So what is Twitter? Well if you’ve been living under a rock, Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service created by Jack Dorsey. Twitter asks this simple question: “What are you doing?” By responding with a 140 character limit text response (which can be sent from your cell phone, instant messaging or the web), users are able to connect to other people (followers) and basically let everyone know (or read all about) the mundane actions of their daily lives.

Sounds fun, huh? I didn’t realize that so many people were voyeurs in a sense, or enjoyed being exhibitionists (although I have been guilty of a few status updates on Facebook). Which brings me to this hilarious video my friend showed me on YouTube, from “Super News!” on current.com (hilarious site… be sure to check it out). “Twouble with Twitters” pokes fun at all the Twitters out there and makes wonder if this is truly how our generation (e.g. the 20-somethings) communicates now: “By detached, bite-sized, yippity-yap”. And brings up a point: what ever happened to picking up the phone and calling your friends, instead of just randomly shouting what you’re doing into the “darkness” hoping that someone’s listening?

Hopefully I haven’t summoned the Fail Whale (then again, maybe that would be a good thing). That Twitter bird with it’s blank eyes and hypnotic voice is kind of freaky…

I noticed a prompt to connect to a live chat with a technician. I figured that I didn’t want to be stuck on the phone for hours like I have been with other company’s customer service departments. I was connected with a technician within 5 minutes. After explaining the problem he suggested opening a remote connection so that he can try to figure out the issue and solution first hand. After assuring me that none of my personal files would be tampered with, I gave him the a-okay and he took control of my computer.

Now I knew that this type of technology was available, but I didn’t realize that consumer software companies were actually making use of it. So I quickly went to the kitchen, got a snack and sat back while “Selvakumar” tried to find the glitch in my Norton software (seeing my computer have a “mind of its own” was cool). After getting the same error message I did, and trying to repair the 2.0 version of Norton 360 that I had, he offered to install Norton 360 3.0 for free for me, since it would most likely solve the weird issue I was having with my version.

Of course I said yes, and he even restarted my computer and installed the program for me.  After re-opening the chat window,  he gave me a “welcome back” message, asked if there was anything else, that I’d probably be contacted by email in regards to completing a survey about the support I just had and bid me a good day.  Now Norton is working perfectly (well for now at least) and I couldn’t be more grateful for the help of the technician.

Kudos to Symantec! You have one happy customer right here.

I got the biggest stress off of my chest on Thursday: I got myself a laptop for school, because God knows I’ll be hopeless without it. I initially wanted to invest in a MacBook Pro. But after careful consideration I thought that all that money the package would cost me was a bit too rich for my blood. The MacBook Pro is currently retailing at $2300 at the Apple Store (after my student discount), and they also have a free iPod ($419 for the Touch I wanted) + free Canon printer (about $100) promotion. Plus, I wanted to jump on the Adobe Creative Suite software promotion ($449 for Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign and Fireworks), get Apple Care ($279 for students) “just in case” and up the RAM in the computer to 4GB. So before all the mail-in-rebates I was looking at close to $4500. Did I really want to max out my credit cards and I haven’t even paid my tuition for school yet? Especially since there are rumours that there’s going to be a huge MacBook Pro update in the fall? No. So I went to Future Shop and bought a PC.

And a sexy PC laptop it is. Not as sleek as the MBP, but boy is this thing shiny! I went with HP, since I’ve had positive experiences with them in the past (all three of my last computers were HPs). I got the Hewlett Packard Pavilion DV9934CA. I wanted to stay away from the 17″ laptops since they were “too big” for all the travelling back and forth I’ll be doing, but this model had the best specs for the best price ($1149).

• 320GB hard drive
• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor
• 4GB RAM
• 8X DVD+/-R/RW DL with LightScribe
• 17″ screen
• Integrated Webcam
• Integrated WiFi and Bluetooth
• NVIDIA GeForce 8400M graphic video card with 256 dedicated memory
• Lots of inputs including HDMI, SD, S-video, and 4 USBs

Not bad if I do say so myself. This is the first laptop I ever owned. So now I can look cool and head to Starbucks, sit down and publicly write on my laptop like the rest of people! It’s also the first time I’ll be using Windows Vista. At first I was kind of wary because of all the issues I’ve heard of others having with it, but it’s not too bad so far (but all those “are you sure” security authorization questions get kind of annoying after a while). It took about 2 hours so set up and create the Windows Vista recovery discs and a charge lasts about 2.5 hours. The video quality is great though… watching Flash Point on the 17″ screen looked great.

Future Shop was having a printer promotion as well, so I got a new HP printer/scanner/copier for $10 with the purchase of my laptop (anyone want to buy an older 990cxi printer? ) I stood my ground and stayed away from the $300 product service plan (those commission-based associates can be very pushy). Now all I need is to find a case/sleeve that fits it right (I think I’ll be creative and make my own). I just wish it would fit comfortably in the new Enyce bag I bought at Winners a couple days ago!

Sprout is a quick and easy way for beginner and pro users to create living content including, websites, banners, videos, music, photos, RSS feeds, calendars and more.

After I initially Googled the Sprout site, I signed up to be on the “private beta” list, and created a small group of media player-type sprouts. Today, Sprout is officially in “open beta”, so if you feel inclined to test your multimedia design prowess, give it a shot.

I also noticed today that Sprout featured two of the sprouts I created: one for Erykah Badu’s new album (on the homepage) and one for Sheryl Crow’s latest album (on the “what is sprout” page under “promotional”)! Sprout is definitely a great way to get your ‘widget’ out there and spread virally on the web. A very effective promotional tool.

Of course I do feel a bit sad that a few of my Flash/Actionscript skills are becoming a tad obsolete since now everyone from novice to pro can create amazing sprouts so easily, but who am I to complain? Less work = a more happy me.

With the public release of Sprout Beta, there are a lot of cool features to aid in the creation of sprouts: pre-built templates, dozens of components, and additional properties. Kudos to Sprout and their great team for creating a great open-source product that’s accessible to everyone!

This screen grab was taken at 4:18pm (click for larger version):

And just over 10 minutes later:

I’ve never seen such a demand for item since the Tickle-Me-Elmo. I for one wasn’t about to wake up at the crack of dawn this morning in the cold to head to Future Shop and purchase one in store. All the people who managed to get one before the holidays are pretty lucky because this is one hot item (two years running). It sucks when many of these people buying up all these Wii’s are scalpers trying to make a quick buck from the high demand of this product, while there are eager children waiting on them as Christmas gifts.

Other online retailers that had the Wii in stock at various times today: Costco and Best Buy.

Next online rush: Wii Fit

[The iPod Touch] features built-in Wi-Fi networking and a revolutionary multi-touch user interface—first introduced on iPhone—that makes it easy to find all of your music, video, and other digital content and enjoy it on the gorgeous widescreen display on iPod touch. The multi-touch interface uses pioneering new software to present the perfect user interface for Safari, Apple’s YouTube application, and the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store—all of which come with iPod touch. An unbelievable 8mm thin, iPod touch features up to 22 hours of audio playback and up to five hours of video playback. Available later this month, iPod touch comes in 8GB and 16GB models for $299 and $399, respectively.

It’s a damn good thing I didn’t waste my money buying the original iPods/Nanos, because this one is just so sexy!

*starts putting coins in piggy bank to pay for iPod Touch*

Click here for the guided tour of the iPod Touch from Apple.

Perhaps I’ll wait a few months after the mob calms down when it’s released north of the border, though.

Ever since Steve Jobs’ Macworld Keynote back in January, tech-savvy (and band-wagoners) have been itching to get their hands on the much-awaited iPhone: Apple’s device that’s an iPod, a phone, an Internet mobile communicator in one. This sure is one sexy phone.

Now, unless you have been living under a rock, there is a feeding frenzy that will occur in less than 24 hours. A mass techsteria like the world has never seen. Starting tomorrow at 6pm, Americans who have been camping outside Apple and AT&T stores since the beginning of the week will be able to purchase the iPhone. I can’t even image the hysteria that will ensue. And I thought Boxing Day was bad. I’ll be on the lookout for ‘brawls break out in iPhone lineup’ stories in the news tomorrow. Check out this listing on Craigslist for a “line-waiter” position. And another one asking for help. Wow… this is just a few of many similar listings. People are willing to ask for and even willing to pay up to the price of an iPhone ($500) just for a spot in line.

Will I purchase one when it comes to Canada through Rogers Wireless? Probably not at first. I just bought a Nokia 6265i from Telus last week (they offered me an amazing monthly plan, and all I had to do was sign 2 years of my life away to get the phone for $49.99), so the iPhone would probably have to wait until after that (or until I find an extra $500 lying around). Hell… I don’t even have an iPod yet.

The iPhone does look amazing though. I think it will live up to the hype (unless escalating complaints about AT&T’s network arise). The most intriguing feature I’m looking forward to though is the multi-touch display (I hope they’ll give away free screen wipes). For a quick rundown on those still wondering what the iPhone is, here’s a quick rundown from apple.com:

iPhone introduces an entirely new user interface based on a revolutionary multi-touch display and pioneering new software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers. iPhone combines three products into one small and lightweight handheld device—a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod®, and the Internet in your pocket with best-ever applications on a mobile phone for email, web browsing and maps. iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

If you want more in depth coverage on the features of the iPhone, check out the Apple site. I also really like that “slide to unlock” feature. You don’t know how many times my old cell phone took pictures of the inside of my bag…

Personally, I think the iPhone is going to transform the mobile telephone industry, the same way the iPod affected the record industry. It sucks that now I probably can’t watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation without critiquing a technological device and saying “the iPhone is so much better than that”.

To cheer up all the people who cannot purchase an iPhone because they don’t live in the U.S., or would rather use the $500 for more constructive means, here’s a funny sketch from MadTV that pokes fun at Steve Jobs’ Apple technology (along with obvious U.S. political satire):