Posted by Jesse Friedman | Posted in Business,Technology | Posted on March 8, 2010
Flashback to Aug, 2008
I’m standing in an AT&T Wireless store, purchasing my first iPhone and signing up for a 2 year contract. A few months later my 2G iPhone is stolen out of my gym locker. Now because there is no insurance on iPhones and the 2G was discontinued in that short period of time I have a choice; buy a 2G from eBay or other site or upgrade to the 3G. Upgrading to the 3G requires a new 2 year activation and an increase in my monthly costs. In November of 2008 I renewed my contract and bought the 3G iPhone.
Today
I still have that same 3G iPhone but it’s all beat to hell. Only one speaker works, the “vibrate” button fell off and the battery life is poor. So now I’m looking at either purchasing the 3GS (which I’m sure will be discontinued this summer) or get a new phone and plan with Verizon.
Well What About The Warranty?
When I bought the first phone I bought the extra “Apple Care” warranty plan. When the phone was stolen I was told I can rollover the warranty to the new phone or get a refund on the original warranty. I chose to roll it over. Today Apple tells me that wasn’t an option and the Apple Care Rep I spoke to was misinformed. I’m still trying to get my refund on the warranty but it’s slow going. (more…)
Posted by Jesse Friedman | Posted in Arts | Posted on February 22, 2010
Lately my son and I have been watching a lot America’s Funniest Home Videos reruns. It’s actually quite funny watching my sons reactions to back flipping cats and whiffle ball nut shots. He finds it all pretty hilarious.
I found it rather surprising that America’s Funniest Home Videos is currently working on it’s 20th season, however now it’s called AFV. The AFV acronym, while easier to say does little to revive the show.
It Got Me Thinking, What Can AFV Do To Get Back On Top
AFV was one of the first of it’s kind. A show that was solely built on UGC (User Generated Content). UGC is a term tossed around in the Web 2.0 discussion rather ominously but the original Bob Saget hosted show was a pioneer.
Rewinding back to the late 80′s America’s Funniest Home Videos had no real competition except for America’s Funniest People but it was on the same station. Fast forward to today, AFV competes with YouTube, Jackass, WebSoup and many other UGC or reality shows. (more…)
Posted by Jesse Friedman | Posted in Lifestyle | Posted on February 19, 2010
No, I haven’t seen the movie, although I hear it’s good.
I just decided it was time to come up with a list of things I’d like to do before I die and then for no good reason share it with everyone. These are in no particular order and I’ll be updating it periodically.
My Bucket List
Marry my Soul Mate (yes I am that cheesy)
Become a Dad
Drive a car on two wheels. Not like this, more like this
Own a House
Skydive
Be featured in news or magazine article
Write a book (not a novel but rather a technical book)
Drive a car over 100mph
Save someones life (I know giving blood saves lives but I’m talking about diving into shark infested waters to save a drowning person, that’s a save)
At minimum get a Masters Degree but would like to work for a PhD
Scuba Dive in exotic waters
Learn another language preferably Japanese
Travel to a foreign country Went to Italy for nearly a month in 2000 – Photos
Catch a Marlin at least 12 feet in length
Fire a .50 calibur rifle
Run for some sort of political office
Drive across the USA
Play in the World Poker Tournament
Photograph Something Truly Amazing (I’ll just know)
Flatten a penny on a railroad track
Speak at a large conference with a 500+ audience
Compete on a game show
I’m sure I’ll be adding some new things as I think of them.
What are some things you would like to accomplish, places you’d like to go or people you’d like to meet before you kick it.
Posted by Jesse Friedman | Posted in Technology | Posted on February 17, 2010
I Need Your Help, and I’m Willing to Reward You For It!
I’ve been trying to work this out in my mind but it hasn’t been working out that well. As I do with anything I’m having trouble figuring out, I ask for help. Help me choose the BEST mobile device(s) to suit my needs. What am I missing? What other options do I have?
Right now I have an Apple iPhone 3G (not 3Gs). I pay about $90 a month with taxes for a basic phone and texting plan. That’s 450 min and 200 texts a month. Now after hearing about the iPad I jumped into the Apple Fan Club like a Grizzly Bear at an over stocked Salmon Resevoir. My original plan with the iPad was to get the 3G enabled version, get rid of my iPhone and get a simple phone plan.
The theory behind this was that I’d pay $30 a month for the iPad’s 3G plan and peanuts for the new phone plan. I’d get all the good stuff from the iPhone in the iPad with out the extra AT&T fees.
Now I found out that I can hop on a Verizon Family Plan with a family member and pay $9 a month for a ton of min and texts. Which means I can still get the iPad 3G and pay a total of $39 a month for both the phone and the iPad services. This sounds wonderful.
Now here’s the problem. There are some things that I LOVE about the iPhone. One being GPS Maps, which I would lose with the above plan, unless the iPad 3G comes with GPS which I’m not sure about. I’d also lose the ability to use a lot of the apps I’ve grown accustomed to in the iPhone when I’m out and about. I can’t justify carrying an iPad around the grocery store or sitting in a movie theater. (more…)
