klyjen.blog

I had to turn in my Blackberry--one of the original 957 models--when I left my job in Washington DC. I was fine, for the first few weeks; similar the aggregator-less time period, I was busy with moving and getting settled in and adjusted. Now, though, I miss it. I miss having access to e-mail (or more importantly, my contact list) from wherever I happen to be at any given moment. Yes, while at home I could simply turn on my laptop and connect, but that takes significantly more time than, say, pulling my crackberry out of my purse and pulling up a phone number.

I need a new phone, as well; my old Verizon-brand flip phone has been struggling to stay together over the last few months after the joint cracked. (Side note? This was already a replacement phone; the first one broke in the same place.) Rather than deal with getting another replacement, I am planning on buying a unified device. I had been planning to buy a Blackberry, this time with the phone service, but I no longer have access to a BES server, so I'm not tied to that line of products.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Treos? Palm? (does Palm even have a phone-enabled model?) Goodlink? My requirements are simple--I want PIM information to synch from Outlook, access to e-mail (corporate and personal), and good battery life/service coverage. I'm heading out today to compare features and models.

And no, I am not missing access to my Blackberry for these reasons, although I found the article amusing.

Posted by Jen at 12:51 PM | Permalink

It has been a month--four weeks to the day, to be precise--since I last aggregated news. I turned in my laptop at my old job, burned a copy of my NewsGatorSubs.opml file to a CD, and left Washington DC for Chicago.

The first few weeks, I did not miss it; I was too busy adjusting to a new job and a new city to mind. (Blogging slacked off as well.) Earlier this week, though, I started to get the itch, wondering what was going on in the world. I slipped the appropriate CD in my bag at work and downloaded NewsGator again when I got home last night. I've missed a lot, I know, but now I am finally reconnected to the world. I recreated my custom views on the folders, scanned the headlines I'd missed (my first scan picked up over 3000 items!), read a few, flagged a few for the Search folders in Outlook, and was on my way.

And, to be sure this doesn't happen again, I've decided to give NewsGator Online Services a try. I'll be sure to post a review soon.

Posted by Jen at 09:18 PM | Permalink

Afternoon everyone. In an effort to keep this page from appearing to be blank (although the MT hack will be installed shortly) I have decided to post. As many of you already know, I have moved from DC and am now living in Chicago, where I am suffering through a less-than-pleasant commute while working for a software company as a consultant. (As always, all ideas and opinions on these pages are mine and mine alone unless otherwise attributed, and in no way reflect the thoughts or opinions of my employers or anyone else with whom I am affiliated.)

The move was great, in that it is now done, and I'm getting settled into my new city. A few things to check out immediately, if you're in the Chicago area:

The Chicago Diner: A vegetarian restaurant on Halsted with absolutely fabulous food.
The Gourmet Grape: A wine store, also on Halsted, celebrating its one-year anniversary this weekend.

Posted by Jen at 07:15 PM | Permalink