The Real Bruce

With all the ways we have to communicate with each other today, has instant messaging become obsolete? I tried to think the other day about the last time I sent an instant message and really couldn’t remember. I think it may have been when I was trying to send a file to a co-worker. I am not even sure that would qualify as a instant message, it would be more of a file transfer using the instant message platform.

I think that is what instant messaging has become, more of a platform than a action. People now use it to video chat, play games, and remotely connect to someone’s desktop. How many of us actually use it to send a message? After all we now have Twitter, Facebook, and texting for that. It seems that  rarely do we need to send a message where we can’t use one of those platforms to do it.

I remember just a few years ago when it was not uncommon to have five or six chat windows open at a time in my MSN Messenger. I would be typing as quick as humanly possible trying to keep up with all the conversations. Now I have so many other avenues to communicate I don’t even really need to have a messenger client installed. I can now chat through Facebook or Gmail just as I used to do on a stand alone application. Now chat is built right in to other tools I use, and available through the browser on any computer I am using.

Are the days of stand alone messenger client over? I am curious as to what you think. I believe they will continue to be used as communicating tools using voice and pictures, however the days of typing for hours on hours to friends or co-workers are a thing of the past.

Leave a comment. When is the last time you used instant messenger to just send a typed message? What is the number one way you communicate today?

I found a interesting video today about the future of the digital world. Ironically enough it is from Microsoft and not Apple. After watching it, I realized we are approaching a time when all of this will be a reality. Take a look. It is really fascinating. What do you want to see in technology next? Leave a comment, I would like to read them.

I can still remember the days when I fired up my Netscape Navigator and began to surf the web, at the incredible speed, of a dial up connection. There were few pictures, no music and definitely no streaming video. How the browser world has changed!

Each and every time a new browser version is released from Microsoft or Mozilla, I always think about what could they do to make it better this time? Most of the the time, pages load a little faster. I will say most of the time, because sometimes it seems as if has become slower. Normally, however, there are no major changes.

Probably the biggest improvement in my mind over the last few years has been tabbed browsing. At first I wondered how I would used tabbed browsing, but soon I found myself toggling back and forth with several web pages open at a time. How did I ever live without it?

Then came Google Chrome, and for me, everything changed. Not only is it the fastest loading browser, in my opinion, it almost doesn’t feel like a browser at all. It just gets out of your way and lets you use the Internet. I know that is what Google’s intent is. They want it to seem like your desktop. They want you to get use to using a browser for all your applications. Then comes Chrome OS. I know I am falling into their plan, but I am fine with it, because quite simply it is the best browser I have ever used.

Like I mentioned before, it just stays out of the way. There is no huge blue title bar at the top, instead a slim bar that shows your tabs, similar to the application bar at the bottom of your Windows desktop. Obviously this is not a mistake. Just think a year or two, or maybe sooner, we will be toggling between email, word processor, and Photoshop by clicking the tabs of our browser and running the Google OS in the background.

The one feature that stands out, above all else,  has to be the simplest feature of all. The address bar is also a search bar. I mean, how basic is that. Why didn’t every browser company think of this. I think IE may be doing it now, but wow, I love this feature. If I don’t know the URL I can just type in what I think and  the Google results come up. No more installing a Google toolbar every time I format my system. I just download Google Chrome and I am good to go.

If you spend a lot of time on the web and haven’t used Chrome, check it out. I am sure you will like it. If you have used it, I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you like it? Do you find it better than FireFox or IE? Feel free to comment. I would love to hear your opinion.

Well I was all set to get my new 3GS iPhone next week for my birthday, but now a new toy has entered the picture and I am having a struggle deciding which one to purchase.  While I use my iPhone almost every second of every day, my eyes is wondering to a new shiny netbook.

Now I have a laptop for work and I also have a desktop at home, however wouldn’t it be great to have one of these cool little devices to help me with my blogging and other activities. Just think, I could carry it around the house and when the mood strikes, I could type away. They also have built in Web cams so now my blog entries could be video instead of just text. That certainly would be nice. The other big bonus is these things are only around 300 bucks. Now that is a little more than the iPhone, but not much.

Let’s put this into perspective. I already have an iPhone which I love and works just fine. It is not the latest and greatest but it does the job. I have a big bulky laptop with no video camera that is a pain to lug around the house. Plus this thing is really affordable when you think about it. A new full version of Windows cost $299. Heck that is the price of these machines. Plus they come with video and wireless capabilities. I am even reading reports of 9 hour battery life.

It is starting to become a no-brainer to me, but I will keep on doing research. If you have any suggestions or advice for me, please feel free to post it.

OK, I already have a  iPhone 3G.  Heck I got up last year a 4a.m. and stood in line to make sure that I could get one. I love this thing.  It is probably my most important possession. Without it I wouldn’t know who was emailing me, what was going on on Facebook, how on earth to get to the next meeting, or what the weather was going to be. I use this device for everything, and I mean everything. Oh yeah, I can also make calls on it.

As you can tell, I am obsessed with my iPhone, and it has been killing me that for over 3 months there has been a bigger, faster, shinier version available, and I do not have it yet. “Why wasn’t I in line the day it was released,” you ask? Well for some reason AT&T likes to punish early adopters and not allow you to upgrade at the discounted price until you have owned your current model one year. If you do the math on the release dates, Apple released the 3GS 11 months after the 3G. While I love my iPhone, I also love staying out of the poorhouse even more so I put my purchase on hold, until I qualified for the discounted rate. Then came back-to-school purchases for my daughter, and license plates for the car.

Now here we are mid September and I still don’t have the new model. However, in just 7 short days, I will be having a birthday. What does that mean? Inevitably, some family members will send me some cash or a gift card or two. That means the 3GS will soon be mine.

Now I know that there isn’t much difference between the 3G and 3GS, but that is not the point. When you love technology the way I do, it is the idea that there is something out there better than what you are currently using,  and you don’t have it. That’s what gets you.

So for the next few posts I will be taking you through the wonderful world of upgrading to the 3GS. Will it be worth it? Absolutely. I have already been through this twice. When the very first iPhone came out I had to wait all weekend to get it to activate. Last year I went through 4 hours of upgrade nightmares. However, both times it was worth it. Stay tuned for my adventures as I do it once again. If I have learned anything over the last three years, if something weird is going to happen, it will happen to me.