Category / Technology

by Greg

GregsHead.net Readers Are Smart!

I was working with Google Analytics today for a couple of my web clients and I remembered that I had my own account with Google, so I logged in to check that out. (It’s been a good long while!)

Now, I think traffic overall is down to GregsHead.net since I don’t post nearly as much content here as I used to. But even if it’s less traffic, I’d have to say it’s smarter traffic!

Check out this report of the browsers used to access the site this month:
Browser Used to view GregsHead.net

Yes, folks… (you who frequent this website) Firefox has the slight edge over Internet Explorer! And look at Safari’s admirable contribution. Combined, those two browsers are over 56% of the total! IE is at a mere 33%! Nice!!

I love you guys. 🙂

Keep it up! Spread the word! There are much better browsers out there!

NO ONE SHOULD BE USING INTERNET EXPLORER!

If you are one of those 33% and just don’t know there are other options… there are! Most of these are available for Windows and Mac OS. (Chrome is … coming soon? Hopefully?) Click a link and improve your web experience today! Follow the trend setters at GregsHead.net! 🙂

Safari (Mac/Windows)
Firefox (Mac/Windows)
Google Chrome (Windows)

by Greg

GregsApples.com … is back? (Sort of.)

Gregs Apple (and more!) Store
Hey folks! Just wanted to give you a quick heads up. I was reminded today that I used to be an Authorized Apple Business Agent, for which Apple paid me a commission on any sales I generated for them. That was neat. Then I was an Apple Business Store Affiliate, similar deal, just not working directly for Apple. THEN, I actually worked for Apple as a trainer at the local Apple Retail Store… which was awesome! But… I didn’t have enough time to give them. Too bad.

So now… I decided to use my Amazon Associates account to make a new little “GregsApples” store (though I have let that domain expire…)

If you are into that sort of thing (Apple, iPod, iPhone, Mac, etc) and you’d like to support GregsHead.net and the Campbell family (well, at least, a little…) I’d invite you to check it out! It’s pretty cool actually. Like my own little mini-Amazon … and only Apple stuff!

Click the banner above to visit, or it will be in the sidebar even after this particular post gets pushed off the front page of my blog … or, here’s the direct link:

http://astore.amazon.com/bwdapple-20

Check it out and let me know what you think. If you have any Apple/Mac questions, I’m pretty good at answering those, too 🙂

by Greg

WWDC Kicks Off: No Jobs, But Plenty of Fun

As expected, Steve Jobs did not make an appearance at the latest Apple keynote. However, many product updates did take center stage!

No time to detail it, but here are some highlights:

  • New iPhone: 3G(s) (“s” stands for “speed”, says Apple)
  • Same prices, but current iPhone (3G, 8GB model) will sell for $99!
  • Tons of cool new iPhone apps for the app store, involving the new features of iPhone OS 3.0 (several with GPS locating/mapping stuff)
  • Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) was covered, will be released in Sep. $129 as usual, but will be $29 for current Leopard users! Crazy.
  • Other interesting tidbits: Will take up 6GB less space on your computer, uses 64-bit processing much better, everything is just faster.
  • Speaking of faster, new MacBook lineup announced: Featuring, new 13″ MacBook Pro, 500GB 7200rpm hard drives, unibody design allowing for 1,000 battery charges (normally about 300). Processors up to 3.06GHz. 8GB RAM. Oh, and starting at $1699.

There’s more, and in previous years, I would elaborate a bit more, but for now, check out Macworld’s coverage. They do a good job. 🙂

And, go visit your local Apple store.

by Greg

CraigsList or ebay? Pros and Cons

Jen & I both recently had a bit of success listing and selling stuff on CraigsList, and following that, a friend asked how I chose CraigsList over ebay. “Well,” began my reply, “I suppose there are a number of reasons to use either,” I explained.

And so there are. I figured it might even be fun to post those here! This might not be interesting to some of you, and it’s not typically the sort of content I post here, but figured it might be useful to some. So, here goes!

CraigsList.org

PROS CONS
You get the full payment, no fees. People like to “haggle” on CraigsList, no one thinks the asking price is the actual price.
Usually no shipping involved as CraigsList is a localized service. Smaller marketplace as CraigsList is mainly a local listing.
Instant gratification! Almost always a CraigsList sale is made (or not made!) within hours of listing.
Generally, fewer fraudulent transactions here. It’s “policed” by the CraigsList “community”, and the transactions seem to be a bit more “personal”.
Nicer for larger items that you don’t want to figure out how to ship!

ebay.com

PROS CONS
DEFINITELY the marketplace. You reach the world with your listing. There are fees, fees everywhere!
More reliable transactions… when you sell something, you can usually expect prompt payment. Shipping is involved. Figuring out costs, and then, actually shipping.
More anonymous transactions in a way… some people prefer this. Mentioned above, ebay is replete with Phishing scams, and other monkey business. (Of course, they have an entire fraud dept. to handle this, but it’s still much more prevalent.)
ebay has been around, so kinda back to marketplace, the buyers and sellers know first to look there, and second that the transaction can mostly be trusted.
PayPal integration is nice.
Even with associated fees, can often make more money on “sellable” items here, as there is the larger marketplace.

So, as you can see… it mostly comes down to: ebay = marketplace, and craigslist = faster/simpler transaction. At least, that’s how it’s been for us.

In fact… it’s just about time to list some more stuff right now…

by Greg

Scary Dream!

IE 8 for Mac?This morning, just before I woke up… I was still in a bit of a dream state. Everything seemed normal. I was talking with someone, and they wanted to show me something on their computer. It was a Mac, of course. (Just like in the movies, my dreams have a disproportionate amount of Macs to computers running Windows…)

But then…

The owner of the nice Mac clicked on a strange menu near the top right of the screen that just said “Internet” – and when they did… they selected “Browse Internet” (or something like that) from the menu and…

(Insert scary music…)

INTERNET EXPLORER 8 … FOR THE MAC CAME UP!!!

I think I actually woke up startled. Then was very happy this was just a dream. IE 8, not only running natively on a Mac, not only designed for a Mac, but… integrated into the OS?!?!? Yikes.

Must have eaten something pretty bad before bed last night…

by Greg

Twitter Craze

I mentioned Twitter here a few posts ago. I think I also mentioned that it’s not a technology I’ve found much of a use for. There is definitely a place for it. It’s a pretty good way for a business to handle things like press releases. By creating a Twitter account, and then advertising that on your website, email, and other avenues, people can subscribe to any updates you send out over the service (updates which are often viewed by the receiver on their mobile phone, so you can catch them anywhere) and if there is a related link, you can even include that.

The concept is decent, but the implementation has been … well, almost to the point of annoying.

It started in 2006, and I, being a fan of tech podcasts have followed it from its infancy. The tech show hosts were (almost) all infatuated with it at first. All they talked about was Twitter! It was crazy! But then it died down, and they referenced it on a more normal scale… probably using it for what it is best used for – short, to the point, news bulletins. (Some even use it as a resource. For example, they are traveling, in a city they don’t know, and they ask a question on Twitter, and then anyone “following” them who has an answer replies back. The downside is, people who check their Twitter feed less frequently reply many days later.) 🙂

I signed up for an account sometime in 2007, just to see what all the tech buzz was about. I had also created a Facebook account that year, as that was another thing the tech shows could not stop talking about! I took a look around both and found that, basically, Twitter was a one-function service that was nearly identical to one of many that Facebook provided. Facebook allows you to “broadcast” a status message – much like Twitter’s “tweets” – that anyone who is on your list of friends can see and interact with. But as I mentioned, Facebook has much more to offer. Much easier to share information, photos, videos… you can even play virtual games with friends. (I like to play Scrabble…) 🙂

So, with much more “real” interaction with people on Facebook, and no need to duplicate that using Twitter, I chose to use Facebook. (I need to also say that I do not have a cell phone. Twitter might have more draw to someone sharing info over a mobile device.)

Now, sometime last year, Twitter “hit the mainstream”. Not only are more people using it, but it’s becoming popular, and even a “credible” source of information. (See more about Twitter here.) It’s even gotten so popular late last year that Hollywood celebrities are now “Tweeting” their every move.

Fascinating.

I’ve definitely never caught on, as you have probably guessed. But, a client of mine joined the Twitter community last year and has really had some interesting adventures using their service. (You can find his Twitter info and “follow” him at his website: acemarketingagency.com.) I added his Twitter feed to my RSS folder and follow along. There are some extraneous comments directed to other people, but his general posts are often links to articles or other web content worth viewing. Today he posted a link to the following video that I thought did a pretty good job of summarizing the Twitter experience. 🙂

Enjoy…

by Greg

Apple Updates Entire Desktop Line

Apple, Inc.Apple updated not one, not two, but all three of their desktop models today, announcing speed, storage, graphics, and other enhancements to the Mac mini, the iMac, and Mac Pro. As they typically do, prices remained the same (or went down) on all of the upgraded models. Perhaps most notably was the 24″ iMac now starting at $1499.

Previous generation (and refurbished) models are also available at reduced prices.

by Greg

Definition of a Blog

I often find myself recommending to people that they could start a blog. Whether it is one of my web clients, or a One To One member at the Apple store, there are many reasons to have and use a blog.

The funny thing is, when I say that, folks are often at least confused, and usually overwhelmed. Why is that? I haven’t completely figured it out, but I think it’s due to a misunderstanding of what a blog is.

Here’s the definition from Wikipedia:

A blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

The thing is, most people use the term blog in many other ways. First, blog is often used as a verb (which, although Wikipedia’s definition does allow for it, it’s not really how the word should be used) and second, it’s often used to refer to an individual post to a blog site. Also, there is another common misconception that a blog must be replete with verbose and eloquent entries, waxing philosophical on the many complexities of life.

While all of those may at times be true of various blogs… they do not need to be. Your blog can be whatever you want it to be. The three main things that make a blog a blog are:

  1. Regularly published content, listed on the site in reverse chronological order, and often archived monthly or weekly.
  2. Usually, due to the frequent publications, the site also notifies and distributes content via RSS or some other feed technology. (That’s for another day!)
  3. Almost always, there is some mechanism for feedback (comments) which creates a feel of “community” at the website as readers are invited to participate along with the author of the content.

Just wanted to clear that up, and perhaps a few hundred more people can understand and use the word “blog” in a less scary way. 🙂

I have a few blogs. This one (GregsHead.net), and Buffalo Bills Review (articles page), and then a few I don’t keep up very well anymore.

And, there are many services you can use to create and manage your own blog. I mostly use Blogger (the engine behind this blog), but another hugely popular blogging tool is WordPress. Those are probably the top two, but check out this list… there are a LOT to choose from.

So, if you have something to say, or even if you have nothing to say and just need to say it… a blog is a fun way to get that out and even enjoy discussions with your readers about whatever it is that’s on your mind.

Now get out there and start blogging blogs to your blog.

🙂

by Greg

Microblogging

Have you heard the term “microblogging” bantered about these days? Perhaps you’ve heard of the most popular microblogging platform, Twitter? It certainly has some legs these days. There are all sorts of options out there, Twitter and Tumblr are two popular ones I have tried. (I really don’t use Twitter, and I have stopped using my Tumblr page long ago…)

Microblogging is generally 140 characters (though this varies) of anything at all, but it’s intended to be used as a conversation. Whether you are disseminating information – like web links to sites or articles of interest – or actually mentioning or directing the conversation to specific people, it’s a quick way to keep a constant stream of content going.

And nearly always, microblogging begins with the question, “What are you doing right now?”

Facebook (my social media platform of choice) has a similar feature. It’s called a “status update.” I am pretty good at updating mine throughout the day, with a thought or a posted link at times … it’s interesting, and it does start conversations as people can comment on these “status updates”.

What I thought recently was, I don’t have time to sit and craft a blog post of all my thoughts, but I apparently do have time for “microblogging” (via Facebook status updates). So what if I turned all of these “microblogs” from one week prior into a regular blog post here at GregsHead.net?

Below is what that might look like… all the things I took the time to post to my Facebook community. Very interesting…

(Note: I put some of the posts late at night on the “day” that they were for me, rather than the actual calendar date. 1:30am on Thursday is still Wednesday night for me…) 😉

Feb 4
Greg is not used to being tired so early in the evenings. (Crazy early mornings!!) :-). 1:42am

Feb 5
Greg is starting his 12-hour work day. 8:30am
Greg is saying hi to the Vs. 11:06pm
Greg is going to have a full day in his office tomorrow. 12:14am

Feb 6
Greg is working on many projects today. 11:51am
Greg is finally done working, and now very thankful for our awesome babysitter, Kristin! (Taking Jen out for a burger!) :-). 8:21pm
Greg is stuffed full of Red Robin and now going to sleep for a few hours. Early shift at Apple tomorrow. 12:25am

Feb 7
Greg is not sure why the 6am hour exists… 6:46am
Greg is heading to Apple for the day. Well, the very early part of the day. :-). 6:57am
Greg is home. For this later part of the day. 5:23pm
Greg is tired. 6:55pm

Feb 8
Greg finds it intriguing that not one of his friends would be on Facebook at 6:45am on a Sunday… :-). 6:46am
Greg is back from the quarterly store meeting at Apple, and looking forward to a fun day with his family. 11:49am
Greg is baking brownies. 2:35pm
Greg is TiVo-ing the Pro Bowl, so we can fast forward the commercials! 5:20pm
Greg is about to play backgammon with Jen. She likes it. 10:35pm
Greg had a good long Sunday. Time to sleep a bit, and start another week! 2:48am

Feb 9
Greg has gotten a slow start to the morning so far… 9:28am
Greg is trying to fit everything in. 10:12am
Greg needs a sabbatical. 11:06am
Greg just made a pretty crazy culinary creation. Ingredients: curry, onion, tomato, peas, oh… and… pheasant. :-). 10:43pm

Feb 10
Greg was just outside, and thinks it is much too warm for February. 8:12am
Greg has a meeting with a new client. 8:53am
Greg is getting to work on many different web projects. Full day! 10:16am
Greg is eating more of his culinary creation from last night… mmmmmmm. 1:34pm
Greg is enjoying some afternoon tea, and shifting to a different project. 2:56pm
Greg is still here… working. 5:26pm
Greg is going to go cook for his family. Fun! 6:02pm
Greg is hanging out with the Races! Love impromptu visits :-). 8:53pm
Greg was a cooking machine tonight! A cool taco-meat pasta dish, my famous Texas-style chili, and now slow-roasting a turkey overnight! Three meals in one night! :). 10:09pm

Feb 11
Greg officially declares mornings are evil. (Sorry morning people…) :-). 6:26am
Greg is considering options. 7:00am
Greg is back to work… and Emma is joining him this morning. :-). 8:56am
Greg is baking bread. 10:04am
Greg is feeling a tad overwhelmed by everything today. Time for some tea. 1:46pm
Greg has made good progress through his inbox, and enjoyed his tea. 4:09pm

Yeah, that’s kinda neat, but I hope to create more time in my schedule to work out some bigger, more cohesive thoughts. I have them, and get to “work them out” in conversations with friends throughout the week, but… well, more to come here soon.