An Angry Geek

An Inbox for Snail Mail - Sorta

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:22:00 +0000

Zumbox is neat. It's like Gmail, but for snail mail. To get an inbox (it's free!), all you need is your regular address. Then, when anyone who sends a letter to your address using Zumbox, it shows up in your inbox. Confused? This picture kind of clears everything up:
As you see, it gives you all your messages in neat little envelopes. When you open one, you read the message, then file it, delete it, or whatever. The cool thing, of course, is that its digital. You can set up filters, block senders, and more. Also, it is a lot cheaper than standard mail. Businesses can send out letters to huge mailing lists for just a few pennies each. Also, individuals can send a letter for $.05. Remember, this doesn't replace standard mail. It is only based off of it.

Overall, I'd say its cool, but there is an issue: Why would I pay to send a digital letter when I could just send an email for free? Now, there are some cool things that you can't do with either snail mail or email, like embedding flash, but these are things the average person isn't going to need this. My suggestion: get people to like this, and let them do everything for free, then make the corporations pay, since this is a lot cheaper and easier for them to connect to their customers.

Google wants to help you with your electricity

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Google recently posted in their blog about their love toward smart power meters. Here's an excerpt:

Google’s mission is to "organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful," and we believe consumers have a right to detailed information about their home electricity use. We're tackling the challenge on several fronts, from policy advocacy to developing consumer tools, and even investing in smart grid companies. We've been participating in the dialogue in Washington, DC and with public agencies in the U.S. and other parts of the world to advocate for investment in the building of a "smart grid," to bring our 1950s-era electricity grid into the digital age. Specifically, to provide both consumers and utilities with real-time energy information, homes must be equipped with advanced energy meters called "smart meters." There are currently about 40 million smart meters in use worldwide, with plans to add another 100 million in the next few years.

This certainly makes sense, as their mission is to organize the world's data, and I would definately like a company like Google to graph my electricity usage in nice charts.

Google Sync for iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:16:00 +0000

The iPhone now supports Google Sync! I wasn't sure how they'd do it, but it seems they've converted every Google Account to a Microsoft Exchange Server account so their calendars, email, and contacts sync. That's a huge directory of Exchange users!

More info and instructions here.

Hulu Ad

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:07:00 +0000

If you missed the Superbowl, here is the big secret behind Hulu:

Tech Tip: Don't Tweet Your Secret Mission

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:49:00 +0000

This is hilarious! Don't tweet your arrival in Iraq if you're supposed to be on a secret trip. www.tinyurl.com/blslgj

No DTV till Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Well, it's happened. The official DTV switch will not be until June. I'm against delaying the switch because I think that it will cause more confusion, having less people prepared to switch over. On top of that, I believe that the large broadcasting companies have been being very cooperative to get this going, and they have spent much time, money, and effort having everything ready to go on February 17th. But now, they will have to work to move it until summer. On top of that, Verizon paid billions of dollars to get the 700mHz spectrum, and they also now have to wait. I understand the reasons to delay and I don't think that it is entirely a bad idea. I just think that there were too many things depending on the February switch and too much effort put into having it ready that it will just be a mess delaying it.

On the bright side, at least I'll have a cool birthday present this Summer!

Stock Market Simualtion

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:14:00 +0000

There are many stock market simulators out there, but UpDown is one of the best I have found. It looks very nice and has a pretty layout, and there are also contests that you can win if you just do better than the market. You can compete against friends, too. They start you off with $1,000,000 and there is a $100 commission fee per trade. After that, it's up to the market.

Illustrated Guide to the Economic Crash

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I just found this and thought I should share it.

Where to find geek humor on the web...

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Here is a list of some of the best sites (in my opinion) to find geek merchandise, jokes, humor, and little or no social interaction.

2P Start! (2pstart.com) - 2P Start! is a weekly webcomic and podcast focused on gaming. What makes the site special isn't just the humor and creativeness of the comics, but the rich fan culture that has formed around it. Here's one of their comics (click on it to enlarge):
ThinkGeek (thinkgeek.com) - Thinkgeek is an online store with stuff that all geeks simply much enjoy. Seriously, enjoy it or die. You can't go wrong with some Pirate vs Ninja Batteries! Or how about a Wi-Fi Detecector T-Shirt (It really works!)?
Homestar Runner (homestarrunner.com) - Homestar Runner is a humorous flash cartoon series. It's not meant to be geeky, but if you watch and listen carefully (especially with SrongBad's emails), you may pick up on some nerdy humor.

Woot (woot.com) - Woot is the original deal a day site. A new item comes to the site every midnight for some crazy good price and they stop selling it either the next midnight or when it sells out. That's it. It's that simple. Woot is special because of the humor they use on their site (just read any of the item descriptions) and the community (see the forums).

Now you know where to shopify, entertainificate, and dressilate yourself, all in a geeked-out manner.

Happy 10th Birthday, Google!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:48:00 +0000

Dear Google,

Happy 10th birthday! I remember all the good times I had with you. From trying out Froogle when it was brand new, to getting an invitation to Gmail. And, of course, Blogger! And then there's Google Earth, and so much more! I hope that you will continue to come up with these great things for me to try out.

Happy 10th from An Angry Geek!

13,000 people (so far) stand up to "free the airwaves"

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:28:00 +0000

From The Google Public Policy Blog:

Sent to you by Jake via Google Reader:

13,000 people (so far) stand up to "free the airwaves"

via Google Public Policy Blog by Google Public Policy Blog on 9/6/08

Posted by Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel

Two weeks ago, we launched Free the Airwaves, an effort to bring together Internet users to open up unused airwaves between broadcast TV channels ("white spaces") for affordable, nationwide high-speed wireless Internet connectivity. I'm excited to say that your initial response to this campaign has been overwhelming.

As Ars Technica reports today, more than 13,000 of you already have signed the online petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to allow unlicensed use of this unused spectrum. Your comments are being filed formally with the FCC's public comment system (just type in the proceeding number, 04-186).

It's great to see so many people standing up for more wireless broadband options, but we can't rest on our laurels. A few entrenched D.C. interests -- including TV broadcasters, wireless microphone manufacturers, and cell phone carriers -- don't want to see the vacant spectrum be used for unlicensed broadband access, and you can bet that they'll be working hard to get Congress and the FCC to see things their way. With an FCC vote on this issue expected as soon as this fall, the time is now to show your public support for freeing the airwaves.

So what can you do to get involved?

Get five friends to sign the petition at Free The Airwaves
Become a supporter of Free the Airwaves on Facebook
Place a phone call to Congress (it's free!)
Submit your own video through YouTube (like this one)
Write a blog post about this effort

The potential of white spaces is real. Check out Inez Gonzalez from the National Hispanic Media Coalition talking about how this vacant spectrum can help bring the Internet to underserved communities:

Things you can do from here:

Subscribe to Google Public Policy Blog using Google Reader
Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

New iPod

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:13:00 +0000

Today, I thought I'd just write about the latest news from Infinate Loop, in case you didnt hear.

Apple just released the iPod nano 4G, a new iPod Touch, and iPhone 2.1 (with Genius). Anyone want to give me their 3G?

Anyway, I think that looks very nice and I cant wait to try it out. I probably won't buy one, because, if I do buy and iPod, it will be an iPod touch, which is now cheaper ($129). It also has a new design, a built-in speaker, longer battery life, and many more features.Apple seems to love wavy curves now. First the iPhone, then the Nano and Touch. They seem to do these trends a lot. The last one was curves with a sharp edge.

It's defiantly nice that Apple is starting to become less of the "really cool, but really expensive" and more "really cool, and cheap, too." Many of their products were the most expensive item in their product category, and now, although they're still near the top, the prices are much more comparable.

EDIT: I finally got an iPod Touch (2G, 16GB). Check out my Sazze review!

Hack your money - The best financial websites

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:53:00 +0000

Don't worry. Nothing here is illegal. It's the good meaning of the word "hack." These are some great online services you can use to track and control your money so you can save and spend smarter. Note: All of these services are free to use.

mint.com - The best way to manage your money
Give them all your bank accounts, stocks, credit and debit cards, your budget, your goals, and more. (Privacy an issue? Don't worry, they use 256 bit encryption - better than most banks.) It will categorize your spending for you, compare it to your budget and notify you by email and/or SMS if you are overbudget or if anything strange is going on.

paypal .co m - Easily Send and Receive Money
Owned by eBay, PayPal has become, next to credit card, the most poplular payment method on web. You can enter a credit card, debit card, and/or bank account and transfer money between any of your own or other people's accounts. For example, you could pay your friend for taking care of your dog using your credit card. You could also transfer money from your checking to your savings account.

wheresgeorge.com - The United States Currency Tracking Project
This one's for fun, but it can make a great hobby. You may have seen a bill with a stamp on it telling you to go to wheresgeorge.com. No, its not some government trap. It's a website that track bills. You enter the bills serial number and the zip code where you currently have it and see where it's been before you. From then on, you can track the bill as it travels across the country to different people who enter it. In order to get more people to enter your bill, you can write something like "Track me at wheresgeorge.com" on your bills, then spend them somewhere so that others will get the bill. People who make a hobby out of it will actually stamp their bill and enter every one they get.

google.com/finance - Real-time market data
Get up-to-date stock info and business news, provided by Google through Google Finance. The interactive charts let you compare stocks quickly, find trends in certain time ranges, and read news articles that relate to a spike or drop in the stock price.

Stay tuned to the blog for more lists of The Best...

Google Chrome - Browsy or Lousy?

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:20:00 +0000

In case you haven't heard, Google recently released their very own browser, Google Chrome. I admit that I have not tried it yet, mostly because I run Linux on my computer, so I am unable to install it as it is for Windows only. I think this is a great idea and could really go somewhere, but Google is going to have to keep a close eye on it with regular updates and patches that are automatically downloaded. After all, this is being marketed as an easy, simple browser for people who might not be the brightest at using a PC. As a dedicated Firefox user and a strong supporter of open-source software, I think this is a nice browser. It is a great example of how open-source works, as Google took parts of open-source Firefox and Adobe products and mixed them with their own stuff to make a final product. I was very happy when I learned that Google decided to make Chrome open source, as well. This way, the community will be able to improve and expand it to their liking. Companies could also brand specialized the browser for their brand (Like Firefox, eBay edition). Of course, Google always has something different and special about their products and what makes Chrome special is its speed. How does it do this? Multiple processes. Every applet like Java, Flash, HTML, etc. get their own Windows process so that the browser is more stable and speed. For example, if Java had a hand-up and got stuck, a normal browser might freeze because it didn't get the "reply" from the Java applet saying "I'm done!" But Chrome wont because the applet would be self-contained. To read more about about the technology, see the cartoons Google created. So, if you are running Windows, try it out! If you run Linux, sign up for the mailing list. Mac users, click here. If you want to help code it, see the Google Code project. See what you think. Compare it to Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, or whatever browser you're used to! Please tell me what you think by commenting on this post.

You read my blog's title. I think that's enough social interaction for today.

noreply@blogger.com (Jacob Ford) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:55:00 +0000

Welcome to 72.14.207.191, all you earthlings, plutonians, and monkeys! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably aren't where you think you are. You may want to consider going to 64.233.167.99, er, I mean www.google.com and search for what you would like to find. Otherwise, enjoy the blog. Like most creatures with brains, I have many opinions on many subjects. I also happen to enjoy talking about those opinions. Chances are, unless you are one of the countless clones of myself that are out to destroy me (It's a long story), that your opinions are somewhat different then mine. This means that we have to have a very scary thing called, "Social Interaction." I know, it sounds freaky, right. But the wonderful people at Google have made this dreaded activity much less painful. Instead of having to actually talk to someone, we you can leave a nice little comment on this post and then, under no pressure, I may reply to your comment. This might go on for quite awhile until someone else joins in the commentificationism and makes it go even longer. Eventually, we may be forced to settle it over a game of pong or Star Wars trivia or something. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your time here reading my opinions on lots of different subjects.