my new blog at tech-recipes:  blogs.tech-recipes.com/jimmyselix

I plan to continue posting on all of my usual sites and also will be starting a new blog here on tech-recipes.com.  So I’m not really going anywhere just growing up and leaving my college online self behind.

Its been a great 10+ years as the seamonkey420.  I originally got my start be having one of the first easy readable XBOX modding guides available.  Thankfully Tech-Recipes saw my skills and offered me hosting and a login to add my guides to their database.  From there on out I basically snatched up every seamonkey420 username on any relevant tech site so that way I would become the seamonkey420.

However, our avatars/monikers do reflect upon us and in turn the 420 aspect of my previous does give off perhaps a negative/less authoritative vibe with users.  So sadly the reason why I am transitioning to a more ‘pc’ one.

Rebranding yourself isn’t too bad.  It shows you how loyal of twitter/foursquare/blog followers you have.  If you engage your readers/followers, they’ll add you back in a heartbeat.  If you bore them or never update your status, they’ll probably forgo adding you.  Its all about content baby!  I will miss having my original twitter account (over 5K+ tweets) and also my original blog url/referrals but that’s the price of starting fresh.

So expect a new blog from me shortly, i’ll be sure to update with a new link.  Thanks again for taking the time to read my rants and raves and random geek posts.  The content won’t change, just the name on the blog.

(please excuse the cable mess in my pictures, I had not done cable management yet. also links in the post are relevant to the post and NOT AD links as an FYI)

Purpose of setup: To record Digital Comcast cable and Clear QAM HDTV w/o a set top box or rental fees and to be able to shift content to any device.  Ability to rip bluray/dvd and convert to MP4 also a requirement.  The ability to also automate the transcoding and delivery were sub-goals.

Hardware:

Main HTPC/Desktop Rig:

• Amd Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8Ghz x 6cores
• Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H (SATA-3 6GB/s, USB 3.0)
• 8GB DDR3 PC1033 RAM
• 4 x 1 TB Western Digital
• LG Bluray Burner / DVD Burner
• ATI Digtal Cable TV Tuner (CableCard)
• AverMedia ClearQam Dual HDTV Tuner
• Geforce 9600 GSO (HDCP ready)
• HP 21″ LCD (HDMI) and Panasonic Viera 32″ HDTV (1080p DVI to HDMI)
• HP MCE IR Adapter and MCE Remote
• Harmony One remote setup for each zone and its components

Living Room Setup:

• Sony Bravia 40″ HDTV
• XBOX 360 Slim (MCE Extender)
• PS3 Slim (Bluray playback)

Bedroom Setup:

• Samsung 40″ HDTV
• Intel C2D E5700 2.8Ghz
• 4GB DDR3
• 500GB Western Digital
• Lenovo Media Center Keypad

Mobile Setup:

• Galaxy Tab / Nexus One
• iPhone 3GS / iPad2 (?)
• MBA 11″ / Dell XT  Tablet (work)

Configuration:

Main HTPC setup is the brains of the operation.  I use Windows 7 Ultimate Edition as my base OS and use Media Center (MCE) to record my TV using my ATI Cable Card tuner and cablecard from Comcast and also record my local stations in HD via my Avermedia (allows for 2 recordings while watching a live show).

I also run MCEBuddy at 1am each night to automatically encode my HDTV shows to MP4 formats. I then have another batch i have set to run each day around 6am that will copy the converted files into iTunes and at the same time tag the mp4 file using Atomicparsley and custom batch file to tag the file as “TV Show” and also embed the proper TV Show album art and Series and Network.

I can then view the converted mp4 tv shows (which are captured as WTV files in MCE and not importable into iTunes or streamable via Airvideo) on any of my Apple devices including an iPad or Macbook or iPhone (using either Arivideo or iTunes and home sharing).  I have not gotten a fully integrated delivery solution for my Android devices though I have been contemplating using VLC but have not looked to far into since I usually create a special profiled copy of my DVD/Bluray digital rips (yes its more disk space used but with storage being very cheap that is a non issue for me and the mp4 i make for my Tab/iPad looks very good and is usually around 500-750mbs in space).

I can also copy either manually or via a batch file all newly encoded vidoes to my Android devices.  Every mobile phone and device should support the mp4 file type and in a way is the new MP3 of videos.

Living Room / Bedroom Delivery:

In my living room, I watch all of my Recorded HDTV on my Sony using my XBOX 360 Slim and the Media Center extender features.  I am also able to watch live tv via it too, however Media Center features on the XBOX does require a XBOX Live Gold membership (approx $50/yr) along with Netflix.

I also use Windows 7 Home Premium and Media Center in my bedroom to watch my TV via Homegroup sharing options and streaming. I also have my Live account tied to my HTPC rig and in turn can stream all of my content remotely with MCE and Wifi connection.  Quality of stream varies on the kind of connection i can get at a hotel or from my phone’s tethering.  Setting up sharing of Recorded TV in Media Center can be a bit confusing and frustrating; I have yet to nail the setup in one shot though (being able to play recorded tv on my other windows 7 pc).

Movies/Bluray:

I am in a way anal about my media libraries and in turn keep them very clean.  I also started a huge project about 4 years ago that involved converting every DVD I own into digital format while retainiing most quality  while not using too much data. I encode most DVDs that lead to sizes of about 2-2.5GBs and retaining full 5.1 DTS/Dolby soundtracks.  I also convert most of my Blurays to mp4 and in turn they usually end up at sizes around 3.5-4GBs. I try to stay undder 4.2GBs so i can copy it via FAT32 to my PS3 Slim.

I use Handbrake to convert my DVDs and Blurays to Mp4/M4v files.  Its free and still the best converter on the market.  It also utilizes multiple core CPUs too.

I have upgraded the hard drives in both of my PS3s to 500GB drives. In turn I believe in copying my movies to the PS3′s local hard drive; streaming is nice but having it local you are guaranteeing there will not be any stuttering issues.

Streaming Options:

I use Netflix on my PS3s and XBOX 360 Slim and on my Windows 7 computers.  The Netflix add-in for Media Center really makes it easy to use from a couch or bed.  I used to run Hulu Desktop on my computers and then created a custom menu for MCE to link to Hulu Desktop in fullscreen mode but realized that I did not use Hulu Desktop as much as I thought I did and really did not like the amount of commercial breaks and the volume levels of said commercials.  Play On is another option to use to stream to consoles but it is a retail application.

Input/Controlling:

Again, like any Car PC projects that I have taken on, the biggest problem is how to control your setup without having a full keyboard and mouse at your bed.  My Harmony One remote and HP 5070-2584 USB IR adapter allow me to use it for my MCE TV watching at my desk and on my living room setup.  There have not been many Media Center branded remotes released in the last few years.  I also bought a Lenovo Multimedia Remote w/keyboard with a trackball for use in my Bedroom.  So far its great but lacks a key feature that most remotes lack; backlit keys for night use.   Nonetheless it was on sale for under $30 so for the price a great find for HTPC use; however I would look around for a deal on it since it retails for $59.

Some backstory on my HTPC experience, i’ve been experimenting with HTPC’s for the last 7 years and i must say that i am amazed at where we’ve come.  MCE could really put a HTPC in the living room and replace your DVR box.  However getting from what you want to do and doing it is a pretty big endeaver.  CableCard technology really hurt the enthusiast sect and set us back about 2 years (we went almost 2 years with only about 4 cablecard tv tuners being released) right now we only have about 6 solutions and all start in the $160 whereas analog tuners could be found for $50 for decent one.   I’ve also played with tons of DVR software suites and would say that Win7 MCE is currently the best IMO in regards to CPU utilization and integration and also GUI on a larger format screen.  I have not recently used any other suites since I’ve been very satisfied in that my desktop pc has not missed any recordings and Windows 7 as an OS is VERY stable; even more so than most DVR set top boxes OS are.

So there’s my setup, let me know if you have any questions on how I do any of my tasks.

Back in November 2010, T-Mobile released the first WP7 in the USA with the HTC HD7.  I was very curious to see what WP7 was all about and snatched up an HD7 on T-Mobile (being I’m a current off-contract T-Mobile customer).

The hardware was excellent, as with all HTC phones. However the software lacked some major features that I would consider to be mandatory items: custom ringtones and adding of non-broadcasted SSID WiFi networks being the top two.  The latest rumors point to a March 2011 date for the update to WP7.

Google’s release/update cycles for Android really has spoiled users like me.  However, the fact that they have modified Android in Honeycomb for a tablet interface is key.  It shows 2 of the top 3 mobile OS’s seeing the failings of Microsoft in its past OS offerings for tablet form factors (iOS and Android, and now even WebOS in the TouchPad).

Microsoft’s metro UI for WP7 could really be cool on a tablet given they expanded the tile functionality and possible a widget type desktop.  Windows 7 is a great desktop and laptop OS but still can’t compete with Apple’s iOS for the iPad or the upcoming Honeycomb for Android tablets.   Microsoft should really just suck it up and go through on the Courier concept.  I would consider such a device for its precise notetaking abilities.  Capacitive touch screens just can’t do a stylus or replace a paper notepad and pen for accuracy and speed in notetaking.

So Microsoft… are you finally going to enter the hardware market and make us a nice Courier device? Here’s what I say:

1. Port WP7 as the base OS.

2. Stick with the base metro UI and tile design for the homescreens but make them bigger and allow more info to be shown within them (widget like but more standard in design, consistent look on all homescreens.

3. Try something totally different in perhaps a Pinch gesture to allow actual full OS skins based on functions.  IE, Courier mode = the full Courier concept GUI and app.  Perhaps  Media Center mode = Windows 7 MCE Interface to use for Recorded TV playback and music, photo viewing, Modder mode = fully customizable homescreen with Tile design.

I guess we’ll see what Microsoft has up its sleeve. Hopefully its more than just some Windows 7 tablets.

I bought the iPad on launch and later the iPad 3G version but have since sold both.  My current tablet device is a Samsung Galaxy Tab.  Why? Size.  I didn’t think a 7″ tablet would really be a usable device but I was totally wrong.  Its size makes it more appealing due to the fact that I can take it with me anywhere and consider it.  Whereas with my iPad, bringing it with me always required a bag and in turn it stayed at home on its dock and used when on the couch.  It was amazing when I was traveling but when my traveling slowed, its usage dwindled.

The iPad is an amazing device and I am in no way knocking on it.  However, I think Apple will admit it they were wrong in the 7″ form factor and release a 7″ iPad 2.

Here’s my wishlist of iPad 2 features that I’d love to see:

1. Obviously, 7″ version.  Most in the industry consider this to be a very doubtful thing to happen, but isn’t that what Apple is good at, surprising us?  I say this is a total possibility.  All of the leaks we’ve seen could easily be just a mis-information campaign by Apple’s marketing team.

2. Dual cameras, its a no brainer this will happen. Facetime support is another obvious feature that will get added. Quality of cameras probably will be on par with current iPhone 4 specs.

3. Another obvious one, CDMA (verizon in the usa) version + WiFi, GMS+WiFi and WiFi only versions.  Prcing most likely in line with current models, but you never know.  The 7″ WiFi version could be aimed at Kindle pricing.

4. Hybrid touchscreen; both resistive and capacitive touchscreens.  At the same time, they could possibly release a notetaking app aimed at Microsoft’s OneNote and make a true leap into the Enterprise realm.  Very doubtful if even considered by most analysts.  Again, I just want to replace my paper notebook for meeting notes I use and a 7″ iPad 2 w/a hybrid touchscreen could do it.

5. NFC and Gyroscope.  NFC is doubtful but Gyroscope is a no brainer.  NFC would be nice for interaction with iPhone 5 that prob would have it.  NFC will live up to its hype, just is slow to get to market due to it being implemented into new devices.

That wraps up my quickie 5 wishlist of new features for the upcoming iPad 2.  Guess we’ll probably start finding out more and more about it as the months wear on.  I’d guess a April/May release date for it since that would mark the 1 year date from its release.

I should preface this post with a few facts about myself and my perception of the cabletv industry.  I’ve been a Home Theater PC (HTPC) guy since the idea of HTPC became a reality back in 2003 and the release of Microsoft’s XP Media Center version and have since progressed my setup with the times.  I currently have a custom built 6core desktop running Windows 7 Ultimate and sporting a dual Clear QAM digital tuner and an ATI Cable Card Digital Tuner (first gen) to get both my OTA HDTV channels and also my Comcast digital/HDTV channels without a box.  I’ve messed around with nearly every PVR/DVR software suite made for Windows XP and several Linux flavored ones too.  So yes, I’ve been in the industry for a while I’d say.

I personally believe that CableTV companies should really start looking into and piloting new ways to deliver their digital tv services.  Recent trends and articles show a definite trend in people cutting the cable in regards to cabletv services and going internet tv.  If we are going to see commercials anyways, why not getting your tv the most convenient way (ie Hulu or Netflix online)?

Comcast could be seen as a revolutionary cable company by doing one of the easiest and, in my opinion, greatest revenue boosting things in a long time:

Offer all cable tv packages that subscribers with a box get available over the internet and online.  Let us be able to watch normal live tv over the internet without having to have a cable connection.  Basically give us our IPTV but delivered via a webbrowser or even better….

Work out an agreement with Hulu to create a special Comcast Hulu channel that would allow Comcast subscribers access to all shows and tv channel lineups they would normally receive if they owned a cable box and get live streams of it.  This method of delivery is superior to current methods in that:

1. You need to have internet, so if the person is in a comcast internet area, they’ll most likely be buying their internet service from comcast and also be buying Cabletv Over The Internet (COTI, my new acronym! hehe).  With COTI, you would need fast internet service!

2. You can sell your cabletv to ANYONE! not limited by physical lines or geographic areas.  Less money spent on in home calls on fixing broken cable boxes.  Plus, you already have the advertising from the live broadcast in the stream so in turn your probably double dipping in ads (add a very unobtrusive bottom text banner ad or background image type add the goes behind player window, similar to how gametrailers.com was doing the kfc adverts).

3. Consumers could hopefully be able to view TV anywhere they have internet service!  Of course Comcast would need to create a check system so people wouldn’t abuse their accounts but if they did this in a proper way (ie let you have a number of activated devices, up to 10 per account and do it by a combination of mac address, serial number, ip subnet).

However, the biggest problem or hurdle this new method of delivery would need to get past would be making the agreements between the networks, Hulu and the cable companies.  We all know how big business works; usually it doesn’t since the head of the business is a person that doesn’t even recognize what is currently happening in the tech space or heck even what was happening last in the tech space.  I really think this is a biggie for the industry and for us consumers.  It pushes us one step forward to a la carte packaging!  Heck, Comcast could potentially then offer a la carte packaging to cabletv subscribers that use a box or cablecard as an incentive keep your cable connection.

Or better yet, Comcast team up with Google TV and sell their own Comcast hardware to subscribers. oh, that could be very sweet but very doubtful since we know again how good at embracing new tech cable companies are or aren’t

Well, thats about all for now. Till next time, peace.

Hardware/Size:

The thing I love the most about the Tab, it’s size.  7″ is actually a pretty good size/form factor for a portable tablet (not a netbook/notebook replacing tablet but a consumption/internet type device).  The hardware is made up of mainly plastic and in turn keeps the device very light.  The screen uses Gorilla Glass to make it nearly unscratchable and looks very good at 1024×600 resolution.

There is a headphone/mic connector, samsung proprietary connector jack for charging/usb/accessories, microSD card slot, SIM Card slot, and power and volume buttons.

The device has a warmer feel due to its plastic housing build, where as the iPad has a colder feel due to its aluminum body/design.  It seems to fit into most of my jack pockets and several inside pockets.  It also fits into a few of my cargo pants front pockets too.  I use it more by the fact that I take it with me quite a bit more than I did  my iPad.  The iPad does not fit into any jacket pockets and is a bit weird to try to transport w/o a bag.

Full hardware/tech specs comparison to an iPad can be found on my other Tab vs iPad post.

Android/Touchwiz:

Samsung created its own customized launcher called the Touchwiz interface.  It tries to make Android 2.2 (Froyo) a more tablet friendly mobile OS by adding a sheet layout program launcher and adding custom notification bar (which i love due to quick access to wifi, brightness, etc).

Samsung has done a pretty good job with this.  The Tab does seem to have a pretty sensitive accelerometer and I always recommend people to keep it locked in Portrait mode and then unlock for specific apps (like on the iPad too).  This can give a bad experience for first time users I’ve noticed since it can slow down the OS if you keep rotating from portrait to landscape.

Froyo is not a horrible tablet OS.  Its actually 10x better than anything Microsoft has done its nearly 10 years of trying to push tablets to consumers.  Its not iOS since Apple optimized its version of iOS for the iPad and its larger interface.  Google is doing this with the upcoming Honeycomb release (Android 3.0) and in the interim will add optimization to Android in Gingerbread (2.3).  The Tab has not been guaranteed Honeycomb updates, but Gingerbread updates are almost a given (official or the hacked, custom rom route).

Apple still has the edge over Google in the tablet os market, for now.  There are some things on the Galaxy Tab that the iPad couldn’t even come close to doing such as Turn by Turn Navigation and Map software.  Google’s own Maps and Navigation apps alone can nearly sell me any Android device.  I have ordered a car mount for my Tab and may try to use it to replace my car’s navigation/stereo headunit, expect some posts about this later this month.  The fact that it also has a camera also is another one up on the iPad.

Battery life was comparable to the iPad but not quite as good. I’ve been getting about 8-9 hours with pretty heavy use off and on.  I have not ran any constant video drain tests but I get about 2 days of using without having to charge and can usually make it a full day of demoing without a charge (lots of video, surfing over 3G, games).  Samsung claims to get about 11-13 hours of light use with the device, so not too off their claims.  I also run my brightness set to Auto and setup all of my syncing to be in the 4-6 hour intervals.

XDA-Developers/Hacking/Modders:

The one thing that I love about all Android phones/devices is the underground hacker/modder community and support.  Most phone’s receive OS updates from custom rom makers before the manufacturers even announce a release.  XDA-Developers.com is a great hang out site for any Android power user.  The users there provide custom roms, apps, hacks and even just some good old help and troubleshooting.

I run the Roto JME v4 custom rom on my AT&T Tab and can make voice calls and unlocked the SIM to use my Tmobile SIM if needed.  It also runs much smoother than the stock firmware since its based on a later build of samsung’s and also includes other user tweaks.

An example of what you can do with your Galaxy Tab if rooted and using a custom rom:

-Ability to make voice calls (but lose Tmobile 3G data, edge data fine; AT&T 3G data fine)

-Ability to use Tab as hotspot/tethering (nice for us iPad 3G unlimited data plan users)

-Customize any part of the OS from fonts to language packs

-Full backups of apps and user data

Conclusions:

From day one of ownership, my Samsung Galaxy Tab has had to live up to the de facto tablet currently, Apple iPad.  It also had to make it through me lusting over the new tablets to be released in 2011.  Nonetheless, I still have my Galaxy Tab and am still satisfied with it.

The tech specs on it and the power it offers are perfectly inline with what current and near future tablets have to offer (ie Q1 2011, late Q1 will see the dual core tablets).  The size and portability give it a true one up over Apple and in a way has me pining for them to make a 7″ since it could be a hit for the commuters and/or teen sect.

A few features on the Tab such as the Google Maps/Navigation, microSD slot, and dual cameras give it the one up over the current iteration of the iPad.  Its killer feature is that its a device you can actually take with you and use more than just using at home.    However the few downfalls such as an non-optimized tablet OS and some minor lag when rotating screens could sway the casual buyer away.  If your a power user type, this is a great tablet once you get a custom rom on it.

Seamonkey Recommended, But Try It First

as a power user its a great tablet but for the non-power users you may want to try it out first or wait for the 2nd gen Android tablets to hit in late Q1/early Q2 2011.

I’m a gadget addict as most of you readers may know.  If its shiny and black and emits a low level amount of radiation; I have to have it.   One side obsession that does come with being a gadget geek is being a laptop/gadget bag freak too.  Well, you gotta take your toys with you too!  Admittedly so, I spend about an average of an hour a week looking for a new laptop or gadget bag.  Any who, I just purchased a Galaxy Tab after selling my iPad and in turn needed a new smaller bag.  I never really found any small messenger type bags that would fit just the iPad and some accessories; most were just cases that only housed the iPad or were made for netbooks and in turn we quite a bit bulkier than I wanted.  I also do not believe in spending over $100 for a bag, heck over $50 is even hard at times but I do value a solidly built bag and understand that you pay for what you get (most of the time).

My main requirements for my Galaxy Tab bag were the following:

1. shoulder strap/messenger bag style

2. no larger than 10″ or smaller than 7″; super portable

3. room for cables, charger, ipod nano or iphone

4. had to look ‘manly’; should not look like a purse

5. normal colors; WTF is up with bags and just FUGLY oranges or lime greens? keep it classic, black on grey never looks bad (usually).

Surprisingly, the internet was not the source of my find. nope.  Good old Target and clearence items.  This is the bag I ended up getting:

SwissGear Travel Shoulder Bag (By Wenger, target link)

$11.99 (normally $29.99)

Its advertised as more of a camera bag but my Galaxy fits perfectly in the main pouch.  I put my Tab AC Charger in the phone pouch, it fits perfectly!

Use the back compartment for my sync cable and front pockets for my post-its, ipod nano and Square reader.  Use inside front compartment for my rsa tokens, usb 3g dongle, iphone, superknife, various other usb cables (micro/ipod) and pens.

I fell in love with it the moment I spotted it since I can see myself using this in the summer and actually being able to carry around my gadgets without looking like too much of a geek. An iPad prob won’t fit though since the Tab fits like a glove (height wise, plenty of room on the sides).  Here’s my list of toys I keep close to me:

-Galaxy Tab (AT&T, using iPad unlimited data plan w/microsim adapter)

-iPod Nano (love pedometer in it)

-Post-its and Pen (good for times you need to just get a number or write a note)

-3G (AT&T) USB Dongle

-Micro USB and iPod sync cables

-Galaxy Sync and AC adapter

-BT Micro Keyboard

-Square Credit Card Reader

-SuperKnife (great for opening things and fending off gadget thieves, j/k)

-Headphones (in ear)

Seamonkey Recommends It!

So there ya have it, my new geek bag and the toys that it holds.  Of course, this is only my minimal, on the go setup. I have several different bags and setups for varying needs….                 and yea… I guess I really am that guy.

/geek

We see new phones and technology nearly on a quarterly basis and designs, in a way, consolidating around a very familar/common form-factor.  Today, i’ll rant and suggest to the industry something that could help not only the industry and consumers but also the planet and the greater good of preventing more and more digital trash.

Trash.  Electronic/technology trash has become a bigger and bigger issue each year as we further advance our technology and in turn replace our older technology.  Most people do not recycle their electronics or even consider it; most of it ends up like in the above image from 2.bp.blogspot.com; in the trash and in landfills or on barges.

I think the mobile phone industry has to change this pattern of waste/replacement/throwing out.  So lets just get to my idea: Modular mobile phone designs.

Sure, I know a few of you are saying that it never will work or its been tried and failed. However, I believe that the mobile industry itself has to start thinking of adopting such an idea. For example, this year alone I have purchased now 3 phones.  All of which are very similar in size, shape, design, and functionality but yet need to be fully replaced to get just a select few upgraded components and features (ie better camera, faster cpu, more memory).  Several of these phones were from the same manufacturer, ie HTC and in turn shared a similar components.

So how can a modular phone design help fix our trash and waste problems?

First, this idea would have to be adopted by all of the major phone manufacturers; including Apple and HTC and Samsung.  This would probably be the hardest part of my idea is getting all major phone makers to come together and agree on such an idea.

Second, standardization of components by such makers would have to be created.  The main thing would be a standardized mainboard size and connectors, a standardized form factor for cases, and other components.

Third,  consumer education of new mobile phones.  Basically one could build their own phone with the components that the manufacturers have standardized and finally install the appropriate OS for such phone.  The mainboard would determine which OS you wold install since it would meet the OS’s requirements for memory, cpu, design.  So in theory I would be able to buy a phone housing, lcd/omeld screen, camera/phone module, mainboard with built-on cpu, radio, simcard.

Fourth, this needs to start happening now! The longer we wait the longer the system gets implemented and our trash problems will only increase as time goes on.  Its not only the waste we would eliminate but also the precious resources used in components could then easily be recycled.

So in theory its a great idea but of course most of us are wondering, won’t this inhibit innovation?  Eliminate ‘personal’ part of your phone since we all would have same cases?  I say no it won’t.  Just like we do now, manufacturers could in theory create a very wide range of cases/phone housings but the main thing would be to again keep a standardization of the case/housing like the PC industry has standardized case design w/the ATX and mATX form factors.  Look at pc cases, there are TONS of variety but yet they all still do the same thing and house the same components.  Also, instead of a touchscreen, a manfucturer could create a dialpad in a similar form factor to replace such screens; of course there would need to be software to let one use a keyboard but you see what i am getting at; make our own phone like I built my first desktop pc.  Its an evolution of the industry and one that must change in order for our planet to survive and resources.

What incentive do the phone makers have in adopting this standard/idea?  They do something most companies fail to even consider; doing some for the greater good of humankind.  Also it would help in production since all components and pieces would be standardized and interswappable with other phones of different manufacturers.  Will consumers buy into it?  I think the hackers and geeks would and eventually the mainstream would too.

Just a random thought of mine today that I thought I’d share just in case someone in the industry wants to finally give back to this planet and its people.   Have a great thanksgiving weekend and be safe!

1. Custom Ringers (WTF?? copyright scare? make it so we can’t make them longer than 30secs)

2. Manual WiFi Network setup / adding of non broadcasted SSID networks. (REALLY? REALLY?? your f(*$ing microsoft, you built wireless zero config! come on!)

3. Car mode options. Hello? Yes, i like security and a password but would like a lock timeout longer than 5 minutes with password options (you can get never lock screen but only w/o a password). Gotta be thinking a little more forward here!

4. Pandora, oh where o where can my Pandora be… WebOS got it on launch.  That was Palm, a now defunct company.  ??

5. OneNote syncing; make it easier or at least explain how you have to do it.  Google still owns the cloud, we are still a bit leary on your offerings microsoft, remember skymesh?

6. Landscape.  You  remember what that is right? Why do I have a kickstand when my Music app stays in portrait? I can think of a landscape design for your Metro style; think of it as a brick road that scrolls left to right.

7. Clock app?? How did you miss this one? really?? again???

8. Mobile Hotspot / Tethering options.

9. Fix problem w/Music app not playing audio after playing Bejeweled Live. This has now happened each time I’ve played the game and tried using the Music app shortly after.

Thats about all for now.  Again, minus these shortcomings, WP7 is still a great version 1.0 OS.  It is more polished than Android and iOS was but is still missing some pretty major pieces, things that you shouldn’t have missed by using an Android or iPhone.

Also, give me a better map app too. Bing Maps can’t even come close to what Google Maps is. I’d pay for a Google Maps / Navigation app in a heartbeat for WP7.

Thus JimmyCan was born.  Keep reading for the tale of my little baby.

Beginnings:

I am not a business man or an accountant or a designer but yet here I am now and in a way am. JimmyCan was an idea I had for quite some time. I’ve always wanted to startup my own tech support type company but never followed through.  I usually made up excuses such as no time or too much risk and then went back to my normal daily routine.

However the more I thought about it the more and more it made sense to finally do it.  The need was there and I could also do it while I keep my main, paying job.  Davak and Quinn (Tech-Recipe founders/owners) encouraged me on my path and recommended to me an amazing book, Rework by 37Signals that further encouraged me on my way.

Setting Up:

I realized that the main thing about my company was that I wasn’t out to make profit or strike it rich; I was out to help people and slowly gain clients.  This of course meant that I also didn’t want any employees and wanted to keep the company small and flexible.  Adding employees adds another level of complexity in regards to benefits, taxes, salaries and personalities. I touched out to my pal who just graduated law school and had him help me draft the necessary paperwork to become an LLC and also apply for a State Tax ID which is needed for a company checking/banking account.

Next up, I purchased a Google Apps account to use for my Phone Number, Email and even Website.  I didn’t need a fancy website or want one; just a place to post services and rates and some contact info.  I also setup a twitter and facebook page for the company and am sure to be active on both.

Payment-wise, I use Square and their Credit Card reader for credit card payments and also setup a Checking account to use to keep finances seperate from personal (easier when tax time comes around).

Marketing? My marketing is old-school and mainly by word of mouth and references.

Progress/Now:

Its been about two months since I opened up shop and things are going at a nice and slow pace.  Just a few things I’ve learned thus far:

You don’t have to grow at a crazy rate to be successful, your probably better off learning the ropes by yourself and slowly.  Risk when its just you is minimal, can you learn to do that yourself?

Don’t spend money on things you don’t need.  Do you need custom letterheads and paper? Do you need that flashy Flash based websiteSpend your money on things that will help you do what your company does.  Learn how to run your company by yourself and that way when you do hire someone, you know exactly what to look for in an employee and if they know their stuff in the interview.

Don’t overwork or overtax yourself; its good to be ambitious but don’t burn out.  Break up your tasks into smaller, digestible pieces and you’ll sleep much better. If you can’t do it, just tell them you can’t.

Don’t quit your day job. Are you that sure your going to make it ‘big’?  I personally don’t expect barely make a profit this year but see it as a start to where I want to get.  What about insurance? 401K?

Love what your doing and be sure your actually helping people in the process.  Sell yourself as a human not as a company.  I hate companies that look down at their users / clients.  A happy customer is the best marketing you can ever get, it creates a reputation (money can’t buy that)

Create and find a workflow; I finally found mine.  I use my new Macbook Air and Pages to create my forms and then save them onto DropBox so they are accessible on my Nexus One or iPhone or iPad or Windows PC.  I then use my square reader to take credit cards onsite and then email a receipt to the customer and print a pdf of receipt to attach to Pages invoice.  Keeping it simple is the easiest way to be productive; use an intelligent/logical folder filing system on your computer or Dropbox.

Network.  Help out the right person and you could stumble upon an untapped audience.  Think of someone that deals with tons of businesses each day, for me its my doughnut guy.  He knows everyone in the area since they all come and get doughnuts there.

That’s about all for this post.  So remember, follow that dream but be realistic about it.