I am not much of a text messager - but everyone else seems to be into it. I’d usually prefer to respond via computer, using a keyboard - rather than trying to tap out all the letters on my phone keys.

That is why I think this Google Tools Firefox Send-To-Phone Extension will come in so handy. Now when someone sends me a text message, I can respond by just clicking on the little telephone icon in the corner of my browser.

There have been a lot of articles about Facebook in the news lately.

Some writers are suggesting that Facebook will be (or already is) the next big thing in the Internet world. As everyone knows, Google purchased YouTube for a massive mountain of cash. It seems likely that Facebook is attaining a similar level of attention and speculative value due to its popularity.

Of course that kind of popularity and value attracts problems as well as opportunities. The creator(s) of Facebook are currently being sued by some fellow Harvard students who claim their ideas were stolen.

There are also those associated with other prominent sites and applications that want to build a relationship with Facebook. WordPress has released some kind of plugin that allows users to connect their WordPress blogs with Facebook - though the plugin only works for WordPress.com users. This leaves me wondering if a way will be developed for other WordPress users (such as myself).

Because Facebook is getting so much attention, I registered and checked around a little. One of the interesting applications was that Facebook was able to use my Gmail contact list to look for people I already know who have Facebook accounts.

I also found that there’s a “Bloggernacle” category that’s been created within Facebook and so it was fairly easy to find and connect with the LDS bloggers who have signed themselves up as part of that group.

Many of the Facebook features remind me of LinkedIn - it seems to be a very convenient and easy way to find people you’ve known from the past - whether they attended the same high school or university, worked at the same business, lived in the same place, shared the same interest, etc. Also, if you know someone and you share the same friends, it becomes easy to add those shared contacts/friends to your own list.

I wonder though if this is the kind of site where you register, play around a bit, and then not bother going back. Or perhaps it is the kind of site that invites only occasional and casual interaction - unlike email or other applications that a person will use daily.

Note: Matt Mullenweg wrote “I’m really enjoying Pownce” so I signed up for an invite to give it a try.  Now I have six more invites I can offer to others.  So if you want to try it out, let me know in the comments or via email.  Honestly, it just strikes me as one more social networking program.

I have a new pet peeve and it’s leading me even further in the direction of deciding that printer companies are evil.  First they charge us more for ink cartridges than for the printers themselves.  Now they have added an entirely new gambit.

In the past week, both at work and at home, I’ve received new Hewlett Packard printers.  Both times the printers came without a USB cable that was absolutely necessary to get the printer to work.  I looked up the price of one of these USB cables online and it added $19.99 to what had previously seemed like a good deal (after a mail-in rebate - but that’s a whole different pet peeve topic).

I googled around to see if I was the only person supremely irritated by this practice.  I found one article here that shows Hewlett Packard isn’t the only company doing this.  This writer compares this experience to purchasing a television and taking it home only to discover that a power-cord isn’t included.  Interesting analogy.  A commenter on that same post refers to this as a “razer-and-blade-sell.”

I think this is a deceptive practice because of the consumer’s unanticipated added cost.  Unless you are a complete tech-geek with lots of extra equipment lying around, it’s also a major time-waster - because you either have to make another trip to the store or wait for the ordered part to arrive.

Frankly, if I plunk down a hundred dollars on a piece of equipment, I expect it to work when I take it home.  Period.  This is really irritating and I’m barely able to keep from writing what I’m feeling in even plainer language.

Meraki is a company that is aiming to provide a universal wi-fi service in an inside-out approach rather than an outside-in approach. Some companies have tried to create this universal service by trying to attach wi-fi boxes to telephone poles, an approach that has created problems - often leading to people trying to get internet access by pressing their laptops against their windows. Meraki wants to put boxes in homes and apartment buildings, so that people can create networks (for themselves and their neighbors) that will work better indoors. Individuals should be able to purchase a box that will provide wi-fi service for $49.

This looks great to me. There is an extensive New York Times write-up on this system titled “Wireless Network For All, Without the Towers“.