Google Reader shared items Nov 23, 2011
I've been using Google Reader for about 5 years now, and I had been using their "shared items" feature not to actually share items, but to essentially save them.  If I came across something interesting or noteworthy in my RSS feeds, I'd "share" it, but since my shared items were kept private, they were essentially saved items.  Google pushed out an update to Reader recently to make things look nicer and integrate with their latest Facebook knock-off, and in doing so they got rid of the old shared items system.  They "conveniently" offered the opportunity to download old shared items in JSON format, which for all intents and purposes is completely useless to anyone who doesn't currently write software that utilizes JSON.  Needless to say, I disagree with Google's decision to do away with this feature, I'm annoyed by their attempt at softening the blow, and I have yet another reason why I hate depending on web technologies instead of writing my own software. #technology
Mobile Flash Oct 13, 2011
A lot has been made about Apple's refusal to allow Flash on the iPhone (that link is from 2008, but nothing has changed).  Apple has its reasons, and they're legitimate:  It's buggy, looks crappy, kills battery life.  Android, on the other hand, allows Flash without a second thought.  And yes, it's buggy, looks crappy, and kills battery life.  As an Android user, I don't particularly care for Flash, but I'm thankful my phone has the option.  Because when it comes down to it, I'd rather have a phone that crappily displays the information I want when I want it, rather than a phone that idealistically doesn't display the information I want when I want it.  Flash on mobile is fairly bad, and I think Flash in general should be put out to pasture.  But in the meantime, just give me access to information. #technology
Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch Sep 26, 2011
There's a very popular smartphone made by Samsung called the Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch.  That's not a joke.  How do you know when your product is poorly named?  When there's a comma in the middle. #technology
Tablet with keyboard (1) Aug 16, 2011
I keep seeing ads and new product announcements for add-on keyboards for tablet devices, and I can't help but think that a tablet with a keyboard is simply a laptop.  We already have those. #technology
Squirrels are jerks Aug 15, 2011
Level 3, a company that installs and maintains fiber optic cables, says that "squirrel chews" account for 17% of the damage done to their cables, down from 28% the year before.  A company spokesman said, "I don't understand what the big attraction is or why they feel compelled to gnaw through cables."  I have an opinion:  Squirrels are jerks.  That is all.  (via Consumerist) #technology
Language limitations of search (4) Jul 19, 2011
One bad thing about how big the internet has gotten is that it's sometimes impossible to find things.  Not in an unorganized way, like you're trying to find something in the middle of a pile.  But in a language limitation kind of way.  For example, recently I was looking for pictures of mice.  I wanted the animal, not the computer peripheral.  For whatever reason, Google didn't want to show me the animal.  So I wasted a few minutes sifting through pictures of plastic white objects with buttons, before finally giving up and doing something else.  The problem isn't that the information doesn't exist, or that the algorithms used to find it are lacking.  It's that the English language isn't complex enough to handle what we're throwing at it.  It's like putting a CD on a record player. #technology
On cell reception Jul 18, 2011
The only time I get bad reception on my cell phone is every single time I try to use it. #technology
Wikipedia vs. Snopes Jul 5, 2011
No offense to the friends and family who fit in the following category, but I've noticed that the people who tend to say things like "You can't trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit it" are the same people who send email forwards full of made-up facts and outright lies. #technology
Speakerphone shouting Jun 24, 2011
The guy in the cubicle adjacent to mine likes to call people, put it on speakerphone, and then shout entire conversations because he thinks the people on the other end can't hear him since he's not speaking directly into the phone's microphone.  I'm pretty sure they can hear you, buddy.  Everyone can hear you. #technology
Windows 7 on netbooks (1) Jun 24, 2011
About a year ago I got a netbook, a little laptop that's lightweight, cheap, and has great battery life.  But because of its size, it has some less-than-impressive hardware.  It doesn't have much RAM, and it's not great at playing games or things like that.  But it's great for simple web searching and light computing, which is exactly why I bought it and exactly what I use it for.  For some reason, it came pre-installed with Windows 7.  Like any new software iteration, Windows 7 is a bigger, fatter, slower version of its previous incarnations, and as such, requires significant hardware to feed its neverending gluttony.  So obviously what I'm getting at is that Windows 7 is the absolute worst operating system you can possibly put on a netbook.  Yesterday I was finally able to coax my netbook into letting me install Windows XP from a USB drive (since it has no CD drive), and now it's amazing.  It's blazing fast and everything just works.  I can't believe I dealt with Windows 7 for an entire year. #technology