Like every good-fellow internet user, I have a few RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from where I get most of my news and daily lectures.
I’ve always been using desktop applications on my Mac, such as Newsfire; NetNewsWire and Times to access my RSS feeds. These desktop applications are incredibly useful and valuable but since my acquisition of an iPhone 3G, staying in sync between multiple devices becomes a hassle. I was really getting fed up of constantly “marking as read” items that I’ve read a few days ago on my iPhone that I haven’t on my Mac and back and forth.
After a few hours of browsing the web, I’ve found an efficient way to solve this problem: Google Reader. Google Reader is one of Google’s web app (like Gmail, Maps, Docs, Calendar). One of the nicest thing about Reader is that you can access your RSS feeds from any machine or internet enabled device simply by using a web browser (neat!). In addition, if you’re on a Mac, there is an application that will maximize your experience — yes, much better. It’s Fluid, an application developed by an ex-Apple employee, Todd Ditchendorf. Basically, Fluid creates a native desktop application from any web application! For example, if you’re an avid Digg, Flickr, Friendfeed, Campfire or Delicious user, you can create a native desktop application that can be dragged on your dock (indicates a badge) and if it crashes, you only lose that only application — not that whole web browser with 14 tabs open! You get the idea!
If you’re not a big fan of Reader’s default UI, there’s a script Jon Hicks (co-founder of Hicksdesign) wrote that can easily be installed and activated within Fluid. When running the script, Google Reader + Fluid will look and feel much more like a desktop application, in this case — like Newsfire.
Of course, you can stick with the original Google Reader icon designed for use with Fluid. When new items are available to read, a badge indicating the amount of items shall appear beside the icon, just like in Mail.app.
wikipedia.org—Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was an American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs. Rand was educated at the Pratt Institute (1929–1932), and the Art Students League (1933–1934). He was one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design. From 1956 to 1969, and beginning again in 1974, Rand taught design at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Rand was inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1972. He designed many posters and corporate identities, including the logos for IBM, Apple, UPS and ABC. Rand died of cancer in 1996. He is buried in Beth El Cemetery in Norwalk, Connecticut.
montrealstateofmind.com — A few weeks ago, the company Hulger launched the first phone “VOIP” entirely made of walnut and brass. Furni, a supply and design company based in Montreal created the phones by hand. The PAPPA*PHONE is Mac/PC compatible and it connects on a standard USB 2.0 port. If you use Skype often enough and you’re willing to pay $ 300.00 — well, the PAPPA*PHONE is for you!
Peter “Roadsworth” Gibson, a Montreal based artist is widely known for his nocturnal activities in the streets. When he first started painting the streets of Montreal, back in 2001 his art grown of popularity. After being accused and arrested for his illegal activities he is now working in some of the biggest cities where he shares his passion: “street art“. If you happen to travel to London, Amsterdam, San Francisco or here in Montreal, you’ll notice some of his art in the streets. There’s more pictures here. Photo credit: flickr user mosd.
A few months ago, I stumbled on a very interesting website named Montreal State of Mind.
Montreal State of Mind is a stories/news resource about Montreal art, fashion and design. The website praises artists and designers from our city! There, you’ll find interesting videos and images about Montrealers across the world. I was an active user for a couple of months before contacting co-founder Jean-Aymeri de Magistris regarding intern positions.
I started blogging there a few days ago, and can’t wait for new features Montreal State of Mind are working on. I will still blog here as this blog remains my personal website where I post my projects, thoughts and interesting I find online.
Andy Warhol was an American artist (1928-1987) famous for his pop art. Some consider him as a pioneer in the art industry. For the first time in his career, a special event will be organized at Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts during September 25th 2008 to January 18th 2009. The exposition will be covering his art, some of his lectures and movies. We have the chance to attend the exposition as it will travel to San Francisco’s Museum of Fine Arts, deYoung, and other fine museums.
A few days ago Gedeon Maheux, co-founder of the Icon Factory threw out a fun idea for a group blog post. The idea is to meet other bloggers and share some of our favorites songs that weaves a story. The rules are simple. Choose up to 5 of your favorites songs that tells a story. You can be as detailed or as simple as you like. Then, September 3rd (today!), publish the blog post along with the links to the other bloggers that are participating. That’s it!
After a deep search in my iTunes library, I have found my favorite songs that tells a story. Here is the top 5 (enjoy!):
5. Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are.
4. Supertramp - Fool’s Overture.
3. Radiohead - Creep.
2. Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven.
1. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here.
#Gosh, these are almost all sad songs! Oh well.
Here are the links to the other bloggers that participated to the group blog post:
Last.fm is a great internet music service that plays music based on similar artists that you might like. If you own an iPod or iPhone, you probably already have a Last.fm profile to scrobble your music. At the launch of the App Store, Last.fm released an application for iPhone/iPod touch capable of streaming music to your device through 3G or Wi-Fi. Well now Last.fm will be rolling out their second version of their application loaded with new features.
Recently, I have discovered a very cool service. It’s called SixGroups. SixGroups is a live-community website, so basically, if you’re looking to start any sort of community, it’s a very useful tool. I am currently looking to start a tech based community, and I am thinking of starting it with this service.
Anyway, I highly recommend checking out SixGroups, it’s a well designed website with highly useful resources.
My name is Alain Edouard. I am a tech-savvy student living in the beautiful city of Montreal. Web design, photography, video and music are my main interests. Here, I post my thoughts on various topics, and random things I find online. I also enjoy drinking tea, reading books, exploring nature, playing music and soccer. Thanks for visiting! Subscribe via RSS »
