Hayden is Here

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The .9 is 1- Hayden was born 8.16 at 6:03 pm . He is doing well as is his mom. We are all very happy that he is here.

iPhone or Blackberry Bold

I have a month to decide. Bold or iPhone 3G. There are pro's and cons to each. After living with a Blackberry for about a year I realize why people love them and hate them. They are a constant reminder of work- the fun aspects of them are in after thoughts buried in the menu screens daring you to use them. And while you may feel more like a C-level executive when you use one, basically you are just a mid level manager trying to appear like you more important than you are. I really felt that I had grown up- leaving the toy devices behind and stepping up to the responsibility work. But a funny thing happened while I was growing up, the iPhone grew up too.

While it was still a media centric device with a best of breed media player- Apple added Active Sync enabling push email calendar and contacts. With that one addition they made themselves relevant to all of us working stiffs. But will it be enough- will I miss cut and paste or searching? or will the media satisfy me.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

Detroit is in sad shape

Basically we are on hold. An entire city waits and watches while the mayor lets his legal troubles mount and drag him and the city down in gutter.
I does not have to like this. He could resign and face his troubles as a private citizen out of the limelight. But alas that is not his style- he wishes to go out in a blaze of glory- so be it.

Over the next few weeks we will all bear witness to one of most spectacular political dramas ever caught on camera. I just hope the city can rise from the ashes yet again once Icarus does his thing.

That .9 I was talking about

3 is the new 2. That is what they say, and that is my story and I am sticking to it. My wife is very pregnant with our 3rd child. The baby is due on August 28- but it is looking more and likely that the baby will come early by a week or so.

My youngest -now middle- child is 3.5 and has been potty trained for over a year and now I have to go back to the beginning. I am hoping that I will be in diaper land for 2 years tops- but who knows.

We have about a two weeks left on this final ride to the delivery room- on the way I may need some help with choosing new bottles that are bpa free. I will let you know.

Well I have to run-

Golf is fun- even when you stink

Played nine holes today. And even though my score was equal to par for 18 holes it was still enjoyable. I was unable to hit my driver, which cost me at least two strokes per hole but all in all it was a good day. The PGA Championship is in town this week and since Tiger is still out we are sure to see some good golf as the tour regulars play like there's a substitute teacher in the room.

Well here's to the weekenders- hit them long and straight and have fun.

Smartphones and such

I have used just about every type of smartphone on the market. From Symbian (SE P850) to Palm (Treo 600, 650) to Windows Mobile (ATT 8595, Moto Q9h, HTC 620 and 630), Apple iPhone and currently a Blackberry Curve.

You would think that with all that experience I would have a solid idea of what I liked and disliked. Alas you would be incorrect.

I am still in search of the perfect device to magically transport me into the future. And by future I mean the day when I can walk around and all of my everything is on a device about the size of an iPhone.

When I was in line last year on launch day I though that I was there- but it was not to be- I was un done by a lack of basic features like cut and paste and searching of mail messages. And while I really loved the interface and the media player the some of the basic phone features left me wanting.

So I first returned to Windows mobile- only to be let down by form factor issues. The Moto Q9h had a lot going for it but size was not one of them. IT is/was too wide. There where a few nice things about it like the 3G and the mobile office editing, and the ability to customize the today screen. The downsides were the width of the device (The blackjack II is better) , and the need for a proprietary audio jack connector. On the advise of my wife I tried a Blackberry Curve.

And I must admit before actually using one I had my doubts. Being someone who is enamored with elegant graphics and user interfaces the business basic fonts and screens of the Blackberry were not all that appealing- but what the hell- I should at least give it a shot.

9 months later I have come to appreciate the power of the integrated messaging software and the powerful phone features. But there is trouble in paradise. I still have to use an ipod- due to the weakness of the media player and there is now editing of office docs. In addition the web browser is worthless and you cannot view html email messages.

The upcoming Blackberry Bold is supposed to remedy all of my issues and supply more juice and 3g, wifi and gps. But Att is slow to release it and the price may be steep.

My other gripe with the Blackberry is that it requires a BES in addition to your mail server to be fully functional and although I have access to one at work it is still a pain.

The 3G iPhone was released last month and although they fixed a few things- some holes remain cut and paste for example. But one thing they added was active sync for contact and calendar synchronizing. That added with the strength of the music player and the web experience has me thinking about going back. Luckily I have to wait until October to qualify for the discount price and by then I hope the Bold will be out so I can compare them side by side.


So where am I going with this. I really would like to get to that place that I spoke of earlier- all of my everything in one device. Will it happen in my lifetime who knows- but I will keep trying devices until I get there.