HTC Incredible: Accessories: Case, holster, car mount

After a couple false starts, I finally ordered a few accessories for my much-loved Verizon HTC Droid Incredible:

Seidio Innocase II Surface + Holster combo:



I had the Seidio holster for my old AT&T TyTn II/HTC Kaiser, and I LOVED it -- best built, most rugged, tight-gripping holster I've ever owned. I expect great things out of the Innocase II + holster combo. I've dropped every cell phone I've ever owned; how I've gone nearly two months without dropping the Incredible is beyond me, and I'm done with trying my luck. I'm concerned about the case, the screen and the camera lens. Seidio's Innocase II appears to address case and lens issues, but I wonder about the screen. I may yet get one of those film protectors; last time I tried one was three or four years ago, and they were crap. I hear they've come a long way however.

Tip: you can get this $10 cheaper, and with free shipping, from Amazon.

Arkon Universal Windshield/Dash/Vent mount:



I'd seen a cupholder-mounted car mount, but I couldn't seem to locate it today. For $16, I'll give the Arkon a try.

I am still tempted to upgrade my battery, but $25-$70 for a 1750mA battery -- an upgrade to a mere 118% original capacity -- is a tough sell, and going bigger would mean blowing out the back panel/battery door, and possibly not fitting in cases and holsters. For now, a beefier battery remains on my wish list.

We're hiring! Apprenda seeks another Client Services Engineer

We're looking to hire another engineer into my department at Apprenda. We work in post-sales, client support, training and professional services. We work directly with clients, we travel some 20-40% of the time, nationally and internationally. (I was in Denver and then San Diego the other week. We've got a guy in the UK right now; 2 others were in the UK a month ago, and the same guy now in the UK was in Paris for 3 months last year.)

I currently spend 20-30% of my time coding, and the rest of the time dealing with clients by phone, email, Skype or on site. I expect us to be doing more coding moving forward as we institute a standard POC & on-site training package as part of our engagements.

This is the first place I've worked (and I've worked many places) where I wasn't clock watching by the end of the first week -- and that includes my time with Xerox and IBM. We completed a $5M funding round a few months back. The company is healthy and growing, defining processes and procedures, figuring out how things ought to be done. It's an exciting time to come on board.

I'm one of the few "hardcore" .NET guys -- we have several people, some complete converts, with lengthy histories in Java and/or PHP, some C++ as well. (But no, no Ruby guys, to my knowledge :)


The bit about us
Apprenda is the creator of SaaSGrid, the industry’s leading Application Server for Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaSGrid solves the upfront and ongoing technical and business challenges of delivering software as a service. We're a hi-tech leader in a rapidly evolving technology space. We were just recently honored with the CEG's Rising Star Award.

The bit about you
We're looking for a Client Services Engineer.

The Client Services Engineer is responsible for ensuring an optimal client experience with SaaSGrid by proactively and professionally managing client information requests, technical support questions, and custom software development projects. The SaaSGrid client engagement is a highly technical process that requires skills in a variety of software development and infrastructure disciplines. To be clear: you will be writing code, and you will be configuring servers. You’ll then interface with clients via email, phone, community websites, and more during all phases of the client lifecycle. Many of our clients are new to the world of software as a service and have chosen SaaSGrid as a foundation - they will look to you to lead the way. Specifically, you'll be involved in the following:

SaaSGrid installation and configuration
Customer training onsite and remote (the position is roughly 30% travel - domestic & international)
Application development guidance and SaaSGrid best practice enforcement
Customization and extension of the SaaSGrid platform
Moderation of public community websites for SaaSGrid developers
The Client Service Engineer is a SaaSGrid knowledge base expert to all clients with whom he/she is engaged. You’ll lead webinars, trainings, and more. We’re looking for the unique combination of technical astuteness and personality!

Qualifications:

BS or MS in Computer Science or BS or MS in another science or engineering discipline with significant practical software development experience(minor or dual degree that includes a Social Science a plus)
A solid foundation in computer science, with strong competencies in software design, systems architecture, and data structures.
Strong OO skills and practicing knowledge of OO languages
Several years of large systems software design and development experience (extensive knowledge of Windows based environments preferred)
Coding skills in C#, Javascript/AJAX, and SQL preferred
Practical knowledge of WCF & ASP.NET preferred
Practical knowledge of Windows system administration preferred
Strong writing and interpersonal skills required (You MUST be personable!)
Quick “on your feet” thinking and the ability to be creative in tight situations
The position is located in our headquarters in Clifton Park, NY. Relocation to the Albany, NY area is required.

One more thing
Tip: Along with your resume, send us a brief explanation of how dependency injection might be used in a billing system accepting multiple forms of payment. We just might move your resume to the top of the stack.

Email resume & other material to: job-tjxvf-1772851493@craigslist.org

Oh, Post-Star, you rascal you

Google Autocomplete: scary!

A friend emailed me this Google Autocomplete via the Firefox search bar of the phrase "Can I":



And Google Autocomplete in Chrome showed _me_ this:

Review Followup: HTC Incredible on the road

I've owned the HTC Incredible from Verizon for a little over two weeks now. I spent a week traveling from Albany to Denver by way of Cincinnati, then Denver to San Diego, then back to Albany via Dulles. Along the way I encountered a few other happy new Incredible owners, as well as a lot of recognition of my Incredible by non-owners. I think I converted a few to soon-to-be owners as well. Everyone loves it, even Blackberry and iPhone 3G owners -- and ESPECIALLY WinMo owners. (Joe, I'm lookin' at you pal ;)

Signal in Albany, Cincinnati, Denver and San Diego airports was good to great; signal in Dulles was EXCELLENT, at least in the United terminal. Reception in general in all these cities was reliable, 3G included. Denver International Airport might have been a bit of a 1X zone however.

Battery life continues to be a concern for me, as well as a few other otherwise overjoyed owners I spoke with. I'm debating a +200mA upgrade battery that fits under the OEM cover. I'm also debating a 2100mA upgrade battery that requires a matching, bloated aftermarket cover. I think it would be unfortunate to disturb the beautiful lines, the compact profile of the Incredible however, and as I'm now looking at skins and cases, I don't want to mess with fit. The marginal utility of a $50 standard-fit 200mA upgrade is highly debatable however.

One note: a lot of apps execute in the background without explicit user activation. Using Advanced Task Killer, regularly wiping out resident background apps, I do seem to get better battery life, but not great. I'm working on uninstalling a bunch of useless apps I added, in the hopes that less background app activity will lengthen battery life.

I am currently in love with GPS + Google Maps Navigation on this Android 2.1 device. One word: SICK!!!!!!!! Two words: fothermucking SICK!! No need for a separate GPS device for automobile navigation ever again. Other than some hiccups over direction retrieval after an update last week where since updating only explicit addresses seemed to work for navigation route lookups, Google Maps Navigation readily guided us from place to place with great navigation perspective and excellent, responsive recalcs and voice turn-by-turn directions in Denver and San Diego.

Search by Voice needs some training, but it has a TON of hands-free potential. Searching by location in general is an EXCELLENT way to find ATMs, gas stations, restaurants, hotels, parking, client offices. I am totally, completely in love with this heavily integrated set of map & navigation features, aside from its battery-draining potential.

On the road for work purposes, I was occasionally forced to tether, especially when "high speed wireless Internet" at Doubletree Golf Resort San Diego or Fairfield Inn in Denver was simply unusable, as it was numerous times in the few hours I spent awake in my room in either location. I am having difficulty with USB drivers, HTC Sync and Windows 7 x64; these do not seem to have been entirely resolved by installing Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1; I have not been able to get Verizon Mobile Broadband to work with my notebook yet. After installing WMDC 6.1 I was finally able to get PdaNet to work, which provided some much-needed, better-than-dialup connectivity at times when Doubletree's wifi couldn't get its act together. I have still decided that I, or the office, will still need to be investing in a 3G broadband card, but PdaNet and the Incredible over Verizon aren't a bad emergency option.

Typing is still a bit of a chore, but definitely getting more comfortable with it. I'm not disappointed at leaving the physical keyboard of the TyTnII/Kaiser behind -- not one bit.

Enjoying the beautiful sunny blue sky by the bay at Seaport Village in San Diego Friday afternoon, the screen on the Incredible was pretty much unreadable. That is a bit unfortunate, but using one's hand, and/or finding a bit of shade, is an acceptable compromise for me in an otherwise dynamite mobile device.

I would absolutely buy this phone again, and unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone looking for a new smartphone. I am exceedingly happy with both the phone and with Verizon signal and 3G broadband.