Month: November 2009

Why I Won’t Buy a Driod

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Motorola, I have to hand it to you. The Droid looks like a great phone. If there was a GSM version I might just pick one up to try it. Unfortunately you only offer a CDMA version on Verizon. I will say that I honestly thought about switching to Verizon for a second. Thankfully Verizon got me to reconsider. Thanks Verizon. What do I mean? Well, I am amazed that Verizon has one of the best wireless networks out there but does everything possible to aggravate customers. I was interested in the Droid. Android 2.0 was intriguing. The generally fast and well covered Verizon network got me further interested in the Droid. Then I read that Verizon is charging a $350 cancelation fee on new contracts that have “advanced devices” aka something like the Droid (sorry I wont spell it DROID). I am frustrated as it is by being locked into the iPhone and it is GSM, so I am sure not going to switch to Verizon and be stuck into a phone and contract for two years that costs $175 to get out of.

I have never been a fan of Verizon’s customer service or the way they treat their customers, but this was the final straw for me. I am fine with having my parents use them since they don’t change phones very often but for me, no way. I am considering T-Mobile since they are going the opposite direction, cheaper rate plans and no contracts!

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Task Management With Remember The Milk

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I have been using Remember The Milk for several months now and I think I am hooked. Like many tools that I actually like I am never satisfied (well almsot never) so I have been on a trek for months to find a better solution than RTM. That is what is so funny to me. When I try to find something better than something I already have or use is usually when I realize it may not be perfect but it is the best thing out there. RTM is one of those things that is just the best out there but not perfect.

I have in the past year really liked applications or services that let me use them anywhere I am. For RTM that means I want to be able to use it at home and work, and while I am on my mobile phone. The RTM website is pretty easy to use and I have not really minded there is no native client for the Mac and Windows. I actually chose to use the web interface over syncing with Outlook. I used Google Gears for a while specifically for RTM, but have since unistalled it at work at least. It was taking forever to load lists sometimes with Gears on. Without Gears the site was much faster. Go figure since Gears was supposed to speed things up.

RTM’s recent call it scripting task entry is fantastic. It was exactly what I was waiting for. Now I can batch add tasks via email and have them tagged and put in the proper locations and lists without me having to edit manually. The only thing I am missing from the site right now is the ability to batch add notes. I need to do that a lot daily when updating tasks.

Using RTM on my iPhone is a breeze. Honestly having RTM on my iPhone makes the phone useful. I love my iPhone (another device I am always trying to replace but for almost a year and a half I have been unsuccessful), but without RTM’s app for task management I am not sure if I could keep it as my main phone. When I am anywhere (mainly commuting on the subway) I am updating my task lists or see what I need to be doing. RTM on my iPhone and updating my work email on my Blackberry are what I do while in transit that keeps me productive while on the move.

I hope the RTM people continue to update the service, but it has been hands down a fantastic task management system for me. I was big into task management before I used the service so it isn’t for everyone, but for me it is as close to perfect as I have been able to find. I am still looking but as the months go by I am looking less and less!

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My New Media Center

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I broke down and picked up a new Mac Mini last weekend. I have been tempted to build myself a full fledged Media Center computer again but haven’t wanted to make the investment. I also wasn’t sure if I would be able to setup the computer with my LCD TV to work right. In the past I have had issues with HDMI adapters and any computer fitting to the screen on my 40″ LCD. Even with Mac OS 10.6 set to 1080i (yes there is even an option for that now) the picture didn’t fit the entire screen.

With those questions I still went out and picked up a Mini. In the end I needed to connect my Drobo’s to an actual computer vs using them as network attached storage. The editing I was doing was taking too long over the network (802.11n to my desktop). The new Mini is plugged into the Drobo’s and my TV directly via VGA. The picture is good, but not HD. I still think the issue is with my TV and not any computer since this is about the 5th or 6th computer I have tried plugged into the TV with the same issue. Using VGA the picture works so I am keeping it setup like that. I am able to access the computer using VNC when I want to work on it, or I have a wireless mouse and keyboard plugged into it as well.

Even though the Mini is plugged into the TV i am serving up its content via iTunes so I can stream it to my Apple TV. At least the ATV works with HD so that is why I am doing that. The plus side of having the Mini plugged into the TV and not just use it headless as a server is that I can watch Hulu streaming full screen on my TV now. I can use the remote on my Mac and it is just like using a DVR. I found that very useful since I gave up on hacking the ATV with Boxee long ago.

Other plus to this new configuration is that I can watch DVD’s on the Mini. I don’t have a DVD player and using the Xbox 360 for DVD’s is ok but it is loud. I love the Droo’s, but the speed still isn’t what i expect, but it is better than when I was accessing them over the wireless LAN so I am so far very happy with this configuration.

My new media center setup

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