I recently got a new laptop to replace my dependable Compaq R3240. It took a lot of time for me to decide what would replace my beloved and well used Compaq. I was very worried I would be disappointed but am happy to report that not only am I happy with my choice, it has surpassed my expectations. My new Laptop is a Lenovo T61, Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz with a 15.4″ screen and an NVidea video card.
I was originally going to install Vista but since I have been testing Windows 7 decided to give it a whirl. It installed seamlessly and I found all the required drivers. Overall a very nice system, runs all my software without issues including some games I could not run on my old Compaq.
It has been almost a month since I got my Blackberry Storm. Since cell phone numbers are now portable and can move to another provider my current provider, Bell had to come up with something which really interested me otherwise I would have tried the free agent market.
Just a month before my package was set to expire I received a call from the Loyalty Group trying to convince me to stay with Bell. As the package I had was a great package which I have had for the last 6 years I was dreading the sales pitch and pressure to change packages. The story is always the same “We do not offer your package anymore but this one is just as good”, Yaa right. My Package 150 anytime minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends starting at 6pm, 100 minutes Canadian Long Distance, Voice Mail, Call Display and the extra fees, 911 and access fees all for $30 a month. A very good package and one I was not interested in changing. The package that Bell offered me was the Uber 25 with Call Display, Call Forwarding and Voicemail which they were willing to give me for $40. Hmmm wait a minute $10 more and less features and this is supposed to be just as good as my package. After further discussion during which I had let the agent know I was willing to walk if I did not get my package we discussed what kind of phone I wanted and I said if I get my package I would like a Blackberry Storm. After some back and forth discussion the agent found a way to make a package with the features I had previously as long as I took a $40 data package. I agreed so my new package would be $30 for the voice plan which included all the components I had before and a $40 data package which included unlimited email, unlimited Data, unlimited NHL package and music downloads. Next step pickup a new phone and get it activated.
I visited a local Bell World Store to pickup my new phone and everything went well until the activation. The customer service rep from Bell said we could not activate the phone as the packages were incompatible and I would have to pay extra for the Canadian Long distance to put the two packages together. The cost another $12, which was a non starter for me. The problem now was I had committed to another 3 years and Bell was not going to honor the package we had agreed upon. After some spirited discussion with the Bell CS Rep she put me on hold and went to her supervisor. When she returned she indicated they could offer me the long distance for half price which of course was unacceptable. I sent her back to her supervisor for a better answer, after a further 10 minute wait she came back on the line and listed the package that they would offer me. After she went through the list I was stunned as she had listed everything I was originally offered. Finally I had a new phone and got to play with my new toy.
It is amazing what you have to go through to get some reasonable service and for a company to follow through on their committments. Cell companies in Canada are still in the dark ages and even though you can move your number to another company, the companies do not treat current customers with any respect. They figure once they have you signed up you will never leave. It should not be a massive chore to get a new cell phone. I will post a review of my toy soon.
I spent the last two days attending the annual Northern Voice Social Media Conference and while I am not a paid blogger or a tech writer or a media type I found a number of interesting sessions. On Friday the highlight of the day for me was the Photocamp which was an open discussion on cameras, taking pictures in dark places, taking pictures of people and some discussion on using film instead of digital. I learned a few new tricks and saw some interesting camera and lens combinations. I think to go along with my Canon xti I will look at a small point and shoot camera to allow me to be more versatile.
The Saturday sessions started out with two keynotes, Nora Young, host of Spark on CBC Radio and Rob Cottingham, president of Social Signal a Social Media consulting firm. Rob ’s presentation looked at the funny side of social media such as Twitter and other such tools. A very hilarious look at the different aspects of social media which made a nice start to the day.
The other sessions I attended
The Future of Influence looking at how we look for advice and how we are influenced in our decisions
Who are You? Defining Yourself in the Online World A panel discussion from 5 women and how your online activites can impact your everyday life and what they have learned. I found this to be an interesting perspective for a young person, maybe a teenager just getting online but for the over 30 crowd not a lot to be learned.
Then and Now…Citizen Media and the Olympics A panel discussion concerning the changing ways to report on the Olympics and promoting the concept of Citizen Journalists (Bloggers) reporting on the Olympics and being accredited to report. A very interesting idea and one which I think is long overdue, it would allow for different perspectives and give participants, fans and anyone who cares to offer their insights an opportunity to provide information.
From Permalink to Profound: Where is the Art in Social Media A discussion on if there are profound things to be found from Social Media sites and tools. An interesting presentation and discussion with some good suggestions on possibly what was profound and where to look.
A good conference, where I met some interesting people and had a good time sharing. Definitely worth attending and I look forward to next year. Great job by the organizing committee to make a well rounded conference.
Lately each time I have taken Tara out to do her business I have to carry her down the stairs and down onto the ground. It is not that she cannot do it herself it is just that it takes her a while and she struggles a bit so accidents do occur. But that is not the reason for this post, one of the times I was letting her out I turned around and as it was raining she did her business and ran into the house before I could get in and the door closed over. As I pushed the door open it made me think of Fred Flintstone putting out the cat at the end of each episode. Now every time I let Tara out I think about Fred putting the cat out and the cat jumping in the window and Fred bellows Wilmaaaa!
With all the ups and downs in the financial markets recently and with companies like Lehman Brothers and AIG in major financial trouble it got me to thinking. This reminds me of a couple of books I read over the past few years including Tom Clancy’s Debt of Honor which portrays an attack on the US and the West which includes bringing down the stock exchanges. Interesting idea and it will be interesting to see what the results of the investigation are or if they are even released. Food for thought.
I must say I was not too sure what to expect when I attended Northern Voice. Would I be surrounded by people geekier than me, or maybe some snobbish high brow folks? I was pleased to see a nice mix of of young and young at heart and from the people I met from all walks of life.
The day started out with the keynote address from Matt Mullenweg and then we went right into the days events. My first foray was in Bringing Social into Blogging by Marc Canter. Very interesting and thought provoking, I am always interested in what can be done with software and what is yet to come. Marc is an excellent presenter and provided a no nonsense look at the the addition of social features to all types of software.
Next on the agenda was Blogging is Dead, Long Live the Blogger presented by Chris Lott and a group of panelists seeded throughout the audience. The discussion went in several directions spurred by comments from both the audience and the panelists. One of the discussions I quite enjoyed was whether we create a different persona on our blogs which some of us use to escape from our lives. I personally do not have a different persona on my Blog, my blog is me, but I can understand why someone might want to have a different character on their web site. Some will be for privacy issues, some to escape their real lives and some possibly to explore different things which in our real lives we would not want to try but still want to experience in some way.
In the afternoon I attended The Other Side of Two Dimensions with Alex Waterhouse-Hayward and Kris Krug. Alex is a fine art photographer who was provided photographs for magazines and newspapers as well as for CBC and many other outlets. The discussion was quite stimulating and the interaction between Alex and Kris was interesting. The final presentation I attended concerned the research project of Jacqueline Schoemaker Holmes about online dating in Vancouver. She took 40 participants (Vancouver Professionites as she called them) professionals and through interviews and shadowing she came up with some info on what it is like to date online, why we use online dating and some of the pitfalls. While I found her presentation to be some what enlightening (it confirmed some of my experiences) I did not completely agree with how she got to her conclusions. She had shadowed 4 of the participants and when asked how she picked the 4 she indicated they basically picked themselves by standing out from the group. They were the most outspoken, had the most charisma and had a high level of confidence. Where I have a problem here is I do not believe this would give an accurate cross section of the 40 participants which in turn would not give a good cross section of online daters. Just my 2 cents.
I think the most interesting session I attended was a postmortem of the Moose Camp. Moose Camp was held on the Friday and is the “unconference” which is self-organizing and also includes an Internet BootCamp for beginners. As I did not attend, it made the postmortem interesting and as well Boris Mann who lead the discussion picked on me to get my take on the discussion from a non participant. Next year I think I need to plan to attend both days as I know I missed out on a lot from Moose Camp/Internet BootCamp.
Just finished listening to Matt Mullenweg’s speech which was very engaging and also thought provoking. Makes me really appreciate the Open Source concept which I for one sometimes take for granted. When you listen to Matt you feel his passion for Open Source and the impact it will have on the future and the impact of social interaction.
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