Joy of Gadgets

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.

Image via Wikipedia

For once in my decade at Nokia, I’ve been given the opportunity to formally test a product before release. While I can’t talk about the product I’m testing until it’s formally announced, I can talk a little bit about Nokia’s internal beta testing program for upcoming products.

The biggest challenge in even getting into this program is that I work at home. This means that I am not regularly in a Nokia office–much less one that participates in the beta program. I did manage to find a site manager that was willing to allow me to participate in their site’s beta program. A few days later, I had an unreleased prototype phone in my hot little hands.

One of the important aspects of this testing program is that you use the test device as your primary phone during the duration of the test, which will vary depending on the program. This is important if you’re going to find bugs. I use the snot out of my phones, which makes it pretty easy to find bugs

The testing program tests devices in varying degrees of readiness and public knowledge. Given that a wider pool of Nokia employees participates in these programs, this can create some obvious product security issues. As such, there are program-specific rules about handling and showing the device in public.

The other challenge is that, at times, phones have to be updated with a flashing station. For phones that do not support Nokia Software Updater, this can be a problem. Even phones that do support NSU do, at times, need to visit a flashing station for a particular upgrade. Since it’s not easy for me to visit a flashing station, it does mean the phone might occasionally have to be dropped in a shipping envelope. That hasn’t had to happen yet as the one time this was required, I happened to be in the area and could simply swap the unit.

I am a few weeks into this process, and I have to say, overall, I love it. It’s gratifying to participate in improving the product quality of at least one upcoming phone. I hope that I can continue to participate in this program, despite some of the challenges me not being in an office creates.

I am testing my ability to blog from the Nokia N810 using MaemoWordPy. We’ll see how it works and how it looks.

The trick here is typing on the built-in keyboard. I’ve typed on smaller, but it does take a little getting used to. Would certainly do in a pinch.

There is something about pinball machines. Despite the fact they have evolved from electro-mechanical monstrosities into the digital era, they are a very physical experience. For all it’s variations, it’s basically you, a ball, and a playfield. How fast can you push the button to make that flipper go at just the right time? How much body english can you give to the machine before it tilts?

No computer can simulate the experience of the real McCoy. Believe me, I bought an Eight Ball Deluxe emulator back in the early 1990s. I’ve also played with things like PinMAME and Visual Pinball. Even that hokey little pinball game that comes in Windows. It’s not the same thing, at all.

For the past several months, I have been trying to get my Eight Ball Deluxe Limited Edition fixed. It was up in my office at the old house and non-functional for the past few years. Since it moved into our living room at the new house, it is much more visible. More people see it and remind us that, yes it’s broken.

A guy that works at a local amusement company has come out a few times to repair my 25+ year old machine. Various electronic bits have been replaced. In the case of one of the main electronic bits–some bits were replaced, but additional problems came up. I decided instead of spending any more parts and labor on fixing the MPU board, I would replace it.

Yesterday, I got my shipment from Bay Area Amusements where I ordered my Ultimate MPU by Alltek Systems. It’s a $200 experience, but it’s a better replacement. It’s a smaller board than the original MPU. It supports a number of Bally/Stern games. It also has better diagnostics than the original MPU.

Replacing the MPU board is much easier than replacing a motherboard in a computer, but it’s similar. Take the old board off the plastic standoffs, put the new board in, hook it up, and turn it on. I didn’t do the testing you’re supposed to do beforehand as I felt my pinball guy did a fairly good job of checking all that stuff the last time he was out.

It worked. Hearing that phrase “Eight Ball Deluxe” and “Chalk Up” was a sound that I longed to hear from my pinball machine. Finally, we have a machine.

Unfortunately, it’s not entirely working. One of the thumper bumpers isn’t working because some component blew on a different board–parts are in and will be installed next time he comes out. One of the solenoids that powers one of the flippers is not energizing fully, which means it hits the ball weaker than it should. There’s also a pop hole where the ball won’t actually pop out because it is not able to kick out the ball with enough force. There are a couple of others to address as well.

I taped over the hole where the ball can’t kick out and the machine is at least playable for the time being. It obviously needs more work, but I think I can finally say we’ve turned the corner. Not to mention that the playfield desperately needs a cleaning, though I ordered some Novus #2 from Bay Area Amusements to rectify that.

I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to play this old machine once again. It will be nice when all the other bits are restored to their former glory, too.

I can’t believe how nice the weather has been in Gig Harbor this past week. In the low 50sF (10C+) and, for the most part, sunny. A week of that in a row, that’s unheard of–particularly for February!

Meanwhile, you’ve likely noticed my blog output has been lower over the past several weeks. Part of it is that I’m finding it difficult to keep the feverish pace I was keeping. I am doing some load rebalancing in this department.

Meanwhile, this week’s blog fodder includes:

• Alaska Airlines Switching Ticket Counters To Touch Screens (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• eComm Organizer Lee Dryburgh On The Squawk Box (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Is Vonage Turning The Corner? (From The VoIP Weblog)
• 50 Ways To Do VoIP Open-Source (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Skype: Billions (Of Minutes) Served (From The VoIP Weblog)
• New Fring For S60 and UIQ (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Since When Does a GPS Include A Mobile Phone (From The Convergence Zone)

One of the things I hate about traveling to Ottawa is that there is no direct flights from Seattle. Last time I went, I avoided the dreaded O’Hare airport by flying through Vancouver there and Toronto on the way back. This time, no such luck.

While Chicago O’Hare has no shortage of places to eat–something I don’t mind–the one thing there is a clear shortage of is places to plug in and recharge your electronic batteries. It’s almost as if they went to great lengths to hide or even remove the power plugs from any place usable. Those I am able to find are hidden away in the most inconvenient and uncomfortable places.

I plan on sticking to my Nokia N800 tablet, which has good battery life. I also have a couple of portable battery chargers for Nokia devices, which I will use if I can’t find a place to plugin.

What are some of the ways you cope with the lack of ability to charge your mobile devices while in transit?

A writer at c’t had asked if they could use my Netscape photo from 1997, pictured left, in their magazine. I gave them permission provided they sent me a copy of the magazine.

Earlier on Saturday, I got a copy of c’t in the mail. Sure enough, there’s the article on Netscape (in German) and in the print version, at least, my photo is there complete with a credit.

This week was personally crazy with the number of things that came up and had to be dealt with. Need to get in high writing gear to get a few more articles in the can as I have a trip coming up in the next couple of weeks.

Here’s what got published this week:

• Cone Of Smoke For Indoor Smokers (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• Rogers Wireless Finally Has Semi-Decent Data Plans (From The Mobile Technology Weblog)
• Wardive: Nearby WiFi Affects Your Game (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• Give Your Skype Username A SIP URL (From The VoIP Weblog)
• EQO Goes Symbian (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Gizmo5 Making Free Calls Through The Backdoor (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Hictu Teams Up With Jajah For Click To Call (From The VoIP Weblog)
• RingFree SIP-Enables Your iPhone (From The VoIP Weblog)
• RingFree Enables VoIP Calling From Apple iPhone Without A Jailbreak (From The Mobile Technology Weblog)
• Convergence Or Divergence? (From The Convergence Zone)
• Logitech ClearChat Pro USB (From The Gadgets Weblog)

I was surprised to get an interview request from Ewan McLeod over at SMS Text News. He asked me 18 questions and I answered. There shouldn’t be any huge surprises there, if you’ve been following my blog for a while, but maybe you’ll learn something new about me. It did force me to update my about page, which I realized was sorely out of date thanks to the recent organizational changes at Nokia.

Ewan also put out a call to do a Seven Days With <Insert Device Here>. It was kind of fun back when I reviewed the HTC Mogul to see how well something other than a Nokia worked. Maybe I’ll get a chance to do it again. I’ll keep you posted.

Well, so much for this list being shorter. That happens when you see topical gadgets and good cross-promotion opportunities.

Aside from The Mobile Technology Weblog being new to my weekly roundup, there’s also one new blog on the list this week I hadn’t talked about previously: Businesspundit. Creative Weblogging asked me to do a few posts over there over the next several weeks to promote some of the business blogs in CW’s network. I’m not used to writing about business per-se, so it’s going to be a challenge, albeit temporary.

With all my blathering out of the way, here’s this week’s list of posts I made in the blogosphere:

• JetBlue Bringing (Extremely Limited) WiFi To The Skies (From The Mobile Technology Weblog)
• ZINK Digital Camera Printer (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• Jajah Direct Had Nothing To Do With Jangl (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Give The Gift Of Free Calling With MOBIVOX (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Skype Co-Brands VoSKY Exchange For Businesses Worldwide (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Nokia 6708: Not So Great (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• Wireless USB Display Adapter (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• iPod Touch and iPhone Hacked With A SIP Stack (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Skype PRO Now Available in US/Canada (From The VoIP Weblog)
• Abbeynet’s Mozilla VoIP Extension: Open To Anything (From The VoIP Weblog)
• A Wireless Christmas Tree (From The Gadgets Weblog)
• Picasa Web Albums Now iPhone Optimized (From The Mobile Technology Weblog)
• MAXroam On High Streets in UK and Ireland (From The VoIP Weblog)
• SpinVox: Speech To Text For Your Mobile (From The Mobile Technology Weblog)
• Bootstrapping Your Business Is Better (From Businesspundit)
• Legitimate Companies Contributing To The Spam Problem (From I Got Spam?!)
• Space Invaders Door Mat (From The Gadgets Weblog)

My relationship with Creative Weblogging has changed a bit. The long and the short of it that I will be doing a little less blogging and a bit more promoting of a few of their blogs.

I will continue to blog on VoIP Weblog as I have been. I will still blog on Gadgets Weblog, but only occasionally. I will also do the occasional post for I Got Spam. However, I will be “promoting” Gadgets Weblog as well as The Mobile Technology Weblog. Not necessarily here, but other places (e.g. the social bookmarking sites, other blogs, etc).

It’s a bit of a different role for me, for sure. I’m sure the skills I will learn will be helpful in promoting the stuff I do on phoneboy.com.