Geek

Verizon Wireless recently announced that they are going to start selling the iPad in their stores. The Apple device will be the Wi-Fi version only, since AT&T carries the 3G version of the product, however, Verizon is going to start bundling their Mi-Fi device with the wi-fi iPad (MiFi and WiFi get along pretty well) for the same price as the iPad with 3G, bringing the same functionality to the wi-fi version with just a little extra hardware and on the Verizon network instead of the AT&T network.

Did that make sense?

I already have a wi-fi iPad and I love it very much. I do much of my remote surfing on my iPad now and the experience is quite nice. There have been a few occasions, however, where I wish I had 3G network access instead of needing to find a wi-fi hot spot. Unfortunately, the same reason that I no longer have an iPhone holds true for why I bought the wi-fi iPad: AT&T’s 3G coverage in Central New York sucks. I checked with co-workers last week and confirmed that they do not get 3G network access on their phones in the general area around work. The 3G on my Verizon-connected Motorola Droid works brilliantly (hence why I’m on Verizon) but if I want to connect my iPad to the internet, I need to rely on the citywide wireless DSL that ironically costs more per month than the AT&T 3G plan that comes with the appropriate iPad.

Earl announced to me last week, in a very serious voice, that he was tired of carrying two cell phones around and no longer wanted his Droid. This is understandable and I agreed that it was probably cumbersome to carry around two phones. He wanted to terminate the contract on his Droid and just stick with his work issued Blackberry, and then probably get something else for connectivity when he is on the road. (I am going to set him up with a Google Voice account that he can use with his Mac or an upcoming iPad). The problem is, Verizon Wireless was poised to soak us with an early termination fee. We considered this when making this decision but in the back of our minds it seemed like we were throwing money at the wind.

So on Saturday I converted Earl’s personal cell number to a Verizon Mi-Fi device. I now can have up to five devices connected on a portable wi-fi hotspot using Verizon’s 3G service. Not only does this save us some money on a monthly basis (because it’s cheaper than the citywide WiFi when you consider the money we saved by removing Earl’s phone from the cell plan), but we can now also surf the internet wherever there is a Verizon 3G signal. It is quite nifty and I’m happy to say that this is seemingly faster than the citywide wifi, even as we type. In addition, should the RoadRunner connection at the house go down, we now have a back-up plan and can still maintain some sort of connectivity.

Astute readers of the blog may have noticed that I am blogging more again and that’s on purpose. The creative outlet is helping me psychologically and of course it’s something that I really enjoy doing. I’m also sharing more tech stuff on my iMachias twitter feed (see link at right). This new Verizon MiFi connection is helping with that immensely.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, if/when the Verizon iPhone comes out next year, I am absolutely going to get back onto the iPhone platform and sell my Droid. I like the Droid but I loved the iPhone. It was AT&T that messed that up for me.

It’s good to be a geek.

I am sitting in my car doing my daily lunch routine with a twist today. I took my lunch at 11:00 instead of 12:00. This is going to be part of my Monday routine from this point forward due to work responsibilities that begin at noon.

Eating lunch at 11:00 just seems wrong to me. It’s just too early. This is ironic to me because in high school, once you moved to the senior high level, lunch began at 11:04. Fifth period was divided up into three segments, 5E, 5M and 5L. Grades 9-12 ate at 11:34 (5E) and grades 7-8 at 11:48 (5L). In the six years I was in that school I never really figured out who ate during 5M or for that matter when 5M really took place. For some reason I figured it had to do with detention and special education. By the way, I could right now rattle off the entire bell schedule of my high school, even though it’s been 25 years, if I wanted to and I could do it with ease. And they say the things we learn as teens don’t last a lifetime. Oh, and the “bell” was actually an annoying chime that played over the intercom speaker. It was an A-flat above middle C. I could get the chorus to leave early by striking that same note on the piano if there was ambient noise in the room. Pavlovian response and all that.

So while it is technically my lunch break, I won’t actually be eating my lunch until I get back to the office because that’s the way things work. While the 11:00 a.m. lunch break is an old trick and I’m an old dog, I’m set in my ways of a proper lunch at noon and that’s the way it’s going to be.

Perhaps there’s hope for American television after all. I haven’t watched the show yet, but this part gets my approval.

I stumbled across the commercial on YouTube today and I just love the 60s chic feel and the high camp they have going on.

Mrs. Clark is played by Patty Regan who appeared as a guest star in quite a few sitcoms of the era, including playing “Dolly”, the horse turned into a human, in an episode from the second season of Bewitched.

Bonus points to he or she that can identify the three commercials that are referenced in this commercial.

My first photo taken during my endeavour to be creative in some way every day. This is a mundane shot, but it is what I see every morning. Part of my commute, this shot was taken just east of the Herkimer Interchange on Interstate 90 (New York State Thruway) eastbound.

In just a few miles from this location, I will pass a Suburu with an HRC bumper sticker and a bearded ginger cub in the driver’s seat. He nods at me, I nod at him. It’s what we do every morning. I haven’t figured out how to take his photo yet.

From Creative Every Day.

Ha! Take a look at this website to see if the CPR Class ad features anyone that might look familiar.

I may have mentioned a couple of thousand times on here that I am a geek through and through. I have been using computers since 1983, where I was introduced to the Apple ][+ in high school (interestingly, for French class) and promptly convinced my mother that I needed a VIC-20 for the next gift giving holiday. I have been online with an active e-mail address since 1985. I used Windows even before I was using Windows-Windows-Windows/386 (props to the person that gets that obscure Windows marketing reference).

I am a lucky man in that I have a few computers in the house. Okay, we have eleven, including the two servers and the media controllers. We are mostly a Mac shop, but I also have my two Lenovo computers, a desktop and a laptop. Both have served me well and I feel I made the right decision in buying these, however, I have alternated between running Windows 7 and Ubuntu Linux on these computers because I haven’t really found the combination for the perfect fit. The geek in me says that I should be running Ubuntu Linux because real geeks run Linux and I will lose major points if I don’t follow that trend. Admittedly, my livelihood is doing the Linux (and Solaris) thing for the phone company but I still use Windows XP on my desk at work to get to the Linux servers. Though remarkable progress has been made in a very short time, I have to say that Ubuntu Linux is just not ready for the desktop for the average user. Case in point: Ubuntu Linux’s version of iTunes is called “Ubuntu One”, which debuted earlier this year. I believe they tie in with Digital 7 in the UK. The program of choice to do all this is called Rhythmbox. This combination downloads your purchases into the “cloud” so that you can access them from several computers instead of just one. Cool enough. However, because of the territorial squabbling that is going on, you can’t really sync your iPod to Rhythmbox, you definitely can’t sync a Zune to Rhythmbox and with a little bit of coaxing you might be able to sync your Droid with Rhythmbox. It should be plug and play with the most popular devices. I don’t want to go to Staples, get led into a dark room to buy the Wombat Audio Terminator Three with six LEDs and flashing earbuds in order to sync with Rhythmbox.

Another thing that drove me crazy about the Ubuntu One store is that it took three days to download one album. Three days. I could have driven to Kylie herself and had her sing into the webcam or something faster than that.

So now I’m putting Windows back on the Lenovos in an attempt to maintain a relaxed sanity when it comes to using computers outside of work hours. For the curious, I’m always relaxed at work because that’s what I do.

Now, it’s time to click NEXT.