Thanks to Cali Lewis and the latest episode of GeekBrief.tv (#147) for giving some info on the latest social network, it’s called VIRB. Hopefully its going to be a MySpace killer. I hate to use the “killer” term for any new site or gadget, but with my long time hate for MySpace I feel better using that term and hope it comes true.

For me MySpace has been a site I have used because others I know have been on it and its been an easy way to stay in contact them. With VIRB I already feel different, this is a site that I want to use. I have spent some time today customizing and playing around to see what this can do. I still have a lot that I would like to change and make it more my own, but that will come with time.

For a while I had my personal name domain (robertnelson.com) and have never done anything with it except use it for the occasional file host and email account. Up till today I just had a standard html page (all black) with the name listed on it, just more or less a place holder. Well today I switched it to forward to my VIRB page. I am going to use this as sort of a one-stop shop so to speak. A place where you can find out what I am up to in regards to websites and other interests and current going on type stuff, not a blog just a homepage.

VIRB in my opinion, is a social network site that is very similar to MySpace, except for a few changes. The first and most important is that it’s very clean and nice looking. It’s also easy to update your layout and design and make your VIRB Page look even nicer, and I don’t mean adding some crappy background like you can on MySpace.

So if you want to check out what is going on you can check me out on VIRB at:
www.virb.com/areyouageek
My site URL is above, but my display id name is “robertnelson”, the “robertnelson” URL was already taken. Oh well.

It is open invitation, but they are only giving so many away per day, so if you want to sign up and have trouble send me an email or get me on GoogleTalk, I have plenty of invites to give away.

• GrandCentral: The New Way to Use Your Phones

Some of us may already have a Mac Mini, some of us may even already have it hooked up to our living room entertainment center. If you are you may feel the same as me, the Mini may actually be a a better alternative than the AppleTV. My choice…

Now don’t get me wrong I love Apple and consider myself a Fanboy and would love to get my hands on an AppleTV, but I cannot justify buying something that I already have. Well maybe not exactly but my Mini works (in my opinion) better than the AppleTV.

For those that have a Mini in the house here is a great HOWTO on Connecting Your Mac Mini to a TV from TUAW.com Trust me you will be happy with this option.

And for those that may not have a Mac Mini and also do not have the money or simply do not want to buy either a Mac Mini or an AppleTV, from iLounge the Top Ten Reasons You Don’t Need Apple TV (Yet). This top 10 list is great, starting right at the top with #10, something I do when on vacation, travel with an iPod (80gb Video) and also an AV Cable. A simple cheap way to entertain both children and adults when stuck in a hotel room.

So something I tell myself and try to remember that the latest and greatest may not always be the best option. Try not to get caught up in the hype from Apple. Hard for me (and many others) to always remember.

The wonderful geek porn we all love called un-boxing. Well none other than The Boy Genius has the Red AT&T Pearl.

Just your standard un-boxing photo’s but still pretty cool to see.

Post || Photo’s

Just one thing that I do not like (other than the fact it’s not on T-Mobile) is on the front bottom of the phone. It’s the awful looking grey/silver portion where the AT&T logo is. Personally I would think it much better if the bottom was red, instead of bringing that grey/silver down.

• USPS Rate Hike: Introducing The ‘Forever Stamp’ - Consumerist

I have some domains that are getting ready to expire and I simply do not need them. They were for websites that I was working on or for ideas that I had in the past. Either way they are getting ready to expire and I do not want them anymore. I would rather offer them to someone who may want them, better then letting them just expire.

MY2002COOPERS.COM 6/17/2007
MYPROFILESPACE.NET 4/14/2007
PROFILEGIRL.NET 4/12/2007
SMSTEXTER.COM 4/21/2007
WORLDTEXT.NET 4/10/2007

They are all registered at GoDaddy and these are the dates that they expire, so if you want them get them before they are gone or expired.

I am sure this is good news for many. Now that it’s been sooooo long in the waiting. We all knew about this product for a very long time now. With the very unlike Apple pre-announcement of this. Then when they officially unveiled it and gave us all a “ship date”. It’s to bad this ship date did not hold up but at least it’s finally coming. So for all you Apple Fanatics who ordered right away, go to your Apple Account and check to see if your tracking number is available, Apple usually ships Fed-Ex.

Don’t forget you most likely need some cables to go along with this, so this may be a good time to run out and buy some. That way you can actually set this up and use it when it arrives.

I am a little jealous for those that will have this soon, but for me I still prefer that Mac Mini that I have been using. I am going to stick with that for now, I think for my needs and wants the Mini still offers a better “media center”. Plus with my new WD MyBook 500gb USB drive and Drive-In I am well into having my entire DVD collection stored for easy and safe use. Something I could not do (at least yet) with the AppleTV.

Maybe the USB port on the AppleTV will have some better use in future versions, then maybe I will look into this more. Until then this Apple Fanboy will live through other’s blog’s and rambles about how nice it is.

I found this over at Veronica Belmont’s blog. I am sure that you know her from CNET’s Buzz Out Loud Podcast.

Its a short quick history but kind of true and very funny.

I suppose you could exchange the cat in this example for just about whatever you may want.

Things I do & do not like: (updated & posted as they come up)
See my previous post for more of a review.

Updates will be placed at top of list (directly below) as I add them.

I do not like the fact that I cannot (or cannot figure out) how to set the Clock Applet to 24 hour time.

I do not feel like I wasted my money.

I do like this device very much as a wi-fi finder.

I do not like the fact that I cannot (or cannot figure out) how to import RSS feeds via an OPML file.

I do like the fact that I was able to import my html bookmark file from Firefox. I exported them from Firefox, then uploaded it to a web hosting account, then downloaded it to my Nokia. I could have also gotten it from a USB connection or even the memory card. I always upload a copy for backup anyway so for me this was the quickest way to get them.

I do like the way PDF e-books display. Simple to navigate and read. I am reading Ancestor by Scott Sigler, thanks to DNDS. I am glad they were able to post this, it gave me something to test the Nokia with!

I do not like the fact that it would not mount via a USB connection on my Powerbook. When the USB Cable was plugged in it showed the USB connection on the Nokia however neither the device nor the memory card would mount. Oh well, I have a card reader but the device mounting would be nicer.

I had been toying with the idea of getting an “internet tablet” for a while now. I decided to go with the Nokia N800 after reading some good reviews about it. I use the ” ” around internet tablet because its not so much an internet tablet as a large “phone” that does not work as a phone or have a network. By that I mean its not as large as I would like, I think tablet and think a little bigger, and before you say it, yes I did check the specs and dimensions before I made this purchase. So I did no what I was getting into.

I do like the Nokia N800, the screen size and quality is nice and the unit is comfortable in your hand and even has a little fold out stand to have it sit up. Just in case you were watching a video or having a video chat with the built in camera.

Overall the features it has are top notch, it is very easy to set up to a wireless access point and get online, it even picked out quite a few points in my area that my Powerbook has never seen before. A+ on wireless. Setting up my email account (Gmail) and GoogleTalk were as easy as can be. I even downloaded, installed and logged into my GizmoProject account. Again very simple and seemed to be reliable as well.

Keep in mind I have had this for about 6 hours now. So even though I have some good opinions and observations I have really not used this device for long, these are more first thoughts. Which are important to me.

The speed of web surfing was a lot slower than compared to my Powerbook over wifi but I did expect that. The general use of the tablet was fairly quick and responsive. Communicating over GTalk was about the same as on a regular laptop or cell phone.

Overall I do like the Nokia N800 and would recommend it to someone looking for a device like this. I do not think mine will get much use though. For me its to much like a phone without a network. The browser is much better than a phone but I also do not use my phone to surf, I want it mostly for email, chat and text.

Bottom line is this is a very nice toy and fun to have and play with, but I feel my Blackberry Pearl has much more use to me. For example if I am out and about I can always get my im’s, texts, and email on my BB Pearl, and if needed find some wifi for the Powerbook. If I have the Nokia I still need to find the wifi.

I may feel a bit different about this device if it had a network and I could actually use it to communicate without finding a wifi access point. Granted its not hard to find one that is open but its still not as easy as a smart phone or Blackberry.

So for someone like me who has a good reliable smart phone and laptop avoid the expense, unless you just want another cool tech toy to play with. Overall I think the Nokia N800 is a great product just not for me.

Check out some pics of my Nokia N800 unboxing.