JT’s Blog

So I did it, I bought my second iPod.  Ariving this past Monday was a 8 GB iPod Touch.  This device is just the iPhone without the phone.  Of course having access via the 3G network or Edge would be nice for surfing the internet and taking advantage of the apps that require the internet.  It works great on my home network wirelessly.  My experience with Safari for the iPod Touch was what I hoped the LG Voyager could have been.  Everything worked great from the first time that I plugged it in.  Syncing with iTunes was flawless.   The free apps I have downloaded all work well and are ton of fun. Being able to accessing email, updating iCal on the run is great. Video play back much better than my 5 Gen iPod.

There are some things that make it hard to replace my aforementioned 5th Gen. With a 8 GB of capacity it makes it difficult to add my all of my music to one device. Yes I could have bought the 32 GB version, but who has that kind of money. The screen of course get pretty dirty, but hey it is an iPod Touch. Battery life is a bit weird. I have had to charge it each day I have had it. I am not sure if it is the wireless, video playback or brightness of the screen. After reading the specs I am thinking I am actually getting a decent battery life. Aside from that I am very happy with my iPod Touch. I am sure that I have just cracked the surface at this point and will continue to enjoy it.

Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. It works well in Windows, no Mac client yet, which bumbs me. You can open multiple tabs upon startup, which is a key feature. Download here.

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A while back I ditched Cableone Internet due to throttling issues.  In a recent post from MediaPost Publications, I find Cableone is now tracking its subscribers web behaviors without their permission.  You see in order to make more money, as if they weren’t making enough, Cableone sought help from NebuAd an online advertising company based in Redwood City, California. This company seeks deals with Internet Service Providers, like Cableone to enable them to analyze customer’s websurfing habits in order to provide them with more relevant, micro-targeted advertising.

NebuAd has come under scrutiny as privacy advocates say Internet Service Providers might be violating federal wiretap laws by selling information collected by NebuAd. Congress is getting involved in the situation and has been asking the likes of Cableone if they allowed customers to opt out of having their websurfing habits monitored and sold. Cableone’s response to this claim,

“it didn’t allow users to decline to participate in a recent test of NebuAd’s platform.”

In addition, Cableone stated

“it would stifle our ability to test new technologies that have the potential to offer significant benefits to our customers”

and

“subscribers knew the company might spy on their Web activity when they signed up for broadband”

Oh Cableone, shame on you.  Can you honestly think that users of your service want to be spyed upon.  Really I wonder do you users of your phone service expect you to spy on them as well?  The more and more sleezy companies like Cableone are aloud to do business the worse off the American citizen is.  I hope Congress puts the screws to you Cableone, then lets see if you can make us smile.

I recently discovered that a 6 song CD from the fictional band from the movie “Almost Famous” Stillwater existed. I have to admit the song Fever Dog that made the Soundtrack from the movie is one of my favorites. I also am in the minority of those that like fake bands. To learn 5 more songs existed I jumped at the chance to get them. I went to iTunes and no dice. I tried Amazon next and still nothing. Exhausting other outlets I went to eBay and behold the CD was up for auction. Alas I lost out on the bid. Now wanting to hear the 5 songs I continued my search. Thus I came across the site imeem. It is a self proclaimed;

social network where millions of fans and artists discover new music, videos, and photos, and share their tastes with friends

All I can say is jackpot, all 5 previously unheard songs were there for all to listen. Not too bad, the song “Love Comes and Goes” is by far the best of the remaining five. The following is the track listing from the CD included in the Almost Famous: Untitled Bootleg Cut DVD set

1. Feverdog
2. Chance Upon You
3. Love Comes and Goes
4. Love Thing
5. Hour of Need
6. You Had To Be There.

Its been 231 years since the brave men and women of the 13 colonies decided they no longer wished to be taxed without representation (ok I know it is more then that, but really this is blog post not a history lesson). As I head home to visit with family over the 3-day weekend, I wonder how more Independence Days will America be celebrating. As gas prices rise, as foreclosures continue to increase I can’t help to wonder what the future holds for the best country on the planet. From my perspective I think that this country hasn’t overcome the issues surrounding September 11th, 2001. I personally have never been able to recover financially from the effects that day had on my family and me. After reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I can’t help, but wonder if we brought this upon ourselves. I feel the spirit of America has taken a blow and is very cautious at the moment. My intent is not to bring anyone down, but to just share my feelings. So get you back in a Patriotic mood I present the following song below performed by American Pearl and available for a free download here. This song was written 6 days after the tragedies of 9/11. This song always picks me up went I get discouraged with the world. Have a Happy 4th and God Bless America.

 

 American Pearl - Believe [4:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Updating an earlier post I made, it would appear the tribe has spoken.  I got another email a few days back from Netflix apologizing for any inconvenience it had caused and that profiles would not be taken away.  I am guessing the out cry from the buzz surrounding this feature being eliminated was enough to force Netflix’s hand.  Score one for the little guy.

Hold out your hands. Now, wish into one hand, and poop in the other. Which one filled up first? You
’ll have the same amount of luck when it comes to getting your hands on these gadgets. Yes very nerdy.

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Today I signed up for the soon to be MobileMe product. I was given 60 days to try it out. Currently it offers 10GB of space which will be upgraded to 20GB sometime in July concurrently with the new iPhone 2.0 software. I tested this out when I originally bought my iMac, but was not impressed and not worth the $99.95 price tag. I do get a 60 trial which will falls within months of MobileMe’s launch. Call me a nerd but I wanted to get in on the mac.com email rather then the me.com email.

While I test out .Mac follow this link to my gallery of photos and movies