Tretakoff Musings

I am an avid user of eWallet , a great application to store your personal information safely and securely: passwords, credit card info, back accounts...you name it. Unlike my advocacy of "living in the Cloud" for just about every other application and data set, I still think security is a concern: do you really want your passwords stored on a server that can be accidentally obtained or hacked? Nope, and neither do I, so I use eWallet to store it all: it's a Windows/Mac/iPhone/Android app that syncs locally, and stores everything in 256 bit encryption. Problem is, I want to access that data on multiple machines. Sure, I can fire up the iPhone and see it there, but it's more convenient to have it on my other PC's, as well. I experimented with they remote syncing options, but they all required a password to be sent in the clear, something that is a definite no-no. Then I read on their blog that they are releasing a Windows Phone 7 version, and they pointed out tha...

I harbor a particular love of web services that make my life easier. TripIt makes organizing my travel plans a joy. Mozy makes backing up my computer automatic and worry free. And Trillian takes care of my IM and social network monitoring on any platform. Each of these take a need that was handled through a combination of multiple tools and manual toil and elegantly makes them seamless and smooth. So, on my recent marathon business trip that had me traveling for: 7 days 6 cities 5 hotels 4 flights 2 rental cars I truly dreaded the expense report work. Hours of filling out a spreadsheet, stapling receipts to pieces of paper, printing out online receipts...the whole process would numb my brain. On the first day of my trip, I looked at this looming problem and fired up the App Store, in search of a better way. And, good readers, I am delighted to tell you I found one. Expensify is just what the doctor ordered. It works simply and elegantly: you just take a photo of the receipt with your ...

That screenshot from my iPhone to the left is not a simple view of my calendar with multiple colors. Oh no. No, what you are seeing is, in no uncertain terms, a complete revolution. That's right: a revolution. Here's the problem that is being so elegantly solved with that innocent image. The most popular way to see calendar data in multiple applications is the popular iCal standard; iCal essentially works like an RSS feed for calendar data. Why is this interesting? Say you want to see your favorite sports team's schedule: just subscribe to their iCal feed, for example. In my case, I wanted to get my travel plans from the superb TripIt site into my Outlook and iPhone, so I'd have the details without having to have online access. Seems easy, right? Sure, but one thing: Outlook 2003 does not handle iCal feeds. I know, you're saying "Outlook 2003? Um, that's almost 6 years old, and why the heck are you using Outlook for e-mail still?" Valid question. Answe...

It comes as no surprise to regular readers of this sporadically-published blog, but I hate paper. And my hatred is only typified by faxes. In this day and age of scanners, PDF's, and e-mail, it is simply unacceptable to me to have to be enslaved to 1970's technology to such a degree. I frequently draft contracts, turn them into PDF's (complete with my digitized signature), and e-mail them, but the recipient is forced to print the damned thing, sign their names, and fax them back to me. Argh. I've used virtual faxing services before, such as eFax (I actually closed paperwork on buying a house with it), but they don't always meet my occasional needs for the cost they incur. Fortunately, today, I discovered one free alternative: jConnect offers a free receive-only fax account that delivers faxes sent to my virtual number right to my e-mail. Did I mention it's free? That it costs nothing? Nada? Zip? If you have the occasional need to receive faxes, I cannot recomme...

I'm usually one of the first people to simply roll my eyes at the efforts of traditional broadcast media companies to adapt to the new paradigms of online penetration. Witness the debacle of various networks as they hemmed and hawed about putting their shows on iTunes, only to pull them off over perceived pricing disputes. Or watching movie studios and television networks turn on their ardent consumers who would gladly pay to watch their content on alternate devices (iPods, laptops, etc.) by suing them. I have been patently disgusted with the 19th century approaches most have taken in the past, so months ago when I read that NBC and Fox were planning to respond to the constant "piracy" of having their shows show up on YouTube by building an online site dedicated to video streaming, I snorted in derision, and passed it off as another lame attempt to convince less knowledgeable viewers that they truly were "cutting edge." Ok, I can admit it: I was dead wrong. Hulu...

Oooh...I've written about MoFuse before , and the seamless free way you can create a mobile version of your own website/Blog. Looks like they took it up a notch, now offering a free iPhone ready version of the same, automatically available:

Remember Favicons? Or did you ever wonder why some websites have a little icon in the address bar? Those are favicons. Firefox lets you drag them to your bookmarks bar, and it keeps the favicon. If you like a lot of bookmarks, you can edit the bookmark to lose th text, and just keep the favicon. After all, you know that miniature eBay icon is not a symbol of their diminished earnings in the wake of overpaying for Skype or Meg Whitman's retirement: it's the eBay logo. Now, fast forward to the iPhone. With the latest firmware release, you can create "web clips," which are just Apple's way of saying bookmarks, right on the Home screen. Easy to do: visit a website on your iPhone, click the "+" button, and it prompts you if you want to save it as a bookmark or Web Clip. Problem? The icon of the Web Clip is often a mini snapshot of the page. Some sites, like Plaxo Mobile , are smart enough to pass along the magic icon resource, so the Web Clip is the Plaxo log...

Ever wanted to have a version of a page or site that you could browse on a mobile screen, but you weren't into the complex programming it requires for it? Welcome to Mobile for Dummies , courtesy of MoFuse . As Download Squad puts it: MoFuse lets you make a mobile version of pretty much any site. The entire process basically boils down to: 1. Create an account 2. Name your site 3. Enter the RSS feed 4. Tweak if you like And man, does it work. In just seconds, I created a mobile version of this blog! Check it out here on your mobile device. I love it when technology gets reduced to brain-dead simple. If Linux was like this, we'd be Windows-free already.

The headlines scream every day: although Google will deny it, they are clearly taking aim at Microsoft's desktop dominance by releasing free versions of traditionally paid software. Word? Hell, check out Google Docs. Excel? Um, there's this Google Spreadsheet. But now, Google has really upped the ante on Microsoft's monopolistic hold on a segment of desktop software: Google Earth now has a Flight Simulator mode. Yep, it's true. Just download the latest version of Google Earth , fire it up, and hit Ctrl+Alt+A. Voila, you're ready to fly. No, this not just a flythrough: takeoffs, landings, but with Googlicious real maps and terrain. Want to take a spin with a prop pusher? Gotcha. Looking for a racier challenge? How about an F-16 Viper? And yes, it's FREE. Oh, Mac users? Yeah, you get in on Air Google, too. Someone's just gotta add in a real-time audio layer for United's Channel 9, mapped to the location you are flying, and we've got a whole new entry i...

Thanks to a clever link from my new favorite travel site, TripIt , I found SeatGuru.com . Ever wondered whether the seat on the plane you are choosing is any good? Does it fully recline? Are there power outlets for the laptop? Does it suck? No more guesswork: SeatGuru has the answer. A service of the always great TripAdvisor.com , SeatGuru has a hell of a mission statement: "In October 2001 frequent flyer Matthew Daimler launched SeatGuru.com with a single color-coded interactive airplane seating chart. Having realized the vast differences between airline seats, he was determined to build a repository of this useful information and share it with other travelers. Over ten million visitors later, SeatGuru has enjoyed incredible success and has expanded to over 275 airplane seatmaps from over 40 different airlines." With it, I was able to book seats for an upcoming Texas trip on American Airlines, avoiding the "Poor Seats" and "Be Aware" seats with complete c...

I travel a lot for work and fun. I tend to book trips on the individual airline's websites (after I use Farecast and SideStep to find the best deals), so I get the mileage bonuses. The pain of that is that you get all of these different confirmations, emails, and tracking numbers, so it's not easy to consolidate them down to my schedule. I use TravelTracker for the Treo to type it all in, but it's time consuming, and annoying. Enter TripIt . That email confirmation you got? Forward it to plans@tripit.com. In under a minute, you head over to TripIt, and you get this: Want to add more to the trip, like a car rental? Just forward it on, and TripIt adds it to it. Want to track some activities you want to do while on the trip? Use the TripClipper to bookmark it to your trip. I like the service a lot: they focus on ease of use and solving a problem. There is definitely room to improve here, though: syncing with Outlook or Google Calendar, for instance. Consolidating Frequent Flye...

I know, I'm still overdue on two reviews: one for my Jawbone headset, and another for my Treo 680. Suffice it to say, for the moment, I am impressed with the Jawbone, but have reservations on the fit...more will come, I promise. The 680, on the other hand, is more than I hoped for, and is truly a worthy pre-iPhone device, with actually a lot more going for it. I will be sitting down to devote some serious time to share the joy. For the moment, I will instead pass along one of the many surprises I've had since becoming a Treo owner. and it's about my least sexy topic, backups. Palm has released a beta application for backing up most of the essentials for your Treo, automatically, every night, over the air. Yup, like Mozy , the app comes up, contacts a Palm server, and backs up your contacts, Favorites, and more. You do need a significant data plan from your carrier, and you have only vague controls on the timing, but it just works. And, of course, it's free...for now. ...

Just a random post to share, of some great tidbits. - I always like to use this blog to share the new and cool online applications I find. Well, today I've found a blog that does nothing but this: I bring you MakeUseOf , a directory/blog of some of the coolest sites on the web for free things to make your life interesting. Although the visual style is closer to a wiki than a blog, it definitely offers a great, constantly updating collection of some of the more interesting sites that provide useful services to the consumer. Think Original Signal without the (ahem) noise. - Yahoo has released version 4 of Yahoo Widget Engine , promising less memory hogging, and new mini-docking, to allow your widgets to be displayed in an intuitive collection, for neatness. It also introduces a drag and drop upload widget for Flickr , as well as support for just about all old widgets. Seems like a worthy download, and is definitely sucking less of my precious resources. - Speaking of Flickr , they mi...

Did you know the IRS is refunding Excise taxes collected between 2003 & 2006 this year, if you have long distance service? Depending on how many deductions you claim you could get up to $60 back. Hell, $30 is there for the taking. Curiously, this new blog, Nextlust , was what turned me on to it, but they implied it was VOIP users only. My bad.

I've mentioned before that I ditched my landline some time ago in favor of a Voice Over IP (VOIP) line from AT&T, with their CallVantage service. $29.95 a month, with unlimited local and long distance calling, with crystal-clear sound quality. Uses your broadband Internet connection, and comes with almost every feature you can imagine: voicemail, caller ID, privacy time, and dozens more...all included. What I have not mentioned is why I think their service is the best thing going. Yes, Vonage has a few more features I would like, and is $5 less; yes, SunRocket will give you a deal for $199 for 2 years of service. What AT&T gives me is some of the best customer service I could ask for, as well as the best phone quality you can imagine: far better than any landline I ever had. Examples of their service: call them, and speak to a human, 24 hours a day. Try that with any other VOIP provider. Got a problem? They will patiently try to fix it, and, if all else fails, they FedEx y...

I'm one of those "flirt with danger, laugh at hard drive loss" kinda guys. However, with the amount of photos, videos, and receipts I have been accumulating, I've got that little tingle that says I am just 1 Hard Drive crash away from saying, "if only I had backed up..." Yeah, backups. The ultimate unsexy topic. Might as well talk about actuarial tables. Why, oh why, with this age of broadband and cheap hard drive space, is there not an easy way to automatically back up your files? I'm talking, no paying attention, all security handled, personal-slave-that-does-my-bidding backup here. Um. There is. And, oh yes...one more thing? It's free. Yep, say it loud, say it proud: I love Web 2.0. Presenting Mozy, the online backup service, that will back up as much as 2 GB for FREE. Need more than that? How about Mozy Unlimited? $5 bucks a month, and no more concern. Ok, here's the scoop: you download a little program, choose the files you want to backup, ...