So after more than a month of constant phone calls, emails, and even a few blog posts, I am happy to say that Sprint finally did the right thing and agreed to take back the phones. I don’t know if it was because of the aggressive promotion of my post about the issue, or if I just happened to get a sympathetic representative. I may never know, but I’m glad that this chapter is over. After consideration of what I was put through, I have switched my line over to Verizon Wireless whose service costs quite a bit more, but whose service is more reliable. Hopefully their customer service is more customer-friendly. We’ll see. I was with Sprint for sixteen years. If Verizon is any better I’ll be with them for the next sixteen (and maybe more!).
Category Archives: News
Has your cellphone provider put your safety at risk?
You were driving across Long Island when your car broke down. You go to call roadside assistance, but you can’t get service. You get out of the car and start walking, when you see several figures coming at you in the dark. As they step into the light, you realize that they’re not looking for new friends. You try to make an emergency call to 911, but your phone indicates “No Service Available”.
This fictitious story could come true as Sprint’s new upgrades are leaving some of their newest and most popular phones without service, and Sprint does not seem to care one bit. Continue reading
Hurricane Irene: My First Scare
I checked into Hurricane Irene on FourSquare and just as I hit the check-in button, there was a loud BANG from outside my window and the entire room went dark. It was completely black.
I looked out the window and saw the lights on in all the buildings across my courtyard, It seemed that my building was the only one that lost power. My biggest concern was the frozen foods (chicken, pork, steak and salmon) that I just bought tonight. I went into my kitchen and looked around. I noticed the time on my oven. My oven uses gas, but I thought the clock was electric. I was right. They are.
That’s when I realized that the compressor for the refrigerator was still running. I was relieved. The lights in my Kitchen are on the same circuit as my bathroom/bedroom but the appliances are on their own. And I guess I just turned out all the other lights which is generally uncharacteristic of me. Whew.
So here I sit at my laptop in the living room with an extension cord to my bedroom powering the rack containing my cable-modem, router PC, and wireless access point. The T V is working too, and it’s getting late, so I may just relax and call it a night. Hopefully my room won’t be out for too long. And yes, I checked the circuit breaker 😉
UPDATE: The original post was around midnight. At approximately 9:30am the rest of the power went out. My contingency plan is in effect. I’m going to fill my cooler with ice and saltwater and bring my frozen goods to my parents, who may have lost a tree, but they still have electricity!
April Fools Day 2011 on the Web
In lieu of some recent saddening events, I had to take some time to celebrate my favorite holiday, April Fools day. Up early, I scoured the web for this year’s April Fools pranks,and I can’t say that I was disappointed.
I should begin by letting everyone know that all pranks must be approved by Groupon who now owns the rights to the holiday.
Hulu has taken it upon themselves to redesign the site using new technologies (back in 1999)!
Speaking of traveling back in time, Check out all the new silent films on YouTube. The new 1911 filter can be applied to any of their advertising-lacking videos.
RIM has announced their latest Backberry featuring a screenless design.
ThinkGeek has been busy coming up with new products. Check out the delicious Angry Bird Pork Rinds. Kids will enjoy the Playmobil Apple Store. Geeks everywhere will be snacking on Light-saber Popsicles (actually a good product idea). The immensely lazy will find use for the new Shirt Plate. Sneak more treats into the movie theater with a Gummy iPhone Case. Science has never been as much fun as it can be with the Arsenic-based Sea Monkeys. Lose yourself in your own Minecraft Nether Portal/ It’s USB powered after all.
Hey, While I’m posting, we need to help out our friends at Improv Everywhere. A recent mission went bad and they’re looking for individuals who attacked their agents. Lets see if we can help them out.
Google has been busy as well. They have made major improvements too their Gmail, Google Docs and Voice services.
Great news for layout artists and web developers. Comic Sans was just made better!
Funny or Die is featuring singer, songwriter Rebecca Black!
Grooveshark (No longer available) has adopted the latest 3D technologies
College Humor may have been hacked! Some accounts have access to the admin page.
Reddit has added a new feature allowing your friends to give you Reddit Mold opening all sorts of new features for you!
Trying to get rid of your ex? In photos, that is… Kodak is to the rescue with Relationshiffft.
Chevy has even announced a new vehicle.
and in closing, Even yahoo is participating in the holiday fun with a new animated logo at their web site.
NOTICE: These links may be irrelevant after April Fools Day.
Apple Announces iPad G2
Remember January 27, 2010? That was the day that Apple changed the way we use personal computers with the release of the first generation iPad. Aside from it’s shortcomings, I bought one. I’ve suffered with it’s lack of storage and limited uses, but now that apple has announced the iPad G2, things are looking up. features of the iPad G2 include:
- Unlocked with capability to use both GSM and CDMA networks.
- Supports G3 and G4 Speeds (where available)
- SD Card Slot accepts SD/SDHC/SDXC cards for expansion
- Dual 5 Megapixel cameras (One on rear, one on front)
- Built-in Microphone
- LED LCD replaced with Easier-on-the-eyes active color display
- Multitasking Capability Added 7:11 PM
It’s a shame it took this long for apple to identify the shortcomings of its device, but the iPad G2 is definitely the correct answer to the first generation iPad.
I’m kind of surprised that Apple released what seem like no more than a 9.7 inch iPod touch with such limited expandability. I am looking forward to what other manufacturers come up with to compete with Apple. Hopefully we’ll see some of (or all of) the features I mentioned integrated into a comparably performing low cost tablet. Ironically, I’ve seen $400-500 web/application tablets released 5 or more years in the past and they all seemed to have disappeared. I wonder, If they had Apple’s reputation and marketing strength behind them back then, what would we be seeing today?