Skype

Messaging apps overload

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With my kids in school apparently that means more messaging apps I need to have on my phone. Last year things were simple. Both of my kids classes used WhatsApp. Each class had a group and we would chat with parents. It was pretty useful. I am not the hugest fan of WhatsApp since Facebook collect meta-data however it’s not terrible for that specific use case.

I personally use Telegram as my first choice of messaging app. I like the secure features as well as the ability to chat on multiple devices if I want. It’s not tethered to my phone. WhatsApp has a computer app but you need your phone nearby. I can’t use it on my iPad at all. Having just those two apps would’ve been manageable however the number of applications are use for Chad has proliferated.

There is messages for apple messages and SMS. And there are the two different chat apps I use at work. I also have signal since it supposed to be pretty secure some good like telegram however not many people use it so it just sits there. I still have Skype. I do not use Skype for texting really anymore however I do use it to make phone calls now and again.

The latest wrinkle is both girls are in new classes this year and each class has decided to use a different app for communicating with the parents. The benefit of at least one of them is that the teacher communicate back-and-forth with us now. Using WhatsApp that didn’t happen however it wasn’t a problem since we could simply email the teacher. I haven’t tried my other daughters app that was recommended. I got the notice to provide might details to get a login tonight. That’s pond me wanting to write about the now nine different messaging applications nuts on my phone.

On one hand getting up to the minute updates from school is useful. Also being able to send the teacher a last minute notice is pretty useful too. But nine apps? That’s getting a little much even for someone like myself who actually likes technology. I’m not even counting email applications in that number.

Desk Reconfiguration

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At work I have had 5 monitors on my desk.  Let’s not argue the necessity of five monitors. It is a bit excessive. That is why I’ve been thinking about downsizing for a while.  At the time the setup made sense, and I had the equipment on hand so I figured why not.  Recently however my desk is been slightly cramped, and I found myself using my third computer significantly less.  This set up started when I got a new 27 inch display for my laptop.  It was a great needed addition since the extra real-estate is used and I blow text up a lot.  With that addition I had the two 19″ monitors I was using for my Macbook Air free to move to my Mac Mini that I use.  I have that machine mainly to sit on the guest wifi network to do Skype video chats with far flung staff.  I can use Skype on the internal network but it never seems the same.  The 15″ monitors (2 of them) I was using for the Min went towards a Dell desktop I have that I run a specific work app on.  I can run it in a VM but on my older Macbook Air the VM was starved for memory.  Now i may revisit the need for that machine but i like having a dedicated Windows machine around even if I dont use it often.

Since I wasn’t using the windows machine a lot I gave away the 15″ monitors and just have the Dell desktop plugged into one of the Mini’s 19″ monitors.  They take DVI & VGI so I created  poor mans switcher for the monitor.  Longer term i will probably just RDP to that machine.  Surprisingly 3 monitors is not uncommon at work.  Some people even have 4 but i was a bit out there with the 5.

Now I have space on my desk that you can actually see my wedding & engagement photos.  Now isn’t that whats important?

Freetalk Wireless

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Last week I ordered a Skype Freetalk Wireless headset. It arrived today. Pairing was really easy, and the headset fit well. I am worried that after using it a lot it will feel a bit tight. I like (and don’t like) that the charging is done from the dongle to the headset. I will see if that becomes an issue. I used it for one call today but wont really give it a true test until I am at work on Tuesday.

I have been looking for a good headset to use with my laptop when not at my desk at home. I hope this one works out, since my desk drawers at home are becoming a graveyard for wired and bluetooth headsets alike that haven’t cut it. Seriously I think I have at least 2 wired skype headsets that suck and I don’t use, and about 4 bluetooth headsets. I use 2 of those but not as much as I like and never with the computers since I have quirky issues.

Netbook Update

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I have had my HP Mini 1000 for about a month and a half now and so far I haven’t had the urge to get rid of it. On the surface that doesn’t sound like a stellar endorsement, but from me it is. The netbook hasn’t changed my life or anything close to it. I am not really even using it for the main reason I got it. I ended up returning the wireless USB card so I don’t lug the netbook around with me everywhere allong with my work computer. What I do use the netbook for is light typing around the house, or when I don’t want or need to carry a regular laptop around I throw it in my bag. It was cheap enough so I don’t regret keeping it and using it like this. It is a nice to have and when I need it I am very grateful I have it.

The screen size prevents me from using it much more than I currently do. That is partly due to the screen being small, and my eyes being not so perfect. The keyboard still kicks ass, and the wifi and bluetooth actually work without any major complications. That is not something I could say for previous bluetooth experiences with Windows XP.

I just recently paired my Jawbone 2 bluetooth headset with the Mini 1000 to use Skype 4.0 on it. I never really used the Jawbone even-though as bluetooth headsets go it was expensive. It is also the best rated bluetooth headset I could find, but I never fit in my ear. I just read a kick ass review by someone at Cnet. The fix was so simple it was almost funny. They suggested putting a Jabra ear gel on the earpiece. I had one from an old Jabra headset and the instructions worked flawlessly. The headset now fits snug on my ear. I will use it with the Mini 1000 for a bit so I can make Skype calls on it. I want to try that out vs my Mac the next time I work from home. I am curious about the call quality differences between the latest Mac version of Skype and the new 4.0 version for Windows.

From Unlimited to 900 Minutes a Month

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Back in August I wrote about how I was saving by using Skype instaed of my mobile phone when at home.

I also finally canceled my Broadvoice account over the summer. It wasn’t because I was unhappy with the service. I was, in fact they were always great. I would recomend them to friends looking for a VOIP phone. I just didn’t use the service that much so it wasn’t worth spending the $8 or so a month that it cost to have the cheapest plan. I also was using Skype more and Skype was cheaper and provided more options for me. It wasn’t an easy choice but eventually Skype won out and I dropped Broadvoice.

Up until August I had switched to an unlimited Mobile phone plan so I could use my Mobile as my only phone and not have to worry about number of minutes used. This was nice and easy but also about $40 more expensive per month than I was previously paying for Mobile voice service.

Now I am using Skype out for my calls when I am at home, and I am routing most of my work calls through GrandCentral so I can select what phone I want them to ring at. This has decreased my Mobile minutes used by allot. I probably could get by with only 450 minutes a month but I have yet taken the plunge and switched to that cheap of a plan. I am sticking with the 900 minutes I have had but I use less and less each month. It is weird since I have relied on my mobile as basically my only phone for years. I have been thinking about going back to the unlimited mobile service because it is just easier to deal with, but for now I am enjoying cheaper service with Skype!

iPhone 3G Reset

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My afternoon today was thrown for a bit of a loop when I tried to go out today and tried to play some music on my iPod. There wasn’t any. That was odd since I always have about 8gigs of music on it. I then went to sync it up again with my Macbook. That is when things got interesting. I kept getting an error saying the phone couldn’t sync and I had to reset it. I figured a quick reset and I should be good to go. Well that didn’t work either. I reset the phone and then it kept giving me an error. I couldn’t sync it, or boot it up. An Apple KB article said to reboot the computer so I did that. After about 3 more tries the phone reset and started restoring.

This is the problem with one converged device. I almost can’t go anywhere without it. It is my phone (only one except Skype until I get my blackberry from work). It is also my music player, and PDA. I am sunk if it doesn’t work. Today was a perfect example of that. 3 hours later I am back and semi running with the phone. My only lingering issue that I know of is my icon’s are all in the wrong order. I am more concerned with the fact that I don’t know if this will happen again, and I have no backup plan. I guess that is my operations mindset going. I always need a “plan B”. I am thinking about that, but for now I am just happy things turned out as well as they did. It could have been allot worse!

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Mobile Phone Savings

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Back around March / April time frame I upgraded my mobile phone plan to the new unlimited minutes option from AT&T. I was using my mobile for just about all calls and my usage on the phone shot up. Then in June I was able to make outbound calls via Skype but have my caller ID come up as my mobile #. That change allowed me to use my computer to make most of my outbound calls. In July my mobile usage peaked, but towards the end of the month I began to seriously use Skype over my mobile. I mean why use my mobile when I am sitting at my desk at work or at home where I spend most of my time on the phone anyway? Because of this huge decrease in the usage of my mobile I am switching to a cheaper plan when my billing cycle changes next week. I will save $40 a month by going to a 900 minute plan with rollover. That might even be over kill at the usage rate I am going but I don't want to chance it. The cost of Skype in and out for one year is around $61. I make that back in under two months. Now all I need to do is wait for more friends of mine to use video chat and I won't need to make any calls at all!

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Apps That Should Be Written To Be Put On My iPhone 3G

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I know the iPhone App Store is only a few weeks old but I really would like to see some apps that I am used to on the palm. I don't miss the Palm OS, but some of the apps I had on my Treo's were very helpful or fun.

SSH Client – someone wrote a Telnet client, but lets face it if you are a decent network or systems person you really want SSH and not telnet. Or both!

FTP Client – Probably wouldn't use it that much, but a cheap or free client would be a nice to have.

Quicken or an expense program that will export inputed data into a format that Quicken will read. Am I the only one that uses Quicken that wants this? They make a Palm and Windows Mobile version!

Call Recording – This was a must have for me on all my recent phones. Until you have it, you don't realize how much you need to record calls. Especially when dealing with vendors, support people, etc. Had it on my Palm Treo's and my Nokia E61i. I actually didn't use the Treo 750 because it couldn't record calls. Not having this function was a trade off I made when getting the iPhone, but I would hope someone would write a program to do this!

Skype – probably too much to ask for since you can't use VOIP applications via the 3G network, but Skype would be nice!!!

There is probably more, but for now that is all that I can come up with.

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Bluetooth Mice & USB Hubs

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Today I did get my package I was waiting for so I now have a 7 port USB hub for my Macbook at home. No more swapping out one device to make room for another. The old 4 port hub now can goto the office since I need one there. I also got a bluetooth mouse for the Vaio laptop I got at work. There are only two USB ports on that little thing. One of them is hidden so it is difficult to get to. I want to plug in my Skype phone to the USB port, so it makes life easier if I have a bluetooth mouse that I don’t have to worry about plugging in a dongle to get the wireless to work. My current travel mouse is like that. It works, but it is a pain to deal with the dongle. This new Microsoft travel mouse worked in about a minute with the bluetooth on the Vaio. I can also use it on my Macbook if I need to when traveling.

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My New Webcam

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Yesterday I got a brand new USB webcam I ordered. I know, I have an iMac with a camera, and my Macbook has one too, so why is this a big deal. It is because I use my Macbook as my main computer and when it is on my desk at work or at home it is plugged into a monitor and the lid is closed. That means using the built in iSight camera is not an option. I have wanted to buy a camera for a while but most recent USB camera's don't always support the Mac. I didn't want to deal with open source drivers. Thankfully Macally came out with a nice cheap USB webcam, the IceCam2.. It didn't need any drivers, and I was up and running with the camera in about 5 minutes. I placed a test call to my dad via Skype and it worked great. There is something wrong with his speakers because we always get static when doing a call, but the next time I am over there I will take a look at it.

I also got a laptop stand I can keep at work. One of the things I don't like about the Macbook is that when it gets hot the fan run's really loud and it is annoying. The stand should hopefully allow better airflow on the Macbook.

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