Archive for January, 2009

iPhoto '09

I’ve only been playing with iLife ‘09 for a little while, really only iPhoto, i haven’t touched the other apps yet.  I’m really digging the face recognition and the new transitions for slideshows.

You can also view a demo Apple has on the site as well as the other features.

Yo-Yo Ma has a first gen iPhone?

TUAW posted a picture of Yo-Yo Ma snapping a picture of the inauguration on his first gen iPhone.  Make sure to check out the scope of the picture at the bottom of the article.  Very cool stuff.

Doogie Howser, MD

So I usually don’t watch SNL that often any more.  But a friend just showed this to me and I thought it was pretty awesome, having watched Doogie back in the day.

Keep the Blackberry? What about the iPhone?

So, we’ve all heard or read by now about President Obama’s personal victory of keeping his Blackberry Crackberry.  Another story that has been making the news is about how the staff is shocked and dismayed about the lack of Macs and laptops in the White House.

My question: where’s the iPhone, Mr. President?

Google Short Links

One of my favorite new Apps from Google is their new Short Links app.

If you’re familiar with TinyURL.com then you’re already familiar with the concept.

Google’s Short Links lets you use your own domain that you have set up with Google Apps (free for small businesses and personal websites for less than 50 users).  The free version of Google Apps is ad supported but in my opinion, for the ease of use and features, I’ll deal with some ads.

One of the nice things is that unlike TinyURL, you’re able to view the number of clicks using each link and you’re also able to delete the link.  Deleting the redirect could be especially useful in the use of business promos, limited time offers, etc… or if the website has been deleted or changed.

My main use I think will be emailing articles as such which would turn http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/21/apple_tv_sales_rise_300_will_see_continued_investment.html into something like http://links.gjp82.com/fdqlq or http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/griffin-wave-case-for-iphone-3g/ into http://links.gjp82.com/wave.

Right now, Short Links is in the “Labs” so hopefully we won’t see its demise anytime soon and it becomes a “graduate.”

Shocked but not surprised…

I’m shocked but not surprised to learn that the NSA, based on this report, has spied not just on selected individuals but also on everyone.


I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the monitoring went even further to instant messages, text messages, public places, etc…  We’ll see if the Obama administration will respond directly to this or if it will let the Bush holdovers do the talking.

Yet another reason not to use file sharing services…

Today on TUAW, they reported that BitTorrent copies of iWork ‘09 may contain a Trojan.  It also installed something that sounds like it should be there, iWorkServices.

Read the full story and just shell out the few bucks for legit software.

Welcome to office, Mr. President

Congratulations, Mr. President on being sworn in as our nation’s 44th leader.

Will Google kill GrandCentral?

Back in October, I posted about GrandCentral, a VoIP company that Google had bought.  Since Google acquired the company, I noted that there had been no noticeable changes and even sadder, no blog updates since April 2008.

It seems as if CNET may be lumping GrandCentral in with the next batch of projects that are going to get the axe.  I personally hope not!

It’s odd to me that the article is linked to by another article saying that Google is growing up and that the tweaks show an end of adolescence.  I think that it’s more a case that the economy is causing companies to do what they don’t want to.  Google can not continue the growth and keep their dominance if they start acting like a so-called “grown up” company.  It’s the innovation and willingness to try new things that may not necessarily work or find their place in the mainstream.  If they give that up, I’ll be waiting on the next new thing that will be what Google was/is to Yahoo.

iFrogz Luxe Case for iPhone 3G MIA

I lent my Luxe case for the iPhone 3G to a friend to check it out for a few days.  I’m pretty sure he’s going to order one but I really don’t like letting my phone go naked.  A while ago, I posted about how I usually don’t put cases on my phones but since I got my iPhone 3G and my Luxe case, I haven’t taken it off except to dust it off.  I’ve also kept my Invisible Shield on it, which I must admit is my second one since I took the first one off to try a few other options.

In the comments thread on a post about the iFrogz, I made note that I also bought iFrogz Silicone Sleeve and was not impressed.  That was definitely my knee jerk reaction and I didn’t even attempt to live with that case for even a few hours.

A coworker decided to let his iPhone go naked for a while and lent me his Switch Easy Rebel, black on black.  He’s had it on his phone for a while and I’ve heard similar complaints in reviews and from other places that the bottom of the Rebel starts to sag.  This is definitely true.  So, I’m going to give the iFrogz Silicone Sleeve another shot and I’ll let you know how it goes – at least until I get my Luxe back.