David Pogue, NY Times Technology Columnist, posted a story recently about using various information services over your cell phone (or your home phone). One of these services is a 411 service and all of them are free to use (text messaging costs may apply).

Those services are:

1. Goog411 - 411 Service
2. ChaCah - Over the Phone Search Service
3. Jott - Personal Notes Service

The killer service is Goog411. Your home phone provider and your mobile phone provider typically charge to use their 411 service, as much as two bucks per search. Some charge extra to send you a text message or to connect you to the phone number that your searching for. Goog411 is free to search with, free to connect with and free to get a text message. I’ve tried it and it works great. I’m going to save it into my phone for easy use when I need it. On their website there is a video that shows you how to use the service. You can search by name or by category, all you need is a city and state. You can even get a map! All you have to do is say “Map It!” You will get a link to a map (if you phone has internet service) as well as the address and phone number. If you only have text messaging, just say “Details!” It’s that easy! Really, I it is. (You can watch the YouTube video on YouTube --->Click Here)

If you happen to have an iPhone or BlackBerry, Goog411 is really rocking!

Below are links to Mr. Pogue’s video netcast and NY Times article.

Fee Voice-Activated Phone Services (Video)
Cell Services Keep It Easy, and Free (Article)

Tags: Google, Web Services, David Pogue, NY Times

I've waited a little while before posting my personal review of the iPhone. While the phone was released more than six months ago, it still garners a great deal of attention and hype. The iPhone seems to have a following that is nearly as polarized as American politics. People seem to either think it a wonderful device that at the very least changes the face of mobile telephony for ever or that it's just a phone that while pretty is missing key features. While detractors are correct in that some features other phones have the iPhone is missing; they miss the simple fact that the iPhone has the features most people want and does them very well. Best of all, the key function "phone calls" work terrifically; and it is after all a PHONE.

Until someone has actually used the IPhone it's very hard to describe how different the experience is from other so called "Smart" phones, or any mobile phone. I can say this after using both Blackberries and Windows Mobile devices as well as many other phones. Most phones have lots of features, yet do few of them well and most poorly. These features seem added by the marketing department first and then rushed through the engineering department to meet a long decided release date. In stark contrast, the features of the iPhone seem to have been thoroughly thought out by both marketers and engineers then compromises made with the end user in mind. Some features were seemingly left out, while others were added with missing components; both of which Apple new could be added later and since the phones release Apple has done 3 updates, two bringing feature enhancements. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: iPhone, iTunes

I know what you are thinking.... Time has drunk the Apple iPhone kook-aid. Read the article before you make your decision. I think Time makes some very good points and while I don't know if it should be the invention of the year, only because I don't follow enough of the invention tech news to say, I do believe it has to be at the very least one of the inventions of the year. If you just want to talk about inventions with presense, then yep the iPhone wins hands down.

Read the article, and decide!

Time: iPhone Invention of the Year

Tags: iPhone, Apple

This just doesn't make any sense to me, none at all. Maybe because I am Mac Head, or maybe because technology comes to me as easy as swimming comes to a fish; but why on Earth would anyone pay $59 (regularly $129) to have someone else install OS X? Not only that, the $59 price is only with the purchase of a new Mac. I realize that Leopard won't be pre-installed on Best Buy Macs yet, but upgrading from Tiger to Leopard on a brand new Mac should be one of the easiest things a new Mac owners does on their shiny new Mac.

I know that Windows installs are cryptic and upgrades even more so, but Apple has made upgrading pretty damn easy. I tell folks to do a fresh install (which is a pretty damn easy), but an upgrade on a Mac is nothing like an upgrade on a PC. For fresh installs or moving from an old Mac to a new Mac users have Migration Assistant which is simple and I'm told has been made even easier.

To me this looks like Best Buy and Geek Squad milking the uninformed for $59 or worse, $129.

NOTE TO NEW MAC PURCHASERS --- If you live in a town or near a town with an Apple Store, they will not only install the New OS, but they will also help you migrate all of your documents from your old computer. They will even migrate you from a PC!

I love Best Buy and think their deal with Apple is beyond fantastic; hey it puts an Apple Store near my house in Wylie, but this to me is just ridiculous.

Tags: Apple, Mac OS

The reviews are in, and they are pretty good. Not as much news coverage as I expected, but from what I am reading the major news outlets, but general and industry specific seem to think that Apple has released a solid product that offers most users enough reason to at least consider purchasing the upgrade. This is in stark contrast to Windows Vista reviews, both upon original release and even today.

Time Machine is what most reviews are discussing, along with the visual tweaks. Spaces also gets some coverage; but what everyone mentions is the price $129, and most compare that to the Vista price; which for all the bells and whistles is significantly more and comes in a multitude of flavors with upgrade & full installs for each. If anything, Apple is about keeping it simple.

• ABC News
• MSNBC
• Macworld
• PCWorld
• The Guardian
• The New York Times
• The Wall Street Journal
• USA Today
• PC Magazine (Initial Review, Full Review Coming)
• ars technica (Really Long and Very Detailed Review)
• CNET (Includes Video First Look)

Update: Added ars technica review and CNET links

Tags: Apple, Mac OS

It's finally here, Mac OS 10.5; also known as Mac OS X Leopard. For those of you that are not Mac heads, THIS IS A REALLY BIG EVENT. More so than a new notebook model, desktop model, iPhone or yes even iPod. Why? Simple, this is something nearly every Macintosh owner can experience. Not everyone can buy a new computer, but for only $129 (cheaper if they shop around) they can purchase new features and enable their beautiful computer to wonderful new things. Some they will experience as soon as the upgrade is done, others as developers take advantage of the new features.

If you are not big into Macs and Apple you will have a hard time truly understanding the significance of this OS release. When Vista came out there was much to do about nothing. Yes Vista has been in development for more than 5 years and yes it has lots of pretty new options, but current computer owners weren't clamoring to upgrade from Windows XP. An OS that with all of its flaws, was mature and worked very well for 99.99% of the user community. Vista, like Windows 2000 and even XP, came out of the gate with a host of problems and nearly a year after Vista's release; it still has problems.

The Mac OS X release is a totally different story. While yes Tiger, the previous release (Leopard is the current), is an extremely stable and capable OS users are clamoring to get their hands on the new version. Part of that clamoring is related to the Cult de Mac that eventually infects most Mac owners, part of that clamoring is that Mac owners know that with a new OS release new functionality is both here today and is coming tomorrow. 300 new features, many of those are building blocks for Apple and 3rd party developers to do amazing things with the applications that will be released in the coming months. The applications that make you go "WOW" I didn't know my computer could do that! With Windows, there isn't often an application that is released that blows your mind away, at least not one that costs under $100.

Why? Well, for most PC users the computer is a tool, maybe a necessity. It is utilitarian in nature. For a most Mac users the computer is an extension of their personal selves. It's sleek and sexy and stands for all that is right in the world. Okay, i may be overstating things a little; but not much. Mac users believe it is as much about form as it is function; and reliable, has to be reliable. OS X is an extension of that belief, and the applications than run on OS X play right into the hands of that belief and foster that belief. Amazingly, mostly done by small developers with applications costing well under $100. (Entry Continues) Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, Mac OS

I recently wrote a letter to David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times, in which I asked in my own unique way to please look a little deeper at the new iPods from Apple. My cheif concern being that in order to watch video on your TV you apparently have to purchase a special cable from Apple. If you are a new iPod user that's not a horrible thing, but if you are a current user your current set-up has to be trashed and replaced with a new one.

Personally I think the MPAA is at the heart of this situation. I bet if we dig deep we will find this cable will inhibit copying or some such other nonsense.

Mr. Pogue,

I just read your article, Making Over the iPod, Again; and while I enjoyed the article and agreed with your points, but  you glossed over the $50 cable debacle; not stopping to inform your readers that apparently deep in the labs of Castle Apple Corp scientists designed a way to teather the new iPods to Apple cables, only.

Letter Continues... Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Letter, David Pogue, iPods, Apple

If you see me taking pictures, you might notice a big white thingy (highly technical term) on top of my camera. You might think it is some jimmy rigged contraption to keep my flash from falling off. In fact it is designed to help improve flash photography by diffusing and shaping the light of a high powered flash, like my Canon 430EX.

I received it a few weeks as a birthday gift from Tracy and I love it! Now, that being said i am still figuring out how this "thingy" works and how to get the very best results. I'm getting better and have learned a few things so far, like setting the camera on 100% manual and slowing the shutter speed down to 1/30", which is incredibly slow and works incredibly well.

You can see a sample photo I took a few blog posts below, a photo of my dad. It's not perfect, but better than i could get without the Whale Tail. Gary Fong, inventor of the Whale Tail, has created a very cool accessory for any high powered flash. Being universal, it will work across the Canon, Nikon and other camera company's flashes. Considering the cost of a flash, the price of the Whale Tail is pretty reasonable. That's not to say cheap, but it is also something that a photography can use for years.

Tags: Photography, Tracy

Amazing... in 74 days Apple has taken the mobile phone world by storm... and they are only selling them in the United States and only to AT&T (formally Cingular) customers. As the quick press release states below, it took Apple nearly two years to sell one million iPods. Again, I say, simply amazing and a testament to not only the coolness and functionality of the iPhone; but the wizards of Apple marketing. Just makes you want to go out and help them reach 1.5 million phones, doesn't it?

Apple Sells One Millionth iPhone --- Yesterday, just 74 days after its introduction on June 29, Apple sold the one millionth iPhone. “One million iPhones in 74 days—it took almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers this holiday season.” [Sep 10, 2007]

Tags: iPhone, Apple

If you are new to the Mac or just researching buying a Mac, one big question on your mind is SOFTWARE. The story you hear is that there isn't any software for the Mac; and what software there is, just really isn't that good. Well, I'm hear to tell you that if you have hear that awful story, rest assured it is a total lie.

Are their more software titles for Windows? Are there some great software titles for Windows? While both of these questions are answered with "yes," it doesn't hold that there aren't many apps for the Mac. Truth be told, there are many GREAT applications for Mac OS X. Many are only available on the Mac. Many will make you wonder why you didn't switch sooner.

All that being said, the hardest thing about moving to a new platform is knowing what applications you just have to try. Below is a list of software that I consider essential, or at least worth trying. This list, long though it is, doesn't come close to showing the shear volume of software available.

Here is a List of Great Mac OS X Applications: Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, Mac OS, Software

If you haven't heard about the iPhone yet, then you may have been visiting Siberia or maybe even the Amazon. Apple says that the iPhone will re-invent the mobile phone industry. Cingular is betting that hundreds of thousands of people will want one in the early days of the release, and that with their multi-year exclusive agreement Apple fans will become Cingular fans; or at least Cingular customers. To be honest, in the Apple or more specifically Macintosh community, the iPhone has got to be the hottest topic around; hotter even than Mac OS X 10.5 which was apparently delayed by Apple in favor of throwing more resources at the iPhone.

Check Out The iPhone Ads

Why is it such a hot item? Well, for starters it is a phone based strongly on the hottest selling handheld music & video device ever, the iPod. Apple has sold over 30 million iPods and re-invigorated the music industry, while also creating a huge iPod accessory industry to boot. Just stop and think how many consumer electronic devices have specifically named attachments for most major car companies higher end cars; just one Apple.

Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Mobile Phones

I love the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads. This is a pretty funny spoof of those commercials. Enjoy!

Tags: Apple, Video, Ads

I found this useful article link on Digg.com. The website is one I hadn't seen before, LowEndMac.com. If you own a Mac with OS X, it is a useful read. Some of it you may know, other information may be new to you.

"Every now and then, my Macs begin to feel a little sluggish. There are many potential reasons why: I tend to run 8-10 applications all the time - and sometimes push 15 or more. This alone will bog down any Mac. At other times, I realize that it's been weeks since I restarted the computer, and a simple restart will solve a lot of these woes. When those don't speed things up, I've found a number of things I can do to encourage my Macs back to their youthful snappiness. Here are a few tips I've found for restoring my Macs to full speed without spending a penny." Check Out the Article

Tags: Apple

There are levels of coolness in Technology. They range from "man this is so cool to look at it, but I can't imagine what I would use it for," to "man this is so cool it could save the universe from the alien incursion!" For that last one, think Independance Day. Well, Google Maps on your computer is some where in the middle. I use it all the time to check directions and use the satellite maps to check landmarks to aid me in finding whatever I want to find. I've also used Google Maps in home searching and just checking up various locations around the world. It's just plain fun and pretty useful. The single biggest drawback is that you can't take the functionality with you. You can print out the maps and images, but if your plans change or you need to reroute due to traffic, your are on your own. Unless you have Google Mobile Maps.
Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Google, Mobile Phones, Maps

I didn't partake in the Oscar festivities this year, although I'm sure my mom did, but I did hear a rumor that Apple would release their first commercial for the iPhone. This was one rumor that turned out to be 100% true! The commercial isn't really about anything and you only see the product for a brief moment at the end, but it is very creative and was specifically designed for Oscar night. Check it out and see how many faces you recognize. Which film won Best Picture anyway?

Tags: Apple, Mobile Phones, iPhone

This morning I noticed that David Pouge, New York Times columnist, wrote an article about Second Life. He also did a report for CBS Sunday Morning. Both the article and the report are linked below. Feel free to check them out. Whether you would actually want to log-on and play around in Second Life or not; the phenomenon is still very interesting. Apparently over $600,000 is spent every day in Second Life.

David Pouge Article
An Experiment in Virtual Living
CBS Sunday Morning
Second Life

Tags: Games

Apparently Microsoft is very concerned about the security of Vista, so much so they have decided that those individuals wishing to run Vista in a virtualization environment, they will have to buy the more expensive editions of Vista; even if all they need are a few applications that run only on the Windows platform. Okay, so what does this mean? Well, if you don't own an Intel Mac or you don't run Linux as your standard OS; it means little. If you are tempted to buy a Mac because you know you can now run Windows applications on an Intel Mac using either Boot Camp to boot directly into a Windows partition or via virtualization software that allows you to run Windows as though it were a program on a Mac or Linux based computer; then you will care. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Windows, Vista, Microsoft

Well, as crazy as it seems, terrorism has finally made it's way from the streets of Iraq to the online world of Second Life. In an effort to get the attention of the operators of Second Life, Linden Labs, long time users of the virtual world game set off two "virtual" nukes near two major corporate headquarters to protest the unfriendly turn that Second Life has taken in recent months as the population has grown by mammoth proportions and so to apparently has the in-game violence. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Games

The iPhone, scheduled for release sometime in June, was announced to much fanfare back in January; but even after two hours of a demonstration there were many unanswered questions as well as questions about what Steve Jobs left out of the demonstrations. Apple loves secrets and loves to release some information today and more information tomorrow. The below video analyzes Steve Job's MacWorld 2007 keynote and attempts to read between the lines. Is he correct? We won't know for another few months; although with a teaser commercial expected during the Oscars, we may know more sooner.

Tags: Apple, Mobile Phones, iPhone

Those that know me, know that I've once again become a Mac Head. I love my PowerBook and really do believe that Apple continues to create some of the best hardware and software in the industry today; and is doing a kick butt job with consumer devices as well. Anyway, their much anticipated competitor to Windows Vista is Mac OS 10.5; code name Leopard, is apparently on track to get released in early Spring instead of late Sprint or Early summer. The later time frame has been given by Apple for some time now, but it seems things are going better than anticipated. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, Mac OS

Last month Steve Jobs unveiled the much rumored and extremely secretive iPhone. What can i say but simply, COOL! I don't want to get stuck in the propaganda or marketing machine; but this phone does do some cool things that no phone has done or at least done well so far.

If you haven't heard about it yet, which means you must have been in the deep rain forest, then you are in for treat. Once you are done reading this entry, head on over to the Apple Website to read more about it and see a few demos. Suffice it to say though, that the iPhone is 1/3 Phone, 1/3 Mobile Internet Device and 1/3 Wide Screen iPod Video. Each of these has been long rumored to be in development at Apple and each has been eagerly awaited; but none probably more than the Wide Screen iPod Video. What's really cool though, is that when you rotate the iPhone the screen rotates; making the best use of the screen. It also means that you can look at your photos in either landscape or portrait positions. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, Mobile Phones, iPhone

Have you heard the news.... laptop batteries currently have a bad reputation of, well, catching on fire. Now this isn't "End of the World" type stuff, but if you happen to say have your laptop in say your "lap" catching on fire could be a rather bad thing to happen. Laptops, formally referred to as notebooks, have always had a reputation for being rather warm to actually rest on your lap but catching fire puts a whole new "spark" into the issue. Sorry, just couldn't help myself. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, PowerBook

Dear BlackBerry,

I know that you are having more than your fair share of problems these days with the United States Patent Office, NTP, the United States Supreme Court and a certain judge that will remain nameless, but don't let all these problems get you down. You know as well as I do that while e-mail changed the world we live in, you my dear BlackBerry friend changed e-mail for ever. Notebooks may have freed man from the cords that bound them to their desktops at work, allowing them to travel to parts far and wide; but you my dear friend, you freed them from their 10 pounds of notebook, cables, cases and long boot-up times all in an effort to see if the important deal was done or if Johnny got a home run in the big game against the home town rival.

You my dear friend, you made it possible without cords, bags or boot-up time. Yes, as in the days of old when cowboys ruled the land, man can once again reach for his hip and snuff out a problem faster than a salesman can explain how he sat on his notebook, cracking it in two. If only he had had you by his side. Had he had you sitting in your trusty holster he would not have been caught off guard by the news that his biggest customer was leaving his firm. All because he couldn't respond to their repeated e-mails for help because he had not way to dial home and fetch his e-mail. You could have done all that, happily holding them until he landed only to gently buzz him letting him know you had his mail ready to read.

Think of it my trusted friend, you really have changed the world. You have created a loyal base of fans, second only to the followers of Steve and his jolly OS called X. A relationship so real and true, they call you by a pet name "CrackBerry." They mean no disrespect, they know what you have done for them. It isn't your fault their spouses left them and their children don't even know their names. You are simply the messenger. Civilization as we know it won't end because Tom can't stop communicating with Beijing, Moscow and Cabot Cove. In fact the world is a better place. Business can now be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you need is a bar or two of strength and you can send our messages to the far corners of the globe. When the bell strikes five and we head home, we don't have to stop reading, sending, replying, responding, forwarding our many e-mails. Business doesn't have to stop at the waters edge, it can now continue on and on and on.

Don't pay attention to those nay sayers who call your creators thieves and criminals. Besides, the US Patent Office keeps ruling in your favor. The world is behind you. The world is with you my black and blue friend. Yes the judge who shall not be named doesn't seem to care that your patent case is pending. Yes NTP is asking for not just huge sums of money, but more money than most of us can even dream of seeing, much less being handed over.

So my dear friend. Don't leave me here, all alone without my e-mail or access to the web. Don't leave me to try and find a replacement for you? A friend such as you can not be replaced. Yes, I may find a friend that comes close and in time you will be but only a memory; but you will never be fully replaced. Should it come to an end though, feel strong in knowing that our time together these past few years has not just been wonderful but very fulfilling. Our friendship was worth the sleepless nights, the annoying buzzing, the sharp ringing, the constant bother, the wishing for shorter battery life, the tiny keys, the longing for silence, the demand for more and more and more... Wait.... February 24th they may pull the plug... CAN I HELP!

Tags: Mobile Phones, Letter

In reading Digg I cam across this photo showing a photographers home computer set-up that includes several Macs, one Dell and a slew of flatscreen monitors. Pretty amazing and extreamly expensive set-up.

The "small" monitor in the center is a 23" monitor, while the big boys are 30" monitors. The notebook on the far left is a 12" PowerBook with a 17" PowerBook under neath the 30" on the far left next to the 12" PowerBook. This person is using a Mac Mini as a media streaming device and has a dual G5 hidden away behind that mess of cords. Oh, there is also a P4 Dell for when he apparently just has to go to the darkside.

I look at this set-up and think, people complain about my computer obsession. PLEASE!

Tags: Apple, Digg, PowerBook

If you ever use Google, and who doesn't, then you might find some of these commands very useful and if any thing interesting. Give them a try and let me know what you think. The Weather one can be very useful and quick.

http://www.cyberwyre.com/data-mining-using-google/

Tags: Google

I found this new service for on-line videos called 4Flix . They are going to attempt to go head to head with Apple's iTunes music store video collection. While iTunes Music Store offers up short videos, TV shows and music videos for $1.99 each, 4Flix is planning on having full length features at a $1.99 each. Guaging from their holiday collection these may not be the best movies ever made, but then NightRider wasn't exactly TV's best either.

If you are interested in seeing what they have to offer and the quality (be warned it is still best watched on a 5th generation iPod, commonly known as the iPod Video) then all you have to do his go to their site and buy one $1.99 video and then you can get the rest of the holiday videos for free or you can subscribe to an iTunes video podcast and they will deliver one video a day for free. I just got Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (a very old version, but in color) and it looks pretty good considering the age of the original print and the resolution, designed as I mentioned to be viewed on an iPod screen. So check out the article at MacNN and then head over to 4Flix.net. If you do you will be experiencing a taste of Christmas Yet to Come... oh, there is an old Vincint Price TV version of A Christmas Carol available.

Tags: Video, Holidays