I’m all
a-Twitter
!IHNeHNs
Ed Word
Please send feedback and
ice cream sandwiches to
[email protected].E
very once in a while, I see something that is
eminently cool that I don’t know exactly how I’d
use at fi rst glance. Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com ) is just
that sort of application. I liked it immediately, but it
took a little pondering to fi gure out why it’s awesome.
You see, this service gives me a simple way to
keep track of my friends. I subscribe to their lists, and
they subscribe to mine. When I send a text message
to a special number (40404), Twitter automatically
broadcasts my message to everyone who’s
subscribed to my Twitter feed. That sounds a little
lame and annoying, I know. But let me give you a pair
of real-world examples that show why it’s addictive.
I’m ready to head out for a night on the town,
but none of my pals knows exactly where we
should go. So, we all head to our local watering
holes. It’s dead-quiet in my neighborhood bar,
but my pal (we’ll call him Barney) discovers pay
dirt. Not only is there a great band playing in his
favorite nighttime establishment, but he’s also
managed to score a booth in an impossibly full bar.
With one quick text message he lets all of us know
where he is and that he can hold down the booth
for only another 15 or 20 minutes before the black-
leather-jacket crowd moves in on his patch of
Naugahyde paradise. This is undoubtedly a good,
if somewhat frivolous, use of technology.But Twitter’s actually good for a lot more than
that. Say you’re at a convention in a strange city.
You join the Twitter group set up for the conference,
and you’re instantly tapped in to a hardcore feed
of frequently useful info from the Twitterati. There’s
no need to search for a good breakfast joint or
an interesting panel—all the other attendees are
broadcasting their discoveries, in real time, using
their cell phones. That’s useful and cool.
So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up for
Twitter (and get your friends to sign up too—it’s
better with friends).
Got your Twitter account set up? Good! I think
there’s a better use for Twitter than telling my pals
I’m getting a haircut. I’m going to use Twitter as a
kind of anywhere worklog, posting my day-to-day
work activities for all to see. I’d like to use Twitter to
keep you guys tuned in to the Maximum PC beat 24
hours a day, seven days a week. If you’re interested,
feel free to subscribe to my Twitter feed—it’s http://
http://www.twitter.com/willsmith/.
And, if you think up exciting new ways to use
Twitter (or any other nifty web app), let me know
about them!Features
MAXIMUMPC 07 / 07
(^34)
Smartphones
We give you the 411 on
what to look for in a smartphone
and review 12 top models.
28
Parental-Control
Software Our editors battle
Net Nanny and other apps in order to obtain
the forbidden fruits of the Internet.
18 Thermal Cooling
It’s getting hot in here! We show you how to cool
your rig’s hot spots with pinpoint accuracy.
(^49)
Penryn
We get an early look
at Intel’s latest CPU and fi nd
out what else the chipmaker
has in store for power users.
july 2007 MAXIMUMPC 0
We get an early look
MPPPCC