MadMup.com

I mentioned a while back that I disliked my phone. Man, oh man, did I dislike that phone. I won’t rehash here what all I disliked about it, but rest assured I disliked it with a passion. I was counting the days until I could get a new phone, and when the day hit, I went to the AT&T store.

(Side note: I hear a lot of griping about AT&T, but I’ve always had good luck with them. I’m sorry if your experience hasn’t been the same.)

I had some experience with Android phones by that point and I knew it could be a good option for me, but Microsoft had just released their newest phone operating system, the bulkily-named Windows Phone 7, and I was very interested in it, too. I figured a trip to a physical store would give me the chance to have some hands-on time with both.  After playing with them both I honestly had no strong feelings either way. It was weird – I usually have immediate inclinations one way or the other when I’m presented with two choices, but with these phones, I knew I’d be happy either way. What finally pushed me to the Windows Phone 7 was the idea of having something new, something very few people had.

I bought the Samsung Focus (pictured). Really, when you get right down to it, smartphones all pretty much do the same things: messaging, email, web browsing, apps, and the occasional phone call. It really gets down to how you want your phone to do those things that determines what would be the best choice for you. You can see right away it’s a little different than other smartphones - Microsoft made some interesting choices that have turned out to be pretty nifty.

I’ve had the phone for almost a year now, and it’s the best cell phone I’ve owned so far.  There was a pretty big update a couple of weeks ago that added some features that should have been on it from the outset, but I’ve been so happy with the phone that waiting for the updates wasn’t really a big deal for me.

Here’s some stuff I’ve really come to like about the phone:

• Those boxes you see are called Live Tiles, named that because they show changing information. The numbers show how many missed calls, texts, and emails you have, and other tiles for other apps show things like online presence, current weather, and sports scores.
• Xbox Live integration is built-in. I can see my Friends List, compare gamerscores, change my avatar, and reply to messages all from my phone. There are also games for the phone that offer gamerpoints.
• Linked contacts. I have three different email accounts on my phone and can choose to have all the contacts from all accounts synced to my phone. If I have “Bruce W.” as a Hotmail contact and “Bruce W. – Work” in my Gmail account, I can link the two together so that all of Bruce’s information shows on one contact card.
• Facebook integration is seamless. Not only can I import my Facebook contacts to my phone, I can also link them to existing contacts. Their Facebook profile picture becomes their contact picture on my phone. When someone changes their profile pic, it changes on their contact card on my phone, too.
• Voice control. Out of the box I could use voice control to open apps or dial contacts. With the latest update, I can now speak-to-text, which is especially handy since you shouldn’t text while driving – not just because it’s illegal, but also because it’s way unsafe.
• Bing. I use Google for searches when I’m sitting at a computer. It’s not that I don’t like Bing, I’m just used to doing things the way I do them, you know? But Bing is all over this phone, as you  might suspect it would be, since it is a Microsoft phone and Bing is Microsoft’s search engine. I wasn’t sure how I’d like Bing all over my phone, but I have to say it works really well. Search results show up as “web” or “local,” and searching for businesses give results nearby, with the option to call right from the search page. Certainly not revolutionary, but it works really well. The update brought visual search (show Bing a UPC symbol or a QR code or a book cover via the camera and it finds info on the web for you) and music search (like Shazam, have Bing listen to some music and it’ll tell you what the music is and who it’s by).
• Office. Files from Word and Excel open beautifully on the phone, and OneNote syncs to webspace for backup and access elsewhere.
• Wireless sync. When I’m at home and connected to my wireless router, after 10 minutes of being plugged in to power, my phone will automatically sync with my computer over the network.
• Overall feel. Sure, the physical phone itself has a nice weight and feel to it, but I’m more specifically talking about using the phone. It makes sense (for the most part) and feels really neat to use – swiping left for more options, holding down on an icon to get a list of actions, tapping a letter to quickly get through a list – simple things, but implemented nicely.

“Look, I got a few good years left. If I want a Chip Ahoy, I’m having it.”

- Morty Seinfeld

This quote is from the Seinfeld episode “The Cadillac,” and I love the sentiment. Yes, I realize I’m technically too young to start living by this credo, but it’s great. It’s like “carpe diem” for the older set.

My dad called me today to let me know that Grandma passed away this afternoon. She’d been in a nursing home for a little over a year, and had a few health issues in that time, but had always bounced back from them. This past Saturday the workers at the home told my mom’s oldest sister that Grandma wasn’t doing so well and that the family should come to see her. All of her children were able to go see her on Sunday, and they were able to talk to her a little bit. Today she slipped away, peacefully, I’m told.

The picture above is of my grandpa and grandma, my mom’s parents. I never knew my dad’s parents, so mom’s parents were the grandparents we spent the holidays with. That picture was taken before I was born, and comes courtesy of my cousin’s Facebook page. I don’t think I’d ever seen it before, and I absolutely love it. It instantly became one of my favorite pictures ever.

Grandma was one-of-a-kind. I’m not very good at descriptions, so it’d be hard for me to tell you why she was, but she was.  Here are just a couple of memories I have:

• One of the reasons I’ve been so excited about Throwback Pepsi being back on the market these days is because it tastes like Pepsi tasted at Grandma’s house. Wisconsin is Pepsi Country (in case you didn’t know), and any time we were at Grandma’s she had some available.
• When we were very young, my brother and I stayed at Grandma & Grandpa’s for a week during the summer a couple of times. Grandma took us fishing, and the only thing I ever caught were crawdads. I didn’t end up liking fishing that much – I much preferred making boats out of pieces of 2x4s and floating them on the creek while my brother and Grandma fished. Grandma never let me forget that I didn’t like fishing. I saw her last in March of this year and, sure enough, she said something about how I didn’t like fishing. I probably would have been disappointed if she hadn’t.
• Once she took my brother and I to see the Chicago Bears during their training camp, which they were having in Grandma’s home town.  I didn’t know much about the Bears, but it was neat to see an NFL team in person.
• That same town (Platteville, WI) had a Shakespeare Festival in late summer or early fall (I think…), and we saw a couple of plays here and there. My brother even took some friends when he was in college a couple times.
• Grandma would always “complain” about how many cats roamed around the farm, but come supper time she always put out some food for them, even if it was just bread soaked in milk .
• Grandma loved to play Scrabble. I didn’t play in any games with her until college, but she would hassle you about words you played and in the very next turn would try to sneak something past you.  I have her old Scrabble board now, and it is a prized possession.
• Juicy Fruit gum isn’t very good, but I’ll never turn down a piece if I’m offered one. Grandma always had some in her purse, so it’s another reminder of childhood.
• Her house was always full of books and Reader’s Digest magazines. When the grown-ups were talking too late and the cousins were mostly gone, I read Laughter Is the Best Medicine out of any Digest I could find.

I’ll always wish I had known her better, but I’m glad I knew her at all. I’ve inherited some of her qualities, both good and bad, and I’ll never forget her.

Grandpa passed away in 1999. Grandma was the last living grandparent I had. I’m glad that they are reunited in heaven, and I look forward to seeing them again some day. Until then, I’ll miss them both.

Goodbye for now, Grandma. I love you.