Justin's Blog

 Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category

Today Jason and I had some very productive meetings in Atlanta.  Jason’s really got things moving down here with a lot of agencies coming on board and we are working on some Georgia specific guidance which will will post on the Georgia page.

Don’t forget too that we will be having our conference in Roswell, Georgia on June 5th and 6th.

As a big fan of The Walking Dead, I was a little disappointed at the lack of zombies, but I guess I’ll just have to wait a bit.

:: Justin ::

Contrary to popular belief, the internet is not a series of a tubes.  It is in fact a very cute, small black box!  In this case the small black box is a Verizon MiFi.  Inside the black box is an EVDO modem and a wireless router.  So the device grabs the internet over the cellphone network and then shares it with up to five devices over wifi.  So, for the same price as having a mobile broadband card, you can share that connection with your colleagues.  Very, very cool.

On Friday I tried it our for the first time while doing some training for CAY Community Services Organization, in Brooklyn, NY and it worked like a dream!

:: Justin ::

Kaunas 2 – Rangers 1

When I first described Scottish football to my wife Michele (more than 20 years ago) I said all that matters is that Rangers and England lose.

Not only did Rangers lose tonight, but they are now out of European Competition before the season has even begun, but best of all they lost to the Lithuanian club that has been effectively Hearts AAA Team over the last few years. Kaunas are owned by the same strange chap who owns Hearts.

While Scottish clubs overall will lose ranking points, it’s more than worth it to be able to laugh at one of the ugly sisters.

:: Justin ::

One of the questions I am asked a lot is: “Can I use Therap on a mobile device?”

The answer is “Sort of…”. (which is not a great answer unfortunately)

Of course a lot depends on what you mean by a modile device. If that is a laptop, then the answer instantly becomes “Absolutely”, provided you have access to a wireless internet connection such as WiFi or EVDO.

On smaller devices such as a Blackberry, Treo, or Windows Mobile device the answer is less clear. Some of Therap will work just fine while other pieces will be limited by a lack of popups and JavaScript support.

What I would like to know, is what do you use and how do you use it?

:: Justin ::

It’s amazing how much I love and appreciate good customer support!   This week’s prize (if there was one) goes to the fine folks at the Waterbury, Connecticut Wireless Zone, in particular Kathy.  They have always been supportive and helpful with my cell phone issues, and yesterday when my Treo 700p’s headphone socket died I stopped in to see what could be done.

Kathy contacted Verizon customer support to get them to ship out a new phone and in the meantime switched my account over to a 700wx to last me until the new one comes in.

On the face of it, nothing wild, but how often have service companies left you hanging with no service (no need to answer that).

The Windows Mobile Treo is a little strange for me to get used to, but so far not too horrendous.  I have to say, I do like the version of Internet Explorer included.

:: Justin ::

Therap on a Treo 700p

(I know it’s an awful picture, I’ll try again tomorrow)

One of the questions I am often asked is: “Can I use Therap on a PDA or cell phone?”

Well, here’s an example of where you can. I just started using a Palm Treo 700p and I am very impressed by how well it works with our system.

It’s not perfect, but it really pretty good (I do like the Treo, it’s not the best of phones, but the web, email, and other features more than make up for that.)

We are working on having some trial version of having parts of our system especially adapted for the smaller screens of PDA type devices, but until then, this is a great solution.

If you’d like to know more (or argue the merits of a Blackberry!) just let me know

:: Justin ::

Update:

Here’s a (slightly) better picture

Thanks to a few very cool pieces of technology I really can work just about anywhere.

This morning I have Michele’s car in for a routine service with the fine folks (and they really are very fine!) at Mitchell Subaru in Canton, Connecticut. Rather than wasting time drinking too much coffee and eating too many doughnuts, I have been able to provide customer support, send and receive emails, and even write this blog post!

All of this thanks to my laptop and the following:

Verizon Wireless EV-DO Broadband: This card and service allows me internet access just about anywhere. Speeds range from DSL like to dial up, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how well and in how many places it works.

Velaro Live Chat Customer Support: By clicking on this icon on our website, I can give instant support to customers and other people interested in Therap.

The Therap Phone System from ESI: If people choose the more traditional way of leaving me a message on my voice mail – (203) 596-7553 extension 102 – they have the option to press 4 and be connected directly to my cell phone or if they leave a message, the phone system automatically calls me to to let me know.

All this is particularly useful whether I am waiting for a car or travelling around as I will be later in the month when I head off on the mother of all trips to Montana, Oregon, and Arizona!

:: Justin

On the way down here I discovered a great way to get over one of my phobias – asking for directions!

We have a Verizon broadband wireless card which works over the cell phone network. Not only does this mean that I could access Therap and set up DEMO accounts while travelling at 65mph down Interstate 95 (it’s OK, Jim was driving) but when we went a little astray in DC, we were able to look up Google Maps and find our way to the hotel!

The conference looks like it will be huge based on the number of exhibitors, I’ll post some pictures when they turn the lights on!

– Justin