Probstisms

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

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

1,035 posts
4 followers

  • JibJab Creates Another Masterpiece

    Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

  • Will MobileMe Make Me Leave Google’s Gmail and Calendar?

    Since Steve Jobs’ keynote at the WWDC in June, I have been waiting patiently (well, quite impatiently) for the new and improved .Mac which has been rebranded as MobileMe. Based on the keynote and guided tour, MobileMe finally looks like the mail, address book, and calendar applications I expected from Apple when they launch iTools and .Mac so many years ago. As a user of many devices and computers on a daily basis, I have always struggled with keeping everything synchronized. Perhaps MobileMe will finally provide the solution for which I have been looking.

    My big question now is, will MobileMe provide enough functionality to convince me to move all of my email, contacts, and calendars from Gmail and Google Calendar to the MobileMe platform? This will be no small feat considering how long I have been using both of those Google applications. The one big plus for me will be the ability to use desktop applications on my Mac and Windows machines. Right now, I can use Gmail on the desktop using IMAP, but having to move messages from one label to another can become annoying and cumbersome. Google also has sync applications for Google Calendar that can sync with Outlook, but I have found the functionality to be buggy at best. To me, neither of these solutions is good enough, and they tend to take away from my productivity and enjoyment of the applications.

    If MobileMe can truly deliver on its promise of providing a consistent user experience on my Mac using its built in Mail, Address Book, and iCal applications, my Windows machine using Outlook, and the Internet, I will be a very happy camper. My guess is a lot of other people will feel the exact same way. We’ll know any day now if MobileMe is really Exchange for the rest of us.

  • The Better Sub Notebook

    A while back, Â I wrote Notes on the MacBook Air. Â I recently got my hands on the better sub notebook.

    First and foremost, I’m a huge Mac fan. Â I’ve loved Apple products for as long as I can remember.

    I am, however, somewhat disappointed by the MacBook Air now that I’ve gotten my hands on a Lenovo X300. Â The X300 is what the Air should have been from the beginning. Â Built in optical drive (CD/DVD Burning) or extra battery port, video out, multiple USB ports and still lightweight.

    Best of all, the X300 has most of the ThinkVantage technologies that make their ThinkPad line the ultimate business tool it is.

    My only problem with the X300 is that it doesn’t run the Mac OS. Â If it did, I’d be a switcher in a heartbeat to the hardware natively with no hacks.

    I’m assuming Lenovo marketing folks came up with this spoof. Â Enjoy!

  • Remembering Tim Russert

    Tim Russert died this afternoon after collapsing at the Washington bureau of NBC News. He was, by far, my favorite news person of any type, and my Sunday mornings and election nights will not be the same without him. I’m sure many Americans feel the same way.

  • Barack’s Fighting the Smears

    I’m sure a lot of you have seen the outrageous and too-weird-to-be-true emails that have been circulating the Internet for over a year now regarding Barack Obama and his family. I find the one that claims he is secretly a Muslim especially amusing. Most of these emails are started by fear and rumor mongering Republicans who are scared to death that they’re going to killed in November. The problem is the people who continue to forward these lies to everyone in their address book because they do not have enough intelligence or common sense to realize that if something sounds completely outrageous, it probably is.

    To fight these lies, Barack and his team have published a website called Fight the Smears to debunk the rumors and nonsense. You can find it at http://www.fightthesmears.com/. Here you will find the smears that have been circulating the Internet and evidence to prove them wrong. You can also submit new smears that you receive through email.

    The Obama campaign has taken advantage of technology like no other campaign in history, and this is just another example of its leadership in the Internet space.

  • Best Record in Baseball!

    This is so awesome that I just had to share my excitement with everyone.

    Cubs Move to Top of Majors with Win

  • Say Hello to Adler

    It is my pleasure to introduce the newest addition to our family, Adler. He was born late last week and has been a wonderful baby so far. Feel free to click through the image to see more pictures.

    Hello

  • Which Music Festival Would You Attend?

    If you had the choice between a rock festival featuring Arcade Fire, Wilco, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, and Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen and a pop festival featuring Madonna and Elton John, which one would you attend? Come on, be honest.

    Now, let me ask another question. Which concert do you think would be in support of Barack Obama? If you said the rock festival, you’d be right on. The bands at the rock festival are insanely cool, current, and relevant just like Barack. The bands at the pop festival are lame, dated, and completely irrelevant just like Hillary and McCain. To be completely fair, John Mellencamp is supporting all Democrats, but seriously, he wouldn’t be caught dead playing a gig with Madonna and Elton John on purpose.

    Indiana, North Carolina, let’s finish this thing. Listen to The Boss and the rest of the rock stars and vote for Barack tomorrow. You wouldn’t have to admit that you went to some lame pop concert on purpose.

  • The Dark Side Must Not Prevail

    This one was just too good not to post. This is a must see Star Wars inspired video featuring my man, Barack.

    Via Dave Winer.

  • My High School Is Making National News!

    I just read an article in today’s Beacon News from Aurora, IL. My high school is the first school in the nation to perform Rent. It’s good to see that even after over fifteen years have past, the creative arts departments at West High are still putting on high quality performances. Check out the article when you have a chance.