Comments for Total BS http://www.briansim.com/blog version 5.1, surround sound edition Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:24:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 Comment on What are you normal people doing with Blackberries? by CML http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/358175339/ CML Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:15:10 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2008/03/11/what-are-you-normal-people-doing-with-blackberries/#comment-619 Above, I realize now that I said two things, and then listed three.... oops Above, I realize now that I said two things, and then listed three…. oops

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2008/03/11/what-are-you-normal-people-doing-with-blackberries/#comment-619 Comment on What are you normal people doing with Blackberries? by CML http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/358175340/ CML Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:13:45 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2008/03/11/what-are-you-normal-people-doing-with-blackberries/#comment-618 I think you're underestimating the benefit to "normal" people, specifically at least small business owners, who need their emails pushed to them. As a small business owner myself, a large part of my job is emailing clients back and forth. Not only does responding to clients faster, allow me to book jobs I wouldn't have booked, and retain clients I might not have otherwise retained, it allows me to get out of the office and work from my bicycle, or from a bench in Rittenhouse square. Being my own boss, and having a blackberry, means that I don't need to have an ass in seat mentality in order to work. This doesn't even take into consideration how helpful it is when I'm traveling by train and trying to do work, or using the device as a modem with my laptop. That said, why the blackberry over the iphone? Two big things : 1. Insurance, for five dollars a month my Blackberry is insured by T-Mobile. AT&T will not insure the iPhone 2. Capability to use it as a modem. 3. Actual buttons. I hate that damn touch screen keyboard. Why the 12-year-old down the block from my house has one? My guess is he's using it to try and score an hj from his middle school girlfriend. More power to him. I think you’re underestimating the benefit to “normal” people, specifically at least small business owners, who need their emails pushed to them.

As a small business owner myself, a large part of my job is emailing clients back and forth. Not only does responding to clients faster, allow me to book jobs I wouldn’t have booked, and retain clients I might not have otherwise retained, it allows me to get out of the office and work from my bicycle, or from a bench in Rittenhouse square.

Being my own boss, and having a blackberry, means that I don’t need to have an ass in seat mentality in order to work.

This doesn’t even take into consideration how helpful it is when I’m traveling by train and trying to do work, or using the device as a modem with my laptop.

That said, why the blackberry over the iphone? Two big things :
1. Insurance, for five dollars a month my Blackberry is insured by T-Mobile. AT&T will not insure the iPhone
2. Capability to use it as a modem.
3. Actual buttons. I hate that damn touch screen keyboard.

Why the 12-year-old down the block from my house has one? My guess is he’s using it to try and score an hj from his middle school girlfriend. More power to him.

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2008/03/11/what-are-you-normal-people-doing-with-blackberries/#comment-618 Comment on ESPN’s highlighted fan comments - WTF? by Suzannale http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/262424737/ Suzannale Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:22:02 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/11/04/espns-highlighted-fan-comments-wtf/#comment-397 nice work, dude nice work, dude

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/11/04/espns-highlighted-fan-comments-wtf/#comment-397 Comment on Car review #1: Toyota Scion xB by Alex Tre http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715042/ Alex Tre Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:49:06 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2008/01/25/car-review-1/#comment-353 The gas card is pretty easy. Just swipe, enter the PIN, pump, and put the card back. (The PIN is printed next to the fuel-card holder, in case you forget.) The holder keeps the fuel card from walking away. Sounds like it did its job! I agree about the boxy Scion xB. I actually like the funky shape, but it drives, well, like a box. The gas card is pretty easy. Just swipe, enter the PIN, pump, and put the card back. (The PIN is printed next to the fuel-card holder, in case you forget.) The holder keeps the fuel card from walking away. Sounds like it did its job!

I agree about the boxy Scion xB. I actually like the funky shape, but it drives, well, like a box.

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2008/01/25/car-review-1/#comment-353 Comment on Closed messaging revisited by Brian http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715043/ Brian Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:50:35 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/10/03/closed-messaging-revisited/#comment-103 > Best of all, my social network now becomes a great white-list filter to avoid spam. Yes. It brings the standard address book to life, which is where Plaxo sort of seems like it's going. > Problem with email though, is it’s extremely boring Which is fine, because the messaging component is only one feature within the larger SNS environment - a purely utilitarian feature. So I guess that would be another reason for email providers to partner, in order to improve the quality, as well as quantity, of engagement. > Best of all, my social network now becomes a great white-list filter to avoid spam.

Yes. It brings the standard address book to life, which is where Plaxo sort of seems like it’s going.

> Problem with email though, is it’s extremely boring

Which is fine, because the messaging component is only one feature within the larger SNS environment - a purely utilitarian feature. So I guess that would be another reason for email providers to partner, in order to improve the quality, as well as quantity, of engagement.

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/10/03/closed-messaging-revisited/#comment-103 Comment on Closed messaging revisited by S. Srinivasan http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715044/ S. Srinivasan Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:40:07 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/10/03/closed-messaging-revisited/#comment-102 Another nice thing about eMail apart from its external communications, and archival, is that you can have multiple identities/profiles one for each of your life, and all integrated within one InBox. Actually it's only aggregated, rather than integrated. Best of all, my social network now becomes a great white-list filter to avoid spam. Problem with email though, is it's extremely boring. The entire metaphor is folder/information centric, and not people centric - and definitely not me-centric. Another nice thing about eMail apart from its external communications, and archival, is that you can have multiple identities/profiles one for each of your life, and all integrated within one InBox. Actually it’s only aggregated, rather than integrated. Best of all, my social network now becomes a great white-list filter to avoid spam.

Problem with email though, is it’s extremely boring. The entire metaphor is folder/information centric, and not people centric - and definitely not me-centric.

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/10/03/closed-messaging-revisited/#comment-102 Comment on I need to change time zones by S. Srinivasan http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715045/ S. Srinivasan Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:29:45 +0000 http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/08/23/i-need-to-change-time-zones/#comment-101 Dry cereal works best for a late night snack. enjoy... Dry cereal works best for a late night snack. enjoy…

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/08/23/i-need-to-change-time-zones/#comment-101 Comment on Closed messaging - a step back for an open-source world by Total BS » Blog Archive » Closed messaging revisited http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715046/ Total BS » Blog Archive » Closed messaging revisited Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:05:08 +0000 http://briansim.com/blog/?p=3#comment-95 [...] way back in the day, I noted that closed messaging was retarded and it’d make more sense for an SNS to [...] [...] way back in the day, I noted that closed messaging was retarded and it’d make more sense for an SNS to [...]

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/05/02/closed-messaging-a-step-back-for-an-open-source-world/#comment-95 Comment on i don’t get truemors by Ted http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715047/ Ted Thu, 17 May 2007 18:41:26 +0000 http://briansim.com/blog/2007/05/15/i-dont-get-truemors/#comment-7 ...and so it is done. …and so it is done.

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/05/15/i-dont-get-truemors/#comment-7 Comment on Yahoo music lyrics is teh suck by BS http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/CommentsForTotalBS/~3/228715048/ BS Fri, 11 May 2007 16:24:48 +0000 http://briansim.com/blog/2007/05/07/yahoo-music-lyrics-is-teh-suck/#comment-6 oh, i know it wasn't yahoo's restriction. it's more of a harangue on the entertainment industry's misguided attempts at control. the problem i have with the implementation is it's not user-friendly and the restrictions seem inane, especially compared to what you can do with what's currently available. It's not as if lyrics are difficult to find, although i realize that lyrics sites are generally ad-ridden, so there's a tradeoff. anyway, i'm a ymj subscriber, so i'm curious to see how you guys implement it into the software. i think that's an area where simple viewing will be useful. it would at least bring usage of the software more to the forefront. oh, i know it wasn’t yahoo’s restriction. it’s more of a harangue on the entertainment industry’s misguided attempts at control. the problem i have with the implementation is it’s not user-friendly and the restrictions seem inane, especially compared to what you can do with what’s currently available. It’s not as if lyrics are difficult to find, although i realize that lyrics sites are generally ad-ridden, so there’s a tradeoff.

anyway, i’m a ymj subscriber, so i’m curious to see how you guys implement it into the software. i think that’s an area where simple viewing will be useful. it would at least bring usage of the software more to the forefront.

]]> http://www.briansim.com/blog/2007/05/07/yahoo-music-lyrics-is-teh-suck/#comment-6