This is a cool feature that Picasa offers. I can embed a slideshow of photos right into this blog or any other web page I want. You can see the results below.
Another cool feature of Picasa is a visual link to the photo album. As seen below.
Flickr Vs. Picasa
I'm testing out two different photo sharing services. I've used both and recently started using Flickr again; but thought I would take a look at Picasa Web again and have been pleasently suprised. The sites do the exact same thing, but no surprise Google has done a great job with Picasa;
although as with all Google sites it does lack a certain "splash" quality; but the same is true of Flickr.
I have the same sets of photos on both sites. Take a look at the public galleries of Carlos jr and tell me what you think. You can e-mail me at my primary address.
Picasa - Carlos Jr. Flickr - Carlos Jr.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and if you would suggest some other service. One of the main reasons for looking at either one of these sites is that there are plugins for Aperture 1.5 that allow me to post directly to their sites without the use of a secondary program or doing web-uploads.
The iPhone Baby - June 29th
If you haven't heard about the iPhone yet, then you may have been visiting Siberia or maybe even the Amazon. Apple says that the iPhone will re-invent the mobile phone industry. Cingular is betting that hundreds of thousands of people will want one in the early days of the release, and that with their multi-year exclusive agreement Apple fans will become Cingular fans; or at least Cingular customers. To be honest, in the Apple or more specifically Macintosh community, the iPhone has got to be the hottest topic around; hotter even than Mac OS X 10.5 which was apparently delayed by Apple in favor of throwing more resources at the iPhone.
Why is it such a hot item? Well, for starters it is a phone based strongly on the hottest selling handheld music & video device ever, the iPod. Apple has sold over 30 million iPods and re-invigorated the music industry, while also creating a huge iPod accessory industry to boot. Just stop and think how many consumer electronic devices have specifically named attachments for most major car companies higher end cars; just one Apple.
If, for the moment, you forget the fact that this phone has its routes in the iPod then the other reason folks are so excited about the iPhone is that it was fully designed by the minds of Apple, Inc. To Mac fans around the world that means one thing, style meets function. For those that have used all the cool phones on the market, you know one thing, even the best of them are far from great. Hopes are high that the creators of the Mac and the creators of the iPod can be the ones that make using a mobile phone not only easy and fun, but REALLY COOL.
The power that Apple says they will put in the hands of iPhone users is pretty awesome. Never before has a phone had a really easy to use and standard web browser. Never before has a user had random access voice mail. Never before have mobile phone users had e-mail that worked the same way it works on their computer. Never before have folks seen the specs that the iPhone is being presented as having on board in spades.
Does this mean the iPhone will be a killer app? NOPE! Apple has had failures and if they do this wrong or Cingular messes something up, this could be one of the most spectacular failures in recent memory. Worse, if the reception to the iPhone is lack luster and doesn't seem to trend upward, even at a slow pace (as was seen with the iPod) then no matter how good the phone is, it will be seen as a loss for Apple and that while users complain about their phones, they aren't willing to put their money where their mouth is and by an iPhone.
Will I buy one? In the end, if it is only half as good as they say; I think you will see me in a second generation phone. Right now they are saying the phone will cost $499 and $599. That's the most expensive iPod on the market and one of the most expensive PDA phones on the market. Granted, it may be the best of both worlds; but $500 is still $500. Prices will come down and I didn't even get an iPod until the 4th generation and my second one I only got early this year.
So no I won't rush out and get one, but I will be keeping an eye on the June 29th release and what all those new iPhone users have to say.
11 Ways to Clean Up Your Mac
I found this useful article link on Digg.com. The website is one I hadn't seen before, LowEndMac.com. If you own a Mac with OS X, it is a useful read. Some of it you may know, other information may be new to you.
"Every now and then, my Macs begin to feel a little sluggish. There are many potential reasons why: I tend to run 8-10 applications all the time - and sometimes push 15 or more. This alone will bog down any Mac. At other times, I realize that it's been weeks since I restarted the computer, and a simple restart will solve a lot of these woes. When those don't speed things up, I've found a number of things I can do to encourage my Macs back to their youthful snappiness. Here are a few tips I've found for restoring my Macs to full speed without spending a penny." Check Out the Article
Just Cool: Google Maps on Your Phone
There are levels of coolness in Technology. They range from "man this is so cool to look at it, but I can't imagine what I would use it for," to "man this is so cool it could save the universe from the alien incursion!" For that last one, think Independance Day. Well, Google Maps on your computer is some where in the middle. I use it all the time to check directions and use the satellite maps to check landmarks to aid me in finding whatever I want to find. I've also used Google Maps in home searching and just checking up various locations around the world. It's just plain fun and pretty useful. The single biggest drawback is that you can't take the functionality with you. You can print out the maps and images, but if your plans change or you need to reroute due to traffic, your are on your own. Unless you have Google Mobile Maps.
I first used this application about a year ago on my BlackBerry 8700. It didn't take me but two minutes to figure out how useful this application could be on my phone. Just think, you are on the go and you get that business call you have been waiting for all day. The client wants to meet, but not at his office; he wants to meet at some restaraunt you have never heard of in a part of town you never go to. Well, you could ask him for detailed directions and sound like a total moron; or just say you haven't been there but you can find it, all you need is the address and a local landmark. The client gives you the address and you pull up Google Mobile Maps. You have two options, you can just enter the address and look at the map to get your bearings or you can enter your current location as well as the restaraunt address and Google Mobile Maps will give you step by step directions. You can look at a map or you can look at satellite imagery with roads overlayed. I personally use both so that I can first see the map, then see what is around where I am going so that I have true visual references.
Now, what if your client doesn't know the address, he just knows where it is? Well, Google Mobile Maps to the rescue. You can use the power of Google to look up the restaraunt and more times than not, have their phone number handy too. Highlight the number and you can call them to get directions and even make a reservation maybe even arrange to have the meal paid for by you in advance.
The newest version even talks to the GPS radio in many modern mobile phones, which means you can turn it on and it will tell you where you are right now. That's very useful when you realize you should have taken a right turn instead of a left.
Here is the really good news. Google Mobile Maps should work on most modern phones, and I know works great on BlackBerry phones (newer BlackBerry phones work better) and PocketPC/Smart Phones. If you already have a version on your phone, download the latest version. There have been updates and fixes that I notice make the application run better and faster.
Best of all, this application is 100% free of any cost. If you have a data plan on your phone for e-mails, the web, etc., this application shouldn't cost you a dime. If you aren't sure, contact your service provider. So, check out Google Mobile Maps, you will be glad you did. If you like Google Maps, you will love Google Mobile Maps, it isn't technology that will save the universe, but for me, it's darn close!
Cool Software Application for Students - Mac Based Of Course
In browsing the web today at lunch, I came across this cool little app that is designed for students. It isn't supper complicated but would have been a blessing to me when I was in school. Sure you can use Outlook or several other programs to help keep track of lessons and research, but having it all handy in a specialized application can be a godsend. The application is called Schoolhouse 2 - The Homework Manager for Mac.
The program keeps track of your class notes, class documents (you can attach documents to a topic), class tasks and research projects as well as keep track of grades. I haven't used it but the features it has could be very useful. It is also true "Donation-Ware." Meaning that you use it and if you like it you donate what you feel it is worth.
If you are interested or have a friend or student that is, I think it is worth checking out at: Loganscollins.com/schoolhouse.
Hello - Apple Teaser for the iPhone
I didn't partake in the Oscar festivities this year, although I'm sure my mom did, but I did hear a rumor that Apple would release their first commercial for the iPhone. This was one rumor that turned out to be 100% true! The commercial isn't really about anything and you only see the product for a brief moment at the end, but it is very creative and was specifically designed for Oscar night. Check it out and see how many faces you recognize. Which film won Best Picture anyway?
World of WarCraft
Recently I took up playing the game World of Warcraft. There are many games like it and they are all referred to as a MMORPG or Massive Multi-Player On-Line Role Playing Game. But what does that mean? Well, typically it means a game that is simultaneously played by thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people at the exact same time. World of Warcraft has over 7 million players currently signed up. The game resides on your personal computer, in my case my PowerBook, and talks to servers around the world over the internet. Each player takes on a character role, similar to the character types in Lord of the Rings or any other fantasy story, and plays as that character attempting to accomplish missions and raise their skill levels.
Do you remember, Dungeons and Dragons? Well, World of Warcraft and their brethren are strongly related. The games is based upon virtual roles of the dice that the player never sees giving the impression of real-time play. The graphics are pretty good and the play very interesting at times, actually exciting.
It's a means of escape. I haven't really met anyone on-line that I can "quest" with yet, but eventuallly the games requires that you work with others to accomplish bigger and bigger quests; some including fights with dragons and other large unfriendly creatures. At the moment, I am fighting small unfriendly creatures that are pretty evenly matched with my skills. If I meet a creature with better skills than I and I upset that creature, or in some cases just cross its path, i can die very quickly. If I die nothing horrible happens, but I do become a spirit and have to cross the land looking for my body.
The concept is very interesting and 7 million people can't be too wrong, can they?