Living The UnInstalled Life

UninstalledLife.com Logo

My Uninstalled Life is one of those sites I randomly came across while navigating the net. The blog is a chronicle of how to operate a PC without having any locally installed applications and instead, relying completely on web based apps or “CloudWare“.

One thing I’ve noticed during my 10 computeryears is that I have many tools, applications and files that I need daily. But there’s a catch, most of the stuff I use is installed on my desktop. So if I’m not infront of my computer – I’m out of luck. Not very effective right? Not to mention if the whole computer crashes.

My Uninstalled Life was started back in August of 2006. At that time, the Web 2.0 bandwagon was just beginning to pick up steam and within one year, were almost at the point of being able to live an UNINSTALLED Life. The best example I can think of right now which really illustrates this concept is the $199 Everex TC2502. The PC is currently being sold at WalMart and is running Linux GOS. A variant of the popular Ubuntu but with lots of optimization for Google products. The desktop is literally filled with links to online Google services such as Google Docs, Google Maps, and GMail. The machine does come installed with OpenOffice but you could always UNINSTALL it in favor of GDocs.

The author behind the Uninstalled Life blog does have his own thoughts in regards to what Web 2.0 is:

As I see it, it’s the second generation of the web. It should give you an experience close to what locally installed desktop applications would give you. I wouldn’t say we’re at 2.0 yet.. maybe 1.5? Before we’re at 2.0 the applications on the web should be…

* As fast
* As many features
* As easy accessiable (just doubleclick that icon…)
* Free! (I know this rules out a bunch of alternatives.. but I like free stuff)

As long as the “web 2.0″ applications or “webapplications” are not there, we’re not at 2.0, if you ask me.

Wouldn’t it be great to simply not need a desktop PC at your home? Just some small appliance with a webbrowser and an Internet Connection? That’s all I want!

I think it’s safe to say that if you really didn’t want a desktop PC at your home, you could purchase a high storage USB thumbdrive, throw on a copy of PORTABLE APPS, and now, all you need is a PC with a free USB port and a network card and you should be all set. The PORTABLE APPS could be those that you need which you wouldn’t want to be replaced by an online variant. Everything else could be accessed over the web. In essence, your desktop PC would now reside in a USB drive.

One has to question the practicality behind this method, but I find it fascinating that the PC could theoretically be contained within a USB thumbdrive.

To get back on topic, the My Uninstalled Life website has a series of blog posts which tell the story of how to replace local apps with web based applications and I recommend it to anyone who is trying to accomplish the same goal. Although I’m not sure if the blog author is actively pursuing his goal anymore since the last post on the blog is from July 30th of 07. Maybe he finally reached his goal:

My goal: Keep everything online – uninstall everything.

Do you think we are there yet? Can one actually replace their desktop and live an uninstalled life? Let me know how you would go about doing it by leaving a comment.

EdTags Targeted Education Information

EdTags looks like it could be a valuable resource for students and educators alike. Edtags is a social bookmarking site where users tag anything having to do with education whether it’s a podcast, essay, or web related news. Here is a video I found highlighting the various aspects of this new service. Their website is http://www.edtags.org but I have had trouble connecting to the site.

Web 2.0 Photography Contest Winner

Jeffro2pt0 Web 2.0 Photography Contest Today is the last day of the month and so it’s time I announce the winner of the Real World Web 2.0 Photography Contest. The winning submission was sent in by vipworld The winning entry features an artistic shot of someone holding an Ipod. The Ipod features a pastel red color as well as rounded corners, two facets which make up most web 2.0 websites.

There were only two entries over a two month period leading me to believe one of two things. Either web 2.0 doesn’t PHYSICALLY exist outside of the internet or, I didn’t promote this contest well enough. Considering how many views this post has as well as the amount of folks finding this page via Google searches, I think it’s safe to say that the majority of concepts and things attributed to Web 2.0 are within the confines of the internet.

Thanks to all who joined the group and spreading the word. Congratulations to Vipworld. Your 1 Year Flickr Pro Membership has already been purchased. Enjoy!

Which Class Of Twitter Users Are You In?

Chris Brogan has published an interesting article where he reviews his use of Twitter and comes up with a few different classifications of Twitter users.

Out of the different classes of Twitter users that Chris presents, I have determined that I am within the Announcers vs. Conversationalists class.

Announcers vs. Conversationalists

This is a current hammer-target for Eric Rice. He’s railed out about people (including me) using Twitter as a promotion engine. I understand this, insofar as some people do nothing but twitter links to their blog posts, their flickr pictures, and whatever else turns them on. (Note: I will Twitter that I posted this article when I’m done writing it).

But conversationalists know to use a mix. They talk with other Twitter users, using the @ function to make sure people see the threaded conversation. They engage with the flow of people twittering around them, building a social sculpture, and engaging in what Jeff Pulver calls amorphic communications. Conversationalists reach into Twitter and move people back and forth.

In the beginning, Twitter was a social networking tool that I believed I could use as a promotional stepping stone for my blog. I added all sorts of people to my friends list because I knew, most people would end up following me simply because I chose to follow them. After using Twitter for a few months now, I have changed my way of thinking. I still use Twitter as a tool to share postings on my blog that I think are good conversation starters, but I also participate in conversations with those I follow. I’m also beginning to follow only those people that I actually have an interest in.

I’m currently being followed by 54 people while I’m actually following 84 people. I wonder just how many of those that are following me actually give a damn as to what I post on Twitter. I am also starting to wonder if I should delete everyone that I am following and start over from scratch. Now that I have a sense as to the correct way of using Twitter as a social tool, I think I should either start over, or I should fine tune my friends list.

Thank you Chris Brogan for the inspirational post. It’s really made me step back and realize how and why I’m using Twitter.

If you enjoy what I write on this blog and you have an account on Twitter, consider adding me http://twitter.com/jeffr0 I need more social-media, social-web, web2.0 people to converse with. Outside of the Internet, no one has a freaking clue about Web 2.0 or any of the cool stuff going on in the Cyberworld.

Contest Deadline Extended

It’s nearing the end of the month and so far, only one person has submitted an entry to the Web 2.0 Real World Photography Contest. I can’t seem to bring myself to award one individual the prize without some sort of competition. So, I have decided to extend the deadline of the contest to the end of September. I’m hoping that word about this contest will be spread around and hopefully, more entries will be posted before the end of the next deadline. If not, I’m going to assume that Web2.0 truly is an online phenomenon that doesn’t exist outside of the interwebs.

Twitter Introduces Profile Search Feature

Twitter has pushed out a new feature dubbed “Profile Search“. This new features adds a search bar to your profile page, allowing you to search for like minded users.

The new search function allows users to search across information such as name, location, bio and url. This is intended to help users find other ‘like minded‘ individuals to follow. For instance, I did a search for ‘Ohio‘. As it turns out, there are 690 Twitter users who have Ohio listed as their location in their Twitter profile. That’s nothing compared to the 1,930 Twitter users who live in California which is then trumped by New York with 2,155 people. Just for giggles, I searched for ‘web 2.0‘ which netted me 277 results.

So now, instead of randomly following people and claiming them to be your friend, use the search tool to find Twitter users with similar interests.

Web 1.0 And Web 2.0 Visual Differences

Sizlopedia has published an article which highlights the visual differences between web 1.0 and web 2.0. These differences are illustrated using a translated graphic, which simply shows how webmasters used to manage their website, compared to how webmasters of today manage their sites.

Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Visual Difference

The following questions were asked near the end of this article, Do you like the evolving web culture? Do you think that web 2.0 has helped users get more interactive or do you think it is just a propaganda term created to wipe out the old web standards?

I think web 2.0 has created a ton of opportunities. Ideas are turning into reality for many people and because of web 2.0, the barrier to entry is practically nil. Of course, the barrier to entry or lack thereof could be considered a drawback.

At any rate, I think social-networking is out of control and we are being deluged in web 2.0 startups on a daily basis. I think it will alright though, considering the market aka userbase will determine which of these startups stick around for the long haul, or which ones will die off.

Be sure to read Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0: The Visual Difference

Updates And Feedback Concerning Texty

In light of my Texty review which can be read here, Texty representatives have actually stopped by and left some important feedback regarding my take on the service and for that, I thank them. Texty has reiterated the fact that their service serves the needs of small web publishers as well as the personal site owner. As you may recall, I brought up the fact that because you need to use a line of javascript code in place of text, that Google and other search engine spiders would not be able to crawl the text found within your Texty, as they would only see a line of javascript code. Texty has informed me that they are working with Google on a new method of indexing to insure that their users Texty content is indexed.

Near the end of my review, I mentioned the fact that this company may not be around forever, so those of you who use this service, should only place content you wouldn’t mind losing into your Textys. Texty has stated that:

I can assure you that the company is built to survive – and that there should not be any issue of the company disappearing and content no longer loading!

Thats fine, but until Texty provides a way for users to back up their Textys or at least the content within their Textys, this should at least be a thought that is placed in the back of your mind.

I also wanted to say that I am relieved to see that I am not the only one who is confused with the Texty account creation process. Looking at their help page today, I noticed an individual who had a similar experience and in the end, was just down right confused as to how to create an account. I really think you Texty should either include step by step instructions, or completely change the way users create accounts.

If Texty fixes these outlying problems, I think their service may be on to something.

Photography Contest Update

It’s nearing the middle of August and I’m sad to say that although there are 4 members who have joined the Flickr group, no one as of yet, has submitted any entries. Up for grabs is a free, 1 year Flickr Pro membership which will be awarded to the person who submits a photograph that best represents Web2.0 in the real world.

To enter this contest, click on the image shown above, or the one on my sidebar. The contest ends on August 31st but if there are no entries by that time, I will extend the contest for another month. Web 2.0 surely has to exist in some or fashion outside of the interweb right?

Thoughts and Insanity From Jeff

The Musings Of Jeff Chandler

web-2.0