Bob Stemen › Comments

ahh yes, anti-elitist elitism - Cee Bee

Stop thinking you are better than me, you elitist! - Robert Scoble

It's another red herring, meant to be a misleading tactic. Don't buy into it. - Cathryn Hrudicka

Republican's love to use this word. Keeps them connected with the heartland and plain. Well...plain with at least 8 houses. - Ryan

You have a brother?!@~ - Akiva Moskovitz

You can't be elitist if you are everywhere. Robert is everywhere. - Oldengrey (Jay)

Trust me Robert is far from elitist. Our dad wanted us all to become engineers. An elitist would have done just that as it would have been their birthright. Instead Robert went into journalism. Actually none of us went into engineering. :) Oh and my dad came from a strictly working class family. He's the first of his family to graduate college. So yeah, we are far from elitist. - Alex Scoble

@alex woohooo. I am an engineer and the first to graduate from college in my family. I AM an elitist. I have achieved! lol - Bob Stemen from twhirl

serious. I have no problem with elitism. it is the details of the elite that I have problems with. the Republican party is a workable elitism for me - Noah David Simon

Wait...you actually want for there to be a ruling class based on entitlement and not performance? I'm pretty sure you don't want that Noah. - Alex Scoble

It's not a term I use often, though I have used it on threads where your brother used it :) I tend to use the slightly longer but more descriptive "folks who think anyone who came to a different conclusion is a mouth breathing hillbilly sheep". - Soulhuntre

Alex. ur bringing it to an extreme again. ...but yes. I believe that there are some things that need to be trained and groomed from children. that yes birth is a factor in skills and opportunity. It is built into Capitalism and I think it is a good thing. I think the performance factor needs to be there to keep them from being lazy, but for the most part I do believe in an elitism - Noah David Simon

Alex have you ever read Georges Bataille? "The Accursed Share" - Noah David Simon

the hope is that there can be growth and security from degradation. an elitism should not hinder other elitisms.... but it could be argued that the poor and the weak are the fuel that runs the system. I believe that to a limited degree, because of the objective truth of our reality, but I believe we are close to moving out of that tyranny and creating nominalistic systems of growth through Deconstructionalist hierarchies. - Noah David Simon

Maybe an elitist room? (Invitation only of course) - Charlie Anzman

Anyone that thinks there are different "levels" of people is likely elitist? - Brad Nickel

I misread this, Alex. I thought someone had called Robert an elitist. He is truly a man of the people. Otherwise I have nothing to add to the semiotic discussion or how you guys define yourselves. Just kidding! ;) - Oldengrey (Jay)

That's smart. Paper stinks. You always lose the sheet you're looking for and end up with a clutter of the pages you don't care about. - Andrew Warner

I think you know you are a geek when you are talking on your iPhone and need to take down a phone number and pull out your blackberry. - Andrew Fielding from twhirl

i took a cell phone pic of my house phone's caller ID... slick! - Susan Beebe

+1 Susan - Duncan Riley

i usually take numbers down with my text editor - Cee Bee

I use Evernote for that stuff. Should I look at Skitch instead? - Bob Stemen from twhirl

use both and just drag the file into evernote at the end of the day or once your done - Zee.

Someone from work was down to his last business card. I shot a pic of it with my blackberry and emailed it to my gmail account. Then I printed the email and cut it down to fit in my wallet. - Ha3rvey (not Akiva)

Bob, Evernote is the best solution definitely, I just needed something quick while I was on the phone that I knew would work immediately with the graphics tablet - Duncan Riley

only just now are you official? - Jim Hearts FF

Duncan - I AM NOT WORTHY! - Elliott Ng

I write stuff on my PDA. It's about 3 years old. - Helen Sventitsky

Didn't have a pen while taking a call on the iPhone last week, then remembered the Notebook app, so flipped to that and carried on talking while on the speaker :-) - Sally Church

Doesn't joining up and participating in friendfeed pretty much automatically make one a geek? - Alex Scoble

Pretty much. - DO ANYBODY NO MONIQUE

Yeah it does, Alex. Until it goes mainstream. at which point we need a new geek standard. - Roberto Bonini

Official Geek! - Jeff P. Henderson

yeah great tool - a little buggy at times but definitely one of the best out there. - Zee.

I have been looking for this application. Thanks Steve - Bob Stemen from twhirl

The war against the Republicans was lost when he chose Palin. The millions of rednecks across America are flocking to the GOP - Bob Blunk

Bob: keep that up and McCain will have four years in White House. Oh and welcome to the Elitist club. - Robert Scoble

That's part of the horribleness of it all, you can't use any public forum to discuss the gamesmanship of it, to appreciate the science of it deeply, because every damn fool, thinks they are IN the spin room. As if, admitting the cons of their own candidate might lose a vote - which is ridiculous. Discussion becomes 2" deep and 1 mile wide. Robert, did you make your ad yet? It has to be 25 seconds long and its claims verifiable, I'll get it approved by the cable companies. - Morgan Warstler

I am from a Republican suburb of Chicago, even though I've been a Bay Area resident for over 30 yrs. You can't just generalize about "middle Americans." They are individuals who think, and they can change. Somehow, the people of Illinois elected Obama as their senator, which was unthinkable when I grew up there. Obama knows this, obviously. That's why he gives "middle Americans" credit for being able to think and change. If we focus on what it takes to win, rather than all this distracting stuff, we CAN. - Cathryn Hrudicka

+1 Cathryn - Alex Scoble

You gotta wonder though if Robert is just doing this to stir up the base so to speak. - Alex Scoble

I am a strong supporter of Obama. But I work in the machine tool business and the gentlemen (rednecks) that I work with consider Obama a threat to the status quo. They fear change, and four more years of the same is what they want. This opinion is the heart of blue collar America. As long as the pay check keeps coming, the last thing they want is change. They are the silent majority. - Bob Blunk

@Bob - you are so right on target with that assessment. - JA Castillo

But how do you think the rednecks who've gotten laid off because they're jobs got outsourced are going to vote? This is the key. - Victor Ganata

@Brian I guess we have to start watching NASCAR now - Bob Stemen from twhirl

Anyone who doesn't have a THX certified home theater is an idiot...there's my half assed generalization of the day. - Alex Scoble

@Cathryn Hrudicka: You have to remember this though. Sen Obama ran against Sen Fitzgerald who was getting little support from the Republican party. - ChiliMac

Yeah, they typically don't give support to people where winning isn't in the cards. - Alex Scoble

@Alex Scoble: They didn't support Sen. Fitzgerald because he wasn't walking the party line. He was, in my opinion, doing what is right at the risk of his Senate seat. That isn't meant to take away from Sen. Obama's accomplishment in wining that election. I just believe in perspective. - ChiliMac

I agree. Take a look at McCain, he's hiding behind Palin now. - PC Easy from twhirl

I had a small moment of insight today while shopping: Scoble is going on about how McCain will win, to put our (liberal) defenses up, make us work for our victory. If he didn't we'd sit on our laurels and be smug. Hmm. - anna sauce

I won't say it is totally irrelevant but goodness enough already---you were wonderfully brave, but that won't put gas in my car - R. Ferguson

Well that's what they said about John Kerry 4 years ago - PC Easy from twhirl

Hey Ruth, here's an idea, YOU put gas in your car - Craig Eddy

Anyone who's getting tortured today can use that in a Presidential campaign in 2040. - Morton Fox

i appreciate his service to the country, but what about 2008-2012? - Morgan

I've got gas - Bob Stemen from twhirl

I am so glad that Mr. Eddy is raising the quality of the debate. I love US Politics. - Stephen Pierzchala

@Craig Exactly. Entitlement... the devils volleyball. - John Denver

It's called a life changing experience. I'm paraphrasing, but I seem to remember him stating that before that incident he was a selfish person living life for himself. That experience taught him that there's something bigger and more important to serve than himself. - Chris Mayer

@Scoble HA! - PC Easy from twhirl

I think I would prefer a president who doesn't spend four hours a day on FriendFeed - Bob Stemen from twhirl

he doesn't how how many houses he owns. and no, that isn't an old argument. it's fact. - ::Kristen::

@Kristen - He doesn't own any. His wife owns them. Again, I hope a president has more important things to worry about that how many houses his wife owns - Bob Stemen from twhirl

FriendFeed would be good. I would be more worried he'd discover Solitaire. - Robert Scoble

Bob, who is running for President that is on FriendFeed? - PC Easy from twhirl

Attackign people for being sucessful ultimately doesn't fly. The class war stuff playes well to the far left but utterly fails in the middle. - Soulhuntre from twhirl

nobody I hope! sorry that was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek jab at Scoble's comment about McCain not using a computer. Next time I WILL remember the emoticon - Bob Stemen from twhirl

@Scoble. Agreed! - Bob Stemen from twhirl

You have to admit he has the most experience in terms of being shot down in a war we lost. - Karim

Why Obama? - Kyle Lacy

Zee, where are you? - Rochelle

Myself, i would be devastated if Obama lost. I think he's the most hopeful change for the positive America has had in decades. - Zee.

@Rochelle - London. - Zee.

Zee, I agree. I want Obama, but think that McCain might just pip him. C'mon Obama guys, ask yourself this question: It's all going a little bit too smoothly don't you think? - Johnny Worthington

And Kyle...why? Because of the wordly aspect. Being the president of the united states is far more than just that. It's the most powerful position in the world & frankly controls the world. Of course, whoever it is has to look after home...but a worldly open minded perspective is so important and Obama has it. - Zee.

I am interested why you think that? I'm not really on one side or the other.. even though I lean more conservative... I just love to hear what non-biased outsiders think - Kyle Lacy

@Kyle you are aware that over the past 8 years international opinion of Americans has *decreased*, correct? - Jeremy Toeman

haha Zee you beat me to it.. I didn't think Obama had much foreign policy.. Maybe he does.. - Kyle Lacy

plus, McCain is old & anyone of that age carries heavy baggage, stubbornness & potential for ill health. - Zee.

@Jeremy.. I am asking Zee.. I want HIS opinion.. that's all. - Kyle Lacy

From Australia. Believe it or not, many of us aspire to the rhetoric of the US constitution and what it stands for. The Bush presidency has trashed this. And I see that McCain is more of the same. Obama is a break from that, and the Clinton's cynicism... Perhaps the best of a bad lot :) - martin english

@Kyle - then you should probably use email instead of a public forum - Jeremy Toeman

If McCain is elected, American backpackers in Europe will have to leave their Canadian patches sewn on their backpacks and continue to practice saying "eh". - Pete Delucchi

Many people outside of the States that I've met are mad at the US right now. They don't trust us and think we're ignorant imperialists. (I'm an American living abroad.) - sergiooo

@Jeremy, so what? I don't see why international opinion is so important to us. If they were somewhere I would rather live, that would be fine, but at this point like it or not, the U.S. is still the leader... and sometimes you have to lead without looking at the polls. - Bob Stemen

I would agree with the best of a bad lot.. +1 Martin - Kyle Lacy

Maybe I should have Jeremy.. my mistake.. - Kyle Lacy

Hi Bob, would you like us to help you there in Iraq? How's your US backed Government in Georgia going? Want some more help in Afganistan? It's OK to be the leader but you have people left to lead :) - Johnny Worthington

@Bob - seriously? do you have any concept of the importance of international affairs these days? and "being the leader" is utterly and completely irrelevant. what on earth will you do when we are no longer the leader (hint: that day is coming)? - Jeremy Toeman

isolationist anyone? - Kyle Lacy

Bob, I think the POV that the US is the world leader is without doubt part of the problem right now. The fact of the matter is, we're not. We're not the richest, most powerful, most industrialized, or most innovative. These are the countries that we owe money, that we ask to host our military bases, etc. Their opinions of the US *DEFINITELY* matters. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

John, I agree you have to have people to lead, but those people also have to be willing to pull their weight. I would love for the U.S. to be universally loved, but it isn't going to happen. I don't think we asked to be the world's policeman but I think someone has to step up to the task. Almost makes you wish the Soviet Union were still around ;-) - Bob Stemen

Kyle, pretty much the policy for the last 8 years... - Pete Delucchi

@Bob how are we doing as "world's policeman" in Sudan? just curious... - Jeremy Toeman

@Jeremy: ask the Romans, the British, the Japanese... they have all survived the end of an empire (and they were true imperialists... not the faux kind the U.S. is accused of being). the U.S.'s day in the sun will pass, but there is no sense in rushing into the sunset. What will fill the vacuum if we go isolationist and just concern ourselves with what goes on within our borders? - Bob Stemen

I'm gonna plead the A Few Good Men defense here and say 'But you have to ask me nicely'. You're either with us or against us really doesn't cut it :P - Johnny Worthington

Good point Jeremy.. I have always had a problem with how we have treated that part of the world - Kyle Lacy

@Stupid: I agree that other opinions are useful and often valid. I don't advocate telling the entire world to "stick it in their ear", but there is a case to be made for not trying to lead by taking a poll before every decision. - Bob Stemen

I love when people put @Stupid.. lol oohh Tina - Kyle Lacy

@Jeremy: Great question. I think that is a question that should be directed at all U.S. political parties. I don't know why we (or anyone else for that matter) haven't cleaned out that cess pool... - Bob Stemen

Kyle, I'm glad I can make you laugh =D Bob, I agree with the poll bit, but my biggest problem with the US foreign policy is consistency. Currently, we say we're not the world's police and we don't get involved in int'l matters (especially those dealing with human rights violations), except for when those matters involve something we'd really like to have some control over. I see the merits of both isolationism and it's opposite, but I wish we'd just pick one sometimes. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

@Bob re End of an Empire. I agree that it's happening, but going isolationist isn't the solution. Not when we're importing food, energy, and most goods internationally, and making tons of money of our exports of technology and media. The reality is the position of "international leader" has been void since the 60s, and I for one would rather see us strive to reclaim it, not just shrug our shoulders and watch the sun set... - Jeremy Toeman

@Stupid (or @Tina...) I agree with you. I would like to see us take a stronger position with China, N. Korea, Iran, Gaza, Sudan... I am completely opposed to isolationism but there are days when I wish we could just pull back and let the rest of the world fight it out. - Bob Stemen

@Jeremy. it's a tight rope walk. I think isolationism is a casualty of "globalism." That's a good thing from my perspective. I don't mind the U.S. striving to be an international leader (or THE international leader), but we need to recognize that in a world of 6 billion people there are always going to be trying to knock the leader off. It's human nature... look at Microsoft or Wal-mart. Not so long ago, they were new and exciting and different, now they are targets at best and reviled at worst. - Bob Stemen

@Bob complete agreement on knocking off leaders. but in this case I feel there's ample opportunity to excel. as much as any company, group, or nation, people crave leadership. we just haven't seen much really good leadership in a long long time... - Jeremy Toeman

I have traveled MANY road miles this summer. Traffic volumes on I-10 from coast to coast don't seem to support these survey results. - Bob Stemen

Difference is that we Europeans are used to gas prices in this range. - Alexander Carlill

And it's probably going to get worse before it starts to get better - Paul M. Banas

This is a very short-term response, but gas is down about 25 cents/gallon in my north-of-Boston locale over the last month or so. - Bryan Person

counterintuitive - Andy DeSoto

A really useful way to take notes. OK, that's seven words. Braindump. That's one. Just watch the video: http://www.fastcompany.tv/video... - Robert Scoble

elephant! - Chris Metcalf from twhirl

Great - titaniar from Alert Thingy

friendfeeders to the rescue! :) Thanks guys. @Andy , not a fan then? - Zee.

@Chris - not helpful but i know where you're coming from - cheers anyway! :) - Zee.

@Robert - checking it out now. I am able to embed this on the blog post without any issue yeah? I know I physically can...but there's no legal restriction or anything is there? - Zee.

"clevernote". Do you see what I did there? - Edward Barnieh

very clever...they should so use that. :) - Zee.

i'm gonna have to watch scoble's video - i love the concept and used it a little but it just hasn' clicked for me yet - Marco(aureliusmaximus)

@Marco - make sure you read this blog post too! - Zee.

repository - Amanda from twhirl

the reason why i ask btw Rober is because I don't think i've seen fastcompany.tv's videos anywhere else but actually on fastcompany.tv - Zee.

limitless -- if I had more than one word I could definitely give some good praise as my use is becoming such that I am increasingly unable to live without it. - Derick Valadao from Alert Thingy

convenient - nesman89

Useful - Steve Spalding

Listening... - Ricardo Vidal

memory - Hutch Carpenter

SCARY...... TOS - "your Contributions automatically become the property of Evernote without any obligation of Evernote to you" - Jeff (the メガマクダジ of FF)

trail - Dean Terry

waste of time - Gary Barber

Lol, Gary - how can you possibly say that? What aspect is a waste of time? - Zee.

augmentation - Rob Shields from twhirl

Robert thanks for the link of the video, really helped show some of the features by one of those involved with the site. - Bryan

you made me really laugh Scoble... First, with the shock of what it could do. And second, just watching you knowing your mind was racing thinking of all the possibilities... - Zee.

Synchronicity - Bob Stemen

Zee: you can use my videos anytime, anyplace. That's why we include an embed code on the page. :-) - Robert Scoble

Archive - Jauder Ho from twhirl

e-life - Hayk H.

WTF? - Prolific Programmer

Notepad - Sudar

@Scoblle - yeah i figured but just thought i'd double check because I just hadn't seen them elsewhere. Thought there may be some conditions. Cheers - Zee.

I really love Evernote...I use it for everything from saving copies of receipts to recipes to all my book research notes. I've even imported all my old notes from my trusty old Keynote which I've used for years. - Crystal

I actually bought mine yesterday. I would rather wait in an hour-long line to buy a phone at Apple than at ATT. The activation process was streamlined and the staff were knowledgeable and pleasant. - Peter Ghosh

I was amazed yesterday at the Lincoln Road store on Miami Beach. Store opened at 8 am. I arrived at 9 am to find no line and that the genius bar opened at 10 am. When I returned at 10 am, long line. Lazy people can't get there early? - Sergio Cruz

reports are that the people on line now are being paid by apple :-P - Allen Stern

I should go around my local area in SW London to see what the situation here is. I doubt it's as bad as the states. - Gaurav Patel

Apple gave us the VIP treatment while on line. To AT&T it's just another phone to sell. - Ernie Oporto

Allen - Used to know a real estate that did that with cars in his parking lot :) - Charlie Anzman

just came back from apple store to get an iphone. 30 people in line at 7a in Boca Raton, FL. still handing out cards to get them. had tried to get one last night, but were all sold out. - Fred Neil

VIP indeed - they served us cold lemonade and handed out free bottles of water. - Kevin Gamble

There was a line outside the Regent Street Apple store at 8.30 am yesterday morning. Staff inside said every morning they expect things to get back to normal, and every morning there are still more people quieing up outside! - Jon Mulholland

I feel the same way as Peter Ghosh. We went to the Apple store last night and were lucky to be the last people to get into the line (which while surprising that there was one, was still relatively short). We waited to talk with a "specialist", and once we did, the whole procedure was fast and went off without a hitch. I didn't have the same confidence that I'd get a good experience at the AT&T store. - Cheryl Jones

I assume this is due to the need for activation, right? Given that wasn't the case the last time around, everybody needs to go to retail, which makes the lines. - Louis Gray

Louis: that an I'm convinced they are selling 10x what they sold for first model. Tap Tap Revolution already has been downloaded a million times. Freaking amazing. - Robert Scoble

Maybe they're there to exchange them. Trading speed for short-lived batteries isn't such a great deal, methinks. - shelisrael1

I guess I better prepare to wait later next week when I go to try and get one. - Dean Clark

shelisrael: they are sold out of external batteries. Mine lasts long enough, if I don't use it for FriendFeeding. :-) But that's why I carry three phones. One of them is bound to have a charged battery. :-) - Robert Scoble

There was a line on Long Island today too. - Steve Rubel

Wouldn't it be easier to order them online and wait 5 to 7 days? Especially now that the initial "got to have the first 3G iPhone" mania is past. - Bob Stemen

There are still usually lines in the Apple Store in London, too. - Ian Betteridge from twhirl

people wait in line for jamba juice, starbucks and outback every day - Omar Shahine

I've tried both and ended up using OneNote more often. OneNote has synchronisation as well but I think it only works in corporate environments with Sharepoint. - Alan Le

I am the same was as the author-onenote was just too big of a gun for most of my tasks. Evernote is a godsend - Mitchell Hislop from twhirl

I use Evernote more because my main work computer is a PC which I spend most of my day on, but whenever I travel I take a MacBook Pro with me. Evernote has all my notes no matter where I am. I can also send notes/pictures to Evernote with my blackberry. - Adam Teece from twhirl

Alan, OneNote syncing works great across your home network. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm thinking it would work nicely with Mesh as well. - Jordan Hofker

I have setup WSS (the free SharePoint) on my home server and put my personal OneNote notebook there. Then I can easily access my notes from work and home. - Jemm

interesting, thanks for the info Jordan and Joni - Alan Le

Well I use both and I cannot decide; as I use windows mobile and web continuously I should prefer Evernote, but also OneNote has a WinMobile Client, and the Office integration is really impressive - and I need Office (Outlook in particular) in my daily job for sharing with the rest of my colleagues... - andrea

By "home network" I guess I meant standard file shares. :-) - Jordan Hofker

Been using OneNote for a while - I think it's a killer app. I like the interface, I can organize things the way I like. It's friendly and intuitive. BUT- although it is possible to synch it online with OfficeLive Small Business, it just doesn't work right. I wasted two days on this. So I switched to Evernote, which I installed 3 months ago and never used. I don't like the interface as much, but it was obviously designed for the user who doesn't have their own IT department. MS's real customer. - Walter Feigenson

I've tried both and also G Notebook but prefer Evernote overall, it's just a little more intuitive for me and I like the UI. - Sally Church

I like Google Notebook: http://www.google.com/notebook ; it works great for all kinds of stuff - Ralph Poole

I've used both and was also quite addicted to TiddlyWiki for a while. I like the fact that Evernote can be used online and offline and that I can send stuff from my phone to it. My main complaint is that I can't format the notes very easily. If they would put in some kind of simple text editing (I would be super happy with Textile or MarkDown) then I'd be happy. Just to make tables and lists easily and format code snippets. It would be purely optional use for those who didn't need that functionality. - Her Lindsay-ness

Evernote is good tool - I use it for fast web clippings and snippits and so on. The time line vew is great for that stuff and it does a good job of preserving the formatting of a web page. For almost everything else I use OneNote. Not only does it sync really well with my phone and with multiple collaborators but the organizational abilities kick Evernote's butt. - Soulhuntre

Timeline view? what's that? - Her Lindsay-ness

As a side note: OneNote sync works really well with home server or the built in file sharing in Windows. It also does a great job syncing with offline laptops and so on when they hook back up. - Soulhuntre

oooh... cool. Thanks Soulhuntre... didn't know that existed. - Her Lindsay-ness

Just trying Evernote now. It's pretty cool and I'm super-impressed it can search my hand written notes from the wacom tablet. - Andrew Smith

MDA, Dash, now Blackberry Pearl (yeah...it's hard times) - Rahsheen ™, Coach of FF

I was thinking about the new Pearl, I heard it had Wi-Fi support. Any opinions? - Steve Spalding

Blackberry Curve GPS (8310) on a non-corporate service plan. Compared to *most* other phones, it's amazing. Mobile Opera makes browsing a little less painful. The UI is pretty ugly. Voice dialing requires no training and is amazingly good. - Paul Reynolds

LG Voyager is working great for me. - Brian Daniel Eisenberg

Samsung Blackjack II - Alan Le

I'm told the Wi-Fi on BB doesn't actually improve browing speed in any appreciable way. The GPS works great, but it's not assisted like the iPhone 3G, so it can take a few minutes to lock on satellites. - Paul Reynolds

Nokia N72 (Sybian S60, Opera...) - Thierry R. Andriamirado

Motorola Razr V3m, which is somewhat dated. - Morton Fox

So yea, I'm stuck with AT&T for the time being so those phones are what I really need an opinion about. Cheers to everyone whose helping out, phone shopping takes me decades. - Steve Spalding

Treo 755p. All things considered, it's been an able companion, and quite stable. If the browser were better, I might have never switched to the iPhone. - Roger Benningfield

HTC s720. I like it but it could have better battery life. - Andrew Smith

I'm still using my two-year-old Kyocera Strobe. I can get most all the net I want, and email too. - Ian May

If I didn't have an iPhone, I would use a Blackberry Pearl. - Jeremy Brooks

I'm using a *regular* cell (SE - T650i 3G phone) why not a smartphone? since i take phone with me all the time, I need it to be *small*, not bulky, and my primary needs are voice calls (yup I know..primitive me ) txting (SMS, MMS), gmail, msn/gtalk and occasional photo. All the above fits great although it's small screen and reg. phone keyb. i found that for browsing/email etc. i still want my laptop, and when traveling abroad (which I did a lot) data roaming prices were astronomic.. - Naor Mark

If you've got ATT, may want to hold out for the BB Bold: http://www.blackberry.com/blackbe... - Paul Reynolds

none - Steven Hodson

none - Dan Rockwell from twhirl

Samsung SCH-u740, good phone. - richrecruiter

centro. pink. (via sprint) luv it. - Rochelle Rochelle

@Brian, I've been thinking about a Voyager. How much does the plan cost you? - Sprague D

I have a curve too. HUGE fan - Mona Nomura

If you internet a lot, DO NOT go with the Voyager!! I should elaborate... 1. they have way too many proprietary paid services. 2. no native chat apps (still done through SMS.. who does that?!) 3. The browser = ULTIMATE FAIL - Mona Nomura

AT&T Tilt... majorly buggy software from at&t... Had to send mine back 3 times because of problems with it randomly freezing and shutting off without telling me. Also had hardware problem ("red light of doom") where phone wouldn't turn on at all. If you get this phone make sure you plan on dumping at&t's terrible build of the OS. - Robert DeBord

Thanks Mona. That takes care of that. These also look pretty sweet and just got approved for U.S.: http://www.htc.com/www... - Sprague D

Everyone I know who owns a Nokia N95 swears by it. - Duncan Riley

I'm leaning towards the Nokia N95 personally. - Jim McCusker

Definitely wait for the new one, the current model only has 64 mb of RAM =( ...which seems like a lot but really isnt, since non native browsers have problems running. Good luck! :) - Mona Nomura

Nokia N95 or N96. - Dread Pirate PJ from NoiseRiver

Sony-Ericsson T616 from 2003. Want it? - DGentry

I've got a Palm Centro from Sprint and have no complaints. - Shannon Jiménez

Helio Ocean. I like it. - RAPatton

I own a blackberry curve and LOVE IT! - Becca

So what I am seeing is the N95 (which I've heard is great), the Pearl, the Bold and the Voyager (thanks for the warning Mona). Thanks for the input. The N95 might be a wee bit pricey. I played around with the Instinct a little and I'm not a fan. Has anyone had any issues with the Pearl on ATT? - Steve Spalding

I'm using an HTC Touch from Bell and I couldn't be happier. Faster processor and more RAM than the Touches from other carriers. Free on a 3 year and 60 bucks a month for unlimited texting and internet / 350 minutes. Good enough for me! - Doug Estey

BB8300 Works Well - Christopher Aloi

I'm switching to the iPhone in January when my contract is up. Until then, I'm using the Pearl. I think I will really, really miss the keyboard. - Sarah Perez

Blackberry Pearl. Had my doubts about using a keyboard with two letters to a key, but the predictive software is pretty amazing... and it learns new words quickly. Was at the Apple store tonight. Still a two hour line to pick up and active a 3G iPhone. I was there for something else so I just got to enjoy watching the people stand there... waiting... eyes glazed over... - Bob Stemen

Using an AT&T Tilt. Love the keyboard, but I think I'll be able to live with the iPhone keyboard. Windows Mobile needs a better touch interface and a better browser. - Sergio Cruz

Ethanol == corn farmer's wet dreams come true. - Internet's Tad

There is a farm by my house (yes, I live in the boonies by the base I'm stationed @) that has advertisements for ethanol and I was saying to my girlfriend that an entire farm should not have to be used for fuel as opposed to food! - David Cook

nobody eats switchgrass - Brian Kenyon

Is ethanol really taking away from food? How much corn did you eat this weekend? Speculators are involved in the commodity markets. - Kelly

Just trying to do a little thread combining. Original convo over here: http://friendfeed.com/e... - Ken Sheppardson

ethanol== the corn lobby. politicians show repect.. *pound* - sedgewick

why not ethanol from sugar beats? or biodiesel? - clarke thomas

"Corn products are in a lot of things we eat..." ...many of which are at the core of our current problems with obesity, diabetes, and heart disease - Ken Sheppardson

@Sean McGee - I realize that. But how does the demand for corn work into the higher price for bread? Wheat is not being used for ethanol. I get the higher dairy/meat costs. The corn farmers are not getting rich off ethanol though. Any clue how much agricultural inputs have risen? - Kelly

Recommended: King Corn - http://friendfeed.com/e... - Ken Sheppardson

ethanol plants can't survive on $8/bushel corn. They have been going bankrupt or getting mothballed since corn started to make it upward move last fall. Ultimately, the ethanol plants will be gone from economics before people will starve to death... unless the government insists on continuing to subsidize a non-viable fuel product. - Bob Stemen

A good documentary on this subject is KING CORN. http://www.kingcorn.net/ - Steven Perez

Take away the ethanol subsidies and lets see how cost effective agri-fuel really is. - Jim McCusker

The whole ethanol thing is an issue, yes, but why is it such an issue? Corn is /not/ a staple food around the world. Rice is. You cannot grow rice where you grow corn. - Michael W. May from twhirl

there are new versions of ethanol being created that don't need corn/ primary foods, but instead are created off of plant scraps etc... don't write it off yet, but agreed, as it stands ethanol=bad - Duncan Riley

Yes, it's high fructose corn syrup as well as corn itseld. That works into the price of bread. - Francine Hardaway from twhirl

best ethanol supply - sugar cane grown on the peruvian coastal valleys: premium conditions, high-yield, better than brazil. - sedgewick

Well, I'd say it's not a different thread, as the issues are all related. The corn we're talking about really isn't edible, it's basically an industrial product used to "build" cattle, high fructose corn syrup, etc. Subsidies and the cheap food policies of the '70s and a reliance on fossil fuels have put us in the situation we're in today. And you're right, that's because of a "more is better" attitude. You can't just turn one dial, however. It's all related. - Ken Sheppardson

@ Sean McGee I am not sure there is less of a supply of wheat. The crops demand different growing conditions. I still say that corn may be a part of what we eat, but as Michael just pointed out it is not a world staple. It goes back to commodity speculators. - Kelly

@Kelly First, there's a difference between sweetcorn that we see in the grocer and "corn" -- or maize -- that's a cereal grain and used for, well, just about everything. Did you eat any meat? Your meat ate corn, even if *you* didn't. Drink a soda? Corn syrup. Corn is a staple food like rice all over the world, from tortillas to porridge to bread. How about corn starch? Corn flour? Eat cake or cookies? ~25% of all goods in a grocery store, right down to Band-Aids, have corn in them (the adhesive). - Kevin Hessel

Um, Ken's first comment about cellulosic ethanol is being ignored. FYI - http://tinyurl.com/223bk8 Cellulosic is non-food based - Lucretia Pruitt

Don't underestimate the impact of those subsidies. Keep following the money trail and you'll find answers, perhaps not the ones you'll like. - Jim McCusker

I'm finding this hard to follow: Is the land now dedicated to industrial uses of corn unavailable for food production? Is industrial corn the only possible crop? - Michael Markman

As Duncan and others pointed out, there are other ways to produce ethanol than using food stocks. Cellulosic conversion is coming right along (kudzu, tree limbs, bark, plant waste). And biodiesel can be made from algae. Lots of good green tech just around the corner ... - Chris Baskind

@Chris - yep - there's a HUGE cellulosic project starting here in Colorado on the Western Slope right now. Heard an NPR story about it recently. - Lucretia Pruitt

What Lucretia said. ;-) I'd say that the lefty/commie view on this (which I share) is pretty well covered between "King Corn" (links above) and "Fast Food Nation". Basically the food chain in the US isn't really optimized for energy/resource efficiency, IMHO. - Ken Sheppardson

@Kevin There is a HUGE difference between sweet corn at the market and maize. Is maize used for ethanol? In our part of the country, we either have sweet corn or field corn. Your part of the country may call it maize though. - Kelly

@Sean We farm in Texas. South Texas. Just a bit of winter wheat grown way down here. Some grow corn, but it takes so much water to grow well. We stick with grain sorghum and cotton. Whole other can of worms, I am sure. :) The only way a farmer can survive these days it to be a businessman. - Kelly

Michael: This is one of those areas where I'm constantly amazed by all the things I don't know I don't know :-) Specifically, all the science surrounding crop rotations, corn vs. wheat vs. soybeans, how the big firms like AMD sell seed/fertilizer combinations to maximize yield... it's really just sort of overwhelming. For example: http://www.the-land.com/l_smgra... - Ken Sheppardson

Forgot to tell you, Robert. I am on the American Biofuels Council and part of the Desert Biofuels iInitiative. The commenter who said that local producers can do it cheaper and better than they big guys is right. You can makr biofuel from algae, from used restaurant grease, from lots of things besides industrial corn. Tell that to ADM, though. They've been lobbying for ethanol for at least fifteen years. - Francine Hardaway from twhirl