More 30boxes

Well, I said they reacted quickly, but I didn't expect it to be that quick. 30boxes have added right click menus, only days after I suggested it.

I've subscribed, via webcal, to my 30b calendar in my gcal calender, but at the moment I still find myself wanting to use 30b.

(It's OK, I don't really believe they waited for me to blog about it ;->)

Gmail

My last post reminded me of something else I've been meaning to blog about for a while - Gmail. For a few weeks know I've been using Gmail to bring all my email into one place, I've placed forwards where I can on other accounts, then Gmail lets me reply with one of these accounts as the reply-to address. I'm still only experimenting with it, but so far it seems to work well. It's nice that it automatically updates regularly (no need to refresh the page) and keeps me login until I close the browser (even though I haven't saved my password on my PC at work), but the best thing is the speed. It's been a while since I used Outlook Express with webmail, but I think Gmail is quicker and it's comparable to Outlook or Lotus Notes with a corporate server.

I think this will essentially spell the end for my Hotmail (or Windows Live Mail) account. My HoTMaiL account was my first email account and has remained the only constant since ... through various ISP's, academic institutions and employers. I thought there was hope with Windows Live Mail (I'm on the beta), which is quite a nice interface and has some nice features. But I am forced to use Internet Explorer.... sorry, say that again .... surely MS wouldn't be so daft ... oh, I can use Windows Live Mail with Firefox, but 99% of the features don't work (it's actually worse to use than HoTMaiL). I've entered some feedback to suggest MS open their minds to other browsers, asking if this was just a temporary state while they get the beta moving, guess what? No response. It seems MS still think the world uses IE.

So, despite my HoTMaiL address being my oldest internet identity, an address that 100's of websites and friends and family are using, I'm thinking of migrating away from it. There, I said it. If only HoTMaiL allowed mail forwarding, then I could forward to my Gmail account.

30b vs Gcal

I've been using 30boxes for a few weeks now and I like it. They seem to be a fairly small team and are able to react to bugs and user suggestions. Now Google Calendar comes along, promising tight integration with Gmail. I feel like I want to stick with 30boxes, they came along first but I suppose they're the underdog now, which I sort of like. They're promising email integration soon, so I guess we'll see what happens.... hey Narendra, some right click options and drag and drop would be nice as well ;->

Slam Idol - poetry podcast

I'm a couple of Slam Idols behind, but I was most upset to hear Simon is thinking of finishing Slam Idol last night. Before Simon had mentioned this, I had been thinking how consistent Slam Idol is:

-Consistent in length, usually about 10 minutes, unless there's an interview
-Consistent in arrival, normally a new one arrives every 2-3 days (and no double-downloads that I seem to get with nearly every other podcast)
-But most importantly, consistent in quality. That is audio quality, poetry quality and most impressively the show structure quality (no waffling)

I know Simon has a day job, Slam Idol must take a large portion of his spare time to produce. If Adam Curry is looking for someone for Podshow UK then he doesn't need to look any further than Slam Idol.

I encourage everyone reading this to subscribe to Slam Idol for free. I'm not usually a poetry fan, but Slam Idol gives me just enough poetry. A bit of culture in my world of engineering, techie stuff and DIY. Stephen Fry is a listener, hell, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me ... check out the archives for Stephen on Slam Idol.

So many podcasts are based on the IT world, it would be such a shame if we lost a podcast that is trying to be truly different. Do your bit, have a listen and subscribe, then tell someone about it. Simon has even produced some videos on how to subscribe to podcasts, if you're a little scared !!