There’s no new sheriffs in town; it’s the same old ones, but they’ve found yet another revenue source. Everything is about revenue these days and local and state governments have decided that moving violations are a jackpot. In California, first time offenders caught talking on their phones are supposed to be fined $20, second offences $50, and radically higher after that. Truth is, with taxes, court costs, state and local what-evers tacked on, first offences are turning out to be $120 to $140, second ones pushing $200. Better buy that Bluetooth, and use it.

The thing is, a headset is fine for taking calls and talking, but just dialing a phone can be dangerous. And if you even think of trying to text or take a note, you’ve just fallen into the “Special Kind of Stupid” category. What’s a true Road Warrior to do?

Subscribe to DIAL2DO. Watch this:

Dial2Do Free Version will only let you call in reminders. But the pay version opens up an entire world of mobility and puts you in the “Special Kind of Brilliant” category. The service is $3.99p/m or $39.99p/y, but there is a 30 day free trial. Here’s what it can do:

• Create and listen to reminders
• Send, listen to, and reply to email
• Send texts
• Use Twitter, Facebook or Tumbler
• Contact Google Calendar, Expenser, Evernote and more
• Listen to Sports, News and Weather
• Record messages up to 30 seconds in length
• Instructions for setting up your account, commands, and contacts can be found on their FAQ page
• Downloadable apps for Android and Blackberry available

Stacked up against one or two of those tickets, this is a bargain. And you get to keep an eye on the speedo and your rear view mirror watching for Ol’ Smokey. Give it a try. It might make your day Just Another Mobile Monday.

DIAL2DO Home Here

Shortly after my previous post, I ran into a major snag with my idea not to travel with a laptop or netbook. Specifically, the WordPress app for the iPad is terrible. In addition to a confusing and hard to follow user interface:

– the app is terribly buggy and crash prone
– there is no easy way to add hyperlinks
– adding pictures does not work
– there is no way to add video easily
– there is no way to add bullets or numbered lists
– there is no way to add change fonts, colors, or otherwise format the text
– the app failed to properly identify the correct theme for JAMM

I could go on, but you get the point, I think. Posting from here is a real trial in patience and futility. I have not tested out JAMM’s online editor from my iPad yet, so that may be next. In the meantime, here is hoping for Windows Live Writer for iPad…

Today’s JAMM Store Deal of the Day is Guitar Suite for Windows mobile.  For today only, you can register Guitar Suite here for half the regular registration price.  Check out the details below!

The essential application for any guitar player. Panoramic Guitar Suite contains five essential screens: Chords, Scales, Digital Tuner, Tune by Ear, and a Metronome, making it a great and comprehensive aid for guitarists. Practice, reference or teach by accessing Guitar Suite’s library of over 25,000 popular chords. Visual feedback from the extremely accurate Metronome with variable tempo and meter, helps maintain a consistent tempo while practicing. Features: Contains a library of over 25,000 chords 50 scales 19 Guitar Tunings Easy hear any displayed chord Extremely accurate metronome with variable tempo and meter High precision digital tuner Finger friend “tune by ear” mode with support for all 19 tunings Free play mode allows you to finger tap any string or fret and play basic melodies Comprehensive scale display on play mode that works with any tuning Right and Left-handed layout option Seven (7) vibrant skins

Minimum Requirements: Windows Mobile Professional/Classic 5, 6, 6.1 or 6.5 (Touch Screen) – Works on any screen size – 4mb Display Dimensions 240×240, 240×320, 240×400, 320×240, 320×320, 400×240, 480×480, 480×640, 480×800, 640×480, 800×480 Operating System WM5, WM6, WM6.1, WM6.5

The rumors are flying like snow in a blizzard about what Apple might have up its sleeve for its April 8 announcement of the new iphone/iPod Touch/iPad operating system.  I have heard pretty much everything from video conferencing to printing to styling your hair in the morning.  But the rumor that has me intrigued the most is the possibility of background apps and multitasking.  Especially on the iPad.

One thing I have noticed since starting to use the iPad is that I tended to use the iPod Touch more like a phone or media player.  I treat the iPad a lot more like a computer, and it can be pretty hard to work on a computer when you have to shut down one app before you can open another.  a few quick examples:

• Checking email.  I should be able to check my inbox from anywhere, no matter what else I am doing
• Research.  If I am working on a document and need to check a fact, I should be able to pop open a browser without shutting down my document
• Music.  Sure, you can listen to iTunes while you do other things, but what about online radio stations like Pandora?

And that is just the tip of the iceberg.  I do not need full multitasking, but the ability to check my inbox, receive instant messages, and open the browser, without shutting down other apps would go a long way for me.  How about you?  What do you hope to see in Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 when the big announcement comes this Thursday.

I have a little experiment to conduct as I take my iPad through it’s paces. Tomorrow, I have to travel for work. Not a long trip, but still…a night in the hotel is a night in the hotel, no matter how you cut it.

After giving this a lot of thought, I decided to leave my net book at home. Yup, I will be traveling with nothing except my iPad ( and my phone). No computer and no strings attached. I am pretty excited about this, because I think the iPad will be more than capable of handling everything I might need to do. Of course, the proof is in the pudding…so I wrote this post straight from the free WordPress app on my iPad. Not too shabby.