The holidays are over, folks, time to head back. Keep your heads high, it’s a new year. Let’s do this.

I’m giving Hulu a shot. So far it’s pretty sweet. Don’t be mistaken, the success of a service like Hulu is greatly dependent on one thing: the programming. And I don’t mean software programming. It’s all about the shows, baby.

When it comes to programming, Hulu’s got a great start. There’s a bunch of shows on there that I like a lot, and a few I’ve been wanting to try out. They even have a few movies.

The interface is pretty seamless as well. I was pleasantly surprised when one episode of The Office ended, the next one started up automatically. Now, you might think this isn’t a big deal, but really it is when I’m sitting on my keyster and the computer is plugged into the TV all the way on the other side of the room.

The one thing that they haven’t figured out is the advertising. Perhaps I’m not hip to the ad game, but I’d say playing the same ad over and over every 10 minutes is bad form. In fact, if I see that Cisco ad one more time I think I’ll scream.

They allow you to create custom clips to share with others, a pretty cool idea. So if you want to send that 2 minute segment of an hour-long show, it’s no problem…just create a custom clip.

Frankly, I think Hulu should be just about there in terms of features. If you want to give it a try, go get yourself an invite, on the main page.

Update: Hmm…just noticed they do a bit of censoring…at least for the movies. Strange.

The Story of Stuff video is incredible. So much learning packed in to 20 minutes. You have to see it. Now.

I’ve long held the opinion that it’s important to think long and hard before upgrading to new technologies. Often a single technology purchase causes a daisy-chain of purchases, as illustrated below:

Nintendo Wii > Big, giant, flat TV > Cable > Premium Channels (Total upgrade cost = $250 + $1,000 + $60/mo + $10/mo = More than $1,300, plus a contract with the cable company…)
or

Apple Macbook > New Case + Parallels + Windows Vista > Software for both operating systems (Total upgrade cost = $1,600 + $40 + $80 + $200 + $500 = ~$2,500)
and my current quandary:

Blackberry Pearl > Bluetooth headset (& other devices) + Mobile Internet Subscription + Media Card

The thing is, I’ve had my current phone for more than 3 years. It’s getting dated, but it still works well and does pretty much everything I need it to. Well, at least it does everything I’ve become accustomed to needing. Other than weighing pure costs, the most important thing I do before buying a new technology is ask this simple question:

How will this technology change my life?

It’s important that I understand this, because if I don’t think about it then I risk throwing money away on crappy, needless technology. It’s more than just thinking about the technology’s features, but about how those features will impact my daily life. So, let’s run through this question, applied to the Blackberry Pearl. So, how will the Blackberry Pearl change my life?

Positives:

• No need for a separate iPod or similar device.
• The Pearl’s media card holds music, and my headphones will fit in the phone itself.
• No need for a separate digital camera.
• Well, that’s not entirely true, but the Pearl does have a 2 megapixel camera…which is good enough for most point and shoot needs. The real question is, will Verizon lock these pictures on to my camera, or allow me to easily and freely transfer them to my (or others’) computers?
• Email from anywhere
• I’ll be able to get my Gmail from anywhere…on the train or walking down the street, or even at a client site that doesn’t allow me to check personal mail on their network.
• Chat from anywhere
• Same as with email, but I’ll be able to chat with people from anywhere.
• Internet capable
• This could be life changing. If I can use the internet from anywhere then I can do tons of other things. I can check competitive prices while I shop at target, or blog from the street corner. This could make life very interesting.
• GPS directions mean I’m less likely to be lost
• I’m using up to date technology
• This might seem like a minor detail, but I think it’s pretty important for someone whose job it is to design experiences based on technology. It’s important for me to know the potential of the current devices and tools, and I have to admit that my old phone doesn’t really allow me to do that anymore.

Negatives:

• Who wants or needs to get email all the time?
• I certainly won’t be hooking this up to all my email accounts. The last thing I want is some device to vibrate for each email I receive all day…
• “Crackberry” potential
• I also don’t want to get hooked to this device. I’ve already got my face in front of a computer screen for a majority of the day…the last thing I need is to be addicted to another screen.
• It’s not an iPhone (or Google Phone).
• ‘Nuff said.
• I’m not sure if it will play nice with my mac…
• Can it sync up with my web-based stuff like Google Calendar? I guess maybe I can just view gCal from the browser?
• Big one: Once I advance to this technology, will I ever be able to go back to living life without? This has a little to do with addiction, and a lot to do with how the phone will change the way I do things. What if I’m at a point in my life where I can no longer afford to pay $80/mo for phone+internet service? Will I be able to go back?
• Extra $40/mo for mobile internet is pretty steep… (though work will cover it)

I’m sure there’s more, but for now I want to put this out into the world and see what you all think. Should I make the upgrade? Take the leap? Jump into the abyss? Or not?

Please weigh in in the comments…

So this evening I’m reinstalling Java. Not by choice, but because the annoying little balloon keeps on popping up in the corner of my screen. Then, while it’s installing, the installer has the audacity to say something extremely stupid like:

By installing Java, you will be able to experience the power of Java…”

NO WAY! That is AWESMOE*! Well thank you very much Java, for allowing me to experience the power of JAVA!

Alright, maybe I’m being a little hard on these designers…but seriously people, words matter! By putting silly little mistakes like this into an installer you’re immensely hurting your credibility. In fact, if I didn’t know better I’d think this might be a virus written by a kid in his basement, not a development platform backed by a company with nearly 35,000 people.

So, Sun, how about a little fixer upper?

* Awesmoe = Awesome to the power of 10

Alternatively titled: On Covering Your Ass

Check out that picture on the right. That’s from my credit card’s website. My favorite part is the red link on the bottom that proclaims, “See fewer choices.” You know what that option is? That’s a designer or usability person saying to the team, “Hello team, we have heard from users that there are too many choices on the screen.” Then the usability/design person recommends that we prioritize the options on the screen and progressively disclose them so that only the most used choices will be shown up front.

Then someone on the team shouts, “But we can’t remove links that are already there! Users will haaaaate that! Maybe we can just put an option to ‘See fewer choices,’ that way we can make everyone happy!” The designer/usability person shakes their head in disapproval. What the team did in is take the easy way out. Rather than analyzing user needs on a deeper level and getting an understanding about what choices are valuable at each point in time, they simply put a link to “See fewer choices.”

Lazy, lazy, lazy.

Building usable tools is about more than giving the user exactly what they ask for. It’s about designing for needs…needs that the users themselves can sometimes be blind to. It’s about thinking deeply about problems, and crafting creative solutions based on data (that has been gathered from the real world of the users).

Let’s work a little harder to make better software, shall we? I shall. Who’s with me?

Time for a quote:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”

- Marianne Williamson

One of the greatest things about being in Israel is the abundance of amazing hummos places. These small restaurants sometimes serve foods other than hummos, but many times it’s the main course. The hummos here is different than in the US. It’s smooth & creamy, with actual garbanzo or other beans in tact.

Of course, as a tourist I have found myself in a number of the highest quality hummos places here. Places that can be compared to In-N-Out burger in California…there’s always a line and they never disappoint.

But if you come in after 1 PM, you might not get any food at all.

In the morning, the restaurants make a good amount of hummos. When they run out, the restaurant closes. The owners know that their product is amazing, and they know they could sell just about any amount that they make, but they don’t. This is amazing to me.

This is a mindset one rarely sees in the US. The common line of thought is that if you’re selling out today, then tomorrow you should sell out more. The thing is, the fact that these restaurants sell out every day actually helps their brand. People are willing to stand in line in the heat, and come earlier than they would have liked…just to have some of that great hummos.

Anyway, this was an inspiring situation to me. A business that strived not just for money, but for balance as well.

You know, every once in a while you start to use a really great social networking tool, like LinkedIn or Facebook, and the time just flies by. Thanks wholly to Karen, I found a new one…GoodReads. There’s a lot to like.

I’m constantly on the lookout for a good tool for keeping an index of my personal library. For a while there I was using Delicious Library on my mac. It is a pretty sweet and full-featured app. If I had a web-cam on my computer I’d even be able to add books by simply taking a picture. Now if that’s not a cool feature, I don’t know what is. The problem is, I don’t have a web-cam, and there’s nothing all that rewarding about taking a picture of a book I just read.

Conversely, it is nice to be able to tell my friends about a book I just read. Using a tool like GoodReads allows me to keep my personal index, and also talk with friends (and non-friends) about the books I’ve read. There’s also this little side effect where I’m in a pseudo competition with my friends about how many books I’ve read. Though I probably shouldn’t start a competition like that…my friends are waaay smarter than me.

Of course, GoodReads has all the standard social networky features that we’ve all come to expect. It’s still new, though, so don’t expect all the bells & whistles just yet. At times it’s still a little buggy, especially in Safari on my mac. (Side note: why do websites have to use non-standard buttons? The ones built in to the browsers/OSes are nice, and they always work perfectly.)

Anyway, check out GoodReads. Check out what I’m reading, then start an account for yourself.

If you’re going to accept a meeting invitation and come to the meeting, make sure you’re not sending mail on your Blackberry throughout said meeting. Get off the phone, and pay attention. Please. Oh, and if you pick up the phone when it rings, I swear I’ll…