The Latest Creative Idea Blog: The Sizzling Idea Blog

You may have noticed that it's been awhile since I last posted to this blog. Well, the truth is that I just got a bit tired of writing about things that I wasn't passionate about. Don't get me wrong. I love technology. It's awesome and is the only reason that life is this easy these days.

However, I just couldn't seem to produce anymore cool content about tech.

So I've made a little switch in direction. I've begun to write about not just awesome technological advances. I'm not just introducing the latest freeware, web tools, and gadgets-- I'm now writing aboutevery creative idea that makes the world a better place in my new blog, The Sizzling Idea Blog: Hot Banana Peppers.

Actually, I wouldn't say that I'm writing about every creative idea. I'm not writing about huge products like iPhones or cars, despite the fact that they are interesting ideas that improve our lives. I'm writing about those little ideas that make the little things a bit better.

Think about reversible clothing or umbrella hats or instant ice. They are the creative ideas that don't get recognized everyday. And I'd like to recognize them.

I think this is truly something that I'm passionate about. I love creativity. Just love it.

So if you're interested, I invite you to take a look at The Sizzling Idea Blog.

If not, I understand. Creativity isn't for anyone.

"Get a Mac" Campaign Ends: What's in Apple's TV Advertising Future?

"I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC." This award-winning line, voiced by Justin Long and John Hodgman, has become a symbol of Apple's surge in the computer market. We can all quickly identify these seven words as the starter for Apple's series of witty ads, each finding a different way to show the PC up. But unfortunately, today, Apple made it official that this campaign would be discontinued, removing the ads from their website.
However, with the success that Apple has found with TV advertising, I would expect a new line of spots to air in the very near future. But how will they retain the same effectiveness?

Keeping it Fresh

Obviously, Apple must be able to come up with strong new content. But that's not the big issue, especially with the team of brilliant minds working on their advertising.
These days, television has essentially lost its ability to persuade people to buy things. It's now more about showing people that a product exists, basically publicizing it. However, Apple has plenty of publicity so really, what they want to do with advertising, is maintain their brand.
In the "Get a Mac" spots, they were able to effectively portray Mac's brand as a cool, youthful product for the quirky, artistic consumer. They achieved this by fascinating, amusing, and amazing the viewers.
Now, how will Apple replicate the success of "Get a Mac" without duplicating the same idea? In other words, how will they project their brand again, in another clever way?

Which products?

Do they want to continue to advertise the Mac heavily, or do they want to focus on other products such as the iPad?
Also, part of keeping it fresh is to avoid over-promotion; if Apple were to heavily advertise each of their products, they would lose their novelty and intrigue, two key components in the campaigns.
Personally, I think that they need the TV to help promote the two products they have entered into the most competitive markets, the iPhone and the Mac, for smart-phones and computers respectively. The iPad is a relatively new product, but it's entered into the much smaller market of tablets, and has already gained huge publicity. I'm not saying that the iPhone and Mac haven't gotten their fair share of publicity, but what I'm saying is that they need even more.

Will they shift their resources?

TV advertising is gradually moving out of the picture, as online presence and public relations become the two big things. Being the innovative, cutting-edge company that they are, Apple can opt to change their focus a bit. I wouldn't doubt that they will continue to air TV ads but how many they will air, is one thing they have to consider.
Is it still a good idea to allocate as much resources as they are currently, to TV advertising, while the internet is just as good, if not a better tool for furthering their brand?

In the end, there really isn't a way to be sure of what the geniuses at Apple will do next. But hey, we can always try.

Even With Google TV: Why Broadcast Television Will Never Die

It's been a long week and finally, Friday evening has arrived. Today, your boss yelled at you, you lost your wallet, and then, had to sit through two hours on the freeway during five o'clock rush hour. Basically, you just want to plop yourself onto the couch and relax, with a beer in one hand, and a burger in the other. Naturally, the first thing you do when you get home is to make a beeline for your beloved remote.
This a routine that pretty much any American can attest to going through on a frequent basis. For many of us, this is one of the main parts of life. If you ask me, it'll be pretty hard to change that.
However, Google has other plans, unveiling today, its newest innovation: Google TV. It is touted as something that will combine the best of both worlds, the internet and television. Its developers have promised that users will be able to utilize Google's elaborate search system to find their favorite online video content, then stream that on their televisions. Other nice bonuses include the ability to add favorites/bookmarks and surf the web.
Now, I'll admit, that does sound a lot better than Apple's faltering mega-creation, Apple TV. And of course, it is quite well-known that Google rarely fails to satisfy its demanding customers.
However, while I strongly believe that the internet will be the basis of everything in the very near future, I cannot see good ol' broadcast television ever fading completely from the picture.
I am well-aware that Google's wonderful search system can easily meet the highest of expectations. Still, when even after ten Venti Lattes, you're still exhausted and utterly brain-dead, the last thing you want to do is the "tedious" work of typing in a search query to find something to watch. Pressing the up arrow to surf channels is just that much easier. Frankly, it's a commonly known fact that us Westerners absolutely despise spending extra effort when there is any slightly easier alternative.
Also, there isn't a doubt that surfing channels is way more amusing. Many people adore the enthralling randomness of just trying to come across something watchable. It would be extremely difficult to replicate this feeling of randomness with Google TV, because even with some sort of "random content" feature, the scope of the web is so humongous that the likelihood of bumping into a good show would be next to zero.
And that is one of the tough-to-avoid downsides of Internet content. Humans are a race that lives for every bit of small satisfaction that they can get. And unearthing a good show out of your hundreds of channels is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world.
As an illustration, think about radio. Sure, music has higher sound quality, more customizability, and no ads on your iPod, but it's so much more thrilling hearing your favorite song on the radio, than it is choosing it on your iPod. Moreover, radio has a real sense of personality that isn't just whatever you want it to be; it actually has some life, some flare. Thus, I believe that within the decade, TV will be where radio is now. People will still enjoy it, but there will be many alternatives getting more and more attractive.
Still, even when it reaches the radio phase, TV might just be one thing that is indeed, "too big to fail".
But ponder this: What if marketing takes a turn and further de-emphasizes TV advertising? Then, TV stations simply won't be able to fend off bankruptcy, no matter how many people watch their shows.
I'll leave you with that thought.

Why Readers Hate Your Blog Widgets

As an avid blogger, you probably dream about that day when you'll be able to make a living off your Google AdSense income. Every minute, you'll have a new visitor and you'll be able to declare your Google PageRank without squirming in embarassment.
Of course, in order to reach this level, you need a quality blog. That's a given. And to have a quality blog, naturally, it has to be awesomely useful and entertaining.
Then, you see the light, your savior. Blog widgets! Blog widgets can let readers check Facebook, check their horoscopes, send texts, see the forecast, and just about anything else that you could imagine being awesomely useful and entertaining.
Unfortunately, widgets don't lead to success, and it could even be argued that they actually detract from your blog's overall appeal.
So before you add a widget to your blog, think about these 3 things:

1. Is it relevant?

Now, it is true that your blog should be awesomely useful and entertaining. However, it is not true that your blog has to do everything anybody could ever ask for. Do you think that people need your blog to check the weather? There's the Weather Network, the iPhone weather app, and Yahoo! Weather. Your blog is the last place anyone would check for the five-day forecast.
One of the key principles in marketing is focus. Focus is essential to the success of any brand, and actually, the same goes for your blog. If you have a horoscope widget, a Pac-Man game widget, a slideshow of landscape photos, and a Time Magazine widget, people will be confused. What's your blog's purpose? But more importantly, what am I going to go to your blog for? For my blog, people will visit to find out about the latest in tech from the perspective of an average Joe. Therefore, I do not display the price of gas, dictionary or love calculator on my page.

2. Will people care?

Even if a widget is entirely relevant to your blog's material, you have to consider a question that people often like to hide from: Will people actually interact with this widget? I could have a widget for technology news on the sidebar of my blog, but I am well aware that nobody would care to use this. When people want news, they go to Time or Google News, not Useful Crap.

3. Load time

And finally, you have to bear in mind that any widget will add to your page's loading time. People hate waiting for a blog to load. If it begins to take too long or the process slows down their computer, it's possible that they'll just close the page before they read anything. Overcrowding a blog with widgets, however relevant and useful, will piss your readers off.


Now, if a widget passes all of these tests, then you can safely add it to your page. But before getting too excited about every one of the thousands of widgets in Widgetbox's gallery, think about how your readers feel.

Dear "Quit Facebook Day": The Privacy Policy Won't Lead to World Domination

Similar to how Y2K didn't happen, 2012 isn't going to happen, and the Pittsburgh Pirates aren't going to win the World Series, Facebook will never take over the world. If it's alright with any fearful Facebookers out there, I'm going to put my money on Mark Zuckerberg not wanting to be the world's next supreme dictator.
With the recent uproar about Facebook's controversial privacy policy changes, people have started a "Quit Facebook Day" on May 31.
The group that started this movement has expressed concern over the "Open Graph" concept that Mark Zuckerberg has pioneered. Basically, this will allow Facebook, CNN, and 6 other sites to share the personal information of users, in order to adapt content, advertising, etc. to everyone's personal needs. Unless people think that Facebook wants to overthrow the government-- or for that matter, create a new super-awesome mind-control regime-- I don't see why this is problem. They're improving our user experience and showing the ads we would most likely click on and/or find useful.
Also, another concern is that more user information is being shared with the public, and not just your friends. My view on this is that if you're not OK with your profile picture and personal interests being shared with everyone, you shouldn't be posting them in the first place. If you feel that these pieces of information would embarass you if some people saw them, why would you post them?
All in all, unless you seriously think Facebook wants world domination, don't quit Facebook.

Why Facebook is the Next MySpace (aka Why Facebook is Going Down)

Facebook rocks. Everyone talks about its convenience and social applications, while of course, everybody else has it. But it's going down. Wait. Does this remind you of something? Specifically, the last blue-and-white social network empire?
Back when Harry Potter was still the big thing, George Dubya's approval ratings were still high, and the New York Mets weren't a joke, MySpace rocked too. Everyone talked about its convenience and social uses, and more importantly, everybody else had it.
But boy, did it go down. At this point, Facebook trumps MySpace in users by more than two times.
Now, taking a step back here, does anyone remember why so many people began to shy away from MySpace? Personally, I recall things like bugs, slow wait times, unnecessary features, poor interface, and an overall drop in coolness. Facebook downed MySpace with a simple user interface, geared toward a new generation, that solely performed the age-old task of social networking (age-old because talking used to count as social networking).
However, now the site is error-infested, with new features/layouts that confuse us innocent Facebookers more and more, every day. And to boot, the fact that everyone is joining may be Facebook's downfall. When this happened to MySpace, it stopped being the outlet where rebellious youngsters could come and say, "I'm different. I have this social network and not that one." In other words, when mom and dad join Facebook, it stops being chic and it sure stops being fun.
Still, I'm not saying that Facebook will crash tomorrow. 400 million people can't decide that Facebook sucks, all at once. The fall of an entire empire is a long process. However, every trend stops being trendy after awhile (with the exception of the almighty Google).
But for all intents and purposes, Facebook rocks. For now.

Questioning the Utility of the iPhone and iPod Touch

One of the main arguments most giddy teenagers use to convince parents to buy them an iPhone or iPod Touch is their actual utility for doing useful stuff (such as accessing Useful Crap (Oh my goodness, what a witty comment!)). Their irksome shrieking voices utter flawlessly planned lines that often breach these confines: "There are apps that'll help me do my homework," and "I can become more organized with calendars and stuff," and "I won't have to be on the computer all day to do stuff," and the always effective "BUT WHY!?!??!?!"
Of course, while it is impossible to combat the latter, you may have some luck using pure logic to clash with the other ones. But let me join their side (because after all, I am somebody who wants $300 crap that I'll probably never really use) for a second. It's true; you'll have to concede that there are apps out there that can help kids do their homework. There are study guides and question-and-answer apps and all the other stuff. There are many calendars and event organizers that can really be of great value. And in fact, it's quite possible that you will be able to re-claim the home computer as yours. This cannot be argued. You can even concede that the iPhone may be one of the most utile machines on the planet. I mean, it's got a phone and a camera and all those apps and a GPS; it's geektastical gold.
But that's not what the real question is. The real question is, how often are your kids actually going to use the goody-two-shoes features? Will they be reading up on the day's economic fluctuations or will they be reading up on the latest developments in the Paris Hilton saga? Will they be communicating ideas with friends about the American Revolutionary War or will they be communicating ideas with friends about the next big party? Will they be busy making an agenda or will they be busy popping touch-screen bubble wrap?
These are all questions that must be considered. Well actually, I'll just tell you the answer and save you the hassle. It's always the second answer. Simple as that. No matter how much they whine, "BUT DADDY!!! I WILLLLL!!!" they won't.
So come the holiday season, don't donate 300 bucks to Steve Jobs' plan to take over the world. You can get a workable MP3 player or even an iPod for $100, $150. Then hey, maybe you'll spend 20 bucks on getting them to remember what those obsolete books were all about.

Breaking News: Facebook Downed by Twitter in Number of Users, Bankruptcy Looming

OK, I'm going to tell you right off the top, Twitter has nowhere near the number of users that Facebook has and it'll be a while before Facebook goes bankrupt but we can dream, can't we? Well the deal is, Facebook is the most popular social networking platform on the web and its reputation is expanding faster than Barack Obama's line-up of misguided, utopian legislation.
Everyone wants a Facebook account because everyone has a Facebook account. The most popular social network generally becomes the even more most popular social network because social networking is a narcissistic popularity device, or euphemistically, connecting with as many people as possible.
Becoming a fan of crunchy looking leaves is obviously an attempt to make yourself look like a joker. At the same time, becoming a fan of Michael Jackson is an obvious attempt to make yourself look cool. And posting your responses to surveys is an obvious attempt to make yourself look frisky and likable and witty.
But when a narcissistic popularity device ceases to function just like every single one will eventually, people stray away to the new big narcissistic popularity device. Think about it, MySpace lost to Facebook because of its complex and less-than-sleek features that made operating a MySpace account, way to hard. Now think about this: Isn't Facebook just following right in MySpace's footsteps?
Facebook started as a humble college social network then expanded to cater to the entire world. It's changed the homepage layout several times to "improve the efficiency". They've added little customization features to the status updates and they've even started giving us recommendations on who we should start talking to more. They've stolen every feature that Twitter made and added them to its interface. They continue to develop because they think it's quite productive; after all, it has gotten them into profitable status.
However, if anything, all this feature-loading is congesting the site and being counter-productive. When you type in "facebook.com", you don't see a nice, clean-looking page anymore; you see endless updates from every single friend and every single page you've subscribed to in the middle, each with profile pictures and other pictures and comments and "likes" and buttons prompting you to share these updates.
Then you've got more updates plus robotic suggestions and narcissism-extending requests and events and "pokes" on the side. It's gotten so bad that I'm just not looking at anything anymore. I've become a rebel and switched to Twitter.
Twiter barely has a feature and that's the best part. All you are expected to do is make updates on your status, maybe favorite a few tweets and participate in the number sign phenomenon. You're not obliged to check every photo that your friends have posted and watch all those boring ten minute videos. You don't have to bother joining fan clubs or sending people virtual gifts. There aren't applications. All you do is tweet. And that rocks.
Facebook is over-complicating itself and is failing to be that perfect way to inflict our self-centred comments on others. In fact, the internet as a whole is over-complicating itself. Who knows when Internet will be the outdated weirdo medium that radio and television are, and some other grand platform will take over the minds of our children? Who knows?

The Only Youtube FLV Video Converter that's Actually Working for Me

My search for a way to download YouTube videos as keepsakes began in the heart of the Obama Presidential Campaign, during the Democratic National Convention. I'd heard some pretty damn inspiring words on those few few days and I thought it'd be nice to be able to have Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama and the one and only Barack Obama on my MP3 player (which sucks, by the way). So it started with the search query, "online youtube video converter" on Google, which led me to VideoConvertX.
This site worked great for the longest time and in fact, I was very satisfied. However, when I wanted to download Bill Clinton's big speech, I went through the usual process: paste the URL, input my email, wait for the conversion to finish (indicated by email). However, once I received this very convenient email notice and went to click on the link, suddenly, no download thing showed up. I tried it several times after that, but it continued to fail miserably.
Then, one of my friends advised me to try Vixy.net. It actually worked fine for a few conversions but then halted abruptly. And by the way, don't even bother trying to go to Vixy.net because the site has been taken down, although it remains at the top of most Google queries for video converters.
And after going through a bunch of sites that failed to meet my relatively loose requirements, I've found one that works. Yes. It's Convert For Me. It does what you want a video converter to do; it converts Youtube videos into several formats that you can save onto your computer or portable device.
And for those of you who skipped right to the URL, you missed a damn epic story.

Finally, An Alternative to Google Trends that Actually Works: Find the Web's Biggest Trends with Surchur

I've always thought that somebody needs to make a site that summarizes the big things happening on the web at any given time. Google Trends is an attempt at this, albeit the fact that it is horrendous. Well, I think I've hit the jackpot with Surchur, the most comprehensive listing of the web's trends.
Surchur calls itself, "The dashboard to right now," and rightfully so. The operators of the site provide hourly updates to "The Realtime Board", a list that aesthetically shows what's hot. There are two lists on this board: Hot topics and Catching fire. Hot topics lists what's hot right now, while Catching fire lists what's rising quickly. Meanwhile, each listing is followed by a ranking of its popularity on Surchur itself, the blogosphere and Twitter in addition to where the listing is most popular (the feared Google Trends, Yahoo! Buzz, Twitter Trends, Technorati, Bing xRank or CNN Popular).
Also accessible is a "surch engine", which lists hot URLs from blogs, social networks, news sites, media sites and product listings. Users can influence these results by making comments or voting on how good the URL is. And at the bottom, Surchur conveniently shows all the top results from other big "web categorizers" such as Digg, Delicious, Google Blog Search and Newsvine.
Plus, all this is packaged in a clean, appealing template that makes everything neat and easy-to-read. So Surchur is the site and check it out, it might interest you.

The 5 Irrational Reasons Why You Want to See Michael Jackson's "This is It" in Theatres

Going with the spirit of paying tribute to Michael Jackson, I'm going to tell you the real reasons why you're paying 9 bucks to see "This is It". You're probably thinking, "It's a good movie" or "I love Michael Jackson" and perhaps these reasons to apply to you. Unfortunately though, the vast majority of the 20 million people who will see "This is It" this week don't get to use those. It's sad but true. Here are the 5 real justifications:

5. You think it will help you become like MJ

This is a classic case of people feeling a need to satisfy their sub-concious fantasies of becoming rich, famous and loved. If these things are already part of your goals, you might think that watching "This is It" will make you informed and give you inspiration to "do great things".

4. You need to feel like you were a part of the tragedy

When something big happens during your lifetime, you want to feel like you were right in the centre of it. You want to feel like somebody who genuinely mourned his death and you want to feel involved in his great life and legacy. This is similar to the story of Barack Obama, the first African-American president in United States history. Everybody wanted a piece of campaign merchandise, whether a shirt or a bumper sticker, because they want to be identified as a part of the movement.

3. You want to have credit as a true fan

Half the people who never liked Michael Jackson's music suddenly started flooding into HMV to buy his CDs and memorabilia. This is because they want to be considered a real, die-hard Michael Jackson fan because that's just the "cool" thing right now. Seeing "This is It" in theatres is something I know people will be boasting for decades to come. They saw the tribute to the king of pop in theatres!

2. You want to feel like you're dong a good deed

It's true. When you go to a funeral of a person you never really knew or liked, one of the factors is that you can feel nice. After all, you're acknowledging and mourning somebody's death; what a nice thing to do! And even better, it's a famous person that everybody likes and maybe I'll even cry in between because that'll really show I care. But really, watching a movie isn't doing a good deed. No lies.

1. Because everybody else is

Ah, good old peer pressure. It's a contributor to virtually any decision we make. No less watching Michael Jackson rehearse for a concert. We need to be able to join in on the conversation at the bar or we think that watching a movie about a musician that some girl likes will give us a few points. I'm sure plenty of people will be scorning at those who didn't watch "This is It" just to feel that warmth inside that they did so they're cooler.

Why GM Will Never Overtake Toyota Unless They Start Making Hovercraft

This is a little mock advertisement I put together to sort of illustrate what I talk about in this post. It's not very professional since it's on a 0-dollar budget but you get basically what it's supposed to get across:



General Motors was a humble little start-up in Flint, Michigan back in 1908. Not even founder William C. Durant could have predicted that it'd climb to such heights. Throughout the 20th century, it gained a reputation in the United States, as maybe the best practical car around. And even as the 21st century dawned, GM still held the lead in annual sales. Nobody could have predicted that it would have fallen this hard back in the glory days of the mid-1900s. However, since the late 80s, disaster had been knocking on the auto giant's door, and finally it grew big enough to shoot GM down.
But after filing for bankruptcy, the company is making an honest effort to re-gain its footing on the automobile market. Determined executives are calling it the "re-invention". But they are still refusing to look up to their Japanese counterparts, not willing to damage their sensitive ego. Let's face it though, GM will never get past Toyota ever again as long as cars are the prime mode of transportation. I think most average Americans have realized the Harvard executives at GM can't seem to grasp it.
However, I don't mean to convey that GM should admit defeat and just shut down. They don't even have to tangibly admit defeat. But they do have to stop trying to be number one and start trying to be number two.
I know that sounds odd to you. But look at the auto sector as a race on a sheet of ice. GM had been gliding along nicely as the leader for almost a century but then suddenly, it slipped and fell. So Toyota and a few other brands retained their pace and sped ahead. Once GM got back up, they were quite far from the lead position. On the other hand, now they're trying to run at full speed to try and catch up. That's not going to work though running to fast on ice is just going to make you fall again. GM just has to maintain a steady sustainable pace that won't make them fall down but allow them to remain a contender. Here's why.
If you took a poll of every American driver, and I'm sure plenty of agencies have already done so, it's most likely that a majority will consider Toyota the leader in fuel efficiency, value, environmental issues, service and practical performance. These are aspects that GM owned for the past few decades but has been taken away from them. However, GM is outraged over this fact and its inflated ego is telling it to try to snatch all these things back. But common sense and the marketing knowledge, that I know they have, is telling them to project themselves as something that Toyota is not, even the opposite. You're probably thinking, "Well, they can't say they damage the environment, are too expensive, are not fuel-efficient at all and make bad cars." I agree, they can't. But what else do analysts talk about and label Toyota when they continuously assert its excellence? They say that Japanese cars are this and Japanese cars are that. That's the key word, Japanese. But I'm not telling GM to start discriminating against the Japanese, I'm saying for them to advertise the fact that they're American and if you're a real American, you'll buy GM.
Now, I'll admit: A lot of people aren't about to buy a car that they think isn't very good just because they think it'll make them a better American. Then again, there are plenty of people who value this image of patriotism. A 4th generation American is going to be very upset if they feel any less American than anybody else; they'll but a GM. How about companies that want to seem genuinely American; they might use GMs for any transportation needs. These demographics aren't going to allow GM to re-gain top spot but they will allow GM to re-gain its status as a successful company. And research has shown that people prefer to buy from successful companies so who knows what will come of a simple step in the other direction?
Nobody can claim that they're more American than GM but there are plenty of companies who can claim that they make better cars. And maybe GM does make better cars but in the end, its about who the consumer thinks makes better cars.

All the Top News on One Simple Page: Most Emailed News

Surfing around, sometimes when I see an intriguing ad, I'll click on it, and sometimes, it'll lead to something good. This time, I hit the jackpot. Most Emailed News (or the cheesily awesome way of doing it, Most Em@iled News) is a very simple website. In fact, there's really only one page on the entire site. It just compiles all of the most emailed news from the major sources, and puts them all into a less than beautiful but very effective list.
It's got the top 5 most emailed articles or videos from 17 different sources, including the likes of the New York Times, Time Magazine, Digg, BBC, Wired, USA Today and Youtube.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Well, that's pretty useless." That's exactly what I thought when I first came across this. But soon enough, you'll realize that not only does this give you the most interesting and relevant news, but it saves you tons of time in contrast to you doing all this manually.
Well, there's not much else to say about Most Emailed News, it's simple, cool and very effective.

Get Invites to the Hottest New Sites with the Original Invite Exchange: Invite Share

When a new and unique website or web service comes out, often, companies will not grant the general public access. Instead, they will employ the invite system, where new users are only allowed in when an existing user sends an invite to them. Unfortunately though, the original invites are generally sent to a list of famous people to raise hype, and so unless you have a circle of famous friends, you aren't going to get many invites very easily. You may be thinking, "Well, why in the world would any company want to do that?" Really, it's quite an effective strategy that is often used by Google to raise hype and test the service.
Still, it's an inconvenience to us humble users, but the good people at TechCrunch have found a way to jump this hurdle, with their new service Invite Share.
As suggested by the name, the concept of this site is simple; different people exchange invites to different sites for everyone's benefit. So when one user happens to get an invite to say, Google's GrandCentral, they can join and then send out invites to other members of Invite Share. And the more invites to GrandCentral he sends out, the higher priority he gets to have when he signs up for an invite to another site. What this means is that when he wants to get invited to a site through Invite Share, he'll "Add his name to the list". This puts his name somewhere on a list of users waiting on an invite, depending on your priority rating.
It seems useful and foolproof, doesn't it? The only problem with this site, as with many others, is the popularity. By this, I mean, there's too much popularity on the receiving end but not enough popularity on the sending end. The waiting lists for some sites get to 1000 users and by the time you get an invite, the service you're waiting for might even be released to the public. However, it's not hard to gain priority; if you've just gotten invited to a private service, throw a party, then, join Invite Share and your priority will skyrocket with every invite you send.
And bear in mind that over 100,000 invitations have already been sent and there are 54 sites you can sign up for, so you pretty much can't go wrong giving Invite Share a try.

Dear Steve Jobs, the Mac Will Never Overtake the PC and Here's Why

Apple's Macintosh was touted as a revolution in computing because it boasted a graphical user interface. However, from the beginning, the Mac has been fighting an uphill battle likely due to a poor marketing strategy. But with Steve Jobs' arrival at Apple, the Mac has turned around and has regained some of its market share. It will never take over top spot though and here's why.

5. It just isn't that great

It's true. I know all the humorous Mac vs. PC commercials have gotten you thinking many bizarre things but the Mac just is not that good. You probably think that the Mac never crashes, it's good at handling photos and movies, it's got an easier-to-use interface and just about everything else. However, the PC has things to compete with virtually every aspect the Mac thinks its got going. iPhoto, Apple's ultimately awesome photo software has absolutely nothing on Google's Picasa and Windows Photo Gallery. And iMovie has nothing on Windows Movie Maker. That's not all though, there's tons of excellent freeware on the internet that only work on PC.

4. Abnormal

Most people have used a PC for a majority of their computing. They've gotten used to the simple and surprisingly convenient interface of the friendly PC. But then Mac comes along, decides to take away a button from the mouse, put a weird little bar of icons on the bottom of the screen and tweak just about every little thing the PC has done over the years. While Apple thinks it's being innovative and making everything cooler, consumers are just shaking their heads in confusion. And again, many software and computer games are incompatible for Mac because of its "innovation".

3. Impractical

Even most Applers admit that Microsoft Office is a much more effective system than Apple's iWork. The thing is that most people don't want to "create a beautiful document"; they want to create a professional document. So Office beats iWork; that basically wipes out students and business people as potential customers. And what does that leave? I mean, for most people, the prime use of a computer isn't just to play around creating little songs with GarageBand or fiddling with the cool features of iPhoto.

2. No reputation

When you see a guy holding a MacBook, you think "young, creative, eccentric", which might be good for an artist or an actor. And I'll admit, if you're an artist, a Mac will probably cater to your needs more effectively than a PC. However, a great majority of people want to get that professional look holding a smart HP laptop. And if you're trying to close a deal and invite a potential client into your office full of Macs, they're probably going to think, "This is pretty fishy, I don't know if I want to do business with this sort of an odd person."

1. Price

This is without doubt, the one thing that's hindering the Mac from having success. If I can get one of the average, sorta OK Macs for $1000 and I can get a PC with tons of storage, a bunch of RAM, a 20" monitor and a touch screen for just as much money, I'd probably opt for the PC. In addition, with the economic downturn, people aren't going to throw $1000 away at something just because it's cool. On the other hand, maybe these same people will buy a thousand-dollar PC because PCs don't have a reputation for being unreasonably expensive.

Top 5 Google Services That You Didn't Know About

Following my list of the top Yahoo! services that nobody knew about, some readers asked me to do a similar thing for Google's services. Of course, Google has become the more prominent of the two so it was quite a bit harder selecting services that were both good and unknown from their repertoire. But with a bit of work, I've come up with the top 5 Google services that you didn't know about.

5. Knol

Google Knol has really not risen to prominence; it's just not a unique idea. Basically, users write "knols", instructional articles about any topic and anybody can read these. Still, it's a pretty good resource for how-to because generally, the articles are quite a bit more detailed and authors know more about the topics they write about.

4. Google Scholar

Google Scholar is good for anybody doing extensive research into a particular topic. Simply type in a search term, and it will return only a list of "scholarly" results, which include books and essays by notable authors. The only problem is that you have to pay to access most of the scholarly articles.

3. GOOG-411

GOOG-411 is one of the many services that Google doesn't make a penny offering. That's because it's a free phone directory of businesses around your area, very convenient if you're on the go and need to find a business without internet. Just dial the toll free number, 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) and you will be prompted to say your location and the business type you want to reach (maybe "Toronto" and "book store"). After that, you'll hear a bunch of listings of book stores around your area.

2. Google Health

Google Health is a product that allows you to create your own health profile for you and your doctor to access when it's needed. Here, you can list everything related to your health, from medications to allergies to test results to insurance to immunizations. In addition, you can find doctors around your area and use other online health services as well. This is very useful for anyone who has any health problems at all.

1. Google Books

Google Books is an absolutely comprehensive database of essentially every book you'll ever want to read. But there's more to it than just the pure number; each book result is overflowing with details. There will of course be the number of pages, publishers, publishing date, author and reviews. But that's just half of it. Also included in many listings are a preview of what's inside, related books, popular passages from the book as well as links to where you can buy the full version.

Honorable Mention:

Google Transit

I couldn't include this in the main list because it can't really qualify as a complete service yet, but keep an eye on Google Transit. Basically, it uses the public transit maps of different cities or regions to generate routes for you to take to get to your destination. So you can see why this would be such a useful service. And it's expanding quickly as well; it already has the transit maps of numerous municipalities throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. So soon, you'll even be using Google to help you find public transit. Neat, huh?

Useful Crap's YouTube Premier!

Yes. It's finally here. Useful Crap, the tech blog for the rest of us has created a YouTube Video. It will truly show you why people who aren't geeks need technology too. But I won't explain to you, I'll let Gary the gangster do the talking!

Your Very Own Back-to-School Checklist: What to Buy Before School Starts

I've seen lists on what you have to do before school starts and I've breezed through a few that list a few writing utencils but stop at that. But never have a come across a simple list of every single school supply you might possibly want to bring. This is what I've tried to create here:

Writing/Correction

Highlighters
Markers
Pencil crayons
Pencils
Pens
Permanent markers

Writing Accessories

Glue
Mechanical pencil refills/lead
Pencil sharpener
Scissors
Tape

Paper

Blank paper
Construction paper
Graph paper
Index cards
Lined paper
Notebooks
Post-it notes

Organization

(Portable) hole punchers
Adhesive labels
Backpack
Binder
Calendars/agendas
Dividers
File folders
Locker organizers
Lunchbags
Paper clips
Report covers
Staples

Electronics

Cell phones
Laptops
Printer/ink

Educational

Calculators
Dictionaries
Math set
Textbooks
Thesauruses

Other

Batteries
Bookmarks
Cardboard
Computer monitor wipes
Locks
New clothes
Paper weights
Sanitizer
Snacks
Tissue
USB sticks

Back-to-School Special: Top 7 Tips to Saving Money on School Supplies

As the summer winds down, every parent needs to do some back to school shopping. However, budgets have definitely tightened with the economic crisis and now, more than ever, you have to worry about every dollar you spend, even on school necessities. Here are some tips on how to save money while doing back-to-school shopping.

7. Buy in bulk

While 40 pencils might cost you $2, 10 might cost you $1. Obviously, you're constantly trying to get the most stuff for each dollar. Hence, common sense would tell us to buy the 40. On the other hand, some people just think about the dollar amount and get uneasy when spending more. But think about it. Do you really think that your child (that clumsy little kid) will be able to hold onto 1 pencil for even a week, let alone a whole month? And besides, even if you don't need all 40 pencils to get through the year, you've still got next year...

6. Look for coupons

You may be skeptical that Staples or Target will be giving out coupons but get your hopes up because perhaps these two particular stores aren't giving anything. But trust me, there will be at least one store that will and when you miss that $10 discount, you can't say I didn't tell you. Anyway, the best coupon site around has to be RetailMeNot, which is loaded with good deals and has an excellent interface.

5. Don't buy what they don't need

Sure, it'd be nice to have a customizable stamp maker or a label printer or a pack of blue staples but there's not need to splurge on school supplies. Just buy the basics; pencils, pens, erasers, a glue stick, a ruler, a calculator. They don't need white-out or tape to carry with them to school or an electronic dictionary. You know they'll barely use any of these items.

4. Get them to use their old stuff

Maybe their binder has a few scratches and has a bit of dirt on it but get your child to use old stuff again. Pencils that haven't run out of lead and erasers that are only half-used can still be packed into a bag for next year.

3. Don't waste

You have to teach them not to waste anything that they have. Staples can't be used to draw a picture and you can't use full bristol board as scrap paper. Have a scrap paper bin and a few old things that they can play around with.

2. Compare prices

This can be done quickly with Google Product Search. Just type in what you want and it'll return the most relevant results with prices and retailers conveniently included. Also, you can organize the items by price, then go to the cheapest retailer for each thing.

1. Don't worry about brands

Maybe they'll want the best clothes, but hopefully, your child won't care about the brand of his pencil. And you won't be cheated in quality either; most school supplies are around the same, whether generic or "luxury".

Why Band Hero Will Rock Harder Than You Could Ever Imagine

Many rockers are awaiting the arrival of the next instalment in the Guitar Hero Series, Guitar Hero 5, which is scheduled for launch this fall. However, feeding off its hype is a very different-natured game, which will also be launched this fall by Activision. The new title, Band Hero, is getting plenty of attention because of its appeal towards teen pop junkies, with a line-up of top-40 tracks. Here's exactly why Band Hero won't be that gimmicky little game the Guitar Hero super-fans are claiming it will be:

Pop is Popular

You can say what you want about how the top 40 songs are all badly formed techno garbage but the definition of top 40 is that they are more popular than not top 40 songs. Therefore, more people know these songs and like these songs. And one of the major holes in Guitar Hero was that, while everyone enjoyed the interactive gameplay, they would have appreciated a few songs they knew as part of the line-up. Band Hero will fill that hole.

Teen Audience

With teens, when something gets hot, it'll spread like wildfire. Just look at Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers. And there isn't much of a doubt that with pop sensations like Taylor Swift and Adam Levine headlining Band Hero, that the game will take off. I mean, look at 17 Again featuring Zac Efron; it's not like the movie was any good, it's just that it incorporated something that the younger generation already adored. The same concept will work with Band Hero.

Suited for Novices

It's more satisfying when you're getting 100% on expert than when you get booed off the stage for your lack of ability, even on easy. Hence, the novice crowd who don't actually play guitar or drums, will be able to enjoy the simpler sets of notes instead of desperately mashing buttons.
With this, Band Hero is touted as the family-friendly Guitar Hero, with it's "E-10+" ESRB rating. But I don't believe that for a second since most hits these days are ... inexplicably unappealing to the older generation.

Even Rockers Can't Resist

Maybe DJ Hero (which is also coming out in the fall, no jokes), is going a bit to far but even the Metallica lovers will probably just say, "Hey, what the heck? It's made by the guys at Guitar Hero so it can't be that bad." And how about them game collectors; there's nobody easier to get money from than a hardcore game collector.

With all this, I'm not saying Band Hero will actually be of good quality. I'm saying that it will be popular and everyone will buy it.