Chris Pirillo » phone

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Chris — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:35:23 +0000

These are a Few of My Favorite Things is a post from Chris Pirillo

I’m willing to bet that old song is now stuck in your head. If you’re too young to know and remember the song – well, you just missed out. Look it up on YouTube, and immerse yourself!

What are your favorite “things”? You cannot list people, as they aren’t things. We all know your family, friends and loved ones come first… that’s a given! I’m talking about honest-to-goodness things. Is your cell phone the best thing you own? What about your iPod, or maybe even your dual monitors? Heck, maybe your favorite things aren’t even tech-related. That’s ok, as well! I’m curious to see what everyone will list as being their favorite thing.

We’re so wrapped up with using our gadgets and gizmos that we sometimes forget all about human connections. We forget to take the time to really talk to others, and get to know them. Why not spend some time today checking out what the people around you are talking about? Go ahead – join their conversations!

What is Your Favorite Technology?

Chris — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:25:41 +0000

What is Your Favorite Technology? is a post from Chris Pirillo

While I was in Hawaii last week, I had the opportunity to record a “Question of the Day” video with Traci Toguchi. I decided to ask the question: What is your favorite piece of technology?.

Traci stated that there’s no way she could live without her cell phone. Not only is it used for calls, she also relies on it heavily to be able to check her emails and take care of her various online duties while she’s on the go. Today’s technology trend is pushing ever closer to being “all” mobile. We are busy, and we need our gadgets and gizmos to help keep us connected while we’re running around.

My answer was simply the Internet. The Internet has changed my life, and that of many others. We can do anything there, from research to connecting with people. I’ve been online since 1992, which is quite awhile now I know.

The world of the Internet has exploded since I’ve been online. In the future, it will become even faster and easier to access. It will also be more ubiquitous. It’s evolutionary, and there isn’t a question as to whether the Internet will continue to “be there” in the future. It’s going to be a huge part of our daily lives in years and decades to come.

Let’s turn it to all of YOU now. What one piece of technology could you not live without – and why?

How long have you been living with it?

What would make it better?

Do you consider yourself a tech addict?

Challenge a friend to answer the question, too:

How Do You Organize Your Messy Cable Clutter?

Chris — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:50:33 +0000

How Do You Organize Your Messy Cable Clutter? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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There will come a time when the device that you come to rely on is going to run out of energy. What do you do when that happens? You have recharge it. And to recharge it, you have to plug it in. But what do you do with all of those cables, and the mess that they create? I hate clutter. I’m a neat freak. I can’t help it.

The driinn phone holder helps with that. It solves the problem of our phone lying around somewhere and having the cord lying around.

Driinn™ is a handy, easy to use product for anyone with a mobile phone, an Mp3 player or a PDA device. Driinn™ is made of a special mix of plastic and rubber. This combination gives the holder strength and grip. Driinn™ hangs between your battery charger and the wall socket. It provides a support for your mobile phone and convenient storage for your charging cord.

This little piece of plastic heaven will make your life much easier… and neater!

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Are Mobile Car Chargers Good for Phone Batteries?

Chris — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:16:31 +0000

Are Mobile Car Chargers Good for Phone Batteries? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Chris Levo is the President and Chief Editor of Nteract Solutions. He sent me the following email after watching my video about charging my iPhone on the go. It’s excellent information, so you should read it carefully.

I was watching your video about leaving your house with your iPhone, and needing to charge it if it runs out of juice. You mentioned a car charger being a very good idea and what should be done (retract, iGo, whatever you want to call it). Any charger that goes into the car is bad for the device battery. Why? Because the power is not regulated like in your home. In my line of work, I have seen many batteries die because people use their car chargers WAY too much. A car charger should be a LAST resort. I try to explain to customers that when they get home they obviously (well I guess 99.9% of the world) take out their wallet, keys, coins, or whatever is in their pocket before going to sleep. Make it a habit to charge your phone with your home charger.
The same goes for purchasing cheap home chargers just to save a buck. Many customers frown at $30 for a home charger because they lost theirs and say they will just go to the “flea” market and get one for $10. The ones for $10 are worse then the vehicle/12v charger port (not called a cigarette lighter in any vehicle anymore because the lighter portion does not come with the car unless you add the option. That is another answer to a question you had at the beginning of the video).
I’m tired, it’s late, but I just wanted to get this out and make you aware of the fact that using a car charger can kill the length of the battery by as much as 50% (if used more then the home charger). Just something to think about before you go plugging in your expensive device in your car charger or don’t feel like running upstairs or where ever it is in your home to plug in your device because you might be too tired. Take the extra 2 minutes and plug it into the home charger.

The moral of the story here is to be proactive when it comes to keeping your mobile device charged. Use the proper home charger. Trying to save a few bucks or some time now will end up costing you far more down the road.

Wireless Mobile Devices and Phones

Chris — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:15:37 +0000

Wireless Mobile Devices and Phones is a post from Chris Pirillo

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PongoShawn writes: “As the years go by, more and more people are buying wireless devices.” Here are some tips he sent in for you to keep in mind when purchasing one.

Consider a case! At one point in time, we all drop our cell phones accidentally, or purposely. Under certain conditions, if your phone is dropped, you may damage your phone beyond repair. Wouldn’t you rather pay for a case versus a new phone?
Know your accessories and shop online for a possible discount. I was looking for a BlueTooth headset for my phone in stores, and once I logged into my account online, I found out that I qualified for a $20 discount. If you do not have a absolute need for the accessory, then it will pay to shop around, especially online.
Go to look at the phone in stores. By doing this, you ensure that you do not get any surprises and you know what you are paying for. This has got my friends so many times, and each time they do it, they wish they would have seen the phone in stores before purchasing it.
Consider a two year plan for your phone. This usually means that you will not have a setup fee (depends on which brand you choose) and you will have a lower price on the phone. The only downside is that SHOULD you want to cancel the two year contract, the prices are quite high. After a two year plan, you are eligible to purchase a new phone for a discounted rate.
What do you want a phone for? Texting? Music? Navigation? These are important questions to consider when purchasing a phone. If you like text messaging, then you would not need to get a music phone. If you are interested in having a good multimedia gadget, then you should consider the iPhone or competitor LG Voyager.
BONUS TIP I would not recommend purchasing a phone at another retailer, such as Best Buy. I have seen many people coming to the customer support because they cannot activate their phone. I would always purchase the phone in the retailer’s store – By purchasing in store, you can ask any questions to the representative that you may have, as well as get support with the first time setup.

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How to Send SMS Messages (Texting Tips)

Chris — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:55:42 +0000

How to Send SMS Messages (Texting Tips) is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Thanks to all of you for sending in your Top Five lists. These are great! Keep them coming, by emailing them to me at chris@pirillo.com. This one gives us some excellent text etiquette tips!

Do not write in “text language.” It is hard to read and you look like an idiot who can’t take the time to spell out words. For example, don’t use: Yo, c u l8r ily!
Do not send short text messages like “ok”, “hey”, “no”…ect. Most people don’t have unlimited text messaging. Because if you send someone something like hey, they send back hey, then you say how was your day, they say great, they say how was your day, You just wasted 5 text messages. Say something more like “Hey, how was your day?” Also, don’t send “No-end texts.” There the kind were someone says “Hahaha.” you have no idea what to say next. Think when you’re texting like you are having a real conversation, face to face.
Don’t send forwards. They drive people crazy! Forwards are the messages that say, “If you don’t send this to 345 people in 2 hours, the little girls spirit will haunt your for life.” Are you really going to believe that?
Don’t do anything on your phone that you can do on your computer! Don’t download songs, check your email and all that other web stuff when you can do it on your computer! You will end up paying a whole lot of money on data charges. Its not that pretty when you get your bill and you see you owe 70 bucks in data charges or more!
Last but not least, don’t sign up for all the “Text message Alert” features you get everywhere. Before you know it, your bill will have you paying $100 for all those texts! Just look at it online at your computer. Its also a waste of time for you checking all those texts. Stop being glued to your phone and explore the world.

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VoIP Tips Skype, Phones, Gizmo, and Ventrilo

Chris — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:01:22 +0000

VoIP Tips Skype, Phones, Gizmo, and Ventrilo is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I don’t use traditional means of communication anymore. I tend to use VoIP more than anything. I have Ventrilo open pretty much constantly, to communicate easily with my friends and co-workers. I also just installed it on Ponzi’s computer, so we can use it as an on-demand intercom. Today, I decided to give the Gizmo Project a try, as well.

Gizmo is a free phone for your computer that lets you make and receive calls as easily as sending an instant message. The key features are:

Unlimited free calling
FREE calling to landline and mobile phones using the All Calls FREE plan.
Chat with Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, GoogleTalk, and Gizmo users.
Free voicemail

For about $35.00 a year, you can receive unlimited Call In. This allows anyone to call you from anywhere. You will be assigned an actual phone number, and will have call transfer, dual ring and even call forwarding capabilities!

It’s so easy to use. I demonstrated by calling my new Gizmo number from my iPhone. I then walked into another room and talked into the phone, while you all could hear it coming through the computer. Very cool, very easy… very affordable!

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Teaching You Tech Terms Today

Chris — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:25:24 +0000

Teaching You Tech Terms Today is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Just like the word espresso is often mispronounced, so are a lot of tech words mispronounced, and misused.

Palm Devices are not PalmPilots. Palm devices haven’t been titled PalmPilot in over 8 years now. It’s time to stop calling them PalmPilots. You can thank a lawsuit by the makers of the Pilot pen for this. They are to now be called Palm devices or Palm Treo, Palm V, Palm VII, Palm PDA, etc..
Cell phone’s aren’t cellular anymore. Most phone companies don’t use cellular technology anymore. Yet nobody uses the term “wireless phone”. Calling today’s wireless phones “cellular” is like calling a CD a cassette tape. Yes there are still some cellular networks, but why call a phone that doesn’t use cellular technology a cell phone? Heck, they often aren’t even a “phone” anymore. They are mobile devices. They do far more these days than to just act as a phone.

If you have other tech terms that you are trying to get through someone’s head, and they just aren’t listening? Send me an email or leave a follow up comment to let me know so I can share them with the world.

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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.

The Ultimate Skype Add-in

Chris — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:26:14 +0000

The Ultimate Skype Add-in is a post from Chris Pirillo

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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Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

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

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.