So, my big excitement, so far, this year, was the day my facebook got hacked. I don’t know how, and since they didn’t change my password and lock me out, there’s no place to report it to facebook staff, and apparently no action that they’re going to take to try and figure out who this person was who started chatting up all my friends about being mugged while in London and needing money for a hotel bill. So I changed my ancient password… on facebook and several other web-based email accounts and social sites… and I guess I’ll just hope that it doesn’t happen again. I’m sure facebook could at least get an IP address that was signed in when all the messages were sent, but they seem uninterested. The fun part was that I was notified by facebook messages on my phone. I logged in from my phone to check it out… and I managed to change my password and temporarily deactivate my account… all from my phone. I never would’ve been able to do that, before. I love my phone. Also, I set up latitude… you’ll notice a little map with my face on it, in the right column of fashiondisaster.org … no more wondering if I was really mugged while on vacation in London. Did I mention that I love my phone?
Winter. This is my real downtime. The holidays are over and work doesn’t start up again for a few weeks, unless we hire new people and have to train them. I usually entertain myself with a video game addiction at this point in the year, and this year is no exception. Sarah and Frank and I are all addicted to video games. Sarah is still spending most of her time on the Uncharted 2 multiplayer, and I’m almost finished with the The Saboteur. I could go back to Ghostbusters, if I finish it, I guess… Ghostbusters is fun, with all the cast voices in there, but The Saboteur is a way better game. I also have Brutal Legend to finish… and probably some others that I’m forgetting about.
The Droid has been pretty awesome, so far. The phone works. I just got my Google Voice invite, so we’ll see how that affects things. It should, at least, open up some cool voicemail options. The web works. The apps work… though, the web apps still seem redundant, with such a good browser onboard. With the push gmail, I get notified on my phone before I even see it on the web; It’s creepy. The navigation does the job. It does need some more options and features built into it… ability to customize routes or at least request shortest vs fastest or non-highway routes would be nice. The audio part is surprisingly functional. I miss the Sound Check and the ability to shuffle by album that I have on the iPod and I don’t know if it has the battery life to use it the way I did on the trains all summer and since it also has to stay on all day as a phone.
This is the month where work usually wraps up… and that leads to the month when we wrap presents… and it will all blur into a month I will call Wraptember.
Those of you who plan on seeing Sarah and I when we’re back east, claim your days now.
This is a test as much as it is a blog. I replaced my phone, today, with a Motorola Droid. This is one of the first android devices on Verizon as well as one of the first with android 2.0. It’s a huge upgrade for me. I barely had web access, before, now I have a honest-to-goodness browser. I waited for android to come to Verizon and resisted the urge to switch to an iPhone, even when my enV’s screen cracked.
The reviews are true. The keyboard isn’t wonderful. The software keyboard isn’t half bad, though… so I find myself flipping back and forth, for now. The app situation is weird. With such a nice browser, are the apps I’m downloading even necessary? I don’t know the answer to this one, either. Another case of “time will tell.” I loaded some music on it, but will it replace my iPod for the train rides to work in the summer or for car rides? Too early to tell. I’ve only used the camera to try out the Amazon price-matching app. I haven’t even tried the GPS yet, and that’s what really eliminated any doubt… the new, free, google-maps based turn-by-turn navigation.
So far, though, it’s pretty awesome. I will keep you posted on my findings
The Palm Pre is out of the running; I got to feel one at work and the keyboard is just too small. I’m a texter with big thumbs. So, it’s back to a waiting game… wait for that first android phone’s price and date to hit Verizon, the phone should be a Motorola with that spiffy new Motoblur UI slapped on top of Android … or wait for the Nuvifone, which isn’t Android and doesn’t have a release date or price yet (or carrier, officially), but will almost certainly have the best GPS and probably handle gmail without any problems, at least. Or give in and get an iPhone; It’s so tempting.
In other news:
Work starts back up soon, one meeting next week and then officially back to a regular schedule the following week. I think we have Fridays off this season.
Got the annoying clicking noise the rear wheel(s) of my car were making fixed… it took three tries, but we got it done. Now I hear every click and creak the car makes when I hit bumps and stuff… still need to do whatever needs to be done about the little ding in the windshield.
And we’ve been using our game consoles a lot over the break… picked up the X-Men Origins: Wolverine for xBox 360 and Fat Princess for PS3 … and I might dig into our most recent purchase, Mini Ninjas during this last week off. Fall TV season be damned, we’re playing our video games!
I have time, still nursing along my beaten and broken phone, but it’s on my mind. Do I replace it now, before the work season starts? Do I wait? It seems like the sensible thing to do but not if I really don’t want to carry both a phone and an iPod. How important is good GPS? I really only use it on vacations. Apparently, my phone saw me writing this and ran away… this makes all phones which had “wait” as an option, pretty much not an option, since I need a phone for work… unless it shows up at work tomorrow, that’s the only place I went before it ran away. Phone turned up. Sarah knew where to look, she rocks.
iPhone
Pros:
available now
Apple hardware exclusivity means cooler peripherals possible
definite iPod replacement (only carry one device)
Sirius app
Cons:
switching to AT&T
higher plan cost
GPS apps aren’t as good as a Garmin
no background apps without jailbreaking
no keyboard
Android (undecided on which exact phone, maybe the rumored Sholes)
Pros:
Open source
coming to Verizon in October, probably (no switching)
instant Google-ness
keyboard
Cons:
might not be an iPod replacement – dunno how music players on android are
Waiting for a verizon release or Switching carriers
GPS apps aren’t as good as a Garmin
Nuvifone
Pros:
GPS is as good as a Garmin, it’s a Garmin!
Cons:
probably not an iPod replacement – seems GPS/social-centric
have to wait AND probably have to switch carriers
next version is going to be Android
no keyboard
Palm Pre
Pros:
available now
a couple personal recommendations
Cons:
tiny-ass keyboard
switching to Sprint
Weekend getaway to Wisconsin was great! We saw a good play, stayed at a nice hotel, ate some good food and played bingo… and I won $300! I’m glad we’ve made it a summer tradition to go to APT. We took the backstage tour on this visit and it was quite interesting. The costume storage is HUGE and the new indoor theater is awesome. Pictures: here.
And now I’m officially between seasons… doing a lot of sleeping in.
The outside screen on my phone broke during the last week of camp, so I really do need a new phone… do I wait for a good Android phone or give in to the immediate pressure and get an iPhone?
Also, early heads up: We will be heading back to the East coast sometime around Christmas and will be spending a little extra time so that I can catch up with all the people who’ve been missed the last couple times I was out there. So, let me know if you’ll be around, so we can work something out.
It started at the beginning of the month, when I parked my car in a way that was eerily familiar. Then a couple weeks later, the christmas trees arrived, and another familiar scene unfolded. I got my phone out again and tried to snap a similar picture. Then a scene/memory [/event?] from Thanksgiving of 2005 reappeared. That may have been the last time I saw gas below $2. I’m kind of amazed that it’s down below $2 again. I was tempted to find a similar sign and try to recapture that picture on my phone… but the tree one wasn’t as good as last year’s tree pics, so I decided against it. I think I just need to have my camera with me all the time, in November. Now I know, for next year. Unless, of course, whatever phone I replace mine with has a really good camera… doesn’t seem likely.
I think this would be a good time to mention that I’ll be at Mom’s house the weekend after Christmas. Sarah and I will only there for a few days, but we might have a little bit of free time if anybody wants to get together.
Mom enclosed her front porch with sliding glass doors last year. It’s gone through a couple furniture set-ups, but I think this year is a pretty nice layout for the family. I’m sure this picture is a grainy mess, but the cameraphone can only do so much. I’m tempted to break out my real camera… which reminds me: when i pack later, my camera needs to be accessable on the plane. It was way too tightly packed away on the trip out and there were some decent sights out the window on the way out here.
