2006 April 13

In July 2005, Chris participated in what was the first blogging event from 30,000 feet as hosted by Connexion by Boeing. Bloggers were given free Internet access to post, use Skype, share photos and video, and any other way they could think to test the connection. In the period since that event, many flights leaving the United States now offer Connexion wireless service to passengers. At CTIA 2006, Jake spoke with Terrence Scott from Boeing about Connexion, including how it works, what you can and can’t do with Internet access at 30,000 feet and the future of cellular access on airplanes.

Read more on Terrence Scott on Connexion by Boeing…

Who the [bleep] cares?

As soon as I read about ziXXo on TechCrunch, I hopped over there and signed up for an account. Local coupons in RSS? Sweet! I sat back and waited for something to happen. I just received a notification a few minutes ago which claimed I had “New Coupons from ZiXXo.” The link said nothing more than “10% off all items purchased online.” Yeah, that's it – no vendor name, no store type, no nothing other than a generic 10% savings. Not realizing I had a checkmark placed to be notified by email, I logged into my account to see what was happening. Indeed, there's a checkmark for “Please send me Deal Alerts emails about new coupons in my area.” So, this 10% savings must be happening in my area? I tried the link.
I was wisked away to a ziXXo intermediary page with a banner in the middle of it. Of course, I tried clicking on the banner. Nothing happened. Then I read the text above it: “Clicking the 'Go To Web Store' button will open up a new window, which pop-up blockers may block.” Uh-huh. The ad was for a place called Moonlight Toys. Cool! Maybe they had some Darth Vader merchandise. I clicked on the appropriate button, expecting to be taken to a local vendor's Web site… and instead, was sent to a place where they sell Vibrators and Dildos and Condums & Lube (oh my).
I could've used a bit of warning there, folks. Bad form!
Moonlight Toys is actually located in San Francisco, when my profile clearly states that I live in Seattle. They both begin with an “S” but that's where the similarities end (other than both cities having above average coffee and cooler weather patterns). ziXXo gets a big fat niXXo from me for five GIGANTIC mistakes:

Read more on ziXXo: niXXo…

I couldn't tell you which one is better, but I will tell you that Gada.be can work well in both platforms. :) Anil helped me whip up the Gada.be widget for TypePad, and then Ianiv helped craft an equivalent for WordPress (with the Widget plugin already installed). You can also add Gada.be to either the new Google Toolbar beta with a simple click – or to IE7 with a click that's just as easy. Plugins for everyone. Hurrah!
On a related note, Jim Muttram (from the UK) had an interesting observation the other day: “Because gada.be isn't a publisher, it doesn't have the same preconceptions about the value of advertising that publishers do. If the targeting in Google ads is good – and we know from experience that it is – why wouldn't you want to search just ads instead of content, especially if you were looking to buy something?” My question exactly. Looking for the Canon SD700? Me too.

Read more on TypePad vs. WordPress…

Not sure. eHomeUpgrade has secured a top secret list that's allegedly from “a confidential source working with Apple.” I'm impressed with what I've read, but I don't know if it's enough to get Windows users to switch to a more expensive platform that only has one mouse button (which is the one thing holding me back from scoring a MacBook Pro). The possible features that titilate me:

Read more on Could Leopard Trump Vista?…

I have a new friend named Matt Blank. That's not his real last name, but that is his real first name. Anyway, Matt really wants to get a PSP, but certain factors are keeping him from scoring one. Perhaps his girlfriend is afraid that it'll take away from their cuddle time – or perhaps he's just looking for a way to make it a business write-off. For research, ya know? The PSP is much more than a gaming device; with it, you can listen to music, download feeds, watch videos, view photos, etc. I really believe (and hope) that the next-gen PSP will further enable the portable lifestyle to give Apple a run for it's iMoney. So, what more can we do to push Matt over the edge? What about the free PSP eBook Creator? If you have a simple text file that you want to take with you on-the-go, there's no easier way to convert it into a compatible visual format. Suddenly, the PSP can do a lot more than what it could do before.
I've uploaded a copy of our free FirefoxFacts PDF eBook in text format – then created a PSP eBook of it with ease.

Read more on PSP eBook Creator…