It not everyday I blog about personal issues or conversations I've had. Most of the things I bring up are business or tech related as I try to maintain that fine line between my personal life and what I care to share. However I had an interesting conversation at the bar the other night with a friend of a friend.
The conversation was related to relationships and how most men and women are looking for the wrong thing. In fact I did a lot of soul searching and realized that there are a lot of women out there looking for a free hand out, looking for someone to pay their way, and someone that will bend over backwards for them. While there are people that will do that for what they like to call a relationship, it's really not. In fact a relationship should be a give and take, 2 sided journey throughout life.
Relationships last for a reason, and that reason isn't money, sex, fame, or any other ungodly reason you want to try to use to justify it. In fact we wonder why the divorce rate is what it is in this country, when all we do is parade models and money around on magazines, television, and other media. Hate to say it but America has a lot of waking up to do when it comes to understanding relationships.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Monday, December 07, 2009
75% of founding CEOs that raise VC are no longer running the company by the time the company exits.
During the normal course of browsing this week I ended up stumbling across this post. The post goes on to explain one companies struggles and how they recently took Venture Capital money despite the fact that 75% of CEO's are forced out of their own company at some point by these Venture Capital companies. In any event it got me to thinking and I figured I'd post my thoughts for you all to read.
So we all hear about all the great Venture Capital companies that have cashed out on companies like Facebook, Google, MySpace, etc. However we rarely hear of the Venture Capital firms that lose money when their venture backed start-up go under. While this is not typical it bring up my main point, Venture Capital companies are pouring money into your company, not you. In fact if you are out there raising capital you'll quickly learn that it's all about the pitch. In fact it's just like poker in a way. They are putting a nice size of their pot on you, hoping to make money on their investment. So is it wrong for them to out a CEO if they feel that they can find someone better qualified or someone who can bring this company around quicker?
Personally it's my opinion that if I can get Venture Capital to grow my business and help it reach it's full potential, then I've already won. Now yes, as soon as I sign on the dotted line (and are any lines truly dotted anymore these days?) I can ultimately lose my job and all of my hard work would be for nothing, but at that point, I'd rather see my idea flourish with the best possible leadership in place than have it fall under my inexperience or leadership.
Now on the other hand I know a lot of people that would say the exact opposite, and would rather retain control. But when does that control hurt your decision making ability and your company culture? I mean the people who prefer to keep control of their company rather than go out and get Venture Capital money, are those that are likely to be control freaks, wanting their hand in every aspect of the company. This attitude only help tear the company apart and make your employees wonder if the best person is really running the company they are putting their hearts and souls into.
So my message to people is not to get caught up in the logistics of a possible VC deal, but rather take a look at it with an open mind. Would you rather have your company around for 3 years if not longer with a different CEO or in the deadpool after a year with you at the reins?
So we all hear about all the great Venture Capital companies that have cashed out on companies like Facebook, Google, MySpace, etc. However we rarely hear of the Venture Capital firms that lose money when their venture backed start-up go under. While this is not typical it bring up my main point, Venture Capital companies are pouring money into your company, not you. In fact if you are out there raising capital you'll quickly learn that it's all about the pitch. In fact it's just like poker in a way. They are putting a nice size of their pot on you, hoping to make money on their investment. So is it wrong for them to out a CEO if they feel that they can find someone better qualified or someone who can bring this company around quicker?
Personally it's my opinion that if I can get Venture Capital to grow my business and help it reach it's full potential, then I've already won. Now yes, as soon as I sign on the dotted line (and are any lines truly dotted anymore these days?) I can ultimately lose my job and all of my hard work would be for nothing, but at that point, I'd rather see my idea flourish with the best possible leadership in place than have it fall under my inexperience or leadership.
Now on the other hand I know a lot of people that would say the exact opposite, and would rather retain control. But when does that control hurt your decision making ability and your company culture? I mean the people who prefer to keep control of their company rather than go out and get Venture Capital money, are those that are likely to be control freaks, wanting their hand in every aspect of the company. This attitude only help tear the company apart and make your employees wonder if the best person is really running the company they are putting their hearts and souls into.
So my message to people is not to get caught up in the logistics of a possible VC deal, but rather take a look at it with an open mind. Would you rather have your company around for 3 years if not longer with a different CEO or in the deadpool after a year with you at the reins?
Saturday, December 05, 2009
My Visit to Sangoma in Markham, Ontario, Canada
First off, I know it's been quite a long time since I've posted to this blog but that's about to change as I have integrated this blog with my new website GameGamer43.com. Now a lot has changed since I last posted a story to this blog so I'll give you some quick bullet points below:
As the holidays approached, I was bound to head back to Buffalo, NY to meet up with my family and friends for Thanksgiving. In doing so I also made it a point to go visit our good friends up at Sangoma as it was only a 2.5 hours drive. So their was plan A which was to drive up Sunday afternoon and get a hotel room with a bunch of friends and plan B which meant I was waking up at the crack of dawn to make the morning commute via the QEW. Sure enough I ended up opting for plan B and woke up at 4 am EST. After getting ready to learn more about Sangoma's products, I left the house and began my commute.
I ended up reaching the Sangoma office at 8:15 am EST after a few stops for food and something to drink. After arriving I was greeted at the front desk and told that the person I was meeting wasn't in yet but that they were usually one of the first one's in. Sure enough at 8:40 am, I met with Konrad and I was given the grand tour.
During the grand tour I learned that Sangoma is one of the few manufacturers that still assemble all FXO/FXS/T1/E1 cards on-site. This to me was a little suprising after seeing that Digium only does the testing on their cards in Huntsville, Alabama and that the actual manufacturing process is done elsewhere.
In any event I learned a lot about Sangoma's product and I also found that the entire team at Sangoma is very passionate about their jobs as well as their products. They definitely stand behind their warranty, which on most cards that I've encountered is a Lifetime Warranty.
So I'd like to thank Sangoma for having me and look forward to their continued attention to quality.
- Relationships have come and gone
- I've worked for HSBC Bank as an Internet Banking Customer Service Rep, E-Mail Support Representative, Internet Banking Service Technician, and a Premier Client Consultant
- I received my Associated Degree in Business Administration from Erie Community College
- I bought a 2007 Ducati SupperSport 800 to enjoy the summer nights
- I started PBX Techs, LLC in the first quarter of 2008
- I am continuing my education for a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology with a focus on Software Engineering
- I moved from Buffalo, NY to Neenah, WI to take a job at Schmooze Communications LLC
- And I'll be headed to Jamaica in January for a nice little vacation
As the holidays approached, I was bound to head back to Buffalo, NY to meet up with my family and friends for Thanksgiving. In doing so I also made it a point to go visit our good friends up at Sangoma as it was only a 2.5 hours drive. So their was plan A which was to drive up Sunday afternoon and get a hotel room with a bunch of friends and plan B which meant I was waking up at the crack of dawn to make the morning commute via the QEW. Sure enough I ended up opting for plan B and woke up at 4 am EST. After getting ready to learn more about Sangoma's products, I left the house and began my commute.
I ended up reaching the Sangoma office at 8:15 am EST after a few stops for food and something to drink. After arriving I was greeted at the front desk and told that the person I was meeting wasn't in yet but that they were usually one of the first one's in. Sure enough at 8:40 am, I met with Konrad and I was given the grand tour.
During the grand tour I learned that Sangoma is one of the few manufacturers that still assemble all FXO/FXS/T1/E1 cards on-site. This to me was a little suprising after seeing that Digium only does the testing on their cards in Huntsville, Alabama and that the actual manufacturing process is done elsewhere.
In any event I learned a lot about Sangoma's product and I also found that the entire team at Sangoma is very passionate about their jobs as well as their products. They definitely stand behind their warranty, which on most cards that I've encountered is a Lifetime Warranty.
So I'd like to thank Sangoma for having me and look forward to their continued attention to quality.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Citizens Bank Not Focusing on it's Citizens
Well if your not one to want to read someone ranting and raving, I'm warning you know that this may be what this post turns into. Anyways, seeing as it's my birthday and all a recieved a pre-paid gift card issued by Citizens Bank from a relative. Great, as I've had past experiences with pre-paid gift card, especially ones that are usable just like a regular credit card and can thus be used anywhere. But after reading through all the accompanied paperwork, I go to find that you must register your card with Citizens Bank at one of there websites if you want to use it online. Great, and I figured that'd be no problem, I mean I'm more than willing to give them my name, address, and phone number if that's what I need to do to use it online. So I go over to the website, login with the proper credentials and find the link to register. Now normally, as with any website, the asterisk (*) denotes the fields that are required. So I fill in the fields denoted by the asterisk and try to submit my registration. But rather than processing my application to register the pre-paid gift card, instead the site throws up an errors saying that I gave an invalid social security number. First off the form I filled out did not denote the field with an asterisk, informing me it was required. Secondly what the hell do they need with my social security number. So I continue to read through all the paperwork looking to see if there was anything talking about the information they need, and of course there was nothing. So I found a number to call to register the card. Called it up, supplied the bank employee with whom I was speaking all the information he he need and continued to explain my problem. In which case I was told he could help me register my gift card. And continued on to first inform me registration was to primarily be used if the card was lost or stolen. In which case I explained it said in the accompanied information I must register the card if I planned on using it online, and as I'm not sure of how I plan ot use the card just yet, I figured I'd get it over with. So he responded by saying he understood but wanted to make it clear to me and continued to ask me the same question the form did starting with my social security number. Now don't get me wrong Citizens Bank may be a trusted bank but I'm not one to give out information like that to people, especially for something that should not even require it. To this I replied that I refuse to give my social security number to him, in which he respond it's required. Well again, how is this required because as of the website it's not denoted by an asterisks, saying it's a required piece of information. Again I told him I will not give him my social security number and that the website said it was not required, in which he said that it was required once more. This is where the conversation ended, as I told him, that wasn't gonna happen and I'll deal with this issue as a later date. Now, where does a bank get off requiring something they don't even need. Especially for something just so you can use a pre-paid gift card online or in case your card is lost or stolen. They where already paid for the card, now stop trying to control it's use, or at least don't make something that should be easy to do more difficult than it has to be. I mean this experience alone, has left a bad taste in my mouth. And to make it even better, any chance Citizens had of ever getting me to use there bank is now gone because of this. Maybe rather than trying to make things difficult for customers and end-users, Citizens need to start thinking about them and making things easier for them.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Business and the Thoughts that Associate it
Here is the first article in a series of many more to come based on "Running a Business Is Not As Easy as it's Made Out to Be!"
Originally when people create businesses they don't just jump out of nowhere and say, I'm making a business today? Well for most of us it's not that easy. In this article I plan to explore the ups and downs of creating a business and breifly touch upon the planning it involves.
So you want to start a business, but don't know where to start. Usually the best place to start is at the local Borders bookstore looking through just about any book you can find about creating a company in the state that you are in. For the most part, these books will lay a lot better groundwork and help tremendously when starting a business. But why do you want to start the business in the first place? That's the question you really need to ask your. Is it that you want to look professional, because your putting a lot of money into side jobs and want the benefits of being a business, or is it just because you want to say you own a business. Regardless of the reason let's look at the amount of time you will be putting into that business. First you have to file paperwork with your local government usually at City Hall stating that you are doing business as (and for the sake of this article I'm going to assume we are talking about a sole proprotiership). This at least in New York State is roughly going to run you about $35-40 last I checked, and this is just the very beginning. Then depending on what type of business this is you need to decide whether or not you have employees, because having employees come with have to pay medicaid, ssi, and many more taxes. So again I'm going to assume it's just yourself for now. Then by apply for your d.b.a you are also olibigating yourself to file quarterly taxes and paying your taxes on your expected income upfront. But do you know what it take to do your taxes as for being a business. I mean a lot of people can do there individual taxes by themself or with the help of TaxAct, Inuit, or insert product name here, but you also want to think about hiring an accountant who knows what he is doing, especially now and days with all the accounting scandals going on, do you really want to be responsible for your taxes. Then after you have that all figured out your ready to go, but wait don't forget what kind of business your in, all the costs you'll end up spending on your business, and even the costs you have to spend just to become or get into the business. And that about wraps up out intial breakthrough in the "Business and the Thoughts that Associate it."
Originally when people create businesses they don't just jump out of nowhere and say, I'm making a business today? Well for most of us it's not that easy. In this article I plan to explore the ups and downs of creating a business and breifly touch upon the planning it involves.
So you want to start a business, but don't know where to start. Usually the best place to start is at the local Borders bookstore looking through just about any book you can find about creating a company in the state that you are in. For the most part, these books will lay a lot better groundwork and help tremendously when starting a business. But why do you want to start the business in the first place? That's the question you really need to ask your. Is it that you want to look professional, because your putting a lot of money into side jobs and want the benefits of being a business, or is it just because you want to say you own a business. Regardless of the reason let's look at the amount of time you will be putting into that business. First you have to file paperwork with your local government usually at City Hall stating that you are doing business as (and for the sake of this article I'm going to assume we are talking about a sole proprotiership). This at least in New York State is roughly going to run you about $35-40 last I checked, and this is just the very beginning. Then depending on what type of business this is you need to decide whether or not you have employees, because having employees come with have to pay medicaid, ssi, and many more taxes. So again I'm going to assume it's just yourself for now. Then by apply for your d.b.a you are also olibigating yourself to file quarterly taxes and paying your taxes on your expected income upfront. But do you know what it take to do your taxes as for being a business. I mean a lot of people can do there individual taxes by themself or with the help of TaxAct, Inuit, or insert product name here, but you also want to think about hiring an accountant who knows what he is doing, especially now and days with all the accounting scandals going on, do you really want to be responsible for your taxes. Then after you have that all figured out your ready to go, but wait don't forget what kind of business your in, all the costs you'll end up spending on your business, and even the costs you have to spend just to become or get into the business. And that about wraps up out intial breakthrough in the "Business and the Thoughts that Associate it."
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
OK, This Isn't the Post I Promised....
Ok, I know that this isn't exactly the post I promised to write next but that post, isn't quite finished yet. So without further ado, I bring to you this post....Ok, enough with the fun and games and on to the content. Well my old 1.67 AMD machine has been with me for quite a while and I figured it's about 5 years old and time for an upgrade. So I went to Newegg to browse around and ended up upgrading from a:
1.67 ghz AMD Athlon XP Processor
512MB of RAM
Geforce FX 5600
A Huge Server Tower (For those that saw it you know what I mean)
to the following system:
2.25 ghz AMD Athlon 64 Bit Processor
1GB of OZC High Performance RAM
Using the Same Geforce FX 5600 (and replace it in the old system with an old ATI Radeon 9600 I had laying around)
And a Desktop Case with Blue Neon Fans and a Front Panel LCD screen to help keep track of the temperature, time, and more.
So there you have it, as for the new machine, it will becoming my primary machine while the old machine will be running Ubuntu as soon as the new machine is all setup and running like I want it. This brings the PC count, to a Windows, Linux, and Mac (PowerPC) Machine, as least for more up-to-date machines. So until next time....and again I'm sorry I didn't get the promised article done yet...it's on it's way.
1.67 ghz AMD Athlon XP Processor
512MB of RAM
Geforce FX 5600
A Huge Server Tower (For those that saw it you know what I mean)
to the following system:
2.25 ghz AMD Athlon 64 Bit Processor
1GB of OZC High Performance RAM
Using the Same Geforce FX 5600 (and replace it in the old system with an old ATI Radeon 9600 I had laying around)
And a Desktop Case with Blue Neon Fans and a Front Panel LCD screen to help keep track of the temperature, time, and more.
So there you have it, as for the new machine, it will becoming my primary machine while the old machine will be running Ubuntu as soon as the new machine is all setup and running like I want it. This brings the PC count, to a Windows, Linux, and Mac (PowerPC) Machine, as least for more up-to-date machines. So until next time....and again I'm sorry I didn't get the promised article done yet...it's on it's way.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A Quick Update on Life
Well, not too much has happened lately. I have added Google Adsense to RockyRoad Entertainment's website just for fun. I'm pretty sure that RockyRoad Entertainment won't get a lot of revenue through Google's Adsense program but I guess we will see. In fact I've had this on the RockyRoad Entertainment website for at least a couple of month now, as well as Google Analytics. And suprisingly the site does pretty well for attracting visitors. I was suprised to see the number, which I won't release just yet, as I'm sure if everything that is in the works, works out those number can grow.
As for an update with Cingular Wireless, I have to say I'm still impressed. You see about a week and a half ago my speaker, on my Motorola Razr V3 Black Edition, started cutting out during calls where service was at least 3 bars or more. These places included school, home, and even on the road. So I called up Customer Service and they tried to send some stuff to my phone, and had problem. In fact my phone was so stubborn they said it was one of the most difficult phones they have ever tried to work with. So they had asked me to stop by a Cingular store and have them check the SIM card. Seeing as there is a Cingular store less than two minutes away from school, I stopped by in between classes and told them what the CSR said. They took out the SIM card and continued to put some updated for the phone on it before putting it back in the phone and having me on my way. So I continued to try and use my phone and the problem continued, except that this time the speaker volume liked to go from low to high on it's own and high to low on it's own, usually being very low. Now I know that the Razr's volume is set very low from the factory but this was worse than when I first got the phone. So again I'm on the phone with Customer Service, but this time the contact LockLine, my phones insurance coompany, to issue me a brand new one. So the new phone arrived today and I must say the new one is nice, and feels like it was built better than my old one. So once again I'm satisfied by Cingular and their Customer Support Representatives. The thing I'm not satisfied with them about though is that they told me that, unless I had my phone for my contracts duration, or paid full price, they can't unlock my phone. This is all good and dandy but I can find numerous account on the internet where you have to be with them for three months and they will unlock your phone for free. I mean that would be the right thing to do, especially since if I cancel service within my two year agreement they anally rape my in New York for $240.
Stayed tuned for my next blog post titled - "Running a Business Is Not As Easy as it's Made Out to Be!" Till then so long.
As for an update with Cingular Wireless, I have to say I'm still impressed. You see about a week and a half ago my speaker, on my Motorola Razr V3 Black Edition, started cutting out during calls where service was at least 3 bars or more. These places included school, home, and even on the road. So I called up Customer Service and they tried to send some stuff to my phone, and had problem. In fact my phone was so stubborn they said it was one of the most difficult phones they have ever tried to work with. So they had asked me to stop by a Cingular store and have them check the SIM card. Seeing as there is a Cingular store less than two minutes away from school, I stopped by in between classes and told them what the CSR said. They took out the SIM card and continued to put some updated for the phone on it before putting it back in the phone and having me on my way. So I continued to try and use my phone and the problem continued, except that this time the speaker volume liked to go from low to high on it's own and high to low on it's own, usually being very low. Now I know that the Razr's volume is set very low from the factory but this was worse than when I first got the phone. So again I'm on the phone with Customer Service, but this time the contact LockLine, my phones insurance coompany, to issue me a brand new one. So the new phone arrived today and I must say the new one is nice, and feels like it was built better than my old one. So once again I'm satisfied by Cingular and their Customer Support Representatives. The thing I'm not satisfied with them about though is that they told me that, unless I had my phone for my contracts duration, or paid full price, they can't unlock my phone. This is all good and dandy but I can find numerous account on the internet where you have to be with them for three months and they will unlock your phone for free. I mean that would be the right thing to do, especially since if I cancel service within my two year agreement they anally rape my in New York for $240.
Stayed tuned for my next blog post titled - "Running a Business Is Not As Easy as it's Made Out to Be!" Till then so long.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Linksys PAP2-NA
Ok, well back when I ordered ViaTalk Service I was given a free Linksys PAP2 for being a beta tester of the service (basically, all we did was get everything before it launched, we still had to pay for it and all although I got like 2 1/2 months for free for doing it). Anyways when I received the package a while back, I noticed that the box the VoIP adapter came in said Linksys PAP2-NA. And after much research and snooping around I've come to find that ViaTalk, does indeed ship out UNLOCKED PAP2 adapters to it's customers. But wait, don't get your panties in a bunch just yet. These adapter that they ship out are UNLOCKED but they hold the Admin password in which you can get if you pay them $50. Well as I was sitting around tongiht, I decided to see since I no longer have ViaTalk, if I could hack the PAP2 to stop it from having an Admin password. And after searching on the net, found the perfect solution. Originally found here, I'll also list them below:
1. Hook up you PAP2 adapter as you normally would but DO NOT PLUG IT IN TO YOUR NETWORK just yet
2. Unplug the power cord from your cable modem
3. Now plug your PAP2 adapter into your router
4. Pick up the phone it's connected to and dial ****
5. Then dial 73738#
6. When it prompts you for a password use one of the following: 7756112# or 8995523#
7. Press 1 to confirm and the press # to hang up
After you do this you should be able to the WebAdmin portion of your Linksys PAP2 and all of the configurations should be reset to what ViaTalk gets from Cisco. And when you click on the upper right hand link called "Admin Login" you should not be prompted for a password and you should eb able to change any settings you want.
Please note that this was done on a PAP2 with the firmware version: 2.0.12(LS)
DISCLAIMER: This article is for reference only and if followed I take no responsibility for your actions (which include but are not limited to Violation of ToS, Rendering your PAP2 unusable, or any other damages you may cause).
Please note that here are some other useful links to check out:
Yahoo - Linksys PAP2 Group
Voxilla Forum Thread on PAP2-NA Firmware
Linksys Download Page for the PAP2
Sipura - The technology maker Cisco licensed technology from to make the PAP2 before buying them
VoIPSupply.com - Buy everything you need for VoIP
1. Hook up you PAP2 adapter as you normally would but DO NOT PLUG IT IN TO YOUR NETWORK just yet
2. Unplug the power cord from your cable modem
3. Now plug your PAP2 adapter into your router
4. Pick up the phone it's connected to and dial ****
5. Then dial 73738#
6. When it prompts you for a password use one of the following: 7756112# or 8995523#
7. Press 1 to confirm and the press # to hang up
After you do this you should be able to the WebAdmin portion of your Linksys PAP2 and all of the configurations should be reset to what ViaTalk gets from Cisco. And when you click on the upper right hand link called "Admin Login" you should not be prompted for a password and you should eb able to change any settings you want.
Please note that this was done on a PAP2 with the firmware version: 2.0.12(LS)
DISCLAIMER: This article is for reference only and if followed I take no responsibility for your actions (which include but are not limited to Violation of ToS, Rendering your PAP2 unusable, or any other damages you may cause).
Please note that here are some other useful links to check out:
Yahoo - Linksys PAP2 Group
Voxilla Forum Thread on PAP2-NA Firmware
Linksys Download Page for the PAP2
Sipura - The technology maker Cisco licensed technology from to make the PAP2 before buying them
VoIPSupply.com - Buy everything you need for VoIP
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Life, Technology, and College...(Not Particularly in that Order)
For those who don't know, I will be attending my second semester at Erie Community College - North Campus starting on January 23rd, 2006. During my first semester I had no gripes or complaints other than the fact that some of my teachers who will remain unnamed, lacked the knowledge of the course material and was clearly not prepared to teach the class in which they were assigned to teach. But of course, for a community this is understandable. Now going into my second semester I must say the Associates Degree which should have only taken me Two Years to recieve is slipping further away. But wait...It's not due to me failing any classes, especially when I finished the first semester with a 3.44 GPA with nothing below a B. But instead it comes to the fact that all classes rely on classes in which I can't take yet. This is mostly due to me scoring not as good as I should have on the placement test in math last summer but there is more. Then I since I need to fill up credit hours I'm looking into other fields to try to find a suitable minor, since I'm majoring in Computer Science, when I come across TeleCommunications. This would be great or so I thought, but it turns out it was not. First off all the classes are at South Campus, which isn't a problem since I can drive to class, but the problem lays in being they are not offering the Prerequisite to the class I want to take at all this semester. Which is kind of dumb in my opinion, teach the follow-up but not the class before it. So there are some gripes and growing pains about college to start.
Next off Technology. While doing my normal scan through Digg today I ran across this story How Go Daddy Lost A Longtime Customer to A Phisher. The only thing I have to say is that after reading this it really makes me want to have my own dns servers setup here for the company. So fi anyone has any ideas on how to go about with an easy Windows Based DNS server drop me a comment. Other than this I've been doing a lot of work and dealing with life, so that's all I got for now. And in case you didn't know yet, I'll be unavailable for the next couple days as I am taking care of family issues after the recent death of my Grandmother.
Next off Technology. While doing my normal scan through Digg today I ran across this story How Go Daddy Lost A Longtime Customer to A Phisher. The only thing I have to say is that after reading this it really makes me want to have my own dns servers setup here for the company. So fi anyone has any ideas on how to go about with an easy Windows Based DNS server drop me a comment. Other than this I've been doing a lot of work and dealing with life, so that's all I got for now. And in case you didn't know yet, I'll be unavailable for the next couple days as I am taking care of family issues after the recent death of my Grandmother.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Making the Switch
After two years of having Verizon Wireless out here in the Alden area I've made the switch and it couldn't come at a better time. My contract with Verizon Wireless ends on January 17th, 2006 so instead of renewing it I decided to try Cingular Wireless out one more time. I previously tried it when it first rolled out service in 2000 and was less than impressed. Back than I had dropped calls in places I had full service and less that admirable sound quality on my phone. But it's been about 5 years since that time and GSM technology has come a long way since then. So first before we get into my review of Cingular's Service let me list the reasons I decided to drop Verizon Wireless in the first place.
Verizon while it's touted as have great reception, prices, and customer services, I find it falls short in some of those areas. For instance when I first got my phone I had great reception in my basement where my room is, where as now I get crappy reception, frequent dropped calls, and shady reception in other areas around town. And yes, I'd always keep my phone with the most up to date prl's. The prices I can't agrue about but the customer service I found to be very bad and difficult to deal with. I mean I'm paying the bill here but whenever I had to take to Verizon on the phone they didn't even care to talk about any issues I've had or at least the CSR I've gotten had been that way with me.
Now on to Cingular! First off Cingular has begun to put themselves in a position that helped Verizon get to where it is today. Cingular starting January 2nd, 2006 had begun selling Phones and Service in RadioShacks WorldWide, replacing Verizon Wireless. Then I decided to get the Motorola Razr V3 Black which yes, I know Verizon has a CDMA version but Verizon cripples their devices which Cingular so far and to my knowledge has not. Next is the GSM network, which to my understanding works in 3 parts. The first part takes up part of the tower to connect to the call, when that is done it move on to part two and frees up more space for other people to connect to the tower to place and recieve calls. The second part is when you are actually connected to the call and having your conversation. And finally after that it frees up that part and moves to part three which disconnect the call. So this is done to allow more people on a tower at a time and compared to what I've read it allows up to twice as many people on a Cingular tower comapred to Verizon and their CDMA technology.
Now after getting Cingular again I was skeptical but after playing around a bit I must note that the sound quality is fantastic, the Motorola Razr is fantastic, and customer service is very helpful and willing to work with you on various issues. So hands down Cingular so far seems to be a great buy and even better when they launch their Ringback tones equivalent AnswerTones sometime this Spring.
Verizon while it's touted as have great reception, prices, and customer services, I find it falls short in some of those areas. For instance when I first got my phone I had great reception in my basement where my room is, where as now I get crappy reception, frequent dropped calls, and shady reception in other areas around town. And yes, I'd always keep my phone with the most up to date prl's. The prices I can't agrue about but the customer service I found to be very bad and difficult to deal with. I mean I'm paying the bill here but whenever I had to take to Verizon on the phone they didn't even care to talk about any issues I've had or at least the CSR I've gotten had been that way with me.
Now on to Cingular! First off Cingular has begun to put themselves in a position that helped Verizon get to where it is today. Cingular starting January 2nd, 2006 had begun selling Phones and Service in RadioShacks WorldWide, replacing Verizon Wireless. Then I decided to get the Motorola Razr V3 Black which yes, I know Verizon has a CDMA version but Verizon cripples their devices which Cingular so far and to my knowledge has not. Next is the GSM network, which to my understanding works in 3 parts. The first part takes up part of the tower to connect to the call, when that is done it move on to part two and frees up more space for other people to connect to the tower to place and recieve calls. The second part is when you are actually connected to the call and having your conversation. And finally after that it frees up that part and moves to part three which disconnect the call. So this is done to allow more people on a tower at a time and compared to what I've read it allows up to twice as many people on a Cingular tower comapred to Verizon and their CDMA technology.
Now after getting Cingular again I was skeptical but after playing around a bit I must note that the sound quality is fantastic, the Motorola Razr is fantastic, and customer service is very helpful and willing to work with you on various issues. So hands down Cingular so far seems to be a great buy and even better when they launch their Ringback tones equivalent AnswerTones sometime this Spring.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
What's New with Life?
Well it's been a long time since I posted here, so I figured I'd give everyone an update. The past few months have been somewhat a RockyRoad. I left the Erie County Home where I was working due to problems with their management. And have been unemployed. Recently I was hired at GameStop in the Eastern Hills Mall where I am a Seasonal Sales Associate.
On another note for all of you that have been to my house, your next visit will be a little different. This is because my room has moved. Yes, you heard correctly I changed rooms from my upstairs room to something a little more comfortable and livable for me.
The formation and start-up of RockyRoad Ent. is taking off to a slow start but there are some projects in the works which at this time I don't feel like disclosing to all. This is mainly due to the fact that I'm not one to go about and brag or mention a product until I have a working prototype because some project just don't work out and I don't want to get any hype around something that won't be pursued or even remotely in a workable state, at least not now.
As for everything life is good, I guess. Nicole and I are not together, but then again what else is new. I'm currently dating this girl Lauren from Holland. And you can usually find me at the clubs on any given Saturday Night, and sometimes Friday depending on what's going on. If you ever see me I'll be with my 3 boys, Bob, Dave, and Alan who are are Staff members at Utopia. So until next time, Party On!
On another note for all of you that have been to my house, your next visit will be a little different. This is because my room has moved. Yes, you heard correctly I changed rooms from my upstairs room to something a little more comfortable and livable for me.
The formation and start-up of RockyRoad Ent. is taking off to a slow start but there are some projects in the works which at this time I don't feel like disclosing to all. This is mainly due to the fact that I'm not one to go about and brag or mention a product until I have a working prototype because some project just don't work out and I don't want to get any hype around something that won't be pursued or even remotely in a workable state, at least not now.
As for everything life is good, I guess. Nicole and I are not together, but then again what else is new. I'm currently dating this girl Lauren from Holland. And you can usually find me at the clubs on any given Saturday Night, and sometimes Friday depending on what's going on. If you ever see me I'll be with my 3 boys, Bob, Dave, and Alan who are are Staff members at Utopia. So until next time, Party On!
Monday, July 18, 2005
Quick Update on Mozilla FireFox and More Company News
Well I've been having some problems with Mozilla FireFox lately wanting to print out websites to my printer. So what did I do? Of course, being me I uninstalled FireFox all the extensions and installed Deer Park Alpha 2 with the minimize to tray and sessionsaver rewrite extensions. To my amazement after taking time to get everything setup correctly, it very stable. So far it hasn't crashed once and it got me to clean out extensions I never used with one exception being the Mozilla released PopupsMustDie extension which has yet to be updated to work with the new Deer Park Alpha 2 which was from July 17th. But I must say I'd encourage people to take the plunge and help Mozilla test Deer Park Alpha 2, and see where Mozilla is taking the future of Gecko and the Mozilla Foundation itself.
On another note, I've have enlisted the help of a fellow website developer I went to school with to design the next generation RockyRoad Entertainment website. So stayed tuned for more information about that and who this lucky developer is....In the mean time check out InBedBy10.com (hint, hint).
On another note, I've have enlisted the help of a fellow website developer I went to school with to design the next generation RockyRoad Entertainment website. So stayed tuned for more information about that and who this lucky developer is....In the mean time check out InBedBy10.com (hint, hint).
Friday, July 15, 2005
Impluse Buying Update, Again!
Ok, so of course as you all know my wireless keyboard and mouse came into today. I must say I was impressed, as the product was suppose to be OEM but came with everything. This included the keyboard, mouse, reciever, instruction booklet and even batteries. Although it did come in a box label that it should only be given out with new computers. But other than that it works flawlessly and is a great addition to my desktop pc, ecspecially because of it's integration with Windows.
In other news, I bought another new toy for my soon to come Mac Mini. This time it was a DVD Burner, which my desktop system already has, which I plan to put in an external enclosure. Since Apple wants $100 for the super drive I took a shortcut and paid $40 for a SAMSUNG Black IDE DVD Burner Model TS-H552U/BEBN BLK - OEM which has support for DVD+R Dual Layered Discs. So this should round out my Mac Mini when I get it. As for the enclosure if anyone knows of any good places to buy cheap but great external enclosure for a drive like this, let me know.
In other news, I bought another new toy for my soon to come Mac Mini. This time it was a DVD Burner, which my desktop system already has, which I plan to put in an external enclosure. Since Apple wants $100 for the super drive I took a shortcut and paid $40 for a SAMSUNG Black IDE DVD Burner Model TS-H552U/BEBN BLK - OEM which has support for DVD+R Dual Layered Discs. So this should round out my Mac Mini when I get it. As for the enclosure if anyone knows of any good places to buy cheap but great external enclosure for a drive like this, let me know.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Business Info, Start-Ups, and More
Well, I must say the plan is forging ahead to start RockyRoad Entertainment as a game development company specializing in porting applications to Mac OS X and Linux. Dave and I have decided that we are both buying Mac Minis as soon as the money is available. Which for me mean that I'll have one by the end of next week or it will at least be ordered. And since the Mac Mini is the headless Mac I already covered my monitor, keyboard, and mouse. For a monitor I have an older 17 inch CRT which the Mac will utilize. Plus I planned on getting internal bluetooth for the wireless Apple keyboard and mouse but instead I was given a Wireless Keyboard and Mouse system from Kensington for my birthday which I will be utilizing for the Mac as well. So know all I need to buy for it is a desk, which is in the works.
In other news, I've been working on another start-up venture which I won't get into too much as of right now but will say that there is another one in the works. And again I continue my buying spree. This time I bought the Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and Mouse Set OEM from 3BTech.net. Ordered it on July 11th and am set to recieve it tomorrow. Which is good for my free ground shipping I got. And the main reason I bought this was not only the $30 price tag but also the fact that I can't let my Mac go with a wireless keyboard and mouse and not have it for the desktop pc. Of course, I'll keep you updated on that.
In other none tech/business related news, Nicole is in Michigan with her Grandparents and I must say I miss her quiet a bit. She was suppose to stay til sometime next week but the way things are looking she will be home Sunday. I personally can't wait to see my BabyDoLL again. And that's all I got for you today, until next time, So Long!
In other news, I've been working on another start-up venture which I won't get into too much as of right now but will say that there is another one in the works. And again I continue my buying spree. This time I bought the Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Keyboard and Mouse Set OEM from 3BTech.net. Ordered it on July 11th and am set to recieve it tomorrow. Which is good for my free ground shipping I got. And the main reason I bought this was not only the $30 price tag but also the fact that I can't let my Mac go with a wireless keyboard and mouse and not have it for the desktop pc. Of course, I'll keep you updated on that.
In other none tech/business related news, Nicole is in Michigan with her Grandparents and I must say I miss her quiet a bit. She was suppose to stay til sometime next week but the way things are looking she will be home Sunday. I personally can't wait to see my BabyDoLL again. And that's all I got for you today, until next time, So Long!
Monday, July 04, 2005
Spring Cleaning - Without the Spring!
Well, a lot has been going on lately at RockyRoad Entertainment. So of course it's a little past spring, but I began my spring cleaning. So as you may or may not notice the Technology page and Partners page got cleaned up a bit. Here are some of the links that didn't make the cut:
Nutch
Clusty
Koders
Sourceforge
Skype
Other than that Dave and I have been doing a lot of talking lately and it may be shifting my focus a bit, business wise. The main point being I'm going to be investing in a Mac soon, and with Dave's Linux skills, it may be more useful for a while to help port some games to the Mac platform. I mean, I've always had a thing for the Mac platform just never invested in one. Even though the switch to Intel is going to change things it's not proven yet. I mean the PowerPC architecture alone is bringing in some serious customer like Sony and Microsoft, so now's the time for me to learn to program Carbon and get going. So we will see when I go get the Mac which is no longer than a few weeks at most away.
On another note, I must say that I got the brand new Logitech QuickCam Communicate. And I must say I'm impressed. It has great frame rate and get color making this an overall great webcam. And while I'm on the new thing binge, I also ordered VoIP service for my house. The service was ordered from ViaTalk a new company in the VoIP brought to you by the web hosting company HostRocket.com. This was because I signed up to test (give feedback on the service) which entitled me to $50 of free service. So why not, right? So I ordered service, they sent me the equipment (a nice looking Linksys PAP2-NA box, yes it's unlocked but in order for them to give you the password to access everything you need to buy the box from ViaTalk for $50), and it was a breeze to hook-up. I mean I got it two weeks ago, and I'm still learning new things about it. It's definately been useful to me and isn't at a bad price either. The service I would highly recommend if your in the market for a VoIP service and want to steer clear from Vonage and their locked equipment.
And that's all I have for you tonight. So until next time.
Nutch
Clusty
Koders
Sourceforge
Skype
Other than that Dave and I have been doing a lot of talking lately and it may be shifting my focus a bit, business wise. The main point being I'm going to be investing in a Mac soon, and with Dave's Linux skills, it may be more useful for a while to help port some games to the Mac platform. I mean, I've always had a thing for the Mac platform just never invested in one. Even though the switch to Intel is going to change things it's not proven yet. I mean the PowerPC architecture alone is bringing in some serious customer like Sony and Microsoft, so now's the time for me to learn to program Carbon and get going. So we will see when I go get the Mac which is no longer than a few weeks at most away.
On another note, I must say that I got the brand new Logitech QuickCam Communicate. And I must say I'm impressed. It has great frame rate and get color making this an overall great webcam. And while I'm on the new thing binge, I also ordered VoIP service for my house. The service was ordered from ViaTalk a new company in the VoIP brought to you by the web hosting company HostRocket.com. This was because I signed up to test (give feedback on the service) which entitled me to $50 of free service. So why not, right? So I ordered service, they sent me the equipment (a nice looking Linksys PAP2-NA box, yes it's unlocked but in order for them to give you the password to access everything you need to buy the box from ViaTalk for $50), and it was a breeze to hook-up. I mean I got it two weeks ago, and I'm still learning new things about it. It's definately been useful to me and isn't at a bad price either. The service I would highly recommend if your in the market for a VoIP service and want to steer clear from Vonage and their locked equipment.
And that's all I have for you tonight. So until next time.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
LexMark Z515 for $20.99?
Well, I did it again! I added another piece of equipment to my Computer Arsenal. This time being the much needed Printer. I decided I look at PriceWatch first and it turned out to be a great decision. I found a LexMark Z515 Inkjet Printer with a USB Cable (not including Ink Cartridges) for $20.99 from a company called Legend Micro. At first I was skeptical and then I did my research on the printer. To my avail I found that it was a decent printer and I decided to go ahead and order it. So I did even though I never delt with the company and kept a close watch on the order. It was great because within a couple of days the order was shipped and I recieved the product the day after it was shipped from Legend Micro's Ohio Warehouse. I've since setup the printer and used it and I must say it's a great deal for anyone in need of a printer.
As for life, Nicole and I have been back together and life is going great. Look for more information on RockyRoad Entertainment very soon.
As for life, Nicole and I have been back together and life is going great. Look for more information on RockyRoad Entertainment very soon.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Product Purchase and a Quick Life Update...............
Well after ordering my Hauppauge WINTV-GO TV Tuner/ Video Capture (OEM) from TigerDirect on Monday using the $10 Ground Shipping Option, I finally Received it today. Having never delt with TigerDirect before, mainly due to my love for NewEgg, I have to say I'm quite pleased. Not only did my card come within 2 days after being shipped but it's packaging was superb. I don't think I could have done better. So I opened the box and installed the card. Now since this was an OEM card I didn't get drivers for it but luckily Hauppauge has them available for download on there website along with the WinTV32 application which will allow you to watch and record the television signal coming in from the TV Tuner Card. So everything works and it's great considering I still get to use the DISH Network remote to change the channels. Must say I've very pleased for $19.99 plus shipping and handling. The only thing I don't like about the card is that it has Software Encoding rather than Hardware which can eventually put a drain on the CPU when your recording video. Other than that I highly recommend it.
As for life, Nicole and I broke up but I don't want to get into that. Alden, for those that have been wondering why I haven't been going to Harkness, has finally agreed to let me drop Harkness enlight that I take 2--10 week classes at Alden, which will be 20th Century Wars and Personal Finance Management. Finally glad I'm out of Harkness but while this isn't completely what I wanted it will do especially for 10 weeks. So starting next Thursday I'll have 20th Century Wars, Advisement, Gym, and Personal Finance Management.
As for life, Nicole and I broke up but I don't want to get into that. Alden, for those that have been wondering why I haven't been going to Harkness, has finally agreed to let me drop Harkness enlight that I take 2--10 week classes at Alden, which will be 20th Century Wars and Personal Finance Management. Finally glad I'm out of Harkness but while this isn't completely what I wanted it will do especially for 10 weeks. So starting next Thursday I'll have 20th Century Wars, Advisement, Gym, and Personal Finance Management.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Random Links and Stories
First off, I was right Tupac Shakur is alive, check it out here.
Secondly the UK might have a smart idea in Zopa.
Third, De.lirio.US has challenged De.lici.ous after rolling out it's Open-Source Solution, check it out here.
Fourth, Here is a proof of concept idea on having unlimited anytime minutes using unlimited mobile to mobile minutes and voice over ip technology. The idea is located here.
Fifth, Here is some Free PVR Software that runs on Windows, definately some to check out along with this.
Secondly the UK might have a smart idea in Zopa.
Third, De.lirio.US has challenged De.lici.ous after rolling out it's Open-Source Solution, check it out here.
Fourth, Here is a proof of concept idea on having unlimited anytime minutes using unlimited mobile to mobile minutes and voice over ip technology. The idea is located here.
Fifth, Here is some Free PVR Software that runs on Windows, definately some to check out along with this.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The State of the Industry....
While I was reading a funny article over at PCGameWorld I began to realise that this really is what the game industry is shaping up to be if it isn't already. The article while focusing on VU Games and Irrational Games follow-up to the Tribes Series; Tribes:Venegence, hits home on a lot of nessecary points. For the most part it's wrong that a publisher such as VU Games would publish a product and then leave it to dry. I think the publisher, if it chooses to fund and publish a product, should stick behind that product through thick and thin. Whether it be in the form of patches (such as in this case), support, marketing and public relations, etc. With a publisher standing behind a product, what makes you think the consumers will. For instance knowing that bugs won't be fixed and there will be no more patches for Tribes:Venegence why should I run out and buy it, better yet why should I even be wasting my time mentioning it? Why? Because of the simple fact that it seems all products that are losing publishers money are being abonadoned. For instance Jeff Tunnel Co-Founder GarageGames, and former Dynamix founder, did some of the math for VU and Tribes Venegence. You guys can check it out here.
With those be my thoughts on the State of the Industry I also will leave you with some links:
Crunkie-Mobile Phone Mapping Application
The PC Info Dot Com - Find out about your PC
Linksys competitor to AirPort Express?
CutePDF Writer - Free PDF Writer
Email Icon Generator - Stop those Damn Harvesters from Getting Your Email
Link Popularity Check Tool - For All You Web Designers Out There
Dijjer - Free P2P Software that Dramatically Reduces the Bandwidth Needed to Host Large Files
SmashTheTones - Service to Put Free Ringtones and Pictures on Your CellPhone
With those be my thoughts on the State of the Industry I also will leave you with some links:
Crunkie-Mobile Phone Mapping Application
The PC Info Dot Com - Find out about your PC
Linksys competitor to AirPort Express?
CutePDF Writer - Free PDF Writer
Email Icon Generator - Stop those Damn Harvesters from Getting Your Email
Link Popularity Check Tool - For All You Web Designers Out There
Dijjer - Free P2P Software that Dramatically Reduces the Bandwidth Needed to Host Large Files
SmashTheTones - Service to Put Free Ringtones and Pictures on Your CellPhone
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Updated -- Blog Construction
Well I figured I'd update you all on the canges that will be happening to this Blog VERY soon. First off, I must say that the Yahoo banner will be getting replace (somewhere in the near future, hopefully). TextAmerica's Moblog will be phased out as I will phase in Mafia, an opensource Moblog, to which I will be trying to contribute to. Plus I will be restructing the links on the side. It seems the more I look at the links the more garbage that is being to show up in there. So thi sis priority as well as phases out the old only to be in with the new.
Edit: Ok, what can I say. I said it was going to happen, it just so happens I was a bit amibitous. So almost everyone of those changes are now done, except saying goodbye to TextAmerica and hello to Mafia. it's in the works once Mafia's Recent Picture Code is Stable.
Edit: Ok, what can I say. I said it was going to happen, it just so happens I was a bit amibitous. So almost everyone of those changes are now done, except saying goodbye to TextAmerica and hello to Mafia. it's in the works once Mafia's Recent Picture Code is Stable.
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