Brian Sweeting

I’d really like to find a bluetooth headset that will pair with my Mac (for use with Skype, etc.), and with my Blackberry. Does such a thing exist?

I’ve made the switch recently from Bloglines to Google’s updated reader for reading RSS feeds. One cool feature they have is a bookmarklet that opens the next unread item in your reading list and lets you read the item the way it was intended to be viewed in the context of the original site. This is nice when you get tired of just unbolding things, and want to experience your RSS feeds in a unique way.

Bonus: When you get to the end of your unread items, you get this screen.

My friends at Eli Kirk have created a terrific web conferencing tool and they’re letting you kick the tires for free.  Huddle is a 100% web-based conferencing tool developed in Flash.  It allows you to share powerpoint presentations, broadcast audio & video, share images, and conduct massive chats all without needing anything more than a browser with Flash installed (is there really a browser that doesn’t have flash installed anymore?)

Anyway, go check it out: http://livehuddle.com/

I’m in San Francisco this week for the Future of Web Apps Summit.  I’m looking forward to networking and hearing from great speakers over the next couple of days.

Screen Mimic is probably the best screen recording tool I’ve found for the Mac so far. Outputs to .swf, .flv, or .mov. It’s also a universal binary.

Using RapidWave wireless ISP in Lehi, Utah.

Okay, so like all other Mac-heads, I was intently tuned into what was going down this morning at the Steve-note. I was looking forward to the preview of Leopard OS X 10.5. I was looking forward to Apple making the Intel transition complete. Those two things happened today, plus a few surprises. I don’t think today’s preview of Leopard exposes everything that this OS update has in store for us by the time it hits the street next Spring. At least I hope, because most of what was shown today, was marginally impressive.

Time Machine. I think the idea of automated backup and restore is a great one, but I think the interface is corny. I agree with Jon Hicks’ assessment that Apple’s UI designers were smoking something when they came up with that one.

Spaces. Split on this one. I hate to see Apple encroach on third-party developers, but the purist in me loves to see this kind of stuff rolled into the OS.

Updates to iChat, Mail, iCal, Core Graphics, Spotlight. Zzzzzz.

Things that I hoped to see today, but may still happen before Spring:

• Improved Finder
• Unified window chrome (Death to brushed metal and pinstripe!)
• Unification of Mail, Address Book, and iCal into a single app.
• Resolution Independent UI
• Tabbed iChat (yeah I know I can use Chax for this)
• iSync that supports my Blackberry (via Bluetooth)

Science and Art of User Experience at Google

Nuggets of wisdom from Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.

I guess I’m trying to set a record for the least timely write-up of a conference. A couple weeks ago I attended SxSW 2006 for the first time. I have to say that it was basically what I expected.

The Panels

Do not go to SxSW thinking you are going to get a lot out of the panels. I hate to say it, but most panels were pretty lackluster. I think I prefer a speaker vs. a panel. Speakers seem more engaging. The panels just seemed too disjointed.

The People

This was one of the better parts of SxSW. I really enjoyed meeting many people from my blogroll in person. There are too many to name individually, but it is nice to interact with these people beyond a comment on their blog or through email.

The City

Austin is a very cool city with much to do. I doubt it was just because of SxSW, but the place is loaded with venues hosting cool parties, concerts, and comedy shows. It’s a place I wouldn’t mind visiting again.

Things I learned from SxSW

• Take business cards, or something to give to people you meet that will allow them to contact you…the more memorable the better.
• Stay at the Hampton Inn. We were six or so blocks away at the Marriott, and I was not impressed. For a place that charges a couple hundred bucks per night, they offer no perks. We even had to pay extra for internet access.
• Eat local. There were a bunch of great places we ate at that are local to Austin: Stubbs, Daddy’s, The Iron Cactus, Paradise, Moonshine, The Salt Lick. Don’t go to Austin only to eat at Wendy’s.
• Take a small digital camera vs. a DSLR. I took the Canon 20D and basically it was too cumbersome to pack around so I ended up not taking hardly any pictures.
• Unless you have to, arrive Friday Night/Saturday Morning and leave Tuesday night. We were there from Friday afternoon to Wednesday morning and that was just too long.

Wrapping it up

I liked SxSW, but I’m not sure I would attned again on my own dime, unless I had a product/service/business to promote.