I don’t do this much on the Diving Board but I’ve recently used 3 products that completely blow my mind. Here they are:
ZipCar – this service allows you to reserve cars in large cities. It is an awesome process to see unfold. You reserve the car on the internet, go to one of many lots where they sit, flash your card on the windshield and you are ready to go. You can extend your reservation through a very easy to use phone system, gas and insurance are included, and it could not be easier to sign up and get started. If I lived in a big city where ZipCar was available, I would use it in a heartbeat and not buy my own car.
The Kindle – I doubt I’ll ever buy a physical book again unless it isn’t available on the Kindle. It is very comfortable to hold and use. The interface is intuitive and quick to learn. You can download books instantly and start reading. This is actually dangerous because it is so easy to spend money. I even got two bonuses I didn’t expect. First, I’m reading much faster. I know it doesn’t take much time to flip pages, but it does take some time, you need re-balance the book in your hand after you flip, etc. With the Kindle, you click a button and keep reading. There is no time elapsed between pages and you literally read faster. Second, you can email in long PDF documents that sit on your desktop that you never read or have to print out. Things like white papers, analyst reports, etc. are much easier to read on the Kindle than reading on the computer.
Safari Browser – I use many browsers these days, and Safari is much better than FireFox (which I’m completely done with) and better than Internet Explorer. It is blazing fast and extremely easy to use. I recommend trying it.
