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Choosing a Smartphone Presentation

PhoneBoy — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00:59 +0000

As this post goes live on the web, I am giving a presentation on How to Choose a Smartphone at the West Sound Technology Association meeting. I’ve actually been working on this presentation since November. Nice to finally give it. You can watch me give the presentation on ustream and/or download the slidedeck:

The presentation covers the various things that go into choosing a smartphone, which unfortunately includes a lot of other things than the phones themselves–the operating systems they run, the network operators that sell them, and so on. It is specific to the United States and the major operators (Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile). Smaller operators are not included because they are not available in this area. Prepaid operators aren’t included because, quite frankly, none of them are selling smartphones yet

One of the challenges I had with doing this presentation is that the information relevant to making such a decision changes almost daily. The phones change, either because new ones are introduced, old ones are discontinued, coverage changes, or even available software updates for existing phones. It’s hard enough for someone like me who tracks the industry to sort through it all, much less someone less informed who’s just trying to make an intelligent decision about what they should buy.

The problem is, no matter what you buy today, there’s always going to be something better tomorrow. Thus, whatever you choose to buy, buy the phone for what it can do today, not what you think it might do tomorrow.

Comments

19 March 2010, tom writes: not only are the smaller prepaid operators not selling smartphones but several that allow users to bring their own phone have recently starting banning activation of certain models(essentially blackberries, palm and anything with WinMo or android.) this has destroyed the business of a few small shops i know that had built a business almost entirely of activating used high end smartphones on carriers such as pageplus. mostly the customer would get voice and text through the carrier and data over wifi. this it seems is a quite acceptable setup for many. i do believe that it is the underling carriers(such as verizon) that instituted this new ban and not the decision of of the prepaid MVNO's. i do have to say though that i have a bit of a seroius problem with an actual phone model requiring a specific rate plan as opposed too a plan for certain feature. any phone should be allowed activated on any plan just without full functionality.
19 March 2010, PhoneBoy writes: All the operators are now requiring data plans for smartphones. Makes sense they would push this requirement down to their wholesalers also. I am not a fan of this policy myself. I wanted to cover the prepaid operators in this preso, but there's actually a lot of them. This preso ran long as it is ;) Also, since was more a Smartphone focused preso and the prepaid operators don't typically sell the smartphones, they weren't a good fit. MetroPCS and Cricket don't offer service in the Seattle area.
16 April 2010, Anonymous writes: [...] http://phoneboy.com/3294/choosing-a-smartphone-presentation [...]

This work originally came from The PhoneBoy Blog and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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Virgin Mobile USA Prepaid Broadband: Finally, Something Reasonable

PhoneBoy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:22:40 +0000

One of my personal complaints with the prepaid industry in the US is the fact that while voice minutes have gotten reasonably cheap, data is still somewhat of a crapshoot. It’s expensive, if it’s available at all. Especially on mobile handsets. I’m looking at you, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Meanwhile, the folks from Virgin Mobile USA (which is supposed to be owned by Sprint any day now) have come up with a mobile broadband plan that is at least on-par with a typical contract data-only plan. For $60 a month, you can get up to 5GB of data that you can use for 30 days. There are lower-priced plans also ($40 for 1gb, $20 for 300MB, and $10 for 100MB). You have to buy their Broadband To Go stick for $100, though, but that’s a small price to pay for contract-free nationwide 3G data service.

I hope that when Sprint finally closes the acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA that they keep this plan. It’s seriously good. It’d be even better at a lower price.

Virgin Mobile USA To Kill Their Postpaid Service On May 25th (mobilecrunch.com)
Virgin Mobile relaxes limits on prepaid broadband offering (gadling.com)
Virgin Mobile Will Euthanize Helio In May [Carriers] (gizmodo.com)
A Better Deal on Prepaid Wireless Broadband (technologizer.com)
Virgin Mobile increases value for prepaid broadband data buckets – $60 for 5GB (mobilecrunch.com)

What A Long, Strange Trip 2009 Has Been

PhoneBoy — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:42:50 +0000

The beginning of 2009 had a rocky start for me. My employment situation was up in the air thanks to my long-time employer Nokia selling off the Security Appliance Business I worked in to Check Point Software. While I had an idea that I would probably have a job with Check Point, I couldn’t really breathe a sign of relief until I had a job offer in-hand, which did not come until April.

Even before Nokia announced the Security Appliance Business was getting sold at the end of September 2008, I had maneuvered my career into a comfortable, but rather limiting position. My job was not at risk, but I also did not see a way out of it either.

In a sense, this forced employer change was exactly the kind of fresh start I needed. Even though the entire process was downright scary–change often is–I am happy with how things are going now.

Even though it took me a couple of months to get plugged into Check Point, which is typical anytime you change employers, my true mission was known to me almost immediately. There wasn’t a whole lot of discussion about it, either. I just started doing what comes naturally.

I began the process of reconnecting with a community I helped to build many years ago, but more or less walked away from to pursue other interests. I spoke at Check Point events. I established Check Point’s official presence on Twitter, Facebook, and CPUG. I engaged our customers, looking for trouble, finding it, and did my best to find solutions.

What surprised me was that so many people remember the work I did all those years ago, both inside Check Point and in the larger Check Point community. The appreciation and generosity everyone showed was quite humbling. It made the transition back into the Check Point world that much easier.

Then again, I never really left it. Even though I spent a lot of years at Nokia supporting “everything but,” there was always the occasional need for obscure bits of Check Point knowledge that only I had. I also supported various aspects of the IPSO operating system and was the go-to guy when it came to analyzing security vulnerabilities. And yes, I had my hands in the knowledge base almost the whole time I was at Nokia

Mobile Change Happens, Too

One thing that ended with my employment at Nokia was easier access to “free” mobile phones. Between our normal replacement cycles and my contacts, I was able to get a few handsets a year to play with for varying lengths of time. This means, going forward, I have to buy my own stuff. However, for the first time in a decade, I am able to own something other than a Nokia device without feeling like a traitor

So what did I do? I bought an iPhone 3GS, of course. It was a bit of a leap of faith, as I wasn’t sure how I’d like it after playing with it in the Apple Store, but now I love it! It completely changes how and when I use my mobile phone. Not that my Nokia devices didn’t have all this same functionality ages ago, but the laser-like focus Apple puts on user experience, the speed of the iPhone 3GS hardware, and the plethora of applications really showed me what a mobile device could be!

And yes, I agree that the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music–a device I received as a “parting gift” from Nokia–touched more lives than Apple’s device did. It’s no iPhone, but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper and easy to get without a contract. However, the iPhone was the mobile device that rocked my world in 2009.

Increasing Social Currency In 2010

One thing I learned in 2009 was that relationships really matter. It is a form of currency–social currency, if you will–that everyone has, regardless of their station in life.

Meanwhile, my friend Ken Camp has a great piece on transforming the world by looking in the mirror. I encourage you all to read it and really let it sink in. My way of transforming the world will be by increasing the social currency in the world–one relationship at a time.

Increasing your social currency is easy. You improve your relationships with others through your words and deeds. Conversely, as you neglect your relationship with words and deeds, your social currency decreases.

The beautiful thing about social currency is that everyone can have it in limitless amounts. When you give your social currency away, you often get it back–with interest.

Comments

7 January 2010, Mobile phones writes: I agree with you now a days mobile revolution is at its peak! number of competitors are ready to compete each other. In such conditions Nokia has made its unique place in mobile market.

Junction Networks Providing IP Phone Reviews

PhoneBoy — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:25:44 +0000

As I was reminded by Rob Wolpov, the CEO of Junction Networks when I chatted with him on Wednesday, the last time I wrote about them, I referred to the press release pairing their OnSIP hosted PBX service and the Fring VoIP client for mobile phones as a “publicity stunt.” I didn’t quite say that, but I wasn’t generally high on the pairing, only because it seemed a bit like a “no duh” to me. I did say it was a good PR move, though.

While Junction Networks provides PBX services using that “new fangled” VoIP technology, they are very “old school voice” when it comes to IP phones–they don’t care what you use so long as it is compatible with the service. Ok, restrictions on handsets are as old as the Bell System, but it’s “old school” for anyone who has had a landline anytime in the past two or three decades.

Meanwhile, as a result of selling their IP-based PBX service to smaller businesses–the 3 to 50 seat crowd–they have had to come up with handset recommendations for potential customers. There are hundreds of IP Phones, analog telephone adapters, and even software phones to choose from. How does the relative VoIP handset newbie choose?

Junction Networks has the answer: OnSIP Team Reviews. They review handsets based on a number of criteria–including compatibility with their own service–and post them for all to see. Currently, they have only 3 handsets reviewed on the site, but the plan is to write up the results of some of their other testing to give you a balanced opinion. The site will also include analog telephone adapters and VoIP client software.

Unlike, say, a company that sells IP phones, Junction Networks isn’t selling phones. The only interest they have is ensuring you choose the method of accessing their service that works best for you. The exceedingly clever part, though, is that while they are giving away free information that essentially anyone can use–even non-customers–they are getting free advertising and a lot of community goodwill. Having built a fairly successful career on that relatively simple concept, I have to say it’s a win-win-win for everyone.

Michael Graves also talked with Rob Wolpov and posted his take on this announcement.

Comments

21 August 2009, LucaFiligheddu.com writes: years, too. Thanks! Related articles by Zemanta Adobe eLearning Suite: Creating engaging eLearning – the Adobe way: Live eSeminar (blogs.adobe.com) Putting the Cable Industry on notice. HD Voice is happening. (pulverblog.pulver.com)Junction Networks Providing IP Phone Reviews(phoneboy.com) SIP Clients For Iphone? (mneylon.com)

Pics from RSA Conference 2009 at Moscone

PhoneBoy — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:30:57 +0000

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Yesterday, I took the train up to The City and walked around Moscone Center, where the RSA Conference was being held. I took a few pics of people from the Check Point booths, the Barracuda Babes, and Stina from Yubico.

Can I Play a MMORPG, Dad?

PhoneBoy — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:50:55 +0000

Today’s question from the 8-year-old boy was related to playing a massively-multiplayer online role playing game, otherwise known as an MMORPG. Specifically, it was one for Pokemon, a game he is obsessed with. Of course, he is dying to play, but it didn’t take me very long to say “I’ll think about it” and, after further review, to say no.

To be honest, I don’t think he’s ready for it. Not necessarily the gameplay, as he clearly has that down. It’s the unfiltered interactions with other players that I have a problem with.

I know that predators are there, both in meatspace and in cyberspace. I also know that the media gives people the idea that these things are more prevalent than they really are. While it is a concern, it is not the only one.

The big issue is that there is no real good way to ensure conversations that occur on these games remain age-appropriate. Sure, you can filter the naughty words, but you can’t really filter the naughty subject matter, the innuendo, and other topics that may simply not be age-appropriate.

While I know that he is going to run into some of these things eventually, both in real life and online, neither my wife believe it makes no sense to expose him to a new environment where those things are likely to occur.

Of course, depending on how you’ve set up your computer, and depending on your kids, the kids may not even have to ask whether or not they can participate, they just will. Between knowing my kids and smart setup, there’s usually not an issue. I’ll get into how I set up my kids’ computers in a future post.

Job Change Dead Ahead

PhoneBoy — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:44:05 +0000

Om Malik posted a quote from John Gruber’s Daring Fireball blog that got me thinking:

You can obsess over your work, build an audience based on deep mutual respect, and eventually opportunities to earn money from it will present themselves. I don’t know how it works, I only know that it does. ( original article )

13 years ago, I started doing just that. I participated in the community that was building around Check Point FireWall-1. Granted, it was part of my day job, but I obsessed over helping people and learning new and interesting things about the product. I built an audience, both with an FAQ site and a mailing list. I eventually parlayed that into:

2 books on Check Point FireWall-1 (they made money, but not gobs)
For a period of time, a nice side income in terms of direct advertising revenue on phoneboy.com (now, not-so-much)
A job at Nokia supporting Check Point FireWall-1 on Nokia Security Appliances
A job at Check Point Software (pending the close of Check Point’s acqusition of Nokia’s Security Appliance Business).

In reality, though, I’ve had a dream job. I’ve been able to help shape an organization that provides network security solutions to much of the Fortune 500. I’ve helped countless customers, some directly, many indirectly through some of my efforts. Most importantly, I’ve been able to do this with a fair amount of autonomy from the comfort of my own home! The paycheck was pretty good, too!

With the upcoming change to Check Point–which is now only a matter of time–I will have a different job, working for a different company doing different things. I have high hopes for my new job, though it will undoubtedly be different.

Comments

9 April 2009, Jonathan Greene writes: Best of luck to you on your pending transition. I hope your new journey proves to be as rewarding as the one coming to a close.
9 April 2009, Sheryl Breuker writes: I'm excited for you and happy you no longer live in limbo! :) It's got to be a relief. Good luck, Dameon. You're awesome.
12 April 2009, Kyle Jones writes: Good luck man, and if Check Point doesn't have the intelligence to realize that you had a large part in making them in what they are today, don't be afraid to let them know. I worked for FishNet Security's Support team and your name was known to everyone there because of the technical resources you made early on. We didn't (and I still don't think they do) know that you're the man behind the scenes in the Nokia KB. We always wondered why Nokia knew more about CP than CP themselves knew, especially in the documentation department. I hope you can enjoy your "new" job and keep on providing us with your knowledge and expertise. Hell, maybe you can persuade them to change some of their policies on patching; I.E. IPSO patches were generally a good and safe thing to do compared to the roll of the dice you would take with HFAs.
12 April 2009, PhoneBoy writes: Check Point knows more about me and what I did at Nokia than you might otherwise think. Trust me on this ;) Meanwhile, I can't promise I can affect any policy changes at Check Point, but I think I can safely say the newly merged support team will implement best practices from both organizations.

Posting from Share Online 3.0 Test

PhoneBoy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:46:38 +0000

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Someone managed to figure out how to get a custom Share Online 3.0 config file spit out so you can blog/post pics from Share Online 3.0 to your blog. I modified it for my lifeblog.php script, fixed a longstanding bug, and lo and behold, I got a blog post out of the deal!  I will do a proper post later, but it’s nearly 3am.

Comments

12 March 2009, eViLrAcEr writes: that someone would be Fredrik Davidsson ;) http://www.teknograd.no/development/online_sharing_config.php

Humbled

PhoneBoy — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:02:59 +0000

One of the things that is making this transition to Check Point Software easier is the community of people that support, use, and sell what used to be called Firewall-1, but now goes by a few different names and offers many more functions than just firewalling and VPNs. It’s a community I have never really left, having spent the last decade in Nokia’s Security Appliance Business, but it’s one I was less visible in over the past several years.

Despite being less visible in recent years, I have still been contributing, albeit indirectly. I have been maintaining Nokia’s knowledge base, which of course contains many articles that relate to Check Point. I haven’t written many Check Point-related articles in recent years, but I do work to make sure that the articles other folks in support write are readable. I also help our team out in various, sundry capacities, with the goal being to get customer issues resolved quickly.

In the course of this work, and my presence on many a social network, I run across the occasional person who thanks me for the contribution I made to the betterment of the Check Point community many years ago. As I re-engage in the community, the accolades have noticeably increased.

Meanwhile, Kellman Meghu, a SE manager for Check Point Software in Canada, recently gave a troubleshooting presentation for CPX 2009 in Las Vegas (CPX, or Check Point Experience, is their annual trade show). In the presentation, he apparently decided to use a picture of me to represent when things got hairy and you needed expert advice from support.

Kellman tweeted the following yesterday:

Used a picture of @PhoneBoy in his presentation. The crowd cheered; no one has forgotten the help he has provided to CP users.

To say I was touched and humbled is an understatement.

So what now? Hard to make any grand plans under the circumstances, but I’m keeping busy. I’m still running the FireWall-1 Gurus mailing list and participating on the CPUG Forums, helping out where I can. It’s not much, but until the deal between Nokia and Check Point closes, it’s difficult to do much else.

A New Hope

PhoneBoy — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:33:04 +0000

Yesterday, like many people around the world, I watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Unlike many of my friends, I watched it on a regular television. Sure, the CNN/Facebook integration was a cool idea, and I actually did Tweet and Facebook during the speech, but given the number of people trying to watch this, this is one time where broadcast TV rules and the lack-of-multicast on the Internet sucks!

As there is a changing of the guard at the highest office in the United States, another change of leadership is going on–at work. I am, of course, discussing the pending sale of Nokia’s Security Appliance business to Check Point. In many ways, it affects me a lot more directly than the changes in Washington DC.

Unlike President Obama when was President-Elect, where it seemed like there was daily updates on choices for cabinet positions and the like, nobody can really say much publicly about the transition I and a lot of my present and likely future co-workers are going through. Nobody can until the deal is officially completed.

I think I can safely say that I, personally, am ready to get started at Check Point. I see tremendous opportunities for the business as a whole as well as for my own career. My aspirations in VoIP, mobility, mobile phones, and other things aside, computer and network security has been a constant in my life. Check Point’s a leader in that space, and unlike many vendors, Check Point actually has a comprehensive portfolio of products that enable end-to-end security, including endpoint security.

Back in 1993, Check Point began selling the nework firewall under the name FireWall-1. In 1995, they added VPN capabilities to the firewall. In 1996, we saw the beginnings of what is now called Unified Threat Management. In 1998, they created Provider-1, a management console for use with managed service providers. In 1999, Check Point created a company called SofaWare that provides embedded security software solutions for small business and branch offices. Other solutions like Check Point GX and MASS are geared specifically at mobile network operators.

While, arguably, all of those products are merely extensions to the core Firewall-1 product (now called VPN-1), it does show that Check Point has solutions for just about every place you can think of putting in a network firewall. This is good, of course, but it’s only one part of the end-to-end security equation.

For the endpoitns, Check Point has ZoneAlarm for consumer Windows desktops, Endpoint Security agents for enterprise Windows desktops, Full Disk Encryption (formerly Pointsec) to encrypt the drives of Windows, Mac, Linux machines, and mobile phones, and IPS-1 (formerly Network Flight Recorder) for intrusion detection/prevention.

It’s easy to get lost in all these products, the number of which will grow somewhat once the acquisition of Nokia’s Security Appliance business closes. The reality is, all these products help enable total end-to-end security in a heterogeneous environment, at least to the extent it is feasible. The integration between these products will only get better over time.

I think Check Point has a great story to tell. My “new hope” is that I will be able to share more of this story with you as I am integrated into Check Point.

Comments

23 January 2009, Dave Michels writes: I was part of the team that selected CheckPoint for my employer in 1997. I did it again at my next employer in 1999. Then again at my next employer in 2001. That last company was a distributor and we sold the Nokia appliance. I really liked the idea, but we didn't need (we had everything on Sun servers). Since then the firewall market really has gone toward Appliances. The Nokia box was way ahead of its time, and that brand just isn't associated well with enterprise security. I think moving the brand back to Checkpoint makes a lot more sense.

Changing The Tagline

PhoneBoy — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:03:36 +0000

For those of you who don’t visit phoneboy.com directly, you may not have noticed that I changed the site’s tagline to read: Simplifying Network Security, Telecom, Gadgets, and More! Previously, it read VoIP, Mobile Phones, Telecom, and Technology Made Simple.

Why the change? Furthermore, why write about it? Because I think it’s important to signal a slight change to the topic areas I plan on covering here.

I have always covered, to some extent, gadgets. Instead of trying to maintain a separate gadgets blog, which I started a few months ago, I plan on keeping that on phoneboy.com. I’ll probably copy the posts over at some point to phoneboy.com also.

I removed VoIP from the tagline because, well, it won’t be the reason I cover something any longer. I will cover some of the larger telecom issues as well as interesting telecom services that may or may not use VoIP. VoIP plumbing that is still evolving to a certain extent, but it’s still pretty similar to the way it was back when I first started this blog. (And please, I don’t want to discuss the whole VoIP is dead thing again, ok?)

The main addition to this blog: network security topics. For all my aspirations that want to go do work in mobility or VoIP or whatever, Information Security–or at least supporting people in that field–has been what has kept the mortgage paid for the past 12 years. Given I am likely to end up working for “the leader in securing the Internet” (a.k.a. Check Point Software), assuming the acquisition of Nokia‘s Security Appliance business closes, I’m probably going to be in the field a bit longer.

Let’s face it, I also enjoy trying to take ominous sounding things like the MD5/SSL hack that was recently announced and breaking it down for people like I do the other topics I cover. (on this hack, don’t worry too much–yet)

Comments

19 January 2009, JV writes: I look forward to your blogs on network security.!!!!

Blogging: IN for 2009, but Changes Ahead

PhoneBoy — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:35:58 +0000

If you look at my blogging output over the past several months, you might wonder if I want to blog at all. This time last year, I was blogging regularly on a number of different blogs–and even making some money at it. Today, I am only blogging on maybe 2 public blogs with anything approaching regularity, and it’s certainly not making me any money.

I wrote so many pieces in the past couple of years just to write them that I reached a point where I looked at everything coming across the wire and said meh, even to stuff I used to think was cool. My job situation most certainly didn’t help. The things that were really in my craw were quite simply not fit for public consumption.

One of the reasons I gave myself this project of Ins and Outs was I needed something that I might actually have feelings about, be it good or bad. Strong feelings make for particularly good writing, and the topics I chose are all things I’ve had strong feelings about at one time or another.

Social networking has replaced a lot of my need for incidental blog posts. My core audience is on these services and I can interact with them in quick, short-form bursts. Sometimes, all I need to say about something can happen in 140 characters.

I think blogging every day is not as necessary as it once was, though I still think it is important to do regularly. How regularly I will do it remains to be seen. It will depend greatly on how and when my job situation works itself out as well as how often I come across issues I feel really passionate about!

I burned out, but I am slowly coming back to life.

This year, I’m

In and Out for 2009

PhoneBoy — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:22:23 +0000

: Image by PhoneBoy via Flickr

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Christmas. It’s not that I’m not a fan of families getting together, seeing the joy of the kids opening Christmas presents on Christmas morning, or even seeing “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the 30th time. I just personally have a hard time getting into the holiday “spirit,” whatever that is.

Despite my personal issues surrounding the holidays, I tend to take this time of year to look back at the previous year and look ahead to the next. Clearly, given the recent Nokia/Check Point announcements, some changes are in store for me!

The prolonged job uncertainty plus my general disillusionment with much of the blogosphere and social networking has caused me to reexamine exactly where I am focusing my energies. The most obvious result is an almost standstill on blogging, but there have been other subtle changes as well.

With this in mind, I am going to do a series of posts on what I think is IN and OUT for 2009, at least as far as I’m concerned. Hopefully it will generate some discussion and get the creative juices flowing again.

And The Buyer Was…

PhoneBoy — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:04:15 +0000

After nearly 3 months of uncertainty about who I will be working for, the question has now been answered. Once the deal closes, which they are expecting to happen sometime in Q1 of 2009, I will become an employee of Check Point Software, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Funny how my career continues to be tied to that company.

Originally, the Security Appliance business of Nokia, where I work, was to be sold to a “financial investor” of some sort, creating a new, independent company in the process. Given the challenging economic climate, becoming part of our Check Point, our long-time business partner, makes a lot of sense.

As an employee, I have to admit the prospect of going to Check Point is more palatable than “starting over” in a startup, even one with a significant number of employees, a established business and revenue stream. Check Point has been in business since 1993 and employs over 1800 people. They are in almost as many Fortune 500 companies as Microsoft is. It is a strong company that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

I have lots of questions. Everyone affected by this change likely does. I don’t know much, yet, but at least now we can begin to get some answers.

Comments

22 December 2008, Jonathan Greene writes: Good to hear you have some stability coming ... hope it all works out for you man!
22 December 2008, Dawn writes: This is a vendor whose business overlaps with ours in so many ways. I don't think anyone can promise if we have jobs with Checkpoint.
22 December 2008, I work for Check Point (Tel Aviv office) writes: welcome aboard!
23 December 2008, PhoneBoy writes: Nokia is selling their Security Appliance business to long-time partner Check Point
23 December 2008, Coverage of Check Point Acquisition of Nokia’s Security Appliance Business writes: [...] I write this, I am still a Nokia employee. Yesterday’s announcement did not change that, at least until the deal closes sometime in the next three months. Meanwhile, [...]
2 January 2009, Blogging: IN for 2009, but Changes Ahead writes: [...] I looked at everything coming across the wire and said meh, even to stuff I used to think was cool. My job situation most certainly didn’t help. The things that were really in my craw were quite simply not fit [...]

Is The Thrill Gone?

PhoneBoy — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:42:33 +0000

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t really been blogging that much. Quite frankly, it’s because there hasn’t been much that’s inspired me to write, at least that I can write about in any sort of public forum. Or when I have taken the time to write, I often fall asleep while doing it.

That isn’t to say there hasn’t been a lot going on. Plenty of stuff crossing the blogosphere and my inbox. Much of it doesn’t seem to break through my current signal-to-noise threshold. I can intellectually see why some of these things are important, but I just don’t feel it enough to write.

Maybe my “ooh, new shiny thing” modus operandi is changing. Maybe all that is “new” isn’t quite so shiny anymore. I see a lot of “me too” out there. I just don’t see anything that makes me stand up and say now that’s cool. The speed to cool has increased from seconds to hours, and even then the “cool” is lukewarm.

Or maybe between the confluence of current events, both global and those that have a more direct impact on me. As they say, It’s complicated. It’s not something I can–or should–get into here.

What’s interesting is that I’ve been spending more time in Facebook: something I’ve only begrudingly adopted. I can see why Facebook is popular. Sure, you have to do some work to weed out the noise, and it has walled garden issues, but the fact is, people I know are there, including some I would not expect. My boss and his boss both use Facebook.

I’m trying to find my thrill, reawaken my passion as it were. Maybe I should take a cue from my body and just sleep more, leaving this blogging thing alone until the malaise passes? Anything the peanut gallery can suggest to shake this off?

Comments

4 November 2008, luca writes: I find myself in the same position. I'm kinda bored of reading the same announcements, the same news in many different blogs, with articles that look pretty much alike. Need to find different sources of inspiration.
4 November 2008, Sheryl Breuker writes: I can't speak so much about my own writing, largely because unlike you I haven't been blogging with any regularity for any length of time. I spent far more time blogging about life, and even that has not been interesting enough to write about! :) I think that it's all a cycle. It seems almost redundant when all the new companies send out a press release and it's all really the same information. All you do is exchange the names. Look at our new company and what we offer. A few things may be different, or specific, but in general they want you to write about something and it's still the same as everyone else. I don't know what the answer is but I know Ken has certainly struggled with what works for his writing and has moved away from ipadventures for the most part. We take turns writing at Stardust and that eases things some. You may have noticed Facebook has become an arena a lot more interesting to me. And you can still write notes, post items etc. Plus you get all these nice new friends that think you're 'hot' or want stuff from you. :-) You might consider importing some of your blog stuff and see how it works. There is less control and certainly you don't have the statistics the same there as a blog, but you may get renewed vigor. See ya on facebook. :)
4 November 2008, spg writes: How about a gutsy review/challenge of DEFImobile? I have some serious issues with how this company has handled my questions about there 'unlimited roaming/long distance' offer. On a few separate posts to the users forum(which requires registration to read posts - something i find a strange requirement)they have emailed me directly very canned responses(all countries/phone types supported) but not answered the forum post or i most cases even posted my forum entry when the questions were specific(such as is a mobile phone in Germany included). i would try the service myself except that i do not currently own a compatible phone. anyways if they really offer unlimited calls to all phones anyplace in the world for $40.00 per month the rest of there package(the WiFi roaming) is peanuts in comparison. i certainly could see a lot of people interested in the service solely to reduce there phone bill to high cost termination countries. of course i can not see how they could possibly offer this service without losses a ton of money. anyways i would love to see a public third party review of there unlimited calling(to any phone) claim; and even better some comments from the company itself since they no longer answer any of my inquires. cheers. spg
4 November 2008, Michael Graves writes: I find that the only way to sustain the writing is to write about what I'm doing. Then dive into personal projects that catch my interest. The writing is a secondary phase of the project. I also find that I write less opinion and more about personal experience that way. Experience rocks. Opinion less so. I pretty much ignore press releases and the like as not being relevant, yet. My current project (ok, one of many) is to integrate a new home automation system (Vera & Z-Wave) with our in-house PBX. Of course I'm always interested in new hardware (Jazinga!)if it's something that I might really use in my home/office. Michael
18 November 2008, PhoneBoy writes: I've always tried to write about experience. I suppose part of why I can't write is that I don't feel comfortable writing about a lot of my "experiences," not to mention they are somewhat off-topic to the blog anyway :)

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