Mini Blog: Free News Feed Reader

Feedly is an RSS news reader available on the internet, android phones, and tablets. Instead of going to multiple websites to gather your news, you just visit Feedly. It is integrated with Twitter, Facebook, Google+ (kind of...you habve to go through one thing to the other to get them) and Evernote. There is no search or analytic option. I don't really like Feedly, so I have found an alternative news feed reader. And that alternative issssss........

Netvibes! There is a free version and a paid version, as with most software these days. With the free version, you can do all things you could with Feedly, as in subscribing to different news generators, and more. You can create your own dashboard on the site, which you can arrange to your own liking as I have done below.

Contrasting Feedly, there is search capability and an analyzing option. Along with these features, you can also add your email, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ (in an easier fashion than on Feedly) onto your dashboard. You can also add a multitude of other widgets to the dashboard, like weather for instance, so you can do more while catching up on the news. It also uses more pictures and features from the news websites than Feedly does, creating something better to look at.

So Netvibes over Feedly in my book.

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Mini Blog: Darknet and Tor and Other Things I Shouldn't Know About

From what I've gathered, Dakrnet is the "hidden internet." You must connect to regular internet and the Tor network to access Darknet. Before I explain further about Darknet, let me first explain what Tor is.

Tor is an acronym for "The Onion Router." It is considered a privacy tool. It is a downloadable software, for computers and Android phones, that allows its users complete anonymity online by bouncing from internet severs and website traffic.

 It keeps people, whether it be groups like the government or individuals like your wife, from tracking your online habits. It was initially developed by the US navy in 2002. It is used by people wanting to avoid advertising websites from tracking them, people concerned about spying, and even political activists in other parts of the world. 

Okay, back to Darknet...

So there are a lot of good things on Darknet and bad. A huge portion of it is really people seeking a place to discuss or learn about politics because they live under a tyranny. There's also a lot of illegal stuff going down, and there have been quite a few busts on the site - especially where the Silk Road is concerned. (Which I have unwittingly found out is like the website for all things illegal on Ebay..fun)

So, being that Darknet is so anonymous and a little sketchy, links can be hard to find within it. You follow a list of links and clicking on anything within a page can take you somewhere else. And you never know what you'll see on there. 

It is not completely impenetrable, as I mentioned there have been busts. You are just as susceptible to viruses and hackers as you would be on the internet. It goes to say, do not trust any sites for information that you wouldn't normally on the regular internet just because you think you're untraceable.

So, Darknet (and Tor) isn't all good or all bad. There are indeed illegal activities going on, but that's not what it's all about. Tor Metrics shows countries under hard rule are using the network more and more.

It's all about how you use these types of websites!

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Free Music!

Time for another review...and this time it's free music!

Pandora Radio

I have the Pandora app downloaded onto my phone, so I use it regularly there, but I tried out the desktop version for this review. Used to be on the app, you only got 40 hours of free listening before it cut you off -- but the desktop version is always open and free to listeners. It allows you to put in artists you like (or you can choose from a list of popular genres) and it will generate music similar to that of which you selected. Something I really like about Pandora Radio is that it provides the lyrics to the song playing, some information about the artists, why it was picked for your station, and even some notes/chords playing in the song.

Also, another good quality is that Pandora allows you to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" a song in order to personalize your station further, as well as allowing the option to add variety by adding another artist to the station you picked.

You get 6 skips per hour - so up to 12 a day, which is a little lame because sometimes Pandora just does NOT get it right so you have to suffer through bad music or stop listening until the hour is up. One thing that annoys me though, if you hit thumbs down, it counts as a skip. Lame. 

Every other song it seems there's an ad. A really long, annoying ad. It's crazy how many ads there are.

Pandora doesn't really recognize artists until they get on the nationally known charts which sucks. You're more likely to get a Pitbull song instead of a song from Passenger.

Pros: Phone apps, okay variety, great song recommendation, customization, provides song/artist information, learns from moderation

Cons: SO many ads, no playlists, no unpopular/unknown artists

Next up is Spotify!

When creating an account, I see that Spotify is connected with Facebook, and while this is pretty moot to me because I don't have a Facebook account, I can see how this probably boosts the usage of Spotify. I did some research on it, and turns out you can suggest music and also see what all your friends are listening to - which can help discovering music if you and all your friends listen to the same type of music. There is the decision to use the app or download the desktop version.

Compared to Pandora, Spotify allows 5 skips and they are really strict on that. BUT! Spotify counts the number of skips you have remaining (as seen in the picture below). On 

Pandora you can get a little skip happy and not realize you've ran out. Also, a thumbs down does not count for

skips!

(image via www.digitaltrends.com)

You can add your collection of music already on your computer for use on your phone or in the software on its own. So you select what you want to listen to and these playlists are saved in your account.

I was a little disappointed with the radio usage. When you select a station, there's really no variety. Then oh my GOD when an ad comes on, it's terrifying. The volume goes up? Or maybe it was me just not expecting it, I'm not sure. 

Pros: Playlists, phone apps, connects to Facebook, countdown of skips

Cons: Ads are louder than music, radio usage not great

Now, Slacker Radio!

When I moved on to Slacker Radio, I didn't even have to create an account to start listening to music...so happy for that. But I also noticed the interface was a lot cooler and more personable than the others I had seen.

There is Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ integration on Slacker Radio...finally something that helps me. I really like that. Also, there are playlists and stations to be created and Slacker also counts down the skips (you get 6 per hour like Pandora). It also provides background information on the song and artist. So pretty much all my favorite parts about both websites are on this one website. I went as far as 6 songs without an ad, which is very different than the others listed on a free version.

Pros: Google+, Facebook, and Twitter integration, cool website, creates stations and playlists

Cons: None....so far

And finally we have Grooveshark.

Grooveshark gave me a kind of social networky vibe. You can do live broadcasts and connect to the community, explore other users stuff or listen to their broadcasts. You can queue up songs in the Now Playing section, and loop the entire sequence, or individual songs.

(image via www.pcmag.com)

You can upload your own music to Grooveshark to listen to, but it has to be a certain type. I didn't get the chance to, because all my music files are not supported, but above is an example. 

There are unlimited skips on Grooveshark! And you can even skip to a certain part in the songs you are listening to! Sucky part is there is no Iphone app for this website/software. It's Android based.

Pros: Social networking, unlimited skips, rewinding/replaying

Cons: no app, limited music file supporting

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Top 10 IT Related Costumes

Some will dress as slutty bunnies, some will dress as pop culture references, but only few will show their inner nerd and dress techy related - and those few I respect. Without further ado, here are the 'Top 10 IT Related Costumes' in no particular order, I just like them all :)

10. Lego Indiana Jones

9. Pong 

(The bars on the side actually move with his hands and he controls the mark with his mouth!)

8. Facebook Profile

 7. Wii

(I don't know if the mustache is costume related....?)

6. Firefox Couple

5. Minecraft IRL

4. Pacman IRL

3. Words with Friends

(Omg...why are there letters on her face..I don't know) 

2. Google Maps Destinations

1. Iphone Lockscreen

(too cute..can't deal)

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Facebook, Myspace, Google+ Comparisons

I'll just go ahead and tell you all, the only social media I really use these days are Twitter and Instagram. I'm not much for managing a whole page, even this blog is a bit much for me. But for this post I will compare Facebook, Myspace, and Google+.

Now, I used to have Facebook....3 years ago. I got really tired of it for some reason and left it idle fr the longest time. Then someone hacked into it so I just deleted it because I didn't want to deal with it anymore. I'm probably one of the like 10% of the population that doesn't have it, but ya know..oh well. I'm not going to sign back up, because I won't maintain the page. But I have gone to the home page (not the dashboard or timeline) to see some things have changed.

I don't remember the graph search and don't really know if it's relevant to be honest. 

I will say, when I had a Facebook page, that was where all my friends were. It's very well known and for that gives a better chance of socialization with people I know because it is so easy to find them with their search, as well as celebrities or maybe anyone else that I'd want to add. The site has so many languages for all its users and allows for people all around the world to communicate.

Also, I know that the site is much more than just a social media page.You can play games, find a job, learn about music or news and so much more. You can go to Facebook and not leave it for hours. That's something that annoyed me about Facebook though...

Facebook became a platform for games. Old people stay on there and invite people all day long like it's there job. Once you block invites for one game, another one would pop up. A lot of the people I know only get on Facebook for the games, so that's annoying.

I used to have Myspace as well, but my account was also deleted on there. I went back to find this: 

The interface change is so dramatic! I would definitely rather have the old one than deal with this updated version. You scroll to the right instead of down and that's so impossibly stupid I can't even deal. 

I don't really know how to edit my profile. The timeline is really strange. Messages continue to show up as new notifications even after you check them. (Notice Allyson Brewer harassing me in those messages) I just do not like it. 

So I started to search for any of my friends with no luck in finding anyone that still had Myspace. So, instead I looked for the band I've been really into lately...

Let me note that I hate the search features. And also, I hate all the columns, there is no information under the pictures, but still I found it. Myspace is really designed toward artists these days. I find no reason to keep an account or even deal with it since it's so hard to mess with. I'll stick to simple Twitter, thank you.

I have a Google+ account, as shown on my blog, but I don't frequently use the site. I find it to be pretty similar to what I remember about Facebook when I think about sharing capabilities. You can post statuses, share news stories, or refer items. I saw a small detail I liked when sharing a photo (of me and my boyfriend if you're curious).

You can edit the picture. More than just rotating, but you can also crop and enhance the photo. Just something I find useful.

Compared to Myspace, where I didn't know what I was doing, how to find something, or how to get back to a page once I got to another, Google+ has really nice, easy navigation. There are options along the top and the left to get you to what you want to see and once you click something the "Home" button is always visible to get you back.

A notable feature is Google Hangouts. They are seen on the right and allow you to talk to many people at once. You can also start a video party at any time, something I haven't seen on other social media sites.

Oh, there are no ads clouding the page like Facebook. A nice refreshment.

So overall, I'd pick Google+ as my preferred social media. It's just sad it doesn't have quite as many users as Facebook. And I don't even consider Myspace in the running because it sucks so bad, let's be honest. 

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