Google Talk
Google is taking over my desktop.
And I’m not going to lie; I like it.
First they release Desktop 2. Now, I love Desktop Search. It’s freakin’ amazing. They have enhanced it with this cool sidebar that, I already kinda know will grow old, but for the time being, it’s killer. I still have to figure out how it’s indexing e-mails though, because there is one Outlook data file that I set it not to index, and that’s how I believe it’s done. I cleared out all the e-mails in the index cache from that file, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed about it working properly.
Google Talk is also SO cool. I can’t wait until there are more people using this beast. My girlfriend and I tried it out briefly this evening, and it seems really cool. To be honest, I’ve never really liked Skype. I can’t say why, but it could be their branding - it never really struck a chord with me. Google, on the other hand, really piques my interest by keeping things extremely simple. Plus, I know they’ll get things right because they remember one key thing: god is in the details.
Thanks for delivering that idea today to me, Ludwig. I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.
One Happy Camper
I received the Apple gear today that I ordered a while back. To make a long story really short, my PowerBook is totally futzed. The LCD screen has come unhinged on one side, so I needed to improvise.
I received a 20" cinema display for a birthday a while ago, and it hasn’t worked with my PowerBook for some time. I had a feeling my DVI -> ADC adapter was fried, so I finally went out on a limb and ordered a new one. I figured, worst case, it doesn’t work and I return it. I picked it up today after work — brilliant! It works!
In addition to the screen, I’m also typing this post on a new Apple keyboard. Nothing fancy (my PowerBook is old, so definitely no BlueTooth), but it’s got great keys and is as sexy as hell. Plus, since I love using my 2003 Mac so much, the "-" and "s" keys had both started to go. Sadly, I don’t know if I’ll ever open up the LCD screen again. I love this computer, and when I start making some dough, I’ll be getting a PowerMac, for sure.
It really is a shame that more software / websites are not built for OS X. They truly are fantastic machines, and anyone that has ever owned one will vouch for that, I am sure. Don’t get me wrong, I love my ThinkPad and it’s a workhorse, but there is something so cool and just damn slick about Apple’s stuff. They really do a fantastic job, and I’m proud to be a customer.
This weekend is going to be extremely exciting and I can’t wait for it to start. A buddy of mine and I are going to sit down and start mapping out some business ideas we stumbled on to this week. Obviously, not something I can write about yet, but trust me, it could be very, very cool. We’ve been talking about it constantly, and now it’s a function of figuring out the right one to tackle first. Since he came up with one of them and I came up with the other, we’re pitching the reasons to start one or the other first.
Hell, I just want to sit down and start coding something exciting with my new Mac stuff!
Have a good night, all.
Not This Time
I am in the middle of writing my own content management system. Yes, they are becoming a commodity. But, I’ve always wanted to write my own and now I am. I’ll find time to fit it into my busy schedule — I’ve bought into it, and I think I can make it pretty damn good. I’ll post up some screenshots when I can; I have a ton on the agenda to finish off today.
In accordance with this software development, I’ve realized some things that have totally hindered me in the past:
- You don’t need a plan to create software on a whim
- Fight through complexity
First, the aspect about not needing a plan. It’s very easy when it’s just you to get totally immersed in "analysis paralysis". Could I create Gantt charts, work charters, and a detailed WBS? Of course. Would that help me get the software done. No way, not in 1 million years. I’ve found it’s best to do it on a whim, because I have gone the "planning" / project management route with this stuff. When you are attempting to create a one-off, sweet-ass functionality & technology type thing, it’s best to stay as far away from the structure as possible. Entrepreneur’s will also attest to this.
Fighting through complexity has always been a tough one for me. I usually get to a point where I think, "my code is a mess, I need to make it cleaner". So, I’ll erase it all, start again and never end-up getting very far. The code becoming messy is a function of it’s complexity. Again, the planning comes into play here — through caution to the wind and just get it to work. Write the crap you need, and move on — nothing more.
I finally broke down and ordered the parts I’ve needed for my quickly aging PowerBook. I actually need a new PowerBook, but they are a little out of my price range / budget at the moment. So, I hope my new keyboard and DVI -> ADC adapter allow me to use my Mac freely and with my old school 20" cinema display once more.
One thing that I have realized over the last few days while starting to coding process of my CMS is that I love OS X for coding — WAY more so than Windows. I can now say I’ve tried both, and BBEdit with CVS works best for me. That’s not to say Windows is bad for development — not at all. There are plenty of great tools out there to make it a smooth process. It’s just not for me.
Back to the code!
IceRocket vs. Google
Apparently, I’m not aware of the best kept secret on the Web. The secret being, how similar IceRocket is to Google. I’m going out on a limb to assume that Mark Cuban has made this decision conciously. Take a look:
Personally, I like this design. Why? Because it looks so similar to Google. That’s right; I love the fact Cuban had the balls to do this. By putting myself at risk of trying to sound “old school”, I’ve used Google since it first came out in the late 90’s. Wanna know who turned me on to it? My high school librarian. Yep, that’s right. Cardigan sweater, big glasses, and all.
This will only help further the IceRocket vision. Everyone recoginzes Google’s features and unique attributes, right down to the Adwords that appear on the right hand side of every search. IceRocket’s design and business model plays right into all of those key things. I suppose in the end, they will either moderately compete, find themselves having to do something a lot different, or kill in the market. They have about a 1 in 100 Googleplex’s of chance for the latter.
Of course, while comparing IceRocket to Google, who can leave out the way Microsoft has just released VirtualEarth, which is an attempt at competing with Google Earth. Regardless of which product is better, when was the meeting to determine there’s a business in looking up buildings and other people’s houses? For myself, it gets really boring after about 15-20 minutes.
According to Scoble it’s already causing quite a stir. However, he mentions in a later post, MSFT is already playing catch-up in the buzz department. Cheese, anyone?
