Google now has a new interface for iPhone users. VERY useable. I especially like the Gmail and Reader screens. Thanks Google!

(Photo Credit: KW2DIO)

[story at TechCrunch]

Technorati Tags: google,iphone

I finally updated Exit171 to WordPress v2.3.1.  Version 1.5.2 worked well for a long time, but I knew I was several revs behind and missing out on some new functionality, e.g. widgets, themes, etc.  The upgrade couldn’t have been easier (it took me longer to backup everything than it did to upgrade).  I’ll be messing around with some new features in the coming weeks and probably a new theme.  Please let me know if you see anything that looks strange or broken.  Thanks.

Technorati Tags: wordpress,software,blogging

This looks pretty neat…

What do you get when you combine Google Maps with hyper-local news and comments? You get a map-based news site called YourStreet, which officially launches tomorrow (although the site is already up). The site detects where you are located and serves up news stories about events that recently occurred in your city or neighborhood, as well comments from YourStreet members who live nearby.

[via TechCrunch:  Maps + News = YourStreet]

I hope I never have to use Google Maps and Twitter like this, but it’s good to know these apps are proving themselves useful during real-life crisis situations.

[Google Maps and Twitter Are Essential Information Resources For California Fires]

Gmail now supports IMAP! Giddy-up!

[Google Takes No Prisoners]

I’ve been messing with a new app on the iPhone to help me organize my life… reQall is a new way to keep a to-do list or help me remember miscellaneous factoids. Instead of writing stuff down (or typing it in on my computer) I call a toll free number and leave a message. My voice message then gets translated into text and shows up on my personal reQall page which is accessible via the web or a nicely formatted iPhone page. reQall also sends me an email a day with the “tasks” I’ve recorded. Pretty neat.

I used to call my answering machine and leave myself “to-do” messages, but that had some limitations. It’s kinda neat that I can now make that same call, it gets automatically transcribed (with pretty good accuracy), and is accessible from pretty much anywhere. Very helpful when I’m on the run. Even if you don’t have an iPhone, you can try it out (it’s free). Check it out!

[reQall]

If you have an iPhone, RUN, don’t walk, and check out this page. What a great resource!

iPhone Application List

BTW, it looks like Apple may be launching a Web applications directory soon. Yup, still lovin’ my iPhone.

I just installed the Sphere Related Content Widget on my blog. It literally took me less than a minute to install and configure. You’ll now see an icon at the end of my posts… In a nutshell, when you click on the icon, Sphere finds other blog posts and media articles related to the content in that particular post. Cool stuff. It would be great to see this widget catch-on everywhere… so much easier to find relevant information.

How is it I DID NOT buy these stocks years ago?? Yeah, I’m still kicking myself for that. Either way, I’m lovin’ my iPhone more everyday (even with firmware v1.1.1)…

—

Starbucks to spread 50 million pieces of iTunes love

In order to promote its new partnership with Apple and the Wi-Fi Music Store, Starbucks plans to give away 50 million iTunes songs to US customers. Between October 2—the launch date of the Wi-Fi Music Store capabilities at select Starbucks locations, according to a separate announcement of the company’s today—and November 7, the coffee kings at about 10,000 stores will hand out roughly 1.5 million free song downloads per day. That’s a lot of songs… and coffee.

<snip>

[via Ars Technica]

I recently picked up a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection and figured I’d try out Contribute CS3 on Windows XP.  As expected, the app is incredible.  I’ve been using Ecto on Mac OSX to post to Exit 171 for the past couple years, but Contribute CS3 is a very nice alternative.

Interesting idea. I’d like to have something like this…

OLPC’s XO laptop comes with anti-theft kill-switch in select countries

Every couple of years I get the urge to document my family tree. It’s embarrassing how little I know about my family’s history. I’ve tried various genealogy programs, but in the end (for one reason or another) I end up abandoning the project.

With the continuing “webification” of apps, I think I’ve found a simple way to get things rolling again (thanks TechCrunch!). Geni is an online Flash app that allows you to easily add family members to your tree and create a graphical view. The best part is the capability to invite people via email to update their own info. This should make finding that elusive family info a bit easier.

Geni is still in beta, but looks pretty good so far. I’ve already entered 60+ people to my tree. Hopefully some family members will help contribute.

Zone Five Software just updated SportTracks to include cadence graphing for cycling. What an outstanding program for tracking any exercise or activity! I’m using my Garmin Edge 305 for data collection — integration with SportTracks is perfect. Here’s a sample graph and map from my latest workout (~13 miles):

~44 miles on the Madone this weekend and I’m feeling great. I’ve discontinued using my Suunto t6 for rides. Yup, no more EPOC. The good thing is the Garmin Edge 305 GPS is a very capable replacement — excellent data capture and display, route tracking, screen, battery, etc. Sure, it could use some better map support, but I’m not sure if I’d really use that feature for cycling. I usually view speed, cadence, and heart rate when riding. On a secondary screen I view ride time, distance, elevation, grade, averages, etc.

I finally found some pretty good analysis software — SportTracks. It supports the Garmin (and a bunch of other devices) and can also export to Google Earth. SportTracks’ “built-in” mapping functions use the USGS online maps, which is convenient. Also, to top it off, the software is free. As I do with any free software I use a lot, I’ll be making a donation to the authors. Nice job SportTracks!

As for MotionBased, I’ve been checking it out with a free account and it looks very well done. Take a peek at my digest page. I’m not sure if I’d use their extra subscription-based services, but I plan to keep experimenting with it. It’s great to have choices.

Great article on the state of online feed readers. Bloglines is still my favorite. Probably the biggest reason is that I can access Bloglines from multiple machines, including my PDA, and it keeps my feeds up-to-date. I don’t have to worry about which feed I read on which machine. Very convenient.

[Article at TechCrunch]