Pros and Cons - Living With a BB

So after doing an 'Internet confession' in my previous post I thought I would write a post on the benefits and downsides to owning this bastard of a phone.


PROS:

1) Everyone has a BB. It's true. And BlackBerry should really change their marketing motto to it. At any social event it really does amaze me that after doing a quick visual survey of a venue almost 80% (this number has been arbitrarily chosen for the uses of this statistic) of people have a BlackBerry. It really is like belonging to some sort of global fraternity. To the point where people gasp when you tell them, like I used to, you don't own one. It just makes it easier for a line of communication to be created between two or more people.

2) No excuse to not keep in contact. If you're like me and tend to forget whole swathes of people from time to time then you are always promising to catch up with them but rarely do. But once a friend has been added to your BlackBerry messenger contact list there really shouldn't be any excuse. Even geographical distance is no barrier. All those friends you made on holiday or family overseas are literally a button press away. But again, if you're like me you still manage to not keep in contact. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3) Easy to make plans quickly with various people at the same time. As evidenced by the catch up meal with a few friends that was organised quickly with 5 people all at the same time over BBM, it proved invaluable. It was at this time I looked down at my BB and credited it with making a possible difficult task very streamlined and simple.

4) The keypad. I think it was Drake that said he felt his fingers were made for the BB. After my thumbs did some "evolving" I did get used to the keypad and I have to say I agree. The keypad is just so comfortable to use and just as effective. So much so, it becomes a problem every time I try to use a full size keyboard. This is definitely an underrated selling point of the BB. Especially with the advent of touch screen phones and their simply pitiful touch-keypads.



CONS:

1) Everyone has BB. Yeah it is a blessing and a curse in itself. You just can't seem to escape the mass appeal of these little devices. It's popularity is global. And because so many people have one it falls straight into the category of a "fad". Even though this current one has been going strong for a while now, eventually it will die out.

2) Broadcasts. Depending on how many people you have on your contact list will establish the percentage of idiotic people who just have to re-broadcast every stupid broadcast they receive. The spam I receive on my email is bad enough but receiving the same dead joke, piece of news, rave update etc. over and over again is enough for me to want to smash my screen. Especially when I' told I will die or something bad will happen if I don't pass it on.

3) "Phantom Red Light Syndrome". This isn't the official medical name for the random hallucination BB owners have when they think they see a red light emanating from the corner of their eye. They believe it is coming from their BB but after a tense staring match no red light appears. There have even been reported cases where owners believe the flashing red light is emanating from phones that are not BB's i.e. iPhones. It is worrying that such a little thing could bring on such brief episodes of neurosis - someone should do a study.

4) Becoming an addict. I think you actually have to have an addictive personality to become a fiendish crackberry addict but it happens. This little device just becomes the centre of some people's universes. They can't operate their daily life without it. Some would go as far to say that they cannot survive without one. Just one of the downfalls of this new age of inter-connectedness. People start displaying withdrawal symptoms when they have to go without their BB for any amount of time. Luckily I am not one of these people.

5) Eventually it will die and there's nothing you can do about it. No seriously. This is probably the worst thing about having a BB. No matter what you do, even if you take care of it like it was an actual child. Whether you make sure you never drop it or get it wet. It makes no difference. Eventually and out of nowhere your BB will just stop working. Whether it be the trackball (for older models), the screen or the "a" key something will stop working. It is almost like torture because you know it will happen and are powerless to do anything about it. It just makes you wonder what the hell RIM are doing in their tech meetings. And this is by far the biggest drawback of owning a BB. It has the equivalent build quality of a Fiat Punto and I do not mean the new shape ones. But luckily I have a lifetime warranty and free insurance on mine.

Anyway, that's all for now.

However I do feel sorry for people that have a Torch and have to deal with that mind numbingly slow OS. And to all BB users - when you break it down you are just paying for the messenger services - that is it.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Or just add them on pin. Whatever is easier for you.

I'm a Hypocrite - Living with a BB

Speak,See or Hear No Evil

So a few months ago I wrote a little piece on how I was sick of all the stick I was getting for not owning a Black Berry. 'I'm Tired Of Being Ostracised For Not Having A BlackBerry' was an interesting post to write to say the least. But a lot has changed in that time and at the behest request from a couple of my friends, who read my blog, they urged it was time for me to review my post and do an update.

So after looking at alternatives to my trusty Nokia N97 which up until last summer I had for over 2 years it was time for me to look for a new phone. After publicly stating my dislike of BlackBerry (BB) devices there was only two logical choices in my Smart phone decision: A HTC device or the iPhone 4. Obviously my heart was set on the iPhone since I hadn't replaced the iPod Touch I had lost the year before. I can still recall the rush of excitement I got when first taking my iPhone 4 out of the box.

Since I had shopped around i got my iPhone for the best deal on O2 and not my long time mobile provider T-Mobile. It pained me when I had to make the call to cancel my long time contract but it had to be done. I got put through to a nice chap and after he pulled up my details he saw I was a long time loyal customer and he wouldn't let me go without a fight. He asked me what phone I was interested in aside form the iPhone. I was pretty frank with him and let him know there wasn't really one but if I had to choose it would be the BlackBerry. He then proceeded to lay on the metaphorical table an offer I couldn't refuse. I'm not even going to announce what the offer was; all I'm going to say is that it was a "friggin' steal".

So there I was. After years of public shame every time I brought out my battered N97  I now had a brand spanking new iPhone 4 and a white BlackBerry Bold. The cards life deals you are funny. It has to be said that I didn't feel like a hypocrite straight away. Anyone in my position would have done exactly the same - the offer really was that good. My main phone was always going to be my iPhone and I treated it as such. The BlackBerry had no other choice but to fulfil the role of my sidechick in phone terms. But over the growing months the role of the BlackBerry in my life became more prominent. Its influence over me slowly started growing. Then came the day I realised I had become the very thing that I had verbally lambasted in my other post.

While leaving to go to one of my afternoon coaching sessions a few months back I was mindlessly typing away on my BB. While performing that most wondrous of BB skills - The "walking without looking up". I seriously think it should be officially recognised as the sixth sense. While unknowingly perfecting this skill I almost had a head on collision with a young female who - you may have already guessed - was performing the exact same trick on her BB device. While luckily looking up in time to avert an almost certainly painful but ultimately humorous incident I realised I had indeed become a hypocrite. One of the things I put a lot of energy into not being. But it hit me. "I finally noticed it, it finally hit me. Like Tina did Ike in the limo, it finally hit me". I was disgusted with myself. I had to take action before I became one of those dreaded 'CrackBerry' addicts.

So to my readers I admit to you I was a hypocrite. It saddens me to have to tell you this. I know you expect better from me. I will endeavour to make sure such a thing does not happen again. I know quite a few of my friends have the iPhone/BlackBerry combo and having both phones does prove very useful.

I can no longer criticise BB users for the things they do. But you know what they say: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

Internet Gem: Something About Us

In one of my posts a few months ago I acknowledged the wonderful power of the Internet and it's almost miraculous power to excavate many precious gems. It may be a very humorous picture, a motivational article, a tear jerking video etc. It can be absolutely anything.

So for that reason I welcome a new segment to MIKEZ WORLD: Internet Gems. Whenever I stumble across anything amazing on the Internet and I feel like sharing it I'll post it here.

So to commemorate one of my favourite albums reaching it's 10 year anniversary here is what I feel is an Internet gem.

If you do not know I am a
BIG

BIG

BIG

BIG

DAFT PUNK FAN!

I'm not even going to go into why I think their music is out of this world. I'd be here writing for days. But my favourite album of theirs is entitled 'Discovery' and it was released in 2001. And my favourite song on the album and favourite song full stop is 'Something About Us'. I was derided many times in Secondary School for liking such a song. But after 10 years it has withstood the test of time and I still have the same feeling every time I listen to it. There are a whole host of covers that I have viewed on YouTube but in my opinion this is one of the best:

The Comeback

What can I say?

It's the return of the most inconsistent blogger EVER.
I know it is jarring. But I just can't help it. When procrastination and laziness creep in there is almost nothing I can do to curtail their devastating effects.

So to my readers I sincerely apologise. A righteous man would promise to blog more consistently. But a honest man, which I am, will just promise you that he would try harder. But life is life and shit happens.

I have a few post ideas and will publish some long overdue ones over the coming weeks. But I always say the best way to begin is just to begin. So that is exactly what I'm doing. Hopefully announcing my "comeback" will spur me to write. Which is not to say I lack the passion or the drive. I just always find some excuse not too. Which is bad but honest.

I am disappointed that in the two years since I started my blog that I have barely got to 60 posts. But one of my targets for last year was to be more proud of my writing which I half achieved. I may not have been proud in terms of quantity but in terms of quality I am very proud. My writing has evolved from it's controversial beginnings into something more substantial. I'm not sure if I can call myself a "writer" in the traditional sense but I write what matters to me. My writing is a reflection of everything that is contained within me. A tool which is supposed to be utilised by the people in my life to gain an insight into the way I think. But I'm happy for all to read.

So I intend to pick up where I left off. I will continue with the deeper insights into my psyche, the personal and open factor a lot of you really liked in "I guess it was kinda my fault as well". I like engaging people's minds and challenging them to think from perspectives other than their own, so that will continue. A major U-turn I am making is on the subject of relationships. Last year I wanted to steer clear from writing about them because I am no relationship expert and didn't want my beautiful creation to turn into some relationship blog. But I have to admit defeat. I can't seem to escape from the topic. That's what people like to read about so I have to reluctantly concede that that will have to be what I write about from time to time. As long as there are people from both sexes willing (and in some cases neurotically yearning) to enter into mutually exclusive sexual relationships with each other then the subject cannot be avoided.

So that is all I have to say for now. Looking towards the future I clearly know in which direction I want my writing to go. Now for the hard bit...Just to write it. Hopefully I'll be proud of my writing on both fronts this year.



Michael.O