Well about time since we were getting close to one month.

Success in downloading PS3 firmware update last night and was able to change my password (mandatory) and got back on PSN.

At least I can watch Netflix on PS3 again.  Boy talk about flawed design.  I would be ticked if I was Netflix that Sony requires you to auth against the PSN before you can connect to Netflix.

I know I will be less likely to buy anything off PSN for now.  Just like MS and their cr@ppy hardware, it is now Sony and their crappy network.  It was always slow and cumbersome, but free right!?  But not at the cost of nearly a month and all my data being hacked.  Thanks Sony, new I gave up on your audio hardware years ago for a reason!

I am sure the other 77 million love you too!

So when I don’t think my FIOS pipe can get better, I contact Verizon to “renegotiate” my current package deal. Come to find out they don’t even have my Internet speed plan anymore. So I see what options I have. The funny thing is I save an Abe for HD, and use that to upgrade my speed plan. So now I get 25/25 instead of the old 20/5. Talk about a difference!

Well, of course you have to validate it!

What can I say, Comcrap never provided service like that. They kept increasing the monthly bill and I kept getting less! Verizon please keep up the quality!

Been quite a while since I ran a speed check on good ole connection and why I love FIOS so much….

Download speed is more than double and uploads about the same as last time.  Plus this is still one of the lower tier plans!  I could only imagine if I bumped it up a notch or two.

Well, I think I have realized COD:MW2 is pluggin up the inter-tubes folks!  Just got Error Code 80022A07 when trying to sync my PS3 trophies tonight.  From what it sounds it has to do with the PS3 failing to talk to the PSN servers to sync.  I tried like 5 times over 5 – 10 minutes and then it finally went through.  Otherwise it would get to the same % and die.

I saw some other forums start complaining about it yesterday (what 24 hours into COD:MW2) and back in April 09.  I can only imagine servers everywhere on all consoles are just toasty from COD release this week.  I bet if you did a little research around some of the major releases you will find that some of the network based solutions (especially on PSN) get a little fussy as well.

If you get this, best solution, be patient and try to sync during another time of the day (most likely early morning when all your COD players are beginning to pass out).

Don’t delete your saved games, game data, etc.  It will come back, it is a network issue most likely at Sony and nothing to do with your PS3.

Patience is the key here.  Thank goodness.  Now if we could only have Sony put a “text” message on the screen instead of error codes.  The Sony Firmware guys must of worked at Oracle or something!

Thank you Sony for the elegant error codes!

I have to say that Verizon FIOS is one of the best moves we have made.

Switching from Comcast to FIOS is like night and day. These are our personal experience so far and YMMV.

• Cost Less
• Get More
• Better Service
• HD Quality is incredible (getting HD for less than the cost of SD on Comcast)
• Internet pipe is not shared with my neighbors!
• Incredible net speed
• Really nice router

The last one I have to admit I was shocked about.  I have always had my own firewall and network gear, but Verizon has really done a nice job on their router (but that is another post).

Internet speed:

The tech that showed up to install the service was awesome.   Really nice guy that called before showing up to tell me when he would be there (was 1 minute early from when he said he would be there).  Did everything that I had ordered in a very timely matter and it all just worked!  Took under 3 hours for us to get all new Internet and two TV receivers.  All working better than expected.

Just sweet!

More to come.

This is an interesting read on a Google perspective on Mobile computing and the future.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/future-of-mobile.html

The excerpt that interested me the most was…

Sensors everywhere: Your phone knows a lot about the world around you. If you take that intelligence and combine it in the cloud with that of every other phone, we have an incredible snapshot of what is going on in the world right now. Weather updates can be based on not hundreds of sensors, but hundreds of millions. Traffic reports can be based not on helicopters and road sensors, but on the density, speed, and direction of the phones (and people) stuck in the traffic jams.

In my current consulting role, I see interaction with weather sensors, traffic data and other things dealing with transportation.  The thought that we could have devices (like your phone or other connected devices) have a cloud mentality and provide that data back in a collected form to state and local DOT or SHA could be very valuable.  But ultimately the long haul problem will be making heads or tails out of the huge flow of data, but that is what Google is good at right?

Final question though….

Will you like your device talking to other devices?

What if your shower radio started talking to the toaster and the phone about how good you sing in the shower?  What if they started sharing that info with the neighbor’s blender?  Hmmmmm