Just Mike

Problems With MyTouch Slide

// June 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Relying on my new phone for a day at a conference where I may not be able to recharge it wasn’t the best idea but I may have been naive.

I bought the MyTouch Slide at 10:05am on Wednesday.  The T-Mobile person told me there was enough charge to get me through the day.  I wasn’t naive enough to think that and it didn’t.  I gave it a minor charge because I knew I was going to be out for a bit later in the day.

I loaded apps that didn’t transfer over from my G1 which was a huge annoyance and worked on setting up my phone. At one point I pressed the Gmail icon and it went to my Gallery. I reversed, hit Gmail again and it went to Gallery, and repeated it.  I figured I would turn it on and off, possibly all the apps I loaded just messed with something.  I restarted it and it was fine though the battery was toast by 10pm.

I charged it all night,unplugging it at 8:20am today. I used 3G, which I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off as I can on the G1, I used a little bit of GPS, and tweeted.  By 12:30 I was getting the low battery warning. I found a friend’s laptop and started charging, even turning the phone off so it might charge faster.  I got it back up to 70% according the the stupid notched bar in the About window.  They couldn’t have a number assigned to it?

By 4pm I was a low battery again. I charged it again with the phone off and got up to 60% when I turned it on but still charging.  I ran some apps including Taskiller but then the battery indicator said I had 50% charging.  Laptop charging couldn’t keep up with using the phone?  Interesting Taskiller would kill something and then seconds later it was back.  It showed 15+ apps running, some I had never opened.  I kept killing and many came back. The phone finally died around 7:30pm which I find pathetic.

I also had several problems getting the Twitter app to work and Seesmic. Often they would just sit there.

I switched from my G1 to get a faster more reliable phone.  I am going back to my G1 to have a more reliable phone even if it’s slower.  I can use the GPS and forget it’s running in the background for 2 hours, run different Twitter clients, call, text message, etc and usually get 14 hours.  Granted I do have a double battery but I thought the newer phones with upgraded Android systems could handle battery life better.

I had to pay an upgrade fee to get this early.  It isn’t worth it for a glitchy phone that dies if I can’t find a charger.

I will give T-Mobile a chance to give me a different MyTouch Slide or a different battery to see if it is just one thing causing my problems.  I wouldn’t have kept the G1 if it sucked this bad in the beginning.

What Is Social Media

// May 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I recently was in a discussion on Facebook about whether companies should use Social Media companies to run their efforts online or whether the owner should do it. It seemed many felt that Social Media efforts should be pure and not used as an advertising campaign.

Is Social Media only discussion between friends? Possibly, but I don’t see why it should be limited to that. I have family, close friends, friends, acquaintances, interesting people I read about, and random events. Social Media has these layers as well.

I asked my buddy, who mocked me for months about how stupid Twitter was but now loves it, if he followed companies and why. He wants to know what happens and uses Twitter as a feed for those sites. His favorite is Woot and now he can keep track of their Woot-offs.

How do you define Social Media and what it is for you?

For years they talked about permission marketing and it is here. I follow very few companies but the ones I do I want to here about their specials; actually I want them to respond when I ask a question and many fail at this. They are the ones who need a Social Media company helping them. That will be another post down the road.

Social media to me is getting the information that I want and listening to those I want. Yeah, sometimes it is boring and trivial but once again I choose who I listen to everyday like any other relationship. I can’t say what Social Media is for you just like I can’t say who your friends should be.

A Glass of Water

// April 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I was recently at Washington Square Mall’s food court. I went through the line picking my meal’s components and then got to the cash register and waited.

The owner, I guess, was talking to the guy who took my order as I moved up the empty line. It seemed like he was admonishing him. I felt it was because I asked prices for different items and passed on the upsell. I don’t know why I thought this but I was a little frustrated that he as talking to him as my food was cooling. I like hot food hot and cold food cold. McDonald’s had that right.

He finally walked up and asked what I wanted to drink.

“Water.”

“Bottle?”

“No, just a cup.”

He stared at me for 5 seconds, which is a long time to stare at a stranger.

“Did you know that water is our best seller these days”

“Uh..”

“See all of these closed restaurants in here?” There we’re quite a few. “I bet water was there best seller too. Did you know this is the highest $ per square foot in the state.”

I was truly dumbfounded that this conversation was happening.

He could have said there was a charge for cups. Fine, I get that. Theaters don’t give them for free and neither does 7-11 I think.

I just stared at him blankly; annoyed that I didn’t know what to do and that he put me in that spot. I gave him my money and he gave me change.

I have to imagine (hope) that he doesn’t say this to everyone. I hope he snapped at it was done. Maybe he got a bill or the rent was due. I have had businesses and I get it. Either way this was on his mind and he should have adjusted. I won’t go back just because of how odd it all was but in truth I only go there a couple of times a year.

Another missed adjustment. I was frequenting Pizza Schmizza quite consistently at the end of ‘09 because they had a 1/2 price pizza slice Happy Hour. It fit my schedule that I was going there way to often. When the New Year hit they dropped it saying they were losing money on it.

They could only lose a significant amount of money if it worked. Going from 2-4pm there was little chance of eating into lunch sales. Obviously it worked and people were enticed by the discount. What if they did 25% off or the classic, buy a slice get a drink? They had the eyeball’s, or rather mouth’s, attention and lost it. Would love to see how the numbers changed.

Moral: Adjust

Written on my Phone, ignore the typos.