Observations on my digital life

Twitter, I don't like. I don't like the exclusiveness of it. If you're
not on it you don't know what's going on, and I don't like the way
anybody in the world can read it. I like the fact that when reading a
blog you need to read more then just 140 characters, so get more of a
feel for the person. And that if you're out of the loop for a week,
you can then catch up. So I think I shall no longer twitter, I shall
instead just be a voyeur.

Blogger...I can deal with. There are minor issues, mainly to do with
formatting. Which is probably to do with gmail more then blogger.

The other thing I can no longer live without is hyperlinks. I was
reading a magazine the other day (don't worry, I didn't buy it) and up
came a word I didn't know. Which is quite rare for me to be stumped by
a word in a magazine that isn't targeted at a niche market. And I had
no way of looking it up as I didn't have a dictionary nor an internet
connection. So I'd like a Kindle reader from Amazon, as I like to
think that any decent online magazine will link any unknown words to a
glossary at the end of the article (if not, why not? There's a market
there). And the ability to download books from other sources. Not
having looked into it I don't know if that's possible.

So this brings me to the next point where my digital and analog lives
combine. Scheduling. I always forget what I'm up to. So I've decided
to outsource my calendar from my brain to Google Calendar. Not only
does this have the advantage of allowing me to not have to remember
what I'm up to, it also allows me to quickly know when I've double
booked myself. A quick click, and I'm in the calendar adding events.
Plus others can view what I'm up to (if I let them).

And so on and so forth to mobile phones. While I have resisted the
urge for an iPhone (quite successfully I might add) I have found the
need for a smarter phone growing. As I've now outsourced my Calendar
(and photos) to Google (and flickr/facebook), I need to have access.
This will be found through an Android powered phone. Currently the 2
phones available do not suit my needs. My needs are simple. Access to
the Internet. GPS in-built. A good camera with flash. I don't expect
it to be SLR quality, I simply want the ability to take photos without
lugging around my normal camera.

As yet, for some unknown reason, the current phones are pitched to
niche markets (full keyboard) or don't have a suitable camera. The
advantage of Android running cameras over competitors (iPhone not
withstanding) is the ability to download applications for it.

So we shall see what the future will hold. It would be nice if I could
then use my Android powered phone to control the TV.... I like to
think there is an application out there that does it. Sure you'd need
an IR port (which the iPhone does not have) but seriously, how cool
would that be?

Anyway, that's my thoughts for today. I'm sure there will be more
later...like why Safari and gmail no longer play nice. Can't expect
everything I guess.