MobileViews Blog

Started a poll over on the MobileContentToday.com blog that I write for (MobileVIews is my personal mobile tech blog)…

MobileContentToday Poll: Should Voice Calls Using WiFi Be Allowed During Flights?

Got a “yes” or “no” opinion on the topic? Take the poll I set up on MisterPoll.com:

Should Voice Calls over WiFi Be Allowed on Flights

I could find the T-Mobile Hotspot login in the AT&T hotspot splash page in Starbucks the last time I dropped by one with my netbook. However, I noticed that the Seattle’s Best Coffee (owned by Starbucks) shop area in the local Borders Book Store had an actual T-Mobile Hotspot instead of the grandfathered (for another 3+ years) access via AT&T Wireless in actual Starbucks shops. Looking at T-Mobile’s list of hotspots, I see that the wireless service is actually provided by Borders itself and that the Seattle’s Best Coffee shop area benefits from that.

Do you watch TV with a netbook sitting in your lap or on a coffee table? I do. And, so does my daughter. I wonder if the rise of the inexpensive, lightweight and relatively cool-running netbooks (the ones I’ve tried run cooler than anything except my old 12″ Apple iBook) has people returning to the comfort of the coach and TV

Have you noticed that you spend more time watching TV recently because netbooks fit so well in that environment (living room, coffee table, lap)?

Yes, I know that:

- Starbucks changed WiFi hotspot providers last year and that AT&T provides the service now while T-Mobile Hotspot users have about 4 years of free roaming on those hotspots remaining
- T-Mobile’s SSID is now hidden/invisible and that you have to manually configure it for WiFi access
- The T-Mobile hotspot login option is a tiny icon/link on the AT&T hotspot login screen

Here’s what I don’t know/understand…

I walked into a Starbucks that I visited just a few weeks ago and was able to use the hidden “tmobile” SSID with the AT&T provided hotspot. I walked into the same Starbucks this morning and saw the visible AT&T SSID but could not use T-Mobile’s. And, I did not see a T-Mobile hotspot login when connected to an Access Point with AT&T’s SSID. I’m going to give T-Mobile a call in the morning to try to sort this problem out. But, if anyone has an explanation for what I saw, I’d appreciate hearing it.

Very interesting item from Australia’s ITnews…

CeBIT09: McDonalds’ free wifi users soak up seating

McDonalds in Australia started providing free WiFi in their restaurants in November 2008. Unfortunately, as you might expect the average WiFi user stays seated around 35 minutes instead of the 10 minutes non-WiFi users do. So, they’re running out of seating bandwidth with WiFi users hanging around too long.

The 5GB monthly cap on 3G wireless data services in the U.S. means that many 3G subscribers are probably looking for free or low-cost WiFi hotspots to avoid going over their monthly limit. Hotspot providers that figure out a way to balance the longer seating time of WiFi users with their revenue generating products should be able to continue to attract customers of all types (WiFi using or not).

1st generation Zune (left), 1st generation iPod nano (middle), 4th generation iPod nano (right)

If you have a teenager, don’t bother to ask if he or she would prefer an iPod or a Zune. According to CNET’s summary of a Piper Jaffray survey…

Teen survey makes Microsoft’s Zune seem futile

The percentage of teens who want a zune as of the most recent survey is 100%. This is all the more surprising since their Fall 2008 survey showed that 15% planned to buy a Zune while 79% wanted an iPod (3% were looking at Sony’s offering).

I know I performed this survey on a very very small scale (my teenager) a few years ago (when she wasn’t a teenager to be honest). I asked her if she would like a Zune I had received as a gift since it can playback video and has an FM radio. She was using a 1st generation iPod nano at the time which did not have either feature. She looked at the Zune and said she would rather keep using her 1st generation nano. I later bought her an iPod touch. But, she preferred the nano even then, BTW. Last year, I replaced her 1st generation nano with a 4th generation model. She’s very happy with that now (still doesn’t use the iPod touch much).

How often does a father and his teenage daughter agree on anything? So, I find it pretty amusing that my daughter and I actually enjoy the same musical artist named Utada Hikaru (surname – given name order, btw) a lot. I was even more amused when I noticed that Utada’s new English language music video (she’s bilingual, btw) is the iTunes free Music Video of the Week in the U.S. You can find it here…

Utada: Come Back to Me (iTunes music video)

It should be free until the end of next week Monday (Mar. 30).

TechCrunch reports that…

BillShrink Brings Its Cost-Cutting Engine To The Gas Pump

At this point I bet you are saying, “Hey, what does this have to do with mobile technology?” Well, actually, this particular announcement does not. But, it gives me an excuse to point out that I interviewed BillShrink.com’s CEO Peter Pham last month. In that podcast (#17), I asked him how BillShrink.com could help people save money on mobile phone bills.

I’ve been a full-time blogger for 3 months now (check out my day job blog MobileAppsToday.com). I’m pretty happy to be working alone and uninterrupted most of the time. But, it is nice to interact with real people now and then too. Although I used Twitter before making this job-lifestyle change, it has become invaluable as my virtual water cooler weather working at home or on the road (with netbook and smartphone(s) in tow).

I maintain a locked personal Twitter account to talk/tweet with people I actually know for this purpose. It was one of the smartest things I’ve done, I think. I also have a public Twitter account to mostly talk about my work and tweet with people I don’t know personally. You can find this public account at:

twitter.com/toddogasawara

CNN asks…

Bosses worry if telecommuters are really working

This is the question that always came up in discussions over years and different employers. I actually telecommuted one-day per week when my child was an infant. That was great. But, the technology to work effectively from home wasn’t in place in my office or my home back in the mid-90s. Today, the technology is here, but the real issue comes down to management trust.

I telecommute full-time now as Editor of MobileAppsToday. The main thing that is needed, IMHO, is some kind of reasonable metrics. There needs to be some way to measure quantity of work, quality of work, and some kind of ROI on the part of the employer. In my case, quantity is easy: If stuff doesn’t appears on the MobileAppsToday blog, I’m not doing my job. The quality part is, of course, more difficult to get a handle on. And, I don’t have control over the ROI (are my employers getting enough value from their investment in the cost to employee me?).

Are you telecommunity full-time like me? Part-time? Tried it but gave it up? Want to try telecommuting?

I worked remotely when I managed the Microsoft Network (MSN) Computer Telephony and Windows CE Forums back in the 90s. I also had a full-time day job at that time. So, I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep . So, I have some experience telecommuting. But, this is the first time I’ve telecommuted full-time for my main (day) job. So, any advice would be appreciated. In turn, as I learn more about full-time telecommuting and, especially, its mobile technology aspects, I’ll share them here.