Monday, February 23, 2009
Media blizzard resumes on a different front
I was premature in saying that the media blizzard had ended for me. What has happened since I haven't had a TV in front of me is that I have been focusing even more attention online. Still snowing; just new clouds,pun intended:) I have been exploring TV watching options online and have found several useful ones, Hulu and Sling are two that I can recommend at this point. These will not be news to most readers, except for other old semi-retired guys like me. It is also worth noting that I will really need to upgrade my computer to watch these properly. You need lots of RAM available. When I watch, the audio is rarely coordinated with the video.
Innovative Web 2.0 companies.
The March 2009 issue of Fast Company has a very interesting list of their 10 most innovative web companies.
Your familiarity with the companies on this list will depend on your level of immersion in Cyberspace. I discovered some new companies myself and found plenty of interest to share.
Google is obviously number One. They mention the new Chrome browser which I have tried and it looks interesting. The main problem I had with it was that Roboform hasn't been updated to work on it, so I had to enter all my usernames and passwords manually. This is not happening, so I will wait to explore more when Roboform updates their software.
I have found myself using the iGoogle homepage more. I am particularly amused by the always cynical quotes which Google posts. Being a big fan of uplifting quotes, these more snarky ones are a bit like a guilty pleasure.
I have also become a regular user of their maps and directions which are much better than the other options out there. Be careful though, sometimes they do screw up. Double check if they don't look right. Spoken from experience.
On Gmail, you are given the option of opening attached docs in Word or with Google docs. I have found for some reason that some Word docs are illegible when opened in Word but work when opened with Google docs. Someone with more computer knowledge could probably explain why; I just report the facts, mam.
There is way too much information about this list to put in one post. I will make this the first of a series.
Your familiarity with the companies on this list will depend on your level of immersion in Cyberspace. I discovered some new companies myself and found plenty of interest to share.
Google is obviously number One. They mention the new Chrome browser which I have tried and it looks interesting. The main problem I had with it was that Roboform hasn't been updated to work on it, so I had to enter all my usernames and passwords manually. This is not happening, so I will wait to explore more when Roboform updates their software.
I have found myself using the iGoogle homepage more. I am particularly amused by the always cynical quotes which Google posts. Being a big fan of uplifting quotes, these more snarky ones are a bit like a guilty pleasure.
I have also become a regular user of their maps and directions which are much better than the other options out there. Be careful though, sometimes they do screw up. Double check if they don't look right. Spoken from experience.
On Gmail, you are given the option of opening attached docs in Word or with Google docs. I have found for some reason that some Word docs are illegible when opened in Word but work when opened with Google docs. Someone with more computer knowledge could probably explain why; I just report the facts, mam.
There is way too much information about this list to put in one post. I will make this the first of a series.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Blizzard ends!
I had to make a decision when I moved from Buffalo Grove to my new digs in Round Lake Beach. What to do about TV? BG had a big 27" Panasonic and a Comcast cable connection built in and I had been taking full advantage, keeping the tube on a lot.
Moving, I would have no TV and if I wanted cable or anything else, I would have to buy it. I got enough nudges to forgo the TV, so I took the plunge and have been living TV less now since I moved in, a week ago today. As I expected I am getting a lot more done and I am also missing Charlie Rose, Tavis, Oprah, the View, etc. etc. but on balance it was definitely the right move.
There is a TV in the common room downstairs and I have gone down for a fix occasionally but it has no remote and some of the channels don't have audio, so its a pain in the you-know-what. Today I went down to watch Jeopardy at 3:30 and walked in on the Bingo game. I asked them if the TV would bother them, and I got a chorus of Yeses so its a new reality folks, and I'm lovin' it.
Moving, I would have no TV and if I wanted cable or anything else, I would have to buy it. I got enough nudges to forgo the TV, so I took the plunge and have been living TV less now since I moved in, a week ago today. As I expected I am getting a lot more done and I am also missing Charlie Rose, Tavis, Oprah, the View, etc. etc. but on balance it was definitely the right move.
There is a TV in the common room downstairs and I have gone down for a fix occasionally but it has no remote and some of the channels don't have audio, so its a pain in the you-know-what. Today I went down to watch Jeopardy at 3:30 and walked in on the Bingo game. I asked them if the TV would bother them, and I got a chorus of Yeses so its a new reality folks, and I'm lovin' it.
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