Blog

Virginia native weighs in on our not-so-bad tax system

Editor, The Times:

I’ve been amused by the recent opinions and letters calling Washington state’s tax system regressive and hurting business [“Why do so many oppose a state income tax?,” Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 16]. The fact is we would not have the caliber of workers and businesses under any other system.

I recently moved to Washington from Virginia due to two major factors: Washington’s thriving tech industry and no state income tax.

No income tax allows companies in Washington to effectively pay employees more than elsewhere. Virginia’s 5.75 percent income tax was a hefty haircut on my total compensation, especially with an additional average 5 percent sales tax.

Washington’s tax policy helped lure me away from another company in a different state. Plus, a higher sales tax and no income tax puts the right incentives in place for a thriving economy. It encourages people to save and invest their money versus to spend and consume, creating the infrastructure and capital we need to continue to develop Washington’s economy.

And as for business, just look around.

Washington’s economy is among the top performers in the country during this recession. While unemployment is up and some businesses are hurting, they’re actually doing well relative to other parts of the country. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council recently rated Washington among the top five most friendly states for entrepreneurs. And everyone knows that job growth begins with small businesses.

States with the highest income taxes are actually the ones suffering the most. California is bankrupt, and New York is almost there. We should not be taking tax policy advice from them, no matter how progressive they seem.

Let’s keep the income tax out of Washington so we can continue to attract talented people to work for our thriving small businesses.

— Samuel J. Fetchero, Bellevue

Creates safety hazard for everyone on board

It’s nice that Chance McKinney won his music prize [“Mukilteo teacher gets ‘real’ with song,” NWMonday, Dec. 21].

It is not so nice that he deliberately interfered with flight operation and navigation — and possibly compromised the safety of everyone on board — by secretly using his cellphone to record the song.

What a great example of consideration for others.

— Nancy Anderson, Seattle

Seattle just another Detroit?

“Washington has one of the nation’s better business climates” [“Here’s what to watch around here next year,” Business, Jon Talton column, Dec. 20]? Compared to whom, the old Soviet Union? Come on, dispense of the bull. You can go to many other states that have more favorable climates to conduct business activity than Washington.

Lower standard of living in South Carolina [“The right companies will come along,” Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 16]? You’ve got to be kidding.

I live in South King County. We just had another fatal shooting here involving a police officer and a domestic-violence suspect. These types of confrontations are becoming commonplace, as we also had a Des Moines police officer shot and killed along Highway 99 during the past decade.

If you live in this area then you would realize most of South and Southwest King County is overpopulated and crime infested.

As a friend of mine said, most of Seattle and the metro area is slowly becoming like another Detroit. Yes, I agree bringing in McDonnell Douglas was a serious mistake and the Machinists union lives in a liberal fantasy world of days gone by. However, just calling crime and unemployment a problem that most big cities share is avoiding the issue. It’s poor management and a lack of legal willpower.

Sweeping our problems under the carpet and pretending the whole state is like Bellevue and the Eastside is sadly a common perception, in both Seattle and Olympia.

— Craig West, Des Moines

Which middle class do union workers support?

There have been several articles recently about our state’s labor and labor unions [“Boeing and the Machinists: a missed opportunity,” Opinion, Dan Jacoby guest commentary, Dec. 18].

More than 60 percent of the workers in the state are nonunion, and money is tight. This would be a great time to have our tax dollars spent on nonunion workers to build our roads, schools and state buildings.

The union bosses or stanch union members say they want to keep wages up to support the middle class. Now if you ask them who redid the roof of their house, or who did their concrete driveway, they will say that they got a nonunion contractor to do the job. The nonunion contractor did a great job at a good price.

The only middle-class people the union workers want to support are themselves, at the expense of the taxpayers.

— Larry Worden, Auburn

Personal genomics startup 23andMe has recently raised another $14.2 million to close out its $27.8 million Series B round, according to regulatory filings with the SEC. The filing indicates that the new funding is an amendment to the company’s previously reported raise of $11 million in May, which was followed by an additional $2.6 million in June. We’ve reached out to 23andMe to confirm the funding amount, and to also determine if there are any new investors. Update: 23andMe have confirmed that they’ve raised funding, but have not yet confirmed the amount.

The last few months have been rocky for the company. In September, co-founder Linda Avey left 23andMe to start a foundation dedicated to studying Alzheimer’s disease. In late October, the company laid off a substantial chunk of its workforce, but declined to comment on how many people were affected.

23andMe is one of the first personal genomics companies, allowing customers to have portions of their DNA analyzed for around $400 (there are a few different products available). After completing a test, customers can log into the site to get reports on their genetic makeup, including a listing of some diseases they may be at risk for.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

Port of Seattle tactics are costly and inefficient

The Port of Seattle has seen fit to perpetuate an inefficient taxi system, increase air pollution and add to the financial crisis in our state by retaining an exclusive arrangement for pickup service with a single taxi company [“Contract loss costly for Sea-Tac taxi group,” NWFriday, Dec. 18].

One-way exclusivity assures each taxi touching Sea-Tac Airport operates at 50 percent efficiency and burns twice the necessary fuel because nearly all trips are one-way. A driver is licensed to either pick up at Sea-Tac or pick up elsewhere to drop off at Sea-Tac but not both; except for the lucky 49.

By changing taxi companies, 215 drivers become unemployed, of which 166 are prohibited from picking up fares in Seattle. The additional $860,000 in annual revenue pledged to the Port by the winning firm wouldn’t even cover unemployment benefits for the unlucky 166.

And will Sea-Tac rail service reduce taxi volume such that the winning firm not only can’t replace its fleet with hybrids as promised but may not be able to fulfill its financial obligation as occurred in Detroit this year? A sensible approach to airport taxi service is to open it up to any licensed taxi, thereby eliminating one-way trips, and adjust fares to make Sea-Tac attractive to taxi drivers.

— James R. Flaherty, Seattle

Mentally-ill offenders can and do recover

The recent public outcry about the escape of Phillip Paul and subsequent policy changes by the state Department of Social and Health Services [“Rules stiffen to stop escapes,” NWFriday, Dec. 18] misses what we know about recovery from mental illness.

Some people commit terrible crimes when they are psychotic, respond to treatment, and are no longer risks to the community. Others who commit violent crimes while they are untreated, respond to treatment and are safe in the community if they have ongoing outpatient support.

Some never recognize that they have a mental illness, don’t take medication or accept treatment, and remain a long-term threat to community safety, like Paul.

The policy changes miss the point that most mentally-ill offenders don’t need long-term hospitalization or incarceration. The media only report about the minority who are untreated or for whom treatment fails, prompting us to develop public policies that ignore the scientific evidence about the effectiveness of mental-health treatment for most mentally-ill offenders.

It’s time to move beyond worrying about field trips and into debate about responsible public policies that protect the community, while providing support for programs that help most mentally-ill offenders to recover.

— Perry Wien, Seattle, UW School of Social Work affiliate assistant professor

Why are field trips even allowed?

The Seattle Times article indicated that new stringent Department of Social and Health Services rules will be adopted to ensure public safety when patients deemed criminally insane are allowed field trips.

Is it prudent to provide field trips to crowded, family-oriented venues such as county fairs in the first place?

— Charlotte Montgomery, Yakima

Residents at Frances Haddon Morgan Center

Our disabled son is a resident at Frances Haddon Morgan Center, where he was placed after a number of mental-health crises for which he was unable to receive adequate support [“Gregoire lifts budget ax: Don’t make me do this,” page one, Dec. 10].

During his last hospital admission, we were told that should he have a future breakdown, we should call the police since the hospital could do little for him and he needs a level of care not available either at home or in a group home for the disabled.

Thankfully, after further crises, our son was admitted to a staffed residential center, where he has thrived.

He is surrounded by professionals trained to deal with health, behavioral, communication and personal-care issues. As an extremely vulnerable young man unable to defend himself, we especially appreciate the safe environment there. Without such a support structure in place, how are people like him going to be safe and secure?

Should the Department of Social and Health Services really be dismantling a successful and necessary facility when the state lacks the funds to see that these residents can make a safe transition to a residential situation that would continue to meet their needs?

— Cheryl Felak, Seattle

Amazon Kindle gets its DRM stripped (for the time being) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BBC  |  Hacking.org  | Email this | Comments

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Article

U.S. one of five countries to shake hands on agreement

Editor, The Times:

I am encouraged that our country, China, India, Brazil and South Africa reached an agreement at Copenhagen [“Conference ends with statements of intent,” News, Dec. 20]

Despite being nonbinding, I expect it to lead to positive steps to combat global warming and its consequences.

In 1986, former President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev informally agreed that nuclear weapons needed to be eliminated. They failed to reach a concrete binding agreement due to an irreconcilable disagreement about the strategic-defense initiative. Despite that failure, Gorbachev halted plans to install their Ora missile. This stopped further escalation and led to a binding agreement to eliminate 1,846 Soviet Pioneer missiles and 846 U.S. Pershing missiles — eliminating an entire class of weapons.

When survival is at stake, a nonbinding agreement can lead to voluntary action. The resulting trust can lead to binding agreements, which can ultimately lead to meaningful action.

While the Reagan/Gorbachev dream of eliminating nuclear arms has yet to be fulfilled, progress continues and is being revitalized by President Obama and the world leaders with whom he is building trust.

Hopefully, the effort to stop global warming will move faster.

— Robert Jeffers-Schroder, Seattle

U.S. still biggest global-warming offender

I applaud The Times for its stance on the Copenhagen negotiations [“Climate self-interest,” Opinion, editorial, Dec. 15].

Every country — rich or poor — is responsible for protecting this planet we share. And as the recent maiden flight of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner attests, American industry does indeed have the will and the means to lead the world with cutting-edge renewable-energy technologies.

One arena where our world leadership is in doubt, however, is our will to curb global-warming emissions. Forget the excuses about up-and-coming polluters like China and India; in reality, the average American produces four times more greenhouse gases yearly than the average Chinese citizen, and 16 times more than the average Indian. We remain the biggest offender, and the world looks to us for leadership in cleaning up our act.

Given this, the failure of the U.S. Senate to work together for a clean-energy bill is heartbreaking. Especially in Washington, a state whose own citizens have adopted a renewable-energy standard, it’s clear that the people’s will is behind our legislators to cut global-warming pollution.

— Kristin Anderson, Seattle

Obama failed America and world at Copenhagen

Despite his campaign promises, President Obama’s speech at Copenhagen shows that when it comes to combating climate change, he is merely perpetuating the dismal status quo of the Bush administration.

The United States had an opportunity to gain a position of international leadership on climate change, but instead the president chose to blame developing nations like China for compounding the environmental degradation to which we are the largest contributor.

Instead of taking responsibility and setting ambitious goals, our president made empty promises and signed a halfhearted agreement that his own aide admitted is not sufficient to combat the threat of climate change.

When Obama was elected more than a year ago, I felt optimistic that our country was headed in a better direction. However, his disappointing speech at Copenhagen demonstrates that he does not appreciate the gravity of climate change and the need to make a significant reduction in global emissions his top priority.

— Miles Pengilly, Seattle

Brought to tears

I find it hard to believe that all those countries participated in the climate summit but could not agree on a meaningful resolution.

It brought me to tears hearing citizens who had come at their own expense from all corners of the world begging the members of the council to please create a meaningful plan.

I know that Fiji has been losing land and villages for several years already, as has Tonga. Tonga has been asking New Zealand and Australia for a place to live when their islands have completely disappeared, and the answers were “no.”

Australian farmers have faced total drought for several years now. The countries of the Caribbean have been meeting for several years, now to jointly plan for rescuing and moving their populations from those beautiful tropic islands when they are inundated and finding space for them to live on higher mainland.

We don’t hear about these things in our sanitized world.

We cannot allow the mindless pollution of our world to continue; these people’s lives and homes will be our unpayable debt and the world we and our children and grandchildren inherit will be our punishment.

— Marian Schwarzenbach, Seattle

Response to letter writer — keep the guns at home

I am writing in response to the “Adieu to Nickels” letter by Bruce Colwell of Burien [“City’s gun ban,” Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 18].

I take issue with Colwell’s statement ensuring his right to carry a concealed weapon everywhere is protected.

Colwell, I also have a right to go to a Seattle city park knowing that my family and I are safe from gun-toting citizens like you.

I grew up in a hunting family and don’t have an issue with people being able to have guns to hunt, but when you begin bringing concealed weapons into public places, that is where your right ends.

I’m afraid I don’t buy Bob Warden’s argument that one must carry concealed guns into parks to ensure that a child and grandchild’s safety is guaranteed. Guns are not allowed in federal courthouses, schools, hospitals, airports or on airplanes. Why should you be allowed to carry a gun into a city park?

Just to prove a point it seems.

Allowing concealed weapons in our parks is a tragedy waiting to happen.

To say that you should have a right to carry a concealed weapon everywhere for your children’s and grandchildren’s safety is a hollow argument, no matter how responsible a gun owner you might claim to be.

Please keep your guns at home, safely locked up, as they should be.

— William McCollough, Seattle

Perhaps Nicole Brodeur can cover this issue

Perhaps someone could do an article on why Robert Langendoerfer’s sentence, for what sounds like the brutal murder of Britney Galindez, is only 13 years [“Man, 22, gets 13 years in slaying,” NWSaturday, Around the Northwest, Dec. 19].

I do not know any of these people, or anyone who does know them, but I cannot help but wonder at our system that gives someone with a lengthy criminal history with convictions for assault such a short sentence when he is only 22 years old.

He will be out when he is only 35 years old.

Certainly the taking of Galindez’s life deserves more punishment than that?

Nicole Brodeur’s columns are excellent, and have a way of asking the right questions. Perhaps she could answer why this murderer only gets 13 years.

— June Stacey-Clemons, Seattle

Doomed to repeat ourselves

Did we not learn anything from the Lakewood tragedy?

I was sickened to read that Robert Langendoerfer, who, at 22, already has a lengthy criminal history, was sentenced to only 13 years in prison for the brutal murder of Britney Galindez.

Albert Einstein said that stupidity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.

Thirteen years from now Langendoerfer could be showing up at a coffee shop, and everyone in the justice system will be shaking their heads and wondering how something like this could happen, again.

— Julie Hagen, Maple Valley

German company Asphaltfighters’ latest creation has the most outrageous set of raw numbers we’ve seen for a production motorcycle. The 999cc Stormbringer has 220hp and an extra 60 ponies kick in over 180kmh for a 280bhp total. It’ll run “more than 198mph”, hits 62mph in 2.9 seconds, 124mph in 6.5 seconds, and 186mph in 13.9 seconds. It comes standard with a HELD riding suit and kevlar/carbon X-Lite helmet, and the riding position and suspension are all tailored for the purchaser. The machine has the full array of cutting edge technology such 10 stage traction control, heads up display, rear-view camera, programmable speed limiter and, considering what it offers, a remarkably reasonable price tag of EUR 57,500 (USD86,000)…

Tags: Akrapovic,
Asphaltfighter,
Bikerbox,
Heads Up Display,
Kawasaki,
Production,
Stormbringer,
WAECO

Related Articles:

• Kawasaki’s ultimate high-speed tourer
• The Motorcycle Grip Ace with electronic controls embedded
• EV-X7: the electric future-cruiser
• Suzuki’s radical G-Strider concept
• The 2WD Track diesel motorcycle with CVT
• 4mc test ride: can a motorcycle have four wheels?

Smule has just announced the winners of its “On A Boat” contest featuring its “I Am T-Pain” iPhone app. And, while the company was founded by a bunch of Stanford computer scientists, it’s now clearly making its mark in the rap industry—albeit via YouTube.

If you don’t already know, the I am T-Pain app is named after the rapper who uses auto-tune technology to digitize his voice while singing. In just 10 weeks, Smule received 115 complete video entries, and awarded a $5,000 prize and a Big Ass Chain (actually worth $47) to TheMisunderstoods of New York City, who filmed “I’m On A Phone.” In their video, the rapping duo had such classic lines as “you can call me Steve Jobbs cuz i got soo many apps.”

To be sure, Smule was doing well before I am T-Pain, but it did not have the same kind of street cred as it does now, especially with previous products being called “Leaf Trombone.” Comparatively, the auto-tune app was an overnight success. Within the first three weeks, it was downloaded 300,000 times, and the average user spent 66 minutes with the app, recording 4.1 million performances. That’s when Smule launched the “On A Boat,” contest, which was a song from an episode of Saturday Night Live skit. In the past year, Smule has raised another $8 million, and 2 million more users have joined its network, which now has more than 50 million user-generated songs.

Here’s “I’m on the phone” by TheMisunderstoods:

A video demonstration of Leaf Trombone at an Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) event:

For some elderly citizens the simple act of shopping can prove daunting and an assistant or carer may be required to help out. Aiming to help increasingly (if sometimes reluctantly) tech-savvy seniors, is Robovie II – a robotic assistant that takes a pre-transmitted shopping list and follows the customer around the store, carrying their goods while communicating and even offering suggestions. ..

Tags: Android,
Care,
Personal,
Robot,
Robotic,
Senior,
Sensors,
Shopping,
Wireless

Related Articles:

• TMSUK sends a robot to do the shopping
• Fujitsu U-Scan Shopper Trolley designed to eliminate checkout queues
• Klever Shopping cart begins roll-out
• Become a human packhorse with the Yoke Shopper
• HP demonstrates Retail Store Assistant
• Robotic bartender understands verbal orders and tells jokes

Short Version: The audio is only passable and the fit questionable, but hey, these do just what they set out to do: put some headphones in a decent hat.

Features:

• Several styles to choose from (this review is for “Cotton T Black”)
• In-line mic for iPhone/Blackberry
• Low-profile headphone drivers
• Regular 3.5mm jack

Pros:

• Hey, they work
• Hat is decent quality, fairly warm
• Easy to set up and remove (handy for washing)

Cons:

• Sound quality not so good
• White cable not so hot against black hat, or going to non-iPod device
• Tight fit can make headphones press against ears too hard

Full Review:

I have to say that when I first tried these out, biking about a mile over to the Central District, I was pretty disappointed. I found the fit too tight and the sound tinny. But a friend tried the hat on and pronounced it perfectly comfortable, and on the way back I played a different playlist and found that they really didn’t sound so bad after all. I mean, let’s be honest here. You’re going to be walking, running, biking, or skiing while listening to these, and if you can make out the lyrics over the wind rush, that’s better than nothing. And while they weren’t beating my eardrums with their bass or allowing me to marvel and their crisp highs, they did sound clear enough once I got the alignment right.

The hat itself is a plain cotton, quite decently made, with a red patterned interior that showed as a sort of rim. It fit snugly — almost too snugly for me, but I tend to prefer looser knit caps. Why I didn’t review a knit one is beyond me. But this one was a bit tall and narrow for me; it fully covered my ears and still had a little poof at the top. Not Smurf levels of poof, but enough that I felt I had to pat it down. I wore it during a cold snap a while ago here in Seattle and it did all right, though it took forever to dry out when I got rained on.

The headphones themselves are touted as having a flat design, which is true, but then again so do most headphones once you take the padding off. Yeah, there’s no padding on them at all except for the millimeter-thin material making up the inner lining of the headphone pockets in the hat. That can be pretty rough on your ears if you have a helmet pushing on them or if they’re just not aligned over your ears just right. In the next generation of this product I’d really appreciate a little bit of padding in the headphone pocket.

The sound is what you’d expect from a plain pair of traditional headphones — something you’d pick up at a drugstore for $15-20. They’re loud enough if you want to push them and I didn’t hear a lot of distortion, but there wasn’t too much clarity either. But the fact is I could hear my music perfectly well while zooming around on my bike, so really, mission accomplished there. I’m not expecting a high-fidelity audio experience while trucking down to the coffee shop.

Conclusion: I think $60 is a little steep for what they’re offering. However, if you do spend a lot of time on the slopes, for instance, or riding your bike around, and want to listen to music or talk on the phone, this is definitely a simple and workable solution. I’d go with the knit version, though.

Product Page

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

Full disclosure: BoomTown is several hours into the spiked eggnog here at All Things Digital Worldwide HQ, so our headlines are 100 percent spikier!

All joking aside and without much blabbery from me, you can read the entire blog post below from Twitter on a new purchase.

The microblogging service–oops,information network!–just acquired Mixer Labs, makers of GeoAPI, which helps developers build location-based services.

Thus, Mixer will help Twitter in the geo-location arena–now a hot pocket of hype and, to be fair, innovation. Mixer also has TownMe, a local information Web site.

Mixer will join Twitter at its new San Francisco offices (you can see my tour of its new HQ here, which I posted yesterday).

As Twitter CEO Evan Williams wrote:

“We want to know What’s happening?, and more precisely, Where is it happening? As a dramatic example, twittering “Earthquake!” alone is not as informative as “Earthquake!” coupled with your current location.

If I feel the earth move under feet, I can now feel better than I can be found by rescuers under the rubble, now that Mixer is there to help.

Here is the blog post:

Mixing It Up at 795 Folsom St

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

In August, we previewed expanded location support for developers. Last month we launched our Geotagging API with support from several of the top Twitter clients. When current location is added to tweets, new and valuable services emerge—everything from breaking news to finding friends or local businesses can be dramatically enhanced. Our efforts in this area have just begun. Today, we’re excited to announce a major new step into the location-aware future. Twitter has acquired Mixer Labs, creators of GeoAPI.

The Mixer Labs crew has been working on harnessing the power of local information for a couple years and just recently launched GeoAPI, a comprehensive service for helping developers build geolocation-aware applications. As of today, they’re part of Twitter and will be working to combine the contextual relevance of location to tweets. We want to know What’s happening?, and more precisely, Where is it happening? As a dramatic example, twittering “Earthquake!” alone is not as informative as “Earthquake!” coupled with your current location.

We will be looking at how to integrate the work Mixer Labs has done with the Twitter API in useful ways that give developers behind geo-enabled apps like Birdfeed, Seesmic Web, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twidroid, Twittelator Pro and other powerful new possibilities. We look forward to building features together that will make Twitter even more interesting and relevant to your daily life, no matter where you are. Please join us in welcoming this fine new crew to Twitter Headquarters—795 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA.

Posted by @Ev at 2:00 PM

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

The Apple tablet is threatening to approach Yeti status, but here’s an indication that it will turn out to be real: The company has told some of its key developers to prepare versions of their iPhone apps that will work on a device with a larger screen, in time for an event next month.

Add that to the news that Apple has reportedly booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco “for several days in late January”, according to the Financial Times, and it’s pretty easy to connect the dots: It’s a very good bet we’re getting a look at this thing within the next 30 days or so.

A mobile industry source tells me developers have been told that the mystery device will only be shown off at the event, but won’t be ready to ship (Dan Frommer at Alley Insider relays the same news).

Pre-announcing a product before launch used to be unusual for Apple (AAPL), but that’s a pattern the company has followed with some of its product launches more recently — most notably with the first iPhone launch. And if Apple is indeed coming out with a new product that will require developers to rethink their approach, it makes a lot of sense.

I’ve asked Apple for comment but am not holding my breath.

My source says Apple’s instructions to developers indicates that the tablet — or at least the thing it’s showing off next month — will be based on the iPhone OS, and will rely on the same iTunes store that has moved two billion apps in a couple of years.

If so it will mean that some people who have been guessing at what Apple is planning may need to go back to the drawing board.

Magazine publisher Conde Nast, for instance, has been working on a digitized version of Wired magazine that would run on Adobe (ADBE) software. But the iPhone’s OS doesn’t work with Adobe’s Flash platform, and if that holds true here than Conde Nast (and Adobe) are going to have to think of something else. Same goes for many Web video distributors who rely on flash.

But first things first. Let’s take a look at this thing — whatever it is — and see what it actually can and can’t do before we get too far ahead of ourselves.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

[Megan Berry works for mobile analytics and advertising company Mobclix.]

As Apple continually reminds us, there’s an app for everything. What about an app to save time? To help you network? To remember everything? To get work done no matter where you are? Yup, there are apps for all that. Here are my top picks for increased productivity:

Dropbox
Ever been in the situation where you really needed to get someone a file but weren’t near your computer? When this happened to me recently, I had to go back to the office at 1 a.m. to get a file, not a situation I’d care to repeat. That’s where Dropbox comes in. All you have to do is install the free desktop application, and you can put files into your dropbox that you can access from your computer, your iPhone, and any other computer. The iPhone app also allows you to view the documents and files you have saved. Cost: Free.

Evernote
Lately, it seems everywhere I turn someone is singing the praises of Evernote. And it’s no wonder given how much this app does. It keeps track of text notes, snapshots, and voice notes. Have an idea when you’re on the go? Open up Evernote and talk. When you get to your computer the soundbyte will be there. Ditto with pictures and notes. It tracks them by date and location and you can “favorite” ones you need to access more often. Furthermore, you can search it all and access it on the Evernote desktop app and web app. Cost: Free.

InstaPaper Free
I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished I could access sites offline. Instapaper comes up with the best solution I’ve seen. Install it on your computer, and whenever you see an article you’d like to save, you just click a “read later” link you can put on your toolbar. Then the next time you’re without an internet connection (which happens more often than I’d like, considering AT&T’s network issues), you can catch up on your reading. Cost: Free.

Dragon Dictation
You’re driving or walking somewhere and don’t have time to type out your text message or email. Luckily, with Dragon Dictation you can just dictate your message to your phone, and it’ll translate it to text for you. Then you can send it via email or text message or add it to your clipboard. I was very impressed by how accurate it was, but don’t forget to double check before you send (one of the biggest problems I found was its inability to accurately recognize names, and there’s nothing like misspelling someone’s name to start a business relationship off wrong). Cost: Free.

Awesome Note + To-Do
Much like the name implies, Awesome Note + To-Do is an upgrade from the iPhone’s native Notes application. You can add notes easily in various categories, organize them according to their importance, and build out to-do lists with deadlines. Furthermore, this app supports syncing with Google Docs and Evernote. Yeah, it really is awesome. Cost: $3.99.

Bump
One of the more annoying parts of networking is that you either have to enter someone’s information into your phone while they’re standing in front of you (Can you check– is that the right number?), or you enter it in later from their business card (assuming you didn’t lose it). Bump solves this problem in a remarkably cool way. Just set it up on your iPhone and when you meet someone at an event, you can both simply “bump” your phones together, and your contact information is automatically shared. You can also see if you have any contacts in common and share other files like pictures. Cost: Free.

Tweetdeck for iPhone
The twittersphere moves fast. If you don’t answer a tweet within half an hour, you’re already hopelessly behind. Tweetdeck is organized into columns based on certain contacts (a group), a search term, mentions, etc. When you’re in a rush, you can see with one glance if anyone’s talking about you or your brand and what you need to respond to. Cost: Free.

Honorable Mentions:
* Zenbe Lists ($2.99): Easily share lists with other iPhone users or over the web.
* Things ($9.99): Great task manager.
* Dragon Search (Free): Dictate what you’re searching for, and this app will automatically do the search for you, no typing required.
* Google Mobile App (Free): Voice search Google and access Google’s apps all in one place.

What do you think of the apps I’ve listed? Am I missing any that make you more productive? Let me know in the comments.

Megan Berry is an evangelist for Mobclix, the industry’s largest mobile ad exchange, working on social media and marketing. She also blogs at The Huffington Post and the Mobclix blog. You can follow her on Twitter as @meganberry, or through the @Mobclix handle.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

It looks like Twitter and the applications built around it are going to get smarter about where you’re tweeting from. The company just said that it has purchased Mixer Labs, startup that created the TownMe activity guide as well as GeoAPI, a set of developer tools for accessing  TownMe’s location data.

The San Mateo, Calif. team was trying to build a Yelp competitor, of sorts. It went beyond business listings and user reviews by pulling in other information available on the web, such as US Census Data.

Mixer Labs then offered developers access to that data through an API. So an application could get useful information, such as nearby tweets or locations of interest, about a set of latitude and longitude coordinates. Developers could also create their own layer of data over Mixer Labs’, allowing you to store check-ins (like in Foursquare) or virtual prizes at different locations. (The screenshot above is from a demo application built for the API.)

The API was initially called the TownMe API, but was eventually spun off as a separate service, dubbed GeoAPI.

Twitter says this acquisition builds on its announcement last month of a geotagging API, allowing third-party applications to tag tweets with your location. The company writes:

As of today, [Mixer Labs is] part of Twitter and will be working to combine the contextual relevance of location to tweets. We want to know What’s happening?, and more precisely, Where is it happening? As a dramatic example, twittering “Earthquake!” alone is not as informative as “Earthquake!” coupled with your current location. We will be looking at how to integrate the work Mixer Labs has done with the Twitter API in useful ways that give developers behind geo-enabled apps like Birdfeed,Seesmic Web, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twidroid, Twittelator Pro and other powerful new possibilities.

I asked the Mixer Labs founders for more information on the deal, and they told me to ask Twitter, which I did. If hear back, I’ll update the post.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

Ever been cut off by a bad driver and wished you could have given them a piece of your mind? Well, now you can. Virginia startup CarPong recently launched and is letting users write short messages to other drivers.

The site is simple and like most other social networking sites you must be registered to use it. Users can either send a message to a particular license plate or receive notifications on messages for up to three plates. All of this is done on a user profile page on the website, similar to a Facebook profile.

Here’s how the service works: To send a message, users are required to enter a license plate number and the state in which the vehicle is registered. They are then able to leave a message up to 250 characters. If the owner of that vehicle is registered on the site, they will receive the email instantly. However, if they aren’t, the message will go live on the site, become searchable and eventually be delivered if that driver ever joins. Users are also able to follow their own plates as well as others and be notified when those plates receive messages. For example, a father might be “following” his college daughters license plate to make sure she isn’t driving like a maniac while at school.

Founder Tony Mastrorio notes in a recent blog post that the service isn’t just for denouncing bad driver habits, but has other social possibilities too. For example, you can now drive by a good looking women and send her a message or let someone know their brake light it out. There are several more useful services for the site as well. My favorite is that drivers could learn when their vehicles have been towed, improving an archaic process that usually leaves a driver not knowing when their car was moved or where it now resides. For businesses, it could allow business owners to track their fleet of vehicles — bringing a new meaning to those stickers on mack trucks that say “How’s My Driving – Dial …..”

Currently, the company is generating revenue through online advertising. However, as users are only allowed to follow three plates, a future revenue model will involve charging a small fee for users wishing to follow more than three plates.

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article