Why I Left #Cricket After 10 Years

Today marks a milestone for me.  As complicated as I can be, at times I can be quite simple.  For example, I can be extremely repetitive.  I can eat at the same restaurant every single day if I chose. I can do the same things over and over and it not bother me, etc. Thus is the case with my cell phone company.  Or should I say my former cell phone company.

I had been with Cricket for over 10 years.  In all my years, I had rarely experienced dropped calls or reception issues.  While others may claim the opposite, for me, it had always worked.  Aside from that, the price was right too.  I was always amused to hear people complain that their phone bill was over $200 or even $300.  I would always tell those people the same exact thing.  "Why?  I only pay $60 a month for everything unlimited with Cricket."

If you had read my previous blog you would have read about my recent experience with my phone woes.  To make a long story short I tried to do a workaround from having to buy an additional data plan.  The idea was to copy my SIM card and put it into a USB hotspot I bought online.  I purchased an additional SIM and it did not work with the hotspot.  I did not know buying a new SIM deactivated the old SIM.  I was defeated so I gave up.  I then put the new SIM into my phone and the phone would not recognize it  There is a more detailed description in my previous entry.

Basically, I felt the gentleman at the Cricket store did nothing to help me.  Granted the company did not put me into this predicament, however if I buy a new SIM card and it doesn't work, a good company would do everything within their power to make sure I did not walk out without a working device.  The man I dealt with did not seem to care.

So I went 3 days without a working cell phone- each day growing more and more upset.

I had spoken with a friend of mine about the entire ordeal and they brought up a good point.  They said "You were with the company for over 10 years, and they treat you like that?  That would be unacceptable to me and I would have left them."

I thought, "You know what?  He's right."

As much as I did not want to leave the company I really had no choice,  I needed a phone and it was clear that they could not help me.  The phone I had been using worked just fine and had been using it for almost a year.  If I had never bought a new SIM card it would have still worked so there was principal to not buy a completely new phone cause Cricket's SIM card did not work with it.

I had gone to T-Mobile and explained my situation.  The man whom I spoke to was amazed by my story and that I had spent 10 years with the carrier.  He told me that T-Mobile would not treat me the way Cricket did.

So all-in-all I left Cricket.  I did not want to but like I said, I had no choice.  I am a man of principal and of course, of habit.  I like the service but I deserved better.

I guess I am too loyal for my own good.  Knowing me, if they offered me a good phone (not the cheap ones) I would go back but that is unlikely to happen.  I could chalk up as a misunderstanding IF they at least attempted to make things right.  However I am sorry to say that did not happen.

On to new avenues.

Talking Car Project Entry #7: Temporary Failure

Today I had a package come in the mail I had been waiting on. To sum it up, I wanted to try and prevent having to tether my phone to the car for internet access.  I wanted to give the car its own 3G access.  I purchased a 3G USB stick that has a slot for a sim card.

I got the idea in my head to buy one of these devices.  I figured I would just buy another SIM card from my carrier so I can essentially give my car 3G access without being tethered to my phone.  I ordered the device and waited.  In the meantime I had gone to my carrier and asked them a few questions.

They told me that they did not allow that sort of thing.  I noticed that this carrier is kind of touchy when it comes to their SIM cards.  It was really odd.  When I say touchy I mean they are not quick to give customers new SIM cards and ask for the old SIMS back if they can get them.

Having said that I had an idea of just going in and purchasing a new SIM without providing my older one.  So when the 3G USB device came in the mail, that was exactly what I had done. However when I bought the new SIM card and put it in my phone, it did not work.  The employee at the carrier told me, "It probably won't work with this phone since this phone is not originally from our company".

To be honest it annoyed me because he was talking to me as if I did not know anything.  I told him "Interesting, I wonder how in the world I have been using it for the passed year."  He did not say anything.

He then said "Sometimes it doesn't work with rooted devices.  You have to bring your phone back to it's original state".  That equally annoyed me and said "Yeah, that isn't happening."  I took the phone home to try and figure it out for myself.  Upon arriving at home I couldn't get my mobile network to work with my new SIM card in my phone so I decided I was just going to chalk it up as a loss and popped back in my old SIM card.  It appears that SIM did not work either.  So even if I had gotten the new SIM to work, it deactivated the old SIM card so the initial idea would have been doomed to fail from the beginning.

I took my phone back to the cell phone store and asked them to reprogram my old SIM card.  The condescending employee informed me that once a SIM is deactivated, it can never be reactivated again.  So I said "So now what?  I am left without a working cell phone?"  He gave me a "It isn't my problem" kind of looks.  By this time, my annoyance was really high and the employee did not make matters any better.  I would have been understanding the situation being what it was, but him being condescending to me really made me angry.

I will have to figure out my phone situation tomorrow.

So I have temporarily failed and now instead of spending the little time I have working on the project on a weeknight, I am fixing my phone issue.

This project is delayed but not dead in the water.  I figured the risk of doing all this was worth it.  In the end, I am out $10 and a working cell phone at the moment.  Still, had the idea been successful, the risk would have been worth it.  I will no doubt resolve my phone issue tomorrow, it is just an unnecessary thing I have to do.  Oh well, that's what I get for thinking outside the box.

Talking Car Project #6: Stereo Rooted With New Rom

I knew once I hit my stride that things would be flowing at a more steady pace.  The stereo is going to be the brain of the car and how it will be able to speak, accept, and execute commands.  The way this works is by using specific apps within the Android platform.  However the version of Android that it came with the stereo from the factory was not very good.  Aside from that, for my needs I needed the device to be rooted so I could take full advantage of the device and how it controls my vehicle.

I knew what I had would not work since the system had many app crashes.  So, I did what I have done countless others of times.  I did an absurd amount of reading on how to root the stereo so I would not brick it.   Finally,  I learned that I had to root the stereo a specific way with a specific firmware.  If I was off in my calculations or firmware version, it would have bricked it.  If I choose the correct firmware but had the incorrect resolution, I would brick it.  Needless-to-say that was not an option since I have been waiting to pull off this project for a very long time.

I guess you can say I figured it out.

Talking Car Project Entry #5: Ready To Begin

I have reached a much-needed milestone.  This project became an idea in my head well over a year ago.  Little did I know that one day I would be proactive in making it a reality.  I have to admit, I have had many trials and tribulations to get to this point.  However I know that was nothing compared to what lies ahead.  Hell, technically I haven't even made one line of code as of this moment.

No worries though, I have worked most of it out inside my head.  I just had to get everything squared away first before I could begin.




Up next, now I have to root the stereo so I can put the apps I need on it.

Talking Car Project Entry #4: Frustration And Delays

If someone were to ask me my greatest weakness, the answer would be simple.  I want things to swiftly happen and at my pace.  I have always said that the world move entirely too slow for me.  If my brain functions 100 miles per second, it is understandable that I also want life to move at an equal pace.

I have been delayed on getting started with the actual coding and programming of the project until i get the cosmetics squared away.  For the first 2 weeks after getting the stereo installed (which will be the cars brain so-to-speak) I had ran into issues with my reverse camera and also my front-facing camera as well.

I had finally gotten those issues squared away and resolved, and my last cosmetic task was to get the dash kit installed to make it look the right way.  While I waited for my dash and bezel to be shipped, it has an awful gap on both sides of the stereo.  The first bezel I purchased on Amazon did not work. Aggravated, I went to Custom Sounds and purchased the correct one.

The man told me "This will fit, it fits all double din radio."  Needless to say, when it arrived 2 days late, it did not fit.  So naturally, I was upset.  The fabricator suggested that I deal with it and leave the gaps in the dash.  I sternly gave him a "hell no".

So now here I am again, waiting.  I reached out to the manufacturer whom I purchased the stereo from and asked them to send me a different model.  Told them I would send back my stereo and pay the difference.

The problem is, this company is in China and I have already experienced a mass amount of incompetence from this company.  I. Am. Not. Happy.

I refuse to get started on the coding and programming of this project until it looks right.  I am quite relieved I did this because had I jumped the gun and rooted the stereo, and began... it would have been a loss to be since the warranty would have been voided.

I am here, and my project is delayed another few weeks until I receive the new head unit.

Again....

I.  Am.  Not.  Happy.

Talking Car Project: Entry #3 External Sound

I had purchased an external PA speaker that came in the mail.  I figured, in theory this should work.  The goal of this is to get the car to talk outside the car upon command.  To accomplish this I purchased a PA speaker with a 3.5 jack at the end of it.  I would then plug in a bluetooth adapter that would essentially make the speaker have bluetooth capabilities.

I also wanted it to where I would also speak through the microphone array I have connected to my stereo to also come out the external speaker upon command.  It is obvious that I would not want all audio from stereo or my microphone to come out externally, this is why giving it bluetooth was ideal so I could control what comes out the external speakers.

Granted I still have much work to do in regards to this project and much coding/programming however this is way cool.  I have other priorities so I cannot test, mount, and configure it just yet.

This is getting interesting.

Talking Car Project: Entry #2

I cannot say just how surreal this is for me.  I am slowly gaining traction on a project I have wanted to do for what seems like years.

If anyone has read my previous entries or have followed me on social media, you will probably know that I have been adapt in making my home smart.  I have demonstrated my smart home on numerous occasions.  One day, I was showing a friend of mine a famous video of a guy who is demonstrating what his smart home is capable of.

This video served as an inspiration for me and what I wanted my Smart Home to be able to do.  However by the time I was showing my friend the video, it wasn't so impressive to me since my home can do almost everything in the video.  I then had a realization, why can't my vehicle be smart?  I am not always at home.  What if I could have a vehicle that could be automated and smart?

The idea swirled in my head.  After all, the notion of a smart car is nothing new.  In fact the hit TV show Knight Rider had a smart car in it.  So the notion of a smart car is nothing really new, however oddly enough not many people have ever attempted to make one.

So I decided I was going to get me a smart car.  The main question I asked myself before I proceeded any further from the planning stage was, "could I pull this off?"

I did some research and to make a long story short....

yes.

More details to come in future post.

Falling In Love With Artificial Intelligence

I came across a trailer for an upcoming movie called “Her”.  It is the story of a depressed man who falls in love with his artificial intelligent computer.  I myself am a strong advocate of artificial intelligence and even I have had a few friends joke here and there making fun of me that one day I will start a relationship with a computer.

I have never had any interest in artificial intelligence in such a way.  I have never had any interest in any sort of sexual gratification with A.I., however that does not mean that everyone will share my opinions.  One day, there will be people who have long lasting relationships with machines.  One day, people will fall in love, have sex, and do any and everything that they do with regular humans except they will do these things with machines. Here is the trailer for the movie "Her".

Personally, if technology was so advanced that this was possible in 2014 I don’t think I would be very interested.  I am merely interested in A.I. to make my life more simple,  (Even though it is a highly complicated process) not to start a relationship.

When that day does finally arrive, how will most humans react to such a thing?  Humans having sex with robots?  Sounds kind of creepy but it is definitely coming one day.  These sort of things are already in the works.

I guess the people who are not interested in a virtual companion will have to reserve judgment to those people who choose to partake in it.

Thanksgiving Recoperation

So it has been a few days and I have been away for a while.  Well, not really away, it was more like taking a small break.  This week in general was somewhat not a normal week with it being the Thanksgiving holiday and all.  So, I decided to take it easy and step away from my normal routine.  Tonight, I decided that I would take in a movie.  I was rummaging through Netflix when I saw a movie about a man and a robot.

Intrigued, I read up on it and apparently, it was about a retired cat burgler who is given a robot from his son.  Things start to get interesting when he begins to come out of retirement and begins treating the robot as a partner in crime versus a common butler.

I was very amused by this film and I highly suggest it to anyone who has Netflix.  I will not ruin the movie.  However I will say that the man did not like the robot in the beginning but over the course of the movie he began to see the robot as an actual friend.  It was somewhat predictable that the man would have to make some sort of moral decision in regards to his new-found feelings for this being but overall, I enjoyed it very much.

Denise On My Phone

Today I decided that I would work on some other projects to help pass the time since I am still waiting on some of my equipment to arrive for my home automation project.  The other day I re-addressed an old project that I started in 2012 when I got Denise to interact with me via Skype.  This meant that she would be able to communicate with me through my cell phone.  This was something that a lot of users desired since there is no Apple or Android API for the program.  If I were to eventually get an entity as close to the real Jarvis as I can, this was something that I had to accomplish.

The problem was that a lot of the users on the forum had mentioned that this method no longer worked.  So I downloaded a virtual webcam called Manycam, that way when I called Denise via Skype, I could see her face.  Long ago I had created Denise her own Skype account so I logged in and set the settings to automatically answer calls with video and I selected Manycam as the default webcam.

The first initial test did not go so well since I was not in a quiet enough environment to interact with her.  The speech recognition kept getting compromised.  After some trial and error I finally got my audio levels correct and she interacted with me.  It was sluggish but technically worked.  I am going to continue to get this project to work without a hitch and then will present it to the forum community.