Google Maps Updated to v2.0.3

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image There is a new version of Google Maps available for your BlackBerry. The strange thing is that there's no change log for this version and no information on the Google Mobile blog about it. Another strange thing is that if you run the "Google Mobile Updater" doesn't notify you about this version. I've downloaded and installed on my BlackBerry so I can confirm at least that it works Big Grin

If you want to upgrade go directly to http://www.google.com/glm

Free Rooms At Amsterdam's Citizen M

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image Back in October I blogged about the "Citizen M" hotel that Philips was designing and that the first one will open in Amsterdam during 2008. To celebrate its opening the hotel is giving away 100 free rooms!. There are two ways to earn a free stay:

1. Every 100th person who registers to become a "citizen" on their site will receive a free night.

2. The author of every 100th post to the Citizen Community forums will receive a free night.

Walking While Texting

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It seems like the British have nothing better to deal with. According to this report, people that text on their phone or BlackBerry while walking in the street manage to hurt themselves pretty badly by walking into different objects. The solution - Pad the lampposts in the street so people don't bang their head in the metal. These padded lampposts will be tested in London and other cities.

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CO Moving ERJs to Terminal A

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Continental is rearranging their operations in Newark Liberty. As part of this process they are relocating all the Continental Express flights (all the little planes...) to Terminal A and consolidating all the rest of the domestic flights in Terminal C. Until now they have been using Terminal A for the Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Cabos, Grand Cayman and Puerto Vallarta.

This means that if you connect in Newark you might need to transfer between terminals. One way to do this is using the AirTrain, but this will require you to go through security again. If you are still in the secured area, you can change terminal by using the bus shuttle either in gate C-71 or A-28 to avoid standing in line again.

This transition period will complete June 2008 and until then Continental Express flights may arrive or depart from either terminal, so you better check the monitors.

Always Read the Fine Print

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There are a lot of ways to earn miles and points and many tricks to try to maximize the amounts you can get. It can be through a credit card, a special promotion or simply by signing to one of the programs that let your "double-dip" - meaning you get points in the company your purchase the service from and also in another plan you are a member of.

Did you know that some car rental companies charge you a "Frequent Flyer Tax Recovery Surcharge"? The rental company is charging you a daily fee for the privilege of earning airline miles or hotel points through their partnership promotions!

  • Budget will charge you $0.50 per day (up to $2 per rental).
  • Avis will charge you $0.50 per day also.
  • Thrifty will charge your $0.06 to $0.50 depending on the partner.
  • Dollar will charge you $0.24 when you "get" 250 miles in NWA.

If you think it's worth it, keep on double-dipping. I rather max the amount of points that I can get in the company I get the service from.

Airborne Doesn't Work?

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Airborne is a herbal health product that is supposed to boost your immune system and help your body fight all the germs in the recycled airplane air. Basically it is a tablet with a concentrated amount of vitamins and nothing more...

After pulling a double red-eye a couple of years ago (#1 Seattle-Raleigh & #2 Raleigh-London) I got very sick and I decided to start using this product. Obviously it won't cure existing colds but I thought it couldn't hurt and would probably help prevent the next one. I've been using it mostly before long flights and I must say that I never had another cold since then after flights. Could be just luck or maybe it actually helps.

Yesterday, the company settled a class action lawsuit for $23.3 million for false advertising. If you kept your proof of purchase, you can get a refund for the purchase of this product, if you didn't (and you probably didn't...) you can still file a "Proof of Claim" for up to 6 boxes and get the average retail price. I think I'll pass, but if you are interested you can file your claim here.

Free iPhone Theme for BlackBerry

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If you want your BlackBerry to look like the iPhone (minus the touch screen), you can use this nice and clean iPhone theme. The bPhone theme was created by Matthew Rogers and available for free for the following BlackBerry versions:

  • 8700 series: BlackBerry OS 4.2.1 or later. WARNING: You MUST have OS 4.2.1 or later or you may render your BlackBerry 8700 unusable! Go to Options -> About to check your OS version.
  • Pearl (all versions): BlackBerry OS 4.2.1 or later
  • Curve (all versions) and 8830: BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 or later
  • 8800: BlackBerry OS 4.2.1 or later

Download to your desktop or OTA.

Note: You must reset your BlackBerry after downloading the theme in order for it to appear in your theme list!

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Review: Brother HL-2170W

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About 9 years ago while I was in college I decided to invest in a laser printer. The amount of printing I had to do for class presentations, homework and all the exams with "open material" was huge and spending the crazy amount of money back then (I think it was like $600) on a printer paid back on the amount I saved on ink. I think that in the 3 years I used it in school I had to replace the toner only once (!) while before that I had to replace the ink in my other printer almost every month!

Last month I decided to do this again and add a laser printer to my HP all-in-one Inkjet printer for any bulk printing I need to do. I did some research on the Internet and decided that I want to buy something basic and good without spending too much money. Another thing I tried to figure out is where to put the printer since I'm running out of space. Between my desktop, HP printer, laptop and paper there's not a lot of room in my "L" shaped desk and I didn't want to run any long USB cables across my office.

imageI decided to buy the Brother HL-2710W. It is an entry level laser printer with great features of high-end printers. It is capable of printing 23 pages per minute (black), 2400x600 dpi and the best thing about it is that it is wireless! This means that I can pretty much put in anywhere I want in my office or even in a different room and print to it from any computer or laptop that is connected to my wireless network.

When I unboxed the printer I was happy to see it's actually smaller that it looked on the pictures. The setup was pretty easy. You just follow the easy instruction guide using the included CD. When you setup the printer you need to plug it with an Ethernet cable to your network to configure the wireless settings, password etc. After the short setup you can unplug the printer and put it anywhere you want. The printer is available as a wireless network resource and you can use the CD on the other computers in the network to configure the printer on them also. Pretty easy and it works great! I was able to configure the printer from my XP machines and even from my Vista 64bit machine without any trouble.

This printer retails for $149.99, but when I bought the printer I was able to get an amazing deal on Buy.com for $104.99 including free shippingDancingwhich made the deal sweeter and decision much easier. The printer has been working great since I got it and I recommend it to anyone that is looking for a laser printer Thumbs-up