Confessions of a Tech Junkie

[Site] Hiatus

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:33:57 -0400

I am afraid that this site will be on indefinite hiatus henceforth, due to demands on my time. If you’re interested in picking up the project, by all means let me know. Thanks to all of you who have read the site at any point. If you wish to keep up with me, check out http://www.creativeanomalies.com and http://www.creativeanomalies.com/blog.

[Site] My Laptop, Now In 10.6

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:00:29 -0400

This isn’t really site news, but it’s definitely more personal than anything else. Last week I upgraded to Snow Leopard, and while I do not have the time at the moment to any sort of exhaustive review, here are a few of my thoughts.

Speed is a big selling point. I noticed a significant improvement in regular functioning, as well as a very noticeable improvement in startup/shutdown times.
Love the new wallpapers.
Easy eject is nice - no more problems ejecting my external when I’m in a big hurry.
64-bit processing has no real effect on me, but maybe farther down the road.
Oh god, QuickTime X! The YouTube integration is a little messy, but expect a short video snippit coming your way in the near future. I love this app, and Apple has done wonders with it.

That’s all for now folks. Perhaps a screencast will soon find its way to a blog near you…

[Apple] New iTunes, Nano from Apple

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:55:34 -0400

Today Apple released iTunes 9 and a host of upgrades to the iPod lineup. Among the upgrades is a video camera slapped onto the iPod Nano. This one was not a big surprise, but many, including me, are shocked that the iPod Touch received no such treatment. Head on over to Gadget Lab or Gizmodo to see some liveblogs and more details (pretty pictures and some nifty hands-on stuff) on what Apple is bringing to the table.

I’m intrigued by the Nano but bummed that the Touch is getting no love whatsoever. They made a point of selling it as a gaming device, which is a fine strategy, but it can be so much more! Sure, it got some space upgrades and some price cuts. But I want a camera and a mic! Now!

[Mac] Snow Leopard Drops Friday

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:29:50 -0400

You should certainly already know this, but Mac OS X 10.6 is coming on Friday. Mine is already pre-ordered… Keep in mind that some programs may not be compatible!

[Firefox] Vacuum Firefox databases for better performance, now with no restart - Mozilla Links

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:26:45 -0400

[Firefox] Vacuum Firefox databases for better performance, now with no restart - Mozilla Links:

This is a very handy, very usable tip. It will most definitely improve Firefox 3’s performance.

[Google Reader] Supercharge Google Reader with Send To Links - Google Reader - Lifehacker

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:41:17 -0400

[Google Reader] Supercharge Google Reader with Send To Links - Google Reader - Lifehacker:

For Google Reader users, this is an absolute must. These custom “Send To’s” will make it much easier to share your favorite news items.

Many thanks, Lifehacker!

[Site] Limited Availability

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:46:31 -0400

My internet access and free time are severely restricted for the next week or two, so expect delays and infrequent postings. As usual.

[College Hacks] 10 Must-Dos for the First Week of College - College - Lifehacker

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:00:28 -0400

[College Hacks] 10 Must-Dos for the First Week of College - College - Lifehacker:

Lifehacker’s Back to School week brings us this excellent list of ten things to get your school year off to a good start. After two years of learning these the hard way I heartily endorse their adoption by all parties. Trust me - they’ll make your life much easier. Especially a cave. Caves are great for productive bursts.

[Backups] Time Drive Does Incremental Backup Across Networks - Backup - Lifehacker

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:41:51 -0400

[Backups] Time Drive Does Incremental Backup Across Networks - Backup - Lifehacker:

Time Drive is a handy backup tool that helps set up remote backups for any operating system. I haven’t used it, but it seems nice.

[Music] Grooveshark

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:23:13 -0400

Grooveshark is a pretty nifty music streaming site. I’m still a fan of Last.fm first and foremost, but Grooveshark isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. It’s integrated nicely into several other webapps and provides a pretty decent recommendation engine. I also like that you can build, save, and embed queues (what they call playlists). Give it a rumble.

[Tea] Steepster

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:30:24 -0400

[Tea] Steepster:

Yes, it is odd for me to be writing about tea here. Nonetheless, here I am writing about tea. Or more precisely, a tea website. Steepster is a social networking site directed at tea drinkers, and I think it’s kinda fun. Each user gets a tealog and profile (username.steepster.com) and can pick out the teas he or she has drunk, plus make a shopping list. I’ve only been using it for about five minutes, so I’m not sure how it will turn out in the long run but so far I like it.

[Lifehacker] Fluther and a Shoutout

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:50:38 -0400

Lifehacker recently reviewed the Q&A site Fluther. I recently started to use Fluther and was quite taken with it. Because I liked it so much, I sent a tip to Lifehacker and suggested they check it out. They took me up on it and posted a review, complete with a “Thank you Will!” at the bottom. Believe me, I’m thrilled. I’m also now indirectly responsible for taking down a website, since the traffic surge killed Fluther for a few hours that day.

In other news, Fluther is great! The community is (usually) nice and the moderators are pretty active. The questions range from serious to just plain silly, and it’s always a treat to see what’s new. They have a rating system, so great questions and answers earn the asker/answerer points. The more questions you ask/answer the more Fluther knows about you, so the site selects questions it thinks may interest you. All in all, a nice site that’s a lot of fun.

[Google] I have Google Voice!

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:22:33 -0400

I received a Google Voice invite last week, and am now completely set up with my very own number. Give me a ring at (510) 972-4841 and I’ll ignore your call. That way, you can leave a voice message and the transcription service can try to get down whatever you say. And it will be wrong. Oh well.

Anyway, Google Voice is a great service for those in need of call filtering, etc. I like the groups, customizable features, and the ability to link multiple phone lines. I’m less cool about Google having more of my information, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay for the moment. I’m also signed up for a Google Wave invite in September…

[Organization] Erik A. Dewey - The Big Book

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:31:10 -0400

[Organization] Erik A. Dewey - The Big Book:

The Big Book is a handy, printable, free book that helps you keep track of all kinds of important information. A lot of it seems to be related to what to do in the event of your (the user’s) demise. Morbid, but useful.

Thanks to Lifehacker.

[Music] SweetFM Brings LastFM to Your Desktop, Saves Songs to iTunes - Last.fm - Lifehacker

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:17:34 -0400

[Music] SweetFM Brings LastFM to Your Desktop, Saves Songs to iTunes - Last.fm - Lifehacker:

SweetFM is a great theory, but I find that it’s pretty buggy. Still, if you can get it to work, imagine the possibilities…

Thanks to Lifehacker.

[Gears] Google Gears Officially Updated for Firefox 3.5 - google gears - Lifehacker

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:28:30 -0400

[Gears] Google Gears Officially Updated for Firefox 3.5 - google gears - Lifehacker:

Great news! For all you who, like me, have been pining after offline Gmail, Gcal, and Gdocs access after the big Firefox upgrade, take heart! Google Gears has now updated for Firefox 3.5, and it is a thing of beauty…

Check out my excellent Twitter homepage. I’m really...

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:01:14 -0400

Check out my excellent Twitter homepage. I’m really enjoying the Asian art (couldn’t tell you what kind of Asian art, so I won’t try). It works pretty well with the color scheme I’ve got going. In fact, it’s just plain excellent. I wish I could tell you where I found the wallpaper but I really don’t remember :’(

[Chrome OS] Woot : 11 Undocumented Features Of Google Chrome OS

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:17:14 -0400

[Chrome OS] Woot : 11 Undocumented Features Of Google Chrome OS:

From my friend Dave (not the Dave who actually wrote this) we get this treasure. Seriously, I would expect each and every one of these to be true.

[Chrome OS] Gizmodo - Giz Explains: What the Hell's Google Chrome OS? - chrome os

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:16:00 -0400

[Chrome OS] Gizmodo - Giz Explains: What the Hell's Google Chrome OS? - chrome os:

You probably already know all about the Google Chrome OS by now, but if you are not sure what has everyone so excited then check out Gizmodo’s wonderful explanation. I think they’ve reasoned out the potential pros and cons of the OS, and color me excited.

[Gmail] Official Gmail Blog: Gmail leaves beta, launches "Back to Beta" Labs feature

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:01:26 -0400

[Gmail] Official Gmail Blog: Gmail leaves beta, launches "Back to Beta" Labs feature:

Google Apps have left beta! Talk about exciting. Exciting in that the forever beta label is gone, though it really doesn’t mean much for every day functionality. Enjoy your non-beta apps!