Stethoscope app
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Category Archives: Gadgets & Apps
WordPress, StudioPress, Thesis. FTW.
We completed a make-over of one of Learfield’s websites yesterday. Like most companies, we’re watching our expenses, so I was pleased to bring it in for the $59 I paid for the theme (not counting my time and some IT help with site prep).
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve converted a dozen websites to WordPress and the process has gone very smoothly. With 50 users working in half a dozen offices, we needed a very friendly content management system and WordPress has delivered. Both for the people working in our newsrooms and for me.
There are literally thousands of plug-ins for every conceivable task. And they’re all free (or donor supported).
I’m not a designer but the variety of affordable WordPress themes is staggering. After a good bit of looking, I found myself coming back again and again to two providers:
StudioPress has great-looking themes that cost about $60 each. Use as-is or have one customized for a couple of hundred bucks.
Thesis is the theme I chose for our news networks. Out of the box, it’s a clean, minimalist design. We can add a coat of Candy Apple Glitter Flake paint later, but for now, I wanted something that was easy to manage under the hood.
Both of these developers have great support forums and documentation.
I’ve spent less than $2,000 on the refresh of ALL of our websites. Aside from some great help by our IT folks, and the day-to-day content posting by our news and sports staff, I support all of these by myself.
If quick turn-around is a requirement, StudioPress/Thesis + WordPress is a winning combination. If the content has been assembled, I can get a site up and running in a matter of a few hours.
Fast, inexpensive and fun. For the win.
Dropbox
Dropbox is near the top of my short-list of apps/tools I can’t live without. When I need to move a file from my MacBook to the iMac, it goes into Dropbox icon in my menu bar… and a few seconds later I take it out of the Dropbox on the big computer. Much faster than plugging in a thumb-drive. And it works for files too big to send as email attachments.
And it’s great for files that I use a lot and what to have available anywhere. Sure, I could use MobileMe’s iDisk and do sometimes but nothing is as easy as Dropbox.
And the Public folder is the perfect way to share a big file.
Whither the web page?
The iPhone is clearly changing the way I get and read the news. I’ve recently added apps for the New York Times and The Huffington Post that make it easier to find, read and share stories.
If you’re already using the iPhone, you know what I’m talking about. If not, I probably can’t explain it here. But the web site as we have come to know it is feeling more and more like the tail than the dog.
I think something else is at work here as well. What is the value of having your app icon be one of the 16 on someone’s iPhone “home” screen?
“PowerPoint is corporate karaoke”
I don’t have a post to go with the quote above, but it’s so good I had to write down. I found it on William Gibson’s Twitter feed and he retweeted John Perry Barlow, who overheard it at at dinner party.
Why can’t I back up my wallet?
I don’t carry a wallet. I keep some cash in my pocket and leave the wallet in the car. All it contains is a few credit cards, an insurance card and my drivers license. But when I couldn’t locate it for a day or so, I was facing the hassle of replacing those few items. No big deal.
Bigger deal? Updating dozens of online accounts that have my credit card info. Being without those services, even for a day, would be a major pain in the ass.
After looking in all the obvious places for my wallet, one of my first thoughts was why can’t I locate my wallet like I do my iPhone? Make it beep or show it on a map.
For that matter, why do we need to carry pieces of plastic at all. My phone is smart enough to contain all of the data and identity represented on the plastic.
I know that in some Asian countries, a growing number of services can be purchased with your mobile phone.
The only part of my life that isn’t backed up is on some pieces of plastic in a little leather envelope. Sad.
UPDATE: Looks like we might be closer than I thought. See link in comments and this story at Apple Insider.
DirecTV iPhone app
I got out of the fitness center a little late tonight and realized I wouldn’t make it home in time to watch or record The Daily Show re-feed. Comedy Central used to re-run TDS and The Colbert Report one day later at 7:00 p.m. For some reason they moved the shows up an hour. I could watch the first run at 10 p.m. but I’m deep in REM sleep by then. And I think Barb Tivo’s the shows, so this was hardly an emergency.
But I remembered the DirecTV app on my iPhone. I got it mostly for the schedule but seemed to recall that I could set a show to record from the phone.
It was easier to make this happen on the iPhone app than it is with the remote from home. Seriously, the app UI is much easier than the on-board software that comes with the service.
Life should be as easy as a Mac
I long ago lost track of how many computers I have owned. During the latter Windows days, I would by a new computer rather than go through the hell of trying to upgrade the operating system. It was just easier to buy a new box with the new OS already installed. But in every instance, it was necessary to re-install all of my applications and move my data over.
Our IT guys have assorted utilities for making “ghost images” and simplifying the process, but it has always been a pain ion the ass for me. Before I switched to Mac.
My new 13″ MacBook Pro arrived yesterday. I set it next to the 15″ MBP I’ve been using for the last year… connected them with a FireWire cable… and then just followed a few simple steps on the new laptop. And then I went to lunch.
When I returned, all of my apps, all of my data, and all of my settings had been copied over to the new computer. Done. I really can’t imagine how it could have been any easier.
The 13″ is about a pound lighter and you notice the difference immediately. (I keep the thing with me at all times) The smaller form factor forced Apple to move the little speakers and –although I don’t see them– the sound is as good as the larger laptop.
I doubt I’ll see the upper-end 7 hours of battery life but hope to get four, which would be a big improvement.
Last night Barb asked, “Tell me again why you got a new computer?”
“Because I’m a good boy,” I replied.
New camera promises to capture your whole life
From article at NewScientist.com:
“Worn on a cord around the neck, the camera takes pictures automatically as often as once every 30 seconds. It also uses an accelerometer and light sensors to snap an image when a person enters a new environment, and an infrared sensor to take one when it detects the body heat of a person in front of the wearer. It can fit 30,000 images onto its 1-gigabyte memory.
The ViconRevue was originally developed for researchers studying Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Studies showed that reviewing the events of the day using SenseCam photos could help some people improve long-term recall.
Vicon’s version will retail for about $820 and will also be marketed to researchers at first; it will go on sale in the next few months. A consumer version should be released in 2010. So far, only 500 have been made, most for use by researchers.
For consumers, the gadget will provide an easy way to become a “lifelogger” – someone who attempts to electronically record as much of their life as possible. Microsoft researcher Gordon Bell has made his life an experiment in lifelogging, recording everything from phone calls to TV viewing, and uses a SenseCam wherever he goes.”
Okay, it might be fun to play back a day’s worth of images at high speed. Or to set that little rascal next to your bed if you have to spend a few days in the hospital. And if you’re going to a protest this would be and if you could hang on to it.
What is Google Wave?
Ah, starting to make sense. I’d very much like to try this out. I no longer rely on email as my primary means of communicating online. Google Wave just might be The Thing.