In my search this morning for replacement razor blade heads I ran into an interesting product bundle at Norelco. They are actually throwing in a car adapter to keep your razor charged or active in the car!! Of course I ordered one right away, even though I don’t have a car. It’s actually the compatible part for my razor so there’s no option on the car adapter, but I suppose it might come in handy one day. I’ve actually shaved on the way to work in previous jobs… when I was driving to work and of course very late. I guess that’s part of the attraction of the electric for some people? Amazing there’s no warning anywhere in sight…
Firefox 1.0.2
Firefox was just updated… Having been using Safari recently as my main browser I have to say it feels incredibly peppy! They have also finally added the one damn feature that was a killer for me previously…
First Week with The Treo 650
It’s been a week since the Treo 650 arrived and I have to say I generally really like the upgrade from the 600. I am however, incredibly frustrated by the memory issue and find myself bumping up against the limits frequently. The Treo updaters which are starting to roll out this week allegedly give you more memory – at least on the carrier versions. I have to hope that my unlocked unit will be as lucky.
This morning I suffered my first reset loop, which sucks, but from what I’ve read the fact that it took this long makes me luckier than quite a few others. My issue started when my Treo ran out of memory during a hotsync… no way to have avoided that one from what I can tell. Everything had actually been working fine, but then not. I had to hard reset in order to regain control, which while frustrating was not the end of the world, since I have nightly scheduled backups in BackupMan. After a restore, I was back in business… I noticed that Bejeweled2 had copied itself back into RAM as well as leaving a copy on my card through PowerRun. I don’t know whether this happened before or after the issue at hand, but clearly had closed the memory gap on me.
The Treo is definitely finicky as you get close to the end of the available memory… If you go lower than 3MB you are likely to have some issues with apps causing resets. The thing about having such a limited amount of memory is that you have to make certain decisions as well as “sacrifices.” In my case, I’ve decided I can live without Vindigo and without automatically updating QuickNews, though I am not happy about the loss of either. I don’t use either hourly or even daily, but certainly often enough that I enjoy having them available. I will now have to update specific channels within QuickNews or use a wireless portal for news on the go (though certainly not on the subway or out of range locations!). I can rely on Google’s wireless version or via SMS as well as Synfonic for quick lookups.
Memory issues aside, I am very happy with the Treo. I would certainly like for PalmSource to enable the use of expansion cards as in the same way an external drive works on my computer… SD cards have been used long enough in the hardware that you would think this might have been addressed by now. I don’t recall seeing anything about that in OS 6, though the Treo will most likely not be upgradeable anyhow.
UMD Rentals?
How long before we see UMD titles in Netflix and Blockbuster… or another service designed around games like Gamefly.
It’s a good week to be in the photo business…
Flickr was just sold, and now it’s Snapfish’s turn. Hewlett-Packard today said it has signed a “definitive agreement†to purchase the online photo album and processing company Snapfish, according to the H-P press release. [Reiter’s Camera Phone Report]
Getting Things Done
Getting Things Done is finally available as an eBook!
I have the audio and paperback versions.. may add this to my library as well. Always good to have around.
The Drugs I Need
via Jaffe Juice… The Drugs I Need an all too real parody of Prescription Drug Advertising. The movie was paid for by the Consumers Union and is designed to get letters written to congress if you choose.
PSPCasting
Sajeeth Cherian, the wunderkid behind BitTorrent for dummies software, Videora, has come up with a unique new application, PSP Video 9. It will take any video and turn into a format that PSP can read. So now you can download videos using Videora, and then convert them to PSP friendly format within a few seconds.
OK – this is way too cool! I can auto download now through Bit Torrent (via Azureus and the RSS plugin), but auto video conversion and sync to PSP is very slick. I suppose I’d be able to do something like this with AppleScript and Folder Actions, but from what I’ve read Videora is much less DIY and really simplifies the issues (like downloading way too much at once thanks to broad search queries).
Windows only though… oh and I don’t have a PSP on order, though gadget lust is in effect. I will eventually have to have it. I love the portable media (video) player idea and can definitely see myself playing some games while traveling.
Blokus
Last night I discovered Blokus.
Blokus is simple to understand, but very hard to master. I’ve actually only played a few games but immediately found the official version for Palm so I could play while on the go. There are online versions as well as board game versions. Boing Boing described it as a cross between Tetris and Go and that gives you a picture at least of what it’s like, though until you actually play, you won’t fully understand.
Two New Google Blogs
via TUGW… New CNET Google Blog
And I received an email today announcing a new Google blog called Google Tutor, which seems like a pretty good place to learn about the Google tools and services
Lunch at Otto!
We just had a great lunch at Otto. The food and service were excellent and it was one of the most kid-friendly places we’ve ever been. There were many kids there and in a only in New York way there were at least 4 Bugaboo strollers (including ours) parked inside. There are changing tables in both washrooms – always a good sign – and they really catered the experience for kids with crayons, breadsticks and plenty of highchairs. It’s great to see a restaurant like this make a difference for all types of customers.
The food was seriously good.. We had a pizza and pasta dish and a gelato for dessert. I’d recommend it to anyone in the vicinity. We’ll definitely be going back!
AT&T Net phone disappoints
That’s the headline at News.com… and something of an massive understatement when you read the report. Somehow, AT&T CallVantage has only attracted 53,000 customers yet they’ve spent millions of dollars on high powered mass media – remember the TV last fall?
I’m not sure why people are not choosing AT&T over say their cable company or Vonage amongst others, but it’s fascinating.
Chatter Goes POP!
Today marks a serious achievement for Treo email as ChatterEmail now supports POP3! While actually still in beta, it’s running very well for me currently with 3 POP3 accounts and 2 IMAP accounts. I have Yahoo and GMail both running in POP and yes that means SSL is fully supported as well since that is required for GMail.
Attachment support is pending so don’t expect to go to crazy just yet. That said you can nicely control both the number of messages downloaded, the amount of those messages delivered (in lines) and also control deletion status. The key feature POP3 clients have been missing is the core strength of Chatter and that is the asynchronous nature of how it works. Running asynchronously means your email can be delivered while in the background of other apps and even with the screen fully off. You can sync your accounts on a set interval (30 min by default, but whatever you like) and know your mail will simply be waiting for you to read it. IMAP accounts can stay connected if you like for the full always on experience.
If you’ve been looking or waiting on features from other POP email clients, Chatter delivers today.
If a cat can puke anywhere…
then why not directly on the nice rug, rather than the hardwood floor 6 inches away. Never fails…
Synfonic – mobile info via SMS
Synfonic is a cool service I’ve just stumbled on which enables some handy info via SMS. After you configure your free account and setup your preferences you can easily get 411, Movies, Weather, Sports, Traffic (Bay Area only for now) and Stock info all with a simple SMS message. A great feature is the ability to define shortcuts which let you either shorten the text for a key word or even a location. The web site (easily viewable via mobile as well) maintains a list of recent queries which might be handy when you get back to your computer or if you accidentally delete an return SMS you wanted to save.
The service is free and only adds a brand plug (for them not an external ad) to cite the source of your returned info. The only issue I’ve had is with the weather service which has yet to recognize my zip code for either weather or forecast commands.
Here’s a helpful tip for Treo users…. Because the Messaging client threads your discussions like a chat, you don’t have to initiate a fresh request if you save your previous messages. Simply hit reply and type in your next request. It saves a few seconds, which might not be critical for you but certainly is nice regardless.
Go Behind the scenes on ChatterEmail
mytreo.net has a great interview with Marc Blank, the author of ChatterEmail. As I’ve mentioned quite a few times Chatter is simply the best email client for the Treo assuming you use IMAP and if your server supported the IDLE command to enable the push effect. Everything is about the change with a pending update. POP3 support is about the be added for everyone still living in mobile dark ages. Unlike other email clients Chatter will continue to support asynchronous functionality with POP just as it does not with IMAP which is a great and significant detail. This means your Treo can manage your mail fully in the background and with the screen off so mail is simply there for when you decide to check.
The new beta with POP3 is coming soon – hopefully within a few days, but probably within a week at the latest.
Mac Goes SkypeIn Beta
Thanks to a tip at Skype Journal I now have a fully activated skype voicemail and skype in number with a 415 area code. I was unable to actually find a NYC metro (I did not want 718) number this past weekend so I decided to go for San Francisco…. Pretty cool stuff! I have a bluetooth headset paired with my laptop (as well as my Treo) and can make and receive calls from any kind of system now.
iPhotoWebShare
iPhotoWebShare is a cool way to share your iPhoto albums or full library via browser on a local or wide (internet) network. I was playing with it a bit today and while slow to load larger (over 2000 images in a particular) albums it totally works as you would expect and lets you view both thumbnails and fuller sized images. It’s free… though a donation is suggested.
Missing the Mac Opportunity
Om Malik’s latest in Business 2.0:
But I think these companies are focusing too much on the numbers and missing the more promising opportunity. Why? Because rolling out a product for the Mac platform ensures a certain buzz and élan, which begets more buzz, which begets sales. Let me explain. By some estimates there are 5 million active Mac users. Not a lot, that’s for sure. But among them are most of the influencers — high-profile bloggers, most (if not all) technology journalists, and, of course, the hipsters.
I tend to agree with Om, and not just because I am a Mac user. While the market share is grossly disproportionate, PC users are by no means guaranteed to pay. Mac users on the other hand are seriously loyal to quality products that enable a positive experience.
I think the main issue though with some of the startups Om reflects on is DRM. Windows Media has it, Quicktime does not and the Mac WMP is not as capable in handling DRM – no version 10 yet. Without that safety net it’s going to be tough to push the convergence products like Sling or Orb without the nasty cease and desist or worse lawsuit from the MPAA or RIAA.
GoogleX
Google has a nice project working for OS X fans…