After being inspired by a comment from a friend of mine, I can finally access the Internet on my laptop through my mobile phone — a process known far and wide as tethering.

It took a bit of work.  After poking around on the Internet for a while last night, I found that apparently the Samsung Blackjack I had some programming that made it an easier task than it is for the Blackjack II (the later, of course, being the one I have).  However, there is some mobile phone software out there that can be downloaded to correct that deficiency, and after installing those little guys, pairing my phone with my computer, following the instructions I found elsewhere, and troubleshooting a bit — shazam! — all seems to be working wonderfully.  In fact, I was able to access webpages just as fast at times last night as I can through our wireless router (FWIW: I have a 3G phone through AT&T), but logically this should depend on location and tower usage (since, I believe, phone calls are given priority).  The speed didn’t seem to vary much depending on which connection I used — the Bluetooth connection or the USB connection — though the USB connection had the benefit of charging my phone while I used it.  However, I wouldn’t call the hey-look-what-I-can-do surfing I did last night the most “rigorous” of tests.

(By the way: No guarantees about what will happen to your laptop or your phone if you check out those sites and follow those steps yourself.  If you lose all your data, fry your hard drive, and see your mobile bills go through the roof as your tethered laptop/cellphone techno-beast go on a fire-breathing rampage in downtown Tokyo, you can’t say you weren’t warned…)

Thankfully, I already have a “no limits” data plan on my phone so I shouldn’t incur any additional cost (I’ll see on the next bill, I suppose!), though I plan to use it as an access point only rarely.  It’s still more convenient to simply let my computer search for local WiFi access, and I am unsure how my regular phone services (calls, e-mail, GPS, et al.) would be affected while it was tethered to the computer.  But when you’re lost in the wild woods of Missouri and your GPS seems to think you are in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico (that’s right: it placed me in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico), having a way to access the Internet and Google Maps could be a good thing.

I would try to boast about this feat to Mr. Sena and ask if he can do such wonders with his iPhone, but he would simply say, “I have an iPhone.  I don’t need a laptop.”  Then I would cry.  Again.  So I think I will just keep it to myself…

So, I have spent the last six weeks looking at cell phones and trying to figure all of this crazy stuff out. I currently have a Virgin Mobile phone that I choose mainly because:

a) It was free

b) There was no contract

c) It’s not Sprint

Yeah, Sprint really set me onto a bad trip. We had so many issues, I don’t even want to recount it all. In summary, they didn’t give us the service we requested multiple times, we ended up paying for service that we didn’t need because they screwed up, and there’s a terrible disconnect between the store locations and the “customer service” people over the phone- the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing. Of course, when I told them I wanted to cancel my service, then sent me to the “Department of last resort” to offer me a crazy deal and try to keep my business. I told them “too little and too late” and I honestly think that if they offered me a year of free service I would have told them to shove it. Working at Sweetwater and now Fusework has made me a service snob, no doubt at all.

Much of my inner turmoil has been in accepting the fact that I will have to sign my life away for another term of two years. It’s scary! All of the “what if’s” seemed too overwhelming, but some concerns subsided after researching telecom companies and finding out that Sprint is the winner of the Company You should Never Do Business With award, according to hundreds of people. And yes, I will admit that Apple choosing AT&T for the iPhone gives me some confidence, since I am a Mac guy.

To the hardware itself. This was tough! Surprisingly- as a Mac guy- I really wasn’t interested in the iPhone. I’d tried using a friend’s a few months ago and the touchscreen just didn’t fly with my big Hill family hands. Otherwise, I would have been on board in a minute. It’s too bad really, because I would have loved to have an iPod and phone all in one, and I wi-fi would be fun. Alas… my daily workflow centers around an IBM program called Lotus Notes (my dad’s comment to that was something like “Wow, they still make Lotus?”), which is PC only. I was told by our tech guru at work that it’s “a Windows Mobile world” in business technology right now, which is true from what I can tell. The iPhone users at work have to manage some less-than-ideal work arounds to get their phones to sync with their calendar and contact, which are probably the two most essential features to have in a phone other than actually talking to people (imagine that) and texting. For selfish reasons, the big phone feature I wanted to have was a nice camera. Beth and I are always complaining about not having a camera when we most need one; it would have been nice to throw a picture in my previous post about the Cubs game! Our nice camera is a little too large to throw in the pocket and go and the Pentax K-1000 is simply out of the question.

And since this blog has run on much longer than I intended, welcome Samsung Blackjack II! It’s on order and should be here by Monday or Tuesday. Thank you free two-day shipping and online shopping coupon codes.   I’ll leave it to you to read the specs if you like, but suffice it to say that it met all of the qualifications. The only thing that stinks is that I can’t sync with my Mac address book and contacts, but that’s fine since I can connect through Bluetooth and do most anything I need to through file transfer. Most importantly, I look forward to being more productive at work and taking some pics on my new camera and loading them here for your viewing pleasure. In all of her radiation-producing glory…

http://i607.org/wiki/doku.php?id=turn_off_3g_shortcut

From BlackJackUsers.com

http://www.blackjackusers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34

1. Connect to BJ via Active Sync.
2. Explore to mobile device (click Explore in active sync from PC)
3. double click My Windows Mobile Based Device
4. Browse to Windows directory (you may need to disable “Hide Protected operating system files” in Windows Folder Options)
5. Select the file “BandSel.exe”
6. Right click and choose Create Shortcut.
7. Go to bottom of file list, and CUT the new “Shortcut to BandSel.exe” file.
8. Drop into the Windows\StartMenu directory where ever you’d like it. For a more descriptive name hit “F2” and type “Toggle3G”

Guess what I’m drinking?

I got a new phone the other day, a Samsung Blackjack II.  Neat phone.  It is one of them there smartphones(why do they have to say smart?  Are other phones dumb?).  I know what you are thinking.  ‘How dare you buy a fancy phone when you don’t have a job!’  True, I don’t have a job, but my previous phone, a Motorola Razr was just not doing the trick.  I am with the company formerly formerly known as AT&T wireless which became Cingular which became the company formerly known as Cingular, now known as AT&T wireless.  Don’t get me started.  I have been with that carrier since January of 2002.  Six years is an eternity to have the same provider.  I have been off contract since 2004.  I buy my own phones for full price and stick my own SIM card in and that is that.  Well, the Razr was dying, even though it was only a year old.  I was out and about and I saw the phone on display for really really cheap with a 2-year agreement.  Alright.  Fine.  I need a phone that works so corporate recruiters can not call me back when the promise to and a phone to text my brother, Barclay. 

Barclay is hard of hearing.  If you yell really really really loud into one of his ears he can tell that you are yelling.  One of the reasons I moved back to Sacramento was to be closer to the guy who used to beat the crap out of me.  It was hard to communicate with Biffie (Bif is Barclay’s nickname.  It means Brain Is Fermented).  Anywho, talking on the phone with someone who does not hear really well is challenging so we text each other. 

Now, texting on a cell phone that is not designed for that gets to be difficult after a while.  The idea of having a functional phone with a full keyboard to boot was too good to pass up, so I got it.  One of the other features is a 2MP camera.  So now I go around and take pictures.  The picture above is one I saw at the outlet mall in Folsom today.  Casey was at Motherhood Maternity and I had the kids.  The beauty of this sign is that they used far too many words to get a simple point across.  I know because I never do the same thing.  I would have used ‘Get Out!’ or ‘Go Away’.  Perhaps ‘Children Play Here = Bad’ might have been equally effective.  This is the kind of writing I would have expected from Chris, my college freshman roommate at UNR.  He was an English and Drama double major.  He wrote and then acted what he wrote.  The writing was terrible.  Seriously, I’ve seen better prose on the back of a shampoo bottle.  I wonder what ever happened to Chris?…

So as an added feature to this blog, I will be showing funny signs.

Now that I have this unemployment thing down, I will be updating a bit more often.  Sometimes I feel a bit hopless and scared about not having a job, but I am learning to take it in stride.  My family has been very supportive with all manner of time and resources and I can’t tell you how great that is.  Faith is critical.  You have to have faith. 

And so it goes.

f

what exactly is the deal with mail in rebates?  i mean, why can’t you just give me my rebate right now? 

my phone is about to completely crap out on me.  i can only recieve and make calls every other day.  i can text all the time which is fine.  i’d just as well do that than talk to you probably anyway, but still.  sometimes you need the phone to work, right?

so i go into the local at and t store to purchase a new phone.  i think i’m gonna get the blackjack ii this time around.  my blackberry has been pretty good to me, but i just don’t need it.  the blackjack does everything i want it to do and it’s fifty bucks cheaper.  it’s still a hunny, but i figure that’s not really that bad.

only thing is those jerks want me to pay two hunny, then they say they’ll send me my other hunny back in the mail. 

so i said hey guys, i’ll save you the postage and the work to get it all in the mail.  just let me give you a hunny right now and we’ll call it even.

yeah, they didn’t go for it.  but man, i really don’t got two hunny to drop on a phone.  i really don’t have one hunny, but one is tolerable.  two just isn’t right now.  besides, my brother mike still hasn’t gotten his fifty dollar mail in rebate from when he bought his phone.  he did get a letter explaining why he didn’t get it though.

that crap should be illegal. 

so screw you at and t.  i’ll just buy a refurbished one online.  take that you jerks.

Pasar ponsel jenis smartphone dan PDA di Indonesia tidak pernah kering. Selalu saja ada teknologi baru yang coba dikenalkan produsen ponsel. Kali ini yang akan segera melepar produk anyarnya adalah Samsung dengan seri SGH i780. Fitur terbaru apa saja yang tertanam dalam smartphone ini ?

Kredibilitas sebuah korporasi tidak semata mempertaruhkan nama besarnya, tetapi lebih dari itu bagaimana ia bisa secara terus menerus menunjukkan kreativitas dan produktivitasnya. Setidaknya hal ini yang coba ajarkan oleh Samsung. Upayanya untuk menjadi market leader di pasar ponsel dunia kini dibuktikan dengan segera dirilisnya SGH i780.

Sebagai ponsel kategori smartphone, perangkat ini dibekali dengan sistem operasi mutakhir dari Windows Mobile 6. Artinya bahwa SGH-i780 ini dapat bekerja dengan Microsoft Office, browsing, memutar file-file multimedia serta menerima email melalui protokol internet standar ataupun teknologi DirectPush dari Microsoft.

Read the rest of this entry »

Blackjack II strength:

Ø       With advanced PDA features,

Ø       Excellent keyboard and

Ø       Messaging capabilities

Ø       Solid battery life

Ø       Small budget smart phone.

Ø       Supports international 3G data protocols

Ø       posting better than average talk time at slightly over six hours.

Ø       Music playback time was adequate at almost eight hours,

Ø       Possibility to receive push email with an exchange server access

Ø       Quick and easy dialing keyboard

Blackjack II weakness:

Ø       Low web browsing time at just over four hours.

Ø       Camera producing images with poor resolution and color fidelity

Ø       Some lag remains in some application

I finally broke down and replaced my Blackjack with a new Moto Q9h. The BJ was a nice phone, but it had some serious issues.  AT&T is apparently never going to release the WM6 upgrade. I was starting to get a lot of dropped calls.  Signal strength was bad – no signal in places where my wife’s Moto Razr V3 had a nice signal. The keyboard was fine for basic use, but bad for long e-mails.  So I got the upgrade via Premier ($149 after rebate).  Some early thoughts off the top of my head after a few hours of use:

• The GPS didn’t work with either Google Maps or Windows Live Search out of the box.  I know there’s a hack to enable the GPS, but I haven’t tried it yet.  Bah humbug to AT&T for trying to get me to pay for Telenav.
• For some reason, PhoneAlarm never reports the battery as full.  It’ll show 100% for a few seconds, and then it immediately drops to 80.  Not a huge deal, but annoying.
• There doesn’t appear to be an easy way to adjust ringtone volume.  The BJ had a handy volume rocker on the side.  The Q appears to only have an in-call volume control, but maybe I’m missing something.
• I miss the Blackjack’s battery charger, which allowed me to keep a battery charging all the time.  The Q only includes a power cord, so I can only charge the battery in the phone.
• I like the Windows Mobile Bubble Breaker bug, which sends out only balls of the same color for a long time. High score, yippee.
• Actual phone performance seems good, as with all Motos.
• Finding a case for the phone+extended battery is going to be an issue.

Overall, I like it.  It’s an improvement over the BJ.  I’m off to DC again tomorrow, so I’ll be interested to find out (a) how the battery life is and (b) whether I can get a signal between Ashland and Fredericksburg on the train.

I know I said I’d never buy a BJ II just to get WM6, but I’ve been seriously reconsidering.  I had to go into the AT&T store (to swap a blue RAZR I got via Premier for a pink one), and the shiny new toys were calling.  Plus, MS just officially released the update to Office Mobile, and I’d love to have HTML mail.  So I started thinking about new devices.  I like the smartphone form factor better – the Tilt is nice, but huge.  The obvious choices are the BJ II and the Moto Q9h, which are roughly equivalent in price.  The BJ is familiar, so I was leaning that way, but I’m dissuaded after reading Omar Shahine explain why the Blackjack II Sucks.  Omar hates the crappy battery life, and that the screen comes on whenever a new email arrives, thus making battery life even worse.  Since Richmond got 3G service a couple of weeks ago, by BJ I battery life has been horrible, so I’d hate to see it get worse.  But this was the kicker:

Internet Connection Sharing is removed from the ROM. Gone, bye bye.

AT&T has always hidden ICS, which allows you to use the phone’s data access via USB without paying for tethering (Omar actually pays for tethering, so it’s even worse for him).  But the file was still there, in the Windows folder.  You just had to make your own Start menu shortcut.  Now, apparently, it’s gone completely.  I use ICS on occasion when Wi-Fi isn’t available.  It’s a very handy feature.  It’s not fast, so I’d never use it over Wi-Fi, even Wi-Fi that I have to pay for, but there are times when there’s no Wi-Fi, and such times are few enough and far enough between to make it impossible to justify adding a cellular data card to my plan.  The Q9h apparently has ICS (hidden, of course).  So if I do upgrade, AT&T made my choice for me.  Hear that Samsung?  Your benighted carrier partner just lost you a sale.  I’m sick of being nickel-and-dimed to death by AT&T just so they can push their overpriced add-on services (data tethering, GPS, etc.).

If anyone has experience with the Moto Q on AT&T, I’d love to hear it.  Reviews have been fairly positive so far.

Samsung USA has announced that the BlackJack II (SGH-i617) will go on sale on Friday, which is known in much of the USA as Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. Initially the BlackJack II will be available in black only, but the red wine colored unit will go on sale on December 12th. The BlackJack II will be available from AT&T online and retail locations for US$149.99 with a new two year contract, after a mail-in rebate.

Source : Mobileburn.com