Facebook email review

Facebook rolled out their new email feature recently. I got my “you have an email account now” message a few days back. So I’ve been playing around with it.

Refer to the pic – if you double-click on it, you can see it larger in another window at actual size.

a) This is what appears at the top of the Facebook browser window after you click on the “Messages” link near the top of your left home page column. A different aspect to having this feature activated is that when you click on “New Message” in that window or via the Messages icon on your Facebook home page, you can put someone’s email in the “To” field. And even if the person isn’t a Facebook user, they will get your message. (That is an illustration of how Facebook wants to be your message center. If you use Facebook constantly, that might be a helpful feature. I don’t, so it isn’t.)

b) This is what a sample email looks like as sent from Facebook. It shows all your Facebook conversations, whether they were sent through Facebook email or not. As you can tell, my wife and I do not talk much via Facebook. (Rest assured – we do talk a lot in real life.)

c) “Service Unavailable” is what is shown when I type “f” in my Firefox browser address field. (That’s how I normally get to Facebook.) And “service unavailable” is my brief summation of Facebook email.

> The Search Messages feature does not work.

> There are no folders or ways to organize your messages.

> I did not try out the mobile messaging aspect, so I can’t comment on that.

So in short, do not stress out if you haven’t received your Facebook email account yet. You are not missing much. It’s a good supplemental thing, if you’re a heavy Facebook user, but otherwise, no big deal.

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Netflix Changes

Netflix is killing off cable and satellite TV, almost single-handed. It’s cheaper. There are more options on what to watch. You don’t have to watch ads.

And now you can stream movies and TV shows to your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. (The streaming to your computer option has been able for a while.) So they released a plan that is solely streaming with no DVDs by mail – for a mere $8 a month. Eventually, if Hollywood loosens its grip a little, I’m guessing all movies and TV shows will be streaming. Currently only about 10-20% of Netflix’s library can be streamed.

So of course they’d up their prices. The $17 plan is now $20. Other plans went up too. If you have a monopoly, why not raise your prices? (Yes, technically, there are other competitors, but Netflix is the 1,000 pound gorilla in that marketplace.)

Note for my overseas readers: Netflix is not yet available in other countries except Canada, but I think it’s a matter of time, if the country’s infrastructure can support it. I’m not expecting it in Afghanistan anytime soon.

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Black Friday reflections

Black Friday fuels the American system. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily – but it can be bad. When the price drops so low on an item that we must get it – even though we have one already that maybe isn’t quite as good – that’s not good.

Lest you think I am preaching from a lofty tower, my family and I visited at least two large stores to take advantage of some of the sales. So I’m preaching to myself on this, too.

So, you ask, what does this have to do with aluminum lobster pinchers? On Thanksgiving, when we were attempting to find an obscure serving utensil in one of our drawers, we uncovered this. It was a free promotion from Lexus, back when the economy was humming enough that manufacturers gave away such things. They were selling a lifestyle. One that is not who I am. So last Thursday, it was entered into our to-the-Goodwill (charity shop) bin.

Be true to who you want to be.

For those not in America, “Black Friday” is the day after Thanksgiving – when retail outlets have crazy sales with amazing prices – often starting at midnight on Thursday night – which isn’t the nicest thing for those working at the stores. It’s called “Black” Friday because it’s the day stores hope to sell so much that it moves their financial bottom line out of the red (unprofitable) and into the black (profitable).

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Night in a Box

If you live in the Denver area, you might consider participating in Night in a Box. It’s an event that brings awareness on homelessness in Denver.

This is different – participants learn what homelessness is like, first-hand. If you are not brave enough to do it, you can sponsor someone who is – or donate to the cause.

In this season of giving, this is definitely a cause worth considering.

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Add the unexpected

So we bought this Roku box recently. With the cheapest Netflix subscription (USA), it allows us to stream videos to our TV. We don’t have cable, so this is a great alternative.

Anyhow, you’ll notice the fabric “tag” on both the remote and the box itself. Roku stole the idea from Levi’s. (I don’t have a problem with that – Roku is not a competitor for Levi’s in any way!) But what a creative combination – fabric with hard shiny plastic!

Takeaway: What are some ways you can bring the unexpected into your work today?

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Bring it here

Nando’s is a great chain of restaurants. Nairobi, Kenya has them. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has them. But there aren’t any in LA or New York. Or Denver. (Washington, DC has the only Nando’s in the USA.)

One of the problems with having lived in another country is that you will forever be running into things that you simply can’t get in the country you find yourself in.

Some have said that El Pollo Loco is similar. For me, it’s just not the same.

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