1.  It’s beta.

2. It’s beta.

3.  Ok, really, it’s beta!  Then entire purpose of this machine is to find out what sucks, report it to Google, get updates, report more bugs, ad infinitum.

For those of you that haven’t read another review and want the specs on this machine, go here (them come back!).  To me they don’t matter much and this is why…

This computer is about the OS, not the damn hardware. Branded hardware will be better.  It just will, I promise.

I opened the case and I was greeted with a Chrome logo before I could get the screen fully opened.  As instructed, I “gently” pressed the power button, went through 4 quick steps (including a self-portrait) and was logged in using my Gmail credentials.   Without any annoying prompts or fuss all of my Chrome options automatically synced with the computer.  I was at an immediate advantage since I use Chrome as my primary browser — all of my plugins, bookmarks, options and history were included.  No annyoing login prompts for Gmail, Google Docs or any other Google services.  One of the coolest features of this is that I could go login to any other computer running ChromeOS with my Gmail credentials and it would do the same thing.  ANY ChromeOS is YOUR OS.  Some people may be put off by this ubiqutious mesh of all your data from any location but what you should keep in mind is that (best estimate) 95% of the data you access is “in the cloud” and not stored on the actual laptop anyway.  This thing only has a 16GB SSD inside.  Sure, lots of room for plenty of personal information, but from everything I’ve seen, it’s purpose is simply to keep only what is needed to run the OS on the laptop.  Your security really goes as far as how secure your password is and how much you trust Google with your data.

ChromeOS is a different experience.  You’ll actually feel right at home if you have already used the Chrome browser, but if not, you might be in for a rude awakening.  There is no Start button akin to Windows nor a comforting Apple logo in the top left corner.  The browser is the OS and the OS is the browser.  Everything is accessed from a single interface – no desktop, no icons, no wallpaper.    You start with one tab open.  With the unibar you can type in a web address, search term or you can use it to access a myriad of other features using special keywords that let to get into guts of the OS and tweak features.  So far, the available apps are lackluster but if Android Market has been any mark of  future success these will improve  in quality and in number quickly as well.  Do I have to remind you this is all still in beta?!

So far, I’ve had a lot of fun using the unit.  My son spent a large amount of time watching episodes of the Simpsons in Flash and he found it perfectly acceptable.  I can keep the unit on the coffe table as a general purpose machine.  It awakes from sleep faster than you can get the screen open so anytime you feel like reading a book or checking the weather, it’s right there.  The battery lasts around 10 hours and I have found I can use it for almost any task.  I can even get an ssh connection on a different screen and use a predefined key on the keyboard to switch between the shell and the OS.  Outside of video/picture editing and gaming — the latter I don’t do on a computer anyway — I really can see a slighly more powerful version of this computer with a release version OS as something I would use as a primary computer.  Becuase of my job, I’ll likely need a full desktop OS for some time but when I’m not working  I can chat, surf, word process, do spreadsheets, listen to music, watch streaming movies/tv/videos and 99% of the other tasks I do on a computer these days, all on a laptop expected to cost under $400.  Hardware is overrated and specs mean shit for almost all computer users.  My grandma doesn’t care how fast her CPU is or if her video card drivers are up-to-date, she just wants to look at pictures of her grandkids or videos on YouTube with as little hassle as possible.  Most people do I think.

I see a bright future for this new type of ubiquitous computing.  Imagine it: one login, any computer, anywhere and you have instant access to all of your everything.  That last sentence screams SECURITY ISSUES but I also have (a probably misguded) trust in the security systems that will be in place by the time this type of scenario actually is a reality.  Whatever the real future, from my perspective, it’s off to an exciting start.

One of the things I like about OS X is the astounding number of quality applications that perform one task but perform that task in an sleek, easy to configure and easy to learn way. Some of my favorites are MailPlane, Things and 1Password. In my line of work 1Password had become indespensible.

For those of you not familiar with the app, 1Password manages all of your passwords and sensitive data for your online accounts, can keep track of all of your software serial numbers and lets you store  post-it style secure notes.  The interface is very slick and the data is kept in a virtual vault that you open  with a master password.  Once you have unlocked your vault, all of your usernames and passwords are automatically filled when you go to web pages that require login.  Because username and password fields are auto-filled you can generate very long and complex passwords for your online accounts that you never have to remember.  For example, I use a randomly generated, 16-character password for my Facebook account that consists of numbers, letters (upper and lower-case) and special characters yet I have no idea what it is.  A password of that strength and complexity is going to be next to impossible to crack.  There are only two downsides to the application — the fact that it is Mac ONLY and that comes with a $39.95 price tag. For a mixed OS user like me the Mac-only compatibility is a frustrating issue (but I’m happy to pay for a good product).

Over the past few months, buzz has been growing around a new password management application call LastPass so I thought I would check it out.  The things that drew me to LastPass initially were the multiple-OS support and compatibility with Chrome, Firefox, Safari as well as Internet Explorer.  The next attention getter was that it was completely free.  I spent a little over an hour yesterday setting up and reading all of the details about LastPass and I think 1Password is going to have to take a graceful bow and exit stage right.  This is why…

LastPass is free.  LastPass does everything 1Password does.  LastPass can be intergrated with every major browser.  LastPass works on Windows, OS X and Linux. Your passwords are stored on their servers and locally in an encrypted “vault” and only your master password can be used to open the vault.  Even if someone somehow stole your vault files from LastPass.com’s servers or took your laptop your data would be safe.  Lastpass.com cannot read your vault file stored on their server. I repeat, Lastpass.com cannot read the passwords or usernames in your vault file.  As more and more of our data is stored at 3rd party locations it is vital that the our personal privacy is respected and that even if their servers were breached our data would remain safe.

The average person selects passwords that are easy for them to remember and therefore are generally too short, easy to guess and insecure.  By using an application like LastPass (or even 1Password if you prefer) you can increase your online security and privacy by an exponential amount.  You just have to remember one password, it’s easy to install, it syncs across computers and all major browsers.  What else could you want?  Just do download it and start using it.  You won’t regret it.

At home I use Linux and Windows, at work I use a Mac.  I enjoy aspects of all three OS’s but for a while Mac’s have had a killer app that was not available on any other OS.  This applications biggest asset was what it didn’t do — Get in the way!

The app is called Growl and it provides useful notifications only from applications you want to monitor.  For example if you are chatting with someone and reading an intriguing article from Wired but your browser is taking up the entire screen.  With Growl there is no need to flip back and forth between the browser and the IM client, instead Growl pops up a small, non-obtrusive “bubble” with the message from your friend which “floats” there for a few seconds, then goes away.  Growl works with a grocery list of applications to display useful information you may want to be aware of like completed downloads, new IM’s, new e-mails and so many other things.  If you want tend to the notification you can click on the bubble and the appropriate application will be made active, if not, it will just fade away after a few seconds.

For you Linux users out there an application with the same idea in mind is available called Mumbles.  It works with the Gnome desktop and can be installed via a source or a .deb package.  The range of supported applications is not as vast but the ones that matter to me work out of the box — Pidgin, Firefox and Thunderbird.  More support is coming and what is available is already a must-have.

Finally, for you Windows users an app called Snarl is available.  The current issue with Snarl is application support.  I believe it’s on its way to being a great app — just give it a few months.  It does have a developers guide available for anyone who wants to add Snarl functionality into their existing application.

While all three apps serve the same purpose Growl is by far the pack leader.  It has been around the longest and provide support for tons of applications. (Both of the others are admitted attempts to bring “Growl” functionality to the respective OS.) If you are on the computer even half as much as I am I can assure you that once you use these apps you will wonder why someone didn’t think of this a long time ago.  Don’t just take my word for it, download the apps and give them a test run!

Growl – http://growl.info/

Mumble – http://www.mumbles-project.org/

Snarl -  http://www.fullphat.net

vs.

One of the most popular bloggers on the internet, John Chow, has a copy-cat…err, copy cow.

JohnCow.com is an inventive parody of JohnChow.com that is making quite a name for itself! I have been keeping up with the JohnCow.com since its inception and have on more than one occasion found myself laughing out loud (and at the same time wishing I had thought of the idea first.) The site blends parody posts and serious posts seamlessly.

John Chow himself has endorsed the effort and has even helped them a bit along the way.

I recommend you give the site a read. It has been up for just over a month and is averaging 4000+ page views per day. (With a little help from 2, count ‘em, 2 Digg.com front page articles).

Moo knows… I might even try and write for them.

As you watch, think of what technologies like this could bring to your daily life then think, “If we can do this now, what will it be like in 10 years.” Leave me your thoughts on the future of computing in the comments. I will make a post out of them. For more information check out the official Microsoft page.

This is a short “intro”:

This is an “in-depth” overview that took place on the Microsoft campus.

Audio Dementia is revolutionary in the audio mixing industry because it is the first spatial audio mixer. This means all the user has to do is move an icon to the left and the track will be panned to the left. If the user wants more volume on a track all the user has to do is bring it closer to the center of the stage. It is just that easy.

Now you can have the newest innovative audio mixing software package on your PC or Laptop! Audio Dementia will allow you to fully organize, record, mix, and perform your own music at a professional level, even if you are an amateur!

Here are the main features:

• Easy-to-use visual interface
• 5.1 Surround Sound mode
• Stereo mode
• Unlimited track capability
• Exports .wav, .aiff, and .au file formats
• Records and plays music exclusively as uncompressed .wav
• VST plug-ins capability
• Real time mixing
• Multiple selections of volume control
• Easy drag and drop addition of tracks
• Infinite track loops

Give the software a try. The surround sound interface is extremely easy to use and because it is a spatial mixer, you adjust everything with a few clicks of the mouse. Even an audio virgin like me had no trouble using it.

It’s really cool, easy to use, and WAY cheaper than most professional audio editing software on the market. You can download the demo here.

www.audiodementia.com

Agloco is another iteration of the get-paid-to-surf model that was pioneered during the dot com boom by AllAdvantage. AllAdvantage failed miserably; Agloco is backed by the same team that started AllAdvantage.

This is what Agloco has to say about you getting paid:

• Members earn a monthly share of the AGLOCO revenue based on the use of the AGLOCO Viewbarâ„¢ that month. (Note from jemmille: The viewbar isn’t even available yet!)

• Members earn part of the company based on the use of the AGLOCO Viewbarâ„¢ that month (currently a maximum of five hours are rewarded).

• Members who use our referral system to help build the AGLOCO network will earn more. (AGLOCO only has significant value as a large network and people who help build it should be rewarded. – We also feel that the early users who told friends about YouTube or MySpace or even Google probably deserved something too, but no referral system was available to record their work).

• Members will also get a share of any commissions AGLOCO gets when a Member purchases a product or service from an AGLOCO Sponsor company.

TradersNarrative.com is running a great article that gives you the lowdown on the Agloco “pay-to-surf” program. I would highly recommend reading this before you decide to sign up. If you still choose to use Agloco, I wish you the best of luck when it comes to actually ever seeing a penny for your “work”.

The bottom line is quite simple — the program they tote is not representative of the program you recieve.

Enter Azoolge Ads. You make all the decisions. You pick all aspect of the ads you show. Size, placement, and type are all up to you.  One of the best features of Azoolge is that once you are accepted you are assigned a Affiliate Manager to oversee your account. They contact you personally, collect demographic and readership data for your site and the make recommendations personalized to your site.  You can contact your affiliate manager via phone, email, or IM. Having someone to talk to anytime you have a problem makes all the difference in the world.

I was accepted into the Azoogle Ads affiliate program so you might notice a few changes in the type of ads on the page. I try to keep the ads to a minimum but I need to pay for bandwidth, etc.  Show your support for jemmille.com buy trying out some of my advertisers. (and Digging and Stumbling)

If you would like to try Azoogle Ads for yourself, click here to apply.

I came across The Thinking Blog while perusing through members of the online community, MyBlogLog (MBL).  Icons are one of the first things you notice when viewing MBL members and I came across this one:

Needless to say, it grabbed my attention. I know that viewing a blog simply because the icon is of a gorgeous girl is a little piggish but I couldn’t help myself. If the intention of the icon was to grab a persons attention, it worked.

I was expecting to see an average blog that did a good job of getting people to visit but had no long term plan on keeping visitors coming back – I was sorely mistaken. The site is exploding with great information.

You can find posts on most any topic that interests you, which may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but you will find that it is easy to navigate. Topics range from computers and technology to nature and sports. The posts are well written and informative. I have found myself spending upwards of an hour or more just surfing through the archives. The site is well laid out and kind to the eye. Everything is custom and well designed.

Give The Thinking Blog a visit. I recommend starting with these articles – a couple of my favorites:

Videos of the Future, From the Past and Blog With Honor

www.thethinkingblog.com

“Double Your Money – How I found one penny and turned it into …” is the tagline for Mike’s blog, One Penny Project, and is an accurate portrayal of what you will find when reading his posts. Mike experiments with different ways to make money online and reports his results. In a sense, he is willing to make the mistakes before you have to. A prime example of Mike’s quick mind for money involves his newest endeavor, Blakeize.com. After hearing Randy Jackson use the term on the insanely popular FOX show, American Idol, in reference to Blake Lewis, Mike immediately logged onto his hosting account and purchased Blakeize.com He is now in the process of trying to sell the domain name for profit on eBay. This is just one of the many money-making ideas you can follow in Mikes’ site. Others include Money Buckets and Making Money with Second Life.

The site provides a plethora of ideas to start make money online and the best part is that he tries them all first, so you don’t have to. Mike is a creative guy with much to offer. Give his site a read. You won’t be disappointed.

http://one-penny-project.blogspot.com