I have been looking forward to the release of TweetGenius for a while now as for some reason I knew something big was in the works.  I didn't know what it was but I knew it would be big.  And to my surprise it was released yesterday.  Version 1.0.

Instantly there were reviews posted all over the place and I was able to see what it was.  And it looked really NICE.  I got my hands on a copy and started playing with it right away.

Fast.  Smooth.  Beautiful.  I like.

Up until now I have been using YATCA as my Twitter client of choice.  However I started to get overloaded with its message inbox notifications and was looking for a more independent application to handle Twitter.

I have SocialScope loaded and love its Facebook integration, but with the latest version for some reason my BB Bold has been hanging every now and then.  I have recently uninstalled it to see if it truly is the cause of this. 

This release is 1.0 and 1.1 is currently in the works.  I figure a lot of the other smaller features such as short URL and TwitPic integration will be added at a later date.  For a 1.0 release it does include all of the basic Twitter features.

Some of the things I like include:

• Very attractive application.  This is what a BB app should look like.
• Includes all the basic twitter functions right off the bat: friends timeline, direct messages and replies
• Shortcut keys for everything you want to do.
• Very fast.  Shows off what the BB can do.

Some of the things I don’t like include (more than likely will be added in the next version):

• No way to upload a picture via TwitPic.
• No way to include a short URL
• No way to save tweet's.. something I do often as people post URL’s.
• The home screen notifications will only show for unread mentions and direct messages.  I would love to have an option to allow me to notify for other tweets.

You can see some of the reviews here.

http://blackberrysync.com/2009/05/software-review-so-ingenius-it-must-be-tweetgenius/
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/05/05/tweetgenius-for-blackberry-its-war-on-the-twitter-streets/

You can order your copy of TweetGenius from http://www.thetweetgenius.com/ and also follow the team on twitter at http://twitter.com/tweet_genius.

Good job guys.  This is my new Twitter app of choice on my Blackberry.

Labels: blackberry, mobile, review, software

One of my most used fitness programs is GymTechnik.  I’ve written about them before here and here and they just got even better with their latest set of updates.  These updates include fixes as well as enhancements to the current program.  If you are currently using GymTechnik to track your gym progress I recommend you do.

One of my favorite things on the site is the frequent article updates.  Their library has gotten bigger and I never miss a new article.

Included in these updates are the following.

• Latest articles right when you login
  Stay up to date with all our latest articles written by our featured authors available to you right when you login to Gym Technik Online
• Automatic copy from last time stats
  Don’t feel like inputting workout stats into your smartphone? We’ve now added a mobile setting where you can choose to have all the exercises in the workout you start auto-fill with the stats from the last time the exercise was completed. This is great to quickly load up a page, perform the exercise, and simply hit “next” as the stats are already filled in for you. We've even placed a “Clear” button that you can click on to clear out the pre-filled stats if you need to add in completely different stats. If you wish to enable this feature you can easily do so by clicking on the “Settings” button at the bottom of Gym Technik Mobile while logged in on your smartphone
• View all the exercises to track on one page
  To date, Gym Technik Mobile only displayed exercises in sequence where you had to have one exercise open and click on “next” to get to the next one. We’ve now given you the option to simply load up the entire workout on one screen so all your exercises are loaded up on one page and you can easily scroll through each exercise and input stats. This is great for super-sets and circuit workouts. If you wish to enable this you can easily do so by clicking on the “Change View” button at the bottom of Gym Technik Mobile while logged in on your smartphone
• Numerous Bug Fixes and optimization of speed
  We have optimized the way images load up to give you a faster experience on the mobile application. And to make it even faster, you can turn images off in your mobile settings.
• All three image stills for each exercise
  This is great for beginners that need to view the entire motion of an exercise. Now when you view an instruction of an exercise, you will see all 3 image stills of the exercise showing you how to start the exercise and then taking you through the full motion to completion - all on your smartphone!
• Maximum value in picklist goes as high as you push
  Quite a few of you had notified us that the maximum value of the weight input in the picklist wasn’t high enough at times. We’ve now made the highest value a “More” value so that you can click on “more” to get higher numbers. Alternatively, within your mobile settings you can change the entry input method to "Enter by typing value" to simply enter in whatever value you want
• Numeric entry for BlackBerries
  Probably our most popular feature request by BlackBerry users! For those of you that have set your mobile data input settings to “Enter by typing in value”, the BlackBerry now will default to the input being numeric so you don’t have to hold the ‘alt’ key anymore
• Remember me fixed
  Another big one that a lot of you reported to us – The “Remember Me” function on the Gym Technik Mobile login page now works. Sorry about this one...

Labels: blackberry, Fitness, iphone, mobile, review

I know its been a while since I last posted any updates but I have a few updates to give you.  I have not given up on my goal.  I am still going strong and have been keeping it up every day.

I have a made a few modifications to my workout routine since.  I have added and removed a few exercises as well switching up the order.  Every few months I recommend doing this to help avoid getting bored with your current routine.  Also due to time constraints I have removed my cardio routine from my lunch time session and doubled my evening cardio session.  Just a slight modification but I still get the same workout.

Basketball on Friday’s is still going strong and is a good way to burn calories running up and down a court.

I have started boxing class in the evenings.  This is an intense cardio class that involves many different things such as running stairs, sit up’s, push up’s and much more.  By the end of each class you are really drenched in sweat.  At first the class was hard… but after about 3 weeks its getting much more easier and enjoyable.  For fun I took my Polar F6 watch with me to see how many calories I burned and it came up just short of 1000 kcal’s in one session.  For the last few weeks I’ve been burning more than 6000 calories a week.  But I have since cut back to 4000.

Just for the record I have passed the 50lbs lost mark and still counting.  It feels great.  Clothes fit so much better and I just feel much better in general.  Its become very obvious.

Labels: Fitness

Last week was another great week.  I was able to drop yet another 5lbs.  I don’t know how I did it but it happened.

This week I hope to hit the 50lb mark and I’m aiming for that. 

I will be doing strictly cardio this week to burn it off and will be switching up my routine next week to throw in a few new exercises and retire a few old ones.  I’m always up for some suggestions as to what to do.  Hit me up on the email if you have any.  I currently run a 4 day cycle with weights.  Arms, Chest, Legs and then Back/Shoulders.  I plan on mixing it up a bit and modifying. 

Not much more to say other than I’m keeping it up still.  5 months and still going strong.  People are noticing.

Labels: Fitness

A new Twitter application for the Blackberry was recently released.  It is conveniently called Yet Another Twitter Client Application or Yatca for short.

I previously had Twitterberry on my phone but was not impressed with the fact that I had to go into another application other than my message box to receive the updates.

Then I heard of this one.  Once I saw what it was about I instantly knew that this was the Twitter application that I wanted on my phone.

All your tweets are loaded directly into your main message box.  From there you can retweet and reply directly.  Just like email.

It just works.  Its simple.  And I like it.

They recently added Twitpic integration to it and I am sure they will be adding a lot of new features to it soon.  It is only available for Blackberry OS 4.6+ and this is because they only allow message box integration in that OS.  I don’t expect to see it on older Blackberry’s and I guess that is its main downfall.

Give it a try.  I’m sure you will like it.  I can’t wait to see what they have planned for the future.

Labels: blackberry, mobile, review, software

Major progress last week.  Finally got over a little hump and dropped 5 lbs.  It felt good as I was fighting to get it done.  I didn’t weigh myself all week so was surprised on Monday when I did the weigh in.

How I did it I’m not sure.  I think it was a combination of the basketball on Fridays (that gets intense) and pushing it even hard on the elliptical machine.  I’ve had to work even hard to get my heart rate up.  The resistance is already really high and I don’t want my legs to hurt before my heart rate goes up.

It feels good as I am about to retire the gym shorts I have been using since I started.  They are really loose and keep sliding down.   Nice to say that huh?

Also noticed my skin is looking a lot better.  Not sure if this is because I have been eating better but its gotten a lot clearer than before.  Hard to explain.

I’m now coming up on my 50lb mark and can’t wait to break that.

Labels: Fitness

Don’t you just hate it when one day out of the blue your computer starts doing something it didn’t do before that is now causing you a great headache.  You can spend hours and hours working on it and never figure it out.

Recently my main computer in my house (which I use mainly as a server for sharing media and running other services) decided to start crashing for no reason.  Its a computer that is let on all the time and is barely actually used. 

The crash was very weird though.  It didn’t give a blue screen or anything.  It just hung and the hard drive kept going.  I couldn’t figure out what the heck it was.

At the time I had Vista loaded and I have been meaning to downgrade back to XP (I won’t even get into that) so I figured doing this should solve the problem.

One day after the downgrade it did the same exact thing.  Go figures, it must be a hardware issue.  All I did recently was add memory. 

Let me reseat that memory.  Still no luck.

So I checked the event viewer on the machine and found some errors.  There was a major error that went something like “The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk0\D”.  A quick look on google and many articles basically pointed me to the SATA cables or connections.

I basically removed the cables and reseated them all.  I also changed around the ports just as a test.

It looks like it is working now.  Hopefully it stays that way.  But its just one of those problems that piss me off!

Labels: google, life, Miscellaneous, rambling, Technology

Every now and then my weight seems to drop quickly to a record low… and then it goes back up for some reason.  Then I spend the week working it back down and it stabilizes at that new weight and repeats the cycle. 

That happened last week.  However I don’t mind it.  I probably weight myself way to often so I notice things like this.  I really should keep it to probably once a week but I find it keeps me motivated and makes me work harder on the days it jumps up so I don’t really mind.  Right now I’m back at that record low for me and it has stabilized for now.  Time for it to drop again.  I’m feeling good.

I don’t know what it is about going to the gym but I always feel really good afterwards.  No matter what I do the thought of burning off the calories makes you kind of tingly inside.  And I’m not sore at all so it doesn’t feel like a total waste of time.  Actually its not really.  But you know what I mean.

I started playing basketball again for the first time in how many years.  It was ruff but I did way better than expected and its a new Friday ritual.  I don’t even think I can duplicate the workout I get from that in the gym.  However I did jam my finger and that is going to affect me this week with the weights.  But I really don’t mind.  It was fun.

I was looking at that P90X program last week.  I hear so much about it.  It seems to be the latest craze so why not see what it is all about. The first thing I did was watch the intro video about the entire program.  Pretty nice.  Its not just an exercise video but an entire program that includes eating as well.  A full package that will run you about $120 CDN.  Its about 12+ DVD’s of exercises.  Quite overwhelming.

However while watching the video they started pushing other things they sell onto you for purchase.  Claiming that you would need them to get the max out of the program.  Everything from vitamin supplements to the mat you use during yoga.  It looks like it would all add on another few hundred dollars.

In the end I felt like this program really is for skinny people that are looking to tone up.  I’m not saying it won’t help the bigger set like myself but it is probably a lot of overkill for us.

I’m just going to stick to my Biggest Loser workout DVD’s for now.

I’ve run across a number of blogs this week though about other people that are documenting their weight loss as well.  It was very motivational to read.  Seeing the challenges they face as well.  A number of them had way too few posts though.  1 starting up, 1 half way through, and a final post when they were complete.  They weren’t detailed enough.  But still motivational enough to make me want to work harder.  I would love to hear any recommendations of normal people going through the same thing.  Drop me an email.

Labels: Fitness

As you can probably tell from my Twitter I have gotten a copy of the new Street Fighter IV game that was released to day.

I decided to take a trip to the local best buy this morning and pick it up before it was all sold out.  Luckily they had two copies of the Special Edition left which I was able to grab with my saved up gift certificates.  While I was there I also picked up a 2nd controller.

I have been playing this game now for a few hours and I LOVE IT!!!!!   It takes me back to my youth.  The characters are all pretty much the same with some slight modifications.  But if you remember all the moves from SF2 they are pretty much the same.  After a little bit of practice I was right into the game with my usual moves.  I missed Blanka.

These days I can’t handle the games that use 50 buttons and the combo’s are near impossible to pull off.  I like the somewhat simplicity of SFIV.  The graphics are much improved and look really good on my 56”.

The next thing I am looking to get is the official Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick (Tournament Edition).

I got wind of this over at the UGO Blog and I am currently looking all over for it.  Unfortunately I don’t think its really out yet.  Well at least in Canada I don’t see it anywhere.  Up here we never get the cool stuff.  I don’t even want to get into that.

This controller will complete me!!!  Well my game at least.

Labels: entertainment, games, review

I have seen a few articles in the papers recently talking about twitter and I must admit that it was a technology that I skipped. So I decided to check it out.

I was reading one of my favorite basketball stars tweets (that is what they call twitter posts) and if Chris Bosh is on twitter then I got to get on it.

I have also linked my tweets into this blog so on the right hand side you will see my tweets. The cool thing is that it is also linked into my Facebook page so it automatically changes my status on there as well.

You can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/gavin_campbell so add me.

I have also installed TwitterBerry on my Blackberry Bold so I can tweet from anywhere. How cool is that!

Labels: Technology, web sites

Once again the last few weeks have been ruff.  Many excuses to not go to the gym have come up and affected my regular routine.  Busy day’s at work, things to get done at home.  And various other things.  This also includes my eating habits.  I’ve slacked off just a bit.

The good news is that I have been able to at least get out to the gym 4 days of the week and last week I kick started everything to get myself back on track.

As of yesterday I’ve lost 40lbs since I started.  My body fat percentage has also dropped 6 points since I started.  That is a huge milestone for me and I got over a hump that I was fighting for a few weeks.  I don’t plan to stop here.

I have also started doing an aerobics routine in the mornings or during the days I can’t get to the gym when I want.  I picked up a copy of “The Biggest Loser Cardio Max” and have jumped right into it.

The routine is actually pretty good.  It is broken down in sections, 5 minutes warm up, 20 minutes level 1, 10 minutes level 2, 10 minutes level 3 and 5 minutes of cool down.  You can mix and match the levels how you want but for now I’m just doing level 1 with the warm up and cool down.  In total the routine takes about 30 minutes.

I do put up a good sweat and with my Polar watch I can see that I end up burning up about 400 calories.  Which is equivalent to my half an hour on the elliptical.  I recommend this videos for others looking for one.

I am currently on the hung for a good workout bench for my home gym.  However it has been pretty hard to find something with the requirements that I want and the price I am looking to pay.  I basically want a bench that can incline and decline as well has hold a 300lbs barbell and has the leg extensions option that can hold up to 150.  (If that exists).  So far everything I’ve seen is either too expensive or can’t do it.  But the hunt is on.  This equipment is mainly so I can do some of my routines at home when I can’t make it into the gym.  Its not to replace my gym all together.

This morning I got a reply back from the GymTechnik team.  They liked my suggestions and will look to add them in a future release.  I look forward to that as well.  Make sure you read my previous review and give it a shot.

Labels: Fitness

Every now and then I like to remind people to patch their system.  It should be a monthly routine you go through.  Not only are the Microsoft patches important but other software that you have on your system are just as important.

Firefox released a new version today that includes a number of security fixes.  So if this is your browser of choice then update it.

Other applications to check as well include Adobe, Microsoft Office and even things such as MSN Messenger.

There are some nasty things floating around out there on the internet.  Don’t get caught with one.

Labels: software, Technology

Well its been a ruff few weeks.  I went away for the first week to the Turks and Caicos.  With all the beach sand and sun it was very hard to stick to any sort of diet or work out routine.  Ya, that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.  So after that week I ended up putting on a few pounds that I don’t mind at all.

The following week I got right back into the routine.  It was very interesting as by Thursday I was back on track and by Sunday I and gotten rid of the extra pounds and more.  So I was pretty happy.

Keeping up with the routine is pretty hard.  But the best thing is when you start to see the results.  Even when you start to fit into some older clothes a bit better.  It feels OH so nice.  :)

So right now I am on track towards my goals as usual.

I’m going to keep this post short as work is a little busy right now.  But next week will be interesting as I have another get away this weekend.  So I will have to work hard to keep on track during those few days.

Labels: Fitness

I wrote a post about the new Bolt Browser before and I was impressed.  Although it was good I didn’t think at that point it was good enough to replace my other Blackberry browsers.

I was excited when I read on Crackberry that a new version was released and instantly went and downloaded it.

So far I am really really impressed and now think I am able to use this as my main browser.

The first thing I did was go to my usual sites and check out the formatting.  They all looked good from what I could tell.  I even logged into Blogger to see if I could publish a post and it worked perfectly.  I think I had issues with this before.

I did see some things it had problems with but I also think I was pushing it a bit too hard with this browser.  They were graphic intensive sites that I don’t plan to use on this anyways.

Even little things impress me.  There are a number of Blackberry specific enhancements included.  My favorite is the adding of the . with the spacebar like how the OEM browser works.  Here are a few more that were listed on Crackberry.  I am not sure where the list came from as I can’t find it anywhere but I will take their word for it.

1. APN configuration automated for BlackBerry devices. BOLT now auto-detects network details. This will eliminate the "internet not available" error messages, and manual APN configuration requirements, some BlackBerry users were experiencing.
2. BlackBerry dedicated back key support. Also supported on some SE devices.
3. BlackBerry scrolling enhancements. Scrolling on track ball BlackBerry devices is now faster and smoother.
4. BlackBerry-specific enhancements to match BlackBerry system short cuts such as "." when space is pressed in URL mode.
5. System fonts will be utilized instead of Bitstream fonts for lists and options, resulting in increased usability.
6. Improved server support, resulting in a more stable browsing experience.
7. Automatic reconnect after client/server disconnect
8. Usability enhancements for URL, Favorites and History entry and management.
9. Instant switching between landscape and portrait modes (this formerly required a server round trip). This should also enhance user experience on accelerometer powered devices such as the BlackBerry Storm.
10. Auto-Update. When a new release is available, BOLT will prompt users to download and install the new release directly from BOLT.
11. Blackberry Specific Scrolling/navigation enhancements including space to page down one screen and space+shift to page up one screen, 't' to jump to top of page, 'b' to jump to bottom.
12. Double tap/double click as a shortcut to toggle between zoom out split screen mode, and full screen mode.

Anyways you can visit the previous post to get info on getting in on this beta if you are interested.  I highly recommend it to those that like browsing on the Blackberry.

Labels: blackberry, mobile, review, Technology

I came across this post on LifeHacker which is full of reading material all related to fitness and weight training.  You can spend days or weeks reading all this stuff but its a very good list of links to go through.  There are 5 pages so make sure you click on the next page at the bottom.

[ LifeHacker Fitness ]

Labels: Fitness

I read this article the other day and I must admit, I use to be the type of person that just tried to jam them into my ear and they never stayed.  Now, something as simple as the ear pull technique makes such a huge difference.  Very simple but very effective.  They even hold in better when at the gym now.

[ How to get the best sound from in-ear headphones ]

Labels: blackberry, Fitness, iphone, Music, Technology

I blogged about the Gym Technik service that I use to track my workouts sessions at the gym before.  They have recently released an update to the system that adds new features and some new look. 

I have not yet had the chance to go through them all but from what I see on my device it is looking much better.  The mobile screens are formatted properly on my Bold and a lot of the information I like to look at is easily available on the web.  I’m starting to love them already. 

I still have a few suggestions of my own that I want to submit.  I love it when a company listens to its users.

Here are some of the features taken directly from their press release.

• New home page when you login
Instantly view informative summaries about both your workouts and body stats as soon as you login on your home page. You will also see a much more intuitive navigation to other portions of the site

• Articles at your fingertips
Informative articles, both featured and latest, displayed to you on your home page as we update them. Now you’re always in the loop on the latest informative articles from Gym Technik

• Workout and Routine Library
This is probably our most exciting new feature. We’ve built out a workout library section where you can find pre-built workouts and routines each within its own category. So if you’re looking for a new routine or just need some guidance in building out your workouts, browse all the categories within our workout library and in one click add any of our 60 published routines to your own workout library and begin to track on your calendar and your smartphone.

• The library
As an extension to our workout and routine library, we’ve built out a content driven library where you can browse through for fitness tips, nutritional advice, lifestyle articles, and smartphone tips. So if you’re looking for that extra bit of motivation or want to learn a few tricks on the latest integrations with your smartphone – The Gym Technik library will have what you need in here.

• More exercises and more images
Gym Technik has extended it’s already extensive exercise list with new exercises requested by many of you. We’ve also added videos and images for almost all of our exercises so you can now get the guidance you need for any new exercises you add to your routine.

• Edit or delete your custom exercises
This was probably the most requested feature so this is sure to excite many of you. Now you can edit or delete any of your custom exercises that you’ve already created

• Upload photos
Now with Gym Technik, you can track both your workout stats AND the progress of your body through photos. Upload photos of yourself using your smartphone or directly from the web site and tag each photo to a body part to visually watch yourself get closer to your goals.

• Enhanced user interface for smarthones
We have taken a lot of your suggestions and improved the user interface of the smartphone application. Improvements will be seen across all smartphone handsets.

• Faster experience on mobile
We have optimized the way images load up to give you a faster experience on the mobile application. And to make it even faster, you can turn images off in your mobile settings.

• International launch
We are proud to announce that Gym Technik is now multi-lingual, with our first language launched in German at www.gymtechnik.de

• Browser compatibility
With the launch of all these new features and the enhanced user interface, Gym Technik no longer supports Internet Explorer 6.0. So if you’re using IE 6, you will have to upgrade to version 7.0 or use Firefox, Chrome, or Safari to enjoy all of our new features.

I look forward to more from them in the future.  Give it a shot if your not already using this service.

Labels: blackberry, Fitness, iphone, mobile, review, software

The other day we broke out the old super nintendo and started playing Street Fighter 2 until the late hours of the morning.  I don’t remember having that much fun with video games since I was younger.  But since that day we have been playing various versions of the game and beating up on each other. 

Well to my surprise I just saw this movie trailer.  Adding to the little Street Fighter streak we are on.  This looks pretty good.

Labels: movies

Yesterday a new browser for the Blackberry Bold (as well as other phones) was released and I was lucky enough to get in on the beta.  This morning I have had a chance to install it on my Blackberry Bold and play around with it a bit.

The new browser is called the Bolt Browser.  Here is an excerpt taken directly from their FAQ.

“What is BOLT?

BOLT is a free mobile browser that offers an uncompromised browsing experience on even entry-level mobile phones. It is compatible with virtually any handset with Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0 support.

In non-geek speak, this means “it works on lots of phones, even basic ones.” Rather than offering a simplified, mini version of the Internet, BOLT provides users with an efficient, feature-rich, way to enjoy full PC-style Web pages and rich media applications on all levels of mobile devices.“

Here are some of my initial impressions:

• Very fast compared to both Opera Mini and the BB Browser.  It loaded up in no time and pages load a lot faster.
• The rendering of the pages is very good and clear.  Most sites look exactly like they do on the desktop.  There are a few glitches such as text formatting (bold, size etc)
• It still has a bit of work to do.  There are reported problems with input forms and various other things.  But these I’m sure will be ironed out in the long run.
• I like it a lot better than opera mini and the blackberry browser.  I don’t think it is ready yet to replace them but its doing a good job.
• Has a built in RSS feed reader.  I don’t know why everyone keeps putting this in.  I’d rather have a separate program for this (Newsgator) but some people like this.  I wouldn’t mind if it were able to detect the feeds and then allow me to launch them in another program.  But I don’t need to reed them directly in the browser.
• I wish I had the ability to set it as my default browser but I don’t think that is even possible at all.  From what I’ve heard its not an option.

My overall opinion:  I look forward to seeing this go much further.  It has a lot of potential to replace any browser on the mobile front.  And with all the hype that has been generated with its release yesterday I hope it does not slow down.  I have been impressed so far with the Beta version.

There are many other in depth reviews out there already from others that have put it through its paces but this is less of a review and more of a opinion.

Here are a few links to other reviews that will give you more details.

http://crackberry.com/preview-bolt-browser-blackberry-beta-get-your-copy

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2009/01/new-bolt-blackberry-browser-private-beta-we-have-invites/#comments

Labels: blackberry, mobile, review, Technology

Labels: Fitness