David McNamee
08-12-2004, 06:11 PM
As if I haven't been busy enough lately with my new career, Ma Nature decides to have a little fun with the Carribbean and Gulf of Mexico. My state is about to get hit by two tropical systems. Tropical Storm Bonnie is headed for the panhandle. Hurricane Charley (http://weather.mgnetwork.com/cgi-bin/weatherIMD3/weather.cgi?user=TBO&alt=hurricane&hwvTemplate=hurricane/storms/tracker.html&hwvStorm=WTNT43) is headed right for my doorstep.
What has this got to do with Smartphones? A little. I've lived in the Bay Area (Tampa, not the other one!) my entire life - this isn't my first hurricane. I want to pass on a couple of cell phone tips for those of you living along the Gulf and Atlantic hurricane allies.
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Tip #1 Batteries - Having more than one cell phone battery right now is critically important. Those of you in mandatory evacuation zones are likely to be in a shelter that doesn't have nearly enough outlets to let you plug your phone in each night. If you have more than one battery, that condition won't bother you.
Try to conserve the battery power you do have. It will be tempting to surf the web for the latest weather info every ten minutes, or loop through the songs you've stored on an SD card. Resist the tempation. You may need that phone for other things later. Also, play with the phone's settings a bit to eek out battery life. Switch to a plain home screen if you have plug-ins, and set backligh timeouts as low as you can tolerate.
Tip #2 Getting Wet - Most of us down here are going to be out in the rain at some point. Getting your Smartphone soaked isn't going to help your mood any. If you haven't got a fancy water-tight case, use the next best thing: a ZipLock bag and masking tape. Put the phone in the bag, leaving the hands-free earpiece hanging out of the bag. Seal the bag, and use the masking tape to secure the seal and close any gaps caused by having the earpiece hanging out. It's cheap, ugly, and beats having a wet phone.
Tip #3 Land Lines - A few of you have switched to using your cell phones almost exclusively. Be sure that your land lines still work. This hurricane is going to be a major test for our cellular infrastructure. I have high hopes that it will perform well, but you never know. There could be a point in the next few days that land lines could be the only reliable form of communication.
Tip #4 Plan Where You'll Be - In case there is a communications failure, it is a very good idea to communicate with your family where meeting locations should be. This will save everyone a lot of panic and worry.
Be safe everyone!
What has this got to do with Smartphones? A little. I've lived in the Bay Area (Tampa, not the other one!) my entire life - this isn't my first hurricane. I want to pass on a couple of cell phone tips for those of you living along the Gulf and Atlantic hurricane allies.
<!>
Tip #1 Batteries - Having more than one cell phone battery right now is critically important. Those of you in mandatory evacuation zones are likely to be in a shelter that doesn't have nearly enough outlets to let you plug your phone in each night. If you have more than one battery, that condition won't bother you.
Try to conserve the battery power you do have. It will be tempting to surf the web for the latest weather info every ten minutes, or loop through the songs you've stored on an SD card. Resist the tempation. You may need that phone for other things later. Also, play with the phone's settings a bit to eek out battery life. Switch to a plain home screen if you have plug-ins, and set backligh timeouts as low as you can tolerate.
Tip #2 Getting Wet - Most of us down here are going to be out in the rain at some point. Getting your Smartphone soaked isn't going to help your mood any. If you haven't got a fancy water-tight case, use the next best thing: a ZipLock bag and masking tape. Put the phone in the bag, leaving the hands-free earpiece hanging out of the bag. Seal the bag, and use the masking tape to secure the seal and close any gaps caused by having the earpiece hanging out. It's cheap, ugly, and beats having a wet phone.
Tip #3 Land Lines - A few of you have switched to using your cell phones almost exclusively. Be sure that your land lines still work. This hurricane is going to be a major test for our cellular infrastructure. I have high hopes that it will perform well, but you never know. There could be a point in the next few days that land lines could be the only reliable form of communication.
Tip #4 Plan Where You'll Be - In case there is a communications failure, it is a very good idea to communicate with your family where meeting locations should be. This will save everyone a lot of panic and worry.
Be safe everyone!