Archive for the ‘AOL’ Category

Technology and Me – A Day in the Life of

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

This is the third post of three about technology changes over the last decade. First I covered what I was using in 2001 and what I’m using in 2010. Second I covered what I consider to be the biggest changes for me over the last decade. Today I’m covering how these changes have affected me on a day-to-day basis.

A typical day for me begins with the following before getting out of bed:
1) turning off my alarm (iPhone 3GS)
2) start download of the day’s WSJ This Morning podcast (iPhone 3GS)
3) checking the temperature (iPhone 3GS)
Once I get out of bed:
1) I get dressed to take my dog for a walk while listening to the WSJ podcast that has finished downloading.
2) I feed myself and my dog while continuing to listen to the WSJ broadcast.
3) I connect my iPhone to some powered speakers and finish the WSJ podcast as I shower and get dressed for
work.
As I leave the house to go to work:
1) I listen to music on my iPhone as I walk to bus stop.
2) While waiting for the bus I check my personal and work e-mail.
3) After checking e-mail, I play games and listen to music on my iPhone until I reach work.
It’s amazing how fast time seems to pass when you have so many productivity and entertainment options
available.
Depending on what I’m doing that day at work, I might listen to music, Pandora, or local sports talk from
Dallas (the ESPN Radio iPhone app is great) as I work.
At work I’m always connected to the Internet and most of my collegues are located remotely or at another
office. Work is done primarily via e-mail and chat. I’m on the phone no more than once or twice a day.
Prior to heading home from the office, I start the downloads for a few ESPN podcasts which keep me company
until I get home and walk the dog.
Once, I walk my dog and feed the two of us. Then I catch up on TV shows waiting for me on my DVR. I’ll
typically surf the web and read the days news and tech blogs on my laptop as I watch TV.
When I crawl into bed at night I set my alarm, plug in the charger, and turn on some relaxing tunes on my
iPhone 3GS.
As you can see, the iPhone has been deeply integrated into my daily activities. I have a hard time seeing
how I’d get by without it.

A typical day for me begins with the following before getting out of bed:

iPhone Clock iconiPhone iTunes iconiPhone Weather icon

1) Turning off my alarm (iPhone 3GS).

2) Starting the download for the WSJ This Morning podcast (iPhone 3GS).

3) Checking the temperature (iPhone 3GS).

Once I get out of bed:

WSJ This Morning logo

1) I get dressed to take my dog for a walk while listening to the WSJ podcast on my iPhone that has finished downloading.

2) I feed myself and my dog while continuing to listen to the WSJ podcast.

3) I connect my iPhone to some powered speakers and finish the WSJ podcast as I shower and get dressed for work.

As I leave the house to go to work:

iPhone iPod iconiPhone Mail iconiPhone Sol-Free icon

1) I listen to music on my iPhone as I walk to bus stop.

2) While waiting for the bus I check my personal and work e-mail.

3) After checking e-mail, I play games and listen to music on my iPhone until I reach work.

It’s amazing how fast time seems to pass when you have so many productivity and entertainment options available.

Depending on what I’m doing that day at work, I might listen to music, Pandora, or local sports talk from Dallas (the ESPN Radio iPhone app is great) as I work.

iPhone iPod iconiPhone Pandora iconiPhone ESPN-Radio icon

At work I’m always connected to the Internet. Most of my collegues are located remotely or at another office. Work is done primarily via e-mail and chat. I’m on the phone no more than once or twice a day. I used the phone far more when I was doing Business Development.

My primary applications include Outlook, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Excel on a 10″ Dell laptop running Windows XP docked with dual 20 inch LCD monitors. I use Word and PowerPoint far less in product management than I did in Business Development.

Firefox logoInternet Explorer logoOffice 2007 logoWindows XP logo

I also keep Meebo’s web-based chat application open all day on a small USB monitor to access AIM, Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. I keep up with industry news using Google Reader and Techmeme.

Meebo logoGoogle Reader logoTechmeme logo

Prior to heading home from the office, I start the downloads for a few ESPN podcasts which keep me company until I get home and walk the dog.

Galloway and CompanyTony Kornheiser ShowESPNU College Football

ESPN Football TodayAround the HornPardon the Interruption

Once, I walk my dog and feed the two of us. Then I catch up on TV shows waiting for me on my DirecTV DVR or stream some music using my Apple TV.

DirecTVApple TV

I’ll typically surf the web and read the days news and tech blogs on my laptop as I watch TV or listen to music. I have a 17″ Dell laptop running Windows 7. I primarily use Google Chrome to browse the web at home.

Windows 7 logoGoogle Chrome logo

Lifehacker logoGizmodo logoespn_logo

The Dallas Morning News logoSan Francisco Chronicle logo

New York Times logo

Wall Street Journal logoThe Economist logo

I actually have print subscription to Business Week (it was free).

When I crawl into bed at night I set my alarm, plug in the charger, and turn on some relaxing tunes on my iPhone 3GS.

iPhone Clock iconiPhone iPod icon

As you can see, the iPhone has been deeply integrated into my daily activities. I have a hard time seeing how I’d get by without it.

I heart my iPhone

Who Knew CompuServe Was Still Around?

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Well, evidently it was. At least until this week when AOL shut it down.

The original CompuServe service, first offered in 1979, was shut down this past week by its current owner, AOL.  The service, which provided its users with addresses such as 73402,3633 and was the first major online service, had seen the number of users dwindle in recent years.  At its height, the service boasted about having over half a million users simultaneously on line.

I remember Compuserve (and Prodigy, and eWorld, and AOL). I ran up some huge monthly bills on these services. But they were great for their time, except for Prodigy which sucked.

Farewell CompuServe.