Disqus - Latest Comments for themacjedi

Re: We’ve Got More Tickets to the STAR TREK BEYOND Event!

TheMacJedi — Mon, 09 May 2016 18:13:44 -0000

Star Trek IX: Insurrection. I liked it because it reminded of the TV show more than the previous movies.

Re: The Best Portable Hard Drive

TheMacJedi — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 19:13:50 -0000

Thanks, I was about 1 hour in to researching a new portable drive, your article finished my research for me.

Re: IGN Community Central Out of the Furnace PS4 Giveaway

TheMacJedi — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 00:49:50 -0000

Personal Escape

Re: Engadget Giveaway: win one of three Kindle Fires, courtesy of TurboTax!

TheMacJedi — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:24:29 -0000

I used Turbotax this year and already received my refund. It was very pleased.

Looking forward to my free Kindle Fire :)

Re: Why I Still Won't Buy an Apple TV

TheMacJedi — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:23:20 -0000

Until Mountain Lion comes out and you realize you could be mirroring your Mac at 1080p instead of 720p then you'll want one.

Re: The Informer - Simone Wilson - Venice Beach Might Get Nation's First 'Great Observation Wheel'

TheMacJedi — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:00:06 -0000

I think that sounds awesome, I can't wait to ride it.

Re: Ask Engadget: best rugged (but tiny) USB flash drive?

TheMacJedi — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:43:45 -0000

I just bought one of these and I love it. You can get them in the Apple Store for twice as much.

http://stores.ebay.com/Etec...

Re: http://blog.gowalla.com/post/10617909958

TheMacJedi — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:42:10 -0000

Many are saying they want Gowalla 3 back, but even if you restored everything back to Gowalla 3.3 and started improving the checkin app we can't trust Gowalla anymore. You will have to count on all of your new travel users to keep the lights on. And since the majority of the people who downloaded it on launch day weren't traveling, they opened it, it was pretty and they closed it. They won't open it again until they take a trip. You sacrificed 2mil (cult like) daily checkin users for a group of people who may not even remember Gowalla exists when they take a trip.

This is what happens when creative people are CEOs. Without anyone to answer too they can ruin the game for everyone playing. If the investors of Gowalla had a say you have been told no or fired. But you got 2mil people to play on your side then you changed the game and your 2mil users don't want to play the new game, they liked the old game, which is why they played.

Do your checkin users a favor on your next blog post and remind them that "Gowalla is no longer a checkin application, it's a travel application." so they can move on and stop expecting you to fix their checkin application.

From my point of view, the best decision Gowalla made was 4S integration, because I enabled it on day one and have all of my checkins there as well, over a years worth. My pics are missing but I can add them back. My diary (online life) is missing a few things here and there without Gowalla but I'll live with it.

P.S. You have employees that thought this was a bad idea and they either told you and you ignored them or they are afraid of you or losing their job and let you kill your user base. You need someone who will forcefully tell you that you're on crack without fear of losing their job when you suggest these types of changes. You would have been out-voted by your own employees.

Re: http://blog.gowalla.com/post/10579404716

TheMacJedi — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:36:28 -0000

"But we need your help!" Seriously? I, like many checkin users have been a huge proponent of Gowalla, I was an editor and spent dozens of hours correcting spots & building the Gowalla database. I wore my Gowalla shirt regularly and had stickers on my car. I spent time posting Highlights for visitors. I went out of my way to get the coveted Gowalla Headquarters checkin.

What you did with the new Gowalla 4 app was replace a rich well designed checkin app with an unfinished travel app that barely does checkins. There's no point in telling you what you should have done, there must have been people telling you it was a mistake and you ignored them. The Notes & Items were standout features even if only 5% of the base used them, but can you blame them, you demoted them into obscurity where new users never saw them.

Help You? You were clear yesterday with the new app that my help meant nothing when you abandoned your checkin users for the hopes of a share of the travel pie. The idea of the new Travel Guides lead you to demote the simple checkin.

There's been a lot of hate on Twitter about Gowalla 4 that stems from the facts that your checkin users think you released an updated checkin app. But you didn't. The new people downloading Gowalla love it because as with all Gowalla products it's beautiful to look at and they were wanting a new travel guide.

As I've said before, no one complains about things they don't care about. So the people complaining liked and used the product. For many of us checkin users Gowalla was part of our online diary, reminders of places we've been and things we've done. It's as if someone came along and ripped pages out of our diary.

I'm puzzled by the fact that you not only abandoned pretty much all the users who helped build Gowalla but you abandoned all of the great work you accomplished in the previous year like the advances made in simplifying checkins, where you type while it loads Spots with pics at the same time, Notes, Highlights & partnerships and Items with Disney.

Maybe... The problem was that you lead the team to build the great product you had last year but you don't understand because you weren't a checkin user. Is it possible you built a user base that you don't understand? Like Twitter, you should have followed the user base's lead.

Re: Use eBook Retailers’ Affiliate Programs: Get Money Back When You Sell a Book

TheMacJedi — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:40:59 -0000

That's a great idea. As someone who does just that (only Apple, I closed my Amazon affiliate), everyone should understand that you may invest way more time than you'll ever get paid for. You'll make more by promoting a single sell of the book than you'll make from 20+ affiliates sells. My point is that your time is valuable, invest it where it makes the biggest difference.

Re: http://blog.gowalla.com/post/9378150015

TheMacJedi — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:23:21 -0000

It doesn't matter how many Pro-Items comments we make because we are only one half of one percent and they decided that wasn't enough to keep funding the feature.

I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Please give me a way to save and or download my Items and the associated analytical data for future reference.

Re: http://blog.gowalla.com/post/9378150015

TheMacJedi — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:58:07 -0000

I agree with the comments about Items being depreciated by Gowalla making it more of a chore for us to use and hidden from sight of new users so Gowalla caused the lack of use.

Since Gowalla hid Items from new users only the original user base was enjoying them. And now that your popularity has improved you're taking away a feature that we loved about Gowalla.

Very disappointed.

You're just moving closer to being an easy buy-out for FourSquare by removing features they don't have.

Re: BookLamp – The New Pandora For Books?

TheMacJedi — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:47:11 -0000

It will get bought eventually becoming a feature of a larger service.

Re: 5 Biggest Mistakes Authors Make with Their Websites

TheMacJedi — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:11:51 -0000

Many people don't yet understand how to setup or use websites or social networking sites let alone integrating them together. My wife and author Karen Jones (http://KarenJones.us) benefits from me doing the majority of the setup. I can see how this stuff if confusing and intimidating to many people. Some things are presented as if they're so easy and they're not. As I exit the tech support world I'm in a perfect position to do all of this for her in a way that helps promote her books.

Re: Brian's talk at the London Book Fair 4/13/11: "Fame, Fortune, and the Independent Author"

TheMacJedi — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:49:54 -0000

Before watching the video, I gave my wife, Karen Jones, a couple tips that I want her to do. You said the same things in the video. I'm glad I'm on the same page as you.

Re: BookBaby Now Offering Distribution to iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, and Nook!

TheMacJedi — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:04:07 -0000

I can't believe your service is this new and we've already taken advantage of it in a major way. Congrats Bookbaby on your early success and thanks for all your help.

Karen's 2nd book, Bermuda's Triangle: A Misplaced Adventure, is only a week away from being submitted to Bookbaby.

We moved from Indiana to Los Angeles in 2010. When I couldn't find tech support work and Karen was only working part time at Vera Bradley we moved back to Indiana at the end of 2010 when the money ran out. We plan to return to L.A. permanently in the near future.

Here's Karen's Goodreads Bio

About this author (Karen Jones), Camel Lot: A Misplaced Adventure

After returning to Indiana from Los Angeles, leaving behind a job I loved, I thought, “I’ll just run right out in this depressed job market and snatch up another.”

Pretty soon, depressed not only described the job market, but my attitude as well. I’d applied for several great job opportunities, numerous acceptable job opportunities, several okay-I-can-take-it-for-now employment options, and a couple please-please-dont-actually-call-me-back “positions” (and I use that term lightly).

So as my husband slipped back into his role of tech wizard to the Mac-needy, I sat home – alone. I’d enrolled Allyson in a public middle school expecting to be working full time, so my days were really freed up. We no longer own much (something I’ve come to love, by the way), so there wasn’t much arranging of furniture to do. At least not on a daily basis. The weather was still cold and ugly, so outdoor walking and taking Dixie (the Chihuahua) to the park wasn’t really appealing.

So I wrote a book

Re: How to Convert Your eBook to the EPUB Format

TheMacJedi — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:11:21 -0000

You guys are great, and you've been answering my questions as fast as you can. I noticed a problem with Karen's ebook and you guys found the conversion problem, fixed it and resubmitted to the stores very quickly.

Our deadline for Karen's next book is July 1st, only waiting on a few more questions to be answered.

Thanks for all your help.

Re: Self-Publishing Success Story: Amanda Hocking Strikes Gold with eBook Sales

TheMacJedi — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:06:57 -0000

Amanda Hocking is part of what encouraged my wife Karen Jones to publish her first book, Camel Lot: A Misplaced Adventure.

Amanda also uses Goodreads as a tool for feedback on her works.

Re: Know How to Read Into Your Amazon Rankings

TheMacJedi — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:53:44 -0000

Conflicting views?

Re: Selling Tip: Captivating Book Descriptions

TheMacJedi — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:28:01 -0000

This post made me rewrite the description for my wife's first book, Camel Lot: A Misplaced Adventure.

It's much better now.

Re: eReader Showdown

TheMacJedi — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:19:34 -0000

Also the Kindle kid is reading a dead tree book.

It's a good article on the ereaders. We have an iPad but my wife spends more on the Kindle store because of the selection and wider usage. You can read Kindle books on a Mac but can't read iBooks on a Mac.

Re: http://blog.gowalla.com/post/3061038110

TheMacJedi — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:11:28 -0000

You all at Gowalla do great work and while I really like my theme because of our recent travel to Los Angeles and back I'll take awesome new features instead.

Thanks for all your hard work, I really enjoy using your product.

Re: Net Neutrality: Now or Never

TheMacJedi — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:29:16 -0000

I'm willing to vote the opposite of whatever a lobbyist is lobbying for.

Re: Xbox Live Update Brings Avatar Marketplace Pricing Debate to Twitter

TheMacJedi — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:11:06 -0000

I hadn't even considered this part of the problem.

http://forums.xbox.com/2854...

Re: Some Spring Cleaning

TheMacJedi — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:53:19 -0000

Thanks for all your hard work, Dropbox is turning out to be an awesome and required app.