Category: technology

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Just a Girl Looking for a Phone

I shared with many of you my decision to leave AT&T as a cell phone customer. This was not an easy decision, as I have been an AT&T customer for a very long time. Once I made the decision to go to Verizon, many people assumed I would jump right to the iPhone 4, which is now also available through Verizon. But as my friend Andrew would say, I’ve decided to make the jump to the “dark side.”

As with many major life changes — like getting fat or going bald — we don’t really actually notice them when they’re happening. I was falling in love with Androids.


How did this Happen?

Out of the blue one afternoon I was contacted by a representative from Verizon seeking my honest opinion. She offered me the opportunity to play with and provide feedback on some Verizon devices. This feedback would be published on my blog and / or the Evansville Business Journal.

Play with tech toys? Naturally I said yes.

For two weeks, I tried out several devices, including two phones, two WIFI hot spots and the Motorola Xoom, using them in a variety of settings that included an out of town conference. Like a coffee lover getting a first taste of Starbucks, I was hooked.


Lightning struck

The device that really took my heart was the HTC Thunderbolt. I really love the way the Thunderbolt phone interacted with me (yes, I did just refer to a phone as though it has human characteristics) and the way it looked and felt while I used it.

Thing is, I’m a heavy tech user. While there are many key features of the Thunderbolt that I like, I had some real issues I could not ignore: Heat and battery life. I heard myself saying several times that if you offered me a Thunderbolt today, I would gladly give up my iPhone . But the heat and battery life issues it turns out are deal-breakers for me.


The Search is on
So now here I am, willing to give up my phone, but not sure what to replace it with. So far Verizon has sent me a Droid Pro and the HTC Thunderbolt to take out for a spin. My local Wireless Zone has been kind enough to let me demo an LG Revolution and a Samsung Charge. All have had good features and some not so perfect for me features.


Yeah, I get all the data on the latest phones as they come out, often even before they come out. I know the technical specs, and what they can do — on paper. But a phone is so much more personal; everyone uses it differently. I need a phone that will go the distance with me, one that will bring up data and run multiple apps, remind me when I have meetings, get me there with good directions AND not run out of juice after just 4 to 6 hours.

I am on a quest to find the perfect phone for me. This girl geek, lover of technology, user of all things new and social is looking for lightning to strike twice.

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Xoom Test Drive

(This article originally appeared in the Evansville Business Journal )

With less than a month on the market, I was given the opportunity to test drive a Motorola Xoom. This tablet has a lot of veryinteresting features that make it more desirable in some ways than an ipad2. Ifyou’re an Apple fan, and are used to Mac products, you might be more comfortablewith an ipad.

This tablet is comparable in price, processor and screensize. The resolution on the Xoom is slightly higher, and it has a 32 GB microSD, expandable memory that you can’t get with the ipad2.

The cameras arenotable better.  While the addition of a backcamera with the release of the ipad2 was a big selling point, it was also a biglet down in the quality of camera.  Thefront camera on the Xoom is a two MP and the back camera has a full five MP. Ifthe camera is important to you, the Xoom will win your heart.

Another big benefit ofthe Xoom is its ability to support flash within the web browser. If you do alot of browsing on your tablet, this might be a very important feature for you.Another feature that sets Xoom apart from the ipad2 is the extra ports.

The Xoomhas a micro USB 2.0 and an HDMI out, so if you’re into playing angry birds, youcan connect your Xoom to your 32 inch flat screen, and play some big angrybirds.

While Evansville is not on a 4G network at this time, the Xoomwill be capable of data transfer on this faster network when it does arrive. Ifyou travel, chances are many places you currently go are already equipped withthis faster network.
While we’re talking about the network, you can buy an ipad2 currentlywith no additional contract for a data plan. If you decide you need one you canpurchase it for the month or months you’ll need it. The Xoom isn’t currentlyoffered with a WiFi-only option.

After using this tablet for a few weeks, Ihave to say I really appreciate being on a data plan, as opposed to only havinga device that accesses the information I need when I’m near WiFi. If thenetwork was detected, and I had previously joined to that network, thetransition from 3G  to WiFi was seamless.

There are a variety of ways in which I could use this tabletas an e-reader. It came with an application called “Books.” This was verysimilar to the “Kindle” app, which was also available for this tablet.

The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library has a system online that allows you to checkout e-books. You have to use their application called “Overdrive.” You simplygo to the EVPL website and enter your library card number. You open the bookwith this application, which is very similar most other readers. If you have atablet, whether it’s an ipad or a Xoom, I strongly encourage you to try thise-book borrowing system.

When the iPad was first released, many of the applicationsin the Apple market would work on their tablet. It took some time for thedevelopers to catch up and create a variety of applications that werespecifically for the larger screen, but it eventually did happen. The same istrue in the Android market. There are currently only a handful of apps that arespecifically designed for a tablet on the Honeycomb system, but just as theApple market caught up, I fully anticipate that developers will have the Androidmarket caught up in no time.

Watching TV episodes, like Fringe for example, directly fromtheir website, was done with ease. The sound and video were incredible, and theoverall use of the Xoom as multimedia player left me very impressed. I wasdisappointed to learn that Netflix, at this time, will not play on Android devices.  They’re working to remedy this issue. You can as of June, watch Netflix on the Xoom!  There are still issues with viewing content from Hulu.

My overall experience with the Xoom tablet left me veryimpressed with this device. If you’re that Mac user who’s more comfortable withApple products, and are hesitant to transfer because of the loss of music, besure to check out Double Twist, the itunes for Android, that will seamlesslyimport all your itunes.

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The Corporate Breakup

When I ran a computer consulting business, I started noticing some trends with businesses that were confusing to me.

  • We don’t like change, even if it is good, even if it saves us money and time.
  • That fear of change makes us very forgiving.
  • We fear conflict that ultimately leads to change.

For example, old antiquated hardware and software that breaks and requires constant maintenance cost us more than money. It costs frustration, employee productivity and happiness.  But we keep calling in the IT guy who band-aids us back together.  We fear the hassle of learning new software. Again time, money, productivity and company morale are all at stake.

But now I’ve noticed this pattern in other areas of business, not just where it relates to tech.

We forgive the mistakes of vendors over and over. It’s easier than finding a new one and making a change.

We forgive employees. There are times when managers and business owners look the other way because they fear the process of hiring and training a new replacement. We forget that by “protecting them” – we’re really protecting us from the hassle and fear; we’re hurting our other employees in the process.
We hang on to dead weight accounts. Yes, sometimes you need to let a customer go. The one who has burned you, taken more time, energy and effort than they’ve invested in your business; the one who refused to pay you or takes forever to pay. We forgive them too, for fear we won’t replace the income they represent. (If you have one of these customers… let him go. You’ll more than make up for it in time and happiness.)

I’m not suggesting that at the first mishap you drop a vendor, employees, or clients.  I’m saying if you’ve been dealing with the same old story from one of them for a long period of time, maybe it’s time you step back take an objective review, and evaluate that relationship.

You can be friends with any of those people; social media makes it so easy to fall into friendships with business acquaintances.  You need to remember, however, this is your business. We do forgive friends, but even with friendships, when a relationship is toxic to one party, it’s time to end it.

If you benefit from this post, great, but I wrote it for me.  I wrote it because after:


  • repeated bad customer service
  • hours and hours on the phone caught in a phone maze, transferred to the wrong department repeatedly, where I had to tell my story again
  • repair request after repair request; it took over 4 months to get help
  • help arrive and made the problem worse
  • a major cell tower went down and is still not replaced
  • countless dropped and missed calls
  • I have been emotionally and financially abused

I am leaving AT &T.

I’m standing up for myself and my business. I’m done forgiving and I’m taking back control of my communications.

My home box AFTER the 1st repair
My home box AFTER the 1st repair

 

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Review: iphone Shoot Out

A few months ago I was approached by Verizon to test some equipment.  I happily agreed. I was traveling to a 4G city and wanted to take it for a spin.  At the time they also offered me an iphone 4.

“No thanks I have one of those.”

LOVED the 4G goodies – more about them another time.

After returning the items, again they wanted me to try out an iphone 4.

“No thanks I have one of those.”

“But yours is AT&T. “

 

 

So for 3 weeks I forwarded my AT&T iphone 4 to my Verizon iphone 4 and put it to the test. I have been an AT&T customer for a very long time. I know everywhere AT&T drops calls. (And that’s quite a few places.)

For 3 weeks I called, I e-mailed, I texted, I tweeted, I posted on every platform. When I had down time, I played games.  I used, really used, that phone.

Not once… yeah, you AT&T people who drop calls while driving down the Lloyd heard me, not once did I drop a call. I went from Newburgh to USI, from the Lloyd up 164 and out Boonville New Harmony all the way to Highway41 and back again. Not once did I drop a call or have a complaint of voice quality.

Using the Wifi, both phones preformed about the same, with the exception of time spent finding a network. I could find and join networks much faster with the Verizon phone. Once connected, however there was no noticeable difference.

The big difference: Not being able to multi-task. On my AT&T iphone I can be carrying on a conversation, put the other person on speaker, and look up an address or event time on the web.  With the Verizon iphone you can’t be talking and use over the air internet.

So the big question is:

How much do you value undropped calls?

Everyone, even AT&T employees, know AT&T has customer service issues.  But over and over, as I dealt with local and national Verizon people I was always treated with kindness, and respect.

Is customer service important to you? Dropped calls Important to you? Then Verizon is the way to go.

Stuck with At&T?

On a side note; if you, like me, have an AT&T iphone and are “locked-in” to a contract, but want to make the jump to Verizon, E-bay is buying AT&T Iphones flat out. In most cases selling your AT&T phones will more than cover these pesky early termination penalties.


Thanks to Wireless Zone for the iskin case that protected my Verizon phone for this trial.

 

 

 

 

 

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Social Media in the Classroom

In an article by the New York Times

this week, they discuss one of the biggest challenges I see every time I enter a classroom. I’m not a professor. I teach people of all ages to use social media to do whatever they’re doing in life better: In the classroom, to learn. Outside the classroom, to get a job, and to become the best in their industry or field.  Every time I walk into a classroom however, I get the same frustrating tag at the end of an introduction, “It’s time to learn, turn off your phones and laptops.” I usually tell them to turn them back on.

In this article, they discuss the use of “backchannels” – or conversations driven by technology (twitter, and other chatting platforms) where students are free to ask and answer questions of the teacher and their peers without having to be embarrassed by speaking out loud in front of the whole class.  One student stated:

“When you type something down, it’s a lot easier to say what I feel.”

Isn’t that what you strive for, a way to encourage classroom participation?

 

Sugato Chakravarty, who lectures about personal finance at Purdue University,said before the backchannel tools:

“I could never get people to speak up.”  “Everybody’s intimidated.” “It’s clear to me,” he added, “that absent this kind of social media interaction, there are things students think about that normally they’d never say.”

What are your students thinking, but not saying?


The students who’ve been allowed to express themselves in a way that’s comfortable to them, digitally, have shared with us how they feel. In their own words:

“Everybody is heard in our class,” ~Leah Postman, 17.

“It’s made me see my peers as more intelligent, seeing their thought process and begin to understand them on a deeper level.”  ~Janae Smith, 17

That would do it for me, but I’m not a professor. Yes, there are fears and risks to deal with. But what else is holding you back? What can we do to convince you to overcome these fears and give your students an opportunity to be heard?

Again the students say it best:

 

“We tend to have the attitude that someone else will do it. But what happens when everyone thinks the same as you?”

“It only takes one individual to change,” another typed.

“If you want something to change you have to be willing to be that voice.”

“It really shows the impact one change can make,” a third student wrote.

“I agree with Katie!” someone added. “This class has given us a voice!”

Please post your comments. Tell me what we (the Social Media Club Education Advisory Board) can do to help you overcome your fear, answer questions, offer support…. So that you can give a voice to one student more who might just be the voice that can make a difference in your class room, to a peer, or to make a major change in the world?

Join us as we discuss this topic on the regular weekly twitter chat:  #smcedu  Mon 12:30pm

 

Not sure how to participate in a twitter chat? Here is a simple guide on how to participate in a twitter chat .

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A Green Geek

I’m a proud geek. I love all things tech. I owned a Commodore 64 in 1982. I’m not always the first in line to get the newest product, but I do trade up, and often. Phones, computers, laptops, televisions… But with the desire and acquisition of the latest and greatest of new tech, comes the forgotten tech.

What do you do with your old tech? If you’re like many folks, you don’t know what to do with it.  Know this;  you can’t throw it in the trash. Most tech has toxic material that will be harmful to the environment, and plastic that just won’t break down. ( It’s illegal to chuck it in the trash in Indiana, BTW.)

I spent part of the evening going through old phones, PDA’s, lap tops, and monitors. What am I doing with all of it? My van is loaded up and I am headed to Electronics Recycle Day. <– That is a link to the recycle day information for Evansville, IN that will take place on Saturday May 14th.

Why not be a green geek, de-clutter your home or office, do some good for the earth, and get rid of the old tech by finding a recycle day near you?