SugarSync Has Really Dropped the Ball!!

I am just so disappointed in SugarSync! Yes, I was raving about them not very long ago, but very soon after that post they started hosing me out of my referral credits and, frankly, I'm really irritated with it! They advertise that you can get double bonus space for all referrals right now, but what they neglect to tell you is that they have no intention of following though and giving you that bonus space anymore. It was working perfectly for awhile and then about the time they upped everyone's initial amount of free space to 5 GB, the bonus referrals credits stopped applying to my account. According to their forum, I am not the only person experiencing this and it has been a couple of weeks now and nothing has been done to fix the issue on their part. I suspect that the issue will work itself out about the time the double referral credit promotion ends. How disappointing - I really liked this company until they pulled this - pretty scandalous, if you ask me! If you advertise a promotion, you need to be willing to and ABLE to honor it!

After A Week With My Samsung Galaxy Tab....

It's been a little over a week since getting my new toy, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and I must say, I still LOVE it!! It is pretty much my go-to device now. My poor little Asus netbook tablet has collected dust in the last week and a half since purchasing this because this does just about everything that the netbook tablet did, but it's even more portable and runs all of the Android apps I use everyday, so it makes it even more useful! Here are the things that I have noticed since having more time to get to know my Galaxy Tab:

• The Wifi issue I mentioned previously isn't an issue afterall. Turns out, it was my modem/router. I increased my internet speed and got a new router and now I have no issues with using this tablet on Wifi - market works perfectly and so does browsing.

• I now have the ability to call using the tablet with a combination of Google Voice and Skype that I read about online. While this trick technically works, I can call out using Skype on the Galaxy Tab and it will display my Google Voice phone number - the problem happens when I receive calls to my Google Voice number....they are supposed to forward to my Skype number and ring the Tab and I'm sure Google does it's part by forwarding the calls - it's Skype that totally drops the ball and never connects the calls, so they never actually ring on the Tab (I think I've had 3 out of dozens of calls actually ring through on Skype). There was also the issue of Skype's voicemail constantly picking up before my calls could be connected, causing me to miss tons of calls before I finally found a work around for that. So for now, I guess the ability to make calls from my Tab is a nice feature to have in case I should need it, but I can't wait until Google implements their VOIP app for Android, so I can ditch Skype because they are pretty close to worthless.

• I have also noticed that it takes quite awhile to fully charge. I am used to my Droid X which fully charges in hardly any time at all - the Tab takes hours to fully charge. Bigger battery, I'm sure, but still annoying since I just want to charge quickly and be back on my merry way.

• This device doesn't run hot which is great! Even when you are charging it and using it at the same time, you never feel it running super hot.  

•  The screen resolution actually leaves much to be desired. The colors are not very vibrant at all and fall pretty flat (this is compared to the colors on my Droid  X). You do have the ability to go in and tweak white and black balance as well as saturation, which is a great feature, but still leaves the colors a bit dull. Again, I am used to the colors delivered on my Droid X and they are definitely more vibrant than on my Tab, but I guess if I didn't have that to compare it to, I probably wouldn't even notice.

• I set up my Google Voice account on my Tab and in the initial setup it asked me what the number was for the device and instead of having it detect the actual number for my Tab, I just told it to use my main cell number (from my Droid X) - I also have it set up to deliver a copy of my Google Voice texts to my sms inbox, so all texts sent get sent to my Google Voice number and the inbox on my Droid X (my main cell number). I told everyone to start texting my Google Voice number and now when they send me a text, it will show up in my Google Voice app on my Tab and will also be delivered to my Handcent app on my Droid X. I saved everybody's 406 numbers to my contacts and now when I reply to them through Handcent, it shows the text as coming from my Google Voice number and plops the reply right into the thread on Google Voice - so cool! So, basically, I can text people now from my Tab or my cell phone - whichever I happen to be holding at the time and never pay a penny in messaging on my Galaxy Tab, but keep flowing text threads no matter which device I use. I just love Google for making everything so seamless!!

• This device is definitely zippy! I haven't had any of the browser lag issue that I have read about in a few places - not at all! My browser is so fast! It might be the wifi connection speed I have, but whatever it is, it works great! (And yes, I have my browser set up to automatically load all flash when the page is initially loaded)

• I love the music application on this device! Creating playlists is such a snap!! Maybe it's this way on all Samsung Galaxy phones - I don't know because I've never owned any other Samsung Galaxy device before, but it's one of my favorite features on this device! So many options for music playback and I really love the UI - better than any other stock or third party music app I have used yet!

• One thing that I have found that I really wish they wouldn't have omitted on this device is the l.e.d. for notifications, I really miss it....a lot!!

• This device is easy as pie to root!! Thanks to z4root (available in the market)! Took about 2 minutes, including reboot time, and I was rooted and AdFree (also in the market)! I couldn't live without my trusty Titanium Backup, so rooting was a must!

• On the subject of rooting brings up the possibility of new roms or theming which I hope comes soon to this device because although I don't mind the soft blue system color they chose, some of the core apps (calendar, contacts, memo...) are so incredibly ugly....and brown - yuck! Can't wait for the option to pink everything up! :-)

• I have read so many times people ripping on the size of this device compared to the ipad and, personally, I would never pick the ipad over this device (for so many reasons more than just the size, actually, but I'll try to stay focused)!! You can't just throw the ipad into your pocket or purse - it is nowhere near as portable as this device and with the Galaxy Tab, you still get plenty of screen to do everything you need to do on the device. Personally, I wouldn't want my ereader to have a 10" screen, but that's just me, I guess. I love that I can just throw this device in my purse and take it everywhere. 7" is perfect for me, in this instance anyway.

• Another feature that I just love that, again, might be present in all Samsung Galaxy devices, is the ability to alter the vibration intensity. I HATE how much vibration my Droid X has, it's pretty ridiculous how hard it vibrates, so I just love being able to tone down the vibration intensity on this device!

All in all, I have found this device to be my favorite Android device yet! I really love it and am so glad I spent the money on it - it's the first time I've ever coughed up full price for a device - no sale, discount or subsidy, but I haven't regretted it for a second!

Lovin' My New Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab!! *Short Review*

Just picked up the new Samsung Galaxy Tab from Best Buy last night and I have to say I'm lovin' it so far!! I got it for $599 (plus a 1 yr. damage replacement plan for $109) with a $20 1GB month to month Verizon  plan with the intention of canceling after my allotted 30 days, but I am rethinking that now due to the wifi issues with Froyo. Don't even get me started on how much I hate Froyo, but the thing that I despise the most is the wifi bug with this OS and it is definitely the worst I've seen with this device. My husband has some mild annoyances with on his OG Droid, I've had a few issues with it on my Droid X, but this device takes the cake! It does pretty well on wifi for surfing the net, which is great and all, but if you want to access the market on wifi, you can think again. I haven't been able to complete one download through the market while on wifi, I have to turn off wifi and download on 3G, then turn wifi back on. I must say though, that with the shortcut they've placed in the notification bar, it at least makes the process easier. But if you were thinking of getting the tab and just running it via wifi, it might not be feasible option until an update that fixes the Froyo wifi issues. For now, I plan on keeping this $20 a month 1GB of data plan. I installed 3G Watchdog and APNDroid to keep me from going over, but according to the past months of data used on my Droid X, it shouldn't be an issue.

Other than the wifi issue, this tab is awesome! It plays video flawlessly (videos I converted for my Droid X play perfectly on this), web browser is fast, the whole phone is blazing! I really like the Media Hub that is installed on this - I've already enjoyed some Brian Regan standup comedy that I now own and can watch over and over again for the bargain price of $1.99. :-)

The larger screen makes every app even better and along with my favorite ereader app, ireader, it is the best ereader I've had yet (and I've had A LOT!). I mainly bought it for this purpose, actually. I LOVE the ireader app and have been using it on my Droid X, but the screen was so small for ereading, so I figured if I purchased an Android tablet I could install the app on it and have a larger screen for reading. I started out yesterday morning with the Sylvania 7" SYNET7LP Tablet that was just realeased - what a joke that turned  out to be! Of all the bloatware apps that they could have put on it - the ereader bloatware installed was ireader, so I was stuck with a much older version of the app, and the free version at that, so I didn't have the ability to view ereader pdb's and since it was bloatware, there was no way to update it or purchase the full version. I'm sure I could've figured out a way to root it eventually and uninstall that version, but considering the rest of the device was nothing short of useless ridiculousness, I decided not to waste anymore time on it and it was returned about 6 hours later. I then decided to stop playing around with toy Android tabs and just get the real thing. Yes, it meant spending hundreds of dollars more (considering the Sylvania tab was only $149), but I figured if it worked right and was exactly what I needed, it would be worth it and so far, this Galaxy tab is worth the $$$ I paid for it.

I have only played around with it for less than 24 hours, so I might update this with a more detailed review once I get to know the device even better. One tip I have figured out about it so far is that if you turn on USB debugging, your Windows computer will no longer be able to see it. Both my Windows XP and Windows 7 computers were no longer able to see the device with debugging on, although my Linux computer could still see it once the sd card was mounted. So, be sure to have USB debugging off when connecting it to your Windows computer or when you mount your sd card, your computer won't be able to see it.

Having a hard time getting a hold of Columbia House customer service?

Today's latest find was the very well hidden Columbia House dvd club customer service phone number. There was an unauthorized charge from them on my bank statement today and after much searching and about a dozen phone numbers listed that were no longer in service, I finally found a number to call to speak with someone directly about the charge. In case anyone else has been searching far and wide for this number, it is 1-717-918-3232.

SugarSync Just Even Better!

The online file and media storage SugarSync just got even better by increasing their free storage accounts to 5 GB! I love SugarSync because of it's great ease of use and the fact that it is the only one I've found that can backup and keep the files on my Droid X synced. Ever had your memory card go bad and you lose all of the pictures and backups you had on it? SugarSync puts an end to that by allowing you to backup any file you want from your sd card and keep it synced and current (Dropbox can't do that!). 

I tried everyone's beloved Dropbox and, honestly, I hated it. The fact that you have to hold all of the synced files on all of the computers you want backed-up was a ridiculous waste of hard drive space! SugarSync allows you to sync files between computers using their Magic Briefcase folder, but you can also upload files to a Web Archive folder which does does not implant itself on every computer you own, but rather allows you to access those files from any computer with the SugarSync software installed on it or just an internet connection because they can be downloaded from Sugarsync's site as well. Sugarsync also has the ability to stream your audio and video media too!

Giving free account users (like myself) 5GB of free space was very smart on their part because although they really are the best that I have found (and I tried out A LOT), people won't really find that out until they give them a shot and now with more free space than most of the competition, more people might have a chance to discover how great SugarSync really is!

Here's the link to give SugarSync a shot - it's free, so what have you got to lose! Signing up through the link below will get you an additional 500MB for free when you sign up and install the SugarSync software:


https://www.sugarsync.com/referral?rf=cn9r6yjjb24eg

Enjoy your free file and media syncing and backups!

Disable Auto-Play in Windows XP

I find this feature just plain annoying everytime I plug anything into my computer - whether it's a cd, camera, ereader, Droid X - I don't need Windows helping my out with this auto-play feature, I am very capable of taking care of my device all on my own. Here's how to fix that one:


To get to the configuration screen for this setting, go to Start Menu \ Run and type in:

gpedit.msc

You will see the Group Policy window. You should select Administrative Templates \ System in the tree view.


You will see an item in the right side pane called “Turn off Autoplay”


Double click the item, and set the radio button to Enabled, and change the “Turn off Autoplay on” to All Drives.



And now you have auto-play no more!


This tip was found at howtogeek.com - great place for geeky computer tips!

How to get your Windows 7 network to see your XP network

Today's issue was that my new Asus tablet pc running Windows 7 could not see any of my XP computers on my home network. Anybody else have this problem? In my search for the solution, it seemed to be a very common problem - here's the solution:

Control Panel --- System and Security --- System

Click: Advanced system settings
Click the  Computer Name tab
Click: Change

Under WORKGROUP:  type your home network name

Click OK
REBOOT

Worked like a charm for me and finally my Windows 7 network can see all the others computers on my XP network.