Jeremy Zawodny's blog

Switched to NetNewsWire

Well, it's official. Last Friday I switched to NetNewsWire Lite even after I managed to break it. I've found that AmpehtaDesk is a memory hog and I simply don't have the time to deal with upgrading, making sure that AmphetaOutlines works on it, and the various other things I'd like done.

Don't get me wrong, AmphetaDesk is great. I've written about it before and even patched it. It's good stuff. Really. I'll probably tinker with it again after the book is done.

Two good things have happened as a result of the switch. First, I don't read blogs at work anymore. That means I get more work done. Secondly, when I do read blogs I spend less time doing it. NNW, as a desktop app, is simply way faster than AmphetaDesk running on one of my co-located servers. It's the age-old fat client vs. thin client argument.

I just saw Brent's NetNewsWire Pro 1.0b9 announcement and read thru the changelog. He fixed my bug. Woohoo! Thanks Brent. (I actually spent an hour of Friday manually "importing" all 155 RSS feeds from my old subscriptions file.)

I'll be a paying customer for the release vesrsion of NNW Pro when it's out. It's a great product. In the meantime, I'll be sure to exercise the latest NNW Pro beta.

Sometime soon I'll have to describe the blog organization I'm using in NNW.

My iPod Review

So I've had a 20GB Apple iPod for a couple weeks now. I've been using it on and off enough that I feel like I can offer my thoughts on the device.

On the plus side:

• The size and weight are very good. It's a little heavier than my Walkman but almost identical in size.
• Synchronization with the TiBook is great. FireWire is sooo much faster than USB.
• Using iSync I have a good backup of my contacts, schedule, and todo list.
• Battery life seems quite good so far.
• It has a switch to disable all the controls for those times when you don't want to accidentally turn it on/of/whatever. Even the "remote" has one. That blew me away.
• The sound quality is excellent.
• It's very easy to use. It Just Works.

On the negative side:

• You cannot change the volume without using the supplied remote. Apple really needs to add software volume control. The remote is cool, but it's really not necessary otherwise (most of the time). (See comments.)
• The touch-based scroll wheel control works in the opposite direction from what I'd expect. I'd like an option to reverse the direction of it. (This is probably related to be being partly left-handed.)

The bottom line: It's a great device. I'll be giving my old Diamond Nomad Jukebox (6GB) to Kasia when she visits California next week. To paraphrase Ferris Beuller: if you have the means, I highly recommend it.

Search Engine Watch Awards

Hmm.

The Search Engine Watch Awards recognize outstanding achievements in web searching. The voting period for the 2002 awards has now opened, and we encourage you to cast your votes.

I wonder who's gonna win and who will not.

Oh, wait. No I don't.