I/O: Tech Introvert - Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut...
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October 1, 2009

Welcome to Your New Default Web Browser


Well that's that. The two extensions which are absolutely critical to my web browsing experience (XMarks + LastPass) are now available for dev builds of Google Chrome. Actually, Chrome's bookmark sync works very well. XMarks is really only required if you absolutely need to keep non-Chrome browser bookmarks in sync. But now I can finally declare Chrome lord and master of my desktop.

Strange thing is, I always thought AdBlock Plus would be the killer extension. (Site note- holy crap. I just launched Firefox so I could look up the proper name for "AdBlock Plus". It took ~20 seconds to launch.) But honestly, I don't mind ads so much. I'm nearly completely desensitized to them now. Things pop up in my sidebar and I don't even see them. After staring at my screen for 10 mins, I still couldn't tell you what the ads said. Speed really does make for a much more pleasant browsing experience.

I've been using the Chrome dev channel builds for about a month, and aside from a crash here and there, the builds are remarkably stable. Firefox is still installed for only 1 reason- Fireshot is a great screenshotting app. But I'm sure it's only a matter of time before that's replaced as well.

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Filed under  //   Firefox   Google Chrome   LastPass   Web Browsers   XMarks  

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September 30, 2009

Now That's Hot

What erotic adventures lurk behind these doors? Only the sexy swingers of the UMass SciFi Society know!

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September 28, 2009

Missing Oliver

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September 28, 2009

Reportage: An iPhone Twitter Client with Focus

I follow < 200 people on Twitter, which is paltry compared to many. But even with that relatively low number I can lose track of a few contacts. Days will go by without one of their posts making it into my short-term viewing window, which prompts me to wonder what they've been up to lately. I guess groups would help, but honestly I hate dealing with Twitter groups. Having to keep each group updated, dealing with flipping from group to group when I read, wondering if Jeff Atwood really belongs in my Dev group or my Interesting People group...ugh it's a pain. Especially using any of the available iPhone clients. (TweetDeck = CrashDeck on the iPhone). I stumbled across an interesting iPhone client called Reportage that quickly and easily answers the question- "dude, what have you been up to lately?"

Reportage bills itself as "the radical Twitter radio tuner for your iPhone", and it really does take a unique approach. Reportage displays your Following list and overlays unread counts over it. At a glance I can see how active people have been. With a click, I can drill into their most recent updates. Think how cool that is- with 3 clicks I can get the most recent local Boston news, TechCrunch articles, and quotes from ShitMyDadSays. Trying to do that using a client like Tweetie would have taken me 15 minutes. Reportage also has a nifty little radio dial UI, where you can scroll across your contacts with a flick and "tune in" to each.

If you're currently following thousands of Twitter users, then you likely don't really care what most of them are up to at any given moment. With that kind of overhead, Reportage may not be for you. Also Reportage is missing some standard features that you just absolutely must have if you want to be a real Twitter client. Like search, trends, Instapaper/View In Safari, and Go To User. However it's a great start and a unique client which is probably worth the 99 cents to check out.

   
Click here to download:
Reportage_An_iPhone_Twitter_Cl.zip (71 KB)

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Filed under  //   iPhone   Twitter  

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September 28, 2009

Broken coffee maker = bad Monday

Code red - coffee maker is down. Repeat, coffee maker is down.

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September 27, 2009

I really have nothing to add to this

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September 26, 2009

Hungry Pug

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September 23, 2009

Mint.com - Skeletons in the Closet

When Intuit acquired TechCrunch darlings Mint.com a couple of weeks back, many people were upset. Shouts of "sellouts!" and "RIP Mint" rang across the TwitterNets. Some people even up and cancelled their accounts in anticipation of Intuit screwing up their beloved Mint. Given Intuit's track record of destroying their own brand, the fear was justified. However what many people don't realize is that Mint has some skeletons in its own closet. 

The Mint support message boards are bad. I'm not talking the typical "why can't Mint use laser beams and 3-D holograms" type requests from lunatics that most support boards contain. I mean outright "the service has stopped working" stuff. What's worse, replies from support are few and far between. Prepare to wait weeks/months for your issue to be addressed. The utter clusterfuck below regarding Citizens Bank, one of the largest banks in the country, illustrates some of the pain. Users have been unable to update their accounts for over a month. Or you can pick one of the many posts from angry/frustrated users wondering where the hell Mint support is. There are many.

I for one am happy that Intuit has acquired Mint. As terrible as Quicken is, at least I get prompt responses from friendly Indian support personnel. Maybe they'll extend that support to Mint. As it stands right now, if you have any problem with this service what so ever, consider yourself screwed.


source

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Filed under  //   Intuit   Mint   Quicken   Support  

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September 16, 2009

Share RSS Feeds With Toluu


Most RSS users have at one point wondered what feeds other, more enlightened/interesting/attractive people are reading. Well wonder no more. Toluu allows you to upload your feeds and share them with other users.

You may be thinking to yourself "who cares?", and you'd be right...until you looked deeper. Sure there are plenty of other content discovery services out there (Lazyfeed, Delicious, YourVersion, etc). And the ability to share feeds/items is already present in Google Reader (Bundles). However there are a couple of features in Toluu which set it apart.

Once you sign up and import your feeds (via OPML), the service searches for other users who share common interests. The logic is a little fuzzy, and if you subscribe to a wide range of interests then the search results will be sketchy. But Toluu is usually at least close- I don't care for woodworking and I don't get any woodworking enthusiasts recommended to me.  The UI is great in that you can hover over a users feeds to get a popup of the last 5 posts. Clicking the feed displays its contents (very nicely I might add) inside a mini-reader in the Toluu UI. This has been a great way to discover new and interesting feeds.

So what, right? Google Reader allows me to read Louis Gray's favorite feeds, and if I subscribe to him I can read items he shares. But Toluu lets me read all of his feeds, not just the ones he bundles. And it lets me read all the items from those feeds, not just the ones he happens to share. While I like having Louis as a filter since the man shares great articles, sometimes I prefer direct access for topics I'm especially interested in. 

Toluu also allows you to follow other users and be notified when they update their feeds, another big difference between Google Reader Bundles. I can then view these new feeds with a click and add them to both Toluu and my feed reader of choice (which happens to be Google Reader) using a bookmarklet. Finally there are additional social features like recommending, favorites, etc. which I haven't fully explored yet.

One gripe: some semblance of a search feature is sorely needed. Other than that it's quite a unique service for discovering and sharing interesting RSS feeds. Toluu is currently in private beta so head on over now and request an invite. Those interested in a taste of the extra lumpy data gravy I gobble up each day can check out my feeds here.
 

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September 11, 2009

Mint vs. Citizens Update: Mint Lost

UPDATE 9.11.09: Citizens Bank is working directly with us to fix this issue. It was not an intentional blocking issue but rather a technical connectivity issue. I'll post an update once this problem have been resolved. It should be very soon.

So Citizens redesigns their site and it takes 3 effing weeks (not to mention assorted finger-pointing) to determine that maybe, just maybe, you might need to adjust your connectivity routine to match their update? When a light switch is shut off at Mint HQ, do they think someone must have taken the sun away?

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Filed under  //   Citizens Bank   Financial Software   Mint   mint.com  

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