Google Voice Invitation Link

For those of you that don't have a Google Voice account or did not participate in the Grand Central private beta, here's the link to get on the Google Voice waiting list.

https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/


Google Voice Features
https://www.google.com/voice/about


Here are some of the cool new features of Google Voice that I think are useful:

• Voicemail transcripts -- Read what your voice mail. This may come in handy if you're in a meeting or with your family, the W, or GF and can't pickup your voice mail.


• Share voicemail -- Forward your voicemail messages.


• Listen in - Listen before taking a call.


• SMS - Send, receive and store SMS messages.


• Place calls -- Call U.S. numbers for free.


• Forwarding phones -- Add phones and decide which will wring and in what order.


• Conference Calling -- Join people with a single call.


• GOOG-411 -- Check directory assistance.

Gary Vaynerchuck - FOWA Conference

An inspirational tech video with Gary Vaynerchuck from the 2009 FOWA Conference I attended in Miami. Gary says he needs to "Go into hibernation and grow a sick ass beard and come out with six killer apps."


Gary Vaynerchuk at FOWA Miami 09 from DamianVoltes.com on Vimeo.

Amazon Kindle iPhone App User Interface

Can you read an Amazon Book on your iPhone? Is the screen too small? Here are some screen shots. I encourage everyone with an iPhone to take the time and download the Kindle iPhone App so they can decide for themselves.

Book Text from the Amazon Kindle iPhone App

Alec Baldwin's Book


Book Table of Contents on the Amazon Kindle iPhone App


List of Books on the Amazon Kindle iPhone App


Go To Navigation on the Amazon Kindle iPhone App


Locaton or Page navigation on the Amazon Kindle iPhone App

Using the Kindle 2 iPhone App to Read a Book

Today, I downloaded and installed the new Amazon Kindle App for the iPhone and purchased a book for it. Here are the steps I used:

1. I installed the iPhone Kindle App from the iTunes App Store. You an also download it from the link on the www.amazon.com/kindlestore/ or use the the Safari browser on my iPhone. There was no link to the iPhone Safari browser.

4. I typed in "www.amazon.com/kindlestore" in my iPhone Safari Browser and then found the book I was looking for at $13.51 that would be Auto-delivered wirlessly to Kindle on my iPhone.

5. In the right navigation, there were two options: A) Buy with 1-Click, Send wirelessly to my iPhone or B) Send Sample now wirelessly to my iPhone.

6. I clicked "Buy with 1-Click" and was prompted to sign-in to my Amazon account.

7. I was asked to verify my credit card information and billing address and then received the message: "Your Kindle Edition order has been placed. Your item will be sent to Iphone. Kindle for iPhone will start downloading the this item the next time you open the application.

8. I tapped on the Kindle Application and my Book was delivered in seconds.

Technology Video - Did You Know 2.0

Video by by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, Jeff Bronman.

The Amazon Kindle 2 Rocks!

Okay, I ordered my W the Kindle 2 because I wasn't sure that I wanted one. Today, while she was at the office, I downloaded a book from Amazon from for $13.92 which included wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet. The regular price of the book was $15.47 + shipping. However, with the Kindle 2, here the things you can do:

• Text to Speech - When reading a book, you can click Menu, Start Text-to-Speech and the Kindle will start reading the the book to you. The software used is similar to the text-to-speech engine used with the Auto GPS systems so it is not for everyone, but I could see times when I would use it with my headphones.


• Amazon Store Wireless Access - The Kindle 2 connects to the Amazon Store simply by selecting Menu, Turn Wireless On. There are no setting to configure and I understand it uses both 3G and wi-fi.


• Kindle 2 User Interface - The Amazon Kindle 2 screen is surprisingly very easy to read. It reminds me of the Palm Pilot screen, but better. When reading a book, the Next Page buttons on the left or right and the Prev Page button is the main user interface control you need to get use to as well as the Joy Stick which is similar to the iPod Home button. Also, as an Apple iPhone and iPod user, I keep wanting to touch the screen but that feature is not supported. (The W would not be happy if I inadvertently touched her Kindle 2 screen.)


• 
  
• 240K Books - There are over 240,000 e-books in the Amazon Kindle Store. A very impressive inventory.

Newspapers and Magazines - I was going to check out The New York Times and noticed that the Kindle 2 version is another $13.99. Ouch, I already get the print version so I don't think I'll be subscribing.

Blogs - Huh, you can read blogs such as the Amazon Daily (top selling but free?), The New York Times #2 ($1.99 per mo), The Clutter Diet #3 ($.99), The Onion #4 ($.99 per mo), The Huffington Post #5 ($1.99 per mo) and the Bedroom Blog #10 $.99 per month. (Hey wait a minute, aren't these blogs free on the Internet!). I don't think I'll be using this service since I can read these blogs on my MacBook or iPhone with 3G.

In any regard, The Kindle 2 is still hot and I recommend you get yours now before they run out!

Twitter Spam - GrantToolBox.com website - Grant Money Lost

If you receive a twitter or email leading to a landing page at a grantoolbox.com or secure.grantoolbox.com website, this is spam. Here is the Twitter spam I recently received from one of their affiliates.

1) Today, received a "twitter spam" that a member "Whynot12"was following me.

EMAIL MESSAGE
Subject: Whynot12 is now following you on Twitter!

Whynot12 (vqdsfZ) is now following your updates on Twitter.
Check out Whynot12's profile here:
http://twitter.com/vqdsfZ

You may follow Whynot12 as well by clicking on the "follow" button.

Best,
Twitter

2) When someone follows you on Twitter, I typically click the person's Twitter profile page to see if I know this person and see how many followers the person has. This person Whynot12 had over 800 followers, however, there most recent tweet looked like email spam I received. "Just applied for the new Obama stimulas grant package.

3) So I clicked through to the link, and it appeared to be an affiliate link, where the affiliate gets paid each time a user signs up or registers.
4) The Affiliate was https://secure.granttoolbox.com/

5) Ouch, look at their 245,000 monthly unique visitors per month on Quantcast.

Amazon Kindle 2 Now Shipping

For Valentine's Day, I bought my W or wife an Amazon Kindle 2. She can't wait to get it and I understand it shipped early and should arrive by Thursday, February 26, 2009. This is a very, very cool device with free 3G connectivity to buy books from Amazon and wireless connectivity, a browser for basic surfing the Internet. The electronic books should be $10 or less and this device has great battery life.

David Pogue's review is in today's edition of the New York Times.

I told my W to wait to buy the case since I imagine we'll see many great cases on the market in the next several months. I received an email regarding a new Kenneth Cole case for the Kindle 2.

AMEX Enhanced Fraud Protection - Overseas Transactions

Before traveling abroad, I need to remember to call my credit card companies such as AMEX to ensure I can use my credit cards overseas. That said, when traveling abroad online and when you think the company's shopping cart might be hosted overseas such as in the UK, then you must remember to call your credit card company to ensure your card is authorized to charge in the UK. Otherwise, you'll find yourself calling your credit card company or in the AMEX case, using their "Enhanced Fraud Protection".

Canon Rebel XTi Photos during Amgen Tour of California Bike Race

Here are some shots I took with my Canon Rebel XTi in the rain during the Amgen Tour of California bike race. You'll see some shots of Lance Armstrong.

Google GrandCentral 2.0 - Bring It

I was at a Miami Heat basketball game the other night reading my Twitter Friend's posts on my iPhone 3G and noticed disturbing tweet (no, it wasn't twitter: THE_REAL_SHAQ announcing he's in San Fran on his way to Alcatraz and he might stay) -- it was a tweet from Alex de Carvalho (twitter: alexdc) South Florida Tech thought leader and Social Media Strategist regarding the rumor that Google was shutting down GrandCentral, the universal phone number service. I immediately called my GrandCentral number that I had recently had printed on some new business cards and discovered that it was still active. If I would have continued reading Alex's Twitter messages, I would have later discovered that GrandCentral.com is not shutting down but will soon be releasing GrandCentral 2.0, that's at least the news from NY Times Tech Columnist David Pogue. http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/pogue-googles-grandcentral-not-dead-just-resting

I had significant doubts that GrandCentral would not be a repeat of the dot-com era startup Thinklink later acquired by United Airlines. I'm glad to hear that at least today's news is that's just not true!

If you don't have a GrandCentral number yet, there's a waiting list so I would advise that you reserve your number now.

Upgrading my iPhone from 2.2 to 2.2.1

Today, despite warnings from a few users not to install the iPhone firmware update 2.2.1, I went ahead and installed it. I also updated my iPhone Touch from 2.2 to 2.2.1.

I was little hesitant to update it since earlier this year I switched to a MacBook Pro after nearly decades of exclusive PC computer and laptop use. See my blog on some of my experiences in running Windows on a MacBook Pro. 

http://widows-on-mac.blogspot.com/

In any regard, so far both my iPhone 3G and iTouch are running on 2.2.1 without any problems. I understand there are only minor fixes (Safari stability; fixes an image image in which pictures are saved from mail and don't display in camera roll and for iTouch users a Apple Lossless ALAC audio issue) but some 3G users report improved performance.

The Google Earth Updates 5.0 Rock! (at least for Miami, Florida users)

Wow, the new Google Earth Updates for Mac and Windows totally rock! If you haven't installed them yet, you should. I also noticed at least in the Miami, Florida area, the satellite and 3D images are vastly improved!

Google Earth Mac
5.0.11337.1968 (beta)

Google Earth 5.0.11337.168 Windows

Twitter is over Capacity - Trying to Add or Update your Picture

Are you trying to add or update your picture on Twitter and are you receiving the error message: "Twitter is over capacity". This happened to me only when I tried to upload a .GIF image. When I converted the image to .PNG or .JPG, the same image uploaded successfully.

Fring iPhone Applicaton - Can receive Skype Chat - AlwaysOn

 

 

http://www.fring.com/download/iphone/

Lastly, so what is Fring, on their website they say they are a "mobile internet service & community" that enables you to access and interact with social networks on-the-go, make free calls and live chat with your fring, Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahooo and AIM friends using your handset's internet connection.

 

 

 

Dish Network - Losing Local Channels

In the past several month, my Dish Network cable TV has been losing my local channels. To fix this, shutting the power off and turning it back on usually fixes the problem, but that requires at least 5 minutes to reboot and reconnect to the satellite. I actually think turning most of my Windows PCs boot faster. I also use a Dish Network reseller in Miami, Florida, Broadband Solutions. I hope to find a solution to this problem or another vendor.

BTW, in the past month they have sent me two different smart cards to reinstall. They say they will be canceling my service unless I reinstall the new cards. What's up with that? I hope this isn't some security issue! Don't they know if it's not broken, don't mess with it!

If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know (and don't say, switch to Direct TV!)

View of Inauguration on CNN Site Using Microsoft Photosynth

If you haven't seen this yet, check out the view of the Inauguration at the CNN site using user submitted photos. It uses Photosynth by Microsoft Live Labs.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/44.president/inauguration/themoment/


This is very cool technology!

Inauguration Map -

Here is a link to an Inauguration Day Map if you have any family and friends attending today's Inauguration in Washington DC. It shows the areas for the different ticket colors.

My V-Moda iPhone Headphones broke

After almost a year, my V-Moda iPhone headphones plug casing broke and it lasted a few months until one day they just didn't work. I bought a new pair at the Apple Store over the holidays and I sure hope they don't break this time!

Fix for Zune Frozen, Video How to Reset Zune - ZY2K9 Fix

If you have a frozen Zune affected by the Dec. 31st ZY2K9 issue, here is a Youtube.com video to reset your Zune.

1. Press and hold the [Back] button and the [Up] on the pad for a few seconds.




More info on fixing a Frozen Zune
http://mostpopularinusa.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-fix-frozen-zune.html