Probstisms

Tim Probst
Tim Probst
@Tim@www.timprobst.com

Early adopting super geek, musician, father, resident tech guru.

1,067 posts
6 followers

Category: Technology

  • Happy Birthday iPod!

    The iPod and I have always shared a special relationship. We share the same birthday, October 23rd. It’s also Johnny Carson’s birthday, but that’s another story.

    Anyway, I ran out and bought the first version of the iPod as soon as it came out back in 2001 because I knew it was something special (I also needed a new MP3 player). I kept asking myself, why in the world did Steve Jobs decide to call this thing iPod? Now five years later, we’re starting to see the reasons: music, video, pictures, audio books, podcasts, contacts, notes, calendar, etc.

    I remember people having such a skeptical reaction to the iPod. The Windose disciples at my office shrugged it off just because it was an Apple product although every one of them said it looked and felt great. Most, if not all of them, now have iPods. People on the train would look at me listening to this little white thing and ask me what it was. Being a good little Apple evangelist, I would promptly let them feel and listen to my iPod hoping they would run out and buy one too. Slowly but surely, iPods started popping up all over the train. At first, I would count the number of people that had one (yes, I am a huge geek). After a while, I would count the people that didn’t have one. That is when I knew the iPod had changed the world.

    With all of the hubbub surrounding the iPod’s fifth birthday, Newsweek posted a nice Q&A on their website with Steve Jobs that’s worth reading.

    Happy Birthday iPod! May you continue to change the world for many years to come.

  • Google Docs & Spreadsheets

    I’ve been checking out Google’s Writely word processor program for a while now, and they have recently consolidated their spreadsheet and word processor programs into Google Docs & Spreadsheets. I have to say that these web applications are very impressive. I especially like the collaboration aspect of both programs. In fact, I am using Google Docs to write this post. Being a long time MS Word programmer, I hope Google opens Google Docs & Spreadsheets so they can be automated using corporate and personal data. Now that would be pretty sweet.

  • There Is Hope

    In a recent blog post, I commented on how Gmail is not fully supported on the Safari web browser on the Macintosh. Well, there may be hope after all. It looks like Google has formed a Macintosh team. This is great news for the millions of Mac users around the world. Google makes some great desktop and web based solutions, and I am excited that the Mac is getting the attention it deserves from the company. Now, if they could only fix that Gmail mail thing . . .

  • What’s The Deal with Gmail?

    Let me start out by saying I am a huge fan of Google’s Gmail service. It provides a ton of storage for free, and it doesn’t have nearly as many restrictions on attachment sizes as the other free email services. I also really like how they have integrated Google Talk into Gmail so I have a record of all of my electronic communications in one place.

    One thing that really bothers me, though, is that Gmail does not fully support the Safari browser on the Macintosh. There is no rich text email or Google Talk integration in Safari. What can possibly be so different about Safari that Gmail cannot fully support the browser? It works on Internet Explorer 6, which is really a piece of junk. It works on Firefox on both Windows and Macintosh. Why not Safari?

    I’m sure at this point, you might be thinking why doesn’t this dude just use Firefox on the Mac? Well, I do from time to time, but I prefer Safari not only because it is faster but also because of the RSS functionality.

    I guess the whole point of my rant is that I want my favorite email service to work on my favorite browser. Is that too much to ask?

    Google, get to work!

  • Apple iPhone Talk Heating Up

    Well, the talk is heating up again for Apple’s all but certain entry into the mobile phone market.

    ThinkSecret reported today that Apple has once again hooked up with Cingular to help them launch the iPhone. While this is great for me and millions of other Cingular customers, my hope is that Apple doesn’t tie themselves down to one service provider for too long. There are just too many potential Apple customers that use the other major cellular providers to ignore them for long, and I don’t really see people switching providers just to get a new fancy phone. It costs too much in fees and penalties to do that.

    Of course, because it’s an Apple product, maybe it will be sweet and cool enough to cause a revolution in cellular phones just as the iPod has changed the digital music market for the better.

  • Is Wal-Mart Really Afraid of Apple?

    So, I was reading MacRumors.com the other day and found their post about Wal-Mart retaliating against Apple to be very disturbing. The post cited a New York Post article claiming that Wal-Mart threatened movie studios so that they wouldn’t sell their movies on the iTunes Store. From what I’ve read about Wal-Mart’s tactics, this does not surprise me one bit.

    Personally, I do not buy media from Wal-Mart because of their demands to censor albums and movies. Besides that, I can’t really stand going in to their stores in larger cities because they’re completely trashed. The employees or associates or whatever they call them couldn’t care less about the way the stores look. I wish I could say this is an isolated situation, but I have been in Wal-Mart stores all over the country, and they’re always the same. The only time I’ve enjoyed a trip to one of their stores was when I was in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin. The people there had pride in their store, and it was a nice experience. Store managers from large cities should go out to these stores out in the country to see how to do their jobs.

    Anyway, back to my main point. If Wal-Mart did indeed threaten their suppliers, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Time to take down the Goliath of Retail and let Apple take over the world (big sinister laugh).

  • Apple Gets It Right

    Ever since Microsoft and PC makers started marketing and selling Windows Media Center PCs, I’ve thought that they were just taking the wrong approach. While a geek like me would want a PC in their living room, the average person most likely does not want to have a PC as the centerpiece of their entertainment center. Using a computer is a very active form of entertainment whether a person is surfing the Internet or playing games. Watching television, on the other hand, is a very passive activity. People just want to relax and enjoy the show, and they want it to be very easy. As Aerosmith once said, “Just Push Play.”

    In comes Apple with the iTV. They’re going to change the name before the official release, and my bet is that it will be part of the Mac family rather than the iPod family. I’m sure Steve Jobs and co. will come up with a snappy, marketable name. The iTV allows users to stream movies and media from their Mac or PC that’s sitting anywhere in their house through a wireless or wired connection. There will be no need to have a computer sitting next to the TV. Using the handy little remote included with the iTV, users will be able to browse through their media and select the movie or media they want to watch.

    Apple once again has taken something insanely complex and made it accessible to the average person. That’s how they won the MP3 player market and the digital download market. It is also how they will continue their dominance in the digital media age by bringing the media into the living room. Congrats Apple! I can’t wait to see the finished product.

  • Scott Driza’s Blog

    For those of you that keep track of my blog and read the comments posted here, you know that my buddy, Scott, has been pestering me about writing more. Well, I’m going to do my best to write more about everything that is going on around me. That’s the problem, really. I have too much going on in my life. If all goes as planned, I’ll have more time to write, but only time will tell.

    Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Scott, who happens to be a really great writer, has finally broken down and started a blog. In his posts so far, he has related real life experiences to technology projects and working life in general. His blog almost has an Office Space kind of feel to it. It is most definitely worth a visit.

    I found one post to be just vintage Scott. In the post, he writes about the first six days of a new job. It’s one of those it’s-funny-because-it’s-true moments working in corporate America. Anyway, check out his post and the rest of his blog. I think you’ll find it amusing to say the least.

  • DocBuilder.com Document Automation Challenge

    My buddy, Scott Driza, started DocBuilder.com Incorporated back in 1999. Scott is a great programmer and has written several books and articles on document automation. He got me in to the document automation business while we worked together back in Chicago, and thanks to his initial push, I know a thing or two about programming. Right now, DocBuilder.com Incorporated is having a Document Automation Challenge. For between $10 and $50 per page, the company will automate any document in Microsoft Word. Check out DocBuilder.com for more information.

  • Yet Another iPod

    Yesterday, Apple (AAPL) released yet another iPod model to further their dominance in the portable music player market. The 1GB iPod nano is perfectly priced at $149 and should draw interest from the people that have been holding out for a cheaper iPod with a screen. The price drop for the iPod shuffle to $69 for the 512MB model is really going to put pressure on the competition. No company has come close to the integration and ease of use that the iPod/iTunes combination provides.

    The latest company that has succumb to the power of the iPod is Dell (DELL). You’re not seeing things. I mean that Dell. The company quietly exited the music business yesterday. Check out this article from The Motley Fool for more information. Now, let’s hope that this news translates into a higher stock price for Apple.