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Why I’m Sticking with T-Mobile (for now)

Whenever tech geeks get together, inevitably, the conversation turns to which gadget or smart phone each one is sporting this month.  Of course, with that conversation, the question of which wireless company they are using also comes up.  Since we live in a country that still hasn’t woken up about consumer choice and still allows carrier exclusivity, the question is often pointless (iPhone = AT&T), but nonetheless, people often wonder why I’m still with T-Mobile after 5 years, which sadly, is a longer commitment than most marriages these days.

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Airport Express + Airfoil = Easy, (Relatively) Inexpensive Whole-House Audio

If you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive way to play music throughout your home, then look no further than the Airport Express.  This amazing little device pretends to be a portable wireless router, but in fact, can do much more with very little effort.

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What’s the worst that could happen?

I came across this video a while back, but since it seems to be making the rounds again, I thought I’d share it with you.

The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See” on YouTube

I encourage you to explore the science and make an informed decision.  Unlike any other issue humanity has ever faced, what we do or don’t do will ultimately affect each and every one of us.

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Twitter: What the #@ are # and @ ?

I’ve been using Twitter for a little while and most people I speak to about it seem a bit overwhelmed by the whole concept.  At my workshops and seminars, I inevitably get the question “what’s the point?”

I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel, so the best answer I’ve found to that question comes from this brief 2-minute video at Common Craft:

http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter (opens in new window)

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You are what you READ!

From Public-Domain-Photos.com
From Public-Domain-Photos.com

The old saying is that “you are what you eat,” but recently, Marce and a couple of friends and I started our own weekly book club, and as a result, I’ve come to the conclusion that in fact, you are what you READ.

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OmniFocus: Do More

For those of you with a Mac, you absolutely have to check out OmniFocus.  It is by far the most elegant and useful productivity application I’ve ever used, and has significantly increased my daily time and task management.

At first glance, OmniFocus is simply a to-do list organizer.  You can easily add items to the list, give them a Start/End Date and Time, and an estimated duration.  You can also add a description to the task if you’d like.  But, where OmniFocus truly stands out over your standard to-do list is in what it calls Projects and Contexts.

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Evernote: Remember Everything

Evernote is one of the coolest time-saving applications I’ve come across in a long time, and I wanted to do a quick overview of why it’s a must-have in your digital toolbox.

For one, Evernote is by far the easiest and most versatile method for capturing information I’ve ever seen.  Are you more of an auditory person? Fine, record an audio note.  A list-maker? Perfect, add a text note.  A visual thinker? Excellent, take a photo.  No matter which way you capture the information, Evernote will store it in your notebook, and save it for later.

“But Allen,” you may be thinking, “why not just carry around a pen and paper?”  Glad you asked!  Like so many of my favorite tools, the real beauty of Evernote lies under the hood.

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The *care* in Health Care?

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

So yesterday, as suggested, Marce and I went to pre-register for Mia’s birth at the best of the 3 (soon to be 2) hospitals in Gainesville.  This was our third attempt, since the last two times, the wait for registration was at least half an hour, and we didn’t want to waste time sitting around.  We were told there was only 1 person ahead of us, so we were very excited about finally getting this minor task off our to-do list.

After about 10 minutes, a woman with the nastiest case of “I-don’t-wanna-be-here” I’ve ever seen ushered us into a tiny room and plopped down in front of her computer.  The first words out of her mouth were “I need your driver’s license and insurance card”.  Not “hello”, or “how are you?”, or “Congratulations, and thanks for choosing our hospital!”  She just extended her arm from behind her desk (throne?) and waited for the requested items.

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Grocery iQ: Nearly Perfect iPhone/iPod Touch App

Grocery iQ screenshot courtesy of GroceryIQ.com
Grocery iQ screenshot courtesy of GroceryIQ.com

The idea behind Grocery iQ is a very simple concept:  put your shopping list on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  But as many things, the beauty is in the details.

Grocery iQ lets you search a database of over 100,000 items, either by keyword or UPC barcode, and add them to your list.  You can also keep track of the items you purchase regularly in your Favorites.  You can also group certain items by store, such as Publix or Sam’s Club, or leave them in a general “Any Store” list.  Each item can be assigned an aisle, and if it is found in the database, the aisle is automatically assigned.  You can also rearrange the aisles at each store to match your local store’s exact layout.

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Lessons from the SuperDisk

SuperDisk a.k.a. LS120 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
SuperDisk a.k.a. LS120 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

When I was in high school I thought the SuperDisk was going to revolutionize portable data storage.  In my mind, it was a sure-fire success.

For those of you unfamiliar with the SuperDisk, it was basically a bigger, faster version of the 1.44MB floppy disk developed in the mid-90’s.  I mean, think about it, we were used to carrying around 1.44MB floppy disks, and along comes this amazing device that has 100 times the capacity and is the same size!  With the growing popularity of the even-larger capacity Zip disk and the rapidly declining cost of CD-R and CD-RW media by the year 2000, the SuperDisk soon faded away into obsolescence.

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