Technology Purchases in 2003
(Not Opera-related)
I was thinking back on the technology booms of 2003. Yeah, I know everyone else did their reflecting on 2003 a month ago, but I’m doing mine now.
Treo300600
The first (chronologically) was the Treo300, which replaced my aged Palm IIIxe and my no so aged cell phone. I lost said cell phone somewhere between Atlanta and Gainesville airports.
The Treo300 was a fairly decent phone plus PDA. It had a keyboard rather than relying on writing with the stylus. Since I usually carried both my Palm and my cell, it was convenient to have them both together, if for no other reason than it was one less set of batteries to worry about being charged.
The other important feature was that it was web enabled, meaning that I could get/send email (SnapperMail Rocks). This feature alone was relatively powerful.
But the Treo300 suffered from being the first generation of PDA/cell phone combination units. It had the unique ability of being both bulky (wide left to right) and flimsy (thin front to back). One time someone saw me talking on it and said that it looked like the oldest cell phone she had ever seen (because of the width, I’m sure... and you can’t see that it is also a PDA from across the room).
Due to the flimsy-ness, within a few months I had worn out the keyboard. Given the amount of usage it got, that should be no surprise, but it was not a good sign of its long-term viability. I spent a good deal of time one day at the Sprint store trying to get a replacement unit. To make a really, really, really long story short, eventually they let me upgrade to a Treo600 (which was good, because what was to prevent the replacement Treo300 from getting worn out in an equally short time?)
I really like the Treo600 better. The Treo300 was a flip phone, which meant that the screen had a built in protector, but it added to the bulk, of course. The Treo600 has better range and roaming, it is much more sturdy, and narrower. The narrowness is also a drawback, in that the keys are rather hard to type with any speed and accuracy. But let’s face it, no one is taking class notes with this thing, it is mostly for quick emails (dialing the phone can be done on the touch screen, which I can do with my finger).
iPod
Tracey bought me an iPod for Father’s Day, and I have really loved it. For long car rides, it has been a godsend. It is so much better than my CD collection, because I can take it with me anywhere and have a lot of options available, rather than just a few CDs at a time.
Slashdot had an article about the iPod as a “gateway drug” that gets people hooked on Mac. It definitely has done that for me. When the current laptop goes, I’ll definitely replace it with an iBook or Powerbook.
iPod Accessories: iTrip (wireless FM transmitter which lets me go from the car to my home/office stereo without plugging anything in), Contour Showcase (to protect the little darling my my inevitable mishandling), Belkin Auto Charger w/Audio for iPod (which serves as an in-car charger and a cassette adapter). Am currently in the market for a voice recorder, looking at iTalk or Belkin’s iPod Voice Recorder Belkin’s is shipping now, but the iTalk looks like the better product.)
DirecTIVO
Getting DirecTV was not a good experience (it took months to get the installation complete, and they lied about when local channels would be available), but getting DirecTIVO was great. Tivo is wonderful, I haven’t watched anything I haven’t wanted to since we got it (you know when you get home and just want to watch something but there is nothing on, so you watch whatever is on). I especially haven’t missed commercials.
So many folks have written about how great Tivo is, I hardly need go on about it here, but suffice it to say that I concur.
Chevy Impala
Ok, cars aren’t exactly new technology, but the Impala is definitely the best car I’ve ever owned, and one of the best I’ve ever driven. The car also came with OnStar, which is fairly cool, but far too expensive. The “safe and sound” package was like $200/year, and the driving directions was approximately $400/year. (They no longer list annual prices on the website). The phone costs are way too high also (see OnStar Calling Plans. 30¢ per minute? You can make international calls for a fraction of that.
The feature that I have enjoyed the most is definitely the heated seats. Heated seats! What luxury! Anyone who has lived in a colder climate knows how long it takes a car sitting out in the cold to get warmed up. The seats start to heat up immediately.
Another feature I use daily is the HomeLink, which is a button which controls the garage door. Sure you could use the remote that came with it, but this is cooler. Speaking of technology, a remote-controlled garage door is fairly cool and easily taken for granted, but in rain and snow, very helpful. Without it our garage would probably not get used very often except to store stuff, which is a poor use for a garage if you live anywhere that gets snow (or rain, for that matter).
DirecPC/DirecWay (bad bad bad)
The only bad technology experience that I can remember from 2003 was satellite internet. Downloading large files may be fast on satellite, but web surfing in general is not. FTP and SSH are also incredibly slow, and I use those nearly daily too.
How bad was it? Well, first they lied about being able to use it with my Wireless Ethernet equipment, and then the speeds were so bad that I sent it back within the first 30 days in exchange for 28.8 dialup (that’s right, not 56k or 53k, but 28.8... on a good day).
Which is the best?
Tivo, Treo600, iPod, heated seats, garage door openers... which is the best? I don't know. I wouldn’t want to go without any of them.