Verizon’s Cell Phone Booster is STUPID!

I realize it is not the best headline we have ever written, but sometimes you just have to classify things correctly in titles.  Using some catchy or trendy title to call the Verizon Network Extender anything other than STUPID is . . . well STUPID!

If you haven’t heard of this, Verizon (along with competitors like Sprint and T-Mobile) are coming out with their own branded devices that help to ‘extend’ the range of your cell phone.  The primary reason for this need hinges upon the failure of mobile networks to actually get coverage of cell phones into people’s homes and sometimes into their workplaces.

Great, where’s the extender?  My coverage at my home 20 minutes from Charlotte is terrible both for Verizon and T-Mobile.

Not so fast.

The Verizon Network Extender is essentially a mini-cell tower that works by using a customer's existing broadband Internet connection to provide coverage in an area up to 5,000 square feet. The femtocell, which is made by Samsung, can also enhance the ability to send text messages, surf the mobile Web, and download e-mail, but it doesn't support 3G speeds on Verizon's 3G network. ~ Informationweek

 

So let me get this straight.  The consumer gets to pay $250 up front.  They get to plug the device into their broadband connection so that they can use their phone at speeds slower than both broadband and 3G.

They are charging to provide a device that slows your cell phone connection down!

Well, that’s just stupid.

I tell you what, just get a Skype connection through your broadband and have your cell phone forwarded to Skype.

Alternatively go and by a power booster for about the same price (sold by third party providers).  Then you can send and receive at faster speeds with more power, wonder why Verizon didn’t use one of those ‘real’ extenders? 

Maybe they are trying to protect their broadband and home phone business.

Nothing Broken About This Technology – Plane Landing in Hudson River Video

I often cover aspects of technology that appear broken, but the design, training and use of the technology in the case of the pilot that landed a plane in the Hudson River without losing any passengers is nothing short of amazing.

CES 2009 Officially Starts Tomorrow

utterli-image
Tomorrow is the official kickoff of the Consumer Electronics Show. It is expected that this year approximately 120,000 people (down from 160k last year) will come to Vegas for the show. I arrived yesterday to cover the event, see what is new, and more importantly catch up with many interesting people doing interesting things inside of and outside of social media.

Mobile post sent by brettbum using Utterlireply-count Replies.

CES 2009 Officially Starts Tomorrow

utterli-image
Tomorrow is the official kickoff of the Consumer Electronics Show. It is expected that this year approximately 120,000 people (down from 160k last year) will come to Vegas for the show. I arrived yesterday to cover the event, see what is new, and more importantly catch up with many interesting people doing interesting things inside of and outside of social media.

Mobile post sent by brettbum using Utterlireply-count Replies.

CES 2009 Officially Starts Tomorrow

utterli-image
Tomorrow is the official kickoff of the Consumer Electronics Show. It is expected that this year approximately 120,000 people (down from 160k last year) will come to Vegas for the show. I arrived yesterday to cover the event, see what is new, and more importantly catch up with many interesting people doing interesting things inside of and outside of social media.

Mobile post sent by brettbum using Utterlireply-count Replies.

MacBook Wheel (keyboardless Laptop) Early Video

utterli-image
I have posted a video of the new MacBook Wheel at http://www.viralgrapevine.com/…-macworld/



If you are an Apple fan, you probably already know about this and may have already pre-ordered, but for everyone else I wanted to share this early look at the image and the video.



(still trying to get the video into a form that I can upload to Utterli for those of you reading this article on Utterli)

Mobile post sent by brettbum using Utterlireply-count Replies.

Big Mac Daddy Has Hormone Issues

Jobs’ Cancer Fan Boys Snubbed | Shareholders Left without Succession Plan

Much to the chagrin of many morbid fan boys that want to blog about Steve Jobs fighting cancer or something terrible, apparently the Daddy of Mac’s simply has hormones, or that is does not have enough of the right hormones to hold or keep his weight. 

image

Hormonal issues typically derive from problems with the thyroid gland (No we did NOT say he has Thyroid cancer).  This can happen with people of any age, but are most common with menopausal women.

Jobs wrote a letter to the Apple Community, essentially telling everyone not to get their panties in a twist about his weight loss, while basically admitting that he did not do anything about the problem until a ‘few weeks’ ago, or about the time everyone got in an uproar about the problem and Apple’s stock tanked(dramatic term for going down more than it should have all things in the financial world considered).

Unfortunately, even though Jobs is doing something about his hormone imbalance, no one has yet mentioned much about getting down to the business of building a successful succession plan for the company that tried to evolve past Jobs and failed in a spectacular fashion.

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause — a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

Apple’s Jobs being treated for ‘hormone imbalance’; Will remain at helm | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

TOP 10 TECH

Top 10 Tech Web Tips