Cool Website Design – Smart USA (the Eco Friendly Car)
Sep 22nd
I saw a commercial for the Smart (the unbig, uncar) tonight and hit their website for a nice surprise. Its not the best website ever, but its home page is super-interesting. If you don’t like it you can visit the Smart’s eco-friendly high mpg full website.
I don’t often write about websites, but this one is just pretty cool. I think for its intended audience – the group of car buyers that would want an eco-friendly, small, inexpensive automobile that for as little as $12,490 – the website is probably right up their alley. However, at 41mpg you may be more impressed with its 85% recyclability (just toss it in with the aluminum cans when done?)
I’m not writing about the technical marvel of the site or excellent usability here, but simply entertaining design, take a look.
Smart USA Cool Car Website
Gmail, Gmail Mobile Go Persian (Farsi)
Sep 22nd
Google has released its Gmail and Gmail mobile in Persian today. Or as Google put it:
At Google, we want to make our products universally accessible and useful, and that means providing them for as many people as possible in the language they speak. The Gmail and Google Localization teams have worked together to bring Gmail to people around the world in 53 languages. Today that number grows to 54, because we’re proud to announce that through working with the Persian Initiative Team, we are able to release Persian (Farsi – فارسی), as the newest language available in Gmail. If you or someone you know speaks Persian, they can change the language in Gmail by selecting it on the Gmail settings page, under the language dropdown.
- Gmail+Gmail mobile in Persian/Farsi
Click To Enlarge
Mobile Multi Sig, Mobile Sig, and Vacation Auto-Respond
Sep 21st
Gmail announced some new stuff for Gmail for mobile today.
Specifically Google’s Dominic Leung, Mobile Software Engineer announced the addition of these Gmail for mobile features…
- Multiple sign-in support
- Mobile-specific signature
- Vacation Auto-Responder
Multiple Sign-In Support
So, first the addition of multiple sign-in support. You’ve been able to do that on the desktop for a while now (more info & warnings), but now you can also sign in to multiple accounts in the same browser using Gmail for mobile. There was no mention on the post about warnings like the issues the desktop version has offline versions
Mobile-Specific Signature
There are some good reasons to let people you email know you are sending/replying to email on your mobile, for example why your reply is so short, or has typos. Now if Gmail can do something about that “Sent from my BlackBerry” fun that Blackberry (and other mobile users) have to put up with, that would be great. But I digress.
Vacation Auto-Responder
Imagine you’ve prepared everything for a week’s vacation, tidied up your workload at the office, packed all of your vacation gear and you are off toward that relaxing destination in [wherever]. As you drive off, you realize that you forgot to set your vacation autoresponder in your Gmail back at the office. Do you turn around and go back to the office (“Phew! I’m, glad to see you’re not gone yet, we have these last minute details on this important project before you go on vacation.”)? No need, just login to Gmail for mobile and you can now set your vacation auto-response from wherever you can get access – no office visit required!
Crysis 2 Semper Fi or Die Video Walkthrough (Pt 1)
Sep 16th
Part one of Crysis 2 Semper Fi or Die, mission #10 gameplay & walkthrough video. This video has annotations at some key points. Also, see more Crysis 2 game tips and hints.
Crysis 2 Semper Fi or Die Video Part 1
Later some step-by-step down here, for now watch the video check out the notes on the video.
ESET Smart Security 5 Cool Video
Sep 13th
Hey, check out this cool new movie … oh, that’s no movie its an Advertisement for an ESET Smart Security 5, which includes ESET Nod32 Antivirus.
Do You Have ESET Smart Security 5 Yet?
Contrary to what many people think, McAfee and Norton do not provide the best antivirus (AV) protection for your computer.
Also, if you don’t have the bucks for an Antivirus and you are looking for a temporary alternative (because you DO want to have paid AV, right?) look into Microsoft Security Essentials.
OTHER AV VIDEOS
Compare the competition (ok, this really isn’t the way to compare, right? still its good for a laugh):
McAfee Ad on YouTube
Norton Ad on YouTube
Got better YouTube links for Norton or McAfee?
Walk Score Maps Bring New Use to Google and Bing Maps
Sep 9th
Walk Score brings a new, powerful service to website owners who can benefit from letting web visitors see what is nearby. Nearby what? Well anything that has an address. 
These maps can be used for many purposes including real estate agents showing what is nearby properties listed on their websites, churches, schools and businesses showing what is nearby, and many other things. The use of Walk Score by website owners is limited by imagination so long as things near a specific address provide useful information to the web audience.
Walk Score information overlays Google and Bing maps, showing nearby banks, restaurants, and more, Visit the Walk Score rankings page for some interesting maps.
For example, Clage Solutions is a business near my house that recently opened its doors. A map to their location and what’s nearby could look like this (depending upon chosen options/features):
Some Great Walk Score Features
On the Walk Score site you can find Walk Scores for entire cities. If I knew years back what I know now I may have chosen a different city to live in, since Goose Creek is one of the 3 least walkable cities of South Carolina’s largest 28 cities.
Walk Score can display nearby amenities, commute drive times, maps are switchable between different map views (try it above under the Bigger map link, click Street View…), can display information for residential, commercial or travel.
Visit the WalkScore website for even more information about their useful maps.
Greener Google? Sure.
Sep 8th
Gmail is cooler in the cloud. Literally. Google’s point is that cloud-based services (which are ever more popular) use less energy than their traditional counterparts. Of course, their post doesn’t make such a broad claim, they focus on some of their services and also said:
Cloud computing is secure, simple, keeps you productive and saves you money. But the cloud can also save energy. A recent report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Verdantix estimates that cloud computing has the potential to reduce global carbon emissions by millions of metric tons…
We compared Gmail to the traditional enterprise email solutions it’s replaced for more than 4 million businesses. The results were clear: switching to Gmail can be almost 80 times more energy efficient (PDF) than running in-house email. This is because cloud-based services are typically housed in highly efficient data centers…
If you’re more of a romantic than a businessperson, think of it this way: It takes more energy to send a message in a bottle than it does to use Gmail for a year, as long as you count (PDF) the energy used to make the bottle and the wine you drank…
So Gmail away, get more productive and feel good about your part in helping the environment.
HowTo: microSD Memory Card in Cricket TXTM8 3G Phone
Sep 7th
It should be such a simple thing, but its a minor annoyance to get the job done. Of course you need your microSD memory card (TXTM8 3G supports up to 16GB microSD cards).
Insert/Remove microSD Card in Cricket TXTM8 3G
Inserting the microSD Card
- Turn the phone off (wait till keypad dims to be sure its off)
- Remove back cover
- Remove the battery
- Place the microSD card into the slot at upper left, slide it in until it clicks in place*
- Replace the battery (make sure the pins meet the battery contacts)
- Replace the back cover
- Turn the phone on
Removing the microSD from your TXTM8 3G
- Turn the phone off (wait till keypad dims to be sure its off)
- Remove back cover
- Remove the battery
- Push the microSD until it clicks, then release and slide the card out
- Replace the battery (make sure the pins meet the battery contacts)
- Replace the back cover
- Turn the phone on
