Galaxy Note 4 - Color Matters!

When it comes to cell phones, we are a divided family. My husband is a die-hard Android user, while I'm fairly enamored with my iPhone.

More than a phone, the mobile functions as an auxiliary brain-bucket: a place to store ideas, research, and play.

It's up close and personal, I mean: it's in your front pocket. Color matters!

I noticed a few years ago, our phones would start "acting up" whenever there's a new kid on the block. Sometimes they even jump into the washing machine or a plate of curry...

The recent release of the iPhone 6 and Galaxy Note 4 is no exception, only more painful as the release dates are only one month apart.

Even though I can hardly tolerate one more minute trapped on 3G with my 4s, upgrading the Galaxy Note II took precedence when that device lost the ability to receive or place calls. 

Yes, we keep stuff for a long time - including the carrier. We've been with AT&T Cingular for 14 uneventful years - until a few months ago when we switched to a Mobile Share Value Plan. 

The upgrade options online were unclear, and covered in fine print. I called customer service rather than risk an expensive mistake, and placed an order for a black Samsung Galaxy Note 4 on launch day: Oct 17th. 

My husband bounced out the door with his new toy on Oct 23rd. 

Imagine my dismay that night when I finally laid eyes on the object of his desire: white.

"I didn't order white! I ordered black!"

"Oh, well, I thought you ordered white. That's not my first preference..."

Aside from the fact that it looks, well, feminine: white will most certainly be grubby grey within a month - my husband is a maker, he's always got "stuff" on his hands.

After too many phone calls and trips to the corporate store, we slowly came to realize: AT&T is out of stock of charcoal black.

While my husband embarks on his third adventure to a corporate store to return the dreaded WHITE Galaxy Note 4, I got to thinking: How did this happen? Did I screw up and not read the order confirmation?! 

Looking at the Samsung website, I discovered you can order directly from the manufacturer. The carrier and color are embedded in the product codes. For example, AT&T black is SM-N910AZKEATT; white is SM-N910AZWEATT. Verizon black is SM-N910VZKEVZW, etc.

Our email confirmation is for a "SMN910A" - the model number. The color is not identified.

Although AT&T doesn't do jack to help users determine availability, Samsung's website has a great page for searching by carrier:

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/all-products

All AT&T corporate stores in the East Bay are, indeed, out of stock, but you can purchase from Costco - if you have a Costco membership :/ 

AT&T euphemistically classifies the return as "buyer's remorse", and is graciously not charging a $36 re-stock fee - because I ordered black, not white, and that really is a different product.

Blogs and Bugs

I started this blog 7 years ago.

Contrary to the snarky definition on Urban Dictionary, my blog is not a "meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary". I spend quite a bit of time researching, composing, and editing my online journal entries.

The posts wax and wane depending on how buried I am with work, but even then: it's lovely to have a place to write that has nothing whatsoever to do with getting paid. I consciously chose not to monetize my blog; there are no ads, no click-thrus... 

I went completely private a couple of years ago after a) getting hit with spam comments from vendors and, b) receiving a few nasty emails from someone that I didn't know who was pissed off about getting updates about new posts.

I didn't have time to deal with the blog settings - but I kept on writing. 

I recently enabled public access as part of my job search with the intent of providing a portfolio piece that demonstrates ability to communicate effectively in a casual voice, a requirement in the age of social media. This led to spinning up a [failed] second blog dedicated to tech - and a few realizations inspired by the thoughtful posts by [published] writers on Twitter:

• Writing is a practice. Like playing music or dancing, you have to do "it" regularly or the skills atrophy.
• Writers need to write. Even though writing is time-consuming, and not necessarily fun, regardless of whether or not anyone reads what you have to say: writers needs to push the words out like birds need to fly and fish need to swim.
• Working on my resume resulted in being plagued by trite clichés.
• I terribly miss having an albeit limited captive audience, people who want to, and need to, read what I write.
• Muzzling what you write about for whatever reason - legal, political, or social - spills over and impacts the ability to write in general.

Words matter - and can have more than one meaning. Since a "bug" is an insect, or a concealed microphone, or something annoying - I feel fully justified folding the single post from the failed tech blog into boninthegarden.

Besides: it's my blog, and I'll write what I want to ;-)