Obama's Crackberry

One think I always liked about Obama was his use of his communication tools directly. He will probably be our first computer literate president and like so many of us, he is hopelessly dependent on his cell phone to give him his e-mail as soon as it is sent. While the question of whether or not we should hold our phones so close is important, for Barrack there are more pressing concerns.

For instance, he might have to give up his e-mailing. While a scary idea for even me, only mildly addicted, this might seriously destroy the way he works. The way that won his election for president. The way that I and so many others want his government to work.

Now the reason for all of this is the Presidential Records Act. It basically was made in order to preserve everything the president does in order that we might be able to have transparency in government as well as a nice historical record. Instead it has only made the White House all the more insular. Instead of opening up records it has only made the president more protective of what is written down. This is unhealthy.

If Obama really wants to change Washington he will set a new trend of allowing everything that he does to be seen by the public. While it might sound like overly loud language for me to say this, we have the right to his information. Not only that, if we want to have a fully functional government we have the need for it as well.

So Obama, I know you don't read my blog. I am just one voice crying out into the night, but I say keep your Blackberry. Leave a huge (figurative) paper trail. Ensure that we will spend the next 8 years looking at everything you do with a microscope. It will keep you on your toes and it will let us warn you if you start to drift away from what it is that we think is proper for our country.

My Phone

A few months ago I came into a Blackberry 8800. It is a nice smart phone with push mail and a decent calendar. It also has a GPS which I can use with Google Maps and a web browser that allows me handy access to the Internet. I am rarely without my phone. As my contact with the world and my nanny (that great calendar) I would be lost without it.

That said, I am not sure if I would like another smart phone again any time soon. There are many times I find myself wanting to create a .doc file or see a web site in flash. I know there is at least a program for me to have a BB version of Word, but is it worth the money when I would only use it every so often?

Because I have it I plan to use it to the best of its abilities, but I am already dreaming of my next technological step. I know this is the pitfall of a geeky guy, but hear me out. I think I would like a laptop that I could carry with me everywhere I go. Right now I have a nice 17' PowerBook G4, this is an awesome computer and I plan to make it work for me for the next several years. I don't run anything too fancy just Firefox and NeoOffice mostly, along with iTunes when I am not needing some quite, but I would like a smaller notebook that could go every where with me. Those MacBooks are looking really nice...

Now this might be the pipe dream but it is what I want. I would like a phone then with at least a 3G connection (none of this EDGE I have right now) and the ability to connect to my computer as a sort of modem. That way I can always be sure to connect my computer to the World even without a hotspot.

Until then my Blackberry and I will honor each other. We still have over a year and a half before we are done with each other.