Why you should be using iGoogle

This is by no means breaking news, but I’m finding more and more people who don’t know anything about it. So, let me just take a second to tell you why I think you should be using iGoogle as your browser’s home page.

iGoogle is just Google’s way of letting you put all of your favorite information directly on your internet browser’s start page so you don’t have to get it all from multiple locations. Just sign in with your gmail account or create a new one. Here’s why it’s great:

Reason 1: Google Reader.
Google Reader is an RSS reader, which basically just means this:
Every time I post something to my blog, you can see it immediately. Case closed. Sign up now.

Ok, maybe that’s not much of a reason, but you know all those blogs/sites that your friends or family members or favorite bands/celebrities/directors/companies/magazines have? Every new post will appear right on your home page as a clickable headline, so you don’t have to try to remember to check in (and miss 6 months of posts before you remember).

Reason 2: Gmail Inbox
This was the first thing that made me start using iGoogle, and – even though I don’t actually have it on my page anymore – it’s awesome. Every new email will show up on your home page as a link. Don’t worry about missing an email, because you’ll see it when you log on to search for that video clip or kill a few hours browsing strangers’ myspace/facebook pics (my wife does this, I totally don’t get it).

Reason 3: the Add-Ons
This is where it REALLY gets cool. TONS of apps are created specifically to bring your favorite stuff to iGoogle, so you can go crazy with customization. You can add things like YouTube videos, Twitter, weather, movie times, news ,comics, even Pac-Man.

Here’s what my page looks like:

click to see image

It might seem a little overwhelming at first, but you can have it as clean or as cluttered as you want.

The bottom line: it saves a ton of time and keeps you up to date. Give it a shot.

HD makes BC a dull boy

Holy crap. I was so excited about the prospects of HD – as a viewer anyway, but as the guy who has to create all of that beautiful millions-of-pixels content, I’m not exactly a fan.

First of all, just to do a simple thing like watch what I’m animating on a monitor, my computer has been under construction off and on for about two weeks or more. Yeah, it still doesn’t work. Then an actual big HD motion graphic project hits. Oh, what’s that? It’s going to take DAYS to render my 3D layer? Guess I’ll switch to standard def and start all over – at 10pm.

If I’m sounding a bit cranky, it’s because everyone’s about to pour into the office for the morning, and I’m still here from yesterday.

So, with these problems and the wasted investment of the HD-DVD drive, the only good that HD has brought into my world has been while watching LOST.