Did You Get My Message?

Preface: Great tune by Jason Mraz on the album entitled, "MR.AZ." If you haven't already, please check it out ASAP!

It's amazing how adapted we get to technology. If you have been keeping up with my posts, you know that I have not been using Twitter all that long. I grew into it slowly, and before I knew what happened, I was waiting for the next update from the Sklar Brothers (great comedy duo) for my daily fix of a wry quip of a topical news story. Until Thursday, life was going quite well. All of a sudden, I notice that I havent received any messages in a few hours. Strange, because typically I would have heard something from Jay Mohr (another great comedian) or my sister (who can be a comedian at times). Crickets- I got nothing all morning.

Being in technical support, I review all my training: verified coverage, data sessions, etc. Complete a soft reset of my device. Still nothing. I removed the UberTwitter application from and added it back to the device. Zip. I then try to go online using the device and try to access Twitter's site. Zilch. I head home for lunch and now try to check the site on my computer. Nada.

I text my sister to figure out if our little bird-friend is okay. By the time I hear back from her, she has confirmed what I have been reading while on my lunch break: Twitter is down. This can't be happening. I know it has a few glitches that I can deal with, but DOWN? Yes- thanks to a computer dork... ahem... "hacker" crashing the server. No worries, it will be online again soon. I can pass the time, right?

Turns out, I couldn't. I was consistently check the site to see when it was back online. Finally Thursday evening, it was back online, but still a bit sluggish. Understandable. It's going to take time to fix the issue and get everything back into working condition again.

Friday rolls around and I check my device mid-morning. Hmm. Niet. Interesting, because I was getting random updates on UberTwitter. I would look down and see 45 new updates. Odd. Still not able to send an update through UberTwitter. I check with kid sis and she says her iPhone is updating Twitter without issue. DEAR GOD- Please let it not be UberTwitter! I download Twitterberry, which I could use as a backup until UberTwitter is working again. Twitterberry is not letting me update effectively either.

Turns out that there may be a residual issue with the Blackberry interface with Twitter, which is nice. This is day 2 of not being able to send updates. Now the 3 people who care about my updates won't know if I am okay. Sure, I could PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL or TXT a person, but that takes much more effort. That is a pathetic statement, isn't it?

I really hope this gets resolved soon. Then I can get back to feeling self-important: updating people who generally don't care that I am doing something they could care less about in a timely manner...

m

A New Window to the World

I love technology. I love finding tools, gizmos, and gadgets that make life faster, easier, or more fun. I love text messaging because it allows communication at a distance and adds to the instant gratification our society desires. Heck- blogging allows me to write an open letter to all people interested and keep a bizarre type of 21st Century diary...

For quite some time, my sister has been on me to join Twitter. She has been on it for quite a while and has told me that I really need to be a part of it. What's in it for me? Her response was simple- "It allows you to tell everyone what you're doing." Okay, but why do I really want to do that? I don't really care to know all of that about anyone. But- she is my sister and she is quite tech savvy as well, so I opened an account several months ago. I started to create my account and had to provide and email address and my cell number if I wanted my updates delivered to my phone. That wasn't something I was looking forward to divulging. I have an easy email address and an even easier cell number. If I am forced to change it because my info was sold to some marketing company, I am not going to be happy about it. After creating my account, I immediately chickened out and closed my account. How pathetic is that? I didn't like having to provide that information.

Months later, I was listening to my favorite radio show and heard Coach John Calipari (a guest on the show) give out his Twitter ID to follow him on his transition to Kentucky. I like him a lot and he has such an inspiring vibe about him. So I rejoined Twitter and began to follow him. Obviously, I also began to follow my sister, mother, and a couple of others that I knew had accounts. Then it clicked. I got it. I realized that this was one step further from society. Allow me to explain.

In the past, we communicated face-to-face. Next, telephones allowed us to communicate verbally without any visual contact. Then we create the Web and email, which eliminates the verbal communication provided by telephone. It also allows for one to send a message when time permits and the recipient to read whenever they have time. SMS (or text messaging) became vogue as a short message that allows a person to communicate is written bursts. Make a statement, go about your business. Instantly respond and continue what you are doing. Another step away from personal communication. Finally, Twitter- basically the most impersonal way to communicate to others. Now we can just shoot out a mass message that is not directed toward anyone in particular.

People have continuously said that the Web has brought the world closer together, but the converse is also true. We no longer have any real need for personal communication. We are able to distance and isolate ourselves further and further from one another. We can hide behind keyboards and shield ourselves with our cell phones. It is quite disheartening. Is it any wonder that people are so depressed living in a world where we continue separate ourselves from one another?

That said- I have thoroughly enjoyed Twitter. I am having a great time with it. If you wish to follow me, you may. Search for me: @mrogerson. I would appreciate it. I am making my sister proud. Thanks, Michelle- I am not sure what you have done to me and I am not sure if it is for better or worse. I guess we will see as time drifts on...

Get out of the tech world for a minute or two and do something novel- give someone a hug! That should be more instantly gratifying than any technological advance in our society.

Macbook Revisited

Just a quick note to update you about my thoughts of the Macbook... My decision to save money by not spending $300 for a backlit keyboard, slight boost in CPU speed and HD space was a good move. This computer is extremely quick in responding to commands and completing tasks. Plus, I am pretty good at typing by feel and it is requiring me to get better at it... Earlier, I had encountered an issue with the glass trackpad. I began to notice that it was inconsistent when clikcing or tapping the the left side of the trackpad. Fortunately, this issue was resolved within a few weeks with a software update and has not been an issue since.

I am coming to realize that the missing firewire port is posing a problem that I had not anticipated. Initially, I never thought that it would be an issue because I did not plug anything into the firewire port, but I realize that in order to transfer our miniDV tapes from our camcorder to my computer I am going to need it. Looks like I am going to have to buy a firewire hub or pay someone to do it for me. Jen and I are looking into getting a camcorder with a hard drive, so it looks like it may be in my best interest to let someone take care of it for me. Otherwise I have an extra box laying around for one-time need... Not sure what I will do at this point. Otherwise, no complaints whatsoever!

First Thoughts of My New Macbook

Well- it is now time to discuss my thoughts on the new Macbook. Initially, I was going to purchase the $1599 Macbook, but ended up ordering the $1299 Macbook. The main reason I wanted the high-end Macbook was for the backlit keyboard. The only other benefits were the 2.4MHz processor (mine has 2.0MHz) and a 250GB hard drive (mine is 160GB). I figured that I am not going to push the computer to its fullest capacity terribly often (if ever) and I can always upgrade the hard drive for $100 anytime and save the money for now. It came down to paying an additional $300 for a backlit keyboard.

After a lot of deliberation I realized that I have never had a backlit keyboard on a laptop before. I figured it's like a keyless entry system on a car. Before I had ever had a car with a keyless entry system, I had no idea how wonderful it was. Honestly, I never thought about constantly having to insert the key, turn, and remove before opening the door. I didn't bother me all that much and I was content going about my merry way. Then I bought my first car with the remote and was immediately amazed by it. In fact, I eventually forgot the days where I had to use the key at all. Now that I have it, I will never buy another car without it.

I rationalized that since I have never used the backlit keys, I really didn't know what I was missing and therefore, could still enjoy a new laptop without it. Next time may be different, but in this case, I can touch-type for the most part and ignorance is bliss, right?

Anyway, lets get back to another key point. The idea of ordering the Macbook. Ordered? Yes, ordered. You see, Tennessee has a 9.75% sales tax, so if I were to buy it at the Apple Store, it would have cost an additional $130. Always looking for a bargain, I was able to order it from Amazon.com (which also gave me a $5 rebate!).

Opening the box, my excitement was at an all-time high. After lifting the lid, I pulled the tab to lift it out of the box. It was quite cold from shipping, but looked amazing. With the machine closed, it is virtually seamless. Once opened, I have to admit to thinking it was beautiful. The LED screen is gorgeous and immensely brighter than that of our old G4. It took about 5 minutes and the operating system had initialized and the Mac was ready for use.

I must admit- all of the new gestures are awesome and really time-saving! It is really easy to get back to any program I wish to use, back a page while surfing the web, etc. The flat keys are going to take a little time to get used to for me. All in all- a fantastic piece of equipment.

Transferring some of my old files from my Windows computer has been a hassle. I have decided to reformat my iPod in order to allow iTunes to automatically sync it, but that causes some major problems. I have more than 80GB of music, video and photos. My iPod only has an 80GB capacity. I also do not wish to load all of the music onto my Macbook an bog it down and not have enough space to do anything else. So what do I do? I haven't answered that question just yet. I am trying to look at it as a good problem to have!

Once I get everything worked out, this will be awesome. For now, I am still enjoying this much more than that slow PC I have been using for over a year!

Will catch up with you later once I get it personalized.

-OUT-

New Macbooks Launch Tomorrow- Feeling Blissful

Ever since Jen and I bought our Macbook G4 back in 2005, I have waited for the day to rid myself of the duldrum that is a Windows-based PC. We have an E-Machines tower we bought a couple of years ago because my other Windows laptop died and I needed something to get by for a while. Slowly but surely, the computer has been getting bogged down and after a few hours of use must be turned off to let the circuitry refresh and respond to commands properly. How crazy is that? 

As perviously stated, we bought our little Macbook G4 (1.33MHz/512MB RAM/40GB Drive) and it has completely out-performed this Windows machine (2.2MHz/512MB RAM/180GB Drive). In the past three and a half years, we have rebooted the Mac three times because it would not respond! I have to it more than that each week on the desktop... It is constantly unable to close programs, takes 20 seconds to open any internet browser, and freezes up constantly. Alas, my time has finally come. 

I was close to buying a new Macbook in July, but decided to wait after hearing rumors that new Macbooks were to be released in September. It was only a 6 week wait- the Windows machine could hold up 'til then, right? I wish I could say it was easy. Little by litte, the Windows machine continued to falter and sputter and September came and went without a Macbook event. Then rumors of an October launch started. Great- another 4 week wait... Last week almost past without a Macbook event invite and I truly started to grip about my decision. All of the rumors flying around talked of a complete renovation of the Macbook line. I decided to hedge my bets on October, knowing that if the Macbook event was not going to be official by October 14, I would just by a lower-line Macbook and wait until next year to buy a new generation Mac. 

Last week was as much a relief as it was filled with excitement. Tomorrow, we will see if my gamble has paid off. I am sure it will pay great dividends, but how much is the true question. Either way- I win: I get to toss this Windows machine out on the street by week's end. Some things in life are truly worth the wait, and this is one of them. 

An upcomming blog soon giving my review of my new Macbook!