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My buddy Josh told me about a great new program called PictureSync for the Mac.  It’s an application that assist you in uploading your photos to a bevy of online services including Flickr, WebShots, Kodak, etc.  And yes, it is Universal.

From their website:

“PictureSync is a convenient utility that simplifies annotating and
batch uploading your photographs and video clips to online
services—directly from your albums in image-management applications, or
files, and whilst preserving metadata.”

I’ll be trying this out tonight on my MacBook!

Technorati Tags: picturesync, tinyscreenfuls, webshots, flickr, macbook, apple

A random person asks you on the street if they could use your mobile real quick just to sent a text message.  Would you let them?  If so, check this out.  It’s a British video, but the same thing *could* be possible here.

Wow this is a great video. There have been a few times where I’m looking for a great way to explain what RSS is to a non-tech savvy person. From now on, I’m going to just point them to this video.

thanks leefeever!

Click To Play

There’s a little known video-conferencing start-up in Sweden called Marratech.  They make a great little piece of software that is similar to Live Meeting from Microsoft or WebEx.  They weren’t very widely known, that is, until Google bought them yesterday.

This is a pretty big deal because of what it represents from Google.  They have an Office competitor called Google Docs and Spreadsheets, and presumably soon they’ll have an online collaboration tool in Marratech.  Business people can talk, collaborate, and share documents easily and cheaply by using these tools.  Google already has a chat/VoIP product in Google Talk. 

It’ll be very interesting to see how they meld all these intricate pieces together.

News.com article

Technorati Tags: google, voip, gtalk, microsoft, collaboration, Marratech

I am participating in great event called Reach the Beach.  It is a bike ride that starts in Corvallis and meanders through wine country eventually ending in Pacific City (near Tillamook).  It is a warm up for the Cycle Oregon event and the ride is scheduled for May 19th.  The ride is also a fund raiser for the American Lung Association to fight lung disease.

I look forward to the event and am currently in the process of training.  The route I’m taking is 36 miles total, of which 18 is off-road and 17 is on-road.  We’ll start in Grand Ronde and take mostly logging roads over the Coastal range and finishing down into Pacific City.  It will be a lot of fun!

Part of my fundraising efforts is asking for donations for the American Lung Association.  My fundraising goal is $1500 and I’d appreciate any help individuals can help me reach the goal.  Even a pledge of $10 would help. 

Donating is very easy.  You can do it online by:
1) going to http://www.reachthebeach.org
2) click on “Sponsor a Rider” on the left hand side
3) Enter my first and last name (Jason Harris)
4) follow the steps on the website.

Note: all transactions are secured by using SSL (the same technology you use when buying something from Amazon.com or using your online banking)

Alternatively you can write a check to the American Lung Association of Oregon and putting my name in the subject line.  If you want to mail me the check, email me and I’ll give you my mailing address.  my email address is jason <at> techcraver <dot> com

For more info about the ride, please visit www.reachthebeach.org  Also my  phone number is (503) 334-2574
 
Thank You!

Most people are probably still used to dialing 411 on their cell phone or landline to get a business or residential phone number while on the go.  For a few years, I have used Google SMS.  Basically you sms their short code, which is 46645 (GOOGL), with your search string and they answer back with the listing.  So if you enter “Baja Fresh 97201″ it will come back with the Baja Fresh locations in that area code.  This is great if you can SMS, but what if you’re in the car and you don’t have two free hands?

Google Voice Local Search is great because it will actually connect you to the business if you desire.  Also, you can have them txt your phone with the information.  To try this service, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone.

Tellme is brand new.  Dial 1.800.555.Tell and they’ll give you the info you need.  They’ll also SMS you the number.  You can use Tellme by voice, mobile web, or sms.  They get props for being veriy flexible.

Free 411 is the one I’ve been using for a long time.  There’s a short ad when you get your result that is there, but not in the way.

So here are three services you can use.  There is NO reason to use your Verizon Wireless or Cingular or whoever Teleco for 411 service at $1.75 per call.  This information is out there in more desirable ways that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Technorati Tags: sms, 411, google, free, verizon wireless, vzw, cingular, ads

Breaking news from this post!

Jeff from Germany (my 2nd favorite country) left me a comment. Well this may not be big news to other bloggers, but I’m stoked. I can tell from google analytics that I get visitors from all over the globe, but it’s cool to finally get a commenter from abroad.

Amazing video that I found very useful! Anyone know a freeware software to create video podcasts from a powerpoint presentation?

So I’ve been seeing Verizon’s ads for the Q.  They enthusiastically say, “Get the Motorola Q today for the value price of $79.99″.

Yeah…mmmhmm.  Then you go to the store to get your beloved SmartPhone and you find out that Verizon’s “unlimited” data plan is an additional $45 per month on your bill, on top of your voice plan.  The combination plan they try to push you into is roughly $80/month.

OUCH!  Talk about sticker shock.  The monthly price to use the capabilities of the phone is about equal to the cost of the phone itself.  To translate that, it would be like charging $500 for a computer and having your cable modem/dsl be $500 month.

Also, the iPhone is coming out from Apple.  Cingular’s data plan is something like $50/month.

Why do people pay these prices for mobile data plans?  I pay $35/month for my Comcast cable modem and I get a lot more use out of in that some tiny screen with an awkward user experience.  For example, I have a Treo I’m currently trying out but I’m not going to activate Pocket IE because I don’t want to pay their outragous data plan prices!  It’s crazy!

In my opinion, a mobile data plan should be hmmm…maybe $15 additional.  What do you think?  Please leave a comment below.

related article

Technorati Tags: verizon, verizon wireless, cingular, data plans, tmobile, sprint, sprintpcs, mobile