Google Checkout is now live, so, well, check it out.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
New TiVo Desktop for Windows will convert things to iPod video format for you
It’ll cost you $24.95, but if you’re looking for a single-source solution to pull TiVoToGo content from your TiVo, onto your computer, and then convert it for use on your iPod (or anything else that supports MPEG4 or H.264 video), you may want to invest the $24.95 in TiVo Desktop 2.3 Plus. Unfortunately this is only available for Windows; still no TiVoToGo support for Macintosh computers.
New TiVo Desktop for Windows will convert things to iPod video format for you
It’ll cost you $24.95, but if you’re looking for a single-source solution to pull TiVoToGo content from your TiVo, onto your computer, and then convert it for use on your iPod (or anything else that supports MPEG4 or H.264 video), you may want to invest the $24.95 in TiVo Desktop 2.3 Plus. Unfortunately this is only available for Windows; still no TiVoToGo support for Macintosh computers.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
FreeNAS
I’ve got a RAID set up at my house, but Network-Attached Storage (NAS) is much cooler. FreeNAS server only takes up 16MB on a hard drive and is fully open source (read “free”), which means that you can install it on any old PC that you have sitting around. I’m going to go root around for an old tower PC with lots of drive bays so that I can maximize the storage using FreeNAS. A few nice features of FreeNAS:
- Supports software RAID models
- Supports access from Windows
- Supports access from Macintosh
- Built-in FTP
- Network File System (NFS)
Looking at the prices of hard drives these days, it doesn’t seem like it would be too expensive to build a redundant 1TB NAS.
Rebuild a XP installation without reformatting and losing all your personal info
The Langa Letter details a method that allows you to do a non-destructive rebuild of your XP installation using your XP installation CD. Be sure to read how to slipstream a XP CD with all service packs before doing the rebuild to save yourself several hours of service pack and patch updating after installation.
Now I just need to figure out how to do this on my Toshiba that doesn’t have a CD drive — luckily I think I can accomplish all of this from a 1GB SD card.
Rebuild a XP installation without reformatting and losing all your personal info
The Langa Letter details a method that allows you to do a non-destructive rebuild of your XP installation using your XP installation CD. Be sure to read how to slipstream a XP CD with all service packs before doing the rebuild to save yourself several hours of service pack and patch updating after installation.
Now I just need to figure out how to do this on my Toshiba that doesn’t have a CD drive — luckily I think I can accomplish all of this from a 1GB SD card.
Carbonite
I wrote about Carbonite a few months ago, but now the online backup solution has launched in a big way and is getting favorable reviews. Unlimited backup for $49.95 per year (or $5 per month) seems like a pretty good deal.
Carbonite does not yet work for Macintosh, but the company is saying they plan to have a Mac version by the end of 2006.
When did you last back up?
111 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts on Selling
It’s a manifesto by Tom Peters — go download it and sell away!
GM to offer 0% for 72 months
Starting on June 29th and running for 72 hours only, General Motors will provide 0% financing for 72 months on every 2006 model in dealer inventory. It’s not entirely clear if this is applicable to Hummer, but every other GM site seems to be carrying advertising about it.
If you need to do the math, 0% for 72 months equals out to $13.89 per $1000 financed and the nice part is that every monthly payment you make pays direct to principal.
It’s interesting to note that this 72 hour sale expires on July 5th, which, by my math, would make it a 144 hour sale assuming you’re using 24 hours in a day, which GM is apparently not.
UPDATE: Autoblog reports that Cadillac, Hummer, and Saab 2006 models will offer 0% for 60 months during the sale period (that’s $16.67 per $1000 financed) and that even some 2007 models will receive 36 month 0% deals.
Late fees for missed appointments
Have you ever seen the “A $20 fee will be charged for each missed appointment” sign in a doctor’s office? If you’re like me, you probably wonder if the doctor has to pay you if the office cancels your appointment, if the office really has any right to charge you, and if they do try to charge you, whether or not you would ever agree to pay it. In any event, the [non]billable hour has a post with an interesting twist on this idea:
A few weeks ago I started going to a new doctor, and was made to sign a document explaining their late fee policy. It was unique. If you miss a scheduled visit, you are charged a $20 fee. If you are late by more than 10 minutes, that qualifies as a missed session. But the doctor's office doesn't keep the money. All money from late fees is donated to the local children's hospital.
Certainly it would make it harder to argue with the policy knowing that the money was going to a worthwhile charity and not just becoming a revenue stream for the doctor’s office.
Note that the original story came from this post by Robert May
Effectively reading business books
I read an awful lot of business books and am sent a large amount of business books by publishers, authors, etc. to read, review, and sometimes post about. The Innovation Weblog posted some great tips on how to effectively read business books, which I highly recommend reading through if you read any business books at all.
Note that the post on Innovation Weblog was based on this post by Andrew Hargadon.
X1 desktop search is now free
I’ve been using X1 as my search client for a long time. Recently I switched to Google Desktop because I was having some problems with X1 crashing; after 2 days, I switched right back to X1. Although it used to cost around $70 for a single user license, X1 for a personal computer is now offered for free — I originally paid for it and for the number of times that it has found things in my e-mail that I thought were forever missing, I would gladly pay for it again.
If you are looking for a great, free desktop searching client, I highly recommend X1.
How not to be an asshole while using your cellphone
Tips direct from Waiter Rant; here are some examples from the Waiter Rant list:
- Do not use your cell phone to talk to someone in the same room
- If your call gets dropped, wait a few minutes and get into a better coverage area before calling back. Don’t frantically try calling me back NINE times in thirty seconds forcing me to listen to static. I don’t like you that much.
- If you see a number you don’t recognize in your phone’s missed call log, don’t ring it at three AM saying, “Yo! I got a call from this number! You call me? Who’s this?” Pathetic.
Read the whole post for better cellphone etiquette.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
DirecTV Titanium
Luxist is reporting that DirecTV will release a “Titanium” service at the end of month; for $7,500 per year you can get access to every piece of piece of programming offered by DirecTV (including pay-per-view and HD), 10 HD DVR receivers, and concierge service (probably a phone number that gets you directly to a human rather than IVR hell).
What if you could offer everything that you had for a fixed price, even if that price was very large? There’s probably at least someone out there that would pay for it.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Google tries to help out with US gov't websites
As confusing and poorly designed as most government sites are, it’s good to know that Google has launched US Government search.
RIAA now targeting YouTube, Google Video, etc.
Don’t post up a video with a sound track if you have not received the proper clearances from the RIAA . . .
Ready. Set. Completely alienate your consumer.
Monday, June 12, 2006
What do colors mean in business?
the [non]billable hour has a post on the meaning of colors for business cards, waiting rooms, etc. It’s an interesting read to see what your colors are saying about you.
The art of a single carry-on
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a great article on Sunday about traveling with only one carry-on bag. Here are some examples of the advice:
- The amount of stuff you think you need is directly related to the size of your luggage. Get a smaller bag and you'll make do with fewer things.
- There's really no difference between packing for a week and packing for a month or longer.
Lots of more good stuff in the article.
RedFin
RedFin is trying to cut out the realtors and take home sales and purchases direct to the web. The interface includes MLS scrapes and historical sales data on to a single map, making it look sort of similar to Zillow.
Here are some of the financial models:
- RedFin reimburses 2/3 of the buy-side fee to the buyer.
- Flat fee of $1,350.00 for all sales activities
This will be interesting to watch as they expand out of the Seattle market and into other cities.
GotVoice
GotVoice delivers voicemails from your home and/or cellphone to your inbox. As long as you don’t have a problem with a 3rd party accessing your voicemail and encoding it as a MP3, the free service will probably do as much as you need in a straightforward manner. It’s too bad that the cell service providers don’t offer this as part of a normal service plan.
Cnet reports why Sony Connect failed
From the article:
Programmers went to work on the project, intended to be Sony's answer to Apple's iTunes. But the tone had been set for a dysfunctional mix of politics, programming and pique that would prove deeply destructive to Sony's digital music ambitions. Fourteen months later, a disastrous product launch doomed Sony's latest attempt to catch Apple.
Box.net 1gb accounts free
Box.net now offers 1gb storage accounts for free — 5gb accounts are $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year and 15gb accounts are $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. As always, there are no ads on Box.net.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)