Graves On SOHO Technology

Arm Yourself & Reclaim Your Desktop!

February 22, 2013
Michael Graves
Work 2.0

Mitsu-CRT-Monitor-Inset Measuring in at 57 x 30 inches my desk is not small, but it’s not massive either. It hails from a shop called Storehouse Furniture that has sadly gone out-of-business. Nonetheless, this desk has served me well, and will continue to do so for along while to come.

This desk has seen its fair share of computer monitors over the years. There was a time when a 21” Mitsubishi CRT dominated the desktop. What a beast that was. It was heavy as well as physically large.

More recently I’ve been using one or two ASUS VE248H 24-Inch Monitors. These are very nice LED backlit monitors. Resolving 1920 x 1080 pixels, they’re native HD displays with DVI & HDMI connectivity. Better yet, they were pretty affordable.

New Gear: Mocet Communicator For iPad

February 18, 2013
Michael Graves
VoIP

Mocet-Communicator-White-facing-left-300px It has become something of a habit to announce when new gear arrives in my office, especially if that gear is destined for review. A couple of weeks ago I received a review sample of the Mocet Communicator. Communicator is essentially an audio dock for an iPad that turns it into an executive desk phone.

As you may know, I don’t generally use Apple products. However, occasionally there comes a product that is sufficiently interesting to get me to move in that direction. In the past case of the Invoxia NVX-610 I purchased an iPod Touch in order to provide a suitable host for the device under review.

T-Mobile Launches HDVoice Nationwide; Kinda, Sorta, Maybe, A Little Bit

February 10, 2013
Michael Graves
mobile, Telco

Last month at CES the nations #3 mobile carrier launched HDVoice nationally on its HSPA+ network. Here’s the entire press release. Actually, here’s the snippet that you need to track:

T-Mobile today announced that HD Voice is now available on its network nationwide, dramatically improving in-call voice quality for customers with capable smartphones. Customers will hear a more true-to-life voice quality that’s fuller and more natural-sounding with significantly reduced background noise from street traffic, wind and crowd noise. To experience HD Voice, both parties on the call must use capable T-Mobile 4G smartphones such as the HTC One™ S, Nokia Astound and Samsung Galaxy S® III on T-Mobile’s HD Voice-enabled nationwide network. T-Mobile is the first U.S. wireless provider to launch HD Voice nationwide.

It’s very exciting, yes? Well, it is for me as I am both a big fan of HDVoice and a long-time T-Mobile customer.

A Practical Application For Virtualization In The Home Office

February 9, 2013
Michael Graves
Computing, Work 2.0

Polycom-VVX-600-300px A short while ago I spend a little time dealing with some Polycom phones in my home office. This time around I needed to perform some firmware updates, but it was little more complicated than normal. The tale highlights how we can make use of a VM in an incidental but convenient role.

The phones I had to update were a mix of Polycom VVX-1500, VVX-600 and VVX-500 models. Some were devices that I had purchased that run release software. Others were devices from beta programs. Those can only run beta firmware releases. I had several different releases to accommodate.

Reselling Samsung Galaxy Nexus & Some Accessories

February 5, 2013
Michael Graves
mobile

Just FYI, I’ve recently listed my Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone on E-bay. It’s a great phone and less than a year old. It’s in very good shape. Of course, it’s running the latest Android Jelly Bean, which is v4.2.1. Jelly Bean gives you the 100% pure Android experience with none of the carrier goop to muddle the works or delay firmware updates.

Skype Offers Tips For Improved Audio and Video Quality

February 1, 2013
Michael Graves
Skype

Skype-Jabra-Jims-book-300px Matthew de Beer has penned a couple of recent blog posts over at Skype’s The Big Blog. The most recent one is called, “See no evil, hear no evil – Tips for audio and video quality” and offers some sounds advice on the use of the mute button. It also offers guidance on lighting considerations for video calls. These are both simple, but helpful tips.

I’m constantly amazed at how many people have video calls in a completely ad hoc manner, giving no thought at all to how they look, or the situation around them. A little thought about lighting can dramatically improve your experience with video calling.

Mr. de Beer also had an earlier post entitled, “Gearing For Success.” In this case he promotes the use of a headset over the built-in microphone & speakers common to a laptop. I concur, but I would make the case more fervently.