Well, I noticed this little box on my Facebook page and it said that I could get a personal URL for my page, which I had completely forgotten about. Anyway, it’s nice having an extremely uncommon last name, so I now am the proud owner of my own personal URL on Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnolinda.
Busted!
So today I was casually strolling about the internet and decided to check out my spam comments just to delete them or approve the legit ones. Then this one got my attention, so I did a whois search on the IP. For those of you who don’t know, a whois search allows you to take a website name or IP address and find out who it belongs to and all those nice juicy details. So that one turns out to be exactly what my blog said it was: spam. So I investigated the next one from this guy who listed a personal email, a website, and a sentence long “name” about how he earns so much money posting links for good ‘ol Google. So I clicked the link to his website and indeed, there surprisingly was a website, http://www.mikesmoneysite.com. Well it turns out that little Michael is from my hometown, which is statistically improbable, but the site looks very nice and all, but still feels like yet another fishy “get rich” scheme. Then I look at the place where he mentions my hometown and notice that the period has a space in front of it. Not a big deal unless you’re me, so I go and check it out by accessing it from an IP in a different state, and what do you know, it says he’s now from that state. So I check the source code and he’s using javascript to scam you into thinking he’s a local. Well, I’m officially burning Mike in this post, and his site is a fraud. Now you might have known that for yourself with some common sense, but I felt that cheap tricks like that deserve to be called out, especially when they involve lying about where you’re from. Don’t ever, ever try to pull something like that. In fact, thanks to Mikey, I might start a dedicated fraud-hunting section to the site. Thanks for the inspiration buddy!
Why the iPhone is falling behind
The new iPhone was revealed today in all its wonder and glory, but I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed with the update. While I didn’t expect a completely new device, it seems that it merely attempted to “catch up” on some lacking features, while not adding anything truly new, which is what made it such a hot device to begin with. Now, admittedly it’s hard to beat yourself when you’ve already made a pretty cool device. However, as a person who is pretty hard on technology and has high expectations, there are a few things that I feel will begin to hurt the iPhone in the long run if they follow the current pattern with future versions:
- AT&T: nothing more really needs to be said.
- Lack of new hardware features: while the iPhone is one of those devices that can pretty much do whatever you want, it’s sometimes the how that matters too. What if some of us like a hardware keyboard? Certainly there’s a way to include that, even if it meant bulking up the device ever so slightly. What if some people want to use Skype to video chat over wi-fi? Then include a tiny little camera on the front for that purpose. Also, adding copy/paste on a smartphone should NOT be a big step that took two major updates!
- Lack of diversification: what about releasing multiple differentiated models to incorporate some of the features that not everyone wants? So the hardware keyboard comes on one model, another comes with the front camera, and another has both. That’s just an example, obviously it’s more complex than that. Also, similar diversification in the non-phone version of the device would be great. Make the iPod Touch something more than the “iPhone without the phone.” And don’t try selling “stripped down” versions for less, make them competitive in their own playing field. It wouldn’t be the first time Apple invented a market for a device people didn’t know they needed!
- Lack of competition: the fact that there’s nothing technically “like” it has left the iPhone in a monopoly position in its category. Hopefully this situation will be rectified by the new Palm Pre and the upcoming Blackberry Storm 2.
Now are these just gripes? No, I really do think that they’ll hurt sales if they don’t change. There are rumors of new carriers and new versions, but so far nothing has materialized, and this most recent WWDC would have been a perfect time to prove me wrong. Apple can’t rely on the “Steve Jobs Sales Effect” forever. So Apple, catch up those features, make some new ones we didn’t know could come on a phone, and generally impress me. You did it with the first iPhone, you can do it again.
Social Experiment
Well, after much deliberation I finally pushed the big red button and rejoined Facebook. I wasn’t really thrilled with the idea at first, but when it’s used in moderation it’s a good way to stay in touch and connect with friends, as well as integrate my website into the larger network. I’m still in “testing” mode, but we’ll see how things progress. Also, my cat is thoroughly enjoying the printer box in the next room and it looks so fun I’m about to go join him… *shuffling cardboard noises*
Smart Remarks
So, amidst all the buzz about the Palm Pre, the iPhone, and other smartphones, the obvious question is whether any of them are worth it. I’ve just recently begun using a smartphone (minus the data plan) and I’m enjoying it. Yes, it’s an older design and it does have quirks, namely that it runs Windows Mobile, but overall it’s an improvement over a “dumb” phone. And when it’s a Verizon phone the “dumb” takes on a whole new meaning… Anyway, as a category, I firmly believe that smartphones are the future of the device. Other phones may have nice features and all, but ultimately I think that the desire to have one synchronized set of information for calendar, contacts, and other categories makes these phones greatly appealing, even without a data plan. Of course, with a data plan they’re even more useful, but they are more pricey. Whether you have a choice on the data plan is up to your provider, but fortunately the demigods at Verizon deigned to allow us Treo users to carry on without a plan. I have to say though that the best thing about it is that once I am at school I can have all my contacts and assignments on both my phone and my laptop. If I get a mini-wireless card then I can access my email on campus as well. So will I ever go back to my old phone, despite the better reception and better bluetooth compatibility? Probably not, and if price wasn’t an issue, I’d have a dataplan in a second. What are your thoughts?
Hot Off the Presses
Check out the new CrunchPad update here. Trust me, if you’ve got the slightest inclination to tech, you’ll want this.
Are Desktops Out?
Well, that all depends on who you’re asking. A lot of people feel that the desktop market is going to fade out, at least on a consumer level, for a couple of reasons. However, I’d like to propose that desktops, or some form of stationary, “sit down” computer will continue to be popular and necessary for the foreseeable future.
Why? Because desktops have more power, flexibility, and expandability than a laptop. Unless you’re buying the most cutting edge MacBook or Alienware, your laptop will be “old” within weeks at worst and months at best. However, even my old Dell desktop will remain usable and flexible for some time, and the computer that I am writing this on, a PowerSpec, will be useful for even longer because of a more modern motherboard. So not only are the average desktop computers more powerful to begin with, they’re going to be able to stay that way for a long time and for an affordable price.
Desktops are also very reliable and easier to repair when they do take ill, and if the network they are on is secure they are far less likely to pick up bugs from the open wi-fi networks. Also, desktops are getting bigger and better screens for less all the time. If you hunt through the teeming plains of the internet market well enough, you can find great computers that come with screens as large as some peoples’ televisions. And with the rise of Hulu and other online video sites, that is increasingly valuable.
Probably the biggest thing for me as a monetarily challenged college student is price. Right now I could build you a desktop with specs that match or exceed those of any laptop for half the price of that laptop. I can’t absolutely guarantee that, simply because life loves to make us eat our words, but if you sent me a list of what you wanted in a computer I could build you one for a very affordable price. Parts are also a lot cheaper for desktops, so as I mentioned before it remains a viable and affordable option to keep your desktop up-to-date with modern components for a long time.
So why not ditch laptops? Because they have a place in the computer world to be sure. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be getting rid of my desktop computer anytime soon, especially not with the overblown prices of most laptop computers on the market.
They’re flocking this way…
Well, in case you don’t know what that’s from, go ahead and check out Jurassic Park, and if you don’t want to watch that, it’s your loss 
Seriously though, it’s awesome, and I’ve never had a nightmare about those viscious, man-eating, animatronic robot dinosaurs in my life, so it’s all good Anyway, what this post is about is Flock. If you’ve never used it, it’s a web browser based on Mozilla but with a twist. It incorporates social networking. Integrated into the browser as is you get Twitter and Facebook integration, along with a media and RSS feed reader, and it can check your webmail right from the browser. All of them are handy features, and depending on your tastes you may really enjoy them. It can log you into most of your services immediately on startup, and adding feeds is very simple and intuitive. Also, the media bar is pretty cool if you’re really interested in those kinds of sources.
However, there are a few problems, probably minor, but they should be mentioned. The integrated RSS is nice, but it lacks some features, such as a “mark read” function for individual feeds in the “My World” start page and a way to display only new feeds. Personally I find the old feeds distracting, so it would be nice to eliminate them if they’re not wanted. Also, it would be great if it had an expand feature like Google Reader that allowed you to read some or all of the article without actually leaving your home page. You can however set all of the summaries to a “long” setting which will show more of the information, but it applies to all of them, not just the one you’re reading. Also, the preloaded feeds are… interesting. The first thing that popped up in my feed reader was some sleazeball talking about his latest fantasy, but that is Digg’s fault, not Flock’s. However, it is good to keep in mind the open nature of RSS feeds, so preview before accepting them. Also, the way the social and media bars appear is at first glance unobtrusive, but then you realize that all your browser windows are slightly cramped, so it might be nice if they had some kind of autohide feature or an option to move it to the top or bottom.
Those problems aside, the feature set is great, and the integration with social stuff and different web services is nearly flawless. It has a cool default theme, and the buttons to access all the extra features are located in one bar, making it simple to get to them once you’re acquainted with the interface. Also, an interesting note to all you Firefox users: you can use most firefox add-ons. All you have to do is go to addons.mozilla.com like normal and then click “Add to Firefox” and it will install. However there’s no guarantee that it will work, so don’t take that to the bank. At any rate, I recommend at least checking it out, and all those Facebook junkies will surely love it.
Site is back online!
We went through a really unusual situation with my host and for some reason a lot of things simply didn’t work. I’m still piecing together things that are broken, but bear with me.
California Bailout
Well, it was inevitable, I mean, we can’t let all those poor Californians deal with their foolish budgeting decisions can we? I suppose if the size of California is the sticking point then Delaware is as good as dead… I think we all need to sit down and think really hard about what we and FDR… I mean President Obama, are doing with America.