KEY-freaking-BOARD!!

Yeah, so the most frustrating thing of late has been trying to get everything connected.  I have gotten the phone fully connected to the computer it seems.  It still says I need that "driver", but everything seems to be working fine, even connecting the computer to the internet via the phone.  (yes it makes me think about taking the computer... but without power...!?!... hmmm...)  So it seems I've gotten past that part of intgration.  However...

The keyboard now not only won't connect to the phone, but also won't connect to the computer anymore either.  Obviously, I do not need another keyboard for the computer...  With the phone though, I feel like I've gotten at least to understand what I need.  The installation CD that came with the phone only has drivers for the phone's opperating system (symbian) up to the 3rd edition.  My phone has the 5th edition.  So obviously it would seem that I would want to get my hands on the drivers for this more recent edition.  I however can not find them online anywhere.  I also have tried to just simply connect the keyboard to the phone using bluetooth wireless.  This can theoretically happen two ways, the phone giving a code to type in to the keyboard, or the keyboard already having a passcode.  The issue I'm having is that the phone only asks for the keyboards passcode and doesn't offer the option to generate one itself.  There was no passcode that came with the keyboard... so no connectivity.  So now, I'm figuring that if I can get the driver for the keyboard for the operating system I need that I should be ok...  sigh...  I'm 'figuring' though... 

Why don't you just have more on you?!  :p

I put in an email last Thursday to the keyboard manufacturer (with whom I've communicated productively with before), and am hoping they can solve the issue.  There are statements online saying that they have done this before for other systems.  I still haven't heard anything back from them though and its Monday.  Drsim Palce!!  (means "holding my thumbs" in Czech, their equivalent to "crossing one's fingers" for good luck...;)  Uvidime...  We'll see...  ;)

So I'm not crazy... (at least not about this;)

So I finally called Nokia about the issues I was having with the phone and it seems its not "user error" after all!!  The rep said that I received a refurbished phone and that it was not working properly.  I am not sure of the specifics or if this is 100% verifiable as I bought it "new" from Amazon (not 3rd party, but actual Amazon). 

Yeah... lets hope you can help connect us humans...

Basically when the Nokia rep asked for the serial number, and I told him I bought it new last week, he seemed pretty shocked an said that it was actually refurbished.  Could be had been sitting on Amazon's shelf for a while or that somehow they got  duped and sold a bad batch  as new.  But they say they buy only new from the manufacturer...  Not sure, but the bottom line is that I have had lots of success with both seller and manufacturer of the years, so best not waste time speculating.  The phone isn't working properly, so they'll send another one and I'll go from there.   

 An exchange via Amazon can be here in 3 days, so I went for that.  I am a bit worried that it will be from a bad batch and maybe there will be issues again, but ordering direct from Nokia takes longer and the phone is $30 more plus shipping.  So I'm going exchange first.  If there is an issue then I'll be up against the wall.  I'll have to take what I get from there as I scramble to leave.  This really does mess up my experimentation scenario.  I still have to be sure the phone and keyboard will work to buy the right solar panel.  I might just have to buy the panel and hope it all works out...

Technology... $%#%&...      

A day in the life.

So I am trying a little experiment using google docs in an effort both not to lose my work so quickly, and also in respect to the idea of use this format while I am in Sierra Leone (as you can see by the formats on this post, the experiment didn't go so well). Who knows what could happen over three months time out on my own in every corner of Sierra Leone.  It would be a travesty if I have a lot of things written and saved on the computer and then something happens to the computer and everything is then gone!!  So I will be trying to work with google docs a bit to see if it could be an avenue worth using.  So I’m writing this there first, and then will copy paste into the blogger program.

Yesterday seemed to be a fairly progressive day.  I spent a good deal of time on the phone with my father (technology advisor).  We were trying to talk through the computer and phone set up that I will use there.  I put another email in to “Cyril”, my contact with Zain telecom in Sierra Leone, asking what seems like the last substantial question.  He recommended a Nokia N series phone for internet browsing there, and my question is; is this if I want to have internet capabilities on my phone, as opposed to on my computer via my phone?  Basically, can any phone plug into a computer and connect it to the Internet?  All phones need to have the right SIM card (smart chip) configuration - which they can easily do there - but do I need to spend $400 on a smart phone that does all the same things as a computer or can a regular phone let me just use the computer for my needs?  Zain also has the modem that you plug into the computer and connect from there.  I just don’t want to spend money I don’t have.  At the same time though, I have to go prepared for all or I might get nothing.  Tricky.  

Ideally, should money not be an issue, I’d get both, but this is not the loosest budget out there!!  lol.  There is always the old option of just a smart phone and a keyboard, but fact is, I need a computer.  I need it now, and after no matter what, so I have to start here.  I was looking at the number of posts I have had and since my computer died, my posts and productivity has dropped a lot.  I can’t have that happen, need to keep pushing.  So the computer has to be purchased.  

My father and I have for months been talking about the ASUS Eee netbook and honed in on more specifics.  He did some research after the conversation and he sent me the specs on one that seems to match the criteria:



Asus Eee PC 1001PX-MU27-BK Seashell 10.1 inch Atom N450/ 1GB/ 160GB/ Windows 7 Starter Netbook Computer
Specifications

   * Mfr Part Number: 1001PX-MU27-BK
   * Processor: Intel Atom N450 (1.66GHz, 512KB L2 Cache)
   * Memory: 1GB DDR2 SODIMM memory, Max Capacity upto 2GB
   * Display: 10.1" WSVGA (1024x600) Non-Glare Screen LCD w/ LED-backlit
   * Graphics Module: Integrated Graphics Controller
   * Hard Disk: 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
   * Audio: Integrated Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in Speakers and Microphone
   * Connectivity: Fast Ethernet; 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
   * Interface: 2x USB 2.0 Ports; 1x VGA Port; 1x RJ45 LAN Port; 1x Microphone-in; 1x Headphone-out
   * Card Reader: 3-in-1 Card Reader, Support MMC/ SD/ SDHC
   * Camera: Built-in 0.3 Megapixel Camera
   * Battery Pack & life: 6 cells Lithium Battery, upto 9 hours
   * Color: Black
   * Dimension(WxDxH): 262 x 178 x 25.9 ~ 36.5 mm
   * Weight: 1.27 kg
   * Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Starter

I had seen longer battery life, and a better webcam, but as he said: “there are going to be trade offs and balances” and 1.27 kg is one fabulous trade off.  That’s 2.8 pounds with a 9 hour battery.  Those two are really my key concerns (as well as temperature) and I think this machine will do a good job with those key concerns.  I saw online that bluetooth was optional for this machine, and that would be something I would need to try to get if it isnt’ already included, but otherwise this looks pretty good.

The one discussion that we did have that is a bit disappointing was regarding the operating system.  I would like to use Linux as it is open source and thus much more in tune with my ideals.  There are however legitimate concerns over whether a phone’s software package would work with Linux, so this may not be an option at this time.  I will however be running through the city tomorrow and perhaps will look for a Nokia store to ask a few questions.  It may be easier to get answers from them than Sierra Leone as the questions are more technical than country specific.    



So there you have it, that was yesterday.  Close to solidifying another item.  As for this google docs experiment, my web browser has crashed twice in the writing of this and the doc was still there.  So that’s good, but how quickly does it auto save??  If I erase all now will I loose it??  Experimenting...  NO!!!  I won’t, I just deleted it and let the auto save do its thing, but I still was able to use the back arrow.  Why can’t google do that for its Blogger software just as it does it for this software?  Hmmm... the world is of course a mystery after all...

Whooopss... something seems to not be working so well with the copy pasting and formats from google docs... pictures are not going in right, and font is off at spots... I wrote this post in less than an hour, and its been another hour plus just to get it into blogger with pics... wasted time... and now I'm late...