Leaving comments across the blogosphere…
Twitterrific Comes Roaring Back Into The iPhone Twitter App Wars
As someone who paid $10 for the original, I’m glad the upgrade was free. But they may have introduced extra complexity and reduced usability in how they implemented the expanded feature set. I’m a bit torn between it and Tweetie. Wish I could pick and choose features (and performance) from the two to design the perfect client for me. I’ll continue to play with it a few more days, see if it grows on me and as I get more familiar with the UI.
MiFi is a mobile broadband game changer
Two questions: 1. ) Does Verizon show you your data usage in your online account? Since they’re charging overages, I’d want to keep tabs on bits transferred. 2.) Can you recharge this via USB? 2a.) Does it come with a car charger? Seriously considering swapping my Sprint aircard and Cradlepoint router for just one device. Could be overkill most of the time, but less overall clutter when on the road. Keeping it charged is my only concern.
More about TiVoToGo & Multi-Room Viewing Copy Protection (CCI byte Explained)
Except all the Series2 units don’t use CableCARDs and are not subject to Cable Labs. I think I recall Pony mentioning some sort of Macrovision flagging as well. Of course, the rational was a bit odd. I believe the context was since they provide Series2 units with DVD drives they were bound by Macrovision regulations. But it seems to me they didn’t have to adopt it across the board. I think it’s just as likely they did it that way to keep the content industry at bay. Who knows!
CableCARDs: Cause for Joy, and Pain
Some factual errors and omissions here… CableCARDs are NOT tuners, they are separable security devices. Multristream cards (M-Cards) support dual (or more) hardware tuners/tuning. Also the fees are all over the board. My 3 CableCARDs were installed free and some franchises don’t require truck rolls, though many (most?) do. Additionally, card rate varies. I think Comcast’s official policy in my area is the first card is free and additional cards are $1.50/mo which may or may not come with an ‘additional outlet’ (AO) fee. However, all three of my cards are free ‘rentals’ and I’m not charged outlet fees.
In addition to consumer confusion or ignorance, CableCARDs used in current retail boxes do not provide two-way services like video on demand (VOD) or handling switched digital video (SDV). However, the future (perhaps) lies in tru2way – a common platform to enable that. However it may also require you get stuck with the crappy cableco UI on your third party device, like HDTV. And you mention things dying out, yet tru2way is just getting rolling… and all the major cable-cos and many CE vendors have signed on.
Lastly, there was a move afoot to meet the FCC’s separable security mandate via software, rather than hardware pairing/authentication. Not sure where that stands.
AT&T ammends arbitration clause; do you get a free pass?
Instead of the FCC, I’d hit the state attorney general and other local folks who are more likely to intervene on your behalf. AT&T may have their policy, but local, state, and federal law trumps their fine print. A one-way contract is bullsh*t. Unfortunately, they do have your Soc. So while you fight it out, they ruin your credit. We need better consumer advocacy and maybe companies that treated customers with a little more respect.
Mobile Email Still Sucks, Here’s Why
There’s a few distinct issues here… Ricky brought up the critical element that connects them: in that it’s about time management and setting boundaries when the email is work related. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, just used (like any other tool) on your terms. And you can substitute ‘mobile email’ with ‘mobile twitter’ or ‘text messages’ here. Regarding the rudeness factor, depends on your audience/compatriots. Melissa and I will periodically take a conversation break during dinner – I check my iPhone, she checks her Blackberry. VERY romantic.
I have push turned off by the way, so I’m not constantly looking down at my phone every time it beeps or buzzes (it also saves battery life) – new mail comes in, only when I manually initiate it. Again in reference to Ricky, my productivity has gone up by killing desktop IM. I’ve gone from running it nearly every waking hour to just a few minutes. Though any gains have been offset by the time I invest in Twitter. You can rearrange electrons all day, but I guess you can’t destroy them.