Statistics reported by web analytics company, Net Applications; the iPhone 2G in June 2008 held 0.16 % share of the browsers used on the Internet. In September 1, the iPhone 3G has a share of 0.3%, a whopping 58% increase over the span of only one month.

Microsoft’s browser share has declined, Internet Explorer’s 78.36% market share in October of 2007 fell to 72.15 % by August 2008. IE is dominant still, but not for too much longer it seems.

I have a PAX write-up to complete. I’m doing some major work on my other site, LOb, tonight; hopefully I can say that is live shortly. By shortly I mean probably Friday.

Must stop twittering so much, it takes away from blog time.

Speaking of time, the focus of my time is shifting from tinking around to producing results. It’s a mind shift that hopefully will stick.

If you have not read about Google Chrome, Google’s web browser built off Apple’s WebKit, then pop over to here and read Scott McCloud’s comic about it.

I have a lot of software that I’ve bought over the years. Yes really, bought. It’s becoming a pain to know where all that licence information is. I could really do with some software that could manage all that for me. Anyone got any suggestions?

I’ll update the post as suggestions roll in.

Licensed:
amarsagoo.info/licensed/

Free, which is good, but don’t seem to be able to attach files into the program. Useless when your license requires a JPG for authentication. The GUI is the weakest of all those reviewed.

Appshelf:
www.kedisoft.com/appshelf/index.html

Fishy. Appshelf looks good, is priced right at a low cost of 7 bucks, and you can attach any sort of files into the program. Nice.

Licence Keeper:
outerlevel.com/licensekeeper/

Looks really nice, can attach files, but the cost is way too high for me: $19.99. GUI is the most polished of the apps reviewed, but only just, Appshelf is right up with it.

Lizenzen:
myownapp.com/site/free/free.html

Free, the GUI looks OK, but again you cannot attach files in the application.

Winner:
Appshelf wins hands down. Equals any other app in terms of functionality, it looks good and it is the right price. The best home software license manager on OS X, no arguments.

NB: Not affiliated in any way with Appshelf/Kedisoft or any of the vendors in this review. I have now purchased Appshelf though :)

Yes it is true, CR will be at PAX for all three days of geeking out. See below for the CR schedule, message me if you want to meet up at PAX in Seattle this coming weekend!

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Why Ping? Well it promotes your blog, well your blog post, to a wider readership. So it’s worth doing, as I’m assuming that you want people to read what you are writing. So what is a blog Ping? It notifies a service that your blog has been updated, the advantage of the sites below is they notify a lot of services at the same time, which is really handy. It’s free promotion for your blog.

Looking for alternatives to Pingoat? Or just looking for a way to ping many blog services at the same time … well here you go.

Pingates: http://pingates.com/
BlogBlip: http://blip.lco.net/SubmitForm.aspx
KingPing: http://www.kping.com/
FeedShark: http://feedshark.brainbliss.com/
Ping.In: http://ping.in/
PingMyBlog: http://www.pingmyblog.com/

The venerable http://pingomatic.com is still going, but doesn’t ping as many services as the above and I believe it is no longer maintained. My personal recommendation right now is Pingates. Enjoy!

Missing presumed dead

If you know of any other good ping services, let me know and I’ll add them in, thanks!

So when I got my iPhone I knew that I’d order the Zagg invisibleSHIELD sticker to protect it. These clear stickers are tough and protect your iPhone (or laptop or whatever) from everyday scratches, like when you’d put your iPhone in your pocket with your car keys. The US military use these stickers on some helicopter rotor blades, it’s going to protect your phone just fine.

I got the full sticker pack, front and back. I wish I hadn’t, you only need to get the front sticker to protect the screen and it’s cheaper just to get that. I already have invisibleSHIELD on my MacBook’s wrist-rest area and mouse button, so I’ve used this stuff before and know the routine:

Wash your hands, dry, spray fingertips with the solution Zagg provide, peel off sticker, spray both sides of the sticker, apply to iPhone surface and position it carefully. Wait or blow-dry on cool setting.

The front sticker went on like a charm, it’s really clear, feels alright when using your iPhone and does not drop the sensitivity of the touch screen notably. Everything works great and I’m not so scared when my 3 year old pokes Bubbles or Coy Carp on my phones screen.

The back sticker wasn’t cut out correctly during the manufacturing process, I had to use scissors to cut along one side. Points off for that. It also tries to curve around the corners of your iPhone rather than just cover the back, and that doesn’t work. After I fitted the back sticker I disliked how I couldn’t get the corners smooth. Wrinkled corners made the phone look tacky and cheap. I pulled the sticker back off and threw it away.

Buy the front cover and don’t worry about your screen getting scratched, buy a case for overall protection as well. The Zagg stickers would be better if they covered less on your iPhone, it was a mistake to try and cover the corners, I’d have liked them just to cover the back. I was frustrated by the back sticker design and the fact that mine arrived without getting cut out correctly in manufacturing.

With minor reservations, I recommend getting the Zagg invisibleSHIELD front sticker to cover your screen.

Own a TomTom? Ever had the Yellow Screen of Death? That no boot-up-screen with the red cross in it, it basically means that until you fix the software on your TomTom it is dead. It’s not bricked, as it is fixable. Here’s how, as I found the Home screen counter intuitive. Follow these steps entirely at your own risk, no responsibility is accepted or implied; I also advise reading this. Using v1.6 of the Home software that comes on with the TomTom, if you have v2.x uninstall it and install v1.6 for these next steps.

Assuming you have the Yellow Screen of Death and Home is installed on your computer:

Reset your TomTom. It’s a small indented button underneath your GO 720.

Start Home, connect the cables.

Turn your TomTom on. It should connect and appear in Home. If not reset again.

Select Delete from TomTom. Now on the right hand side is a list of items you can delete.

Select the TomTom Application (Red round icon) on the right. Then hit the Delete button in the bottom right. You’ll get a warning, ignore it and go ahead.

Disconnect using the software menu, it’s Device then Disconnect. Then unplug your TomTom from the cable/cradle. Now connect it again. It’ll check for an update and see that you need the TomTom application, download and install it. When it is done select Device/Disconnect and BING your TomTom works again.

What was the cause? Well it is not, as many websites are saying, the Home update that you apply. It just seems like it. The cause is not disconnecting the TomTom correctly. Once it’s connected to your computer you need to select Device from the top menu and then select Disconnect. Once your TomTom screen changes back to the normal boot menu then you can remove the cables.

Reading forums this happens a lot, and people return the units thinking they are broken. They aren’t, but it is not clear how to fix them and I’ve not seen any clearly documented method on a website. Well here it is, how to fix your TomTom.

So my Garmin Nuvi 350 was stolen last night, so I need to get a new GPS system for my car. I’m considering the TomTom GO 730 or 720. The GO 720 is so much cheaper, does the 730 really offer anything extra for the price difference?

Anyone actually used these units?

Considering the price VS feature difference, the GO 720 is it. So I just bought that one. I’m going to be really interested in how this functions when compared to my old Garmin Nuvi 350. I’ll update you all later.