TexasPundit

I’ve been using the iPhone for a few days now and one of the things that strikes me most is how many people want to see and play with my new phone. I was having dinner last night with my family and a couple stopped to get a demonstration of the phone from me. On the airplane this morning I had a guy staring at my phone the whole time I was playing with it prior to takeoff. Apple has certainly hyped this thing up - and for the most part I’d have to say it lives up to the hype. Some highlights:

• Synced my contacts and calendar from my Exchange server with no issues.
• Battery life so far has been outstanding
• The screen - what can I say? It’s unbelievable… They should build laptops with the same screen quality- it’s amazing.

спални комплекти

• Email setup was relatively painless. I’ve managed to get my Exchange email and Gmail accounts setup with no issues.
• The VPN client works well. I was able to VPN into work without issue and access our intranet and internal portals.
• Network access with ATT’s Edge is alright - not nearly the speed I’ve grown accustomed to with Sprint’s EVDO network, but still usable. The way the phone uses WiFi when it’s available is actually very clever, and when you’ve got WiFi access it really makes a difference.
• The device is so small and lightweight, yet engineered so well - it brings a tear to my eye…

Not everything is rosy however. Some of the things that are lacking:

• Applications! Come on Apple - I’ve got this amazing piece of hardware here and you’ve given me very little to play with. SSH client would be awesome, as would some wireless network utilities, games (no games?!?), etc.
• Camera application is *REALLY* weak. I mean - this is Apple we’re talking about here right? Shouldn’t it do more than just take a picture?
• ATT support. Part of this is my fault, but trying to port my old number over is proving to be more of a challenge than I’d anticipated.
• No phone protection insurance available? I’m investing $500 in this thing and if it breaks I’m screwed. Scares me a little bit.

optical amplifier

I’ll keep updating as things come to me - but overall I’m really impressed by this device. I’ve decided that I am going to commit 100% to using it and drop my Sprint phone altogether.

OK - so I went against all better judgment tonight and I went and picked up an iPhone. I must say - it’s pretty slick.

I swung by a store earlier tonight after work and there was a long line so I decided to head home and go back out a few hours later. That idea paid off since I was able to walk right in the ATT store and 10 minutes later I was walking out with my new toy.

I was able to setup service with ATT in about 5 minutes through iTunes (I was pre-qualified at the store when I purchased it). I opted to get a new number (I’ve moved to Houston from Dallas and haven’t changed my number on my old phone) - hoping that I’ll be able to port the old one once I’ve fully committed.

Once I plugged the phone in, iTunes synced my phone up with all my calendar and contact information from Outlook. I was pretty surprised that this worked so well - and had to check the data to make sure - but there it was.

I was able to get it working with both my Gmail account as well as my Exchange account at work (via IMAP). I’ve read rumors that Apple will be enabling true MAPI support for the iPhone - if that is true then that will plainly rock.

I’ll post some follow up thoughts as I use it more.

I must admit - this deal would confuse me in many ways. Rackable’s value proposition of lower power and cooling through DC powered systems really doesn’t hold water like it used to - primarily because of the lower thermal footprint that the new generation of servers and processors have. Plus - Rackable has always had a major reliance on a relatively small base of customers which should frighten any potential acquiring company into lowering the valuation substantially. What does Dell gain here? I don’t get it. Link to article below.

Rackable Shares Jump on Deal Rumors - Data Center Knowledge

The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) has preliminarily adopted the DomainKeys Identified Mail proposal being pushed by Yahoo, Cisco, Sendmail, and PGP Corporation. Assuming the draft (RFC4871 for all my fellow geeks) is formally approved end users could (finally) have a powerful tool that theoretically could reduce the amount of SPAM they receive in a major way. How will it work? Quoting CNET:

DomainKeys works by embedding a digital signature in the headers of an outgoing e-mail message. If the cryptographically secure signature checks out, the message can be delivered as usual. Otherwise, it can be flagged as spam.

Here’s an example of an embedded DomainKeys header:

DKIM-Signature a=rsa-sha1; q=dns;
d=example.com;
i=user@eng.example.com;
s=jun2005.eng; c=relaxed/simple;
t=1117574938; x=1118006938;
h=from:to:subject:date;
b=dzdVyOfAKCdLXdJOc9G2q8LoXSlEniSb
av+yuU4zGeeruD00lszZVoG4ZHRNiYzR

Success will ultimately depend on widespread adoption. Needless to say, with Yahoo and Sendmail backing this proposal it’s only a matter of time before the other large players jump on board. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Read the entire article here.

The DKIM homepage is located here.

I’m not exactly sure what to make of this one… But if it’s true then all the non-model types should rejoice!

Quoting the article:

Slicking on another layer of lipgloss, Selena Maria slings her bag over her shoulder and struts into the bar.

A sea of dark, handsome heads turn to ogle her. Jaws drop and good-looking men raise their eyebrows or move in to offer her a drink.

But Selena walks on by. She only has eyes for one man. He’s waiting for her in a dark corner. He’s not one of the handsome guys in sharp suits. He’s not even ‘average’.

He’s bald and podgy, with a pock-marked face, and is easily the ugliest man in the room. She sidles into the chair next to him.

‘Hi, gorgeous,’ she purrs. The man’s gargoyle face breaks into a toothless smile.

The good-looking men know they don’t stand a chance.

I can’t continue… Read the rest of the article below.

The Sun Online - Real Life: We only date ugly men

I guess this isn’t really NSFW - but it’s DAMNED funny…

I’m open minded enough to consider the idea that global warming is occuring, but I have a much harder time accepting that mankind is the sole reason for it’s occurrence and especially the evil United States. Quite simply - we have only been collecting data for a short time (especially on a global level), and the data we have is conflicting on many levels. I remember reading articles when I was young about the new ice age, and how global temperatures had been dropping steadily and the world was threatened. Apparently, that’s changed now and instead of freezing to death we’ll now fry to death. To quote the author:

“Believe it or not, Global Warming is not due to human contribution of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). This in fact is the greatest deception in the history of science. We are wasting time, energy and trillions of dollars while creating unnecessary fear and consternation over an issue with no scientific justification.”

I’m sure most people will write this guy off as a right wing nutjob. But his credentials are sound, and his arguments are valid. And you can’t ignore how global politics play in this issue. Enjoy the full article.

Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?

Yeah - I know… I’ve been lazy. Actually - I had surgery a week and a half ago and I’ve just not really felt like blogging… I plan to pick up where I left off (maybe tonight - who knows?).

Surgery was interesting - the sensation of falling asleep and then waking up with incisions on your body but no idea what transpired during that time is really interesting. It really makes you respect the physicians and the responsibility they carry.

So - I’m hoping to get some pictures of my insides - I have a call to the doctor’s office to see if it’s possible. If I get them maybe I’ll post them! How cool would that be?

When I read an article like this, it reminds me of how short-sighted politicians are in crafting national policy. Rather than really studying and analyzing issues, they make decisions based on polls and popular opinion (my experience has told me that most people don’t know enough about the issue to have a valid opinion). Of course, this course of thought usually results in the wrong decision being made. I hope the rest of the world is re-thinking their position as well. Right now, the only viable option for powering the 21st century is Nuclear power.

I read about this company on Techcrunch - their name is Cellswapper and they offer a service that allows people to swap their cell phone contracts (for a $15 charge). I’m reading through the website right now, but their timing is impeccable given Apple’s announcement of the iPhone at CES the other day. I’m sure there’s a lot of non-Cingular users trying to line up people to take over their phone plans.