G-Crushing!

Last week Google came out and absolutely crushed their gMail design by changing around the buttons that allow you to send and delete emails by making them completely image less (CSS). They also created the ability to "Move To" which allows you to automatically label a piece of email and archive it in one button. Even though this may not sound like a huge thing, it breaks gMail away from the shackles of images and allows them to be easily 're-skinned' via themes. Google this week, might have one upped itself with something completely crazy for us iPhone users.

For the longest time there was only one way syncing between iCal and Google Calendars unless you relied on third party software. Perhaps a month or so ago, Google released the ability to sync both ways between iCal and gCal but since they were considered network servers, you could not sync them to the iPhone...until now. Yesterday, or today they set up an Exchange (email on its way apparently) service that allows users of gCal and Google contacts to sync with your iPhone. Unfortunately, if you do this you actually erase all of your calendars or contacts. This is fairly crap-tacular if you relied on all your calendars...however you could boot up iCal, use the collaboration tool to set up your exhisting gCal accounts and drag the local calender items to their corresponding gCal calndar. There really is not a huge work around for the contacts however, I have no need to sync my contacts.

Testing the sync over the air was great and pulled down all the needed information from the Google servers. There are a couple hickups, specifically since you can only sync up to 5 calendars and you actually need to log onto the service via your phone to allow the phone to sync even more then one calendar when you first set up the service (I got crazy tripped up on this issue...maybe I should read the full instructions). Besides a couple of minor bugs everything is syncing between gCal, iCal, and my iPhone. Kudos to Google for getting all of this stuff together and making life with calendars just that much easier. Also a huge thanks needs to be given to Apple for creating an amazing phone along with an amazing computing experience.

As you all can see I am totally psyched about this along with my pik of the day which is something I got hooked up with on the accident:

Mobile Lacie Rugged 500 Gig hard drive (Triple interface: F400, F800, USB 2.0)

An Ebook Prize Fight

Due to a ton of craziness this blog has been left a little on the dormant side of life which makes me a super sad individual. Beyond the regret, last year I produced right around 100 quality(?) posts and this year I am going to one up myself and shoot for the elusive 200. So last year basically came to a halt at 150 meaning that this year will come to a screeching halt around the 350 mark. This is an incredibly ambitious idea with the year that lies ahead but I am going to except the challenge and go at head full speed.

On a much greater not, Google has just released a basic ebook reader for the G1 and the iPhone which is a direct poke in the eye to Amazon and their upcoming Kindle 2 announcement on the 9th of February. There have been quite a few leaked pictures of what could be the new kindle. However, late last night several other pictures and an other wise recession proof price ($359) was leaked prior to the Feb 9th date. Yes it is a super sexy thin monster with all the ebooks that you can easily purchase and download from Amazon but is it worth the hefty price tag?

To start right off, yes I believe that the new Kindle or the 'Kindle 2' is completely worth the price of admissions. This is of course a very premature jump up before you wiped action, but for people who are constantly on the move and love to read this is exactly what the doctor ordered. A great example is a 4'X3' bin that I have to lug with me whenever I move because I do not want to give up the books that are inside. With the kindle, all your books are right there with you in a package that weights under 1 pound...astonishing. Anyway getting back on track, both the Google and Amazon service offer two different perspectives on reading.

Google gives you a great ability to read the tomes of yore along with a hefty amount of books that had a limited print availability. This is great if you really get down on the literature with Sense and Sensibility or Faulkner. If you are looking for a recently released title you are otherwise SOL with the Google service and should look towards Amazon's large ebook library. These differences are really the only ones that can be compared since Amazon offers hardware with their service where Google is simply the service. I am super excited to see the new Kindle in action mainly because I have always wanted one but the first iterations got such bad reviews. However, it is too intoxicating to step into a Barnes and Noble and have the new book smell wash over you. Comment up on what you love: Easiness of the ebook revolution or classic paper books?

iPhone 3g Vaja Limited Case Review

Iphones are absolutely saturating the smart phone market and causing some serious gains. The phone itself is a well crafted piece of sexiness and I should know, waiting in line on launch day for a long time always makes one appreciate something much longer. Even though the iPhone is a fairly sweet piece of kit which includes a consistent bit of durability. However, just like all ipods, one should look into purchasing some kind of protective film or case to cover the expensive and shiny investment. If you have any idea about the world of "DAP cases" then you have heard of a company called Vaja.

Vaja makes leather cases from only the most premium dead cows from Argentina. They incorporate great colors and patterns to compliment any digital item (even laptop cases). By knowing this I was one of the first people to jump on their original iPhone 3g Limited Edition Red and Black Case. Since then they have released one in an all brown color and an all white color. The outside leather is called "Floater" which is actually a fairly dumb name for some leather that is very coarse and seems to be very strong. The interior of the case is lined with Caterina leather which is very svelt and quite a contrast from the exterior. This allows the iPhone to have a classy ride encapsuled in something that will not easily scuff like most leather.

Overall this case is amazing. It gives complete access to the top of the case and all the side functions without having to flip open the screen cover (a lot of people do not like this idea however, it works extremelly well and you can flip it open very easily with your thumb). The outside floater leather always seems to look new although I never hold anything else in my front right pocket besides the phone. Before I finish the review you all need to give me a scale on how to rate the items that I do. Who likes the 1-10 or whatever, give me something cool cause if you don't I will come up with something and it will be simply odd. Give me an idea and I will give you some ups on the blog and my twitter. Ciao!