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RIP Mark “Moogy” Klingman

retroDan — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:03:49 +0000

Mark “Moogy” Klingman, one of the original members of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, passed away today.

Rest in peace, Moogy. You will truly be missed.

Tell everyone that I am sorry, truly sorry
For all the wrongs I done
I never meant to hurt nobody
Lord I never want to do no wrong

I have lied, I have begged and I have cheated
And I know my ship won’t be coming in
As I lay me down to take my rest
I see that it’s just dust in the wind

Take hold my hand, hold it tighter, ever tighter
You must believe that I love you still
But my strength, it grows weaker, ever weaker
And my body has lost its will

Oh my Lord, I have lost once again
And I got no one to help me find my way
But I never wanted to hurt nobody
And I never wanted to do no wrong…
written by Mark Klingman

the $99 HP Touchpad – can’t beat the price!

retroDan — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:29:16 +0000

You know, I wasn’t expecting all that much when I initially purchased the $99 HP Touchpad. Yes, I’m one of the “lucky ones” that got in on the deal right when HP slashed their prices. But anyway, after playing around with the new tablet, I have to say that I like it a lot. Sure WebOS is doomed and developers won’t be creating many more new apps for a dead platform. But just look at what you get for $99 – a sharp 9.7-inch screen, intuitive user interface, integrated WiFi which gives you access to facebook, youtube, email etc. All the essentials are there.

As recommended by other users, I did have to do some tweaks to improve performance which included the big OTA update and installing preware which allows you to grab some helpful “homebrew” patches. I did notice a vast improvement in speed and response after doing these tweaks so be sure to do them if you haven’t done so already.

I’m currently keeping an eye out for one more. I’d like to get the kids one of their own. yeah, I know, touchpads are pretty much no where to be found at this point. HP recently stated that they’ll manufacture a limited run of the touchpad to help fullfill orders but they weren’t that specific on exactly how many or when. Rumor has it that this last batch will amount to approximately 100,000 additional touchpads and will be available around November. That won’t be enough to match demand so look for a massive feeding frenzy when that last batch gets released.

anyway here’s my list of must-have touchpad apps: AngryBirds HD (of course), Angry Birds Rio HD, Interface Lift HD, Box.net, Kindle, quickoffice HD, USA Today, NPR reader, AccuWeather, Slice it! HD and preware.

and now to find a decent “folio style” case for my touchpad. again, the HP brand case is out of stock. geez. They sure ain’t making it easy…

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some changes to the Standard Plan on Page Plus Wireless

retroDan — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:45:03 +0000

Some good news for those using the Standard Plan on Page Plus Wireless. The Standard Plan is what is otherwise known as the “pay as you go” plan. They’re reducing rates on text messaging as well as the cost of data per megabyte. They used to charge 8 cents per SMS message but NOW it’s 5 cents per message. As for data, what was once $1.20 per megabyte, it’s now 99 cents per megabyte. The data is still at a “premium” on the pay as you go plan but you have to realize that the “Standard Plan” is not really for a “data heavy” user anyway.

I’m personally using the $25 Standard plan on Page Plus so this is great news for me. I’m not a heavy cell user by any means so with my minimal use of text and picture messaging, I get by with spending $25 every four months. yes, you heard me right. I stretch my $25 plan for a whole four months! Now that’s what I call savings!

For those that aren’t familiar, Page Plus is a prepaid wireless provider utilizing the Verizon Network. But unlike some other prepaid companies, Page Plus allows their customers to bring their own devices. This means that you’re not limited to the phones that Page Plus provides. You can activate a wide variety of Verizon and Alltel postpaid phones. With that said, there are some models that are blacklisted so be sure you do some research to verify that your particular model phone works on PP before joining.

Sprint announces $25 unlimited data/text plan for Virgin Mobile

say goodbye to your local Borders bookstore

retroDan — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:10:06 +0000

Unable to find a buyer to bail them out, Borders will be closing all of their stores nationwide. This is pretty sad but inevitable I guess with the rise of the web, ebooks and Amazon. I’m just wondering how long Barnes & Noble has left since I’m sure they’re hurting as well.

Here’s the official email sent to all Borders customers:

Dear Borders Rewards Member,
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Borders will be closing its doors after more than 40 years of igniting the love of reading in generations of customers. I am sorry to have to share this news with you as I feel you have been here right along with us as we fought valiantly to save the company. I want to personally thank you for your loyalty and support, whether you were one of the nearly 1.8 million customers who signed up for the Borders Rewards Plus program, shopped in our stores or on Borders.com, or simply took the time to e-mail or call the company to express your support.
You might be asking yourself, what happened? How could it be that there won’t be a Borders moving forward? In a nutshell, following continued negotiations and the best efforts from all parties, no bidders presented a formal proposal to keep our company operating as a going concern. Therefore, under the terms of our debtor-in-possession financing agreement, we presented to the court for approval the proposal for firms to purchase our stores’ assets and administer the liquidation process.
We had worked very hard toward a different outcome. The fact is that Borders has been facing headwinds for quite some time, including a rapidly changing book industry, the eReader revolution, and a turbulent economy. We put up a great fight, but regrettably, in the end, we weren’t able to overcome these external forces.
Going out of business sales begin in stores Friday, July 22. I encourage you to take advantage of this one-time opportunity to find exceptional discounts on your favorite books and other great merchandise. Gift cards will be honored during the liquidation sales, and Borders Rewards Plus members will continue to enjoy their Borders Rewards Plus discounts through August 5. Further, all Borders Bucks will be honored until they expire on July 31.
For decades, Borders stores have been destinations within communities—places where people have sought knowledge, entertainment and enlightenment and connected with others who share their passions. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to lead Borders and play a role in the true and noble cause of expanding access to books and promoting the joy of reading. As a company, we cannot thank you enough for giving us the opportunity to serve you and the millions of other customers who have shopped our stores over the years. My sincerest hope is that we remain in the hearts of readers for years to come.

Many thanks,
Mike Edwards
CEO of Borders

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HTC Droid Eris wifi issue with Linksys WRT160N

retroDan — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:07:23 +0000

Here’s a quick little tidbit for all you HTC Droid Eris users out there. I’ve been having problems getting the phone to recognize our home router (a linksys WRT160N). I initially thought that the wifi component of my phone went bad or something. We have several other wireless devices that connect with our router just fine including the Nintendo Wii, our blu-ray player and two other laptops. So, I didn’t think the router was an issue. But turns out there’s a little security setting on the router that prevented the HTC Eris from recognizing the wireless signal. I can’t really explain the reason why but changing the security encryption from “TKIP or AES” to just “AES” fixed the problem.
I believe the router default setting is “TKIP or AES” so you will have to manually change this setting if you run into this issue. Again, my wireless router is a wireless-N device with security WPA2 activated and SSID on.

anyway, thought I’d post this just in case someone else out there is pulling their hair out over this matter.

Sprint-Nextel iDEN customers should be safe until 2013

retroDan — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:14:05 +0000

Sprint/Nextel customers have been hearing rumors these past few months that the company might give up on their iDEN network. And with all the resources and attention on the CDMA side of Sprint (which includes Boost Mobile) lately, it all appeared to be true. Well, late December, Sprint posted a press release reassuring customers that iDEN will live on, at least until 2013. As an iDEN customer myself, I’m glad to hear this but I’m still unsure how this will all play out in the coming years. Even though I like the push-to-talk feature as well as the call quality on iDEN, data speeds are lacking to say the least. And with multimedia and internet connections playing an important role in the wireless world, iDEN’s got a tough road ahead in trying to keep up with that end of things. Even I’m unsure if I’ll continue much longer hanging on to my trusty ol’ iDEN Boost Mobile phone.

Here’s the Sprint/Nextel press release:

Sprint Extends iDEN® Network Infrastructure Supply Agreement with Motorola Solutions for Three Additional Years
Extension agreement, including maintenance support, reinforces Sprint’s commitment to iDEN customers through 2013
Two new iDEN handsets announced for availability in the first quarter; Additional devices planned for 2011

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & SCHAUMBURG, Ill., December 21, 2010 – Sprint (NYSE: S) and the Motorola Solutions business of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) today announced an agreement to extend Motorola’s support of the Sprint iDEN network for three additional years. Extending this longstanding agreement reflects both companies’ commitment to iDEN technology as a best-in-class platform for push-to-talk (PTT) services. This agreement formally extends Sprint and Motorola Solutions’ contractual iDEN relationship through 2013 and covers the supply of software and services.

“This agreement is great news for our iDEN customers,” said Bob Azzi, senior vice president of Network, Sprint. “The Nextel National Network continues to be the nation’s fastest push-to-talk network, and it is operating at best-ever performance levels. Additionally, this agreement provides support for our important iDEN customer base while we begin executing our Network Vision plan.”

“Motorola has been a proud partner with Sprint in delivering the industry’s best PTT service for more than 17 years,” said Mike Fox, general manager, iDEN Products and Solutions, Motorola Solutions. “We’re pleased to continue partnering with Sprint to support their iDEN network through 2013, and we’re equally excited about the launch of additional iDEN devices for Sprint PTT customers.”

Today Sprint also announced that several new and exciting iDEN handsets will be available in the first quarter of 2011. Motorola i886 is a stylish yet rugged phone, boasting the first-ever side-sliding QWERTY keyboard and corporate e-mail on an iDEN device. In addition, the popular Motorola i680 will be updated as Motorola i686 with the capacity to be immersed in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. Pricing, availability and full feature lists will be available at a later date.

As with all Sprint iDEN handsets, customers can use Nextel Direct Connect on Nextel phones in and between Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru. In addition, customers can use Nextel Direct Connect from the United States to these six countries.

“In line with Motorola Solutions’ ongoing support of the iDEN network, Motorola Mobility is committed to working with Sprint,” said Mark Shockley, senior vice president, Motorola Mobility. “We look forward to bringing exciting new devices to market, including compelling next-generation push-to-talk solutions in the coming year.”

Network Vision is a blueprint for a multiyear initiative intended to provide customers the best network experience available today, enhancing service, creating network flexibility, reducing operating costs, and improving environmental sustainability. The focus of the plan is on upgrading the existing CDMA network while providing technology flexibility for the Sprint 4G platform.

Taking advantage of this latest generation of technology, Sprint will be able to deploy multiple spectrum bands on a single platform – for example, 800MHz and 1900MHz on CDMA. This will improve CDMA in-building penetration and ensure the performance of PTT on CDMA matches or surpasses that of iDEN.

KEY FACTS
- Under the extended Infrastructure Supply Agreement, Motorola Solutions will continue to support the Sprint iDEN network for three years – from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2013.
- Motorola Solutions will continue to provide world-class support for software, hardware and systems on the existing Sprint iDEN network.
- Customers will benefit from the same level of high performance services, including industry-leading PTT, mobile telephony, messaging and Internet access.
- Motorola Solutions has more than 17 years of experience supporting the Sprint iDEN network.

Velvet Revolver to release Live In Houston on DVD

retroDan — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:55:34 +0000

With volatile lead singer Scott Weiland back with Stone Temple Pilots, hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver is left in limbo. Rumor has it that the remaining members (Slash, Dave Kushner, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum) are actively seeking a replacement singer for the band but in my opinion, it’ll be tough to call it “Velvet Revolver” without Weiland’s involvement. But that’s just me.

In the meantime, fans will finally be able to get their hands on an officially sanctioned DVD of the band’s 2005 Houston show scheduled to arrive in stores on November 16th. huzzah!

here’s the band performing Slither from the DVD:

Live in Houston track Listing:
1. Sucker Train Blues
2. Do It For The Kids
3. Headspace
4. Crackerman
5. Illegal I
6. It’s So Easy
7. Fall To Pieces
8. Big Machine
9. Set Me Free
10. Used To Love Her
11. Slither
12. Sex Type Thing

Hillsong Live – This is Our God – review

Hillsong – A Beautiful Exchange

retroDan — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:40:29 +0000

You were near though I was distant
Disillusioned I was lost and insecure
Still mercy fought for my intention
You were waiting at the door, then I let You in

Trading Your life for my offenses
for my redemption You carried all the blame
Breaking the curse of our condition
perfection took our place

When only love could make a way
You gave Your life In a beautiful exchange
When only love could break these chains
You gave Your life In a beautiful exchange

My burden erased, my life forgiven
There is nothing that could take this love away
And my only desire, and my sole ambition
is to love You just the same

Holy are You God, Holy is Your name
with everything I’ve got
My heart will sing how I love You

written by Joel Houston
From the CD: Hillsong – Beautiful Exchange

Virgin Mobile – Samsung Intercept – Android phone

retroDan — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:15:56 +0000

Well, it’s official. Virgin Mobile will have their very own Android smartphone by the first week of October. The new phone is the Samsung Intercept which is already available on the Sprint Network. It’s not a groundbreaking phone by any means but to have an android phone on a no-contract/prepaid plan is a pretty big deal. It still remains to be seen if the phone will be “crippled” or locked down in any way or if VM will be charging an extra monthly fee for this phone as they do for the Blackberry. But still, if you can get this on the $25 a month beyond talk plan (which included unlimited text and web), it’s definitely worth considering. Look for it at your local Target stores beginning October 3rd for $230.

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just purchased an Acer Aspire at Staples for cheap

retroDan — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:57:40 +0000

Hey, guess what? Staples is offering a great deal on a laptop this week and since my defective HP Pavilion Dv7 is no longer any use to me, I quickly snagged one before it went out of stock. Actually it was “out of stock” online all day yesterday but surprisingly the laptop became available first thing this morning. I’m not that familiar with the way the Staples website inventory works but I’m glad I got in on the deal.

Here’s what I got:

it’s the Acer® Aspire AS5741Z-5433 for $399 (sale ending 8/28).
it features -
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core P6000 Processor (1.86GHz)
4GB installed memory
320GB hard drive
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
15.6″ HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LCD Display (1366 x 768)
Built-in HD Webcam (1.3 megapixel)
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
1 – HDMI™ Port
6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
1 year warranty

So what do you think? yeah, I know it’s on the low end in terms of tech but after what happened to my 17″ HP, I’m a bit gun-shy about spending more money than I should on a laptop that may or may not last two years. Hopefully this little Acer won’t let me down. At the least, it’s a bit reassuring to know that the Acer is PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice for budget laptops.

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