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Check out my Bloglines-Account to see what I’m talking about: More than 50 news-sources generate about 200-300 news-items for me every day. Gee, great! While it’s nice to have all those webdesign-trends, music-reviews and mac-rumors in one place, it’s getting a real burden to keep up to the masses of information. I’ve even begun to relay news-item into bookmarks for “later reading” rather than simply dismissing them. While some of the information is valueable for my job/studies, most of it is just gossip and pointless info-junk.
Example: Take the whole Mac-Rumors. Even on their first occurrence they are obsolete, but they get really redundant when being picked up by other newsmags, often just crosslinking without additional comments. The “New Powermacs?”-Rumors recently added up to a dozen items, all talking about the same vague info. Same on the 1001st “Why Mac?”-article – I just can’t resist to read it, although all the arguments are barely new to me.
So, what’s the solution? Perhaps it’s just better filtering of interesting topics, fine-tuned RSS-subscriptions (only certain topics and tags), or even a personal editor which pre-selects my news (well, someday…g*). The most practical approach I found yet: social bookmarking, which could also be transferred to RSS easily. Check del.icio.us/popular/, a service which shows the “hot bookmarks of the day” (but beware, very addictive!). Another approach is Google News, which uses software for the same thing (see Newsmap for a great interface-idea).
Or maybe…just subscribe less feeds, go out, read a book? Welcome to the life of an info-junkie *g

I guess I have to delete one entry from my previous wanna-work-list – Adobe just bought Macromedia! Now one of the most innovative and web-focused companies around is owned by a print-gigant failing to be a web-company for years. GREAT! I always respected Macromedia for not misusing their monopol in Flash-Technology, staying in close contact with its users and developers, and always astonishing us with new advances (AS2, FlashPaper, 8Ball). I guess these times are over. Some other voices:

• Mike Chambers, Macromedia
• Kevin Lynch, Macromedia
• What do I know
• Mezzoblue
• Heise
• Quasimondo

Mein Powerbook is zwar weg (doch kaputt, grml), dafür is der Tiger bald da. Und is auch schon im Familypack bestellt, jipee! Hier ein paar meiner persönlichen Highlights (Original nur in Englisch verfügbar, aber schnell mal deutsch kommentiert):

• Adressbook: Contact Import File Formats (wurde auch mal Zeit…)
• Adressbook: Pocket Address Book Printing (super-praktisch!)
• iChat: Bluetooth Headset Support (endlich ein Einsatzzweck g*)
• iChat: Grouping (Proteus adé?)
• Finder Slideshow (unbedingt Preview gucken!)
• Fontbook: Font Libraries (hm, Suitcase ersetzen wär toll – ob ichs mal wieder wagen soll? *g)
• iCal: Birthday Calendar (ein dummes Hilfsprogramm weniger)
• Mobile Home Directories (home on ipod, oder was?)
• Preview: Image Keywords (Cool, weil iPhoto für sowas zu lahm is)
• Preview: Slideshow (Exposé-Slideshow, unbedingt den Add-to-iPhoto-Effekt angucken)
• RSS Visualizer Screen Saver (soll krass aussehn)
• Dashboard (überladene Skins und wenig gute Anwendungszwecke, aber OpenGL deluxe!)

I didn’t test Google Maps because somehow it didn’t show up on Firefox/Mac, but heard a lot about it. And guess what? They did Google Satellite! You can zoom into the whole USA with such a level of photographic detail, I’m blown away…you can literally drag yourself from Manhattan to Sunset Blvd. in seconds! Go Google! BTW: Did you know Google-Employees are allowed to work 20% of their time on personal projects, which may be published via Google Labs? (Link: Why work at Google?).
I guess Google just entered my Top-List for “wanna-work-for-them-someday”, which goes like:

1. Macromedia
2. Google
3. Stopdesign
4. Scholz&Volkmer (hehe)

Somehow the mac-gods seem to like me: My powerbook works again! Well, ... after some volume-repairing and S.M.A.R.T.-checking the drive booted again. Though it still makes some awkward noises now and then, it seems to function perfectly. My relationship and trust to my Powerbook is seriously damaged, though ;D

The sound of a dying harddrive – more frightening to every computer-user than any horror-movie. Today my 11-month-old Powerbook-drive died without prior warning-signs, just like that. Thanks to Super Duper I have a week-old backup of my whole drive, which boots nicely on my machine (OSX rocks!). But nevertheless, I’ll have to get this fixed – which means 1-2 weeks without my machine. In study-times this would be hell, but hey…due to my internship I have no time to use it at all. So, what do we learn here? DO YOUR BACKUPS! And do them continously, even if you have a relatively new drive. It saved me a lot of nerves these days :)

(ohne Worte…g)