For those 2G and 3G owners there is a new application that allows you to download video for approx 60 seconds of video.

 The video is not the greatest but it is ok and is functional in a pinch. The cost is only $.99 and it available on the itunes store under ivideocamera.

 I am waiting on the expiration of my AT&T contact and do not want to get stuck in another 2 year contract.

 

You can upload the video to your camera roll, view it or e-mail it.

 

I just read some of the comments to the blog and want to thank you for some kind comments.  I am not a techy type person but an average user who struggles with technology. My sons are 17 and 18 are are much more comfortable and our network manager Greg is an old hand at this. Just so you all know, this blog does not accept any monetary compensation and it just a way for me to share some of the challenges of the WiFi world, get some advice out there and share some hints along the way. Some of the content may be simplistic for the integrators but it is just my way to reach out and share some lessons along the way. Anyway, thanks for the support- like Julie(Julie & Julia)- I did not know anyone was reading :)

It is now the one year anniversary of my AT&T plan on my iphone and I am thinking about the things that make my life easier. I thought I would share some things that friends have taught me and some discoveries of my own in migrating to the iphone and some applications that I used to move to the device:

1: G-Mail: I migrated my business e-mail to google. You can move your company domain to google and then use their g-mail to host your domain. It really works great. Our old e-mail server used microsoft exchange. I get a lot of attachments with huge files. I have had no major outage and it holds 10 gigs in my account. I would recommend it without hesitation. I also use imap so that my e-mail is synched on my iphone account. it is so easy to use- it has saved my hours compared to outlook constantly crashing under the weight of 3 gigs of messages- sorry microsoft- I love you living in Seattle but I got tired of rebooting my computer.

2: Webmail: I never thought I would say it- I now use webmail exclusively. The g-mail caches all the e-mail addresses of people not matter where you are. A few other great features: labels, calendar, calendar invites, color categories.

 

3: igoogle: If you have not tried it - check it out- you can customize your own google page with your own heading, your favorites and a bunch of other cools tools.

4: Go to meeting: If you have not checked it out- go to meeting offers you the ability to host a meeting and let people log onto your computer. It also includes unlimited conference calls all for around $600 per year. I had one conference call that cost me $80.00 for one hour. Now I get unlimited for the whole year. It is an incredible deal.

5: Constant Contact: Most of my BroadbandXpress customers are great and I do not keep in touch enough. For those of you that have a steady customer base- for $75.00 a month you can send them customized newsletters. If they do not want to be on the list- they opt out and constant contact removed them from your list.

6: Speedtest.net: Started by the founder of speakeasy- this application provides the up and down speed of your network connection plus the ping. You can see how your network compares to the fastest. It is sometimes a shock when I test my network and the speed sucks.  I am on my comcast connection today and it really sucks at 5 megs down and 3 megs up- normally it is 25 megs down so I can be a little patient. The AT&T speed is typically 1000 kbps down/250 kbps up and a very bad 400 ms on the ping. 

7: itunes podcasts: If you have an itune- it really sucks you in to subscribe to the podcasts- my favorites are this week in technology(twit), cranky Geaks and the bbc news. Podcast setting are a little bit tricky at first but I tunes makes it pretty easy.

 

Hope some of this is useful!

 

We have increased the speed of several key locations on Vancouver Island and the Gulfs during the week of May 17, 2009:

Ganges: With much excitement our speed has been increased 5x to 10 mbp. This is the fastest Wifi in our Canadian network.

Port McNeil: Speed increased to 3 mbps/ 2 new antennas installed

Townsite Marina(Nanaimo): Speed increased to 10 mbps/ new antenna installed to improve coverage under the sheds

Speed Test our Network:Check out the speed of our network. If you get less than 2 mbps, then take a screen shot and e-mail them to me at kk@bbxpress.net.

Here is the link: www.speedtest.net or click on the image below. It is a great tool that shows download, upload and latency. Latency is very important for applications such as gaming and voice over internet. My i phone get absolutely brutal upload of up to 500 ms so forget about voip- but it's very handy.

Here's what it looks like: 

One of the truly frustrating things about crossing borders is the high cost of roaming. If you use our service, you know that a huge benefit is speed and no roaming costs. If you plan carefully you can also roam with your cell phone without paying roaming fees. 

So here is the idea:

Use your iphone as a handset for skype. If you have not used Skype it allows you to make calls for about 1 cent a minute internationally. If you have been thinking about an iphone- then you should buy one as it is truly amazing and works incredibly well with the BroadbandXpress Networked Boat.

The one drawback is the cost of roaming accross borders. If you are on the boat then your networked boat will save you a fortune in roaming fees and also allow you to collect all your e-mails like you are in your home country. Just use the WiFi connection in your iphone to connect to your networked boat. Once you are connected you can use the skype application that you can load onto your iphone for skype. Forward your cell phone to your skype number and receive
calls  for about one cent per minute. It is free if you call skype users.

This is not the most simple concept- so test out the skpe application on your computer with your headset. Once you are comfortable with the application then try loading it onto your iphone.


Here's the simnplified instructions to make this work:

1: Know the broadcast name of your Networked Boat

2: Know the security key of your Neworked Boat

3: Turn on the WiFi of your iphone

4: Connect to your Networked Boat

5: Turn on the skype application

Of course your have to be connected to the internet before you can make this work. Once connected, you will now be receiving all your e-mails on your iphone and receiving all your calls via skype. AT&T will not allow skpe to run over the network so you need to use your WiFi connection and connect to your own network.

 

You can call forward your iphone to your skype number and get voicemails, connect worldwide for pennies. If you are going accross boarders then you can avoid all the roaming costs of the carriers. Imagine getting voice service at Point Roberts or Deer Harbor Marina- both really horrible cell coverage locations.

I tested this last weekend and it worked very well. Skype has its quirks so it is not perfect- but if you really want to keep your costs down and avoid getting wacked with roaming- it's great!

The link to skype is www.skype.com

 

Here's our lawyer clause:

BroadbandXpress is not affiliated with any cell phone company and does not make any representations about functionality of the skype service. You may be subject to roaming fees from your carrier if you connect to another countries data network so ensure that data roaming is disabled. We are not a support desk for the iphone or skype and will not answer any questions. This is just an application that we think works well. Is is not a paid portion of your broadbandXpress service so lack of function is not a condition of our service.