Thing 47 Evaluation

I have enjoyed working on More Things on a Stick. The only issue I see with the program is that there is so much information out there on these subjects that it is hard to absorb it all. However, just knowing a little bit about these tools helps staying current on new technology a little easier. Thank you for the learning opportunity.

Thing 46. WebJunction Minnesota

I think the most useful section of WJMN is the courses. As technology and software changes I feel we tend to have a just working knowledge of it. It helps to go a little m ore in depth and find out what you can actually do with it. I think it would be great to see more networking opportunities available and more active discussion groups.

Thing 45. Cloud Computing

The idea of accessing all of your information from any computer at anytime is great. Not having to worry about where certain information is stored is great. Overall I think things like GoogleDocs and Zoho do improve productivity. However, I do think it can lead to being overloaded. Sometimes I think we are too caught up in our online lives instead of living life.

Thing 44 The Economy

Sites like ClearCheckbook seem like they have a lot great features to help you save money. I am questioning though whether or not that information should really be in another place on the web. For now I will stick to online banking through the bank. I have used Craiglist and Freecycle before and find them to be great resources for finding used items. The weekend treasure site is a wonderful idea but the Craigslist listing it pulled was not in the same city that it pinpointed on the map.

Thing 43. Online TV and Video

I watched a couple of clips from the Today Show. I enjoyed watching these in that format because I hate waiting and waiting for a particular story they are promoting to come on. However, I don’t think sites like Hulu will change my viewing behavior. I view most things through our DVR. So most of what I want to watch is already on demand. I can see using it for a few things like old TV shows or if we traveling. I am sure that having free on demand video on the internet will replace cable and satellite TV in some households.

Thing 42. Music 2.0

I had never used a service like Pandora or Last.fm before. I think I’m hooked. What an awesome thing. I tired Last.fm and I am hooked. Their recommendations were right on. It’s great to have a station tailored to my specific music tastes. I will defiantly continue to use my Last.fm account.

I don’t think that broadcast radio is in danger of being replaced by internet radio just yet. At least not until technology has progressed enough that cars can access the internet. Also, people still get a lot of local news from broadcast radio. Also, severe weather information is at times only available by broadcast radio.

Thing 41. Mashup Your Life

I am not sure if these services make “life” easier but they do make your “online life” easier to maintain. However, I am not sure these are really productivity boosters either. It encourages creating more profiles on sites that one might not create if these mashups didn’t exist. That is not all bad. I’m guessing though, that one will end up spending more time checking this site then if they one maintained only one or two profiles. I know I will. I do really like having everything one place and only having one password to remember.

I choose to use Lifestream which has some other streams like eBay auctions you are following and your Amazon wish list. Those are really nice to have there without logging on to those sites. I will try to use this over the next few weeks and see if I like it.