|
|
Futile Resistance: I Got An iPhoneWhen coworkers started getting iPhone, and I saw how cool it was once actually in hand, I kept telling myself "no phone is worth $600." Being the kind of person I am, there was no way I'd be getting the smaller 4GB version if I did get one, but at the same time I'm practical enough to realize that $600 is just a lot to ask for a piece of technology which is almost guaranteed to recycle in 2 years.
However, Steve Jobs came along and said, "$600? Too high? Okay, $400!" (Of course he didn't say in those words, but it's pretty much the gist.) I went to the Apple Store online and found a refurbished one for $350, and I couldn't resist anymore. Whipped out the plastic and got it put on a FedEx truck.
It took me all day the first day to figure out how to get my corporate e-mail to work on the iPhone. Our IT department doesn't officially support the iPhone, at least not for non-executive workers like myself. However, it's working great, and without circumventing my company's security either. (I love reading about people that forward their corporate e-mails to free web accounts that have poor security... like the guy from MediaDefender, RIAA's internet piracy watchdog partner, that has all of his e-mails posted on torrent sites due to his forwarding to gmail and a poor choice of password.)
On the second day, I decided I needed one of the Belkin iPhone Headphone Adapters so I could use my generic brand cassette tape adapter with the iPhone in iPod mode. Unfortunately, our retail store at work didn't have them stocked and I really didn't feel like waiting nor paying shipping, so I went online and found them at a local RadioShack. I went to the store and they didn't know what I was talking about, said they didn't carry anything for iPhone. So I whipped out my iPhone, went to RadioShack's website, looked up the product, gave them the catalog number, and showed them where it said the product was in stock at their very store. I got my product shortly thereafter.
I've played around with Nullriver's Installer App, adding a few games and other toys to my iPhone. I don't spend a lot of time with that yet, though, and I must say that I'm a little disappointed at the game selection thusfar. I'm going to keep my old deactivated phone around just for the sake of playing Boggle at the laundromat in events that EDGE network web surfing doesn't amuse me for 2 hours. I've also played with programs to add ringtones, but because I plug the iPhone into multiple machines (it's actually mainly synced to my work machine), I have to copy my ringtones over to my work machine to have them sync and stay properly because when it auto-syncs it wipes anything out that I added at home, for better or worse.
Overall, I'm very glad with the purchase. The AT&T reception is much better than Verizon here. The iPod quality is awesome -- in fact, I'd say the sound quality is better than my 4th Generation iPod 60GB. The multi-touch screen keyboard takes getting used to but overall is very intuitive and easy to use. Another great product, Apple, bravo!
16 Sep 2007 - 11:41 by DMSMac |
Category: Apple
| comments
(26) |
|
It's Truly The Small Things...It's said that it's the small things in life which make us happiest. For me, something ridiculously simple put a smile on my face tonight: Ralph's, the local grocery store chain, is carrying gallon jugs of Sweetened Iced Tea -- southern-style sweet tea which I got used to -- nay, addicted to -- during my months living in Virginia before moving to Los Angeles. It's not quite as ubiquitous as in Virginia, where I could buy sweet tea by the cup or the gallon at McDonald's, but Ralph's is a fair start.
On the flipside of things, one thing has me scratching my head -- recently on the radio, I've been hearing advertisements for a new dating site: potpartner.com. The commercial talks about people who have "420ing" in common, and one of the fictional girls is named -- wait for it... -- Mary Jayne.
How does a radio station get away with broadcasting that? The radio jockey was even making fun of it, saying that he was going to go to methheads.com to find his dream date. It's not quite but almost promoting drug use, and you'd think that wouldn't be allowed on the airwaves. Aside that, wouldn't a site like that perhaps help people that aren't doing it yet merely by the fact they don't know dealers to perhaps network with people that can help them? Or, what's to stop cops from joining and just trying to take down people, hoping perhaps when they meet for their "date" that the moron will have enough on them to lift the charge from possession to trafficking? It has to be the dumbest idea I've ever heard for a website, particularly one to so publically advertise...
8 Jul 2007 - 19:39 by DMSMac |
Category: General
| comments
(13) |
|
Review: Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver SurferThe short review of Fantastic Four: it wasn't as good as the original, but it was pretty good I thought. Great special effects, the Silver Surfer was very well done, but I thought that the story was a bit lacking in comparison with how the original movie unfolded. To tell you the truth, there's not much else I can think of saying. This is one of those movies that doesn't demand a lot of thought, you just sit back, turn off your brain, and enjoy the mindlessness of an impractical comic book world. It's a good way to spend an afternoon if you're otherwise bored.
1 Jul 2007 - 20:22 by DMSMac |
Category: Movies
| comments
(3) |
|
iWant iPhoneThe problem with Apple products is that, despite any limitations they have, they look so cool and are so excellently hyped that you want them no matter what. Reviewers are hard to trust one way or the other, because Apple's good at getting even the most discerning reviewers to buy into their reality distortion field effect -- basically, they can convince people that a negative is a positive and is even a feature. For instance, some hardcore mobile web surfers criticize the lack of 3G cellular service, but Apple says they did it because of battery life and due to lack of availability in the majority of service areas (although it's a debatable assertion as you'd think most iPhone heavy users are going to be in major 3G-enabled metro areas, but I digress) and suddenly it's a feature designed to please people.
I've come close several times to putting digits into Apple Store's website to order one. My Verizon contract expired back in December, and I've been paying month-to-month and avoided getting a new cell phone (I'm using a 3 year old LG phone at this point) because the iPhone hype started a few months before MacWorld San Franscisco back in January and I didn't want to risk being under contract with Verizon before seeing it. After it was unveiled in January, I said I couldn't get a new phone without getting to experience the iPhone first.
there are only a few things keeping me from finalizing an order:
• Cost: $499-$599 is steep for a cell phone, no matter how many features.
• Lack Of Protection Plans: The AppleCare packages for iPhone haven't been unveiled yet. Apple's never had accidental damage protection plans, at least not that I can remember, and I'd be curious to see whether iPhone will have one. As it stands, AT&T won't cover the phone under their normal handset insurance plans.
• EDGE Network: I haven't quite bought into the anti-3G argument Apple's provided.
• AT&T Network: I don't know how it is in Los Angeles, but back east in the greater NY area, Verizon's coverage kicked AT&T's ass. Plus, my family are all on Verizon, so with Verizon I get free in-network calling. My family is thinking of switching carriers -- not because of the iPhone but because Verizon's handling of defective LG Chocolate phones (oddly enough, in googling quickly to see if there were other complaints about Chocolate, I found this comment on a blog post which I'd swear is written by my brother, sounds like their exact story -- and if it is, I think he's drank a bit much of that iPhone kool-aid, he should've left off the last paragraph) -- so if they switch to AT&T, then I guess iPhone will become more attractive. So I guess this could be both a pro and a con.
• No Keypad + No Voice Dialing: Since you can't voice dial, you have to dial by keypad. But there's no tactile keypad, so this makes dialing without looking -- for instance, while driving -- near-impossible ... either that or makes you a road hazard.
Overall though... I still want it. I just have to justify it first and get over my minor apprehensions.
1 Jul 2007 - 10:54 by DMSMac |
Category: Apple
| comments
(5) |
|
Hazard Lights Excuse All LawsDid you know that in Los Angeles, apparently if you turn on your car's hazard lights, you're exempt from any and all parking laws? I wouldn't run this theory by the police, of course, but from general observation, it seems to be true. Getting home some days involves navigating a maze of double-parked-hazard-blinkers, especially fun if two park so close together that there's nearly no space to get through, and even better if they're both U-Haul or UPS truck type vehicles that you can't see around and you have to pray someone on the other side isn't about to come through the maze head-first at you.
Seriously, on a street full of apartment buildings where each apartment gets at least 2 parking spaces in the underground garages of the buildings and there's at least 14 guest spaces or so, there's no excuse for the street to be lined continuously with curb-parked vehicles anyway. If you live in an apartment, you shouldn't have more than 2 cars to park anyway, and if you do, then you've got too many people living in an apartment. I'd love to see a ban on curb-side parking on some of these streets... it'll never happen, but I'd love to see it.
1 Jul 2007 - 10:29 by DMSMac |
Category: General
| comments
(4) |
|
4 Hours of Web Training... My Butt HurtsI was asked about a week or so ago to do VMWare training for work. They're web courses and web certification tests. I know about virtualization in general, but the specific terms and product names that VMWare has I needed to brush up on -- no skipping the courses to take the tests, unfortunately. The first 4 of the 7 modules I needed to take were really quick -- 20 minute courses, 8-15 question tests, all well and good. Then... the last 3 courses were 50 minutes a piece. I've managed to pass all the tests, but now my butt hurts from sitting through all that. I probably should've taken breaks.
So what have I learned? Well, despite the fact that every PC I've ever used seems to be slow in some regard, apparently most servers out there are only being used to 5-10% of their potential. So the idea behind VMWare is to run multiple virtual servers on one piece of hardware to bring that utilization number up from 5-10% to 75-80%. Less hardware, more software is the battle cry!
It's actually really cool technology, though. If everything works as they say it does -- and I'd have to believe it must, considering they claim 90% of all Fortune 100 companies use their server products and they have over 20,000 corporate customers of whom over 80% use the servers in mission-critical production environments -- then it does seem like a rather elegant solution to achieve server efficiency and redundancy.
All in all, a useful training day.
23 Jun 2007 - 22:39 by DMSMac |
Category: Technology
| comments
(113) |
|
With a Name like Wasabi...I've been to the restaraunt before, the Sushi Bar known as Wasabi. However, tonight it occured to me I'd never had their a la carte sushi, but had always gone for lunch and gotten rolls.
So tonight I ordered a combo platter with some sushi pieces (tuna, salmon, shrimp, and yellowtail) as well as spicy tuna rolls. The spicy tuna rolls were just fine. The sushi... eh. I'm not sure, but I think the fish was previously frozen because it didn't have that "fresh" taste but it didn't taste bad either. However, it was hard to tell because they packed -- you guessed it! -- wasabi between the fish and rice. Now, I know a lot of sushi places do that to bind the pieces together, but they put a lot of wasabi in there. I ate the first piece and wasn't prepared for it, and I was downing Sapporo shortly thereafter to drown out the wasabi taste.
The sad thing is, I didn't say anything because I felt bad about pointing out that the food had too much wasabi because ... well, the place is named Wasabi, it probably should be expected. It wasn't bad, just not something I'd order again because I am not a huge wasabi fan. Still, most places err on the side of caution and either put the wasabi on the side or ask you if you want the wasabi inside or not when you order. Ah well, it's okay, was still a good dinner.
Now... home to my cartoons! LOL. I'm such a nerd...
16 Jun 2007 - 20:21 by DMSMac |
Category: General
| comments
(3) |
|
If Microsoft is The Devil, Bank of America is Their TwinLarge monopolistic style corporations are evil. Anyone that's ever snickered at an animated internet GIF of Bill Gates growing devil horns, or gotten way too much amusement out of pointing and laughing at Steve Ballmer's Monkey Dance video, will attest to that. However, Microsoft isn't bothering me at the immediate moment -- it's my bank that's bothering me.
(Before I go on with the bank complaint, a disclaimer regarding MS: I don't think everything Microsoft makes is intrinsically evil; just the way they set up their EULAs and purchasing programs is a bit evil in the overcomplication and squeeze every last ounce of cash out of the customer approach. I help sell plenty of Microsoft at work -- but every IT manager knows the pain of the phrase client access license. If you know what a CAL is, you know I'm right, I rest my case.)
Read More...
16 Jun 2007 - 17:33 by DMSMac |
Category: General
| comments
(11) |
|
Gametap is Awesome (and helped me find an unrelated problem!)I've had an issue lately with Unreal Tournament unexpectedly freezing up graphically, and then the sound getting distorted and weird on me. I tried updating to the latest OpenGL v3.4 renderer, upgrading my NVidia Forceware drivers, and updating my BIOS. Hasn't helped, and it happens so infrequently that I wasn't sure if it was a driver problem, hardware problem, software problem, or maybe even a power problem.
This morning, I got bored and decided to try out Gametap. Pretty interesting service, 900+ games, mostly classic arcade gems and older Sega games, available for $0.99 for the first month. I figured for $0.99 I could have some fun this month and if it's underutilized I'll just cancel in a few days. The selection is pretty good, but it did something for me that was unexpected -- helped me figure out why Unreal Tournament was crashing. It crashed the first time I ran it, and gave me a more detailed crash report than what Microsoft normally generates, and it led me to finding that Rogue Amoeba's AirFoil software was running its silent "instant hijack" process behind the scenes to hook into all open programs. I disabled it and it seems to have fixed everything.
Anyway, it's amazing the breadth of things on Gametap. Old 8-bit games like Castlevania and Contra, whole collection of Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog titles, tons of fighting games (great collection of Street Fighter arcade games), and a lot of fun edutainment software (Oregon Trail  ) I dunno if I'll end up keeping it forever, but it has been a fun diversion today.
16 Jun 2007 - 17:02 by DMSMac |
Category: Gaming
| comments
(4) |
|
Thin Client Computing, or How I Just Spent Seven Weekend Hours WorkingI don't normally work at home, nor on weekends. For the most part, I really can't, since aside limited access to e-mail, I don't have the vital resources that the office intranet affords me. Half of me wants to ask for VPN privileges so I have those resources at home; the other half of me cringes at the thought of having those privileges and having others know I have those privileges (and thus increasing the off-hour workload).
One of the guys on the sales team I support asked me if I'd come up with a presentation on the bullet points of the advantages of switching a client of his from using PCs and CRT monitors to using Thin Clients and LCD monitors. It's a research project with so many variables and resources on the net that if I'd attempted to do it during work hours I'd have had people screaming at me for not doing other tasks, so it became a weekend project.
Read More...
10 Jun 2007 - 19:34 by DMSMac |
Category: Technology
| comments
(10) |
|
|
|
|
