For those of you that know me, you know of my tireless pursuit of the iPhone living here in Fargo. The road has been long and fraught with frustration and anger. I have been living with my iPhone for almost 18 months now, and I'm here to report on few things.
If you are interested in seeing how I acquired my iPhone, you can see other posts on this blog, or read this blog. My fingerprints are all over the comments section. What this blog doesn't cover is my overall happiness with the iPhone. That is what I'm hoping to discuss here.
The iPhone is a marvelous piece of hardware. The ease of use, the smooth response, the way "it just works". As far as smartphones go, I personally think they don't get any better. The "There's an app for that" campaign could not be any more right. Unless you are buying the iPhone for p0rn, in which case, there are mobile websites for that. When I travel to cities that have AT&T's fabled "3G" coverage, my love for the iPhone is renewed once again.
My main issue with the iPhone isn't even so much the phone itself. It goes much deeper than the phone. Without a carrier, your phone isn't really a phone now is it? Which brings me to my rub with the iPhone. As of today, AT&T does not have native coverage in Fargo. I have heard rumors of service as early as October 2010, but then again, I heard rumors they were supposed to be here already. I am the eternal optimist. There is now coverage in Bismarck, Minot, and Dickinson, so I am optimistic that Fargo will eventually follow suit.
Relying on "partner" towers for my roaming service has put me at odds with my iPhone. While on one hand, it works perfectly around the house connected to WiFi. On the other, the 60-80 hours I spend away from my house on a weekly basis leaves something to be desired. A tattered mix of Edge and GPRS coverage with some No Service sprinkled in for good measure. I find myself longing for the days of Verizon's EVDO network and their almost unrivaled coverage in these parts of the world. Having a phone that can surf and play the way it was designed.
At the end of the day, I still look back to my iPhone with a fond look. I know there are no other phones out there for me. I keep telling myself, they will have service here one day, you'll see. I have no doubt that day will come. My optimistic side says sooner, my realistic side says later. Be that as it may, I still have my iPhone, for better or for worse.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Too long...
My, my, my. Has it really been almost a year since my last blog post. And a shameless post at that. I didn't win by the way. Or I might have blogged about it.
I would like to tell you a lot has happened in the last year since I posted. I can't. Nothing has really changed my life over the last year. I released a free app on the iTunes App Store for iPhone and iTouch. For a free app, and one that I put almost no thought into, it has been downloaded quite a bit. Makes me wish I had done more with the last year. I have about 2 months left on my paid developer license, so I better get crackin.
The kids are a year older, I'm a year older. Not much has changed. Work is fine, home is fine. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or dismayed at my situation. Given the tough economic times, I guess I should be thankful that I can report on the lack of change. If things weren't bad before, no reason to think they are bad now.
I hope that more changes between now and this time next year. I do have a trip coming up to Puerto Rico. My good friend is getting married. The family won't be traveling with me, so it won't be quite as much fun. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. But it is still technically American soil. So I guess I can still say I have never traveled abroad. This will be about as far from home as I have ever been. So I guess that much will change.
Bill
I would like to tell you a lot has happened in the last year since I posted. I can't. Nothing has really changed my life over the last year. I released a free app on the iTunes App Store for iPhone and iTouch. For a free app, and one that I put almost no thought into, it has been downloaded quite a bit. Makes me wish I had done more with the last year. I have about 2 months left on my paid developer license, so I better get crackin.
The kids are a year older, I'm a year older. Not much has changed. Work is fine, home is fine. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or dismayed at my situation. Given the tough economic times, I guess I should be thankful that I can report on the lack of change. If things weren't bad before, no reason to think they are bad now.
I hope that more changes between now and this time next year. I do have a trip coming up to Puerto Rico. My good friend is getting married. The family won't be traveling with me, so it won't be quite as much fun. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. But it is still technically American soil. So I guess I can still say I have never traveled abroad. This will be about as far from home as I have ever been. So I guess that much will change.
Bill
Monday, April 6, 2009
Win a Drobo!!
Scott Bourne is a photog I follow on twitter @scottbourne. He has been very generous in giving out drobo's as of late. If you don't know what a drobo is, check out www.drobo.com and find out. They are great, you should get one. I can't afford one yet, so I'm trying to win one. So check out Scott's website http://www.mydl.me and try to win one yourself. He is a very smart guy, you might learn something. Good luck!!
Bill
Bill
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Quick update
Not a whole lot new going on. I am planning on pushing ahead with a new software idea. Justin and I, possibly Brandon will be working on a new iPhone app. I am looking forward to getting the new 3.0 Beta from Apple and start playing around with the new API's. Sorry, nerdspeak for programming stuff. I will keep you posted on how that goes. You can stop by www.braskysoft.com to see how things are going. Hopefully more news later. Ta ta!!
Bill
Bill
Friday, February 6, 2009
The "weekneverends"
How many of you out there are members of the "weekneverends" club? If you are at home on a Saturday night reading this post, then you are probably not part of the club. If you are reading this from a work computer, cell phone while at work, or on your home computer working, then you are part of the weekneverends club. I am part of this club. I founded this club. As far as I can tell, wait, let me check google, nope. I did find some hits for "week never ends" and a couple posts posing the question does it ever end, but nobody using it run together like a new word.
So if you are out there working, this post is for you. Don't worry about what fun your friends are having while you slave away for an extra dollar. There is lots to do on the internet. Hopefully you have access to the internet. And if you don't, find other ways to occupy your time. Text people. Join Twitter and have the internet sent to your phone via text. Hopefully you don't have a job like I do that has you working so late that all the fun is done by the time you get done working.
For some, Friday can't come soon enough. For us weekneverenders, we carry on. I salute you fellow weekneverenders!
So if you are out there working, this post is for you. Don't worry about what fun your friends are having while you slave away for an extra dollar. There is lots to do on the internet. Hopefully you have access to the internet. And if you don't, find other ways to occupy your time. Text people. Join Twitter and have the internet sent to your phone via text. Hopefully you don't have a job like I do that has you working so late that all the fun is done by the time you get done working.
For some, Friday can't come soon enough. For us weekneverenders, we carry on. I salute you fellow weekneverenders!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
iPhone Madness Part 2
First of all, I want to apologize for taking so long to update my iPhone story. I will get into it later. I'm not sure why I am apologizing, I'm probably the only one reading this blog anyway!
Where did we leave off last time. Something to the effect of AT&T is completely retarded and I still don't have an iPhone. It has been about 2 1/2 months since whole thing started. Today I sit with iPhone in hand, all while I create this blog on my new MacBook. Here's how it all went down.
Right after I got off the phone with the gentleman from AT&T, I got an email from them saying my SIM card had been shipped. And by right after, I mean literally 5 minutes after I got off the phone. I was still cussing and fuming. The email showed that FedEx would be delivering my SIM card to me in just a short day and a half! WTF!?!?! How do you go from no way Jose, to all your dreams come true. I wasn't about to question their stupidity, I was just glad it was coming.
The day had arrived for my SIM card. I stopped by the FedEx office to pick it up. No problems there, I break out the card, put it in my iPhone and... Please connect iPhone to iTunes for activation. Pixie!!! So much for working right out of the box. I was off to my part-time job anyway, so we would have to pick things up there.
I arrived early enough to set up my laptop and connect to the Internet. I plugged in the phone and proceeded through the activation process. I get to the very end for the activation and, "there was an error processing your activation, please call AT&T to finalize activation." Nooooo!!!!! Not another CSW! I can't take it.
I had a few minutes to spare, and it would prove to be all I needed. I called the toll free number and got a very nice gentleman to explain what had happened. AT&T's policy to to accept the terms of service over the phone or in person. That step had been missed in all of my calls prior. With a few quick keystrokes on his end, I was ready to complete activation. 2 minutes later, I had achieved iPhone immortality! I was in! I was really, really in. Text messages, calls, data, web browsing, you name it. I was in!
I never had another issue with AT&T from that point on. Granted, I haven't had to call them either. I made my trip to Cedar Rapids for my brother's wedding a couple of weeks later. That's where I met the beauty knows as iPhone 3G. She was a much younger, slimmer model. And oh, she let me down the path of temptation. After visiting with her in St. Cloud, I had another 6 hours of driving to plot and scheme as how to make her mine.
As most geeks do with gadgets, we try to hedge our costs by selling old gadgets to help defray the costs of new ones. This is especially helpful to married with children geeks, such as myself. I decided to sell my 2G iPhone on eBay the second I arrived at the hotel and got Internet established. If I could make a rush sale, I could pick up the sexy beauty on my return trip.
I arrived at the hotel on a mission. After meeting with my parents and getting the gameplan for rehearsal and picking up the tuxedos, I had just 10 short minutes to get everything posted before heading out. I was able to put my plea into eBay hoping someone would relieve me of my current iPhone. The auction had begun, now the waiting game.
After picking up the tuxedos and arriving to rehearsal 10 minutes late, and I was actually late. Who ever had a wedding rehearsal start on time? The rehearsal was done, and it was off to dinner. Only a short hour and a half after the auction had posted. I checked my email from the restaurant. The old iPhone had sold! Eureka!! The buyer had prepaid with Paypal and the money was sitting in my account waiting to be used. This changes everything. Why wait until the trip home, when I could be using this new beauty a whole day ahead of schedule. Time to find an AT&T store and quick.
Upon completion of the rehearsal dinner and returning to my hotel room, I found a store just a few miles from the hotel. They opened at 10am in the morning. With pictures starting at noon, it didn't leave a lot of time to make my purchase. I set out early enough to arrive on time and make a few errand runs before hand. The time had come, the doors had opened, "I'll take one iPhone 3G good sir!" It took a little while longer than I had planned for, but the experience was a good one. 2 for 2 with in store approaches. I had the 3G in hand and made my way back to the hotel.
It was a mad dash to get showered and tuxed and back to the wedding on time, but I pulled it off. The wedding was great. The phone was a hit. I don't regret making the switch at all. I've actually recruited a number of new iPhone converts. I recently made a road trip back to St. Cloud to help a friend buy one as well. The same gentleman that helped me the first time I stopped in was there to greet us. He even remembered me. He also introduced me to the AT&T referral program. $25 for each referral. I'm up to $100 already!! So make that 3 for 3 on in store experiences.
All in all it was a lot of work for me. I didn't take a very conventional approach to getting my phone. For the friends that knew what I went through, and then just got theirs in the store with absolutely no trouble at all, it makes me feel a little bad. But at the end of the day, we all got what we wanted. It just proves that I will do just about anything to be the first one to get the new technology or new gadget. So for that, I apologize to my wife and family. I'm sure they don't hold it against me. I'm sure I'm not the only one. This story has come to an end. I would like to think it had a happy ending. So on to the next chapter in my iPhone tale. I hope you'll stay tuned.
Bill
Where did we leave off last time. Something to the effect of AT&T is completely retarded and I still don't have an iPhone. It has been about 2 1/2 months since whole thing started. Today I sit with iPhone in hand, all while I create this blog on my new MacBook. Here's how it all went down.
Right after I got off the phone with the gentleman from AT&T, I got an email from them saying my SIM card had been shipped. And by right after, I mean literally 5 minutes after I got off the phone. I was still cussing and fuming. The email showed that FedEx would be delivering my SIM card to me in just a short day and a half! WTF!?!?! How do you go from no way Jose, to all your dreams come true. I wasn't about to question their stupidity, I was just glad it was coming.
The day had arrived for my SIM card. I stopped by the FedEx office to pick it up. No problems there, I break out the card, put it in my iPhone and... Please connect iPhone to iTunes for activation. Pixie!!! So much for working right out of the box. I was off to my part-time job anyway, so we would have to pick things up there.
I arrived early enough to set up my laptop and connect to the Internet. I plugged in the phone and proceeded through the activation process. I get to the very end for the activation and, "there was an error processing your activation, please call AT&T to finalize activation." Nooooo!!!!! Not another CSW! I can't take it.
I had a few minutes to spare, and it would prove to be all I needed. I called the toll free number and got a very nice gentleman to explain what had happened. AT&T's policy to to accept the terms of service over the phone or in person. That step had been missed in all of my calls prior. With a few quick keystrokes on his end, I was ready to complete activation. 2 minutes later, I had achieved iPhone immortality! I was in! I was really, really in. Text messages, calls, data, web browsing, you name it. I was in!
I never had another issue with AT&T from that point on. Granted, I haven't had to call them either. I made my trip to Cedar Rapids for my brother's wedding a couple of weeks later. That's where I met the beauty knows as iPhone 3G. She was a much younger, slimmer model. And oh, she let me down the path of temptation. After visiting with her in St. Cloud, I had another 6 hours of driving to plot and scheme as how to make her mine.
As most geeks do with gadgets, we try to hedge our costs by selling old gadgets to help defray the costs of new ones. This is especially helpful to married with children geeks, such as myself. I decided to sell my 2G iPhone on eBay the second I arrived at the hotel and got Internet established. If I could make a rush sale, I could pick up the sexy beauty on my return trip.
I arrived at the hotel on a mission. After meeting with my parents and getting the gameplan for rehearsal and picking up the tuxedos, I had just 10 short minutes to get everything posted before heading out. I was able to put my plea into eBay hoping someone would relieve me of my current iPhone. The auction had begun, now the waiting game.
After picking up the tuxedos and arriving to rehearsal 10 minutes late, and I was actually late. Who ever had a wedding rehearsal start on time? The rehearsal was done, and it was off to dinner. Only a short hour and a half after the auction had posted. I checked my email from the restaurant. The old iPhone had sold! Eureka!! The buyer had prepaid with Paypal and the money was sitting in my account waiting to be used. This changes everything. Why wait until the trip home, when I could be using this new beauty a whole day ahead of schedule. Time to find an AT&T store and quick.
Upon completion of the rehearsal dinner and returning to my hotel room, I found a store just a few miles from the hotel. They opened at 10am in the morning. With pictures starting at noon, it didn't leave a lot of time to make my purchase. I set out early enough to arrive on time and make a few errand runs before hand. The time had come, the doors had opened, "I'll take one iPhone 3G good sir!" It took a little while longer than I had planned for, but the experience was a good one. 2 for 2 with in store approaches. I had the 3G in hand and made my way back to the hotel.
It was a mad dash to get showered and tuxed and back to the wedding on time, but I pulled it off. The wedding was great. The phone was a hit. I don't regret making the switch at all. I've actually recruited a number of new iPhone converts. I recently made a road trip back to St. Cloud to help a friend buy one as well. The same gentleman that helped me the first time I stopped in was there to greet us. He even remembered me. He also introduced me to the AT&T referral program. $25 for each referral. I'm up to $100 already!! So make that 3 for 3 on in store experiences.
All in all it was a lot of work for me. I didn't take a very conventional approach to getting my phone. For the friends that knew what I went through, and then just got theirs in the store with absolutely no trouble at all, it makes me feel a little bad. But at the end of the day, we all got what we wanted. It just proves that I will do just about anything to be the first one to get the new technology or new gadget. So for that, I apologize to my wife and family. I'm sure they don't hold it against me. I'm sure I'm not the only one. This story has come to an end. I would like to think it had a happy ending. So on to the next chapter in my iPhone tale. I hope you'll stay tuned.
Bill
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
iPhone Madness Part 1
Some of you may know of my recent quest to acquire an iPhone here in the Fargo/Moorhead area. It has been an absolute nightmare I can assure you. When AT&T says no coverage, no service, they mean it.
I think I will start at the beginning. For those of you that have heard this part, skip down a few paragraphs to where the cussing begins.
A friend of mine at work has an iPhone. Me and a few friends found out that she has had it and it has been working in the FM area for almost a year. We are all instantly in love and clamoring for ways to get our hands on one. After several emails and a bunch of phone calls to surrounding stores, we discovered we were pretty much SOL.
A week or two later, I got an email from my friend, she was selling her son's iPhone. He switched plans, so he didn't need his anymore. My guess is drugs! Why else would you switch from an iPhone to anything on the Sprint network.
Of course I bought the iPhone. I figured if nothing else, it is a $75 iTouch. Oh yeah, did I tell you I got it for a steal! $75 bucks!! Who wouldn't take that deal.
Now to the good stuff. After debating and researching and talking with my friend from work, I decided to take the risk and try to activate this phone. In case you aren't aware of the risk, AT&T is not located in Fargo. They do not advertise service in this area. It is considered "partner" coverage. And the AT&T contract states that if you use more than 51% of your minutes in a "partner" or out of area location for 2 consecutive months, they can cancel your contract. So by taking the AT&T plunge, I could lose out on any phone at all. I will get into cancelling my current line with Verizon another time.
I called AT&T directly and told my story. I maybe fudged some of the details about where I would use it the most, but for the most part it was all true. The lady was very helpful. She took all of my info, gave me my new number and said the new card for my phone would be in the mail later that day. Joy, joy!! I was thrilled! It was all I could do to stay at work for the rest of the day. I wanted it to be tomorrow.
Later that night, I hadn't recieved any update on my order which concerned me. So I decided to call AT&T and find out what was going on. We have now arrived at the Customer Service Wench part of the story. She will be from here on out known as CSW.
CSW informed me that there was no way possible that I could have ordered a SIM card. She didn't know who I talked to before, but they didn't have a way to ship it to me. This was a complete shock, considering 8 hours prior they were more than happy to take my SSN and credit card number. CSW wasn't very forthcoming with any details or recourse for the other person I had talked to. My iPhone dreams had been sufficiently flushed.
The next day, I had almost forgotten my CSW nightmare. But I was ready to press on. I decided to call around to AT&T stores to see what I could come up with. I called a Radio Shack that sold AT&T phones. They were clueless. They didn't sell them and couldn't help me. I called a corporate store in St. Cloud which is almost 200 miles away. They said that the AT&T corporate people send out SIMs all the time, and I should call them back. More frustration. Do I give up, or do I call AT&T customer service one more time.
I decided to call them one more time. This would prove to be the last time I would call them. I spoke with Justin at the customer service of AT&T. I grew to like him more and more during the call. He would go from serious, company man, to fun human hacker guy.
He explained to me that they don't sell the phones, and that I would have to go to the corporate store. I explained the closest store was over 200 miles away and this wasn't possible. I contemplated telling him I was a legless veteran with no way to drive and my only dream in life was to own an iPhone. I didn't figure he would care, so I left it at that. At one point in the conversation, he told me that AT&T probably didn't care about that 1 customer, that they were already the largest. I informed him that after Verizon acquires Alltel, that they would be 2nd, and they would indeed need my business. He also told me the best thing to do would be to take a road trip to St. Cloud and get my card there. Obviously a 400 mile round trip is just a drop in the hat to him. He eventually tried his best to help me out, getting all kinds of approvals and made phone calls on my behalf. It all boiled down to living outside the service area and the system would not allow me to have a card sent out. So another hour long call that ended in frustration.
So I still have no SIM card for my iPhone. I am heading out that way in a couple of weeks for my brother's wedding, so I will have every opportunity to get my SIM card then. Always the impatient one, 2 weeks might as well be a lifetime. Stay tuned for more iPhone madness. I don't plan on giving up on my quest for iPhone glory!
I think I will start at the beginning. For those of you that have heard this part, skip down a few paragraphs to where the cussing begins.
A friend of mine at work has an iPhone. Me and a few friends found out that she has had it and it has been working in the FM area for almost a year. We are all instantly in love and clamoring for ways to get our hands on one. After several emails and a bunch of phone calls to surrounding stores, we discovered we were pretty much SOL.
A week or two later, I got an email from my friend, she was selling her son's iPhone. He switched plans, so he didn't need his anymore. My guess is drugs! Why else would you switch from an iPhone to anything on the Sprint network.
Of course I bought the iPhone. I figured if nothing else, it is a $75 iTouch. Oh yeah, did I tell you I got it for a steal! $75 bucks!! Who wouldn't take that deal.
Now to the good stuff. After debating and researching and talking with my friend from work, I decided to take the risk and try to activate this phone. In case you aren't aware of the risk, AT&T is not located in Fargo. They do not advertise service in this area. It is considered "partner" coverage. And the AT&T contract states that if you use more than 51% of your minutes in a "partner" or out of area location for 2 consecutive months, they can cancel your contract. So by taking the AT&T plunge, I could lose out on any phone at all. I will get into cancelling my current line with Verizon another time.
I called AT&T directly and told my story. I maybe fudged some of the details about where I would use it the most, but for the most part it was all true. The lady was very helpful. She took all of my info, gave me my new number and said the new card for my phone would be in the mail later that day. Joy, joy!! I was thrilled! It was all I could do to stay at work for the rest of the day. I wanted it to be tomorrow.
Later that night, I hadn't recieved any update on my order which concerned me. So I decided to call AT&T and find out what was going on. We have now arrived at the Customer Service Wench part of the story. She will be from here on out known as CSW.
CSW informed me that there was no way possible that I could have ordered a SIM card. She didn't know who I talked to before, but they didn't have a way to ship it to me. This was a complete shock, considering 8 hours prior they were more than happy to take my SSN and credit card number. CSW wasn't very forthcoming with any details or recourse for the other person I had talked to. My iPhone dreams had been sufficiently flushed.
The next day, I had almost forgotten my CSW nightmare. But I was ready to press on. I decided to call around to AT&T stores to see what I could come up with. I called a Radio Shack that sold AT&T phones. They were clueless. They didn't sell them and couldn't help me. I called a corporate store in St. Cloud which is almost 200 miles away. They said that the AT&T corporate people send out SIMs all the time, and I should call them back. More frustration. Do I give up, or do I call AT&T customer service one more time.
I decided to call them one more time. This would prove to be the last time I would call them. I spoke with Justin at the customer service of AT&T. I grew to like him more and more during the call. He would go from serious, company man, to fun human hacker guy.
He explained to me that they don't sell the phones, and that I would have to go to the corporate store. I explained the closest store was over 200 miles away and this wasn't possible. I contemplated telling him I was a legless veteran with no way to drive and my only dream in life was to own an iPhone. I didn't figure he would care, so I left it at that. At one point in the conversation, he told me that AT&T probably didn't care about that 1 customer, that they were already the largest. I informed him that after Verizon acquires Alltel, that they would be 2nd, and they would indeed need my business. He also told me the best thing to do would be to take a road trip to St. Cloud and get my card there. Obviously a 400 mile round trip is just a drop in the hat to him. He eventually tried his best to help me out, getting all kinds of approvals and made phone calls on my behalf. It all boiled down to living outside the service area and the system would not allow me to have a card sent out. So another hour long call that ended in frustration.
So I still have no SIM card for my iPhone. I am heading out that way in a couple of weeks for my brother's wedding, so I will have every opportunity to get my SIM card then. Always the impatient one, 2 weeks might as well be a lifetime. Stay tuned for more iPhone madness. I don't plan on giving up on my quest for iPhone glory!
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