Tormented by Technology
December 5th, 2008New Phones Worse Than the Flu
I’m not sure what the worst part of getting a new cell phone is. It may be the expense, but maybe it’s really the chore of learning how to use it.
I broke down and got a Samsung Blackjack II, and it has driven me crazy all morning.
This thing has GPS. AT&T wants to charge you for using their GPS service. It’s hideously expensive, at 10 bucks per month. I don’t really want GPS, but if I can get it free, I’ll take it. And since I already paid for the phone, I should be allowed to use the GPS capability built into it, even if I don’t use AT&T’s service. AT&T disagrees, so they keep the GPS feature locked until you agree to pay them off.
I found a site that offers unlocking software today, and after a great deal of aggravation, I got it working. Now I can use Google Maps, which is FREE FREE FREE. Take that, AT&T.
I also had fun installing the software that syncs the phone with the computer. This is the main reason I got a smartphone. I want to be able to schedule reminders and so on. It turns out you can’t really do this if you install the Notesync software they include on the CD. It crashes Windows Mobile Sync. I am too lazy to check to see if I got the names of the programs right.
Outlook can also make it crash. I found I had two versions of Outlook installed, and I thought that might be a problem, so I removed Outlook Express. Don’t get me started on the total inadequacy and utter badness of the Windows “Remove Windows Components” tool. It installs stuff you don’t want. It uninstalls stuff you DO want. It’s ridiculous.
I went through all that, and it turned out the other thing was the problem.
I’m supposed to use Outlook to enter my stuff so it can be transferred to the phone. I hate Outlook. It’s primitive, especially since I can’t stand Office 2007 and therefore rely on Office 2000. I never use Outlook. I have opened it up this week to see if it would be of any use, and of course, it’s garbage. I used to have a wonderful piece of scheduling software that let me program all sorts of regular obligations into it, and I got reminders and so on. With Outlook 2000, if you want to get a haircut every Wednesday during the year 2009, you have to make 52 individual entries. As far as I can tell. Idiotic. Another fine Microsoft product.
I’m looking to see if I can download something better.
I hate the tiny QWERTY keyboard on this thing, but it’s miles ahead of my old LG, which required several presses just to type a single letter.
Here’s to sticking it to AT&T. I will never use Google Maps, but I have the satisfaction of knowing I can.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Create an appointment on Wed for your haircut.
Once created, open it up. Hit “recurrence” or Tools->Recurrence. Set options.
-XC
December 5th, 2008 at 11:23 AM
I think I discovered that about 12 seconds after saying it was impossible.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:24 AM
You think Outlook is bad, try using Lotus Notes. Someone had the bright idea of standardizing on that piece of pelosi. I feel like the Monty Python skit “We used to DREAM of having Outlook…”
December 5th, 2008 at 11:32 AM
All software sucks, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. All hardware sucks, too. As I tell my users, all PDAs have issues. Some have less issues than others, but no device is issue-free. Especially if the Carrier starts locking features.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Since I know your view on pirating software, does this mean that your unlock effort is legal/Ethical?
Wormathan; GM?
December 5th, 2008 at 12:01 PM
The software is free, and I paid for the GPS. You can also do this by doing a “trial” of the AT&T service and then canceling it.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:35 PM
One of my biggest web clients does BlackBerry unlock codes. It’s legal.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:45 PM
You can enter recurring appointments in Outlook.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Oh, I see someone beat me to it. Never mind.
December 5th, 2008 at 1:26 PM
You can export Contacts to/from Outlook and Outlook Express, so if you really want to do everything in Outlook Express, you can. I’ve been using Office/Outlook, Windows Mobile phones and ActiveSync for years, feel free to email me.
December 5th, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Actually the IT manager. I think he had been employed for a long time at a company that was all Lotus and didn’t feel like putting any effort into learning a different trick.
Our new owners have a desire to switch, but it has been almost a year now so hope is fading…
December 5th, 2008 at 1:47 PM
I dream of being able to use the simple version of Eudora for my email that I used to use back in 1996. Back then there was no HTML capabilities, and all it did was send and receive email. But then they started tarting it up, and I couldn’t get it to work for any money. Now I don’t use any separate email programs. I hate Outlook and having been forced to use Lotus at various jobs I wouldn’t have that on my home computer if you paid me extra. I just use Yahoo and Gmail. Besides, web-based emails can be accessed from anywhere.
December 5th, 2008 at 2:18 PM
I caught ontothe Google Maps end run very quickly too. I actually use it now and then.
I generally hate cellphones (a thousand tiny & poorly marked buttons on a totally non-intuitive operating device) – but I am starting to like my Tilt pda phone.
I do still think there is a special circle in hell reserved for Bill Gates and the MicroSlop programmers.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:08 PM
I feel much the same as Andrea. I don’t like dealing with the ever later and ever greater (and sometimes nearly-working) stuff that technology has to offer. Keep it simple works for me.
In a somewhat related issue… on returning to church after many years away, I discovered many churches had big projection screens up front, the better to have the congregants gaze at Powerpoint (R) files. It seemed a lot like being at work. So in deciding where to attend, I determined I would not end up in a place that had an architecturally-significant big screen. Nothing against people who like Powerpoint (R) in church. It just wasn’t for me.
That narrowed the field considerably. So I now attend a church that has a big cross up front, rather than a big screen.
It’s nice that there are lots of choices in places to worship. Some always have incense. Others never do. Some have beautiful pipe organs, while others don’t allow the things. Some have cushioned pews. At others, people stand for two to three hours. Some have big screens, and some still don’t. Something for everyone.
December 5th, 2008 at 6:10 PM
I use Thunderbird Mail. Much better than Outlook. And there is an add-on called Reminder Fox that you can use with either Firefox or Thunderbird. It easily manages appointments, recurrences, etc.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Now that you’ve unlocked the GPS, how much did you spend downloading the data for Google Earth from the cellular network?
December 6th, 2008 at 9:04 AM
RL – My old church has a retrofitted drop-down big screen that goes down in front of the huge wooden cross when needed for projection. What neve ceases to crack me up is that when the screen will be idle for only a few minutes between uses, they project a picture of that huge wooden cross onto the screen. I just get a little twisted by the idea of sitting and looking a a big projected picture of a cross that is in reality sitting about 6 feet behind the screen.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:44 AM
ATT charges a penny a kilobyte for data if you don’t have a plan.
OTOH there are also 3rd-party GPS apps that can be installed that are just that–GPS only–and don’t need data plans. How useful that will be to you personally is of course debatable. It’d be sufficient for geocaching, but not for figuring out how to get places.
Also, ATT was trying to charge you for an app, not the gps capability.
December 6th, 2008 at 11:02 AM
“ATT charges a penny a kilobyte for data if you don’t have a plan.”
Which only concerns people who access data. So far, over 90% of my data access has occurred due to me pushing a button by mistake.
“Also, ATT was trying to charge you for an app, not the gps capability.”
They were trying to withhold the GPS to make me think I had to pay for the application.
December 6th, 2008 at 11:29 AM
I really don’t understand how ATT’s (and others) think their GPS business model makes sense. You pay $10 a month to have GPS when you can now buy a Garmin Nuvi 200 at $97??? That’s only a 10-month payback if you buy the dedicated GPS. You get a better screen, better Navigation (GPS Phones are notoriously less-sensitive than dedicated GPS’s), and your route doesn’t “disappear” when a phone call comes in.
.
Being a GPS engineer, I just shake my head on this one.
.
If you can get it free, then why not? But paying $10 a month for this feature is insane.
December 6th, 2008 at 6:12 PM
Steve,
You should be aware, there are a LOT of data services enabled by default that are running even if you don’t have a plan, and aren’t aware they are doing anything.
Goggle maps of course is one of them.
Lots of folks have been very surprised to receive $300 phone bills because their phone was trying to check email every 30 minutes.
December 6th, 2008 at 7:55 PM
I once had a $61 bill. I think that was my peak. Now that I have a cable I can use to upload photos to my PC, I believe my days of astronomical bills are over.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:01 PM
I should probably get rid of Google Maps, however.