iPhone vs. BlackBerry Curve
August 25, 2008
I’ve been coveting the iPhone 3G for it’s sleek interface, slim frame, fully functional browser and especially for visual voice mail. But I was also unwilling to stand in line for several hours to get one. I get why the thing is so cool but after realizing that the ability to get any mail easily pushed would not work (with out Apple’s “Mobile Me“) and the blissful business functionality that comes with the BlackBerry I’ve decided to stick with my Curve 8310 for now. I’ll probably switch eventually but I’ll give them time to work out more of the kinks.
To be sure, the iPhone interface kills anything else out there but the essential functionality for me is great email, messaging and a great phone, all of which the 8310 does with ease. I never thought that day would come when my need for reliable and practical (at least in a phone/PDA) would outstrip my need to feel cool!
The other downer about the I phone is expandability. I can drop a micro SD card into the 8310 to expand the memory but no such luck on the iPhone. And given the nominal cost of memory these days it bothers me that Apple charges such a premium for 16GB vs 8GB. I probably wouldn’t carry quite that much media on the device at onetime anyway but it really is the principal of the matter. I’ve already paid for Apple “coolness” when I chunk down $200 for the device, why should doubling the memory add $200? Of course they got it by selling millions of the things in the first weekend so I guess I’d take everyone’s money too but it seems to me to be a short sighted purchase by many consumers and a bit pompous on Apple’s part.
I may eventually get one because they are so damn cool but then again I might just want to see what those Google guys pull off with Android. I love disruptive technology and Google might just make the iPhone popularity a short-lived event in it’s current form. Plus I like Google’s “Don’t be evil” philosophy, and I’ll bet I can add extra memory.
All of that said, this might have changed my mind. It’s WordPress for iPhone and as a big WordPress user this is a major turn on.
lijit - Search Based On Your Content
August 22, 2008
lijit is a new search application designed for publishers, which, with the advent of applications like Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc… we all are to some degree.
lijit enables you to add a search widget (er.. wijit) to your site or blog and return results based on your network of content. For example, if someone searched this site through the lijit search (very top right) for “Community Crush” (shameless plug I know, you might experiment with “Wordcamp” too and get a lot back) you would get results from all of my content sources (Facebook, twitter, this blog, Linkedin, stories I’ve dug, …). In another tab, you can see search results from my “network” or sites that I follow and/or trust. Of course you can get plain ol’ web results too or you can get results that are specific only to this site.
The idea is that it aggregates all of my content and trusted sources so you can find it in one place while still differentiating between my content (in the case of me) or content from my network.
It’s a clever idea and one which should do well. I’m going to continue testing it for a while but if all goes well I’ll remove the default search for this site and use only the lijit wijit.
I learned about lijit at WordCamp 2008 while talking to Aaron Brazel who is now working with lijit.
lijit has also secured $7.1M in Series C funding so they should be araound and doing well for sometime. I’m looking forward to seeing how this grows and evolves.
If you’re a WordPress user they also have a lijit search plugin with integrated statistics to replace the default WordPress search. I’ll be pluggin that in shortly. Note: ***This plug-in is only available for those WordPress users with versions 2.3-2.6.***
Do some lijit searches and let me know how it works for you.
Updates From WordCamp 2008
August 17, 2008
I’m in San Francisco with one of my business partners Martin for WordCamp 2008 (see my BlackBox WordCamp post for an overview). For anyone who is a WordPress user or developer here are some highlights and links from the event. All of the links open in a new window.
SEO Tip: Use Multiple RSS Feeds (for each category)
Plugins:
SEO Title Tag
WP-Sticky or Adhesive
Progressive License
Operator : Firefox Add On
Link Love from WC 2008:
redmonk.com - open source analyst firm
http://redmonk.com/sogrady/ - stephen o’grady
revolutiontheme.com : Premium WordPress themes from Brian Gardner
http://markjaquith.com/ : code animal
http://getsatisfaction.com/ : syndicate your profile
technosailor.com : Aaron Brazell
ma.tt : Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress
SEO Rapper : Charles Lewis
Do the Page Rank: From the SEO Rapper
Quotes:
“Find the intersection of commercial and open-source interests.” - Stephen O’Grady
“I just bought one of your themes. But what is WordPress? ” - Brian Gardner on a support e-mail he received.
“WordPress.org now drives 2,604,288 blogs and is increasing by thousands a day.” - Matt Mullenweg
FYI:
Version 2.5.1 and higher is secure. If you are on a lower version, UPGRADE!
Other good coverage from WordCamp 2008:
Sneak Peek at “Crazy Horse” The next generation of WordPress
Conversion to WordPress
May 27, 2008
As you can see, over the Memorial Day weekend, I finally managed to get my website converted to WordPress. Other than the content (all the old stuff is still here) everything has changed and I welcome your feedback.
Despite the fact that it took a while the process was really relatively easy, thanks largely to careful planning. If you have ever pondered the transition to WordPress for your own blog or website I highly recommend it. The platform is incredibly extensible and customizable. The available support is phenominal, even the documentation on the website is surprisingly good. Anyone who knows developers knows how much they despise documentation.
I also had the privilage of working on a couple of other client sites over the weekend via my company BlackBox Technologies. Wendistry was the first conversion and came out beautifully. My personal blog, scottismy.name also got converted (actually migrated, it had been on WP for a while) and two other client sites which have not gone live so I can’t disclose their names but be looking for reviews in the near futue (I’ll be sure to plug BlackBox again so you’ll know who they are).
It was a long and tough weekend of heads down coding and implementing but sometimes it feels good to get your hands that dirty, and all of the planning and preparation are done so that when the time comes, as it did this weekend, we can simply execute our plan.
Hattip to: Jon at 3nhanced for how to create the cool WP logo.
Enjoy the new site and let me know what you think.
GeekBrief.TV
February 21, 2008
I really admire people that chase their dreams and find a way to set out on their own while doing so. A couple of months ago I ran across GeekBrief.tv, a clever podcast (in HD to boot) hosted by Cali Lewis and became an instant fan. I’m a geek at heart after all and always have been so “shiny, happy, tech news” is a good fit. The podcast covers gadgets, tech news and (dearcali.com) tech “help.” The show is about 4 minutes well spent, 4-5 times a week, and I have discovered several good links, technologies and even spawned a few ideas from things I have seen on the show.
What impressed me most was that Cali and Neal are able to do this full time (yea! no day jobs). One of their dreams is to take the show on the road hitting all 50 states in 50 weeks which they plan to begin early this summer. If you want to learn more about that visit bigtrip.tv where you can stay updated on their preparation for the US tour. While checking out bigtrip.tv I noticed that they were looking for sponsors by utilizing the script/idea from the once infamous milliondollarhomepage, selling pixels to sponsors. So, in the spirit of good karma and wanting to help them chase their dreams as I do mine, I decided to carve out my own little 10×10pixel plot and would encourage you to do the same.
Check out the show and support the cause.
To all of you who are visiting via paidbypixels.com or geekbreef.tv, or icali.tv welcome to vsellis.com where we explore, develop and execute great ideas for fun and profit.
If you happen to be in the Dallas Area and would like to join Wendi and I, we’ll be at the Dallas World Camp the weekend of 3/29, Cali and Neal will be speaking there as will the founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg.
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