How did we ever live without Bluetooth? I mean, really? From wireless handsfree in the car to wireless mice, keyboards, headphones, device synchronization and much more.
Every time I sync my phone, or connect my pocketable keyboard & mouse, or make a call when driving – I just get very happy 😉 that it all works.
I really hate to pick on my favorite online service, but… I have to. Twitter started having issues today with all the traffic from “Mac (obsession) World” today. Supposedly over all the mcInterest in what mcRevelations of mystical mcGadgetry Steve mcJobs would reveal for the mcFollowers of the mcCult.
What get’s me curious is how Twitter handled the traffic from CES last week without nary a blip, and out of the blue, McWrld trips it up big time.
Perhaps I’m out of touch and there is more interest from McWrld and that drives higher volumes of traffic. I dunno.
At any rate, Twitter has proven it’s worth to hundreds of thousands of users, but they still have reliability issues when traffic ramps up. I’m on Twitter for the long haul, it’s a core component in my social networking toolkit, so I’m apt to be disappointed when traffic from a marginally relevant tech show drives it’s usability into the ground.
Ok, end of rant.
And yes, I feel mcBetter. 😀
For me, the new year has become meaningless; other than a convenient marker on the calendar, it’s simply another day. Nothing changes today from yesterday, this week from last week. Even the celebration of a “new year” loses any significance. Maybe I’m getting old. 😉
What does gain my interest in place of this, is the significance of thought. The posts where people talk about what’s important to them and what influences them. Reading about what they’ve learned in the past and how to leverage that in the future holds my attention.
For the most part, new years resolutions are simply dreams that we feel guilty about neglecting. They’re important to us, but we never set goals or milestones, and plans on how to achieve them. So the ongoing learning of life-lessons is of more interest to me than coming up with resolutions that are abandoned as quickly as I click the “publish” button.
There are some great people I’ve read, met, and worked with in the recent past that I am grateful to have found. I’m looking forward to meeting more, reading more, learning from more, and working with more in the near future.
Blogging; it’s a constantly evolving environment that constantly brings fresh voices to the forefront and allows others to listen, learn, and contribute as they please.
Photo credit: Photo Gallery
You know, I’m a fairly patient guy. However, I’m just about at my wit’s end with the constant delays in T-Mobile rolling out 3G data services. I use mobile data services, and really need to have a faster connection than the ~150kbps that my current T-Mobile EDGE service allows.
Sure, I’ve got the plan that includes all their WiFi Hostspots, which is nice, but trying to use EDGE when in motion gets a bit old. Quickly. The only “nice” thing I can say about it right now is that it’s reasonably “cheap” compared to the pricing all-you-can-eat data plans from AT&T and Verizon (sorry – Sprint doesn’t count in my book).
The shitty thing is that I like the phone service and the company. Customer service has been great. Coverage for me in my area has been great. Coverage for me when traveling has been great. Other customers may have had a different experience, but overall, I’ve been very satisfied with T-Mobile – even with EDGE.
However, now that it’s 2008, and knowing that the spectrum they licensed in 2005 has yet to be opened to their customers in two years, I’m growing tired. Yet, it’s not all T-Mobile’s fault. The biggest problem for T-Mobile and their customers is that the spectrum they licensed is still in use by government agencies in many cases. And there may be up to 4 years in some cases before that spectrum is vacated by these agencies. They’ve been slow to roll out 3G, sure, mainly because they know that value and service is what’s going to win them customers. If they could’ve been the first horse out of the gate 3-4 years ago with 3G, they could’ve been the speed/tech leader. But, instead, they’ve become the value leader. Yeah, that “you get what you pay for” phrase does come to mind.
So, what should I do? Wait for the 3G service to launch, or skip on over to AT&T or Verizon and pay at least double for the unlimited data I have today? The other part is nearly all of my family, and a number of friends, are on T-Mobile making efficient use of my unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes and allows me to have a lower-minute (lower cost) plan.
Frustrated.
I’d posted previously about the idea to license my information to people who want to make money off it. In his post, Why are we giving ourselves away for free, Steven Hodson talked about a similar concern, suggesting that people may start trademarking themselves.
Today, I read a great post by Chip Griffin called Privacy Nuts Hurt Us All. In this post, Chip really makes a good point about how nothing on the Internet is private, nor should be.
The reality is that with more information, our “free” services we love so much can actually make money to continue to operate. With more information, advertisers can show us ads that we might actually click on. With more information, obtrusive banner ads and pop-ups may not even be necessary for many online businesses because their ad campaigns are more effective.
Yes, this means that you’d probably be spending money on their sponsors, but it would likely be because it’s an ad for something your purchasing already.
Where privacy comes into the picture is that all our clicks, views, traffic, etc… is what helps power this focused advertising engine. Claiming that this traffic is “private data” and that it’s use should be regulated is absurd. What about you being observed purchasing a soda from a vending machine on a public street? It’s the same type of data if a company wished to gather it – is that private too?
What I’d love to see though is the ability for me to charge commercial entities a fee for using my personal information to make money. My personal information is my name, address, phone number, email address, religion, race, etc.
Currently I choose to give those away for free because I have no other recourse. There is no way for me to make people pay me for that information. That it is used at all, I really don’t have a problem with. Just remember that nothing on the Internet is private, no matter how much you wish otherwise.
What about you? There is a growing interest in how information is used, do you wish to hinder the use of information, or promote it?
Privacy Nuts Hurt Us All (Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption)
Why are we giving ourselves away for free (Steven Hodson: WinExtra)
😢
“We are not enemies but friends.”
Live your life.
Completely.
Without fear.
Live it with Love, compassion, empathy, tolerance and joy.
Treat every person with the kindness, respect and dignity they deserve by the very virtue of being a human being.
Out riding this rainy, wet spring. Got 1,000 miles on the clock with more to come this season. #IMRG #IndianMotorcycle
Watching early seasons of #GoldRush. Fun seeing @GoldrushRick in season 3! Hope his new season is off to a good start!
Oh yes I did! https://www.instagram.com/p/BsRDO9ogSO0/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=1kha5yzhjq3ot
