Having trouble keeping up with all your competing tasks and priorities? Like super nerdy ways of solving problems? Use a Mac? Have a first name of Justin? Give this method and one of the applications designed for it a try....
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Get a Piece of the Thinking Rock
In a Multimedia Realm Where Book Meets Blog
Get the inside scoop on your (or anyone else's) neighborhood. "Johnson, 38, brings this same street-level awareness to his latest Web site, outside.in, which collects and displays information based on ZIP codes." (This is for you, Courtney.)
Browser Smackdown: Side-by-Side Feature Comparison
"Here's a close-up look at how Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 7, Opera 9 and Safari 2 handle key browsing features and functions."
Pray for Coal
Well, now that I've finally stopped laughing, I'm happy to share this holiday gift guide of the best toys of all time.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
“Man” Up Your Cell Phones
Not for the easily offended, but perfect for the girl who wants to buy her man a cell phone for Christmas. ;-)
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Digg the new iPhone?
Kevin Rose thinks he knows something about the upcoming, but yet unannounced, iPhone from Apple. "It's small as sh*t." Read on for more....
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Silly ideas that actually work…
If the Million Dollar Homepage wasn't enough for you, then get Your Name on Toast.
Apple’s iTV & The Case of the Missing DVR
I just stumbled upon this post about Apple's pre-announced iTV. It's from September, but still relevant since no new details have emerged about the product that isn't due to ship until sometime in Q1 07. Be sure to follow the rest of the series on iTV by clicking on to Apple’s iTV: Clues in USB and the subsequent entries.
He's also got some interesting things to say about Apple's possible iPhone product.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Installing the Zune... sucked
If Engadget says it, it must be true, right? This one goes out to the Juice.
The art of defensive blogging
This is the best argument I've seen yet in favor of corporate blogs (or celebrity blogs, for that matter). Plus, it led to Machiavelli and Calacanis being mentioned in the same comment.
iTunes’ “hidden” features
Well, if you thought that last tip for iTunes was cool, we've got the motherlode of AppleScript-based iTunes enhancements for you. Sorry Windows users, AppleScript is strictly a Mac experience. Maybe you need a new computer anyway.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
TX Active, a new pollution-eating cement for Europe
How cool is smog-eating cement? Too cool to be true, as the cement in question doesn't actually "eat" (or remove) the pollution, but instead provides a catalyst to reduce it to safer substances. Still, that's a pretty cool innovation.
For Start-Ups, Web Success on the Cheap
Big money is out, sustainable revenue is in. If Meebo can start on credit cards, so can you.
Welcome Web 3.0!
Web 2.0 is dead! Long live Web 2.0! The semantic web gets re-branded as it goes beta.
I’d Buy That for a Dollar
John Gruber at Daring Fireball recaps "the big Zune news this week" about Microsoft’s deal with Universal Music Group that includes a per-unit royalty on each Zune player sold. His analysis is spot-on.
"What we’ve got here is a nice, warm, shit sandwich from Universal Music, and Microsoft concluded that they had no choice but to eat it."
New Site Pays Bloggers For Reviews Of Advertisers' Products
Too bad no one actually reads my blog. Or that I don't actually write reviews. But there's money to be made if you do. At least until the VC money runs out.
Zune MP3 player has a lot of catching up to do
"Apple has a Porsche design reference" Enderle said. "It appears Zune used a Scion for a reference - oddly utilitarian."
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Slingplayer For Mac OS X Officially Released: Start Your Slingin'
The beta's out and the reviews look good. Time to go shopping.... More deets
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
LinkedIn launches useful service directory
"While MySpace became the network for teens, and Facebook did the same for college students, LinkedIn has become a robust businessperson's networking site, with a special focus on helping people network to find jobs.... LinkedIn now allows its members to recommend and endorse people -- dentists, mechanics, nannies, etc. -- who are not LinkedIn members. The new directory makes it easy to narrow down the listings, for example to display only dentists in your area that have been recommended by people you know directly."
Sounds good, if enough people add listings....
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Jobs on iPod, iTunes and Zune
Why Steve Jobs is the man:
"Finally, Jobs was asked if he was worried about Microsoft's upcoming media player (Zune) and its 'community' features:
In a word, no. I've seen the demonstrations on the Internet about how you can find another person using a Zune and give them a song they can play three times. It takes forever. By the time you've gone through all that, the girl's got up and left! You're much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear. Then you're connected with about two feet of headphone cable."
The Friendster Tell-All Story
"Gary Rivlin at the New York Times finally wrote the Friendster “tell all” piece that everyone’s been threatening to do for some time.... Friendster turned down a $30 million buyout offer from Google in 2003. Everything went downhill from there."
Get all the dirty deets about how NOT to grow a hot Internet company in the face of competition.
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Interview with John Hodgman, the PC from those "Get a Mac" ads
"Yup, we interviewed that guy. But John Hodgman isn't just a metaphorical stand-in for the PC (even though that's what we mainly asked him about), he's also an editor at the New York Times Magazine and a contributor to the Daily Show. Read on to find out whether he's really a PC user, Microsoft's attempts to recruit him, and how he got the gig in the first place."
A brief and heartwarming read awaits....
Youths no longer predominant at MySpace
"Half of the site's users are 35 or older.... Just a year ago, teens under 18 made up about 25 percent of MySpace.... That's now down to 12 percent."
And ex-Congressman Foley is pissed about it.
The classic style vibrator that syncs with your iPod
Speaking of useful devices and clever Christmas gifts.... Can you guess the selling price?
Linkman Gives You Permission To Quit Smoking
"If all other methods for getting rid of your addiction has failed, the Linkman may help you stamp out cigs for good—provided you follow its guidance."
Coming soon in a Christmas gift near you....
New in 10.4.8: Zoom Using Scroll Wheel
This is cool. Go ahead, try it: hold down <control> and run your scroll wheel. Wheee!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
MySpace: The Business of Spam 2.0
"Most users don't know that Tom Anderson is more of a PR scheme than anything else--the mascot designed to give a friendlier feel to a site created by a marketing company known for viral entertainment websites, pop-up advertising, spam, spyware, and adware.... Simply put, MySpace.com is Spam 2.0."
So there you have it. Tom is a fraud and MySpace is for chumps. J. Seiter is gratified.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Widow Leased Rotary Phone for 42 Years
Good grief. 750,000 people are still leasing their phones from the phone company?! I bet you didn't even know you could do that.
$14,000 and two meddling granddaughters later, it sounds like grandma had nonetheless been a satisfied customer. "I'd like to have my rotary back," she said. "I like that better."
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Who Is Jonathan Ive?
"An in-depth look at the man behind Apple's design magic"
An interesting read, especially if you have a role in new product development.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
IT people “twice as likely” to wear heavy metal t-shirt as other people
“Our large Microsoft Gold Certified team of engineers was comforted that IT people are twice as likely to wear Megadeth and similar t-shirts, and that black jeans and ponytails are still hot items. However, they were distraught to find that the cellphone belt clip has gone ‘mainstream’ and lost its identification with the IT subculture.”
You've got to be kidding me. (Thanks, Dan.)
Saturday, September 9, 2006
Sick Macbooks - Apple MacBook Problems and Solutions
Like most new models of computer, the MacBooks built during the first few weeks of production have a greater tendancy to exhibit problems. CorbieD has posted a helpful list of frequent issues, and most importantly, how to resolve them. Some of the issues listed are not necessarily early-production issues, but others clearly are. If you've got a MacBook (or want one), check it out.
I have one of these early-production units, but have thus far not experienced any of the listed issues (other than the heat/fan issue that was much improved by installing the firmware update). Some folks like to complain loudly about such issues. To them I say, "Don't buy an early-production product if you can't handle a few hiccups along the way. Let everyone else sort out the issues before you buy."
Thursday, September 7, 2006
There’s Money in Dirt, for Those Who Find Bits of Silicon
"Unsanctioned digging" as a form of employment? No, we're not talking about tagging articles at the office. "It is just the garbage left by Lenin."
Thursday, August 31, 2006
CrossOver virtualization software public beta offered
Hot dog! I'm downloading the beta now. Be sure to check out the special price if you pre-order.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
ATTN J. Seiter: Kevin Rose needs a refill
"Last night's Tech Crunch / August Capital Party down on prestigious Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park was amazingly over the top."
Well, over the top with Web 2.0 celebs. Jump for more photos, including Web 2.0 bubble coverboy Kevin Rose (pictured).
Saturday, August 19, 2006
MacBook firmware update adjusts fan behavior
If you have a MacBook, you may have noticed that Apple recently released a firmware update that "adjusts fan behavior in the MacBook." (If not, jump to read the official story.)
Hmmm, what exactly does that mean? Well, MacSlash offered a much better (and more interesting) explanation than most other news reports: Say Goodbye To The Moo.
Still not sure what they're talking about? Listen and see for yourself over at the MacRumors Forums. Haven't noticed your MacBook mooing about the place? You probably listen to music. Quiet things down for a bit and check it out.
But before you go ahead and install the update, you might want to get some baseline measures on your own MacBook first. That's super easy with a little app called CoreDuoTemp available for free download from VersionTracker. You can even add a continuous temperature reading to the menubar for a quick read to avoid inadvertantly searing your lap. Cool, huh?
No more MooBook.
Monday, August 14, 2006
'Snakes' charmed by Net fan base
Snakes. On a Plane.
"To say that 'SOAP,' as New Line Cinema calls it, is the most Internet-driven movie since 'Blair Witch Project' is like saying Brad and Angelina enjoy a healthy following. The Web sites include New Lines' official snakesonaplane.com and law student Brian Finkelstein's popular snakesonablog.com. Available online are 'Snakes' posters, T-shirts and, at youtube.com, gag trailers and auditions for the film. Tagworld.com/snakesonaplane has links to the more than 400 'Snakes' songs, many submitted for New Line's soundtrack contest."
Sammy is calling....
The 25 Greatest PCs of All Time
And the number one greatest PC of all time, according to PC World? The humble Apple II, "The Machine That Changed Everything".
Complete List
(via via MacsimumNews: Apple has four machines on ‘25 Greatest PCs’ list)
Leopard first looks: Spaces
"Apple brings decades-old virtual desktops to the masses"
Another nice looking feature of the forthcoming OS release that you can also approximate now with third party utilities. I'm thinking about trying one of them at work, VirtueDesktops, just to see if this is as useful as I think it might be. Other options are mentioned in the article.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Goggles, the Google Maps flight sim
This is a fun way to fly over your favorite city -- and shoot things up. Kind of a pain to select a city not already on the start list, but at least it can be done without flying there in Goggles. (via GMSV)
There's a very good explanation for the popularity of text messaging among teenage girls
"Connecting through talking activates the pleasure centers in a girl's brain. We're not talking about a small amount of pleasure. This is huge. It's a major dopamine and oxytocin rush, which is the biggest, fattest neurological reward you can get outside of an orgasm."
Well, then, let your fingers do the talking.
No, 503 is the investment jerks; the political jerks are calling from 571
Now, this could be immensely useful -- whocalled.us -- if you get lots of spam phone calls. And it's not even a Web 2.0 site. On the other hand, if you get lots of those calls, you should add your number to the National No Call Registry.
How To Prep Laptops For Airport Security
"These precautions make good business sense at anytime not just during a period of heightened security. Laptop theft, data security and identity theft are threats that all travelers face on a daily basis. These steps can help mitigate risk, prevent a business disruption and lead to the recovery of lost or stolen laptops."
Yes, indeed. So even if you're not flying via the UK or using your laptop for sensitive business purposes, you might find many of these tips useful.
Leopard first looks: iChat
"Chat client adds requested features—and makes several add-ons obsolete"
In fact, you can jump ahead and get many of these features with Chax. It's free and the tabbed interface is the most welcome feature. Chax doesn't quite turn iChat into Adium, but it moves it much closer. If the Adium folks could find a way to support audio and video chat using the iSight camera built into the Mac Book, I'd switch back in a heartbeat. But, in the meantime, Chax is making me much happier about using iChat.
Friday, August 11, 2006
IBM's historic PC was clunky, slow and very expensive
Just like today's models. Wait, they sold those to Lenovo.
I had a later version of this model, with dual floppies and a color monitor (and likely more memory and a faster processor), but otherwise just like this one. That thing was a beast. Kinda wish I still had it, but where the heck would you display such a thing?
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
ATTN J. Seiter: Kevin Rose needs a couch
"I'm not a multi-millionaire, I'm not a millionaire or even a thousand-aire. ... I can't even afford a couch in my new apartment."
-- Digg founder Kevin Rose says the folks at BusinessWeek got their math wrong when they profiled him
Hear him say it on TWiT.
Leopard's top-secret secrets
This article speculating on the features of Leopard that Steve Jobs didn't present is fairly interesting, but the real value is in these two gems:
"I mean, Microsoft is so desperate to distract attention from their inability to ship that they’re sending Bill Gates out to end hunger and disease as a diversionary tactic. That’s desperate."
"And besides, it’s a testament to Apple that they routinely produce products that are worth speculating about. When I get a new Microsoft product in the mail it’s often like that moment when you’ve got both feet on the brakes but you know that the car can’t possibly stop in time. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You just hope it won’t hurt too much."
How Do People Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility?
A Consumer Reports WebWatch research report, prepared by the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab:
"Nearly half of all consumers (or 46.1%) in the study assessed the credibility of sites based in part on the appeal of the overall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size and color schemes.... Participants seemed to make their credibility-based decisions about the people or organization behind the site based upon the site's overall visual appeal."
The study found that less than 10 percent of the participants' comments referred to the identity of the site or its operator, the site's customer service or related policies, or the site's sponsorships in assessing credibility. Perhaps most surprising, the study found that neither a site's privacy policies nor whether or not it corrected false or misleading information affected how participants evaluated credibility. "We found that when people assessed a real Web site's credibility they did not use rigorous criteria."
So, as long as you have a pretty site, you'll be seen as credible by at least about half of the consumers who see it. Nice. This is good news for ecommerce operators.
Interestingly, the effect was reversed for experts reviewing websites in their area of expertise. It's comforting to know that at least somebody's paying attention.
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Sprint Nextel to form network with WiMax
WiMax, aka 802.16e, will form the basis of the first announced 4G mobile network. "The company said the new network, expected to launch in some markets by late 2007, will provide customers with wireless Internet speeds on par with DSL and cable TV modems and four times faster than speeds available on current wireless networks.... The network will take advantage of Sprint's extensive holdings of 2.5-gigahertz bandwidth spectrum covering 85 percent of the nation's 100 largest cities."
Woo hoo! Here we go -- ubiquitous broadband everywhere. Just as people now are dropping their land lines for phone service, a few years from now we'll all be doing the same with Internet access. With IPTV on the horizon as well, it might just be all wireless, all the time.
MySpace deal gives Google access to "oblivious teenager" demographic
"Murdoch's News Corp. paid $580 million for MySpace last year, and now Google's agreed to pay it $900 million over three and half years to provide search services and advertising on it. Not a bad return on investment."
Not bad, indeed. Jeezle!
Duran Duran to give virtual gigs
"Duran Duran are to create a virtual island within online game Second Life, on which they will perform actual live concerts."
Well, does life get any better than this?
AOL offers disturbing glimpse into users' lives
"AOL user 9486162 appears to live near Edisto Beach, S.C., and could be a poker aficionado who's a fan of the University of Kentucky's football team" -- and suicidal. Being a fan of UK football can do that to you....
Monday, August 7, 2006
Live from WWDC 2006: Steve Jobs keynote
Engadget has the best recap of the WWDC Stevenote I've seen so far; includes photos. Also, be sure to check out Apple's preview of Leopard, complete with video demonstrations.
Sunday, August 6, 2006
AOL Proudly Releases Massive Amounts of Private Data
Holy shit! What were they thinking? This is going to be one large class-action lawsuit. Lawyers everywhere will be fighting over who gets to represent the 17.7 million U.S. subscribers AOL reported having in the second quarter.
And why, if you were going to release this data, would you do it for FREE? With business acumen like this, it's no wonder they're losing customers faster than they can count them.
UPDATE: AOL: Breach of privacy was a mistake "'This was a screw up, and we're angry and upset about it,' AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said." I bet.
Keep an eye on Government: WashingtonWatch
This looks to be an excellent application of Web 2.0 tools to a task that seems insurmountable to most people -- making sense of federal legislation. Unfortunately, it's also subject to certain biases of the designers, or at least of over-simplification of the issues. Be sure to check the TechCrunch comments for a solid (and, so far, brief) discussion.
The Clicker: ESPN360
Think the phone companies' ideas about net neutrality (or lack thereof) are bad? Try the opposite: content providers charging ISP's for the right to carry the content. Sound familiar? It's called cable TV -- and ESPN is trying to establish it for Internet content. It's a brilliant idea and a spectacular turning of the tables, but how bad would this suck: you can't get something on the Internet becuase the ISP you picked doesn't subscribe to it? Are you kidding me?!
Make the Internet more like cable TV. <sarcasm>What a great idea!</sarcasm>
That's my Insight.
Repairing permissions: What you need to know
"What repairing permissions does and whether you should do it"
Pretty much never, or at least rarely.
Friday, August 4, 2006
Victoria's Secret Models Like MacBooks Too!
"Two sexy Victoria's secret ladies, Allesandra Ambrosio and Gisele Bundchen, were caught backstage at a Victoria's Secret event woman-handling some Apple hardware."
Hahahaha. Time for a sexy party!
Thursday, August 3, 2006
'Cider' makes Windows games run on Intel Macs
Now here's an interesting development that may cheer many a heart. The natural question, assuming it works as advertised, is whether this will draw more game developers to the platform or further encourage them to develop for Windows only.
Technology is a girl's best friend?
Some people might be tempted to think that increased usage of electronic devices by women has something to do with the devices becoming easier to use, but aside from being a sexist interpretation it would also be incorrect. As "gadgets" become more about communication and less about amusement, it's inevitable that women will become more interested in using them.
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
NeoOffice 2.0- "Aquafied" Beta Released
NeoOffice 1.2 is pretty good, but not quite sufficient for adoption by "ordinary users" in lieue of Microsatanic Office -- but dang close. Version 2.0, on the other hand, looks to be the real deal. It's also $400 cheaper than the bloatware from Redmond. I'm nearly giddy with anticipation.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
New Mac Ad: Performance
<warning> Not for the faint of heart or the easily offended. Definitely not safe for work. Careful you don't laugh too hard. </warning> Get your black on.
YouTube has Porn Clone
Now you've got a great new site to explore with your HeatSeek porn browser. The irony is that PornoTube has a better interface and better support for tagging than YouTube. Trust the porn industry to always stay on top.
Talking urinals invade privacy
Proving once again that absolutely no place in the US is sacred enough to avoid advertising. Maybe those Graffiti Advertising folks will hook us up with a sound track for their exciting over-the-urinal display advertising.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Amie Street: Awesome New Music Model
Okay, so they only have something like 273 songs available right now, but the model is spot on (although, I'm not sure if their economics work, but that's nothing a little critical mass and ad revenue can't fix). If you're an aspiring singer, musician, band, this might be your path to stardom. Or at least notoriety. Get in while the odds are good!
All Rihanna, All the Time!
Gotuit delivers videos on demand for free (and not just music videos, in case you have some other interest).
Deets: Gotuit Furthers Television’s Demise
Sunday, July 23, 2006
The top 10 unintentionally worst company URLs
WARNING: this will make you laugh out loud. Repeatedly. You've been warned.
Antisocial Networking
"So I want to see the antisocial network. People can declare friends and enemies (eh, maybe we’ll just skip the friends completely)...."
The network for social cynics.
Zune: what we know, think we know, and don't yet know
In case you've had trouble keeping up with the daily onslaught of rumors, speculation and wishful thinking, here's the definitive recap (for today, anyway).
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