Fugly. The other choices. I would’ve chosen the current one we have, My Texas, or the Traditional Texas. We’re not some foofoo flowery pansy state. We’re talking Texas here. Get a manly plate design. Not this piece of crap. Can’t believe it was the overwhelming favorite. I plan on getting a custom plate next time with random letters. Blue letters on plain white background.
Edit: After reading more about it, I too think that it’s a ploy to get more people to spend on customized plates. I remember reading about custom plate penetration rates awhile back. Looks like Texas had the lowest rate (0.56%). Bastards are trying to raise it. I guess I’ll chime in and blame it on Rick Perry as well :-p.
Ever been one of those without AT&T’s visual voicemail? Think the voicemail transcribing and redirection based on rules are cool features of Google voice? Have a calling plan with a GSM based provider? Now you can forward your voicemails to Google Voice and have all those cool features. From your phone’s keypad enter the following and press the call button:
*61*123456789# (when you don’t pick up) *62*123456789# (when you decline the call) *67*123456789# (when you’re on another call already)
My friend Andrew and I were testing out the backend of Google voice today. Here are a few of our findings. (And please let me know if any of this is incorrect.)
SMS Relay - GV is smart somewhat smart. If Party A txts Party B’s GV number from a non-GV number that’s associated with a GV number, it will show up in Party B’s phone/GV as Party A’s GV number. If Party A releases the association, then the txt appears from one of google’s 406 area code numbers.
Basically, all txts from others without a GV association will have a 406 area code and not be known to you — unsolicited behavior. It will however append the body of the message with the caller id of the sender. (Clever)
But, if you send a txt from the GV web interface to a number, any response will have the proper sender ID. Because GV now has a hook since you solicited the txt. If you send a txt from the GV web interface, any reply may have the same area code as the recipient, but it will not be the same number. In this case, the receiver’s name will be appended onto the body of the msg — solicited behavior.
The above two bullet points apply to numbers that you’ve never allowed GV to know about. I believe if there is past sms or calling activity to a number from within the GV website, it will remember that and use that caller ID instead of the 406 area coded number.
One more point. The reason everything is still routed through a Google owned number is so that they can keep a log of all your conversations. Only txts that originate from somewhere they do not know about (from your cell phone to another cell phone) will not be recorded.
Calling the 406 number - (i’m not as sure on this) everyone has a 406 number associated with their GV that redirects the call or txt to the number that was chosen when you sign up for GV. It acts as an intermediary that intercepts all incoming transmissions and sends them to the GV number or the other numbers associated with the GV.
Just like the SMS relay, if you use a phone that is associated with a GV and you call the 406 number, it will go to that person’s cell.
HOWEVER, if your physical phone number is deleted (not just unchecked from being forwarded) in GV, you will get a “this call cannot be completed as dialed” message and will not be able to connect.
Calling a number from within the GV website will ring your phone of choice first, then call the number you wish to reach.
When calling a GV number via cell phone, your call timer starts immediately when you hear the first ring tone. This is a clue to tell you the number is being routed through GV because your actual cell/provider starts charging the moment routing begins.
A couple of other notables:
Calls made through the GV website that connect to your cell phone still cost you money even though it’s an incoming call. This is unfortunately the way US cell service works right now. In Europe, incoming calls are free (caller pays).
There is no mechanism to call from your computer. You must have a phone associated that you can use as a terminal.
Edited 2009-08-07 09:56 CST: Added more info on the SMS caller ID relay.
I am not a Brad Miller fan at all, but this is clearly a flagrant foul that the league says stands as called on the floor. Bullshit. Stu Jackson and David Stern, you are both fucking idiots. The NBA can do no wrong eh? Dwight Howard gets suspended a game for an elbow, but this is allowed? Just bullshit. Rondo was clearly going for his head and not the ball. Such inconsistent calls. The NBA has no integrity.
In a surprise post-PMA announcement, Canon unveiled the newest addition to the Rebel line, the Ti1. Or the 500D for the europeans. I think I like the numerical nomenclature more. Highlights include 15MP, HD video recording, increased frame rate (3.4/s), and hi-rez lcd similar to the 50D and 5DII. ISO sensitivity has also increased to 3200 native, and upwards of 12,800 expanded. Viewfinder size is the same as the predecessor 450D — though still larger than the 400D and 350D. AF is the same. 450D battery and SD memory. Interestingly, the ISO12,800 result looks acceptable.
Separating it from the xxD line is the lack of AF-on button and larger pentaprism based viewfinder. And sRAW.
This leaves me with a lot of choices in the $1,200 and less category. Should I get a used 5D, 50D? Or a new 500D or Panasonic HG-1? The 5D has the largest viewfinder, the largest pixels, and battery compatibility. No live view though. 50D has a nice LCD, live view and a more down to earth 7.1MP sRAW which I think would work well in conjuction with the high ISO sensitivity. 500D has a nice mix of high res and high iso, with an inbetween frame rate (which is less important now that I’m better at timing my shots). Video recording would be a big plus. Or the Panasonic and a 20mm f/1.7 lens (when it actually comes out)? Articulating screen, semi-high rez lcd, EVF (not a big fan of, but haven’t seen this one in person) and also HD recording. But contrast based AF. Decisions decisions.
Perhaps a 5D for the full frame and build and later on a Panasonic for the screen and smaller size? Then replace my current 350D in another couple of years? That’s a large number of cameras. No need for hoarding here…
In other news, there’s a new TTL flash for canon, the 270ex. There’s no display on the back; everything is controlled by the camera. But it does finally have tilt. This might be good for clubs and dingy places when it’s not convinient to bring the off camera speedlites and having to manually set them.
The new Shuffle now incorporates a proprietary chip to prevent unauthorized headphone usage. Looks like Apple keeps knocking itself down on my list. This is in addition to dock port items for the iPhone and iPod touch which also have a proprietary chip that require genuine Apple items to get functionality such as a line out, or TV output. I hope there’s a lot of consumer outrage over this. It’s similar to inkjet printer manufacturers in the early part of the decade putting chips in their refills and invoking the DMCA when it came to third party competitors. Sick sick sick. Just makes me sick.
First there was the Palm, which brought third-party applications to the PDA. Then there was the rise of the internet, which brought “cloud” computing such as webmail and online photo galleries. Now with the advent of the iPhone, the new third-party developers should really get in tow and understand that we don’t want apps that store data on the phone or on our personal computers*. The data should be easily accessible from multiple interfaces/locations — iPhone, desktop, library, etc. Utilize the internet! The iPhone is an internet phone so design your apps appropriately. Take for example, some of the mileage tracking apps on the App Store. Many are still storing their data locally on the iPhone and backing it up to the computer when you sync. That’s the wrong way to do things. The should have it uploaded onto networked servers. You want to be able to access this information anywhere, and also be able to save and upload to it at your convenience. If you lose your iPhone, the data will still be there. You just need to find another “interface” and you’re back in business. Utilize the internet people. The way it’s supposed to be used. And perhaps there are people out there who will step in and fill this need for generic server utilities…
