Technology from All Angles
Yesterday was a big news day for me.
#1) We found out we’re having a baby girl. Her name is Savannah Rose, and I can’t wait to meet her and be a Dad.
#2) The company I co-founded in 2002, SMobile systems, sold to Juniper Networks. Congrats to both SMobile and Juniper.
That’s a lot of news in one day.
Sphere: Related ContentNow get off your Butt!
Sphere: Related ContentI have been on Flickr for years, and it’s an outstanding online photo service. I also didn’t mind paying the $25/yr for unlimited photo uploads. It’s a great way to forever backup my iphoto albums, and easily share them online.
However, when I look at Google’s Picasa, I get most of the same features as Flickr, and I can pay $5/yr for 20GB of storage (which I can also use across multiple services..such as gmail and google documents (which I use both).
Since I’ve chosen not to renew, all of my online albums from the past several years are gone….that’s fine, I’ll just upload them to Picasa from iPhoto (this is why I always keep a local copy of my media!) So, with Google Picasa, I get all of the same features (for the non-pro photographers it’s perfect, which most of us are), I save $20/yr, and I can use this 20GB of storage across other services I use.
20GB can store 10,0000 photos on a 5MP camera…..that’s plenty for me!
Bye bye Flickr for now…..
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I have been using Google Voice for my voicemail on T-Mobile for several months now. Every time I get a voicemail, I can listen to them online, get an email copy or text message transcription, and keep them archived forever just like email – it’s pretty nice – among many many other features including the capability to send SMS messages from the browser.
But, the new “Click to Call” feature is awesome. If you are using the Google Chrome browser, or Chromium on the Mac, you can install the Google Voice extension that allows you to click on a number on any webpage. After clicking, Google Voice will dial your phone and then connect you to that number automatically. For the super lazy, not only do we not need to remember phone numbers anymore with our digital address books, but we now no longer need to dial them either…at least in front a computer
I’m probably going to be porting my number to Google as well, as this will allow me to have any service plan (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon.etc.) depending on who has the best rates or phones available. I’ll no longer be afraid to switch providers because of having to get a new phone number
Google also gives you a free number when you sign up. You take your pick based on available numbers. If you need a local number in a new area (I soon will) as a second line, you can use Google and forward that number to any phone for free. Pretty cool!
Sphere: Related ContentThis is a quick post because I am super busy and don’t have time to write much on this topic…but, today I read about a new Facebook security application, Defensio, from Websense. It can also be used for blogging platforms, and probably more web applications as well.
The point: — > security applications (malicious content and spam filters) are going to be just as important protecting web applications as they were on the traditional desktop we’re all familiar with. There is a SUPER HUGE market forming here (Facebook, Wordpress, etc.). This is the beginning of a new era for both consumer-based and professional web security applications.
Sphere: Related ContentI caught this 6 foot black tip shark off of Casey Key, FL on new years eve. I say “caught” but the real truth is I just reeled it in. Our friend Greg did the baiting and paddled out into the dark water on a surf board to drop it into the freezing water so I could have this experience..thanks Greg.
Having never ever hooked into a shark (or any fish that comes close to it) it was the most amazing fishing experience I have ever had.
I was 100% physically exhausted after reeling it in. But, after I caught my breath I was able to soak it up. It was absolutely awesome.
We released the shark after the photo shoot.
Some photos…
Sphere: Related ContentThe only reason I held onto my cable service over the past year was to watch sports (ESPN and college football), and some shows that my wife and I enjoy, such as bizarre foods (check it out) and Forensic Files, which were previously only available to us on the Travel Channel and TruTV.
The other perks of keeping our cable connection were that we had an HD DVR, so we could watch beautiful HD television, and record shows that we could watch whenever we got around to it.
All of this for about $55 per month…that’s with promotional pricing from RCN.
On top of our cable subscription we have 5mbps internet service that costs $35/mo…not bad, but also promotional pricing.
Now, it’s a major pet peeve of mine when money is unnecessarily spent. It drives me freakin crazy…and our cable bill was absolutely unnecessary: here’s why:
Sphere: Related ContentIf you have high-speed Internet and a computer connected to your TV, you do not need to pay for cable service!
CLICK ON IMAGE to ENGLARGE
courtesy mint.com
Twitter came on the scene only a few years ago, and although it was originally intended for communications among individuals, it has become a popular marketing platform for some of the world’s largest brands. Companies including Starbucks, ComCast, Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, Dell and Best Buy are actively using Twitter to communicate with their patrons. Using Twitter is a fabulous way to broadcast alerts, special offers, and other meaningful information to consumers. Given the growing number of third party applications that provide easier ways to monitor the Twitterstream and stay in touch with followers (such as TweetDeck), it’s obvious that Twitter is an outstanding tool for marketers. With all of the recent benefits and buzz, and the ability for consumers to follow updates on their mobile devices, many companies are also turning to Twitter thinking that it is also a mobile marketing platform. Although Twitter does include SMS capabilities, there are several key aspects of traditional permissions-based SMS marketing solutions that Twitter lacks:
Sphere: Related ContentToday I tried out my new MotoROKR T505, which allows me to stream music from any bluetooth enabled device (i.e. My G1) or ipod (bluetooth adapter may be needed) directly to my car stereo. The MotoROKR connects to the device using bluetooth, and then to the car stereo via an available FM channel. I can listen to music, and make hands free phone calls without an ear piece, which is pretty nice.
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I finally got around to loading all of my medical records into google health. It’s so easy and I recommend that everybody do it. Your data is 100% secure and only you can grant access to share it with doctors, insurance providers..and anyone else.
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I met the CEO of School Town yesterday, and got to learn a bit about their vision of eliminating all text books in K-12 schools, and providing learning tools 100% over the web.
I must say, it’s a no brainer. The Internet is so underutilized in K-12 school systems. With School Town’s web-based platform, students can learn interactivity with the teacher and other students, use collaboration tools to share items, link to other sources on the web, and most of the other great things we’ve come to love in SaaS software. Not to mention the millions in savings by eliminating text books. Chicago Public Schools has something around a $30M budget for text books.
I’m believe within the next 10 years text books will go the way of the dinosaur, which doesn’t upset me.
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I work between multiple computers, including a few macs and a windows machine. There are also times I’m accessing files and folders from public machines. I keep a lot of what I do in the “cloud” such as email, contacts, and calendar items that I sync with Google, but I’ve not found an easy way to SYNC FILES across multiple computers, until DropBox.
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