Chaosbutterfly

They let me out of my contract without the penalty since they pretty much had screwed me over and there isn’t 4G service in my area yet to replace it.  I’m happy.  That’s $60 a month I don’t have to pay any longer.

BBC News – Paul Allen sues tech giants over patent violations.

Can you say “Patent Troll?”  I knew you could.

The US patent office is in such a need for reform.  It’s to the point that serious creativity and the ability for new ideas to be put into new technologies in this country is at threat.

I got this email this morning saying that they have capped my air card unlimited wireless data services at 5G.  It’s not like I didn’t know that they may do it, but damnit, I bought unlimited and my contract is going to expire anyway in October.  So why can’t they wait and be evil in October?

I looked at my usage.  I was already past 4G and and I have another 3 weeks before my “minutes” renew.  Gawd I use a lot of data.  It must be all that internet radio I listen to.  That and all the podcasts and internet tv, netflix etc.   I guess now I need to tether…

I had a conversation with their “costumer service rep” online.  That was interesting.  The guy must be in India.  Check this out, and I managed to be really polite with him, not like I wanted to.  I guess my good southern upbringing kicked in:

Ok, so this weekend I managed to get my Sprint HTC Hero to tether.  I figure if they have the software built in to the OS, it must be ok to use it.  Right?  I hope so.  It turns out the phone gets higher transfer rates than my Sierra Wireless Sprint Air Card.  The dedicated air card is old, I just had to change out its lithium battery, but it still works so I’ve been reluctant to upgrade it.  I’m like that with tech, mostly because I’m on a budget while I pay of stuff.  I am also on a contract with Sprint on that air card so I can’t do anything but use it until that contract is out.  So I’ll use that card for a few more months.  The only real downfall to tethering to the phone is the fact if I get a call, I’m off the internet.  So, just call me on Skype, if I have the phone un-tethered, it will transfer anyway to the phone.  If I am abusing my phone in a tethering way, it will go to Skype where I can answer it and stay online.

That brings me to another thing.  Fring, the mobile multi-chat/voice app that worked on my phone that until a few days ago, used to do Skype.  I loved this service, it really allowed me to make phone calls while Skype is too snootie to let it’s own app work on stuff other than Verizon, Fring happily would oblige.   Now Fring is in the middle of some sort of childish tiff with Skype, so I downloaded Nimbuzz.  Well… Fring really does indeed have a beef with Skype in that now Nimbuzz seems to be a victim of Skype’s non-admitted wrath.

Skype, stop trying to please the big cell phone providers.  Just relax that sphincter and let everyone download your app or use your service.  It’s better not to piss off your users.  You don’t want to wind up like the record companies.

Thank you.

Just imagine printing out nanopartical plastic cures for the common cold.

Recognition, Neutralization, and Clearance of Target Peptides in the Bloodstream of Living Mice by Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles: A Plastic Antibody – Journal of the American Chemical Society ACS Publications.

I think the site may be a bit slashdotted right now as I write this.  However, Senator Bill Nelson has posted a live webcam on the oil spill as it leaks into the Gulf.

Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida: Home.

They want $120 plus tax and shipping.  Still much cheaper than a new camera of that type and quality so I went ahead and approved it.   The promise it to be returned in a week.

Thunderstruck Motors – Description of page goes here. Short sentence that is keyword rich..

He’s been chatting back and forth with me.  The prices are really good, I need to ask him about his kits.  We will see how this works out.

Electric Yacht – 260ib Electric Yacht system.

I’ve been going on about the engine thing for quite some time.  I’ve seen some pretty depressing info about replacing that old evil diesel and the whole issue has really had me down.  This system seems a lot more affordable and easy to install.  And better yet, it’s all electric!  That means no messing with fuel, no hybrid diesel electric systems, no pollution.  I get to plug up a lot of through-hulls with this plan.  Perfect.  Just getting the money will be the issue.  I know I always complain about that sort of thing, but I have discovered that for whatever reason, I always find a way.

I’ve had a lot of time now to get to know this thing. I have a few new things to say. I love the apps, but I’ve had a pda for a long time and I always love great apps. I don’t think there are as many apps as you can still find on geeky backwater pages as you can with my now retro HP iPaq, but you still can do that to some extent with the hero. In other words, it’s reasonably “hackable” to the extent that normal people can write for it. I’ve liked the fact that although the Windows Mobile 2003 platform has not quite but almost gone the way of OS/2 for the most part, it still retains that geeky fan base. I see the “droid” being that geeky and hobbyist friendly.
The biggest downfall is the battery life. Ok, my iPaq is a brick, but that brick can live on standby for about a week. The Hero is a slim little machine, but I have to travel to and from work with the usb cable in my bag because even turned off and sitting there, it may last to when I get off work. If I talk on it or mess with my email or twitter or something, all bets are off and I had better be plugging it in asap. People tell me “oh, just shut off the bluetooth and wifi etc. Well, kiddies, I keep those services off anyway. It’s a security issue with me and I still have almost no talk time. I just don’t have that baggage to dump off. I’ve looked on the internet for extended batteries and I have found a huge variety. This is a well known problem with the HTC smartphones and there is an industry of battery makers that cater to that niche all over the internet. Every one of these extended batteries turn the slim sleek 21st century HTC Hero into a 1990′s retro brick. While the tech has vastly improved for phones, the tech for batteries has not remotely kept up the pace. I have thought even seriously of getting one of those battery chargers at the grocery stores, you know the ones that you put AA’s in and plug your phone into? Strapping one of those to my belt like they used to in the late 80′s and plugging that into my phone. lol