And the word of the year is...

W00T


Yep. W00T. I've been using this word for YEARS. Contrary to popular belief, it didn't start with gamers. It started with hackers (the good ones, not the ones causing havoc). It moved into gaming, but it has been around for a LONG, LONG time.

For more info: http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=36196

Email Address Portability - A Stupid Idea

This morning, I saw an article on CNET, "FCC Asked To Mandate 'Email Portability'". Unlike telephone portability, this is just STUPID. Why would I want 'someaddress@aol.com' forever? If I want an email address that is truly mine, my own domain is a better idea, which is what I have. It is truly portable, and it is mine. I don't know that any given domain (except mine) will last forever. If I pay for mine each year, it is mine to use as I want.

The CNET article provides several reasons why this is just idiotic and silly.

A little bit of history

A long-time friend of mine (and Rory's), Craig Miller, discovered recently he may be sitting on money. He bought a Mark-8 computer in 1976. This is one of the original microcomputers, folks. Turns out it may be worth as much as $5,000 - $12,000 (Not bad for not being used since 1980). He has had it stored in his attic and garage.

Wanna see history? Go here: http://mysite.verizon.net/genoahous/Mark8/
(Remember while looking at this, it was before CRT's became popular).

Oldest system I have my hands on is my Atari Portfolio. This little bugger ran DOS, and still works! Wonder how much it is worth...

Honeybees and Cell Phones (A connection to their disappearance?)

There has been an ongoing problem for a few years now, nicknamed Colony Collapse Syndrome. Put simply, honeybees are disappearing. Beekeepers are releasing their bees in orchards and fields, and returning to find the colony gone, save for the queen and a few workers, and very immature bees. Up to 70% of honeybees in some areas are GONE.

Now an interesting possibility has emerged: Cell phones. According to this article in PC World, one of the prevailing theories is that cell phones are causing radiation that is impacting the bees ability to return to their hive. I don't know if this is the case, but if it is, we need to seriously reconsider our use of cell phones. We can't live without the bees pollinating crops. We can live without cell phones. More to come later.

UPDATE: Apparently, it is a parasite that has also affected honeybees in Europe as well. Honestly, I am glad it isn't the cell phones or towers, but they now need to figure out how to eradicate the parasite.

Vonage going away? Some may hope.

A few of you know my "battle" with Vonage; I will explain it for the rest of you, then go on with this story (And no, that isn't me, just another "happy customer" of Vonage):

In a nutshell, I decided to discontinue my Vonage service on my one year anniversary date with them. I agreed to one year of service, and I fulfilled my end of it, rather begrudgingly. I never got their WiFi phone to work properly. Ever. Their tech support was shoddy at best, and continually tried to blame my ISP, no matter where I was at the time. Right... Hmm, could it have been non-functional equipment? Noooo.... at least not according to Vonage.

So, I called and told the customer service rep that I wanted to stop service on my one year anniversary date. Nope. Can't do it. Why not? Because they interpret their contract to mean one year + one day, which means a whole month of charges to them. So, in their world 12 months does not equal a year. 13 months does. I refused to pay it, and they THREATENED ME, stating that they would charge me an early termination fee of $150, and the extra month on top of that. Excuse me? No. So, as a member of the press, I decided to investigate this further. I found a lot of people who Vonage had done exactly what they threatened to do to me. Or who coughed up the 13th month and walked away. After learning about those users, I contacted Vonage throught their press liason, and explained that I was working up an article on complaints regarding their termination policy. Got a phone call the next day from a press liason, who proceeded to inform me that they worded their contract intentionally to make sure that all users coughed up 13 months of service at a minimum. Nice. She did credit me with one month of service, so that I could terminate service without additional charge. OK for me, not for others.

Now, fast forward to today. A judge in Alexandria, VA has ruled that Vonage may not sign up new customers while it continues to infringe on 3 patents that competitor Verizon happens to have. Is this good? Believe it or not, I am on the fence on this one. Clearly Vonage angered me, and they will never get my business again, especially since they were so sneaky with their tactics. However, they are competition to other VOIP services, including Verizon, and quashing competition results in higher prices, lousy service, and less jobs overall. Does this kill them? Well, they admit a loss rate of 2.5%. I think it may be higher than that, since they claim this would irrepairably harm their service. It might just kill them. Their stock has been dropping like a rock.

UPDATE: Apparently, Vonage got a stay of the order that barred them from signing up new customers. They can still snooker new customers.

Major Announcement:s: Gmail Paper, Gmail TiSP

Google has announced Gmail Paper, a new service of Gmail, their flagship email service. I suggest all of you subscribe to this utility ASAP, before they stop accepting new subscriptions. Click here to take a look.

Additionally, Google is now offering installation packs for their new broadband service, Google TiSP. It uses a new proprietary method to wire your house: no knocking out walls or outlets to do it! Click here to learn more.














(April Fools!)

My newest niece

On Thursday, my brother Danny got a wonderful birthday present: He got to really see his unborn daughter. This picture was taken during their OB appointment "4-D" ultrasound. You can see her smiling! (I have a bunch of other shots Danny sent me, but I thought this one really showed her face).

She is soooo cute!

Danny & Jacquelyn, have you picked out her name yet? I hope you don't mind my sharing.

Back in Antelope

Wow! It has been a while since I posted! I went to the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (Held in Las Vegas). I am very thankful my employer paid my salary while I was at the show. When I learn about new technology, they do as well. There was pre-conference stuff I attended on Saturday and Sunday, along with the show on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (I actually wasn't on the show floor Wednesday... I listened in on the webcasts as I was on my way to Salt Lake City to avoid driving in the impending snowstorm). Webcast and podcast listening on the Treo 680 is surprisingly simple. And I-15 has about 90% connectivity from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. I will talk about it another time.

CES itself was wonderfully exciting this year. What is the big buzz for this show? UMPC's (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers), accessories for EVERYTHING, Microsoft Vista, and Bluetooth (although you could consider them accessories - they deserve a category all their own). I wanted to stay longer, but couldn't risk the weather. And I was glad I left Wednesday...

I got to Salt Lake City on Wednesday night. The trip was nice. I-15 is a wonderful drive! On Thursday, we got 6 inches of snow at Diana's apartment (I measured it just for chuckles). It snowed and snowed and snowed. I've been there during snowfalls before. This was a lot, even for SLC. There were over 500 accidents on the roads during this snowstorm. I-70 was closed for a while south of Salt Lake City. We still went out and got some things done, but we were REAL careful and didn't venture too far. I love my Jeep... no slip and slide. I am permanently sold on 4WD. ALL of my vehicles will have 4WD in the future.

The cold afterward was another thing. It was so cold out there, it took our breath away when we went outside. The low was around 0 to -2 (yes, NEGATIVE 2) degrees, and the high was 15 while I was there. We stayed inside a lot. Good thing. Jonny had a cold that turned into an ear infection. Poor guy was so miserable on Saturday. We took him to the E.R., who put him on antibiotics and agreed with me on using a decongestant and cough suppressant for his symptoms. Within 24 hours, he was a renewed child! I had to leave at this time, and didn't want to!


I did take Diana out on Saturday night for her birthday (even though her birthday was on Sunday). She wanted to go to Red Robin, so we went there. Neither of us had been there before... they have great burgers! And bottomless fries (not good when you are on Weight Watchers, but neither of us ordered more than what was on our plates). I managed to tell the waitress that it was Diana's birthday without Diana seeing me do it... hehe... they delivered a GIGANTIC piece of ice cream pie for her birthday, free of charge! It was fun! Happy 19th birthday, hon!

We also got her some furniture for her living room. When she moved into this apartment, she didn't take any furniture except Jonny's crib and changing table, and a mattress for her. She found a couch, chair, and ottoman for $40 on Craigslist.org (Great site!), which was in great condition! So, that was my present to her (her request). It is a cute set, and Jonny loves them as well. You should have seen how we got it from South Jordan to Diana's apartment! It was COLD, and the back of the Jeep was open, with the couch sticking out about 2 feet, and the chair on top of the Jeep on the rack. Jon got the ottoman home in his trunk, with Jonny in his car. Use your imagination for the picture... Not a bad set for $40, huh?



My trip back home was uneventful, which is a surprising departure for winter travel. The roads were clear (Some of you might recall my last trip took 15.5 hours... this one... 9). It was bitterly cold, with a high temp of 28 degrees, and a low of 3 while I was travelling. The northern Nevada desert was covered with snow most of the trip. There were a few clouds, but it was so cold, they wouldn't snow.


I know most people think "Desert? There's nothing in the desert but, well, desert." They can't farther from the truth. The desert is a delightfully beautiful place, but can be inhospitable and unforgiving. Always travel with an emergency kit of food, water, blankets, and a first aid kit. Especially in the desert, regardless of time of year.

Even sick, he's cute!

100 Years of Radio

100 years ago today, Reginald Fessenden sent the first radio broadcast out into the airwaves. He played music on a violin, read Bible verses, and sang a song.

So, tune your radio in to your favorite station, kick back, and enjoy that music, talk show, or sports broadcast.

Treo 680!!!

FINALLY!

I got my Treo 680! Many of you know about my addiction to PalmOS devices, and for the most part, my cell phone has been a Treo since 2002. A few bumps changed me over to a t616, and another clamshell phone, but I keep going back to Treo Smartphones. I had a Treo 180, then a 270, then last year, I got an unlocked 650. Which I killed in the ocean at Huntington Beach (See http://www.portable-essentials.com/2005/12/treo-650-rip.html for more info about how NOT to care for your Treo). I dealt with a non-PalmOS phone for a few months, until I could obtain a used Treo 650 for a reasonable price on Ebay. Well, now that unit has been having problems, primarily due to "drop testing" (Falling onto floor from pocket, repeatedly). So, I knew I needed another phone soon, and Palm released the 680.

I had the chance to buy an unlocked unit, like my 650, but I know I can get the 680 unlocked through Cingular anyway. So, why pay extra for it? For a chance to order it in a different color? It wasn't enough. At least not this time. So, I got one through Cingular. I pestered most of the local corporate locations around Sacramento daily since Monday (It was supposed to be available last Friday. Nobody has stated why they weren't available, but they finally showed up). I got one of 12 units sent to my local store. Total price: $174.99 + tax ($274.99 - $100.00 rebate). I think the rest sold out before I even got there, but they held one for me, since they knew I would get it. I actually paid for it last Friday in SLC, getting Diana a cell for free so she could get away from Cricket, the local prepaid monthly service in SLC. I had another 650 since last Friday (same price), but never even touched it. Turned it in when I picked up the 680.

I'll tell you more about it when I get to know it better. So far, I like... I like. :-)

Reading this? Thank the IBM PC

The IBM PC turns 25 today. On August 12, 1981, the world came to know the IBM PC, a new platform computer that was running a new operating system called PC-DOS. IBM had licensed this new operating system from a young upstart by the name of Bill Gates. The rest is computing history.

Here's some interesting facts:

Base price: $2880
64 Kilobytes of RAM (Not megabytes!)
160 Kilobyte 5.25" floppy disk drive (Just one of these)
Processor: 8088, running at a whopping 4.77 Mhz