Review: ÜberTwitter

Last night, thanks to @RCNunya I discovered a new Twitter client for the BlackBerry Storm. I believe it works on other BlackBerries as well, but he has a Storm too. It’s called ÜberTwitter, and previous to using this, I was stuck with TwitterBerry, which more or less sucked. A lot.

The program is very simple to use, and has a nice clean interface. I imagine that the goal was to make it look like the Twitter home page, which they did a very good job of with the home screen.

ÜberTwitter home screen ÜberTwitter view tweet, with image

As you can see, replies are nicely highlighted in yellow, but one of my most favorite features, is that tweets with links to TwitPic automatically show a thumbnail of the image in the timeline, and if you click on that tweet, you can see the image.

As you can also see here, all the info you need to know about the person is displayed right on the screen when you’re viewing the tweet. You can see nearly all of the information that you would get from viewing their profile on your computer right from your phone. You can also view their followers, and who they’re following right from this screen by pressing the BlackBerry button and selecting it from the menu.

Along with these featuers, ÜberTwitter also gathers location information either from a built-in GPS radio, or a more approximate location by triangulation via the cellular towers that you’re connected to (see it here). As an option, you can also use this location data to update your location setting in your Twitter profile each time you tweet, which is useful for the “near: ___” searches from the Twitter search engine. ÜberTwitter also has a host of other neat screens allowing you to see your Direct Messages and favorited tweets, trending topics, and tweets near you all from your device.

ÜberTwitter menu ÜberTwitter menu ÜberTwitter menu integration

Unlike TwitterBerry, ÜberTwitter also integrates to the BlackBerry OS by adding “follow” and “view timeline” to the menus when you click on a username from text messages or other screens. Additionally, you can configure your device to play an audible alert and/or blink the LED when new tweets are received, and configure a separate setting for replies directed at you. The icon for ÜberTwitter changes slightly, making the umlauts red, and showing the number of new items in parenthesis under the icon.

The official website claims that they plan to make ÜberTwitter available for other handsets as well, but they currently only support BlackBerry OS 4.2.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7.

ÜberTwitter ÜberTwitter

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Playlist: March 2009

I’ve been adding a few tracks here and there to this playlist, and finally wrapped it up tonight. There’s a few brand new songs, and a few older ones too. I saw The Ting Tings on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon a few nights ago and I’m addicted to this song now. Comments here, or Twitter.

Artist Song Album
01. The Ting Tings That’s Not My Name We Started Nothing
02. Dierks Bentley Lot OF Leavin’ Left To Do Modern Day Drifter
03. Scars On Broadway They Say Scars On Broadway
04. Metallica Am I Evil Garage Inc.
05. Toby Keith Courtesy Of The Red, White & Blue 35 Biggest Hits
06. Spacehog In The Meantime Resident Alien
07. Black Tide Warriors Of Time Light From Above
08. Weezer Troublemaker Weezer (The Red Album)
09. Creedence Clearwater Revival Who’ll Stop The Rain Chronicle
10. Papa Roach Getting Away With Murder Getting Away With Murder
11. Franz Ferdinand No You Girls Tonight
12. Billy Idol Rebell Yell The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself
13. Filter Welcome To The Fold Title Of The Record
14. Dropkick Murphys I’m Shipping Up to Boston The Warrior’s Code
15. Nickelback Something In Your Mouth Dark Horse
16. Sting & The Police Don’t Stand So Close To Me The Very Best Of Sting & The Police
17. Clutch Careful With That Mic… Pure Rock Fury
18. Shinedown Son of Sam The Sound of Madness
19. Dead Kennedys California Ãœber Alles Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
20. Anthrax Keep It In The Family The Greater Of Two Evils

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Playlist: February 2009

Took me a little while, but I finally finished up the February playlist. Got a few new ones in there, and some old ones too. I got Slacker Radio for my Storm, so hopefully I’ll discover some new stuff and dig up even more old ones. Don’t forget to check out my music stats too.

Artist Title Album
01. Stone Temple Pilots Crackerman Core
02. Creed Bullets Greatest Hits
03. Jason Mraz I’m Yours We Sing We Dance We Steal Things
04. The All-American Rejects The Last Song All-American Rejects
05. Franz Ferdinand Ulysses Tonight
06. Godsmack Trippin Awake
07. The Cranberries Zombie Stars
08. Apocalyptica I Don’t Care Worlds Collide
09. Black Label Society Fire It Up Mafia
10. Garth Brooks Pappa Loved Mama Ropin’ The Wind
11. The Subways I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say Young For Eternity
12. Alice In Chains Sick Man Dirt
13. Clutch The Soapmakers The Elephant Riders
14. The Lonely Island I’m On A Boat (feat. T-Pain) Incredibad
15. Anti-Flag Fuck Police Brutality Die For The Government
16. Nirvana Something In The Way Nevermind
17. Dierks Bentley What Was I Thinkin’ Dierks Bentley
18. Queen Flash Greatest Hits I
19. M.I.A. Paper Planes Kala
20. Atmosphere Trying To Find A Balance Seven’s Travels

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Review: Seidio Spring Clip Holster For BlackBerry Storm

I got my Storm for Christmas from my dad in December, and I have been looking for a good case for it since then. I checked repeatedly at the Verizon kiosk in my local Circuit City, but they only had a clunky leather pouch type case that I didn’t care for. I was told by a guy named Matt that there was an official one being produced and sold by Verizon, but it was recalled due to phones falling out of it repeatedly. Clearly not up to par. So I held off until they fixed their issues so I could get a nice clip on style holster.

Anyways, it never came back. So I started reading around the Crackberry Forums and saw quite a few people talking about the Seidio holsters, specifically the spring clip model. They also make a very similar holster that will play nice with your Storm if it’s snuggled up inside one of their Innocase series of cases. So I ordered the case from the Crackberry store for only $24.99. It arrived a few days later, and I’ve now been using it for about a week.

Front Back

One of the best features, is that it includes a small magnet which makes use of a neat little BlackBerry feature that locks the phone into standby mode which prevents the backlight from turning on while the phone is holstered. This is a great feature for the Storm because the large screen is constantly being depressed in my pocket, which drains the battery fairly quickly. This holster also has a screen inward design, to keep the goods safe, and recessed sides to allow access to all buttons and the charging port. The case is made of a softish plastic that feels a bit rubbery and has a felt-like material on the inside where the screen rests. The clip snaps down firmly on the top edge of the phone with two strong spirngs holding it in place. The swivel clip is fairly low profile and snaps into seven positions allowing the phone to sit in portrait mode or landscape mode (left or right).

Several people (including my dad, who has the same phone; and the clunkly leather case that I don’t like) have said that they don’t think the case looks like it holds the phone very securely, but I disagree. I have bumped into lots of things including the car door, dresser, random stuff at work, and never had an issue. I also dropped it today at work and the cause prevented the phone from ever touching the floor. The small hooks on the bottom corners and the clip over the top edge don’t allow the phone to contact the floor at all. It doesn’t provide a lot of shock absorption, but it will save those nasty dings in the sleek metal shell of the phone.

If you have a Storm, I’d suggest this case as it doesn’t restrict the use of the phone at all like some other cases (like the clunky one) do, and it protects the phone quite well. Seidio has a pretty wide range of similar holsters for all sorts of handsets so check the out if you’re looking for a new one.

Seidio Spring Clip Holster – $24.99
Images copyright © Seidio Inc.

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My First Trip To Sonic

So I mentioned a few days ago that I have been seeing Sonic commercials and there is one half a mile from our new house, but I’ve never eaten there before. Mae and I went yesterday on our way to the Tap & Grill for the going away party of a former coworker from Target in North Saint Paul.

We arrived, found an open parking stall, and began looking over the menu. There was a decent selection, not really any more or less than I had expected. However, there were some things that were fairly unique, such as corn dogs and chili cheese tater tots. I ended up getting a Super Sonic Cheeseburger combo with fries and Dr. Pepper, and Mae got a Jr. Deluxe Burger and chili cheese tots with a Sprite. It seemed like a long time to wait for the food, but it was about ten minutes. Not sure if it was because we were sitting in the car instead of at a table, but it was comparable to the wait time at Culvers. Oscar, our carhop showed up and gave us our food. He was nice, but he didn’t have the best attitude. My total was $10.82; I paid $20.82, needing only a $10 bill back. He took the money and then counted the change out loud, twice, before giving me my change. Not sure if that’s some sort of rule that they have when paying with cash, but it was strange. He handed me the change, said “Enjoy your meal”, and walked off. We quickly realized that he did not give us any straws for our soda. We started eating and he too must have realized that he forgot the straws because he came over and gave us some. We also didn’t think we got any forks (for the chili cheese tots), so I asked him for two forks when he gave us the straws. He said he’d be right back with them, but Mae found one wrapped up inside the wax paper that the tots were in and we finished all of our food before Oscar ever returned with the forks.

The food was good, and reasonably priced, however I don’t know that I’ll eat there too often. If I go there again, it will likely be via drive-thru, not ordering and eating in the car. I suppose it would be more fun in the summer, but it’s always crazy busy there since there are only three locations in Minnesota (that I know of). One here in Saint Paul, one in Savage and one in Elk River. I’ve heard the slushies are really good, but I think I’ll stick to Culvers for the time being. It’s closer anyways.

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Playlist: January 2009

Didn’t get this posted right away this month, but I’ve been rocking out to this playlist to and from work lately. See past playlists here, and all music stats here. Noteworthy, I have passed 100,000 plays of the songs in my iTunes database. I also have over 12,000 songs now.

Artist Name Album
01. Papa Roach Time And Time Again Lovehatetragedy
02. Tim McGraw Indian Outlaw Greatest Hits
03. Shinedown Second Chance The Sound of Madness
04. Rancid The Wars End Live Nottingham 2003
05. Korn Coming Undone See You On The Other Side
06. Crash Test Dummies Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm The 90’s
07. Jimi Hendrix All Along The Watchtower Experience Hendrix
08. The Who Won’t Get Fooled Again Who’s Greatest Hits
09. Hoobastank Crawling In The Dark Hoobastank
10. Tool Forty Six & 2 Ænima
11. Metallica Breadfan Garage Inc.
12. Red Hot Chili Peppers She’s Only 18 Stadium Arcadium
13. Katy Perry Fingerprints One of the Boys
14. Green Day St. Jimmy American Idiot
15. Chris LeDoux This Cowboy’s Hat The Ultimate Collection: Chris LeDoux
16. Five Bolt Main Pathetic Venting
17. Pearl Jam Daughter Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991-2003)
18. The Misfits Rat Fink Collection
19. Clutch Wishbone The Elephant Riders
20. T.I. On Top Of The World (Ft. Ludacris & B.O.B.) Paper Trail

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Never Forgotten.

Rest In Peace

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Review: AC/DC – Black Ice

AC/DC - Black IceIf you’re anything like me, you were pumped to hear that AC/DC was releasing a new album. Although I was slightly less pumped to hear that it was being released exclusively at Wal*Mart. After waiting eight years since Stiff Upper Lip, it was nice to get some new licks from Angus and the gang.

The album features a load of songs packed with the classic AC/DC sound that is sure to be loved by any fan young or old. The unmistakable sound of the brothers Young on guitar, and Brian Johnson belting it out the album easily falls right into the groove that you’re used to. Although the first single from the album, “Rock N Roll Train” was really overplayed leading up to, and after the release of the album the rest of the tracks are pretty solid. Black Ice debuted at #1 in just about every country, with the exception of South Africa and Turkey.

My friend Nate said that he felt like Angus was holding back a little on the solos on this album, and I might have to agree with him. I didn’t get the rolling-around-on-the-ground-in-a-schoolboy-outfit feel that I was used to from Angus’ licks on most of the tracks. It was more like the shuffling-around-in-a-schoolboy-uniform that you’d expect from a 53 year old rock star. Nonetheless, a very solid release from the legendary AC/DC. Pick it up and have a listen if you’ve had that itch for something other than Dirty Deeds to jam out to in the car.

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Playlist: December 2008

Back to the same old, here’s the playlist for December twentyoheight. Word.

Artist Name Album
01. Deftones Hexagram Deftones
02. Tim McGraw Where The Green Grass Grows Greatest Hits
03. Korn Got The Life Follow The Leader
04. Billy Idol Dancing With Myself The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself
05. Clutch When Vegans Attack From Beale Street To Oblivion
06. Killswitch Engage Breathe Life The End Of Heartache
07. The Darkness I Believe In A Thing Called Love Permission To Land
08. Incubus Drive Make Yourself
09. Five Finger Death Punch Ashes The Way Of The Fist
10. Eric Clapton Cocaine Greatest Hits
11. Atmosphere Always Coming Back Home To You Seven’s Travels
12. Hootie & The Blowfish Let Her Cry The Best of Hootie & The Blowfish
13. Turbonegro Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed Scandinavian Leather
14. Elton John Bennie And The Jets Greatest Hits 1970-2002
15. Nickelback Just To Get High Dark Horse
16. Big Fuckin’ Skull Skulls That Ride City Buses Six Skulls Against The World
17. Damageplan Blink of an Eye New Found Power
18. Blink-182 All The Small Things Enema of the State
19. Led Zeppelin Kashmir Mothership
20. MXPX My Life Story The Ever Passing Moment


View other playlists here, and my entire music collection here.

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Review: Guns ‘N Roses – Chinese Democracy

Guns 'N Roses - Chinese Democracy There is a lot to be said about this album, which for many people was anticipated about as much as Duke Nukem Forever. The release of Chinese Democracy marks the release of new studio material from GNR since Use Your Illusion I and II in September 1991. I can’t honestly say that I was expecting a whole lot from the album when I heard that it was really for real going to come out. But I decided that I would pick it up and give it a listen.

I will start out by saying that if you aren’t a fan of Guns ‘N Roses, or more specifically Axl Rose, you probably won’t like this album. There is no doubt in any of the songs that he is the one singing and he definitely want’s to you to know that it’s him. I also noticed that almost all the songs have some weird techno beats in the intro and throughout the songs. It threw me off a little at first, but it’s kinda cool on some of the tracks. I’d say that the two standout tracks for me right now are “Better” and “Sorry”. When I was listening to this album today I found myself repeatedly losing focus thinking that this didn’t sound enough like the Guns ‘N Roses that I know and love. But I had to stop and just let myself listen and take it in. When I was finally able to set aside the fact that there was no Slash, there was no Duff, just Axl; I was able to hear a whole new sound. A sound that is so close, yet so far from the sound that anyone would associate with GNR.

I am absolutely more than pleased with the album, and I recommend it to all who have ever been keen on GNR. Allow yourself at least one good listen to take it all in and let it grow on you. Just don’t drink any Dr. Pepper while doing so, please.

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