Beside Myself with Sidebars

Since I finally updated to Vista (it's not as bad as everyone said), I've had to choose between the Vista Sidebar and Google Sidebar.  The Google Sidebar is re-sizable and integrates nicely with Google Desktop.  But the Vista Sidebar has some gadgets I just can't find for Google.  The best Google Sidebar gadget I can find for playing music is Music Player, but it doesn't seem to compare to Imp's Player for Vista.  Plus, Logitech makes some cool gadgets for Vista, but not for Google.  And for Google, I can't find just a simple digital clock with no seconds, no date (I use Google Calendar 2 for that), etc.

I know, I know... As a developer, I should just make my own gadget.  But sometimes, I just want to be a user!

Kogan Agora, There You Aren't!

After waiting so long to blog about this, perhaps I jynxed it when I finally did.  The Kogan Agora is indefinitely delayed.  It's one of the top news stories in the mobile/Android community this morning.

This is the source of much personal disappointment and future caution.  With my pre-order, I would've become a new Kogan customer.  Alas, that didn't happen, so I have no loyalty.  If something else better comes along in the meantime (you know -- before "indefinitely" in the future), I won't hold out for Kogan.  In fact, I won't order from Kogan again based on any evidence short of a shipping product.  Furthermore, I suspect that in order to overcome the design shortcomings that spurred this last minute delay, it will affect the price of the phone, making it a far less clear winner.

Sad, too, as I had just started making a Kogan Agora skin for the Android Emulator last night!

Kogan Agora, Where Are You?

I've been excited about Google Android since I first heard about it, but then I was disappointed the T-Mobile G1 by HTC. When I then heard about the completely unlocked Kogan Agora, I was once again excited about the possibilities.

After I rambled on and on about it, my wife picked up on it and secretly ordered a Kogan Agora Pro for me in December (thanks, dear!). Now I'm patiently awaiting the official ship date of January 29, 2009, eagerly following the news and official Kogan blog.

There are naysayers out there, and I recognize that the phone has some unfortunate compromises and there's a fear of the date slipping. Still, this phone is an Android phone, and will far axceed my Nokia 6300.

If..., no when it finally arrives, I'll write a review here.