Bike and Beyond...

Did okay

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posted by Todd Johnson @ 8:49 AM Comments: 0

FCC Please read this!

UPDATE #1 regarding THIS post:
We do pay more then everyone else! It's weird that the service providers insist we do not!
Click HERE to read it.

UPDATE #2 regarding THIS post:
Looks like the take back the beep campaign is having some effect! Who says social media is useless?

Labels: Apple, ATT, Cell phones, FCC

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posted by Todd Johnson @ 4:17 PM Comments: 0

FCC Please Help!

THIS is the kind of stuff that really annoys me, especially when I'm paying $80 a month for a iPhone. I understand that creating a cell network that blankets the entire US is expensive, but I don't like that there is an extra $16 million a year left over to lobby my government so I keep paying more!

"Later this month, the Federal Communications Commission plans to begin a broad inquiry into competition in the wireless industry. It will also review rules designed to prevent carriers from tacking junk fees onto phone bills." -WSJ

Yes, good, great! I also don't like the fact that even when paying $60 a month for a voice plan you can get charged $0.20 per text message unless you get a $15 a month text plan. When in fact, a text message costs the carriers next to nothing to transmit. It goes over the same system that the higher bandwidth voice data travels!

"As part of its review, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski reordered the agency to launch an inquiry into whether Apple Inc. nixed Google Inc.'s voice software from its iPhone App Store because it might compete with AT&T's services." -WSJ

And really good to this! I love Apple, but they shouldn't be allowing AT&T to dictate what apps go on the phone. An iPhone owner HAS to pay the high iPhone rate, so who cares how they use up THEIR minutes. Cell phones should follow in the footsteps of computers. You can get service (read internet) from whom ever you want. You're allowed to run ANY program or application you want on your computer. ie. You buy your phone from any manufacturer and can use it with any service provider.

And don't get me started on the crappy service AT&T members are getting for what they pay. If AT&T can't handle all the iPhones and all the data they in turn use, then they should be giving refunds/discounts until they can! That's the number one reason Apple needs to get out of the AT&T iPhone deal. I love the iPhone but AT&T sucks, so I should be able to take my iPhone to Verizon or Sprint, peace AT&T! Here is another blogger who RANTS about similar issues.

Hopefully the FCC is going to get a little more involved with open access in regards to the internet and cell phones. I don't feel like they have been very on top of everything in the last 8 years. I guess we'll have to wait and see what unfolds...

Labels: Apple, ATT, FCC, iPhone

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posted by Todd Johnson @ 10:09 AM Comments: 0

Seriously?

So I wanna do a poll, how much is this umbrella really helping?


Rescuers try to pull a stranded car out of floodwater in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China on August 9, 2009. (REUTERS/China Daily)

For the full story in pictures, check out this great photo blog called The Big Picture. The author takes some amazing images from events around the world and posts them in high-res glory for all to see. Make sure you click on the titles to see all of the pictures in a category.

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posted by Todd Johnson @ 10:22 AM Comments: 0

Nike+ Experience

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in Wired Magazine, which by the way is great journalism if your looking for a well written tech magazine, and I came across an article (Click HERE to read it) on the Nike+. If you aren't up for a good read or don't have time, HERE is Apple's page on it.

Basically it's a little accelerometer that goes in your Nike shoe and it communicates with your iPod or in my case my iPhone. I don't have Nike shoes so I just bought a little pouch that holds it on your shoe laces. After you calibrate it, it tracks how far and fast you're running. Once back to your computer, you sync it with Nike's running website. HERE is my Nike+ Site. You can see all the runs and run/walks I've done and even see the speed/distance graph by clicking any of the distances in the list. On the right side I've also added a widget on my blog that will show my last run.

As the article states, Nike really hit the nail on the head with this because it works with Apple's music players, which has already basically saturated the market, and it shows and shares your running data. You upload it, see it, track it and you can even challenge your self and friends. On top of that you can set personal goals, ie. I want to run 4 times this week.

The challenges and goals are what really help motivate me to run. I set a goal and if know I have 2 weeks to run 6 times, I know I should get on it. And once I get a few more friends on Nike+ it will be really fun trying to beat them.

Here is a screen shot of todays run, and yes I did get motivated to run on a Friday (Click HERE for the interactive one):



You can see circles on the graph and if you put your mouse over them on THIS page you can see the stats. Those are when I pushed a button on my phone. Then in my headphones I hear my current distance, time, and speed per mile. It also marks it on the graph. I use this before I go up hills or change terrain so I can track why my speed changed. As you can see at the end I sprinted and it's reflected in the graph.

It even track all your runs over time:


It would be great if they also did this for biking, and maybe even incorporated GPS into it because the iPhone now has GPS. But as the article says, simple seems to be working well. They have had users log over 151,772,660 miles when I wrote this.

Run on!

Labels: Apple, Exercise, Nike, Nike+, Running

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posted by Todd Johnson @ 2:50 PM Comments: 1