Monthly Archives: January 2007

Well DHL Finally Delivers Package

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DHL finally delivered the package that I have been waiting for, 21 days after it was shipped.

It has been sitting in Denver since December 26 and after DHL gave it to a courier to deliver, who couldn’t manage to do that, and took it back to deliver themselves.

These shipping companies, mainly United Parcel Service and DHL, need to better manage their delivery of packages during storms.  From what I am hearing, people have had nothing but problems.

You would think that these companies would be better prepared and if I was a shareholder I would be concerned.

Tivo Comes to Comcast

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Sometime in the second half of 2007 Comcast will roll out Tivo for the Motorola DCT6412 set top boxes and I will probably be one of the first ones to sign up for the service.

Once you sign up, the software will download to your set-top box and Comcast will send you a Tivo remote.  This is going to be so cool.  The current user interface that is provided on these set-top boxes is horrible.

The only drawback is that it going to cost more money than the $10 that I am already paying for the HD DVR.  So how much is it going to cost?  Who knows, but it better not be too much.

The question that remains is that will I be able to share with my other Tivo’s or will I will be able to download it to my computer and burn a DVD or transfer it to my laptop?  I have seen some that says that will be disabled and many who don’t discuss it.  This would be good to include and what separates Tivo from the rest.

You can read more on CNET, TiVo without a TiVo box or on Engadget, Comcast DVR with TiVo: pics, features.  You can take a look at a video presentation from the floor at CES at PC World, Tivo Demonstrates on Comcast DVR.

DHL Not Coming Through

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DHL has even been more pathetic that United Parcel Service in their delivery of packages to people in the Denver area following the snow storm in Denver prior to Christmas.

My package has been in Denver since December 26 and with all the problems I expected a few delays.  But it is over two weeks late now.

It wouldn’t be as bad, but they have been calling me and telling me that they have brought in a special courier to help them and they have it for delivery, but they never deliver it either.  Then they tell me it is on the truck for delivery and it is not delivered.  Today they called and said that it was on a truck and would be delivered today, TODAY! And guess what, it wasn’t.

It is now scheduled for delivery tomorrow.  I will believe it when I see it.

This was a product that I ordered from Adobe and they have not been much help either.  They only called DHL for me to complain and that didn’t help either.  Adobe also bears some stake in this because they use DHL to ship their merchandise.

Learn how to ship DHL and learn how to perform customer service.

Mac Geeks Go Crazy Over iPhone

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Apple made a revolutionary announcement yesterday when Steve Jobs unveiled their iPhone. This phone is the best phone that has ever been designed and it is less than a 1/2 inch thick.

The user interface is amazing and incorporating a wide screen iPod that automatically switches between portrait and landscape is revolutionary. To be able to control the device with my finger and scroll through all the information is crazy. The multiple sensors that are in the phone that keep track of where it is and automatically turns off when it gets close to your fact to take a call.

The iPod part of is amazing. The scrolling with the finger and then clicking on the song or album that you want to listen to really improves the interface. The scroll wheel is now history.

The phone part of this device is crazy. I think the coolest option was in voicemail where you don’t have to listen through all your voicemail, you can just listen to the voicemail that you want in the order that you want.

For the internet surfing portion of the iPhone, the ability to surf the web in full and not reduced for the mobile device is the big draw for me. The widgets and maps are a great addition especially if the iPhone will interact with GPS.

One of the drawbacks on the phone will be fingerprints on the device. There were already fingerprints on the device from Steve Jobs’ presentation. A minor drawback is that is on Cingular. Cingular Wireless is one of the worst wireless companies out there and their EDGE service is a lot slower than EVDO.

Another negative is that the price points combined with only 4GB and 8GB of storage may be a limiting factor for people. But if you realize that you have a phone, iPod, and PDA in one device, it will be really cost-effective.

To read a good review of the iPhone, take a look at this Time article, “Apple’s New Calling: The iPhone“.

Also, something that hasn’t really been discussed or spoken about is that the trademark of iPhone is held by Cisco, but only in the United States. Apple holds the trademark outside the United States. Apparently they have been in negotiations, but that may have been broken down when Apple was sued today by Cisco for trademark violations as reported by the Mac User Blog. The Wall Street Journal also had an article today on the lawsuit, “Cisco Suit May Snag Apple’s iPhone Plans“.

David Pogue of the NY Times had a good column on the iPhone. He should know, he is one of the only people outside of Apple to spend considerable amount of time with the device. The article “Apple Waves Its Wand at the Phone“, summarizes the device better than those out there. He discusses many items that were not covered in the demo.

If I have some extra money, I will be looking at this device. It is amazing.

A Busy Week in Tech

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This begins a busy week in Tech.

Beginning tomorrow the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas.  This show will run through January 11 and many of this years new Tech gadgets will be released and announced.  It is the 40th Year and over 100,000 people are expected to attend.
It will be interesting to see what comes out.  I would like to see some more integrated devices and wireless speakers that operate on 802.11 wireless network.  You can read more on CNET’s Preview of CES.

The other big conference that will have some big announcements will be Macworld.  The highlight of this conference is the keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday, January 9.

It will be interesting to see what product announcements he will make.  It sounds like it is pretty sure that he will announce the Apple iPhone and maybe a video iPod.  Who knows.  Apple is always secretive on these keynotes.  But one thing is guaranteed, the presentation will be will produced.

Enjoy the week you tech fans and keep checking back for my thoughts on the announcements.

Avalanche Traps 8, Only 1 Admitted to the Hospital

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According to the Rocky Mountain News, only one person was admitted to the hospital in the avalanche that occurred on Berthoud Pass today.  The avalanche happened on what is known as the Stanley run.

There are many avalanche paths that cross Highway 40, but it is unusual for avalanches to come down uncontrolled in this area.  The Colorado Department of Transportation regularly inspects and does control work throughout the whole highway.

But it appears that the wind that came up this morning loaded the starting zone before anyone realized what was going on and could stop traffic and do control work in the area.

I am glad that no one was killed or seriously injured.

Read the complete Rocky Mountain News Story, (No one else trapped; eight taken to hospital)