iPhone? iPod Touch? Other?

So what do you do when you have incredible pain and can’t sleep? Well thankfully I have been researching other things so I sit and do research as to what I can do and where, as it stands I am not un-happy with T-Mobile, the service is good, it works, no issues - I have data, and it works, however I am wanting a better device for E-Mail and functionality on the go.

I have the T-Mobile Dash, which is just a HTC WM device, it does the job, but mobile IE and Mobile Email are lacking, they eat up battery, have horrible support for things like SSL, even properly signed SSL certificates on mail servers come back invalid, quite annoying - plus the screen is not a touch-screen like I enjoyed with the Treo650 and VersaMail, sure sure, web browsing on the Treo was lacking, but it too was limited, but loaded more efficiently than Mobile IE on WM6 upgrade on the Dash.

So I have started looking for a device that does the web, does email, and can be mobile - the big winner in that dept. without anything added is sadly the iPhone - why sadly? I am a modular guy, I like to be able to add in functionality, and yes while I can hack and jailbreak a iPhone my worry is support, especially if in a month or so they release a 3G model, and I am up the creek, no upgrade path, no support, just a really expensive paper weight.

I switched from the then Cingular -> T-Mobile ages ago, T-Mobile has been good to me, we have had our share of bumps along the way, but in the end like other companies I deal with, they have been big on making it right, Cingular on the other hand, gave me no such help, I was off contract, and wanting to upgrade and downgrade on different features, they didn’t like that, said goto a store, did that, no luck their either, so thus the move to T-Mobile was had, but as it stands if I picked up a iPhone + Plan, monthly I’d be spending less, even getting their #2 package.

But there in lies my issue… do I want to risk the iPhone, risk sucky AT&T service again? or have they changed? Are they truly a new company with a new name? I mean their maps show “BEST” service in my area, heck over most of the town, is it time for a change? I just called to check alone on when my account contract is over with T-Mobile on the off chance I wanted to switch, and of course that dept. has set hours, not a huge deal, but again another thing to consider.

Anywhoo there it is, my pile of options, the iPod Touch is on the list too, but I dunno, I mean if I can spend ~$85 (after fees and such) and get unlimited data, wifi @ starbucks, and the iPhone, without having to unlock it for any sim, it seems like a safe bet? Right? It’s a business expense, and I can always port my number, but so many choices, only know of one guy with a iPhone, he seems to enjoy it - but maybe I’ll sneak over to AT&T during lunch tomorrow and see if they have one in store I can play with…. hrm… what to do what to do…. for now I think I’ll go over and pass out hoping the pain in my neck and shoulders goes away. Thanks for reading my rant! Have a Fun Week!

Hello Weekend!

Sleep has been the big topic this weekend, me and my pillow have been chatting quite frequently, and I think in a minute or two I am going to go back and do it some more but in between the naps I have been looking at the iPhone & iPod Touch, there is a part of me that thinks “Overpriced, Under Featured, No Expandability” etc. I have not been a fan, I mean as a buzz item, it is cool, and the mobile web end of things is very nice - but as a user of PalmOS and PPC/WM I am used to the idea I can go out, find a app, and bingo, ready to go, sadly even with the release of the SDK it appears that Apple won’t allow any ol Joe to download and create.

That is my worry, while the iPhone would be handy for Email & Web, that’s really about it - even recent reports have noted that nearly +40% of iPhones are used primarily for data access, so that pushes me towards the Touch, but no camera, no mobile data, only Wifi - so no easy pick, and on top of that with a possible 3G version of the iPhone looming it may be wise to wait, but I have been looking at options from all camps with no real show-stopper, Palm seems to of gone the cowardly lion route and scaled back what used to be big bold moves at the pressure of the few, Windows Mobile, clunky, expensive TCO, and on that end for a more complex WM phone, usually larger, bulky, non-form-factor-friendly.

So needless to say I am looking still, I am sure there are those out there who could give me all the benefits for the iPhone, the part that is the “nail in the coffin” so to speak, is AT&T (Formerly Cingular) - never cared for their service, their CS in the past was a pain, and that “may” of changed, but not sure how their coverage locally has, so who knows - Verizon has told me they can get me a 1yr contract on a modem for Mobile “Broadband” but the thing I hate is everything else has gone unlimited with them, but their data has a 5GB cap, not that I’d use it, but for that rough month, it could be a pain, plus $0.49 per MB? If they made it GB I’d say “We have a deal!”

Anywhoo - that’s my rant, I have a bit of gadget fever, just with trying to be more flexible and mobile I am finding more road-blocks, the next area I am going to look is Verizon USB capable UMPC form factor systems, granted it’d be windows, BUT, I do own Outlook, and I’m not afraid to use it! Have a Blessed Sunday, and if your in the Bakersfield area, check out the Picnic in the Park - free goodies, fun, followed by service in the park as well - heck if you come find me, we may goto Carrows/Cindy’s/Denny’s afterwards and hang out (we do that sometimes… were cool lol) - Night Folks!

1 Day.

Hi, My name is Chuck, this is my site - I think, it’s been so long…. I need a nap, but for a little bit of an update, I am alive, I am busy busy busy, been working like crazy in my wonderful 8-to-5 world, with a mix of FH/TN in-between - so far so good.

Tomorrow, 1 day from now, is my birthday. 28. Yowza. I have NO idea what I am doing to celebrate, there was talk of RollerRama, there was talk of bowling, but I imagine after my day tomorrow, the only thing I am going to want to do, is sleep - lol. But I do want to get together with friends, have a meal, hang out, eat some cake, etc. or such is my thought/plan - but as usual, down to the wire with me, I have no idea, nor have I had the time to honestly even think about it - work, sleep, work, sleep, hang out away from the PC, work, sleep. etc. that seems to be the “standard” as of late.

So tomorrow we’ll see - heck I am going to try to come up with something tonight, but then again I am going to start coding at 7, and probably not stop till 11 - soooo we’ll see what happens. For now though, I’ll say “farewell!” and head off to find something to drink.

Now that’s a Monday!

I have a amazing core group of friends, they are more like family to me, they are supportive, good company, and always a open ear, tonight we tried to get as many of us together, granted I know some folks Monday is not a good night, but the Foster’s were in town but leaving at 5, the Poon’s had a due date for baby, and yet somehow from a lunch with Matt we got ourselves together at Cindy’s for some grub, good company, and Uncle Chuck the Human Jungle Gym.

It was a good day overall, got some more stuff cleaned up in the office, organized a bit, got a laptop finalized and ready to go, all in all it was pretty nice - throw in the lunch and the dinner - a great time, and while I am exhausted and then some I would do it again in a heart beat - we sat, we ate, we talked, I played with Ethan, Evan and Carlie - even Jake had some fun with Evan, it was a good day that just had some really great high points to it, I hope the rest of the week has good stuff in it like this! If only everyone could of made it, Scott had plans already, and some folks have class on Monday’s so just not possible, but were going to setup something big and fun soon.

Anywhoo - busy week, got a copy of EE on the laptop, so I can work on it on the mac during the dead time, also have a few assorted things I am working on with FH/TN, and of course MLS has the Google Apps migration this week, I need to get the corp. card and get it paid for, as well as a few other purchases I need to make for building a small server to test a backup system, so lots to do! But for now I am going to zone a little to some TV, and then probably try to crash out early. Sleep will soon become my friend… I hope. Night folks! Thanks for the continued prayers!

1am… I’m back!

So it’s Friday finally, another week down, my first full week of the 9 to 5 job (okay so it’s 8 to 5, but there’s a hour lunch) - Thursday I went and snagged lunch and ate at the park, it was gorgeous outside - it was a great way to spend lunch and get a breath of fresh air plus eat some tasty food.

I got home at 5:25 after a long day, first meeting, good progress on Google Apps, and a growing To-Do of mainly “not a top priority” things to do - but so far so good, plus on the TN/FH side, things are going smoothly too - tickets have been low, and billing ran today with no issue, so things are sticking it pretty smooth.

So why am I awake at 1:30ish in the morning? I dunno! I crashed out earlier, was just dead tired, looked for food, found nothing, my mom brought me a thing of chocolates for V-Day, then I just remember turning off the TV, and waking up wondering if I beat my alarm to the punch, and boy did I, only 5+ hours early, so I am going to try and wrap up my email, the one ticket, and then find my pillow again and get some sleep before the alarm goes - but I’ll post something more complete as to all the fun I am having probably Saturday, but thus far I do appreciate all the prayers, folks checking in on me during the day via IM - it’s much appreciated.

Anywhoo - I am off, part of me is hungry, but part of me is more tired, so I am going to let the tired part win and get some more sleep under the ol belt. Happy Friday folks.

Pee in a Cup, get a job.

So far so good on the job front, on my 3rd day solo, 2nd day on the payroll, I’ll get paid the 1st it looks like, or a very small check on the 16th, but so far so good, I finished the last leg of the HR hoops today (well the core stuff) by peeing into a cup, first time for doing it, even when I worked for KHSD I didn’t have to do a drug screen, I think it’s random in that case, but here I got to pee in the cup, it was a tad awkward with a wall-length mirror, but I survived!

Last night was fun, had Scott, Sara, Sarah, Beth, Michael, Ron, Karan and ME! we went to El Pueblo for dinner to celebrate the excitement that is my employment, it was awesome food, dad got mine, I got his (Chicken vs. Beef) - but still lots of fun, good laughs - I was going to hit Denny’s with Scott later, but I just got super sleepy - and backed out, still not 100% on this new schedule, and my body isn’t yet fully used to the concept that I can’t sleep whenever I want anymore - but it’ll level out in time, probably after the first check direct deposits into the bank I am sure that’ll give me peace of mind, but it is seeming like more and more I’ll be getting the apartment in March I am guessing, not a huge deal but it works.

Worlds are colliding with Work and Work, as it stands MLS is migrating from it’s current email offering with the local guys (who’s name I dare not speak, in fear I’ll go on a rampage) - but the replacement is the big question, I think Google Apps is the route I am going to take, it’s a nice solution for outside sales folk, 25GB of storage, etc. etc. but it’ll run the company about 3k a year in costs, as it’s $50/account - so we either need to slim down the email -or- one of these other options, currently Fusemail has my attention some, fair pricing, takes the cost for 25GB TOTAL storage down to under 1k a year, so a big savings in comparison. Granted I could always just setup something in-house, there’d still be some cost, but not sure. Already have the OK on Google, but I know there is resistance to it, so I want to have alternatives in the wings just in case, plus some of these offer anti-spam solutions so more for FH/TN to consider.

Anywhoo - things are good, getting the swing of things pretty well, the MBP is doing nicely (where I am typing now) and the office Dell I use for work, is not to shabby either. So now I am going to sit here and continue reading, lunch is in 2 hours, so tasty food is on the horizon! (I hope) I am thinking maybe of grabbing a slice or a dog from Costco down the street…. time will tell.

I have a Job.

And so it begins…. as of today around 2:45pm, I got the official word from the co-owner that I am officially on-board! So needless to say I was pretty excited - this means a lot for my monthly budget, my plans for my life, etc. this weekend I’ll probably even hit up the apartment complex and see what they have open right now - Lord Willing, I Hope they have the 2 bedroom + garage that I can come look at, that would be wonderful!

But a good first day on my own, only had 2 calls to the last guy for help, which meant calling my brother but all in all things went well - just wrapping up the afternoon, I have been on the phone here the last bit calling friends and family inviting them to come eat tomorrow night to celebrate, my sister made the good call and said El Pueblo, so needless to say my belly is excited! So tomorrow we will celebrate it up, and I imagine tomorrow I’ll get things going on my employed status, paperwork, etc.

So big thanks to everyone for their prayers! More news to follow I am sure, but I am just quick blogging this from Textmate here on the Mac - once I get home and settled in, I’ll probably post more thoughts, for now, PTL!