There are a lot of things I like about Waze but the biggest two are that it’s free and that it’s social.

The social integration part is what makes Waze stand out amongst others. This means that other Waze users can report traffic levels, accidents or even cops so that the rest of us know what’s going on in our area.

All the other good GPS features are there too like driving directions based on traffic levels, road conditions, day/night mode and turn by turn voice commands.

Another nice thing about Waze is that you can turn off the features you don’t want. Don’t like seeing other Wazers on the map? Turn them off. Don’t like the idea of goodies or road candy? Turn them off. Waze doesn’t force their stuff upon you.

Waze is a great app and the best GPS app I’ve found on Android. And for the price of $0, there is no reason not to try it out.

Oh, and if you’re on the iPhone, Waze is available for you too.

Waze, social GPS, turns 3 on Android and grows up beautifully. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Sadly, Google+ doesn’t fix the main problem with social networks; noise. I actually follow fewer people on Google+ than I do on Twitter or Facebook and it just seems more noisy. There are so many links, images and videos that it’s information overload.

Maybe it’s the way Google+ pushes everything back to the top when new comments get added, or the fact that it shows large YouTube videos even if I’m not interested in them.  Maybe it’s the UI or maybe it’s just that my friends post a lot of links. I don’t exactly know why, but it just feels like to much even though it shouldn’t.

Google+ really only has one big thing going for it and that’s the Hangouts. They are well done and do more than just video chat. You can also share your screen, Google Docs or watch YouTube videos with others. This is where it really excels; that is if you need to do that sort of thing. Which I don’t.

I want to love Google+ but I don’t. Kind of like how I want to love my Android phone, but I don’t. It’s rough around the edges and is trying to compete with other mature systems with lots of users. Do I have friends on Facebook? Yep. Twitter? Lots. Google+? A few.

Until Google can find a way of making Google+ something that I need, but don’t already have, it’s always going to take a backseat to the other social networks.

Google+. The social network that wants to be cool but isn’t. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

To use it, you just drag a document onto the application icon in the menu bar and it gets uploaded to the internet. It then copies the link to the file so you can just paste it into an email or use it wherever.

To make it even more handy, it can automatically uploads screenshots you take and return a URL to the file to your clipboard. This is very handy when I’m writing an email or a form post where I want to include a screenshot.

It’s such a simple app that works extremely well and one worth checking out.

To the CloudApp with that screenshot and return me a link. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

I have it set to back up once a day and it currently has backed up 112,452 files at 82,287 MB. That’s over 80 Gigs! All this for less than $5 a month.

Luckily I have never had a computer crash were I needed to get my files back. But, as my computer ages, it’s good to know that everything is safe.

I also run Time Machine but I’m not a fan of having all my backups in the same building as my computer. Backups are for when shit happens, like your house burning down, and if you keep your backups next to your computer, they’ll be lost too.

If you need an online backup service, Backblaze has given me no issues. With unlimited space for less than $5 a month, you can’t really go wrong.

Backblaze continues to backup my computer. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Then there was Scream 2 and Scream 3. Each move a not quite as good as the one before it but at least the characters stayed the same and they all follow the same basic storyline.

And now there is Scream 4; or Scre4m.

Once again the movie isn’t that great, but it’s Scream. Yea the acting is cheesy and the plot is basically the same but at least all the main characters, or more importantly actors, are there.

One of the best parts of the movie is how it makes fun of itself. From the characters to the plot, there are plenty of cheap shots. They even work in a scene that includes Facebook and Twitter. How progressive.

If you grew up with the originals, then this is a must see. For $0.99 at Redbox, you can’t go wrong. Just keep your expectations low.

Scream 4 – Cheesy but worth the rent. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

The Dorcy CyberLight has 5 hour runtime, can survive an 8 foot fall and shines 500 ft! It even comes with batteries.

I took it outside and I’m able to shine across our rather large backyard to the neighbor’s house. I can shine it up into the top of our monster trees and even into the street half way down the block!

If it wasn’t for the Amazon reviews, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it. It’s very light weight, feels kind of cheap and the bulb is a tiny LED; but it is extremely bright. Just be careful not to shine it in your eyes.

For about $20 bucks, this is one great flashlight to have on hand when the lights go out; or you go out into the woods at night.

One hell of flashlight for about $20 bucks. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

I tested four browsers with the SunSpider tests and it turns out that Firefox 5 was faster than Chrome, Safari and Opera. This was quite surprising to me as it beat out Chrome but quite a bit. It’s also interesting how far behind Safari is.

Opera 10.5 – 534.0ms +/- 1.4%
Chrome 12 – 524.6ms +/- 4.6%
Safari 5.0.5 – 566.9ms +/- 4.2%
Firefox 5 – 448.8ms +/- 0.9%

Now the tests aren’t scientific by any means, but they do represent my computer on a normal day. I’d suggest you run them for yourself and see what you come out with.

It’s also good to note that Firefox 5 had no extensions running, Chrome had 7, Safari had 2 + Glims and Opera had none. This could change the output but really shouldn’t have an effect.

I also got slightly different numbers when the tests were run a second time. But each time Firefox 5 came out in the lead.

The fastest browser on my Mac is Firefox 5. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Battle for LA

I like a good action movie, but this was a bit over done. Where was my story?

Shoot. Kill. Repeat. That’s pretty much what it was.

And why do aliens, who can build spaceships and other cool stuff, always have one week spot that we can find and hit every time with a basic machine gun?

Just watched Battle for LA. Lots of shooting little story. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

NOAA Weather Radio is an iPhone and iPad app that lets you listen to over 160 weather radio stations from all around the country and even a few in Canada.

The app also has current weather conditions, radar and forecast.

If you setup your location, it’ll alert you via push notifications when there are severe alerts in your area. Just like a normal weather radio, it’ll make the weather radio warning sound too.

What’s nice is that you can set up alerts for just your county. And, if you want, you can set up alerts for any other county in the US.

At $3.99 for iPhone and $1.99 for the iPad (limited time price), this is one cheap, fully featured, portable weather radio. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to be notified of severe weather in the area.

Sadly it’s not available for Android. If you know of a good one for Android, let me know.

Turn your iPad or iPhone into a weather radio. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

I’ve been testing out both Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player and have to say that they are both nice services.

Below are my pros and cons of each service after some initial testing.

Price:

Google Music – Free (for now)
Amazon Cloud Player – First 5 gigs are free, after that it’ll cost. Tip

Uploading:

Google Music:

• Pro: Creates a native Mac system preference.
• Pro: I can set the bandwidth used to upload my music.
• Pro: Automatically uploads all my music. And when new music is added to my system, automatically uploads that as well.
• Con: It uploads all music in iTunes. The only other option is to manually add individual folders and that’s not very convenient. So my Google Music account includes Jingle Bells and The Wheels On The Bus. Not exactly what I want to hear all the time.

Amazon Cloud Player:

• Pro: Select which playlists or songs you want to upload. It organizes everything by iTunes playlist so you can choose only certain playlists if you want and exclude the Christmas music.
• Con: You have to login to Amazon Cloud Player on the web and click the upload button before you can use the upload app.
• Con: No bandwidth controls.

Playlists:

Google Music:

• Pro: Uploads all of iTunes regular playlists to the web.
• Con: Doesn’t upload smart playlists.
• Pro: Can create instant mixes.

Amazon Cloud Player:

• Pro: Uploads all of iTunes regular playlists to the web.
• Pro: Uploads all smart playlists too.
• Con: Smart playlists don’t auto update, they are basically regular playlists now.
• Pro: Can re-upload playlists to get them in sync.

Both can create new playlists on the fly, however there is no way of creating smart playlists.

Player:

Google Music:

• Pro: Android App – Android player is very user-friendly, clean and works well.
• Con: No iPhone App
• Pro: Website works on iOS so you can play your music on iPhone or iPad. However it is a bit slow but they do say it plays in the background.
• Pro: You can play your music on the web. The website is nice and clean and easy to use.

Amazon Cloud Player:

• Pro: Android App - Android player is decent, however it’s bundled with the Amazon store and it feels bulky.
• Con: No iPhone App
• Con: The website kind of works on iPhone and iPad. However it’s still pretty buggy.
• Pro: You can play your music on the web. The website is ok, not as nice as Googles, but it gets the job done.

Other Features:

Google Music:

• If you use Chrome, get the Play/Pause and Skip extensions for your browser.
• You can rate songs via thumbs up or down.
• You get free music just for signing up.
• Will work with Factotum on the Mac soon, which allows you to play/pause/skip via the keyboard.

Amazon Cloud Player:

• Having the Amazon Store available is pretty nice sometimes. You can quickly purchase a song and have it in your cloud player in seconds.
• You can download your music to your phone or back to your computer.
• Works with Factotum on the Mac which allows you to play/pause/skip via the keyboard.
• It’s open to everyone right now.

If I had to pick one, I’d probably choose Google Music as I like the web and Android user interfaces better. Plus the ability to control my music from my browser and auto uploads of new songs in iTunes just make it easy.

Granted both services could be over shadowed if iCloud comes out next week and creates an even better cloud music solution. However we’ll just have to wait and see how that pans out.

Even better than both services is my iPod. Cloud based music services like these are nice, but nothing beats the speed, portability and features of having an iPod with you.

Google Music vs Amazon Cloud Player – A quick review. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Bird Zapper has fantastic graphics, good game play and it keeps me wanting to play more. Basically you use your finger to connect three or more like birds and zap them.  There are plenty of combos and bonuses and it just hooks ya.

If you’ve got an iPad or iPhone I think you should check it out. For $0.99 it’s a heck of a lot of fun.

Spent $0.99 on Bird Zapper for iPad and it’s awesome. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

What I like about SwiftKey is it tries to predict what I’m writing. It suggests the next logical word in my sentences and it does a pretty good job at it. I can write emails much faster and sometimes I can write a whole sentence with just a few taps.

If you’re looking for a keyboard replacement for your Android phone, I highly suggest taking the SwiftKey demo for a spin and see what you think.

SwiftKey is my choice for an Android keyboard replacement. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

The first thing I forgot was that I’d have to update my theme to make them work. Not only adding the custom function, but also writing the code to figure out if a post was a custom format or not. Then styling those differently as that is the whole point behind custom post formats.

So far I’ve got two custom post formats setup: quote and image. I think they look pretty nice, but they are not perfect.

For example, on my image post, it looks great on the site, but those reading via RSS got a HUGE image. I’ll have to play with image sizes and see how to make that better. Sadly the image size is an issue that’s not just magically controlled.

I really like how my quote post turned out, yet I could have probably done that before post formats too.

When it comes down to it, custom post formats are nice, but you still have to figure out how to make them look, and work, like you want them to.

I’m still a big fan of Tumblr’s simplicity and hopefully I can get everything updated around here to work more like I want. I just want it to be easy for me to create and share different types of content and have them showcased in a way that makes them different from all the rest.

Has anyone else tried out the custom post formats? What do you think?

Testing out WordPress custom post formats. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

I ordered a few things from Amazon the other day and they decided to ship them to me in three different packages so that I could get them sooner; which was really nice since I didn’t have to pay more.

On Feb 9th I got notice that package 1 shipped. Feb 12th package 2 shipped. Feb 13th package 3 shipped.

Package 2 arrived on Feb 14th and package 3 arrived on Feb 15th. But where is package 1?

According to my tracking number, the status is ‘Shipment Accepted’ with an expected delivery date of February 15, 2011. It said that on the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

On the 18th I tried to call USPS. Unfortunately all I got was automated messages and no way to get a live person. I then called a few post offices and no one answered.

Finally, after a half hour, someone I called actually answered the phone! A real person! They said my package hadn’t arrived at USPS yet. It was probably at FedEx as they ship things together sometimes. The only thing they could do was tell me to wait.

Annoyed by this whole situation I was complaining on Twitter. Shortly after I mentioned FedEx, @FedexAl responded to me asking how they could help. I explained the situation and they asked for me to email my tracking number in and they’d see what they could do.

WIN!

FedEx, by at least acknowledging my existence and making an effort to help, made me happy. I actually felt like someone cared; unlike all the automated messages at USPS and offices that didn’t pick up the phone.

FedEx confirmed that the package was at a post office in Minneapolis and had been there since February 11th. They even gave me the local phone number. Of course when I called them, no one answered. I did get voice mail so I left a message and am hoping someone will call me back.

I still really don’t know where my package is, or when I’ll arrive, but having a real person try to help makes a big difference. FedEx took the time to acknowledge my issue and help, even though it really wasn’t their problem.

Thanks FedEx!

FedEx rocks at customer service while USPS fails. originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

It’s been just over two months since I got my Android phone and there are things I love, and things I don’t like so much.

Here are just a few things I love.

Widgets
Having the ability to get information out of an app without opening it is great. I can turn see the status of Wifi or GPS without opening the system settings. I can also enable or disable them with just one touch. I also have an app that can lock or unlock the phone and a whole screen dedicated to my calendar so I can just scroll to it and see what’s going on. No opening apps means I can do things faster.

The Weather Widget
The weather widget is just cool. I’m a big fan of the weather to begin with but now when it’s snowing out, snowflakes fall on the phone screen. When it’s cold, frost builds up. From rain drops to sun beams, the weather animations are awesome.

The Camera
The camera is actually pretty good. Especially if I’m outside in natural light. I’ve got a few great photos on it and I’m pretty impressed with the camera and video camera.

Speech to Text
Not sure if iOS can do this, but in Android there is the option to speak what you want to type and it’ll convert it to text. Works pretty well to as long as you speak slowly and clearly. Since it’s built into the OS, I can use it in Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and any app.

The Notification Bar
This is actually a very Mac’ish feature and iOS doesn’t have it. Android has a bar across the top of the screen to show you notifications. New emails, Facebook messages, text messages and all sorts of things. It doesn’t matter what screen you are on, the notification bar is always there.

Google Integration
I’m a big Google fan and having Google everywhere on this phone works well for me. From email to calendar, maps and voice, it all just works and works well.

There are a lot of other cool things that are probably on every other phone, but this is my first smart phone so I’m having lots of fun with it.

In no means would I say that Android is better than the iPhone. I think they both have their strong suites and the competition between the two will make both better.

The Things I Love About My Android Phone originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

I was trying to replace Toodledo with Remember The Milk. RTM has a nicer interface, seems simpler, a lot of people rave about it and it just felt like a good move.

A Pro account is $25/year and it includes apps for Android, iPhone, Outlook, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and an option to see new features before others. My main reason for upgrading was for the iPhone app.

I moved some of my stuff from Toodledo to RTM and things seemed ok. Turns out, a different getting things done (GTD) app doesn’t do any good when you don’t do much with it in the first place. I was trying to get organized though.

When I got my iPad, I was re-energized to get things organized. Sadly, there is no Remember the Milk for iPad, however there was one for Toodledo.

For $4.99 I could get Toodledo apps for my iPod Touch & iPad. These didn’t require a Toodledo pro account or a yearly fee.

Turns out that Remember The Milk made me realize why I was using Toodledo in the first place. The free version does everything I need and what it lacks in the web user interface, it more than makes up for in features. Plus if I stuck with the iPad version, there were no user interface concerns.

When it came time to renew my Remember The Milk Pro account, I saw no need. Toodledo does everything I need, saves me money and I feel more organized now than I have in a long time.

Saying Goodbye Remember The Milk Pro originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

The wife and I don’t get to go out to movies much anymore since we have a little one. Actually, we didn’t go to that many before either, basically because they are expensive and usually not that good.

Over the weekend however, we did get to go out to a movie and saw Unstoppable. And it was a great movie.

It’s a story of a run away train and it’s done in a way that keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time. There’s no distracting side stories, no overdone actions scenes, just a damn good movie.

If you’re looking for something good to watch, Christi & I highly recommend Unstoppable.

Unstoppable Is A Great Movie originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Unfortunately Verizon doesn’t have the iPhone yet, so we purchased the Droid Incredible. It’s a very nice phone, it’s just taking some time to learn everything. I am a big Google fan though, so Android should be a good fit.

At first glance, the Android OS is nice, but it seems overly complex. I’ve found myself Googling how to do things that should be seemingly simple.

Coming from iOS (iPad & iPod Touch) jumping into Android is tough. I know there is a learning curve and I keep telling myself that.

I am excited though to have a phone with a good camera and video camera built-in. As a dad, there are plenty of photo opportunities that come up unexpectedly.

I’m withholding any judgement until I get more time to use it and learn it. Then I’ll be able to give a more informative Android review.

For now, do you have any Android tips or apps that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Jumping Into The World Of Android With A Droid Incredible originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

First off, the BestBuy campus was a fantastic location. For those that have never been there, it’s easy to get to, easy to get around, and very cool on the inside. This was the perfect setting and sure beats trying to get around downtown.

Then there was the conference itself. It was nothing but WordPress and there was something for everyone.

There were beginner tracks for those that were newer to WordPress and needed help getting off the ground, and then there were more advanced tracks that really dug into the code.

As much as I thought I was a WordPress geek, some of the topics went over my head, but it was still good to hear about them and learn things I didn’t know.

Some of the things I picked up included customizing little things in WordPress that can make a big effect, advanced theme development, introduction to custom fields & posts, and insight into WordPress multisite.

Now that I’m back home in front of my computer, I just want to play with WordPress all day and put some of this knowledge to use.

Besides the venue, and the sessions, there were a lot of great people at the event.

The attendees were all WordPress fanatics so it was easy to strike up a conversation. I also got to hang out with some of the organizers, speakers and even a few people from Automattic, the company behind WordPress. They’re all a great bunch of people and made the event even better.

I’d definitely recommend attending future WordCamp events if you get a chance. Even though this was the first Minnesota one, they take place all over the US. Chances are one will be coming to a city near you.

Also, check out the local Minneapolis-St. Paul WordPress users group for monthly get togethers. This is something that I’m going to try to attend as well as a way of keeping connected and learning more about WordPress.

Geeking out at the first WordCamp MSP originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com

Now my iMac is neat and clean again. I’m being very cautious of what apps I put back on as I don’t want to add a bunch of stuff that just ends up slowing down my machine again.

So far, here are the 16 Mac apps that I realized I can’t live without.

1Password – Most of my passwords and serial numbers are organized in 1Password. Without it, I’d be lost. I’ve tried LastPass but found 1Password much nicer on the Mac.

BusyCal – iCal is great, but BusyCal is better. Its integration with Google Calendar is fantastic and the event reminder window is smarter.

ClipMenu – I can’t live with just one clipboard. I need a running history and ClipMenu keeps that history at my finger tips along with text transformations and snippets. My review.

Coda / Espresso – I haven’t decided which app I like better so I have them both installed. Some day, I’ll pick one HTML editor to rule them all. Or maybe not.

CSSEdit – If you work with CSS, you need CSSEdit. It’s a match made in heaven.

Default Folder X - The finder needs a few super powers and Default Folder X provides them. From recent folders to currently open windows, it’s one app that Apple should buy and integrate into the OS.

Echofon – Right now, Echofon is my Twitter application of choice. Mainly for the list support, but the keyword tweet highlighting is very nice as well. My review. I’m still eagerly awaiting Twitter for Mac though.

Facebook Notifications – I’ve got to have my Facebook fix and desktop notifications are a must have as well.

Google Chrome / Safari – I love Safari, but it’s not perfect. I like Chrome a lot, but it still seems young and rough around the edges. I’m torn between the two, so I have both.

iPhoto – I’ve got thousands of baby photos that need to be organized and iPhoto is a great way to do that. Case closed.

JustNotes / MacJournal – When writing blog posts, I like to have a simple, distraction free environment. JustNotes is quick and conveniently placed in the menubar, where as MacJournal has nice full screen option & organizational features. Both work very well.

MailPlane – I’m all about the Gmail and what better way to integrate Gmail onto the Mac than with MailPlane. The way it supports multiple accounts makes it a must have for me.

Pixelmator – Quick and simple imaging editing at its best. I’m trying to transition over to it full-time, but that’s not going as well as hoped. Still it’s a great application.

Skitch – Skitch is great for taking screenshots, mocking things up and just making pretty arrows and text.

Transmit – I’ve tried many FTP apps and been pretty happy, but Transmit is the best I’ve found on the Mac. From design to usability, Transmit rocks.

One that didn’t make the list is Fireworks. I want to upgrade to Fireworks CS5 (I have CS3) but I haven’t done it yet. I don’t want to install CS3 because I don’t want to add all the files if I won’t need them in a few weeks. I’m trying to survive without Fireworks, but it’s hard. I think I need to just break down and get the latest version.

There are so many Mac applications that it’s hard to know what your top apps are until you start with a clean computer. Then you’ll soon find out what you can and can’t live without.

What am I missing? What do you think is a must have Mac app?

16 Mac Apps That I Can’t Live Without originally posted at http://www.twistermc.com