After a few years of incredibly poor network coverage in LA, I have finally decided I’ve had enough. But if you wanted an iPhone, there simply was no other choice and it doesn’t look like this will change anytime soon. I have tolerated hundreds of dropped calls over the past couple of years. If anyone reading this has tried to carry on a conversation with me while in my car, I simply can’t talk to you. AT&T drops so many of my calls along Sunset Boulevard that I just no longer have any expectation of a call not being dropped.
Perhaps this is a secret plot to get us Los Angelenos to stay off the phone whilst in the car. While I truly believe it’s safer to not use the phone in the car, for small business owners who need to stay in touch with clients, there aren’t a lot of other options.
I found a great site www.cellreception.com where you can read actual users experiences with the different networks in and around Los Angeles.
Just google “at&t dropped calls los angeles” to see how bad it really is.
I’ll be taking my business lines as well as those of my family over to Verizon. I will hopefully have much better results!
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Last week I talked about my experiences with the iPhone. Now let’s have a look at a phone few people talk about, at least in the US. The Nokia E71 – unlocked and using on AT&T network in Los Angeles.
Nokia E71
My Thoughts: Nokia sure knows how to build a beautiful, solid device with excellent aesthetics. I get so many compliments and questions about this phone! I ordered this after being frustrated with Blackberry and Apple.
Look, Feel and Durability : The operating system on this phone is Symbian. It is not very popular but I love it. The menus are pretty clearly laid out, customization is easy and the applications are pretty easy to install. It took me a few days to get the hang of how to use the phone and all of its features and I’m still discovering new ones all the time. I love the physical keyboard and overall build of the phone. It’s very sleek and dare I say, sexy.
Apps and Email Connectivity: I only use a few apps and it was easy to find and install them for the Nokia. I like Snaptu for social networking, Google Mobile for search and the free Mail For Exchange. The setup of the connection to my exchange server was challenging to say the least, not very intuitive. But once I had it configured, it just worked.
Who’s it for? If you are the tinkering, DIY type then this device is great for you. Don’t expect any help at the AT&T store though, they do not have any training on supporting this device. It is also very challenging to buy accessories for this phone because the charger and headsets are all proprietary. Order these items from Amazon for the best selection.
Verdict? Great for the DIY, technically savvy user. Not the best choice for technology challenged folks.
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This is a continuation of last weeks post on smartphones. Last week I talked about the Blackberry and today I’ll be roasting the iPhone. Let’s have a look.
Apple iPhone
My thoughts: Apple sure knows how to do marketing. People line up for everything they produce! As a long time Blackberry user, I too was sucked in to the hype. I waited for the 2nd generation though and this is my experience.
Look, Feel and Durability: The iPhone has a great look and feel for the most part. You’ll want to choose a case to protect it’s fragile screen and back. Scratches come all to easily on this phone. Do not drop this one, it will have problems. For the first 11 months, everything was great with this phone. I even learned to tolerate the lack of a physical keyboard. I LOVED using the camera both for work documentation purposes and grabbing a quick picture of the kids.
Apps and Email Connectivity: It was easy to setup a connection to my exchange server and of course I loved the ease of entering an appointment on the phone and having it wirelessly sync to my calendar at the office and vice versa. Even with basic email accounts like Gmail or Yahoo, it was easy to setup. Manual sync via cable for those kinds of setups was also simple and easy. There were so many applications available for the phone but I realistically only used a few – Freshbooks for invoicing, Twitterific for twitter, Google Mobile, KCRW, Shazaam for music and of course Pac-Man when I’m bored.
The bad: Just days before the warranty expired, the problems began. The battery would only last 4 or 5 hours before dying. The phone would inexplicably shut down and refuse to power up, leaving me without a means of communication. I had to go to the Apple Store (requires an appointment) several times and they replaced the phone TWICE!
The ugly: I write this post, I’m in the process of setting it up again and guess what – it won’t startup. This is the 3rd time I’ve had to restore it in less than 24 hours.
Who’s it for? The “cool gadget” loving person who is not too demanding and loves Apple products.
Verdict? Unreliable as a primary phone but fun for people with less requirements.
Next week I’ll be talking about the Nokia E71 so be sure to check back. Comments and discussion welcome!
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In my work with clients, I have to know all the ins and outs of nearly every smartphone on the market. Over the years, I have been fortunate to experience firsthand all of these phones and help my clients bring convenience and mobility to their lives. Since I am mostly on the road every day, I also use a smartphone to stay in touch with my clients, my office and my email. Being in this position, my standards tend to be a little higher and I’m a bit more demanding of technology. In this series, I’ll describe my experiences with each phone I’ve used in the past few years. I’d like to know what you think; perhaps we can all find a phone we’re happy with.
Blackberry
My thoughts: Ah the Blackberry. I’ve been using and supporting Blackberries for something like 8 years. They have consistently done few things very well, namely email, calendaring and contacts. If you use these applications heavily, there really has been no other option.
Look, Feel and Durability: Through the 8700 series, I was totally happy with Blackberry. In every sense, their devices just worked. The keyboard layout was wonderful; all users were able to adopt it easily. The interface made sense; the menus were contextual and almost anticipated what you wanted to do. To this day, I source these models for clients who don’t need the latest whiz bang feature or “app” and who just want a phone, remote access to email, calendar and contacts. Plus you could drop it 50 times and it would just keep working. Moving into the Bold and the Curve models, there was serious drop in reliability, build quality and usefulness of the device. The trackball was a horrible idea – with skin oils, dirt and other problems, you’d be in the store replacing or servicing the device every 6 months!
Apps and Email Connectivity: If you used an Apple computer, you were really limited in your ability to directly sync to the computer. You’d get duplicates or lost data and no way to troubleshoot these issues. For these clients, the only real solution was hosted exchange and wireless sync. This by the way is flawless and I highly recommend it no matter what device you’re using. Blackberry wanted to keep up with Apple and rolled out the Blackberry App world. It was terrible! There were apps on the iphone that were not available to Blackberry and customers couldn’t understand why. Good luck if you dropped these models, the sim card would come loose and you couldn’t see the “SOS” message to know any different.
Today Blackberry is finally getting the message. They’ve replaced the trackball with an optical tracking button. They’ve rolled out Desktop Manager for the Mac and the devices coming out seem to be built a little better and can handle a drop or two.
Who’s it for? A great all around device that most people can use fairly easily. Be sure you like the keyboard on the model you’re considering.
Verdict? A good all around choice with lots of flexibility. Just don’t drop it.
Next week I’ll be talking about the iPhone so check back.
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In the past week, several clients have had their email accounts hacked and the overwhelming feeling is one of shock. Questions emerge, how did this happen? Why did it happen to me? I hope to answer some of those questions, as well as describe just one incidence with the hope that you’ll begin to recognize patterns and be able to prevent this from happening to you. First I want to credit a CNN story that ran a few days ago that describes a real situation where a friend’s email was hacked and the culprit sent out a very real sounding request for help. Fortunately, the author noted some issues that just didn’t feel right and because he listened to his gut, was able to avoid making a bad situation worse.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/28/greene.email.scam/index.html
Bob Greene gets an urgent e-mail from an old friend writing, “With tears in my eyes … “
The desperate plea for money turns out to be an e-mail scam
Greene says malware placed on computers when a user clicks on a link can capture keystrokes
Thieves take over e-mail accounts and seek money from contacts in the address book
Why did this happen to me?
It’s nothing personal. This can happen to anyone at anytime.
Can this be prevented?
Yes, with good password security and up to date antivirus/antimalware, you can be much more confident that you won’t be affected. Is anyone 100% safe? No. Is any ONE product going to solve this isse? No. Try to focus on the strategy first – make it a priority to be knowledgeable, and consult your IT professional for specific tools.
As a rule, don’t click on hyperlinks provided in an email unless you are 100% certain that it is legitimate, safe and you know where the link is actually taking you! I promise that the links in this blog post are safe.
The final point I want to make, and we are all guilty of it, is poor password security. It is the heart of this matter. Here is some information from Microsoft that will offer you some guidance on password security. If your password is the same for all of your online activities, you are at risk. If your password is easily guessed and is some combination of children’s names, pets names or birthdates, you are at risk. Do not use the same passwords year after year, month after month.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/create.aspx
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Throughout my business, clients have always asked me about how to get a great website. The simple answer is that with the advent of iWeb and WordPress, anyone can have a great website with very little cost. If you have the time to invest in learning the tools, you can create a simple website in very little time. But what happens when you don’t have the time but your business demands a serious web presence? Start with the end in mind. Keep your vision on the final result you are looking for.
This may raise more questions than answers. But I can tell you about my process and about the hints and tips you can look out for on your way. For my website, I was in a tough position. I wanted a great site, but I wanted to be heavily involved so that it would “look” like my company.
The first thing I did was learn about the tools website designers use. I am referring to things like “wordpress”, “drupal”, “CSS”, “HTML” and “Web 2.0” and the like. I knew that I wanted a site that I could manage the content. For me that meant being able to write a blog post like this without having to call someone to “put it up” for me. After talking with lots of people and doing a lot of research, I knew that WordPress was the way to go. But now what?
Logo
If you have a logo that you are happy with, start with the designer who did it. Ask whether they can design a wordpress theme for you. In my case, the designer of my original logo could not do the newer things like WordPress and custom headers. I knew I needed to start fresh. That was a big shocker and a wakeup call. The thought of trying to convey my vision and have it result in a new logo/brand scared me! Who could possibly understand the vision of ÜberGeekGirl and the mission of my company? Ideally you can settle on one firm who has logo, web and branding talent on staff so you get a unified result. I was really blessed to discover Alphabet Arm Design www.alphabetarm.com – Aaron Belyea’s team of designers including Ira F. Cummings of IFC Design www.iracummings.com delivered everything I needed.
Design
Start looking at websites. Look at hundreds of websites and take note of what you like and why you like it. You DO not need to know how they made it look that way, just take lots of notes. When you talk with designers, they are going to begin with asking you what things you like. This does not necessarily mean that your site will look just like that the sites you took notes on. In fact, a great designer will never deliver a cookie cutter site.
Feedback
Work with your design firm regularly and do not be afraid to ask for what you want. Do not end up with a website you are unhappy with. A good firm will be clear about the process from day one and will GUIDE you!
Content
As your site nears completion from design perspective, you WILL be asked for content. What is content? All the words on each page. I recommend starting with some general ideas about what you want the page to say. Then go out and find a copywriter who can interpret your non-sensical babbling and make it intelligible. I’d like to thank Keith Leong for his fine work crafting the words on my site. http://copywriterkeith.wordpress.com/about/
Your role
Be a good client. Admit that you are not a designer nor a copywriter. Allow your experts to do their job. Your job is to select the right team at the beginning. Pay them quickly, send them coffee or lunch. Make it a great relationship because you will need their services in the future!
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Los Angeles Elementary School Receives Technology Makeover
Dayton Heights Elementary School in Los Angeles has made substantial improvements to its education technology offerings, courtesy of technology marketing firm Everything Channel and local volunteer action center L.A. Works. The “makeover” impacts the school’s computer lab, library and teacher workroom.
Everything Channel sponsors Channel@Work, a volunteer program to give back to the community. A component of the program, the Technology Makeover School Edition, is behind the improvements at Dayton Heights. They include six new computers and a printer for the school library and OS and keyboard upgrades for 34 Apple workstations in the school computer lab, as well as a new computer for teacher use.
The company recently held a conference in Los Angeles and wanted to include a day of volunteer service for members of Channel@Work. The group reached out to L.A. Works, which in turn determined the need at Dayton Heights and proceeded to design and facilitate the technology makeover project.
Deborah Brutchey, senior director of L.A. Works, had high praise for Channel@Work and all of the contributors to the project. “Everything Channel and members of the technology industry have set aside valuable time to help us improve the facility of one of our community partners,” said Brutchey. “We appreciate this tremendous support of our mission to increase volunteer participation and build the capacity of our nonprofit partners.”
Contributors to the school’s technology improvements included: AMD, Samsung, Juniper Networks, Belkin International, Jessica DeVita of UberGeekGirl in Santa Monica, and Bob Nitrio of Ranvest Associates in Orangevale.
Dayton Heights Elementary, which belongs to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), is a 100-year-old K-5 school in the city’s Silverlake community. Federally designated a Title 1 school, it enrolls nearly 600 students, with 91 percent from families living at or below poverty level.
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WITI Los Angeles Regional Network
Spring Mixer with Girls in Tech!
(Sponsored by ÜberGeekGirl®)
Make new contacts, re-connect with former colleagues, invite clients (and make new ones!). You’ll have rare access to a highly diverse group of professionals committed to your success!
http://www.witi.com/la/meeting.php?id=2368
Thursday, March 18, 2010
6PM – 9PM
On Thursday, March 18 from 6 to 9 pm, WITI will gather at Wokcano Restaurant in Santa Monica.
Make new contacts, re-connect with former colleagues, invite clients (and make new ones!). You’ll have rare access to a highly diverse group of professionals committed to your success!
Men and women are encouraged to attend this smashing seasonal event and we will be inviting many other LA based groups to join us.
Event Venue
This event will be held from 6PM – 9PM on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at:
Wokano
1413 5th Street
Santa Monica, California 90401
Map
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Today a client called me in a panic. She had inadvertently removed the category from several hundred contacts. Of course this couldn’t have happened at a more inopportune moment – she was preparing an important mailing about a very important event!
She asked if her Crashplan backup would save her. Unfortunately, the answer was no. Crashplan and other services only backup data such as Microsoft Word documents and photos. Categories in Outlook are a funny thing, there is no easy way to back them up. Next she wondered if her hosted exchange provider could restore her Outlook. Sadly, again the answer was no. Most hosted exchange providers do not provide brick level, individual mailbox restores. They really should offer it, IMHO (even as an optional upgrade, if not a standard feature).
I sat with this for a minute and an idea came to me. What if I could sort the contacts by category, then use the Field Chooser to find a “recently modified” field and then add it to the Outlook column bar? I discovered the “modified” field in the “All Appointments” drop down. Now she could sort by that field, and quickly identify the 130 some odd contacts for whom she had removed the category! It didn’t take long for her to add back the missing information so she could take care of the important mailing.
Going the extra mile and getting creative when many consultants would have said tough luck really made all the difference in the world for this client.
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Recently one morning I was driving around Santa Monica, feeling grateful for all the wonderful things that have happened to me since relocating from the Midwest. I felt a strong urge to find a way to give back to the community in some way. I thought there might be an organization that I could do a project for and wondered how I might find the right opportunity. Little did I know that the opportunity would find me via Twitter. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/ubergeekgirl
I typically don’t use Twitter to connect with clients, but rather to network with other technical professionals. About two hours after my drive, there came a “tweet” from a colleague regarding a pro-bono project for a school in Los Angeles. I replied immediately and was put in touch with Bob Nitrio of Ranvest who is spearheading the project. As it turns out, each year Everything Channel handles a community project as part of their annual XChange Solution Providers conference and is doing a community project in conjunction with LA Works.
This year, we’re rehabbing the computers in a student computer lab and I will be doing the work on the Macs!
You can learn more about the project by going to http://everythingchannelevents.com/xsp10_channelatwork
I am thrilled to be able to refresh the computers in the lab at Dayton Heights elementary. I can’t wait for these youngsters to have functioning computers again. I know it will help the students continue to learn, and I want to thank Twitter because it helped make this possible!
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