When is the last time you took a minute to go unplugged?  I mean completely unplugged without phone, text, email, Facebook, Twitter, cable TV, Netflix, or even Internet.

I am in the middle of a move and found myself without internet access, a television, access to a newsfeed or blog, and I was LOST.  I am always connected to some type of device.  I do still have my handy iPhone but I was shut off to the rest of the world. 

Last night I went outside and sat down for about two hours with my family.  We did not do anything but talk about our upcoming vacation and the next school year.  It was really a nice thing to not be so attached.  Had we not been in the middle of a move and been at home we would have been on the internet, Facebook, or just surfing channels on tv.  After the two hours we of course found a way to get on Netflix and watch "Thor" but it was nice while it lasted.

Here is an interesting article about a college student's "Amish Project" to go unplugged.

Try it.  You might find it liberating.

All of my tech life I have been a Microsoft guy.  I mean let's face it; they support about 91% of the world's desktop computer workspace.  All of my computers, and even phones, that I have purchased have been Microsoft products.  When I first bought a Smartphone it was a Palm 700W, meaning a Windows phone.  I have since had a Blackberry and a Droid and now I have moved to the iPhone... and if you know me or my history this should come as a surprise.

I was not unhappy with my Droid but it had a bug.  When the latest release, Gingerbread, came out it would not illuminate the built-in keyboard on a consistent basis.  I researched this extensively to find out it was a bug in the latest release.  Well this bug drove me crazy.  You can't exactly type a text or email at night if you can't see the keyboard.  Verizon gave me the option of replacing it and I moved over to the dark side, THE iPHONE.

I hated to do this because I love my Windows platform but I felt like a change needed to be made.  After all, Windows phones were not selling and Blackberry has basically died.  Most of my friends have iPhones, as does my family, but I still resisted until two weeks ago.  Right out of the box it was easier.  The argument from Droid geeks is that the Droid is so customizable.  Yes, this is true however you don't need to customize the iPhone.  Why install a new browser when the first one is so much better?  I don't need another email client, this one just works.

The iPhone 4S is a 3G phone and so was my Droid but the iPhone is much faster.  It is more responsive in every area.  I turned off airplane mode and right away it found new emails.  This was a painful process with the Droid.  What about the battery?  The iPhone kills the Droid and any Droid user will tell you that.  Over the Christmas holiday I hardly received any emails, texts, or phone calls.  I left the phone alone and it went for almost 4 days on standby.  Let's see a Droid do that.

For all of you Droid users, don't think about it just swap.  For the Blackberry guys, the browser alone is worth the move.  The only thing not so great is the maps.  The Droid phone is much better for maps, however that is a small price to pay.

I don't know what is next.  I don't expect an iMac on my desk anytime soon but the iPhone is great.

Before the dawn of the Smartphone there were handheld and mobile GPS (Global Positioning System) devices.  Companies like Garmin and Tom-Tom thrived in the new market of location-based guidance services and although exciting in itself, that technology has grown to become much more than just turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

With the introduction of handheld devices like Blackberry, iPhone, and Android, companies took GPS to the next level.  Have you noticed when you are playing the newest episode of "Angry Birds" that every once in a while an ad will appear?  The advertisement may say "Starbucks Coffee, Buy One Get One Free", and you are sitting in a Starbucks.

Remember when you first powered on your new Smartphone?  There was a setup question that asked if you wanted to enable "location services." Well, by answering "yes", companies like Verizon, Google, RIM, Apple, and thousands more are able to see where you are every minute of the day.  It's true, Google actually knows that you are sitting in Starbucks at this very moment, either by GPS signal via 3G/4G, or by utilizing a site's Wi-Fi network.  In fact, over 28 percent of adults use location-based services every day.

Twelve percent of Smartphone owners use geo-social services (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn) so that their locations are automatically included in their posts on those services, and as many as 55 percent use their Smartphones for getting directions and recommendations based on current locations.  Want to know what great restaurants are nearby? What about the nearest movie theater and what they are showing?  Simply use any one of 12 million apps and you can see what points of interest are near you.  As the industry evolves, some apps even include coupon codes for sales that are going on at nearby retailers.

These location-based apps can also be used for other reasons aside from entertainment.  Just recently a local law enforcement agency was able to place a suspect on the scene of a homicide by his Smartphone.  Apparently his phone connected to a neighboring Wi-Fi network and posted his exact location.  There is no denying he was there, when technology says so.

All in all today's location services are evolving to make life much more convenient.  Just be mindful of what services you use.  You never know who's watching.