Republic Wireless Trial

Happiness, everyone!

I have started a new journey by putting my iPhone aside for a little while and trying a new cellular service. This service is called Republic Wireless and their hallmarks are:

• Provide unlimited talk, text, and data services for $19/month
• Rely on community members to help each other with issues
• Use available WiFi access, when available, to place/receive phone calls
• Jump on the Sprint cellular network when necessary

I have only used the phone for three days, but I think the drawbacks are outweighed by the fact  the service is only $19 per month. More updates to come.

Check them out at: http://republicwireless.com

Update: March 31, 2013

It has been a month now living with a Republic Wireless phone and here are some of my thoughts…

• The Republic Wireless service has been rock-solid. I have had no more and no fewer dropped calls than I have ever experienced with either Verizon Wireless or AT&T Wireless. In fact, the dropped calls I have experienced have, usually, been in the same physical locations as with the big guys.
• Overall, the WiFi calling (which is really just VoIP) is not bad. At times it is better sounding than cellular service and, at other times, it sounds worse. It really comes down to the quality of the Internet connection.
• Speaking of WiFi availability, I am surprised how many places offer WiFi for free. One nice feature of Republic Wireless phones is they automatically sign in to many networks, e.g. AT&T WiFi.  At places like Home Depot – obviously not the kind of store in which it is easy to get cellular service – the WiFi service is absolutely necessary.
• The Motorola Defy XT phone is not too bad. It is not an iPhone and one should not expect it to perform as flawlessly as an iPhone. In another post I will list the handful of changes I made to the phone that makes it work much better.
• I am finding it somewhat difficult to keep my cellular use at 70% or less. The community-at-large is averaging around 50-51%. Obviously, my mobile phone usage is different than most others.

Would I suggest Republic wireless for others? Yes, definitely. In fact, I tend to be a walking advertisement for the service because I think it is mobile service done well and at the right price.

Interesting OS X Installer Fumble

Over the weekend I stumbled upon an interesting issue. While attempting to reinstall OS X on my MacBook Pro, the installer constantly threw an error at the last possible moment in the process. After much consideration I decided to attempt something a little strange. I removed on stick of memory and the installation process worked flawlessly.

After a bit more experimenting, it appears that if a Mac has more than 4GB RAM installed, the OS X installer seems to have issues and will error out. My speculation is that the installer (or a sub-process) is a 32-bit application that cannot correctly use any RAM above the 4GB limit.

Without a doubt, as we go forward, Apple is sure to address this situation and we will not have to work around the 4GB limit. But, in the meantime, if anyone out there finds it impossible to get through the OS X installation process and the media seems okay, I would suggest removing RAM down to the 4GB barrier and try again. If your experience is anything like mine, the installation process will work without issue.

After the operating system was installed, I put the remainder of the memory back into the computer (in my case bringing the machine back up to 8GB RAM) and everything works perfectly.

UPDATE: In July 2014, I had the opportunity to install a new hard drive in this very same computer and install the newest OS X 10.9 operating system. The installer issue has been fixed and the OS installs flawlessly without removing memory from the machine.