My most popular post – EVPN’s, VPN’s & IVPN’s

There’s one post that’s always near the top of my stats and it’s this one – VPN’s, EVPN’s and IVPN’s. With all the tech stuff out there and carrier pages and wikipedia too, there’s usually a good number of people checking out that post.

Location is coming to Touiteur

I wrote about Touiteur a day or so back and how good it was. But I missed Location, it’s not in there right now. I had a positive response on the ‘micro review’ and have spotted a few other people using the tool too. But I like the location aspect of Twitter and feel as if some functionality is missing. Actually it’s not a big deal, but I still feel as is I’m missing out. Twidroyd is about to get twitlonger support I noticed which is interesting. So this is a two horse race now, with Twidroyd just with it’s nose in front, come on Touiteur, you just told me location is coming.

Google offers drag-and-drop App Inventor for Kids!

Google have launched tools to allow the creation of simple apps for Android devices, they’re not available just yet though, they are still in private beta. There are already several “it’s not going to produce much of value” posts our there, take this one from the Guardian.

Personally, having just spend the past three years learning to code for various platforms (including iOS), it is easy to be skeptical over these short cuts to writing applications

But I think they are missing the point, this is for children or young adults at least. It’s about getting kids interesting in Android, using Android and building apps that they may use, but it’s looking to the future.

I also agree that the next amazing twitter app will not emerge from this tool, but the person who develops that app, may have grown up on this, cut his or her teeth so to speak on it.

The form which allows you to register interest, is littered with references to education, Google’s aim is getting Android in to schools and used by kids as they grow up. Apple already does this it already offers free lessons for several of it’s apps for 8 to 10 year olds over the summer vacation, i.e. it’s starting the early.

To be honest, I’m keen to have a go, I haven’t done any programming since Uni and a bit of small talk on my IBM graduate training program, that’s it. But what I’m most keen to do is let my 6 year old daughter loose on it. She can use MS Paint, MS Word and do some interesting things, so I’m sure it won’t take her too long to pick this up.

The cat video might also spark a bit of interest, for the cat alone, but it’s about what she and kids her age will do with this. It gives them tools to make things not just out of paper and cello tape but allows them to make usable (if basic) software, that’s what this is about sparking an interest in the developers and entrepreneurs of the future.

Getting Google Buzz posts into Twitter

I’ve noticed a pick up in the use of Google Buzz and there are some great example of conversations like the good old days of Jaiku. As it stands you can pull posts from twitter into Buzz, but not from Buzz into Twitter. There are now a couple of tools to help you do this, buzz2twitter and buzzcantweet.

I’ve now tried both of these service and both failed to work for me, you might have noticed a couple of dull buzz tweets yesterday to see if it worked and nothing. So I hunted around and found another way to do it and here it is;

1) Launch http://profiles.google.com/me into a tab, which will redirect to your profile.
2) Copy your profile URL (e.g. “http://www.google.com/profiles/xxxxxx”) either your name or profile number, doesn’t seem to matter.
3) launch http://feedburner.google.com/ in a new tab and sign in with your Gmail account
4) Paste your profile URL under ‘Burn a feed’ right this instant
5) Click on next and then click Skip directly to feed management
6) Select the Publicize tab on the top of the page
7) Select the Socialize tab on the left (about half way down)
8.) Select Add a Twitter Account
9) Sign in to Twitter and click Allow to allow Feedburner to post
10) Change Post Content to “Body Only” (important!)
11) Select the Activate option and that’s it.

it’s based on Unni’s comment on Louis Gray’s post

Just check the feed that it shows your last 5 or so buzz’s and you’re good to go. I think it’s pretty quick to update, the only downside is it won’t let you (or I can’t find how to do it) add your bit.ly codes, otherwise works a treat.

Touiteur, maybe the best Android Twitter app

If’ your running with an Android device and are a twitter user then check out Touiteur (it’s twitter pronounced with a french accent). I’ve been a user of Twidroyd (formerly Twidroid), Seesmic, HTC Peep, Twicca (and a horrid looking one that lasted just a few minutes, but it’s name alludes me) for a day and this beats all of them in terms of looks and functionality.

The official twitter app, isn’t really a power user app, it’s away into twitter for the first time for people, who move onto the apps mentioned here.

The look and feel of Touiteur is nice, ie, dark with light font. The inclusion of threaded conversations is one of my fav features, when you go to the replies tab, it shows underneath the replies to the previous tweets all as part of that conversation, nice.

The widgets are pretty neat too, tap the corner of the widget to refresh, or leave it and it’ll refresh every 20 seconds.  There’s maybe not as much in the settings as say twidroyd and I miss the hit the bar to jump to the top of seesmic, but otherwise, it’s my new best twitter app.

I’m still looking for some of these to add in Google Buzz for instance, but they are coming on huge leaps and bounds, Gravity for S60 is still probably leader of the pack, but Touiteur is as good as it get’s on Android.

Sad but true, Symbian-Guru.com is Over

This is a sad story, but one that’s happening frequently, guys and girls who once cheered for Nokia are making the leap away. Symbian-Guru, like me, has moved to Android, others have moved to iPhone, atmaspheric endeavors for example;

As of today, I will no longer be updating Symbian-Guru.com, and will be purchasing an Android-powered smartphone – my new Nexus One should arrive tomorrow. I’ve been a Nokia fanboy since 1999.

I’ve tried to use all of Nokia’s various products and services to the best of my ability, and I just can’t do it anymore.

I can’t continue to support a manufacturer who puts out such craptastic ‘flagships’ as the N97, and who expects me to use services that even most of Nokia’s own employees don’t use

I’ve noticed a lot of the buzz surrounding Nokia has gone, WOM World is working hard, but they’ve got their work cut out now. Nokia has got to pull it’s self up by the boot laces quickly, it’s fine concentrating on the emerging markets, but they are aspirational too, they aspire to own iPhones and Droid’s and cheap Nokia’s are just a stepping stone. They also want apps, have you used the OVi store recently, don’t it’s just awful. The new handsets, N8 for example look hampered with the same old issues, see the photo above from the Nokia Blog

I hope Nokia listens to what people like Symbian Guru says as it’s cheer leaders are leaving in Droids.

Twitter’s API rate cut in action

Looks like the impact of the cut in the twitter API rate from 350 to 175 is visible here even, my Tweetmeme counter hasn’t changed and I guess that’s why.

Spotify and Uncut Magazine, painless discovery

For those who follow me on Twitter will have noticed I paid a visit to the “sloany pony” on Wednesday evening to visit an old University pal who works for IPC. We had a great time over some nice beer catching up and discussing amongst other things social media, radio6 and it’s plight. The reason it was so interesting I was able to see the other side of the story, the ‘dead tree’ people’s side.

Anyway, a great evening during which I was given some sheets of dead tree (sorry Chris!) in the form of Uncut magazine. During the conversation we’d talked about music and how I’d shifted away from buying CD’s to renting my music from Spotify and that as a result I’d started to listen to much more music and to bands I’d have never have bought. Chris confessed to buying music purely on the cover, which is a risky business, but with Spotify (there are others of course) that cost of discovery is almost zero. I listed bands such as ‘the xx’, ‘two door cinema club’ that I’d probably never would have found or enjoyed if I’d have had to take a risk and pay 9.99 for.

So I’m home now and have Uncut in front of me and I’m dropping the 4 star album reviews into Spotify and happily checking out the albums at almost no cost to me. Most of the time, I’ll listen for a few weeks, get bored of it and move on. However, there are some albums that are just too good to rent and I’ll buy them for keeps.

Maybe they should bundle a subscription of Spotify when you subscribe to Uncut, surely doable, and cheaper than sending out those CD’s stuck to the cover and an easier way to get more people listening to more good music…I’ve discovered Lissie in the last 5 minutes..awesome.