After a chaotic weekend, Lehman filed for bankruptcy and Merrill sold itself to Bank of America. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 504 points on the news (and roughly 20% of that loss occurred in the last hour or so of trading). It will forever be referred to here as “Brown Monday”. And the news is still coming.

Today we find…

• Russia’s market sold off 17% overnight and trading had to be halted - BRICs are doing nothing but crumbling;
• The US Treasury seriously considering conservatorship for AIG - no doubt the idea of losing both the massive credit risk hedges AND a good portion of the P&C market is playing a role here;

and…

• Wilbur Ross says get ready for 1,000 banks to fail - kind of scary even if he is half right.

Adieu.

UPDATE: Almost forgot…folks are wondering whether Blackberry subscriptions will take a hit now that Wall Street has been bludgeoned. Maybe those Blackberry addicts will go back to loving their spouses?

Smart work regarding user experience

I’ve been intermittently testing some new feed reading resources, hence I’ve been spending a little more time on Google Reader and a lot more time on Bloglines Beta (being as Bloglines has been my default reader for years). NewsGator, which I’ve tinkered with intermittently over the last few years, has renewed my interest too. Each has its quirks, but for now I think NewsGator has me wrapped up. The reason…seamless, ubiquitous access.

Read anywhere

I’ve always been a fan of speed, and desktop readers win in that category. Having tested NetNewsWire long ago, and Vienna since, I’ve found desktop suits me for real-time use. I can keep the application launched and hidden, and check the toolbar every now and again for new posts. However, should a person find themselves away from the desk - say sitting in a conference room at someone else’s office with an offering of a desktop in the corner with which to say check email, that favorite desktop feed reader becomes useless since it’s no longer available. You become a slave to whatever web-based reader you happen to keep maintained as a backup. Not so with the NewsGator offering - you subscriptions are your subscriptions, wherever you are. I’m using NewsGator Online to funnel through the large inbox first thing in the morning, and then I use the application to check news during the day - everything marked read is sync-ed between the two. On my latest test runs with NetNewsWire, I also discovered a great feature - Growl notifications. Every time the application polls for new postings, I get a little pop-up window telling me so - it’s not intrusive - and I don’t have “to act” to know there’s news.

Let’s go a step further - a run to the post office and meet an hour long line. I’m one that can’t even talk on the phone without pacing back and forth - I’ve got to have multiple things to do, always. So I get an itch to catch up on some midday reading. I could steer the Curve to the mobile versions of Bloglines or G-Reader, but they are fairly slow and not particularly user friendly from an interface standpoint. And I’ve found (at least with Bloglines) that messages I’ve read remain in the “inbox” when I return to the desk. None of this is a problem with Newsgator Go!. On my Blackberry, said mobile version is an application - it’s simple to install (they even identify your device and operating system for you ahead of time), and almost as easy to use as the desktop unit. When I read, it’s read - on the desktop app and online.

I believe this seamless integration between desktop app, web interface, and mobile access is what dummies are missing. Everyone in my age bracket I try to explain RSS (and readers) to first looks at me funny, and then exclaims that they either can’t install applications at work, or if they have to open a browser anyway so why shouldn’t they just go to the site of interest. At least I know where to point them now.

My favorite features

• Sync-ing - Did I say you could sync your feeds between the web-based, desktop, and mobile editions? Yea, I did, and that’s clearly my favorite feature of these products.
• Blackberry access - After wondering where the RSS for dummies explanation was hidden, and laying particular emphasis on the lack of tools for the Blackberry, I got it. I’ll admit I played with NewsGator Go! when it was still in the beta-ish stages (and even found a bug with the mobile clipping function), but I thought when the final release came the company would be charging for it. That didn’t happen, and the mobile app is now good enough that I frankly wouldn’t even mind seeing an ad now and then.
• Respecting the privacy - NewsGator went free with their apps some months ago, foregoing direct sales revenue for accumulation of attention data. But you can “privatize” that attention data nonetheless. I know…I should be sharing (and therefore I should also being using Google Reader). Sorry, but I don’t see the point when everyone else is already sharing what they read and doing it a heck of a lot faster than I anyway. Let’s face it - sharing what’s coming through your reader is probably great for journalists and/or professional bloggers, but I’m neither (and 99.9% of the internet using population isn’t either).

Some recommendations

I don’t think the NewsGator “suite” should rest on its laurels. I’d like to see:

• The online reader allow “mark as read” upon scrolling through the items (like Google Reader and Bloglines Beta) instead of just marked when accessed (like Bloglines classic);
• The mobile reader allow viewing headlines by folder, versus just feed source by feed source. Everyone using these types of apps likely has an unlimited mobile data plan (so let ‘er rip);
• NewNewsWire should allow me to set my own refresh time, instead of going with the minimum 30 minutes.

Hardly outrageous demands - in fact they’re fairly picky. Some of feature ideas may seem a bit complex to the RSS newbie, and I’ll admit even I spent a fair share of time tweaking the NewsGator suite as best I could. But to the new feed user I’ll say “don’t worry.” The stuff is plug and play - just create a free account, add a few feeds (the company will suggest some for you if you don’t already have some in mind), download the apps (if you like speed), and just read. I actually found some pretty good news selections on the web-based version too - I’ll have to do a bit more exploring as time permits. For those just catching a clue, simply look for little icons like this ( ) wherever you may surf, copy the URL of the page you are on from your browser’s address bar, and paste into you reader after clicking the caption that says “add new feed.” Good feed readers (like the ones I am talking about here) should take care of the rest.

Still don’t have a clue what RSS is and how it can keep you better informed while actually saving you boatloads of time? An RSS dummy, so to speak? Then click here and you’ll find the best thing since sliced bread for the uninformed, a simple Q&A.

Side note: NetNewsWire is a Mac OS X application. If you are a Windows user, the desktop apps you’d be going after are FeedDemon and/or NewsGator Inbox (for Outlook). I haven’t tested those, but I’d suspect they work much the same. And I am curious to know too.

Bruce Schneier:

After months of threats, it looks like RIM is giving in to Indian demands and handing over the encryption keys.

Before Blackberry users throw a tizzy, they should probably ask themselves how long their government has had said keys.

Cheer and good tidings first; light reading last

• Charlie Crist calls for an investigation of “Florida’s subprime-tainted fund.” It’s really a SIV tainted fund and a sub-prime tainted SIV, but I’ll spare you the details. More on the Florida Fund fiasco here, here, and here.
• Research In Motion: no slowdown. Is it a consumer thing? Personally, I’m very happy with my Blackberry, although I consider it a business tool.
• Myspace. Facebook. Go Wordpress!? This may sound a little outlandish now, but the open source blogging application has the install base and the development community to really put a hurting on the “traditional” fare.
• A Home Price Heat Map, compliments of Stephen Heise. Data runs from 1975 to Q3-2007. Very interesting - hit the pause button along the way.
• A reminder: next time you look into that camera someone might be recording the color of your eyes, among other things.

Again, happy holidays!

Some folks probably need the add-on to steer the car too (although I’m not one of those):

(h/t to PK)

That’s not exactly what the myriad of press releases say, but if some random research firm can wildly guess that Google’s Android cell phone operating system will capture 2% of the worldwide market in just a year’s time, I feel I’m entitled to some speculation of my own…

Motorola, Samsung, LG, and HTC already make plenty of crappy phones, desired by three types of customers:

1) Those who can’t afford an iPhone, or the subsequent iTunes bill;
2) Those who can’t afford Blackberry service, or the subsequent divorce; and
3) Those above who just dropped their device in the toilet (while using it ON the toilet), and can’t afford another until next month.

The opposite of the three above are those who already have a functioning iPhone or Blackberry, can’t live without it, and trying to convince the rest of the world they can’t live without one either.

Conclusion

Android goes live, the phone manufacturers spend gazillions integrating it, and it fails miserably. Sprint and T-Mobile die trying to sell the things. We are left with two decent hardware manufacturers with two decent operating systems…that Google can live happily within.

Then again, that’s just a wild guess.

UPDATE: I almost forgot Symbian. Been there, done that with Nokia. Nokia too makes great hardware - actually, I’ll call it utilitarian. Fits the masses well, but just doesn’t create the kind of fervor that would make you carry it with you into the bathroom.

I use a lot of SMS, and so do some of my friends (particularly the expatriates). Those SMS threads get long, and my Blackberry had been crapping out with Java exceptions. I drop into an AT&T store, and they give me two options: 1) go home, call customer service, and they’ll probably replace the phone, or 2) wipe the Blackberry and start over, hoping that would solve the problem. I couldn’t really do the latter in store without backing up some data, so I opted to try it from home first.

Last night I finally got around to syncing, and started the phone wipe. At first the menu remained, while a little submenu stated “Erasing” while displaying a little hourglass. Roughly an hour later, the phone’s still spinning, and I assume it’s just the screen locked because of another Java problem. I pull the battery and replace. Now, I’ve got a white screen with a spinning hourglass, and a network light blinking red. I watch that for another hour fifteen before I move to phase two.

The Service

I call AT&T, and meet the usual business customer care. They in turn transfer me to technical support, but not until after asking me what else they could do for me today. Of course, there isn’t a hell of a lot I can do when the phone is dead, so I decline any “additional support.” Upon transfer to tech, I sit on the phone for roughly 15 20 25 30 35 minutes, while the recorded message rolls through pitch after pitch. Interestingly, those offers are dispersed with messages that sound like they should be to the customer service rep. They say things like “Notify your customer that expected wait times are long, and reset their expectation” and “Have you upsold your customer for additional services?” That isn’t verbatim, but you get the idea - the transfer obviously didn’t go smoothly.

Eventually I get a technical support rep, and they have me take out the battery (again). Nothing works there, and I’m pushed to the warranty department (but I’ll qualify that that the tech support dude was pretty kind about it all). I’m now in the queue. 10 15 20 25 minutes pass before I get a human. The matter is “quickly” resolved - the Blackberry is under warranty and they are sending me a new one. In five to seven days.

The Irony

I left the phone sitting on my desk with that little hourglass spinning. I went out to walk the dog. I returned to the same.

Interestingly, a bit later the phone reboots - it’s now wiped and everything looks fine. My guess is the combination of password and content protection (i.e. encryption) and 1,000+ contacts, a full calendar, all my Entourage notes, etc. took a lot longer than anyone expected.

Despite being quite caring on the phone, if AT&T had taken another hour to answer in the first place, the problem would have been solved!

Epilogue

I called AT&T back to see if they could cancel the replacement - it isn’t happening. So, the replacement device goes right back where it came from (in five to seven days) unless those Java exceptions start reappearing again. And, despite all the commentary about how bad AT&T customer service is, my experience wasn’t bad at all. Yes, I was on hold for quite a while, but I did call in the evening (so that’s expected). Second, everyone was courteous…actually extremely pleasant. I got the feeling they were actually jumping through hoops for me. Maybe it’s my phone voice.

UPDATE: The Java errors returned almost immediately. And the next morning, my phone was back in white-screen/hourglass mode - I set it for automatic turnoff each evening, and it wakes with the alarm - the thing was obviously toast.

Maybe it’s just a cruel joke on me.

Last night at about 10:00 pm my Blackberry clock fell back an hour. I checked the time on the laptop, and sure enough it said eleven. At first I thought I’d wake up in the morning and the laptop would have changed, but this morning that hadn’t happened. Immediately, I blamed Apple and their updates, but as it turns out that’s not the case - Apple pushed updates long ago, and time isn’t supposed to change until next week.

The perpetrator is the Blackberry. I check my time settings, and found device time an hour behind network time. Strangely, however, my phone is set to update on network time, but an adjustment didn’t happen. Who do I charge that hour to? Eh…the dog doesn’t mind either way.

UPDATE: I wasn’t the only one.

Following up on my Skype on the Blackberry experiment…

I wound up using the IM+ for Skype program very little, primarily because I start getting SMS messages instead of Skyped the moment I leave my desk. The program worked fine the few times I did use it, but it still gets a big F-. Why? Because it is virtually impossible to get the program off the device. I tried deleting it via the app manager - it doesn’t show up. I tried deleting it from the device - it’s not listed under applications. I tried deleting it module by module, but the associated modules don’t have a menu item available for deletion.

Then I trolled the forums, and it seems everyone has this problem. And nobody has a credible solution.

Bad, bad, bad.

No nonsense.

I wanted Skype on my Blackberry since I use a whole lot of Skype IM. There’s a program for this - IM+ for Skype. You need Blackberry Desktop Software to install it, which runs on Windows. I’m on a Mac, as are a whole lot of other folks.

Some people have had trouble with this for some reason. While I’m usually the one with the trouble, I think a few folks were just missing a piece here or there that either kept them from getting the Blackberry connected properly, or getting the BB Desktop Software jammed up somehow. Nevertheless, here’s the quick and dirty to getting it done…

Now, this puppy is going to run for a few minutes, then stall. Be patient, because it will never “unstall.” Wait. Wait some more. Wait even more. Go out to lunch, then come back and wait again. It will always look half finished. I tried three times, then got a clue and simply unplugged the Blackberry from the cable. The software had loaded, and worked just fine.

I’d go into gross detail, but you get the idea and I don’t want a lot of technical questions I can’t answer flying my way. But I do have a few notes on the IM+ software. First, it does its intended job - I’ve had no problems sending or receiving IMs. Second, if you have unanswered chats on your desktop Skype when you hit the road, it’s going to upload those as though it thinks you want to continue. Minor prob, if one at all. Last - being logged in via the phone does not signify web presence, as in folks don’t know you’re online by looking at those fancy little icons like I have on my contact page. Again, who cares.

Based on my initial review, I’ll probably purchase the IM+ when the trial period runs out (if it even does - who knows). It’s pretty handy if you are a Skyper, and also have a Blackberry permanently fused between your two hands (I know a good surgeon who can do this if you like too).

Adiós.

UPDATE: A few additional points…

UPDATE 2: Now, there’s Skype for the iPhone, compliments of the same company. Hope it’s easier for Mac users to install.