what would david do?

A while back, I bought a book at a dollar store that was design specifically for my web addresses, usernames and passwords which I found very useful - for a while.

Essentially all it is, is an address/telephone book with a different cover but instead of saying name/phone it says url/username/password. Neat huh? No. What if Im in Starbucks (like there’s no other kind of coffee shop) and I come across a site which I need to register for, what do you think the chances are of me remembering to enter that information in my book at a later date? Clearly, if I had a memory that good I wouldn’t need a book in the first place.

Then theres the issue of where the book is from one day to the next. I know you are way more organized, right? You may even be one of those smart enough to use the same password for everything just so you dont forget it. Do I really need to go into why that is not such a smart idea?

Well recently I came across a program that promises to solve the issue of security and memory for all the websites that require usernames and passwords. Take a moment to tally up how many sites you use that need these super secret details:

flickr, myspace, facebook, napp, usps, apple, adobe, forums, blogs,  your bank, my bank, this club, that club, yahoo, msn, amazon, barnes+noble, b and h, every online store, etc., etc.

The list is phenomenal. Granted, some are more important than others, until you cant remember the one you need RIGHT NOW!, then they are all important.

More to the point, some of them need to be more secure than others. Your bank will tell you that “flopsy” - the name of your first pet rabbit - is not secure because it requires some numbers. So you come up with “flopsy123″ or wait, “f10psy”. Now you’ve fooled the hacks right? Realize this, hackers may be nerds but they are very smart nerds and f10psy just aint gonna cut it.
Enter the realm of 1Password by Agile Web Solutions

1Password - your key to online password security

1Password is really a quite simple interface but in case you get stuck, the online help is extremely useful and setup is a breeze. Essentially what it will do is attach a shortcut to your web browsers - all of them, which will allow you to save the username and password of the places you visit.

That takes care of the little book, but wait, theres more. When you register at a new site, it will ask you if you want to save the login data in 1Password, even if 1Password is not running! Heck, you dont even have to think of a password, it will generate one for you and it will have nothing to do with your favorite pet or your birthday. Now that saves you time right there but you want to save more, so next time you know you are logging into fatbusters.com to record your latest losses simply select the preset from 1P on your browser and it will take care of going to the site, finding the login page and even presses the button for you. Sweet.

1Password is a Mac Only app and requires Tiger or Leopard and works with most modern browsers. I have no problems with it running on Safari 4 or Firefox 3. Get a 30 day trial of 1Password or just pony up $40. For more information check out the  video on this page.

The blog is called “what would david do”. Thats an inside joke, but today I heard something that I thought quite revealing.
In an interview with NPR, when asked about aging and his hands, Dave Bruebeck said

“The more you get to play, the better it is — just play as you can while you can,” Brubeck says. “I can’t wait for the next job so we can play.”

I like that. Referring to a job as play, which is hopefully what it should feel like no matter what we are doing. Sure, sometimes you can’t stand what you are doing and you may hate your boss even if you are self employed but ultimately one would hope that you are having fun doing it.
Play on.

So normally a header like that would be followed by a rant on how bad an experience I had with customer service.
On the contrary, Im quite pleased today. Im sitting at my “local”, which, if this were written by any other Englishman would mean The Pub, but mine is a Starbucks Coffee House and for the longest time Ive been frustrated, nay, outraged by the insane charges to get internet access. Lets face it, coffee is not cheap here so forking out another $10 for 24 hours of internet service has never been an option. Especially since that 24hrs runs like the LeMans circuit - it stops 24hrs after the start!.

It should be free internet for anyone buying a coffee, right?

Well, now Starbucks is switching from T-Mobile to AT+T but thats not the good news. If you frequent Starbucks at least once a month then get yourself a gift card,

register the gift card online and you will create an account for the wireless service at AT+T hotspots. That gives you 2hrs a day at the hotspots, plenty of time to surf and write blogs or do your college assignments.

Not only that, you will get free refills on regular coffee when you use the card. So not exactly free internet service but really not far off. Just as it should be.

Now for the customer service.

I couldnt log in to my account so I called the number on the screen for AT+T and aside from the fact that the guy spoke and understood english (US) he was very efficient and polite. Score one for AT+T
Then I went to get my free cuppa but was told that my card was’t registered. Well I didn’t want to mess up their “system” as they’ve obviously put lot of thought into this so I called 1-800-starbuc and again was met with a very cordial representative who verified the card was registered and for my trouble (a phone call) will be sending me some vouchers so I really do get my free coffee. Woohoo.

So the economy is down, perhaps all customer service teams have been instructed to try extra hard to retain what business they have left.

I wonder if I can get the Mocha Latte Java Chocolate Frappucino with whipped cream on those vouchers