ABOUT CLICKED

The modern news consumer ignores Weblogs and online citizen journalism at his own peril. But not everyone has the time to keep track of what's going on the Web. With this blog we hope to track the highlights of what's being discussed online so when news breaks from the Web, we're ready.

Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

Send a message to Will at spotter@msnbc.com



This is what iClicked

Posted: Thursday, January 11, 2007 2:37 PM by Will Femia

I've said before that I'm not very gadget savvy but it was hard not to notice that the entire online world came to a slack-jawed, neck snapping halt at the announcement of the new Apple iPhone.  To the extent that I'm as dazzled by shiny new things as anyone else, I fully admit that this looks really cool and exciting and I want one.  Recognizing that there's not much rationality to that opinion, now that the dust is settling I've mostly clicked critical items to balance my enthusiasm.  What I clicked:

iPhone is awesome (restrictions apply)  (If you use iPhone at the beginning of a sentence, should you capitalize it?)

What's Missing From the iPhone - This is a shorter list than the one above.  3G is a kind of cell phone service.  It's been explained to me as broadband for cell phones.

The iPhone is not a smartphone - It's at least worth noting that the definition of smartphone is one that accepts software downloads.  There is apparently some debate about whether (or how quickly) the lock on this phone that prevents downloads will be hacked.

It looks like the stock market's reaction to the iPhone was similar to my initial exuberance.

iPhone and the End of PC Era - He's talking about people moving away from computers and doing their computing on hand held devices instead.  When I saw the headline I thought he was going to make the case that public exposure to Apple's operating system, OS X, through the iPhone would make it a gateway to using Macs.  Have you (I'm talking to Windows users now) ever gone to the Apple store and tried one of their cool-looking computers and immediately walked away when you realized everything on it was foreign?

Speaking of the iPhone bringing and end to things, iPhone is death of the ringtone industry.

iPhone & LG KE850: separated at birth?

Kottke's iPhone model - He made one of cardboard to get a better sense of its size.

iPhone debate: I’m a Mac vs. Bill Gates - This is supposed to be funny, but as someone in a catch-up position I found this really informative.

Speaking of learning about new Apple products, I also clicked Questions about the AppleTV.  The idea behind this one is to take what's on your computer (though iTunes) and put it on your TV.

Speaking of trying to keep up, Gary says your hard drive is obsolete.  He was actually talking to me about this (he sits two cubes away) before he left for CES.  My personal non-work laptop is a few years old but it's already obsolete for some of the applications I'd like to run so I'm trying to pay closer attention to what's coming up so my next computer lasts a little longer.  (My secret desire is to build my own machine.  Click that link and tell me it doesn't look easy.)

Speaking of the future of technology, sensational new “fact-power” unleashed.

The latest Keith Olbermann clip to storm the Internet is his review of the president's credibility on Iraq.  Of course, everyone is linking to the Crooks & Liars version, but for the sake of home team support, here's the MSNBC.com version.

Here's a clever scam that's probably worked on a few desperate people.  In short, someone offers to rent you an apartment but can't show it to you because they're out of town.  But send them a month's rent and they'll send you the keys.  In this case the story is told from an interesting perspective.

Creative writing assignment for the next bad weather day:  Write a story that explains the presence of RFID chips in Canadian coins held by American defense contractors.  UPDATE:  The cable folks had a guy on to talk about it earlier today.

Tapping this beer bottle on the counter is enough agitation to get it to freeze.  If you're going to try it, I reckon there's some risk here of the bottle shattering (from the expanding ice, not the counter tap).

A map of where U.S. casualties came from.  I'm not sure what conclusion could be drawn from this other than that it appears to align with overall population distribution in the U.S.
All the tabs on this page are pretty interesting.  I don't know what to make of the "frequency" chart that shows no particularly deadly day of the week.

How to win Wii Tennis (at any cost) - This is satire, but if you think about it, it's just a matter of time before we hear about Wii-related injuries.

Was this librarian put on the FBI watch list for ordering books with the word Jihad in the title?  Folks in the comments are skeptical, but the blogger is a priest.  UPDATE:  Thanks to the Howlin' Hobit for pointing out in the comments that this story has been retracted with apologies.

What happens when a country bans guns?  More sword headlines.

O'Reilly and Colbert are going to be guests on each other's shows next week.  I don't actually watch the O'Reilly show, so it'll be interesting to see them side by side to see how much Colbert has actually taken for his character.

African traffic jam - This is an interesting site from a photography student perspective.  See on the right under the judge for best and worst photo archive and explanations for why they were accepted or rejected from this company's stock photography database.

Speaking of the death of giant animals, "Human habitation has been, and is increasingly, playing a direct role not only in the extinction of species, but in their evolution. By our own actions, we may be accompanied into the future by ever more diverse pests and pathogens, and may leave behind what we value most—elephants, tigers, and others of the earth's great megabeasts."

Speaking of changing life on the planet, I eat rubbish - In the comments there's a bit of a debate about just how much garbage this thing pulls out of the Thames River, but there's no denying it's a valuable tool.  We need more robots cleaning up the earth.  (OK, it's "passive" so it's probably not a robot, but that doesn't mean robots are off the hook.  C'mon robots, do your part.)

Speaking of saving the Earth, Sweden plans to go green.

Speaking of the dying planet, here's a well done global warming ad that shows people doing ordinary things in the midst of natural disasters.

Still speaking green, here's a lengthy piece on GM's plug-in hybrid concept.

Speaking of the car show, the only thing I'm interested in about car shows are the concept cars.  I'm liking number 4 in this slide show.  This is cool too.

One more CES link: "Among the many things to be unveiled at this week's Consumer Electronics Show is a new sound-leveling technology from Dolby Laboratories that goes into a TV that ensures that loud announcers and commercials won't leave you scrambling for the volume control on your remote."

"Cancer Cured" headline of the week: How spicy foods can kill cancers

The best thing to come from the Rosie/Trump ridiculousness is this game that lets you fight them.

Wedding mapper - No more hand drawn maps tucked in with the invitation.  You know those aggravating wedding maps that are all out of scale and show random landmarks?

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Comments

I think we have to remember that Apple is like Microsoft in that they learn from the 1st versions (often trial balloons) and improve. They have until June to resolve many of the obvious software flaws (Exchange support, and MS Office readers are two examples) and have longer to make it possible to download trusted apps (which will be a killer issue). They also can rely on a lot of known components (their own OS, many of their own apps), just as iPod relied on hardware and software from a 3rd party to do the tricky stuff. I am assuming iPhone is also using someone else's phone stack, so Apple can just focus on the user interface and toy apps, that they are so famous for. Apple can rely on their pool of unwashed masses who will buy anything they make, no matter how bad (remember Newton), and then have some time to fix the problems so they have something which will sell to more people. What is interesting is that they have tried to address a number of the main usability issues of phones and PDAs without the normal form factor problem. But, whether people will accept a touch screen keyboard remains to be seen - these have not done well for tablets or other device, even when finger touch. The problem is lack of tactile feedback (the feel of the button). Even Razr has that feedback. I am surprised no one raises that point.

Paul K, Alamo, CA (Sent Thursday, January 11, 2007 10:36 PM)

Re: The librarian and the watchlist. Two posts later she retracted it. http://janellen.blogspot.com/2007/01/dangerous-libraries-part-ii-apology.html Interesting raves in the comments section of the first post though.

Howlin' Hobbit, Seattle, WA (Sent Thursday, January 11, 2007 10:37 PM)

Microsoft is still the best of all systems {hey apple how are the 10% of good PC games going} or did they finally release half-life to the apple. OR...Go xbox 360 and dominate the videogame world. where is your video game APPLE... anyway, enjoy life Will and I love your writing...

John McCormick . Largo Fl (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 1:57 AM)

Will asked: "Have you (I'm talking to Windows users now) ever gone to the Apple store and tried one of their cool-looking computers and immediately walked away when you realized everything on it was foreign?" No, anytime I go into the Apple store I feel like I've been transported to a magical land where computers are the most beautiful things in the world... then I go away depressed knowing that my dismal, boring, Windows PC is at home waiting for me.

Randall K. (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 2:51 AM)

Personally, I would have been impressed if Jobs introduced a phone. You know, one that could actually make clear calls, no drops, decent speaker phone, loud ringer. With as long as cell "phones" have been on the market, the call quality and aspects of a phone have not really gotten any better. I don't want it to have an MP3 player or a camera or an email client. Just a phone would be nice. A quality mobile phone.

Jeff B. Portland, OR (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 3:34 AM)

I wonder if the samurai sword man was Hiro, from "Heroes". I hope we see an upcoming episode where he transports himself to England.

Craig W, Rochester, MN (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 9:37 AM)

I would like to add to Jeff B's comments. It used to be that something, like a phone, would get cheaper as time goes on, through economy of scale. Now, the features increase and the price rises. All I want is a phone. A simple phone with a reasonable payment plan would be nice. No, I don't have a cell phone. I didn't have one growing up, and I survived. I learned to go to the super market and make selections without phoning for advise. I learned to get along without "keeping in touch" with everbody, all the time. When you hear me speak in public, it could actually be to you. When cell phones cost the same as my land line, I'll happily drop the land line and use a cell. Otherwise, I am willing to be living proof of life without a cell phone. Yes, they are handy, but No, they are not essential.

Charles Allen, Wilmington, DE (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 10:12 AM)

About 6 years ago, I was ready to drop my landline and go strictly cell... At the time, I could have two cells (one for me and one for the wifey) for about $15.00 more per month that just the landline alone. They were a great deal. Alas, my only available internet access was dial-up at the time, but I swore as soon as I could get cable, the landline was gone. After about a year or so, I noticed that my cell rates kept going up. To counter the problem, I would switch providers for a new, better rate and, inevitably, a "better phone." Yes, the phones got smaller and the special features increased, but everything else about them sucked - they easily broke, they were hard to dial, you couldn't hold them between your shoulder and ear, and the sound quality kept getting worse (not to mention the plan prices kept getting higher and higher, even with the new special offers). 18 months ago, cable internet finally became available on my street in my little town of 10,000 folks. I thought, gee, I can finally ditch my landline and just go with the trusty old cell... After all, I had long distance included with my cell plan, who needs anything else? HA! Then I discovered VOIP... For less than $30 per month, I have unlimited, unlimited calling, no dropped calls, excellent sound quality and all of the other features that you normally find with any telephone provider (only better). I dumped my cell phones and my landline - net savings to me: $150 a month. Even with the cost of the cable internet ($30 more than the dial-up), I'm still saving $120 a month. The moral of the story, unless you're a high power attorney, stockbroker, etc. - who needs a damned cell phone anymore?

John R., Barre, Vermont (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 4:36 PM)

"Otherwise, I am willing to be living proof of life without a cell phone. Yes, they are handy, but No, they are not essential." Of course they're not essential. But neither are answering machines, call display, and cordless phones. I resisted getting a mobile for years. I finally caved and never regretted it. The convenience is unbelievable. I use it 2 or 3 times a week. No more hunting for a phone booth and then having to dig for change. I'm not one for constantly blathering on the phone. My calls typically last less than a minute. You don't have to be one of these geeks that seem to have their phone "surgically attached" to their ear.

Graham Oliver, Edmonton, Canada (Sent Friday, January 12, 2007 9:12 PM)

I switched from Windows to Apple last year and have had no trouble learning the system. And, in the 15 months I've had my Mac, it has crashed.....never. Not once. It's not perfect; nothing is. But I like it so much better than my old Dells.

LV (Sent Saturday, January 13, 2007 9:25 PM)

I always enjoy people bringing up the Newton as proof of apple's lack of vision. They were ahead of their time. Ever hear of a palm pilot? Microsoft, on the other hand, just plays catch up waiting for other people to think of things and then either steals them or buys out the company. Oh, wait. They did come up with "BOB", so I stand corrected. If a company like Apple is always out there defining cutting edge technology, then sure they are bound to miss on a few things... like the Newton. As far as the phone, I think they are really cool. But I won't be getting one any time soon. I just don't need one or I would. I could see forking out the dough on the front end, especially when a second generation comes out with more memory. But I can't very well justify the HUGE monthly expense of operating one. But there are millions of people who either need this technology, or are just willing to pay for it because it is pretty darn cool. My family has four cel phones and no land line, btw. We had a land line, but when we moved the screwed up moving our service and when we contacted them it was going to be another 2 weeks and $60 to move it. We told them that while they were screwing around we realized that we did not need their service and could keep it. I have 16 year old twins and it is worth a lot for me to be able to get hold of them anytime, and know they can call me if they need me.

iowa city, ia (Sent Sunday, January 14, 2007 9:44 AM)

Just wanted to comment on your observation that building your own computer looked "easy". Although the instructions from Corsair are very explicit, many of the parts (memory sticks, case, etc.) are outdated and no longer available and being able to substitute amd maintain compatibility is definitely not for amateurs. You could end up spending well over $1,000 and not have a working PC.

J. L. Anderson, Spokane, Wash (Sent Monday, January 22, 2007 3:10 PM)



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