Google +

I have been using Google Plus for about a week. I like it, simple sleek and new. Everything seems to work great including the mobile app. I like the simple things, circles are the best part of this. You can create a circle and put whoever you want in it but people can be in more than one circle. Now you can post to the people you want to share the info you are posting with. Im hoping for more integration with other google products, here is my wish list.

Google Music - share a song with people and/or a now playing status update
Google Voice - not sure how this would work but at the very least have your google voice number on your profile
Google Reader - at the very least be able to share posts with google plus like on twitter
Google Calendar - For events
Youtube (since google owns them) - for videos, have your video page be your channel, can also recommend videos
Google Shopping - recommend products for people
Google News - Post straight from google news
Latitude - use for check ins
Google Talk or Gchat - combine these and huddle for one google messaging app
Blogger - You can post directly to your stream from blogger and you should be able to follow peoples blogs directly in your stream.
Google Books - recommend books to read

Google has so much to offer and if they can integrate most of them if not all of them, they will become a huge social media hub.

Now we can only hope that they will do these things as I cannot find a place to make suggestions.

Server and iPad

This weekend is going to be an awesome one. Got my server machine and RAID box in the mail. Going to take a few hours to set up the server as I do not have all my hard drives for the RAID box. The goal is to have it up and running a print server and going to research hooking up my scanner to it as well. The RAID box will have to wait but that isnt a problem, by the end of March I will have 5 2TB drives in it for a total of 7TB which over double of what I have right now for space. Very excited for this process, its been over a year in the making.

One another note I have an iPad coming this weekend as well, which is just as exciting. The main function of this device for me is to have an all in one remote for everything possible, from my HTPC to lights. This has been a dream of mine for a while and its going to take a bit of work but I think it will be worth it all in the end. I will update this weekend or Monday with the progressd.

iPad 2 and other stuff

Apple finally revealed the iPad 2, is anyone impressed? Im not impressed, usually Apple released a great 2nd generation product but this tablet is only slightly better that the first generation and without a price drop?! if this had been even 50 dollars less that th iPad 1 then I would be impressed. I've been saying this to people for a few months now but why doesnt Apple make the macbook air a tablet? is clearly thin enough and with full mac osx? you still have the mac store which is just like the app store, I would be first in line for a full OS tablet regardless of who releases it. I hope that the competitors like HP, Blackberry and Microsoft can make something that I can be happy with but right now nothing out there is great and stands out to me.

Im currently building a media server so that I can have a small HTPC and touch music station. Those are works in progress but the server hardware is on the way so look out for a post about it when it comes in. I will be very detailed with everything!

Android smartphones

I have been using an Android phone for a year now, it has been very easy to use. I like the OS for its simplicity and seamless Google integration with contacts, gmail, reader and documents. After 6 months I installed Google voice and made the permanent switch over, I can now check and make calls from any computer along with my phone. I had made this switch because I had lost my phone and needed a way to communicate with my friends. It works well but there is a delay when making calls, it has gotten better since I have started using it. My only problem with it is there are no other apps that can take its text messages. I would like to use an app I was using before I made the switch which made every text pop up in a window in which you can respond and mark as read.

Another reason that I like the Android OS is that the customization is open and easy to accomplish. I had started with the original Motorola Droid and rooted and overclocked it, it ran great and didnt seem like a first generation Android phone. After that I upgraded to the Droid 2 but have not rooted it or overclocked it but rather took a different approach. I have researched and tried different replacement apps to make everything run faster including the home screen. It has been going great and havent run into any issues. Also I would like to make note that all my data synced with the new Droid 2 like I had owned the phone the whole time rather than just getting a new phone.

My conclusion is that the Android OS is a great mobile OS and I highly recommend it. If you are looking for simple OS to use that syncs all of your personal data seamlessly and backs it up online then you have found a great mobile platform.

Im Back

Hey Everyone Im back. It has been a long break but I feel like I have a lot of things to discuss. I will try to update at least 3 times a week if not more. I will be talking about new and cool technologies along with what is going on with the current available ones. This is going to be exciting, please make sure your seat is in the upright position, we are about to take off into The Digital World.

Lala

As everyone who uses lala knows it will be closes at the end of the month. What does this mean for itunes? is there a new cloud based streaming itunes on the way? Is there an alternative to lala that could be just as good? Searching around the internet I have found nothing like lala, it was by far the best service. The social aspect combined with uploading your own music to the fact you could listen to a song once through for free, there is no other service like it. There are a few good services though for just streaming music. Pandora is a great website and app for mobile phones. Most of the phone OS's have an app for Pandora, I have a motorolla droid and I use the app on a daily basis just on my way to work or walking around outside during the day. It works awesome on 3G networks even on the T in the tunnels it works 80% of the time. But the one thing that you cant do it control what songs you will actually listen to. If you want to make a playlist then this is not for you but its a great way to listen to almost commercial free radio based on music you pick. Grooveshark is the other great streaming service. I used this before lala about 8 months ago. I havent used their upload feature but it looks promising. They also have a radio feature like pandora but you can see the songs being added to your playlist and edit them on the fly. Grooveshark seems to be everyones favorite streaming player right now. It has a great selection of music and you can upload your own music. While it is not as good at uploading as lala was its not too bad if you have patience. You have to upload only a few files at a time but it works none the less. It has a great radio feature like pandora has and you can just search for "that" song you want to hear. You can also make playlists and save them for future use. Grooveshark has a social feature as well where you can follow people and it will actually recommend people to follow as well. Sharing playlists isnt as easy as lala because you can only email them but at least there is a feature for it. There is mobile app but its available for people with jailbroken iphones, android phones, palm and blackberries and you have to have a VIP paid membership. A VIP membership gives you a bunch of options including a desktop client which looks to be a great option. If you want an alternative to lala it seems grooveshark can help you out.

Google Docs

Documents, Presentations and Spreadsheets are now in the cloud and can be edited from your web browser. Google Docs allows you to upload any files to your account for ultimate portability. You no longer have to worry about whether you brought files or printouts with you or if they will be corrupted on a flash drive. One great feature is that you can invite people to view and edit your documents if you wish. The first time I used this feature was last year for my basketball league stats. I had set up the spreadsheet online and invited my friend to edit the document so that we could take turns updating it every week. Another feature is the template gallery. There are numerous templates for resumes, budgets, invoices, schedules, etc. You can link to these documents as well, meaning that you can send out a link to people and while they wont be able to edit it, they can view it. It was usful for the basketball stats as I could just post a link to the sheet for up-to-date stats. Google Docs is a great service that allows you to keep everything organized wherever you go.

This is a short post as I am gearing up to make the leap onto google voice and that should be a great post, trying to get it up next week.