Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

There is simply no other way to describe it. Are “they” kidding? This is a “Captcha.” That stands for: Competely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computer and Humans Apart. It is evil. According to Wikipedia: “It is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. I don’t really don’t care. It’s all “mumbo-jumbo.” When this appears on my laptop screen, I get really ticked. The “Captcha” you see here appeared when I tried to get into my e-mail. I don’t know why it came up. I entered the correct password. In the past, I used to have to look closer - maybe take off my reading glasses - and try to figure out what the letters were. My success rate was about 65%. I sometimes would actually have to turn my laptop around or upside down to read the letters. I looked like a nut spinning my computer above my head.  This time, I said no way. I’m putting my foot down - actually my finger - I’m just not going to comply. Can you figure out what these letters are? I can’t. I hit the back arrow and re-entered my password and got in without having to deal with the “Captcha.” I say no more “Captcha’s.” How say you? If you want to read more about this “evil” go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA

My previous job was as a cell phone salesman for a major wireless carrier. I sold many cell phones and cell phone accessories to truckers. A popular cell phone accessory for many of these truckers was a Bluetooth headset. Truckers relied on the Bluetooth technology for safety and also to follow the laws of many states. The major complaint I received from a lot of the truckers was the sound quality of the headsets. Many of the truckers had a hard time hearing over the noise of their trucks. Many of them ended up returning the Bluetooth headsets because they did not fit their needs. They were frustrated by the effectiveness of the Bluetooth headsets.

Cobra electronics has seemed to solve this problem with their new CB radio with Bluetooth technology. This is the first ever CB radio to combine the two technologies. The CB unit allows drivers to receive their cell phone calls wirelessly into the unit and also comes equipped with noise canceling technology.   Read the rest of this entry »

Blackberry Storm

In order for us to determine whether the Blackberry Storm will be able to compete with the Iphone we need to examine its features.  First off it looks great in my opinion; this is the first phone I have seen from RIM that has a beautiful high resolution screen.  That is something that is a huge draw to the Iphone, the beauty of how it looks.  The Blackberry Storm also has a full touch screen that looks amazing.  It looks just as good as any Iphone I have ever seen.  The size of the touch screen is 3.25 inches and has a screen resolution of 360×480.  The touch screen keyboard will have two separate layouts.  The first will be setup in landscape mode and will have a full QWERTY keyboard.  The second will be setup in the portrait mode and the keyboard will use the SureType layout from RIM.

One of the biggest draws to the Blackberry products are from corporate types or people that need constant access to their email.  RIM has built a huge client base just based on this fact alone and has built a whole line of products to benefit these types of people.  This will not change with the Blackberry Storm.  It will still have support for multiple types of email accounts and is said to have more security features available for it.  This will be a big draw as large corporations will want sensitive data to be protected.

The Storm will feature a full html browser similar to the Iphone.  It will be capable of viewing and editing files for Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.  It will have a 3.2-megapixel camera which is better than the camera featured on the Iphone.  It will have 1 GB of memory available on the smart phone and an expansion slot cable of handling of to an 8GB card.  The BlackBerry Storm is expected to be released sometime before the end of this year.  The price point has not been set yet, but it most likely won’t be cheap.  I imagine a price tag of somewhere around the $299 to $399 range.

If you spend a lot of time with your laptop computer actually  sitting in your lap, you might want to invest in a pair of Laptop Legs/Mac Feet, made by LapWorks, Inc. Don’t confuse these sturdy legs with the wimpy little things that came with some older models of laptops. Those older legs were thin and flimsy and they often broke apart. They didn’t last long. The Laptop Legs/Mac Feet are much heavier built than the older legs and they can take some abuse, so there’s no worries about stuffing them in your computer bag with your power cord and other gadgets. They also keep your laptop level and steady, so you won’t feel like it’s wiggling around while you’re using it. Couple that with the fact that added airflow under your laptop will help keep it cool and allow it to live longer, and you’ve got a great pair of legs!

One of the worries that a lot of laptop owners have is keeping their computers safe from electrical storms and surges when they take them somewhere else. Not every place has a surge protected for them to use. Now, you can get a surge protector that’s small enough to carry with you but big enough to do what it promises. The Targus Mobile Notebook Surge Protector is both lightweight and compact, meaning that toting it in your computer bag won’t ruin your shoulder. There are two and three prong AC adaptors available, and the Targus will fit almost any laptop. You can use it anywhere in the world, so you can work – or play – on your laptop without fear of electrical surges, anywhere you happen to be.

The D-Link Wireless Pocket Router is a useful device for the modern road warrior. With three different functions it can make life a lot easier for someone who needs an Internet connection when only one Ethernet port is available and in use by another person. Just plugging the card into your computer gives you 802.11g wireless connectivity. If you need a router or need to connect to an existing wireless network you can do that, too, just change the selector switch on the D-Link to handle whichever setup you need. There’s a firewall built in, so your wireless network is protected from malicious attacks, and you can use the D-Link to connect to any wireless network without being required to deal with a complicated software install first. The pocket router is user friendly and if USB power options are not available it can be powered through a standard outlet, giving you virtually no excuse for not doing your work.

D-Link Wireless Pocket Router

Convenience on your key chain

Need to know where the Wi-Fi is? Now you can, with this tiny but durable little gadget that fits right on your key chain without bulking it up so much that it won’t fit comfortably in your pocket or purse. Sure, you can boot up your laptop and look for a signal. You can even walk around or drive around with it, but it’s time consuming and tedious. It’s much easier to just use the mobile Wi-Fi locator to hunt for a signal so you’re not using your bulky laptop and running your battery dead just trying to find a place that’s got a signal you can use. The mobile Wi-Fi locator is not only small, lightweight, and convenient but it also comes with an LED light so that you can see not only that you have a signal but how strong that signal is. You’ll know whether your newly found Wi-Fi is usable before you ever take your computer out of its case and push the power button.

Mobile Edge Wifi Locator

After only 493 days, the merger of Sirius and XM, the nations only two satellite radio broadcasting companies, has been approved. Finally. The thing is, during the months that have passed between the merger request and final approval, a lot of things have changed.

The price of fuel has skyrocketed, the economy has slowed, and a lot of drivers, as well as consumers in general, are feeling the need to rid themselves of expenses deemed “non-essential”. Even if the merger is handled properly, and I have no reason to believe that it won’t be, the merged company will still be fighting an uphill battle to reach profitability.

Most of the people I’ve spoken with, that were opposed to the merger, were opposed because they felt a merged company would stop providing “edgy and innovative” programming. I don’t pretend to have any special insight but logic tells me that the opposite will be true. Consumers have a variety of choices and, considering the fact that some of them are free, I don’t really see how a subscription service can survive in the mobile entertainment environment without actively seeking the edge and pursuing innovation.

Time will tell, and I truly believe that consumers will be well served by the merger but I have to admit, there are a lot of questions yet to be answered. While a June 13 letter to the FCC promised “Programming Options” the companies have only offered this proposal as an indication of the actual options to be offered.

Additionally, there are questions regarding radios and related equipment. Within the merger agreement, the companies are required to open the market to manufacturers. This should bring a lot of great products to consumers but, alas, if you want to take advantage of the pick-and-choose programming, you’re old satellite receiver will likely be relegated to the scrap heap.

The merger’s approved; let’s hope that the combined company becomes stable and profitable by providing high quality programming and a wide variety of consumer options.

It’s been a long time coming, roughly twice as long as the FCC normally takes to perform a merger review, but it looks like a decision is finally on the horizon.

The primary factor in prolonging the review has been the fact that the FCC originally granted licenses to XM and Sirius on the condition the companies never merge; and government regulatory bodies are loathe to make 180 degree reversals. Their thought, back in 1997, was that a merger would stifle competition and result in a condition in which satellite radio consumers weren’t well served.

But the Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division, the folks charged with reviewing proposed mergers, so as to prevent potential monopolies, issued a statement that begins with the following statement:

“Evidence Does Not Establish that Combination of Satellite Radio Providers Would Substantially Reduce Competition”

I’m not entirely sure, with a decision by the DOJ (issued March 28, 2008) indicating a lack of anti-trust issues, why it’s taken so long for the FCC to bring this matter to a head but it may be that they had additional concerns. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said, on June 15th,

“As I have indicated before, this is an unusual situation. I am recommending that with the voluntary commitments they (Sirius and XM) have offered, on balance, this transaction would be in the public interest.”

Soooo…just what might those voluntary commitments be?

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Park n View…..latter to call them selves PNV.net was a forerunner of today’s IdleAire

in that it provided communications to trucks in the parking lot. They, like Bear Stearns recently, and Enron a few years ago suffered a liquidity crisis and went bankrupt. Their bubble burst along with the dot-com bubble in the late nineties.

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