Well, I've been in the IT industry for 10 years. Writing web applications the whole time, with Microsoft software.
Well, I finally have a personal web server, and it's running Linux (and C# via Mono):
http://TheJerkins.HomeDNS.org
Enjoy!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Best iPhone review yet
(After visiting an Apple store yesterday, Carrie wondered out loud if she'd be hearing about the iPhone non-stop until we got ours. I confirmed her fears.)
This is surely the best iPhone review I've seen yet. A very well-done (and quite funny) review of the iPhone. Nothing is revealed that you haven't seen everywhere else. But the slapstick feel to the review makes it worth watching again and again. Thanks to iPhoneTower for posting the review where I'd find it.
Enjoy!
This is surely the best iPhone review I've seen yet. A very well-done (and quite funny) review of the iPhone. Nothing is revealed that you haven't seen everywhere else. But the slapstick feel to the review makes it worth watching again and again. Thanks to iPhoneTower for posting the review where I'd find it.
Enjoy!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
iPod touch vs. iPhone after 20 minutes
Ok, ok. Carrie and I visited an Apple store today to see the iPod touch and the iPhone.
We're locked in a contract with Sprint, which in my mind had put the iPhone out-of-reach. And since the iPod touch is supposedly an iPhone with out the phone, I thought I wouldn't be giving up all that much.
WRONG! Apple seriously crippled the iPod touch! I suspect the reason for each feature cut was a demand made by AT&T that couldn't be overruled by Apple. Here's what I found:
Boy was I bummed! The iPod touch is definitely NOT an iPhone without just the phone! The inability to enter calendar appointments is a big loss to me - it keeps the iPod touch just a tease away from being a true PDA. My memory is AWFUL, and entering reminders as I think of them is an essential feature. Looking at that calendar link on the home page would just be a splinter in my mind, reminding me that I have a second-rate device.
So Carrie and I are scheming a way to get iPhones in a few months.
2007-09-16 Update: I found this much more comprehensive comparison of iPhone and iPod touch. Looks like there was more missing than I noticed.
We're locked in a contract with Sprint, which in my mind had put the iPhone out-of-reach. And since the iPod touch is supposedly an iPhone with out the phone, I thought I wouldn't be giving up all that much.
WRONG! Apple seriously crippled the iPod touch! I suspect the reason for each feature cut was a demand made by AT&T that couldn't be overruled by Apple. Here's what I found:
| iPhone | iPod touch | |
| Safari | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar | View/Edit/Add | View only |
| Yes | NO | |
| Weather | Yes | NO |
| Notes | Yes | NO |
| SMS | Yes | n/a |
| Phone | Yes | n/a |
| iTunes WiFi | Coming | Yes |
Boy was I bummed! The iPod touch is definitely NOT an iPhone without just the phone! The inability to enter calendar appointments is a big loss to me - it keeps the iPod touch just a tease away from being a true PDA. My memory is AWFUL, and entering reminders as I think of them is an essential feature. Looking at that calendar link on the home page would just be a splinter in my mind, reminding me that I have a second-rate device.
So Carrie and I are scheming a way to get iPhones in a few months.
2007-09-16 Update: I found this much more comprehensive comparison of iPhone and iPod touch. Looks like there was more missing than I noticed.
iPhone Whiners - Part 2
A good friend of mine left a comment on my last post implying I had cried many a sympathetic tear for those early adopters that Apple cheated. This post is intended to clear the air on that. (This may sound like it contradicts my last post; it doesn't. But I'll explain that in a minute.)
Even as I wrote that last post I was still thinking about what kind of person would immediately buy a high-priced bit of technology the day it comes out, then publicly whine when it gets outdated/cheaper/old.
This is technology, people. The price/features curve (or price/performance, in terms of computers) is moving all the time. People know that living on the high-features end of the curve costs considerably more than living on the low-price end. For me, it's a matter of finding where on that curve you can comfortably stay.
My cellphones are almost always the free kind. My iPod is still an iPod Mini (bought just after they came out in early 2004). My computers are never cutting-edge hardware. (I made an exception when we bought our MacBook this year. Watching it get outdated a couple months later did not even phase me, and we have no plans to replace it. It's our first laptop, and we're still thrilled.)
I grew up with a friend who ALWAYS had the latest stuff. He had the money to buy it, so I never begrudged his purchases. And he taught me the valuable lesson on how to be content with yesterday's stuff.
I am a computer programmer by trade. Computers are what I use day-in, day-out. Of course I'd prefer a dual Core2Quad with 8GB of RAM and a RAID-5 array. Of course I'd prefer a 17" MacBook Pro fully-loaded. Of course I'd prefer the iPhone 8GB with a maxed-out service plan. But my kids would be hunting their own dinner instead of playing in their sandbox during the day.
So when I read that some "early-adopters" are whining because their new toy just became cheaper, I marvel at their lack of character. Did they think that buying an iPhone in its first two months of availability was a wise investment decision? Did they expect the iPhone to remain at the same price/features point indefinitely? Have they purchased any other smartphone (or computer or other gadget) the day it came out, then cried when it became cheaper or outdated?
The only entity showing good character here is Apple. Though doubtless they had the same thoughts I did, they nonetheless responded by offering those whiners half of the difference in store credit. I have no illusions that this response was necessary. It wasn't, and I think Apple surprised many by being this generous. But Apple loves its customers, as it always has, and its customers generally love it back.
Now, on contradicting my last post: My last post was a counter-point to the PCWorld.com article I linked to. I think they misunderstood what was in the minds of those whiners when they whined. I do not, however, have any sympathy for the whiners, even though I believe I know what they were thinking.
And finally, full-disclosure: The iPhone was out of my price range when it was released. I admired the technology, and drooled like many other middle-classmen boys at another gadget desired, but out-of-reach. Now, however, the iPhone is more accessible. Carrie and I both plan to get one...when we've saved our money, which will be after the first of the year (around 5 months from now).
But if they come out with a new model 1 week after we buy ours, I'll just pull out the marvel of technology in my pocket, smile gratefully, and go on my way.
Even as I wrote that last post I was still thinking about what kind of person would immediately buy a high-priced bit of technology the day it comes out, then publicly whine when it gets outdated/cheaper/old.
This is technology, people. The price/features curve (or price/performance, in terms of computers) is moving all the time. People know that living on the high-features end of the curve costs considerably more than living on the low-price end. For me, it's a matter of finding where on that curve you can comfortably stay.
My cellphones are almost always the free kind. My iPod is still an iPod Mini (bought just after they came out in early 2004). My computers are never cutting-edge hardware. (I made an exception when we bought our MacBook this year. Watching it get outdated a couple months later did not even phase me, and we have no plans to replace it. It's our first laptop, and we're still thrilled.)
I grew up with a friend who ALWAYS had the latest stuff. He had the money to buy it, so I never begrudged his purchases. And he taught me the valuable lesson on how to be content with yesterday's stuff.
I am a computer programmer by trade. Computers are what I use day-in, day-out. Of course I'd prefer a dual Core2Quad with 8GB of RAM and a RAID-5 array. Of course I'd prefer a 17" MacBook Pro fully-loaded. Of course I'd prefer the iPhone 8GB with a maxed-out service plan. But my kids would be hunting their own dinner instead of playing in their sandbox during the day.
So when I read that some "early-adopters" are whining because their new toy just became cheaper, I marvel at their lack of character. Did they think that buying an iPhone in its first two months of availability was a wise investment decision? Did they expect the iPhone to remain at the same price/features point indefinitely? Have they purchased any other smartphone (or computer or other gadget) the day it came out, then cried when it became cheaper or outdated?
The only entity showing good character here is Apple. Though doubtless they had the same thoughts I did, they nonetheless responded by offering those whiners half of the difference in store credit. I have no illusions that this response was necessary. It wasn't, and I think Apple surprised many by being this generous. But Apple loves its customers, as it always has, and its customers generally love it back.
Now, on contradicting my last post: My last post was a counter-point to the PCWorld.com article I linked to. I think they misunderstood what was in the minds of those whiners when they whined. I do not, however, have any sympathy for the whiners, even though I believe I know what they were thinking.
And finally, full-disclosure: The iPhone was out of my price range when it was released. I admired the technology, and drooled like many other middle-class
But if they come out with a new model 1 week after we buy ours, I'll just pull out the marvel of technology in my pocket, smile gratefully, and go on my way.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Why iPhone owners were mad about the price cut
I just read an interesting post on PCWorld.com called "Lessons Learned From the iPhone Price Cuts".
And I think they reach the wrong conclusions.
PCWorld said that introducing a product at a high price, then quickly lowering the price, is standard practice in the cellphone industry.
Their point was that Apple just lowered the price too soon, and too much.
I think Apple's mistake was in thinking it should be lowered at all.
The iPhone isn't an ordinary cellphone.
The Razr is a cellphone. Some might call it a smartphone. But in the minds of people everywhere, it's just another nice cellphone.
The iPhone, however, is an Apple.
It's not an ordinary cellphone, in the same way that the iMac isn't an ordinary desktop PC.
It has style, technology, and sex appeal no competing product has.
It's an Apple, after all.
And Apple doesn't build OR PRICE anything the way the rest of the industry does.
Everybody else comes out with a named product, and lowers the price until its discontinued.
That's why everybody else has model numbers in addition to product lines - it's the only way they can distinguish new from old.
Endless black boxes (or phones) with company names, company logos, product lines, model numbers, and CPU stickers hiding the black plainness.
Not Apple.
Apple's products are white. Clean. A logo and a product name, and nothing else to hide the white beauty.
And when Apple comes out with a named product at a premium price, they NEVER CHANGE THE PRICE.
They justify the price over time by increasing the specs on the product.
But they don't change the price.
At some point they determine that the product's "newness" has worn off.
Then they roll out a new product - a new look, new specs, and sometimes a new name.
But still at the same price.
The article mentioned Apple having lowered the iPod's original price.
However I don't think that's what happened.
If you read closely, they remember that a higher-spec'ed iPod at the same price as the original.
In other words, Apple increased the specs of the original iPod at the same price, and introduced a new lower-priced and lower-spec'ed model.
Business as usual for Apple.
Apple's pricing strategy feeds the general opinion that Apple sells premium products that justify their high asking price.
And their products really are good enough that even after purchase customers don't complain about the price because they got what they paid for.
Here's why the iPhone early-adopters were ticked-off:
For the first time any of them could remember...they felt cheated.
And I think they reach the wrong conclusions.
PCWorld said that introducing a product at a high price, then quickly lowering the price, is standard practice in the cellphone industry.
Their point was that Apple just lowered the price too soon, and too much.
I think Apple's mistake was in thinking it should be lowered at all.
The iPhone isn't an ordinary cellphone.
The Razr is a cellphone. Some might call it a smartphone. But in the minds of people everywhere, it's just another nice cellphone.
The iPhone, however, is an Apple.
It's not an ordinary cellphone, in the same way that the iMac isn't an ordinary desktop PC.
It has style, technology, and sex appeal no competing product has.
It's an Apple, after all.
And Apple doesn't build OR PRICE anything the way the rest of the industry does.
Everybody else comes out with a named product, and lowers the price until its discontinued.
That's why everybody else has model numbers in addition to product lines - it's the only way they can distinguish new from old.
Endless black boxes (or phones) with company names, company logos, product lines, model numbers, and CPU stickers hiding the black plainness.
Not Apple.
Apple's products are white. Clean. A logo and a product name, and nothing else to hide the white beauty.
And when Apple comes out with a named product at a premium price, they NEVER CHANGE THE PRICE.
They justify the price over time by increasing the specs on the product.
But they don't change the price.
At some point they determine that the product's "newness" has worn off.
Then they roll out a new product - a new look, new specs, and sometimes a new name.
But still at the same price.
The article mentioned Apple having lowered the iPod's original price.
However I don't think that's what happened.
If you read closely, they remember that a higher-spec'ed iPod at the same price as the original.
In other words, Apple increased the specs of the original iPod at the same price, and introduced a new lower-priced and lower-spec'ed model.
Business as usual for Apple.
Apple's pricing strategy feeds the general opinion that Apple sells premium products that justify their high asking price.
And their products really are good enough that even after purchase customers don't complain about the price because they got what they paid for.
Here's why the iPhone early-adopters were ticked-off:
For the first time any of them could remember...they felt cheated.
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