Evernote vs. OneNote
Now that Microsoft has gotten around to seeing the value of supporting Android, I thought I would re-evaluate my decision of using Evernote.
The bottom line for me is that Microsoft has lost too much ground in this space by not utilizing SkyDrive and OneNote itself. One of the real aspects of Evernote I find myself using more than I ever thought I would is the ability to send voice recordings from my phone straight to EverNote. This is still one feature that has not been addressed by Microsoft as yet. Yes, still playing catch-up. Android AppStorm has a good article on the OneNote Android app which we have a link to in our Google+ Feed.
UPDATE: EverNote has updated their Android app to include Speech 2 TxT. I had been doing this by calling my Google Voice number and having it forward to my EverNote email. EverNote has now included this using Google Speech2Text technology (Surprised ?). Now in EverNote you can do a voice recording and it will automatically convert your recording to text and post to EverNote.
Not much of a decision for me, but everyone needs to make their own call. I would recommend you take a look at the EverNote Trunk. This is the area on their website that lists all of the 3rd party addons. Some pretty neat stuff.
Categories: All, Featured, Software, Web Tags: bottom line, evernote, forward email, google, party addons, pretty neat stuff, skydrive, voice number, voice recording, voice recordings
WIFI Smart Phone – At Last!
It has finally arrived, someone with the cajones to take on the big 3 wireless carriers. A Smartphone (Android) with No Contracts, Unlimited Everything, for $19 a month.I remember back when Google was bringing out the Nexus. Many of us were hoping that Google was going to take on the traditional wireless carriers and roll out something innovational. I not sure what, maybe unlocked phones, VOIP, etc. Republic Wireless has taken up the banner in the name of Freedom and has rolled out an android phone that does just that.
Republic Wireless is a subsidiarity of BroadBand.Com and on November 8th they rolled out their new concept of what a smartphone service should be. Currently they are only offering 1 phone (LG Optimum), which is anything but high end. But the premises of the plan is headed in the right direction. So here is how I see that direction.
Republic has developed a technology that when the phone is in an WiFi covered area, it will place all Data/Voice/SMS requests using WiFi. When you are not in a WiFi covered area it will fall back to cellular – All For $19 A Month
On Nov. 8th, they opened their doors and sold out of inventory within 12 hours, with more promised. What this proved to me is that they have definitely hit on a niche. Republic is the first to mention that this type of service is not for everyone, and if you live and work in an area that is covered with WiFi this will work better that if you are in an area without as much WiFi saturation.
Before you discount this idea, take a moment to think about how much of your life is spent within WiFi coverage. Now with the new Ford’s containing an built in MiFi, the space that you are outside of WiFi is getting smaller and smaller.
If any of this sound interesting then you can read more on the company site, and sign up for their next batch of phones. I hope that they succeed in their efforts as we can never have enough innovation or competition in this arena.
Google Plus: Social Network Not
In a recent remark, Google’s CEO; Eric Schmidt commented:
”G+ was build [sic] primarily as an identity service, so fundamentally, it depends on people using their real names if they’re going to build future products that leverage that information.”
This statement alone gives one pause to the point that I have been re-evaluating my opinion of Google, Inc. First off I must give Google its due, at least they are transparent on their product and what and who it was developed for, unlike other so called Social Networks. Google is a corporation and I think many of its users have overlooked this fact in our trust of a company whose motto is: ‘Do No Evil’. As a company Google will do what’s in Google best interest and come push to shove, its customers (us) will always take a back seat.
Maybe Google’s motto should be: ‘Do No Evil To Google’ or Do No Evil To Google’s Bottom Line’. Personally I find Google Plus a great service and now that I know that it was built as an Identity Service to capture my information and usage statistics to develop and market other services I will use it accordingly. Maybe we have been naive to think all of these services that Google has rolled out are really FREE. Nothing is Free, and everything has a cost to it, in the case of Google the cost is our information, all of our information. All of this information, has caused me to re-evaluate on how dependent I have become on Google’s services. I would be the first to admit I am a Technology Junkie, so one would think that I would have been more aware as I have gone down the Google Rabbit Hole over the past years. I decided to look at all of the services I use and see how I can diversify. I have included a poll below; what Google service could you not do without in your Digital Life? So, will I be much more aware of which Google Services I use in the future? Of course I will, at least until the next cool service comes along 
.
Categories: All Tags: ceo eric schmidt, eric schmidt, find google, google, google inc, Google Plus, Google Rabbit Hole, rabbit hole, Rob Truman Consultant
A Very Cool GVoice Tool
Ever needed to create a voice memo or reminder from your phone? The other day I was looking for an Android App that would allow me to do just that. I didn’t want to use the stock Voice Recorder as it saves the file as: .3gp, and I wanted something that would work with other players. After about 10 min of searching, I finally got smart!
Google Voice provides a great, free solution that enables you to leave voice messages for yourself (note to self), receive the transcription via email, along with the original audio file as well.
All it takes is a little bit of configuration.
I didn’t want all of my destination phones (work, home, etc) ringing when I called myself to leave a voice-memo. So, here’s how:
· In Google Voice:
- Settings-> Phones-> Edit Cell Phone-> Show Advanced Settings
- Voicemail access: No
- (click "Save")
· Settings->Voicemail & SMS
· Voicemail Greeting: Record New & called it "Note". Say something like "Leave a Note".
- Contacts->(my personal contact record – the one with my cell number associated)->Edit->Edit Google Voice Settings
- When this contact calls you:
- Select "Ring my" and UNCHECK all the sub-options
- "When this contact goes to voicemail", play the "Note" recording (create one). I used ‘Start Note’
- (click "Save")
Now, I can call my Google Voice number from my cell phone to leave myself a message (which is transcribed and emailed to me).
To take this one step further, I have set my notes to get posted to a private Posterous site. This required a little more configuration as you will need to add your Posterous email to Google Voice and this requires Verification.
In Posterous you will need to add 2 email addresses as contributors;
· account-verification-noreply@google.com – Email Account Verification
· voice-noreply@google.com – Voice notes from Google.
From here you should be able to call your GV number from your cell phone (this does not need to be a smart phone), you will be taken straight to voice mail. Leave your message or note, and your message will be transcribed and the audio message will be available on your Posterous site and available from any Internet ready device.
Happy Googling!
Note: This of course will work just as well if you are using an email client. I like the idea of my notes being available from all of my devices.
Categories: All Tags: account verification, Android App, free solution, google, Google Voice, Select Ring, Start Note, voice memo, voice number
Twitter, Facebook and Rim Talk Riots
Twitter To Join Facebook & RIM for Riot Talks With UK Government
Twitter has confirmed that it will attend a meeting with UK Home Secretary Theresa May and other UK officials about the role social media played in riots earlier this month.
Facebook and BlackBerry-maker RIM confirmed their participation in the meeting last week, but at the time a Twitter spokesperson only said, “We’d be happy to listen.”
After it became clear that some rioters were using social media and BlackBerry messenger to coordinate violence, UK Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament that the government was examining whether to ban suspected troublemakers in the riot from using social media and other digital communication tools.
“When people are using social media for violence we need to stop them,” he said, to the chagrin of many free speech activists. “So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.”
Google seems to be missing from this gang. Maybe the fact that its requirement of users using their real idenity is keeping it politically neutral.
Categories: All, Social Tags: david cameron, facebook, free speech activists, google, RIM, Twitter, UK, uk home secretary
No Social
When Internet access gets shut down in Egypt or far off lands we comment on how wrong this is, and thank our lucky stars that we live in a country where this can’t or won’t ever happen…NOT.
Anonymous (Social Hacking Group) recently attacked B.A.R.T. for doing this very thing. B.A.R.T is the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and after being forewarned that there would be a demonstration relating to a July police shooting. As a preemptive measure B.A.R.T. cut off all cellular traffic inside their facilities and trains. Their justification was that it was done as a safety measure to keep the demonstrators from being able to use their cell/smart phones from coordinating the demonstration.
All politics aside, the pure fact of shutting down the network, created a safety hazard for hundreds if not thousands of customers in that no contact to emergency services. Unless the constitution has changed recently, as American Citizens we do have the right to assemble peacefully.
This incident also brought up another thought that I have been pursuing when it comes to Google Plus and Google’s policy of no anonymous profiles. It’s my belief that one of the driving factors for Google’s decision in this was to stay politically neutral and not provide a vehicle for civil unrest.
One thing is for sure though; the recent action’s in San Francisco has brought this topic out of the dark and into the light.
CNN Article: Little evidence links mob violence to social media
Categories: All, Social Tags: American Citizens, bay area rapid transit, civil unrest, cnn article, Egypt, google, Google Plus, mob violence, rapid transit system
Google+ Updates: Now Appearing in Your Email Signature
This is good sign when developers adopt something still in Beta. On the other hand, Google has a history of staying in Beta.
via Mashable » Social Media by Jennifer Van Grove on 8/18/11
Already using Google+? Follow Mashable’s Pete Cashmore for the latest about the platform’s new features, tips and tricks as well as social media and technology updates.
Email signature startup WiseStamp has enhanced its Chrome and Firefox extensions Thursday with an email application for Google Plus.
The G+ email application will let you include your latest Google+ status update in your email signature. Your email recipients can then view your update and add you to their Circles directly from the message.
The Google+ update was included in the version 2.7.1 release of WiseStamp. Chrome users can instantly install the new email application. Firefox users will need to do a manual upgrade, pending approval of the release.
WiseStamp offers email senders a wide selection of social applications to spice up their personal and professional signatures. The startup’s interactive and social signature tool has appeared in more than 207,000,000 sent emails.
More About: email, Google Plus, Wisestamp
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Categories: All Tags: email signature, firefox extensions, free apps, google, Google Plus, Pete Cashmore, signature tool, social applications, social media
HP bidding adieu to WebOS, PC business (roundup)
This seems to be the month of shake-ups! First Google and Moto, now HP dumping Tablets and PC’s. What will be next?
via CNET News.com on 8/18/11
The tech titan embarks on a doozy of a shake-up that includes an end to its TouchPad tablets and smartphones and the potential sale of its personal systems group.
Categories: All Tags: business roundup, doozy, google, HP, PC, pc business, personal systems group
In the Plex is a must-read book for understanding Google
I am currently reading this now, and it is one of the best books on Google and the G-Mindset that I have come across. The other one I found worthwhile is Jeff Jarvis’s book: What Would Google Do.
via Androinica by Andrew Kameka on 8/18/11
Had a few things gone differently, you might not be reading this website or arguing if the HTC Sensation or Samsung Galaxy S II is the superior phone. One “yes” in place of a “no” here or there, neither Android nor Google as we know it today would exist.
That’s the lesson learned from In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives. Written by Wired writer Steven Levy, In the Plex is a fascinating look into Google’s transformation from a project by two Stanford graduate students to one of the biggest companies in the world. The book recounts how co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin – with the help of CEO-turned-Chairman Eric Schmidt – took their “data-driven,” view of how technology should affect the world and redefined the way users obtain information.
In the Plex tells Google’s story with information gathered from candid interviews, documents and publications, and an unprecedented level of fly-on-the-wall knowledge that Levy gained after years of dealing with the company as a tech journalist. While working for Wired, Levy was granted long-term access to Google engineers, and observed several team meetings. The book has an incredible level of detail and research that expertly shows how close Google was to being acquired in its earlier years. Somehow, it outlasted the companies that might have bought it and went on to carry out a few acquisitions of its own.
Levy provides insight to how the Brin-Page-Schmidt triumvirate ushered Google through crises like dealing with China’s censor-happy and highly restrictive government. While this and many other major events in Google’s history have been well-documented, few have covered with such length and detail.
For instance, readers learn that Andy Rubin originally wanted a recommendation from Google’s founders as a bargaining chip for negotiations with manufacturers who might be swayed to build Android phones. (Rubin was originally laughed out of the offices of one of today’s most prominent Android manufacturers.) Google instead gave Rubin a glowing recommendation – by buying his company and elevating Google’s mobile presence in the process.
In the Plex briefly touches on Android – even showing how Google’s embrace of it chilled the once warm relationship with Steve Jobs and Apple – but it’s an overall look at Google’s culture, reach, and formative years. Levy does well to show how Google became the corporate giant we know today, and how easily none of that might have happened had a few decisions triggered different outcomes.
While I would have loved to see more attention paid to Android, In the Plex is a fabulous book about Google as a company and self-professed agent of change. Other than visiting the company’s Mountain View headquarters “The Googleplex” on a consistent basis, there’s no better way to gain an understanding of Google.
Google Plus: Disendents Need Not Apply
There has been an uproar of late concerning the Google Plus Community Policy and requiring everyone to use their real name or the name they are known by.
Personally, I have no problem with this, as I run a blog and write for said blog, so I have always used my real identity. I also think that it is a forgone conclusion that when we use our real identities, we tend to be more thoughtful in our comments. But lets put all that aside.
I don’t think that Google would be taking all of this heat for this reason. So let’s take a trip outside of the box; Could it be possible that Google has global plans for G+ and is planning on staying Politically Neutral?
With all of the recent turmoil in the Middle East of late and seeing that the first thing these regimes do is block Twitter and FaceBook to hamstring their citizens from protesting, maybe Google is taking a different approach by keeping everything open. From a business point of view, I can see some value in staying neutral and providing a communication network that doesn’t appear to be involved with cloak and dagger policies.
I know this is a real reach, but I’m not sure Google would stick with a non-anonymous policy when the community of users would do much of the policing to begin with. But I can see some validity with a company that has world wide interests trying to stay neutral. Google may be learning from FaceBook’s and Twitter’s past woe’s and its own troubles with China and attempting to take some preventive measures in this arena.
Personally, I think I will just sit back; enjoy the ride, and see how it all plays out.
Categories: All, Editorial, Social, WWW Tags: Anonyomus, cloak and dagger, facebook, forgone conclusion, global plans, google, Google Plus, preventive measures, Twitter
