Jackson Miller

With the rate of change taking place in online communication and productivity, it is absurdly easy to quickly fall behind the times.  Each week there are new tools and services that promise to help us communicate better, be more productive, stay informed, etc.

The problem is that it is hard to figure out how to integrate all of this stuff into our lives. This morning I was reading Jason Moore’s comments on the difference in Having and Using. It made me realize that there are a bunch of us who sign up for all of these great services and tools and don’t have the time to really use them.

Sometimes I will have an aha moment with a service / tool and I will post about it here. That is because there is some value in sharing how I do it and often times I will get tips back on how other people are using it.

Do you have an Evernote account? Do you really use it? If so, could you tell me because I haven’t really integrated it into my workflow. Do you use gmail for email? Do you use it well? If not, don’t you wish you could read some real-life pointers from people like you?

There is a great site that I have used over the years for finding great new software. http://iusethis.com is a place for people to share the software that they use and the ratings give some indication of popularity. But how do you use it well?  I want a site focused on sharing HOW to use software.

Not an instruction manual – a use case.

Coincidentally, http://HowIUse.it was available.  So I bought it.  This site could be awesome.

Does anyone know some open source software that would be a good tool for allowing people to post how they use software and allow other people to rate those postings and comment on them?  Should I use wordpress? Try to get a Stack Exchange site?  Use a Hot Or Not clone?

Ideally people could post text and images, link to screen casts and videos, etc.  Software developers and service providers could post how they intend for their tool / service to be used.

Would you post on a site like that? Would you read it? Should it be moderated / curated or not? So many questions.

AT&T claims the fastest 3G network. Verizon claims the largest 3G network. Sprint thinks that battle is so 2009. I have been using Sprint’s 4G network for the past month and I must say that I agree with them.

In a couple of days I am going to attend a Sprint EVO / 4G event here in Nashville and I have to say that I will be attending as a fan.  I was a long time Sprint customer until I left two and a half years ago. At that time I listed several reasons for leaving Sprint. Two of them were the future of 4G networks and the phone selection.

I have to eat my words on the 4G thing and thanks to Android, Sprint is really starting to provide some compelling phones. (more…)

The iPad has been out for just over four months. As others have shown, the more meaningful reviews of a new device can only come after having some time to really use it and understand it.  After a comment from Paul I realize that it is a good time to revisit the idea of the iPad as a personal dashboard.

Here is what Paul said: (more…)

This is a running list of the iPad apps that I want to see.  I will update it periodically to cross off items as they become available, as well as to add items. (more…)

So it was seven weeks ago that I deleted my facebook account.

There are some things that I miss and some things that I don’t.

The things that I don’t miss are the wasted time and the loss of privacy.  Unfortunately, there are some friends I am not keeping up with because the main way I did that was through Facebook.  There are things I would share on Facebook that are more intended for my close friends that I wouldn’t necessarily post here or on Twitter. There is enough pull that I think I will eventually find a way to participate in Facebook again.

If there was an iPad app for Facebook I might go ahead and re-join.  Since I mostly use my iPad when I am computing recreationally, having my primary FB interface there would allow me to prevent FB from interfering with my productivity.  My privacy concerns are mostly related to surfing the web while logged into facebook and those concerns are enough to keep me from logging in on my computer.  An iPad app would not suffer from the same vulnerability since it would not be browser-based.

You know the hardest part of deleting my Facebook account?  My son assumed that I de-friended him and was sad. I just learned this yesterday and it kinda broke my heart.  I let him know that I had deleted my account and that he wasn’t targeted. How many of my friends feel the same way and I don’t know?

Earlier today I was on the Clicky site when I saw this little, unobtrusive ad:

It links to a blog post that you really should read.

This is the first time I have seen this with mobile development, but I love it. They decided what it is worth, set the price, gave the spec, and put the offer out there.

At first I thought they were asking you to build it and then they would pay the developer who created the one they liked most. After reading the offer I realize it is much more reasonable than that. Though they are well protected from hourly overruns.

I have been doing fixed price development work too. I have not yet created an Android widget, so I don’t fit their requirements, but I like the model. So a fairly simply, but well designed widget is worth $5,000? Seems good to me.

As we enter into a new phase of software development, one based on mobile apps, we have the opportunity the change how the game is played. Clicky is doing just that.

I have been a big fan of having a third screen with tech docs for a long time. In 2002 I sent an email to O’Reilly publishing suggesting PDFs of their popular “pocket reference” series. At the time I was carrying Linux, SQL, and PHP references pretty much everywhere I went. I also was carrying a Sharp Zaurus in my pocket (that thing was so awesome and ahead of it’s time). It just made sense that I should be able to put those little books on the Zaurus. (more…)

Early in my technical career my dad started drilling “don’t be religious about technology” into my head. It is something that I have really tried to hang on to over the years and it has had a profound impact on my career. I am sure that mantra has something to do with my tendency toward language agnosticism.

I can program in Python, Perl, Ruby, Java, PHP, and Objective C and those are just the languages I have used in a production environment. I have built substantial systems with MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2.

That doesn’t mean I don’t develop favorites though. Right now I am partial to Python and NoSQL systems. However, everyone who knows me would probably say that my favorite technology is Apple; possibly the most cult-like technology out there. A quick glance at the archives of this blog would be enough to consider my fanboy-dom.

How did this happen?

Slowly. Very very slowly. One positive user experience at a time.

So is there a difference in technical religion and technical preference? I am not so sure anymore; the lines are blurred for me.

One thing I do know is that it is getting harder to guard against falling into tech zealotry. The problem is mobile phones.

We have them with us all the time. We rely on the for so much. We are using them for an increasingly broad number of tasks. Our phones have turned into our “right hand man” so to speak. We have grown attached. Too attached.

There have always been tech holy wars (tabs vs spaces, vi vs emacs, typed vs dynamic, windows vs Mac vs Linux). These have been pretty easy to ignore though. Fighting about those things is dumb and they are obviously a matter of preference. It is different with phones. We are so attached to our phones that an insult to your phone stings like someone making fun of your little brother/sister or even talking bad about your mother. Sure, you can complain about your phone (and we all do) but no one else better deride it.

We just need to remember, it is just a phone. I am saying we need to all be agnostic; I know your new phone is awesome. Just don’t try to convert me. I don’t need to be saved.

If you want a stellar example of the kind of mobile religious fighting that I am talking about, read the comments of this forum thread. That is an Android thread but it is happening with all denominations.

Oh, one last thing…

Your momma’s so fat AT&T made her get a family plan just for herself.

AT&T Learns Exactly the Wrong Thing About Data Usage:

The more data people use the more entrenched the phone becomes in their lives. People (like me) who stream tons of audio, randomly play online games, wish to tether, etc., are the folks that rely on the phone and blend it into our everyday lives. If you are a subscription-based service company (AT&T) or a consumer electronics company who releases new devices yearly (Apple), isn’t that kind of lifestyle integration what you want? Doesn’t that keep people upgrading phones and extending contracts? Isn’t that how you get a customer for life?

(more…)

Now that we know what the iPhone tethering option is, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a mobile broadband solution.

Quick Summary:
I am using Sprint 4G mobile broadband via an Overdrive. In the process I am ditching my home internet connection. The speeds are a little slower than Comcast, the price is the same, but it is portable. My reasoning is below. (more…)