Skype

OK, I know Skype has been out for quite some time now - but I really want to write a review on it. In case you didn't know, Skype is a VERY cool service that facilitates voice over IP (VoIP) phone calls through your computer. The very "thin" software installs on your computer quickly and runs in the background. If your friends have it and they are logged on at the same time - you can communicate with them in any number of ways (including but not limited to: text chat, video chat, audio chat, games, application sharing, virtual whiteboard, etc.). See their web site for a more comprehensive listing (www.skype.com). Anyway - the reason I think Skype is VERY cool is because you can also call regular phones (land lines and mobile phones). For a small fee of $30 US dollars, you can make unlimited outgoing calls for a whole year! Not only that, but for about $90 you can buy a cordless Skype phone that works just like a regular cordless phone - and make calls using your Skype account! There are many different kinds of Skype phones that give you different levels of freedom. The most inexpensive (about $15) connects to the computer with a USB cord. The most expensive (about $120 last time I checked) don't require a computer at all - they are completely cordless and only require a wireless hotspot. So, you could not only use it at your house (if you have a wireless network) but anywhere you have free wireless access! That is pretty cool! A lot of airports and coffee shops have free wireless, so that means wherever you have wireless (wi-fi) you can use your skype phone! Very COOL! And, it's very useful. With this service combined with the device, I can throw away my traditional house phone and dramatically reduce my phone costs. Before I would spend $30-$40 a month on my home phone - now I spend $30 a YEAR! That's $2.50 / month! Keep in mind that with the Skype out service, the people you are calling don't have to have Skype. They don't even have to have a computer! Just a house phone or a cell phone! Now if they have Skype, things get even cooler! Because you can do lots of cool things. If you have a simple web cam ($15 at Wal Mart) you can make a video call. They can see you, and if they have a web cam, you can see them. Very cool! And, very FREE! Anyway - in case you couldn't tell - I really like Skype. Here are my ratings:

Coolness Rating: 8.5
Usefulness Rating: 8.9
Cheapness Rating: 8.9

Tablet PC

OK Tablet PCs. My company has issued me an Acer TravelMate C310. It's a nice little machine. I think the idea of the tablet is a really cool one. This machine probably weighs about 3 lbs and is very quiet (something I like in a computer - there's nothing worse than a loud cooling fan). Anyway - as I said it's really cool. But it's not cheap - and I'm not certain that it is useful. I've tried taking advantage of the notebook / journal type features. And they do work really well - no problems with text recognition or screen rotation, etc. However - the problem is the practicality. It's not really practical to have a 3 pound clipboard or notebook tablet. Hence, it's also not practical to have a highly advanced tablet computer if it weighs 3 pounds. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not a lightweight - I work out at the gym 3 times a week. It's just that it's not practical to have it - it's much heavier than just carrying a simple clipboard. Now, this functionality might be better used by students in college or high school. But for my profession - NO. I give it a 7.5 of the coolness scale. Because it is really cool - I can write and make notes on my digital documents. I give it a 4 on the cheapness scale - they're pretty comparable to standard notebooks (which are not cheap :-). And, I give it a 3 on the usefulness scale.

Acer TravelMate Tablet PC
Coolness: 7.5
Cheapness: 4
Usefulness: 3

About This Blog

Hello. I'm John Alphonso Yarlott. I have a love for technology. I also have a love for efficiency and frugality. Hence, I love cool, inexpensive, and useful technology. I like technology as a whole. I really like technology that is highly useful, and I really REALLY like technology that is cool, useful, and CHEAP! Given our most valuable resource (time) something should always be useful and cheap. The fact that it is useful means it will save me time (which is HUGE! I love saving time - even right now I feel that I am wasting my time because who in the heck is going to read this? I don't know - but I'm doing it because it is fun). Anyway - something useful will save me time. Something cheap will save me money! I like saving time and money! I want more time and more money so any time I can save time and money means I have more of it! That's great! Now, the reason I want more time and more money is so I can spend more of it on people who are important to me (God, family, church, friends, etc). Let's talk about blogging. Blogging is definitely cool! I give it a 7 (out of 10) on the cool scale. A lot of people have really used it to get published at noticed. It is definitely cheap (free for most services) so I give it a 9 (because you can pay a lot of money for a blog service if you want to. Usefulness? Hmmm, that's a good question. I suppose the people who credit making large fortunes with blogging would say it's useful. And people who use blogging as their daily journal or family log would find it useful. But as a whole... I don't think it is humongously useful (for my purposes, anyway). I give it a 6.

Blogs:
Coolness: 7 out of 10
Cheapness: 9 out of 10
Usefulness: 6 out of 10