wonderful support from @AmazonWireless not so much from @attnetwork

Bought a BlackBerry via Amazon Wireless because it was much less expensive than buying the upgrade through AT&T. The device arrived. Worked great. I threw out the packaging. And then a week or two later, the phone started malfunctioning, randomly turning on and off. This was definitely a hardware problem. I called AT&T to see if they could resolve the issue. The said that I could return it within the 30 day "buyers remorse" period but ... oops! ... I'd thrown out the packaging so no, I couldn't. I'd have to wait until the thirty day period was up and then go through the warranty services department. And in order to extract all this information from them and tell me that they couldn't help me, I had had to first go through a song and dance, giving them the IMEI number from the phone (twice) and going through the various procedures they wanted to go through with me to verify that I knew what I was talking about.

If Amazon is in the loop, always call them first.

I called Amazon second. What a different customer support team! No questions asked. Didn't need the IMEI number. Didn't question whether I knew what I was talking about. Happy to exchange the phone. Yes, it would be ideal if I had the original packaging but they could make an exception. What a joy to deal with Amazon (as usual) and what a pain to deal with AT&T (as usual). Amazon trusts their staff, doesn't require that they go by the book. AT&T requires its staff to follow a script in everything, from the way they say hello to the way they say good bye. Painful, painful.

Only challenge is that the BlackBerry model is out of stock at Amazon, so it will be a week. But with such good customer support, I'll forgive them that.

link to the little known app for BlackBerry for Quickbooks

It exists! Here's the link for your BlackBerry: http://sbm.intuit.com/qbm/install/bb

You need to sign up for Intuit's Quickbook Connect service, which you can do from the Online Services drop down menu in QuickBooks (2009 and newer).

Intuit's fake BlackBerry "app" for QuickBooks

Intuit has been making some progress bringing QuickBooks, their business level accounting package, into the new century for small business by creating some online services that link to the desktop software program. For example, the online document repository is nice, though I can't discern how you extract your documents if you decide to discontinue the service. And they have a partial online version of the desktop application--QuickBooks Connect--that allows other users to have access to key vendor and customer functionality. Very nice interface and as far as I can tell, good functionality.

When I opened QuickBooks recently I fell prey to their come-on about upgrading to their 2011 package, in part because of a suggestion that they had an app for BlackBerry. Talk about deceptive advertising! First, they imply that you need the 2011 version of the desktop program to run their new mobile applications (in fact, 2009 will work). Then they suggest that they actually have a BlackBerry application. But no. It's just a BlackBerry browser version of their QuickBooks Connect service. QuickBooks has such a monopoly, I suppose they can get away with it. I know there are lots of online accounting packages but I haven't been able to find one that is at the level of QuickBooks. They're either too simplistic or much too expensive and complex for my needs.

CORRECTION: Intuit sent me an e-mail for the link to the QuickBooks BlackBerry application, the real deal. It IS actually an app. Now it would be nice if one could find this link on the QuickBooks website somewhere ... or through a search engine ... and it would be nice if when you sign up for the Connect service, the link that one gets to got you to this app instead of to a link to use for your BlackBerry browser!

tactile familiarity (just replaced my BlackBerry)

My BlackBerry died. Kept shorting out, in a sense--constantly restarting. I spent a while looking at Android phones, including the new "BlackBerry killer", the Motorola Android Droid Pro on Verizon with the same form factor as a BlackBerry. But I ended up replacing my BlackBerry Tour with the Bold, essentially the same phone. Why?

When smartphones become such an extension of ourselves, it's hard to convert to a different kind of tactile experience. Body part upgrade and replacement isn't easy.

My fingers are so used to the BlackBerry keys that even switching to a BlackBerry-like device such as the Droid Pro just didn't feel right, literally.

two extensions to my browser that I can't live without

If you're not using LastPass, get it. It's a browser extension that generates random passwords and manages all your login information. Here's a NYTimes piece on it: LINK. Can't live without it. Plus, if you use multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Explorer) you'll have the exact same access information all the time, regardless of which browser you're using.

Second, Bit.ly. Put their link creator in your toolbar and when you come across any article you're reading, it's an easy click to grab the title of the article (or any text you've highlighted) and create a Bit.ly shortened URL. You can then send it out via e-mail or twitter. Simple, super effective.

I use both of these products dozens of times a day.

No Vista woes but Windows 7 woes. Programs won't connect to Internet. Caused by new MacBook Air in the house?

It is a weird coincidence that the day my wife's new MacBook Air appeared in our house was the day Windows 7 started acting up on my "original Air" the Lenovo X Series.

I went through about two years of Vista very happy. Few crashes, no problems. Windows 7 has been great, until last week. Then inexplicably I was unable to access the Internet from most programs other than a browser--Adobe Air programs like Yammer, Evernote etc couldn't connect.

I tried everything, trolling through Google search results based on phrases like "Windows 7 won't allow programs to connect" but found nothing that worked. Finally I resorted to using my Lenovo Rescue and Recovery program to roll-back my machine to a month or more ago. Now it's working fine.

Any ideas anyone as to what happened?

iPad is like a BMW 7 Series: fat and excessive

A year ago or so I had a week with a friend's big, fat BMW. It was actually a 645i not a 7 series, but same point: I found it so fat and luxurious I actually felt nauseous when sitting down in the thing each the morning. I'm not trying to pull a Cayce Pollard here. I'm not thinking I've got some preternatural sensitivity. I really did find the steering wheel so meaty in my hands--which are not small themselves--and the sensation of being trapped inside the bathtub like interior of that car so constricting that it brought back childhood memories of delirium, when I had a fever of 104F and the world felt like the inside of a Dali painting. Also, there's such excess in a high end BMW, a level of perfection so far above where normal mortals live. Every stitch is in place. The leather is thick and heavy with wealth. All the switches click with a sublime feel that makes me think only of large quantities of delicious butter and steak and the morning after feeling of way too much expensive red wine. Nauseousness.

This afternoon I spent my first 15 minutes with an iPad and felt exactly the same way.

If you know me, you know I love technology. I just purchased a LiveScribe pen for example and am tickled with it. I have a BlackBerry filled with way too many apps. I use Twitter. I have to have the latest software version and am always trying new stuff. I buy almost all my books in electronic format. But I was surprised at how completely unsuited I am for the iPad. Here's why:

1. I do love keyboards. I love that tactile give of the keys. Hitting the glass of a virtual keyboard for even a short length of time makes my fingertips hurt.

2. The iPad is heavy. Really heavy. Let me say that more strongly: it feels like a brick, like you could use it in an exercise routine. My Kindle and the iPod touch in contrast are magically light, almost weightless. Holding the iPad made me feel again like I was in a childhood delirium.

3. I don't play games. My laptop is fine for the occasional movie. So all that functionality is wasted on me.

4. I find Flipboard frightening. That's the app that pulls content from everywhere and creates your own magazine. I am not a strong person. I am too easily seduced. Flipboard feels like being trapped in a doctor's office with an infinite number of the latest magazines and no appointment in sight. Get me out of here! But no, even though the door is unlocked I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!

It makes sense that the iPad is devouring netbooks and consumer level cheap notebooks. It's the same price and incomparably more beautiful. It's like a taste of BMW for the price of a used Honda Super Cub. But the only use I've got for it is to show someone a presentation across the conference room table. For the most part, as Cory Doctorow says, it's just a consumption device.