If you are running a WiFi network in your home, pay attention to the channel number on your wireless frequency. Most (if not all) routers are set to channel number 6 by default. There are 11 possible channels to choose from. If you are broadcasting WiFi in an area that has a lot of networks, you could be having problems with interference if several networks are broadcasting on the same channel.
If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, I have an easy way to find which channels your neighbors are using. Grab the app WiFiFoFum and see all channels which are in use in your WiFi area. I love this app. It is extremely helpful in many ways beyond this single example. I highly recommend it. I’m sure desktop solutions are available, but I prefer using my iPhone for portability.
Once you can see a map of channels in use nearby, choose a channel for your network that is not in use by other nearby networks. Technically, each channel number represents a range of frequencies, many of which still overlap each other. To get as far away from other networks in the channel spectrum, choose a channel number that is 5 points away from other networks. For example, if everyone around you uses channel 6, choosing channel 1 or 11 would be best in that case. You won’t always be able to space your network that far from the others, but choosing any number not being used by others would still be helpful. I am providing a link that you can read for more information about this topic.
In addition to wisely choosing your WiFi channel, also make sure you also have renamed your network from the default (such as “linksys”) and have turned on WPA or higher security. For additional security, it is also wise to change the router login/password and disable wireless access to the router setup page.
Foursquare is an app for your mobile phone that allows you to check-in to places around town, meet up with friends, and explore your city. Foursquare users collect achievement badges and become the official mayor of places that they visit more often than other users.
I originally heard about Foursquare on the TWiT podcast network. Once I finally got an iPhone a few weeks ago, I was eager to try Foursquare, having heard so much about it. I installed Foursquare on my iPhone, as well as GoWalla, a Foursquare competitor. I’ll go ahead and say that I prefer Foursquare, largely because of the badges and overall fun nature of the app. It also helps that it is much more popular in my area than GoWalla. I’ve never had to add a location into Foursquare in any of my check-ins.
I found GoWalla to be adequate. The user interface is nice. The problem for me was that after many check-ins using both services, GoWalla did not have the place I was visiting in their database even once. I found myself having to add places manually, which eventually wore on my nerves and took some of the fun out of using the app. If it is popular where you live, you may feel otherwise.
Give Foursquare a try. You can install it on iPhone, Android, Palm, and Blackberry devices. I have my check-ins forwarded to my Facebook account so that my friends can see where I am even if they aren’t using Foursquare. Sure, it’s kind of nerdy, but I enjoy it.
The awesome game Plants vs. Zombies was recently released for the iPhone! I once blogged about the desktop version of the game and how much I love to play it. That was in mid-2009, and it is still true today. Now, they finally released an iPhone version of the game.
The iPhone version of Plants vs. Zombies is absolutely fantastic. It is likely the best iPhone game I have ever played. The desktop version is perfectly recreated on the iPhone. The touch interface fits the game like a glove. I played for hours last night. If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, this game is a must-have.
There are so many iPhone apps available today that it is often hard to discover the hidden gems in the iTunes Store. My favorite independent site for app reviews and information is AppShopper. Over the weekend, I created an account on the site and added the apps that I own, and those on my wishlist. Have a look at my AppShopper list.
Yesterday I decided to finally ditch my old Motorola Razr phone. I bought an iPhone 3GS! I bought the 16 GB edition. I am so happy! I’ll be adding camera and GPS apps to my iPhone page as I experiment with them.
Do you know about Dropbox? I’ve heard rave reviews of the service through my tech sources. Over the weekend, I installed Dropbox on both my Mac Mini desktop and Ubuntu Linux laptop. On each computer, a Dropbox folder was created in my user folder. All files dropped into the folder are automatically synced between your computers. You treat Dropbox just like any other folder on your computer. I’m very pleased. It’s file sharing made easy. All users get 2 GB of storage for free, and it is available on all platforms. Amazing!
One of my favorite podcasts is a show called No Agenda, starring “crackpot” Adam Curry and “buzzkill” John C. Dvorak. Together, they poke fun at the mainstream media and offer interesting insights into what is going on in the world. They are a hoot to listen to “in the morning.” The show is recorded twice weekly on Thursday and Sunday.
Some of Adam’s theories truly live up to his crackpot title. I certainly don’t subscribe to all of them. I admit that I don’t often agree with all of their political leanings either, but the dynamic of these two guys is fun to listen to. I enjoy it when they tear into the propaganda embedded in a lot of commercials and TV dramas that air today, as well as all of the celebrity media “distractions” that are thrown at the public.
John C. Dvorak is my favorite of the two, and his pet peeve of the day is always amusing. Together, their laid back, unscripted conversation-style show combined with their refusal to spoil it with sponsors makes for an enjoyable listen. Check it out.
Over the years, I have jumped from program to program for managing my checkbook and finances. Back in the day, I used Quicken exclusively. When I bought my Mac in 2007, I immediately bought Quicken 2007 for Mac. That particular program turned out to be an ugly beast. It wasn’t made for the Intel chipset, it was slow, and not intuitive at all.
Since dumping Quicken 2007 in search for a better alternative, I have experimented with numerous other programs. Those include Moneydance, Moneywell, iBank, Cha-Ching and others. I have never been completely satisfied with my experience with any of them. I believe Moneywell is the best program I’ve used, but lately I’ve grown frustrated with a few issues that I believe must be software bugs.
A wider question is whether to use money management software at all these days. A lot of people don’t bother. I can think of three alternatives to not using said software: 1) Not keep track of your money at all, 2) Use an online solution like Mint. I am not interested in using an online service to house my banking information, so that option can be tossed out immediately. 3) Track your finances using a spreadsheet.
Quicken has been promising a new Mac version for a couple of years now. It has been delayed time and time again. In fact, some in the tech press have called it vaporware. However, it seems that they are finally about to release it. I received an email from Intuit saying that the new version will be released by the end of this month. It is called Quicken Essentials for Mac. The screenshots look attractive, but is it worth it for me to spend any more money on software to help manage my money? After all, I find something that I dislike in all of them.
My needs in money management are pretty simple. I manually enter the data and I just want to know the bottom line to avoid possible overdrafts. With that in mind, I’m now trying a new approach to managing my checkbook. I’ve created an Excel spreadsheet that will house my transaction data. I tried a few iterations of my own, but I’ve taken a liking to the attractive Excel 2008 checkbook template that Microsoft offers for download on their Mactopia website.
So far, I like the complete control over the fields and information that I can store using Excel over a money application. Over time, I’ll see if tweaking the spreadsheet will be enough to satisfy my needs. If not, perhaps I’ll test drive Quicken’s new offering. Maybe they’ll get it right this time.
I signed up at Twitter in August of 2008. At the time, I wasn’t sure how much I’d use the service. Over the last year and a half, it has become one of my primary Internet destinations. I usually check my Twitter feed before I visit Facebook. To date, I’ve posted over 1,500 tweets to my Twitter account. I can’t say that all of my tweets have been very interesting, but I enjoy myself.
Of more than a hundred iPhone apps installed on my iPod Touch, Tweetie2 has become my favorite. It’s often the first app I click when I turn it on. I often take the iPod in the bathroom (ha) or in the bed to scroll through the latest tweets and trending topics. Tweetie2 is a fantastic Twitter client and I recommend it above the competition.
I post at least one tweet to Twitter every day. That much is easy. I’ve been try to post daily to this blog. Due to the long form format, it takes time, and I won’t be able to continue it indefinitely. Often times when I see a great movie or find out about something amazing, I’ll tweet about it, versus hammering out an essay on the topic. I suppose that I’ve become lazy by the 140 character limit of Twitter.
Twitter is valuable. Over time, I have carefully managed the list of people that I follow. Today, I follow 175 people and companies, and I read their messages daily. I find out about things the instant they happen. With Twitter, I feel completely plugged in. This is especially true for tech news, of which I am very fond.
If you aren’t using it, I don’t know why. Everyone can sign up, and nobody forces you to post messages of your own. The value in crafting a list to follow of people who are important to you is immeasurable. In fact, I have exchanged direct messages with people such as the editor of MacWorld magazine, and others. It’s quite a community. I foresee using it for a very long time.
My latest Twitter updates are on display in the right sidebar of this blog. You can follow me @blitzcraig.
Seemingly out of nowhere, I am going to write about the worst meal I have ever eaten. In order to tell this story, I have to cast my mind back over ten years ago to a day when me and a co-worker stopped for hotdogs on our lunch break.
The eatery is called Goodberrys and only has locations in Raleigh, Durham, or Cary North Carolina. Goodberrys has a good reputation in the Triangle for their ice cream and frozen custard. I don’t particularly have a problem with their desserts, but I can say first hand that their hotdogs are a complete abomination. They are so bad, I imagine that eating one could possibly take a year or more off of your life.
I remember the meal like it was yesterday. We each ordered hotdogs from the location in Cary and ate them on our way back to work. I have to say that the Goodberrys in Cary is historically the worst of them all. Neither of us could choke down an entire hotdog that day. My teeth simply could not separate the internals. I liken it to biting into a rubber, steel-belted garden hose. To this very day, it remains the single grossest thing I have ever eaten from a restaurant in my life.
Hilariously, Laura has had the same experience. She told me that her encounter with a Goodberrys hotdog happened almost fifteen years ago. She said the hotdog had the consistency of a rubber stick with a bone in the middle. Disgusted, she threw the rest of her half-eaten hotdog to the stray cats that had made themselves a home around her house. The stray cats would not touch it! That says it all.
I realize that it has been over a decade since I ordered food from Goodberrys, which isn’t really fair to complain about now, but it may as well have been yesterday. It continues to haunt me as the most terrible meal I have ever consumed.
To summarize, if you are in the Raleigh area, for heaven’s sake, do not order a hotdog from Goodberrys. Trust me, they are absolutely dreadful. I seriously have my doubts that what they are serving even legally qualifies as food. You’re likely to get more flavor and nourishment from ingesting a dead cat on the side of the freeway.
