I am really enjoying the Skydeck service on my Blackberry. It basically gives you an inbox for all your phone calls and gives you voice mail transcription that is quite a bit more accurate than Vonage. One of the best features is the way it adds contacts automatically.  If I call a restuarant, Skydeck will notice, look the number up in a directory and add the information to my address book.  So I can place a call and within a few minutes I have their name, number and address in my phone. … [Read more...]

You know there are significant economic problems when Harvard---an institution known for having the largest foundation endowment in the US world--starts looking for ways to cut back.  I got an email from the president this morning outlining the ways they are trying to cut expenses.  They plan to slow the construction on a science complex and possibly scale back their plans, offer early retirement options, look for ways to streamline operations, but still keep tuition increases in check. Most notable in the email was the closing paragraph--a reminder that we are defined by what is in our heads and hearts rather than our bank accounts: In a time of dramatic and often disquieting change, … [Read more...]

This weekend I tried to help my grandmother with her new cell phone.  She purchased a phone, bluetooth headset, and another bluetooth device that lets you talk in your car handsfree and broadcasts the callers voice over an FM channel that you can tune to with your radio.  I got the handsfree device setup and showed her how to use it, but my final recommendation was to take it back to the store.  While it was great in theory, in actually use I know it was far more complicated to be useful to me--even though I knew how to work it. It is easy to get enamored with how something is supposed to make your life simpler to the point that you overlook how it makes things more complicated. … [Read more...]