Tookmark is a simple service that sends you email reminders for your Delicious bookmarks.

Tookmark is a little side project I’ve been working on which is a simple email reminder service for your Delicious bookmarks.

I’ve used Delicious for several years now and one of the main things I use it for is tagging articles that I want to read or blog about later. The problem was that I would always forget to go back to Delicious to review the bookmarks I tagged “toread” or “toblog” and by the time I did, they were either outdated or no longer relevant.

I created Tookmark as a simple way to get those bookmarks I wanted to be reminded about in the one place I’m always sure to check—my inbox.

A sample email.

Tookmark works by reading your public RSS feed for the tags you specify and sends you one email a day with the last 25 links added to those tags. Whether you want to be reminded about articles to read, links to post to your blog, a shopping list or YouTube videos to watch, you can have them in your inbox with Tookmark. It even caches your last email so that you don’t get the same email everyday. It will only send you an email if something has been added, removed or changed within your specified tags.

Judging by the hundreds of thousands of bookmarks tagged “toread” and “toblog” on Delcicious, I thought others might find this useful as well and decided to release it to the public.

It’s simple to use and simple to sign-up for. No username or password required. So if you want to be reminded of your Delicious bookmarks by email, you can read a little more about it or try out Tookmark for yourself and let me know what you think.

I use Delicious to tag items that I may not have time to read this second, but do want to go back and read later. Problem was, I would always forget about those items.

I have a little side project I’ve been working on that I created to remind me about those items. It’s almost to a point where I could use a few people to help me work out the kinks. If you’re a Delicious user, wish you could be reminded about items you tagged and are interested in trying out something new, drop me a line.

A call to the Columbus, Ohio web design community to start Refreshing.

When I came across the Refresh group back in August, I was surprised to see that a Columbus, Ohio chapter wasn’t formed yet. So I registered the domain. Six months later and I finally launched a (basic) Refresh Columbus website and am ready to get the group going.

Refresh is a community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical, and professional culture of New Media endeavors in their areas. Promoting design, technology, usability, and standards.

If you’re in the Columbus, Ohio area and have a passion for web design and want to talk with like-minded people to share ideas, web design techniques and processes — and probably a couple drinks — drop me a note and let me know you’re interested.

Another change I made while creating the combined feed is when clicking on segues in the feed, they will now take you directly to the link rather than back to SimplePixels first. Should make for easier reading.

I will keep the segues only feed alive for awhile, but if you are subscribed to that feed, please update your readers to point to the new combined feed. Thanks for tuning in.

Time Capsule

Time Capsule is a great name for a great product. Combination hard drive and WiFi base station makes perfect sense. 500 GB model sells for $299 and the 1 TB model will run you $499. Only downside, and a small one at that, is that if your hard drive goes bad and needs serviced, you also lose your base station and vice-versa.

iPhone & iPod Software Update

The iPhone update is almost old news at this point since the leaked video has been circulating for a couple weeks. The location feature in Maps is cool, but not too accurate on first testing. On my first test after upgrading, my actual location was just outside the circle. For not having built in GPS though, this is a very cool feature which I’m sure I’ll use frequently.

The iPod update includes Mail, Maps, Web Clips and the customizable Home page, but comes at a $20 price tag. I presume Apple’s decision to charge for this update instead of giving it away for free has something to do with accounting purposes. I’m sure this will get some kid’s shorts in a twist though.

Apple TV & iTunes Movie Rentals

The updates to Apple TV coupled with the iTunes movie rentals makes the product appealing to me for the first time. At the more palatable price of $229, I predict sales will grow substantially in 2008.

MacBook Air

It’s sexy. It’s light. It’s ultraportable. But how well will the MacBook Air actually sell? For heavy commuters where weight and size are their number one priority, this notebook is a clear winner. But starting at $1,799 puts it closer in price to the Pro models. I think you’re better off saving $700 and getting a faster MacBook. Other than the form factor, there’s no real advantage to the MacBook Air. If it had ubiquitous wireless networking like John Gruber was hoping for, this would have been a killer notebook.

Here’s a quick roundup of some of the better Macworld predictions write-ups and sites that will be doing live coverage of the keynote address.

Predictions

• ReadWriteWeb: What to Expect at Macworld
• Daring Fireball: Macworld Expo Predictions
• Gizmodo: What To Expect at Macworld 2008 and Why We Think It Will Be Bigger than Usual
• Wired: Macworld Software Highlights: Better Leopard, New Office, HD iTunes
• Mike Davidson: MacWorld 2008 Predictions
• Ars Technica: Great. Expectations.

Live Coverage

• Engadget
• Gizmodo
• MacRumors
• Wired

I’m personally a little underwhelmed by the rumors and not as excited as I normally am about the keynote. Truth be told, I don’t think this is going to be a gangbuster keynote. Sure a sub-notebook is cool, but I want to see more functionality on my iPhone (to do lists, MMS, video) and a more dependable, robust .Mac. Little things really, but these little things would go a long way.

The Bose Companion 2 Series II speakers have clear, full sound, but come at a price.

I’m not a hardcore audiophile, but I generally like to upgrade my system’s speakers to get a little more out of iTunes. I’ve had my eyes on the Bose Companion 2 Series II speakers for awhile, but was reluctant to pay the $100 price tag. Having received a $50 gift card to MicroCenter for Christmas, $50 out of my own pocket didn’t seem too bad.

These are the equalizer settings I use in iTunes.

On first listen the sound is a little bassy, but after a few adjustments to the equalizer in iTunes I was able to get the sound evened out. For not having a separate subwoofer, these speakers provide a rich base experience. The speaker cases are solid construction and built on a slight angle to provide an upward direction to the sound. The cases are a little deep though coming in at almost 6”, most likely to provide room for the extra base.

The lack of a superfluous power light and extra set of inputs are nice features.

I’ve never been fond of speakers that have a power light to indicate they are on. I never turn my speakers off, so the light ends up being another glowing green dot staring at me out of the corner of my eye. It’s always struck me as an unnecessary item on many gadgets, which is thankfully absent from the Bose speakers.

The speakers also feature dual inputs which allow you to hook up an additional MP3 player.

Overall the speakers have good, clear sound with a nice range—once adjusted with equalization. They may be a little overpriced at $100, but if you happen to find a pair discounted or can get them as a gift, they’re a nice upgrade for those seeking to beef up the sound on a desktop or notebook system.

Of course, if you do plan to buy these speakers you can buy them at Amazon and support SimplePixels at the same time.

Best New (To Me) Music: The National

Not a new group, but new to me this past year, The National quickly rose to the top of my rotation list. Their newest release in 2007, Boxer, is fantastic, but Alligator is still their best in my opinion.

Best New (To Me) Gadget & Toy: The iPhone & Wii

I think there’s been enough said about these two already.

Best Thing in My Inbox: Very Short List

I don’t subscribe to many email lists, but by far the best email list from last year is Very Short List. If you’re not getting “one gem a day, five days a week”, this is one email list that won’t get lost with the rest of the bacn.

Best New Icon on My Dock: Coda

An all-in-one web development tool with all the elegance and simplicity of a Mac app. Coda hasn’t changed the way I work as much as it has for many others, but it’s definitely a great new tool I use on almost every project.

Best Waste of a Day: Waiting in Line for the iPhone

I’ve never been the type to wait in line all day for something, but then again Apple never released a phone before. While it’s something I probably won’t do again, it was fun to be part of the launch brouhaha.

I’ll be speaking at Ohio Dominican University for the Family Business Center on December 6, 2007:

Unraveling the Web

In this topical presentation, learn user-friendly design approaches, whether a content management system, a custom application or open source solution is more advantageous for your family business. Learn search engine optimization tips and why they matter. Understand web statistics—what to look for and what they mean. Also learn how to tie your website into lead generating marketing campaigns.

This is going to be a very cursory overview of these topics without getting too in-depth or technical, geared more towards business owners who aren’t involved in the actual design or development of their sites.

Panic’s Coda caused quite a stir…and delivers on the hype.

A lot’s already been said about Panic’s Coda and I’m certainly late to the review party so I’ll keep this short.

Coda lives up to the hype, but still falls short for me as being a total replacement for my main development apps of Transmit and Textmate.

After using coda for a few weeks, where I’ve found it works best in my work flow is as the initial coding tool to do the first draft of HTML and CSS, translating my Photoshop design into a live design. After that, I find myself returning to Transmit and Textmate.