Ch… Ch… Changes

I realize I have not posted in a while for real and thought perhaps now over the long (perhaps for you) weekend might be a good chance.

There have been quite a few changes in my life recently… new job and trying to buy a house and on top of that a car or two.

First, the job… I started a few weeks ago which is the real reason for the lack of posting. I’ve been slammed and actually not on my usual pace with personal email and posting which is actually quite cool for me given the new level of professional intensity. I think I’d been craving something like this change for a long time and feel good that even in the early days that I’ve made the right choice. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a marketing guy and I’ve found my way into one of (if not) the largest technology global accounts. I’m very pleased with this and while it does mean my using Apple systems for work are over (ahem) it’s really all very good. I’ve also retired the Treo 650 for now and am using a new Blackberry 7100T which is far better than I would have ever thought. I’ll come back to the tech in a bit.

The house… My wife and I had been trying to find where we might consider digging in for some time and we’ve committed as I have done with the job to the NY Metro market. This left a few options from a commutation perspective, but we settled on Westchester County and are in the process of closing on our first home. It’s crazy actually but wonderful at the same time. The place is quite a few times larger than our apartment (obviously) and has a great piece of property.

As a result of the new home we need to get at least one car, though really probably two so that I can get to and from the train each day without interrupting my wife and daughter’s sleep patterns. The job has me on overdrive in a good way for now, but it makes normal hours something I can’t quite yet commit to with any sort of reliability. Since I began I’ve been operating in always-on mode spending a great deal of face time with clients locally and most recently on the west coast. Heading back again next week and a few trips are already lining up in the next few weeks… I think you probably get the idea.

Back to the tech for a sec… While I still eat, sleep and breathe the tech, I had to make a switch I figured was coming on the handheld side. The blackberry is something I ad previously scoffed at being such a long term palm user, but man it rocks. The Treo can certainly do more as far as applications and media consumption, but as good as Chatter is (and it is) the email connection from Blackberry to Exchange can’t be touched. I spend a great deal of my day away from my desk, and while there is WiFi pretty much everywhere I need to go, the battery in my current machine can’t keep up for the length of time I spend in meetings. The Blackberry goes all day and well into the night allowing constant access to messages, meetings and to-dos with ease. The keyboard, while initially a bit awkward (it’s compressed if you have not seen it) is simple to use and remarkably quick to type. The recognition capabilities are amazing and new words, whether initials, product names or people all get picked up after the first time and so the predictable filtering is just killer. Seriously, I am amazed at how easy it is to use. My recognition is far better than it was on either the Treo 600 or Treo 650 which both use a full keyboard.

Everything syncs over the air… Add a new number to an Outlook contact, save it and it’s in the Blackberry. Get a new meeting notice; accept it and it’s in your calendar without the computer live and in real-time. Beyond the basics, you can see why the Palm gets a great deal of credit. The blackberry is not perfect, but if you keep the focus on work communications (or personal I suppose) it can’t be beat. No camera and no MMS… but the Messages function maintains a single point for all SMS and emails (up to 10 accounts) allows for filing through exchange or IMAP folders and even shows you your sent messages. I was not that into the sent being there, but now really like having confirmation that I’ve dealt with things all right there.

There will be much more to discuss as I can get to it. I am psyched that I am living the tech lifestyle in my personal and professional life and have access to amazing information about what is coming down the pike. I’ll have to play it safe with what can be discussed but when it can I’ll share. For now I am focused on digital home technologies as well as mobility on the consumer side as well as a full roster of things on the business side. Enjoy the rest of your weekend… I’ll be in the office tomorrow as the ride continues!