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  • Toby Overstreet 3:03 pm on April 11, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    I love Twitter 

    Twitter has been around for a long while. It is very popular thing right now. Everyone is twittering! I just start twittering in last about two weeks. I am very addictive.

    What is Twitter?

    According to the freedictionary.com:

    twit·ter (twtr)

    v. twit·tered, twit·ter·ing, twit·ters

    v.intr.

    1. To utter a succession of light chirping or tremulous sounds; chirrup.

    2.

    a. To speak rapidly and in a tremulous manner: twittering over office gossip.

    b. To giggle nervously; titter.

    3. To tremble with nervous agitation or excitement.

    v.tr.

    To utter or say with a twitter: twittered a greeting.

    n.

    1.

    a. The light chirping sound made by certain birds.

    b. A similar sound, especially light, tremulous speech or laughter.

    2. Agitation or excitement; flutter.

    So Twitter.com would fit the definition of verb: 2.a and 3 and noun: b

    From the site itself:

    A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?

    Twitter is very simple and easy. I would say it is a micro-blogging. Even though it asks one simple question: What are you doing?, I only don’t tell them what I am doing. I also post sites that interests me. I tell them what sites I am reading or looking at. I love sharing cool websites with people. Something that they should not miss those websites out. Twitter is a good place where you can post them. But it has limited characters every twitter you send. It is 140 characters. I say it makes sense because text messaging have limited characters as well. Twitter can be sent via SMS aka text messaging, IM and on the Web.

    Now you probably would not see me blogging here often. It is because I twitter on that twitter.com.

    A few years ago, we share info, telling what we are doing starting with pager to cell phone to email to IM to blog to RSS to myspace. Now the next thing is Twitter. Remember we did with pager, it takes a while to reply back and forth. Right? But Email and IM got better but still take time as well. Because we don’t always get on. But of course with the new mobile devices, things gets better. But now Twitter, you can get notifications every minute on either one of any: IM, Email, or SMS (or text messaging). You can send twitters anytime (day and night) via IM or text messaging. That is like zero interuption like others. It is amazing. Of course, it is hard to track all twitters on public timeline because everyone is twittering every second. But thank god for follows/friends where you can track your friends…

    That is unfortunate for me because I am very addicted to it. Well, it may sound strange when i said unfortunate. I don’t mean it is a bad thing. It is actually good. Heh. I absolutely love Twitter. You can check my twitter page: http://www.twitter.com/deantobias or on mobile device, m.30boxes.com/twapper/deantobias. Also, you can see my RSS on the right sidebar on my blog.

    There are many ways you can twitter. I will have to collect them and post them here. You can read two links here: You can read two links: One is The Top 5 Ways Smart People Use Twitter; Second: 5 Ways to Use Twitter for Good – lifehack.org. There is another great website called Twittervision. You can watch and eye-tening (listening) what they have to said on twitter. The site is http://www.twittervision.com.

    Watch out for more Twitter stuff coming. I hope I will not take that long to post new entry on “More on Twitter.”

    But in the meantime, feel free to check that twitter site out here. It is free. SIgn up and I hope to see YOU there and start twittering!

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    • Brian 3:26 pm on April 11, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Like you say, Twitter really is taking off big time. However, I’m still one of the few people who doesn’t really get it yet. I can see how it has it’s uses, and how it’s like a cross between IM, RSS, and MyBlogLog, but I just can’t bring myself to make frequent twitters on it.

      There are a couple of posts on my blog on Twitter that you might like to read.

    • Fred 8:19 am on July 4, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Great suggestion. I’ve already signed up!

  • Toby Overstreet 2:35 pm on March 30, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    Mobile Plan Limited Choices? 

    I have been a customer with T-Mobile since 2004. Ever since then, I have been buying Sidekick 1, 2 and 3. They are nice. Yeah. Their plan for Sidekick is very cheap. The plan includes unlimited internet data, including email, Internet and instant messaging. It also has unlimited text messaging. It is wonderful. However it has few disadvantages, such as some area may have bad or no connections. For example, it won’t work in the metro. I ride metro a lot. When I talked to someone on the metro on the ground, and when it comes to underground, I was not done, but it disconnected! I was like ugh. I had to wait until I am outside on the ground again to talk, but he or she could be offline. I was like, Great! Also, when I come out of the metro on the ground, it takes a while to get connected. Sometimes, it drops the connection out of blue.

    I feel that it is time to get a new device. I want something better. I want a device that works in metro. I have been looking around and found that there are advantages and disadvantages between T-Mobile and other carriers. T-Mobile has new devices coming in, but unfortunately, it is not the same plan like the Sidekick has. They have a plan called Total Internet data. It costs $49. 99 a month. Again, unfortunately, it does not include unlimited text messaging, only 300 text messages a month. I use a lot of text messaging. So if I want unlimited text messaging, I have to pay an additional fee of 14.99. That would make 64.98 a month. But for Blackberry devices, 29.95 unlimited Internet data and 14.99 for unlimited text messaging, which would add up to 44.98. Both plans does not work in the metro. I feel it is too much. Well I may be cheapskate. I don’t understand why Blackberry has the different price than any other devices. That is totally unfair. Why don’t they use 29.95 for Total Internet Data plan (with no text messaging service) for all devices, expect Sidekick? Why 49.99? I don’t understand why!

    But not only T-Mobile, but Verizon, Cingular and Nextel and other carriers also offer similiar plans. Well, for some plans in other carriers are a bit complicated. In their Internet data plan, they do have options for text messaging. T-Mobile has a better offer though. Verizon will have unlimited text messaging for its customers only. To send text messages to other carriers, they have to charge you per message unless you choose one of text messaging options. They offer unlimited incoming text messaging but still charge you per message for outgoing text messages if you are exceed their limit, for example, 500 text messages per month.

    Some carriers offer a new technology called 3G. 3G is a fast Internet broadband for mobile devices. T-Mobile has not had it yet but has talked that they will have 3G network sometimes this year. I suspect that they will include in the new version update in the Sidekick from now to the end of the month. The version update will include a new look on the Jump, MySpace, and My Fave.

    Most carriers, unlike T-Mobile, must have included phone plans. There are plans you choice for air-time minutes, and then other features like unlimited Internet data and unlimited text messaging. Unlimited Internet and text messaging have their prices separately. That is too much. I don’t use the phone plan, why do I have to pay for that plan? I only need Internet data and text messaging. There is no way to exclude the phone plan in other carriers, But you can easily do that with T-Mobile.

    I was checking Helio. The reason I checked that out because i heard that there will be a new device coming out sometimes this spring. It looks nice! It has qwerty keyboard, as well as a keypad. I know it may sound strange, but they can do vice verse. It is nice. It has some features like T-Mobile Sidekick features. They do have AIM, Yahoo, Windows Live (formerly MSN). But T-mobile does not have MySpace IM right now. MySpace IM on Helio? Wow, impressive! You know, most devices have IM, Text Messaging and Email in separate inboxes for each. Do you find it hassle? I do. I like to have all in one inbox, that would be easier. Well Helio will have an Ultimate InBox with all in one place. You will able to check AOL, Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. You have to be a premium member to check Hotmail and Yahoo on the device. Sure, you can do do that with any carriers using POP3 or IMAP server. Also you can do text and photo messaging as well.

    That is all? Wait, there are more. You can do GPS. You know what it is? GPS is a popular device, usually used in the car, where you can track yourself in the map on the road, knowing where you are going to. Well, Helio will have that GPS using on Google Map! I am even more IMPRESSED. Sometimes, I find myself lost in unknown areas in DC. That would help a lot! It has a fast Internet broadband called 3G technology. It should be faster than a regular mobile Internet. It is very popular in Europe. 3G Technology just come to US not long ago. Lastly, it has a camera built-in, 2.0 mega pixel and video camera. Most current devices has 1.3 mega pixel.

    Now, how much does it cost for this plan? Of course, airtime-minute plan mus be included. But again how much all for that: IM, Text and Photo messaging, Email, Internet, GPS tracking, and 3G technology? 65 dollars a month, a flat fee. No hidden fees. Well, I may be too soon to say anything because Helio Ocean has not came out yet. It has not told us their plan will be like for that device. But I have seen their plans for other devices. I hope it will be the same plan for Helio Ocean.

    My only concern: Does Helio offer unlimited text messaging like T-Mobile? Remember I mentioned that Verizon only offer unlimited text messaging for its customers. I hope Helio will able to allow to send unlimited text messages to anyone. That would be very NICE, and a good PRICE at last! You can check that out here

    My point is that it seems that I will always be stuck with T-Mobile Sidekick for years to come. I could change the carrier, but would not have the same plan that T-Mobile offers. That really sucks. I hope I don’t have to stick around with T-Mobile for many years. Dont get me wrong. I like T-Mobile services. It is just that I want my mobile to do so much more, like working underground on metro, having GPS tracking (that would be fabulous), UNLIMITED access to all services: Email, Internet, Text messaging and Instant Messaging, and 3G Technology.

    The reason I talked about it in my blog because I talked with the T-Mobile customer service for two hours the other day asking about devices and mobile plans because I don’t want Sidekick any more. I also told them my frustration and limitations in choosing the plans and devices to satisfy my need. She submitted my comments to T-Mobile technical team. But it takes any to have T-mobile listen and working on making good choices of the plans for the Deaf like me. Please submit your comments about frustration and limitation just like I did to T-Mobile. I don’t know where to find that link where you can submit your complaint/suggestion. I will have to call the T-Mobile customer service. However, you could email to them by clicking ‘Contact Us’ or write a letter to them (they have address in ‘Contact Us’ page. Not only to T-Mobile, but you can send to other carriers same submission. We are relying to devices a lot, they should offer us a better deal for the mobile use. So we can have more choices to choose, not only to T-Mobile.

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    • Kimberly 4:14 pm on March 30, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I agree with you. I went to Tmobile and told them I want something different. They didnt help me much!

    • Pam 4:22 pm on March 30, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      If you want something that works in the Metro, then you have to go with Verizon. They are the only carrier that has that capability.

    • Jac 6:33 pm on March 30, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I understand your feeling for being stuck with T-Mobile for a long while! Same thing with me, I prefer stay with T-Mobile for a while till something come up with new ones as different one like you mentioned about Helio, it sound good. as long as Helio is same offers as T-Mobile as plan, I would take it! Thanks for your information.

    • Grant W Laird Jr 7:00 pm on March 30, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Maybe you want to wait till Google Phone come out soon!

      gwlj

    • Belle 9:42 pm on March 31, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      What about the Apple iPhone coming out sometime this summer? I know that Cingular will be its provider – I am hoping this will change though.

      I agree with you that T-mobile’s coverage is a joke!

    • Dean 11:28 am on April 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Grant, I heard about Google Phone, but I thought it was just a rumor. I did not realize it was for real. It has been in talks for years now. I did see the Google Phone design. Not sure I would like it.

      Belle, Apple iPhone is very nice, but very pricey. I am not sure if it will have a good Total Internet data plan. I know that it will be with Cingular. I heard so much about Cingular, it seems to be a good carrier.

      Pam, I don’t think Verizon is the only one that works in Metro. I have seen some people using cell phones on metro, not all by Verizon. Some are Nextel, Cingular and other carriers. But I may be wrong. They might be all Verizon. But anyway, the Helio person says that we might work in metro, using the ‘rented network’ that Verizon and others use. I will find out soon. :-)

    • A 4:55 pm on April 4, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Helio runs on Sprint’s network. If coverage is the most important, then perhaps start at carriers first. If Sprint has no ability to work within Metro, then Helio as well.

      If Verizon works within Metro, then so does Amp’D. Amp’D is more data oriented, so check out Amp’D. Blackberries all have distinct pricings among all carriers, because Blackberry always runs its customers within its own data network, regardless of the carrier. Such intranets offer a level of security for most professionals.

    • Sandy 6:21 pm on April 8, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I use Verizon but not in your area :) But in TN but the Blackberry plan I have is just for data only no phone plan. Pay 49.99 a month for data only but yes you’re right have to pay for the text msg. if you want it I dont’ use the text as those who I know that have the blackberry can use blackberry messenger so that’s much easier than texting but depending on who others have their service with :)

      Never heard of Amp ‘D or the Helio but the picture of the Helio looks neat.. I’m sure eventually you’ll be able to find the right one service carrier for you when the time is right :)

      Btw.. I’ve been with Verizon since 2004 also and I’ve never lost signal wherever I am :)

    • Chris 7:44 pm on April 12, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I think you have to ask yourself if there are some monopolistic price fixing practices going on by these larger carriers. The all have such similar plans for the same price. They all have 2 year contracts. And the things you want all compiled together are available in in other countries but not the US. The reason for this is so that you need another new phone in 2 years along with a new contract. Congress needs to stop this just like they made it so you can port you number. These companies do not have our best interests in mind.

    • twallclimber 9:02 am on May 16, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      cingular does provide the text accessibility plan to any deaf mobile users. – unlimited internet plan with 5000 text messeges for 30 dollars a month.

      check http://www.cingular.com/about/disability-resources/hearing-aid-compatibility.jsp#tap

      8525(3G), 8125, Blackjack(3G), Treo 650, Treo 750(3G), Nokia E62 are accepted for TAP(text accessibility plan).
      personally i have 8125. i am happy with it for over a year.

      Blackberry devices aren’t accepted for that, however cingular/att is working on that plan for deaf BB users.

    • Ryan 12:01 am on July 2, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Agree! i also love Verizon and Cingular! very affordable and great deals! For more info of these Major service provider, check this out. information of cell phone service providers

  • Toby Overstreet 2:42 pm on March 26, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    Google Talk in Firefox? 

    Google is a great service. It allows me to do many things. Mail, Personalized Page, Talk, Search Engine, Calendar, Docs/Spreadsheets, Bookmark, Photo sharing, and Reader.I do all of those services. Once I sign in Google, I don’t have to log in every service I use. It is less hassle. What can I say about it ? It is WONDERFUL.

    What Google does keep amazing me. Google is doing new many things. First, Google Search Engine. It was a wildly popular search engine of all the time! Then Gmail. I had been longed waiting for the Gmail signup. Thanks to one guy who invited me for Gmail private sign up. At first, I did not like it. Of course, it is very different. I stayed with Yahoo for a long time. Until I learned that Gmail can do Chat feature. I was like wow.
    So I try Gmail again. The chat feature is okay. It was limited. I use Google Talk application for a short time. But I did use the Chat feature a lot with one friend of mine, who is a Google fan as I am, whenever I am using Gmail to check emails.

    Of course Google keep improving the Gmail Beta constantly. I start to enjoy Gmail more and more. I am very pleasant with the Gmail’s constant improvement. At that time, Gmail is only by invitation. I did not have a lot of friends using Gmail or Gmail chat. It is fairly new. Last year, Gmail has grown to 10 millions users in US alone, comparing to Yahoo, with 60 millions users in US alone. (I cannot find the link for that statistic — and I was not sure if that statistic for Mail or IM. That is my vague answer.) I know that Yahoo has a higher number of users.

    When Yahoo came with a new Beta, I decided to try that, and turned out that I did not like it. Yahoo Beta is very slow. Hey, Gmail is still in a beta. Gmail did a better job. Yahoo has a long way to go. Now Yahoo has a IM intergration, which I did not try. I have not used Yahoo Mail Beta in a while. Maybe, I won’t be qualified for their IM integration beta for a while. However, I did like the Yahoo Beta’s RSS feeds. I said I wish that Gmail had one as well. It would be a fucntional and wholesome email service!

    Until later, Gmail added RSS feed, however, it is called Web Clip where you would see it above the buttons where says Archive, Report Spam and Delete. I did not like Web Clip. But Google offers the feed reader, which is very nice. I used Google Reader for a while, but at that time, I was disappointed that they do not show YouTube and Google Videos. I use another feed reader called Newshutch, then changed to GoBits. Again, like I said Google still amazes me. They fix the problem. Now Google Reader can view videos from YouTube and Google Videos. I am very pleasant, so I immediately came back to it again. Ever since then I am reading all feeds in one place. I am caught up with them, but some sites are going too fast and post many entries in one day. I had to catch up constantly, which is not easy! I have about 30 sites—with about 50 to 70 entries daily. But sometimes it goes over 100, when I did not read them for one day or two. Once, it would go over 300. Urgh. Hard to get caught up with it. Now, there is called Greasemonkey which I mentioned before a while ago here on my blog. It is a great extension. I added the Gmail/Reader integration in Gmail. It is nice. I love it. Now I can read email, read RSS and chat on one window!

    Not long ago, I read somewhere said that the technology will have new information every 72 hours sometimes in 2020. I have to be ready and keep up with thousands of new information. I am glad that the Feed Reader is invented; otherwise, we would be truly LOST! Too many sites to read each. That is the reason why we have Feed Reader, so we can read all entries in one place, unless you want to see an actual website (only if it is necessary). Most of the time, texts, picture and videos are well-enough to get information for quick reading. The websites are usually designed to make them look good, like I do sometimes with my blog deign look. Heh.

    Anyway, I will go on forever about Google’s great services, which I have not mentioned Calendar and Docs and Spreadsheets, but lets cut the chase here because I want to mention about a new and wonderful sidebar! It is called Google Talk Gadget Sidebar. It is only for Firefox. If you wonder what does it do, what does it look? You can see it below:

    You see that now. You probably would understand why it is so wonderful. Sometimes, when I am on Gmail, and chat with a friend. But I want to surf while I am waiting on someone to reply back. Sometimes, I forgot that I was talking to someone there. I had to come back and saw messages, like saying “hello? hello?” or “are you there?” or sometimes he or she would sign off after a long wait for me to reply back. It does notifies on the tab, but it is not easily to be recognized. It is not like IM-flash like on the taskbar on any other IM programs outside the browser. Well, I gotta to thank Google for a wonderful gadget that you can add it on your Google personalized homepage or blogger, which I already have it in my personalized homepage and blogger. You are no longer required to be tied with Gmail Chat feature.

    Not long ago, they created a Google Talk Sidebar for Firefox, by adding the bookmark and check it as a sidebar which allows you to open the Google Talk bookmark to the sidebar on the left as you see above on the image. Now, I wouljd never miss any IMs. I can easily see if someone ims me, so i can reply back quickly. I can surf and chat at the same time without delays or waiting! No more back and forth on tabs to check Gmail chats. You can go to the link where you can get a instruction how to add an specific url to be added in Firefox Bookmark here.

    Enjoy surfing and use Google Talk at the same time! ;-)

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  • Toby Overstreet 3:01 pm on January 18, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    Mmm, Wii helps shredding weight? 

    I was reading the entry on Engadget.com. One guy was doing an experiment with the game called Wii Sports on Wii gaming system.The Wii is by Nintendo. About 20 years ago, I remember I played on Nintendo. I was addicted to Mario game. It was fun. Today, gaming system is very popular. Now they have other gaming system such as Xbox 360 by Microsoft and Playstation III. They are highly competitive. I believe they are going WiFi now. That means you can play games online over Internet with other people.

    Anyway, back to Wii Nintendo. That game looks cool. It involves body activity. That is probably why he had lost some weight. He was starting the experiment in December and 6 weeks later, he lost 9 POUNDS! That is not bad. Suppose, he is doing that for another 6 weeks, he would lose another 9 pounds. That is the total of 18 pounds in 2 months and two weeks

    Before and after of that guy:

    You can watch the video below via YouTube.com.

    Maybe I should consider getting Wii gaming system. I want to lose at least 15 pounds. But it is very expensive. I believe it is near 300 dollars. I will have to think about it. IF that really helps, I would seriously consider it. It also kill my boredom if I am bored. ;-) It would be good for me during the wintertime. It is cold and might be snowing outside. I can use time to play and lose some weight. :-D

    You can read more about that guy and his Wii Sports experitment here.

    via [Engadget]

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    • Jardini 3:49 pm on March 2, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I played the boxing game in wii. It gets really tired after awhile.

      After playing wii straight for 3 hours, I could definitely feel the pain on my muscle.

    • Jardini 5:40 pm on March 9, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      wii can get you tired, that’s for sure. I wouldnt be surprise if people lose weight from playing wii

  • Toby Overstreet 2:52 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    What? "An MP3 player for the Deaf”? 

    Unbelievable! Sandy Mintz is currently working with Samsung to develop a new wireless MP3 system for the Deaf with cochlear implants (Ci’s). She is an audiologist at Advanced Bionics, the medical device designer. It said that the results are promising… Now Samsung is seeking FDA approval…

    I don’t have CI, and never will… Years ago when I was young, like at the age of 12 to 13, my papaw and dad had been encouraging me to get that implant. I was hesistated for a while until Jordan I. King famously quoted, “Deaf can do anything but hear.” Then right there, I determined not to get it. I told them no. They were disappointed but respected my wish. I am happy with my life as a deaf person.

    It may be a good product for people with CI. I see that there are appoximately 59,000 people worldwide already have them. In the US alone, about 13,000 adults and nearly 10,000 children have them. But perhaps, in ten years, it will possible go double. The research also says about 250,000 people would be good candidates for it. [the link]

    If anyone asks, if CI gets small, better, and almost invisible, would I still consider getting it? No, not really. Why? It is a hassle. I have to learn all over again like a baby. I would have to go speech therapy to learn both ways — speak and hear. I would also have to learn probably over thousands of sounds…some sounds are not very pleased. I say , it will overwhelm me deeply. In fact, I always have been deaf since birth. I want to stay that way.That is what who I am.

    You can read more about this newly possible product via Crave blog here.

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    • Jarom 3:26 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Wireless MP3 player? Sorry AB an Sandy, Cochlear Americas already has beat you to it. With my Freedom, I can use microlink and plug in the adaptor in my ipod and hence I can enjoy music without dealing with the cable.
      —————————————————————————-

      Dean-

      You got the number wrong… There are about 150,000 people implanted in USA and about 300,000 people world that are implanted. USA have the highest number of deaf people implanted. I went to the meeting reccently and the estimated number is very surprising because the number of patients has been increasing sharply… And it will continue to increase….

    • The One and Only Ridor 3:43 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Jarom, yes it has been increasing because the companies behind the cochlear implants are aggressively marketing the tools to make profits from it.

      Ever wonder why the Medicaid can cover CI but not hearing aids?

      Self-explanatory.

      R-

    • Dean 3:49 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Ok, Jarom, I just found that statitstic through National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). It may be the old statistic. Thanks for the update. :-) It seems that the CI is growing very fast now.

    • LOUD 3:51 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Hey Jarom…does your iPod provide captioned lyrics?
      Doubt it, but we can dream, eh?

      LOUD

    • Dianrez 4:17 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      300,000? Amazing. This is a huge and growing rapidly industy and deaf people are the rich fields that are making people big bucks. Do we have accurate statistics on how much it is actually helping deaf people–audiological data on actual hearing loss and speech recognition data on those trained with them? Do we have complete data on how well these CIs are being used in achieving normal speech, normal communication, use of telephones, and integration into mainstream schools?
      Well?

    • Not A CI user 5:58 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Actually Medicaid only covers hearing aids, not cochlear implant. I tried to see if i could use medicaid for cochlear implant, they declined me right away but suggested I should try hearing aids. Maybe it depends on each states. Can anyone clear it up for me?

    • Jarom M. 10:59 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      It depends on each states but normally they does cover the cochlear implant because they recognized them more helpful for the deaf than hearing aids. Don’t ask me why.

      Dianrez- Look at those people and testify that they DOES benefit from cochlear implant. That’s all we need… If you want the “accurate statistics” then it’s virtually impossible because there are endless factors and many things that are involved… What is available is the estimated statistics… which is resulted from the surveys that was collected from patients over years.

    • Jarom M. 11:00 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Loud-

      I don’t need captioned lyrics because I never look at the screens… I can understand the lyrics very well…

    • Working_Brain 1:42 am on March 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      DianRez, I can’t speak for everyone but let me tell you about myself. you know the audiogram, right? Before implant, my audiogram showed hearing levels near the bottom. I could hear a jet plane if I was standing right next to it. After implant, my hearing loss in the mild range. In a quiet room, I can hear my cats purring, the click of their claws on hardwood floor, and the sizzle of bacon frying in the pan. I still need lipreading to understand everything said, but can catch common phrases like “do you have any questions?” without looking and in predictable context. I don’t have perfect hearing like a hearing person, but that wasn’t my goal anyway. I’m happy with the increased sound awareness and better lipreading ability. Each person is different and what they can expect to get from the CI.

  • Toby Overstreet 4:42 pm on January 8, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    PageBull 

    Not long ago, I mentioned about Snap Preview Anywhere. I talked about its own search engine a bit. The search engine is great and useful. It does like Google, Yahoo, or MSN, but it has a bigger thumbnail preview on the right. It saves your time rather than clicking every link page to look at it. The look of Snap search engine is very simple and modern. It also do images. You click one image, it will enlarge on the right for viewing.

    Google, Yahoo, and MSN do have thumbnail preview on each link on the right via Firefox/Flock extension called BetterSearch. But they are small and hard to see. However, with Better Search, you have another option of previewing the website when you see the ‘P’ next to the link in any search engine. That ‘P’ is called Quick Preview. You can see the images below.

    Thumnail Preview on Google:

    Quick Preview:

    It is a great extension. There is also another great extension called Cooliris or Browster. Both opens webpages real-life time when you point at the specific icon somewhere on the end (Cooliris) or in the front (Browster) of the link and it will pop up to the screen almost like a full page on the same tab/windows. I have mentioned that before. But Snap does not need any plugin or installation. It is nice and save your space on the computer.

    You may wonder what does PageBull fit in this all?

    Well, it is a another great Thumbnail Preview search engine. It shows thumbnail previews only, no listing like the the rest…I just found about that last week. I thought it is a nice search engine just to view webpages. You can view them in either 3×4, 2×6, or 4×3. Those means how many previews in the row and columns. I took a screenshot of the PageBull (3×4) search query: deanscyberspace. You may notice some of them. One is my current blog and other one is my former blog by Blogger.

    Honestly every day, I found something cool, better, and more quick in googling something in the search engine. Thumbnail previews are wonderful. However, it is hard to make decisions, which search engine I would like to use — Google, Yahoo or MSN with BetterSearch or Cooliris and Browster extensions, Snap, and now PageBull. But it is a nice change for alternative search engines, rather than using same search engine every day. Well, I use Google.com more often. It has best search results. I use Cooliris for website previewing for now. I like it because I can share the links with anyone via Cooliris using its own email box. But I would use PageBull or Snap once in a while. I like to see what is happening to them and see them grow and become better search engines in the near future. :-)

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  • Toby Overstreet 4:01 pm on January 8, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    Trillian Astra is Here 

    I mentioned Trillian Astra not long ago. The link is here. Trillian Astra Alpha is here ..Well, you have to sign up for Alpha testing to get invitation. Once you sign up, they will send you the email with information to use it. I believe I have given you the signup link when i mentioned Astra for the first time on my blog. But I will give to you the link again here.

    When I heard about Astra for the first time, I thought, wow, it is so cool. But so little did I know about it. I suppose I was excited about trying  new stuff. The Astra is a web-based IM, which means you can log in on the Internet and use IM anywhere, just like you do Meebo, eBuddy (formerly eMessenger), or Wablet. It has more than just intergrate IM accounts. Allow me to list the features below:

    >>Propagate web services.
    >>Aggregate web feeds and keywords under a single user interface, accessible from anywhere.

    You can learn more about this Astra Alpha here.

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  • Toby Overstreet 3:09 pm on January 4, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    Tablet Computer 

    For few years, I always like to have a Tablet PC. If you don’t know what it looks like, let me display of a general Tablet PC:

    Some Tablet PCs have keyboard, as you can convert to a laptop or back to a Tablet. It is convenient for traveling. Even you can do it in the classroom taking notes. It is nice to have it. It is a bigger version of PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

    Apple along with their manufacturing partner Axiotron will unveil the new Mac Tablet dubbed ModBook at Macworld Expo with full details on January 9th, 2007! Now I am curious what they can offer for the ModBook. I am sure it is very expensive. But hell, I would like to have one. Actually I am planning to get a MacBook in the spring, but perhaps it will change my mind and buy ModBook, if it comes out in the spring, instead. Mmm. I will check that out once the information and images are released at the Expo. I am looking forward to it. Too bad, I won’t make it to the Macworld Expo. :-( If any one can make it, you can stop by Booth: S2218 for a hands-on trial!

    Update: I quote, “Apple along with their manufacturing partner Axiotron will unveil the new Mac Tablet dubbed ModBook at Macworld Expo with full details on January 9th, 2007!” Well, I read just now on Gizmodo that it is not by Apple. But I was right that it is by Axiotron; the “German and American engineers created the MobBook. [the link]

    So I have to strike this all out -Apple is right. The 30 years were only the beginning…;-) Apple is full of Surprises. I am sure that Apple has more surprises for us, especially Mac users. I am looking forward to having more surprises ahead…

    Update 2: I found another Modbook picture, that would be revealing a bit … You can go to Axiotron’s site and get to know that company better here.

    via [Tuaw]

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  • Toby Overstreet 4:28 pm on January 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    MsPaint Can Do Artwork?!?!? 

    When I saw the MsPaint art work, I was in awe to see that MsPaint can do the job! I am not sure which MsPaint they talk about… I know there are two Paint programs… One MS Paint is installed on every computer automatically and it is free. There is another Paint but it is in beta called Paint.Net. The version is 3.0. It is free, too. I assume it is done by the orginial MsPaint. I am very impressed. You can see the images and a video below:

    You have to watch it thoroughly. It is 5 minutes and 19 seconds. It is fast-forwarded video; that is why it is a bit hard to follow….But it is amazing. It is a lot of works. I don’t know how long it takes it complete it. I say he (or she) is professional!

    via [Techeblog]

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    • Mike Lewis 5:43 pm on January 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Um, why are you talking about MS Paint when your last post was all about how awesome Apple is and how you’re now switching over? Can’t have it both ways my friend :)

    • Dean 8:54 pm on January 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I talk about everything, really. I don’t restrict to Mac only. And it does not mean that I switch over to Winodws. I still think Mac is awesome! I love it deeply. :-)

      But my blog is a cyberspace where I keep my readers up to date about technology and other cool stuff that I can find over Internet. In fact, I still use Windows at work and at home (partially), so I check things out for Windows stuff, too. I already knew that Mac has great photo editor: Photoshop. But I just am surprised that Windows’ MsPaint can do the job professionally. All I have to say that it was impressive.

  • Toby Overstreet 4:00 pm on January 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    They were only the beginning… 

    Mmmm… a nice start off for Apple. I believe Apple! Apple is ready to empower the Mac world for years to come. Apple’s Mac OS X: Leopard will come out this year. iTV and iPhone has been rumored, but I believe Apple will do something with them. iPod is doing very well. I have seen people with it everywhere. They are doing very well in the share market on it. It is still the top on the market for music playing. Apple will get better and get more share in market.

    Last year, Mac had been through a few changes. For years, the Mac computers had PPC (Power PC) chips, but just a few months before the end of the year, they changed to Intel. That is a start. I have a Mac-Intel computer myself, it is pretty good. I got the first Intel chip for Mac Mini. I expect teensy bugs in Intel and OS in running. Nothing major. Apple is trying to understand how to work with the Intel chip. Moreover, I got several updates on Intel/firmware updates for my Mac mini. It seems to be doing very well. I am very pleasant with it.

    Since 2007 is here, I am converting myself religiously from Windows to Mac. I have said a few times in my blog that I am very tired of Windows problems over the years. Not only problems, but it costs me money for yearly subscriptions on Firewall/Anti-virus/Spyware protection. Let’s say Windows is very sensitive in many areas. Windows is not a very stable OS yet, but, yes, unfortunately, Windows is everywhere over the world. Windows is still dominating in the PC world. Perhaps, with a new Windows called Vista, it would get better with security and stability, but not much that I would like to see it. I can sense it would make it worse. I did try Vista myself. Let’s be honest: Vista is a beautiful OS. A new look! Different. Modern. However, I can see that Microsoft still fail to manage the stability itself; well, it was a beta when i try. Maybe it is why.

    Vista is highly demanded to have high-tech equipment to run its OS alone. Millions and millions people still have computers that are probably up to 2 to 5 years old. With a Vista upgrade, you would have to upgrade everything on your CPU system or buy a Vista-compatible computer. That costs a lot of money. Maybe, upgrading CPU system is cheaper, but most don’t know how to install new hardware, if I am mistaken, forgive me, but I know some people don’t.

    I said that I am converting to Mac religiously. Well, I still do use Windows at work. I do have Windows on my second computer for a few things. But I don’t use Windows often at home. I use Mac more. Let’s say that I use Windows on the side. You cannot be freed from Windows completely yet. You still have to use Windows sometimes. That kinda sucks. But that is life.

    Microsoft updates their OS every 3 to 5 years. I don’t think they should do that. They should update 2 years at least to improve the OS stability and security better rather than a big BULK of upgrades with new features (that you may never know it will work well). Look at Mac OS. They update their OS X every 1 to 2 years. The current OS is Tiger. Next OS is Leopard, but they are still at 10 version. The Tiger version is 10.4; the Leopard version is 10.5. Both versions are like 2 years apart in upgrading. Mac OS still have not got the viruses or spywares. Maybe, a very few, nothing major serious. I like what Mac says: 114,000 viruses? No. That is very simple. It is a fact. I know, I know. Mac has a very small percent of share on the market. Windows has around 95 percent share on the market. But Apple is very protective with their OS. Unlike Mac OS, Windows lets people to write a very popular language, which is Visual Basic. It is likely an universal language in the computer world. Mac OS is writen in Unix, one of the oldest language in the world. That is why Windows is easily targeted for viruses, hacking, and spywares. Yes, one day, Mac probably would be hit big time with them. You never know. I hope it will not happen.

    So when I see that image above, again, I believe Apple. They were only the beginning. And 2007 and beyond will be getting better. I have seen Apple has been working so hard to improve their hardware and software every day. Even though, Apple only has 2 to 3 percent of computing in the market, comparing to Windows with around 95 percent. I think Apple will go up eventually and slowly. Apple is very patient, and I say, very smart. Keep up the work, Apple.

    Blogged with Flock

     
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