This is Bill Gates’ last week at Microsoft. He will still be involved with Microsoft on a part time basis.
In other news, the beginning of July will mark the first anniversary since leaving my former employer and starting my own company.
On our trip to Oregon a couple weeks ago, I noticed two flight info computers at the Boise Airport that were in need of some technical support and/or a Vista upgrade.
Note: This is my first attempt at using Wordpress’ new photo gallery feature. If you have difficulties viewing this, the full size photos are over here.
It sure took them long enough, but Sprint has finally released the new Nextel Direct Connect which runs on Qualcomm’s Qchat technology. (The current Nextel network runs on the iDen network.) However, it will only be available to about 40 different markets in the beginning. These new Qchat phones will be able to Direct Connect to existing Nextel network phones. In fact, some of the folks over at Howard Forums have already gotten their hands on a Sprint Qchat phone and have been able to direct connect folks on the Nextel network. In addition to interoperability with the Nextel network, Sprint has introduced some new features which are exclusive to Qchat enabled phones:
* Single number option: If they wish, most customers purchasing these new phones can choose the simplicity of having one phone number for voice and push-to-talk calls. If preferred, customers can opt to have a separate Direct Connect number.
* TeamDC(R): This more formal one-to-many feature allows up to 35 Nextel Direct Connect subscribers to communicate via PTT at the same time - nationwide, quickly and easily. Customers create and manage groups online, then all members of the group receive a notification and can access the group. TeamDC is only available on these new phones and is not interoperable with Nextel or PowerSource phones.
* DC Permissions: Customers have the ability to block/allow incoming one-to-one push-to-talk calls and Call Alerts with the new phones.
* DC Missed Call Notification: - When on a Nextel Direct Connect call, customers receive a notification if they miss a push-to-talk call, Call Alert or Group call.
* Call Alerts with Text: With the new Call Alerts with Text feature, customers can attach one of several preset text messages, such as “Please stop by,” to Call Alerts sent to users of NDC phones powered by the QChat technology.
* Sprint Mobile Sync: This easy-to-use online tool lets customers manage all of their contact information online, including setting up groups. Additionally, this feature automatically synchronizes with the phone, allowing for easier entry, easier access and full secure backup of contacts. Contacts automatically transfer if the customer moves to another Sprint Mobile Sync-capable phone.
I’ve been a customer of nextel for years, since 2003 to be exact, (My dad has been a customer even longer, 
his first Nextel phone was a i1000.) and I remember when the Nextel network in our area here was hands down the best and I had lots of direct connect numbers in my phonebook. That has since changed. The network took a turn for the worse after Sprint purchased Nextel, and gradually the customers started leaving one by one. I have lots of friends who have ditched their Nextel’s in favor of Verizon or At&t. I have been threatening to leave for a long time myself. All that to say, I’m excited about what Sprint has to offer with Direct Connect on Qchat. I can’t wait until it is released nationwide, and I can get my hands on a Qchat enabled Blackberry.
The big question is, does Direct Connect on Qchat still retain the annoying Nextel Chirp?
Hmm.. this is interesting. Amazon.com is giving an error “Http/1.1 Service Unavailable” for me at the moment. The AP reports this has been somewhat of an ongoing problem. I wonder what the problem could possible be? You would think that a company of their size wouldn’t have problems with downtime. 
Wow! Apple is doing the right thing this time around. They announced the new 3G version of the iPhone for the low price of $199. They also included a bunch of features that actually make it a real phone this time, including GPS, 3G, Exchange support, etc. RIM, you’ve got serious competition now!
Update: Robert Scoble says the new iphone actually isn’t cheaper:
The new iPhone is NOT that much cheaper. Yeah, it’s $199, but you have to sign a two-year-contract and the 3G network plan is $10 a month more expensive. So, do the math. It isn’t cheaper.
I did not have a very good start to my day yesterday. It involved my laptop and a glass of fruit punch. And now for some reason, my laptop keys are sticking. 
Microsoft yesterday released a beta version of its WorldWide Telescope. I downloaded and installed it this morning and was quite impressed with quality of the imagery. Take a look at these incredible images.
(Click image for higher resolution version.)
You will need to have a fairly fast computer in order to even run WorldWide Telescope however. The minium requirements according to Microsoft are:
Ed Bott wrote an outstanding article on “Why do Macs need so much fixing?”. Totally true. 
I was trying to install the Blackberry Desktop Manager on Windows Vista, but it kept aborting on the following error message.
error 1325 favorites is not a valid short file name
Frustrating. Turns out its a simple fix. Simply set your Favorites back to the default location. I had my favorites folder pointed to a network location and for what ever reason the installer didn’t like that. Apparently its a bug in the Blackberry installer program.
Late last week I requested a static IP address from my web host, hostmonster. Supposedly this would be a simple change that would go off without a hitch. And it did for the most part, except for one problem. The A name record for blog.kirb.com was somehow erased, which simply resulted in this website being down. The solution of course is to update the A record. Simple, right? Take a peak at these conversations with Hostmonster Support.
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