I’m a person who’s default browser changes almost as often as my clothing. But there is always one dominant browser that I use more than any other. For a long time, it’s been Firefox. Internet Explorer, generally big and bulky, too hard to customize and too stiff, lost me a long time ago. I have Safari installed too, but it’s just too far-out for me. I only use it to test websites I’m building.

But then there’s Chrome.

The first time I switched to Chrome was when Chrome was brand new. It was exciting, Google’s foray into web browsers, and loving Gmail and Google Calendar, and Google search, I had to try Chrome. It was simple and clean. Too simple and clean. That lasted a day or so.

The second and third switches, I quickly found out that I could not use one of my indispensible programs in Chrome, Roboform. I rely on Roboform, used it for years now, and can’t live without it. Or at least I can’t work effectively without it. Chrome had an extension which was, OK, but it really didn’t work like the Roboform toolbar in Firefox and Internet Explorer. So without a good way to acccess my passwords, I was back to Firefox. Thanks to add-ons like Web Developer Toolbar, I used Firefox 99% of the time I opened a browser.

Lately though, Firefox has been slow, and every new version reminds me of personas. Please don’t remind me of personas. They are pretty much all ugly and messy. Who needs that? Every time I look at them I can’t believe they are still around. And then, today, I went into Roboform looking for a couple passcards I saved just last week, and they are gone. I don’t know why, I do sync with the Online Roboform, and maybe somehting went wrong, but I was anoyed to lose some passwords. Out to Google I go, looking for answers, and discovered there is a new password manager called LastPass. I downloaded it and also found it works with Chrome, so back to Chrome I go.

Chrome. You click the icon and BANG, it’s up. Websites load faster, seems a lot faster. Makes me wonder what other browsers actually do when you click a link.

Plus, extensions are great and they add all the ‘add-ons’ I like about Firefox. And with LastPass integration, I’m sold.

So my question is why did Roboform take so long to get integrated well with Chrome? I asked and Roboform told me on Twitter that it was a tololbar issue, I guess because Chrome does not have extra toolbars, and since Roboform built their browser versions on the need for toolbars (not blaming them, they had to do it somehow), Chrome came slow. However, I did discover that there is a toolbar that sticks to the bottom of Chrome for Roboform, and so far it’s working well for me. However I’m testing LastPass too and we’ll see who wins. So far, I’m sorry to say (because I’m a LONG TIME Roboform fan, user, buyer, and fanboy) LastPass is winning.

Without having tested for very long, the first thing is that it works well, as it should, putting it even with Roboform. However where it stands a little higher for me, is the iPhone app. LastPass works FAST, I can’t believe how quickly I can login to my sites using it on my iPhone, and the integrated browser allows landscape! Silly to be so excited about that? I wish I didn’t have to be, but too many apps either don’t do landscape, or do it very badly. (Roboform used to fall under the latter, I just tried and found it was working fine. It used to stick and get messed up. Now that I know it works too, I give the LastPass app a 9 and Roboform an 8. Why? LastPass requires less clicks to get there.)

Love to hear your opinions on Firefox vs Chrome, as well as Roboform vs LastPass, if you have any of them!

I still have the iPhone 3GS, but maybe next year will upgrade. Usually it’s a matter of checking other options and coming back to the fact that nothing can really rival the iPhone … yet. But I was talking to my little brother yesterday who just ordered the droid x and he assures me that it’s a game changer. I’m excited to hear it, but is it really a game changer?

iPhone traditionally beats every other phone in most categories, the most important of which is:

1. User satisfaction
2. User plan on purchasing the same phone in the future

In both cases, iPhone always rates the highest. It’s kind of annoying actually, since being on top and staying there isn’t necessarily good for competition. Having phones truly competing, instead of just other phones attempting, in vain, to rival the iPhone, would be very good for the market. It would push Apple to go beyond their comfort zone.

Part of the problem, if that’s what you can call it, is that iPhone has an app store that is vast and great. A big reason for this is of course, they started it first. But another biggie is that iOS is standardized and runs on one piece of hardware, although with a few different versions. But droid runs on many different devices, for example, and has different versions to support varied hardware. This makes it harder for a developer. Do you have to develop different versions of an app for different hardware? In some cases, probably.

One thing I heard about the droid x is that it’s BIG. Apparently larger hands enjoy it, generally. And it bulges up near the camera. When my iPhone is in my pocket, I don’t even notice it. I like that. It’s travels well. A larger bulkier phone might be hot in the pocket, or at least cause annoyance. My little brother being 6 foot 4 and just big, maybe he’ll find it a non-issue.

I’m looking forward to hearing what people have to say about this, especially if you own a droid x, so please comment, or reply on twitter. Thanks!

Taking advantage of a security flaw in iOS 4.01, Jailbreakme.com is a website you can visit with your iPhone and very quickly and easily jailbreak your phone.

I did it, it took around 2-3 minutes in total, and I now have Cydia on my desktop.

Jailbreaking the iPhone used to be a hairy and scary thing to do … if you believe all the horror stories about prior versions of the jailbreak programs causing serious problems with your phone.

But today, it’s pretty simple and quick, and there are some really cool benefits and very little downside.

In case you are in a hurry, I’ll show you how first, and then tell you why.

How To Jailbreak iPhone 3.0

I had 3.12 on an iPhone 3G, so this is the result I got from that setup.

First you download the program, use Blackra1n since it’s so easy and quick. Get it here.

Once you have the program on your computer, you simply plugin the iPhone and hit a button that shows up that says “Make It Rain”. About 3 minutes later, you have a jailbroken iPhone with a few different app stores available, including the most popular, called Cydia.

Why I Jailbroke My iPhone 3.0? Benefits!

Ok, first of all, it’s not everything to jailbreak your iPhone.

Yes there are some cool additions to what you can do on your iPhone, and some customization that makes it a good deal. But is it going to make you a lot more productive? I’m not sure I can really say that. Will it make your iPhone experience a little more fun? Definitely on that one …

The first thing when I jailbroke my iPhone is I had a few new apps showing up. One was blackra1n, and there was also Cydia, and Winterboard. Winterboard is used to activate and deactivate a lot of themes and tweaks. And it runs on something called Springboard. Springboard crashes occasionally and you have to reboot. But I’ve had other apps that crashed me before, so it does not seem like a big deal to me.

Going into Cydia, there are loads of apps to browse. The immediate difference is that it’s not as pretty as the Apple App store on the phone. The icons don’t show you anything about the program, and you have to wait for it to load before getting a screenshot or two. Most Apple app store apps have several screenshots, but the Cydia ones usually have only one screenshot. This might not seem like a big deal, but if you like to see how the theme or tweak is going to look first, it’s a bit annoying.

However, I’ve found a few Cydia apps that are total deal makers for me …

One is qTweeter. If you use twitter or Facebook, this is a really awesome app. It costs $5, but it’s a totally cool way to update both twitter and facebook at the same time. You get 15 free status updates before you have to pay for the app. So plenty of time to test it out before you have to pay. Very nice touch. I never would buy an app for $5 without being able to try it first unless I was really confident. The app uses twitpic and twitvid to automatically generate short links and show your pic or video in your status update. This rocks … Another cool thing about qTweeter is that you can update your status, from anywhere. Just touch the status bar on the top of the screen and qTweeter drops a window down, over any app or the homescreen. This is something that is unheard of on an iPhone that isn’t jailbroken. You just can’t do stuff like that.

Another app that is totally cool is Cycorder. If you already have an iPhone 3GS, you don’t need this app. But I have a 3G. So no video recorder preloaded. Cycorder turns your 3G into a video recorded, just like a 3GS. And the really cool thing is that qTweeter can automatically generate a video and load it on twitvid. WAY cool. So these two programs together make it easy to update the Twitter status.

There are other apps that some friends of mine keep saying I have to try, like a scrabble-type of game that you can play online. But I have yet to try it.

Themes are maybe the #1 reason to jailbreak your iPhone. If making your phone look and feel unique, then jailbreak and get your theme. There are hundreds to choose from and many of them come in parts, so you can use the battery from one theme and the background from another, for example. During my first week I changed the theme nonstop. Now I have the one I like. Screenshot coming soon … my wife has my phone today and she’s out and about …

Then, there’s the Backgrounder. From any app just hold the home button for about 2 seconds and the app minimizes into the background. That way, if you want to start it up again, no waiting for the splash screen and load. It’s right there for a quick load. It’s good if you are working on something and need to switch between apps a lot. But since it does not persist after you turn your iPhone off and back on again, I don’t use it too much.

The Big Warranty Question

A lot of people are afraid of voiding their warranty on the iPhone. But if you just restore the phone from iTunes, it wipes out the programs. That’s right, a restore makes the iPhone new again, no sign of jailbreak. So the warranty is really a non-issue in my opinion. But make your own decision on that one …

Syncing With iTunes After A Jailbreak

After a jailbreak, I was curious to see how a sync would work: just like it does before the jailbreak.

I had some apps purchase on my iTunes, and some purchased on the phone. And everything synced fine.

I think some older versions of jailbreak programs used to mess around with your ability to sync, but not Blackra1n.

That’s just about it for me. If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear it!

It’s happening …

Whenever I hear about something late and breaking I still sometimes try googling it. Oops …

Better start with twitter. Maybe google will have a few stories tomorrow. But for now, Twitter has the latest news.

I even admit that I’ve followed games by using Twitter searches. Someone is always tweeting the score. So I know how the celtics are doing …

A lot of my friends and colleagues are holding out saying Twitter is a passing fad. Ok, you go ahead and wait.

I’m going to see what’s going on right now.

Who needs an iPhone, right? I mean it’s just a phone after all ?!? Not!

After a couple weeks of talking to my twitter peeps I finally just decided to take the plunge and get an iPhone. And actually I’ve given it thought off and on for about a year. There are a couple people I know who own them and I was curious why they went into a trance every time I asked about it. “Ooooh you have to get one!” “If you do you’ll never go back!”

Back from where??

Maybe the rants and raves of apple fans made me move more slowly towards becoming an owner of an Apple product. More slowly because I had a secret fear that maybe they were just high. Now I know that I was right and wrong … at the same time.

Here’s why …

I went online to the At&t store and made the purchase, deciding to go with the 8GB since my music collection is pretty minimal and I don’t imagine I’ll have a huge stock of videos that I can’t leave home without. And 8GB because–hey– I’m not that huge of an Apple fan yet and maybe I should just put my toe in the water first. I mean 16GB? What’s that going to hold, like a million songs or something analogous to that? No, I’ll go with the 8GB please. And then maybe I will upgrade later … IF this whole thing works out of course.

And did it ever …

My phone finally arrived after 3 days shipping that left me checking the order status online over and over. Curiosity was strong and the general urge to test out the new gadget. It could have been a coffee grinder for all I cared, it was a gadget to be used and explored and tested. How good can an iPhone be?

Good. Very good. No, amazingly good!

After a brief time charging, the phone was ready to turn on and get rolling. So I hooked up to iTunes as instructed and got the phone activated.

Wow … just wow!

Two words for you: user experience.

The user experience of an iPhone is over the top amazing. It’s fun to scroll from app to app, and there is no sinking “i just can’t do what I want to do with this”. In fact, I’m continually incredulous at the things I CAN do.

Stuff like being able to be logged into all my gmail accounts at once. You have just one? Well good for you but I have at least 5 that I log into just about every day and what a pain to log in and log out in order to log in to the next account. I can just download them into a mail application you say? Yeah and lump them all together in one inbox, which I don’t want. But no, the iPhone allows me to check all of them and they are separate for me so I know what each one is about. Love that!

Then there’s the problem of having two Twitter accounts.

OK so your life isn’t interesting enough to share your daily thoughts with others? Fine, but let the rest of us meet on Twitter and converse …

It was not hard to find a Twitter app that lets me stay logged into both and switch back and forth.

Can’t do that on my laptop …

Plus, I hate logging into Facebook. Don’t really know why it just seems to be too long and complicated. But my iPhone allows me to quickly check and respond to messages and chat just like my laptop, without the hassle.

That’s 3 things I love …

And how about the whole “superfast internet anywhere anytime” thing? That’s sort of taken for granted but it adds a lot to the experience.

But there is a certain overall feel to the iPhone as well as the way you scroll and move from place to place. It’s just acts like it should, almost like it knows what I want. OK I do have to use my fingers but it reacts exactly like it should.

That’s what adds the wow factor. The entire experience is what it should be.

Next … Macbook Pro?? Overpriced?

Now I’m not so sure.

This morning when a friend of mine asked if I owned an iPod, I had to tell him no, and that I was on the verge of buying an iPhone. I asked why he wanted to know and he said he was trying to sell his iPod Nano which he recently purchased. He also owns an iPhone, he does not need both, or so he decided.

Well, knowing that I had over 5,000 tech saavy Twitter followers, I decided to let them know about the Nano. That was about 9:30 in the morning.

I just said:

my friend selling iPod nano 8gb ‘barely used’ $80 email etalledo@q.com if interested – please RT!

I had no idea whether it would work but I thought it might.

I had a couple responses, one retweet and within about an hour my friend sent me an IM saying he had a buyer! It was someone who lived closeby in Denver and was ready to buy one for his child.

My question is, how else could I have found someone who wanted a Nano if not for Twitter? How else could I have penetrated into all the office buildings where people were busily working, if not on Twitter. Since Twitter is easy to use from your cellphone, I didn’t need to go door to door or make any phone calls. Just sent a harmless tweet and made a match of buyer to seller.

Pretty picture of the Nano since this blog is really supposed to concentrate on design:

So there you have it. Twitter. It’s everywhere you want to be!

Did you notice something about all this social media all over the place? Most of it you have to give away all of your private information and confirm your identity before you can join Not only can this be annoying and time consuming, but it also is hard especially if there are a lot of steps. For those of us who can only do one thing at a time, and get lost after step 2, it might never happen.

But what about Twitter?

On Twitter, you just click ‘join the conversation’, sign up and start tweeting. Anyone can do it, whether young or old, rich or poor famous or obscure. We can all just start tweeting.

We don’t have to know how to edit video, or upload our galleries, or write essays, or do more than two things in a row (max). All we have to do is tweet. And we know that that is.

How many plugins are there? Poke? Gifts? Events? None of that. Just tweets, and  we can follow people, and they can follow us. This does create natural groups of sorts, I have my own group, currently about 2700 people that I follow, and follow me. If I decide I don’t like someone, I can unfollow them. Simple and easy. If I want to add friends I add them. Quick, and start hearing what they have to say.

One thing at a time, and nothing I don’t need.

Here’s a great story, it’s how Twitter began. I highly recommend it, it’s great to know how a little idea becomes big!