Morning Paper

Is Web 2.0 Killing Your Application Addiction?

  One of the greatest things about owning computers and smartphones for me is trying out and using new applications.   The constant search for better and better apps to try out on the Treo or the Blackberry is as much fun as using the ones I really like.

  I have so many apps on my Macs that I forget and download them again.  Then there are those that I think I could not live without.   I have a great respect for the development community.  The time they put into great functioning applications for different platforms is not unlike the time I put into learning how to play several instruments, and then striving to make happy with the knowledge. 

But there is something that is happening that I noticed with my Treo 755p last year.  I began to use my installed apps less and less.  With Google apps like Google Docs and Gmail, I could get a lot done without taking up space on my Treo.

Then there's "Netvibes" and "Phone Favs" that give me tons of RSS feeds, notes, task, the dreaded weather and all, all from the net.   Since starting my trip down Blackberry lane, I've installed a few apps that I really like, and have a reviewed a few with more to come.  But I find that I am still using a lot of the "online" apps that I have set up with more and more frequency.    Even down to Voicemail with SimulScribe.   Which at its heart, is an online app. 

The internet is increasingly becoming a place where one can get a lot done, and since a lot of these services are free, why not take advantage of them.   But every so often I get that junkie urge.  Jonesing you might say.  I need to get out and find a new app to try out and see if it will truly benefit my cellular usage.  But ultimately I end up at Netvibe or Google.   As I stated in another post, I don't even use "MSWord" anymore.

It makes me wonder if a once increadibly stupid statement by Bill Gates, won't turn out to be profoundly true.   We'll never need more than 64 MB of memory.

A Cost Breakdown Of Unlimited Plans, Which Carrier Has The Best?

    It's time to update and take another look at the four major US wireless plans and how they stack up for your bottom line. 

  Since the last installation a wave swept through the industry like a money saving tsunami, swirling up high expectations and slamming down few benefits. 

  But after taking a look at all of the combine plans, I have found that some companies do offer more when they use the term "Unlimited" then others.

  For my money, or lack thereof, an "Unlimited" plan is the only way to go.  If you're a frequent talker, high talker or close talker, being able to use your phone for as long as the battery will take you is a good thing.

If you're a data hound, (as I am) being able to surf the internet, send and receive email and whatever else you do with a data connection, without fear of MB charges is Freeing.

  If your thing is SMS or MMS (as mine is), sometimes even when you have 300 to 500 messaging plans, you can find yourself on the business end of a big surprise come billing time.

So the idea of Unlimited was a long time coming and can be a big help toward your daily cellular life.

So here are the plans and details of your favorite wireless carrier.

Listed by order of Top ranking

AT&T: Unlimited Plan $99

Rate Plan Details
          
Anytime Minutes    Unlimited
Night & Weekend minutes     Unlimited
Mobile to Mobile minutes        Unlimited
Long Distance                             $0.00
Roaming Charges                      $0.00
Additional minutes                   $.00 per minute
One-time activation fee             $36.00
Contract length    2 years

Included Features
Three-Way Calling
Call Forwarding
Unlimited Mobile to Mobile Calling
Caller ID
Call Waiting
Basic Voice Mail
Long Distance

If you want text, GPS, Blackberry Plans, and so on, they will all cost you extra as add-on plans. So if you want to be safe and get 1500 text messages, it will cost you an extra $15.  If you can deal with 200 messages, it will cost you $5.

Want GPS?

TeleNav GPS Navigator 10 Routes                    $5.99 a month 
TeleNav GPS Navigator Unlimited Routes     $9.99 a month

Want Data?

MEdia Net Unlimited                                             $15.00 a month 
BlackBerry® Personal                                             $30.00 a month 
PDA Personal                                                            $30.00 a month 
BlackBerry® Personal Bundle                              $50.00 a month 
PDA Personal Bundle                                             $50.00 a month 
PDA Personal with tethering                                $60.00 a month 
BlackBerry® Personal with tethering                 $60.00 a month

So as you can see, your unlimited AT&T plan can get pricey real fast.  As soon as you start adding on those extras you're going to want, look out for a at highest $183.99 or at cheapest $139.99 bill plus tax and fees that no one has been able to explain.  I did not include the plan for the iPhone which is an entirely different animal.
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Verizon Unlimited $139.99
 

Unlimited Text, Picture, Video & Instant Messaging
Mobile Email
VCAST VPak
VZ Navigator
Unlimited Mobile Web 2.0
Unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes
Unlimited National  Calling
No Domestic Long Distance Charges
3-way calling
Voice Mail
Caller ID

This plan does not include Smartphones such as Palm devices, Blackberries or Windows mobile phones.  Web 2.0 is not the real internet.

Want a Smartphone Unlimited plan?
$149.99 includes all of the above except VZ Navigator and VCAST VPak

Want a Blackberry Unlimited Plan?
$149.99 includes all of the above except VZ Navigator and VCAST VPak

For $10 more you get unrestricted use of the internet.  But if you want VZNavigator (GPS) $9.99 Monthly Access, and VCAST VPak $25.00 or $15.00.  At highest $184.98 at cheapest $139.99 plus tax and fees. But that $139.99 is serviced only on VZW VCast phones with very limited internet and email choices.
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T-Mobile Unlimited $99.99

All national voice plans include:

No nationwide long-distance or roaming charges
Nationwide Whenever Minutes®
A low rate for additional minutes
This plan features:

Whenever minutes     Unlimited
Weekend minutes                                                              Unlimited
Weeknight minutes                                                           Unlimited
myFaves minutes                                                               Unlimited
Mobile to mobile minutes                                                Unlimited
Shared minutes                                                                   None
Additional minutes                                                           $.00 per minute
Data transfer                                                                        None

This is for their Basic phones.  Want a Blackberry or other Smartphone?

BlackBerry Unlimited Add-on
Add access to BlackBerry's powerful data functionality to a voice rate plan. The BlackBerry Unlimited Add-on includes unlimited BlackBerry Web Client e-mail and Web browsing. Does not include text/instant messaging. $19.99 per month

T-Mobile Internet
The T-Mobile Total Internet Add On Feature gives you unlimited Internet access and unlimited T-Mobile HotSpot access. Use T-Mobile Internet to access your e-mail and browse the Internet no matter where you are. Does not include text/insant messaging.
Windows Mobile Email Only Add-on  $9.99 per month

T-Mobile Total Internet Add-on $19.99 per month

Want Texting?
$14.99 Unlimited or $4.99 for 400

At highest $133.98 at cheapest $99, without internet or text, just unlimited voice.  T-Mobile also has a myFavs unlimited plan for $139.99 per month, which frankly, I don't understand the point of.
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Sprint Unlimited Everything $99

  Everything your phone, PDA or smartphone can do nationwide — text, surf, email, listen, watch, find and, of course, talk — on one simple plan.

This plan includes
Unlimited mobile internet and messaging: Web surfing, email, GPS Navigation, Sprint Music, Sprint TV®, BlackBerry® Internet Services (BIS), text, pictures, video
Domestic long distance and roaming
900/450 plans: Unlimited mobile to mobile, night calling starting at 7 p.m. and weekends

The Unlimited everything plan for $99 includes Unlimited voice, nights and weekends don't apply. 

As far as this plan goes, the above says it all.  Everything is included, everything.  No need to add-on.   Same rules apply for every type phone.
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For this breakdown I only included "Single User" plans.  I did not include "Alltel" because I have yet to meet a single person on the network.  Sorry if this excludes you. 

For my money the clear winner here is Sprint.  It's a shame they can't get their act together concerning customer service.  They clearly still best the competition when it comes to giving you your mobile money's worth.

But there you have it, the four top US carriers and their "Unlimited" plan breakdown. 

My First Twelve Days Using A Blackberry! Part 1, Introduction

  I had the good fortune to get my hands on the 8830 months before it was released on Sprint.  I wrote a detailed review on the device and was very impressed with it.  But as a Palm man (that sounds weird every time I write it) I just couldn't make the leap to the stodgy boring world of Blackberry.

  But for whatever reason, I could never keep my eye from completely turning away from it.

  Last month MP got it's hands on another 8830.  12 days ago I decided to activate it and for reviews of software and hardware.

  6 days ago I began using it as the primary device for calls and data.  Today, the 12th day..... Well..... My 755p keeps looking at me from its Sedio cradle.  It just stares at me like a best friend in grade school that stopped talking to me because I got a girlfriend and stopped hanging out as much.

I have to say, I am very surprised at how much I like the 8830, and the Blackberry OS.  In all of these 12 days, I have not suffered one single reset, stall or pause.  I can't get through a day without my Treo reseting.

Now, I'm not abandoning the Treo.  There are still a great many things that I love about my Treo.  But I am surprised at how much the BB OS has evolved   And how easy it is to work with.  There are draw backs, and as this is the first installment of my BB experience, I won't get in to too much of that yet.  But there is one very big drawback.

If you're a Mac user, you're screwed.  Very few titles, abilities and features are Mac friendly.  This of course is STUPID!  Myopic developers leave out the Apple platform and lose out on a ton of cash.  But for the end user like myself, it leaves us high and dry on the sidelines watching the cool kids play with cool toys.

But that has not hindered my enjoyment with this device.  I don't even miss the camera ( I never use it on my Treo's), I actually realized this this morning. 

The trackball takes a bit of getting use to, and every now and then I reach for the screen to no avail, but those are just habits.   Habits can be broken.

I will be detailing my thoughts over the next week so stay tuned. 

SimulScribe Or Callwave, Which One Is Better? Part 1

Apple has really started a fire storm with their Visual Voicemail on the iPhone.  Not that they started it, they didn't invent the technology, they just made it desirable.  Since their announcement, Voicemail to email services have popped up all over the place.  Some in a very short amount of time have already been buried, and some like "GrandCentral" have been bought up by the likes of Google.  And some have hung in there by the merit of their product.

Some of you may already know that I use CallWave to get my voicemail messages delivered to me via VisualVoicemail through Email.  The tale of lore, how I got VisualVoicemail to work on Sprints absolutely ridiculous pain in the butt forwarding system is now a thing of legend.

So far I have really enjoyed Callwave.  But there is another out there, always looming over my shoulder, beckoning "try me, I'm better".  It's like the really hot girl who keeps looking at you from the table directly behind the girl you're just getting to know. 

From a few accounts out there, Simulscribe has got it going on.  Folks swear by it.  But folks swear by CallWave as well, so which one offers the best service.  The only real way to find out is to try it.  So off I go, no more Callwave, it's all up to SimulScribe now.   It's only been a day in a half, so this is the introduction to which service I think is better.   But I will tell you that right off the back there are a few things that I like about SimulScribe.   Better yet, I tell you one thing.  You can delete your messages.  Both services offer the same type of online application that allows you to listen to and do whatever you want with your message on the net.  But Callwave doesn't have a freakin "Delete" option.  So I have hundreds of messages that I can't delete.  This was the very first thing I noticed when I opened the SimulScribe account page for my new mailbox, the delete button.  You can choose to keep the message forever and let your grandchildren deal with them after you're dead, or you can delete them after you've listened to them.  Imagine that, a delete button.

Anyway, stay tuned, I will be talking a bit more on what I think and how the two services stack up.

Did You Get Enough Hilary Clinton Feel Good Stuff This Weekend

If you were every in doubt about how much power the Clintons still hold over this country, this past weekend should have helped you out. In fact, it doesn't stop with Sunday. Tonight she'll be on "the Daily Show", the night before the most important primary of her and Bill's career.

If any other candidate, in particular Barack Obama, Christopher Dodd, Joe Biden and the rest of them had lost 11 straight, found themselves down 150 delegates and witnessed a lead of over 20 points shrink to dead even in the last two BIG primary states, non of them could get even airtime on a local newscast. Yet Hilary Clinton has managed to get her face on just about every major broadcast network, major blog, and major show.

They have managed to turn the guy who wins into the guy who must win or he's a loser all thanks to your "Yes Ma'am" News and fake news. This is really quite remarkable to watch. This really shows you who has the power in this country. Two families that have owned the White House for a major chunk of my life.

Sad

Are You Wearing Your American Flag Lapel Pin?

Here we go folks! It's starting. What was recently dubbed the "Silly Season" of politics is locked, loaded and firing. Now one of the Democratic Presidential candidates is under attack for not wearing a pin on is lapel. A "fashion" statement that started after 911 but has increasingly been absent on politicians from both sides of the aisle is the subject for for the dismissal of a candidate. In fact, yesterday a Republican Senator went on the Dan Abrams show (a dumb show) to speak against the candidate and question his amount a patriotic pride because the candidate (Obama) doesn't wear one. Dan, in a rare moment of brilliance, asked him why he was not in fact wearing one at that moment. He wasn't wearing a pin that he was chastising someone for not wearing.

Then there's the name Hussien. I'm not sure here, but I don't think I've ever seen a baby stick out a piece of paper with his/her name on it before he/she exits the womb. I seem to remember sometime back in my school days learning that parents name their children. In fact I remember my mother telling me something about that when I was really young.

Then there's something that has been fascinating me for months now. Each time someone on TV talks about Hilary Clintons base, or a part of it I should say, they describe them as the "less educated" and Obama's as the "More Educated", based on salary, graduating statues and region.

Words and phrases are powerful, so if you refer to a group as "less Educated" because they fit into a certain demographic, what you are saying to that person that knows that they fit into those demographics is he/she is stupid, because that's what he/she hears.

This is what the "Silly Season" is counting on. It prescribes to the notion that those that must work harder to make ends meet don't have the time, inclination or intelligence to vote for their best interest. Now, the majority of Americans must work harder to make ends meet these days. This is why "Flag Pins" and "Names" end up at the forefront of American Politics. Politicians bank on High School life. School yard tactics. Picking on someone's name, picking on someone for not wearing what the "in-crowd" wears, not looking or acting like the "in-crowd" and placing an air of fear around one group that at anytime can beat you up after school.

This seems to me to be based around the theory that most adults never really leave high school, their heyday, the best days of their lives. Days in which those factors were the way it was, period.

So as we leap toward $4 gas, people losing their homes daily, rising unemployment, a recession no one wants to admit to, the credit crunch, tainted beef, lead paint on toys, China owning America outright, soldiers dying and being maimed in Iraq, a mastermind of the death of millions of Americans producing video tapes at will, the cost of food, the cost of energy, a warming planet, decrepit bridges and roads, an entire city still destroyed on and on, what's more important is who's the coolest on the campus. Which follows the idea that in High School, it was always better to be "cool" and "accepted" than it was to be "smart" and interested in learning. And boy, wasn't it great when you or someone made someone else look stupid!!? And rumors! So many rumors in High School that were almost never ever true. They were always started by someone who wanted to hurt a particular person for some dumb reason. But that person had to walk the halls with a stigma that had no reality behind it.

What makes this so sad is it works. It works every single year. John McCain lost his first bid because he had a "Black baby" that he never had. John Kerry lost in part because he didn't serve in a war that he served in. Dukakis lost because he wore a military hat. Hart lost because he kissed a woman's toes, what's wrong with that? Look at all the aforementioned problems we're facing, and I left out a lot. Does it work? Does the school yard crap really work? Sure does, but not for Americas best interest.

Disagreeing on issues and voting on principal is one thing. Voting against a name, an accessory or personal love lives is STUPID! And this is what they are counting on. They tell you this fact everyday by placing you in a demographic, group, class, social economic stratus, race whatever you call it, it plays itself out like High school. And one thing is for sure, if those high school tactics work again, then we'll never graduate.

What Does PDAPerformances Bow Out Really Say?

Let me again first start by saying how sad I am that PDAPerformance has vacated the Palm scene. They made very good Palm apps. Now that it's all over, I can tell you that I was a beta tester for Saguaro, this app had it been seen through to it's final, would have set the Palm fan base on fire. It was HOT!

If anyone downloaded and used Line-Up, I'm sure that they would be in agreement that it is a fantastic app that had an incredible amount of promise as more and more "widgets" hit the scene. But alas, it is not to be.

But it does spring forth a bigger question. What does it all mean? Or does it mean anything at all. In their very well written good-bye letter, the team states that their decision to leave had a lot to do with the lagging sales and support for the Palm OS. This is a pill that is very hard to swallow for us long time Palm users. But like most truths, I think it sits there in the back of our minds, nagging and teasing. Palm does not excite anymore.

There are so many extremely good devices hitting the market now. I hate to bring it up, but the iPhone is unstoppable and it deserves that praise. With the SDK, there will nothing it can't do that the PalmOS and software developers do on Palm devices. In fact, let's be honest here, the iPod Touch is cooler.

There is excitement around a host of phones. The Centro is Palms saving grace at the moment, but it's just a cheaper thinner Treo. If you're to be honest about it, there is nothing there that adds to the new phase of mobile devices exciting the tech hungry public. It's just cheap. Hard to beat $99.

When companies like PDAPerfomance bow out, a huge sucking sound is heard. Are we going to see more and more Palm only developers follow? I think we might. 2009 is a long way off and although I find it hard to believe that at this point Palm is going to pack it up, it's hard to see how one can put food on the table serving only the Palm community. Palm fans are defecting like voters of a current Presidential candidate.

Sometimes it only takes that one well known to lead the masses to the other side of the river. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months to the Palm community and how Palm responds before 2009.

Prince Harry Outed, What should Happen To Drudge?

This is more of a question than personal opinion, although like most things there is personal opinion weaved into the question. Yesterday, in the quest to be first and get the scoop, according to all accounts, Prince Harry's life was put in jeopardy when the Drudge Report printed a story about his service in Afghanistan. According to all accounts, most media outlets knew of his whereabouts but honored the British Governments request to keep the story under wraps for fear of his safety (which in itself is odd considering it's a battlefield). But then love is a Battlefield and the Brits love their Prince Harry.

The Brits are furious about this, and it won't take long before a call to take action begins. Now, when a person puts on the uniform, picks up a gun and begins firing on the "enemy" he/she is a soldier and should not get special treatment above any other soldier. But there are exceptions to this rule.

Just for a moment imagine if one of the Bush twins decided to suit up and hit the front line. The US government asked that everyone keep quiet about her whereabouts. Then some well known British publication prints her whereabouts. There is no doubt that the majority of Americans would be outraged. Some soldiers carry far larger bounties than others, sadly. This puts her life and the lives of other soldiers in greater danger.

But Drudge tends to lean more in one political favor than the other. I find it odd that those who normally would scream bloody murder at anything that smacks of unpatriotic are very silent on this issue.

I see yet another set of home grown rules being swept under the proverbial rug with a broom that has no party affiliation, but has a wide brush.

Okay, so as it turns out this is more personal opinion than a question. But what do you think?

What Ever Happened To Virtual BlackBerry?

Anyone remember early last year (2007) when the announcement came from RIM that there would be a Virtual Blackberry ready "soon?" It was to be first take over Windows Mobile phones then on to Palm.

Palm, WinMO and Blackberry users went a little nuts over the idea (including yours truly). Well if memory serves me right, there was more good will for the idea than ill. So what happened? I've searched high and low for the last day or so and have yet to find a program I can download, or the mere mention of it after the summer of 2007.

Did RIM give up on the idea? Was there no interest after the iPhone came and began to kick everyone in the royal behind? What gives?

If RIM released the Virtual Blackberry for your favorite OS tomorrow, would you use it?

Will All Wireless Get Grounded? T-Mobile May Think So

A few days ago T-Mobile introduced a plan that in it's infancy is somewhat interesting. With the purchase of a $50 router, T-Mobile wireless subscribers in Seattle and Dallas-Fort Worth can make landline calls for $10 a month.

The "Talk Forever Home Phone" will offer local and long distance over broadband internet connections like Vonage and its VOIP. Users will have to have a wireless plan of at least $39 monthly.

T-Mobiles "HotSpot AtHome" has been a big success according to T-Mobile, which is sort of like Hershey saying "our chocolate is good". But given the opportunity I think most would like the chance to make calls over their WiFi for $10 a month.

These plans beat out Verizon and AT&T's landline offering on price alone and seem to be the next logical direction of all the major cellular players.

Might we be seeing the re-emergence of the landline? These plans slowly making there way into the business model may suggest it.

Will that bring back the landline phone? This is what I want to see. A fight between manufactures for the best landline. Landlines that surf the web, keep calendars, notes, play games, provide visual voicemail all those things our wireless phones do. Or maybe a way to switch once you are within range of your home router.

This is the potentially exciting aspect of the landline plans being offered by the wireless carriers.