James Benham's Blog

What to do with that old Sprint Android phone…

What to do with that old Sprint Android phone…

So since the iPhone came to Sprint, I switched my primary phone back from AT&T so I could get unlimited data for my phone and get 5GB of tethering (Something you cannot do on AT&T). As such, I replaced my sprint line, which had an HTC Evo attached to it, with the iPhone, so the question begged itself, what to do with the old Evo? After all, the battery life stinks, it was kind of slow, and really didn’t work that well.

After some thought and picking through the settings menu, I discovered a feature I didn’t know that it had - a SIP phone. I logged into Skype and enabled the SIP gateway function and tied a phone number to it. I then used the given SIP server settings from Skype to turn the Evo into a dedicated SIP phone for Skype. It’s been a phenomenal dedicated Skype phone and worked quite better than the old dedicated Skype phone I purchased from Skype a few years ago. So for all of you out there with used Android phones, don’t throw them away - go SIP and enjoy! 

My top 8 cloud based apps for business

For all the talk about cloud apps, businesses have to focus their efforts on cloud apps that can deliver a tangible return. Here’s my top 8 apps and the reasons I love them:

1. Zendesk (www.zendesk.com)
   An absolutely phenomenal tools for managing customer support, whether it is technically related or not. Customer Service Reps or Help Desk employees will love it equally. A few of its strengths are that it can very effectively manage support through email, but can also handle live chat, integrated phone call management, an integrated discussion forum & FAQ database and some amazing automation tools for customer support. A must have, not just because of the above reasons, but also because it integrates with a lot of other solutions. 
    
2. Mailchimp (www.mailchimp.com)
   I was a hardcore Constant Contact fan until I really gave Mailchimp a solid try. Its ease of use and ability to segment your mailing database make it a must have for email marketing. I even enjoy the subtly hilarious comments the “chimp” makes on your screen while you’re working. It’s taken our email marketing to the next level, and they even have a “forever free” account that small organizations can use for basic email marketing. It integrates really well with CRM products (and Zendesk) and has a cool iPhone app. 
3. Geckoboard (www.geckoboard.com)
   Dashboards are fun, and this makes it a breeze. While it is really very IT Focused, with some custom programming it can be turned into a force for good in your company. It has out-of-the-box integration with a bunch of other cloud based tools and allows for all kinds of custom dashboard widgets.
4. Google Apps (www.google.com/a)
   Yes, I know most of us have already heard of this, but I had to mention it. This has been an Internet-wide game changer, shutting down countless hosting companies’ email services with their awesome, free product. While it is really great for email, contacts and calendars (negating the need for Exchange in my opinion) it is also really nice for its app engine, which lets you run a variety of other, integrated products. 
   
   
5. Ringcentral (www.ringcentral.com)
   I’ve used a lot of hosted PBX solutions for managing phone systems. This the most flexible and affordable one that I have been able to find yet. Very nice UI, affordable monthly rates and a lot of flexibility with find me-follow me settings and with their queues. They have a nice iPhone app and have continued to improve their product to meet phone system needs. They also have a direct phone product that you can buy from them if you don’t want to use a software client. 
6. Carbonite (www.carbonite.com)
   Real time, off-site backup. Enough said. It’s affordable, easy to use and has a web based portal for administration of multiple systems being backed up, and it doesn’t consume a ton of my resources and fail like some other products that I used. 
7. 37 Signals Suite (Highrise & Basecamp) (www.37signals.com)
   These guys have changed the whole business. You see a lot of companies mimicking or straight up copying their website designs and implementing the same time of integration methodologies. Highrise is a great CRM product that helps you manage companies, contacts, deals, notes, followups and more. It’s simple, it’s easy to use, and it integrates with most of the other solutions on this page. Most pricing stays under $100 per month, so it’s an easy sell to company owners. Something important to remember, the product is simple, so if there is an advanced feature you’re looking for, make sure to search out an integrated solution that developed a tool for what you are looking for.  
8. Tripit (www.tripit.com)
   If you travel, it doesn’t get much better than tripit. I honestly can’t remember how I did it before this app came along. A very easy web, iPhone and iPad UI have helped me get rid of print itineraries and difficult travel scheduling and just start forwarding all of the conformation emails that I get to my tripit email address. It does the rest of the work by indexing the emails and pulling the relevant reservation details out of the email. It’s a great app and has changed my travel life for the better (plus it tracks all of my frequent flyer points!) 

Why I’m putting the Kindle down… and the iPad… and the iPhone…and…

So I came to an unsettling realization about two months ago. I realized that I hadn’t read a whole book in several months. SEVERAL MONTHS. And this is from a guy who has read hundreds upon hundreds of books. All of the novels Robert Ludlum, Roald Dahl, Vince Flynn, and many, many more. This was a really disturbing. So I tried to figure out how to do something about it.

I started buying several books on Amazon for my Kindle/iPad/iPhone, figuring that if I spent the money and got them on my device, I would get with the program and read them. But, alas, no reading occurred. I started them, but for some reason never finished them. I started getting frustrated, then annoyed, then sad. I really missed diving into a book and not being able to put it down. 

Then I realized what the real issue was. Distraction. Plain and simple. These devices have wonderful apps, great screens, lots of buttons (at least the Kindle does) and I was getting VERY distracted by all of this “gadget noise”. So a week ago I tried an experiment. I locked all the devices away in my home office and settled down with a nice…. book. That’s right. The guy who hates paper cracked open a wonderful hard-cover book by my good friend David Gregory and dove in. It was splendid. It was miraculous. I was able to read for hours on end and dig into what turned out to be a great book (Thanks Mr. Gregory!) So I tried it again, and, lo and behold, it happened again. 

So while I will continue to use my iPad for all my news and my Kindle and Kindle App for the light, quick reading, I’m going back… back into time. Dust off the hard-covers, let’s go for a read and kick that ol’ enemy called Distraction in the butt. 

Some fun with energy saving…

In light of the incredible levels of heat and drought we’ve been experiencing in Texas, I thought I would take some steps to cut our home’s energy and water usage - all kinds of fun, so here’s my list. 

• Installed a tankless hot water heater in the attic - did wonders for the gas bill, and fixed the problem I had with the steaming hot attic causing my old tank-based hot water heater shutting down every day in 140 plus degree attic temps
• Installed solar guards on the back, west facing windows. This did WONDERS for the temp in the bedrooms facing west. Awesome stuff, and very affordable for the level of comfort it brought with it.
• Had the A/C serviced (twice a year) - they always find/tweak something and it keeps the largest electricity consumer in the house running efficiently
• Had the city utility provider come do a home energy audit - great stuff, free results! 
• Change the air filter monthly - believe it or not, this helps your A/C not work as hard to pull air through a dirty filter, making it work less
• Installing turbines in the attic - those ridge vents just don’t cut it, so good ol’ fashioned turbines do the trick to really lower the temp up there
• Installed a new security system that automatically raises the temp in the house when we leave - that way the house is not cooled down too much while we’re gone

So that’s about it for now, but there’s lots more to do than this. Just gotta take it one step at a time! 

My favorite iPhone/iPad apps

Being the tech geek that I am, I’m always asked what my favorite iPhone/iPad apps are, so here goes, in order of favoritism:

1. Dropbox - absolutely amazing free app with 2GB of storage for syncing files between your desktop/iPhone/iPad/web. I use it every day. Simply amazing. 
2. Netflix - gotta love all the free streaming online. I actually like the video quality on the iPad better than on my computer. 
3. Evernote - great app for syncing notes (work/personal/etc) between all my devices - similar to dropbox, but just for notes/pics/audio. 
4. Pandora - can’t live without this one. Streaming music to my devices, and it plays through my car’s bluetooth audio connection. Awesome music, just the right tunes, and well worth paying for the pro subscription.
5. Tripit - as a seasoned traveler, I don’t know how I lived without this app. Install it and start forwarding your booking confirmation emails from airlines, hotels, rental cars, etc and it automatically forms an itinerary for you. Awesome! 
6. TweetDeck - saves me tons of time by unifying all of my social media channels into one app/one view. 
7. Flipboard - makes reading my social network stream like reading a newspaper. I actually prefer this to the native websites for Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn. 
8. WSJ - now you gotta love wsj.com’s news, but their news app is simply the best. 
9. Facetime - get it, use it, love it. On it all the time, and it’s changing my communication method big time, even more than skype did. 
10. Flixster - for the movie addict in all of us. It gives the best view of movie showtimes, reviews and theaters, and is fully integrated with the best review site on the planet, www.rottentomatoes.com. 

That’s it for now - I’ll keep it coming as more apps come out!