Whistle while you work…

I can whistle but not like a musician playing an instrument.

So what I do when I work is fire up Pandora and select a previously made channel and let it go.

I get some choice in what is played on the stations but not total control. Which is better than a regular radio station where you have no control (and tons of ads).

I prefer to have this balance of control with Pandora because, without it, I wouldn’t know half the artists that are out there. Local radio just doesn’t cut it. Top 40 this, top 40 that… Variety? not really, more like the same songs over and over to “help” artists try to sell the albums (but just certain ones mind you) in a small time span.

Pandora uses math, and it’s many users choices to help guide the songs played. For example, if I vote down John Lennon songs say five times, what happens is Pandora servers see that pattern and adjust next songs accordingly. Local radio? They play to pay the bills.

Disclaimer: I don’t work for any radio/web radio/satellite radio stations. I am not paid for what I write. It’s opinion based on observation and facts. My posts do not reflect on my company, and they are not sanctioned by my company.

What are the top five websites you’d hate to live without?

Google – http://www.google.com/ – and its family of sites – search engine, RSS reader, calendar, document functionality.
Evernote – http://www.evernote.com/ – freemium goodness abounds in this one. Blog post writing book, note taker, bookmark holder, task list system, rant organizer and so many more possibilities.
Dropbox – http://www.dropbox.com/ – despite some bad press in 2011, it remains a simple and easy way to transfer files from the phone, tablet, and computer while being able to get the files even if I don’t have one of my devices.
WordPress – https://wordpress.com/ – big blog and website system, unfortunately just about everyone seems to think they know everything about it.
Posterous – https://posterous.com/ – simple posting to your blog or gallery (or what you set up).

And bonus: Fuelly.com – http://www.fuelly.com/ – charts, graphs, notes on where, when, how much, it’s also competitive. It shows other people who have the same model car and what their averages are, this can make you wonder how they are getting better mileage than you.

Tablets – everyone seems to have an opinion, here’s mine. (Nook color vs. Xoom vs. iPad)

I bought a B&N Nook Color just before Christmas of 2010. (It was a present for me.) I bought it because I read… a lot. I have lots of paperback and hardcover books at the house. They range from classics to sci-fi, from horror to a couple that I guess you could call “romance” -I think that is what the author called them. I even have philosophy and history in my paper library.

I enjoy the smell of a book; I enjoy the feel of the document, and that is why I will continue to buy them under certain circumstances.

I bought the Nook because it may not have the feel or smell of a book but when traveling… It is awesome. I used to read three books when I’d fly somewhere and then have nothing once there. Then I’d have to buy something else and carry all of them back.

E-books and tablets ease that a lot. I search for a book or three, download them, read like normal, connect to the web download more, read and then take the tablet home. One thing to carry. Simple.

Nook color comes with a lightweight browser and some other add-ons. You can search for definitions of words, play chess, play Angry Birds (if you pay and download it) and other things too. Books, newspapers and magazines are available to download for your reading pleasure.

And reading is what I do on the Nook about 95% of the time. That is why I got it that is what it was bought for.

I’ve read where people have rooted their Nooks (which voids any warranty that the device had) and turned it into a lightweight tablet. I am not one of those people. There are reasons:

Warranties are there for a reason. If something goes wrong for any reason, no one will replace it if it has been rooted. Even if you root a Nook, it will not be nearly as polished as a Honeycomb tablet such as a Xoom. Better CPU, memory, etc… Fewer distractions on the Nook. When I read…. I read. Anywhere between 3 and 15 chapters in a single sitting. (Around 80-200+ pages)

The Xoom, on the other hand, is for my writing, some work, email, social media stuff, notes and a mini laptop.

I have not loaded the Nook app on the Xoom, and unless I am going on a quick trip, I won’t load it. I would rather carry the second tablet for the reason that I would want to read sometimes and other stuff the rest of the time. It’s a personal preference.

Apps I use on the Xoom will be added to the stuff page eventually.

A friend of mine just bought a Nook, an SD card, loaded a bootable version of Android Honeycomb on the card and had made his Nook color dual boot. Sure it is an experience thing but the Nook tablet isn’t made for a full experience. (Not to me at least.) If I were to do that then after doing so and after having the two minutes or less of “yay I did it” I would think to myself: “OK, now what?” Then eventually wipe the SD card and go on reading. Dual booting a Nook doesn’t take any “leet hacking” to do. Just Google search for a version you like, download and read the setup.

So what I am saying is:
1. Figure out what you want.
2. Ask people what they think of what they bought.
3. Go to the stores and play with them a lot.
4. Take a few days to think after playing, and then choose which (or both) to buy.

On an airplane, I will always read before trying to type a report, every time. So on a plane or in a car: Nook will win. Otherwise or should the situation come up where an email must be sent, and a laptop or desktop is unavailable… Xoom. (A smartphone can do emails, but it can be cumbersome to type on that tiny display/pad.)

My two cents…

And why did I chose Xoom over iPad?

… I wanted a tablet, not a supersized iPod touch.
I was disappointed with the iPod touch, not much more impressed with the iPad.