After just 2 days with her Atrix, Jen decided to ditch it for something else. Her battery would be dead around lunch or just after with minimal use on the phone. The battery stats would show the display as the main culprit – despite barely touching it.

We went through a lot of the usual battery saving things, brightness, sync intervals, refresh rates, widgets, etc on Tuesday. Still crap. And we could have squeaked out a few more % by turning off GPS and Sync completely – but if you have to do that just to get through HALF of the day, why bother with the phone?

So last night was a trip back to Best Buy… which taught us something. Never. Ever. Ever buy a phone from Best Buy.

The first probably was more or less limited to our Best Buy (or any smaller store) where there is only ONE person working the Mobile center (and not even a space for a 2nd one, there’s only 1 terminal). So we had to wait about a half hour just to do ANYTHING with it because the girl was helping someone else. Aside from the actual time waited, the worst part was there was no seating area, no chairs, nothing. So we just had to stand there for 30 minutes and wait. We couldn’t wander off and look around because there were other people hovering around too, waiting to get their turn. And if we would have not been there, we would have been passed over and had to wait longer.

Anyway… the idea was simple. Return the Atrix and get a new device still on contract price. Well the return part went fine. Then Jen picked out the Galaxy S III in white. This is the part where the BB rep calls AT&T and asks that the upgrade (from 2 days ago) be reversed so that she can enter a new one. Makes some sense, I thought. Nope. Can’t do it. Even the rep is surprised – she says they normally just do it right away. This time was going to be 24 hours. Er, what?

I tried calling the actual AT&T store to see if they could do anything faster (since our actual return was completed) and they said no. The system Best Buy uses is so different from their own that they can’t even do anything to reverse the account without Best Buy doing it.

So after waiting another 15 minutes for a manger to come over (during which time the Mobile rep started helping someone else) - they voided out the Atrix return so that they could do anexchangeof the devices instead of a return and a purchse. After the return was voided the rep finally started helping us again. Well then somehow she rebooted her whole terminal. Which was another 20 minutes. Thankfully she could actually process the Samsung purchase after that – but then the credit card terminal was not working. Another call to the manager, another 10 minutes – still not working. We ended up having to go over to the customer service desk so that we could actually pay for the phone.

All said and done, TWO HOURS we were in that store. Just to return a phone and buy a new one. Never. Again.

In the end, Jen has her new phone (again) and we’re done with Best Buy.

Jen has had my hand-me-down iPhone 4 for probably around a year and has been patiently waiting for the next iPhone to come out to use her available upgrade. Well, I showed her some potential photos of the new iPhone 5 (or whatever they’re going to call it) and she wasn’t impressed. The general thought being … “it’s just a taller iPhone 4.” And she’s pretty much right. I think there was some disappointment there – so we started talking upgrade options.

Naturally Android is the only other choice (if you say Windows Phone or BlackBerry, I’m going to pretend you no longer exist). So based on her usage (some games, some email, nothing major) I figured just about any Android device would be fine for her. She doesn’t need to root or do anything like that (and won’t let me anyway). But if she’s going to use her upgrade to get a new phone, why not make it a good one.

I picked out the HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S III, and the Motorola Atrix HD. I’d say these are the top 3 Android phones at this moment. The Samsung seems like it is the clear favorite here with a large screen and the 2GB of RAM… with the Atrix being kind of the budget option but still really nice. But back to her usage, any of these would be a really good phone for her – so the specs don’t really matter too much. Off to AT&T we went.

She was able to try out each of the phones and I told her it was up to her to decide… it really just came down to whichever one she liked best as far as the look and feel go. There was something “plain” about the One X in person that didn’t really appeal to her (or me). The Samsung is nice… but the color choices are a bit odd. She liked the white, but wondered why there wasn’t a black. She did like the white Atrix HD also… and eventually decided on that. She liked that there were no physical/separate buttons – it had a cleaner look to it. Like my Galaxy Nexus, the Home/Back/Tasks buttons are part of the actual display – not separate from it.

Turns out Best Buy was selling the Atrix for $50 with upgrade ($100 at AT&T). So we went over there to get one. Unfortunately they don’t offer the white version. Only the black… but she was OK with that since she’s going to put a case on anyway. Just a few minutes with the BB rep and we were done. She spent the next many hours playing and learning. I think she likes it… but we’ll wait a bit to get her real reaction.

And the reality is that at any time, either her or I would be perfectly comfortable going back to Apple if a future iPhone seems worth it – but right now I think we’re both happy enough on the other side of the fence. There are plenty of options to choose from and things are constantly changing.

The iPhone 4 will be sold off (assuming she’s happy with the Atrix for sure). And thankfully I was able to have AT&T unlock it last night for me (since it was past it’s initial 2 yr contract period and my account is in good standing). That took about 2 minutes. So now I can get a few more $$ for it when we sell it off!

Which reminds me, if you’re looking for an unlocked 32GB iPhone 4 in black – we’ll have one to sell here very soon. Current eBay prices look like it’ll be somewhere between $300-$400 still!

My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S II. It’s pretty awesome, if I can say so. I love just about everything about it. The design is just right for me (I even got bold and installed a white i9100 back on it to make it different) and the software options are great (thanks to XDA). Of course the speaker location is the one thing I’ll always come back to as annoying. But that’s a minor thing.

The problem I’m having now is looking forward… what do I get next? There’s obviously nothing that says that I have to upgrade every year – but if something nice were to come along, I’d sure give it a look. I’m just stuck right now though – I kind of expected something to grab my attention by now. The next generation of my phone just doesn’t seem to do it for me. Rather than saying “buy me” it says “wtf did you do to my design?!”

I guess I’d say the Galaxy S III is too “organic.” I like a bit more industrial design. That was one of the things I liked best about the iPhone 4. And some of that feeling carried over to the GSII. There are a couple new phones from HTC that are getting a lot of buzz (the One S and One X) but to be honest, they don’t really seem like massive improvements over my current phone. I’d be better off just sticking with what I have.

Speaking of the iPhone though – the next generation version will be an option. Even though I’m on Android now, it doesn’t mean I hate Apple or their products (just like I never hated on Android stuff when I had my iPhone). It might turn out that the next gen iPhone is amazing and I cross that bridge again back to the other side. But without knowing anything at all about it yet, I really have no idea what to think.

So what do you think? Anything coming out in the next 3-6 months that you’ll just HAVE to own? Did Samsung totally screw up the GSIII (despite what the “preorder” numbers say)? I guess for now I’ll just have to be happy enough with a custom ROM and modified case on a pretty nice phone already.

BTW, this is probably appropriate: #firstworldproblems

Android as a whole is nice. But there are some things that either don’t make sense to me, or I don’t care about.

The font sizes for one. For having such a large screen, it feels like everything is HUGE on it. Like I just bought a 24″ LCD and set it to 800×600 resolution or something. WHY? One of the first things I’ve done in almost any app is look for text size options and make them as small as possible. I realize some things need to be larger to make for a better touch-based experience… but come on.

GPS is SLOOOOOW. My iPhone 4 would lock on GPS and let me check into foursquare REALLY fast. It feels like it takes the SGS2 a lifetime to get a GPS lock and load the correct venues. Apparently there are worse devices out there – but comparison-wise this feels like a lifetime.

Pre-loaded apps, aka: bloatware. AT&T and Samsung can shove these things up their asses for all I care. There’s no reason to put so much crap on a device and then NOT allow someone to remove it. And in my case not allow me to turn it off and make it stop working.

I’m specifically referring to the AP Mobile news widget. I added the widget once to see what it would look like – hated it immediately – and proceeded to go into the settings to make it go away. There is a scroll setting and a refresh setting. I set both to None – thinking this would kill it. Then I removed the widget from my home screen. This was when I first got the phone weeks ago…

Fast forward to this weekend and I was reviewing my AT&T data for the billing period and decided to install a data manager app on my phone to see what uses data. Mostly out of curiosity. Turns out… AP Mobile is a data-hogging bitch. Even when not in use. Remember me turning it off before? Ya, it was still off. I added the widget back to my home screen and verified the setting was still set to refresh of None. It was.

I then set it to refresh of an hour, removed the widget, added the widget back, set it to none, and removed it again. Still using data. And when I say this thing is using data, it uses 3-4 MB every 10 minutes or so. Add that up over a month and that’s a LOT of data. Unacceptable. Next step was to Force Stop the application in the Settings menu. This worked… for a while. It decided to start itself up again and use more data. And since it’s a pre-loaded app, there is no uninstall option. Awesome.

To AT&T support we go. This was the first of 3 chat sessions where I try to figure out what to do about this.

info: Welcome to AT&T Chat. My name is ‘Vicki Clay’ and I’ll be happy to assist you today.
Vicki Clay: I apologize for the inconvenience caused by the app using so much data Mr. Kintz. Thank you for completing the pre chat survey.  We’re happy to have you as part of our AT&T family and I will be happy to assist you today. It is my priority to resolve any issues and respond to any other questions or concerns that  you may have.
Allan Kintz: so is there any way to remove this app or stop it’s data usage without rooting the device? i’d like to avoid that if i could
Vicki Clay: I’m checking the tutorial on how to remove applications on your device. I’ll send you a link to what I find.
Allan Kintz: well i do know how to uninstall applications – but this one does not have that option
Allan Kintz: and like i said, i’m not even using the widget and have set it to not refresh for data – but it continues to do so
Vicki Clay: I’m sorry but I do not find any tutorial on the device you are using. Is it an AT&T phone?
Allan Kintz: yes… Samsung Galaxy S II.
Vicki Clay: Did this application come embedded in the phone?
Allan Kintz: yes
Vicki Clay: I apologize, but you will not be able to remove an application that is embedded into the software of the phone. I can suggest contacting the manufacturer to see how to manage the software if you like.
Allan Kintz: but doesn’t at&t decide what applications go on the device? i’m confused.
Allan Kintz: thing is though that i dont even need to remove it – i just want it to stop using data when i’m not using the app or widget
Vicki Clay: The number for Samsung is 1-888-987-4357.  They are open Monday – Friday: 9am – 8pm EST and Saturday: 10am – 7pm EST.            The web address is http://www.samsungusa.com.
Vicki Clay: Is there something else I can help you with Mr. Kintz?
info: Your chat transcript will be sent to akintz@gmail.com at the end of your chat.

So… they punted it to Samsung. At least she gave their contact info…..

Keep in mind, at this point I’ve seen enough on the internet to know that I’m not the only one with this problem. Lot of others have run into this and there’s always the same answer. Root it. I’m sorry but that is not a solution. That is a “work around.” It does not solve the problem of the app I’m not using eating up my data. Anyway… Samsung was next. I’d like to find an actual answer…

Phillips: Hi, thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. How may I help you today?
Visitor: Hi, I have a Galaxy S II on AT&T and have a problem with one of the apps. The AP Mobile app continues to use data – even though I am not using the widget for it, and have set the widget refresh to None. There is no way that I can find to uninstall the app and if I Force Stop it, it starts up again. I have talked to AT&T and they decided it was a Samsung problem.
Visitor: This specific app has used over 10 MB of data just this morning already. I’d like to either make sure it is dead – or completely remove it. And I’d like to avoid rooting my device if I can – because that is an option.
Phillips: I understand that you are experiencing data consumption issue with AP Mobile app on your Samsung SGH-I777 device and would like to uninstall the app. Am I correct?
Visitor: Yes.
Phillips: Thank you for the confirmation.
Phillips: I will assist you with the required information.
Phillips: Let me confirm if you have downloaded the app for Android market.
Visitor: No, it was pre-installed on the device.
Phillips: Thank you for the information.
Phillips: I am sorry, we can not uninstall the preloaded apps on the device. They come with Android Operating System.
Phillips: However, let me check if there are any settings for the app.
Visitor: There are settings for the widget. There are 2 refresh settings, I have set them both to None. In fact, I added the widget, set the refresh to 1 hour. Removed the widget. Added the widget back, set the refresh back to None and removed the widget again and it still uses data.
Phillips: Thank you for the information.
Phillips: Would you mind holding 3 minutes while I gather the required information on your request?
Visitor: sure
Phillips: Thank you.
Phillips: Thank you for holding.
Phillips: I have checked with the information and found that the app uses more data to check for updates. As you have set the refresh time to none and still find the data is consumed.
Phillips: I suggest you to remove the widget and check if the issue persist.
Visitor: But I have removed the widget……
Phillips: I apologize for the inconvenience this might have caused to you.
Phillips: Did you try removing and re-inserting the battery on the device after deleting the app?
Phillips: This refreshes the circuit on the device and brings the settings to normal.
Visitor: I have not pulled the battery since removing the widget, no. I suppose I can try that.
Phillips: Sure, please go ahead. This should fix the issue.
Visitor: It is coming back up now. I’ll keep an eye on the data throughout the day and see if it is better. Thanks.
Phillips: You are welcome.

So… that did not help. At all. Took about 10 minutes to figure that out so I went back into yet another chat…

Sierra: Hi, thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. How may I help you today?
Visitor: I was actually just in a chat a few minutes ago with someone named “Phillips” … and the problem is not resolved… here’s the short summary:
Sierra: Okay, please go ahead.
Visitor: New Samsung Galaxy S II on AT&T (new being bought 10/4). The AP Mobile app that came pre-installed on the device continues to use up many MBs of my data – even though I’m not using it. I have set the refresh setting of the AP Mobile widget to “none” and removed the widget and it does not help. The previous person I talked to “Phillips” suggested pulling the battery since I had not done so after removing the widget. I have done that and the app has used another MB of data in just the last 15 minutes. Need a better solution.
Visitor: I have the option of rooting the device if I want to – but I shouldn’t have to do that just to remove an app or get it to stop using my data. Already talked to AT&T and they said it was a Samsung issue. Feel like I’m getting the run-around.
Sierra: I understand that you area experiencing issue with the AP mobile application on your SGH-I777 mobile device. Am I correct?
Visitor: yes
Sierra: Thank you for the confirmation.
Sierra: May I know from how long you have been experiencing this issue?
Visitor: Likely since I got the device – but just noticed it last night when I installed a data tracking app to see what was using my data.
Sierra: I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.
Visitor: I was checking my AT&T bill and noticed my data usage this month was abnormally high. That’s what prompted me to install an app to check on it.
Sierra: Let us troubleshoot the issue.
Sierra: Please let me know if you have removed the widget from the phone.
Visitor: Yes.
Visitor: I have also added the widget, set the refresh to 1 hour. Removed the widget. Added the widget again and set the refresh to none. Then removed again.
Sierra: I am sorry to hear that.
Sierra: I have gone through your previous chat correspondence with Philips. As you have removed the widget and still facing the issue, the issue might be with the device.
Sierra: Let us perform a hard reset on the device.
Visitor: Is that anything like pulling the battery?
Sierra: You may lose the data when you perform the hard reset.
Sierra: No, hard reset is restoring the device to its factory settings.
Visitor: Ah…
Sierra: I will provide you with the steps.
Sierra: Please follow the below steps to Hard reset the Captivate Phone :

1. Turn the power off. Pull the battery out and replace it if the Power button doesn’t work.
2. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons.
3. Release the Power button while continuing the hold Volume Down until a menu appears prompting you to select Fastboot, Recovery, Clear Storage, and Simlock.
4. Select Delete all user data using the Volume Down button.
5. Press the release Power button.
6. Select Volume Up for Yes.

Sierra: Please let me know once you are done.
Visitor: So will I get any of my apps/data back after this? I realize it’ll wipe everything at first, but how much of that is backed up?
Sierra: You may lose all the third party applications installed on the device when you perform hard reset.
Sierra: All the pre-installed applications will be there as it is on the device.
Visitor: I’m going to have to take some time before I do this. I need to back some stuff up and move some things to my SD card. I will save the instructions and try this later today when I get a chance.
Sierra: Okay, you can try with the above steps after backing up the data. If the issue still persists, you can contact us again through chat. We are available 24×7.
Sierra: Do you have any other questions for me?
Visitor: Not at the moment, no. Thanks.
Sierra: You are welcome.

1) I don’t have a Captivate… as I mentioned already. I just ignored that part. But the instructions weren’t exactly the same anyway. 2) Don’t any of these people read what is right in front of them? Like the 2nd chat above where the guy asks if I’ve removed the widget yet. Yes, I did. Like I mentioned to him twice already at that point.

But as hesitant as I was to do the reset, I did follow through and try it. It was annoying, but I did it. I actually thought this fixed it too… for a while. Then it started up again. AGAIN! This time I decided to swing by the AT&T store on my way back from lunch and see what they say. Absolutely no help there… but my main reason for stopping was to make them aware of my data issues and if I couldn’t get this app fixed or removed and I went over my 2GB limit, I wasn’t paying for it.

I have yet to go into another chat with Samsung… not because I don’t want to find the answer but because I’m sick of having to explain the same damn thing to different people every time I try to get help and still getting no solution. I rooted it (if you saw my previous post, you already know this). I’m actually bothered that this was the “answer” to my problem. It shouldn’t be. I should be able to remove this crap if I don’t want it or worse yet, it causes problems. The fact that I cannot is annoying.

Ya, my iPhone had apps that I couldn’t delete either (Stocks, Calculator, etc) but they didn’t chew up my data just sitting there.

I’m still pretty frustrated about it… but I’m still trying to give this a fair shot.

I’ve been reading root info and stuff for the last few weeks and all I can say is that the way these people write these things, it doesn’t seem as easy as they make it out to be. I have yet to find clear, explicit instructions for someone like me who knows very little about it. Don’t get me wrong, I can learn this stuff pretty easily – but I think it’s more of a problem with terminology than anything else. Not sure.

Anyway, there are a few helpful threads on XDA that you’d want to read through. To start with there’s the Easily Root Your SGS2 thread. It’s a good read – but to me became pretty confusing – especially when my patience was at a minimum already thanks to the days’ frustrations. And then there’s another problem… I have a Mac. It looks to me like most of that info is for Windows users.

Ya, go figure. The Apple user wants to root an Android device.

Luckily I found some help in that thread above… and it pointed me to another thread. It was time to get down to business… except for one thing: I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING YOU DO TO YOUR PHONE OR ANY OTHER DEVICE. YOU FOLLOW ANY OF THESE STEPS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY. I only have to say that because people are dumb. Keep that in mind…

Also worth noting, if you currently are not rooted and have the stock software from AT&T/Samsung, these specific instructions and files will basically be exactly the same – but with root privileges. All of your data and apps should remain intact. But again, not responsible, your own risk… blah blah blah. If you somehow manage to lose everything, it’s just not my problem.

So, if you have a Mac and want to root your AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II, here we go:

1. Download:

• Heimdall 1.3.1 Command Line (OS X 10.4+)
• EZ 7z for Mac
• Rooted Stock Kernel for AT&T SGS2

2. Install on your Mac:

• Install Heimdall
• Install EZ 7z for Mac

3. Extract:

• Extract PDA.tar from UCKH7_stock_odin.7z using EZ 7z
• Extract zImage & factoryfs.img from PDA.tar using the Mac’s built-in Archive Utility

4. Move Files:

• Move zImage and factoryfs.img to an easily accessible folder (Desktop?)

5. Prepare Phone:

• Power Off your phone (pull battery if needed)
• Connect USB cable from your computer to the phone
• While holding Vol Up AND Vol Down, turn on the phone
• Press Vol Up button to Accept custom OS notice
• It should now show the Android guy and say “downloading” (don’t worry, it’s not downloading anything yet)

6. Root Phone:

• Open a Terminal window
• Change the directory to where you moved zImage/factoryfs.img
• Type the following command in the Terminal window, press Enter and wait (you should see a status bar start moving on your phone after running it):

heimdall flash --kernel zImage --factoryfs factoryfs.img

Let the phone reboot when completed. You’re done. Well, more done when it finishes booting and you click Allow on the superuser access request.

This is exactly how I did it just a few short hours ago. Now you can go download Titanium Backup or whatever other SuperUser app you want to use. And in my case, immediately go into Titantium and Freeze the AP Mobile app. POS that one is…

So just to be clear – I can’t take any credit for this. Any of it. I’ve really just put it all together and ordered it in such a way that for me, made it extremely easy (yes, even easier than it was explained on the forum). I like things simple and straightforward… I just didn’t feel like I was feeling that from the other threads and didn’t want to clog them up with even more questions.

In any case, all of the thanks goes to those guys on XDA for their hard work and providing the necessary information. Seriously, go thank them.

Anyway… the one thing to manage in these situations is your expectations. I didn’t expect my dream phone to be announced. I expected them to update the iPhone 4. Now what I had HOPED for was completely different. I had HOPED they would give it a larger screen, maybe a little more power, and some OS tweaks that I’d like to see. I got 1 out of 3 (we already knew what iOS5 was going to bring anyway).

I could have put an iPhone 4 photo here and you wouldn't know the difference.

So when they announced the 4S, I got what I expected but not what I hoped for. Leading up to that day I was debating what to do. Would I get a new iPhone? I certainly wanted to. Jen was waiting for an upgrade too. Her 3GS was getting quite… old. I wanted something more though. I didn’t want to feel like I was just buying another iPhone 4 with a faster processor and a “better” camera.

Suddenly, a challenger appeared…

Now there are Apple fanboys and Android fanboys… and most of them are annoying as fuck and talk trash about the other for really no reason other than they’re complete morons. There are some times when I could be classified as an Apple fanboy… but I have always respected Android. Not only for what it has brought to the table in terms of competition – but for actually being a worthy alternative. I’ve said many times that if I had money to throw away (hahaha) I would add another line to my plan and get some sort of Android device so that I could have one of each and learn from both.

GalaxyS2

Well… I didn’t really get to that part of my plan… but let’s just get to the point: iPhone 4 is gone (now Jen’s) and I bought a Samsung Galaxy S II. It’s running Android 2.3.4, is ridiculous thin, crazy light, and has a huge, gorgeous (AMOLED) screen. It’s pretty awesome.

Truth be told, those are basically the (hardware) options I was HOPING for with a new iPhone. Ah well… maybe next time. No, seriously… if they announce a new iPhone next year as usual and it turns out to be brilliant, I’ll probably be getting that and get rid of the GalaxyS2. Nothing against the awesome Samsung… but I’m hoping for something big… again.

So far, so good. I like to think I’m adjusting to my new OS world quite well. I have run into one or two “issues” so far though. Most notably with the bluetooth. My WRX’s OEM radio has built-in BT and has always worked brilliantly with the iPhone. I expected the same for the Galaxy. Apparently not. I am able to pair it without issue – but when I get back in the car with my phone, it does not automatically connect again. Ever. If I want it connected, I have to do it manually. Ever. Time. Not exactly happy about that.

My other problem was today… with my data connection… well, my lack of a data connection I guess. Was running some errands and grabbing lunch downtown and basically had no connection. Maybe once every 15 minutes a notification might pop up – but neither the built-in web browser or Firefox would load. Foursquare would not find any venues and Twitter would not find any tweets. I was not happy. I tried to reboot the phone, twice. I togged airplane mode a couple times. Still nothing. Decided to swing by the AT&T store on the way back to work – his suggestion: pull the battery and the SIM card.

My response? “So… just like I have to do every week with my BlackBerry at work?”

Seriously, that will NOT be acceptable if it were to turn into a regular issue. Time will tell though, I’m only in day 3 of Android life.

As with the other one, you can either save the image from here or click on it and save the one that pops up.

As with the other one, if you would like to see either one of these in a specific resolution or for a specific device, feel free to comment and let me know what you want and I’ll see what I can do.

Subaru iPhone Wallpaper

In trying to keep my mind off of other things, I thought I’d make a new wallpaper tonight for my phone. I’m sure there are plenty of them out there… but I haven’t seen any specifically like this. So here you go… if you like it, feel free to use it and share. This particular one is 960×480 (optimal for iPhone 4, but should work just fine on other models). I did it that size so that it was very high quality.

If there’s a specific resolution you’d like with this same image on it, just comment and I’d be happy to whip it up and post it for you or email it – whichever…

So to use it, you can either click the image on the right and then save that when it pops up – or just right click the image you see here and save that. They both point to the same thing.

If you want to get it directly on your phone, you can scan this QR code and go directly to the URL of the image to save it there.

Step one: Acquire iPhone. Go download Echofon for Twitter (available in Free or Pro versions – difference is no ads in Pro). Once you have your account setup in Echofon, do the following:

1. Click Menu in the upper left.
2. Then Account Options at the bottom.
3. Select Mute in the middle.
4. Under the Client section, click New Item.
5. Enter “foursquare” as the new item (no quotes).
6. Follow the upper left breadcrumbs back to your timeline.
7. Done.

That’s all there is to it. Now you can enjoy a check-in free timeline! You can also filter out anything else you want based on it’s application. For example, to filter Gowalla checkins, just enter “gowalla” as the Client – since it is the Gowalla app that sends those tweets.

You can also filter tweets on your desktop using Tweetdeck as well as on twitter.com using Greasemonkey and a simple script!

By the way… if you find yourself swamped with checkins from your friends and do not want to have to filter them all out – you may also consider suggesting to them to not share every checkin to Twitter in the first place.

OK, OK, I may not really be a “people person” … but I like to pretend I’m social on the internet. I use a lot of “social” apps (look to the right!) and I tend to be somewhat an early adopter as far as those things go.

Foursquare is an obvious example of this… I started using it back in March of last year and was in well before their first million users (my ID is 597777). I use it every day to defend my existing mayorships and gain new ones, many of which are local businesses that I like and want to support. Oh, and I love badges.

So not only do I continue to patronize my favorite spots, but the possibility of a new badge or a new mayorship will usually get me to try something new or go to a new venue. It’s really a win-win for me and the area.

But what about those usual spots? I dare anyone to try and legitimately unseat me from my Aniello’s mayorship. I will fight that to the death. But my problem is that as much as I go there, I don’t have a whole lot of variety in my meals. Chicken wing pizza. Chicken wing sub. Pepperoni pizza. That’s usually about it. They’re all awesome, but they have a LOT more on their menu that I’ve never tried (I have had some other things, but not many and not often).

This is where we step outside the foursquare realm and dip into a new app, Foodspotting. It really is exactly what it says… an app for spotting food. You have a nice meal at a place and take a picture, say what it is and maybe leave some thoughts. Other users (your friends or anyone, really) can see that and see where it was and comment or “want it” or “nom it” if they’ve had it.

But what good would this app be if I took pictures of the same food every time I went? None at all.

Perfect opportunity to try new things. And that’s just what I’ve been doing. I’m really just getting started, but I’ve “spotted” 4 different things just at Aniellos since I started using the app a few weeks ago. Of course two them are regular favs of Chicken Wing Pizza and a Chicken Wing Sub… but the other two are things that are NOT usual for me.

Cheese Calzone w/ Meatball

My last two meals there were a Chicken Parm Sub (what can I say, I love chicken) and just today I had a Cheese Calzone (with slices of meatball baked in!). Both are delicious. And while I may have eventually decided to expand upon my horizons and their menu… it was Foodspotting that pushed me over the edge.

I wanted to be able to share some cool things… not the same thing over and over again. That’s no fun.

And now with the combination of these (and other) social apps, I am way more encouraged to do just that. Foursquare lets me share some cool new places that I may not normally go to and Foodspotting lets me share some awesome food I otherwise may not have ordered.

How can you not like that?

That Cheese Calzone today? Awesome, by the way.

(my profile on these and other services are available in the column on the right!)