Ok, I love my little iPhone. That’s an established fact. But, there’s this one tiny thing that’s making me a bit battier than usual.

On my video iPod, I could set it up to play ALL my music videos (shuffled, even), and I can’t figure out how to do that on the iPhone. I can play the MUSIC from the music videos, but there’s no motion on the screen. I can do a playlist for regular songs too — but no videos. *sigh*

If there is any iPhone guru out there willing to share the (probably simple) method to accomplish this, please let me know. I can’t stand it when my music dies!

Ok, I’ve HAD It… Time to Simplify! I seem to spend much of my time looking for the stuff that I recorded so I’d have it when I needed it.

I may simplify my physical life — constantly — but my virtual life is cluttered all to hell. There. I said it. I admit it. I’m a virtual packrat.

Since 1 gig of stuff is stored in the same physical space as 750 gigs, I’ve “reasoned” that I’m still simplifed. I’m just lying to myself. And I’ve been looking at buying more HD space because 1.5 terabytes isn’t enough.

How sad.

The fact is, I’ve had an epiphany. (Unlike some creative types, I still believe in that concept). Granted, the epiphany came as the result of personal frustration and total exhaustion, but it came all at once so, I’m sticking with the “epiphany” term.

It’s a horrible realization. It’s also joined by dozens of other, more specific realizations that I now have to confront and solve. For instance… (more…)

I finally signed up for Twitter. I’ll be investigating several options for ways to incorporate that type of “quick update” here on WickedBlog for those times when I’ve got a quick little something to say and I’m out and about with the iPhone.

I’m testing two iPhone Twitter options now: (more…)

Curious about the speed of your iPhone? Want to find out how it stacks up to other iPhone owners — to other areas in the EDGE network? Check your speed on an iPhone specific tiny speed test online.

Just for comparison… The average speeds for all ATT EDGE tests run between 121 and 138 kbits per second with 783 msec latency.

Mine tested out at a snails pace — sitting here in the middle of Lexington, KY: 85 kbps. Humph!

(Note: Image taken from Morguefile.com courtesy of photographer semacc.)

After a recent move, I’ve had to re-evaluate the way I connect to the Internet. Before the move, I had DSL. It was pretty dreamy for a couple of years. It was especially nice after having survived with a satellite ISP for three years prior to the DSL connection.

The satellite was much faster than the old back-roads country dial up that I had – which topped out at 24K and often refused to work at all if there was a heavy dew. Rain didn’t affect it much, but dew and heavy humidity would knock it out completely.

Now I’m back looking at ISP options and was appalled to learn that my new city has a single ISP provider with a monopoly – and that provider sells out the service to other ISP providers – which keeps the prices inflated. In the first month on the “city” DSL I had two days of complete outage and other times of extreme creeping-slow service. My “country” DSL was bullet-proof. It was a much better product. With the latest move, I started looking for other options.

Satellite ISP: It’s Not All “Dishy”
I was seriously considering getting a satellite again – just so I can stay mobile. I could get it attached to my RV and pumping it out wirelessly from there for use inside the house or outside in my mobile office. I could take it with me when I moved back to the farm or stay connected while I did some traveling. It would be a final solution. It would be perfect!

Then I did a bit of research…

My former satellite service (on the farm) had stared to slow noticeably just before I moved to the location where DSL was available. I thought it was just me… that I’d become even more impatient than usual. But my favorite online speed test (http://performance.toast.net/) proved that wasn’t the case. It really WAS slower.

Now, according to user groups and forums web-wide, the continued overselling of satellite bandwidth without adding any additional infrastructure has created a “slower than dial up” status for many subscribers. (Slower than dial up at broadband prices? No thank you.) And the equipment is not cheap. Incidentally, the satellite dish I had two years ago is no longer “supported” by the ISP, so I’ll have to reinvest over $1200 to get what I already have replaced to hook up to satellite again – if I don’t want it mounted on the RV. Mobile mounting really shoots the cost up.

Cable is Constricted
Cable, the other local option, is experiencing the same issues as satellite – at least in my market. Although not as dramatic as what’s happening with the Satellite ISPs, cable is being speed-throttled because all users in a geographic area share a common bandwidth. The bigger the subdivision, the more pronounced the problem, but even the less populated areas are noticing a speed and service lull according to my techie sources in town.

Maybe, since I work primarily during the day, my cable wouldn’t be too choked. The children would be at school and the majority of adults would be at work – using their company’s ISP – so maybe I could rearrange my work schedule a bit to facilitate better upload and download speeds for client work.

But, the fact is… I don’t want to. I want to have full and unfettered access to the Internet any time I get the urge. I’m spoiled. I’m demanding. I want fast Internet access!

Wringing Out the (Cell Phone) Waves
I used my wireless 3G cell phone SIM card in my computer during the transition period while DSL was being hooked up two months ago. It wasn’t a pleasant option. It was better than no option, but only marginally. I could work, but the speed was frustratingly sluggish and I had to abandon any attempts to perform multi-media downloads (which I do often — when I have the capacity). And the cost per month for this sub-standard data option? $60 over and above my cell phone plan, the cost of the “aircard” and let’s not forget taxes.

Wireless Webs Aren’t Woven in Kentucky
Here, there’s no news of the in-town wireless LAN options that I read about in other, more progressive, communities. It is my understanding that they also get throttled, but at least the cost is commensurate with the service. Many areas are offering community wireless LAN access for free or at an extremely low cost. A few of those available worldwide are listed here: http://wiki.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/WirelessCommunities.

Informationweek.com offers a glimpse into where the wireless web options are now, and where things are headed.

Alternative Options… It Costs HOW Much?!?!
The only other option I’ve investigated is a pricey one. There is a business-quality dedicated satellite ISP that doesn’t get “choked down” via overselling – at least that’s what the company representative tells me. But the snag is the cost.

I called a “business satellite specialist” and was told that my bill will come in at $13,000 for the installation I’d need to run a business quality dish on my RV. And then there is the monthly fee, ranging from $179 per month up to $599 per month. PER MONTH! This is not a viable option for most small business owners, IMHO. It’s not viable for me right now.

If you are interested in learning more about mobile (read expensive) options for business, visit: http://www.mobilsat.com/ or http://www.groundcontrol.com.

In conclusion, I see no real options other than DSL (which currently has me on the back end of a 12-day wait for service) or taking my chances with the bandwidth available through cable. Even DSL is subject to dramatic fluctuations in quality of service, depending on where you live.

I live in Kentucky, a state ranked 32 in the line-up for ISP onramp and download speeds. Rhode Island, the top ranked state, is over five times faster than South Dakota, nearly ten times as fast as Alaska and is over three times as fast as my own state. Check out the broadband statistics on your own state.

With the current lack of viable options and an ever-increasing demand for Internet access I can only imagine what it will be like in a few more years as the lag in the infrastructure and broadband service in the USA becomes even more evident.

According to current reports, the median download speed in the USA is just under 2 megabits per second, whereas in Japan, the median is over 60 megabits. Discouraging isn’t it? How will those of us who work on the web in the states compete online with substandard broadband?

It’s a serious concern for those who live and work online. It’s time to push for real alternatives. Not later, but now.

We have been teasing Alexzandria for some time about being the only one in the family that doesn’t have an iPod. She noted that fact first, mind you, we just hammered on it a bit.

For quite some time I have known she would be getting an iPod the first time one of our existing ones was replaced with the next generation.

She had no clue, however.

I held onto my 60 gig for a bit after getting my iPhone… and then I finally released my death-grip.

That happened on Sunday evening when I handed over my own iPod to my hubby (who had been coveting it for some time). He, in turn, gave me his 30 gig so I could wipe it and rename it and get it ready for Alex. (more…)

I recently found a great, inclusive frequently asked questions list for the new iPhone. If you are considering buying an iPhone, and want to be an informed consumer, you may want to consider reading this FAQ first!

There are a few things missing on this little baby…

Portrait option on playing movies and video content – when it’s in the little stand on my desk, I’d like to see Pink singing upright – even if that means I don’t get the benefit of the larger, amazing screen.

The ability to launch the little keyboard – so I can type where I like (even if the iPhone doesn’t recognize my ability to do so). Kind of like an Apple override button, assuming I know more about what I want than the phone does (can you tell this frustrates me?).

The ability to scroll in a form box on a website – so I can blog and fill out and edit forms on my iPhone. (more…)

*sniff* iPhone doesn’t play nicely with WordPress!

So much for my moblog aspirations… I can type in some text, but I can’t edit (the box doesn’t scroll down. Only the code version shows up — the what you see is what you get version called “visual” doesn’t toggle on the iPhone.)

I can’t edit much (since I can’t scroll down to get to the bottom — or even the middle — of my posts). How disappointing! I hope someone comes up with a work-around soon.

I notice this problem with all the online form-style entry pages I’ve tried so far.

Ok, the new hasn’t worn off. In fact, the more I work with it, the more I love it. I’m working to find the online, web-based apps that will make it my tiny palm-sized dream machine. I’ve always hesitated to rely on web-based versions of my core work programs, but I’m now seeing how nicely these web-based programs mesh with use of the iPhone.

I’m sure I’ll be mentioning what I find and offering reviews on what works well over the next days, weeks, and possibly even months. But, for now, here are a few impressions and some finds from my play-time this weekend with my new iPhone:

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I found a couple pretty sweet little applications for the iPhone this morning.

One was a shopping list for the iPhone – this list utilizes the Safari browser and was developed by Neven Mrgan (he also has a quote fetching service, Quip, which is pretty cool). How does it work? You bookmark the URL of the app: (more…)

Today, people stood in line in the rain and the muck, awaiting the 6 p.m. opening of local AT&T “corporate” stores to buy the elusive iPhone. In under 50 minutes all the phones in the three Lexington stores were gone.

As of this evening at closing time, there were only two places in Kentucky you could still get the phone — Maysville and Corbin. (Maysville had over 20 units — both 4 and 8 gig models).

The Maysville store number is 606-759-5098 and the Corbin store is: 859-523-1888.

The photo was taken at 3:00 this afternoon at the West Reynolds Road location. I guess those wanting the new toys won’t be slowed by rain, or sleet or snow or dead of night, eh?

I read a recent breakdown of changes in the iPhone done by TheSimpleWebSolution.com by comparing the keynote speech images with the most recent Apple television ads.

Two completely unrelated thoughts cropped up as I read this…

(more…)

Want to know the top browser, top online game, top web-based communication option — selected by Webware readers and web based application fans from all over? Check out the WebWare 100 Winners for 2007.
Many of these I use, or have used, but a few… under the topics of “entertainment” and “community” are begging for some of my “free time” — whatever THAT is!

It’s good to know that WordPress beat out Drupal, Blogger and TypePad in publishing/blogging and web content tools. *grin*

Surf on over to Dell’s open source page if you would like to view a video introduction to Linux in general and Ubuntu in particular in under five minutes.
Ubuntu is the Linux version both my children are using on their machines (my 17-year-old installed and maintains those systems) and is the OS of choice for Dell in the open source arena.

Dell is also offering a DOS OS on some of their machines for those “old hands” out there that are still running (or who miss running) the old DOS programs.

Thanks to Richard Huston’s Blog for the heads up on the new video!

I tripped across a great little explanatory blog about the wavelengths used by satellite ISP services (WildBlue in particular) and I thought I’d share that resource with any rural readers considering this option.

Personally, I had DirecWay as a satellite ISP when I was on the farm. When it worked, it was great, when it didn’t — it sucked. And the longer I had it, the slower it got — as more users came on and they throttled it more and more each day to pull in more people without increasing bandwidth and we all had to share.

It got pretty bad toward the end.

Having seriously considered getting WildBlue Internet recently, I found this information to be timely and welcome. Thanks, Tom!

I’ve been thinking that grandpa Microsoft was on the way to the old-folks home for technology. I’ve been making raspberries in his general direction. I’ve been finding alternatives.

And then I see Microsoft Surface — and it actually takes my breath away! It’s AWESOME!!

This is the type of computer integration with my life and my way of doing business and being entertained and staying organized that I’ve always known could be possible — but now I have the details, the funky, cool, OMG details.

This is like the interactive display hardware/software I reported on last year, but it’s so much more — it’s the next generation… and it’ NOW.

I can’t believe I’m recommending my readers go to a Microsoft site… but here I am doing just that.. Visit Microsoft’s Surface site — and watch all three videos. You will be glad you did.

Wow!

I called Cingular this week to get a cell phone for my son. Yeah, I know, it would normally run against my grain to deliver a cell phone to a teenager — but we are in the city now and he’s a responsible young man. Besides, he’s going to have freedoms here (and places to be) that weren’t possible in a rural setting. He’s also looking for a job.

So, while ordering the phone, I asked about the ETA for the iPhone. The representative said that it was supposed to be June — but that it had been delayed due to demand. (more…)