Which is BETTER...?!?

[Image911]

Greetings. Whilst recovering from surgery to repair an exacerbated left meniscus tear (knee injury) suffered whilst attempting to make a rapid escape at a forest fire a few years ago... I've been forced to stay still, with my leg up and on ice... litterally. (Trust me, the first day following surgery - I learned... the hard way - when the doc says "STAY OFF YOUR FEET AND FIND SOMETHING TO DO..." he - or she - means it!) Anyhow, I have recently upgraded my Verizon Wireless Mogul (VX6800) to No2Chem's 5060 Mobile 6.1 ROM, and the 3.35.04 Radio (I was gonna upgrade even further, but I kept reading of more issues - and thought staying at these configurations was safer and more stable - for now).

Anyway, I have the latest versions of both ULTIMATE LAUNCH and PHONE ALARM loaded, along with a number of added programs (although none of them are currently active at boot-up). I've noticed a couple of things... living here in the New England countryside of Vermont - Verizon's cellular service sucks - BIG TIME!!! What's more, to be honest, if the need for a really reliable up-to-date cell phone device is what we desired... the VX6800 is NOT the piece of kit we needed... as it just doesn't have the reception and transmit design, regardless of how many times I've had the units replaced (this is my 5th in as many months) or have called to have the DMU switch reset. It's still the service that's not good - in this locale. One can only dial *228, and select option "2" just so many times before you realize it's not really doing much - as Verizon isn't doing very much (in our area). Of course, I'm safe to say that many of my fellow PPCGeekers have experienced the frustration of no to little bars in a majority of the convenient places in our homes or work locations... but, know a GREAT place for reliable reception along the route home (or, for that matter... have first-hand knowledge that the second tile just outside the guest bath, and a little to the left - is the ONLY place at home that we can get more than one bar). Sadly, Vermont is made worse - due to it's mountains and lack of line-of-site tower locations. Ah, progress. Can't live with it (as folks don't want to see the towers sticking above the tree tops - ruining the natural and undisturbed views of the countryside) and - can't live without it. That is my first drug-addled, A.D.D. enhanced mini-rant. Sorry. Like many, I've recently realized that I'm paying over $100 a month for service I have yet to enjoy the benefits of. (I will be calling my Verizon Rep to renegotiate my contract in the next few days, for sure!)

(Back on track... for a minute, at least...) What I've noticed is... that with ULTIMATE LAUNCH, if you are customizing it - it's not quite as user friendly as one would expect, as many programs I can access directly through the Programs directory - or via the Explorer folder - some won't load without an "error"... as in trying to put all GPS related programs and command on a single "page" - combining .exe files and today plug-ins - some just won't "take"... regardless of how your try and configure them. (afte a few hours of struggling - you simple resign yourself to the fact that in a few weeks , you'd have changed programs and won't care, anyhow... and - in the end, it wasn't meant to be. That said, I also find that, like many I've watched on YouTube (Wonderful venue, that...), we must make multiple swipes... and even resort to rebootin the devices... all in the name of making our lives easier.

Thus, it's gotten me thinking - despite the Tylenol and Codeine's foggy effects on my cognitive abilities (assuming I had a modicum amount prior to surgery). Of all the various personal assistants we add to our precious PDA phones... WHICH ONE is the BEST...?!? Regardless if it's free or costs a small ransom... if it works and is reliable, then it's priceless and worth every penny we paid for it!

Now, in addition to ULTIMATE LAUNCH and PHONE ALARM, I've also purchased various versions of TOTAL COMMANDER, rlTODAY, SPB MOBILE SHELL, as well as BatteryStatus... and I was wondering as I morphed my Today screen back and forth between installs and uninstallations... which one of these programs really IS the BEST... for:

Ease of Use... Reliable one-handed/thumbing responsiveness... Energy efficiency/Power consumption... Flexibility of Customization... yada, yada, yada (yes, once and for all... according to my Bubba, that IS the Jewish version of "blah, blah, blah").

As for COST, (time for mini-rant #2... apologies, yet again...) as I mentioned above - doesn't even matter, because - if it's "All That"... then, it surely is worth paying for (I could never understand the folks who complain because a desired program wasn't free - or inquired where they could scab a pirated copy. Leaches... every one! Free stuff is great, don't get me wrong... but, c'mon... if a guy spent weeks holed-up till the early hours hunched over his monitor creating a graphic or skin or program that you just can't live without... PAY THE MAN... or woman, as the case might be...!!! If not purchased directly from the developer, we can buy via handango.com - or some such source - often, for less than the price of a movie (not even taking into account the gas to get to the theater, parking and the customary and required large orange (flat) soda and Junior Mints).

Anyway... Thanks for your kind consideration and submissions. I know that a few others have mused about the same software concerns - and just figured it was more productive to "put it out there" and see what others thought, too.

Me...?! I have not a clue. UL seems okay, just not as responsive as I'd like. SPB's Shell has way too many added buttons - like with our Programs folder - that I either don't use or don't wish to have as an immediate access to. Some offer the latest Manilla-style theme, but the graphics are either too cartoony for my taste, or the clock face is too big, or the font isn't "viewer friendly". Either way - I thought it best to see what you folks thought.

Gotta go and change my ice packs... I'll check back with you, later. Thanks, again!

[rainfreak]

I used to only use HTC Home (and HHC Customizer) and called it done. Then I got an itch.

Now I have Ultimate Launch and rlToday running together. I also use Face Contacts for my speed dialing, as well as WeatherPanel. I have also begun to start making my own skins for rlToday, with the help of s2w and dissecting his skin.xml files, and see even more light at the end of the tunnel.

To be honest, IMO, I will keep messing with different themes and applicaiton combinations until the new touch Pro is released for Sprint. By then I will probably have exactly what I am looking for on my Mogul, and will start all over again on the Touch Pro.

But the real question is, can we ever get it exactly the way we want it, for good?

[matty032]

But the real question is, can we ever get it exactly the way we want it, for good?[/quote]

No!

[rainfreak]

Well I know I can't... but I have serious issues...

Glad to see there are others out there like me

[Image911]

I just tried TOTAL COMMANDER's latest incarnation... and I must fully agree with a recent poster on this server... it is a MAJOR MEMORY HOG...! Slowed my b'loved VX6800 WAY DOWN! Despite the neat large thumb-flicking friendliness... I'll do without! That was simple! and, sad. Anyone else out there "suffer" the same observations and fate?