Google Reader

This is almost week-old news now, but Google recently released their Google Reader software into beta. It is a direct competitor to web-based news aggregators such as Bloglines. As it is still in beta, there are a number of kinks being worked out. You’ll sometimes get error messages when trying to read the news, and their servers are frequently slow or unresponsive. But as time goes by, bugs get fixed, and they have a chance to scale up to their demand, I think lot of the issues will be smoothed out. There are a lot of things you can do with Bloglines that you can’t do in Google Reader, and I have emailed all of my notes on those matters to the Google Labs folks.

In order to make my testing more effective and directed, I’ve imported all of my Bloglines subscriptions into Google Reader. I’ve also removed all of my links to Bloglines so that I’m forced to use Google Reader to get my news. Overall, I’m quite impressed. As usual, they have given the application those little touches that make an application oh-so-Google-y. Boxes that slide open and closed, search-enabled-everything, colorful icons and labels, etc. And so far I haven’t needed to go back to Bloglines for anything. I’m still getting used to Google Reader’s organizational methods. Reading the news from a specific source in Google Reader takes a bit more effort than it does in Bloglines. As I go along I’m sure I’ll learn some tricks to help make things better.

Anyway, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try. If you’re looking for a way to organize all of the news and blogs you read, check out Google Reader today!

Meelike Meebo

Meebo is a web-based instant messaging tool I’ve been playing around with for a couple of weeks now. It uses AJAX technology to display a buddy list and IM windows, and the GAIM library to provide connectivity to various IM services. You can log in to AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Jabber, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger. The interface is very smooth and simple, and while it’s not as full-featured as a traditional desktop-based IM client such as Adium, it sure packs a wallop for a web application. It’s also a great choice for when you’re on a computer system that doesn’t have an IM client already, and for whatever reason you can’t download one. The Meebo team is hard at work on pushing out bug fixes and feature releases, and they deserve commendation. Their most recent release includes the ability to set away messages, and the ability to view a buddy’s info and away message while hovering over their icon.

If you’re away from your regular IM client, or even if you’re not, give Meebo a try today! And if you’d like to IM us, you can find our screen names for various services on the contact page.

Free Ink

I’m subscribed to Robert Ellis’ blog Futurosity. Robert is a management consultant and Mac fanatic, and Futurosity serves as a place for him to post various Mac-related news and tidbits. I first encountered Robert’s work in his former standalone blog, Handpicked Software. It was a log of his reviews and notes on new Mac software products. I started reading Futurosity after he rolled Handpicked Software into Futurosity, and I’ve been following it ever since (you can still follow Handpicked Software - it’s now a category on Futurosity).

Anyway, I recently noticed a post about free HP black ink cartridges. This piqued my interest, since we have an HP printer, and those cartridges are $30 a pop! So I headed over to read the post.. only to find that this was an old offer, and that since he had no takers, he would be selling the cartridges on eBay. I fired off a desperate comment, and wouldn’t you know it, Robert decided to go ahead and send me the cartridges anyway! What a swell guy! I’m looking forward to getting the cartridges… our printer is running dangerously low on ink. In the meantime, head over and check out Futurosity.

Gallery 2 Released

The Gallery team announced today that Gallery 2 has been released. Gallery 2 is a complete rewrite of Gallery, from the ground up. It has some very exciting and powerful new features, the interface is a lot cleaner, and it is much easier to administer than Gallery 1. We’re currently running Gallery 1 on our photo gallery, but I have been looking into Gallery 2 for a while now, as it has been in alpha, beta, and release candidate testing. It will probably be a little while before we switch over, because there are simply so many things to adapt to in this new system. Theoretically, we could easily switch over to the new system in a day, but the resulting gallery would be less than optimal for our visitors. So I want to make sure we take the time to get things just right so that the gallery is as useful for our visitors as it is for us.

In the meantime, head over and check out some screenshots of Gallery 2.

Google Talk

Google is reportedly going to be launching an instant messaging service/tool/thingy tomorrow called Google Talk. Niall Kennedy has reported that it’s possible to set up a Jabber-capable client to connect to Google’s ‘Talk’ server as of today.

I gave it a try with AdiumX, and it seems to work just fine. Well, at least the logging on part. What I really need is for someone to try contacting me to test it out. If you are so inclined, read Niall’s post and try it out. You can contact me at peter.r.wood at gmail dot com.

Update Google Talk is now official (though there has been no press release as yet). They have a downloadable Windows client, as well as instructions for setting up other clients to use Google Talk.

Update Here’s the official press release, and the official blog entry. They’ve also introduced a new way to get a Gmail account:

…starting today, Google is making it easier for anyone in the U.S. with access to a mobile phone to sign up for a Gmail account. When users visit http://gmail.com and enter their mobile phone number, they will receive an invitation code via a text message. This code enables them to open an account.

I might be keeping up with your blog.

David Weinberger recently wrote in his blog:

But we’re now well past the point where any of us can keep up with all the blogs worth reading from the people worth keeping up with. Even with an aggregator. I just can’t do it any more.

I can understand David’s frustrations. I can even identify with them. To wit, I don’t actually read David’s blog at all - I read about this particular post at Universal Hub, a Boston-area community and news website. But rather than simply giving up, I’ve taken steps to solve the problem. Continue reading…

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Thanks to an entry at Richard Bowen’s journal, I’ve been introduced to the writing of Marc Prensky. In particular, I’m fascinated by his “classic” two-part essay on “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. To boil it down, “Digital Natives” are those people who have grown up surrounded by technology, and are “fluent” in the language. “Digital Immigrants” are the older generation who have not been surrounded by technology for their whole lives. These two articles help to put a face and a name to an issue that I have thought about quite a bit. Continue reading…

A Bloglines Diet

I’m certainly not the biggest Bloglines subscriber - from what I’ve read, some users have over 1000 feeds on their blogrolls. My blogroll numbered at a slightly more modest 244. Until today, when I decided to put it on a diet. Now there are only 198 feeds on my blogroll. I’ve removed redundant news sources, eliminated blogs that are rarely updated, axed blogs whose posts I simply didn’t like reading, and consolidated blogs where an aggregated source was available (e.g. Planet Mozilla or Planet Movable Type).

I’m still working on cutting some of the fat. There are blogs that I’ve kept around ‘just in case’ something interesting pops up… but I’ll probably let them go. One thing I’m trying to convince myself of is that I simply don’t need to be the first person to hear about news… I’m going to try to be happy just reading news from a second or third tier reporting site, rather than subscribing to all of the ‘important’ first tier bloggers. So here’s to a slimmer blogroll, less compulsive blogroll checking, and more free time.

Now that’s service.

One of our must-have PowerBook accessories is the RoadTools Traveler CoolPad. This is a hard plastic pad designed to be placed under your laptop. It has a two-plate pivoting design, so that your laptop can easily be swiveled from side to side for enhanced viewing. The pad also raises your laptop to a comfortable viewing/typing angle, and increases airflow around your laptop so that it doesn’t run too hot. It comes in a slim design so that you can easily slide it into your laptop case. The Traveler also has a bigger cousin, the Podium, which is designed for more permanent fixtures like desks or presentation stands.

Recently, the pivot screw on our Traveler had been coming loose. This caused the pad to occasionally slip apart when the laptop was sitting on it. Luckily we never had any serious damage, but it was pretty annoying. Well, I decided to write in to RoadTools about it. I quickly received a response from Jim MacEachern at RoadTools, telling me that he thought I needed a new CoolPad. He said that he’d send one out the next day if I’d just provide a mailing address! Well, my new CoolPad arrived today, and I couldn’t be happier. The new model has an improved design that pivots more easily and doesn’t seem to come loose. It also has a more aggressive tilt than the previous model, allowing for better positioning of the laptop and improved airflow.

Anyway, I’m impressed with RoadTools’ customer service. Maybe there’s something about New England companies - RoadTools is located in New Hampshire, and like the Maine-based LL Bean, they offer lifetime warranties on all of their products. (LL Bean is known for doing free repairs on boots that are decades old. They’ll also do things like replace zippers free of charge.) I’m certain the reason that RoadTools was willing to send me a new CoolPad on good faith alone is that they wish to build a good reputation, and are counting on the fact that I’ll spread the word about them to help grow their business. And they’re right - I’ll heartily recommend their products to anyone with a laptop.

Check out RoadTools!