Category: product endorsements

review #1 – MacBook

On By Rick McIn Apple, audiocasts, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Still using my old Powerbook as the work horse.

But slowly I’m shifting my iLife to the new MacBook laptop. (iLife is music, audiocasts, photos and video.)

Worst thing about the MacBook?

Some of my old software does not work with the MacBook Intel chip.

Best feature?

The Magsafe power connector.

magsafesmall.jpg

David Pogue, tech columnist at the New York Times, has listed his favorite product features of 2006. This list is all about the small touches on products that really make you think that someone thought about these items before they tried selling them.

One Apple feature made it on the list, and I must agree with the good Mr. Pogue on this one. The Magsafe connector is a marvel of technology. As David points out there is no ‘right side’ on the plug, and it pops out if the cord is jerked instead of dashing your MacBook, or MacBook Pro, on the floor.

Pogue’s Top Ten new product features of 2006 – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Obama/Clinton Race On

On By Rick McIn government, product endorsementsLeave a comment

obama_clinton.jpgHillary could be good, I think.

But this blog is throwing it’s support behind Barack Obama despite knowing almost nothing about him.

Sheer bandwagoneering.

I like the groundswell of popular support. Reminds me of Nehru in 1947. India’s first Prime Minister also thought he got too popular, too fast. With too little experience.

I haven’t liked a politician since Roy Romanow. Obama seems a guy I could like.

Certainly the Democrats need a candidate that can win. Worst case scenario would be to have another Republican. It’s time that dirty Party cleaned house.

According to a new Concord Monitor poll, Senator Hillary Clinton is leading Senator Barack Obama by a slight margin among likely voters in the state’s 2008 Democratic presidential primary.

The poll found Clinton leading Obama 22 to 21 percent in New Hampshire. Last month, Clinton was leading the Illinois Democrat by 23 points in a Monitor poll.

But Obama has quickly made up ground in the polls since speaking to a Manchester crowd two weeks ago. And, a Democratic activist said he is not surprised with the new poll since Obama got five days of intense media coverage in New Hampshire.
…

On the Republican side, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain are about even, while Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is at 10 percent.

Obama/Clinton Race On

new member of the family – MacBook

On By Rick McIn Apple, product endorsementsLeave a comment

I bought a MacBook from the Canadian Apple store.

It was a “refurbished” unit sold at discount. My cost was C$929. It retails at $1249. The full warranty applies. My refurb laptop looked brand new though the power supply and some other items had been previously opened.

It’s always a good idea to WAIT on computer purchases. Even a week or two can get you a much better deal due to Moore’s Law.

But my move was forced by an upcoming trip to Australia. I wanted to take two computers with my many photos, videos and presentations — so as to have a perfect backup in case of hardware problems with one or the other.

It’s interesting to note that my laptop purchase costs have been dropping. For the past 3 machines I paid $3000, then $2000, now $1000.

On the other hand, the life span of my laptops seems to be dropping from 3yrs to 2yrs.

macbook.gif

As expected, the MacBook is gorgeous. I will report back later on function.

Google blog search

On By Rick McIn blogs, Google, product endorsementsLeave a comment

g_bsrch_logo.gif

People search blogs only (rather than all of Google) when they are looking for information more personal, up-to-the-minute and sometimes more relevant.

The BIG blog search engine is Technorati.

A number of competitors are closing the gap. Actually — all simultaneously trying to solve the problem of SPAM blogs appearing in their results.

I got interested when Google first announced a blog search engine. But it was terrible.

But I’m hearing buzz on the blogosphere that Google is improving quickly. After all, they are the best in search, you’d think they’d be the best in blog search.

Give it a try. Look for something very specific, like an unusual name or place or product.

Google Blog Search

hand-built website – $250

On By Rick McIn internet, product endorsementsLeave a comment

250.jpgI saw an interview with Shaun Andrews, the young guy behind XHTMLGenius.

He is going to do well.

Look at the pitch.

Get a unique, modern, standards compliant website in 3-days.

For sure site designers are going to sub-contract to him at this price.

XHTMLGenius.com // XHTML and CSS coding services for designers

my next phone – the Pearl?

On By Rick McIn Apple, internet, product endorsementsLeave a comment

165552.jpgApple phone? Google phone?

Or the one that is already here?

The ranks of BlackBerry-tapping customers swelled 14 per cent to more than seven million in the past three months, and should touch nearly eight million by the end of this quarter, RIM executives said yesterday. As the number of BlackBerry users increased, profit climbed 47 per cent and sales jumped 49 per cent from a year earlier, the company said.

About 875,000 new BlackBerry accounts were opened on phone networks in RIM’s third quarter ended Dec. 2, almost 10 per cent more than senior management had forecast in September. Yesterday, RIM officials set a target of another 975,000 net additions by the beginning of March.

globeandmail.com: RIM profit soars on Pearl sales

YouTube only 1 year old?

On By Rick McIn internet, product endorsementsLeave a comment

youtube_logo.jpgWhat did I do before YouTube?

(Can’t remember that far back.)

Video on the Web isn’t new—Nor are tagging, commenting on, or linking to videos. But combine those elements and make it easier than ever to play and upload video clips, and you have something that’ll take the Web by storm.

Officially launched in December 2005, YouTube did just that in the space of one short year. Sure, you can watch only so many clips of college students lip-syncing Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.” But now instead of trying to describe that hilarious Daily Show episode to your friends, you can send them a link.

Instead of sending your relatives a 5MB QuickTime file of your baby’s first steps, you can simply upload your video and send out a URL. Groups, channels, playlists, and subscriptions make it easy to share your videos with the world. And it still doesn’t cost a dime.

Macworld: 2006 Eddy Awards – YouTube

chat for groups: Campfire

On By Rick McIn internet, product endorsementsLeave a comment

campfirelogo.gifHighly recommended is a web based service called Campfire.

Read the description below … or do what I do. Simply watch the 5-minute video demo. It’s a much more efficient use of your time.

>>> Campfire video tour

Campfire is a web-based group chat tool that lets you set up password-protected chat rooms in just seconds. Invite a client, colleague, or vendor to chat, collaborate, and make decisions. Link to a room on your intranet for internal communications.

… Chatting, file sharing, image previewing, decision making, etc. Up to 60 people can chat at once. You can even browse previous chats by person, room, or date.

Instant messaging is great for one-on-one chats, but it’s not ideal for groups of three or more. Further, instant messaging is network dependent — if you are on AIM, and your co-worker is on MSN or Skype, you can’t instant message. Campfire is network-agnostic, optimized for groups, and only requires a web browser.

Business chat for groups: Campfire

I want to try it the next time I am involved in a group project.

best RSS reader for “Rich Media”?

On By Rick McIn blogs, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Splashcast likes Google Reader best (sort of) but it still falls short of his dream RSS reader.

Playing audio and video from within the reader is still a problem.

Summary of Recommendations

As a Mac user, I’m going to spend more time with NewsFire on my desktop. If I was a Windows user and wanted to consume video inline and needed a river of news view – I would cry. If rich media is more important to you then go with Google Reader. If a river of news is more important then go with FeedDemon.

What’s the Best RSS Reader for Rich Media? « SplashCast – Social Media Syndication

what is the best site to upload your videos?

On By Rick McIn product endorsementsLeave a comment

Joel Williams on lifegoggles.com has expanded his research into online video sharing software and even put together a downloadable free ebook on the topic.

I am still using YouTube but looking at other options. (Certainly YouTube is not the best on Joel’s list.)

video sharing comparison matrix – Life Goggles