The Student Nerds Blog

So after 3 days of Droid, here’s my good, bad and ugly in reverse order. First, background: I have been a blackberry user for ~4year (8700 and Curve).  I also own an iPod Touch *UGLY*: Have YET to be able to sync my Microsoft exchange with the Droid’s email feature. Droid admittedly (they say so in their manual) does not do a good job at syncing to Microsoft exchange, they offer a few solutions which all involve getting your Exchange Admin involved and then tell you to download some 3rd party apps which get around MS’s security requirements and so on. This could be a dealbreaker for many people. I can’t say for sure if this problem is universal or if it’s just my Exchange server’s fault, or even my fault for screwing up the sync. I have been working around this by using the **AWESOME** web browser to connect to my company’s online email server but this hack won’t do me for long. *BAD*: *Physical Keyboard*- not good. I don’t have a ton ...

I hate paying for software.  I will occasionally do it if I cannot find it easily online or if I feel the developer deserves the cash.  I’ve used many different anti-virus software packages over the years and I think I finally found one that I really like.  It also happens to be free.  I used to use Norton Antivirus like many people. I’d pay for it because I didn’t think there was any other way.  I then moved on to a free version of McAffee that my school gave me.  I probably used that for years before moving on to the next one; AVG. I loved AVG for a long time.  It was fairly quick, updated often but it was a little obtrusive.  I dealt with that though because the product was truly free.  About a year ago I AVG had a false positive that caused iTunes to get messed up.  I freaked out and uninstalled AVG and iTunes so nothing bad would happen to my music collection.  The next day a fix was issued but it was already too late for ...

I've been doing a lot of international traveling as of late and keeping in touch with family and friends in the states can sometimes prove to be difficult.  I should rephrase t hat.  It's not difficult but it's difficult to do it cheaply.  I've learned a few things along the way and I'll let you know what I've been using to do this on the cheap. 1. A smartphone with unlimited internet access This is a must.  I've been able to be on gChat and email without some people even knowing that i'm in Europe.  I've been using an unlocked iPhone 3G and a Pay as you go SIM card from O2 in London.  I put 15 pounds on the SIM card and it came with unlimited internet.  If I really wanted to I would never have to use the 15 pounds and just use the following program to make all of my calls. 2. Skype on your smartphone (or at least your laptop). Skype has allowed me to place phone calls to the US at very cheap rates.  Using Google Voice (mention...