AT&T – Page 2 – Geoff Fox: My Permanent Record

More On AT&T’s Less Data Plan

These are bandwidth hungry applications. You can’t use Netflix for iPhone on a regular basis and expect to stay within the new monthly caps.

Apple is kicking off their annual developers conference, aka WWDC. As is usually the case Steve Jobs is presenting. I’m letting Twitter keep me updated.

Before getting to the new iPhone (very impressive hardware improvements) Jobs talked about some new apps, specifically Farmville (ugh) and Netflix.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. These are bandwidth hungry applications. You can’t use Netflix for iPhone on a regular basis and expect to stay within the new monthly caps.

NY Times: Download an hour-long TV show to a smartphone or tablet and you’ve used 550 megabytes, or well over a quarter of your monthly allotment. Streaming a two-hour movie from Netflix consumes 300 megabytes.

By the way, I have no idea why an hour long TV show uses nearly twice as much data as a two hour movie. The numbers aren’t as important as the general concept: Bandwidth drives innovation.

Chutzpah And AT&T

Oh Mr. de la Vega, don’t you understand how business is supposed to work?

I’m an AT&T subscriber and an iPhone user. Like many iPhone users I’ve experienced weird call drops (mainly while in Las Vegas or New York City–seldom in Connecticut). The prevailing wisdom seems to be there’s not enough capacity to support the voracious appetite of iPhone users.

Hey, AT&T–what exactly did you expect? You’re the ones bragging about the inexhaustible supply of iPhone apps. You’ve empowered us and now your surprised we’re taking advantage? Spare me.

Recently AT&T Mobility’s CEO addressed some of these data/phone concerns and then tossed in a curveball. Here’s part of the Wall Street Journal‘s read on it.

“With about 3% of smart-phone customers driving 40% of data traffic, AT&T is considering incentives to keep those subscribers from hampering the experience for everyone else, he said. “You can rest assured that we’re very sure we can address it in a way that’s consistent with net-neutrality and FCC regulations.”

Many customers don’t know how much bandwidth they’re consuming, Mr. de la Vega added. When AT&T conducted a broadband test, customers often reduced their data use. Longer-term, he said, a pricing scheme based on usage is likely, though it will be determined by industry competition and regulatory guidelines.”

AT&T admits its services “are performing at levels below our standards.” Unfortunately, this is one of those no-fault admissions, because AT&T’s not crediting my account to compensate for this poor service.

Instead they’re saying these issues, while using the service as sold, are largely the fault of their customers! Where I come from we categorize this as “chutzpah.”

Chutzpah? Look it up. There’s an app for that.

Oh Mr. de la Vega, don’t you understand how business is supposed to work?

I plan on using the crap out of my iPhone–using every bit and byte I’m entitled to use. I want to be one of your heaviest customers (the one’s you seem to dislike) until I’m passed by someone who finds even more ways to use it.

Don’t worry, even then I’ll find a way to catch up!

Get used to it Mr. dlV. Like you, we’re interested in seeing the other party in this deal completely fulfill its obligation. We’re going to want more, not less. One day we’ll look back at the data streaming to our phones today the way we look at a 300 baud modem!

It often seems servicing customers is an impediment business doesn’t want. Too bad.

Addendum: If you’ve gotten this far you also need to read FakeSteveJobs take on this. It is masterful. The language is “R” rated, but it’s well worth it.

In One Fell Swoop Google Makes GPS Units Obsolete!

Probably not a good day to own Tom Tom, Garmin or Magellan stock.

Verizon has been showing off its new Android based cellphone, “Droid.” Today came word it ships with turn-by-turn GPS navigation. If you buy the phone this functionality is FREE!

In other words, that GPS you have built into your dashboard or mounted-by-suction on your window–obsolete!

Google Maps Navigation is an internet-connected GPS navigation system with voice guidance. It is part of Google Maps for mobile and is available for phones with Android 2.0.

Google Maps Navigation uses your phone’s internet connection to give you the latest maps and business data.

Probably not a good day to own Tom Tom, Garmin or Magellan stock.

Word is this will be coming soon (possibly not quite as fully featured) to my iPhone. Apple and AT&T can’t afford not to.

Has there ever been a moment in history when so many game changing/industry changing events have come so quickly.

Now That I’ve Got An iPhone I’ve Got Questions

I’ve got 38% of my battery left after having the phone on for six hours. Granted I’m probably hitting the Internet harder today than I will be in a few weeks.

I’ve been a happy BlackBerry user for the past few months, but it’s hard not to be enticed by everything the iPhone is. For the past few weeks I’ve been talking about it–mulling over the good and bad of a switch.

“Just get the phone,” Stef said yesterday as we drove home from getting her non-working in-warranty BlackBerry swapped for one that worked. And so I did.

We already use AT&T (among the few carriers providing service at my house) so that part was easy. We’re two years after my last phone, so the iPhone 3Gs cost $199. Other than that there shouldn’t be much change to our bill. The data plan for the iPhone costs the same as the data plan for the BB.

Apple designed the iPhone to be more like a computer than phone. It has a larger screen than the BlackBerry with extremely high resolution. That makes small text cleaner and easier to read. Think paper, not monitor.

The screen itself is touch sensitive and allows you to use two fingers resize the underlying content. That’s really powerful since nearly every website is designed to be viewed on something much larger that a phone.

I got home, downloaded some software and began to peruse the “app store.” This too is a genius feature from Apple. There are tens of thousands of applications which run on the iPhone and take advantage of its screen, GPS, compass, accelerometers and other things I haven’t quite discovered yet.

Now my phone has applications to identify music and which stars are shining above. There are also apps for news sources and games installed. So far I’ve spent around $3. Many apps are free and most cost $.99.

The phone is elegantly efficient. There’s hardly anything that needs explaining.

OK–there are a few things. “What’s this little silver button?” I asked myself yesterday. It wasn’t until I got to work and spoke to another iPhone user that I found it isn’t a button, it’s a switch! It turns the sound off just in case you work in a TV studio or your wife wants to sleep.

The fact Apple placed a switch so elegantly that it looked like a button says a lot about the fit and finish of this phone.

That being said, I’m still not 100% convinced. BlackBerry has set the bar high.

The virtual keyboard is difficult for my stubby fingers. I’m constantly mistyping and hitting backspace. It is much easier to use in the wider landscape mode than the portrait mode. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the switch to landscape in some keyboard modes.

Why? Dunno. Seems out-of-character for the Apple designers.

I need to connect to two Enterprise mail servers. Sorry–iPhone only supports connecting to one.

I wish I could set up profiles for work or home or out-and-about. I don’t think they exist.

And then there’s the battery!

I’ve got 38% of my battery left after having the phone on for six hours. Granted I’m probably hitting the Internet harder today than I will be in a few weeks. Still that’s unnerving should I take the phone away from home where I’ll need a true full day’s service. Unlike other phones I’ve had you can’t pop out the battery and throw in a spare.

“Can I return it if I don’t like it?” I asked before leaving the AT&T store. I’ve got thirty days.

Most likely it stays, but I wouldn’t bet the house yet.

The New Deal With Comcast

“Worse than getting a mortgage!” That’s a direct quote from Helaine after her conversation with a Comcast. She then proceeded to tell me about the dizzying array of packages and prices.

Customer service. It seems to be MIA in modern day America. How often is a customer left happy after a transaction and does the merchant care.

Tonight’s cautionary tale concerns Comcast. Even though I will leave this transaction paying less per month I leave upset.

Stef is done with college, working here in Connecticut and living at home. “Why don’t we have HBO?” she asked, confusing our home for her ‘HBO included’ dorm room.

Hold on. She had HBO in her room? We had a TV… a single black and white TV in the basement of my dorm. It had rabbit ears and could barely get anything through the snow. I watched 20 minutes of TV during my brief college tenure. She had HBO! Good grief!

Where were we?

“I’ll pay for it,” Stef added. And with that Helaine went to calling Comcast to make arrangements.

“Worse than getting a mortgage!” That’s a direct quote from Helaine after her conversation with a Comcast. She then proceeded to tell me about the dizzying array of packages and prices.

Helaine took notes as she moved along with the CSR. My wife is nothing if not organized. She had copious notes.

The conversation finally ended with Helaine agreeing to take HBO and Showtime, keep the service we already have and pay about $35 less for the first six months. After that we continue to pay less, just not as much.

Our end of the deal was committing for two years. I get it. Comcast is worried about AT&T’s U-verse. Surprise, it won’t be here in the next two years.

At this point I was feeling pretty good. It didn’t last.

Today the official agreement came in the mail and SURPRISE it was different than what Helaine had agreed to. In this new agreement we lose another $10 off the discount in the second year. That’s $120, not an inconsequential number.

Helaine called Comcast tonight. The rep admitted sometimes the package is sold and the agent ‘forgets’ to mention this second year adjustment, but there was nothing she could do. It’s their absolutely lowest price. Why am I not satisfied?

We signed up. We are still saving money every month for the length of our two year agreement, but I’m not happy with Comcast. My only solace is, they’re the loser in this deal getting less each and every month.

If we would have been given the right price to begin with I’d be happy as a pig in s**t. This seems to be a textbook case of how not to win friends and influence people.

Berry Confused

A friend with a Blackberry 8320 smashed its pretty face against something. Cracked lens! By the time I told him he could fix it, he’d replaced it! Now it’s mine. Fixing the lens was easy–and I’m a major klutz.

It was originally on T-Mobile. It’s been unlocked, so it can go on AT&T and the phone and texting works fine.

It mostly works OK for Twitter and Facebook and some other apps, but when I go to use the browser I’m told: “This is a Wi-Fi service. Please ensure your device has an active Wi-Fi connection and try again.”

I have a plan from AT&T which includes data, though I haven’t moved this to their Blackberry plan yet (for my daughter, there was no cost differential). I see “edge” not “EDGE” which I believe enters into this.

Anyone know how to fix this?

A Few Thoughts On Phone Numbers

It is an archaeological dig through my folks life. You can track my career by the crossed out numbers and addresses.

I need to backup the contacts in my phone. I don’t know… don’t use… numbers any more. My folks are “5.” Helaine, though number one in my heart is number “2” on my phone. AT&T reserve number “1” for voicemail.

My mother has a dog eared phone book she leaves in the kitchen. Over the years water and food have made the book look ‘lived in.’ There are dead people and former friends still maintaining their space. Extra pieces have paper have been inserted where overly popular letters have run out-of-space.

The book is an archaeological dig through my folks life. You can track my career by the crossed out numbers and addresses.

No one uses address books any more. Well, no one below a certain age uses them. Your cellphone is your address book along with your wrist watch and alarm clock.

The concept of area code is passée too. I have two friends in California whose numbers on the “Caller ID” say New Jersey. My daughter will probably keep her Connecticut number for the rest of her life… or as long as she can.

A few years ago phone companies were complaining they were running out of numbers. You don’t hear that today. There are two additional area codes reserved for Connecticut–475 and 959. They were supposed to be introduced in 2001. I doubt we’ll need them in the near term future.

When Your Expiration Date Changes

I cut and pasted my E-ZPass account number from a statement they’d sent me to the log-in form. Rejected. No such account! How was I supposed to know I had to lop off all the leading zeros?

Foolishly, VISA has decided to extend my credit card another few years. Haven’t they read about the economy?

The practical result for Helaine and me is a stroll down Memory Lane trying to remember who has our old number and getting to them before they use it. We always miss someone.

Just a few weeks ago FedEx delivered a package for me then told me my card hadn’t gone through. Seldom used cards are a landmine.

Helaine started the process yesterday. I picked it up today with her assistance.

No two websites handle this process the same way! This is much more difficult than it should be. People, can’t we standardize?

I cut and pasted my E-ZPass account number from a statement they’d sent me to the log-in form. Rejected. No such account! How was I supposed to know I had to lop off all the leading zeros? What they print on my statement as my account number isn’t my account number–at least in this part of their website.

I had to log into AT&T twice. Why? Isn’t a cookie set the first time?

Other website procedures are just incredibly obtuse. There’s no clear path to change your billing information. Isn’t this one of the most repeated account holder website tasks? Wouldn’t they rather I didn’t call and bother a human?

I have multiple passwords in use. No, not every site has a discrete ‘only you’ password. Most a repeated a few times. Does anyone really have individual passwords for everything? Is there anyone, anywhere who can juggle that?

Some older passwords are all letters. Simpler times! Newer ones are cryptically sprinkled with numbers and illogically placed caPiTal letters.

What a royal pain-in-the-ass. Hopefully I won’t have to do this for another few years.

Maybe I Should Have Stayed In Bed?

When station managers are forced to make cuts, hefty anchor salaries are a tempting target.

I came back to work today. Maybe I should have stayed in bed?

Yesterday, Miles O’Brien (a nice guy I know… but barely) was let go at CNN after nearly 20 years. Today NBC-Universal announced 500 layoffs–about 3% of the company. A note from a union rep says Boston TV stations are offering contract renewals with 20-25% salary cuts!

The union that represents our photographers and technicians began contract negotiations today and has already called an emergency meeting for tonight. That can’t be good news. Anything’s possible when your company’s stock, once in the twenties, closed today at $1.31.

All this comes on top of Brian Stelter’s sobering story in Sunday’s Times.

“Across the country, longtime local TV anchors are a dying breed. Facing an economic slump and a severe advertising downturn, many stations have cut costs drastically in the last year, and veteran anchors, with their expensive contracts, seem to be shouldering a disproportionate share of the cutbacks. When station managers are forced to make cuts, hefty anchor salaries are a tempting target.”

We’re not alone. Our lead story today was layoffs at AT&T. Pratt & Whitney laid off a slew of employees earlier this week.

Certainly the financial meltdown our country… no… the world is suffering is a major cause. But TV in particular and all media in general are being killed by the Internet! Though few Internet media endeavors are making money they are still undercutting old media.

Craigslist and Yelp are a print publisher’s worst nightmare. Journal-Register, which publishes the New Haven Register and a few other Connecticut dailies saw its stock close at 3/5&#162. I could buy the entire company with what’s in my 401-K if I were also willing to also take on about $650 million in debt.

Hundreds–maybe thousands of jobs in old media will be lost to companies that employ handfuls.

Any time you watch YouTube or get the forecast somewhere online you’re not watching TV. I get it. It’s tough not to be a Luddite under these circumstances. As the Times article says,

“On the Web, users can assemble their own newscast from an around-the-clock buffet of options, making anchors seem somewhat superfluous, especially to younger viewers.”

Like I said–maybe I should have stayed in bed.

Sometimes Stuff Just Happens–Cellphone Edition

basically anything I’d sent using my phone since late last month had not been accepted by Gmail’s server.

I was waiting for Francine to cut my hair this afternoon when I got an email. I tried answering it on my phone only to have my message ‘rejected!’ Uh oh.

I quickly dug deeper and found about a half dozen emails–basically anything I’d sent using my phone (AT&T version of the Samsung Blackjack) since late last month had not been accepted by Gmail’s server. The error message is so brief and comes delayed after you attempt to send so it’s easy to miss.

Somehow the configuration the phone sends to Gmail changed. Not by me. Who knows how this stuff happens?

The New TV Seems Like The Beginning

Yeah–this TV is going to cost us more money. As soon as I watched a little HDTV, SD (old school analog television) looked shabby.

A few weeks ago our family room TV died a horrific death during a thunderstorm. You can still see the picture, but the blue gun no longer lines up with the other two. It’s not a linear error either. Straight lines from the offset blue channel now form an arc. Everything appears on the TV twice… on the TV twice.

I did a little shopping and some online searching before deciding on a 47″ Vizio SV470XVT1A, which we bought this afternoon. Our old projection model was a hassle getting home. This LCD model fit nicely in the back of the SUV and Helaine and I were easily able to carry it in.

Yeah–this TV is going to cost us more money. As soon as I watched a little HDTV, SD (old school analog television) looked shabby. We’ll need HDTV service and our SD DVR will need to become an HD DVR.

Actually, this whole episode sent me looking at AT&T’s U-Verse service. The website says it’s not available on my street. I suspect it is, because it’s available one street over and I’ve seen AT&T’s boxes in the neighborhood.

If you work for AT&T or know someone who does, will you help? Drop me a line.

The U-Verse package (including moving my home phone and Internet access over) looks like a good deal. Plus, AT&T’s DVR is in the midst of becoming a real media center, feeding any TV in the house from one location. It looks like they offer more than Comcast for less money. Gotta pay for the TV somehow.

Back to the TV for a second. It set up easily and has a very sharp picture. Right now it’s on the floor, but we’ve got a stand on order. This set was bought as much for its ability to fill a ‘built-in’ physical space as much as anything else.

What’s Up At Comcast?

What’s odd is this has happened without any advance warning I can see.

Something’s afoot at Comcast. They’ve moved TruTV (formerly Court TV) and Hallmark Channel to the digital tier. The Weather Channel has gone from Channel 69 to Channel 98&#185–an oddball channel that’s strangely placed in the actual spectrum. As far as I can see nothing’s been moved down to take their place.

What’s odd is this has happened without any advance warning I can see. Even Comcast’s own website still shows Hallmark and TruTV where they were.

AT&T’s u-verse seems like an interesting alternative, but it’s not available where I live. Neither is DSL. That makes satellite TV a poor choice, since I’d need an alternative to Comcast for data.

I’m just trying to figure out why, in the face of increasing competition, Comcast is doing this?

&#185- As far as I’m concerned, the Weather Channel is a competitor. Comcast can totally remove it from the system and get nothing more than a smile from me!

Corporate Kvetching

Pardon me for being a little skeptical, but I am. I’m not denying it’s tough to find educated people, and I’ll get to that in a moment, but Mr. Stephenson leaves out an important part of the equation.

The president of AT&T, the telephone giant that was SBC… was Cingular… was SNET… was speaking a few days ago, and he was upset.

As Reuters reported:

“We’re having trouble finding the numbers that we need with the skills that are required to do these jobs,” AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson told a business group in San Antonio, where the company’s headquarters is located.

So far, only around 1,400 jobs have been returned to the United States of 5,000, a target it set in 2006, the company said, adding that it maintains the target.

Isn’t this what he meant to say: “We’re having trouble finding the numbers that we need with the skills that are required to do these jobs at the salary we’re willing to pay.?

That’s a question asked yearly when H-1B visas are debated. H-1B is the ‘permission’ required by high tech companies to bring in foreign workers to perform highly skilled jobs.

Bill Gates was talking about this last week and is quoted on SearchCIO-Midmarket.com.

“We live in an economy that depends on the ability of innovative companies to attract and retain the very best talent, regardless of nationality or citizenship,” Gates said. “Unfortunately, the U.S. immigration system makes attracting and retaining high-skilled immigrants exceptionally challenging.”

The thing is, opponents of H-1B visas say, Microsoft and other companies aren’t paying “high-skilled” worker wages. H-1B rules do require that workers are paid the prevailing wage for their job.

Matloff said H-1B workers in the IT industry are “almost always programming of some sorts.”

“It could be a programmer, it could be a software engineer, it could be a system analyst,” Matloff said.

But Matloff and other H-1B critics contend there is no shortage of American workers for those jobs. H-1B workers, they say, just come cheaper and younger.

Quite honestly, is this any different than the complaints raised by farmers, looking to bring in migrant workers? They always say there aren’t enough US workers for these jobs. But is agricultural work more difficult or distasteful than construction or pumping septic systems. People do those jobs, even under difficult conditions.

Is the question finding workers or finding workers at what they’re willing to pay? Is that the fault of the business or the worker? Should American businesses pit Americans against foreigners when it comes to wages?

Back to what AT&T’s Stephenson and Bill Gates said about the state of American education. I couldn’t agree more.

Our high schools and colleges have become more like trade schools than institutions of higher learning. Where is the broad foundation which used to make up a high school or college education?

We live in an era where creative thought is required for more and more jobs. But is that creative thought being nurtured? Are we really well served by our education system?

The Love Hate Relationship With My Smartphone

I think this shows most of the smart phones are really ‘pocketware,’ too kludgey to use as advertised If people were really using their Blackberrys as Internet devices, what I’m doing wouldn’t stand out. In fact, that point is supported by real world experience.

I thoroughly enjoy my cellphone, a Samsung Blackjack hooked to AT&T’s network. It’s more than a phone. It’s really a little, cumbersome, computer with a too tiny screen.

I use the Internet connection nearly every day. There’s always something I want to look up when I’m away from a ‘real’ PC. That’s especially true at dinner, which I usually have with the rest of our anchor team.

Last night we were looking for the lyrics to a song (the iconic Route 66), but it’s also been used to find the cast of a movie or a direct quote from a story that was on the wires (a now quaint appellation). I even use the Internet connection to pass photos I’ve taken to Flickr, where they’re easily integrated into this blog.

Stef dates a musician. I show his Youtube video to friends on my phone.

You really have to want to use Internet functions on the Blackjack, because there is not one easy or dependable step along the way!

It’s common to press two of the small keys at once, or the wrong one. Sometimes the Internet will stop responding, though the phone says there is Internet availability.

Most web pages are formatted for PC monitors. The much more narrow Blackjack screen forces multi-column pages to become long single column streams, or just extend off the edge of the screen entirely. Navigation is a nightmare, made more difficult because a useful roller controller is on the wrong side for left handed users… like me

While ‘thumbing’ the keyboard, people will often come to me and ask if it’s a Blackberry? Score one for RIM in really working their brand name. These poor, innocent souls look at what I’m doing as if I’ve just dropped in from outer space.

Is there better evidence that this that most of the smart phones are really ‘pocketware,’ too kludgey to use as advertised? If people were really using their Blackberrys to surf the web, what I’m doing wouldn’t stand out.

In fact, that point is supported by quantified real world experience. This revelation is from AppleInsider.

Google on Wednesday said it has seen 50 times more search requests coming from Apple iPhones than any other mobile handset — a revelation so astonishing that the company originally suspected it had made an error culling its own data.

Google’s contention is every smartphone, other than the iPhone, is underused. I agree.

Let’s go back to my opening sentence: “I thoroughly enjoy my cellphone, a Samsung Blackjack hooked to AT&T’s network”. That’s no lie. If I had the purchase to do over again, I’d still make it and the Blackjack would still be my choice (even over its successor, the Blackjack II)

What I’m getting at is, the power of having all this information available everywhere is so powerful, it trumps a lackluster platform and all the hurdles one must jump.

The iPhone is certainly a step ahead (as born out by the usage data), but it’s still not the answer. It is throttled by its dependence on AT&T’s older, slower data network and it’s lack of a real keyboard with tactile feedback.

We are still at least one breakthrough away from the real breakout in portable computing. When that time comes, usage will be unleashed in a torrent.

No Bars At Home

AT&T is not alone in causing this kind of angst to a good customer. They have totally removed those who know what’s going on from those asking the questions. In essence, they’ve put their thinking staff behind a firewall. That’s what banks and airlines and all sorts of what were once called ‘service businesses,’ now do.

Not one of my finest photos on the left. Just a little something I took a few minutes ago. It’s my cell phone explaining to me there’s no longer cell service where I live! It says “Emergency Service” because that’s now the only call I can make… if there’s even enough signal for that (It’s not the kind of thing you idly check).

OK – that’s an exaggeration. If you stand in just the right spot, a marginal signal is sometimes available. It’s not a total loss, but pretty close.

Look for yourself. With no strength bars showing, the signal indicator now resembles a screw head – as in… well, draw your own conclusion.

This all began Friday afternoon. My phone rang at work. It was Helaine. She was calling the station’s phone and she was using our POTS&#185. Usually she calls my cell from her cell.

“No cell service,” she said.

It’s electronic. It’s complex. I understand.

When I got home from work, I had no service. Stef was in the same boat.

Friday turned to Saturday, then Saturday to Sunday. Friends came to play poker and those with phones from AT&T found they had no service either.

Today, on my way to work, I called AT&T. Of course their rep saw no reason for my trouble, though the woman on the phone said she’d check for possible ‘service downgrades.’ There are two scary words for someone with the majority of a two year contract in front of him.

Do they honor payment downgrades?

I e-mailed Robert, the guy who sold me my phone, and who seemed pretty technically proficient. He is now asking for assistance on my behalf.

So, I’m waiting. I’m sitting on my hands hoping there’s really no need for my cellphone at home. Unfortunately, it has become my number of choice when people ask how they can reach me.

I’m not sure there’s anything I can do.

&#185 – POTS = plain old telephone service.

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