Barrett

September 7, 2014

How to Boost Your Smartphone’s Signal Strength

Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean your smartphone is. And even though you’re trying to get away from it all, you probably still want to receive that important phone call…

This past week, I’ve been adjusting to the sad reality that summer is behind us. All that’s left are the fun memories, a thousand photos that need organizing and a few cautionary tech tales.

Like what to do when you find yourself more disconnected than you originally planned…
(Cue “The Twilight Zone” music…)

Losing It at the Log Cabin
It was billed as the perfect vacation getaway…

A road trip up to the Berkshires
A little log cabin in the woods (with ‘most’ of the comforts of home)
A babbling brook nearby (okay… it was more like a roaring river)
Time set aside for a little R&R at a little lake in Great Barrington, MA

It was supposed to be perfect.

Until I asked the day before we left if there was decent cell phone coverage at the house.
(Granted, it was a little late in the game to be asking.)

The response:
“You can probably get one or two bars on the back deck.”

Hmmmm….
That sounded decidedly like code for a different answer…

When we arrived, I whipped out my iPhone and discovered the truth.
There wasn’t a morsel of a signal bar on my phone as I walked around the entire house, grounds and deck.

I was cut off!!

…and I started to panic.
Think.
Think. Think. THINK!…

Aha!
I spotted the broadband modem in the kitchen.
We were not entirely in the digital dark!

Skype to the Rescue?
Yes, at least there was Wi-Fi in the house.

So, we got the modem working,
(First, we needed to reboot the frozen box, downed by a recent power outage.)

I immediately tested my Skype app.
Success!

So now people could Skype me, but I was still concerned I couldn’t receive an old-fashioned phone call.

The irony here is I had forgotten all about my online Skype number for my iPhone’s Skype app.
I was so proud to acquire it a couple years back, but the reality is I’ve rarely used it.
(D’oh!!)

That would have solved the problem, as long as I stayed on my Wi-Fi tether.
(and if all my friends and family actually knew about my Skype number…)

Waiting for the Phone to Ring
So I kept searching for a solution to ‘MacGyver’ my phone to somehow access incoming calls to my mobile number.
(I could still receive texts via the Wi-Fi network.)

But if someone called me,
(like my 81-year-old father)
I really wanted to be able to pick up the call.

After a little Googling, I discovered the truth is out there.
You can actually create a few bars for your mobile phone using your Wi-Fi network.
But pulling the trigger on the solution would have to wait until I returned from my trip.

How to Generate Signal Strength
It’s called the AT&T MicroCell, and this little device acts like a mini cellular tower.
You simply plug it into a broadband modem via an Ethernet port and voila…!
You’ve got your very own cell bubble to use!!
(You do have to set it up first online, and you can register up to fifteen different AT&T Wireless cell phones.)

And how much for this slice of magic?
$150.00.
(Available at your local AT&T store… I couldn’t find it online.)

You can take the MicroCell with you wherever you go as long as you plug it into a broadband DSL or cable network and update your location change online.
(and as long as it’s within an AT&T wireless authorized service area)

And if you’re wondering, …
Yes, Verizon offers a similar product with its “Wireless Network Extender.”

Don’t Get Cut Off on Vacation
No, this isn’t a cheap solution, and I think the MicroCell probably is purchasd more to solve signal strength problems at home. But it certainly would have done the trick at our log cabin in the digital wilderness.

I’m not sure how many of you would want to pack a MicroCell with your socks every time you head out on vacation, but if you plan on receiving calls on your smartphone using your regular mobile number, you might need it!

August 31, 2014

SnapFix Promises to Do All Your Dirty Work

Do you need to do some repairs around your house? Angie’s List can make the process easier, and its mobile app SnapFix can find a service provider for your job, complete with cost estimate. All you’ve got to do is sign on the dotted line. But that last step may be harder than you’d think…

Lately, I’ve been spending some time on Angie’s List, the consumer review site, to try to get some maintenance done around the house.

The idea of finding a highly rated, local carpenter or plumber via one website is really appealing. Sure, there’s a subscription fee of $10/year, but if that is what it takes to access valuable crowd-sourced opinions, I’ll gladly contribute an Alexander Hamilton.

SnapFix to the Rescue?
Last month, Angie’s List let me know about their new mobile app, SnapFix.
(Because every company needs an app, right?)

SnapFix is designed to uber-simplify the entire process of hiring a local service provider.

First you open up the app on your smartphone and log in as an Angie’s List member
Then, you take a picture (or video) of the work that needs to be done
(while still in the app)
Write a short description of the job
Provide three convenient service times
And you’re done!

SnapFix does the rest of the work for you…

Angie’s List finds a highly rated service provider
A concierge team representative is assigned to your job
The representative texts with you via the app
And provides you with the company info and a cost estimate

How easy is that?

Well, frankly… it was a little too easy.

Not Enough Room for the Details
I had some follow-up questions regarding how the service provider was going to do the job, and my representative shared a somewhat generic response from the company. It pointed to the likely reality that a technician would figure things out when he got to my house…

Then, there was the cost estimate… it had a pretty wide range.

And that pointed to the real problem here.
The ‘bidding’ company was partially blind, because all the service provider had to work with was one picture and my written description.
(I later wanted to send additional photos and a video, but the app didn’t seem to allow for that.)

And I was also kind of in the dark, because I couldn’t talk to the company directly.

A Leap of Faith
All that was really in front of me was a big button on the app to click and accept the proposal.

It really was such a snap.
But I just couldn’t pull the trigger.

What made this app so wonderfully easy to use was exactly the problem that was preventing me from doing the job… So much of the human element had been stripped away, I felt too disconnected.

I didn’t trust that the work would be done properly for the right price, because I had zero connection to the service provider.

So I sat there and stared at the app.
And then I closed it.

My concierge texted me if there was anything else I wanted to know.
(That’s a pleasantry for “Why are you stalling?”)

A week later, I received an emailed satisfaction survey from Angie’s List.
What could I say?

SnapFix did everything it promised.

But I just couldn’t move forward with the job…

My Lack of Commitment
Relationship building takes time.
And that key ingredient shouldn’t be entirely extracted out of the equation with a convenient app designed to do all the heavy lifting for you…

It doesn’t satisfy my need to develop some level of trust before letting someone through the front door.

I think Angie’s List is great, because its crowd-sourced opinions can narrow down the field significantly.

But at the end of the day, don’t you also want to talk with someone or look him in the eye… before signing on the dotted line in a convenient… but cold and silent app?

Sure, you’ve got a ‘concierge’ on your side, but when there’s dirty work to be done, you’ve probably got to roll up your sleeves a little bit too.

Otherwise, the destiny of the ‘job’ is in someone else’s hands…

August 24, 2014

Apple Returned My Movie Trailers

My love/sometimes-hate relationship with Apple has taken a recent happy twist. It’s not a universe-changing event, but for those of you who like to maintain your own personal collection of movie trailers, I’ve got some good news for you buried in iTunes…

A year ago, I bemoaned the loss of downloadable movie trailers on Apple’s iTunes. Without explanation, newly posted QuickTime trailers became streaming-only. And only at a resolution of 720P.

Nothing in 1080P!
And no more downloading!!
(gulp)

I really enjoyed watching my movie trailers on demand and having them live on my iPhone to be summoned wherever and whenever I had two minutes to kill.
(Without a strong wireless or Wi-Fi connection, a streaming solution just isn’t going to hold up.)

I experienced this new stark reality as a slow, cruel, excruciating loss.
And this geek was really sad.

I publicly pleaded with Apple to reconsider this decision.
“Please…. Restore my little joy,” I posted on my mighty, tiny blog.
(as if I had some inside track)

And then… I moved on with the rest of my life.
(Because what else can you really do?)

But I did not forget…

In a World Without Downloadable Movie Trailers…
Over the past year, I think I’ve adjusted quite nicely, thank you very much.
Ironically, Apple’s iTunes Movie Trailers website is still the best game in town to watch trailers for the season’s upcoming movies. So despite it all, I’ve remained a frequent visitor.

But deep down, the disappointment… it hadn’t entirely dissipated.

Every so often, I still Googled “Download Movie Trailers” to see if anyone else had picked up this particular torch. Sure, there are a few homegrown efforts out there, but I’ve always felt more comfortable downloading content from a known commodity.

A couple of days back, I found myself randomly running the Google search before hitting the sack, as if some ‘Q-based’ life force in the universe would simply ‘will’ there to be different answer.
And guess what…?

Just before I was about to power down, I glanced over some of the wording under Apple’s standard link to iTunes Movie Trailers.

I almost missed it, but there they were… “Download” and…”1080P”

What?

I quickly navigated to Apple’s movie trailers homepage.
No. Nothing had changed.

Hmmmm…

There Lived One Man Who Almost Lost His Faith…
Then it hit me!

I opened up iTunes as a program and immediately clicked on the iTunes Store.
Then, I navigated to the Movies section.
Buried at the bottom of the ‘Movies Quick Link’ section on the right is ‘Theatrical Trailers.’
(I rarely go there, because of the extra steps it takes to open up the same inventory you can more quickly access on the website.)
Click

At that moment, I think I noticed the wind pick up outside.
And was that some distant thunder I heard?

I focused my gaze from the myriad of trailer choices down to the thumbnail photo for this winter’s final “The Hobbit.”

I hovered my mouse over “The Battle of the Five Armies.”
(A chill ran down my spine.)

Click.

OMG.

He Would Wait a Near Eternity for the ‘Return…’
There it was.
A download icon right under ‘Play.’
And when you click on ‘Download,’ you can choose between 720P and 1080P.

I sat there stunned.

It was back. All of it.

For the Fate of the Universal Movie-Trailer Experience was Finally at Hand
On the edge of the next month’s anticipated Apple announcement where the world is salivating over the upcoming iPhone 6 and who knows what else…

I am already satisfied.

My movie trailers have been returned… securely positioned within the iTunes ecosystem.
My faith is restored.

I don’t know how long these downloadable trailers have been back.
And I don’t care.

Oh yes, it’s the little things in life…

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