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New Home

I recently had to purchase a domain and some hosting space for work-related reasons. I decided that while I was at it, I might as well set up a WordPress installation. I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but I needed a good reason to do it. The new blog is up at http://www.bryanbartow.com. I'll also be hosting a portfolio there, along with some other good stuff. Come check it out.

Adobe Apollo Alpha Released

Adobe has finally given us developers something to work with. The alpha version of Apollo was released tonight on Labs. Download and rejoice. And love the fact that they're still not giving us file access.

Firefox + Adblock + FiltersetG Updater: Web Browsing Bliss

I've decided to create a series of screencasts I've dubbed "Tech Essentials" illustrating some of the applications and services I consider essential to keeping my PCs and other gadgets running at their best. The first-Firefox + Adblock-can be found by clicking the badge at the bottom of the post. I've always considered dedicating a blog just to this sort of thing. If there's enough interest in "Tech Essentials" I'll consider doing it on an ongoing basis. Are there any applications you consider essential for your OS to run its best?

Google Reader Adds Buttons

Upon logging into Google Reader tonight, I immediately noticed that the team had added stylized buttons to some of the command links. Nothing major, but nice to see the Google Reader team at least giving some attention to UI. I've recorded a screen cast, which can be seen here or by clicking on the badge below. Again, nothing earth shattering; I just needed a good reason to test Vista and Camtasia Studio.

Digg - gSyncit for Microsoft Outlook

Looks like someone has finally been able to get Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook to play nice with each other, and by play nice I mean two way syncing. Spanning Sync has been doing this for iCal on the Mac, albeit in beta, for a while now. It's just a shame that somebody hasn't given us a one stop shop for multi-platform PIM syncing. Yes, I'm talking about you Plaxo.

Digg - gSyncit for Microsoft Outlook

Update: Just saw this over at macosxhints.com. It looks like a Java daemon that runs on a user's local machine that allows them to sync iCal and Google Calendar. According to the hint, it also allows the user to use GMail as an LDAP server in Address Book.

Skype Prime: What took so long?

Perusing through the Skype Garage this morning, I noticed that a new beta of Skype 3.1 has been released today. Hot on the heels of Skype Find, Skype Prime is the beginning of the long overdue Skype-eBay-PayPal integrations so many have been waiting for since eBay purchased the two companies. Skype Prime allows Skype users to charge for services offered through voice and video calls on Skype.



This idea isn't new, however, as Ether has been providing essentially the same service since last year. The big difference here, of course, is the integration with PayPal. Users' service fees are collected in their PayPal accounts where they can be transfered, spent or saved. The next logical step is for eBay to provide sellers with dedicated virtual stores from which services and/or goods can be provided. This seems to be the most logical implementation of the "power of three" integration. The question is, will people use this and will the average user be as apt to buy a conversation online as they are a good or product. I hate to toot my own horn, but I predicted this some time ago. It's nice to be right sometimes.