trials and tribulations of Comcast

It's been months since our Comcast Internet service worked. It had worked flawlessly for years but last April the modem started going offline periodically. Finally gave up on it over the summer after at least 6 hours on the phone with their technical support, one in person visit from a tech, and switching out all our hardware. Regrouped in October because the alternate DSL service was so pitiful. One tech came in and found that the insulation housing for the cable going from street to house was stripped over a meter long section. We both agreed this must be it. Of course, 15 minutes after the tech left the modem went offline again. Two weeks later I scheduled another tech who immediately went to the pole across the street, replaced some hardware and voila, after at least half a year we have reliable service again. Moral: persistence pays. Amazement: Comcast technical support on the phone is always certain that it's you who is doing something wrong. They never think it could be a physical hardware issue. Have to add that everyone at Comcast was always nice about it and I picked up various credits along the way.

Dual monitors with Lenovo X61s and USB-to-DVI Adapter

It is now possible to connect two monitors to an X61s laptop thanks to a nice little Lenovo gadget, the USB-to-DVI adapter. I just received mine. See Lenovo's Inside the Box blog (LINK) for a full explanation of new docking options. Strangely, I can no longer find the item on Lenovo's site for purchase. There is a page (LINK) but no way to purchase. Are they out of them? Already discontinued them?

Primer on smartphones for sole proprietors or small workplaces

Several people have asked me in recent days to recommend a first-time smartphone. Common threads that you've asked for are:

1. a work phone for sole proprietors or people who work in a small workplace 
2. a phone that doesn't rely upon enterprise tools like a BlackBerry Enterprise Server or Microsoft Exchange Server and therefore the ability to provision all features on your own
3. a focus on the core business functionality of a smartphone, to keep in sync with your desktop or laptop's mail, contacts, calendar, and not games and other consumer functions.

(Photo from Time magazine article, from L to R: iPhone, Motorola/Google Droid, and BlackBerry LINK.)

In this quick and decidedly not exhaustive review--that will be subject to corrections--I'll briefly summarize the four main types of smartphone prevalent in the United States with respect to their ability to deliver core business functionality. But to jump to the conclusion: I'd go for an iPhone on ATT, a Google Android device, specifically the Motorola Droid (or later ones with 2.0 software) if you're on Verizon, OR a BlackBerry, particularly on Verizon, if you need the best voice quality possible and lean towards the "phone" part of smartphone rather than the "smart".

HP is utterly bizarre too

Following up on my last post about how bizarre Dell is, I went to the HP website for the first time in a while.

Who are the children running that company?

Its website is such a complete mess I found it impossible to figure out which computer I could possibly want. It appears that there are five models but in fact, clicking on any one of those choices unveils an undifferentiated variety. Amazing. And the pictures are so small you have no idea which computer to explore further.

And then I got an e-mail from Amazon this morning offering me a choice of HP laptops. But the e-mail just makes me want to run away screaming. There are 10 laptops listed. I can't tell them apart. It's like a used car flyer in a newspaper. These people think they have any hope of competing longterm with Apple? Amazing.

Dell is utterly bizarre

Dell has a gorgeous new laptop . . . almost out. Pictures are on various blogs. The thing is thinner than a MacBook Air and has an intriguing and showy way of folding open. So, you'd think there'd be mention of the product on Dell's website? You'd think, but no!

Who are the people running these companies?

Another example: everyone knows the new BlackBerry Storm2 is launching. Vodaphone has it on their website. It will obviously launch with Verizon in the United States. The Verizon CEO wanders around Manhattan showing off the phone to random people. So, you'd think there'd be mention of the product on Verizon's website? You'd think, but no! Pictures are in obscure place on its website but are impossible to find.

Who are the children running these companies?? Do they really think they are capable of going up against an adult company like Apple? It boggles the mind . . .

annoying lack of attention to detail at "other than Apple"

It is really annoying when companies I like can't live up to the attention to detail that is exemplified by Apple. Case in point: BlackBerry's comparison tables. Look at the difference in the way that the dimensions are displayed. OK. This is utterly insignificant and more than merely bordering on obsessive-compulsive. Guilty. But I just can't imagine Apple allowing these little errors to occur on their site.

BlackBerry Tour

BlackBerry Bold 9700

Size and Weight

Length	112mm (4.4”)	4.29"/109mm
Width	62mm (2.4”)	2.36"/60mm
Depth	14.2mm (0.6”)	0.56"/14.10mm
Weight	130g (including battery)	4.27oz/122g

UPDATE: HEY. They fixed it. :)

more on the "e-mail dying" meme

There appears to be a bit more content of late in the "e-mail is dying" meme.* Probably this is driven by the Google Wage phenomena which purports to be e-mail as if had been invented today rather than last century. A shift from e-mail being yesterday to other communication tools--Facebook, Twitter and Wave, foremost--is said to be catalyzed by the always on capability of the Internet and handheld devices. The argument goes that the asynchronous nature of e-mail is now outdated, an artifact of a time when the desktop reigned as the hub of our electronic world. Today the desktop is more of a periphery, with the handheld becoming the personal communication device that we live with 24/7. My own BlackBerry barely leaves my body. It charges each night on my nightstand (in the new BlackBerry "bedside" mode). These always on and attached-to-the-body devices allow instant response. As declared in a WSJ article titled Why Email No Longer Rules, "Why wait for a response to an email when you get a quicker answer over instant messaging?"