Yesterday, Ashley and I went to New York City to see the Lion King. Of course, we also walked around a bit. Here are the pictures that I took!
I received my Google Wave invitation today straight from Google! I have 7 out of 8 of my invites left. Beg now! 
Anyways, I’ll post a review sometime. 
As I have already mentioned, I love integration. I have Google Calendar set up to use Exchange server to sync with my iPhone. I also have a Google Sync application for my PC so that Outlook syncs with Google Calendar as well. If that isn’t enough, I can also add events from calendar.google.com and have them pushed to both my phone and my PC (this works in other combinations as well).
I have now discovered that there is a Windows Gadget for Google Calendar. Not only can I have integration with Outlook, my phone, and the web interface, but I can also have a gadget on my desktop that gives me a quick glance at all of my appointments and also expands for more details.
Here is a picture of the gadget:
And here is the gadget expanded:
The gadget is called Google Calendar Agenda. I highly recommend this gadget for people who use Windows, even as an aside to Linux or OSX.
Google Sync for iPhone is a great service for mobile phones. Google also provides service for any device that has Microsoft Exchange support. Google’s Sync is basically just an Exchange server that Google opens up to Google account holders like you and me.
In a previous post, I talked about Google Calendar’s CalDAV support. This is even better. Having the support of an Exchange server is great for people who want their GMail pushed and their calendar automatically synchronized. I highly recommend checking it out.
Best Skins Ever is a great company that provides thin “skins” for all kinds of electronic devices. From cameras to portable gaming devices to cell phones to laptops, Best Skins Ever covers them all.
After my old iPhone case broke and I purchased a brand new iPhone 3GS, I decided that I needed to replace the broken case. I paid $30 for that case at the Apple store and it lasted about 6 months. I was extremely disappointed with its quality. The rubber around the headphone jack was what finally broke, but the rubber around the bottom bezel of the phone was also wearing thin. Overall, it was a bad experience.
And then I ran into Best Skins Ever. I read reviews for their skins and saw not even one negative review of their skins. I read that their skins were reasonably priced, their durability was great, and their customer service was exceptional. I even heard that people who botched their install received free replacements.
These skins are unlike ordinary skins. They contain an adhesive that sticks to your phone permanently, but does not damage the phone when removed. Any attempt to move the skin once it has dried will stretch the skin. Aside from the application process, these skins are perfect.
So I decided to obtain two of them. They had many different options on their iPhone page (which I don’t describe here); and I chose the hardest one to apply (but also the best one once applied). The skins are $7.99 a piece. Much cheaper than $30 for that bulky case that I bought at the Apple store! So I bought two just in case I messed up the first one.
The install process requires that you soak the skin with soapy water, so that you can adjust it as you place it on your device and so that you do not get fingerprints on the sticky side of the skin. Once the skin dries onto the phone, it sticks firmly; all dust and bubbles are permanently trapped in there. I went through the install, not really knowing what to do. Amazingly, I was able to install it about 90% perfectly on my first try. It took me about 5 minutes to put the front screen protector on (it even covers the home button!) and about an hour to situate the back skin. The reason it takes so long is that it wraps around the bezel, around the top SIM slot, and around the bottom charge port.
I ended up with some small bubbles and a bit of blue fuzz stuck behind the back of the phone, but that is no big deal; especially when compared to having no protection at all and ending up with tons of scratches. The screen protector is not as smooth as the plastic screen protectors and it causes a little extra glare at some angles. But the protection that the back receives is amazing. My phone is now thinner than it ever was with a case and it is much more comfortable to hold. It’s great that I can now see the phone in an almost case-less state.
I highly recommend purchasing a BSE for any device that you want minimal protection!
Pictures (although not the best) are located below. As you can see, my install is not perfect. I have some small bubbles (those are not scratches) on the bottom bezel. Also, some of the outer wrappings overlap.
I have no pity for those who cap bandwidth. It’s the norm in Europe, but intolerable here in the United States. A few companies here have been considering bandwidth caps for their users, but the public has opposed it so violently that they scrapped all of their capping plans — for now.
A small, local company named Connectivity U runs our internet connection here (served through Comcast). This wonderful company caps bandwidth per day, rather than per month. All I can say is that I hate it. It’s so inconvenient. I can’t even download a Linux ISO without going over my cap. Also, if I am uploading a fair amount of files VIA FTP, it will shut my internet connection off with a screen saying that I have exceeded my upload limit and my internet connection has been disabled (even if I have not exceeded my limit). Apparently, if I upload too much at one time, I am kicked off. I despise their pitiful attempt to disguise the fact that they do not own enough bandwidth to suffice for all users to conduct normal (and legal) internet activities.
By the way, they don’t even attempt to block the BitTorrent protocol. Wouldn’t that be a better solution?
I will end this very angry post with a little picture demonstrating just how little bandwidth I get per day. Please note that the upload limit is more than twice that of the download limit. Make sense to you?
RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) is a kind of news feed created so that users could have more simplified access to their news. Most blogs, news organizations, and websites that are updated frequently contain RSS (or Atom, another kind of news syndication) feeds. RSS feeds are also referred to as live bookmarks in Firefox. Basically, Firefox’s implementation lets you see a bookmark folder that updates with each new story that is released. See below for an example.
Here we see that it’s just a big list of news stories posted on my favorite website, Engadget.
This works well, except for when you have 10-15 feeds that you subscribe to. It becomes very tedious to click on each feed and then go into the main website and view every new story. It’s quite a pain to click on each site individually, go back a few pages, and pick up where you left off. That’s when Google Reader comes into play. Google Reader is a RSS feed tool, where you add all of your favorite feeds and Google keeps track of them for you. It will do much more than Firefox’s Live Bookmarks. It actually shows the content of each post, saving you from having to visit the website. Below is a screenshot of Google Reader in action (click to enlarge).
Here, I can sort all of my websites in to folders. See “Geek News,” “Comics,” etc. Also note that I have one new post. Google keeps track of what I have read. I can also star items, just like in GMail. It will save that item for me later. If I click on an individual story, it will expand into a view similar to that of what an actual visitor would see if they were to visit the website, images and all.
Google Reader is a great tool for you to keep up with a lot of websites — all at once. It’s a great news reader and I would recommend it to anyone who reads even just two websites per day.
“A 62-year-old man had a mental breakdown and ran off after grabbing several bottles of pills from his house. The cops asked Verizon to help trace the man using his cellphone, but Verizon refused, saying that they couldn’t turn on his phone because he had an unpaid bill for $20. After an 11-hour search (during which time the sheriff’s department was trying to figure out how to pay the bill), the man was found, unconscious. ‘I was more concerned for the person’s life,’ Sheriff Dale Williams said. ‘It would have been nice if Verizon would have turned on his phone for five or 10 minutes, just long enough to try and find the guy. But they would only turn it on if we agreed to pay $20 of the unpaid bill.’ Score another win for the Verizon Customer Service team.” (via Slashdot)
It was obviously a public relations issue. Obviously, Verizon will realize that this was a mistake of the representatives that the police spoke to and this is obviously not the outcome that Verizon would have preferred.
Over the past two years or so, Vizio has managed to create quite a buzz in the television industry. Vizio describes themselves on their “The Vizio Story” page:
In only a few short years, VIZIO quickly skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 selling brand of flat panel HDTV’s in North America and became the first American brand in over a decade to lead major categories in 2007 U.S. TV sales. VIZIO has sold more than 5-Million flat panel televisions in the U.S. alone.
Vizio creates bargain televisions that are comprable to Sylvania and Panasonic televisions. Vizio’s televisions generally do not have many advanced technologies and they do not have the more advanced features included with pricier televisions. Vizio televisions are a great deal for the price they are listed for. However, Vizio televisions are not the best televisions on the market; not even close.
A while back, I worked in the electronics department of Sears. I was a commissioned salesman and I had to learn everything that I could about televisions to sell them with confidence. Some of the major dividing factors of TVs are (for me): contrast ratio, color accuracy, and dependability.
While working at Sears, I had a lot of time to walk around and compare televisions based on many different factors. Vizio televisions are claimed by many to be the best TVs out there. They aren’t even close. The contrast ratio on Vizio TVs is much, much lower than any of the middle to high end TVs. The blacks are not nearly as black. The color accuracy on Vizio TVs doesn’t even begin to compare to that of a Sony or a Samsung or a LG.
After looking at hundreds of TVs day in and day out, I don’t understand how the general body of consumers could even begin to think that Vizio TVs actually come close to any of the high-end brands. I have had many customers tell me that Sony will go bankrupt because Vizio makes a better TV at a better price.
Let me end by saying that Vizio TVs are definitely worth their price. They are great entry TVs. However, they cannot even touch a high-end TV.
By the way, I just ordered a new TV (and it’s not a Vizio):
Sony Bravia KDL-32S5100 32-inch 1080p 60hz HDTV
Please note that this post has nothing to do with the fact that I ordered a Sony TV. This topic has been on my mind ever since I worked at Sears.
After a very long time of disappearing, clete2.com is back! Something happened to the old website (I think my account was deleted) and I could not get a hold of Nathan (my host) to remedy the situation, so the website disappeared for a while.
Well, it’s back now! I would like to thank Professor Phillips of the Computer Science department at Mansfield University for his generosity in hosting clete2.com again! Thanks!
I should be back up and running soon; I have a lot on my mind right now, but I can’t remember any of it.
I’m packing up and getting ready to go home. In a few weeks, I’ll be in Illinois for my internship with State Farm!
