My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on May 19, 2009

I don’t want to sound like an advertisement for Capital One, but from my minimal research, there is a clear difference in plastic for those traveling overseas — or more appropriately, those needing to make purchases while traveling overseas.

Since I’ll be in Europe this summer and noticed a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about credit card companies charging added fees for overseas travel, I called all of my existing credit cards to see if this was true.  Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards were indeed charging from 2 – 3% foreign exchange rates fees for overseas purchases (purchases in Euros, etc). I even asked Advanta, Chase, Bank of America, Discovercard, Citibank and our local Fifth Third bank if they offered a credit card designed for travelers that did not incur this 2 – 3% fee … none did or at least the customer service reps didn’t know of them.

My next call was to Capital One and within 15 minutes I was approved for a equal if not better Capital One Platinum card that pays a cash back bonus of 2% on gas and groceries and 1% on other purchases, a 0% rate till May 2010 on balances and a transfer offer for existing balances. Since I had just paid for a travel reservation with my Citibank card I opted to transfer this to the new card giving me a 3 week loan of $10,000 (I intended to pay the balance off the first of June but will now stretch it until later in June). The big selling point is that while using the Capital One card overseas I will not be charge the 3% fee on each of my foreign transactions and unless I missed something … there is currently a clear difference in credit cards for overseas travelers. I hope this holds through summer. (EDIT: also here’s a follow up WSJ blog post)

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Category: Financial, Personal, Travel | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on May 18, 2009

I’ve been lax in posting a follow up to my new to me tech gadget since I really haven’t had the chance to use it much until last week, nevertheless, here is my take on the D-Link DPU-50U. I’ve been using the Skype to phones USB device lightly for a few weeks now and will give a brief update on how it works and how I like it.

The  interface connects to the USB port of an existing Windows computer and permits the use of an existing home phone to both receive and send calls over the Internet — Skype service. I’ve installed my $18.99 purchase from Buy.com (minus a $10.00 rebate) on an aging P3 Windows 2000 computer that serves as my print and fax server. A few years ago I did use it for Skype so that my Mac and Windows notebook computer would be free from cords and conference call duties, but recently haven’t liked being tethered to my PC by wired headset (a requirement for Skype conference call for the sanity of fellow listeners).

The installation was quick and easy utilizing a mini-cd and a resident taskbar program that interfaces the USB device with Skype. The DPU-50U required 110VAC power and plugs in between your phone and the wall phone jack. In my installation I’ve plugged the base station for my Motorola 5.8 GHz wireless phones (photo above) of which I have three extensions throughout the house.

After running the install, I rebooted my computer and accessed the software through the taskbar icon. The three tabs — General, Call Forwarding and Call Recorder — are used to change the default keystrokes that use the phone to control Skype calls and other feature such as turning the recording features on or off.

Receiving calls is simple as the phone rings normally and the Call ID feature (if available) shows the Skype callers ID on the phone display. Upon answering the call was as clear on my broadband connected Skype service as a phone call, although I did detect the slight delay that occasionally is noticed using some VOIP connections.

Calling out using the DPH-50U is a bit more challenging as the speeddial numbers need to be program on your contact list of Skype callers. Once saved, I used the default ## to switch from a normal phone system dial tone to the Skype dial tone. Then entered the speed dial number followed by the * key to complete the call over Skype. The ring works the same as if you were calling using a computer BUT there isn’t a way barring looking at your computer screen to know if your contact is available or not to receive calls. One hint is to be sure to “end” or hang up the call when finished.

All in all it worked very well for me when connecting to Skype conference calls. I was able to use the wireless Motorola phones with a 2.5 mm headset while muting my microphone and move freely away from my computer. The advanage of always on and a ringing phone on my belt made waiting for a Skype call easy and by forwarding my ‘work’ Skype to my home Skype account (DPH-50U) I was able to take all calls at home.

The only problem I had in using the device was while trying to use a lessor quality DSL connection at a hotel while calling home. (kept dropping the calls) I suspect this was the hotel side connection but it was annoying for my wife using the Skype phone. As for savings, this device is perfect for people talking overseas regularly using Skype. The call cost being zero would make this an excellent $8.99 purchase (after the $10 rebate). With the all inclusive Long Distance available in the U.S. nowadays, I’m not sure it all that critical … unless Skype is used regularly for conference calling. (also … no video with this device)

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Category: Computer, Technology | 4 Comments »
Tags: d-link, phone, skype, voip

Posted By RichC on May 17, 2009

My Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter (EAA284) met at a new shop of one of our members today for our May meeting. We had a chance to both work on projects for our chapters ‘rentable kitchen’ and to learn a bit about welding. We enjoyed a beautiful day in Waynesville, Ohio while discussing the summer flying season (and events) in Dick Elliot’s new outbuilding. He has  equipment that would be the envy of most experimental airplane builders and the skills to go along with them (lacking for yours truly).

The goal of today’s meeting was to replace the wood rolling griddle stands with sturdier one made from welded steel.  Unfortunately I departed early so I’m unsure just how much was accomplished, but would like to than Dick for all the preparation and hospitality. Thanks.

Category: Aviation | 2 Comments »
Tags: aviation, eaa, eaa284

Posted By RichC on May 17, 2009

Interestingly those people who knew and were aware of the conditions that lead to the economic meltdown still fell prey to being swallowed by wanting more than they could afford. In a brutally honest New York Times article,  Edmund Andrews shares his story.

If there was anybody who should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe, it was I. As an economics reporter for The New York Times, I have been the paper’s chief eyes and ears on the Federal Reserve for the past six years. I watched Alan Greenspan and his successor, Ben S. Bernanke, at close range. I wrote several early-warning articles in 2004 about the spike in go-go mortgages. Before that, I had a hand in covering the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the Russia meltdown in 1998 and the dot-com collapse in 2000. I know a lot about the curveballs that the economy can throw at us.

But in 2004, I joined millions of otherwise-sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages. Nobody duped or hypnotized me. Like so many others — borrowers, lenders and the Wall Street dealmakers behind them — I just thought I could beat the odds. We all had our reasons. The brokers and dealmakers were scoring huge commissions. Ordinary homebuyers were stretching to get into first houses, or bigger houses, or better neighborhoods. Some were greedy, some were desperate and some were deceived.

Mr. Andrews starts a new family with a second wife, he buys too much house and stretched his budget in an attempt to cover alimony. He gets a no-doc mortgage, maxes out his credit cards and is eventually unable to make ends meet.

Unfortunately the only option that Mr. Andrews sees, is his new found buddy Bob, the mortgage broker. He pins his hope that “Bob” can help him out of his money problems by consolidating his debt into a new, even bigger adjustable rate mortgage that could potentially hit rates of 11.5%:

I felt foolish, ashamed and angry as I confessed to Bob [mortgage broker]. Why had I been trying to live a lifestyle that I couldn’t afford? Why had I tried to keep up the image of a conventional suburban family man, when nothing about my situation was conventional? How could I have glossed over the fact that we had been spending about $3,000 more than we were earning, month after month after month?How could a person who wrote about economics for a living fall into the kind of credit-card trap that consumer groups had warned about for years?

…

The paperwork was so confusing that I was never exactly sure who was paying what. I hazily understood that I was paying most of the fees, one way or another, but I couldn’t figure out how, and I couldn’t see any better alternatives. After it was all over, I figured we had paid about $5,800 in fees to Bob’s mortgage company and the settlement company, on top of the sales commission that came out in higher interest rates every month.

READ ALL

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Category: Financial | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on May 17, 2009

So you want to understand Twitter? Here’s an excellent interview.

VIDEO REMOVED

An Internet friend of mine was on a panel of new media experts earlier this month with The Agenda with Steve Paiken. Mathew Ingram from The Globe & Mail,  Jay Rosen from NYU journalism professor, David Cohn Spot.us founder, and The Twitter Book co-author Sarah Milstein were interviewed along with Amber MacArthur.

Category: Social Media, Technology, Video | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on May 16, 2009

Enter now for your chance to win a Palm Pre from Sprint. The newest Palm smartphone could change the iPhone dominated playing field if the product operates as expected … but the hurdle is set pretty high. Nevertheless, by entering your email address (stick with your junk mail address) and phone number before May 18th and you may be one of two winners to win in a Sprint drawing on May 26th. The fine print claims that the two winners will receive the package valued at $1800, which includes the Touchstone wireless charging station and full year of Sprint’s Simply Everything plan which values at $99/month.

By the way … I’ve entered … but only once.

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Category: Cellphone, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: palm, smartphone, sprint

Posted By RichC on May 15, 2009

Note to self — don’t get excited just yet as the Palm Pre is NOT in the Sprint inventory. But seeing it being unboxed doesn’t help the anticipation factor.

Category: Cellphone, Technology, Video | No Comments »
Tags: palm

Posted By RichC on May 14, 2009

After billions of American taxpayer dollars, concessions from labor and retirees, thousands of job losses, threats of bankruptcy and government nationalization of the company … management has the audacity to plan on importing Chinese-built vehicles in 2011 order “to save on manufacturing costs.” How can Americans who through all this considered supporting GM swallow this?

The way I see it, this is the icing on the cake. My raw response is to instead buy a Ford (or transplant for that matter)  if in order to support a U.S. carmaker that is at least trying to act halfway responsible.

General Motors plans to start importing Chinese-built vehicles into the U.S. in 2011, according to an outline the auto maker has submitted to members of the U.S. Congress.

GM currently manufacturers vehicles in China for sale in Asia. But the company plans for the first time to ship some of those vehicles to the U.S. to save on manufacturing costs.

MORE

Category: Automotive, Politics | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on May 14, 2009

I was disappointed last week to have missed seeing Rhett and Link in Fairfield Ohio while out of town on Thursday, but since then I’ve noticed them on several network news shows talking about a controversial  Red House Furniture video (my previous post).  I didn’t find the video all that offensive or really all that intriguing even though it is closing in on 1 million views.

My current favorite is their Fast Food ad below since it had some great candid content from a ‘real’ Taco Bell worker —  but the video and song that put them on the scene was the Facebook song that came out 2 years ago and now has 2.5 million views! These guys are pretty talented (and funny); it is interesting to see how they have leveraged their interests and talents in order to make a living online.  Here’s Rhett and Link’s YouTube Channel. (be sure to check out their live Ohio appearance here)

Category: Entertainment, Local, Social Media, Video | No Comments »
Tags: link, rhett, youtube

Posted By RichC on May 13, 2009

I’ve been happily running the Windows 7 Beta (post 1 & post 2) and see it as Microsoft’s best OS release since XP. Although the Release Candidate is now available for all to install, I’ve been slow to update my 7000 Beta build because I’d like a clean install requiring solid backups, my install CDs, de-authorization of certain licenses (Paul Thurrott‘s comments) and a few hours of time. I’m hoping to get into it this weekend.

The good news for investors is that MSFT announced that Windows 7 will go on sale in time for the 2009 holiday season. According to a WSJ article, Microsoft is making “a public commintment” that it “expects to be able to get the software into stores in time for the key retail season.” Bill Veghte, senior vice president  for Windows, said “We’re tracking well to deliver Windows 7 in time for holiday availability based on the groundswell of feedback we received from the partner ecosystem, customers and through our own internal testing from pre-Beta to now.”  He added, however, that Microsoft “will not ship the product…until it meets our quality bar.”

According to the article, “windows generates approximately one-third of Microsoft’s $60 billion in annual sales and is on more than 90% of the world’s personal computers, is the company’s most important product. Delivering a smooth launch of Windows 7 in time for the 2009 holiday season will go some way toward persuading both consumers and corporate customers Microsoft has learned the lessons of Vista.”

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Category: Computer, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: windows 7