regular line of golf ball that I play. Am I ok with giving up distance for fairway play? Yes, but I also am a gambler and like to cut corners and shape shots for set-up shots into greens. I was pretty impressed by the XDS lineup. 

Overall review: The Polara red XDS lineup worked well. They do indeed work. My grade B+

Starting with the back 9, I switched over the the XD Polara golf balls in the green sleeve. Playing the same setup on the golf ball, with the same driver in hand, are my results.

Hole 10 - Fairway 279 yards

Hole 11 - Fairway 282 yards

Hole 12 - Fairway 277 yards

Hole 14 - Fairway 266 yards

Hole 15 - Fairway 278 yards

Hole 16 - Right rough 288 yards

Hole 18 - Fairway 281 yards

I played the entire back 9 using the green sleeve of XD Polara golf balls. My conclusions....the ball again does what it is supposed to. It does fly straight. I actually noticed that this ball stayed up on distance with my current line of golf ball that I played. In fact, on 16, I drove thru the fairway to the right rough on the par 5. There seems to be an increase in forward spin that really makes the ball run-out on tee shots. I was very impressed with the XD lineup.

Overall review: The Polara green XD lineup worked great. They worked. My grade A

Overall, the Polara golf ball does as is shown. The design of the golf ball does indeed cut down on hooks and slices. The ball flight is indeed straighter than what you would expect. However, no matter what, the golf ball does NOT meet USGA rules and is illegal in tournament play. For your average every day "hacker" these golf balls would be an excellent buy. It's always easier to play from the fairway!

I gave the Polara golf balls a hack. Maybe you should too! I might even have to pull one out the next time I play my Dad just to make sure I beat him!

Microsoft to release Windows Blue to fix Windows 8 errors/glitches

Microsoft announced earlier this week that it will be reversing course with Windows 8 due to customer complaints and the "steep learning curve" of adapting to the new version of Windows. Why has Microsoft finally had to come to the conclusion of admitting it's software just wasn't what they were expecting?

When Windows 8 was released, Microsoft had hoped to create an operating system that would be touch-screen compatible and user friendly to keep up with the touchscreen operating systems on the ever popular iPad and iPad mini from Apple. Microsoft was hoping to be a very aggressive competitor to Apple with tablet sales.

However, Windows 8 rolled out a new user interface design that many users had never dealt with before. Users complained that the new interface was hard to navigate and the learning curve was very difficult to pick up on. The most prominent feature missing in Windows 8 was the "Start" button in the lower left hand corner. Consumers did not like the "desktop feel and design" missing from Windows 8 and wanted the Start button back since most navigation began there.

Was it also slumping sales that forced Microsoft's hand? Studies on the market and sales show that PC sales are down drastically as the sales of tablets and touchscreen devices continue to soar. A more mobile than ever population is moving away from a PC desktop environment. While Microsoft claims that Windows 8 is still a good competitive operating system to use for consumers, studies show that out of almost 2 million tablet devices running Windows 8 or a similar version called RT, it only gives Microsoft just 2% of the total market.

Windows is quickly falling behind in competing and had to make a drastic change. Will the new design of Windows "Blue" be able to save Windows 8 and make it more user friendly? Blue is scheduled to be released and hit shelves just before this year's holiday season. Will it be holiday cheers or holiday jeers this year for Microsoft? Time will tell...

Adobe Killing their "Cereal-Box" software of Creative Suite

It is official. There will be no Adobe Creative Suite 7 or better known as CS7. Adobe is "killing" their production of the boxed software as the company moves toward a cloud based service. That's right all you Adobe fans, get ready to see PhotoShop CC not PhotoShop CS.

Adobe is moving away from their Creative Suite towards their Creative Cloud software. Adobe hopes to allow for better and easier upgrades thru their cloud service. Why the changes with Adobe?

Adobe is wanting to move away from boxed software as every day, companies are moving to cloud services. It will also allow Adobe to change their licensing fees and how upgrades are rolled out. The next release of Adobe software will not be a boxed software, but will be a Creative Cloud software. The new Adobe software will be both Windows and Mac compatible and for those customers who are current CS6 customers, you should be getting special low pricing for the new Creative Cloud service.

Will the movement away from a software suite to a cloud suite work as well as Adobe hopes? Will change be good or bad for Adobe? Only time.....and happy customer input and reviews....will tell.

LightSpeed Systems Web Filter

This past fall, I began to explore ideas for a new web filter to replace the old one in place at USD #439. I spent hours researching and asking around on what other districts were using. Using resources of online research, asking members of the ESSDACK "NERDS" group, and asking others on the state list-serv for Technical Directors, I had narrowed my selection down to the BottleRocket from LightSpeed Systems.

Many students in our district had known for years how to bypass the old web filter by making the webpage a secured webpage (https://). A good chunk of bandwidth was being used by students streaming music, videos, and other bandwidth consuming apps. I chose the LightSpeed BottleRocket for several reasons.

With the BottleRocket, using an (https://) would no longer bypass the filter. Anything that uses an https:// is redirected back to the original domain website. P2P applications are restricted and I also had control to block all proxies that students were using as a backdoor to websites they wanted. Another big complaint was all the time students wasted on social media sites. The BottleRocket allows me to specify certain websites that the district would like blocked. We are using that to our advantage. Another big feature is that group policies can be set within the web filter administrative console. We had a "Staff" group that allows staff members access to YouTube videos they use in class and also to streaming music sites such as Pandora so they can listen to music while they work.

The BottleRocket also allows for mobile web filtering to be extended to other devices on the network. Web filtering is extended to phones, iPads, and any other device with Internet access that connects to the wireless network within our district. I have been very impressed with the BottleRocket thus far and continue to work to fine-tune our web filtering here at USD #439.

One of the biggest advantages for me in using the new BottleRocket is the reports that you can access. There is real-time reporting that can show you current web activity, you can search and filter results by device IP address, and you can also see what top blocked domains and categories are. When a teacher came to me to see why a website wasn't coming up, I was able to search by IP address off her computer and find her web searches in the reports, found the website, and was able to re-assign the website to a new domain making it available to be used. This tool has been a HUGE plus for our use here at USD #439.

I am also very, very happy with LightSpeed tech support. I have had to call to get two issues worked on that I was unable to call. The first ticket I created, tech support called back within five minutes with a fix and the second issue they called back within 15 minutes. Needless to say, customer support is top notch with LightSpeed. We are currently running our filter on a three year contract with unlimited tech support and help.

I would highly recommend the BottleRocket to anyone out there looking at web filtering options for their company or business. You won't be disappointed!

You can find more information on LightSpeed products here:
http://www.lightspeedsystems.com/

Ubiquiti UniFi Access Points

Let me just start off by saying that if you haven't considered these access points at all for use, you really NEED to!!

The access points are by the creator company of Ubiquiti. The access points are round disc-like access points that can be wall mounted with just a screw or two.  The access points run at 2.4GHz and are B/G/N WiFi certified. Each access point is POE (Power-Over-Ethernet).

Most people would say "well yea, but I can get that with my access points". It's the software that is a real game-changer with the Ubiquiti products. The software is both PC and Mac compatible. Once the software is loaded onto your server and you have your central management point, you can instantly management multiple access points at once. The software allows for network mapping, expansion without end, and easy management over your wireless network.

Features included

• Free firmware upgrades upon release
• Guest/Hotspot capability
• One UniFied network
• Detailed reporting
• Wireless mesh

Currently in our district, we are utilizing 29 of the Ubiquiti access points and looking to expand to even more in the future!

More information can be found on the access points here:

http://www.ubnt.com/unifi

First semester jitters/problems

I began my new chapter of my career this past July when I began working for USD 439. Right away I knew there would be challenges, learning curves, and wonderful experiences. Needless to say I found several of each. A few of my favorites and least favorites are below:

Favorite Challenges

Getting laptops distributed quickly

Learning Apple software

Getting approval for new web filter

Least Favorite Challenges

Fighting firmware issues

Fighting bad switch/switches

Favorite Learning Curves

Apple Remote Desktop

Ubquiti Access points

Security Camera software

Least Favorite Learning Curves

Talk can be misconstrued/misunderstood

Patience

Wonderful experiences

Feeling like part of a "team"

Feeling like working a "big city" job in a "small town setting"

Learning from my mistakes

Having my contract renewed for the 2013-2014 school year

New territory

As a guy who has/had dealt with nothing but PC computers my entire life, last June I was introduced to the Mac world. My new job at USD 439 was an all Apple district with nothing but MacBooks. GULP. I thought I was in trouble for sure. I had never worked on an Apple in my life. I had never played with a Mac. EVER. In my interview I was asked if I had any experience with Macs and I was honest and told them I never had. They asked if I would be able to learn them and I told them "Give me 6 months to get basics and a few advanced practices down. The rest will come with time."

To give a little background, I had used Norton Ghost to image computers. Never had I used Deploy Studio. I thought "there is no way I'll ever get away from my pc laptop." Wrong. I worked on both my pc laptop and my new MacBook Pro provided by the school. That was in June. By August, I was only using my MacBook and my pc computer sat in a closet in my room. That's how fast I transitioned.

Little did I know the frustrations that would come soon enough. By the first day of school, I was already feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Charging ports not working, hard disk drives failing, having to repair MacBooks. I thought I would fall apart. Then I met several key people that have helped me pave the path I have created this year.

First off, Jerry Butler. The man is a Mac wonder. He knows his stuff about Macs. Jerry is a great lean-on person to help troubleshoot, break-fix, and self starter. Jerry made countless trips to Sedgwick to help me transition into the school year. Between imaging laptops, getting the server updated, and showing me several insider how-tos, I was up and running soon enough. Jerry was wonderful tech-support and an even bigger emergency contact when I needed him.

Secondly, Rae Niles. When I was hired on at Sedgwick, I knew nothing of her. All I knew was she was an Apple "genius" and that she had really paved the way with Apple products at Sedgwick. Everyone always talked about Rae and how she did things. I knew I had a lot to keep up with and a big void to fill. I finally met Rae for the first time about two weeks into the school year. I talked to her in my office for about 15 minutes. I thought she was really nice and she even gave me a few tips. Later that night, I had a surprise. I received an email from Rae telling me that there would be times I'd feel lost, frustrated, and overwhelmed. She told me to always keep a positive attitude and if I ever needed help, to email or contact her. Needless to say, I saved that email and still read it when I'm feeling frustrated. About a week later, I was at dinner with my family at the local Applebees. I had been frustrated with a printer problem with some MacBook Airs at school. I had bumped into Rae at dinner and explained the problem and during talking, I managed to figure out the solution. Rae left dinner with a simple "job well done troubleshooting and good luck! Contact me if you need anything." and goodbyes were exchanged. When I went to get ready to leave, the bill was delivered to my table and this is what I saw...there was no bill. Just a note of encouragement. Thank you Mrs. Niles!

Lastly, the ESSDACK "NERDS" group. These ladies and gentlemen know their stuff. From monthly meetings where everyone discusses new practices, new ideas, and lots of educational tips are offered up. Everyone has a very positive attitude. They accepted me into the group when I started at Sedgwick. I felt so stupid and behind the curve with Apple and Mac products but through help, encouragement, and answering all my dumb emails about "how do I do this" or "what about this", I have been able to broaden my knowledge and am slowly getting into a groove here at USD 439. 

You never know who you will meet, or when you will need help. I'm glad for all the support I've been given in the past, where I am now, and when I will need it in the future. I just hope someday, I can help someone out just as I have been helped!