A year ago, if you mentioned "Twitter" to most non-developers, people would look at you like you had lobsters coming out of your ears. Today, it's a mainstream buzzword and used by the likes of CNN and the "TODAY" show. It has become a major tool in the toolbox of social/viral media. Many consider it a waste of time. But, if it's used right, can be a invaluable resource for information and networking. So what is Twitter, really?

Twitter is a method of "micro-blogging" small bits of information. This can be something about yourself, an observation, link, etc. In 140 characters or less, you can share with the world. While you can't say anything lengthy, you can profoundly get your point across if you know the correct syntax.

Twitter spreads news FAST. The other day, there was a large 7.9 earthquake in the pacific. No news outlets were reporting it but Twitter was lit up with tweets. A CNN Breaking News tweet came through to me. News dissemination--as it happened. That is amazing.

Twitter keeps you connected. Keep in constant touch with the people you choose. This is great for finding out information without having to send an email, IM, etc. Some might find this annoying, however, as some people tend to go a little "Twitter crazy" with almost constant tweets. Don't forget you can "leave" a user you're following if they're just giving you too much information and you can't take it anymore.

Here are some tips for better Twittering (which are by no means anything new or that hasn't been blogged about a million times, just my own personal observations for what they're worth):

• Twitter is not a chat client. It wasn't meant for huge banter--it's a method of posting a quick thought, statement, or declaration. For meaningful conversations of more than 140 characters, use a chat client like AIM, iChat, Google Talk, or Adium.
• Get some decent Twitter tools. You won't like using the website forever, and there are a million really great apps out there for mobile and desktops. While I use Twitterberry for my Blackberry Storm, I know there are a lot of iPhone apps out there. My personal favorite for the desktop is Twhirl, an Adobe AIR app which I highly recommend.
• Say something meaningful once in a while. While you don't always have to proclaim your personal cure for cancer, don't just tweet what you ate for breakfast, either. Give your followers something meaningful to chew on. The more interesting the tweet, the more likely it will spur a conversation or retweets.
• ALWAYS review your tweets before hitting send. I made the mistake lately of typing "unfollow user" only to learn that the command is now actually "leave user" (I swear it changed at some point). The whole world quickly found out who I didn't like following and I suddenly felt like a complete idiot.
• Know your slang. If you don't know what people are talking about, Twitter is not going to mean much to you. Know what hashtags are (#hashtag), and understand abbreviations like RT (retweet), OH (overheard), etc. There are several Twitter dictionary sites. twittonary.com is just one.
• NEVER say anything you wouldn't want the entire world to see. Twitter can be dangerous. People are constantly fired from jobs for posting a status specific to their jobs on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Just recently, a Cisco employee was canned for posting a negative comment about his employer. So, be very careful what you say and when you say it. As a general rule, it's best to not mention anything about your job (positive or negative), and be very careful what you say about others as it might just come back to haunt you. Even when you delete something after posting it's possible someone has already seen it and captured it somehow (think screen captures). In the world of the Internet (and especially Twitter), deleted never really means deleted.

Whatever you do, have fun with it. If using Twitter becomes too much of a chore (or an addiction), walk away from it. If it's not something useful/entertaining, you won't find much value in it. But, if you know how to utilize it correctly, it can open up a whole new world. Just be careful as this new world also brings danger--know what you're doing before you jump in.

I just bought a Flip Mino for me and my wife. Since we're having twins soon, we wanted a camcorder to replace the miniDV one I've had for about ten years (which, by the way, still does a good job). We weighed our options, looked at rather expensive Sony HD cameras and tried to decide what might be the best. Then, on Black Friday, I saw a Flip on sale at a local store. I immediately thought this might be the best solution.

I've always been a big fan of still photography, and avoided shooting video because it has always been a royal pain--especially if I wanted to post to the Web. I'd have to use some kind of editing software, go through hours of crap, cut the file down in size/quality, etc. It just wasn't worth the effort for me. Photos have always been much easier to manage, upload, and share (hence my obsession with Flickr).

The Flip camera is a great option for people like me. Think of it as a portable, recordable web cam. The video you shoot with it isn't the best quality (640x480 I think), but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be easy to use, quick, easy to upload and portable, which it is. Turn it on and it's almost immediately ready to shoot. Press the red button and there you go! So simple anyone can use it. It's so small and light it can literally be held at any angle and easily turned around. The mic is good in my opinion. It picked up my wife from two rooms away at the house and she is very clear and succinct in the video.

I only have a few cons for the Flip. First--the zoom. It sucks. It has a 2X zoom and it's extremely slow. You might as well not bother using it. Second, there are no real settings of any kind in the camera itself--no control over recording settings, no video controls, nothing. You can set the date and time and that's about it. I know it's supposed to be that way for simplicity, but what about when you actually DO want to have some control over what you're filming? Maybe a real camcorder is necessary at that point...

In all, the Flip is well worth the price and I highly recommend it. If anyone has the Flip MinoHD please leave your thoughts in a comment. I'd like to know how it performs and if it is worth the investment as well.

I also really like the new ear buds. I could never use them before because they just completely hurt my ears after about 20 minutes. But, they have been completely re-sculpted and I'm able to wear them all day now. Maybe it's just me, but sound quality seems much higher as well.

Overall, I give it about a 9 out of 10.

We were looking for a hotel the other night, and we were able to just touch "POI's" (Points of Interest) and search for "hotels". Then, we were able to look up and get phone numbers for all the hotels near us. We found a $60/night room when everything else was $90-$100+. How awesome is that?

Oh yeah--not to mention the really feature of keeping me from getting lost. Worth every penny.

Great, now another technical toy I'll never have any time to play with.

Well, we found out today that the probably source of the Internet latency issues is due to a bad amplifier on the utility pole behind our house. That basically means the high-frequency signal is not getting repeated strongly enough for RoadRunner or digital TV. A maintenance crew is coming to fix it early next week, so the problems with blog being down so often should be resolved.

Microsoft takes on the free world: Microsoft claims that free software like Linux... violates 235 of its patents (Fortune , 05/13/2007)
"Microsoft asserts that one reason free software is of such high quality is that it violates more than 200 of Microsoft's patents. And as a mature company facing unfavorable market trends and fearsome competitors like Google, Microsoft is pulling no punches: It wants royalties. If the company gets its way, free software won't be free anymore. The conflict pits Microsoft against the "free world" - people who believe software is pure knowledge. The leader of that faction is Richard Matthew Stallman... Caught in the middle are big corporate Linux users like Wal-Mart, AIG, and Goldman Sachs. Free-worlders say that if Microsoft prevails, the whole quirky ecosystem that produced Linux and other free and open-source software (FOSS) will be undermined. Microsoft counters that it is a matter of principle. "We live in a world where we honor, and support the honoring of, intellectual property," says Ballmer in an interview. FOSS patrons are going to have to "play by the same rules as the rest of the business," he insists. "What's fair is fair." Eben Moglen, longtime counsel to the Free Software Foundation and the head of the Software Freedom Law Center, which counsels FOSS projects on how to protect themselves from patent aggression, contends that software is a mathematical algorithm and, as such, not patentable. Moglen's hand got stronger just last month when the Supreme Court stated in a unanimous opinion that patents have been issued too readily for the past two decades, and lots are probably invalid. For a variety of technical reasons, many dispassionate observers suspect that software patents are especially vulnerable to court challenge. Furthermore, FOSS has powerful corporate patrons and allies. In 2005, six of them - IBM, Sony, Philips, Novell, Red Hat and NEC - set up the Open Invention Network to acquire a portfolio of patents that might pose problems for companies like Microsoft, which are known to pose a patent threat to Linux."

Well, maybe Apple should file suit against MS for all of its blatant infringements in Vista, like "Gadgets" instead of Widgets, and "Flip 3D" instead of Expose. Whatever, Microsoft.

I got the new sound system installed this past weekend. It's a Sony surround system with amp, sub, and 5 satellites. It's an 800 watt system, so it sounds pretty good. It matches our TV quite nicely. With an optical cable running from the Xbox, the sound is incredible. This is a nice addition to the home theater media center.

Ok--here they are--my best and worst picks for the Web for 2006.

The Best:

Most likely to overthrow Microsoft: Google

Most innovative: New Yahoo Mail Beta

Most potential: RSS Feeds

Most influencial technology: Flash progressive video

Most useful: Del.icio.us

Most fun: Flickr

Most entertaining: YouTube

Most cool web admin tool: InstantDomainSearch.com

Best new find: Netvibes

The Worst:

Most tired: MySpace

Most outdated: Animated GIFs of ANY kind

Most unoptimized: 100% Flash sites

Most annoying: LowerMyBills.com banners

Most persistent email marketing: ClassMates.com

Most overused term: "Web 2.0"

Most overused graphics: Shiny/glossy "Web 2.0" style images

Well, for someone as "wired" as myself it sure took long enough to get a wireless router in the house, but we finally do now. I love it!

I went with the Linksys wireless-G router because my old Linksys was absolutely great and never gave us many problems. It was easy as heck to configure, too. Now to get rid of those pesky wires...