Can't Stop Geeking

Nikola Tesla, I know you’re asking, “Who?”, made a prediction of the wireless revolution that we are currently experiencing. No big deal, right? Well, when you realize he made that prediction in 1909 in an issue of Popular Mechanics, it gets a little creepy. The world has just started utilizing the wireless telegraph, and the telephone was nowhere close to being a roaming home device. So, with the modern technology being a new method for sending Morse Code, Tesla made these predictions and it is simply amazing. But here we are, just over a century later, and we have smart phones doing exactly what he said.  I can’t wait for the day when we have some of the other things that have been predicted. I want floating cars, I would love to fly across town to pick op some milk. I can’t wait for transporters; I want to be able to visit Germany without needing a passport and 23 hours to get there. I would love to see space travel become routine; then we can find that darn monolith on Jupiter. After reading Tesla’s article, I have to think that anything we as a race have imagined as possible can be attained, all we need is time to figure it out.

Well, this is good news for me if no one else. My wife loves the iPhone, but I prefer Verizon’s network and quality. So, for the longest time, we’ve had two separate cellular accounts in the house with not a break in site. Now comes news that Apple is working on an iPhone that will work with Verizon’s towers. I don’t know what the hold up has been but all I can say is “Hallelujah!!” Get a few more details here.

If you have a smart phone like the iPhone or a Blackberry that has internet access, and if your phone is capable of picking up wi-fi, companies are asking you to utilize that instead of the towers. The reason for this? Free wi-fi hotspots are becoming more prevalent and it also eases the amount of traffic the towers have to handle. So, you get to surf the net in more places quicker and the guy next to you can make his call with less interference.

This is an old story, but it’s one that I think bears repeating. Oregon just implemented a handheld cell-phone ban in vehicles at the beginning of this year.  Some people got in a tizzy about it naturally and some probably still are.  But I see the reasoning for it. I live in Illinois near Chicago, and the Chicago suburbs have had a similar ban for a while now. Most people don’t seem to think that driving is all that difficult or worthy of full attention.  I say this: if I were to choose how I die (not a topic I spend a great deal of time), I would definitely not want to die at the hands of Johnny Businessman who thinks talking to his partners is more important than making sure he doesn’t flatten my behind. I may not be a world famous leader, but I would like a little consideration when I’m on the road.

MSNBC today ran a story about overhyped tech products. Not necessarily in the past year, but just the tech world in general. What surprised me was that some of the items they listed have been big sellers. So, when they say overhyped, they just mean the buzz created before or around the items release. You can see the full list here, but here are some of my favorites from the list:

• The Virtual Boy, Nintendo’s early attempt at 3D gaming, if you can call it that
• Windows Vista, ’nuff said

I’m thinking of gift ideas for my wife. She loves her Bluetooth device when she’s driving, but on sunny days, she can’t use it cause the sunglasses she wears don’t fit comfortably. Does any one know of a pair of women’s sunglasses that are deisgned to fir around a Bluetooth device, or better yet, have one built in?

I was reading the news today and found that a company by the name of Monliker was stacking the deck for their iPhone apps. Apparently, certain users were writing reviews for apps only developed by Monliker and giving them all 5 star ratings. At this point the apps appear to have been removed, but if you’re looking at an app and the developer is Monliker, beware.

I know people who work for T-Mobile and I can tell you with certain that T-Mobile has blocked access to the Droid website to all front line employees. I can also tell you that this is the first time that this has happened in the history of T-Mobile! So what are they worried about? Motorolla’s Droid is much better then the Cliq and is on par with the MyTouch. Now I’m even more excited about the Droid!

Yah, so Gizmodo expected any operating system that ends in a .5 to be an improvement? Windows Mobile has been trash for years and a mid cycle update doesn’t seem impressive to me in the least bit. I’ve had extensive use with WM devices and I personally will never own one again. Maybe Microsoft should strike a deal with Google and use Android as a back end system like Motorola has done with their Cliq. That would make for a much better OS and a stronger handset all together.

I read an article about mobile phone etiquette online and I had to laugh about it. Seriously, I don’t think anyone cares any more. I hear people talking on their phones while trying to plop one into the toilet! There is no separation between private time and phone time any more! In a world where most people prefer their phone over their spouse I don’t think there is anymore etiquette.