Facebook, More Like CrapBook

Facebook has been progressively sucking more and more with each "upgrade." Facebook used to be a fit and well organized information system, and now, it has become an over bloated, disorganized disaster. Mark Zuckerberg and company thought that by allowing developers, users, and marketers to develop independent applications, users would benefit greatly by expanding the capabilities of Facebook. I feel like Facebook took a turn for the worse the second that they allowed these applications and "upgrades."

Turn back four or five years ago. Facebook was a young startup company that was finally starting to catch on. It was only available to college students. Facebook provided basically an enhanced "AOL profile." The profile allowed you to share what your interests were, what your major was, what your favorite music and movies were, and so forth. There were no photo albums, no videos, no creepy 50 year old pedophiliac stalkers, and no applications. Everything felt right. New schools were being added daily to the system, and everyone was happy.

Facebook gradually issued new system upgrades. Most of the time, it took a few weeks to get used to the new features, but for the most part, everyone eventually accepted the upgrades. Recently, Facebook upgrades have become sudden and abrupt. They are heavy changes that are not easy to get used to.

The worst part of it all is that many of these system upgrades and overhauls are illogical and unnecesary. It's now harder to get to the simple, yet extremely useful features of Facebook. It took me a good 7-8 minutes of solid searching to find the "Events" button so that I could create a new event. I also think that the new status update feature, aka Twitter, is retarded. If I wanted to know what someone is doing every 3 minutes, I would sign up and join Twitter (something I refuse to do).

I understand that Facebook is a multi-billion dollar business. I know that they want to find the right balance between profit optimization and customer satisfaction, but when thousands of groups are started, who's main purpose is to get Facebook to change back to the way it was previously, I think that sends a pretty heavy message to Facebook's management team.

REDBOX

I'm sure by now, most of you have seen a Redbox at Shoprite or Wegman's. It's an awesome concept, and for the most part, the system works really well. All you need is a credit card and the willingness to spend only $1 a night for a movie rental.

The interface of Redbox is pretty straightforward. You can search for a movie by name, category, or release date. They often get new movies on the day that they are released. Once in a while, when I try to get a new release, the DVD that I am looking for doesn't even show up in the system, even though on the posting next to the machine it says that the movie was already released. This has only happened a couple of times, and it is more of a rarity than a stnadard.

A great benefit to the system is that you can return the movie to any Redbox location. So let's say that you are going on a roadtrip to Florida with the kids. You can rent 3 movies in NJ, return them in Virginia, pick up 3 more movies in Virginia, return them in Georgia, get 3 more movies in Georgia, and return them in Florida. It's a very practical and logical system.

A major drawback, if not the only one, is that the Rebox library is somewhat limited. If you are looking for a movie that was released more than a few months ago, it's pretty much a flip of a coin as to whether or not you will find it at the Redbox.

Drawback aside, Redbox is a dirt cheap, user friendly system that provide great utility to the avid movie watcher. You practically can go to any grocery store now and find a Redbox out front. Take advantage of the service and make sure to pick up some popcorn while you're at the grocery store.

Cadillac Will Soon Offer In-Car Internet Access

Starting next month, Cadillac will be offering a piece of hardware that will enable passengers to receive internet access on their mobile devices while in their Cadillac CTS. The internet access point will be called Cadillac WiFi and will cost $499. Additionally, there is a $29/month service fee as well.

It's very interesting to me that this is the first in-car internet solution available. Certain trains and buses have had internet access capabilities for some time now, which makes me wonder why it took so long for WiFi to find it's way to the automobile. The concept of an in-car internet access point is cool, but in the long run, it's going to face some stiff competition from wireless 3g services provided by companies such as Verizon and AT&T. With those services, you can get internet access anywhere (not just in your car) for about 50 bucks a month.

However, even though there will be some heavy competition, I think the potential for this device is huge. Just imagine your radio, navigation, and climate control systems, all integrated with internet capabilities. (If governmental regulators thought cell phones distracted drivers, just wait until they see what this bad boy does to vehicular operators.) You would be able to listen to free music on Pandora, or browse millions of restaurant reviews on the net. You might be able to remotely monitor your vehicle from your work computer, reading diagnostics and viewing the vehicle via webcams to make sure it is still safe and secure.

The possibilites are truly endless. It's just going to take some imagination and creativity to make this system work, and most importantly, last the test of time. How do you feel about in-car internet access? What kind of applications can you imagine for it?

Cell Phone Rant

So I'm having a bit of a dilemma. Currently, my cell phone provider is Verizon Wireless. I think VZW is an overpriced and sometimes evil corporation. However, their service is second to none. For the most part, with the exception of my parents' house in NJ, I get a strong signal wherever I go. As of now, I am sporting the Samsung UCH- 740 (Verizon calls it the "Alias"), which for the most part, has been an outstanding phone. I've had the phone for almost two years, and I feel like it is time for a change. In about three weeks, I will be eligible for a new phone. Enter the dilemma...

I want my next phone to be more of a multimedia device. I don't want Windows Mobile OS. I ran it about two years ago and all I can say is that it sucked. It would always freeze up and was never fluid in transitioning between applications. I am a big fan of the LG Dare, but as of now, Verizon is selling it for $179 again, which in my opinion is too expensive for that phone. What I really want is the Apple iPhone.

My previous article listed my thoughts and feelings on the iPod Touch, which for all intensive purposes is an iPhone minus the phone. The iPhone is the sh*t. Nothing out there seems to be able to touch it. Many phones immitate, but few come close to replicating the extensive features and performance of the iPhone.

The problem is, if I want the iPhone, as of today, I would have to switch over to AT&T. Not only that, but I would need to purchase the monthly voice and data plan which starts out at $69/month. Quite frankly, that's a little pricey for me. But I do see the value in it and would consider switcing. The main thing holding me back, besides the price, is the fact that my family, girlfriend, and most of my friends are all on VZW. If I switched to AT&T, not only would I eat up minutes everytime I spoke with them, but so would they.

In the end, I probably will end up staying with VZW (even though I don't want to). My hope is that someday the iPhone will be offered on Verizon. There have been some recent lawsuits against Apple, claiming that their exclusive dealings contract with AT&T is monopolistic, and therefore illegal. So far, to my knowledge, none of those suits have been successful. But maybe someday, preferably soon, Apple will be forced to sell their phone on all networks, and thus make many Verizon Wireless customers just a little bit happier.

On a sidenote, AT&T will soon begin allowing customers to buy the iPhone, contract-free. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10200602-37.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0) However, there's a huge catch. The prices of the iPhone will be $599 and $699. You will still need at least the $69/month plan, but if you cancel, you won't be charged the termination fee. Quite frankly, I don't see why anyone would go for this just off the fact that they want 600 bucks for the iPhone.

As always, let me know whaty you think. Adios.

iPod Touch

The iPod Touch is truly an awesome piece of technology. I received my free 8gb Touch with the purchase of my Macbook back in August. At the time, I had no need for it because I was already using an 80gb iPod Classic, which stored more music and video than I could ever need. Due to my stupidity, I had left my iPod Classic in my shorts and long story short, the iPod Classic went through a wash cycle and a half a dryer cycle as well. Much to my surprise, the iPod started up, but then instantly went dead.

The iPod Touch became my main mp3 and media player. I used it primarily for music, and once in a while browsed the net on it. Maybe two weeks ago, I decided to try out some of the free Apps in the App store. Holy sh*t. This thing is awesomeee. The graphics on it are insane and the internal gyroscope adds an extremely useful control mechanism to the system. I downloaded some racing games, as well as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The graphics in these games look as good as the original Xbox's. I don't see why anyone would buy a PSP or a Nintendo DS when you can get an iPod Touch for a lttle over 200 bucks. The iPod offers, in my opinion, as good or better graphics, with a ton of extra features such as a music player, movie player, and web browser for a reasonable price.

The iPod Touch is thin yet has a solid feeling. The glass on the front feels extremely high in quality, unlike some touch screen phones out there with plasticy feeling displays. Everything about this device feels right. The look, style, feel, and actual usability of the product is remarkable. I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a multi-media device that can do it all, and do it extremely well at the same time.