goog-free in two thousand three

August 26th, 2008 Troy

…er eight. I’ll keep a running log of things that occur to me during my google-free day and then just post this at the end of the day.

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I miss Google Reader. I feel completely disconnected from my friends, and the world for that matter, without Google Reader. And I’ve tried other RSS readers: Sage, Netvibes, Trillian’s RSS reader… I landed on Google Reader AFTER trying those, and found it superior. It is fast, customizable, and clean.

Not having Google apps makes me realize what I like about them. The design is simple and clean. Not alot of graphics, not alot of text, just the stuff you want without the fluff. No overbearing animations, just clean design that is useful. *sigh*

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Oh wow, I just had to use Yahoo maps. It was ok, but it felt crappier. The scrolling and scaling was all choppy. And the interface felt all cartoony.

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I use gmail to gather the email from all my pop accounts: email from this domain, from my business site, etc. So without it, I just had to use the webmail app (RoundCube) provided by my host. I was pleasantly surprised. They worked very hard to make it like a desktop app: requiring double-clicks to open emails, emulating windows, etc.

But it still pales in comparison to the lightning quick efficiency of gmail keystrokes, allowing me to slice through wave after wave of spam and unwanted subscription mail, sending it to the purgatory that is the trash bin, with it’s pending death looming 30 days away (when the trash is automatically dumped).

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So in summary, that sucked. Before today, a quiet little voice inside me wondered if I use Google apps because they are readily available and because I already have an account and just by default. But today I realized that I have just come to expect that Google apps will be superior, because they are superior. It saves me time knowing that I can usually start with Google to find an online service that I require, and I’ll likely not have to look elsewhere.

Tags: Google, google apps, online services
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this is hard

August 26th, 2008 Troy

It’s only 8am and I’m already fiending for some google. Would it be cheating if I set up a yahoo email account that retreived email from my gmail account? After all, it’s really just the interface that I miss. That clean, crisp interface, with it’s keyboard shortcuts and AJAX requests….

Snap out of it Troy! Pull yourself together man! It’s going to be a long day…

Tags: gmail, Google
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no google tomorrow

August 25th, 2008 Troy

I had to postpone my google-free day until tomorrow due to my being sick on the previously planned day. No, going without google did not cause me to fall ill. Although it might. We’ll see tomorrow…

Tags: Google
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hosting change

August 20th, 2008 Troy

Whew. I switched website hosting providers this week after using the same company for 7 years. I had a little down time, but it was due to me wanting to get all fancy. Ya know, I’m a web developer after all.

So these guys are awesome, I highly recommend them. Great service after the sale, as I required alot of it to do my fanciness, and a terrific price. Check them out in my Links section. And if you choose to use them, be sure you click through the banner there. I get some $$$!

Tags: hosting, site5, website
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the end of start

August 15th, 2008 Troy

My fish, named Start and Select by loyal blog readers, are done both Starting and Selecting. I noticed that Select had stopped eating last week, then shortly thereafter I noticed that he had stopped living. Start toiled on for a few more torturously lonely days, then joined Select in the vast fishbowl in the sky. Actually, he joined him in the trash can in the kitchen.

I don’t know if I’m ready to jump back into another fish owning experience. I feel really free right now, no once-a-day 5 second feeding responsibilities holding me back. Maybe if the right fish comes along, but for now, I’m just going to enjoy my freedom…

Tags: betta, fish
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