Gadget Freak

Hi, my name is PhoneBoy, and I am a gadget freak. My office is littered with various kinds of electronic devices. VoIP? endpoints. Mobile phones. Computers. Cables. Lots of cables. Hubs. Switches. Various devices I’ve acquired over the years that I keep “just in case.” I’ve actually had to throw out a bunch of stuff recently so I could make room for more stuff.

Despite my natural gadget freak tendencies, I’ve tried to simplify. Since my job doesn’t require me to use so many computers anymore, I’ve disconnected most of them. There are two computers I use during the day. One of the computers is headless and I access it via a VNC variant. A third computer (my work computer) houses my work data, though I access the disk from the network, and that’s about it. I have an older laptop that I take downstairs that basically boots off of CD-Rom and the OS loads in RAM. It’s basically a web terminal and doesn’t store any data to speak of.

Another thing that is going to make my life simpler is that AT&T Wireless has basically enabled a bunch of roaming agreements and I’ll be able to take advantage of them without paying roaming charges. I am now able to “roam” on Cingular in the Seattle area, something I was never able to do before. I called a few of my co-workers in the San Francisco Bay Area and had them check if they could roam on Cingular. Sure enough, they could. That might eliminate the need for me to carry more than one phone. If they’ve enabled T-Mobile roaming around Mile Hill Drive in Port Orchard, then I really don’t need more than one phone.