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December 27, 2008

Twitter is my RSS reader (and OtherInbox)

I read lots of RSS and blogs (I'll collectively refer to them as "feeds"), but I don't regularly use an RSS Reader. I've toyed around with Google Reader and with Bloglines but just never take the time to go browse them. I have some feeds bookmarked in Safari and Firefox but never take the time to look at those either.

For me, feeds can be easily grouped into three categories:

important - I want a chance to read or ignore every post
interesting - occasionally a post is interesting to me
one-off - a post caught my eye, but I probably won't read that blog again

I find that I prefer to read important feeds just like they were email messages. I want to see an "Inbox" with all of the new postings in these feeds and either read or delete each one. If I don't check them for a few days a bunch pile up, I want to be able to quickly browse the list of old posts to see if I missed anything interesting. Apple's Mail.app Program has a nice feature that lets you subscribe to RSS feeds in Mail and have them show up in your Inbox just like email messages. There are also other services out there such as RSSFwd that will let you "subscribe" to an RSS feed by email. I use my OtherInbox account for this - you can set up any RSS feed to automatically get delivered to an OtherInbox Mailbox just like email messages (similar to Mail.app).

The interesting feeds and the one-off feeds come to me through Twitter. I don't actually subscribe to the feeds, rather I depend on my network of Twitter friends to post links to blogs that are of interest to me. A big part of why I follow certain people is because they post useful links. Many people log into Bloglines or Google Reader to scan for interesting posts - I just watch my Twitter feed.

Posted at 04:14 PM in Blogging, OtherInbox, Social Media, Technology, Twitter | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

iPhone vs. G1 - Forget the Internet, which is a better phone?

Lets start off simply. What's it like to make a phone call on an Android G1 phone versus an Apple iPhone? I show the screenshots of exactly what you would see and then talk a bit about my experience with the headset, microphone, and speakerphone quality. Finally, I hit on the carrier issue - because you're not just choosing a phone - you're married to either T-Mobile or AT&T as well.

Both phones have similar interfaces for the basic functions of dialing a phone number by the digits or by selecting one of your existing contacts. Making a phone call is pretty much the same.

Android G1

Apple iPhone

(I redacted some phone numbers and email addresses)

Headset & Microphone

Both have loud, clear headsets that can easily be heard. Both have good microphones and everyone else can hear you. they work great as phones. The iPhone is about half as thin and lighter so I find it a bit nicer to hold, but that's a minor issue and a personal preference.

Speakerphone

Both have a speakerphone built-in, but neither would take the place of that Polycom at your office. Both are comparable, although the speaker on the G1 is a bit louder and the microphone on the iPhone seems to be a bit clearer. I remember my old Nextel had an excellent speakerphone so I would use it all the time. I don't find myself using it on these phones very much because the overall quality is just too low.

T-Mobile vs. AT&T

This is probably a bit of a religious issue. I mean, its not like any phone companies are actually GOOD are they? I have hated every phone company I've ever worked with (AT&T, Sprint, Nextel, T-Mobile). I have yet to try Virgin Mobile but I have high hopes that they could be different like the other Virgin brands.

It's hard to go wrong with AT&T. It is the original phone company after all. Coverage is really good and the 3G network is fast. There are stores everywhere. They work internationally. Even better, most of the time you don't have to deal with AT&T, you just deal directly with Apple.

BONUS! Dealing with Apple is a billion times better than dealing with a phone company. For those of you who aren't familiar, Apple is "genius" at customer service. You can schedule an in-store appointment at their "Genius Bar" from the web for the same day. Instead of hiding it in the back of the store, it's right in the middle where everyone can see it. The Apple techs are super helpful and if there is a problem, they will often just hand you a new phone. If you do need to ship something off, its fast.

T-Mobile has most of the same benefits of AT&T. Good coverage, lots of stores, international coverage. I'm not sure if their network is as fast - I'll do a separate post comparing the speed of the two.

The big thing they are missing is Apple - Google search is no replacement for Apple customer service. I'm sure that over time the community resources around the G1 will grow into something much better than today. However, I don't think it will ever match the Apple experience.

Conclusion

All other things being pretty equal, having Apple for customer service is the most significant factor in making me say that the iPhone is a better PHONE than the Android G1. I also like that its thinner and fits in my pocket better. So if you got rid of all the other functionality and all these could do is make phone calls, I'd go with an iPhone.

Posted at 09:20 AM in Android, Apple, Gadgets, Google, iPhone, iPhone vs G1, Reviews, Technology | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

December 26, 2008

Google G1 versus Apple iPhone

I definitely would qualify as an early adopter. I bought the original iPhone on the day it came out, and then the iPhone G3 on the day it came out. I tried to order the Google G-1 phone on the day it came out but had problems ordering from the T-Mobile website and took me until early November to get around to picking one up.

I'm so torn. I love Apple and I love Google. How's a geek to choose?

I've decided to put them head-to-head. I'm carrying both around and I have my GrandCentral account set up to ring both of them at the same time, allowing me to easily switch from one to the other. Too bad neither of them will let me listen to my GrandCentral voicemail messages...

I was trying to write up one master review and after more than a month I've decided to release it in smaller chunks (so that it actually gets released). Each blog post will focus on a particular aspect, such as making calls, taking a photo, download speed, or typing.

In addition to the normal tags, everything in this thread will be tagged "iPhone vs G1".

Posted at 05:02 PM in Android, Apple, Gadgets, Google, iPhone, iPhone vs G1, Reviews, Technology | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

December 20, 2008

Road Runner is putting ads in your DNS

As a sign of the times, my cable modem Internet service from Time Warner's Road Runner now is serving a Yahoo search page instead of generating a proper DNS error when you mistype a web page URL. If you're on Road Runner, try clicking on this link as an example.

Network Solutions tried this a few years ago and got so much bad press that the canned the program within a short period of time.

While I was initially frustrated by this, I was happy and impressed to see the opt-out link at the bottom of the page. Clicking on the opt-out brought me to a page that allowed me to turn this off and go back to the standard (and proper) behavior.

If you use Road Runner, I recommend you click on this link and opt-out now.

Clicking on the opt-out link takes you to this preferences page:

After opting-out, your error page should look like this:

Posted at 12:50 PM in Current Affairs, Privacy, Technology, Web Tools | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

December 04, 2008

Coffee for education

Buy a holiday mug. Get FREE coffee for one week. Support children's education. It's that easy!

Coffee for Education brings some of Austin's best independent coffee houses together to benefit The University of Texas Elementary in east Austin. The money raised through this fundraiser will go directly to medical supplies and the nurse's office.

Support these children and the school! Just stop into a participating coffee house to pick up your Coffee for Education mug imprinted with a "Hook 'em Horns" snowman drawn by one of UTES's very own students. Each mug also has a handmade gift tag that is personally signed by a 4th grade student too - SO cute and a great gift idea!

Mugs will be available for purchase December 4th through December 25th and are only $15 each. Buy now and receive a FREE cup of coffee daily for one week, December 7th-13th, when you bring your mug into one of the participating coffee houses.

About The University of Texas Elementary School has been providing exemplary education to a mostly low income and minority population since 2003. The school is distinguished by its innovative teaching methods, giving these children an outstanding education. These children also face many hardships outside of school that at times create obstacles to getting an education. Through it all, these kids are resilient and want to learn even in the midst of it all and THAT is quite inspiring! For more information on the school, visit: http://www.utexas.edu/provost/elementary/about/index.html

PARTICIPATING COFFEE HOUSES: Texenza Coffee (10 locations), JP's Java, Caffe Medici, Hot Mama's, Bossa Nova, Genuine Joe, Flipnotics (2 locations), Sodade and Little City.

100% of the purchase price will benefit the school. In the spirit of the season, this truly is a gift that gives - twice - to you and the students!

Posted at 05:13 PM in Austin, Philanthropy | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Man seeks Entrepreneur

(I'm reposting this message for a friend and fellow entrepreneur, Barry Thornton)

Hello co-Brainiacs, I am engaged in a search for an Entrepreneur and though you might have some leads.

A couple of months ago I invented a device that does a very good job of converting wind or water into electricity. I did the patent search and reached the conclusion that it is mine (of course filing a patent helped). Built a rough prototype to verify that it works, it does. It is very simple and low cost in nature, efficient, has very low manufacturing tolerances (low precision, it will work in dusty and dirty environments, even underwater, with very little maintenance or skill (the old AK47 idea)), and can be mostly built from typically indigenous materials (wood, bamboo, local cloth, etc). Only high-tech stuff is some simple magnets, copper wire, and very common/simple electronic parts (although the performance goes up a lot with a bit more real high tech parts).

I came up with it while thinking about energy in third world countries. The economic model was to license the technology for local fabrication and sale. I later realized that employing Seth Godin's Tribe model would work well for selling finished units in First World countries such as ours, and that the generator part of it will work well on things like small water wheels etc. so there are several products to offer.

It is ideal for a bootstrap entrepreneur; I will provide the product development, engineering, and documentation. I will also work this the marketing and collaterals. I have contacts in India and Pakistan and can get relationships in China. I know how to get relationships for licensing and fabrication set up there. I am working on a pilot program in Pakistan to verify the veracity of the indigenous part of the claims I have made.

What I don't have the time to build and run the company to do it.

I contacted Bijoy Goswami of Bootstrap fame (I really like his group) but after some interviews realized that they are on a discover journey and I need someone with moxie and experience to take advantage of this.

The relationship I am looking for puts me in a minority position, that is I want someone else to assume helm, the run the show, and thus earn the big rewards but behind the scenes I can help make it all work and will certainly do much of the evangelism needed.

Thus I put my need to you. Any ideas?

You can reach Barry at barrythornton1 [at] gmail.com

Posted at 03:29 PM in Austin, Entrepreneurship, IdeaHose, Science, Technology | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)