Just wondering...

How much better the cellular services would be in this country if all those Lobbying dollars were being spent on improving coverage and services...  Just wondering...

The TV Ad - If you don't have an iphone, well you just don't have... 

• To be stuck with one Music store...
• To be using a phone that you have to hold carefully... 
• To have a brick when the battery dies...  

How much would we still have to cut from the Duval County school budget if we sold the Taj Mahal they call a School Board Building on the River...   Just wondering...

Does the Supreme Court live in the same world as the rest of us?   Just wondering...

Do the NFL Players really think that the average Fan supports them over the owners?  Just wondering...

If Lance Armstrong really doped is there anything in sports that is sacred... anything at all?  Just wondering...

Is anyone else as sick of ALL of our Politicians as I am...   Do you trust that they are Representing YOUR interests or just their own...   Just wondering...

When the President says this is what is "Best for the Country" doesn't he really mean...  This is what I think is best for you so get used to it...  Just wondering...

Is there a better deal then Amazon's Daily Free Android App...   Nope ;)

Support a Great Cause, Nascar Day!
Bob

Side Load AT&T Android Phones for Amazon Market Access

My wife and I each have a #DellStreak 5 Phone/Tablet that I lovingly refer to as "The Beast", in case you hadn't noticed it is BIG :)

Anyway my phone I got before AT&T rolled out the Froyo 2.2 update and I used the QDL Tool to update mine but my wife's was purchased after the roll out and I have left it tied to AT&T for comparison purposes.

It has done everything my Wife needs even though it is tied to AT&T with the exception of allowing Apps from the New Amazon Android market.  In searching for a solution to this I discovered this post regarding side loading an AT&T Dell Streak which not only is very simple it doesn't require rooting your phone and I would think could be used on any AT&T Android Phone...

ADW Launcher is an App I discovered a few months ago and had already installed on both phones and is the only thing you need to enable access to the Amazon market as well as other third party app markets...

The instructions are very simple and takes only a couple of minutes and then you can go to the Amazon Market insert your phone number and you will receive a link to install Amazon Market on that phone and have access to all the Amazon Apps as well as the FREE app they provide daily.

If you are like me and want Options then by all means try this solution to gain access to Amazon Apps until such time as A&T starts allowing access directly.  Why wait and miss out on some great FREE apps...

-Bob

NFL Players Playing Fair? In their minds I am sure...

Ok the Owners setup a deal with the networks to receive Payments during 2011 - 2012 if the Players Union went on Strike or Decertified...  Judge says that isn't playing fair and they can't have that money...

Now the Players have been building a "Lockout Fund" which would make payments to players (I assume those that need it and not the Tom Brady's ?) in the event of a Lockout...

Now note that the ONLY way a lockout would occur is IF the Union went on Strike or Decertified, both of which are actions ONLY the Union could take... 

But the Lockout Fund is legal and the Owners TV Fund isn't ?

Well I am no lawyer (thank goodness cause I sure like sleeping at night) but whether this is Legal or not it sure isn't RIGHT or FAIR...

Players = -1 (again)
Owners = Even

Oh and did I mention the players that are starting to get into trouble without the structure of their Team and the NFL trying to help keep them out of trouble...  Hmmmm

Players you are NOT helping yourselves with us Fans....  Not one bit.

-Bob

Great Android Photo APP - Photaf

I just have to post when I see a great APP and here is one I use for the Fountain website and expect i will have a number of other uses for...

Photaf allows you to use your Android Phone Camera to create Panoramic Images.

The created photo's can be shown as a static image and manually scroll horizontally or upload them to their website and create a Flash image viewer.

There is  a Free Version but if you like it you need to get the Pro Version which adds HD capabilites as well as the ability to set your images as Live wallpaper.
https://market.android.com/details?id=obg1.Photaf
https://market.android.com/details?id=obg1.PhotafPro

           
       

Just a Great Android App for anyone that takes pictures of landscapes.  And you Realtors, Construction Project Managers, Foreman, Facilities Managers, just think of the ways you could use this...

Of course, just my inflation adjusted two cents ;)

-Bob

*Sigh* The #NFL...

Ok time to weigh in on the silliness the NFL has brought about on itself...

After a week of trying to figure out WHY...  which I have given up on...

I have struggled to determine who is right and wrong in this and the obvious conclusion is everyone is wrong BUT the Fans...

However I am really really struggling to figure out the players side here..

First the players are just Employees and sure don't act like they are...

As far as I can tell the facts are...

Owners asked for 1 Billion additional off the top of revenue for infrastructure expenses ...
The Owners negotiated downward their extra 1 billion request off the top ... 
Owners Plus 1

The Players demanded 10 years of access to each teams financials
The Owners offered to allow a mutually agreeable Accountant to review the books for five years and present a report... 
Owners Plus 2

The owners wanted 18 games...
The owners agreed no 18 games until at least 2014 and then only with the agreement of the players...
Owners plus 3

So far looks to me like the Owners have tried and the Players haven't...

Not to mention the Players have no expectation of access to the books, no other group of Employees of a Private business would even get a whiff of the books...

Ohhh that reminds me The Players also want to share in any Financial Gains if revenues are over expectation however I have not seen any player indicate they should also share any pain if the revenues fall below expectations...

Bottom line unless the Players start providing some information that I haven't seen so far, other then simply throwing mud and innuendo, then I guess I will have to side with the Owners, who are not blameless here BUT they sure are presenting a better case so far...

Just the way I see it...

Bob

Must Have Utilities for Dell Streak 5 #dellstreak

After a little over 2 months with my #dellstreak I have found that the following utilities should be on every Dell Streak 5 owners list...

No Lock (FREE):  This app allows you to turn on your Streak's screen without requiring the unlock code, very handy when you are constantly accessing your phone during the day...

Screen Off ($0.99 USD):  This app will turn off your screen without requiring you to use the Power Button, saving many pushes on the power button possibly prolonging the life of your Streak.

Note:   I am not sure which app or a combination of both the above apps but once I had these both installed and working I am able to use the Volume rocker to turn on the Streak Screen further reducing the pushes on the power button.

ScreenModeWidget (FREE):  This allows you to set the screen to stay on until you manually shut it off with the power button or the Screen Off app when you will be doing a number of tasks with some interruptions in between and don't want to keep turning the screen back on.

One Click (FREE):  This app is actually a number of apps the most useful being:
  WiFi: Turn Off and On WiFi for the phone with a tap on the app
  Bluetooth:  Turn Off and On Bluetooth with a screen tap
  2G-3G:  Takes you directly to the Phone Settings screen where you can enable or disable 2G-3G access for phone applications.

By using these I believe that you can reduce the potential wear and tear on your Streak Power Button as well as extend your battery life by enabling only those power using systems, WiFi, Bluetooth and 2G-3G when necessary...

By the way, for clarification my Streak is running Android 2.2 via the QDL Tool and I am using ADW Launcher.  The utilities listed above may not provide the same functionality running Android 1.6 and/or stock launcher...

Till next time,
Bob

MagicJack! Realllllly... Yeah Really...

Ok folks I will admit that I was a Fan of Billy Mays, not his products but his presentation cause no matter what you were doing when a Billy Mays commercial came on you paid attention or at least knew what the product was. LOL...

However I am not one to buy anything from TV commercials, figuring that the majority, while not out and out scams, are not worth the money especially when you add in those famous "Handling and Shipping Charges"...

However as a result of our switching to U-Verse we had to give up one line (it was for the girls) and they were back to sharing ours which I quickly grew tired of however i did not want to add another $25 - $35 a month telephone line just for them. So I started searching information on VOIP solutions.

Most require Monthly payments or expensive equipment plus monthly service fees and then I remembered the TV commercials for "MagicJack" and figured I would check their services out...

Well let me tell you DO NOT start by visiting their Web Site it is like a loud TV Commercial but on the web and the amount of information is about "zero"... An example..

Free... 
Free...  More
Free...  Even More

Plug in your Phone plug into computer and start talking...

Okay, Ok not quite that little information,  in a nod to fairness they have a FAQ section but I understand that support is ONLY web based chat, not even email and no phone support... but still not a site that inspires one to buy, at least me... (I am not placing a link as I don't want anyone to think I am promoting, I am just passing on my experience) Just Google MagicJack...

They even have a famous ONLY 100,000 can be shipped free promotion on web site...

Anyhoo... I started searching for real users comments, many seem to simply be promotions for the MagicJack, but in between mostly what I found was that while some folks have had issues even those admit that it works at least basically...

So I decided we could at least try it, it is only $40.00 and buying from a reputable Retailer I figured would be safe as we could return it if it was junk... BestBuy and Target carry in stores (Walmart has ship to store) all the same Price which is the same on the MagicJack web site $39.99 or so and we bought at Target.

So I get it home, plug a regular cordless phone base into the Jack, plug the jack into a USB port and it started Auto installing which was relatively simple, Name, Address select City for Area Code is basically it. Now they try to upsell you for more MagicJacks or vanity number or additional years every step of the installation but I am so used to those from GoDaddy that I simply clicked right through them LOL...

Finished, waited a minute or three and then picked up phone and turned it on and sure enough had a dial tone and called a friend that said it sounded completely fine.. Had the friend call the number provided back and sure enough it rang and my Girls had their own line again...

$20.00 for the Jack and then $19.95 annually for phone service, with unlimited US calling, one weird thing is you must use an Area Code for all calls even next door.

I have to admit as being extremely skeptical when I bought it but I never provided a credit card so don't have to worry (at least for the first year) about any "special" charges, and darn if the thing doesn't work exactly as advertised, at least for us.

So IF you are thinking of adding another telephone line and if it isn't your only means of communication and you have a High Speed Internet connection, I would at least give it a try, an extra telephone line for $20 a year is nothing to sneeze at ;)

Good luck,
Bob