Just got back from Washington. It was pure joy to know that I could assist the folks in King County pay off their shiny new stadia.

Sales tax ... 8.90%
Airport Recovery Fee ... 11.10%
Rental Car Tax ... 9.70%
Consolidated Facility Charge ... $4.00 per day (12.5%)

Paying an additional 50% for the privilege of sitting in traffic for an hour ... priceless.

Ciao

So, I took the plunge. I'm now iPhone enabled.

Mostly [update -Totally] all good. The touch screen is phenomenal. The "user centric" default application array pretty much nails it. [iTunes (when I have WiFi) is great. YouTube is very cool. Stocks has *exactly* what I need/want. Maps is a life-saver - how did I ever travel without it?] The display is magnificent. The initial activation and firmware upgrades went smoothly. And, it makes phone calls!!

Some problems.

Web connection took some finagling and 4 phone calls (2 to AT&T "front line" support, 1 to My iPhone and 1 to AT&T "back line"). The key seems to be rebooting the device until you see the "E" icon. Getting on my home WiFi was a snap.
[UPDATE - 2007-12-26] installed new WiFi router. Re-connecting iPhone was a snap.

Email from an Exchange server - got to find out if/when our server will be IMAP enabled. That'll be fun.
[UPDATE - 2007-11-26] Go here...now. Just do it. Make sure to get the full URL of your web access site (after the login page finishes loading).
[UPDATE - 2007-12-26] unable to logon to the server :-( Anyone have the same problem?

Also, unable to use Visual Voicemail. Currently getting "Visual Voicemail is currently availble".
[UPDATE - 2007-11-26] Just started working today. Maybe the multiple calls to support got my account "worked out". But, whatever, it was a pleasant surprise and pretty much meets my expectations...totally cool.

Also, unable to use "Manual Sync" for iTunes. I've already become dependent on this feature. The workaround is to manually sync specific playlists. A kludge but it works. Just highlights that this is not really an iPod.
[UPDATE - 22007-12-26] the workaround isn't all that great. I had to blow away the tunes from my laptop when I synched with the iMac. Ultimately, this is Ok since the iMac holds more of what I want to hear on the iPhone. Need to "tweak" this process a bit to get exactly what I want - playlists from both iMac and Laptop.

New Issue: "Could not activate EDGE". This message could very well cause the collapse of the universe. See here and here. At the moment, I have the EDGE back. But, I don't expect it to last.
[UPDATE - 2007-12-26] EDGE network seems to behaving mostly ok now. Of course, iTunes doesn't work via EDGE so that's a bummer. But, in most cases I've been able to show-off...er, use the wireless connections everywhere I've been lately (portland, seattle). We'll have a chance in SoCal over New year's!! {GO TROJANS!}

New Issue: maybe the first (true) chink I've found in the armor. I can't send any results from Maps. My dad was looking for a Costco close to Burbank airport. My first reaction (wait for it...) was to grab the iPhone and search Maps! I found exactly what he wanted in seconds (YES!) and could *show* him. But, I couldn't forward the results - either the map query or the contact information (address, phone) for the target. That blows. I *could* save this result to my Contacts list. But, that doesn't solve *this* problem. So, (gasp) he had to write the address down on a piece of paper!

New [can't believe its an] Issue: what do I do with my Nano? I took both along for the ride in Seattle. I was afraid to hook up iPhone to the AC Adapter/Transmitter in the car. So, I used Nano for that. But, on the ride back to Seatac, I found that built-in speakers on the iPhone (missing in Nano!) were quite serviceable and weren't subjected to local radio interference. On the plane, it was a slam dunk - "Airplane Mode" is the first option on Settings. In two "clicks", I was ready for the jaunt home. And, with the microphone in the ear plugs - I didn't have to switch anything to tell the honey I was coming home early. So, any suggestions for the Nano are welcome - current Plan A is to give him to one of the kids. (shrug)

More later. With solutions as I get/hear them.

What is Progress?

dictionary.com says...

1. a movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage: the progress of a student toward a degree.
2. developmental activity in science, technology, etc., esp. with reference to the commercial opportunities created thereby or to the promotion of the material well-being of the public through the goods, techniques, or facilities created.
3. advancement in general.
4. growth or development; continuous improvement: He shows progress in his muscular coordination.
5. the development of an individual or society in a direction considered more beneficial than and superior to the previous level.
6. Biology. increasing differentiation and perfection in the course of ontogeny or phylogeny.
7. forward or onward movement: the progress of the planets.
8. the forward course of action, events, time, etc.
9. an official journey or tour, as by a sovereign or dignitary.
–verb (used without object) progress 10. to go forward or onward in space or time: The wagon train progressed through the valley. As the play progressed, the leading man grew more inaudible.
11. to grow or develop, as in complexity, scope, or severity; advance: Are you progressing in your piano studies? The disease progressed slowly.
—Idiom12. in progress, going on; under way; being done; happening: The meeting was already in progress.

I don't see "Spin your wheels by restating the same thing multiple times." I just sat down to "log" what I did today. I used 3 tools to do this. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. And, even then, I still should set my facebook status. Yikes.

I'm finally getting the hang of this mashup thing. Of course, it could be that the software is finally stable enough to publish and deploy without fearing the worst. I do like that I can spend time figuring out where the pieces are in the new editor. Watch out world!

Otherwise, we're looking forward to A Championship Football game. Kind of exciting when you think about having one of your kids playing in a championship anything situation. Of course, we're really just blessed by God with healthy children. Having them participate in sports is a wonderful thing. And, a bit of success with the team is icing on the cake.

Off to prep the poncho for the expected downpour...

An old favorite topic of mine (spurred by the Blancmange buzzing in my ear) is "change" versus "stay the course". Had a professor way back when who said (paraphrasing Tip O'Neill) "Congress works because it's always worked this way". Of course, I didn't understand how such a conservative view (from a Dem) could justify the "B" I got.

But, back to the future, is it "comfort" with our current ways? Or are people simply so afraid of change that they hang on to what doesn't work (the devil I know...) in the face of all evidence to the contrary?

A useful buzzword that has lost its meaning is "change agent". How can we truly be subversive without being obvious? That's my challenge. Still thinking...

It's been awhile and apparently there is a new Web out there. Of interest to note is whether The Company will allow its employees to Web 2.0 - social networking, rich interactive web clients, blah blah. Best point I heard so far is that The Company will be hiring kids that don't know a world without Social Networking, so best to be there for them.

Guess I'm glad to be working at a progressive institution for money-making.