Calm your nerves, Social Media World
| Posted: August 6th, 2009 | Author: Inoperante | Filed under: social media | CommentsSo this is what happened to Twitter today, causing trouble the world over. To lighten your mood, post-Twitterpocalypse…
Twitter down, Facebook struggling…
| Posted: August 6th, 2009 | Author: Inoperante | Filed under: social media | Comments
The social media world is in a state of disarray as Twitter remains down and out – by my own reckoning it’s been unobtainable for almost an hour. Surely the longest time in its history? Even in the dark days of 2007?
Either due to their link up or the thousands and thousands of users flocking to it from Twitter, Facebook too has been struggling. They, however, appear to be handling the problems much better. Normal service was resumed in less than 20 minutes for myself, though it does remain unstable to say the least.
Twitter does not know what is wrong, as they freely admit on their status blog, but the top two trending topics were “Tweets Created” and “Twitter Zombies” – I assume referring to the random new Twitter accounts following people (I had six in less than two minutes this morning”) and the random Tweets some accounts are producing (only one of those for me and I found it amusing).
Someone, it seems, has decided to attack and disable Twitter. One commenter on Mashable.com did, however, point out that the DEFCON hackers convention took place in Vegas only recently…
Tags: defcon, facebook, hacking, mashable, twitterTop 7 FREE iPhone Apps: Digging through the App Store
| Posted: June 16th, 2009 | Author: Inoperante | Filed under: social media, technology | Comments50,000+ Apps available!
Apple iPhone 3G
That’s what gets screamed at you when you consider an iPhone or even after you’ve bought one and you are wondering what to do with it. It’s a genuine claim – but how many of them are of any use at all?
Let’s take games out of the equation. If you like games, you can spend your own time digging through them for the ones you like. Instead we’ll focus on the social networking, entertainment and news apps to start with. Which are the good ones, the ones that will actually help you? It can be hard to tell and when you’re asked to spend as much as £5.99 in some cases then you need to know.
I have avoided paying for too many apps just yet, so here’s my top 7 FREE iPhone apps for helping you be more productive and informed.
1) Evernote
This is a brilliant app that keeps you in touch with all the notes you’ll ever make. Install the app on your iPhone and the software on your various laptops and PCs and they stay in sync, permanently. So no matter what you use or where you are, you’re up to date. So what is it really?
Evernote allows you to keep ‘notes’ – whether written in, full web pages, snippets of web pages, PDF files, images..as much as you can think of, you can store them through Evernote. The clever thing is that it is fully searchable. Evernote will search within any file – INCLUDING images.
Give it a try. It’ll really keep you organised on the move.
2) ESPN ScoreCenter
For the sports fans this is an absolute must. ESPN ScoreCenter does what it says on the tin. Gives you sports scores for a wide range of sports. There are many like it, of course, but here’s why I prefer this one over the rest. Firstly, it’s ESPN – you can’t go wrong. Secondly you can save your favourite sports, tournaments and even teams so you never have to look around. And finally, the interface is just beautiful. Nothing wasted, it just works.
I love it.
3) Urbanspoon
There are mixed reviews for this but I don’t know why. The app itself is excellent. It’s content is only as good as its users though – in other words, don’t be lazy, if you know a good restaurant, add it to Urbanspoon!
Yes, it’ll find places to eat based on where you are, providing address, phone number, email, website, map and reviews. What more do you need? You can also use it to find by the type of food you like. Mexican restaurant in Camden? Urbanspoon will tell you where, how much and how to get there – assuming someone has entered it into the database of course…
Ok, it’s not infallible – but it’s the best one I can find and it works all over the world. Best results in the UK and US from what I can work out so far in testing.
4) IM+ Lite
For a free app this is pretty powerful. Combine your MSN/Windows Live, AIM, MySpaceIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, Twitter and GoogleTalk accounts into one and take it with you wherever you go. IM+ Lite is immense.
It’s simple to use, you can see who is signed in on what chat client and it even includes smileys. Happy days for chat addicts!
Oh, you can also get the paid for version (£5.99) which also includes Skype and Facebook.
5) Shazam
You’re in a pub or club. A tune comes on and you love it. But the name of it escapes you. None of your mates can think of it either and it’s SO good you want to download it. How? Shazam.
Shazam will listen, search and report back with the song title, artist and iTunes download link. It’s never been wrong in my experience either. Nuff said? I think so.
6) TV Guide
One for the UK based (or those with Sky access) only I’m afraid. TV Guide.co.uk is just that. A super comprehensive TV guide for all UK digital terrestrial, satellite and cable channels. What I like about this one is that it is accurate and in depth.
It is based on a Now & Next interface, but tap a channel and you get the full day, with a brief synopsis of each programme on. You couldn’t ask for more. From BBC One through Sky Sports to The Adult Channel. Get it!
And finally…because you have to have SOME fun (and it’s topical)…
7) Terminator Salvation (Lite)
I love the Terminator franchise and to get to play this for free is just fun. Download it yourself and blast some cyborgs away. It is only the Lite version, yes, but it might give you a taste for the full paid for version – £2.99 at your nearest iTunes Store.
What are your favourite free (or paid for if you like) apps that make your life easier? I’m dying to build up a decent set on my iPhone.
Tags: aim, espn, evernote, facebook, google talk, icq, im+ lite, iphone, iphone apps, itunes, jabber, msn, music, myspace, shazam, twitter, urbanspoon, windows live, yahoo
