The new year is here 2008, just turned the corner, I look around and everything seems so familiar. The sky is the same, the hills and mountains haven’t disappeared, people still pass by on the streets, work starts and then is finished, taxes are still collected, food is bought and rent is paid.
But something I had hoped would have disappeared, in my wishful thinking, is still here with a vengeance, - Lack of Character -.
In my my wildest dreams, I know character will not be found, in one (not the most important which is family) of the most important bodies in civilized society, government. It has turned into a joke, yet the media doesn’t point it out as such. The politicians make all kinds of ridiculous and erroneous statements and when confronted with it stoop to claiming something totally different was said which doesn’t make sense in reality or even logically, yet the media will not point that out.
That, my friends, is why we have so much of it, because they are not forced to explain how they could have come up with their “new” revision of a statement that they made, which is completely opposite or far removed from what was said. I actually meant, … what I was really saying, … I was referring to, … I misspoke, … I was misunderstood or even I was misquoted. is getting really boring.
They all, and I repeat all, must be thinking we’re one sandwich short of a picnic… I think that shows lack of respect for us and worse, no confidence in themselves to be honest and truthful and being able to come through, with dignity, from the criticism they would shurley receive.
If we don’t make them tell the truth, in such minor matters, then how are we to be certain they would tell the truth at any other time… I frankly don’t think that will happen at all.
Our politicians don’t inspire confidence in the future with that mentality in charge of events.
… Good luck to all of us. The search for character continues.
A couple of comments on things I read today in regards to the above items.
When and where and for what reason, and under what circumstance can an individual be called a hero, legitimately.
Heroes are heroes for legitimate reasons, whatever they are. In a false “honorable” war he can’t be a hero to “right”, but to his fellow soldier, in any conflict, those he protects without concern for his own safety, he can be.
To Grunty1, get your facts straight before expounding on treason, “dissent is not treason. You probably think that a German soldier in WWII who would have dissented against the killing of the Jewish people, and all the countless other ethnicities who followed in their footsteps, should have been branded as treasonous.
Heaven forbid if America ever marched towards despotism, and you were there to cry treason, to folks who dissented against that march.
Those of you who think we have “learned a lesson” about being fooled into going to war, and that we will think more clearly before allowing it again, are wishful thinkers. We, and the rest of the world have time and time again been fooled into going to war. Look at all the world wars and all other wars, starting with all foreign nations. We ourselves were escalated into Vietnam by Pres. Johnson, remember the Gulf of Tonkin? How about the Bay of Pigs before that? Though that one didn’t work out because the President backtracked at the last second, negating his commitment to those on the beaches of Cuba. But it could have worked if carried through, all the lies were in place. Look around at history before making statements like that,… please. Looking at history, it seems impossible to think we couldn’t learn from it, but we never do.
I have never seen a government that didn’t lie, and frankly don’t expect to find one at any time in the future, whether Republican, Democrat, or anything else that comes along in its place. Lies and lying are ingrained into all governments psyche, they, I think, find it necessary and advantageous for themselves to do so, even under any and all circumstances.
Expect it!, then you won’t be surprised…. Still watching, and still thinking.
I’m pleased to announce that Mark/Space, Inc. has just made available a public preview of The Missing Sync for BlackBerry. While the final release version won’t be available until the end of the quarter, the public preview lets interested individuals take a pre-release version for a spin to check out its features.
The Missing Sync for BlackBerry public preview synchronizes contacts, calendar events, tasks and notes between a Mac running Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later and a USB-capable BlackBerry handset running version 4.0 or later of the BlackBerry operating system. Owners of BlackBerry Pearls or the new 8800 series handsets will enjoy The Missing Sync’s iPhoto album and iTunes playlist syncing (for unprotected audio files). The Missing Sync for BlackBerry really brings out the multimedia capabilities of these devices.
For more information, or to download and try the public preview release, please visit
In your article “The Saudis as Israel’s Protectors!?” you state many facts and conclusions from your observations, you rely on the politicians and leaders inability to learn from experience and their inability to see what is going on around them as a reason for their behavior. However, doesn’t it seem strange to you that -all- of these politicians and renowned world leaders are that inept that they can not see what is going on and what needs to be the right path to take? The ONLY conclusion I can see for their blindness IS that they do NOT want to see the truth, and heaven forbid if by accident they were to do the right thing. It would ruin their whole plan.
As I see it, and it is my opinion only, their plan is to keep the conflicts going, without a resolution, BUT, doing everything to try to leave the impression that they do want to solve it. No one could be that inept without putting in the effort to be that way.
That is the only logical conclusion I can come up with for prolonging the conflict and blocking successes. The reasons for that behavior could cover a multitude of answers, but peace is not one of them.
Please see her article at the link below.
http://jewishworldreview.com/0207/glick020907.php3
It’s amazing how the executives at the corporation couldn’t figure out what went wrong. I love to eat Big Mac’s and had done so since their introduction.
The continuous price increase didn’t dissuade me from purchasing them at least three times a week. I drove an 18wheel truck over the road and was able to visit any number of locations to satisfy my hunger for the Big Mac. However, approximately six years ago the visual quality disappeared. Instead of being built to stand up neatly, each time the carton holding the Mac was opened I saw the burger half way off the bun, lettuce all over, and cheese not centered on the meat. It was disgusting, and very difficult to eat without rebuilding it, just to be able to hold it. After putting up with it for quite some time I switched to the double cheese, no luck, same problem minus the lettuce.
I felt abused and taken advantage of; paying good money for such sloppy food. The quality of the ingredients was still excellent, however, the presentation was atrocious. Result; I simply stopped going to McDonald’s. Perhaps more people than I have had this problem and many who didn’t care as I didn’t, for a while, but who decided to move on to establishments that cared about what they gave you for your money instead of profits generated by too few overworked and rushed employees who had to build sandwiches too fast to keep up with the demand.
There was though, one store only, that I looked forward to, and was glad to get to on my routes, but when they remodeled and made it bigger, the quality failed there also. It is a shame, I miss the Mac, but refuse to be insulted. If and when I hear or read about their presentation being satisfactory, I will be more than happy to visit them again. Till next time at some counter… eat well… Juris
On Wednesday during my visit to Los Angeles, I took the time to visit an Apple Store in Century City. While there was a long wait for people to speak with one of their resident “Geniuses”, there was an even longer wait for someone who wanted to actually pay for something.
Now THAT is definitely amusing to say the least - good video Jeff.
I have found this issue to be somewhat true in my experiences, although my recent visits to Denver-area stores showed dedicated cashiers who were less flighty to help stranded consumers with iPod questions. It was really easy to give them $1.99 to upgrade to 802.11n also - but what isn’t simple on the web?! By the way - upgrade to 802.11n is worth every penny! (Core2Duo only, not CoreDuo or G4/G5)
Apple should consider continuing to look at how to make it easier for folks to give them money and even get support. As a rapidly growing company this needs to be closely monitored or else there will be suffering.
Although somewhat off-topic (from buying things) - I would like to ask that Apple’s telephone support be open longer than bankers’ hours. They close rediculously early Pacific time. Maybe Apple is avoiding using India for tech support but I have been frustrated a few times by their lack of 24-hour/day support.
I sure do love Apple though - thank God their stuff is reliable!
Sincerely,
Scott “Patiently Waiting to give Apple Money for iPhone” Stevens
As I was traveling last Friday I had several hours to kill before my flight left, so where better to sit and do some work than at Denver International Airport, which sports Wi-Fi in the while airport by AT&T and allows roaming partners like my subscription to Boingo.
I found a comfortable spot in a restaurant, opened my laptop and tried to login only finding my “login was rejected”. Much to my dismay, the AT&T “rejected” page did not offer any more specific information or a recharge page like CenturyTel Wi-Fi does. It also does not have “white-listed” links to roaming partners or an account management tool - and since I am a roaming customer through Boingo, I was left wondering how to fix this with Boingo when I can’t get to their website.
I felt trapped and frustrated.
Luckily the “rejected” AT&T Wi-Fi page does offer their toll-free number to call. I gave it a long shot hoping they could tell me some information about my account status or if my user/pass was just wrong (which I knew it was not). At a minimum all I wanted at that point was a number for Boingo.
From my mobile I call the 800 number and reach 3 options of which #1 is a somewhat logical choice as a customer, then the following prompt offering an account issue or tech support option.
Ring, ring, pickup…
I was stunned. I was maybe on hold about the length of time it takes for the call to transfer and a friendly female voice greeted me on the other end. I informed her that I was reaching that page, that I was a Boingo subscriber and that I believed my user/pass was okay.
The customer service rep informed me she could not help with Boingo account questions. My hope balloon just went flat. I asked if she had Boingo’s number and she happily looked it up. We laughed about my inability to get it without my login working. She offered me the number for Boingo which took a minute or two and to my surprise…
She offered to transfer my call.
I was glad to hear that Boingo and AT&T Wi-Fi decided to do the logical thing and at least allow transferring of calls. I accepted her offer and was transferred to Boingo where I was literally picked up on first ring. I asked the rep if they staff 1 customer service agent per subscriber and we laughed.
We got down to business…
We asked for my credentials (not secure ones; last name, first, account city) which I passed with flying colors despite an error from a recent address change. He informed me that the old card we had was expired and I gladly provided him a new card. He suggested a “few minutes” until all systems update and I can get back online.
Total support time: 5 Minutes
Because I was impatient from email withdrawals I tried to login about 30-seconds later with success. My email was downloading and the crisis evaded.
It was an experience of melancholy…
My customer service call was one of the quickest and most successful calls in my life. The reps were friendly and helpful, I was never on hold for significant time and the prompts were easy enough - Kudos to both AT&T and Boingo.
Although it had a happy ending, the beginning was very frustrating and restricting. The obscure message about my rejected login. No conspicuous links to white-listed roaming sites or roaming support pages. No phone numbers to roaming partner support. No mention that their support number would help. No more specific information on my login or account status. No conspicuous helpful troubleshooting tips.
In conclusion:
As a professional who builds Wi-Fi networks (including citywide “Muni” networks) I feel that I have more patience when it comes to these issues and typically resolve problems on my own. However, I was very disappointed at first because of the pure lack of information given to me on the “reject” page. Because I know what technical capabilities are available I felt underserved and confused. Many folks (especially Wi-FI consumers) are tech-savvy and prefer to fix problems on their own.
Unfortunately AT&T only offers phone support as the obvious option - despite an excellent support site that offers lots of good information, it was not an obvious option. Kudos to AT&T for the excellent support info and for the quick and helpful customer service. Thank you Boingo for impressively easy and fast support too.
But AT&T needs to beef up their self-help. Make your support docs the FIRST option, not last or obscurely placed on your very busy home page. Provide more information other than “rejected” for current subscribers. Include white-listed links on the page to roaming partners’ support pages. Include support phone numbers for your roaming partners.
Tech support costs all of us money; it affects ATT and Boingo’s bottom line and thus my cost for the service. Give me more info and let me fix my problem for us. I don’t want to spend ATT’s support money just to call Boingo directly.
I think roaming has come a long way and is doing a great job. These are really my suggestions on how to improve support and roaming support. Overall I am extremely happy with the service from Boingo, their partners and believe it’s worth every penny. I flock to use service where I know I can use my subscription on a reliable network. I prefer this far and above unreliable and illusive free Wi-Fi and even greater over incompatible “one-off” and/or non-roaming hotspots.
If given the chance, I would love nothing more than to help prefect Wi-Fi roaming.
I used to be a firm supporter of President Bush, not so anymore, and it’s been that way for quite some time.
It all began several months after he took office, when he decided to give up conservative principals and let senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts dictate the education bill. Next he let senator McCain and senator Feingold get away with the campaign finance reform bill, vowing to veto it, which he did not do. This stifled free speech near an election for lobby groups, but not individuals, which didn’t matter because an individual would be hard pressed to disseminate information widely on his own. Therefore information found to be negative or positive couldn’t be disbursed, and the voter would then vote ill informed. What happened to free speech in the constitution? It looks like a little more of it bit the dust. Nothing in the wind is evident to encourage us that congress wants to right the wrong, they just don’t care.
Then there was that far away land called Afghanistan, do you remember that one? There we went after the terrorists and demolished the Taliban and it’s hold on those people. Great start, but when we couldn’t find and kill Osama Bin Laden even with our bunker buster bombs, President Bush gave us all kinds of reasons that it was imperative we attack Iraq right away; any delay would cause us harm in the homeland. It was an effective way to get our minds off Afghanistan; the sales pitch was also effective because it worked, he was able to get most of congress behind him to authorize it. The only thing left to do was to declare a victory in Afghanistan, leave a few soldiers there, and then totally forget about it.
President Bush’s handling of the Iraqi war, along with his generals, who were able to get in there quickly and effectively, was incompetent, and they lost the ability to make good judgments on the course and strategy needed to finish it. I was getting so tired of hearing from the president, and his subordinates that the war was going well and we were making progress. We all could see from a distance that it was not. His assessment of the progress of the war gave the perception to observers that he was a light weight in intellect because; he was supposed to have all kinds of evidence to guide his decisions. But his perception of the war became more and more distant, along with those around him, from what the public in America and around the world believed.
It has become more apparent in recent months that his attempt to build a democracy in Iraq as a stepping stone to more democracies in the region has failed, and that, that, may have been a primary reason to attack Iraq in the first place. Having to go to war there to stop Saddam from killing thousands of his countrymen is an ingenuous and a very weak reason he has used because there are numerous regions in the world, even today, where mass killings are occurring. Those atrocities haven’t stirred his interest or compassion enough to lead the world in stopping them. Therefore, his compassion for the Iraqi people, has as a reason, become irrelevant to the discussion. Unless of course he wants to admit that for Iraqis’ he has that compassion, but not for others.
We all see that he has failed in Iraq, and now is forced to admit it, although he is still going to try for success, doing the things he should have been doing long long ago.
At this time, again as is typical, he needs to divert our attention away from pressing matters like Iran and it’s nuclear program and give us back Afghanistan, where he should have stayed to finish the job. I’m sure he won’t admit that he left the country too early to pursue other interests. He must remember to keep the public distracted as too much is being exposed of past actions in government which, if disseminated widely, might impede his current policies and actions, or bring about harsh criticisms.
One piece of information distributed is the quiet release of a US State Department 33-year old cable which showed that the department kept secret that Yasser Arafat, who invented global terrorism, the Fatah in 1959, ordered an attack, where the Fatah terrorists kidnapped, then killed, US senior foreign officials the following day. Arafat of course denied involvement, and over the years efforts to try him for murder were fruitless. But for some reason or other he prevailed to dupe many presidents, even after his death the lie persists that Arafat has come around; it still persists to this day. The full article written by Caroline B. Glick entitled “With the quiet release of a 33-year-old US State Department cable, a good chunk of the edifice of the long-running big lie was destroyed”, as found in Jewish World Review, dated Jan.2,2007.
So now we continue to play their game, giving billions of taxpayer dollars to Fatah, through Abbas in Palestine. Fatah has stated some of the weapons will be used for the intended purpose but that most will be distributed and used against Israel. But then a deal is a deal and the USA still went through with the deal. What next?. . . I wonder. . ., What next? From the kinds of decisions made by our elected officials, I am becoming more skeptical of their efforts to acquire a peace in that region, or any other region; in order, instead, to maintain conflict, giving us someone or something to fear and despise, to fight against, so ultimately a need for a massive global enterprise/authority could be initiated to rule, control, and punish infraction of their laws, in the name of stability and peace. With massive chaos in the world we all my agree to abandon our constitution, as we have, in a limited sense, done already. Giving up freedoms for security is not the answer to security, it just gives despots who think they have all the answers to life and living, the ability to control the masses in any way they please.
Looking at the whole world picture, from the events that transpire from decisions made, it is definitely… … getting more and more interesting,… but more so….. unsettling to the psyche and the soul. Till next time, I’ll still be looking at the world and wondering… Juris
Only a few short days after I posted this and notified all parties of the post, this appeared on the Mark/Space website home page…
The Missing Sync for BlackBerry - Product Preview
Missing Sync reliability and usability, coming soon for BlackBerry.
The Missing Sync for BlackBerry is built on the same technology that has garnered 4.5-mice ratings from Macworld magazine. It’s built to be reliable, so that you can count on your information successfully making the round trip between your Mac and BlackBerry handset.
Now, I am not taking credit for this showing up, but rather I hope that many readers clicked on the survey link to entice Mark/Space to let us know it’s on the way (plus that little show known as MacWorld where they had a booth ) I have not heard back from Mark/Space when specifically this product is supposed to be released - their site indicates Q1 2007 which gives then only 75 more days.
Also, in what I consider a smart move - a discount to convert from Windows or Palm OS:
Upgrade from a qualifying Missing Sync product
Customers who own one of the Missing Sync products listed below will qualify for a special discounted upgrade to the new Missing Sync for BlackBerry, version 1.0.
Missing Sync for Palm OS
Missing Sync for Windows Mobile
Notably, the product page for Missing Sync for BlackBerry indicates the Pearl specifically when taking about syncing iTunes and iPhotos. This is because of the BlackBerry Pearl’s multimedia enhancements. The new Missing Sync needs OS X 10.4.8 (Universal Binary) and these RIM BlackBerry phones:
Mac System Requirements:
PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, or Intel processor
Mac OS X, 10.4.8 or higher (Tiger)
Internet connection for product registration
BlackBerry Requirements:
The following devices running version 4.0 and later of the BlackBerry operating system have been tested:
7100 series
7290 (Cingular/T-Mobile)
7250 (Verizon)
7520 (Nextel)
7130 series
8700 series
8707 series
8703 series (Sprint)
8705
8100 series, aka “Pearl”
Other devices may work, but have not been tested.
As I wrote in my prior post that “the Pearl is my iPhone of today”, I now have seen the iPhone debut and retract my statement. The BlackBerry device is good, and I am keeping mine for the next 6 months, but then it’s going into the spare hones closet and the wife and I are getting 8GB Apple iPhones (we have been on Cingular for years and LOVE it)!!!
My beef with the Pearl is it’s entirely too reliant on menus - for EVERYTHING. I have found a steep learning curve that makes the kludgy Palm and icky Windows Mobile OS interfaces seem like generations of ease of use ahead. I also have found the BB to be VERY limiting in it’s customizability. It’s been a good phone and pretty reliable, ad Missing Sync for BlackBerry will make it even more useful, but I’m still not “sold” on it.
Sincerely,
Scott “Patiently Waiting for Apple iPhone” Stevens
I’ll begin here with the summary and call for cooperation for the sake of OS X and BlackBerry users everywhere! I have included sync instructions at the end of this post FYI.
Mark/Space has EXCELLENT syncing software for phones and OS X users known as the “Missing Sync”. It includes an easy-to-use interface and it works easily and reliably. Currently it handles an advanced sync for platforms like: PalmOS (Treo, etc), Windows Mobile (Blackjack, Q, etc), and even the Sony PSP. The reliability and support for the product is very worth the ~$40 USD cost. If only there was a Missing Sync for BlackBerry (they have a survey for readers to fill out)…
Research In Motion (RIM)’s BlackBerry is an excellent phone platform, working off years of refinement by the pickiest of consumers. They’ve now added multimedia functionality on the Blackberry Pearl that works pretty well and, if properly marketed, should open up their user base (it’s inexpensive for a Smartphone too!). The Pearl is available through America’s largest - Cingular, T-Mobile, and the Canadian powerhouse Rogers.
So if you own a BlackBerry and use OS X, here’s the good and the bad news…
The Good News - RIM licensed an OS X sync free to BlackBerry owners.
The Bad News - PocketMac is not an easy, reliable, or powerful solution.
MacWorld UK - PLEASE RE-REVIEW PocketMac for BlackBerry!!!
Much to my dismay and seemingly hundreds or thousands of other vocal reviews on various web pages, the sync licensed by BlackBerry for OS X known as PocketMac sucks. I try not to use that word, but there’s no politically correct way to express the unbelievable complications, problems, unreliability, and unintuitive user interface (and installer). The company that makes this software, Information Appliance Associates, also makes PocketPC sync too, but after my PocketMac experience for BlackBerry I agree with a review I read on the web -it is very much NOT worthy of the 4-1/2 of 5 “mice” it was awarded by MacWorld UK.
I look to Mark/Space to help fix this problem, even though it’s not their fault…
MAKE YOUR SOFTWARE for BLACKBERRY!!!
Now, the reason I bring Mark/Space into this is because I believe they can fix this problem by making the “Missing Sync” for BlackBerry. It is my humble opinion that RIM only licensed PocketMac for their users because there was not another solution on the market. Pardon my play on their own words, but I believe that if Mark/Space found the “Missing Sync” for BlackBerry, they could get the license with RIM for their software to be provided to the loyal and growing BlackBerry contingent.
Okay, maybe Mark/Space hasn’t done it because it does not meet the business case, or maybe RIM is too cheap to fork out the licensing fee (I doubt). I still believe that Missing Sync would be a heavily purchased product in their portfolio, even if it were offered standalone like the rest of their products. They currently compete with Information Appliance Associates PocketMac for Windows Mobile and they should be winning that race hands down. If Mark/Space is not winning that race, then a move like this could win them significant accolades (and revenue)!
What model BlackBerry is your primary device?
Pearl
Please rate the importance of the following possible features on a scale of 1 to 5:
Sync tasks - 2
Sync notes - 3
Sync calendar events - 5
Sync contacts - 5
Email sync with Apple Mail - 4
Email sync with Microsoft Entourage - 1
Call log backup and access on the Mac - 5
Encrypted password and account number storage/syncing - 2
iPhoto album import/export between Mac and BlackBerry - 5
iTunes playlist/music/podcast download to BlackBerry - 5
Install video files to Blackberry Pearl - 5
Backup and restore of the BlackBerry - 4
Installation of third-party applications from the Mac - 4
Are there any special features not mentioned above that you’d like to see in a BlackBerry sync product for the Mac?
I would like to sync “sent email” on the BlackBerry with my mail program’s Sent folder.
I miss being able to use my Cellular Data (Edge/GPRS/GSM) on my Mac when I have no Wi-Fi.
The BlackBerry has a separate directory for /ringtones from /music. Being able to dip into the /music/ folder from the ringtone menu would be VERY nice (maybe an alias?).
I look to Research In Motion to help fix this problem for BlackBerry users…
ENTICE Mark/Space to MAKE THEIR SOFTWARE for BLACKBERRY!!!
I want to give RIM kudos on the best SmartPhone on the market - BlackBerry Pearl, an inexpensive and reliable Smartphone. Honestly after handling it I almost stopped looking forward to the coming of Apple’s iPhone - that was, until I sync’d it. It is easy to see that RIM required a solution to open their loyal users into the loyal Mac contingent, but this was not the way to do it. Unfortunately the message boards and review columns are full of dissatisfied Mac/BlackBerry users, frustrated newbies and veterans alike, and words of suggestion for Windows and Palm even against their better judgment.
Do it right or don’t do it at all, measure twice and cut once. And with all due respect, which I have for RIM, the move to license PocketMac was just a bad decision among many right decisions. Whether it was haste, lack of options or a lack of thorough research by RIM, PocketMac has turned out to be one bad apple in a “Blue-Ribbon” barrel. It pains me significantly to say that if RIM does not choose to entice Mark/Space to create the Missing Sync for BlackBerry, that they might as well pull the licensed sync software off the shelf.
I apologize in advance for my Blunt on this topic, but I feel very strongly about this. I want to trade in my Treo and convert the rest of the Windows and Palm world if I can. The sales pitch is to but a Mac and a Pearl - I think it’s a match made in Heaven. Both companies have VERY loyal fans and both products work. My iPhone is BlackBerry Pearl … once it works with my computer.
Sincerely,
Scott Stevens
Following are my instructions for PocketMac sync for BlackBerry and OS X.
) I have not heard back from Mark/Space when specifically this product is supposed to be released - their site indicates Q1 2007 which gives then only 75 more days.