Category Archives: Technology

Skyped again

I geeked out a little bit tonight. Of course, that’s not a complete departure from most nights, but it make sense to start out by telling you the frame of mind that I’m in.

In the beginning of my online travels tonight I came across a little reminder that Leo Laporte’s ‘new’ project Net@Nite started tonight. I’ve been watching/listening to Leo in verious forms for at least the last 5 years… maybe more. From ZDTV (then techTV), to here localy on KFI, and then to podcasting, and now to this really cool real time netcast from TalkShoe.

Anyway… every time I hear Leo talk he brings up Skype. I downloaded it when it very first came to Mac and was not impressed at all at least in it’s execution. The concept was great, but the Mac client sucked pretty bad.

Tonight, I decided to give it another try. It looks like the interface is much nicer, but I can’t really test it out because I have nobody to talk to.

So if you’re a Skype person drop me a line so I can try this out.

http://www.skype.com

My Skypename: rustinjessen

Amazon Wish Lists

Remember Wish Lists? As kids, we sweated bullets over filling our lists with stuff we might actually have some hope of receiving, and stuff our friends and family would never buy us. I’ve finally jumped into the next generation with my wish lists. Read on…

With Janey at work today I’ve been left to my own devices to entertain myself. Of course I turn to the inter-web as a distraction from the day. My first stop was at Janey’s Blog… that took me to her Amazon Wishlist… and it made me really want one! Navigating it is kinda tough. Amazon really has a ways to go to make it really nice an usable. But as it is, it’s a great little parking lot for a list of stuff that you want.

The deal is that I can drop all the cool stuff that I want into the list, then anybody who sees the list can buy it and have it sent to me without knowing my address. Cool! In my searches today I’ve actually found that many people have random people send them items from their wish list. I think thats damned cool. I highly doubt that will happen here… but hey, it’s worth a shot!

So here’s the deal. There’s not too many items in it yet, but I’m sure I’ll build that up over time.

You can see my whole Wish List at: Amazon.com

SLVR Mmmmmm

I have a fantastic new toy that arrived yesterday. I trudged through the monsoonal downpour to my local FedEx facility to get my hands on the new Moto SLVR L8.

SLVR

So far I don’t have much to say about it. I’ve just started what will be it’s first day in full rotation. I’m pretty convinced that if it just gets me through one phone call without having to re-dial I will be happy. That would be leaps and bounds more then my last phone would allow.

Anyway… I’ll keep you posted on how our relationship develops. 🙂

Too Cool…

So I’ve spent most of my time since this last wonderful christmas geeking out about my new video ipod. I love it and I watch stuff on it all the time. It’s a wonderful tool for procrastination at my desk.

Being so distracted by my wonderful new toy, I almost forgot that today was the opening day of MacWorld (it’s the big trade show for apple people, and it’s where Steve Jobs always launches the cool new apple stuff).

So I hopped online to find they they’ve release some seriously cool new toys. Among them is a new intel based laptop. The new line is dubbed ‘MacBook’. It just makes me feel like my powerbook is totally yesterdays news. Ahh well. I guess I’ll just have to be content drooling over the sweetness of the marketing copy.
MacBook

Really…. really. You gotta love this hardware. Click here for more cool appleness.

I’ve been taken by the Podcast

Ok so many of you may not know that Apple has released a new version of iTunes and it has integrated Podcast Support. I have not gotten into it at all until now… but I’m going nuts with it. I’ve sat by my computer all day just listening to my new favorite online radio shows.

My favorites:

Disney Online Podcasts

Alright folks, if you are a geek… and moreso, if you are a Disney geek this will be right up your alley. In conjunction with the new version of Apple iTunes that supports podcast subscriptions, Disney has jumped on the bandwagon with Disney Online Podcasts

Disney Podcasts

If you’re not a geek then lets chat for a second:
What is Podcasting?
Podcasting is the latest in on-the-go, on-demand technology. With podcasting, you can listen to radio programs or events whenever and wherever you choose. Podcasts are MP3 audio files that are automatically downloaded to your personal computer, and then transferred to an iPod or other MP3 player using a podcasting application.

What equipment do I need?
The basic requirements for podcasting are a computer (PC or Mac), podcasting software, and an Internet connection. For portability, an iPod or other MP3 player is needed.

How do I get started?
Simply download and install podcasting software onto your computer. Although applications vary, each should provide instructions on how to add podcast feeds to your list. Then, just check for the new podcasts and MP3s of your selected programs that will be on your computer and, if you are set up, on your MP3 player.

I want Gmail

There is all kinds of opinions floating around the web about Google’s Gmail. While I understand that the reason the service was launched was probably very simply to gain ad dollars, you just can’t say much bad about 1 GIG of free email space. Granted, I use this domain as my primary email and probably always will, but I would like to try it out for myself and decide what I like.

The problem comes with getting an invitation. The system, still being in BETA (or testing) is, only available by invitation. The only people with invitations to share are folks who currently use Gmail. I run in the world of entertainment and marketing where few even know what Gmail is, I just highly doubt anyone in that circle will have an invitation. AND SO my request goes out to you, my 6 faithful readers (by my last count). If you know of anyone with Gmail invites I would love one. I could even be convinced to share a bit of Disney magic with someone willing to share.

** crosses fingers and clicks heels together **

oh… wait

****Update**** I now have Gmail thanks to a random (but wonderful) reader of my blog. My new address is rustin.jessen [at] gmail [dot] com