Chris Pirillo » mobile-phone

Do you Practice Proper Mobile Phone Etiquette?

Chris — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:26:52 +0000

Do you Practice Proper Mobile Phone Etiquette? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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We’re all guilty at some point or another. We break one of the golden rules of phone etiquette. Come on… admit it. You do it too! Here are Gordon’s top five ways to become an annoying mobile phone user. DON’T do these!

When talking to a friend face to face and the phone rings, abruptly stop talking and answer the phone, and talk as long as you like. It doesn’t matter if it ’s your mother, your boss or a salesman trying to sell something. Your friend will understand.
Leave your ringer turned up while at movies, church, or funerals. When the inevitable phone call comes in and everyone has to listen to the latest rap or country song try not to be noticed as you fumble to turn it off. Everyone will understand.
Talk on your phone while driving, weave in and out of traffic lanes, stop abruptly, tailgate and force other cars out of their lanes, while glaring at the other drivers with a “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?” expression. The other drivers will understand.
Send text messages and treat them as if they were some kind of top secret military information that if anyone saw them the security of our nation would be compromised. When receiving a humorus text, laugh loudly and don’t tell anyone what is so funny. They’ll understand.
Brag to your friend how much better your new phone is than everybody elses, and try not to look too disappointed when a month later your friend gets one that is cheaper and has more features. You’ll understand.

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What Else can your Mobile Phone Do?

Chris — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:35:16 +0000

What Else can your Mobile Phone Do? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Yes, you can do more than make calls and send messages with your phone. But can it do anything more than that? One viewer claims that the following are possible:

Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network in an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you. Keep in mind, 112 can be dialed even if your keypad is locked!
Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. This saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, but if you can reach someone who has the other ‘remote’ for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk). This is something that I believe is highly suspicious.
Hidden Battery Power Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve, and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.
How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone. To check your Mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down, and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones. This is your IMEI number!
Free Directory Service for Cells Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 (or more!) for 411 information calls when they don’t have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 to get any number you need… for free. Program this into your cell phone now.

Act Now, Survive An Emergency Later!

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Cingular BlackJack Phone Problems

Chris — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 09:09:20 +0000

Cingular BlackJack Phone Problems is a post from Chris Pirillo

Before I came down to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 and Podcast Hotel conferences, I stopped by my local Cingular dealer and upgraded my phone and data plan. I had been using the relatively-solid 2125, but craved 3G network speed. Their Windows Mobile selection was paltry, reminding me once again about how corrupt and misdirected the entire wireless carrier ecosystem really is. Why can I only use this phone with that service? Asinine.

Anyway, I decided to get the BlackJack largely because it was thin – and all the other Windows Mobile devices had dumbass keyboard/screen locking mechanisms. I don’t want to put the phone in my pocket unless there’s a serious “simple” sequence for unlocking the phone without necessarily requiring a password. That’s one thing that drove me nuts about my old Pocket PCs.

While I’m complaining, what the hell is up with mobile devices not using mini USB for charging and connecting to anything and everything else? WTF?!

So, I take the BlackJack home – play with it for a bit, try to set it up as a modem for Vista (no workie), etc. Discover that it won’t charge by USB unless it’s set up to connect via ActiveSync (WTF?!). Everything seems to be working fine and fast enough. I take the phone with me to SF, etc.

Last night, it just died. Seriously. I get nothing when I try to turn it on. The battery died – should have been charging by USB like it did before, etc. Now I’m stuck in San Francisco without a cell phone. I’m not going to buy another damn proprietary charger for it because I’m strongly considering taking it back to Cingular when I return to Seattle. I hear the thing doesn’t have a great battery life (even with the extended battery pack), anyway.

Why must every single mobile phone on this planet SUCK?! Don’t tell me the iPhone is going to rescue us from this living hell, either…

The iPhone is Going to Kill

Chris — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 06:31:27 +0000

The iPhone is Going to Kill is a post from Chris Pirillo

So, here’s what my brother (who wants to start blogging at some point) had to say about Apple’s iPhone:

This is one of the coolest pieces of technology to come out in a while… it’s like having a mini-laptop in your hands. The ultimate media device. The catch? Cingular has the rights at this point in time (they have the worst wireless phone service). If Apple had any brains, they would get this product in the home of every American family. After 6 months of exclusive rights to Cingular, they should release an iPhone on Verizon, US Cellular, every wireless provider.
If Verizon got this phone, I would find a way to buy it… takes the place of a phone, iPod, portable DVD player, Internet and email station. Oh, let’s not forget the 2 megapixel camera built-in.
What’s next? They are going to have a phone that does all of this – but then you can project an image on a wall and hook up a small keyboard and mouse and use it as a laptop, run Photoshop and Illustrator, or catch up on your spreadsheet work while in a airport.

My brother Adam isn’t a geek – and he’s never written to me about any other device (from Apple or any other manufacturer). It’s not even out yet and I already hate the iPhone… largely because someone else didn’t make it four years ago. Seriously. Apple gets the consumer in ways that no other company ever will. It makes my new Smartphone seem so… ancient.

Talk about Talking

Chris — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:20:14 +0000

Talk about Talking is a post from Chris Pirillo

Remember, I’ve been almost completely incommunicado for the past couple of weeks (inadvertently and intentionally). I mixed metaphors in a recent entry, but I hope to redeem myself in this one. Minutes after whipping up my communications communication report, Vik Dendi blasted me a URL with a screen capture of the potential iPhone device. It’s the first semi-legit presentation I’d seen of Apple’s alleged entry into the telecommunications arena. “Many functions. No buttons.” Sounds interesting, but I gotta say that I’ve always disliked (to an extreme degree) any phone that lacked tactile feedback. When I want to mash “5″, I don’t want “4″ or “44″ or “45″ or any other digit series! Then again, I argue that an input device is diseased if it doesn’t have at least two buttons and a scroll wheel.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

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