tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-203824412024-03-23T10:44:38.951-07:00Ben's ViewpointMy slice of the web where you might find both the view from my minds eye, or the lens of my camera.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.comBlogger386125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-43060097805996265762012-09-24T22:00:00.000-07:002012-09-24T22:00:32.891-07:00The Best Phone EVER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLUpZqBMkzM_xAFz8kilciO0JH4wjKWYHU6pJbfSCVYWRkVJbTVRm7M7zqiMORBnowLNess8iP_NlSqPkj-ubeKOayNzPiMzkmKrvD8xLAkProxv30ArEz_Dc-6RyzbdujnF6/s1600/galaxy_nexus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLUpZqBMkzM_xAFz8kilciO0JH4wjKWYHU6pJbfSCVYWRkVJbTVRm7M7zqiMORBnowLNess8iP_NlSqPkj-ubeKOayNzPiMzkmKrvD8xLAkProxv30ArEz_Dc-6RyzbdujnF6/s320/galaxy_nexus.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
It has been about 10 months since my last blog post. When I finally upgraded my phone from the original Motorola Droid to the Galaxy Nexus I had planned to post a review of what I thought was the best phone EVER. 10 Months later I finally decided it is about time, and in my opinion (what this blog is all about) it still is the BEST PHONE EVER! I have 5 good reasons, and some sub-reasons so read on to find out why.<br />
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Don't take just my word for it, I challenge anyone reading this to post why they think they have a contender. Just keep reading and you will learn just why I feel so strongly that the Galaxy Nexus still holds the title even after the release of the iPhone 5 and some other very impressive smart phones over the last year. Post your comments below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuN3RD6GrjQLm6ezavfojD5Z-xvpdKcxiuDcztw1aFL0jrkS1kZnWFtIVoLIKi66Eo-hAaZraCt7FbCV5ZE0cvjnSdWijpbSsSgEZ9R7cSkO8t3JZdZC8BB-p-wibPBvZluev/s1600/samsung-iphone-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuN3RD6GrjQLm6ezavfojD5Z-xvpdKcxiuDcztw1aFL0jrkS1kZnWFtIVoLIKi66Eo-hAaZraCt7FbCV5ZE0cvjnSdWijpbSsSgEZ9R7cSkO8t3JZdZC8BB-p-wibPBvZluev/s200/samsung-iphone-5.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
#1) PRICE. In today's economy price is key. There is no other phone you can buy with the features the Galaxy Nexus provides for less money. PERIOD. <a href="https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?=galaxy_nexus_hspa&feature=device-featured#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDIwMiwibnVsbC1mZWF0dXJlZF9kZXZpY2VzX1VTX18xX3Byb21vXzEzNDg1MDczMjUxOTkiXQ.." target="_blank">Today you can get this phone totally contract free for $349 directly from Google</a>. For comparison, the best rated Android phone the Galaxy SIII will set you back nearly $600, or the 32GB iPhone 5 that you can't even buy unlocked in the US yet is expected to set you back $749! Sure most of you will upgrade when your contract is up so expect to pay from Free to no more than $99 for a Galaxy Nexus. You will pay double for an iPhone 5 with 1/2 the storage capacity or 3 times for the comparable 32GB model.<br />
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#2) FEATURES. The Galaxy Nexus simply has more features than the iPhone 5, and all the features of the top smartphones on the market today at a fraction of the price. The Nexus spec's are dated but it still has a bigger display, faster processor, and more sensors. The iPhone 5 lacks NFC & a Barometer, but I will give the iPhones credit for a better main camera and iPhone 5 has the new Bluetooth 4.0, a feature the Nexus lacks. I don't own any 4.0 bluetooth devices, but I will concede the camera in the Nexus is it's only real drawback. Compare the specs yourself <a href="http://www.theverge.com/products/compare/6116/3604" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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#3) FUNCTIONALITY. This is the main thing you should consider when buying a phone. No matter the design, the features, or the price if the phone doesn't do what you need it to do then what is the point! The Galaxy Nexus has done it all, and continues to impress me with the things it can do for me. Siri sure sounds great, no I have not used it, but my Galaxy Nexus with Google Now trumps what Siri can do by adding predictive results. It tells me the weather before I ask and shows me the traffic jam on my route before I leave the office. For example when I search on my computer for a destination I need to find, the map is waiting in my phone for me to access without having to re-enter the address. Google syncs search across all of your devices so you have all your information anywhere you need it. Let me dive in more deeply to what I am talking about.
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<li>Music is stored on the cloud and is accessible on any computer anywhere on the internet. Google Music allows me to download content from iTunes, Amazon, OR even iTunes and store it on Google Music to play on my phone, tablet, or on my computer. The best part is I can upload my music library I have collected for years and don't need to worry about iTunes "Matching" it to insure it is legit.</li>
<li>Maps and navigation have been a core function of my phone since I had a blackberry. Google Maps have gotten better and better, and my original Droid over 3 years ago had turn by turn navigation. Apple just abandoned Google maps and just now introduced Navigation. <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/20/3363914/wrong-turn-apple-ios-6-maps-phone-5-buggy-complaints" target="_blank">MAJOR FAIL</a>. Reliable navigation is a core use case for a smart phone. GPS and instant real time location data including traffic data found in Google Maps is unmatched on any platform. I can even download maps for use when I don't have a connection. Apple maps cannot be downloaded for use without a data connection so your lost when you lose your signal, and without public transit data or detailed traffic information good luck getting around even in urban areas.</li>
<li>Cloud Services. From Google Drive, to Gmail, Google is king of the Cloud. Every photo i take is on my phone, and backed up in the cloud, so are videos, I will never loose a precious memory. Apple will keep your photos online for 30 days but if your device gets wiped and you didn't back them up your out of luck. Gmail gives you so much storage for free I don't know anyone who has ever run out. I have years of email archived and I am a major hoarder.</li>
<li>NFC (Near Field Communication) is a feature few phones have yet, and it may be a passing phase but I think it is great. I have Google Wallet on my phone so I can make purchases with my phone instead of my debit or credit card anywhere PayPass is accepted. It keeps track of my purchases, and is more secure than my card because you need both my phone and my PIN to use it. If I loose my card or forget my wallet I have my phone as a backup payment method in a pinch. NFC also allows me to do some other nerdy things but the mobile payments are really the best use case. Apple has a new Passbook that promises to do similar things but needs to get some traction in the market. Time will tell, but for today I can buy a 2x4 at Home Depot with my phone. Try that with your blackberry!</li>
<li>Widgets & Notifications keep me from staring at my phone all day so I can actually get things done. See people staring and tapping at there iPhones constantly? That is because they have to tap and tinker to get any information. With home screen widgets my Facebook feed, weather, recent emails, and currency conversion rates are in view with a glance. Detailed notifications with one swipe can be found and cleared without even opening the mail or messaging apps. Junk mail can be previewed and cleared quickly. iPhone improved notifications by cloning Android features but even the iPhone 5 lacks the home screen information super highway widgets deliver in the latest version of Android on my Galaxy Nexus.</li>
<li>Lastly I have to mention compatibly. Your phone cannot be functional if it is not compatible. I don't need iTunes or a special plug to keep my phone up to date or add photos and video to my phone. The cable to plug it into your computer is the same as any micro USB wire you can buy for any phone anywhere. I own several, I can charge in my car, my office, my bedroom, and my living room. I paid $3 on Amazon for one that tricks my phone into fast charging in my car. A new apple iPhone 5 needs a special cable and a $30 adapter to use your old accessories with it. To transfer photos and video I use a free app and I don't even need wires, I can copy files from any computer with a web browser to my phone over WiFi using AirDroid or similar apps. PC, Mac, Chromebook, Linux, doesn't matter. Sorry Apple Fans, honestly the only phone that "Just Works" is my Galaxy Nexus.</li>
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#4) REMOVABLE BATTERY. The battery life on my Galaxy Nexus has been one reason I could not recommend this phone... until now. The recent software update has improved my battery life I now have to boast that this phone can go all day without a charge. The iPhone claims the same, as do other phones, while the Droid Razer Max has the best battery life in the market. Where the Galaxy Nexus wins is the removable battery. A spare battery fits in my wallet but I rarely use it. Just having a standard micro USB charging connector and a spare battery gives me peace of mind. What good is the best phone in the world if the battery is always dead?</div>
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#5) SPEED. This phone is FAST... it has been fast since I got the phone but while older phones seem to get slower as they get older, my phone just got faster. ? Yes, it just got a huge boost in both battery life and speed, my phone just got the upgrade to the latest version of <a href="http://www.android.com/about/jelly-bean/" target="_blank">Android. 4.1 Jelly Bean</a>. This version is faster and smother than ever, and I can swipe through my photos like lighting and switch between apps with two taps. I can hop in my car, dock my phone, play some music, navigate to my next destination, and then call home using voice commands all before I get out of the parking space. The best part is this speed boost came at no extra charge. My phone is 1 year old and this week I feel like I just got a free upgrade. Thanks Google!</div>
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Yes I am a unabashed Google Fanboy, Guilty as charged. At the beginning of this post, I challenge you to tell me what your phone can do better, and I don't want to hear it can take a drop from your pocket better. I'm not boasting the Nexus is the toughest phone, my claim is it's the BEST phone. I will admit I would love it if my Nexus was built with a uni-body aluminum chassis yet only worked as well as the iPhone I would not have been as happy as I am nearly one year after purchasing my Galaxy Nexus. If taking pictures is all you can boast then I just feel bad you didn't take your $300 and buy a good camera. </div>
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That is my Viewpoint. What's yours?</div>
WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-66080488134343403612011-11-19T18:27:00.000-08:002011-11-19T18:45:09.495-08:00Eye-Fi Connect X2 Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_5LiAr2ofkFwG8K06Vb38zPlZSDX2gHVBWNpXjiI42-OBVPazDb6Fz-_4reUknV6QrzwSiUCLolkqdtNI2ukJS6KdasI_8oTLXzuU7ocFqtezaFppNIt8uh_GrMCLwW6UEwp/s1600/EyeFi-Logo-DirectMode-HowItWorks.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_5LiAr2ofkFwG8K06Vb38zPlZSDX2gHVBWNpXjiI42-OBVPazDb6Fz-_4reUknV6QrzwSiUCLolkqdtNI2ukJS6KdasI_8oTLXzuU7ocFqtezaFppNIt8uh_GrMCLwW6UEwp/s320/EyeFi-Logo-DirectMode-HowItWorks.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676903202582783186" /></a><br />When I heard that Eye-Fi had the latest Connect X2 cards at Walmart for only $39 I grabbed one. As soon as I got home I was eager to yank my 16GB SDHC chip from my camera and configure the Eye-Fi for use. What sold me on the new chip was the Direct Mode and Android app. With a quick software update, a few preferences set, and the install of the Android app I thought I was good to go. Unfortunately I rarely read instructions. While my photos were magically appearing on my laptop as well as on Picasa web albums at home, when I roamed away to test it off the WiFi I was disappointed. As it turns out some digging into the instructions is required to set up the direct mode with your phone. The Eye-Fi manager software provides a SSID and key to enter into your saved networks on your Android wireless manager and once that was done the transfers were going router free.<br /><br />Now I am no longer tethered to a hot-spot when I want to upload my digital camera pics and no longer have to rely on my lousy Droid camera if I want to share a vision with the world. You can read my past posts on Eye-Fi if you want to know more or visit www.eye.fi to see what your missing. Unless you like being tangled in USB wires or searching for your SD reader you will appreciate this small little chip.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-46437666435269599502011-04-30T10:27:00.000-07:002011-04-30T11:06:03.839-07:00You Get What You Pay For<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UR-L1mJyRN9Te28qFo6bEMYjU6wE_UdK3zCwOUQxRdBcZRIMTt0FBhBZLHnjzqXrXZFAkPp8NHHI2IhJU9jn_N3H4wdPfE2NG0lxrsY-2Lgg3qEsZtOJU7y1SHny-xXWkwjo/s1600/coupon.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UR-L1mJyRN9Te28qFo6bEMYjU6wE_UdK3zCwOUQxRdBcZRIMTt0FBhBZLHnjzqXrXZFAkPp8NHHI2IhJU9jn_N3H4wdPfE2NG0lxrsY-2Lgg3qEsZtOJU7y1SHny-xXWkwjo/s320/coupon.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601439420643235490" /></a>The title of this post seems like a concept forgotten. Don't get me wrong, those who know me personally can attest I'm as thrifty as they get. I enjoy deal hunting at thrift stores, buying second hand on Craiglist, and when something is FREE I will snag it up in a moment if it has value to me or anyone else. While some may say I am becoming a borderline hoarder I consider this a form of recycling. The laptop I'm typing on was purchased 2nd hand on ebay, the power supply is a spare I got at Goodwill. Buying retail makes me cringe but one thing I do know, you get what you pay for.<div><br /></div><div>When something is free, there is always a hidden cost. This doesn't matter if the item is tangible or not. Free services are no exception. </div><div><br /></div><div>Many of us use free services everyday. This blog is free, posting to it is free, sharing it on Facebook is free, in fact most of the popular services online now are free. Gone are the days when you paid to connect to the internet PLUS a monthly fee for the services you enjoy. Those who started out on AOL so when broadband internet came to the mainstream and it was a separate bill, some kept paying AOL. As I type I'm using free WiFi and free electricity.</div><div><br /></div><div>But is free really free? This coffee cost me $1 more than the drive thru price. What are the hidden costs? It's simple really. There are two ways you pay for your free online services. You pay with attention or you pay with your privacy. </div><div><br /></div><div>By attention I mean the ads on the screen that you view. Like TV commercials and radio ads, websites, blogs, and Facebook capture your attention with advertisements they sell. Google places context relevant ads in the unused spaces on nearly all of the services they offer. Most beta services they keep clean until you get hooked, then the ads start rolling. YouTube rarely had any advertising but now most videos not have commercials or sponsored ads in one way or another. This advertising is so effective they even pay me if people click on ads associated with my content. You should be seeing Groupon ads and Google Adsense ads on the right side of this post. </div><div><br /></div><div>When it comes to making money exploiting your privacy, this is where the biggest growth will take place over the next few years. More people are walking around with trackers that report back where you are, and what you are doing at every moment. Some of us even help by posting what business we just "checked in" to and rating everything from food to music in real time. All this data is collected, analyzed, and monetized by the companies who provide these free apps, games, and services. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you enjoy these things and yet complain about privacy, first think about why you get all this for free. Opting out of certain tracking is sometimes a good idea, but sharing your likes, dislikes and where you shop may not be such a bad thing. Before too long you may never see an advertisement for a product you have no interest in, everything will be so well targeted to where you are what you like you may even start enjoying commercials. You can be sure if you use Gmail, google knows more about you than your spouse and I think I trust google more to pick out my birthday present too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Recently Sony's PlayStation network was hacked, users personal information compromised, and it still as of this posting is not yet back online. Unlike the XBox Live service that cost $59 per year to join, Sony's network was free. Sure you had to buy the console, but no annual subscription means it was a one time investment. Many are upset that this shouldn't have happened and that Sony was negligent. This was a free added value add on to the Sony game platform, if it is down for maintenance while they beef up security to prevent future privacy breaches I'm good with that. I'm not paying for the service so I'm not really loosing money out of my wallet. </div><div><br /></div><div>Remember, you get what you pay for and if you complain about the quality of free services, then just ask for your money back and shut up.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's my viewpoint.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-48005725682030010032011-03-16T14:10:00.000-07:002011-03-16T14:56:43.527-07:00Social Circle of Trust<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXaexm4m9o9cOibJ9ue65OpszULyEYQYxisp5LuyqjvdKD3iuDYfoOUWzp61c1rDII5qqYnfXByusmGvvAXvpyOotSmgD4sFrq2w2U-AsCcVTVjD8LvJjaJ5ddIPIRspEoSR1/s1600/MeetTheParents_pic.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXaexm4m9o9cOibJ9ue65OpszULyEYQYxisp5LuyqjvdKD3iuDYfoOUWzp61c1rDII5qqYnfXByusmGvvAXvpyOotSmgD4sFrq2w2U-AsCcVTVjD8LvJjaJ5ddIPIRspEoSR1/s400/MeetTheParents_pic.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584795800269419682" /></a>Everybody on Facebook yet? Well.. not yet. It would seem most anybody who's anybody is. My Mother-in-law joined and she doesn't own a computer. Some friends of mine posted recently that they were setting up their parents with a FB page. Teens all had MySpace pages until they all learned Facebook was way cooler. MySpace is becoming a ghost town primarily focused on the music industry who is always late to the party and the ones left to turn the lights out.<div><br /></div><div>One problem many people have with Facebook is separating business with pleasure. Official Facebook policy restricts each person to one user account. While many ignore this policy and create both a work persona and a personal account, doing so risks losing both and confusing those whom you are both friend and coworkers. It is possible to customize each post visibility but is not easy to find or configure.</div><div><br /></div><div>Google is rumored to be cooking up a social dashboard to remedy the facebook fears for the cautious posters who risk offending various groups with over social awareness. <a href="http://elgan.com/">Mike Elgan</a> suggests that this new site "<a href="http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/netsys/article.php/3928411/How-Google-Circles-Could-Beat-Facebook.htm">Social Circles</a>" would allow you to define your social groups and allow you to post who sees what all while integrating all of the Google services you likely already use.</div><div><br /></div><div>Will this service be as well received as facebook? Many of Googles launches have been half-baked and lacked the final polish of the many successful acquisitions Google manages. While YouTube and Picasa are amazing, Buzz and Wave have't made the same splash. Currently my Google Dashboard boasts I'm using over 30 of 42 potential Google Products, yet many overlap and often are just versions of the same basic information. How invested are you in Google's services? Would you join Google's Social Circle of Trust?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-58891967089698293382011-02-28T19:41:00.001-08:002011-02-28T21:05:32.833-08:00Further Decline of Society<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5k72TW-UV73lSH5M_zyt8LpNiG2S1Hjtv7hBIwP5Mq1A_UYR6bEcmqXi86EPZtBEXnNim54nKeWa3zQMjiaUv4so021bfBfbr14idoLVfFD3HOkPyACjPenva6NR-KEW7uhQ/s1600/arrow_sign_backwards_from_istock.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5k72TW-UV73lSH5M_zyt8LpNiG2S1Hjtv7hBIwP5Mq1A_UYR6bEcmqXi86EPZtBEXnNim54nKeWa3zQMjiaUv4so021bfBfbr14idoLVfFD3HOkPyACjPenva6NR-KEW7uhQ/s320/arrow_sign_backwards_from_istock.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578961176685092658" /></a>By now most everyone has seen or heard about the recent Charlie Sheen interviews. TMZ & ABC are buzzing about it, and all the other usual media outlets are going to milk as much out of it as possible.<div><br /></div><div>Some may see Charlie as having a problem, some may see him as a degenerate, and others a hero. I see him as a symptom. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before I was born, rock & roll was controversial, but by the time I was a child, it you had to add sex & drugs to make rock & roll seem wild. During the 80's drugs went from the alley way to wall street. The MTV generation put bikini clad models in rock videos, and those rock stars were expected to be sleeping with them as well as the rest of the groupies in the same town. The 90's rolled around and pornography became mainstream, the internet and hotel sex channels made it freely accessible. During the last 10 years, MTV strayed away from music to feature teen drama's like 16 and pregnant, and skin. Glorifying what once was considered vice has become Hollywood's cash cow. You get the media to tell everyone how edgy it is to boost ratings. What was once wrong is now right, and what was right, is now wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not a prude, I don't deny that vice exists, or that it always has existed, what I oppose it the glorification of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Charlie Sheen is a symptom, his real life, however shocking he sees as normal. Doing drugs and porn stars he feels is now an admirable goal, a reward of his success that he feels those who look down upon are simply jealous.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hollywood is simply turning society upside-down, what was once bad is now good, and what was considered virtue is now vilified. Just look to the last few years at what were considered normal are now endangered or nearly extinct. Virginity, sobriety, and for those few hold out of what we consider normality, all under attack. </div><div><br /></div><div>When you start to see symptoms of a disease, you can find out what you suffer from, and look for a cure, simply treat the symptoms, or you can ignore it and continue on the decline.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fight the spread of this disease, wash your hands of the mainstream media who propagate this virus and contribute to the further decline of our society. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's my view. If you agree, share this, links below.</div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-37457055241013872902011-01-11T10:33:00.000-08:002011-01-11T12:09:35.206-08:00Do You Sync or Sink?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIRY6m8weMlvrL8v9JDMFrE6orc0vNP71kapinRC7jAd67OmB4onvEdRkV80ukAEpkVMRymq9QJFvln59JpORB3hRFhKWAIZb7hh-RJ0nCyQGywp9vxbTJMpeSnK-1VF2JZZw/s1600/droid_vs_iphone.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIRY6m8weMlvrL8v9JDMFrE6orc0vNP71kapinRC7jAd67OmB4onvEdRkV80ukAEpkVMRymq9QJFvln59JpORB3hRFhKWAIZb7hh-RJ0nCyQGywp9vxbTJMpeSnK-1VF2JZZw/s320/droid_vs_iphone.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561013265253122882" /></a><br />I think i figured it out. When confronted with the choice between Android and the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/apple/verizon-iphone/">Verizon iPhone</a>, it is all about sync. When I first played with a smart phone it was not my own. My boss asked me to help sync his contacts on his Palm Treo, and we had quite the adventure getting things to work properly. Making Groupwise, Gmail, Outlook, and Palm all play in the same playground was not an easy task and I spent hours reading technical manuals, forums, and blogs to try and teach myself the skills only a trained IT professional should have been able to master. An IT guy I am not, but I pretend to be because my services are usually free and you get what you pay for. When I got my first smart phone it was a Blackberry. Because my employer had an enterprise server, synchronized contacts, mail & calendars was to be expected. What made me a Google fan was when they introduced <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/">Google Sync</a> for smartphones. Simply installing an app, put all my contacts, and appointments in my pocket. When I added anything to my phone, like magic, Google had it in the cloud for me to edit and improve upon at my desktop and without relying on the corporate server. When I resigned and they remote wiped my phone, it was only a matter of minutes that I had re-installed Google Sync and my address book was back in business.<div><br /></div><div>Because Blackberry was, and still is no multi-media powerhouse, when the iPhone was released I was blown away. Because my employer provided my phone and Verizon service, it was not an option for my daily phone so I immediately sprung for the iPod touch. You can read my many posts on the iPod touch and know I am a big fan, and again Google Sync can get your contacts all mirrored onto you iPhone or touch just as swiftly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now here's the rub. What about the best aspects of the iPhone: media? Google doesn't sync your music, your photos, or your video. By design you must use iTunes on the iPhone and that kills it for me. Yes there are alternatives, yes you can jailbreak and sure, if your already an iPod owner your accustom to iTunes so you may not mind. The reality without going rogue is if you just want to add an album, a photo album, or a video to your iPhone it requires iTunes to sync it over. Again, I am not an iPhone expert but I have attempted to assist many times in this assuming simple task, only for it to lead to frustration and often surrender. Just kill me if iTunes is due for an update. Why every update is 90+MB is a mystery to all.</div><div><br /></div><div>While adding media to my Droid is not flawless, mounting it as a mass storage USB device and just dragging what I want over makes perfect sense. I have even rooted my Droid and done this over WiFi although slow, it was possible and begs the question, Apple, Why Not? </div><div><br /></div><div>While I typically rant, here I ask for your council. Have you come up with a way to sync your media to your mobile device? Do you stream it, or do you sync it? </div><div><br /></div><div>The technology front is evolving so fast, new phones, data services, and tablets are all being dumped into the market faster than the average consumer can digest them. My passion is reading sites like Engadget, and CNET, and yet even I can't decide what is going to replace my original Droid . Although it is less than a year old it already feels like a antique. But this just might be what they want. I get this sinking suspicion while I want to be syncing, I'm actually being sunk.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now I'm sticking with my Droid, but convince me otherwise, the Verizon iPhone is very tempting and my birthday is just around the corner.</div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-82899559414460254452011-01-01T10:52:00.000-08:002011-01-01T10:55:04.374-08:00Begin to Pay TodayToday your gas tax in Oregon goes up 0.06 per <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uwKQoc47ld-1dVPafaaHDMbb-ICFScjtbCsYJLmpjtLVNDxCH512_BoDIE6dc7u8EBe6Jiua_oGcPL7mBJ6z5t850cv6Xc70uA3CIrwP9DvvU3R7T3oUqq2Q8aQd5OS3n975/s1600/www.api.orgstatisticsfueltaxesuploadGASOLINE_TAX_MAP_OCTOBER2010.pdf+-+Google+Chrome+112011+103340+AM.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uwKQoc47ld-1dVPafaaHDMbb-ICFScjtbCsYJLmpjtLVNDxCH512_BoDIE6dc7u8EBe6Jiua_oGcPL7mBJ6z5t850cv6Xc70uA3CIrwP9DvvU3R7T3oUqq2Q8aQd5OS3n975/s320/www.api.orgstatisticsfueltaxesuploadGASOLINE_TAX_MAP_OCTOBER2010.pdf+-+Google+Chrome+112011+103340+AM.jpg" border="0" /></a>gallon. While this may notseem like much, consider folks in rural area, or people who can't afford new highly efficient vehicles. This regressive tax hurts lower income housholds, typically familys with more children, who drive less efficient vehicles. News reports claim the average consumer pay an additinal $35 per year in gas tax, but I can tell you that based on my math and my family it will be more like $100 per year. I commute to work, I drive the kids to various activities, and I enjoy taking my family on recreation in the summer, or to the mountain in the winter. This all stimulates our economy but I am sure as I second guess filling up the tank for a pleasure cruise, so will other Oregonians. Raising any taxes is bad for the economy, raising gas taxes is bad for familys, and bad for Oregon. This snuck up on me, as it may be a surprise to you as well. Let your local representitve know your displeasure with them.<br /><br />VOTED YES…to massive gas tax hike, yes to hurting jobs and hurting middle class:Alan C Bates-D,Suzanne Bonamici-D, Ginny Burdick-D, Margaret Carter-D, Peter Courtney-D, Richard Devlin-D, Jackie Dingfelder-D, Larry George-R, Mark Hass-D , Betsy Johnson-D,Rick Metsger-D, Laurie Monnes Anderson-D, Rod Monroe-D, Bill Morrisette-D, Frank Morse-R, David Nelson-R, Floyd Prozanski-D, Diane Rosenbaum-D, Martha Schrader-D, Bruce Starr-R, Chris Telfer-R, Joanne Verger-D, Vicki L Walker-D , Jackie Winters-R<div style="clear:both; text-align:RIGHT"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-2426591777985702802010-11-27T10:10:00.000-08:002010-11-27T10:50:22.646-08:00PDX Car Bomb Plot Should Raise Questions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshzQFscnJ3LbTOIGW4f2_wkT7WafBKBf7hkEs1MQWBVUWELZHmIQf9nf_CYcFpvi_P0S1cZb_IyvRIY4KxIv2uxFBQTdSqY-xEPOmT3oIjA9FkQQVKVxjamWO3Lo52DhdEjiT/s1600/Q-patrol.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshzQFscnJ3LbTOIGW4f2_wkT7WafBKBf7hkEs1MQWBVUWELZHmIQf9nf_CYcFpvi_P0S1cZb_IyvRIY4KxIv2uxFBQTdSqY-xEPOmT3oIjA9FkQQVKVxjamWO3Lo52DhdEjiT/s200/Q-patrol.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544303275962215202" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/27/feds-somali-born-teen-plotted-car-bombing-ore/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Mohamed Osman Mohamud</span></a> walked away from his car bomb to detonate it using a cell phone, what if a Portland police officer who was not in on the sting tried to act? Portland has been plagued with public outcry over police shootings and the atmosphere surrounding the the use of deadly force makes officers question themselves before they act. If an officer had reason to believe there was a threat I would hope he would act without restraint to protect the innocent lives. Unfortunately, the likes of Jessie Jackson and Police Chief Mike Reese create a real threat when they punish officers for taking action to protect the public.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/11/portland_police_chief_mike_ree_1.html"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Portland Police Chief Mike Reese fired Officer Ronald Frashour</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> for the fatal shooting of a suicidal man who failed to follow police instructions. Although the man was later found to be unarmed, repeated requests to stand down, and the initial shooting of non lethal rounds also failed to stop the suspect. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Aaron M. Campbell was killed and Rev. <a href="http://tdn.com/news/state-and-regional/article_e7f6b5e8-1b9a-11df-88f0-001cc4c03286.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">Jessie Jackson stepped into the media spotlight</span></a> to further prosecute the Portland cop and make a national sensation of the situation. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fast-forward to Friday night, during the November 26th Portland tree lighting ceremony and think about who you have running your Police department. The leadership will fire officers for using deadly force, and here you had a potential situation where an unarmed man had the intent to kill 1000's of innocent lives. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fortunately this situation was all a sting, the explosives were fake, and the FBI had control of the situation. Remember <a href="http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20050422/NEWS/50422027"><span class="Apple-style-span">Portland withdrew</span></a> from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in 2005. God help us if we need to rely on Mayor Sam Adam's leadership or Police Chief Mike Reese for protection in any future attempt.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A big thanks to the FBI for catching this terrorist, but as for your fearless Portland leader, d</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; ">on't worry, he is on the <a href="http://www.pdxqcenter.org/q-patrol-history/">Q-Patrol</a>,</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; "><br /></span></div></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-34286299024507615922010-11-26T11:29:00.000-08:002010-11-26T12:36:20.301-08:00New EPA Disinformation Stickers<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The Environmental Protection Agency is now propping up it's car company, GM with <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/26/2011-chevy-volt-gets-stickered-93mpg-on-battery-37mpg-on-gasol/">new fuel rating stickers</a> to convince consumers that Hybrid and Electric cars will save the planet.<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdKfD9A1gB3xeRBTb9886q-7fKQvlwpMyzsRwPOccrA_DXBIpJKNLEMowEmX7jNCc4luh8TAo8ESnE9hoqo73i_CTUGolXdHq8fFhuL8n6mULn1ubJ76hApWBvIN1ghK6gyAs/s320/2011-chevy-volt-epa-mpg-sticker.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543958651628752674" /></div><div>With a 37% government stake in GM, is this not a a conflict of interest? Why allow the EPA to be the credible source for fuel efficiency data on a company the government holds a large share?</div><div><br /></div><div>Notice how they use a 60MPG claim when doing a comparison to "compact cars" yet this 60MPG economy rating is a composite of using a plug in charging source, and not purely gallons of fuel. This is totally bias and an unfair comparison to real world economic measures, especially when considering how there are little to NO all electric or plug in charging vehicles on the road.</div><div><br /></div><div>The real numbers are the tiny energy cost numbers in the lower right. When you compare the "Never Charge" numbers you only get 9 cents per mile. An economy diesel fuel vehicle will cost you between 6 and 8 cents per mile depending on the price diesel of fuel in your area.</div><div><br /></div><div>What is sad about this farce is they want you to be environmentally conscious but fail to inform you that the majority of electricity in this country is produced by burning coal. The EPA won't promote diesel engines because they want you to believe the are a bigger pollutant, but when you calculate the extra miles you go on a gallon of <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es034928d">diesel it actually pollutes less than gas.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The other major flaw in this EPA sticker is the price per uses 11 cents per kilowatt hour and $3.20 per gallon of gas. At the time of this post, the <a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html">US average kWh</a> is 12 cents and the <a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html">gas price is less than $2.87 per gallon.</a> This EPA sticker grossly mis-represents both energy costs to favor the electric vehicle. If you live in CA you will pay 15 cents per kWh to charge yet only 3.14 for a gallon of gas. New Yorkers will pay 19 cents for each kWh of power, yet only $3.00 for a gallon of regular gas. Worse yet, they show a cost per year if you use the car exclusively Electric OR Gas further swinging the bias of this sticker. How can they reliably publish this information considering the volatile energy market and regional differences in cost?</div><div><br /></div><div>Now consider that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4">Obama hopes to electric rates "necessarily skyrocket"</a> and his administration supports banning oil drilling and exploration, no matter what you use to power your car you will be paying more than ever before. Obama has no interest in america's energy independence, but is more focused than ever on <a href="http://www.frumforum.com/obamas-new-energy-policy-more-oil-from-abroad">killing any effort to develop domestic oil supplies</a>. What does you car run on? What can you afford to buy? At a $41,000 price tag, I won't be buying a "VOLT" any time soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't get fooled folks, until we get serious about developing affordable energy supplies, it won't matter if your car runs on hopes or dreams, it will cost you plenty.</div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-18637608914739263742010-11-03T23:05:00.002-07:002010-11-03T23:23:04.851-07:00Mr. K's Doomsday Plan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Cuf6TGQkAZRXZRpPrZaF3bYwoOMAyH5t2EeV4Nz0pHCSaobgibPGzDJjYylLVNt0oXQpkFSH4MZn3ClisomIkCU0fuN7fABL7cxumsFVmrBW0g9whL5h0aj0AvmbZ38zZqeb/s1600/large_guv.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Cuf6TGQkAZRXZRpPrZaF3bYwoOMAyH5t2EeV4Nz0pHCSaobgibPGzDJjYylLVNt0oXQpkFSH4MZn3ClisomIkCU0fuN7fABL7cxumsFVmrBW0g9whL5h0aj0AvmbZ38zZqeb/s320/large_guv.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535575897742640818" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.johnkitzhaber.com/prosperity/">John Kitzhaber's Plan For Oregon</a></div><div><br /></div><div>"Create the fundamental conditions for long-term job creation and prosperity. Achieving these conditions will require transformational changes in a number of major systems including education, public finance, health care and energy."</div><div><br /></div><div>If I understand this correctly he will create jobs simply by "Changing" our education, "PUBLIC" finance, health care and energy systems? Since when did ANY of these systems create substantial job growth or reverse economic recessions? Were DOOMED!</div><div><br /></div><div>John Kitzhaber's "Actions"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Create Access to Capital" Isn't that what the Obama stimulus and bank bailouts were for? More loans and debts for business will not create jobs. Cutting taxes, red tape, and eliminating bureaucratic roadblocks will.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Promote Energy Efficiency" How does this create jobs in Oregon? Will someone explain this to me? Sure saving energy saves money, but not when the global warming mafia will then tax your use of energy to off set any savings you may gain.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Connect Oregonians to work through training for high demand jobs." What does that mean? Is that even a sentence? I had to click through his website to figure it out.Mr K will get out-of-work Oregonians, specifically those in the construction trade to learn how to do commercial insulation and weatherization work, build windmills and install solar panels. Some may become nurses and Dr's too because you know the health care industry will need all those unemployed people after they complete their 8 years of training.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have to hold back my urge to use profanity as I read the Kitzhaber plan for Economic Prosperity. We are DOOMED, if we don't get this state off the backs of the small business. I am still in shock that this election was decided by Multnomah and Lane counties. Even more disappointing is how so many don't understand how continuing these business hostile policies do nothing but kill jobs and stifle economic growth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those of you unemployed, or underemployed, better jump on one of John's job programs soon. There are nearly 400,000 unemployed Oregonians that will be looking to John for a job thinning forests, something tells me those jobs will go quickly.</div><div><br /></div><div>If your suffering like me from lack of inspiration, read <a href="http://www.johnkitzhaber.com/prosperity/">his plan</a> for yourself. I did because were now stuck with him, I want to know what to expect. As I feared, my it is worse than I originally thought.</div><div><br /></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-10511198491057394862010-09-12T13:20:00.000-07:002010-09-12T14:03:23.719-07:00Looking For Jobs? Hope Is Not Enough<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1-JleYuYuYRij-4KvJ1i_-kmbts5_unOEZ7fRm0vW7osaE3Sdxkdg7YA9cWsMBgGaT5bMEGp1hsBmoLpmi93wpOlQZjrJSJPA98Ym1-v-4esuGz-9g45sGIF0rHIxiTFV0wy/s1600/03obama.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1-JleYuYuYRij-4KvJ1i_-kmbts5_unOEZ7fRm0vW7osaE3Sdxkdg7YA9cWsMBgGaT5bMEGp1hsBmoLpmi93wpOlQZjrJSJPA98Ym1-v-4esuGz-9g45sGIF0rHIxiTFV0wy/s320/03obama.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516135511788002194" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/10/obama-addresses-economic-proposals/">Obama defends his economic policy</a>, claims the 814 BILLION in stimulus spending "worked" but unemployment has gone UP to 9.6% and <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iIDejrQw66LETUlWxuAdyAlP5XoQD9I6CN3O0">Obama's newest economic adviser warns this high rate will continue</a>. He passed this as economic stimulus when it was nothing more than <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533841,00.html">political hand outs to states</a>, who support him and not to those who don't while leaving those who need it most empty handed. It was supposed to keep Unemployment under 8%, the only thing it stimulated was delay, with studies, and review that only <a href="http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/03/25/the-need-for-environmental-review-complicates-stimulus-funding/">complicate otherwise routine infrastructure projects</a>. Now he want's more regulation of business, higher taxes for those who hire, and more <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/16/union-wage-rule-means-fewer-projects-completed-stimulus-cash/">hand outs</a> to labor and public employee unions. Unions may have given us the weekend, but today they are giving jobs to China & Mexico, leaving US workers off indefinitely.<br /><br />How do you stop this economic disaster? Vote, call your congressmen, voice your displeasure with your government.<br /><br /><b>A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. - Gerald Ford</b>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-24165261094387747662010-05-26T09:23:00.000-07:002010-05-26T09:23:41.134-07:00Rainbows Rock<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKGPhweE5EBH7L-LUn2MQ5-m7ZdTYSwx409mF2qIKfzzP0zeHtB_te24b6Ab1-6zDwqawhcpmMqM-S6nMXAeCvet3EavuEj7Nm9s9v5Ncg2GoiAKVaW5WAergOjQVmCc_Jw98/s1600/IMG_0023.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKGPhweE5EBH7L-LUn2MQ5-m7ZdTYSwx409mF2qIKfzzP0zeHtB_te24b6Ab1-6zDwqawhcpmMqM-S6nMXAeCvet3EavuEj7Nm9s9v5Ncg2GoiAKVaW5WAergOjQVmCc_Jw98/s400/IMG_0023.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-11516246087410887742010-05-24T17:15:00.000-07:002010-06-19T09:23:04.310-07:00More Gmail Goodness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycJGw9z2d4CcjvZpmaBBlTamF8cpprI5bq65zdDZgcLnlBNOOZ4d98aDCHADjlErF73Edfq9-AvbvfB6dXCheeLUlkvt4LV5VUe4BaBv5FVJs7LW28L5JwulFQ3JZBri000mK/s1600/Sync.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycJGw9z2d4CcjvZpmaBBlTamF8cpprI5bq65zdDZgcLnlBNOOZ4d98aDCHADjlErF73Edfq9-AvbvfB6dXCheeLUlkvt4LV5VUe4BaBv5FVJs7LW28L5JwulFQ3JZBri000mK/s200/Sync.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474977053833063074" border="0" /></a>For the last year I have migrated from using two mail services, to just one: <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">Gmail</span>. Before this my work email was separate and I had a Blackberry that merged the two into one inbox. Since loosing the enterprise services for my Blackberry and now using the Motorola Droid phone, keeping my mail communication simple was getting sticky.<br /><br />Gmail can handle checking in to any email account easily enough, yet I still needed a traditional email program for business use so I have entrusted <a href="http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/">Thunderbird</a> for that task. Outlook was just too heavy for simply managing my mail and address book, Outlook Express was being a nuisance and would take eons to load and lacked fast keyword searching. <a href="http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/">Thunderbird</a> loads quick, has a simple search and allowed me to easily import contacts.<br /><br />The last piece of the puzzle just fell into place when I discovered <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/8451/">gContactSync</a>, a plug-in for <a href="http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/">Thunderbird</a> that synchronizes my Gmail contacts into a new address book within the Thunderbird system. Now when I add contacts on my Droid, it syncs both to my Gmail cloud and then when I launch Thunderbird I have a hard-copy on my laptop too.<br /><br />Now I might just be more inclined to clean up my address book as well.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-91272052598772958162010-02-17T08:44:00.000-08:002010-02-17T09:00:00.190-08:00Android 2.1 Letdown<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNlZbC0PgGxOfK5iYju9XobA3ch2l4_ZO_IoOit8588VXDjjg5yvhARBR_CqcXW1ZQ3GxGM-vqoitSlKCGhaLdvjKAGZu4f7IUGXEy5cicZrRMlH1d3TL0qzmCXvz07gWfMH9/s1600-h/eclair-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNlZbC0PgGxOfK5iYju9XobA3ch2l4_ZO_IoOit8588VXDjjg5yvhARBR_CqcXW1ZQ3GxGM-vqoitSlKCGhaLdvjKAGZu4f7IUGXEy5cicZrRMlH1d3TL0qzmCXvz07gWfMH9/s200/eclair-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439256287471743618" border="0" /></a>I'm still waiting for Motorola to release the latest upgrade to my Droid OS, Android verson 2.1. The main reason I have been craving this upgrade is it was expected to provide multi-touch into the OS in native form. Currently only the Google Maps 4.0 supports multi-touch pinch for zoom, a major improvement over trying to tap a tool button and only getting incremental zoom. As for the web browser, fortunately PC world pointed me to a free browser called Dolphin I need to try out to fix the lackluster zoom provided in the included web browser on my phone.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, my Droid kicks my blackberry to the curb in most every way, it is still just disappointing how it still needs to catch up to features my 1st generation iPod touch offered years ago.<br /><br />For some great details on the Android 2.1 release read RJ Raphael's review on <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/186768/googles_android_21_how_itll_change_your_phone.html">PC world here</a>.<br /><br />Get Dolphin Here:<br /><div style="text-align: center;">Latest version is V1.2.99 Scan or click the link below to download now!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center; display: block; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://bit.ly/5llzTI" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://sites.google.com/a/mgeek.mobi/browser/_/rsrc/1259661542411/home/Dolphin_Browser_New_version.png" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; display: block; margin-right: auto;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <div style="display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: center;">(or search "Dolphin Browser"in android market)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;">*Don't know what the images above is all about? Use your barcode scanner on your Android phone and snap a scan of the above to see!</span><br /></div></div> </div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-54532097702951818712010-02-16T19:22:00.000-08:002010-02-16T19:38:16.058-08:00Droid Driving<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUg56IRJMS2tV6KVdSy0JxKdD2Bre-fxT6o0BbQzPPlEhapHIpgeDUcU_p5Z29NE6kK6eKBpGRrmlWYlXnIz9QBjJStFApqAPh5Um4XC2MjwW3NifQYIOOqegqUReNUflxI363/s1600-h/IMG_0086.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUg56IRJMS2tV6KVdSy0JxKdD2Bre-fxT6o0BbQzPPlEhapHIpgeDUcU_p5Z29NE6kK6eKBpGRrmlWYlXnIz9QBjJStFApqAPh5Um4XC2MjwW3NifQYIOOqegqUReNUflxI363/s320/IMG_0086.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439051450501864530" border="0" /></a>My Droid has nearly completely replaced my iPod touch as my favorite gadget. What I needed to get the full convenience was the <a href="http://www.proclipusa.com/">ProClip</a> mount. Today it arrived and I replaced my ProClip iPod mount with my new Droid mount. ProClip has a vehicle to gadget matching system that allows you to dock your phone, iPod , or GPS to your dash allowing you to safely use your device. My iPod was always in easy reach, but now with my new Droid docked in it's place I have navigation and local search at my fingertips. If you spend any amount of time commuting it is worth the investment to upgrade to a <a href="http://www.proclipusa.com/">ProClip</a> system. They are a bit pricey compared to a universal system but they are well built and thoughtfully designed to fit each device. The Droid mount allows you to view the phone in portrait or landscape mode, and even allows the keyboard to slide out. The clip keeps the buttons jacks clear to connect the charging cable and the audio output.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-15059911815384201742010-02-10T15:33:00.000-08:002010-02-10T16:28:20.227-08:00Droid Does!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rEU__KOTC5uW1DPMCoRoKiWRqBk4WsMogB1rR34A2LBSHbh10r5ptcd3fLU8D4k7fQg6Jd9obFHNwztYPWTnE_UZSfb7QGo2Qc4apv0amuZO6dj6-BP3dQxJw5zGFUnlLK_e/s1600-h/droid-eye.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0rEU__KOTC5uW1DPMCoRoKiWRqBk4WsMogB1rR34A2LBSHbh10r5ptcd3fLU8D4k7fQg6Jd9obFHNwztYPWTnE_UZSfb7QGo2Qc4apv0amuZO6dj6-BP3dQxJw5zGFUnlLK_e/s200/droid-eye.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436763650697281906" border="0" /></a>It has been almost a month now I have been putting my new Motorola Droid phone though the paces. My Verizon contract was up and for the past year I was planning on dumping them for AT&T so I could finally have the iPhone. This decision was not easy, and it weighed heavily on me. Yeah, your thinking it's just a phone, but my phone stays on my hip from the time I get out of the shower until I hit the sheets and serves many duties. Besides making calls, my relaible Blackberry pearl delivered my email, posted tweets, sent twit-pics, located places of interest with google maps, and accessed facebook mobile. Although it didn't have GPS, the location feature via cell service was good enough to keep me from getting lost in Yakima. I won't miss the little screen or the buggy delay of the pearl track ball, but I will miss the way it was quick to answer the phone and easy to charge. More on that in a moment.<br /><br />The Droid is expensive compared to most phones in Verizon's arsenal, with a 2 year contract it sets you back $199, however I have a $100 rebate in route so if you net it out it's comparable to most smart phones. Where it begins to pay for itself is in the services it provides. The Droid comes with Google navigation, actual voice turn-by-turn directions, and unlike most car nav's it is powered by real time Google data. This replaces your VZ navigation charge if you subscribe and could save you the cost of the phone in one years time. The Android market is full of other useful apps as well, and since the phone has a large touchscreen, media player, and removable upgradable Micro SD storage chip it hold twice as much media as my 8GB iPod touch. Upgradable to 32GB you will have plenty of room for pictures, video, and music. So far it replaced my Car GPS & My iPod.<br /><br />As for the Droid as a phone, it has great call quality, seems to have better reception than my Pearl, and a much louder and more clear speaker phone. As for comfort it is awkward to hold up to my ear and much heavier than many phones. Using blootooth is the best way to comfortably make calls, yet one nuance is the way you answer. W/O a headset you slide the answer prompt and it has more than once failed to function with ease. It is frustrating at times even to unlock or wake the Droid. I hope to find an app that improves the wake-up unlock gestures. The blackberry I just pressed a button, the droid takes some effort and is more likely to cause a call fumble.<br /><br />Another minor flaw is the slider keyboard. A real keyboard should have been the major advantage over the iPhone but the flat keys are hard to handle. With no feel to the keys fat fingering is frustrating and frequent. While I still slide it out for most major typing every time I make a mistake I curse the designer. Motorola should have had a blind person design the keyboard but i will move on.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql5tzKeM6eZoxd-WbIEGnSYPqIEJwufsAwYYKqbyxKmbQ-aWvWfSyPpyLtShJZMmaMei_7_ODaCimwYkKj_vDbI1FiGc3ws1-22AKn15Ipv-LtEIVvWuP2RwD2GTJlfDQElHr/s1600-h/droid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql5tzKeM6eZoxd-WbIEGnSYPqIEJwufsAwYYKqbyxKmbQ-aWvWfSyPpyLtShJZMmaMei_7_ODaCimwYkKj_vDbI1FiGc3ws1-22AKn15Ipv-LtEIVvWuP2RwD2GTJlfDQElHr/s200/droid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436763885970442770" border="0" /></a>A major disappointment with the Droid is the the camera. It has a 5MP camera that shoots good quality video too, but don't throw away your digital camera just yet. The camera, like most camera phones, does poorly in low light, so it has an obnoxious LED flash that blinds your subjects and then casts a harsh glow on everything in the shot. The camera is also painfully slow, poor to focus, and crashes on many of the apps that use it. Don't think the Droid camera is going to be something to rely on, unless a software upgrade fixes it's slow response time, I will only be using it for the augmented reality apps I have installed.<br /><br />What is "Augmented Reality"? Glad you asked. With a GPS location, and 3G connection to the information super highway, the Droid can become a window to real-time location aware information right before your eyes. Think of it like terminator vision, or a heads up display like a fighter jet pilot.. oh, yeah, and there is an app for that too.<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/"><br />Google Goggles</a> allows you to photograph objects and text and it does an instant optical charicter scan and then shows you google search results of your photo. Take a picture of famous art, a logo or sign, and it uses your location and the object to feed relevant information to you from the web. The AR feature shows push pins of google maps data within your proximity. For example, the restaurant or store location and contact information will appear if you click the little push-pin icons withing the camera view as you pan around. This is difficult to describe so check it out on YouTube.<br /><br /><a href="http://layar.com/">Layar</a> is another AR app that allows you to choose layers of data to overlay your reality view through the camera or see it on a map view of your location. Many pre made layers exist from golf courses to the Wikipedia. Great for tourists! I recently tried Layar in Portland, it was keen to find places to eat nearby, but I ended up using Google Maps to actually give me walking directions to the nearest <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=pizza+schmizza&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.52365,93.076172&ie=UTF8&cd=1&hq=pizza+schmizza&hnear=&ll=45.490224,-122.763634&spn=0.154757,0.363579&z=12">Pizza Schmizza</a> store.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/sky/">Google Sky</a> is another app similar to an augmented reality app but it uses the phones orientation and your location to show you the constellations based on the place and time of day,the angle you hold the phone and the compass within the Droid. Pretty cool for star gazers!<br /><br />A few other camera apps that have been fun but not yet all that useful are a bar-code scanner and a streaming video app that crashes my droid when I try to use it. Hopefully the bugs get worked out on a software update so I can stream some video to this blog. I bet you can't wait! One use the bar-code scanner impressed me with was loading new apps. Some websites include digital image codes on the page that you can snap with the bar-code reader and it takes your phone to the app download page to install it. No need to input any URL or search for the app in the app market, it just finds it in a 'snap'<br /><br />I mentioned Driod replaces my iPod touch but one app that has made my iTunes obsolete is <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7L5g8LqsaOb7hJVJJmaTkq-EuV19gCb9cwBDmlxUM3nYx-gFmVVqog3mmDxc8mxDlNoVMSPlmMaYEljB5NCHebLtwCCMnVuIDdv4oUREH740hV1hPGPYl4EOQ6EJBrHGQqa_/s1600-h/PandoraRadio.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7L5g8LqsaOb7hJVJJmaTkq-EuV19gCb9cwBDmlxUM3nYx-gFmVVqog3mmDxc8mxDlNoVMSPlmMaYEljB5NCHebLtwCCMnVuIDdv4oUREH740hV1hPGPYl4EOQ6EJBrHGQqa_/s200/PandoraRadio.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436771711057029682" border="0" /></a>Pandora is a streaming audio app that play music based on your preferences. Make a radio station based on an artist you enjoy and it picks similar music, commercial free, and streams it in amazing quality to your phone. I just plug my headphone jack into my car radio for my commute home. No more dangerously changing tracks, or looking for albums on my iPod, I just let Pandora pick and if they pick poorly I tap "Thumbs Down" and they pick a new track. Since pandora seems to have every song at my fingertips, I don't see the need to fill up that 16gb SD chip with Mp3's. More room for apps!<br /><br />The web browser on the Droid is far superior to my Blackberry but not quite as friendly as my iPod touch was. The lack of true multi-touch in the browser is odd. Multi-touch works on the droid, but I have only noticed it function with Google Maps. Pinch works to zoom in and out of maps but not on images or pages in the media app or browser. Using the zoom controls makes tapping the wrong spot and accidentally hitting a link frustrating and frequent. This is overcome by google's voice search feature. Simply touch the voice search microphone and it listens to your request and searches google for your answer. Most of the time this is reliable, but short sweet statements are difficult for me. I typically ramble and blabber a query and I get nothing. I need to practice being short and to the point. Let me continue...<br /><br />Since I used to Geocache frequently I am hoping the Droid may become a paperless caching solution that can also replace my hand held hiking GPS, but there are a couple problems with that. First, my GPS was waterproof, and 2nd, some remote geocaching locations may not have good 3G coverage. Provided I pre-plan my rural trips and keep my GPS handy for rainy days, the Droid may make spontaneous urban caching a pleasure. I downloaded Geobeagle and it works but is not very refined. A geocaching app from Groundspeak is in the works. I'll keep you posted.<br /><br />The Droid definitely replaced my car navigation GPS, and my iPod touch for most uses, I can't stop at that alone. The multiple apps I have tried make the Droid far superior to my blackberry so by getting 3 gadgets in one make it a real value. I won't proclaim it to be a iPhone killer as some try to do, but for those of you who realize the superior 3G service Verizon provides, love everything Google, and love to be on the cutting edge of technology I highly recommend the Droid. If you can wait, you may want to hold out for the Nexus One. It is faster and and does almost everything the Droid does. Just to recap, below is a list of what my Droid Does. If you read this please give me your feedback, comment here, Buzz, Tweet, Facebook, or email me.<br /><br />Email, Tweet, Google Talk, Twitpic, Listen to Mp3's, Watch YouTube, Navigate, Local Search, Surf the Web, Geocache, Geotag, Facebook, Text, Blog, Get a weather report (With Video!) Calendar & Contact Sync, Price Search with Bar-Code Scanner, oh, and I make phone calls sometimes too.<br /><br />BenWBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-28695290399769984672009-10-28T13:37:00.000-07:002009-10-28T13:54:36.674-07:00GPS Navigation Evolution<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwtpWSKs_aTvXnOEE-ouB-63EHNZrx3AhI6oaNXCJExd_cUc5BEqs00BEvM91KY8yJd9JnpX8a9Ec7IE3pU_KpMbNraucNIuaAR3xXT2rLzoFg8a1tFjyqjT8Ebctp-A7XzfX/s1600-h/bmw-google-gps.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwtpWSKs_aTvXnOEE-ouB-63EHNZrx3AhI6oaNXCJExd_cUc5BEqs00BEvM91KY8yJd9JnpX8a9Ec7IE3pU_KpMbNraucNIuaAR3xXT2rLzoFg8a1tFjyqjT8Ebctp-A7XzfX/s200/bmw-google-gps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397757124541172498" border="0" /></a>My posts have been primarily political of late with any real innovation being regulated by the ever swelling government.<br /><br />Today twitter was abuzz about the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091028-714636.html">release</a> of Google's latest navigation solution that will run on Android phones and soon be available on the iPhone as well. My opinion of Google's superior ease of use may not sway you to trash your Garmin, the fact that the software is free, updates constantly, and will be loaded with Google content will surely sway your opinion when you get to using the device. <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/10/28/garmin-tomtom">As one blog suggests, Tom Tom is Toast</a>.<br /><br />I already use my Garmin for street level directions but I use my Google Latitude app on my blackberry when I need the address in the first place. You cant ask your stand alone GPS nav to look up the new restaurant on 3rd street that opened last week, it's not loaded on your device. Sure you can buy a new Tom Tom that has the ability to download this for you but why when you can get a service free from Google that runs on the phone you already own.<br /><br />What the hardware and navigation bundles fail to provide is real time access to location aware information. Unless they become advertising providers like Google they can't compete. My prediction, as I suggested in a prior post about <a href="http://bensviewpoint.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-all-about-location-location.html">location aware ads</a>, is that Google will provide location aware ads on devices that will sell for a premium and consumers will find this a service not a nuisance as the currently find radio advertising or TV commercials. If your GPS NAV can deliver today's lunch special around the corner while your en-route, it will change the way your make decisions and it will drive the market for consumers, handset makers, and advertisers. It is a Win -Win- Win proposition.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-18888847114189585712009-09-27T17:07:00.001-07:002009-09-27T17:13:40.905-07:00Obama Care Dies<object width="420" height="280"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D3KDmEvNmJ0&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D3KDmEvNmJ0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="280"></embed></object>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-1341604061179775142009-09-13T13:29:00.000-07:002009-09-13T13:49:31.251-07:00Don't Let The Healthcare Debate Flatline!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZ4p8pWV9MfzMkYLhBgnX3UA1Mab5RicT4faq9GiJ2tm-63IiHx9-Yc8f7UMB-l7a9zZynryrxFIHdfFe8qf4muYZ9zwmeUvUkBPSqyYNunJFU-QpeuqRQBdOh-3joKRgkvyS/s1600-h/flatline.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZ4p8pWV9MfzMkYLhBgnX3UA1Mab5RicT4faq9GiJ2tm-63IiHx9-Yc8f7UMB-l7a9zZynryrxFIHdfFe8qf4muYZ9zwmeUvUkBPSqyYNunJFU-QpeuqRQBdOh-3joKRgkvyS/s320/flatline.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381055901522702866" border="0" /></a><br />The current debate over health care reform has only begun, there are basically two possible outcomes, the Democratically controlled government could opt to push through Obama’s plan, OR they could come up with a revised plan.<br /><br />If they choose the prior over the latter it is very likely the entire political picture will change in 2010 because only 42% of American’s support the president and the Democratic plans. The more likely path will be to modify the bill and then try to push it through as Americans grow weary of the debate and just want something done.<br /><br />Conservatives agree on certain reforms, and most agree (I won’t use rhetoric like the politicians state such as ALL AGREE, or NOBODY DISAGREES) but the consensus is that tort reform, reduced fraud and abuse, and the ability for medial insurance plans to be purchased nationally like auto insurance will help increase competition and reduce costs. The fact is that most liberals oppose these ideas.<br /><br />WHY?<br /><br />Ask yourself some of these basic WHY questions, and also using your basic senses, consider your trust in the government’s ability to efficiently employ it’s policy and, thoughtfully apply the results of the current proposals and come to your own conclusion as to what you support. Send your conclusions to your representatives. With 1/6<sup>th</sup> of our economy riding on this legislation nearly 1 of every 5 dollars you likely spend over the upcoming years will be touched by what is going on in Washington. Please get involved; please use your voice, and your vote. Now is not the time to trust this to your government. We the people must take part in our countries future today.<br /><br />This is a complicated debate so it is difficult to make it simple to understand, what I have done, is taken statements made in Obama’s congressional address on health care and followed them facts and then questions for you to consider. Make you own conclusions. “those of us with health insurance are also paying a hidden and growing tax for those without it – about $1000 per year that pays for somebody else's emergency room and charitable care.” Obama reminds us that everyone pays for the uninsured.<br /><br />The problem is everyone pays for the 47 million (1 in 7) who don’t have insurance. Obama also corrected this number to 30 million by deducting 17 million illegal immigrants during his speech. Dissecting this figure further you find many could pay but choose not to, and some are eligible for existing programs but fail to apply. The real number is estimated at 15 million, a fraction of the problem being suggested. The uninsured include a large portion of illegal immigrants that admittedly costs us all in a “hidden and growing tax” for “charitable care”<br /><br />Why doesn’t the health reform bill consider any immigration reform?<br /><br />According to Obama’s own words on the existing medical entitlement system “<i>eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem.”</i><br /><br />How does this administration propose creating a bigger government entity that regulates a health care system to reduce our deficit when it admittedly blames the existing entitlement for the largest contributor to deficit spending?<br /><br />Do you believe the people who regulate Fannie Mae and the banking system that nearly collapsed have the ability to reform our health care system into a more efficient and effective program?<br /><br />Has the government ever succeeded in reducing cost or improving service in any program it has created?<br /><br />Even with the previous major flaws in the current proposals, let me quote Obamas own goals for this reform, and ask you questions of each of his goals and if his proposals in fact meet these goals.<i><br /><br />“The plan I'm announcing tonight would meet three basic goals:”<o:p></o:p></i><br /><br /><i>“It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don't. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.</i> “<br /><br />Does an adding regulation to insurance companies mandating expensive and risky insurance policy such as insuring pre-existing conditions provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance?<p></p> <p>Will providing insurance to those who don’t slow the growth of health car costs?</p> <p>Will adding mandates like “insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care” slow the growth of health care costs?</p> <p>Sure it can be argued that preventive care increases early detection and lowers long term costs, but why does this preventive care mandate be forced upon insurance companies? Many Americans choose high deductible auto insurance to save on premiums. This is considered good financial sense, under the current proposals; this type of low cost insurance will be made illegal in the medical insurance business.</p> <p>Obama spoke of a way to provide affordable coverage for those who currently don’t have coverage “<span style="font-style: italic;">We will do this by creating a new insurance exchange – a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices.”</span> This is a complicated way of creating a government run and regulated national insurance program, conservatives have pushed and been denied a simple private sector solution, allow insurance to be nationally sold, and not restricted to state regulation. Why is it OK for the government to control this plan and not the private sector?</p> <p>Another point made it the debate has been made that conservatives have not offered any solutions to the rising costs and the plight of the uninsured. While these claims can be countered with many bills and amendments that have been struck down by the liberal majority, some facts remain. Medical costs have increased primarily because we have technology and medicines that we never had 20 years ago. Unless we try to treat illness with fewer tools and without the benefit of our advanced medical system and the latest drugs costs will continue to climb. You could argue that the price of new cars have exceeded the increase of our wages, yet would you want a new care without all the latest comfort and safety innovations? Sure there is waste and abuse in the system but this has not been the focus of the debate. To frame that subject it would call attention to the fact that Medicare has many times more the rate of fraud than private insurance.</p> <p>American’s need to decide, do they really want to choose the type of insurance or do they want to increase the governments regulation and restriction on our health care choices. That is the root of this debate, now you decide.</p> <p>Sincerely,</p> <p>Ben Roche<br />http://Bensviewpoint.blogspot.com<br />Send comments to themud@gmail.com<i><o:p></o:p></i></p>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-11235793565342554512009-09-12T21:28:00.000-07:002009-09-12T21:29:17.136-07:009/12 Tea Party March on Washington<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_sjvc6baor8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_sjvc6baor8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-40359746873247734352009-08-10T19:26:00.000-07:002009-08-10T19:27:00.162-07:00An Honest Debate?!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zZ-6ebku3_E&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zZ-6ebku3_E&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-34657883385795118482009-07-18T10:11:00.000-07:002009-07-18T10:52:00.013-07:00Empathy Kills<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifG3XvtptBmv_h3PGK0S2AwxUElhUEzqNLjRycyMyUO1dxLsFz0rkUCHyhVEiWgu0AE3OfiM2bO8-YzBv7QUvcczvOPnbxSl5e9S34ZFEnu-LdFbO7Qr7QThg34SLHsvomJs8/s1600-h/moorecuba.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifG3XvtptBmv_h3PGK0S2AwxUElhUEzqNLjRycyMyUO1dxLsFz0rkUCHyhVEiWgu0AE3OfiM2bO8-YzBv7QUvcczvOPnbxSl5e9S34ZFEnu-LdFbO7Qr7QThg34SLHsvomJs8/s320/moorecuba.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359859375953338402" border="0" /></a>Empathy, the understanding and entering into another's feelings, according to Webster, is being used today to peddle everything from judicial activism to nationalized universal health care. The problem is empathy sounds great, but in the wrong hands can kill you.<br /><br />The health care debate is heating up and the opponents are accused of greed and lack of empathy, while the backers believe the only way to care for those who don't have insurance is to give it to them freely. As if all of those without health insurance just can't afford it. That last part is the biggest of the lies, but without it, you the people will lack the empathy to support his radical and final turn to communism.<br /><br />Yes, I used the word communism, because that is exactly what is being proposed. Government ownership and control of our economy. Don't take my word for it, that is not the subject of this post, but it is real and it is here.<br /><br />Back to empathy, you will notice that Obama picked Sotomeyer because of her empathy. He uses empathy to stir up emotional accounts of folks without health coverage going bankrupt and not able to care for their kids illness, ignoring facts that most states already have provisions for these people. The illusion that government will fix the problem is fueled by your fear of being labeled greedy and lacking empathy.<br /><br />Empathy by definition is understanding someone else feelings but the rising costs of health care is partially the result of jury's empathy towards patients in malpractice suits that result in obscene judgements against doctors and hospitals. The cost of malpractice insurance had annual increases at times as much as 25%, and the trial lawers who profit as much as 50% on these large settlements then blame this on greedy insurance providers. Let's be clear, insurance companies compete for business to keep costs down. Lawyers don't have to compete for plaintiffs, they pick and choose the most profitable cases and then use the system to win big. John Edwards made his fortune and fooled the whole nation that he was driven by empathy not greed, while he cheated on his cancer ridden wife during his presidential campaign, but enough about trial lawyers.<br /><br />Let's get back to more lies about empathy, health care, and insurance. Congress has empathy, but they won't sign on to the same health care they propose to give the people. Several years ago the talking points of the DNC was that every American should be able to have the same coverage that they have, but they then wrote into the law the exclusive exclusion of congress from conforming to the plan. While law will dictate what health coverage you must have, they get to keep theirs as is and paid for by you and me.<br /><br />Now for my final point, and this is where the words matter. We don't' need everyone to have the benefit of health care coverage. We need to create incentive to purchase insurance not hand out free benefits. Benefits are services you get for free, a 20 something healthy student needs insurance in the event of an injury or catastrophic event, not regular Dr. visits, and coverage for everything from mental health to chiropractic care. There is no way congress can draft legislation to both cover those who need it without paying for those who don't. In the end we will be paying for 'benefits' to those who will suck off the system, while then having to ration needed care for those who may require immediate and live saving treatments. Cancer mortality rates are much higher in nations with socialized medicine precisely because free health care is not sustainable. The private sector and a safty net approach is a rational answer but while congress has full power to create more government programs, and control another 20% of our GDP. That's what this is about, CONTROL, not empathy.<br /><br />Most younger American's pay more per month to have internet access and a cell phone than what a catastrophic health insurance premium would cost. What is the incentive to be responsible when you can use the system that exists, and get that care for free or worst case file bankruptcy.<br /><br />If we open the door to government provided care it is a door we cannot close, just like Canada, and the UK, the care will be rationed, waiting lists and reviews will slow the system down, and when we are talking about medical issues, it is LITERALLY a life and death decision.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-62163769145432244782009-06-18T19:19:00.000-07:002009-06-18T19:56:41.557-07:00Federal Medical Malpractice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UIaCqfGxThp2lLtMWHIKtOzhTqUIBYDiQTzEnVsvwT9TPJZeANmpQW3DIvZKrJJVO-ElKFDbzd2w1dzQAH50fJjmApjTNZ3t-MDphcGFIBJ3fx2HyNjxcouZCM9Cd9WdCiCU/s1600-h/hillarycare_mousetrap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UIaCqfGxThp2lLtMWHIKtOzhTqUIBYDiQTzEnVsvwT9TPJZeANmpQW3DIvZKrJJVO-ElKFDbzd2w1dzQAH50fJjmApjTNZ3t-MDphcGFIBJ3fx2HyNjxcouZCM9Cd9WdCiCU/s320/hillarycare_mousetrap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348865189094800802" border="0" /></a>National universal health care sounds so appealing. My employer provides coverage but I pay a big portion of the cost, and the cost keeps increasing. Why wouldn't I want the government to bail me out of this expense too?!<br /><br />What the media and your power hungry representatives fail to show is how this model has failed in nearly every place it was attempted, and on top of that, the current plan is designed to force out all all other forms of health insurance and medical coverage.<br /><br />To sum up what is going on, imagine if you were offered a free car insurance program that covered all your liability and comprehensive needs regardless of your driving record. You would jump all over that, cancel your current plan and be driving all over the road with no concern about your rates because, your not paying for it! Now imagine that to get this program affordable, the insurance program only paid a fraction of the actual cost of the body work or claims made on your insurance. Who would accept this insurance policy as payement? Nobody right? Well not if your the government was to force everyone to accept your coverage, and mandate all claims be covered at the terms the governments program dolls out as payment in full. Government run car insurance may be a fantasy but government run health insurance already exists and Obama plans to make it universal.<br /><br />This is the latest wealth redistribution plan being pushed and everyone has a hand out ready for it. Insurance companies are eager to get the subsidy to look the other way. Hospitals are eager for a solution to pay for losses they get for caring for the uninsured so they have a hand out the the government. Dr's are stuck ither not practicing or accepting insurance terms. It's already the model used in Medicare & Medicaid, Dr's, hospitals and clinics just pass the losses they suffer off on other patient care costs pushing up eveyone elses costs and premiums. It is unsustainable, and once the private insurance plans are bankrupt, then the government steps in to take them over next.<br /><br />While with one hand the Obama administration pushes "Green" and "Sustainable" living, the other blowing through the green on unstustainable policy and programs that will destroy our country, our world class medical system, while bankrupting our nation. Did we not learn a thing from the fall of the soviet union?<br /><br />If you really want to understand this issue talk to your Dr. chances are he knows what would happen if we nationalized our health care system. Or read <a href="http://www.benwetmore.com/cmedia/articles/features/0811_healthcare-confusions.htm">this blog</a>, it has solutions not just rants. (Unlike Here!)WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-86372160565135587542009-06-08T11:19:00.000-07:002009-06-08T12:23:03.936-07:00Getting UN-Wired<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0D5VLKKlAdjKZ8qUIA4uKSA8RS_qFTgVIVv20TbRXD_RXHkZK-fhLl5wgErtdruQ_CHP3WhyphenhyphensK2Mwgv1iR1N0c3xeuhNpb3aAFSUlAwXSFSYCoQvC3OL5txXyYH8wMH5Zvzel/s1600-h/wires.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0D5VLKKlAdjKZ8qUIA4uKSA8RS_qFTgVIVv20TbRXD_RXHkZK-fhLl5wgErtdruQ_CHP3WhyphenhyphensK2Mwgv1iR1N0c3xeuhNpb3aAFSUlAwXSFSYCoQvC3OL5txXyYH8wMH5Zvzel/s320/wires.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345033259879211090" border="0" /></a>Wires and more wires, cables, jacks, dongles, adapters, splitters, and routers. I thought the wireless revolution was here?<br /><br />This rant is about the gadget makers constant addiction to wires while they continually roll out new wireless technology. Why don't these wireless widgets free us from all the cables my new digital toys require? There is WiFi, Bluetooth, WiMax, 3G, CDMA, and new wireless video technolgy that has been around since 2008 and earlier. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS48791+06-Jan-2008+PRN20080106"> See Panasonic HD wireless solution.</a><br /><br />Recently I finally dove in and purchased a TV with HD capability, guess what, more wires.. A HDMI cable is required to get the full effect of the HDTV, and low and behold, my digital camera can too connect to my TV, but alas, I need to buy another wire, a MINI HDMI cable!<br /><br />I thought I had rid myself of so many wires, I got a dock for my blackberry so I just drop the phone in the <a href="http://www.daydeal.com/files/images8/bb8100_oe_dock1.jpg">nifty cradle</a> and it charges. Yes it does have a wire that plugs into the wall, but the dock is just like a little stand, you just drop the phone in, and it charges reliably. Not little plugs to get aligned up and break off ruining the phone at the same time. The blackberry also syncs with my contacts wirelessly, using Google Sync, my email address book & calendars both online and in my pocket keep neatly synced up with out wires. Previously I have posted about my Eye-Fi card that wirelessly transmits my digtial photos to my online web-album and downloads them to my PC all without wires.<br /><br />Ok, before you send me emails about the bandwidth required to stream HD video wirelessly and the neat wire organzation method you use, let me be clear, I know how and why there are limitations, what I am frustrated by, is why don't they come up with more creative solutions and why do I ither have to remove my camera battery to charge it, or plug in another wire. I want a charging dock for ALL my gadgets, not just my phone.WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20382441.post-19632728617876749682009-05-19T19:36:00.000-07:002009-05-19T19:38:57.356-07:00Eye-Fi Reunited<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuR11ayF5GF_oHrqXRct8-selxkXRpO0TdKwA7NXiMpEcz0A9IuQtCENM8qTcmZgE7zRZeDoTCQXOmBCLd49zyLvdtDVBbkQM87R_cLZn5HzCvOkOuEPppE1xaxQmAHEMVb3Gm/s1600-h/IMG_0007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; clear: both; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuR11ayF5GF_oHrqXRct8-selxkXRpO0TdKwA7NXiMpEcz0A9IuQtCENM8qTcmZgE7zRZeDoTCQXOmBCLd49zyLvdtDVBbkQM87R_cLZn5HzCvOkOuEPppE1xaxQmAHEMVb3Gm/s160/IMG_0007.JPG" border="0" /></a> Today it arrived, my shiny new replacement Eye-Fi card. Ask and you shall receive, as long as you are buying from a company that cares about customer satisfaction. As previously reported, my Eye-Fi card was acting up, and when I called to see what the warranty was I was asked where I purchased it and what was wrong, then they authorized it's immediate return and replacement. Less than 2 weeks have passed since I called Eye-Fi service number and I am whole again. Now I need to login and re-activate the card so I can get back to taking pictures and once again give up the card reader and the wires.<br /><br />Thanks Eye-Fi, Top notch customer service!<br /><br />Buy yours today at <a href="http://www.eye.fi/">www.eye.fi</a> you won't be dissapointed, but I suggest you read my review <a href="http://bensviewpoint.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-eye-fi-review.html">here </a>so you know what to expect.<div style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>WBbennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419757079643409896noreply@blogger.com0