The Datevine launches...
24 Mar 07 @ 06:42 PM
category » tech
So, finally, I've launched The Datevine. This has been a work in progress for a while, but the concept is simple: there are plenty of good sites out there that will tell you where the best Thai in your neighbourhood is, or Google will tell you that the best sailing school near NYC is X. And plenty of magazines will tell you 100 cool things to do outside in the summer, or blogs will tell you about some cool new spot that has opened up in your nabe.
But the problem is that you throw away magazines, and you don't search the archives of blogs or Citysearch or Yelp unless you know what you are searching for. If you know you want Thai, or to go sailing, it's easy, but what do you do if you want inspiration, want some ideas to try something new, that you haven't thought of already?
That's where The Datevine will help. You can search by category (e.g. sporting, shopping, politics, etc) and by price range, and it will give you a bunch of results of cool things to do in a given city - as recommended by ordinary people like you, with interests like you. The stuff that's best rated by users will rise to the top, and the community will contribute the best things they love about their city, so you don't have to rely on paid editorial in TimeOut and Citysearch and outfits like that.
Try it. See if you like what you find. And if you do, give back to the community by putting in some tips for things you love as well.
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Castles in the Ether
06 Jun 06 @ 07:16 PM
category » tech
David tells me that his mum put her list of fantasy castles up on Wists last Thursday. It crashed the server. Highest traffic of any Wists page ever. And then today the list itself was reviewed in the London Guardian.
Valerie Galbraith, unsuspecting internet star. You go!
Useful Search tips
13 Mar 05 @ 09:53 AM
category » tech
Which Search Engine Should I Use? via Metafilter.
Lifehacker to the rescue again
19 Feb 05 @ 03:08 PM
category » tech
I'm finding it hard to imagine not having Lifehacker around. It's not that I absolutely need to know exactly how to cut vegetables like a real chef, or that I need to convert Adobe PDFs into ordinary text every day; it's just that nearly everything Gina comes up with is useful, interesting, or both. So much for productivity though: I fear that I will spend four or five hours every week just catching up on new ideas that I really could have lived without.
Information Sources
15 Feb 05 @ 12:28 PM
category » tech
I don't know where to put the links to articles I want to go back and refer to one day. These aren't things worth blogging a whole post on, they are just handy references that I want to keep in one place. Bookmarks are no good, because the list of bookmarks I have is just too long and poorly organised, and mixes business with pleasure; and I tend to forget a lot of what I bookmarked weeks ago. I try to keep my task list in Outlook Calendar for work, and so I end up putting all the randoms links into a Note, but that's a pain because you have to remember to open the Note to look at the list.
I think I need to create a section in my blog for Curios. But that would mean that I'd actually have to reorganize my blog, or move it to Typepad or MT. This crappy site was built in Dreamweaver and apparently has the worst code ever seen by the tech guys I work with. They laugh at me a lot. But I didn't do anything: it's all Dreamweaver's fault. And I tried to switch from Blogger to MT and it didn't work. So now I am despondent, and need help.
But until that Curio section is there, here are the links that I want to go back to someday soon for some browsing...
UPDATE! The answer is Wists
Time Flies
26 May 03 @ 02:11 PM
category » tech
Good god, I haven't written anything on my blog for six weeks! Yeah, that's what happens when you get busy starting up a new company, launching websites and the like. The new site is finally up, however at www.orielwines.com.
Anyway, I just sent out a Plaxo to everyone to get my address book updated, and it is too strange - 3 old friends have emailed me back saying it was so weird to hear from me as I was in their dreams last night. Now I can imagine that might happen occasionally, but 3 times, in Sweden, Israel and London? Hmm, freaky, or perhaps just a nice way of saying they were glad to hear from me. More weird than the fact itself was the content of the dreams: one dreamt I had twin boys, the other dreamt of a party we were at together and the third dreamt that he was dancing at my wedding.
Have to say, Plaxo may be irritating if you get too many of them, but it sure is very useful. The beauty of it is that if you get in early and are the first person to send someone a Plaxo request, they probably won't mind doing it. They'll only get annoyed when the 10th person asks them - and now I am done, I won't need it again for a few years.
Ofoto my Photo!
19 Feb 03 @ 12:33 AM
category » photography | tech
I am v. impressed with Ofoto. Just got back my first foray into enlarged digital prints - a 20' x 30' of my Ladakhi monks photo - and the quality is fabulous. I expected it to be pixellated (or whatever the term is) and grainy and not very good that large - but it is clear and crisp and now all I need is to find a wall big enough to it on...
Bloggy Google!
19 Feb 03 @ 12:29 AM
category » tech
Well done Blogger! Sold to Google, no less. So...will it be Blooger? Bloogle? Goggler? Maybe a Boggle game can sort it out...
The Dread Awaitening
11 Feb 03 @ 12:12 PM
category » tech
So, I've taken a leap, and now I am sitting here in dread that it has all gone wrong. Instead of buying a new laptop, on advisement I am wiping the hard drive clean and re-installing the operating system on my existing one. Well, OK, I'm not - my friend Robert is actually doing the deed. He's got my baby as we speak. I believe we've backed up all my important data. I think I have most if not all of the install disks for important software. If I don't, I probably don't need it. So why do I feel so nervous? Computers, hate the damn things. More power to upset your day than a bad boyfriend. In fact, much worse than a bad boyfriend - they never even try to make nice. When was the last time your computer said to you "You've been so good to me, I am going to run extra fast, not crash, and behave impeccably - for a few hours at least". Right. Never. Bastard.
More about the cell phone divide
08 Sep 02 @ 04:26 PM
category » tech
I'm on a gripe theme here. So apparently the next big thing to hit the shelves here in the US is disposable cell phones. As in, cheap phone, more expensive call rates, you can top up your talk time with a credit card, but no monthly service charges. Er, but isn't that just Pay-as-You-Go, which has been around in the UK for years?
More or Less SMS?
02 Sep 02 @ 10:33 PM
category » tech
So, now I know some more reasons for the lack of SMS in the US are: (1) punters can do now it but don't actually know they can; (2) everyone in the US uses IM already and wireless instant messaging is coming along and will probably overtake fledging SMS service. And yes, it will be more expensive than call plan included calls and both parties typically will get charged. Not so appealing here, then.
U.S. Cellphone Users Don't Seem to Get Message About Messaging
Rule Britannia
30 Aug 02 @ 01:13 PM
category » tech
There are a couple of technical things the UK still does better than the US. In the UK you can transfer money online from your bank account to anyone else's account in a few clicks. In the US if you want to transfer to a private account you either pay $25 for a wire transfer or your bank sends a paper check to their bank. It's infuriating, especially when you've been away for a few weeks and are behind on the settling of debts and bills.
The other thing I find surprising is the relative lack of text messaging in the US. Yes, it exists, but since it is currently a premium pay service there are not many people signed up for it. It's all the rage in Europe, presumably because it's cheaper than a call (fixed price irrespective of length) and more convenient than scrabbling to find a pen to write down numbers or directions when in transit. I love the fact that Directory Enquiries sends you a requested number via SMS after they have connected you. I'm just getting the hang of the lingo, e.g. "r u cmg out 2nite? meet us @ 8 @ QV" and my fingers are still a little clumsy on the tiny keys, but in watching heretofor technophobic friends fire off missives at lightening speed, I'm sure it is just a matter of time before I too will be a pro. Although being asked to send directions via SMS for the route from Lyons airport to a house somewhere deep in the French countryside is not my idea of a good use of my time. And I've learnt a valuable lesson - letting someone make a phone call from your phone is one thing, but never let them send an SMS. The recipient will think it came from you and that can lead to all sorts of trouble...
Technophobes
06 Aug 02 @ 09:38 PM
category » tech | woes
Technophobes
There's no question that Eurostar and France's SNCF Railways offer some wonders of modern train travel - fast, comfortable and convenient service - but, goddammit, why can't their websites work properly? I've been trying to book online for 3 days now and finally gave up in exasperation as the sites timed out or returned errors over and over again. There's only so many times you can enter the same information and get nowhere without wanting to scream at the walls. Calling Rail Europe was almost no better - after 3 calls in which they hung up on me or the connection was lost, I finally managed to make a transaction, but it was 2am in the morning on the West Coast, so I was not best pleased. There are some things I love America for. Oh, that Europe will catch up one day...
Pix Ahoy
19 Jul 02 @ 06:26 PM
category » tech
Ok, the pix are finally up. Of all the various tools I tried - Photoshop, Fireworks/Dreamweaver - I have to say the Express Thumbnail Creator just makes it whizz bang easy...and looks good. Lack of operator skill in manipulating the alternatives, I am sure, but hey...they are there. This website design stuff is really rather absorbing. I might have to learn some Flash...
Don't cheat the law
18 Jul 02 @ 05:44 PM
category » tech
At times I just love the internet. Especially today. After my first run in with the law in California - for speeding - a few weeks back, I was introduced to the concept of Traffic School...yet of course I dragged my heels in signing up for it, on the assumption that I would quickly descend into some round of some circle of hell that is the DMV. Then, when I could procrastinate no longer, lo! - I discovered that, rather than having to sit through some dire form of torture they call Comedy Traffic School, I could take traffic school online. Ecstatic at this turn of events, I gleefully approached the chore, dispatching the task in less than an hour (using what I thought was a particularly sneaky and clever trick to speed up the process). But you just can't beat the law. Triumphantly clicking the Submit button, I was dismayed to be informed that "Your court requires you to take an in-person test to complete the course. Please use the locator below to find a convenient testing center." Bugger, I thought. My little ruse was all for nothing... But you know, it wasn't so bad. Turns out you can take the test in the Chat Cafe on Sanchez and 18th. Sipping a latte seated at a shocking pink iMac in a cosy cafe must be the most painless way to endure such bureaucratic tortures. I almost enjoyed myself. And I went nowhere near the DMV. Bliss.
Now if only we could renew licenses, registrations, ids etc. online. That's a service I would gladly pay for.
