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I’d like your feedback on e-commerce sites. Most of you probably shop online, and I’m sure you have your favorites. What is the number one thing that you see on a homepage that draws you in? What features make you feel safe and secure that it’s a reputable website? And what are some of your favorite websites for shopping online? I’m asking this simply because I’m a designer and I like doing research sometimes. Most of you are internet savvy people, and I value your opinions. Don’t worry, I’m not opening up an online store for dildos *sarcasm*. I’d just like to know what’s popular and what you like in today’s online market. Thanks
But recently I have looked at Google in a whole new light. They recently went live with their Calendar Beta. I love using calendars to schedule deadlines, appointments, and general goals. I feel like I’ve accomplished something when I can look at a calendar and see that things are getting done. The problem is that most online calendars are worthless. Sure, they are great because you can view them on any computer. But they often fall short in usability. The Yahoo! Calendar, for example, has too many damn buttons. I just want to jot a note on the calendar. I feel like they want me to write a whole book about turning in a project on Friday. Bleh. Google Calendar is so easy and interactive. You just click a date and a box pops up for you to add a note. Close it and you’re done. If you want a more detailed entry, it’s easy to expand on. You can also get alerts e-mailed to you or sent to your cell phone. I’m sure other online calendars offer this, but Google just makes it look simple. A calendar is a calendar, any way you look at it. Most of them will probably get you through the day. But this is the first time I’ve really been excited about an online calendar service. I give in Google, you’ve finally found the ‘g’ spot.
Oh, the blessed curse of e-mail. It’s a wonderful way to convey a quick message or share a long story with a pal. But it’s also a wicked bitch, isn’t it? E-mail makes it so easy to misunderstand someone’s tone. There have been many times I thought someone was a jerk because of the way they composed an e-mail. Likewise, people have been upset with me because of how I wrote an e-mail. E-mail makes us hypersensitive. If we don’t receive a reply within a few hours, we start to form our own scenarios. Is he ignoring me? Why hasn’t he written? That lazy bastard. Just 10 years ago, the internet was still uncommon in many households. If we wanted to write someone, we had to write a letter, mail it, and wait for a response. That could take a whole week! Of course, we could always call them. Then again, we still can call. But we often choose e-mail because it’s easier to convey things when we can see our words. So my point is… More than anything else, I’m writing this because it’s thought-provoking. I do my best to find balance. I try not to run to the phone. I try not to let e-mail substitute a nice conversation with a friend. And I felt like talking about it. Related Posts:
It’s a blessing and a curse. I constantly struggle to find balance. Let’s start with phones. The problem with phones is that we are too accessible. Most people carry their cell phone on them at all times. Have you ever seen somebody scamper through the house to find their phone? Sure, we’ve all done it. But isn’t that odd? We have caller i.d., voicemail, call waiting, and yet we are still terrified of missing a phone call. We’ll break our necks to get up the stairs, knocking over cats, dogs, spouses. But why? It isn’t as if we won’t know who called. And won’t we be able to call them right back? Think back to anything before the 1990’s. Do you remember when we didn’t have caller i.d.? When the phone rang, it was a total mystery as to who would be on the other end. And remember when somebody was going to call us long distance? Gosh, what fun. We’d sit by the phone anxiously. If someone else got on, we’d yell at them and tell them to hang up because we were expecting a long distance phone call. And once we were on the phone, we didn’t want to be disturbed. “Hey, go away, I’m talking to someone long distance.“
Just minutes ago, Steve Jobs announced that the 2006 version of Apple’s GarageBand would feature a Podcast studio. What does this mean? Easy recording and editing of Podcasts, with expanded features to improve the quality of them. Also, you can use iChat to record conversations and use them in your Podcast. This is exactly what I’ve been trying to do with my blogger friends in recent weeks. Now it all ties together in one awesome package. Apple is the first major company to release such a complete software package for recording and distributing Podcasts. I love technology! (P.S. - I apologize to the 95% of you who came here today expecting to read some dirty story or rant, but my filthy mind is taking a day off. It’s geek day on Nathan Exposed! And if you’re horny, go here. I hear this guy is a totally floosy.)
Tuesday marks the beginning of Macworld San Francisco 2006. It takes place every January, and it’s a virtual spooge-fest for geeks like me! Each January, Steve Jobs provides a live press conference to debut new and updated Apple products. Here’s a rumor round-up of new releases: Intel Macs It’s expected that an Intel-based version of the iBook and Mac Mini will be debuted. I’m really excited about this because my Dad is getting his first Mac in a few months and he’s planning on a Mac Mini. If he gets an Intel model, I will be so jealous. iPods Since the iPod line was recently updated for the holiday season, no major new releases are expected. There are rumors, however, that the iPod Shuffle will either be updated or possibly replaced with a smaller version of the Nano. It is also rumored that Apple will showcase a new line of accesories for the iPod. This would be great news because most accesories are made by 3rd parties. I have avoided them because of mixed reviews. If Apple were to get in the market, the products would be top of the line! iLife ‘06 Each year, the iApps are updated. There have been a few whispers of an improved GarageBand that has a heavier focus on Podcasting (yay!). There is also supposed to be a new program called iWeb, which offers drag-and-drop website design. And don’t be surprised if iTunes gets updated with heavier focus on video content. iTunes + iPods are Apple’s biggest market, and portable video could use a little boost. DVR Functionality It’s been rumored that Apple will update it’s Front Row software to have DVR capability. This ties in perfectly with the ability to record and mix DVD’s using iLife. It’s also a big selling point for the Mac Mini’s, which are small enough to use with your TV. I think the overall goal is to create a really powerful home entertainment system, all within a small compartment. A DVR Mac Mini would be amazing. Plasma TV’s? Okay, this is far-fetched, but there are also rumors of an Apple Plasma TV. Who knows? When people first saw the widgets for Dashboard, they thought those were far-fetched too. So expect the unexpected!
But to be honest, I often think this is a waste. For example, you can buy the entire season of a TV show in iTunes, where you will either play it on your iPod or on your computer. For the same price, you can buy the series on DVD and play it anywhere with much higher quality. But the Alfred Hitchock series is a perfect example. I love him, but I would never sit down to watch his TV show at home. I’m just too busy. By contrast, if I bought it on iTunes and loaded it into an iPod, there is a huge chance I would watch it on roadtrips. In addition, if I only wanted one or two episodes of a show, it would only be $1.99 each, so it would be cheaper than buying the whole series. There are always pros and cons to anything. In the long run, I am very happy that Apple is continuing to build a new revolution for the future of technology, and continuing to challenge its competition. I’m getting my first iPod in less than 3 weeks and I can’t wait to load it up with music, photos, and videos
Here’s something geeks will appreciate. I took this quiz and it looks like I am CGI. Oddly enough, the script they gave me to post this had broken HTML, and I had to re-write it. Crackheads.
Aside from blogs, there are a lot of other sites I like to visit on a daily/weekly basis for news, entertainment, and humor. These are some of my bookmarked favorites: Daily: Yahoo! Weekly: MSNBC Week in Pictures (Updates Every Friday)
Upfront, I want to apologize for the mess. On Friday, I bought this domain name and started working through the night to get it all set-up. I spent all of Saturday figuring out how to use Wordpress and setting up the templates. Today, Sunday, I’ve been moving over the messages and comments. I have a total of 87 messages and it’s going to take a bit of time. But meanwhile, I’m just happy to be exapanding my blog. I have a lot more freedom now, I simply outgrew Blogger.com. So please bear with me as I transition. Today is my 2 month anniversary for blogging! Yay! Look how much has changed.
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Isn’t technology amazing? If it weren’t for technology, I wouldn’t be sitting here, sharing my thoughts online with all you lovely people.
