Nick Starr.com : Nick Starr dot com

I don’t know if there is an AA for text messagers, but if there were I would be a member. I’ve gone so far as to cancel my voice service on my phone, and have unlimited 3G data and unlimited SMS messages (don’t ask how) for $50/month.

If you want to contact me there are many ways to do so. Texting is the preferred method, but if you don’t have my number you can send me a direct message via Twitter and I get it as a text message. Heck you can even do Twitter via SMS by sending your updates, direct messages, and replies to 40404 (in the US only).

On top of texts, I am on email virtually all day long, and my email address hasn’t changed in years: me at NickStarr dot com.

I’m on IM services as well:
AIM: NickStarr
GoogleTalk: NickStarr (at) Gmail (dot) com
Yahoo: NickStarr_cc
MSN: me at NickStarr dot com
Skype: NickStarr

Of course there is Facebook as well, and with their new IM service the service has become something I keep open all the time as well. Add me as a friend on facebook and send me a message.

So send me a message to say hi or just want to talk, can’t promise I am free ALL the time, but I’m around quite a bit.

There have been many things that I’ve done which people have described as “pulling a Nick” (for example the method on which I got my iPhone for practically free). In switching to the iPhone, or rather the BB Curve then iPhone, I made the switch away from my long time carrier T-Mobile. I enjoyed the 24/7 customer service, selection in phones, etc, but iPhone was just too tempting.

While I was a T-Mobile customer I also paid for the Starbucks/T-Mobile Hotspot access at $20/month. When I made the switch to AT&T I got a 3G Expresscard/34 AT&T wireless modem from my MacBook Pro (both of which were stolen, yet I’m still paying for the modem). I canceled my T-Mobile hotspot access at the same time, and enjoyed the freedom of my modem. The irony is that I would still end up in a Starbucks most of the time on my laptop, but now using my 3G modem, which produced slightly slower speeds then the Starbucks/T-Mobile access.

Well Starbucks has pulled a “Nick” and made the switch over to AT&T as of today. Now the change will happen at the store level by the end of the year, but now that I live in one of the most connected areas of the country, I anticipate the change over in the San Francisco area to be quick.

The deal offers a lot of new and cheaper options. Previously it was $9.99/day, $19.99/month for T-mobile customers, and $29.99/month for non T-Mobile customers. The new pricing plan is $3.99 for a 2 hour block for AT&T customers and Starbucks card holders. Every Starbucks Card holder will get 2 free hours a day as well. In addition, anyone with AT&T DSL service at home (which I recently got) already enjoy free wireless access at AT&T hotspots, and thus the addition of Starbucks will expand the network they have access to.

I can’t wait for this deal to finally be finished and all the stores converted over. Now I just need to get a laptop again, so I can enjoy the atmosphere and aroma of Starbucks while surfing the web.

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P.S. If you work at Starbucks, you will get free unlimited access to the wireless access, just another perk of working at the largest coffee shop in the world.

Well ever since the 16gb iPod touch was released last September, you knew Apple had it in the works to release a 16gb iPhone. Today just so happens to be that day. They also have increased the capacitity of the iPod touch to double it’s previous maximum capacitity, bringing it to 32 gigs total.

The price seems to of stayed the same for all of the previous models, with a $100 premium for these new models. They are available today, and show only a 1-2 day processing time for shipping from the Apple Store online.

Look for me to be selling my iPhone online soon, I really could use the additional space on my iPhone.

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Neal, of Geek Brief TV, and I were talking last night after the Apple Universe live podcast recording (btw it was the 100th show) about how the icons suck for most webclips on the iPhone. It pretty much takes a snapshot of the current screen and uses that as an icon, yuck. We mentioned something about favicons should work, but then again those are 16X16 and very small.

Well turns out Apple has built in the ability for you to customize the icon that is displayed on anyone’s iPhone that makes a webclip out of your website. Here is the down and dirty instructions:

• Create a 57×57 PNG (it is said that b/c of the iPhones amazing resolution you can use a 158X158 icon that will scale down very well and thus make for a better looking icon)
• Name it “apple-touch-icon.png”
• Throw it in the root folder of your website. (Not the root of your server, the root of your web documents.)

That’s it…Google and some sites have already done this, and you may of noticed their icons look more professional. There are great tools out there for making small icons of this size, and if you are a Mac, buy the MacHeist bundle for only $49 which includes Pixelmator (and 10 other great apple programs) to make your own custom Webclip icon for the iPhone/iPod touch.

Here are some spy shots of the new Family Guy - Blue Harvest Special Edition (w/ limited-edition collectibles) DVD from Fox that will be released on Tuesday. There is no mention on the back of the box of iTunes, iPods, or the digital copy. There is however a special sticker on the front of the shrink wrapping indicitating it comes with a “Digital Copy.”

Fox has done this before with movies like Live Free or Die Hard, and even has a website setup for Digital Copy (link), with no mention of iPod support. The problem is that Digital Copy has never worked with an iPod, Zune, or PSP. Will this new Digital Copy work now with an iTunes or was the previously leaked screenshot a fake? The world will know on Tuesday after Steve Jobs gives his keynote at the Macworld Expo & Conference.

AT&T is really pushing their Blackberry line, and why not? The Blackberry Curve 8310 with GPS is the best phone I’ve ever used. It was more functional, flexible, and felt better in my hands then any phone I’ve owned…and I’ve owned a lot, including the iPhone. The iPhone is a very close second to the BB Curve. Well let me show you how to get either one for free.

If you want the Blackberry Curve, and you are a new customer to AT&T, you can simply go on Amazon and buy the BB Curve 8310 with GPS, and after rebates, you make out with $50.01 in cash and a free phone. That’s it…simple as that. Cold hard cash and the best cell phone ever made.

If you are wanting to get a free iPhone, the steps are a bit more involved, but not by much. Buy the BBCurve like mentioned above. Then go online to GSM PhoneSource and get an unlock code for $19. Finally, put your newly unlocked BBCurve (make sure to keep it pristine and sell as new), on eBay where they are selling for upwards of $400.

That on top of the $50.01 you made just from buying the Curve from Amazon will net you enough cash to buy an iPhone including tax.

There you go, a free iPhone, and heck you might even have some extra money left over for a nice case for that newly purchased Jesus phone iPhone.

Buy via Amazon

P.S. This is the method I went about buying my iPhone, but Amazon wasn’t offering such incredible rebates, so I was able to get the AT&T store to match the Amazon price at the time of paying $50, this this method, you can pocket $50 on the purchase of a Curve.

My NY Times article about Twitter and the entire suicide issue is finally published. It is online, and looks to be in print tomorrow, November 4th. Below is the article, but it can also be found on the NY Times site here. There are a few inaccuracies. The police didn’t find me in my car the next morning, and I’ve had no contact with any law enforcement about this incident (others did by calling them and reporting the incident though). On the site, it doesn’t look like they used any of the photos we took the day of my second break-in.

Currently, I am still without a computer as well, but I hope to have enough money by the middle of the month to get one. The donation link is still available as well.

Before I publish the article, I want to take this time to give an update on what has been going on. My job in the north bay found out about my recent break-ins. My boss donated towards my fund, and other various donations have been coming in.

I decided that the best way to start over, since I was down to 2 outfits and the clothes on my back, was to move outside of the city and find a place to live. I found a beautiful house that was renting out rooms. Check out my Flickr page for some pics.

The rent is VERY reasonable, but coming up with the first/last/deposit/etc was a HUGE drain on my finances. In the end I believe it is worth it, and putting off my goal of buying a new computer has suffered, but I am now safe and sleeping on a real bed (it’s a queen sized double high air mattress).

It feels good to be out of my car and sleeping in a real house. I’m using my only piece of technology left to watch lots of YouTube and other videos on my iPhone.

Other then that, I’ve been better. Things are looking up and moving forward. With all of that being said, here is the article after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »