Smartphone paperless E-Boarding went smoothly this week

| July 17, 2011

This was the first air travel that I opted to go fully paperless using Delta’s E-Boarding barcode utilizing my Palm Pre. The process from check-in online to bag checking and the TSA and boarding went well and although I questioned losing the barcode webos card (and Internet connection!) between the ticketing counter and TSA, it […]

Fender bender: All is fine but the Rav4 took a whack

| July 7, 2011

EDIT: Adding insurance photos over the weekend. All is well with Brenda after she was rearended tonight, but unfortunately her much loved Rav4 didn’t fare as well. As if the damage wasn’t enough, the age and 240,000 miles has me wondering how the repair will be handled. Besides the rear window, the rear door, spare […]

WSJ’s Walt Mossberg has a few thoughts on the HP Touchpad

| June 30, 2011

Although Mr. Mossberg is rightly critical about some of the shortcomings regarding HP’s late entry into the tablet computing market with the webOS Touchpad, he had a few complements too (LINK). Clever Interface I like the interface a lot. Instead of a screen full of app icons, the main screen of the TouchPad’s operating system, […]

Is anybody really happy with their cellphone plan/bill?

| June 29, 2011

A friend of mine recently switched carriers from T-Mobile to Sprint after grumbling about service … and the cellphone subject gave me something to make small talk with to a few of my customers on Tuesday. What I realized is that no matter the carrier, every customer complained. One plan did stand out … Virgin […]

LightSquared – Sprint Agree to 15-Year Network Accord

| June 21, 2011

Looks like a technology change in Sprint’s 4G strategy? The Clearwire 4G / Sprint future is not as ‘clear’ as it once was now that the LTE networks seem to be the path forward. No announcement from Sprint just yet, but Lightsquared seems to be boasting about the billions headed their way from Sprint. Billionaire […]

Sprint probably not seeing the HP Palm Pre3 anytime soon

| June 17, 2011

Well after hearing the latest rumor news from the Precentral blogs (Pre3 on Verizon and AT&T in July), I’m realizing that my days with a Palm Pre are numbered … maybe a good thing since I’ve enjoyed playing with a couple of the new Android phones in recent weeks. For now I’m not in a […]

Mulling my options when it comes to replacing my cellphone

| June 10, 2011

I’ve been keeping my eye on the new Sprint “Android” offerings since both Sprint and HP Palm have been a bit quiet on the slow motion release of the HP Palm Pre 3. The recent news from Sprint is that it will have the Motorola Photon 4G running Gingerbread 2.3 – the latest Android release. […]

Just another reason to switch to Android

| June 7, 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FoIA1boSFc As someone who enjoys the latest technology and appreciates ways to simplify tracking my business expenses, the new “Jot” app for the Chase Ink card makes sense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MTZuYxz-1Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y224SnLTKrM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAUBVufkEHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aCoXn184_k   Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Cellphones possibly linked to cancer according to WHO

| May 31, 2011

The World Health Organization is now classifying cellphones in category 2B – possibly carcinogenic to humans. An international panel of experts evaluated hundreds of scientific articles focusing on electromagnetic radiation, which emanates from radar, microwaves and cellphones (mobile phones). Category 2B includes gasoline engine exhaust, glass wool, styrene, lead and DDT. In a communiqué, WHO […]

Smartphones and mobile apps are all sharing your personal info

| April 27, 2011

Most of us understand computer tracking cookies and many users (and web browsers) to make easier for users to keep some of their information private. Obviously advertisers and content providers see your online information valuable (just as do physical store offering credit and ID cards for discounts, etc). The latest stories in the news have […]

Sprint cell number to Google Voice seems to works well

| April 26, 2011

Now that my Sprint Palm Pre phone number is my Google Voice number, GV is handling both the audio and text transcription of my voicemail messages. After recording and transcription, an email is sent to my phone as well as picked up by my email client (or on gmail) – also there’s a copy archived […]

Good deal? T-Mobile’s Even More and Even More Plus

| April 13, 2011

T-Mobile is offering one of the better deals for smartphone users on a budget today. Users choosing the Even More™ and Even More Plus™ plans will save considerable over the previous unlimited talk plans. The Plus plan at $59.99/mo with a 2 year contract or$79.99/mo without a contract and both offer unlimited nationwide calling, texting […]

Mobee Magic Charger for Apple Wireless Keyboard

| April 12, 2011

After a couple years of using two of the Palm Pre Touchstone induction chargers, they are great. Although I complain regularly that the battery in the Pre will not make it an entire day, it generally isn’t a big deal since I keep one Touchstone on my desk and the other on my nightstand. About […]

Green grass and Magnolia flowers proclaim Spring is here

| April 8, 2011

After arriving home late last night Brenda wanted me to see the flowering White Star Magnolia flowers … so I indulged her and walked out to look at them with her … and snapped a weak LED flash photo with my Palm Pre smartphone. Little did she know, I had already been looking at them […]

The THUNDERBOLT and Droid Bionic

| April 7, 2011

Check out the ‘real’ 4G smartphones … so far only on Verizon. —Conclusion The HTC Thunderbolt is Verizon’s fastest and most powerful smartphone yet. The 4G speeds do not disappoint, blowing right past the competition and taking the browsing and streaming experience on a smartphone to the next level. It also serves as a fine […]

More on cellphones, text messaging and driving distracted

| April 4, 2011

When I posted the current “Cell Phone Laws by State” map the other day, it was in part due to a project my niece was working on at Ohio Northern University. My brother mentioned she was asked to present their finding to Ohio lawmakers on House Bill 99 (summary) in Columbus last month – kudos to […]

Growing legislation against using cellphones while driving

| March 31, 2011

Keeping and eye on (and archiving) where one can and can’t use a cellphone while driving a car (posted in an AutoObserver). Click image for larger map Cell Phone States of Mind We’ve all been inspired to at least think, if not actually scream “Hang up and DRIVE!”, when we see a car drifting out […]

Snow, Snow, go away and a nice dinner out

| March 31, 2011

Isn’t it about time for this long winter to end? It was a slippery day of driving and another couple of inches of snow while making my way around northeastern Ohio on Wednesday. About the only positive was an enjoyable “Two for $20” dinner with my daughter at Applebee’s. A couple of spring 2011 snow […]

Google Voice and Sprint partnership will benefit cellphone users

| March 22, 2011

Google Voice will integrate with Sprint phones according to recent press releases from both companies. With the new partnership, Sprint customers will be able use their existing number as their Google Voice (GV) number or be able to use their GV number instead of their cell number for outgoing calls. The features of Google Voice […]

HTC Merge Android phone makes an appearance at SXSW 2011

| March 16, 2011

While waiting for the HP Palm Pre3, I’m keeping my eyes on the QWERTY keyboard Android phones. One of the anticipated models from HTC was demoed at SXSW 2011 and it will be available on several carriers — the Merge. It has a 3.7 inch touchscreen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and Android 2.2 with HTC […]

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says US will have iPad2 on March 11th

| March 2, 2011

The big tech announcement today came as Steve Jobs introduced a follow up iPad 2 to Apple’s previous tablet success. Apple has pretty much been the only game in town since the introduction of the iPad. This year’s model isn’t necessarily full of surprises, but does hold the price point while adding a camera, some […]

The concept of the Motorola Atrix smartphone computer

| February 21, 2011

I like the concept of the Motorola Atrix which combines the larger working area of a lightweight laptop display/keyboard/battery and the portability of a pocketable smartphone. I’m not sure that I’m ready to give up a full-powered Windows 7 notebook, but IF the new Windows 7 mobile OS running on an Atrix-type phone with a […]

Demo from PreCentral for the “don’t touch” TouchPad

| February 15, 2011

The demo model of the newly announced HP-Palm webOS TouchPad (links 1, 2 and 3) seems to me to be a bit sluggish during a first look video over at PreCentral. I’m liking the Pre like features, but concerned if the device doesn’t get full performance from the 1.2 Ghz dual core processor. Perhaps by […]

What would make you buy an iPhone?

| February 15, 2011

Apple APPL 2/14/2011 Most people I know openly or ‘secretly’ admire Apple‘s iPhone. For many it would be a costly luxury, while for others it is more phone than they really need. The answer from Apple might be right around the corner: How about a lighter duty iPhone – call it the ‘N97’ – with […]

Video: HP-Palm product announcement event

| February 10, 2011

Archiving Wednesday’s HP-Palm Veer, Pre3 and TouchPad product announcement event video — yesterday’s posts 1 and 2.

In keeping with the HP-Palm webOS news …

| February 9, 2011

I particularly liked the new advertising coming to my email from HP above … nice! (I’m also including the specs and a couple hands-on first-look videos from Engadget below) Hands-on video from Engadget: [flv:engadget_2478.flv 490 280] Touch-to-shere demo: [flv:engadget_2481.flv 490 280] Press Release: HP TouchPad Brings webOS to the Big Screen First webOS tablet works […]

HP-Palm introduces the Veer, Pre3 and TouchPad today

| February 9, 2011

  No major shocker from HP-Palm today, who as expected announced new hardware utilizing webOS on a computer tablet; the 9.7” TouchPad was announced today at a San Francisco press event. Technology watchers tweeted with excitement as Jon Rubinstein highlighted some interesting innovations. The “touch-to-share” between devices, where a Palm Pre and TouchPad transfer information […]

Enjoying our first few sailing days on s/v Encore

| February 7, 2011

We took our shakedown sail on s/v Encore a couple days ago on our “new to us” sailboat last week. The weather in Florida couldn’t have been better for the first “real” sailing (my previous seatrials don’t count since Brenda wasn’t with me).  Unfortunately as with most older boats, there are issues that need to […]

Reagan.GOP.com website browses nice on a webOS Palm Pre

| February 1, 2011

It is nice when websites run and link to webOS friendly media content. One of the better sites is reagan.gop.com remembering President Ronald Reagan’s legacy and his upcoming February 6th birthday – he would be 100. In browsing with my Palm Pre yesterday I found it to be one of the few utilizing content and […]

HP-Palm devices may come sooner than expected

| January 29, 2011

While I’ve been anxious for the new tablet computer device from HP-Palm, expected to be announce at a California press event on February 9th, I wasn’t holding my breath as to when the devices would actually make it to market. Most industry watchers either have been told or expected them sometime this summer, although a […]

HP-Palm’s new tablet device needs a better name

| January 25, 2011

So the HP-Palm gadget many though might be the “PalmPad” is not going to receive the blessing of the United States Patent and Trademark Office; they sees the too close to other trademarks? (Palm, Palm Pre, etc) It sort of looks to me as if HP needs to go back to the ‘slate’ devices – […]

MyTether on webOS 1.5.5 for the Palm Pre is working again

| January 25, 2011

After switching to Verizon’s webOS Mobile Hotspot on my Sprint connected Palm Pre in order to be able to tether my phone, I had all but given up on MyTether. Although I’m not an everyday “tether-er” … having the ability to connect my notebook computer to the Internet in a pinch is important. Thankfully Raja […]

Bad news for Sprint Everything Data customers in 2011

| January 19, 2011

Add one more thing to the “inflation” worries (on top of energy and food) … especially if you are a Sprint wireless data smartphone user. It looks as if one might be wise to shop wireless phone carriers a little closer come renewal time. According to yesterday’s press release, Sprint has decided to “apply a […]

Learning a bit more about the “4G” network hype

| January 11, 2011

While staying on the smartphone subject trend, I’ve been curious as to where the market is going besides the phone’s hardware and operating system – yesterday’s grumbling about HP/Palm and webOS. The devices is only half the picture and far less of the investment – the carrier may be the game changer. In reading a […]

My continued Palm Pre webOS grumbling, although with hope

| January 10, 2011

Well I’m not giving up on the HP/Palm and their WebOS entirely just yet as it does look as if there might be a few improvements in the new 2.01 operating system to keep me happy with my current Palm Pre for a little bit longer … if it is made available? Thanks to a […]

Android phones show strong growth in the smartphone market

| January 4, 2011

It’s not hard to gauge the dominate players in smartphone market … iPhone, Android and Blackberry, the later feeling the pressure no doubt. Here’s a link to a good article by Joe Wilcox that sums up who is the biggest beneficiary of Apple’s one carrier (ATT) deal … the Android OS with its many carriers […]

Figured out what the fuss over Angry Birds is all about

| January 2, 2011

After talking with my daughter this past week about games for cellphones … and mentioning to her that I didn’t really play them, I took advantage of a slow afternoon to download the popular Angry Birds for my Palm Pre – big mistake. I ended up draining my battery and wasting hours of an otherwise […]

Epocrates disappearing from webOS devices

| December 20, 2010

Unless HP gets their act together soon, webOS is going to distance themselves from more and more users. With the elimination of Epocrates support, those in or going into the medical profession will pretty much write off webOS phones and their eventual tablet device. Even I, someone who likes his Palm Pre, am becoming increasingly […]

Enjoying Free Google offered AirTran WiFi

| December 6, 2010

While my Palm Pre’s battery holds out I’m appreciating playing with the free ‘Google’ offered wifi on AirTran flights until the end of the year. So far all the Internet apps on the Pre are working well including audio streaming, web browsing, app catalog downloads and email. Twitter client Tweed is working well too, although […]

Replaced my Palm Pre with a duplicate today

| December 1, 2010

While closing in on 2 years with my webOS Palm Pre, I’ve opted to replace my original Pre smartphone with one of the last of the original Sprint Palm Pre phones before they are gone. (I’m crossing my fingers that Sprint will eventually get the Pre 2) Thankfully my insurance plan replaced the defective (but […]

Working on VW TDIs and looking at a friend’s VW van

| November 8, 2010

This past weekend was part chore part automotive fun. My daughter was home and it was time for a little light Volkswagen TDI tinkering … and routine oil and filter changes. All is well with her little 2001 VW Jetta TDI diesel which is now at 135,000 miles. Katelyn does love her little economical car […]

First cold weekend of the year here in Cincinnati

| November 7, 2010

While behind on my autumn chores, I was shocked to see my gutters iced over when cleaning them out on Saturday. I didn’t realized that the temperature dropped so much and was actually shocked to see 21 degrees this morning. No wonder the furnace is running so much already! Palm Pre smartphone video posted to […]

A video look at the French released Palm Pre 2

| November 6, 2010

Although the new HP Palm Pre 2 has shown up in France, and according to rumors (an accidental web posting) will be available on Verizon in a couple days, I’m having a hard time getting too excited. That’s probably a good thing since my carrier Sprint may not have it for a while. The added […]

TED app coming to HP Palm webOS devices

| November 5, 2010

For those of us who enjoy TED Talks, there’s a new app on its way for the HP webOS devices like the Palm Pre that should make content available on the go. According to a post on the Toondoctor, the app will be free as well as ad free. Features Browse, search and view video […]

Upgrading Palm Pre apps: I should know better

| October 12, 2010

While struggling to stay productive during my out of town trip last week, I found it necessary to tether my computer to my Palm Pre a couple of times. On previous trips I bragged about MyTether as a way to do this, but after a summer webOS update it no longer works … so I […]

Apple iPhone TV marketing and social networking sites

| October 7, 2010

I don’t recall recall if the Apple iPhone advertisement appeared during the Philly’s no-hitter 4-0 win against the Reds or not, but the ad was intriguing in that the Twitter and Twitpic information had me checking the links. The marketing establish @gagebock account (currently 60-some friends) and Twitpic photo (700+ views) that was used in […]

WebOS 1.4.5 requires cleaning & speeding up my Palm Pre

| September 4, 2010

As the Labor Day holiday weekend kicks off, I did some light technology housekeeping chores on my Palm Pre smartphone. Besides finally getting around to smoothing out my app card screen order, I updated my UberKernel and the  Govnah app to include a 1gHz screen-on mode. The doubling of clock speed may be pushing things […]

A default ringtone can tell a lot about a cellphone

| September 3, 2010

Listen to the short audio clip (below) of William Shatner on his “communicator” during a New York Times Magazine interview; see if you can figure out what kind of cellphone he is using? 🙂

A buck-forty-three for the new Neato! Palm Pre app today

| August 30, 2010

Every once in a while, the point of sale technique works on me … and today was the day. I coughed up $1.43 for a Palm Pre app called Neato! It’s a simple little application that runs on the webOS smartphone and receives webpage links, copied text and maps from a computer browser using a […]

Finally getting around to the Palm Pre’s webOS 1.4.5 update

| August 25, 2010

A couple day’s before our vacation, Sprint pushed out the webOS 1.4.5 update to Palm webOS phones. I resisted the urge to update prior to leaving (thankfully), as I had some concern that the Pre Backup Utility wouldn’t be sufficient to restore the ‘homebrew’ apps, patches and tweaks I installed over the past year, an […]

SMS celebrates 25 years of text messaging this month

| August 11, 2010

According to Sherri Wells, a leading expert on SMS messaging, the “SMS (Short Message Service) was developed in 1985 by a collaborated effort between Germany and France and was created by Friedhelm Hillebrand, Bernard Ghillebaert, and Oculy Silaban .” Ms. Wells also states that the first practical message was “Happy Christmas” and was sent in […]

Twitter Email to Twitpic photo posting problem

| August 9, 2010

I’ve been having problems emailing photos from my Palm Pre (or computer) to Twitpic since last week, which is photo sharing service tied to my Twitter account … not that it’s all that important … but the digging turn up just how rapid the growth has been. Pretty rapid: In the couple of years since […]

Here we go again: 14 yr old girl “ready” to sail around the world

| August 6, 2010

Far be in from me to discourage sailing, cruising and voyaging around the world … but at some point a parent will go too far in supporting a parent’s a child’s dream. Personally speaking my childhood hero was Robin Lee Graham who set sail at 16 for his around the world voyage – and there […]

MyTether and Sprint for WiFi access saves the day again

| August 5, 2010

Although I’m finding myself using a 3G cellphone connection for my computer less and less as free wifi spots are opening up everywhere I tend to travel, I do find myself thankful to keep MyTether on my Palm Pre for those moments I need a wireless hotspot. While stopping for lunch today, the normal wireless […]

Enjoying time with my daughter before her USMLE Step 2 test

| August 1, 2010

My daughter Katelyn and I are checked in at the Marriott in Chicago for her USMLE Step 2 testing on Monday and enjoyed an evening together. We took advantage of the 35 minute pizza baking time for the award winning stuffed pizza at Giordano’s Restaurant inorder to practice a bit more. I’m the acting patient […]

Humor: Just thought this was funny

| August 1, 2010

Grabbed a few frame in slow motion from the TV screen with my Palm Pre this weekend; maybe it is just me, but found it funny seeing a squirrel dart out while Motorweek was filming a road test on a car. No harm … [flv:mw_squirrel.flv 480 355]

Enjoyed Fireworks without leaving the porch

| July 5, 2010

Palm Pre to YouTube  Posted via email from richc’s posterous

Sprint’s second 4G phone: Samsung Epic 4G

| June 29, 2010

Sprint announced the second 4G capable phone to be marketed in their offerings and at first glance I thought, “it can’t really be that big?” From their webpage, the image doesn’t necessarily look as if it fits “in the palm of your hand.” It will be interesting to look at it in person. I’ll also […]

Google Docs now works much better on the Palm Pre

| June 28, 2010

Thanks for the tip Dieter Bohn – PreCentral.net … Google Docs is much improved on the Palm Pre; it is actually usable now!   Fire up Google Docs on your webOS browser and you’ll find a nicer interface, courtesy of Google finally up and getting Document viewing working for Android browsers. The Google Mobile Blog […]

Trying Poster for WordPress on the Palm Pre

| June 23, 2010

Since Palm is encouraging webOS Pre and Pixi users with a half price app sale, I picked up a couple applications including one to manage and post to both WordPress.com and server installed WordPress.org  blog sites. So this is a first post from the Poster for WordPress (for $1.00) app posted from the Palm Pre. The smartphone based […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog