Jonny the Recovering Technophiliac

Welcome to the Babbler. This is where i condense and summarize what has happened in a period of time since my last post with brief and random thoughts usually because i haven’t had the time to blog in between. Some babbling may make sense, some may not…but that’s the premise, all the babble thats fit to blog! So off we go:

1. after listening to an episode of CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast, i happened to have caught on to a little tidbit that host Brian Cooley happened to say:

…only old people and luddites use AOL

granted, this isnt verbatim, but it made so much sense. sometimes the technology you use can say a lot about you. i love old-tech nostalgia and how it has evolved, but i don’t make it a facet of my life when there are so many other choices out there i can choose from. So here’s my pick on the tech that makes the maker:

- to paraphrase Mr. Cooley, AOL is for luddites who think the “interwebs” revolve around it’s bloatware software…and given the very few people i knew who still use it, they probably think it’s still “hip”.

- 9 times out of 10, t-mobile sidekicks are for trendy luddites who don’t know what a smartphone is. (i say 9 out of 10 because there’s a small majority of people who actually put good use to the device).

- if you use your ISP’s email providor (i.e. roadrunner), you’re probably using it as a trap for all those websites that require email registration just to access content when you know you’re never going to check that email address again. So you’ll not give a flying ducky how much spam gets in there. Your real address is probably elsewhere.

- if you use MSN Messenger or Windows Live or whatever it’s called, you’re probably from another country. Every family and friend i know abroad uses it.

- if you are an ATT customer with an iPhone, then chances are you’re only on ATT because of the iPhone and nothing else because i haven’t heard anyone who has ever told me “wow, ATT’s service is awesome!”.

- if you use myspace, you’re either an aspiring comedian, musician, or a luddite that fills your profile with green butterflies and cheesy animated gifs.

Oh hai there! Aside from “The Babbler”, another new addition i want to add to this blog, where i like to give a review to a gadget, a piece of software, or anything else that’s tech (and/or non-tech should it ever arise). For it’s maiden voyage, i’m going to give a brief review of an iphone app that has given an extra boost to the traditional NYC subway map.

Hey kids! Remember tokens? The paper bus pass thing? Those huge subway maps that where easy to unfold but a pain in the ass to re-fold? Yeah…nostalgia, i know. But tokens and passes are now replaced by the metrocard while the traditional fold-able subway map still exists. But in our society of smartphones, anything “paper” seems too pose as an inconvenience to most people…we want our information quick and electronic. So when the iphone SDK was first released, it was inevitable that subway map apps would be coded. But this app, Exit Strategy NYC, rubbed me the right way. And yes, i know, i’m a native new yorker and by default i’m supposed to memorize all 468 stations, right? Doesn’t always work that way…especially since we usually never remember which exists where closer to where we had to go.

Exit Strategy NYC (itunes store link)
This app seems to have bridged the gap. I mean one thing is knowing which train to take and where to get off…another is deciding which exit is closer to your final destination. So ES-NYC actually pinpoints which exit you can take from the train you’re in, as well as the location of the conductor for the late-nighter or even passengers with disabilities. Now the whole system isn’t included yet, but for a first release, it’s pretty solid. I wish they had an alert system for closed stations, broken elevators/escalators. But this app gets updated freely when additional station info comes in.

For $1.99, it’s 30 cents cheaper than a standard fare. It’s a good app for tourists an native NY’ers alike

Welcome to what will be the first of a few new additions to my blog…well in this case, it’s more like an organized addition to an existing thing, The Babbler.  This is where i condense and summarize what has happened in a period of time since my last post with brief and random thoughts.  Some may make sense, some may not…but that’s the premise, all the babble thats fit to blog!  So off we go:

- I have always loved the mannerisms of my friends.  sometimes the best quotes don’t always come from Pulitzer prize winners or deities, they come from my friends/family.  I remember re-posting up a facebook status from my friend Roger that caused a flurry of responses, most humorous:

I have always found women to be dificult, I don’t really understand them. To begin with they dont understand themselves and on top of that they make us crazier than we already are. – his uncle

…yet one person had to muck up the fun, so i removed said status.  But on my way to a radio shack to get an adapter for his stereo, i thanked him again for that quote…because i believe there’s still some truthiness to that theory…at least in terms of both sexes, depending on the situation.

- I love my iPhone 3GS, it felt so good to be back in the game with that phone…i planned the purchase and patiently waited for the jailbreak/unlock, and it has paid off.  And especially because of those warm days. i can turn the lappy off and save energy if i just want to check mail…the iphone can handle that task just fine.

- i must admit, i am loving guitar hero…not just because it allows me to return to my drumming roots, but also because it allowed me to release so much stress.

- tonight i saw Oceans 13, one of my favorite movies…this quote i loved in particular:

There’s a code amongst guys who shook Sinatra’s hand! — [Reuben Tishkoff to Willy Bank about being double-crossed, Ocean's 13]

- I’m pretty confirmed that as long as the job hunt is coughing up a spleen, i am pretty much decided on going to grad school…but not for computer science…i’ve grown bored with it.  This time i may be aiming more for journalism…after all, i love to write.

- finally, I hate foreign movies that have dubbing in other languages…i feel it just diminishes the overall quality of the movie and what it represents…i mean what’s wrong with subtitles?  I’d rather watch a film in it’s native tongue with all the raw emotions while following what’s being said below with discrete subtitles rather than canned dubs that talk so scripted like some poorly-made college film.

12:58:51 AM Randy: hey. why doesn’t my adium bounce? is it cause i hide the icons?
12:59:09 AM Jon: u hid the dock?
12:59:20 AM Randy: yeah
12:59:52 AM Jon: hmm
1:00:05 AM Jon: it bounces for me and my dock is hidden
1:03:22 AM Jon: hmm
1:03:46 AM Randy: actually it’s bouncing now
1:03:48 AM Randy: that’s weird
1:03:51 AM Randy: sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt
1:04:06 AM Jon: your mac has become self-aware to your speculations
1:04:16 AM Randy: quite possibly