How to Use Twitlet from the iPhone

Every now and then when I am browsing through websites on my iPhone, I have felt like Tweeting the website or the webpage link in a Twitter post. Its very easy to do this from your desktop via numerous tools - TweetDeck, Twitter website, etc. But on the phone, the only way to send a link to Twitter has been via SMS. But with no cut/paste in the iPhone (at least so far), I just didn't know of a way to send a link to Twitter without using SMS.

On the desktop, I have found the Twitlet bookmarklet to be the fastest way to tweet a link. But I tried it on the iPhone - it works like a champ. I didn't know earlier (and many probably still don't know) that some bookmarklets work on the iPhone browser too.

So try the Twitlet bookmarklet on the iPhone. 

Follow the following steps:

1. Create a Twitlet Bookmarklet with your Twitter account info in your Safari browser on your laptop/desktop computer which you use to sync your iPhone. 
2. In iTunes, in your Device page, under the Info tab, select Sync bookmarks with Safari.
3. Sync your iPhone. 
4. Now, when you are browsing on the iPhone, and you come across a webpage you want to tweet, simply open your bookmarks and select the Twitlet bookmark. 
5. A popup will show where you can tweet the page using the Twitlet. Even the #this syntax works to include the URL 

For your convenience I am including a screenshot of the Twitlet bookmarklet in action in the iPhone. 

Finally a Speakerphone That Works - Motorokr T505

I vote Bluetooth as one of the most bothersome consumer wireless protocols to date. Yes, some may argue there may have been others, but none have really caused as much frustration for me as the damn Bluetooth headset for my cellphone.

I used one for almost a year with all the irritations that came with it - Needed to charge it using a tiny charger tip that was unique to the device, people on the other end could not hear me when the battery was low, the thing would not fit in my ear properly, and always had the nagging feeling a device transmitting at 2.4GHz almost half inserted into my brain was doing a better job at cooking my brain!

Recently, with some of my team members at work situated in Ireland, morning conference calls have been plenty. And of course, they have to coincide with my commute to work (yes, I know, those who know me point out its not really a "morning" commute!). Having given up on BT headsets, I reverted back to the old faithful, yet unfitting-in-my-tiny-ears wired headset that came with my Blackberry. But the wire dropping down the side of my face, and getting entangled with the rest of the wires in my car was still irritating. Ok, enough background. I have now found, bought, used, and tested the perfect device for my car. The Motorokr T505 Bluetooth Speakerphone. I vote this to be one of the must-haves for gadget fiends out there. This thing looks like a space-age garage door opener, clips on to the visor, and pairs with your Bluetooth enabled cellphone in a jiffy. The device has a built-in speaker that is amply loud and clear (mind you, louder than the speaker on the Blackberry 8800 which many believe to have one of the best spearkerphone capabilities). The microphone is sensitive, and in a few conversations, the person on the other end could not tell I was on a speakerphone. The T505 packs in impressive echo and noise cancellation that helps you be heard clearly on the other end without any annoying feedback. Now, here is the kicker -- you can press a button on the device, a sexy British woman's voice announces an unused FM radio station that the device dynamically finds and starts transmitting at, for your car's radio. This allows the speakers of your car to take over -- the person you are talking to can be heard over the car's audio system, while the microphone on the device continues functioning. Voila! There you go -- fancy car bluetooth system that you can use even in your Ford Pinto! Trust me the device works well.

A few things I wish it had -- should have given you the choice of your own FM station, a little LCD screen to show the frequency, the power ON and the FM station buttons on the front of the unit.
Sidenote: It will also transmit over the air any music from your phone to the FM station; that is if your phone has audio over Bluetooth.
Check out other specs here and buy from Amazon (thats where I found it to be the cheapest).

PS: I don't work for Motorola although this blog post makes it look like they paid me fifty bucks to write this post.

Keep them questions coming - Prashnottarang

This is the kind of stuff that makes me feel guilty...guilty of spending countless hours on the internet and not coming up such ingenious ideas for bridging the gap between the illiterate and the Internet. Prashnottarang or the Question Box is a very simple telephone intercom which requires no computer literacy (in fact, not even literacy). A user simply presses the green button, talks or asks a question, an Internet user (a volunteer) on the other end browses the web for an answer, and responds to the user of the box. This has started as a non-profit project in India (in two villages). These boxes are placed near a shop where people have easy access to it. Well, wont spoil the fun...read all about it here, Question Box. While you are at it, check out their Flickr page too.
Some ways I imagine the villagers would use it would be: to find out weather forecasts for the region, cricket scores, which politician has what agenda, and most of all, symptoms of diseases and other healthcare related information, etc etc. I am sure the list is infinite.
Mobile?: On the for-profit side, I thought I had heard of services where you can just call a service and get someone to find something out from the web. I have called my friends or my brother on numerous occasions to find out about an address on the web, or listings of movies in the area....i sure could have used a Question Box. Could there be a potential for a company like ChaCha (the search engine where a live quide chats with you) to have a version of their service accessible via a regular phone call. Those damn tiny qwerty buttons on my Blackberry don't make it fun to browse the web on the mini screen!

Staple Free Stapler: No more "Where are the staples now!?"

I will add this to the list of things I don't need but I badly want.
As with the other stuff on my list of things I don't need, I didn't know such a device existed. Remember the Ginsu knife that can cut through a shoe? Well, now add this to the collection. A stapler than staples up to 5 sheets of paper without staples. We might as well call this the Stapleless Stapler, or better yet, Stapleless-er!
ThinkGeek :: Staple Free Stapler

Safari, my favorite browser now

I accidentally came across the Safari browser for Windows. My experience with other Apple software I have used in the past, namely iTunes, has been a tad bit frustrating, RAM wise. I was a bit hesitant to download and try the new browser. But then Firefox had become a royal pain in the ass to use (again RAM wise) anyways and I was just looking for a change, something faster, something cleaner, and something that would give me a good viewable area. I looked around the web for reviews on the Windows version of Safari and came across this article. I promptly downloaded the program. Call me a sucker for font smoothing, but when I saw the rendering Safari did for the webpages I was pleased. The browser looks cleaner, gives me more viewing area, and somehow makes reading on the screen much better. I also like how login windows drop down from the top panel, and generally the light blue highlight around text input fields makes me wanna input text...if you know what I mean. Some shortfalls include, no fancy RSS reader (just a simple single page showing the RSS items), no addons a la Firefox, no Sidebar a la Firefox, some websites may not open properly (very rare) and damn, no Google Toolbar available for Safari. But, I like doing more on the web (if you can believe it) via the Safari browser. 

(I dont have an HD TV, but apparently you can browse the web with Safari HD, Apple TV, and nice big HD TV. )

Gramlee, online grammar check! Take that MSword

Funny I was talking to a friend about this today. Many employer's most common complaint with fresh hires is the lack of decent business writing skills. Despite b-schools focussing a lot on students writing reports, business plans, memo-to-the-CEOs, and case analyses etc., employers everywhere still see that as the single-most deficient skill in incoming graduates. Softwares can only do so much. MSWord grammar check can be the most frustrating, and certainly not correct more than 50% of the time in my opinion. Yes, humans created language, and humans alone know best how to correct any errors therein. Grammar check is one thing, but easy readability is just completely something else. In comes, Gramlee. Real humans editing and correcting your words. One benefit I see right away - no more embarrassment in having a friend edit things for you. You simply submit your written passage, and for a meager amount, an expert on the other end poedits the mistakes, makes it easier to read and passes it back to you in 24 hours. Sweet! Where was this when I was writing my MBA entrance essays! 

On a related note, take a look at this book too. Its been on my to-do list.

Fast Company hops onto the Social Bus

Not sure why I browsed over to FastCompany.com but once there, I was pleasantly surprised by the new features. Fast Company has gone social. It pitches the idea of becoming a part of the business community, exchanging ideas with other readers on business issues, and engaging in activities like blogging, discussing in forums, answering posted questions etc. Its interesting to see how user based content is getting more and more adopted by websites as a strategy for making websites sticky. My take on this is: its a cross between Blogger/Wordpress, LinkedIn, a business magazine, discussion forum, and slow servers to host the applications.
Well, give it a try and see for yourself if you see the value. Its still quite new, and my test blog there "What's That Again?" showed up in the Featured Blogs section within minutes. It will be quite interesting to see how this latest social effort is faring in a few months. More updates on this coming soon.

Sparkling Iced Tea

Can't remember who I was talking to about sparkling iced tea. I had sparkling iced tea in Germany or the Netherlands, and totally loved it. Recently I started appreciating flavored seltzer a la Polar Beverages (I know, I know, its weird but this is not the first time). BTW, still can't seem to find the difference between Seltzer and Club Soda. Tastes the same to me....and no, seriously, don't tell me Seltzer is naturally effervescent....thats a load o' crap, because I don't think Polar is naturally effervescent!


Sparkling Iced Tea, originally uploaded by swash buckler.

Checkershadow Illusion

This is really cool. Squint your eyes, take back a few steps and marvel at the way your mind plays games with you.
Checkershadow Illusion
I think I should go home now.

Go dogg! Fetch! Sports statistics search engine

Speaking of dogs today, here is one that wont hump your USB port (see the previous post), but instead get you sports statistics from the web. Everyone knows how I suck when it comes to knowing anything about sports -- but everyone also knows how I kick some serious ass when it comes to finding cool new websites on the web. Ever get into an argument over what Sachin Tendulkar's batting average has been or who won the 100m men's finals at the last Olympics, and when you searched on Google to verify your argument, felt frustrated at Google's over-generous results that included among relevant results, links to Sachin Tendulkar fan websites, or annoying links about the fart olympics. Well, worry no more, ask Statdogg and let it fetch the cleanest results from all the top sports statistics websites. I have to warn you, this website will suck away at your time.

Finally, electric cars in India

I really think it's time for India to handle the economic boom with some respect for the environment. And these pictures prove it -- we have started. Desi electric cars

Gmail on the go - super fast Gmail app for your phone

Google says it's new and fast - I say it's absolutely smashing! Made my day yesterday when I was browsing through Techcrunch and found the announcement for Gmail App. Quite frankly, it wasn't something I was waiting for or even expecting Google to come up with....in fact, I had not even thought about a Java app that would do email for me. But for those who are still wondering what this Gmail app is, in short, its a Java app that you download from www.gmail.com/app , install it on your phone, and use Gmail. Why is it better than checking Gmail on your browser you ask? Because its FAST!!! Enough said!
Here's what Google says about it:

Download it once, and start accessing Gmail on your phone with just a click or two. You'll also like it because:

• It has the same Gmail interface you know and love
• Your account stays synchronized whether you access it from your computer or the phone
• You can easily view attachments such as photos, documents and .pdf files

Yes, the last bit, I tried. I could view the text in a PDF file I received as an attachment.

No excuse to be dumb anymore

Google has answered my prayers once again. Now there is no excuse for not knowing every random detail about the world we live in. Google News Archive's timeline feature is the best. I did some random searches on "India", "awasthi" and some random inane queries....and I liked what I saw!
I didn't know there was free access to archives dating back to 1902 and before...
Google News Archive Search