They Stole Site Search! (sort of)

Finally have some good old fashioned surfing time and am catching up on my blog reading and blog posting...

Saw a Lifehacker post about new local brick and mortar search engine Yokel. They provide listings of items in local stores, as well as hours, directions, and other tidbits. Still in beta, but definitely a useful idea.

What struck me were the abilities to search or browse for stores by location, as well as add new stores, all of which are very reminiscent of the old iNetNow "Site Search" database.

(Humorous aside: Remember when Bo got around to adding a state field to the search? I wanted to name the new version "Stite Search" but he wouldn't let me.)

CallWave

Been using this CallWave Mobile voicemail service for a few weeks now and am really digging it. Made by the company that used to do the "internet answering machine" that would redirect your calls while you were on dialup internet service, but modernized for cellphones. Emails you your voicemails as attachments, sends SMS notifications of messages or missed calls, lets you redirect cellphone calls to a landline or other number, and has a really neat "call screening" feature.

Whenever you get a call that you reject or don't answer, CallWave routes the caller to voicemail and immediately calls you back. Upon answering, you can eavesdrop on the caller as they leave their message "live." If you decide you want to answer, press one and it instantly connects you.

I originally thought the call screening would be more fun than useful, but find myself loving it in practice. It gives you a little extra time to answer the phone before missing a call, as you still have a chance to pick up during the voicemail part. It's also great when you really don't want to talk to someone, but worry the call might be important. (For example: "I don't really want to talk to my mom right now, but I guess I should make sure someone didn't die...") Lastly, it's great fun to hear the confusion in someone's voice when you pick up in the midst of them leaving you a voicemail.

The standard version is free, with the only restrictions being a 20 minute limit on calls redirected to another phone and a 3 minute limit on voicemail messages. (Though I think if someone leaves a message longer than 3 minutes, you probably don't want to talk to them anyways...)

Definitely worth checking out.

Jungle Disk

Interesting service utilizing Amazon S3 for super cheap web based storage, only 15 cents per gigabyte.

Jungle Disk

Apple and Nike

Though I don't know that I'd use it, this is a very cool integration between the iPod and a Nike running shoe.

Basically, you buy the special shoes and adapter kit and your "running" information is wirelessly transmited to an iPod.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/sync.html

Imagine dating advice "on demand" based on your emotional state. You wear a special device that monitors your perspiration and heart rate. Then, David D. (shameless promotion) provides you with sage pick up advice.

Low heart rate = "Dude, you're a chick magnet. Go over there and use your magic."

High heart rate = "Dude, she's out of your league. Splash some cold water on yourself."

Google Trends

I may be behind the curve on this, but I hadn't seen this particular Google beta yet (Sorry J. if you mentioned it to me before).

http://www.google.com/trends

I co-worker sent me a link to his friend's blog that has an interesting post about how the friend used Google Trends to draw some interesting conclusions:

25 Things I Learned on Google Trends
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/05/25_things_i_lea.html

Quote

From a GQ article, found via SvN:

"Less is not simply more. Less is every goddamn thing that matters."

PSMSVS

For the last year or so I thought I'd developed a new disease: Phantom SMS Vibration Syndrome.

As I fell further and further into SMS junkiedom (especially during baseball season...I was on pace for 1000 messages last month), I'd feel my phone vibrate against my leg but have no new message when I pulled it out to check.

At first I thought it was a defect in the device, but then it would happen when my phone wasn't even in my pocket. Muscle spasms? Psychosomatic signs of addiction withdrawal? What could it be?

According to the comments in this Lifehacker post, it's not just me. Good to know I'm not alone.

Phew!

New Apple TV Ads Poke Fun at Wintel Machines

The new Mac TV ads have a delightfully snarky take on the differences between Wintel machines and "Mactel" machines. A little hypocricy perhaps but still very funny.

P.S. I'm now officially a "blogger"...and yea the heavens wept and the world was never the same.