brett's logjam

NOW it’s time to relax. (Taken on my iPhone, squee!)

The iPhone may be my first phone in years I don’t hate. And it might be the first one you don’t hate, too.

• The iPhone Dev Wiki
  Hacking the internals of the iPhone.
  (tags: iPhone development hacking)
• Pogue’s Awesome iPhone Period-Typing Shortcut
  Where he shares with you “the solution to one of the most annoying things, if not THE most annoying thing, about typing on the iPhone.”
  (tags: iPhone tips)
• Getting Photos from Lightroom to the iPhone
  Good overview of the (non-iPhoto) ways of getting photos onto the phone. I’m really happy at how it lets me take my best work with me - and how I can leave it on my desk as a very nice digital picture frame.
  (tags: iPhone photos iPhoto Lightroom photography)
• Apple Developer Connection - Web Development for iPhone
  Thank goodness.
  (tags: Safari iPhone development)
• The iPhone Works Without AT&T Service
  You just have to deactivate it quickly. (See the dev wiki, too.)
  (tags: iPhone AT&T service)
• The iPhone User Experience: A First Touch
  Tog’s review (a study in delight.)
  (tags: iPhone Usability)
• James Duncan Davidson: My iPhone Lists
  Good roundup of features.
  (tags: iPhone twitter review)
• 37signals Product Blog: Ta-da List for iPhone
  Good use of an existing, simple web service to provide a new iPhone app. (It’s what we’ve come to expect from 37 signals.)
  (tags: iPhone todo tada 37signals)
• The Official stevenf iPhone Review
  In depth, great points.
  (tags: iPhone cellphone review)
• New iPhone features (kottke.org)
  Comments section is really good.
  (tags: iPhone usability)
• Daring Fireball: iPhone First Impressions
  I’ve been pretty much glued to DF all week for iPhone news.
  (tags: iPhone usability design)
• Leather Folio For iPhone
  I think this is the one I want. (Hint, hint.)
  (tags: iPhone incase)
• Anyone have problems with Mail.APP and iPhone Sync? - Mac Forums
  I’m actually having this problem, too: I get prompted for my mail password on my Mac, and then the server refuses to accept it. (I confirmed others are having this problem on the server, too. I suspect multiple connection issues.)
  (tags: iPhone mail.app)
• iPhone RSS Reader
  Online iPhone RSS reader at reader.mac.com. (Only works on an iPhone, but calls up the safari RSS reader when you enter a feed. Suggestion: use the Google Reader RSS feed.)
  (tags: iPhone RSS Safari)
• iPhoneChat - iChat for iPhone in JavaScript
  AIM web client for the iPhone.
  (tags: iPhone AIM IM)
• iChess
  Sized for the iPhone. (There, now you have a game on the phone for when you’re bored.)
  (tags: iPhone games chess)
• Gas.app
  Find gas prices on your iPhone.
  (tags: iPhone dead-dinosaurs)
• mTwitter
  Mobile Twitter site. If they put it in a sans-serif font, I’d swear twitter was made for the iPhone. (I’m spending entirely too much time on twitter these days.)
  (tags: iPhone twitter)
• iPhonify: Google Reader
  A little hacky, but streamlines the Google Reader interface for the iPhone.
  (tags: iPhone GoogleReader RSS)
• iGiki_Mobile
  More games for the iPhone.
  (tags: iPhone games)
• iPhone Application List
  Site devoted to new iPhone applications.
  (tags: iPhone Applications)
• iPhone Apps Manager
  Hmmm. I think this is for those who keep cluttered bookmarks. (You sync your Safari bookmarks with your iPhone, which is a very nice touch.)
  (tags: iPhone Applications)
• i.del.icio.us
  (While not actually part of del.icio.us, this is nicely done.)
  (tags: iPhone del.icio.us)
• iPhone Network Test
  Okay, can we stop talking about how EDGE sucks now? SOME OF US BARELY HAVE CELL SERVICE. Stop waving your 3G around!
  (tags: iPhone network bandwidth)
• iTouch
  A game of reflexes.
  (tags: iPhone games)
• iPhone + flickr = iPhlickr
  iPhone flickr browser.
  (tags: iPhone photography flickr applications)
• Etelos on the iPhone
  Holy moly, CRM tools on the iPhone? Okay, NOW we’ve gone too far.
  (tags: iPhone CRM)
• Daring Fireball: Exchange Exchange
  On the iPhone/Exchange integration problem. I remember when blackberries were forbidden, too — until the right executive got one. Then BES got installed in a hurry.
  (tags: iPhone Exchange Mail IMAP Blackberry RIM)
• Web Shell
  On *my* wishlist? A terminal or SSH client for the iPhone. This one requires some python on the remote server, but it’s a start.
  (tags: iPhone SSH)

It’s always more fun when water’s involved.

• telekinesis - Google Code
  Remotely control your Mac through your iPhone. Would I kid a kidder? (Via DF.)
  (tags: iphone remote control Mac)

It’s funny what putting the “web in your pocket” (dirty!) makes you reconsider.

For example, Twitter. Before iPhone (BiP), it was undeniably cool to be able to text status updates to my website. Where am I? What am I doing? Just check my home page! Oh look, I’m downtown, taking pictures. Or mowing the lawn. Or driving to DC. Or driving from DC.

Wicked cool, I tell you. And for many users of Twitter, it really was, because the service would spit those updates right back out into a variety of places - SMS, IM, web, even email. But for folks like me, with normal, sane friends who do not need to know my every move, that’s not very useful.

I found that I very much enjoyed the minimalism of Twitter. 140 characters encourages you to post without having to think too much about it.

But there were a lot of things about it that I didn’t like, especially when they changed their badges so that you couldn’t publish private tweets somewhere else. (This was the infamous login problem on my homepage.) Why put it all somewhere else for the world to pick over with their APIs and fancy-schmancy web services … all because you like texting in the entries?

I’ve been hitting the mobile Twitter site on my iPhone this week, when finally it hit me. Why do I need this if 1) no one I know in real life uses it, and 2) I already have a blog? I can send out tweets blips all I want now that I have an actual web interface at my disposal!

(I dunno. Sometimes these things take a while for me to put together. )

Anyhow, I whipped up a template in Movable Type this afternoon to put these little blips into practice, using some of the twitter badge javascript to make things look the same. They’ll be where the tweets were (on the home page) but blips will show up in the logs, too. I’ve hidden them on the home page to keep things simple, but will have to figure out how to remove them from the individual archives later.

Right. As you were.

Here are all the phones I’ve used for more than one day:

• Nokia 8860
• Nokia 8260 (2 different ones)
• Sony Ericsson T68
• Audiovox VOX 8610
• Panasonic TX320
• Motorola C337
• LG 1010
• LG LX325
• LG 1100
• LG LX1200
• Kyocera Slider
• Nokia 3586i
• RIM Blackberry 6710
• RIM Blackberry 7230
• Motorola RAZR V3 (2 different ones)
• Motorola ROKR
• LG 5225
• Nokia 6030
• Nokia 6682 (2 of these)
• Samsung SYNC
• Samsung Wafer
• Apple iPhone

This list sadly only covers an 8 year period, and while it represents all major bands (TDMA, CDMA, GSM) on all major national U.S. carriers (AT&T Wireless, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, T-Mobile, Cingular, Alltel, and AT&T Mobility), there are very few phones on this list that I enjoyed.

Of those 22 phone models, there were 3 I was excited to get: the original Nokia 8860, the original Moto RAZR V3, and Apple’s iPhone. The allure of the RAZR wore off after a few months of living with the software - the physical device was fine, but the software took a lot of getting used to. Power management issues were the nail in this phone’s coffin; you could put a perfectly fine battery in one of them and get only a few minutes of use. The shape and form of the RAZR remains great, however, which is why it’s still out there.

I have nothing but good things to say about the Nokia 8860, 8260, and 6030; these are all small bar phones with decent to great battery life and great reception. The 8860 was years ahead of its time (and had the price tag to match.) I loved it.

Surprisingly, the 6682 was a good smartphone (if somewhat unwieldy and cumbersome) but it had a nasty habit of rejecting SIM cards and failing in the middle of trips. It actually turned out to be one of the worst phones I’ve used for precisely this reason.

The ROKR holds the distinction of being the worst phone I’ve used. Poor interface, poor reception, poor battery life; oi. This poor, poor phone. (Maybe I got a lemon, but I don’t hear anyone raving about this phone.)

The Panasonic and LG 5225 were also good phones, and most of the rest were fair to middling: adequate tools for the job, but not something I’d say you must go out and buy. I don’t think I’ll reminisce about any of them like I do the Nokia 8860/8260s.

Why am I telling you all this? Two reasons.

First, I boxed up most of these today and am sending them off to a cell phone recycling center. It feels good to jettison the clutter.

Second, when I say that iPhone is the nicest, most well-designed phone that I’ve ever owned, you have the proper context.

This weekend I decided to separate out the iPhone chatter on this site and put up an iPhone-centered weblog: Nobody Wants a Styl.us. It’s up for your enjoyment now.

(The name comes from a certain phrase uttered by Steve Jobs during his iPhone keynote, later remixed into a dance track. No, really.)

• ASCII by Jason Scott: When They Started Hating You
  Where Jason tries to figure out when a portion of software and application development started to truly hate its users.
  (tags: software development)

Fending off requests for donuts. Resistance may be futile.

Photograph from the Under the Redcoat program at Colonial Williamsburg, recreating the occupation of Williamsburg from June 25th to July 4th, 1781, by the British forces under General Lord Cornwallis.

This weekend is one of the larger summertime events, as historical reenactors from all over the country converge and declare martial law on Colonial Williamsburg. (Many folks come just to get arrested.)

Midnight deployment —
Our part of the job is done.
Testers, do your thing.

Post-deployment koan:
if no sleep equals no mind,
fire alarms still suck.

While not a fan of cluttering up my sig file with someone else’s site, the advice of five sentences actually seems to work well in practice. Who knew?

Every weekend before Independence Day, Williamsburg is invaded by His Majesty’s forces and placed under martial law.

Soldiers are everywhere.

(And I mean, everywhere.)

The town is turned into an armed camp, and townsfolk are arrested and subject to military justice.

Papers are tucked into the brims of hats, ready to be presented when requested. And they are requested a lot.

This weekend recreates the occupation of Williamsburg from June 25th to July 4th, 1781, by the British forces under General Lord Cornwallis.

The occupying army were not maurauders, and made efforts to win over the Colonists.

Some Loyalists even signed up for service.

It was, however, still an occupation. There is nothing trivial about martial law.

The presentation of the tyranny that led to the ‘Revolt of the Colonies’ is a startling reminder of what freedom is, by taking it away for a weekend.

Life goes on, but it is far, far different.

The re-enactors who converge on Williamsburg do a great job. They present the human side of the enemy in our national creation myth, and show that the American Revolution was fought not by monsters, but by honorable men.

They accurately portray the variety of forces that fought during the war, including the Hessian mercenaries:

And many of the British dragoon corps:

As well as many of the infantry regiments:

And all sides of the military are presented.

I should mention that it’s wickedly hot, they’re wearing wool, and they sleep in tents. We had a major thunderstorm roll through this year, too.

And by invading my peaceful town once a year, they remind us all of how tyranny looks, lest we forget.

More photos are available in my Under the Redcoat set on Flickr.

Migraine the size of Montana; I think I’m done for the day.

• Laws of Software Development
  An overview of the Laws of Software Development. Which Laws? ALL OF THEM.
  (tags: software laws)
• Create Backpack reminders via e-mail/SMS
  Parses inbound emails and drops them into Backpack. Nice.
  (tags: automated email reminders)
• Macworld: Feature: Securing your iPhone’s traffic
  On SSL and VPN features of the iPhone
  (tags: iPhone security VPN SSL packet sniffing)

Trip rearranges the DVDs to his satisfaction.

My first allergy test in 10 years came back… and all I’m allergic to now is dust mites. Dust mites. Not trees, or grass, or pollen, or mold, or any of the 75+ things I tested positive for back then.

Life is sometimes wonderful and ironic at the same time.

Sent to me from another parent:

“DVDs, like Tupperware, are not meant to be organized to our eyes.”

• Text of Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)
  “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
  (tags: advice)
• The Dilbert Blog: Career Advice
  Suprisingly (or not) good advice from Scott Adams.
  (tags: advice)
• Why does the syncing play Gossip with my contacts? (The Entourage Help Blog)
  On The Truth, and why information doesn’t quite flow as smoothly between Microsoft Mac applications as you might wish.
  (tags: addressbook sync iPhone entourage exchange outlook)
• ADC iPhone for Web Developers - Optimizing Web Applications and Content for iPhone
  Includes UI guidelines for the iPhone’s viewport.
  (tags: apple ui HIG usability css)

And that’s good enough for us.

Trip has recently learned how to ride on my shoulders. He’s not convinced that it’s the best way to get around, but it’s all right in moderation.

(Now that my father-in-law has an iPhone, hopefully pictures of me will become a little less rare. It’s difficult to remove one’s good camera when said camera is strapped in underneath a toddler.)

The sun sets over the Springfield Interchange in northern Virginia.

Reading about the Coke can redesign and agree: how did this make it past the suits? It’s beautiful.

You know, I thought teaching Trip to play “Marco Polo” this morning would be funny. Oops.

I appear to be paying for my mistake now.

Wondering why Outlook needs so much bandwidth to send files. (Is there no throttling?)

Catching up on my son’s exciting day. Exploding water mains! Inexplicable train delays! Mysterious girls at the library! Cookies with M&Ms!

I just got to work on a slow network connection all day.

Looking through the The Items We Carry pool on Flickr, I see an awful lot of Apple/VW crossover things.

Yeah, I threw my pockets into the pool, too:

(Via.)

Last August, a nor’easter dropped 10 inches of rain on Williamsburg, damaging the dam on Lake Powell. As a temporary measure, the water levels of the lake were lowered by 7 feet to reduce the pressure on the dam.

This summer, the mud turned green as a variety of grasses and plants colonized the lakebed, slowly creeping across the flats. Geese and herons are a common site along the banks of the marshy stream that flows through the northern side of the lakebed. It is a far, far different site than the placid lake ever was; this view constantly changes, an environment in transition.

Nature finds a way.

Ow. Ow. Ow.

More asprin, please. And a little quieter over there, if you don’t mind.

Trip was adamant that they be arranged just so.

We took a different route today.

Early morning at 20,000 feet.

Please note: not a helicopter.

Up the hill from our hotel, there are a lot of lights.

Taken at Universal City, CA.

I didn’t ask if this market was down today, too.

This is the plane that I’m taking to San Francisco, a CRJ 200 regional
jet.