Chris Pirillo

Who Needs Guitar Hero or Rock Band?

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:09:25 +0000

Cavinder is a long-time community member, and a self-professed “casual gamer”. If you love music, and enjoy gaming… this email goes out to you!

Hey Chris! I just wanted to see if you knew about this game called Audiosurf. I just found it not too long ago myself, and have been enjoying myself to pieces with it. In a nutshell, it’s a a musical game much like Guitar Hero and Rockband. But this one is different in that it’s a puzzle game on a track. Basically how it works is the game sets up random colored blocks down your track, and you have to collect them. To gain points, you have to collect at least 3 of the same color together. The more of the same color you collect, the higher the score.
There’s a couple more things that make the game interesting. You know how Guitar Hero and Rockband flow on a straight track? Not this game. This game has a twisting track to really mess with your game… and make it more fun. Also, if you notice it, the track jumps with the beat of the song. That is also really cool. During a slow part of the song, the track bends upwards. During a heavy, fast part, the track streaks down.
The absolute best part of this game is the music. You know how Guitar Hero and Rockband have a set list of songs you can choose from? This game will play any song thats on your pc. Thats right any song. You pick which song you want to play, it looks at it, determines the difficulty, the traffic(blocks) and how the track will look all within a matter of seconds. The people who made this game did an incredible thing with that right there, and in my opinion did it the right way. You’ll be pulling songs that you normally wouldn’t be listening to anymore to play them on this game.
I have three separate videos on YouTube, showing myself playing this game so you can get a feel for it. Check out Still Alive, Second Heartbeat, or Bark at the Moon to see how the game looks.

Audiosurf has a demo version that is absolutely free. You can play with five different songs: one is a tutorial of their choosing, and the other four you choose from your own library. The full game costs only $9.99!

This sounds like a lot of fun. The free version is definitely worth checking out. I have a feeling many of you will end up buying the whole thing.

The Good Side of iPhone 2.0

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:19 +0000

Like anyone else who tunes into my live streaming life, Mr. Staggs knows that I am addicted to my iPhone. He personally has an iPod Touch, using the new 2.0 operating system software. During his transition to 2.0, he has come across some highs and lows that many people would not notice. He sent in his list of top three ‘good’ features, and the top three ‘bad’ ones, as well.

Good Features

Screen Capture I love having this!

YouTube Integration in Safari There’s nothing better than logging onto your website and seeing a link that will take me directly to the YouTube app for any given link… instead of seeing the blue box with question marks.

Video Play inside of Music app In the old iPhone operating system, all that would play is audio when listening to a podcast. Now, the video plays, and allows you to watch it upright or sideways.

Bad Features

Freezing! When apps are downloaded directly to the iPod Touch, many of them tend to freeze, or be extremely sluggish.

Please Hold As you have mentioned before, the reboots are slower with this new 2.0. It stinks when you’re out with friends trying to show off your new iPhone or Apps… and have to spend ten minutes rebooting the daggone thing. (YES, that’s an exaggeration!)

Still Waiting for Flash Yes, there are so many things that could be on the list. However, I. Want. FLASH!!!

What are your thoughts? What’s on your “good” list of new 2.0 features, and what’s on the “bad” side for you?

Violent Video Games Targeted

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:20:36 +0000

Violent video games are once again being targeted. Over the past few years, there have been many tugs-of-war amongst politicians and consumers alike on this very subject. I’m not sure that there will ever be a middle ground, keeping everyone concerned happy. Some of my friends had a lot to say on this subject.

I went off about this on my show a few weeks ago. The law isn’t really targeting games, it’s actually trying to do something about a more prominent and strict ESRB rating. the problem isn’t in the ESRB ratings. The problem is two major things. first, a parent just won’t pay attention. I mean, if your six year old is playing GTA and the box says that it might not be good for people under 17, you may want to figure out why! Second, store clerks sell games to anyone. They just don’t pay attention to the apparent age of the person and the rating on the game. Maybe putting some more severe penalties on people selling games to minors could help a bit more than this. - Candace Holly

Sounds like Candace has the right idea. What good is a rating system if it’s not enforced? - Zach Underwood

There are no penalties if movie theaters let people under 17 into R rated movies or if rental places rent R-rated DVDs to 13 year olds. Why should video games be any different? Gaming companies are helping parents be more informed about the games their kids are playing through the ESRB rating. - Bjorn Stromberg

I think parents are just going to have to step into the room and look at what their kids are doing with the 30+ hours it takes to finish a video game. Laws can’t replace good parenting. If you restrict kids from buying games at retail, they’ll just go to BitTorrent anyways: kids are clever. - Nicholas Molnar

@Nicholas - Yeap! The stores that sell the games are only part of it. The biggest thing is..parents are just going to have to be a parent. - Candace Holly

if you squint, that looks like a tengu! - Mona N

how about this we just stop rating everything… we need to just STOP censoring the planet if parents and teens don’t care then why bother. Besides if X wants to play Y game they will find a way to do it I think the people playing the games need to know not the parents if you want to watch blood spray everywhere that’s your deal but if not you should know how to avoid the games - Cecil Sandus

I’m sorry but Patterson is a moron .. I hate it for the people of the great state of NY you guys deserve much better then him .. eveything he’s asking for is already in place and well all know it he’s just bringing up this tripe so he can continue to be NY governor. .. that’s all it is - JohnBfromMemphis via twhirl

Actually the government did a test and found that games ratings were the most well enforced of all media. Aside from that, all modern consoles can be set to completely block games of certain ratings from playing. The industry does need to communicate that better, and help parents figure out how to set it up. But really, the attacks on gaming are because politicians are playing on parents’ fear of the unknown. It’s an age-old tactic that happens to every form of media in it’s adolescence. - invariant

Are you happy with the current ratings placed on things like music and video games? Should the standards be removed… or get even tougher?

Top Five Classic Video Games

Is Your Password Strong Enough?

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:04:38 +0000

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If you’re like me, you probably have dozens of different passwords. We all know that in order to protect ourselves online, we must have strong passwords. How do you know, though, if your passwords are strong enough?

Head over to The Password Meter. This is a free service that will check your password for you and report back to whether your password is weak or strong. The Password Meter checks for minimum requirements of at least eight characters, and at least 3 out of the following 4:

Uppercase Letters
Lowercase Letters
Numbers
Symbols

It measures your password by several factors:

Number of Characters
Uppercase Letters
Lowercase Letters
Numbers
Symbols
Middle Numbers or Symbols
Requirements

At the same time, “points” will be deducted for things like having letters or numbers only, repeating characters, and sequential and consecutive characters. This is an excellent test, and I highly suggest you check every one of your passwords using this. Also, when you’re ready to set a new password for something, why not run it through this test prior to using it? It only takes a few seconds. Isn’t your peace of mind worth those seconds?

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Are You a Scrabble Fan?

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:49:42 +0000

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If you’re a fan of words like I am, or even word games, you probably love playing Scrabble. Thanks to the App Store, you can play Scrabble on your iPhone now, as well! This is an excellent way to ward off boredom while sitting on the bus headed home from work.

It’s pretty simple. If you’ve ever played Scrabble before, you’ll be able to pick this up immediately. If you don’t see a word jump out at you from your tiles, just shake the iPhone a bit. It will rearrange your letters for you. Once you place your tiles on the board, you can choose to rearrange them or place them. You can also ask it to help you by choosing the best word. When playing the computer, it will take turns with you. The features include:

Give your iPhone and iPod Touch a shake to shuffle tiles. Use your touch screen to zoom in and out, drag and drop tiles.
Intuitive, simple touch controls that simulate real-life game pieces.
Challenge friends and family with Pass n’ Play Game Mode for 2-4 players.
Play the way you want with customizable game rules and multiple difficulty levels.
Get a break with the “Best Word” hint system.
Follow your progress with Game and Score Stats Tracking.

Game play is easy and fun. It’s definitely everything you’d want in an electronic Scrabble game, and well worth the $10.00 it will cost you from the App Store.

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Have You Played Tetris on the iPhone Yet?

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:12:06 +0000

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That’s right… I can play Tetris on the iPhone! It is absolutely worth the $10 you pay in the App Store. It’s no secret that I am a Tetris fanatic. Since I also happen to be a tad fanatical about my iPhone… it’s no wonder I love this app!

The controls are all on-screen, responding to touch. You can maneuver pieces with ease, with a simple tap. You can turn on “ghost piece”. Also, you can choose between slow drops, or immediate drops. Rotate your pieces in any direction you choose. There’s also more than one mode that you can choose from. The features include:

Drag, Flick and Poke your way through 15 challenging levels and two different modes including Marathon and Magic.
Unique touch screen exclusives including shrinking or drawing game pieces and collecting Power Ups.
Dynamic backgrounds respond to your performance and play style.
Groove along to 4 original music tracks.
Track your statistics and try to improve on your best score.

If you know of other excellent ways to play Tetris, let me hear from you. Likewise, if you’re using this particular app already, what do you think of it?

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Oprah Says Webcams are Evil. Are They?

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:51:42 +0000

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I recently received an email from Grant, discussing his grandmother and a recent episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Here is what he had to say:

My grandmother, like so many other grandmothers, doesn’t know a thing about technology and has the habit of watching the Oprah show. So when Oprah had a special about a teenager who became infamous online with the help of a webcam, my grandma concluded that webcams are the spawn of the devil. I did not watch the show, but I read about it and watched excerpts of it after I had heard my grandmother talking about the evils of webcams. Basically the boy’s story goes like this…

The boy, Justin, was only 11 years old when he got a webcam and used it on his computer in his room. He went to chat rooms ,where he lied about his age, and got paid to have “cybersex” with the perverts in the chat rooms. Eventually he started his own website and made quite a bit of money using his webcam/website for porn. Justin claims that he did not know what he was doing, and that he was just taken advantage of. Eventually he stopped stripping for the camera, and (with the help of a reporter) went on the Oprah show to warn people of the dangers of the Internet.

Oprah was interviewing the reporter who somehow saved Justin (again, I didn’t watch the whole thing so I don’t know the exact details), and was telling parents that they should monitor their kids online, and that children should not have their own computers in their rooms. I totally agree. But what really troubled me, and made my grandma scared of the Internet, was when the reporter told parents to throw away any webcams in their house! What? Doesn’t he realize that webcams can be used for so much good? They are a great way to communicate to other people, and are not always used for cybersex. My other problem with the show is that they made this kid look like a victim. He wasn’t. He claimed that he thought the old men in the chat rooms were his friends… what?? What kid would take off his clothes for a 50+ year old man in front of his computer for money?? How could his parents have not known about this? Why was there a computer in this kid’s room in the first place??? The people who should be blamed are Justin’s parents!

So Chris, could you please tell people that webcams are not these evil things that perverts use to abuse children. Rather they are tools that can bring families closer together. I think that it is important that people stop being so afraid of technology. Thanks!

Grant, I have to agree with you 100%. If you follow this line of thinking, then screwdrivers are evil, because they could be used to stab someone. Cars are evil because people die in car accidents. They are merely tools. If you (the general ‘you’) don’t teach people and children the proper use of these tools, that’s what can invite disaster.

Parents need to set up guidelines for their children. They need to monitor what is going on. “With great power comes great responsibility”… with ALL things. This would include a webcam. The webcam itself is not evil. The potential evils lurk behind any person who is not given boundaries, knowledge and understanding. Technology is not a babysitter. Impart wisdom. Teach your children, friends and relatives the proper way to use technology, and the matters of safety.

If you are a minor, listen up. This is not your world yet. You do not yet have the maturity level that adults do. You have to respect webcam technology. You are in control of the webcam. It is not in control of you.

Period. End of story.

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iPod Touch Contest Submissions

Chris — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:22:43 +0000

As we discussed earlier this week, I am giving away an iPod Touch to one of the Moderators from our live chat room. Below, you will find their submissions. The idea is, each Mod who wanted to enter the contest had to write up a short story, detailing a funny or embarrassing moment they have experienced in their lives on a computer. I am going to close comments on this post, so none will be allowed. Once these are posted, I will create a poll for you to vote for your favorite. No one’s name is attached to these, to make it much more fair. Please vote based on hilarity, creativity and just plain fun-ness.

Entry #1

I was working for a contractor at a big software company in Redmond installing their CardKey system. Since I was a n00b at this, it didn’t occur to me to question the orders from above, so I did whatever I was asked. One Friday, my partner asked me to run an “expired cards” report. So I did. I quickly glanced at the print out and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We were working the next day, Saturday, so I’m at the terminal doing some programming when the Facilities Manager comes in. He was not a happy camper.

Apparently the “expired cards” report also voids the expired CardKeys at the same time. And sure enough, one of them belonged to none other than Bill Gates. He was locked out of everything, the front door, his office, everything. He had to have Security let him in. Why he was carrying such a card was beyond me, the print out didn’t indicate anything, other than there was no name associated with the card number. So there you have it, Bill Gates, pwned by yours truly.

Entry #2

The year was 1990. The World Wide Web didn’t even exist yet. I was in High School, and my school was on the cutting edge. They just installed Tandy computers in every classroom, and every student was going to be given an email address that they were to check daily for emails from their teachers and classmates. Since I helped out in the computer lab and happened to be in there just as the setup was finished, I was given credentials, encouraged to login and send emails to my friends who would be receiving their credentials later that day. In my excitement I quickly typed out the subject, “FIRST EMAIL!!!!!” and wrote a short paragraph boasting how I was sending the first email in the school. The next paragraph is where things started to go wrong.
I wrote about a teacher that had just walked in to the lab, and how she was yet again wearing too much makeup and a “very baggy dress only a nun would approve of.” I was explicit and offensive about how HOT she would be if she’d stop “caking on foundation like a circus clown” and “put on a tight sweater for once.” Just as I finished writing this, the Computer Admin told her that I was sending the first email. She approached me with excitement, “Oh I want to watch!” I quickly rushed to hit the send button before she could get in sight of the monitor. Whew, she didn’t see it and I didn’t get caught… or so I thought. But not even a second passed, and the Admin said, “Hey, did you hit Send All?” Yep, I hit the dreaded Send All button by mistake and the email went to EVERY email address in the school: ALL the students, ALL the teachers, and ALL of the facility! The Computer Admin opened the email and I stood there in horror as his face sank more and more with every word he read. I spent the rest of the day in the Headmaster’s Office, and I never heard the end of it from all my friends. Worse of all, that teacher never smiled at me again!

Entry #3

I was working on a computer and the owner called to ask if it was ready yet. I had been procrastinating on getting it done, so I told him that it wasn’t quite finished. We made arrangements for him to pick it up the next day.
It turns out, this machine needed a new hard drive, as the old one was dying. I grabbed a new drive and connected it to another machine with the original old one. I was going to Ghost the old to the new, which is something I’ve done hundreds of times. This would have kept all of the owner’s data intact for him.
Being in a hurry, I didn’t stop to backup the old drive. I proceeded with the Ghosting. Unfortunately, I figured out too late that I had hooked the drives up backwards. I Ghosted the new one onto the old one… wiping out all of the owner’s data. I was left with two blank drives, and the task of figuring out how to tell the owner his data had been lost.

Entry #4

It happened my during my last year in high school, on a day when the whole high school had no internet. This really made me mad, because my friend and I always used the ‘net during class. Instead, we decided that we should create a video of us doing funny stuff to pass the time. I decided to do a little dance and act silly at the beginning of it. When I tried to do one particular dance move, I tripped over my feet and the leg of a chair. I fell head first to the ground. Of course, the entire thing was recorded for posterity. Everyone in the room was laughing their heads off, including my friend. I was red with embarassment… and laughter.
I had hoped everyone would forget the incident. Instead, it was used as bleeper footage during my high school Senior video. Everyone saw me dance and fall, and everyone was laughing.

Entry #5

It was a hot 90 degree day. I had just taken a shower, and slipped into a pair of shorts. I had recently set up my first Ustream account, and decided I would stream for a bit. I get the stream up, and then started to watch the chat room. All of a sudden, my wife began laughing hysterically in the other room, as she was watching my stream.
She yelled out “For the love of god, go put a shirt on! You look like you’re sitting there naked!”. She continued to crack up as I looked at my video feed. Sure enough, I wasn’t sitting at the computer in shorts. I appeared to be a middle-aged man sitting at my computer naked. There were like five viewers at that point. I scrambled to turn off the camera and shut off the stream.
Instead of simply and calmly saying “wow, this looks bad, let me go get a shirt on” then standing up so they could see I was actually wearing shorts… I ended up looking like some pervy guy who accidentally caught himself on his webcam sitting there naked.

Entry #6

I was in a position of needing to print out speeches. There were six people, at three speeches per person… to be printed on 8×10 card stock. I wasn’t sure if there wsa enough card stock to print them, so a friend went out to buy more. All the school kids had raided the store, and there was none left to buy! Luckily, we had exactly enough, even though we were panicking as the last pages came off the printer.
Fast forward to the day of the speeches. We’re all on stage, reading them. In our hurry to make changes and get them printed, we had named the files “New version” or “newnewversion”, things like that. By the time we had gotten around to printing them, we weren’t exactly sure what we were printing. It turns out that instead of three different speeches, we had printed one speech THREE times. Needless to say, we were mighty embarassed when we were asked why we all had the same exact work.

Entry #7

I was messing with one of my desktops. I had just replaced the Power supply because the old started to go out. I installed the PSU just like normal. I figured everything was good, so I booted up the machine and noticed that I smelled something weird. I opened up the side of my case, and saw that the power supply was smoking. I started to freak out, and turned off the computer. I didn’t want to lose my motherboard, so I decided to unplug the PSU. This was after I unplugged my computer from the wall. I figured every thing would be fine but that turned out to be a stupid mistake. I started unplugging the cable from the motherboard and I was instantly shocked. There was a short in the cable. The PSU was keeping charge from the capacitors inside. I ended up getting a replacement and was more careful installing it. Luckily, my other computer parts were safe and not harmed. I will never mess with a PSU like that ever again.

Entry #8

Anyone who has ever had to install Windows 95 from floppies will appreciate this. You must, of course, install them in order from 1 - 5. One day when I was attempting to install Win 95 from floppies for a friend of mine, I could not figure out why the entire install was refusing to work. I checked everything I could think of, and nothing came to mind. I was about to the point of telling my friend he needed a new computer when it finally struck me what was wrong.
I was attempting to install the floppies in backwards order, beginning with #5 instead of #1.

Entry #9

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Has Anyone Ever Written a Song about You?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:25:25 +0000

Matt Bickford wrote this fan song just for me! How cool is that? Watch the video, and follow along with the lyrics.

Review an app or two
He does it for you
He’s one geeky dude

Lifestreaming is his thing
taught me of metal grabby things
inspired me to sing

Now don’t get me wrong
for 10 dollars he’ll play you your song

Chris Pirillo

Ponzi went on a cruise
Home alone for the lose
he just did more reviews

Pixie and Wicket - so cute!
He bought Crash Bandicoot
Played it for me and Andrew

His geek cred - so legit!
He gave tech support to Jordi Laforge
Can you believe it?

Thanks, Matt! This rocked!

How to Develop a Sense of Rhythm

Top 5 Tips to Save the RIAA and the Music Industry

12 Days of Christmas Song: A Music Geek Carol!

Free Preview of New Weird Al Album

What’s the Easiest Way to Build Music Playlists?

What Software Helps Remix Music?

How Do You Find Music Online?

Is Your Wife a Hot Geek?

What Kind of Music do you Listen To?

Where do you go to Discuss Art Online?

Where Can You Find Hi-Def Videos on the iPhone, iPod Touch?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:20:14 +0000

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It’s hard to get my attention these days with a glut of new products being released on a regular basis. mDialog got my attention quickly with their amazing marketing promotion. Thanks to them, we’re doing a special giveaway for the Moderators in my chat room.

In three easy steps, mDialog’s innovative mLoader software allows you to encode, describe and upload video of any size and length from your Mac or PC. Download it for free today and start enjoying these great features. Because the encoding and uploading is done locally on your PC or Mac, mLoader can go as fast as your computer can. We don’t believe in size limits, so go ahead and upload that 30 or 60 minute presentation, instructional video or independent film for the world to see. We can handle it! It’s your choice - mLoader allows you to instantly make your video optimized for viewing on desktops, iPods, iPhones and Apple TV’s. You no longer have to create multiple versions for each type. mLoader takes care of that for you. We’re committed to making your video look as good as possible on the web, and we use the MPEG-4 h.264 video codec to do so. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that means - once you’ve seen the video you’ll understand. With some services, there’s a wait after you’ve uploaded your video for it to be ready for viewing. With mDialog, it’s instantly available.

We know that you may want to syndicate your content on as many other video services as possible. To make this easier, mLoader gives you the option to save a copy of your encoded video to your computer. This optimized file can then be uploaded to any service you like from your corporate intranet to the latest video sharing site. It is your content to do with as you please.

So I open the box from mDialog, and begin reading the marketing letter. They said they wanted me to try this new app, and installed it on a brand-new iPod Touch. What?! They were nice enough to engrave it, even. It definitely got me looking at the product. The letter even said that there was a personalized video waiting for me on it. It’s a personalized video from the founder of mDialog. I can’t believe that they sent me an iPod Touch to get my attention!

The mDialog site is definitely worth checking out. They are definitely very high-resolution. The site is easy to use and get around in, and the quality of what they’re doing is amazingly good.

So, what’s that about a giveaway? You heard me right. We’re going to use this iPod Touch to thank the Moderators in our chat room. They work many hours every day for absolutely nothing more than our thanks. They are what makes the live community work, and work well. They keep order in chat, and make sure that it’s a good place for people of all ages to come to.

So what do they have to do? Simple! The Ops and Halfops who wish to enter will each send Kat a little writeup of their most embarassing or funny moment involving using a computer. On Thursday afternoon, July 24th, Kat will upload each other those blurbs to my blog anonymously. There will be no one’s name attached to them. We will then open up a poll in the blog, and ask all of you to vote for your favorite. Then, on my birthday Saturday night, July 26th, we will reveal who the winner is, based on the most number of votes. So stay tuned, and check back here to the blog on Thursday so that you can cast your vote!

Thanks again to all of the moderators for all of the work you do. You guys rock!

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Can a Cool USB Beverage Chiller Keep Your Drinks Cold?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:05:33 +0000

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In front of me is a small, light-weight device. I’ve seen it advertised in the past. When I ask people to send me ideas for cool USB products, I keep getting this one sent to me. It’s a USB beverage chiller. I was skeptical as to whether one of these would work or not, so I decided to try it for myself. Once it’s plugged in for awhile, it will cool to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, which is definitely pretty chilly.

I didn’t realize Mac OS X could do this. I had this cooler plugged into the laptop, and at one point the Mac told me that it was drawing too much USB power and would shut it down. Wow. That’s impressive. So, I changed it up and plugged it into one of the USB grommets on my desk. Or, you can plug it into a wall.

If you drink cold drinks near your computer, you need one of these. This will keep your drink cold until you finish it. If you’re like me, you can’t drink soda or anything once it has gotten warm. This Cool It USB Chiller is worth every bit of the $24.95 cost.

The next must-have computer accessory is here. With the USB Beverage Chiller at your side, you can keep your beverage chilled and stay at your computer longer. Just seconds after plugging the chiller into your computer’s USB port (no external outlet needed), the coldplate chills to 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the perfect temperature for keeping your beverage chilled.

So what other cool USB gadgets do you want me to check out? Send me your recommendations!

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Random Posts

What’s the Best External Battery for the PSP, iPod, or iPhone?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:55:37 +0000

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Several blogs have reported that the battery life of the iPhone 3G and the original iPhone running 2.0 have put a damper on the phone to last all day. Despite the fact that the battery life of the 3G is bad, it’s still better than other phones like it. It’s true that it drains fast. What are you gonna do? You could carry a cord around with you wherever you go, or get some kind of external battery pack.

I’ve had my Lenmar external battery pack for awhile, and never really used it much. It’s an excellent device though. It’s a high-capacity external battery that will charge any USB device, so long as you have the proper cable. That would includes a DS, PSP, iPhone, iPod, Zune.. anything that charges via USB. Yes, it’s as big as the iPhone itself, but not nearly as heavy. It does the job, though, which is what matters.

When you’re traveling, using one of these just makes sense. Why carry tons of separate chargers with you? Simply take an external battery with you, and charge all your devices with it. It has a mini USB connection, and a regular one. There’s an indicator light that will tell you whether anything is charging or not, and turns off when the device is fully charged.

These aren’t cheap to buy, but it’s actually saving you money. Think of buying 3 or more separate chargers for devices. Keep in mind, as well, that even proprietary chargers still charge via USB. Using this helps me get through the day, and doubles my charge on my iPhone. I’ll be looking for an external battery made specifically for an iPhone. So, pass along your recommendations!

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What’s Your Best Bowling Score, Ever?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:43:57 +0000

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Eric is a regular visitor in our live community, who goes by than handle of iBowler or Bowler4Ever. He is an avid bowler, and sent in his tips to help all of you bowl higher scores! While I read Eric’s bowling tips, I had a video done by XXOwnsXY from our chat room. She was playing around with OECake in that video, and it’s way cool.

Know your shoe size! You need special shoes to bowl in, as street shoes can damage the approach. If you don’t know, check inside your shoe for a tag or the bottom part of the shoe.
After you get your lane, look for the bowling ball that weighs the perfect amount for you and make sure it fits your hand!
Whatever your body weight is, take 10% from it. That would be the weight of your ball. BUT, if it’s too heavy, keep going a pound lighter until it feels somewhat decent for you.
Don’t EVER get the tightest fit for you. If you’ve checked out YouTube, people have launched balls into the ceiling…and clocks! Also, never get balls with the fingerholes too big…you don’t want to get a broken foot! Make sure it’s snug, but still loose enough for you fingers!
NO FOOD OR DRINKS IN THE BOWLING AREA! There’s a reason why those signs are all over the place. What happens if you spill soda all over the approach? You stick! sugary carbonated water turns into a sticky syrup that is a PAIN to clean off the approach and the shoes!…And if you fall and hurt yourself…it’s nobody’s fault but your own. Don’t even bring water down there (precautionary measures).
You see that black line where the gutters start? Don’t you DARE go past it! That line is called the foul line and what it does is a) Lets you know that you went too far down and b) saves you from injury. Why? Because after that line there is a ton of oil that goes the rest of the way down the lane a certain distance. That oil is clear and very slippery and you WILL get hurt!
Bowler’s Courtesy. Now I know you’re new to the game and all that, but league bowlers (such as myself) HATE it when people just rush up right beside or even in front of them and bowl. It’s very agitating and dangerous! Bowling balls weigh up to 16 pounds and if yo get smacked by one of those suckers, you’re going to get some broken bones!
If you’re bowling on the first or last lane of the bowling center, do NOT go down that aisle and knock down the pins that way. Why? It’s dangerous and you can get kicked and banned from the center. It’s happened! So don’t do it!

If you’re a bowler, what’s your highest score ever? What silly mistakes or “oopsies” have you made while bowling?

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Google’s Knol is Knowledge

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:44:12 +0000

Google unleashed Knol today, which is essentially aiming to be collection of authoritative articles written with attribution. Knowledge is certainly everywhere these days, but I believe Google is trying to add wisdom to the equation - doing it somewhat differently than the competition.

Just about anybody and everybody is welcome to contribute, and even if you don’t contribute to Knol - they’ve got great guidelines for just about any writer, or just about any information network (kinda like what I’d love Lockergnome to be someday). Here’s their Best Practices - worth scanning. What’s most interesting in this knol on writing Knols is that they clearly state that an article should not be written like a blog.

They say that “Sharing your knowledge with the world is rewarding for everyone,” but it remains to be seen whether this is going to be anything more than a potential resume booster for contributors. Credentials are important, but as I’ve come to discover over time… credentials are not built in a centralized fashion anymore. You have to spread your intelligence wisely, in more than one location, to be discovered and sought after as someone who knows what they’re talking about. It’s not necessarily about WHO you know, but WHERE you participate throughout the Internet.

I think it’s awesome to have yet another resource for research on a topic; Wikipedia, Mahalo, and Knol should be quite complementary. I’d never look to one over another as THE authoritative resource for anything or everything. Perspectives matter, but you need to seek several before that knowledge can grow into true wisdom.

Some of my friends seem disappointed but seemingly hopeful. Maybe we were expecting more from Google?

Are Mobile Car Chargers Good for Phone Batteries?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:16:31 +0000

Chris Levo is the President and Chief Editor of Nteract Solutions. He sent me the following email after watching my video about charging my iPhone on the go. It’s excellent information, so you should read it carefully.

I was watching your video about leaving your house with your iPhone, and needing to charge it if it runs out of juice. You mentioned a car charger being a very good idea and what should be done (retract, iGo, whatever you want to call it). Any charger that goes into the car is bad for the device battery. Why? Because the power is not regulated like in your home. In my line of work, I have seen many batteries die because people use their car chargers WAY too much. A car charger should be a LAST resort. I try to explain to customers that when they get home they obviously (well I guess 99.9% of the world) take out their wallet, keys, coins, or whatever is in their pocket before going to sleep. Make it a habit to charge your phone with your home charger.

The same goes for purchasing cheap home chargers just to save a buck. Many customers frown at $30 for a home charger because they lost theirs and say they will just go to the “flea” market and get one for $10. The ones for $10 are worse then the vehicle/12v charger port (not called a cigarette lighter in any vehicle anymore because the lighter portion does not come with the car unless you add the option. That is another answer to a question you had at the beginning of the video).

I’m tired, it’s late, but I just wanted to get this out and make you aware of the fact that using a car charger can kill the length of the battery by as much as 50% (if used more then the home charger). Just something to think about before you go plugging in your expensive device in your car charger or don’t feel like running upstairs or where ever it is in your home to plug in your device because you might be too tired. Take the extra 2 minutes and plug it into the home charger.

The moral of the story here is to be proactive when it comes to keeping your mobile device charged. Use the proper home charger. Trying to save a few bucks or some time now will end up costing you far more down the road.