I've finally abandoned Outlook (in favor of Thunderbird)

Yes, yes, I know.  I'm "Outlook Guy".  "Mr. Outlook ."  "The Outlook Meister".  No more.  It served me well these past 12 years...but it's time to move on.  Passed time.  It's simply too cumbersome and high powered for what I need to do.

In the old days, Outlook was the best game in town for handling multiple email accounts and having a calendar, built-in notepad, and journal.  Since the 90's I've always worked for companies that use Microsoft Exchange email servers, and it made sense for me to be able to configure Outlook (full-blown, not Outlook Express) to connect to them.

Now, with other remote mail options at my disposal, and my own utilization of GMail, as my primary email address (versus my Road Runner email), I am no longer tied to a single PC to access my information.  Thus, I really don't need a local email client at all.  That is, composing email on my PC is still easier, allowing me to copy and paste images, etc., but I don't have to do it locally.  My Google calendar not only gives me access to my events, online, but it also lets me share my events with friends and family (as they let me see their events).

So, my Thunderbird client pops up, gets the job done, and utilizes far fewer system resources while doing it.  Bells and whistles?  A couple.  Ease of use?  Just fine.

So long, Outlook .  It's been a good ride.

Update to 'GPS Systems - Quick Tips..' - The Bluetooth Phone via GPS Concept

Back in April '08 I wrote that I thought the ability for a GPS to pair with a Bluetooth phone was not one of the most useful GPS features available.  In the interests of full disclosure, I deemed the feature "dumb".  In August, '08, I bought my wife a Garmin c550, which has this ability. For someone who doesn't like the Bluetooth headset concept, a Bluetooth speakerphone is the better option than holding one's phone up to one's ear. The c550 displays the caller-ID, on the GPS' screen, making it simple to easily see who is calling, without having to scramble for the phone.  It also makes the phone's (an LG Dare, in this case) contact list, recent calls, and other information available via the GPS unit's screen.

 As of this writing I have paired it with her phone, and tested it indoors, but we have not yet road-tested the feature.

I still stand by the idea that playing music, through a portable GPS' speakers, is useless to me, but I stand corrected about Bluetooth phone use.  Time will tell whether the caller/callee, on the other end of the connection, will actually be able to hear us, but I may be willing to sacrifice that, for quick calls, in the interest of driving safety.

For a full listing of the Garmin c550's feature set, see the TigerDirect link where I bought her unit, at http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=G145-0068 .

New Phone - LG Dare

After a year or more of "riding" my Verizon account, after our two-year contract expired, I started poking around, looking at phone upgrade options, to utilize the "free phone (or discount) with two-year renewal" offer. After a month of him-hawing (tech term), I chose the LG Dare, equipping it with the 500 min-month outgoing (free incoming) text package and the unlimited Internet usage. I really dig this phone. I could yap about it, as is my way, but instead I'll just point you to the two links that ultimately swayed me.

Dare Demo from Verizon: http://estore.vzwshop.com/dare/

Dare Review at CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-dare-verizon-wireless/4505-6454_7-33070218.html?tag=prod.txt.1

Frustration (but ultimately successful) Registering my Starbucks Card for AT&T WiFi Access

Being a Starbucks freak, I decided to register a Starbucks card, online, to utilize the Rewards Program's benefit of a) free 2 hours/day WiFi access, and b) unlimited coffee refills. I registered a card, at home, and weeks later actually decided to use it. This is my story...

It was a frightenly sunny and hot day. I closed my moon roof and windows, cranking the A/C, making sure to open them all, when I'd pull into parking lots, so I would appear green-friendly, to any passing eco villians. It was my weekly "night out", and I was ready to read a novel and do a little "netting", at my favorite Starbucks.

I bought a cup of joe, with my Starbucks card, and booted the old, decrepit, some-memory-is-dead laptop, and connected to the AT&T site. It asked me for my Starbucks.com login information. 'Hmm..,' thought I. 'I don't think I have one.' I checked my RoboForm (secure identity software) logs. Nope. I don't have one.' I went to the Starbucks web site, and the link to check card balances was clearly visible...but there was no sign of a signon prompt. [Note that AT&T, at a Starbucks, will let one get to the Starbucks site, the AT&T site, and the T-Mobile site, but that's it.] I checked my card's balance and all was well with the card.

I created a Starbucks.com login, then tried to register the card, to the account. It said that the card was already registered. Ughh! I poked around, on both the AT&T and Starbucks sites, and there was no help as to how to handle this situation. So, I read through all the FAQ's, at Starbucks, and found there was a way to transfer the balance, of one's card, to another card; one has to do it live, at Starbucks. 'Uh huh, Baby! Woo!'. I took the card to the register, got a new card, and had the barista transfer the balance. I then logged into the Starbucks site (having found the page to do that via a link from the AT&T site, because I could not find it at Starbucks site itself), and then used the 'Add a card' option, at Starbucks, to add my new card. I then went to the AT&T WiFi login page, entered my Starbucks.com login information (although there was no visual indication there that this process would work), and presto, I was on the Internet.

And by "Presto" I mean afer over an hour of screwing around.

Long live rock. Oh yeah, and rock has nothing to do with this experience.

I have now become the "crazy, bothersome regular" who accosts folks, who have the same problem (known by their cussing), and help them with the issue. Yet another way for me to control events, so I kinda dig it.

GPS Systems - Quick Tips for Buying and Finding Reviews

A friend of mine got to use a GPS for the first time, while traveling, and fell in love with the Garmin.  She is interested in buying a unit, so I sent her a few tips.  Thought I'd post them here, to keep up with my previous GPS-related postings here.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dan Reams
Subject: Re: GPS Systems

One more thing!  If you see a unit you like, please either a) ask me about it, and I'll research what folks say about it, or b) check out the user reviews -- available at both places mentioned below -- and see what they say.  Also, there is no better online review site than www.cnet.com (http://reviews.cnet.com/gps/?tag=cnetfd.dir ) for seeing short little 1 or 2 minute movies reviewing electronics.  I have used them for this for at least a decade.  You can also compare units side by side.  If you're interested in GPS units, you can easily lose yourself in rapture, at CNet, for a good 45 minutes, just clicking around watching the little movies.

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008, Dan Reams wrote:

Buy.com usually has good deals.  See http://www.buy.com/cat/portable-gps/17017.html .  TigerDirect also usually has good deals.  See http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=2372&name=GPS-Navigation .

Whatever you do, buy your item online!  You'll save anywhere from $30 - $80 dollars, even with shipping, over buying it at a box store.

I own the Garmin c340.  I love it, but it doesn't seem to have the latest maps available, at least, it doesn't come with the latest maps.  I think I can add them in, but I have to check.  However, its features are top notch, in that it has the very best GPS feature -- announcing road names.  Oddly, this feature is not on all GPS units.  You want the device to say, "In 200 feet, turn right on Franklin Ave.", versus "In 200 feet, turn right."  Why?  Because in an area where there are lots of little streets and parked cars, you don't want to have to look at your unit.  So, whatever you buy, get that feature.

Other features, of some GPS units, include

• Bluetooth capability, to act as a speaker phone using your cell phone.  Personally, I think it's a dumb feature; that is, using a speakerphone, in a car, is a nightmare to the person on the other end of the call.  I much prefer using my Bluetooth ear piece instead.
• A chip slot so you can play your MP3's through it.  Again, a very stupid feature.  Why play music through a GPS' little tinny sounding speakers when one has a car stereo system with nice speakers?  I just don't get it.
  

Indexing Network Drives - Yet Another Option - Nero (of all things)

The history of my fetish regarding wanting to search, via indices, my network drives, has lead me on quite the merry roads over the years.

LookOut was cool, but it was absorbed into Microsoft and then emasculated.

Google Desktop is okay, but it will not search network drives...period.  Too many odd errors.

I had basically steeled myself to accept that I would not be searching, via indexed search, my network drives.  Then I bought a new DVD burner, with a copy of Nero 7.  Nero installed a search indexer, pretty much like Google Desktop, but it indexes network drives like a dream.  I instructed it to ignore my local drives -- I'll let Google Desktop continue to do that -- and I point it only at the network stuff.  Very slick.

Don't bother with a proprietary DC Charger for our Mobile Devices - Use a USB equipped DC Y-Adapter Instead

I wanted to buy a DC (car) charger for my Microsoft ZUNE media player, but the only ones I can find, in retail stores, also include an FM transmitter, and they run from the upper thirties to the lower fifties, in dollars. Instead, I went to Wal*Mart and bought a DC Y-Adapter plug that also includes a USB port. So now, I can charge (or run) any USB device, assuming I have the device's USB cable with me. It's a cheaper solution, than buying a proprietary charger designed for just one species of device, and you get to charge any device you wish.

They also make Inverters of about the same size, but I already have an inverter and I didn't want to double-up. Besides, the Y-Adaptor is convenient anyway, as I can run my GPS, charge my cell phone, and power my Zune all via the one device.

The price: $9.99.

Side Notes:

Ø An Inverter changes DC power over to AC power, providing a standard "wall outlet(s)" for one's AC device(s). Inverters are rated in Watts, which directly relate to how many gizmos you can power with a given Inverter. A 140-watt model, with one wall outlet and one USB port can be seen here (assuming the link has not retired as you read this from the future). Most such devices list the sorts of devices you can power with them, and mostly, they are honest about it. Me, I just do the math: Look on your devices (or their manuals), for how many Watts (or if you're lucky, peak-Watts) they use. Add up all the Watts you'll need, and buy your inverter accordingly, rounding up enough for wiggle room. Example: You add up your needs and you find that your devices, in the aggregate, should use 148 Watts. Don't buy a 150 W inverter, in that scenario. Instead, buy a 200 W unit. Wiggle room.

Ø I didn't want an FM transmitter because I haven't had good luck with them, in my car, so I instead use a cassette adaptor; my car stereo has both CD and cassette, and I'll certainly never put a cassette in there, so I might as well use it as a port for my media devices.

Ø My ZUNE's "Travel Kit" came with an extra USB cable, so I readily have one with me, which means I do not have to take the one, off my PC, that I use for syncing. Oddly, the travel kit did not come with a DC adaptor…but it did come with an AC adaptor. This makes it nice for getting somewhere, not traveling to one's destination. Thus I think they should rename it "ZUNE Destination Kit".