1TO10REVIEWS

My Review: An 8. Or a 2.

I so often feel as though this cartoon embodies my life.

That makes me both happy and depressed. Generally I have to just smile my Jim Halpert smile and shrug my shoulders.

An 8. Or a 2. I still can’t decide.

My Review: 3

I tagged this under Web 2.0, but really this a very Web 1.0 site and issue. I just tried logging into my online account for my credit card, provided by U.S. Bank. I got a message that said: “Internet Banking is experiencing high traffic volumes at this time. Please try again later.”

That is not acceptable. U.S. Bank is a major financial institution with millions of customers. They ought to be able to scale their servers well enough to deal with my traffic. It is not acceptable that I can’t check my credit card balance anytime I want, not in the year 2008. These are the kinds of FUBAR’s that cost companies their customers.

U.S. Bank’s website gets a 3 today, and they barely deserve that.

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UPDATE:

I have to say that as annoyed as I was with US Bank, I was not expecting much in the way of a response.  But I was pleasantly surprised and impressed.  I sent the tech support an email with my post, and I heard a prompt response:

“I apologize for any misunderstanding or inconvenience regarding this issue.  We are not aware
of high traffic issues on our website over this last weekend.  Your browser may have stored an
incorrect shortcut in its temporary internet files (cache).  Please clear your cache, delete any
bookmarks or favorites for www.usbank.com, close out of your computer and manually type in our
web address to log on with your current Personal ID and Password...”

The response goes on for literally 2 pages after that.  Their answer did not at all satisfy my issue.  I know that it was not a stored cookie issue, or anything of the sort.  I still think it’s ridiculous to have the site be unavailable, and because that is inexcusable, I am not revising my rating.

Nevertheless, this lengthy and timely response was more and better than I expected to get, and I want to acknowledge it.   It shouldn’t have happened at all, but they did try to respond to my issue.

My Review: 1

I regret to say that Couchville has apparently bit the dustbin. The web-based TV service (which I first heard about on Techcrunch) is no longer available.

SnapStream, the makes of Couchville are no longer able to support the service. For those who did not know, Couchville was a simple web-app that let you enter your location and receive a simple and straightforwardTV schedule. My wife loves it and is super bummed.

SnapStream is a Houston, Texas based company that produces both enterprise and consumer focused TV-related software. We’re sorry to see their handy little web-app go.

The SnapStream forums show that the decision to stop service was announced on the 18th of January. The founder got online and said:

“In the week or two, we’ll be taking our free TV listings website, Couchville (http://www.couchville.com/), offline. At least for now, this is the end of the road for any kind of a free TV listings website from SnapStream.

For the Couchville loyalists out there, we’re sorry to take the site away from you. If you’re wondering why we’re making this move, simply put, it doesn’t make business sense for us to keep the site running.

So thanks to everyone who blogged about the site, spread the word, wore the t-shirt, and, most importantly, used the site day after day. TV recording software for consumers (and now for businesses too with SnapStream Enterprise) has always been more of our ‘thing’ and that’s where we intend to keep our focus.”

The service actually went down on February 11th.

Couchvile itself deserved at least an 8 for simplicity and utility. Seeing it go is a bummer, and thus merits a rating of 1.

UPDATE:

Techcrunch posted today about Couchville joining the TC deadpool. Duncan gave us a shout-out. Thank you Mr. Riley.

My Review: 6

I am writing this review about my newest bike; I call him Brother Tom. It is a 1997 Harley Davidson Road King. Back in July I traded Earl’s old bike for it, along with a small but substantial pile of cash.

When I first saw it, I was knocked out by how beautiful it was. That vision of beauty clouded most of my judgment and prompted me to buy the motorcycle.

I do like the bike a lot. It rides well, though a little bit stiffer than I might have liked. The rear shocks were lowered from 12 to 11 inches, and that makes it ride a little rough. A guy I know told me that when Harleys (especially touring bikes) come off the showroom floor, they are comfortable and ready to ride. Anything you do to the bike to change it from stock condition is only going to make it less comfy. I have seen nothing on this bike to contradict that opinion.

Also, though the paint job is beautiful and it is lovely to look at, the very fact that it has a custom paint job and looks immaculate gives me fits of nervous tension. Whenever I park it I have this urge to sit somewhere so that I can see it at all times. I get looks and thumbs’ up all the time at traffic lights because it is so eye-catching. But I am also freaked out about a scratch or ding or whatever. I think I need a rider, something that looks fine, but isn’t customized or tricked out. Too complicated for me.

The bike has has a ridiculous number of cool upgrades and customizations:

• Beautiful custom candy red paint job
• Chrome fishtail pipes with mufflers
• True Dual Exhaust
• Chrome grilled Amber Running Lights (front and back)
• Custom fuel switch
• LED Gas Gauge
• Custom Chrome teardrop side mirrors
• Laid-down custom license plate frame
• Custom one-piece two up saddle
• Custom Choke
• Custom laid back handlebars
• After market Chrome Hand Grips
• Rider foot boards (vibration dampening)
• Passenger foot boards
• Air ride suspension front and back
• Custom Chrome Air-Cleaner Cover
• Custom Chrome (flaming skull) Timer Cover
• Lowered rear shocks (12″ instead of the stock 13″)
• Chrome Engine Guards
• Chrome Bag Guards

If you are someone who wants an eye-popper, you would totally dig this bike. Personally, I prefer a quiet life. At some point, I am going to trade out for a straightforward, comfy, worry-free riding bike. In the meantime though, at least I have something pretty to look at.

For looks and style this bike would get a 10. But the anxiety is too much for me, and that makes it a 6.

My Review: 7

So I have been using the iPhone Defender case from Otterbox for about 5 days straight now. I have some thoughts. I think the easiest thing will be to break this up into several categories:

• Beauty
• Fit and Finish
• Protection
• Accessibility
• Functionality

Beauty: 8

The case looks great. There is no question that it bulks the phone up a bit, which is an unfortunate side effect of almost any case you put an iPhone into. But if you are into the rugged, rubberized look then I think you will dig the appearance of this case. I have the black model, and it looks serious.

Fit and Finish: 6

Ok, the rubberized, silicon skin is great. It doesn’t feel sticky, but it has the right amount of tack to keep it firmly in your hand. I like the feel of it. However, when you peel off the skin, the plastic underneath feels a little bit cheap. Also, it is nearly impossible to figure out to open the darn thing. At first I didn’t actually realize that the skin comes off. Once I figured that out, I couldn’t see how to open the plastic case itself. No doors, no levers, no buttons. I finally noticed that there were small holes in strategic locations around the outside of the case. I took a small screwdriver and pried those open, and the case finally popped free.

The whole time I was holding my breath because the plastic felt friable and likely to snap. It didn’t and the thing opened fine, but it was definitely not intuitive. Later, when I looked on the website I found this video about using the case - I wish I had seen it earlier. To be clear, you NEED to watch this video if you are going to own this case.

Protection: 8

This is a”lifestyle” case from Otterbox, meant for every day use. It is not waterproof, but it will certainly protect from every day bumps and drops, and a light rain sprinkle. For it’s intended purpose, I think this case performs admirably. It’s not supposed to protect from full immersion or nook-u-lar attacks. It works very well for casual, every day living and usage.

Accessibility: 6
As the website notes, you can not access the “silence” the phone using the the slider button on the top left of the iPhone. While they did disclaim this issue in the product write-up, the fact remains that this is a pretty core piece of functionality to be able to access. I was in a meeting, and then later ewnt to the movies (to see Rambo IV.) I did not want to go through the hassle of removing the case (it’s a process.) Both times I was forced to power off my phone, and it would have been much simpler use the silence button.

I could also have put it in Airplane mode, but that required more steps, and is not much quicker to come back than a straight up power-off. I don’t see why they don’t use another flap in the silicon cover or create some kind of toggle. There are plastic bumpers at the corners, presumably for both protection and for structural integrity, but this is not a bomb-proof case. I think they need to integrate this feature, it’s something I use every day.

Aside from the issue of the silencer button, this case give pretty good access to all the other features. The camera lens, home-screen button, volume buttons headphone plug and power plug all work fine. It is not possible to set the phone into its cradle while in the case, but it is easy enough to simply plug the cord directly into the phone’s base.

Functionality: 5

I did run into one major problem with the functionality of the phone while in the case. The issue was typing. Trying to type text messages and emails is SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult with the case on. The problem is the ridges on the side of the case. They stick up and make it very difficult to hit letters that are close to the edge of the screen. The touch screen is already difficult enough to type, and this makes it worse.

One other small problem was a weird issue. With the case and cover on, a wet spot would appear under the clear plastic cover, over the screen. It almost looked oily. I took the case apart and thoroughly cleaned both the plastic cover and the screen of the phone, but the problem persisted. Really weird, and very annoying. However, when I watched the video, I discovered that Otterbox is well aware of the problem, and has a solution. As the video demonstrates, before you put the phone into the case, you should clean it off and then rub your palm over the screen. This fixes the problem. I don’t know why or how, but it totally worked. If anyone knows why this works, please feel free to comment below. Bottom line, WATCH THAT VIDEO if you buy an iPhone Defender case.

On the positive side though, I am very impressed by how well the touch screen works, even through the plastic covering. It seems to me to be 95% as sensitive as it was without any covering at all, and that’s excellent.

Now for the total. If I add up all the scores (8+6+8+6+5) I get a total of 33. Divided by 5 we get an averaged score of 6.6, and we come out with a (rounded) total score of 7. So that is my review total for the iPhone Defender case from Otterbox, 7 out 10 and a confident recommendation. If you want a good looking case that will protect your phone and give you access to most of its features, this is a good purchase.

At $49.95 (plus tax and shipping) they are not cheap, but it could well be worth it to protect your (rather) expensive phone. Just be prepared to suffer a new learning curve in typing - if you are iPhone email freak or text-master then I would be wary of this case. And WATCH THAT VIDEO.

My Review: 9

A nine? Really? A nine?

Well, yeah. I think it was pretty damn good. To be fair, my expectations were VERY low going into it, which always helps with my perception of a film afterwards. But I liked it a lot.

This movie reminded me of good old-fashioned action flicks. Great movies like Total Recall and Terminator, Conan and First Blood. Rambo IV was an unapologetic, ass-kicking flick. It wasn’t complicated, or preachy, or overwrought. In fact, the dialogue was pretty minimal in general. Two main themes were explored in this movie:

1. You are what you are.

2. Being a good guy.

Number 1 is a recurring theme from all the Rambo movies. You can distill it this way: You can take the soldier out of the war, but you can’t take the war out of the soldier. John Rambo is good at killing people. It’s what he does. It’s who he is.

Number 2 is what makes you feel good about all the violence. Some people get seriously blown up in this movie, but they get blown up for good reason. At least, when the bad guys get blown up it’s for good reason. Lots of innocent people that don’t deserve it get blown up too, and that’s sad. But if they didn’t, then it wouldn’t feel so vindictive and awesome when the bad guys get theirs.

And while we’re on the topic of violence, this movie is so graphic I was overwhelmed. It’s awesome, though a little bit intense. Splatter, guts, be-headings, eviscerations… and that’s just the tip of this violent and bloody iceberg. Gratuitous would not be an inappropriate term here. But, in spite of that, it still feels right. Remember in Pulp Fiction when that poor fat woman in the white shorts gets shot in the leg by Marcellus Wallace right after he was hit with the car? It’s like that. Inappropriate, and unnecessary, but totally the right thing to do.

The graphic violence in this movie is in the same ball park as Saving Private Ryan, but without the art-house appeal that Spielberg brings to a film. But this movie is not intended to be artsty. Quite to the contrary, it is a 90 minute, straight-up action flick. And that’s why I like it. It does EXACTLY what it’s supposed to do. That being: to kick ass.

Oh, and by the way, Rambo does indeed have another new knife in this movie. It’s a teeny bit cheesy (how he gets it), but it also kind of rules.

Before I wrap this up, I have to say that I am proud of Sly Stallone. I never in a million years thought that Rocky Balboa would be any good, but it was (in my opinion anyway.) I thought a new Rambo movie had even less chance of succeeding, but he fooled me again. He kept it simple, didn’t talk too much, didn’t over-think the script, and he delivered exactly what he needed to. I think Rambo IV deserves a solid 9 out of 10.

Trailer: