I know I need to be finishing up an ed foundations paper, and I will get to that right away (we're at more than half done, word count wise), but I felt the need to post this quickly. I wrote recently about how I base my technological allegiances on the quality of the product and it's features rather than by pure allegiance to any one company. I just watched a couple of short interviews on techcrunch, and was not overly surprised to find someone else who ascribed to the exact same position. I decided to throw it up here quickly. This guy talks about the subject towards the end of this interview. Enjoy!

What is Foursquare?

I have talked a lot about Foursquare on here, and I stumbled on (through Twitter) a neat video that explains what it is in a nutshell. I've posted it here for all to enjoy!

Good luck on all your final assignments and exams!

How To Unlock Your World With Foursquare on Howcast

Creaky Chair and Technological Allegiances

So, I am starting to feel pretty joyful about the conclusion of this degree. I am trying to work hard to get all my class requirements done, while at the same time finish up my SMOE application. Today is my day to get the essay and lesson plan done for the application, and I am therefore back in my new favorite spot in the Murray Library. I have noticed something annoying both times that I've sat here on the first floor. I don't understand why, but the chairs seem to constantly creak. I thought it was just my chair last time, but I am in a different spot this time and it's happening again. Usually chairs creak when you move, but are silent when you are still. These ones go the opposite way, defying all physics, so far as I can see. Being still doesn't bring silence, and they throw in creaks during movement too, for good measure. It's not loud creaks, just quiet, constant sounds of settling. It's bugging the hell out of me. I'll just put on music loud enough to drown it out; here's hoping that works.

As for the second part of the title, I was thinking this morning about how I'm not really loyal to technological brands or companies for any reason other than utility. I had heard about the fact that Bing maps are adding an ability to visualize foursquare venues on the maps. I was excited about this because it is neat to be able to see what venues are around a spot, and to check out places that I will be exploring with foursquare in the future, to see what's available there.

Although thinking back to many of my experiences with Microsoft products leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I was fully willing to give Bing Maps a try. I didn't discriminate simply based on the company. If Bing had served me well I would have no problem adding it to my list of useful and often used products. I believe I would act the same way for computer brands. I don't love my MacBook because it has an apple on the lid, I love it because of how it operates. If Microsoft were able to create an OS that worked as well as OSX and put it on a machine as reliable and functional as Apple can, then I would have no problem buying one of their machines.

Another quick example to support my conception that I operate this way is my choice to purchase a Kindle, though I knew the iPad was coming soon. I'm not going to read books on a device that doesn't include the kinds of features I like (aka e-ink) just because Apple tells me to. I flip Apple off in this case, not out of spite, but simply because I'm served better elsewhere.