Author Archives: JMarsden

Black Friday Shopping Is Coming

Posted on November 12, 2011 by JMarsden| 1 Comment

Each year I dread what comes the day after Thanksgiving.  I have only gone out one time for Black Friday, and that was last year.  That trip was strictly a favor for someone because I had a truck that they needed to use.  With the holidays coming my wife is continually on the computer looking up Black Friday ads.  She also loves looking for sales.

She found one of the more popular Black Friday sites and started looking through the specials.  She always checks Target coupons on a regular basis.  She found one or two things that are the same price either way you purchase.

Some retailers just don’t realize that their specials are almost their everyday price.  Best Buy is doing a IPhone special.  $99 when you sign a new contract for 2 years.  Well… That is the same deal if I go there right now and purchase.

Here is my advice… Stop trying to rip everyone off, and just take care of the customers the right way.

Posted in Holidays

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Ice Cream Sandwich Is Confirmed For some HTC Devices

Posted on November 7, 2011 by JMarsden| Leave a comment

I am still very specific about the types of electronics that I purchase.  I am very fixed on the Android devices.  Being an Android person I can attest to the facts at hand…

  • It is known that some IPhone devs have moved over to Android.
  • Blackberry has lost many customers to Android.
  • A regular person can code a Android app.
  • IPhones cost some serious money to get fixed correctly.
  • NO IPhone is identical to another.  (Connections, capabilities, etc.)
  • “Rooting” a IPhone a.k.a. “Jailbreak” is against a lot of Apples rules.

It is now confirmed that the HTC line of phones will receive the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

So what is Ice Cream Sandwich?

The newest Android OS has been announced, and it’s called Ice Cream Sandwich.

This new OS is supposed to run on all types of Android devices, converging the Android operating system into one sweet package, easing the issue of OS fragmentation and creating new opportunities for developers.

The version number will be 4.0, and we can expect to see the OS rolling out by the end of 2011.

At Google’s developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Google execs said this would be Google’s “everywhere” OS for mobile phones, tablets, and other connected devices.

When exactly this convergence will take place — especially in light of the Honeycomb 3.1 announcements just moments before the Ice Cream Sandwich reveal — is up for debate. But we’re hearing from Google reps that Ice Cream Sandwich will eventually close the 2.X/3.X fork and be the one OS for all Android devices.

We’d heard earlier this year that an OS called “Ice Cream” would be arriving this summer after a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc was spotted running the OS at CES. At the time, most reporters were uncertain whether Ice Cream would be a continuation of the 2.4 fork and would function for mobile phones only.

One of the most consistent complaints about developing for Android is the ecosystem’s fragmentation. The hardware is a diaspora; the OSes in use are a crazy quilt. Hopefully, the new OS represents a more consistent direction for Android — one that will once and for all put to rest the more valid criticisms of the “fragmentation” camp.

Here is the text to the official Sprint announcement…

Sprint will begin to rollout Google’s latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, to our customers in early 2012. Ice Cream Sandwich will be available via an over-the-air update to a variety of devices including HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G and other key products in our line-up. Stay tuned for more details and exact timing.

Posted in Android Stuff

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MagicJack Plus Second Week Review

Posted on November 6, 2011 by JMarsden| Leave a comment

Around my house we have been going through almost everything trying to cut bills.  One of our most recent cuts was our home phone service.  We were paying Verizon @$35 per month for a phone number with NO long distance.

First I checked out the Sprint phone system that goes onto your Sprint cellular account.  After finding out that there was a $20 charge monthly I quickly decided against it.  I recently heard the quality of this service while talking to someone.  I am very glad that I didn’t go that route.  It sounded like the other party was talking through a tin can.

What I did was I went online and did some research on the NEW MagicJack Plus unit.  The first thing I did was to make sure that my home number could be ported over.  Yes.  The next thing was to confirm faxing capability.  Yes.

magicjack

Let’s talk about savings…

The cost for MagicJack Plus service is $29.99 per year.

Installation was a snap.  Plug the MagicJack Plus into the computer, and register the unit.  Then take the unit and plug it directly into your router.  No other work needs to be done.  After that you can go to the My MagicJack site to configure anything else you need.

With that being said I must forewarn everyone so that they avoid aggravation later.

Magicjack Plus is capable of faxing.  The hitch is that the fax machine needs to be capable of auto speed changing.  This is common with most run of the mill fax machines.  I have a Magicolor 4690MF that will probably work, but being I haven’t found the correct sequence of changes to the TX settings I had to put my old fax/printer online just for faxing.

With all the money we are trying to save we should be able to keep living the way we are, but the difference is that the economy isn’t going to make me a statistic.  Maybe this year I will even get to send out holiday cards because I can actually afford them this year.

I will update everyone again in a few more weeks after I have tried it out a bit longer.

Posted in Economy

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