Verizon’s DataGate
In less than two weeks Verizon will be implementing tiered data for new smartphone activations. The policy is very draconian in nature and unfair to users. It represents a major step backward in the way companies are trying to handle new technology. While yes current users are grandfathered into the plan it will be a matter of time before that will be taken away. The problem with tiered data is not that they are charging you for X GB for $N. It is a unfar pricing structure.
The structure is currently looks like this:
Image from Android Central
The unlimited plan will turn into a 2GB cap for $30. If you go over you will have to pay $10 per GB after that. Your first two GB’s are charged at an upfront cost of $15 per GB and you have to pay for both of them even if you only use half of the alloted price per month. If Verizon wants to charged on a tiered model going toward a pay what you use model is a good idea. If you only use 1 GB you can pay for that, if you use more than that you pay for that total use.
This is a good scare tactic to get people out there to sign up for Verizon or upgrade their phones now. The problem is this doesn’t fix the “problem” of data hogs. If you already are on Verizon’s network and being a data hog you are not punished If you are or were data hog on another network you will run to Verizon to get grandfathered in on the unlimited data.
If you are in contract with another cell provider I don’t know why you would buy out you contract for the prospect of “unlimited” mobile data. I use about 1GB of data a month. I don’t know how I would even cross 2 or 3 GB in a month. Tiered data packages will start to kill the streaming media that is making its way to the cell phones. How much Hulu, Netflix, or streaming music can you use on a two GB plan with out going over?
Green Lantern – Movie Review
Typically I usually don’t end up at movie preview events, but I managed to check out the Green Lantern at one such event. I saw the movie on Wednesday night (6/15/2011) with a few other people I know who managed to get passes also. I have never had any interest in the Green Lantern at all, so the source material is not something I am very familiar with or know about. Before I begin to get into the review I want to warn you there will be spoilers in the review and if you don’t want to read them you should click back now.
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Basic Customization of Windows
Windows 7 has become a bit more customization friendly for users when it was introduced. During the XP lifespan MS offered a few different themes for the OS, now they have well over 100 themes and over 100 wallpapers to choose from for Windows 7. Themes are a nice way to customize the OS with some personal flavor or just to stand out. I didn’t really explore this option until a few weeks ago. For me usually just changing my wallpaper to something from either the Astronomy Picture of the Day website, something off of flicker, or a nice image off of NASA.
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Spring Fresh, Spring Clean
New Design
I decide a couple of weeks to make one final design change. I never really found a design I absolutely loved until now. The layout is exactly what I was looking for. It stands out from the “crowd” a bit and offers a nice layout that works for me. Every time I look at the design it shouts “me.” Read more
The Mac Attack
Being a windows guy I have had to deal with malware for years. It’s a skill I’ve learned to hone over the years and I know how to deal with an infected system. Running windows is something that is mocked by Linux/Mac don’t have viruses/malware. It is kinda funny to start reading that Mac users have been dealing with this problem for the past month and it has been mostly quite in the media until now. Read more
The left behind app
Over the course of the past year or so I have noticed that owning an Android powered phone is both good and bad. I have the ability to create any look I want for my phone from giving the home screens a minimalistic look to loading a bunch of widgets on each screen for maximum blingage. The down side is that the phones can be all over the place with their OS versions and apps you can download. While some apps can be available for all Smartphone OS’s the app versions are not kept the same.
Looking at the official WordPress app for Android and iOS shows the disparity between the two apps which should be the same. The iOS version just got updated to look and function better than before.You check out the newest features in the iOS app on their blog. Compare that to the Android side and I get the feeling of being a second class citizen waiting to catch up to the gold standard. Hopefully the Android side of things will catch up to the iOS side and both apps’ features will be developed in tandem.
