New WEBSITE! RandRambles.com

Hello!

If you have found this looking for me… please see my new website

http://www.randrambles.com

I bet you’ll love it! Ha!

A Peasant’s View of iPhone 3.0 Beta

I have been using iPhone 3.0 for a week now thanks to @scubasewj . @jwmoss pretty much hooked me up I and decided to write a bit about my experience with it. I’m not a developer or programmer, just a simple guy who loves Apple and who thinks the iPhone is one of the best thinks he has bought… ever. So for all the non-developers, simple people I will write a bit about the things I like so far, the things that stopped working since I installed the 3.0 beta version and the things I don’t like.

Copy,Cut + Paste
I never knew what was the big deal about having cut, copy and paste and I didn’t think I would use it much if my iPhone had it. Well, as you may know 3/0 has it and to my surprise it is a really nice addition which I’ve found myself using several times. You just double tap at the beginning of a word an there come the little copy+paste prompts. It is a nice addition.

Photos: Batch Processing
Something I dreaded for a while on my iPhone was the inability to select several pictures and delete them at once. Having to go though each one and delete them individual was a real pain. On iPhone 3.0 that has been fixed, now you can choose several pictures and delete them at once or even better you now can share several pictures at a time with Mail.

Full Search
I think a lot of people will be happy with the addition of full search to their iPhone. To get to search you just need to swipe from your home screen and it is on the left side of it. When you type a word it will search for any occurences of that word in your iPhone, songs, contacts and more. There is also search included in the Mail app which is a great addition for people who use it often. Personally I don’t use the mail app as often, this is mainly because I’ve had the same hotmail account for about 10 years and I found mBoxMail which is a full featured Hotmail app which in my opinion is 100 times better than Mail. Their new update just came out and you can read my review here, it has a %50 discount.

Landscape
Something that I get from this update is that Apple has been listening to most of the requests from iPhone owners. One of these requests is to have the ability to write messages, mail and notes on landscape mode. It simply is easier since the keys are larger(by the way I have noticed that on portrait mode the keys seem a bit smaller). I am really enjoying this feature, it makes life easier if you type often.

Voice Memo Recording
This is a really useful addition and it also looks really nice. You can record and then share your voice memos by email.

Sharing Options, MMS and More Information
3.0 update has added the ability to share contacts, photos and more through MMS. Multimedia Messaging Service has been something lacking from iPhone since the beginning and it has been one of the most requested updates, mainly because almost every other cellphone out there supports them. The text message app is now called Messages and it gives you the option to send not only text but also picture messages. Not only that, you can now delete individual messages from within a conversation. As of this moment MMS is there but I am not currently able to send them out, maybe it still needs some work done. Another thing that I noticed is that on your calls there is more information like the amount of time per individual calls which is something that I personally think is simple but good to have.

Youtube
Until now Youtube on the iPhone has been only for watching videos. 3.0 adds the ability to log into your youtube account, leave comments and see your subscriptions and playlists. This feauture is not currently working, at least for me but I believe it’s a great and needed addition.

App Store
The app store has several updates some of which can be seen in the iTunes app store. The 1st one is the ability to see ratings by released version. On iPhone 3.o the way of seeing app screenshots has been updated.

Those are some of the updates that I have been noticing and enjoying so far. The ability to tether internet from my computer is a MAJOR addition which I am sure to use often, through USB and also through updated bluetooth functionality.

The update is still somewhat buggy which is understandable since it’s a beta version. It gets a bit slow at times and some of my apps are not working as they use to. For example, Facebook is not showing any photos and it’s surprisingly slow if I spent more than a minute in it. My favorite Twitter app, Tweetie, it’s still pretty stable but has lost the functionality to swipe a tweet which gives you the fast option to reply, favorite, etc. (if you have an iPhone and Twitter, you need to get Tweetie, it is the most complete, well made and full featured Twitter app. I have also noticed that the iPod gets a bit clunky when using other apps while listening to music and that at times a song will not automatically start after choosing it.

Overall, I believe Apple is on the right track with this update and many people are gonna be really satisfied. Do you think Apple has missed anything major on this update? What are you most excited about?

Follow me… http://www.twitter.com/RandDuren

The Best iPhone app for Hotmail: mBoxMail

I’ve been a Hotmail user for about 10 years now and many other email accounts have come and gone but I always kept my Hotmail account as my main account. It is disappointing that Apple and Microsoft do not communicate well in term of Hotmail services. The Mail app on Macs does not work well with the regular Hotmail accounts and I am not a Hotmail Plus user. A while ago I got Entourage on my Mac and it has been working well with it, since I’ve been with Hotmail for so long they allowed me access to it from Entourage. A friend of mine has had hotmail for about three years and this access was not given to him, that’s why I think that seniority made a difference on this.

 

Last year I got an iPhone 3g fully expecting problems with my hotmail issue which made me start using my Gmail address a bit more but it is hard when for 10 years all my contacts are on Hotmail. Some people tried to give me options on how to access it and none of them was too successful. I understand that a while ago the Mail app started working on the iPhone for Hotmail but it is really limited, giving access to only the main inbox and sending and receiving mail.

 

A few months ago I searched online for a way of having full access to my Hotmail account with my iPhone and found mBox mail. mBox mail is a full featured Hotmail/Live app for the iPhone. Iuse it so much that I barely check my email on my computer anymore. It is fast, reliable and effective. Here is a list of some of my favorite features on mBox mail:

• The ability to see all my mail folders other than just my inbox.
• Internal Browser
• More than one photo can be added to emails.
• All contacts are directly accessible from the application, your Hotmail ones and your iPhone ones.
• The ability to see formats other than just text, for example Powerpoint presentations.
• Full email search.
• Password protect your email if desired.
• Full landscape support on all screens.

Seriously, this is one of the top apps on my iPhone not only for how useful it is but how well made it also is. If you have Hotmail or Live Mail and want to have the best access there is, all the time, to your email you need to get mBox mail. What’s even best, the new 2.0 version was released today with a revamped, beautiful user interface that is 100% better than the regular Mail app. To celebrate this new release, the new edition has a %50 discount making it foolish not to get it. You will never need another mail app!

Click here to see the mBox website…

 

Or here to see it in the App store…

My Twitter Peeps.

Maldeamores

I rented the movie “Maldeamores” tonight. It is a Puerto Rican movie which basically tells some stories of love and suffering. I really didn’t know what to expect but the movie was really good. It was a bit nostalgic in the sense that it brought to memory day to day scenes that I experienced mostly during my childhood. Something that I enjoyed is that the acting wasn’t corny or superficial, it was real and loud as it was supposed to be to better portray Puerto Rico. Well, I don’t feel like writing a lot, mainly because it’s 3:21 am. But overall, the movie, produced by Benicio del Toro and with an all Puerto Rican cast was the best portrayal of rural Puerto Rico that I’ve ever seen on film.

TV Shows I watch, and watch, and watch…

I was just thinking… I need to start blogging more and as I was watching TV I decided to blog about the TV shows I watch weekly. Here are some from now and some from a while back or maybe coming again soon.

The Office – My Favorite show, watch it every week, sometimes several times a week. Addiction.

30 Rock – It took me a while to get into it, but last month bought the 1st season on DVD and watched it in a couple of days. Great writing.

CSI: Miami – Started watching it because there was nothing else on Saturdays at midnight when I had no Cable. Got hooked with Horatio. **Puts glasses on**

Top Chef - The season just ended but this show is great, good healthy competition with talented chefs. (Unlike Hell’s Kitchen, which used to be good but this season they have a lot of buffet cooks that are not too talented, unless sucking is a talent.) Ok, Sorry for the rant.

American Idol -I’ve been hooked to AI since season 2, I knew from the start that Clay was going to be more famous than Ruben, that Jennifer Hudson was gonna be huge and that Taylor Hicks was going down in History as the least popular winner. Liked Bo Bice more than Carrie but she is awesome too, think Kelly is great (no matter her weight), Fantasia should stick to soulful music and Melinda Doolittle is way underrated.(I guess one of my next blogs should be about AI).

America’s Next Top Model – I’m a sucker for “talent” based competitions, even if that talent is being pretty and looking good in front of a Camera. I thought that last season’s McKey is beautiful and I also think that Tyra Banks is one of the most beautiful women out there. Sue me.

Make me a Super Model – On that last note, I started watching this show sometimes. It’s not too bad.

Chopped - A quick competition where 4 chefs have to complete an appetizer, an entree and a dessert with one chef getting cut on each round. Every round they are provided with some ingredients that they HAVE to use some of them interesting and others, borderline ridiculous.

Food Network Challenge – Four or five chefs compete on creating food according to a theme. The ones I usually watch are Cake competitions or the ones where they create chocolate masterpieces.

Ace of Cakes – Duff and his gang create really cool cakes every week. Some of them are really talented, with art degrees and they use their talents to decorate cakes.

Heroes – I started watching this show on its first season, a little behind so I caught it online. Watched the whole season in a couple of days and ended up buying it on DVD, the second season was nothing compared to the first one. After that it’s all being a roller coaster ride, I believe it is getting a bit better now. Sylar is great as a villain.

Friends – When I first got my DVR I used to set it to record all 4 daily episodes of Friends on TBS, for about 2 years. I ended up addicted to it and it’s style of comedy.

WipeOut – There’s something so entertaining in seeing people being punched into the mud and bouncing like crazy on those huge balls.

American Gladiators – I used to watch this years ago and then started watching it again when they brought it back last year. Hooked again, have a crush on Crush. Enough said.

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson – Cheeky Monkeys! I think he is the funniest man on late night.

The Soup – Joel McHale deserves a whole hour show, he is hilarious.

The Apprentice/Celebrity Apprentice – You are fired. I enjoy it sometimes, the cat fights can get tiring. (I also forgot to mention that on ANTM)

Prison Break – Watched 3 seasons of it and then had closure with the show before getting into the 4th one. Great show nonetheless, awesome on getting your blood pumping.

Golden Girls – I still watch this every know and then when I get a chance or there’s nothing else on TV. These ladies, specially Sophia, crack me up.

Ok, I’m going to stop now. I bet I forgot some but I better leave and get a life while I still have time. Ha!

Dog Fight!

So many things in our lives are a fight. There’s struggle between our current situation and what we can become. Personally when I struggle in some areas of my life and achieve apparent victory but it’s only there for a few days or weeks and then I’m back at it again, like a dog returning to its vomit. Some time ago my Pastor preached about living life like a dog and today he mentioned some of those points again. Is really easy to get discourage when victory doesn’t stay, when you try your hardest but keep falling. I mainly wanted to blog here a point that he made that day. He was saying that there are many times in our struggles, that we feel a fight inside of us, it’s like two dogs fighting, one pulling to the side of what you want to do and the other one pulling to the side of what you don’t want to do. Paul even speaks of this, he said “The things I don’t want to do, these I do and the things I want to these one I want to do I don’t do. In these moments when we are sure of what is right and wrong that we have a choice, we decide which dog are we going to feed. If we stop feeding the area which is giving us trouble, that area will slowly die and if we start feeding the area that we know is the right one, that aspect of our lives will become stronger and overcome.

The Office and 30 Rock

As you may or may not know I am a huge fan of The Office. I’m talking huge, like knowing the dialogues and having watched each episode five or more times. I really like the story line, the characters and the clever writing. On the other hand, I had seen some episodes of 30 Rock but had not paid too much attention to it. I could see it was a well made show and the avalanche of Awards going to it seemed to confirm it.

So, I decided to give 30 Rock a chance and it has lived up to the hype. It was a bitter sweet feeling when after watching The Office and feeling okay about the episode I saw myself cracking up every couple of minutes because of 30 Rock. It kinda felt like I wasn’t being loyal to The Office, being such a strong follower of it. But then I realized, The Office as a whole is still my favorite show, all the reasons mentioned before and my following it for about 3 years has made it to be. Having said that, 30 Rock is funnier at least the last couple of episodes have been. It’s kinda sad that 30 Rock has not found a really huge following, awards and critics get you out there but if people don’t watch, advertisements won’t pay and the show is cancelled. A good example of this is Arrested Development which had great reviews but not an immense following.

All that to say I am still a fan of the Office, although my brother is even a bigger fan, he knows all the lines of every episode, I can mention something from the show and he can tell me who said it and in what episode. It’s kinda funny, it has also helped him a lot on his English. You see, watching The Office pays. I will keep watching 30 Rock and maybe I will become a fan. I just ordered Season one from Amazon to start from the beginning.

If you haven’t been able to see these shows, it’s not too late. They are on Thursday Nights on NBC and you can also watch the latest episodes in Hulu.com.

Watch them, have fun!

Like a Tree

I want this to be my biography.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree. Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
Psalm 1

Movies…

These are some movies that I’ve heard about and have never been able to watch… Most of them are pretty old and considered to be must-seen classics.  Have you seen them? Which ones should I watch first? Which ones I shouldn’t bother to watch?

Citizen Kane

Casablanca

Gone with the Wind

Apocalypse Now

City of God

Chariots of Fire

The Shining

Interview with the Vampire

A Clockwork Orange

The Godfather

Carlito’s Way

Cool Hand Luke

Ben Hur

Lawrence of Arabia

Misery

Raging Bull

Taxi Driver

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Untouchables

The Sound of Music

North by Northwest

To Kill a Mockingbird

Reservoir Dogs

The Apartment

The Wizard of Oz

Gladiator

V for Vendetta

Gandhi

Spartacus

Magnolia

The Usual Suspects