Burnerblog

The phones are quite amazing, and very usable. The texting is easy and fast, picture mail is fun (we use it a lot now), the camera is quite nice, the calling is very nice, and overall, it’s just a great device. It has tethering built in as well.

The GPS works well, and the voice-activated live search is batting 1.000 for me so far with recognizing my voice and finding businesses. The Telenav GPS software is okay (not as slick as my wife’s TomTom), but is overall very usable and useful.

It was not a very hard decision for me to go from the Q9c to the Instinct. The interace is fast and snappy, and it just does what it’s supposed to do, and does it well. Every application I run on mine runs nicely, and the sports apps are especially well-done. Watching videos on youtube even works without any monkeying.

Music plays very well… and the headphone jack is regular size. I can connect it to my car’s aux-in and listen to music on my car’s stereo just as I can from my iPods or Zune. My nice headphones finally find use again… not that I needed any. The Instinct comes with a pair of nice stereo headphones that also double as a extended headset w/mic.

No AIM… yet.

Browser is okay, but there are supposed to be other options coming soon.

As for email, I will say that it connects VERY nicely to Gmail. Attachments download from Gmail without problems (not sure about Exchange; I haven’t had any attachments from that account yet).

Obviously, the keypad of the Q/Q9c (my former phones) is better suited to power texters who are writing long emails on their devices, but for regular use (I type about 10-20 emails a day with about 10-25 text messages), it’s quite easy to use (and actually quite fun). The handwriting recognition (a little touted feature) is very nice, and works very well albeit it’s actually faster to just type it in with your fingers.

The accessories it comes with are quite welcome considering the trend lately of companies cutting out the accessories that devices ship with.

Also, I posted a quick video of the kids on their Instincts on Youtube; it’s pretty funny.

…and so did Sherry, Gelli, and Brendon. What did we get?

The Sprint Instinct! It’s what I was drooling over when it was first announced, and after seeing it live, I just had to get one (as did Gelli; she bought her own). Brendon, Sherry, and I all have birthdays within the next month or so, so we used that as an excuse to get these phones as our birthday presents this year.

So far, we all are amazed with the phone. Super-usable, super-fast, very responsive, and not laggy or buggy at all. There are some things to get used to, but even the handwriting recognition works on this thing! It came with an optional use stylus (there isn’t a stylus slot on the phone, but there is on the included case) that I haven’t tried to use yet, but may.

The screen is nice and bright, the speaker and ringer are loud and clear, and my son is in love with one of the ringtones. He plays it on his phone (he has affectionately named it “soundsystem”). There he goes again, playing that ringtone! lol

I’m at the point where my phone is everything I’ve always wanted in a phone. It’s awesome… convergence devices. GPS/mp3 player/video player/Internet access/telephone/camera/etc. It’s sweet!

Oh, and best of all, it doesn’t bear a fruit logo. :/

This is my next phone.

I didn’t jump on the iPhone bandwagon for a few reasons:

1. I didn’t want to have to go to AT&T.
2. I didn’t want to purchase another Apple product.
3. I didn’t want to pay out the nose for a non-3G phone with dubious text-input ability.

Well, it seems my patience (and the patience of others like me) is being rewarded by Sprint who is releasing the Instinct. It’s similar to the iPhone in that it has a touchscreen face, but otherwise seems to have a lot of nice features and good performance.

June 20th is the drop-date for this phone, and the first person in our house to get one will be my wife, Sherry. She’s over-due for a new phone, and she’ll get this one before I do. Then, I’ll get mine, and eventually, my daughter Gelli says she wants to save up for one as well. My son? He doesn’t care so much about flashy phones; he just wants one that will do voice and text messaging. He loves simplicity.

Anyway, I have been reading a lot about these phones, and once again, it’s funny how threatened certain people feel about this device (as they did with any other device that posed serious competition to whatever beloved product they paid lots of money for, as if the presence of the newer product somehow invalidates them and their purchase). May iPhone fanboys have been posting about how “all Samsung and/or Spring can do is copy the iPhone,” blah blah blah. It makes me laugh.

Word is that the phone will cost less, have fewer restrictions, faster service, and lower rates than an iPhone. And the best part: it won’t be an Apple.

What’s my beef with Apple? Well, let’s say that after owning four iPods, I will never purposely purchase another Apple product again. The fact that Apple won’t release new features for iPods when the hardware can handle them is a big sticking point for me, indicative of a company that cares only about profits and not at all about the consumer. The Zune, the Zen, and many other DAPs add features and enhancements to their firmware, and allow users to upgrade their mp3 players. This is very cool. Apple, on the other hand, will only update firmware for bug-fixes and to update their DRM. Bleh.

The fact that Apple is so against third-party app development for the iPod, iPhone, and only grudgingly supports development for anything else on their products also shows that they’re a company that can care less about innovation and cares more about their own bottom line. Ironic considering how they portray themselves to be such a forward-thinking company.

As-if.

So, back to the original point; I’m going to be getting a new phone because I love gadgets and I love me some new phone hotness. I can’t wait!

Vista is the first MS OS that I didn’t have installed and running the day it was released. I did some beta testing (even submitted feedback/bugs) and generally thought it was cool, but the fact of the matter was that none of the computers in the house would really benefit from it. Since XP was working fine and running everything, and I had a bunch of legal licenses for all the computers in the house, it didn’t make sense to go upgrading everything just for the sake of having the newest and shiniest OS.

Then I bought Sherry a new notebook computer and it came with Vista. And it was cool. Bad-ass is I think the word we both used to describe it. It was nothing short of stunning, and everything she installed on it or had to run on it worked. That got me thinking that maybe when it’s time for me to get a new computer, Vista wouldn’t be so bad. I was right.

When I got this new computer, it came with Vista Home Premium on it. Being as “in the know” as I can be about computers/gadgets/OS’s, I knew that there was a tidal wave of hatred for Microsoft’s latest OS. On an older system, I can see where that hatred comes from. Without any solid knowledge of how to turn off some of the most annoying security aspects of Vista, I can completely understand it. But once you turn off the security that makes you supply a password every time you run an .exe file, it really just turns back into a XP-like experience with more eye candy and better performance. Yeah, better performance. the 64-bit Vista I’m running runs like a charm. Every piece of software I’ve installed runs great, and the 64-bit versions run even better! I couldn’t be happier with Vista, and I really like it.

I gave it a chance, and with a system worthy of it, it’s really quite amazing. Now, what about the other 7 systems in the house? They’ll run XP forever. Or if that becomes impossible, then some may go Linux. But for the most part, I see no reason to change out the other computers in the house but any new computers will be welcomed with Vista on them. It’s not nearly as bad as people make it out to be; to the contrary, it’s really quite nice.

…was on April 26th. My mom came over for an early Mother’s Day for Sherry and brought a bunch of plants, soil, mulch, and other stuff for planting. She forgot the significance of the date. As we were sitting at the table eating lunch, I said, “And at about this time exactly five years ago today, you forgot the orange tort.” She just blinked a few times and started laughing. “Ahh, it’s your anniversary! Happy anniversary!” It was pretty funny as we recounted the fact that on our wedding day, my mom forgot to bring the orange tort that was to be the groom’s cake. They recovered quickly by getting some chocolate cake to stand-in, allowing us to gorge ourselves on the orange tort the next day.

Anyway, I bought Sherry a 500GB external HD for all the pictures we have since she does scrapbooking and needs the images to be local to her machine so that she doesn’t have to wait too long pulling images from my computer over the network (many of which are very large due to the high resolution). Well, on Thursday, I had had enough of my computer turning itself off, rebooting, and losing network connectivity. I had tried just about everything to solve the problems, but nothing seemed to work. Since I work on my computer from home, this was a dire situation. She told me to go ahead and get a new computer. SWEET! So, what did I get? I got a Gateway from Best Buy (’cause I’m too old and impatient to build my own systems anymore) which is a quad-core 2.5GHz Intel with 4GB RAM, and Nvidia 8800GT with 512MB RAM, a 640GB HD, and a bunch of other goodies (DVD burner, etc). Then, as luck (or misfortune) would have it, on Friday night one of my monitors died. I used dual monitors because of the writing work I do; it just makes my life so much easier. I looked at getting another 20″ monitor, but decided to just get a new 24″ widescreen instead to replace both monitors with one. That would allow me to replace the last CRT in use in the house (upstairs) and would give me a nice new huge desktop space to work with.

So… I now have a new, fast computer with a honking huge HD-capable 1080p 24″ monitor with 1920×1400 resolution (or some number like that). It’s very fast on the refresh rate, and was on sale when I got it.

I came across something I’d read about in the past but was too “wuss” to try it out. Well, I guess I’m a brave soul now, because I went ahead and downloaded the latest RockBox and installed it onto my 5th Generation 60GB iPod Video. Making sure I read the entire installation section of the user guide twice, I found myself holding in my meat-hooks an iPod that became more functional and a lot prettier!

What is RockBox? It’s an open-source firmware/software replacement for popular digital audio players (DAPs) like iPods, iRiver DAPs, Toshiba DAPs, Sansa DAPs, etc (but no Zune support?). The idea is that the OS for the DAPs should be independent from the hardware like it is on computers.

There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it works like a champ! There are dozens of now playing screens that can be downloaded, and you can even play DOOM! on the iPod! There are lots of other interesting add-ons, features, etc that are included in the default build of RocketBox from games like PacMan, Tetris, Asteroids, and even the aforementioned DOOM!

If you’ve got an iPod (all generations except Classic and Touch are supported) or any of the other supported DAPs, you should check this out ASAP. It’s pretty fool-proof (obviously, if I got it to work on the first try!), and adds so much that you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner!

I never did make a post-op report on how the 3G original EdgePod fared after open-case surgery to replace its battery.

All is well.

No scratches or body damage, the device plays well, does everything it should, but only the battery lasts HELLA long now. I’ve been using it a lot more now that it’s been rejuvenated.  My poor 5G iPod and my Zune both sit ceremoniously awaiting use while the old 3G gets all the attention. Afterall, it’s the 3G that’s undergone the scariest of procedures; of course it gets all the attention!

I fall into the trap that many Americans fall into: brand loyalty. It’s an interesting phenomenon, one which we discussed at length in sociology back in college (back in college… a few years ago! lol). There are many reasons for it, mostly cultivated by the brands themselves, but I like to think some are valid. The main reason I have brand loyalty is past experience. If I buy brand X, and it’s a good value for the money, performs well, and lasts, then I will probably buy brand X again. Case in point: Hyundai. My dad bought one back in ‘99, and his car was way more awesome for the money than my Nissan. Result: my next vehicle was a Hyundai Santa Fe. Again, it was a great performer, so the next car we bought: Hyundai Sonata. Once again, a stellar performer, we would have gotten another one, but the sales department lied to us, so the next car we got was a VW Passat. Interestingly, it wasn’t the brand itself that initiated the change, but our experience with the agent of the brand. Net result: our next car may be another VW.

Other brands that I’ve “bought into” having shown a history of reliability, value, and usability: Apple iPod (and I draw the line at the iPod), Nikon, Bose, Samsung, ASUS, Daewoo, and Motorola.

The last item which I bought purely based on marketing and media hype was a Dyson vacuum cleaner. OH. MY. GOD. This is the vacuum to end all vacuums. It’s relatively quiet (doesn’t scare my dog at all; in fact, he gets in the way of the vacuum all the time and I have to shoo him!), super-easy to use, and gets the job done like my other vacuums never could. End result: our carpets actually look nice for the first time since we bought the house. Sure, we could use some rug shampooing (project for the coming weeks), but at least the floors and carpets are really CLEAN now. Hopefully I won’t have to be replacing this vacuum soon, but so far, the little device is building quite a bit of brand loyalty with me. I can’t recommend it enthusiastically enough.

Those who know me know that I have a lot of gadgets. Of those many gadgets, I have no fewer than three mp3 players; a 3rd generation iPod, a 5th generation iPod Video, and a 30 GB Zune. There are two more iPods in the household (and another Zune), but those are not under my direct control. Anyway, of my three pmp’s (personal music players for the tech un-savvy), I use one primarily for use in my car; the 3rd generation iPod. Why? ‘Cause it’s got a 40GB capacity, and it’s the oldest pmp I own (thus, logic holds that it should be the least valuable if stolen). However, in the past two months or so, I’ve noticed that the battery life went from decent to “Oh my GOD it’s already drained?!?!” in less than 45 minutes. Knowing that my iPod was out of warranty (it was replaced once already for a new battery while it was still in warranty), I wasn’t about to pay the $99 battery replacement fee to Apple.

I thought long and hard about what to do next. Give up a perfectly good iPod, or relegate it to the Sound Dock for powered-only use? That’s a waste of a good iPod, I thought to myself, and decided to go about the riskier route of replacing the battery myself. With no warranty to worry about, the worst that could happen is that I render the iPod useless. Without battery life, we were already there as far as I was concerned.

I went to Amazon and purchased a battery replacement “kit” and waited about a week for it to get here. Once my package from Amazon arrived, I opened the package to find a battery (1100 ma), two plastic tools (to separate the white plastic from the aluminum) and a URL to directions and videos showing how to get the iPod open to replace the battery.

With my new-found knowledge, I set to taking my iPod apart. For 45 minutes I struggled and made no (not even a little) progress. The only thing I had managed to do was work up a sweat, cut a finger (those little tools are sharp!), and make my fingers sore and shaky. Something had to give here, and it wasn’t about to be me. I was going to get this iPod open no matter what. The pictures and video made it look so easy; surely I was missing something fundamental.

I decided that I had to refer to something I learned in science class: expecting a different result with the same input is foolish. I was expecting the iPod to eventually open up for me even though I was doing something that obviously was not going to open it. I had to find another method. Not wanting to use a sledge hammer, I went to ilounge.com. I learned a lot about my iPods there in the past, and I remember seeing articles and how-to’s in the forums for opening up iPods, something I always avoided because my devices were under warranty, and I didn’t want to ruin them. Now that my fear of warranty was gone and my desire to open up my iPod strong, I quickly found the article I was looking for.

The how-to mentioned something I hadn’t seen in the directions given to me from the url provided with the battery I bought, as well as introducing me to a different tool used to open the iPod; a guitar pick. We have literally hundreds of guitar picks in the house, so finding one of these was no problem. Also, the instructions at ilounge.com gave me a new perspective on how to open up my iPod and within 10 minutes of monkeying with the guitar pick against the seam on the side of the device, it popped open. Literally, it just about flew open in my hands. Disconnecting the hard drive was a breeze, and getting the old battery out and new battery in was no more difficult than replacing a battery in a cordless telephone. Replacing the hard drive and then putting the iPod back together again was just as simple, and then came the long wait: three hours of charging before I could test it.

I waited and waited… and when the iPod indicated it was fully charged (just under three hours), I put in my headphones and turned it on and VOILA! it worked!!!

My advice to anyone in the same predicament; if you’re mechanically inclined, go for it and change the battery yourself. If you’re not mechanically inclined (and your microwave still blinks 12:00), then your choices are to find a friend who can do this for you (but who you will not hold liable if the iPod is rendered useless) or pay Apple the $99 to replace the battery.

Total cost of replacing the battery on my iPod myself: $14. Have a nice day, Apple.

Sounds kind of exotic and weird, but as I just received my bluetooth USB transceiver, I took the time to get it installed and working with my Smartphone, the Moto Q9c. Getting the two devices to discover each other was a chore, but once working, it was awesome. I can now tether my computer (eeePC) and my Q9c so that I can use the Internet no matter where I go without having to use a connecting cable. Therefore, I can just put my phone down onto the table, set my computer next to it, get the tethering software to work, and I’m on the Internet, baby!

The benefit of the cable is that the cable keeps the phone charged while tethering, but if I’m tethering without AC power, it’s better to use the Bluetooth. Besides, it works just as well (and without having to connect wires, etc)!