Namechk

If you're like me, and you sign up for untold numbers of online services, you could definitely use a tool like Namechk.

In classic Web 2.0 fashion, it's dropped a couple of letters from its name, but it does exactly what you think it does.

Just type in your preferred username, and it checks 84 different online services, sites, and communities to see if that name is available.


It works well as far as I'm concerned, although I don't remember signing up for Squidoo. Is it possible there is another myklbee out there?

Credit to WebWare, which is apparently now a CNET property. Who knew?

Google Voice/GrandCentral

So when Grand Central first hit, of course I signed up for an invite. I got it, and never logged in. As we all know, Google bought it, and who knew. Was it gonna go the way of Dodgeball (Rest in Peace, yo), or would it get the Writely treatment?

Well, let me tell you. Google has now reopened it as Google Voice. I immediately went into the ol' email archives and dusted off that invite. It still worked, so signed up I did. Now, for the last two or three weeks, I've been logging in each day to this:


I'm not patient person...

We'll Do it Live! [First Thoughts About Chrome]

Just downloaded and installed Chrome... the whole process took under 2 minutes, including importing my bookmarks. So far it's crazy fast, super cool and brings a tear to my eye. It feels like the future. there are several obvious bugs (which I intend to happily report, if I can find where) but there are just as many little touches that make the whole experience really pop.

Take this for example:

It's little, but it grays out the nonsense of the URL and only gives you the core. I like that. 

I don't really see a bookmark manager of any kind at first glance, and I don't like that double clicking in the tab bar doesn't pull a new tab. Other than that, I have faith that my problems, and what additions I'm looking for will be fixed or fulfilled to satisfaction in the future.

My first step is trying to use it for anything personal that I do during business hours (chat, email, Reader, etc...) as I can't use it for work sites (no IE only support)

More to come, count on it. 

More Chrome Talk

I imaging you'll be hearing a lot about Chrome from me as I'm getting super excited about it. Over at Download Squad, they have another discussion of Chrome and what it truly means. I encourage anyone to check it out.

Why Wasn't I Told About This?

http://www.reddit.com/r/bacon/

Bippity Boppity...  Bacon

Making the Switch: Trillian to Meebo (Part 2: The Aftermath)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about switching from Trillian to Meebo. It's taken a little longer than I expected to truly test drive the web based multi-chat client, largely due to the fact that I don't do a lot of "chatting" these days. I pushed through however. I forced myself load it up while I was working, or just catching up on Reader. So was Meebo everything I thought it would be? Was it everything it should be? The answers are yes... and no... I was expecting nothing more than an adequate web based chat client that could take the place of Trillian Pro and in that sense I was not disappointed. Meebo offers few features, but what it does, it does well. The individual chat windows are able to be moved around a virtual desktop to your liking which I most certainly appreciate. The color scheme is customizable which while not being exceptionally functional, is also a big selling point for me and would be for any other people that are distracted if a scheme doesn't flow well. In fact the only real downside to Meebo is something of a paradox. It's missing some features that would be extremely welcome but on the flipside, it's a totally free web app barely hindered by its minimal ad placement. Meebo's fine for me and I've completely uninstalled Trillian, but for IM junkies, it might seem a little gimped. All I'll say is that the way to get more features and functionality is to use it. Advertising revenue allows the development of everything that's currently missing and these are the types of sacrifices we have to make for the sake of the cloud.

Give it a shot. If it's not for you, use it anyway and quit complaining, when was the last time you developed anything? At the very least, check out the map and prepare for assimilation.

Google Sucks Me Into Chrome With Unthinkably Adorable Comic

I must say I'm more than a little intrigued by Google Chrome. But to be honest, it seems less like a competitor for Firefox or IE and more like the opening shots of a full on war on Windows. Five years from now, a PC will need nothing more than file access and a browser, I think Google has foreseen this as well and are preparing for battle.

Google has put the Chrome guide into a (surprisingly readable) comic available here.

*As if the gods themselves were speaking to me, Firefox inexplicably crashed while I was writing this without so much as an error message. So, I had to rewrite this entire thing because I didn't save a draft which is a shame because the first post I wrote just so happened to be the greatest blog post in the world.... This unfortunately, isn't the greatest blog post in the world, this is just a tribute.