Why you left Facebook
Facebook is becoming more popular every day. Originally the service was meant for only college students, but since opening up to anybody with an e-mail address there has been a flood of new users. Facebook has also expanded to let its user develop and use various applications on their Facebook profiles. So why would anybody want to leave such an expansive and seemingly useful social network? Turns out there are several reasons.
1. Your girlfriend keeps sending you bumper stickers with things like “puppy love” and “me and you forever” on them. Don’t you dare try to uninstall the application either, this will lead to a series of arguments about why you supposedly hate your girlfriend. No guy wants those bumper stickers on their profile. You start to question your own sanity for even installing the application in the first place.
2. Your aunt tells you that she got one of those “Book Face things”. You love your aunt, she is the nicest lady and she can make a mean pumpkin pie come Thanksgiving, but you probably don’t want her to be thinking of that picture of you doing a keg stand as she is making that pumpkin pie. Your aunt will also continually send you invitations to various useless applications driving you further into insanity.
3. Your mother, influenced by the actions of your aunt, will ask you to create a “Face thingy” for her. I heard somebody say once that something instantly becomes uncool the moment your parents start using it. This could not be any truer than with Facebook. If you are asked to create a Facebook page for your mother claim ignorance about the service saying you removed your profile weeks ago.
4. You have a job interview coming up. Even before you go out and get your suit cleaned you should hop on Facebook and remove your profile. Removing pictures may not be enough, just a wall post about the awesome party you threw last week can set off alarms for a potential employer, unless they were invited to said party.
5. Ex is stalking you. Stalking can be both a fun and rewarding hobby, unless it is done to you. Ever wonder how your ex found you when you were on vacation? It probably has something to do with you changing you status message to “On vacation in Ocean City, back in a week”. To avoid future stalking it is probably best to simply remove your profile.
6. Myspaceification. Thanks to the addition of applications Facebook is quickly becoming more and more like Myspace. Facebook profiles used to be nice and streamlined, with all the social networking information you needed and nothing else. Now you have to look through 12 applications before you can find out your new roommates phone number, and along the way you can find out how much their girlfriend loves them.
Agent 18 iPhone case
I always go through a few cases for my gadgets before I find the right one. When I first bought my iPhone I had the Griffin Wave case. It was nice but it didn’t off the protection and aesthetics that I wanted.I wanted something that would show off the iPhone while protecting it and also not increase the size of the phone. Enter the Agent 18 ClearShield for the iPhone 3G.
When I first took the ClearShield out of its packaging I thought that it seemed a bit flimsy and I though that I may have to return it. I didn’t want a case that would pop open easily or something that didn’t feel solid. Once I put my phone in the case things changed. The phone helps the case stay shut, simple as that. The phone does not rest directly on the case either, there are two rubber strips on the back of the case that cushion the phone and prevent plastic on plastic contact.
The case is nice and clear and allows easy access to all buttons on the phone. It does not add much by way of size or weight to the phone either. The case looks like it belongs on the phone, and it looks great.
The only downside of the case so far is that it is really slick; I’m worried that I may wind up dropping my phone because of it. The sides do have ridges but the back of the case is completely smooth. I haven’t dropped it yet but it is in the back of my mind.
In short, until I find a better case I will be using the Agent 18 ClearShield for the foreseeable future. It offers great protection as well as looking damn cool. The cases can be found at the Apple store and on the Agent 18 website for $30.
iPhone 3G quick and dirty
There are a lot of really good 5+ page reviews of the new iPhone 3g available on the net. I’m not one to write a long rewview, so here is my quick and dirty iPhone 3g review divided into two parts, the hardware and the software.
The Hardware
-Looks awesome
-Works well
-Solid
-3G is fast but drains battery
-GPS kicks ass
-Get a case
The Software
-Apps rule
-Location aware social networking is awesome
-Mobile safari is still great
-Apps apps apps
And thats my review. I hope that it was minimally helpful.
iHas iPhone
After 5 hours of waiting in line and visits to two “local” Apple stores I was finally able to get my hands on an iPhone last Sunday. Even though it took me many hours I still consider myself very luck to have gotten my phone, especially because there are still people waiting in line today. I document my quest for iPhone glory below. I’ll post a review later.
Evernote is now OPEN
I talked a little bit about Evernote in a recent post and at the time it was a closed, invite only, beta. Well now, just a few days after that post, Evernote is now in OPEN public beta. If you want to give it a shot go check it out HERE. If you want to see what Evernote is and how it works check out THIS video.
Bill Gates: Angry 2003 E-mail about Moviemaker and XP
Apparently the story of this e-mail being leaked is kind of old, but it was news to me. It doesn’t surprise me that even Bill had issues with XP and Moviemaker. I have had Moviemaker crash on me almost every time that I have tired to use it. Bill details the issues he had in his e-mail and tears into his own employees over his troubles. Read the e-mail HERE.
PS: Bill, just get a Mac already… If you wanted to make a movie iMovie is great.
Using Twitter to track company reputation
Jim Jansen, an assistant professor of IST at Penn State, is leading a team that is investigating using Twitter to track the on-line reputation of companies. The team is using Summize to parse through Tweets looking for keywords, such as ‘Comcast sucks’. The information collected is then analyzed to guage consumer reaction and opinion. It looks like this could be a great tool for most large companies. Imagine if right after a product launch Apple was able to track user opinion using Twitter. Response time to issues would go up and it requires little effort on the part of the user, they were going to tweet about the product anyway. Read the whole article HERE.
Staying connected at work
Most of us would like to keep in contact with the outside world while we waste away in our cubes. But how do you stay connected in a corporate world hellbent on locking down your system so you can’t do what you want? Turns out that it is not that hard to regain some if not all of your freedom. Here are the tools you will need.
Flash Drive
First you need a USB flash drive, it is the key to your freedom. If you do not already have one go to Amazon and buy one, I would recommend a minimum size of 1GB.
Portable Apps
Having to use IE 6 got ya down? Wish you had Firefox and all your extensions and favorites? Enter portable apps. These free applications run completely off of a USB flash drive and you can set them up just like their fully installed brethren. I would recommend installing at least Firefox and Pidgin (AIM client). Now you can get around that whole no installing of applications on company computers thing.
Proxy
If you are being blocked from accessing certain websites, such as YouTube, try using a proxy. To use a proxy you go into your browser’s connection settings and enter the proxy address into the HTTP proxy field. Now you should be able to access more websites. There may be a decrease in speeds and not all proxies are guaranteed to work. The world sucks…I know.
Meebo
If all you want to do is get on AIM or some other messaging service try using Meebo. Meebo is a web based IM client that runs completely inside of most browsers. Simply type in your log in information and you are connected and chatting. If you want, you can create a Meebo account to have your settings and preferences saved for the service. I always have Meebo open in a tab in Firefox.
Del.icio.us
Del.icio.us is a bookmarking service that allows users to bookmark websites and then access them from anywhere. Users can also see websites that other users have bookmarked, some bookmarks can be made private. By using del.icio.us you can easily sync bookmarks as well as save interesting sites to be viewed later. The tagging features and Firefox extention make del.icio.us a must have for staying connected at work. You can subscribe to my del.icio.us feed HERE.
Evernote
Evernote is a recent addition to my list of tools, but it is quickly becomming one of my favorite applications. Evernote allows you to sync and search notes and images across your computers, the web, and your phone. To see how Evernote works check out THIS video. Evernote is currently in a closed beta but sign up on the site to receive an invitation as they require more users. Windows and Mac versions of Evernote software are available.
There are many more tools available, and several variations on the tools that I listed above. The best solution is to find what works for you and your company. Be sure not to break too many rules while using these tools, if you get in trouble don’t blame me.
People you see at a free all day outdoor country concert
This past Saturday I spent the day at an all day outdoor country concert. My girlfriend likes country music, and all of the lawn tickets were free so I decided to go along. During the show we saw many interesting people who decided to brave the 90+ degree heat, I have described some of these specimens below.
Country For a Day: Besides this one day of the year a cowboy hat never touches this persons head. Come the day of the concert they dress as though they grew up on a cattle farm. You could say they are trying to fit in, but they stand out because they try way too hard.
Overweight and Scantily Clad: Outdoor country concerts have the highest concentration of overweight people wearing clothes that would make a hooker blush. Large women in bikini tops and short shorts, large men in jean shorts, everything is here. If you wonder what a walrus would like like in a tube top, go to one of these shows.
Confederate Caped Crusader: Even though 99% of the people at the concert are from the north there are plenty of Confederate flags around. The Confederate Caped Crusader is genius enough to take that flag and turn it into a cape that he will then wear for the whole show. Other accessories include: confederate flag bandanna, confederate flag cowboy hat, and a confederate flag tattoo somewhere on their body.
Kool-Aid man: This gentleman never wears sunscreen, he also does not tan. His shirt will be off all day and he will take no steps to avoid the sun. By the end of the day he will be as red as the Kool-Aid guy. He will be diagnosed with skin cancer in a month.
Middle Aged Dancer: Drunk and standing this middle aged woman will dance her heart out to every song, even when nobody else is, and sometimes even without music. She is happy as can be and dunk as hell. Look for the embarrassed husband sitting next to her.
The Lesbian Couple: This one surprised me, considering country music fans are normally more conservative, but there were a few lesbian couples in the crowd. The problem is that these are not the sexy lesbians that appear in hot girl on girl porn. No these are redneck, overweight lesbians who no man in their right mind would want to see in porn. Beware that make out sessions can occur between the couple at any moment.
Captain America: This concert goer loves America more than his own mother. Captain America can normally be spotted by looking for the guy waking the large American flag on the end of a 10 foot pole. Captain America’s best friend is the Confederate Caped Crusader. Don’t try to hand him any Obama fliers.
Drunk Guy: Lots of people drink at these shows, this guy especially. Normally aged between 23 and 30 he is trying to hang onto his college years. He is loud and obnoxious and hits on every female in sight. By the end of the night he is puking in a Port-o-Potty.
Jailbait Girl: Don’t even think about it unless you want to do 10-15 in the state penitentiary. She may look 18-20 but she is not, she may tell you she is but steer clear. Don’t get thrown in jail over this one, she is just looking for free beer that she can’t yet buy herself.
The Bro: He is here for one reason and one reason only, to party. He will spend the first half of the day tailgating in the parking lot drinking Natty Ice with his “brahs” and the second half drinking $8 beers in the lawn section. He will get loud and obnoxious just like Drunk Guy. The difference is that he is packing a Frisbee and an Abercrombie polo with a popped collar and he isn’t afraid to use them. He knows two country songs and he will rock out to both of them as hard as he can.
There were many more people at the show and a lot of true stereotypes mad appearances. If you are ever brave enough to go to one of these shows be sure to be on the look out for these people. Hopefully you will stay safe and entertained with the information provided.
Please note: This list is not meant to offend anybody, lighten up.
Not going anywhere for a while?
My friend and I came up with an idea for a Snickers commercial, it was hilarious to us at the time but could still be funny to you. Please keep in mind as you read this that I have no idea how to type a screenplay or whatever you would call this.
Setting: Typical corner office.
Scene starts with camera looking at door as it slams open and an office worker charges in looking very concerned.
“Oh no not again. Quick somebody call 911!”
Camera changes to show more of the office. One the floor with Snickers wrappers strewn about is a desheveld looking employee with chocolate on his face sitting against a wall incoherent. Next to him are Snickers in a blender and blended Snickers in a syringe.
Office concerned office worker tries to arouse the junkie but to no avail.
Scene changes to a padded room with the junkie in a straight jacket rocking back and fourth. At first only his back/side is showing but the camera pans around towards his front. His face is still covered in chocolate.
“Not going anywhere for a while? Grab a Snickers”
*End*
I guess it was more of a “You had to be there” thing.