Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like the new YouTube app for PlayStation 3. Apps are the hottest things these days. It seems that if a company offers a service, a bona fide way to up the awesome factor is to accompany said service with a handy app for your customers’ phones. Now that tablets and other devises are growing in popularity, apps are more available than ever. The folks at YouTube worked with the folks at Sony to develop an app for the PlayStation 3 and I’m here to tell you that it is SHARP. Because the PS3’s internet browser is so bland, I was skeptical about this YouTube app. But I gave it a shot and after downloading it, I was really impressed. I don’t know all of the proper technical jargon but the app looks really nice and is easy to use. And, similar to my experience with Google+, I kinda think the PS3 app is like the new iPhone app in that both are better than the YouTube website.

This feature was made available in mid-August. Every review I can find about PS3’s YouTube app is negative…and all dated around the time of the release date. Things have definitely improved since then. Weirdly enough, Sony and YouTube do not have any detailed articles or videos about this app on their company sites. But take it from me, this app is really nice.

This week, I love my daily commute. I totally understand the look of confusion I get when informing people that Julie and I live “out 280”. I’m sure visions of bumper-to-bumper traffic are instantly conjured with the mention Hwy 280. There are times when I have to make that fretful trek – before and after work – and it always serves as a good reminder as to how fortunate I am to only have to cross over Hwy 280 on my normal commute. I always find that the morning traffic is much worse than the evening traffic on Hwy 280. There are many reasons for this but my theory places the blame on those of us that don’t eat breakfast at home. It always baffles me to see the breakfast lines wrapped around Chick-Fil-A, Burger King, McDonalds, Arbys and the other fast-food establishments on Hwy 280. Can you imagine what that route would be like if the traffic lights weren’t constantly changing to let eaters back onto Hwy 280?

 

This week, I don’t like the new 3-day format for the local newspaper. As we all know, The Birmingham News will now only be available on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. This move will help shepherd readers to an all-digital format while allowing those that prefer ink-stained fingers a final opportunity ruffle their paper in an uppity fashion when reading a disagreeable editorial. Newspapers have the hardest fight when it comes to actually delivering news. At best, a newspaper will always feature day-old news. My beef with this new format is that the Wednesday paper now contains three-day old news and the Friday and Sunday editions consist of information that’s been known for two days. Thanks to my phone, I had already read each article in last Sunday's (October 7th) sports section the previous night. The print version of the News is smaller now and the content is identical to that of The Mobile Register and The Huntsville Times. It all begs the question – how long will Advance Publications delay the inevitable?