It's kind of hard to explain, it's probably best to just try it yourself. The website is http://ifttt.com. Have fun! And feel free to ask me questions in the comments if you need help figuring it out.

Probably a firefox extension or chrome plugin, but also a web directory where visitors can install greasemonkey scripts that will add keyboard shortcut functionality to various apps. The full add-on will be promoted to be able to notify you of configuration change possibilities and specific website productivity tips, all based on the current URL in view. Users will be able to change/add/remove keyboard shortcuts for every URL.

Challenges:
- compatibility
- change monitoring
- conflict resolution

Twitter Reply Notifications (Screencast) from Rex Pechler on Vimeo.

I'm also testing here if a "private" video can still be embedded publicly (for a friend).

I haven't really figured out what RSS feeds I would prefer to listen to a robot reading... however I'm sure I'll find a use for it. Now if only Jott Feeds would integrate with Google Reader and you could listen to your Google Reader news, and then Jott would mark those items as read. That could be really awesome in the car.

Link

The next thing that I would like to see, is MacSpeech Dictate implemented on the iPhone. A dictation application on the iPhone would be really awesome. However, I wonder about the accuracy of the built-in microphone. Although I imagine a Bluetooth headset, along with noise reduction technology, could be a solution.

1. 3G Data Speeds... EDGE is too damn slow.
2. Video Broadcasting ... no app exists, and it would be too slow anyway.
3. GPS. Location-based notifications among other things, also broadcasting my location. Also, tracking my whereabouts for posterity.
4. Ability to act as WiFi hotspot. I want to share that 3G speed to my laptop... or to yours, wherever we go.

These things -might- get updated this summer with the next iPhone, but I doubt we'll see video broadcasting or real GPS. And frankly, I don't really want to buy another iPhone. And I also don't want to wait that long.

So I'm thinking about getting a Nokia N95, or something comparable. There are applications to do all of the aforementioned things. And, I could still use my iPhone to browse the web over the WiFi connection the Nokia creates. One cool thing is that I can just pop the SIM card out of my iPhone and into the Nokia, keeping the same phone number... and my unlimited data plan from AT&T includes 3G already so it won't cost me any more per month.

The only thing is, I don't know if it will work the way I want, or if I'll be happy with the phone itself. Know of a better solution?

I've decided to make Rex.FM more of a personal blog, while I'll post my crazy, tech-related posts over at TechGetsCrazy. I feel like it will be a better outlet for my ideas without pushing my personal brand too much. I mean, I really want Rex.FM to be about me, not my crazy ideas. So anyway, expect some coolness over there, if you're interested, and subscribe via Google Reader or whatever if you like... feel free to expect some awesomeness. http://techgetscrazy.blogspot.com


property initialVolume : null
tell application "iTunes"
set speed to 5 -- lower means slower fade
if sound volume = 0 then -- if volume is all the way down, fade in
play
set initialVolume to 60
repeat until (sound volume) is greater than or equal to (initialVolume - speed)
set sound volume to (sound volume + speed)
end repeat
set sound volume to initialVolume
else -- fade out, skip to selected track, fade in
set initialVolume to (get sound volume)
repeat until (sound volume - speed) is less than or equal to 0
set sound volume to (sound volume - speed)
end repeat
set sound volume to 0
play selection
repeat until (sound volume + speed) is greater than or equal to initialVolume
set sound volume to (sound volume + speed)
end repeat
end if
end tell


Listen to me read this: [display_podcast]

I have recently become obsessed with keeping track of things... like, what music I listen to, where I go, and what I do. The main reason is to create an archive, because as much as I would love to have a journal (diary) to look back on, there's no way I'm going to do it. And so I can piece together an implicit journal by tracking my various activities. One looming project is to come up with a way to collect and browse this data.

For music, I've recently started using Last.fm again. Here's my profile. Last.fm is a social network built around discovering music. It integrates with iTunes to track what songs you listen to, and posts that online for your friends to see. There's even an application for hacked iPhones that tracks what you listen to on the go. There's a direct benefit from using this service, and that is music recommendations, which you can play like a radio stream... and rate to improve the suggestions.

To keep track of where I go, I carry a very small GPS datalogger. This device just tracks its location coordinates every few seconds, and I download these files to my Mac frequently. You can view the tracks in Google Earth, which I'm using at the moment as a library for this data. This is cool not only for traveling, but also excercise (biking, running, even skiing).

You can also geotag photos with this GPS device... which will a fun part of browsing this 'digital diary'. Imagine a globe, maybe in Google Earth, that you could spin around, and zoom in on, that showed every photo you've ever taken, right where you took it.

As far as keeping track of what I do, I'm relying on Twitter at the moment. (My page there). The website's built around answering the question "What are you doing right now?," as frequently as you wish. It has evolved into more than that, a new global communication platform... but most users still post the interesting things they do each day.

So, imagine all of these things, (location, music, photos, activities), recorded automatically for you, and put into a calendar. Something you can review and browse. Or have it email you a personal, 'what you did in previous years on this day' type email. And everything's on a map. Because you carried your GPS around with you.

Another thing about this 'digital diary' is that all the automatic data might be enough to encourage you to add your own additional data... like your weight. Or more exercise details. Or private diary entries.

Would you use something like this?

To select text you hold down the SHIFT key and then use the arrow keys or HOME, END, PAGEUP, and PAGEDOWN. The left/right arrow keys (plus SHIFT) will increase the selection one character in that direction, if you hold down the OPTION (⌥) key the left/right arrows will select an entire word in that direction, and if you hold down the ⌘ key the left/right arrows will select to the beginning or end of the line. The up/down arrow keys (plus SHIFT) will select a full line up or down; with the OPTION key held down the up/down arrows will select a paragraph. The HOME key (plus SHIFT) will select all the text to the beginning of the document and the END key (plus SHIFT) will select all the text to the end of the document. Finally, the PAGEUP and PAGEDOWN keys (plus SHIFT) will select a full "page" up or down.
Mac 101: Keyboard text selection - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).

You only need to hold Shift if you want to select text. Without holding shift, the aforementioned key commands will just move the cursor around. You probably don't realize how much time you waste trying to point with that Trackpad on your MacBook.