Salty,

I read through your site. We aren't of the same faith, but I can see some similarities in philosophy.
Yep, you do have an opinion, but well written, and I also appreciate it's tone. Sometimes, things with a strong "faith" tilt tend to be written in a "shove it down your throat" model, which is off-putting.

Yours is well written and informative. Sure, it has it's own approach, but hey, this is (was?) America, so more power to you for pursuing the dream.

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Dude your in TEXAS.... your not an amazing person for living a lifestyle that has no reason for Technology. I am very baffled by how much attention you have got from your ****ty review. The Palm Pre is a badass phone and I Love to see it advertised, but this shameless "off the grid" stuff is amazingly ridiculous. Again, Your in TEXAS... not some forgotten state that does not have cell service. You act like you have NO technology around you, when you have laptops, Cell Service, Cable, TV (When you say you don't?), and much much more. Stop reporting bad information to try and make yourself famous on the internet. I live in Oregon and yes we have "ranches" that raise everything you have but don't claim as if your living in the middle of no where. Again your in the most obese, Biggest, and most rediculous State in American... of Course your going to get Cell Service and technology to "post on your blog" anywhere because oh wait, your in TEXAS.

I am not a troll... i love the Palm Pre and I truly wish I had one (I own a Google G1 and love it) but I also Love the Pre because its anti-Apple ****Phone. I only hate the shameless ****ty reviews acting like they are "out of Grid" badasses who are not even close to anything near it. Salty, Please stop writing reviews like your this amazing American who has nothing and "Technolgoy is some amazing thing you have to analyze to see if it really is worth it"... Your truly not


Another Concerned Reader?

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LOL. Here is another thing I hope they have in Oregon... PSYCHIATRY

Defensiveness is not just a river in Egypt.

Salty

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I live in Oregon as well, have all my life (I turn 55 on Friday, looking forward to FINALLY being able to have the option of looking at the honored citizen's menus). There is a certain independence to people who live out in the middle of nowhere, wherever it is. I recently visited your state, driving through Amarillo to San Antonio and over thru Houston on my way to Alabama. I found you review well thought out and very informative. One question I have, and may have missed it already, but do you carry your Pre in a case or any kind of protector? In the open like you are, I would be concered about incidental damage such as dropping or weather.

Thanks again for the review.

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I'm sorry, I JUST had to register after you made this snappy comeback.

WIN, I literally laughed out loud after reading your come back!

Before I registered I also had gone to a couple of your blogs, and read the whole "Surviving Off Off-Grid" book, well what you have written so far. I've personally been looking to doing the "off off" gird, and although I find a some of your views a bit extreme and "preachy"(I believe in living off the land, but not because some god tells me to).

Actually I find that most off off griders tend to use the fear total sociality collapse as a prime motivator, which I find ironic since one of the things your wrote about is that we are slave to our fears(M.I.C.E.). Whats wrong with promoting living "off off" gird living simply as a different, more independent, and in many ways better and healthier lifestyle, which has many pros(and cons).

I don't know, perhaps its just my ideology that their is nothing wrong with living with/surrounded by technology. Like you said, I am one of those people who see *most* technology as being morally neutral. The problem I see in our current social climate of the past 100 or so years is not the technology, but rather the fact that we've slowly given up our rights, slowly become more and more dependent on the "grid" of JIT food, shelter, and supplies. My opinion is this, its the dependency on the JIT "grid" which is the problem, not our technology(though I agree there is alot of pointless tech out there that removes us from the world, rather than allows us more time in it).

Anyways, that's just a little of my personal beliefs and rant on the matter. I enjoyed reading your review(and blogs), and while I don't see eye to eye on many of your opinions(on your blog, not the review), at least I can we can agree on this, getting away from dependency on the grid, becoming "doers", instead of the “do as you’re told” consumer culture, is the right direction to be looking in.

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I think someone is a WEEEE bit jealous

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You know this got put up on Engadget, right?

Palm Pre finds fan off the grid

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hehe, nice one, that guy is pathetic and should be banned, yes, you live in Texas, he lives in Oregon, and I live in Brazil, and I'm dying for the GSM version to be released.

I enjoyed your review a lot, and I have been reading it many of it, I was a bit concerned about battery life and the quality of the materials used, since I'm a heavy user, mainly internet, emails, calendar and lots of messaging(of all kind, SMS, MMS and MSN) and my Treo usually last only about 7-10 hours, sometimes less.

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How is being on the internet up to 8 hrs a day considered living "off the grid"? You seem to dislike consumerism and technology but watch TV on your Pre.

This whole story reaks of hypocrisy.

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Salty thats a great post and a good read.
One application (which I have nothing to do with) is Evernote, which as I understand has just been released for the Palm Pre. In fact much to the
dismay of Android users
If you have ever used OneNote it's kind of similar but allows you to syncronise your 'notebook' between several devices. You can also take photos and upload them as notes, it does character recognition too.
Might be something which helps in your day to day work particularly with your Pre
Mike

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New user here, too.. thanks for the great review and putting up with a couple bad apples. It was neat reading how you needed a tool but also couldn't help gushing about the entertainment features. There's nothing wrong with getting everything you can out of a tool! In fact that's what a tool is for. Imagine if you needed a different hammer for driving nails versus using a chisel. C'mon.

To those having a problem with his off-grid nature, I recommend you read up on what "off-grid" means. Read the Wikipedia article on it if that helps. I can't link to it since I'm a new user.

It does not mean "no tv" it means "not dependent upon utilities for your necessities." Salty doesn't need power, water, or gas from a utility, so guess what? He's off grid.

Maybe the not too bright are confusing "off-grid" with "Amish?" I'll admit the cadence is pretty similar.

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These people have no clue what "Off the Grid means" . My goodness. Sometimes its better to say nothing then to let everyone know how clueless you are.

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That and the fact people are forgetting this is a forum to critique and discuss the Palm Pre, not other people's life, much less offend it.

The guy made a post about how he uses the phone and how it fits his needs, people should discuss that and maybe compare it how it fits with their lives, instead on focusing on his personal life, and people should put in their heads that off-grid != amish.

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*sigh* i take it you have yet to look up the definition of off-grid?

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badaim12, Give him a break! Granted 45 acres in Texas might better be called a garden than a ranch, but Salty (Michael) is living the life he's writing about. Michael definitely does not "fit a mold" or stereotype - that means he thinks for himself and makes his own evaluations about what helps and does not help him in his life. His writing skills are also first-rate!

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So, just to clarify, no one from Palm nor anyone having any relationship with Palm contacted you prior to you writing this?

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The tone of the review seems very advertorial.

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Scott R., I have never been contacted ever by anyone from Palm, nor have I ever contacted Palm. Except maybe once back in the 90's when I had a problem with a handspring, but I can't remember. Neither have I been contacted by Palm since I wrote the review, even though I halfway hoped they would send me a T-shirt or maybe a Palm Pre for my wife (hint, hint).

Thank you for all of you who have been intelligent to look up the term "Off-Grid" to find out what it means.

As to the relentless and ridiculous charges of "hypocrisy", I have handled those charges adequately in the first two chapters of my free online book on Off-Grid living. You can find it at MichaelBunker.com

Thanks BClancy for pointing out that all I was trying to do was to give an honest review of my experiences after three weeks with the Pre, especially considering my unique needs and use of it. I do hope it helped some people. Apparently it got a lot of attention around the world.

I do hope to make a new thread discussing my experience with battery life, and I hope it doesn't make Newsweek or get me compared to ******.

Thank you,

Michael Bunker (Salty Off-Grid)

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to Salty Off-Grid for writing a mature and intelligent response.

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Living in Texas and having driven between Houston and El Paso at least two-dozen times in the past 20 years makes it obvious to me that the Oregonian who criticized Salty with such vitriol has never stepped foot in Texas, nor has he traveled through this great state. Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston all have pretty decent cell and EVDO coverage as they are large metropolitan areas, but in-between them all: not so much. I drive 76 miles to work each day, and out here (in the country), cell-phone and EVDO reception are only okay, and I'm still within 50 miles of Houston. Out West (between San Antonio and El Paso), things get sketchy especially away from I-10.

Salty: thanks for your great review and your updates to this thread. I hope Palm sends you a t-shirt at a minimum. lol.

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