Thursday, December 29, 2011

Have a Ha-Ha-Happy New Year with Laughter Yoga!

And don't forget, January 28, 2012 is Fun at Work Day. What could be more fun than a Laughter Yoga session in your workplace!

Monday, December 05, 2011

Adventures in SmartPhone Land

To say that I have just joined the ranks of smart phone users with my recent purchase of an Android phone, is really untrue. Way back in 2003 or 2004 I owned a VOQ phone. This phone had a phone pad that opened into a keyboard, and with it, I could access the web, email and chat systems. The phone had a tiny joystick that served as a mouse. With that phone, and its small screen I amazed my friends and coworkers who had previously only seen such tricks performed by a Blackberry.  My reputation as an ahead-of-the-curve geek was preserved.

The VOQ phone, however, soon fell out of favor in the United States, and when I wore out the joystick with my enthusiastic web and email surfing, there was no way to get it repaired or replaced. Around this time a little thing called the iPhone made its debut, and before long, the race was on to dominate the smart phone market, create millions of apps, and of course, create expensive "data plans" that are required to keep these phones going.

Since I was forced into austerity budget measures at the time, I could neither afford the fancy new smart phones, nor the dataplans to run them. I sat on the sidelines watching people fall in love with their iPhones, become addicted to their Crackberries, and generally leave me behind in the technology dust. It was humiliating. Worst of all was the explosion of QR Codes and my inability to access the secrets they unlocked. Sometimes I just wanted to shout "remember when I was the only one with a smartphone?"

I must confess to a certain small measure of smug self-satisfaction when some of these phone began having issues with operating systems, faulty upgrades, poor cell phone service and fleeting battery life. While others were dealing with phone "bricks" and multiple trips to the various cell phone repair stores, I was motoring along with my simple flip phone, making calls and sending texts like a pro.

This all changed in 2011 when a Black Friday deal made a 4G android phone available for only a penny, and a certain cell phone provider offered a dataplan that was not much more than what I was paying for my "unsmart" phone. I was hooked. The fact that I could keep my old phone number sealed the deal and proudly paid my penny.

When the phone arrived, it needed to be activated, a process that seemed very simple, according the the enclosed directions. This is when I learned that some things, like clueless customer service, have not changed. Waiting endlessly on hold to get to a live person has not changed either. And, as I have experienced with everything from internet service to medical insurance, the process of needing to speak to at least four people has not changed. But eventually, the phone was activated and I was immediately mesmerized by my new toy.

I put in my contacts, even importing everyone's photos directly from Facebook. I snapped photo after photo with the 5 mp camera on the phone, and downloaded a camera app that let me take photos with all kinds of special effects. I was able to view video of my granddaughter and decorate my home screen with "live" holiday wallpaper featuring snowfall. And yes! I could access all the QR codes I could find, including ones I had created myself for work!

My introduction to SmartPhone Land was not complete however. Apparently, even today, no one can escape the curse of the "brick" phone. For me, it is an endless loop telling me that TWLauncher isn't operating and must be force closed. Unfortunately, TWLauncher is like the door at the Mines of Moria, and if you don't know the secret password/reset button combination - you never get back into your phone. I tried every solution I could find in Android forums, but all roads still lead me back to same loop.  I have now made an appointment at a cell phone store to see what they can do. I am not so smug now.