Category Archives: Productivity

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WiFiPhone?

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I haven’t read the latest on VoIP on the iPhone, but last I checked, it still wasn’t ‘allowed’. Perhaps this was just GoogleVoice & the news surrounding it. From the reviews, I’m not the first to notice this, but can confirm that as of 28 Dec 2009 (11 am CST), this worked, and I wasn’t in Airplane mode, either.

Today I found myself able to use WiFi to make a call over an hour long, completely free, with my iPhone. I’d downloaded the Vonage Mobile app while in Greece in an attempt to make a call without using international minutes, but alas, could not set it up without sending/receiving a call in the first place.

Over the holidays I’ve been in a low AT&T network area, but with wifi. That low network signal drops to no network signal when in the basement where I was working. I checked the Vonage app (now properly set up and with the initial $1.00 credit they gave me) for rates on US calls and found: $0.00 to land lines, $0.00 to mobiles. Interesting.

I made a 25 minute 800- call with no change in my balance (it gave me a low balance warning at the end of my call, but I see it is still at $1.00). I then talked for an hour to a US-mobile number, which reduced my balance to… $1.00.

Not sure if this is in error or if it’s a gift from Vonage to make up for the silliness of needing a separate account for the iPhone and/or an additional charge for softphones, but it worked for me. I’ll be interested to hear if it works for anyone else.

Most of the time this won’t matter for me anyway. I rarely use the voice aspect of my iPhone, wish that I could get it with a data plan only, and have so many rollover minutes that they are now expiring from 12 months ago. Still- for anyone whose minutes are running short and who would like to give free wifi a try while it lasts, check out Vonage Mobile.

Cheap Ball Chair

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cheap ball chair, originally uploaded by katatak.

I’ve been looking for a replacement chair for working at my computer. J’s got a great one (AK Octane), but it doesn’t seem to be available anymore (nor, according to many message boards, is their ‘new model’ that seems never to have come out).
I’d been intrigued by all the exercise ball chairs that many people swear by, but was concerned that 1. it would be too short (my desk is a little high and I don’t currently use a keyboard tray) and 2. I’d get tired of it like I did the kneel-chair I still have in storage.
I already had an exercise ball, so started looking around and came up with this setup. It’s the base of my papasan chair that, though I love it, I don’t use very often and is starting to fall apart. Although it’s somewhat worn, the bottom is a perfect fit for the ball and it comes to nearly the right height. I’ll need to pump the ball up just a little more to make it a tad higher, and/or I’m considering some casters to make it more useful for the office.
So far it’s treating me well and is helping out the pain I’ve had in my hip for the last few days. But if I change my mind, at least I’m not out the $70 (the price that the ball-chairs on Amazon were listed).

Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld, a miracle made possible by John McCain.

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Or, maybe not so much.

I got an email from MoveOn.org today that was pretty funny– it was about a not-so-great comment made by McCain’s team today. Right up there with Al Gore inventing the Internet. Actually, I’m not sure what Al Gore really said, but it will forever be remembered this way.
So I wonder if McCain will be remembered for this?

The actual quote (I think?) is in this short article at Politico. OK, OK, I see what was intended here was not ‘he created the Blackberry.’

What’s interesting is the actual intent: that somehow the Telecommunications in the US over the past 15 years is something to marvel at. Umm.. maybe they need to take a look at South Korea, Japan, or even Europe and their mobile communications before they start raving about ours.

Premier innovation indeed.