Author Archives: tony

FolderShare

Microsoft actually impressed me with a recent purchase – the job they did turning Lookout in to MSN Desktop Search was fantastic, I really couldn’t imagine my computing life without Desktop Search now. It seems they are on to a winner with their latest acquisition – Foldershare.

I hadn’t heard of Foldershare until I read that Microsoft had bought them out over the weekend (and made the product free) but it is apparently a well established product. It allows you to synch your files over multiple devices, share selected files privately with other users or securely access your files via an internet connection. I’ve given it a run between two PCs and it seems to do exactly what it promises.

They have temporarily pulled the Mac version but say it will be back soon.

UDPATE

Oh, wow. This is cool. Using the search box on the Foldershare site I can search, using MSN Desktop Search, across any of the devices I have synced. I’m hoping this functionality will move to the actual MSN Desktop tool but for now, wow.

Expensive Australian Apples

So, Apple still can’t get my iPod to synch my contacts and calendar even after an upgrade to iTunes they now seem to be charging me a premium for living in Australia.

If I wish to purchase QuickTime Pro in the US it will cost me USD $29.99. That translates to AUD$39.37 at toda Discus Care Made Easy y’s exchange rate. So why, given it’s a download and there’s no shipping or media involved, is the Australian apple site charging me AUD $44.95 for the same product?

Before the Appleites (you like, it’s yours to use too) get up in arms, yes, Microsoft do the same thing, as do Macromedia, Adobe and probably most major software houses but it happens that I want an Apple product now and they want to charge me more for it because I’m not in the United States and right now that’s really annoying me.

Discus Care Made Easy

Google Desktop V 2

Go download the new Google Desktop Search and run it in side bar mode.

I’m playing with it now and it’s pretty cool. It offers way too many things I’ll never use or simply don’t need (photo slide show, ‘web clips’ – come on, just call it RSS and be done with it, no weather for non-US cities, ‘what’s hot’) and some nifty features (check the Quick Find feature and the Outlook integration along with a great little scratch pad) in a download that now works with VET anti-virus programs.

MSN Desktop Search is a far more elegant search application and much more focused – it searches your stuff, and searches it well but for sheer geek fun Google delivers.

iTrip Frequency For Melbourne

Up until a week or so ago I used 91.5 as my iTrip frequency in Melbourne. Most of my driving is in the inner West and inner East and it worked fine until ‘Vega 91.5‘ muscled in on my bandwidth.

I’ve now switched to 95.3 and it seems to work okay. Anyone else have suggestions for frequencies that work well in Melbourne?

What I Want

After watching Sin City the other day I decided I didn’t want to wait.

What I want is a directors commentary that I can take to the cinema with me. I’d download it, throw it on the pod and listen to it in the cinema. I’m sure it would be great for repeat business; go once to watch the film, then again to listen to the commentary. It would be spoken word, you could play it soft and no one would hear it.

Maybe Cameron‘s The Podcast Network could try and flex their muscles?

Long Shot

Okay, this is a long shot but if Robert Scoble is listening is there anyway you could post the audio of your videos as podcasts? I don’t have time to sit and watch a video at my PC for half an hour but I’d love to listen to it in my car on the way to work, especially the OneNote guys interview.

iTunes Catches Podcast Wave

The latest version of iTunes has been released overnight. Unfortunately there’s still no music store for Australia but you can, at last, synch your podcasts directly from within its interface. This may spell the end of the nascent podcatchers industry but should prove a boon for Cameron’s The Podcast Network.

Update

And this just spotted on the BBC site :

A software update for the click-wheel iPods and the iPod minis will offer a podcast menu, including bookmarking and the ability to show podcast artwork.

You can get the iPod updater here : Ipod Updater

Update

No way of importing your existing OPML or adding your own custum feed that I can see at a quick glance.

Another Update

I should have RTFM. You can add your own podcast by entering the URL under the ‘Advanced | Subscribe to Podcast’ option.