Sprint’s Performance IMPROVING

I have friends around the country, and in the past 3 years or so, I’ve heard really bad feedback on Sprint as a carrier. Everyone I knew that had their mobile service thru Sprint would use it for a short time, find the service totally suckie when they were traveling, and subsequently drop Sprint for either T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, or Cingular (and Cingular was pretty crappy for a while there too by the way).

Oh but Sprint has come up in the world. According to the latest J.D. Power & Assoc report taken from one of their recent surveys, they found that Sprint is running just about neck-and-neck now with the power players like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

There’s a reason for their success-hard work. They’ve actually put in the elbow grease (time/work/money) necessary to improve the product quality and become real players again. I’m glad to see it, because I believe we need diversity and plenty of options/choices. If one gets too big, then generally service will fall off and quality suffers. (Like in politics.)

In an excerpt from the article by Jason Gertzen of the Kansas City Star, he states:

“Since 2006, Sprint said, the company has invested more than $16 billion in network projects.”

Mr. Gertzen then goes on to say that Verizon is still top-dog, but that Sprint is definitely improving, and that Verizon is starting to slip.

For the entire (it’s short and sweet) article go here

http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1096551.html

Here’s the latest list on all cell carriers in the U.S. courtesy of PhoneDog.com

National/Regional Carriers:

• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Verizon
• Sprint
• Cingular
• Alltell
• CellularOne
• Nextel
• U.S. Cellular

Specialty Carriers:

• Centennial
• DigiTel
• Edge
• Helio
• NTelos
• Qwest
• SouthernLINC
• SureWest

Pre-Paid ONLY Carriers:

• AlltelU
• GoCingular
• Boost
• Cricket
• Liberty
• MetroPCS
• Net10
• T-Mobile-To-Go
• TracFone
• VerizonWireless Pay-as-you-go
• Virgin Mobile

http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/companies/default.aspx

Filed under: Business, National, Tech , Alltell, at&t, Boost, cell, cell phone, cellular, cellularone, centennial, Cingular, Cricket, digitel, edge, GoCingular, helio, jd powers, Liberty, MetroPCS, national carriers, Net10, nextel, ntelos, powers & associates, pre-paid only carriers, qwest, regional carriers, SouthernLinc, specialty carriers, sprint, SureWest, T-mobile, t-mobile-to-go, tmobile, tracfone, us cellular, verizon, verizon wireless, virgin mobile

Google Will Let You UN-SEND Your Email

Really . . . or that’s what they’re claiming. Who was it that tried to offer that service a while back?

I can’t remember, but apparently it didn’t take off. (If someone remembers, please refresh my memory on that.)

So, Gmail claims that it can now allow you to get mail back that you’ve already sent. The catch-it has to be within a 5 minute time frame of when it was sent.

We all do send things from time to time and then, immediately after hitting SEND, we think DOH! I wanted to include so-and-so in that post. Or,  WAIT-not from THAT addreeeesssss!

Personally I don’t see real feasibility in an unsend option, simply because it’s really not practical. Most of my email comes in almost immediately after being sent. Often under 5 minutes. And besides, sending a quick email is exactly that-QUICK. It’s not like we got drunk and decided to write a stupid letter to some former whatever and now need to get it back (which would be stupid-but I think several people can relate anyway, since we’re all human).

I use Outlook (the full version) and it gives me a LOT (stress lot here) more control than any webmail program. One of my tech buddies (and mentor) encouraged me to leave the unstable webmail world behind for the surer email programs a few years ago. I’m SO glad I listened, there really is an extreme difference.

BUT, if the unsend idea sounds heavenly to you, then go for it! Why not?

You can read the full (actually very short) article here if you’re interested in Google’s new unsend feature. And if you get the chance, drop me a line and tell what you think please, I’m curious as to what the general consensus will be.

http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-41801-140.html

Filed under: Computer, National, Tech , email programs, gmail, Google, options, Outlook, unsend, unsend email, webmail

Open ID For Added Security

As an added measure of safety on your personal computer, use an OpenID (or two).

An OpenID is basically a virtual key that allows you to access an array of other sites without having to create a username/password.

All you have to do is key-in your Open ID code to access a wide variety of websites. This saves time and it is much safer for you. Especially in this day of click hijackers and webpage code manipulators.

The OpenID code varies for each entity host. There are several, but the 3 I’ve used are: WordPress, Yahoo, and Technorati.

Signing up for an OpenID is very quick and easy. You can get one thru WordPress when you create a blog site thru them. During the sign-up you’ll be assigned your unique identifier, if you choose to accept one.

On WordPress your ID will be: YourUserName.wordpress.com.

For Technorati the ID is long and cumbersome. I think Yahoo is the easiest, really.

On Yahoo, once you establish your OpenID, from that point on, you’ll only need to key in “yahoo.com” in the OpenID space. And, both Yahoo and WordPress allow you to use a unique picture identifier also which adds another layer of security (esp with the Yahoo ID).

The way to deal with this is to set up your OpenID on one of the safe sites (like Yahoo). THEN next time you’re surfing, be sure to sign in AT THAT SAFE SITE FIRST. Then while you’re out roaming the Net, when you come across sites that respect/recognize the OpenID, they’ll publish the fact and offer that option when you sign up with them. This way you don’t have to give ANY information whatsoever to some site that you’re not sure of. So that if you create your OpenID thru Yahoo, then the tomorrow when you go online, make sure you’re signed into the account that you created your OpenID on. J Then go surfing/shopping/researching safer and simpler!

Links:

What Is An OpenID?: http://openid.net/what/

How Do I Get One?: http://openid.net/get/

Where Can I Use It?: http://openid.net/where/

____________________

From the OpenID website:

How do I get an OpenID?

Surprise! You may already have one. If you use any of the following services, you already have your own OpenID:

AOL

openid.aol.com/screenname

Blogger

blogname.blogspot.com

Flickr

www.flickr.com/photos/username

LiveDoor

profile.livedoor.com/username

LiveJournal

username.livejournal.com

Orange (France Telecom)

http://openid.orange.fr/

SmugMug

username.smugmug.com

Technorati

technorati.com/people/technorati/username

Vox

member.vox.com

Yahoo

http://openid.yahoo.com

WordPress.com

username.wordpress.com

Filed under: Computer, Security, Tech , clickjackers, navigate easier, online, OpenID, Security, self defense, sign in, speeds sign in, surfing

Facebook On Top Of Social Networking Big 3

MySpace has a run for it’s money against Facebook and LinkedIn (in that order) according to a public review conducted by uTest.

“uTest, a global network of more than 15,000 application testers — many of whom are current or former value-added resellers (VARs), application developers and solution providers, conducts its quarterly “Bug Battles” to uncover shortcomings, flaws and vulnerabilities in publicly available applications.  During the weeklong contest, more than 1,100 testers combed the three social networks for the quality, functionality and performance of their features and applications. uTest awarded cash prizes from a pool of more than $3,000 based on volume and quality of bugs and reports.

The testers found 243 application bugs and flaws in the Facebook SNS web application, of which 14.4 percent were deemed serious. While LinkedIn had 250 bugs, only 10 percent of these bugs were deemed serious.  MySpace had 225 bugs, of which 11 percent were serious. The test period was conducted prior to last week’s release of Facebook’s new homepage.”

To see the whole story from Channel Insider, go here: http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Reviews/Facebook-Triumphs-LinkedIn-MySpace-in-Bug-Battle-019220/?kc=CITCIEMNL03172009STR4

Filed under: Computer, Tech

Tuning In Free Video Conferencing

Ziff Davis Enterprise Virtualization Virtual Tradeshow

March 18, 2009

9 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET

2009 State of the Data Center: Virtualization We’re about to enter an age of dynamic enterprise computing that will challenge IT organizations to find new ways of managing heterogeneous virtualization environments. At this tradeshow we will illustrate how virtualization will drive the next generation of enterprise computing. We’ll also share tactics on how to cope with the rapidly changing requirements of the modern data center. Click Here To Register.

http://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/ZiffDavisEnterprise/VTS/03-18-09/Website/RegistrationPage1.htm?AffiliateKey=3263&AffiliateData=ESMENEWS

Filed under: Business, Computer, International, Software, Tech

How Do You Prefer to Feed YOUR Need for the News???

Filed under: Polls , newspapers, online, Polls, radio, Star Telegram, Strange News, tv

Fort Worth Star Telegram Makes Time Magazine Top Ten Endangered List

Time Magazine, under it’s Business & Tech tab, released an article naming 10 US newspapers that are in danger of going bankrupt and becoming extinct.

The papers named in the article as being endangered by the economy are (in order of their appearance):

1. The Philadelphia Daily News
2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune
3. The Miami Herald
4. The Detroit News
5. The Boston Globe
6. The San Francisco Chronicle
7. The Chicago Sun-Times
8. The New York Daily News
9. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and
10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer

I would hate to see the papers go under. I get most of my news online, but I think hard copy still has a very valid place in this world. The history of the newspaper, and how it’s changed gives an interesting sociological look at humanity, and how we’ve progressed over time. The most amazing advances in every genre were heralded in on the front pages of newspapers all over the world. But none as important as the papers here in the States. We love our newspapers. And in my area, the Fort Worth Star Telegram is the king of papers. And our old cultural habit of drinking a cup of coffee while perusing the paper is still very relaxing and somehow edifying even today.

I have noticed changes though. The Star Telegram had a laid back-yet effective-online advertising section and up until just recently, it was very reasonably priced. Then it stated that it was merging with (I think it was) the Dallas Times Herald, and upped the fees to advertise online. The website showed both names on the heading.

Then today I went back to the site to check it out, and there is no mention of the Dallas paper at all, BUT the fees they’re now asking are astronomical compared to what they were just a few months ago.

To post an ad in the newspaper for one month, cost starts at $201.74, and a one-month online ad starting cost is $49.95. (Under Service Directory in Classifieds)

While the newspaper advertising price has remained the same, the online ad cost has more than tripled. And the ads aren’t pizzazzie at all, they’re very plain-jane. I like the main body of the online news though-they’ve done a good job with that.

Links & Other Sources:

Star Telegram URL: http://www.star-telegram.com/

Star Telegram Classified Ad price for posting in their Service Directory: http://fortworthstartelegram.adperfect.com/?catid=500&clsid=5290&-session=ComboAd:46818396079e900EF6wMn333F8BD

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_Star_Telegram

MSNBC article on endangered newspapers: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29623133/

Time Magazine’s original article: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883785,00.html?iid=tsmodule

A very interesting article on Amon Carter in Time Magazine, Mr Fort Worth: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,807286,00.html

I’m including a poll to find out whether the majority of people believe that hard print (or paper) newspapers will become obsolete and go digital. Please log in your own opinion. THANKS!

Filed under: Finance, Local & State, Local DFW/Metroplex, Tech , Fort Worth, Fort Worth Star Telegram, hard copy vs digital, newspaper, paper vs digital, Star Telegram, Strange News, web vs newspaper