RSS Revisited

I had a lab with Andrew DeWitt and Kurt Witt from my Digital Civilizations class, and he taught me about RSS feeds. Quick definition RSS can stand for Real Simple Syndicate. It is a program that automatically updates information from a website on the internet. I started using Google reader on my mac when I began this class, but I wanted to take RSS feeds to the next level... on my phone!

I got my first smartphone last Christmas. It was Motorola Droid. I was already fairly dependent on my previous phone, but moving to the Droid has made me sort of an addict.

Last month my screen broke. I didn't realize how dependent I was on my phone until I didn't have it anymore. I couldn't even call anyone for help. Basically the only numbers I have memorized are my parent's house where I grew up and my friend's from elementary. That was the last time I had to memorize a phone number. In fact I couldn't even get up in the morning because I use my phone for an alarm clock too!

In short, I use my phone all day, everyday.  So I decided to take one more step towards dependency and put RSS feeds on my phone for my Digital Civilizations class. I searched "feed readers" through google, found a bunch of droid forums and blogs and read a bunch of reviews. The reader that seemed to be the best of the free readers was BlueRSS. I installed it, and am now even more connected to class and information.

Here's a quick list of what I use my "phone" for:

Alarm Clock
Day Planner
Check the weather (shorts or sweater)

Check/write email

Read the comics

Stay updated on the news

Review stocks for my finance class
Text messaging
Camera

Send funny pictures to my wife
browse the internet (access my university student account)
Record Budget
Record gas mileage
Driving directions to new places with GPS

Read scriptures
Identify songs I like when I hear them
Listen to songs (MP3 player)
Watch Youtube
Tweet with twitter
Phone book
Address book (email address)

oh, and to make calls occasionally too...