youfailed.us – Page 15 – Today is the yesterday that we will regret tomorrow.

iPhone 3G reception problems are real!!

It’s been a while. I’ve been messing with CakePHP instead of writing . . . but I need to do both. Anyway, an iPhone rant.

The iPhone 3G reception problem is bad news. While we were in DC a few weeks ago I was trying to look up maps and stuff and the iPhone was sucky so I switched off 3G thinking DC just wasn’t a good coverage area. When we got back, I never switched it back (it is Sarah’s phone after all). Then on Monday (several weeks later) I read that “Tris” (the Tetris clone) was being pulled from the App Store on Wednesday. I grabbed up the iPhone and downloaded it. (It’s pretty sweet by the way.) The download took a while and I remembered about how I switched off 3G weeks ago so I switched it back on and put the phone on the dryer (that’s where we put our phones and keys). Later that night Sarah does some laundry and I notice the iPhone is pretty hot sitting on the dryer . . . so I put it on the washer. Next day, all calls are dropped after less than a minute. At first I thought it was the heat from the dryer . . . but then Sarah said “It’s that Tris you installed!” and then it dawned on me . . . it was because of 3G!!! I switched off 3G and all is well . . . sorta, I mean, it’s not “twice as fast” and it certainly wasn’t “half the price”.

That said it’s still a cool phone and I wish I had one. It just sucks that it is advertized as better . . . and it’s certainly one of the most expensive options when it comes to the TCO (total cost of ownership) for a phone.

Sheldon

At Google, the limitations are as limited as possible.

Jim and I were talking about “Google Code Jam” and he assumed the language we both know really well, VBScript, wouldn’t be an acceptable language. I just happened to have read the rules and here is how I sumarized it to him:

“You can use whatever language/tools you want. You can solve the problem with paper and fax it in if you want. Want to solve it with Excel with macros, go ahead? What about MathCAD . . . sure. ANYTHING. At Google, the limitations are as limited as possible. I’m amazed that we even have to register to see the examples.”

Having been to Google I/O and 3D Basecamp and I can vouch that Google tries it’s best to give people every possible option. Everyone knows about the food selection (but no matter what you’ve read to experience it is to be amazed) but at 3D Basecamp on Google’s main campus, as an attendee, you walk from room to room or building to building following the signs that tell you where to go. You walk about the halls of Google and, sure, security is watching your every move but there are no signs that say “DON’T GO HERE” or “FORBIDDEN” or “Google Empoyees Only”. If you happen to wander to an area you shouldn’t be in I imagine those blue shirted security guys and gals will pounce but there is the illusion of freedom as you walk about the campus and it’s refreshing.

Apple raises the price of the iPhone

The big news about the new iPhone is “Twice as fast, half the price” but now we know the truth. Sure, it only costs $199 but now the data plan and text messaging is the same as the ones you get with a Blackberry (see my earlier post) so essentially the new iPhone costs more than the old one over the two year contract. Or, to look at it another way, the new iPhone has the same data plan as the Blackberry so now it’s easier to compare the total cost of an iPhone over the total cost of a Blackberry since there isn’t a special iPhone package from AT&T anymore. I guess Apple is the one pulling something this time, not AT&T.

Sheldon

How does AT&T get away with this?

UPDATE: Well, with the new iPhone comming out the link to the pricing plan below is invalid. Thank goodness for the way back machine!! At archive.org I found the text about the $20 “iPhone Data Plan” that includes 200 text messages, unlimited data and visual voice mail.

The new iPhone means a new post. Stay tuned.

Okay, so, here is the deal. I get the Blackberry Pearl. Lost my Razr and for $50 (after getting a rebate card) I figure I need a change and the Blackberry charges with mini USB so I don’t need to invest in chargers. As you can tell it was a tough decision. It was!

The Blackberry is okay and it’s cool to have Google maps and GMail . . . comes in handy a lot more than you think. It does lock up and give me the spinning hourglass too much and without Google it would be worthless but it’s a few steps up from the Razr. Not sure if it’s worth the “data plan” fee but still, it is useful. I figure I’ll keep the data plan a few months to see if I use it enough and beside, I can’t let the mobile web pass me by.

Then I get the *second* bill. $40 more than I expect. Last time the “Blackberry unlimited” was charged at $25. This time it was $30. I guess it was prorated the first month and $30 is the normal fee. Okay, that’s kinda steep but that only accounts for $5 increase. Oh, and my wife made a few calls in Canada . . . there goes another $25. Still missing $10.

Going over the bill for the third time and IT’S THE TEXT MESSAGES!!!! No text messages are included with the $30 Blackberry plan . . . NONE . . . For that you gotta pay $5 more.

According to Apple you just pay another $20 per month as an existing customer to get 200 text messages and data. WHAT THE!?

So, to get what I would get with an iPhone (data and text messaging at least) on the Blackberry I need to pay $15 extra per month or $180 more per year! What am I missing?

Sheldon

Google I Freakin O

I went to Google I/O and it was easily the best conference I’ve been to. Prepare for some rambling.

I’ve only really been to E3 before this. That was in the days of the old-skool E3 that doesn’t exist anymore where it was all about being an insider, who you know not what you know . . . a cast system for sure. If you’ve been to E3 you can relate.

Sure, there are things I could complain about with Google I/O . . . they ran out of Diet Pepsi!!! . . . they changed the location and times of some of the presentations . . . the names of the presenters wasn’t as prominent as I would have liked (presenter names were not on the “big board” or on the listings outside the presentation rooms) . . . there were no booth babes to balance out the sausage 🙂 . . . the presentation rooms were really cramped and the solution was for the people at the end of the rows to move inward to fill in seats when I got there early to get that isle seat! . . . everyone had a laptop but me and it didn’t seem like they were paying attention . . . if you had a laptop you had to have a few batteries and risk testicular cancer because there was no good place for all those laptop people.

But those are all so minor especially since I didn’t bring my laptop. It would be embarrassing anyway . . . I saw several MacBook Airen (plural form?). Here are the good points of things that really matter:

* (free) Food everywhere . . . every time I came out of a session I discovered new food . . . and bins full of junk from gummy worms (that I loath) to yogurt raisins (that I love).

* The sessions I went to were all well done and the presenters were nice and not arrogant, happy to answer questions, happy to be giving the presentation, etc

* In the sessions they did “start from the beginning” but then did get fairly technical for a session that’s meant to only be a talk

* It was well organized and even though they changes a few things around they announced it at the beginning of all the sessions to let everyone know . . . the “big board” that had the times and tracks on it was nice and the posting of the goings on at the door to the sessions was nice too.

* The after hours party was great and FREE BEER . . . FREE FOOD . . . FREE BEER (on tap and in bottles) . . . More free food . . even more. Several Wii’s with with Wii Sports . . . foosball . . . air hockey . . . and Flight of the Concords was really good.

* I only went to one Fireside Chat (where the developers sit at the front of the room and take questions) and it was for Android and it was packed! But the questions were good and the devs were happy and excited to answer and afterwards I talked to one of the developers and he said the iPhone was junk! (no he didn’t, sorry . . . he just said he couldn’t say because he was obviously biased).

* I missed the first keynote and apparently it was awesome but I really enjoyed the second one even if the first one made it seem weak

I read one post about Google I/O and he said something about Google pushing it’s own stuff and how it’s not something you should be surprised about at a Google conference, etc. I just didn’t see Google pushing anything other than “go and develop more stuff and get excited about it!”. I remember the lines like “use your favorite search engine to find x” even though Google could have mandated people say “use google search to do x”. I honestly don’t think Google was trying to do anything other than say “we love developers”. Here is another example. Google has it’s own “Google Presentations” but I saw presentations done with Powerpoint and even Apple’s Keynote. Google lets people use the tools that get the job done, period.

Okay, now it’s story time.

At the Google party the first 40 minutes or so were torture . . . I was there alone and didn’t have anyone to talk to and I had walked around looking at the food so many times I could have mapped it out. I should went to the “Birds of a Feather” thing . . . maybe that was to meet people! But I got there late (when back to hotel to change after the sessions) and after my wondering I decided to plant myself by the air hockey table to see if someone would feel sorry for me and let me play. That turned out to work well and I met several people and I wish I could remember their names! Before the first few games I asked if “puck stopping” was allowed . . . so far I hadn’t seen it much but most of the people I saw play were casual (maybe first time?) players. The first round I won one and lost the next one. I talked to the guy I lost to for a while . . . he was in the printing business and wrote software with the GWT which he told me about. After that the concert started and everyone stopped to watch that. After the concert (which was funny as hell and makes me wish I would have watched the HBO show more) I went back to my old standby and when it was my turn I won 6 in a row. People kept saying how the puck stopping “changed the game” and how it was cheating but not saying that it was cheating and I would say I was Google and I’m starting the hockey 2.0 revolution . . Google is to maps and Sheldon is to pucking stopping! I don’t think I was getting my message across. After my games though I saw a lot more puck stopping. I ended up loosing to a woman (one of about 10 in a room of 3000 guys) but was kinda glad it was over (I didn’t let her win or anything . . . I was just tired and maybe had one too many beers . . . and she was pretty good with her bank shot . . . I wanted a rematch but after that I met some people and we ended up playing Wii Tennis for a while). I went back one last time . . . last game before they kicked us out and won! I was 8 and 2 for the day.

Okay, that’s it for now.

Sheldon