March 2006 Archives
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March 21, 2006
Perl: Iterating and Assigning Hash of Hashes and the Enigmatic Search
So, I was trying to do something simple. I had a normal, everyday hash of hashes in perl. That is, something where you have the likes:
$var{$key1}{$subkey1} = $value1;
$var{$key1}{$subkey2} = $value2;
$var{$key2}{$subkey1} = $value3;
$var{$key2}{$subkey2} = $value4;
Now, anyone can iterate over a normal hash:
foreach $key (keys %var)But if these are hashes, this won't work. You might think you just iterate over the next level of hash:
{
print "$key = $var{$key}";
}
foreach $key (keys %var)
{
print "$key = $var{$key}";
foreach $subkey (keys $var{$key})
{
print "$subkey = $var{$key}{$subkey};
}
}
#or this
foreach $key (keys %var)
{
%subhash = $var{$key};print "$key = $var{$key}";
foreach $subkey (keys %subhash)
{
print "$subkey = $subhash{$subkey};
}}
This won't even compile -- "$var{$key}" isn't a hash! (It's actually the text "HASH xxx", I think.) The key to this is simple, but finding the solution wasn't because it's not a topic on it's own. All of you have to do is basically cast it:
foreach $key (keys %var)
{
print "$key = $var{$key}";
foreach $subkey (keys %{$var{$key}})
{
print "$subkey = $var{$key}{$subkey};
}}
#or this
foreach $key (keys %var)
{
%subhash = %{$var{$key}};
print "$key = $var{$key}";foreach $subkey (keys %subhash)
{
print "$subkey = $subhash{$subkey};
}
}
I never did find a description of this, but I first saw it when googling at the site listed below. I wouldn't consider this advanced, or even intermediate, really. It was just particularly difficult to find. And the results -- or even compile errors -- listed didn't help find a solution any faster. So how would you search to find the answer to this?
! Aware to Perl: Access and Printing of a HASH OF HASHES
March 17, 2006
MatrixStream and Movie99
Apparently, like some other bloggers, I got an email from MatrixStream asking if I would be interested in blogging about their company, products, and services. After looking at their stuff, I figured why not? I mean, it's IPTV and VOD stuff which I find to be interesting. I've been using these sorts of technologies on my Sprint MM-A920 lately, anyway. So I responded.
Not three hours later I was called by Aaron. We chatted for a while about their technologies, blogged, podcasting, and some other interesting stuff.
I got some random information about their VOD and IPTV offerings:
- The set top box will be capable of two HD, 1080p streams
- They currently have no mobile offerings, but see it as a possibility
- The feeling, though, is that most people still prefer to watch video on a TV so that is primary
- I agree, although between my iPod Video and video on my phone, I do use mobile video a lot
- They see Microsoft as their biggest competitor
- I find this to be interesting because I would see some of the mobile offerings, Apple, and some of the movie download services as more immediate competitors
- They sell to both businesses and consumers
- Target markets included small ISPs, large telcos, hotels, cable companies, and interestingly enough, airplanes as well as content providers.
- The full 1080p will use upwards of 6Mbps where 720p can use 2Mbps. That said, the service is tuned for 1.5Mbps connections, which are the most prevalent broadband in the US. The site, though, listed 1.5Mbps for SD, 10Mbps for HD 720p, and 24Mbps for HD 1080p. Yikes! Well, those numbers make more sense -- maybe I didn't hear him clearly.
- Later, I learned this was the difference between optimized streams and perhaps download or full quality video.
- Movie99 is available now for trying out their PC video client
- I tried it out and have some thoughts and comments I'll save for later when I can verify some things
- My quick initial impressions were that the streams started up extremely fast, but that the quality wasn't quite as I expected it.
- However, I was told that these weren't encoded by them so it's not the best they can do.
As I mentioned before, the talk also turned to blogging, podcasting, marketing, and traditional media. One of the most interesting discussions was around why people, if they do, trust bloggers as much or more than traditional media. My reasoning was that when you read a blog you tend to get to know someone and you trust people you know better than those you don't. Additionally, commentary and reviews within blogs usually don't hold much back. I think big media will avoid too many negative comments for fear of being blamed of slander. After the call I also realized something else. Blog posts are most similar to columns in magazines. The interesting thing, though, is that people often trust stuff said in the columns more than elsewhere. For instance, if a columnists says they really like Product B even if Product A got the Magazine Choice Award people are probably more likely to buy Product B.
As for Movie99, the demo content is pretty weak and there wasn't a whole lot of stuff that was interesting to me. I'll probably play around with it more over the weekend, though. There were some music video channels, so that could be some good background stuff. We've got a 6Mbps DSL line, so the performance should be decent. What was interesting, though, was that the VOD content also started playing immediately. It wasn't just content for download.
The player itself appeared to have a few issues. The controls didn't seem to pause the streams, but I didn't try to hard as I kept changing channels. The player didn't integrate with my media buttons, either (e.g. play, pause, stop). The hardware doesn't actually seem to be available yet. The FAQ claims that you can contact your broadband service provider or Movie99. Thing is, I'm sure my DSL provider doesn't know anything about this -- they're fairly regional.
Note: I'll probably be updating this as things get clarified.
Other blogs that have talked about this:
Viral marketing (Combs Spouts Off)
Kelly’s World- A View into the mind of Uber Geek, Kelly Adams » Blog Archive » Will Matrixstream do for IPTV what Vonage did for VOIP?
Nick Starr.com - Nick Starr dot com » IPTV Set Top Box - Matrixstream
xblog.x-sysonline.com » MatrixStream has launched the World First IPTV with HDTV support
A Question at Rife’s Torch
Krunker » MatrixStream to release world’s first High Definition IPTV
From Aaron Keogh - Slice of SciFi
MatrixStream IPTV Set Top Box at Orange Days
That's not bad for some emails from MatrixStream and just a quick search from me. What I can't figure out is who is being advertised to. I write up stuff I like and therefore contacting me is good because I might actually be the target audience. Of course, anyone who reads what I write is probably also interested. Even if I hadn't written about this, though, I would have been exposed to it and that may have been valuable enough for just one very well targeted email. It's hard enough to even get a click through email, but without the post there would have been a discussion and quite a bit of browsing and research. With the post, the exposure moves on down the line.
Is this right? Is it moral? I don't know. But both things I find interesting so I've written about both of them.
March 16, 2006
Newegg.com Issue: Follow-up
As I posted before, I had some ordering problems with Newegg.com the resulted in not being able to get a product to my company in a timely manner and ordering through one of their competitors.
Today, I received a phone call from a supervisor at Newegg.com. He called to explain why I had the problems in better detail and offer a credit on my next order.
The call quality was a little poor and his English was a little broken, but I think I got the important details. Basically, the first order failed because their system didn't properly have the work billing address in it (even though I had entered it during the order). On the second order, he claimed that my credit card company didn't have my billing address on file -- only my name. Well, I get bills for them, so that seems odd. And the other he said is that they also require that the shipping address be on file with the credit card company. I guess you can't send gifts; this is just an annoying pain. They must have really been bitten by some fraud to be this strict.
Unfortunately, because the call quality wasn't all that great, I didn't feel like getting into it much more with him (that and I was at work). The call did start with an apology, which I appreciated. He, however, did say they weren't taking blame nor were they blaming the credit card company (who's left? you do the math). The other part is that I have ordered with my credit card from them before. However, I did have the billing and shipping address as the same.
The credit they offered seems to require me to call them up, too. I'll probably find something to order soon to use it. Of course, it'll have to be something that I both want and need to have delivered at home. I don't feel I need to share the amount, but it was on par (although less) than what Dell has offered me for ordering troubles with them.
Will I use them in the future? Perhaps for personal orders but probably not for work orders since I need a reliable experience.
Shane Conder's Whateveritis of Nothing: Problems with Newegg.com
Turn Your Code Into a Text Adventure
Playsh is a tool that turns your collaborative coding environment into something resembling a text adventure game comparable to MUDs and Zork and other such things.
But instead of ducking grues and collecting zorkmids, you're interacting with whatever program code you're working on, as well as the data and hardware devices that it uses. "It treats the web and APIs as just more objects and places, and is a platform for writing and sharing your own code to manipulate those objects and places," says developer Matt Webb, who unveiled the tool at last week's O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in San Diego.More information:
March 14, 2006
Sprint: Messaging Services
SMS: Pretty typical SMS client. It's interesting, though, but the first time I sent out an SMS with a URL in it I didn't realize that you could actually use that URL right away. When you're scrolling, you have lines under the text that highlight. Pressing OK just causes the application to reply, so I just got out and typed the URL in myself. However, the right soft key will actually extract any URLs or email in the text message and display a menu of items if you hit the "Go" option. If there is only one URL it will just go to it in the built-in browser.
On item that isn't so typical is that it prompts you for either a phone number or an email address to send to. This pushes the fact that you can almost always send SMS to an email address. I'm sure many people wouldn't realize that if it wasn't put right in front of them, though.
Another item that I didn't expect, and only found as part of the VoiceSMS below, was that you can send a text message to a land line phone. When you do this, the land line phone gets a voice call that reads off the message. This is actually pretty cool! What this means is that as a Sprint customer you know your message will get somewhere. I tried the same thing from my Verizon phone and the message just vanished into the ether. It was never marked as delivered, of course. And that's another special thing; the Text to Landline service sends an SMS back to the sending phone to acknowledge that it was delivered.
On the receiving side, you can respond with text or voice. The text response lets you choose among a selection of canned messages. Alternately, you can respond with voice and this sends a text message back to the originating phone with a number to call. The one I got was a Massachusetts number (apparently this is always the case, too). This then plays back the voice message. It's too bad this wasn't just a VoiceSMS, but it's being provided by the "Text to Landline" service, which is provided by TeleMessage.
VoiceSMS: When sent to another Sprint phone, you just get a voice clip on your phone that you can play. Easy enough; it acts kind of like a special case MMS message.
When sent to Verizon, you have to dial the callback number and then it logs you in to some voice mail system. Interestingly, the dial number shows up as the voice mail number when it's dialed. You can then listen to it, save it, etc. In fact, it acts just like voice mail, but it's "VoiceSMS from Sprint."
You can send VoiceSMS to a landline, too. However, this is a rather strange experience. What happens is that he text message that would be generated to another carrier is sent off to a text to landline service. This then calls up the landline and reads off the message. In this case, the message is to call a phone number. In my case, this was actually a phone call to another area code. I called it anyway and it was exactly like the experience to my Verizon phone. It's pretty cool, but costs a dime.
MMS (Picture Mail): This is a pretty normal client. It reminds me of the client on older Verizon Samsung phones. However, it has a couple of features that are a little different. One is that sent mail is stored online rather than on the phone. This is the same for saved mail, too. This is nice because it uses up less space, but it also requires making a connection to access and then downloading the message.
However, this is nice because the content is automatically loaded up onto your Sprint account where you can have access to it from your PC. Well, I find that nice. Some people would find it disturbing that their content is automatically stored there. On other carriers, you usually have to specifically send the content to the online service.
So, I sent one picture mail which added one sent mail item online, 2 pictures online, and 1 contacts online. Most of this can also be accessed through the handset. This stuff sounds like a new topic...
March 13, 2006
Feedback to Sprint #3: Media Player Confusion
As I've been showing off the handset to people, at least three people (one being me) so far have tried to go to "On Demand" to find the "TV" and "Radio" services. This naming convention, to me, is confusing. I think of a "media player" as something you go to to play content you already have and I would think "On Demand" would be for content you want to request. This comes from the "Video On Demand" of hotel and cable boxes as well as "Music On Demand" from newer download services.The Samsung a950, on the other hand, does play the protect music in once place with the music on the card. Of course, on my PC, I have at least two media players I have to use -- Windows Media and iTunes -- to play all of the different protected songs. Windows Media definitely has the upper hand right now in device support, though. Well, in breadth of support. By numbers, iTunes has the upper hand, of course.
Not only that, but the "Music On Demand" feature isn't found in any of the above. Instead, it's has it's own area. Even more confusing is that you have to use this "Music Store" to play the purchased music and the "Media Player" to play other MP3s on the memory card.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this is any better or worse than other phones. I'm just saying the experience could be better. I've mostly gotten used to it by now, too, so I can tell people where to go depending on what they're looking for.
What I still need to find out is how far the WMA files I'm getting can go. For instance, I now have WMA files as purchased via VCast music and with the Samsung a950 and I have WMA files from the Sprint Music Store as purchased via the Samsung MM-a920 (although not with the a920). I also have regular, unprotected WMA files. And I'm thinking of trying out the Napster all-you-can-eat service to get lots of WMA files. The Samsung a950 can play WMA files and sync'd to the handset and so can the Dell DJ Ditty device. But, can their protected content be swapped around. Can I sync WMA files purchased through Sprint onto the Samsung a950 or the Ditty? Can I take Naptser files and get them on to both of those devices?
When I find out, you know where I'll be writing about it.
The answer is YES. More later...
March 12, 2006
Initial Impressions of Sprint and the Samsung MM-a920
When I got home I almost immediately ripped (well, not literally) into the box. I found more than I expected. I found a stereo headset and a USB cable (which doesn't look like a charging one, but I already have one of those that might work).
So, I wanted to check out the video stuff right away, especially the TV. (Hey, we don't have cable so that's exciting.) I pulled up the menu, went to On Demand, and got confused as to what the zip code was for. Well, I thought maybe it was for adjusting the TV streams for regional differences. After this it then needed to upgrade. Alright, that's fine but a little odd. After that, it asked me for the zip code -- again! Then I get in. Ah, man... this is the news and information portal. Most of the services are premium (e.g. costs money) services, too.
Hmm, well, that's not the TV. So I looked around some more and found the music application by pressing right, which is applications on most Verizon phones. Alright, not what I want right now. Down got me to the applications where I found trials of eBay and The Weather Channel Java apps.
Some more looking around and I saw a listing for Pict Bridge. Ooh, that's something I'll have to try out to our printer (I hope it supports Pict Bridge...).
Alright, I finally found the TV stuff. It was, by default, "left" then "channel listing." Well, now, isn't that obvious? (As a side note, it took me a while to find that the "media player" and the "channel listing" off of the left button were actually the same things.)
So, I chose a channel and saw a loading rotating icon. After that, I saw a loading scrollbar. Two progress bars? Strange.
Closing the flip to turn it off didn't. It actually left the TV playing on the outside. Hey, that's cool! Then the backlight went off. Hrm, not so cool.
After a short bit of watching I saw a dialog saying "Press a key to continue" -- what's that about?
====
The rest I've already talked about in one way or another. So yeah, a bunch of confusing stuff -- as both a consumer and (even worse, really) a gadget freak. Admittedly, I'm much more familiar with Verizon phones and they aren't perfect. They're probably not even any better, but it's hard for me to tell.
Over-the-Air Firmware Updates
So, apparently my Sprint Samsung a920 allows for over the air firmware updating. I couldn't find anywhere that listed any firmware history for this phone. There were some lists for the A900, but that's a completely different phone. However, it had four updates in half as many months.
My phone had ES.A920 YK12 on it with PRL 20217 straight from the box. After checking for a new firmware it told me that no firmware was available. Oh well. There were a couple of things on the A900 FAQ that I was hoping would be available in an update since the A900 firmware updates seem to have added enhancements.
I guess I'll have to wait before finding out how well the OTA firmware updates work. OTA firmware updates were demonstrated well over a year ago by QUALCOMM. I haven't seen a normal Verizon phone that allows for OTA firmware updates so I was hoping to be able to see it here on Sprint. I wish the VX9800 had that so I wouldn't have to drag it into a store to get the VCAST Music service on to it (assuming they'll be upgrading it for that, of course).
SprintUsers.com - A920 firmware version
SprintUsers.com - Samsung A900 FAQ
Griffin EarJams Review
I got these based on a great review over at The Gadgeteer. And after having used them since Christmas (It was a gift! Thanks!), I totally agree. They definitely raise the volume levels.
They also work on my old Audiovox stereo cell phone headset that came with my Verizon CDM-8940 VCast handset. They don't work with my Samsung stereo headset that came with my Sprint MM-A920 Power Vision handset. That's unfortunate because the headset is already much nicer.
They definitely make the earphones more comfortable. This is the case for both the Audiovox ones and the Apple iPod ones that they are made for. Case in point is that I just listed to about an hour of streaming with the Samsung headset and my ears started to hurt. I swapped to the Audiovox ones with the EarJams on and my ears already feel better. I've listened to streaming with these for hours without issue. On the iPod headphones, I've listened to it all day.
The volume certainly increases substantially. On my LG VX9800 and the Samsung a920 I am most comfortable with the phone volume on it's lowest possible setting that isn't off and with the Audiovox analog volume control at about half. It's not loud, but it's loud enough. Higher and it gets painful. On the iPod, I usually have the volume at 20-30% instead of 60% or higher. This is actually a problem because I'll have it at 80% for in the car playing and if I forget to lower the volume before hitting the play button I literally have to yank the headphones out of my ears -- which can hurt if done too quickly.
The EarJams come with 3 sizes of rubber fillers. I tried the medium ones first and thought they were too loose. So, I moved up to the large ones and realized that it was fitting even worse. The small ones are perfect for me. As it turns out, the other ones didn't allow it to go in far enough, which is why they felt loose.
For something that looks like a gimmick, these really do work well. There is a definite increase in volume as well as a shift down in frequencies. You do seem to lose some on the top end while gaining some at the bottom end. If you have equalizer adjustments available, you can compensate for that, though.
They don't block the external sound as well as I hoped they would. They aren't advertised to do that, though. These aren't replacements for in-hear headphones. Nor do they replace studio, full cup headphones. They do allow your iPod headphones to fill a price and performance gap, though. Since they can also be used with any other ear bud that has the same size bud, they can provide even more use than you might anticipate.
The case the EarJams comes in is great. It has enough room to hold the extra pads and the iPod headset. In fact, I've had luck with it also holding my Audiovox headset in addition to the iPod headset. It has two mesh pockets and a zipper pocket and the hole thing zippers closed.
If you don't have the budget for good in-ear headphones or the space for studio headphones, these will help. If you're an audiophile, or close, you probably won't like the loss at the high end, though. Don't expect miracles.
EarJams - Griffin Technology
The Gadgeteer - Griffin Technology EarJams Review
Griffin EarJams review by PC Magazine
Griffin EarJams Reviews. Front Door Reviews by CNET.
Griffin EarJams at The Apple Blog
March 11, 2006
Sprint Power Vision Channel Listing
The Media Player application on the Samsung A920 divides the media providers up by channels. At any time, you can type a two digit number to switch channels. This won't actually start something else playing. In fact, after you switch channels you then have to find your content from this particular provider. However, I can never seem to remember what channel belongs to what and I can't find a listing anywhere. Well, now others can:
- Sprint TV:
- 01: Sprint TV Plus
- 09: Sprint TV Live
- 20: Fox
- 21: Universal Pictures & DVDs
- 22: 16 Blocks (yes, the movie -- this shows the channels may change) Show's up as "Warner Bros." once selected
- 49: Previews
- 50: Sprint TV Ultimate
- Radio:
- 16: MSpot Radio
- 23: SIRIUS MUSIC
- 39: Rhapsody Radio
- 53: SIRIUS Hits
- 42: Sony Music Box Connection
- Music Video:
- 06: MUSIC CHOICE
- 26: VH1 Mobile
- 28: GoTV AltRock
- 36: MTV Mobile
- 46: CMT Mobile
- Sports:
- 03: FOX Sports
- 13: ESPN
- 45: SportsEdge
- 55: Maxx SportsTV
- Cartoons:
- 10: Cartoon Network
- 40: Saturday Morning TV
- 11: Adult Swim
- 12: Looney Tunes
- News & Weather:
- 02: CNNtoGO
- 04: The Weather Channel
- 05: GoTV
- 54: ABC News News Now
- Stylez:
- 25: GoTV DIVA
- 27: THE STREET TV
- 38: GoTV Hip Hop Official
- Movies & Shorts:
- 07: mFlix
- 18: SmashTV(TM)
- 19: Fun Little Movies
- 31: BlipTV
- 48: MSpot Movies
- Entertainment:
- 08: E!
- 15: Comedy Central Mobile
- 17: Access Hollywood
- 24: Black. White.
- 29: Varsity Mobile
- 30: Swimsuit Model TV
- 34: GoTV Pure Comedy
- 37: Comedy Time
There are other overlapping channels and content providers like this.
For instance, channel 16 contains a "podcast" section that has a bunch of NPR and PRI audio clips (e.g. The World, Studio 360, and Open Source, which is actually live streaming). Channel 39, Rhapsody Radio, contains some other podcasts like KCRW Film Reviews and Left, Right, and Center. On a side note, it would be great if there was a general purpose podcast player or something instead of having to rely on the various content providers to bring the podcasts to us.
It's hard to know exactly what you might want. It's also impossible to see the content available without subscribing. The descriptions are alright as are the previews. Even with this program I haven't fully explored everything. I have plans of trying to list it all, at least on a given day. It's also impossible to tell if a particular piece of content is a live stream or a clip until you load it up and see if it has a time range on it or not. Even more confusing after that but at least one piece of content, Looney Tunes on channel 50 plays a clip each time it's loaded however the clip changes every few minutes or so.
So, to wrap up, there are fixed clips, dynamic clips, and live streams. Beyond that, the fixed clips change as the content changes. For instance, The Daily Show (on channel 15) has two clips every day after the full show airs. They are dated, so it's easy to tell what you've seen and not seen. The icons don't differentiate. Much of the time, a live stream will have "live" in it's name. This isn't always true, though. In one case, Open Source (on channel 16) doesn't have live in it but does stream live. It repeats often, though. (That is explained on their website, though.)
In any case, I hope the above list is useful to someone.
March 10, 2006
Feedback to Sprint #2: Coverage Issues
I've been using the phone both at home and at work. At least three times now when I've made a voice call from my work location the other party has not been able to hear me and I've had to call back from another line. The locations of these calls have been good enough for data coverage for streaming and other use and has shown 1-2 bars.On the other hand, when I made a call from Highway 17 the coverage was stable through some notoriously bad areas, which was great.
When you have a couple of bars of service, and you can hear the other person perfectly, you really start to wonder if it's the coverage or something wrong with the microphone on the phone. Right now I'm one successful voice call for four total attemps. That's actually not a very good track record.
March 9, 2006
Sprint: Messaging Services
VoiceSMS: When sent to Verizon, you have to dial the callback number and then it logs you in to some voice mail system. Interestingly, the dial number shows up as the voice mail number when it's dialed. You can then listen to it, save it, etc. In fact, it acts just like voice mail, but it's "VoiceSMS from Sprint."
SMS: Pretty typical SMS client. It's interesting, though, but the first time I sent out an SMS with a URL in it I didn't realize that you could actually use that URL right away. When you're scrolling, you have lines under the text that highlight. Pressing OK just causes the application to reply, so I just got out and typed the URL in myself. However, the right soft key will actually extract any URLs or email in the text message and display a menu of items if you hit the "Go" option. If there is only one URL it will just go to it in the built-in browser.
You have the option to get MSN, Yahoo, and AIM instant messaging clients. You can also get Mobile Greetings. However, there is no POP or SMTP client that's accessible through the built-in shop. I tried a couple I found out and about on the web but the download didn't work so I didn't bother spending more time. It's odd that there isn't a sanctioned option right out of the box. Maybe it's just because it's a new phone?
Java Apps: Google Local, Opera Mini, and More
DoomRPG: The graphics don't seem to be as good as the BREW version. I'm not even sure if the MM-A920 has accelerated 3D graphics.
Google Local Mobile: Not on the catalog and the SMS Google sends isn't parsed by the handset for an easy click URL. Relatively easy to type in. Nice and fast application, but it's almost like they forgot about the back (or clear) button most phones have. I kept trying to hit it, but instead I had to hit the soft key. Their back is the normal left soft key. Much of the rest of the phone uses the left soft key as the go or accept button.
MidpSSH: This is a Telnet, SSH1, and SSH2 client for J2ME. It has a great choice of fonts, including a really small one. It also has some anti-aliasing for the fonts, which is nice. It's a pain to type, of course, because this phone doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard (although it would be nice if it supported a Bluetooth keyboard). However, this is all solved by macros. It's great, actually. You can set up macros for sending to the server. I've set up a few for doing some commands for getting various statuses and stuff (e.g. "uptime && who && df && free" sort of macros). Running "top" is, well, a bit odd. I mean, it works great, but it's not the sort of thing you expect to see drawing on your phone screen. It also supports landscape mode, although I haven't tried that yet.
Opera Mini: Quick and easy install. It only took a few seconds to download at 99KB. Interesting setup to test scrolling, networking, etc. After first real use you then have to accept a license (which basically says it stores personal information but tells you multiple times how to clear it). The small font is definitely the way to go, especially on this phone. It took me multiple times clicking on the new user link to realize I had to page down a few times. Then they have this lovely CAPTCHA for verifying the signup. Naturally, when you're entering text you can't see it. It was just annoying that I decided not to sign up. Instead, I have my own links page. :) I do like that it shows the time at the bottom while you're browsing. The browser itself isn't too bad. It's nice to have a browser on the phone that has it's own bookmarks and URL entry.
I'm sure I'll be getting more J2ME apps. For now, these really are the first few I got. Only one of them actually cost any money, too.
Resources:
Google Local for mobile
MidpSSH | SSH and Telnet client for Mobile devices (MIDP/J2ME)
Download Opera Mini™ - Opera Software - Samsung SPH MM-a920
Doom RPG for Mobile Phones - doomrpg.com
Revenue Outlet For DVD Special Features
I don't know about you, but I won't pay more for a DVD just to get extra special features. Alternate endings and extended versions like those in the Lord of the Rings trilogy are the only exceptions to this rule. It often seems like a lot of work and budget are put into the special feature disk content. Yet how are they possibly cost-effective?
Now that we watch so much on Netflix, we don't even see the special feature disks. But here's the thing - those kinds of little shorts, the behind the scenes scenes, the making-ofs. All of these would make great mobile content. Even features like scene selection that seem kind of frivolous when you can just flip from scene to scene with forwarding on a dvd. But these features start making a lot more sense when you start thinking mobile.
But for this sort of serial video to work, you've got to have a decent smart UI and right now I have yet to see a decent one. So here's what I want to see: Think iPod.
Since video seems to be the hottest new thing to suck up mobile bandwidth, let's see if some carriers manage to make decent user interfaces for media. There are three tech requirements that seem to be missing in today's video content apps - content itself aside. These are state-management, smooth transitioning, and mobile aspect ratios.
Think about it. If you're going to watch a serial, whether it's Lost or Short Circuit in 1-scene segments, the phone should keep track of state. Where you left of, whether you get a phone call, or finish a scene and want to start the next.
When you're watching longer content, like a movie, or a content Channel like a daily South Park clips, it would be great if the scenes were linked seamlessly. You should be able to advance to the next clip in a smooth transition without having to navigate through some video menu in several key presses. I'm fine with being prompted, ideally while you're watching the last few seconds of the scene. This also goes for having stuff like smart playlists and subscription lists.
Lastly, it seems like quite a lot of the mobile content is shown in tiny widescreen or letterbox format with giant black bands or fullscreen pan-and-scan, which is better but still isn't really mobile-ready. Are we going to see some kind of standard for mobile aspect ratios, if not for wallpaper content?
AutoFill Completes Me
Ok, so I know this feature has been around for a while, but I've never actually realized it. And yet, I've been bitching about wanting something just like it for years! But it's perfect. Perfect!
Every month, I spend about an hour filling out dumb web forms that are all exactly the same. Ok, so I'm doing it for the monthly contest, but since my win-rate is actually quite good, I'm not going to tell you where. The silly forms are even done by the same company.
I thought AutoComplete was good enough, but those pesky zip codes and cities always have so many options it ends up being faster to re-type it every time. But after 100 forms, it gets kinda old. Anyway, Google's AutoFill makes all the form fields fill out automagically, with the touch of only one button, and now it takes me even less time to get those free goodies.
The LG VX9800 Has an Email Client
So, it used to be that you could only use the Wireless Sync Email on the LG VX9800 (aka The V, formerly the Verizon Communicator). Now, this was an expensive option as it was priced at $20 a month! Rumour was that Verizon would not make available any other email clients, such as Soda Pop, since they wanted people to use the Wireless Sync Email.
Having seen this client on someone else's phone, not only did I still not want to spend the twenty bucks a month, I also saw a client that looked like a pretty poorly written WAP client. Not that it didn't work; it worked great, actually. It was just kludgy.
However, I recently noticed that Email Executive is now available on the phone for only $5 a month! This allows POP or IMAP access to your email as well as Hotmail access. It's actually from the same people that do Soda Pop, too.
I got a chance to look at this app, too. It looks like a nice little application. However, I probably won't be using it since I have this Sprint thing going on for a while. At least the option is there now, though. It's especially nice that it allows for IMAP usage.
March 8, 2006
Problems with Newegg.com
I seem to be in a very open mood these days. I had some problems with Newegg.com last week and so I decided to just write them a real, physical letter. I thought I'd share it with anyone who happened to see it here, too. I've heard of issues with them from other people, too, but everyone always seems to agree that their prices are good. Sometimes that doesn't matter, though...
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to tell whomever it may concern about a very unpleasant and expensive experience I had with Newegg.com over the last couple of weeks. I do [lots] of purchases for my company each month, usually exceeding $xxx a year. I have used Newegg.com for personal purchases over the years and I usually consider Newegg.com to be a great price and have fast service.
Two weeks ago was an ordinary week where I needed to order some software for my company. This was no big purchase, but Newegg.com’s competitors were charging $550 and Newegg.com had the same item for about $430 with much cheaper shipping. So, I ordered this on the same day as some hardware using my company credit card that I am required to use. This required me to put in a different billing address and name.
After nearly a week and the other order having already arrived even though it had slower shipping, I had not seen anything. So I checked the Newegg.com website. The order was stuck on Step 1. Not only that, but the billing address was incorrect. It did not have the information I entered; instead, it had my personal billing information for my company account. So, I called up Newegg.com support and I got to a real person quickly and smoothly. I was told that I could not switch the credit card because the credit card had already been approved, but it was being denied by some internal verification. Well, clearly this is because the address was wrong. So, I had the customer support representative change the address.
After another day I checked the status and the same thing had occurred. This time, the product was already too late and had been needed a couple of days before. So, I cancelled the order and entered a new order with my own personal card and personal billing address and overnight shipping. Today, I just saw that this order was also stuck in Step 1 and had the company name and billing address listed on my personal credit card.
I have cancelled this order and placed the order with a Newegg.com competitor. Now that my reputation is harmed at my company for getting orders in quicker than other people, I will never be able to order for my company from Newegg.com again. I did try to resolve this once with customer service email, customer service phone support, and once on my own, with no luck. Now it is too late as the product was needed at the beginning of last week, not next week.
Newegg.com’s reputation has been harmed in front of people who buy technology products all the time.
This isn't everything they got, but close enough to get the idea. Now, of course, is when I'll probably spot the mistakes, typos, and grammar errors. Eh, whatever. We'll see if I get a response. :)
Feedback to Sprint #1: Handset First Impressions
So I'm supposed to give feedback to Sprint as part this whole program thing. Well, actually, they don't require any sort of feedback. However, I thought it wouldn't hurt to share most of the feedback. Naturally, it starts out good but it won't stay that way. I do have a number of negative things queued up. However, I do like the phone and services, overall. I'd prefer a QWERTY type phone, but I guess you get what you pay for. Har Har! :)
One of the my first impressions when I opened the box was, "Wow! a data cable?! That's unheard of!" That was followed up by checking the box to see if was specific to this program. Of course, it wasn't. And by unheard of, I really meant "unheard of on verizon" -- since that's my most common point of reference.
The stereo headset is great, too. Only one of my older Verizon phones came with one. The inclusion of a memory card is also great, although it's a bit small. Luckily, I have a couple of 128MB TF cards laying about that I can use.
I like the color and weight of the phone. It feels lighter than the Samsung A950 (my wife said as much, too) and it's definitely lighter than my VX9800. The color is unique and refreshing.
VCAST Signup Through App - No Music Option?
So, I recently got to play around with a Samsung A950 that did not have any service on it. After putting service on it, there was no VCAST service on it. When trying to launch the VCAST Video application, it wasn't even on the phone. I had to go download it first. Then it appeared to go to some web page where you could sign up for VCAST ($10? It thought it was $15?). After a few clicks here where it told me the data couldn't be used for anything (I think it could be used through Get It Now and getWeb -- it didn't even mention VCAST) and was extremely redundant about this. After it was all done confirming it told me to turn the phone off and then back on!
How rude is that?
And after this I still couldn't access the VCAST Music application. Gah.
Of course, I had to call them. No problems here, of course. They answered on the first ring (a real human) and I explained the problem. I was told that all I'd signed up for was VCAST "video only" so they switched it to VCAST "VPAK with music" for the same 15 bucks as the normal VCAST service. So that's cool.
Sorry for the thought stream lists below... it's just easy that way.
Online Music Store
- Free stuff right now, everything else is 99 cents (I guess to download and sync?)
- Nice UI inside Windows Media Player (7 free songs, select check boxes, buy selected, confirm)
- Purchased, didn't download, went to phone nothing in download
- can download again (only if the download fails?)
- download link wasn't working -- took me a while to realize that there was a little bar at the top telling me I needed to install a download manager activex control (isn't that what winmedia is?) (at least they signed it)
- Download manager is a popup window -- why not inside of win media?
- After download finished, nothing happened other than the window closing. Now how do I get these songs onto my phone?
- The syncing was just not very intuitive. I plugged in the phone and got the ability to sync it to WinMedia. However, I couldn't find many of the songs I purchased because I had so much other music. The free Shakira ones were the easiest.
- I could sync my own music as easily as the purchased music. I had been under the impression that the handsets with the VCAST Music service couldn't play music that wasn't purchased. Having discovered that not to be true, I'm much more likely to flash it onto my VX9800 (The V) if they make it available for that handset.
- You could choose to sync to either of two "internal memory" options or two "external card" options. I'm not sure why there were two of both. I put some music in both places, but the internal memory is tiny and can only hold a few songs.
- As far as I know, this handset doesn't come with a TransFlash (aka microSD) card, but I have a 128MB one that can hold about 4 hours of audio, depending on the bit rate these are encoded at.
- When you sync your own file, the sync encodes them in another format so it takes longer to sync.
- The file I purchased was 160Kbps, VBR, and protected. The license allows for unlimited plays, no collaborative play (not sure what that means), 5 burns, unlimited synchronization, and the license can't be backed up.
- You can only synchronize when connected to the net sometimes
- Sync is USB 2.0, unless you have an older Samsung USB cable
On Handset Music Store
- Slow
- Buggy? Well, at least not very user friendly in some areas.
- Inbox in player seems to freeze the phone. Only the catalog button works. You can't even get up to the help option. I'm not even sure what the Inbox is supposed to do.
- Search result lists are often big. It takes a long time to scroll down because every 10 or 12 lines need to request another set from the network, but it builds up the list so scrolling up takes equally long (the caching should be better)
- Can't use if you don't have EVDO coverage.
Got My Sprint Ambassador Handset
The Samsung MM-A920 came yesterday. The retail box had a data cable, a stereo headset, a charger, a manual, a service guide, and the handset with 32MB TransFlash card already inserted.
I haven't had much time to use it yet. I'll be working up a full review of it, like I've done in the past with other handsets. I'll also cover various services and compare them to similar handsets on Verizon.
If anyone has any questions about specific items, please post a comment here or on any of the "Sprint Ambassador" topics. I'll get to them as I have the time and ability.
Thanks!
March 3, 2006
USB Car Stereos
Maybe one of these will be better than my unfortunate MegaSound VRCD300USB. ;)
Akihabara News - New USB enabled car stereos by Kenwood
