Tag: iPhone

Useful Links: Open source, STEM programs, iPhone unavailable–sometimes

Say Hello to the Open Source Decade by Laura Scott.

Open Source has been around for quite some time, but odds are most people you ask won’t know what “open source” is. This isn’t because open source is obscure, but rather it has slipped into the mainstream, and unless you’re already in the know, there’s no real reason you will have noticed it.

Planting seeds of science interest in kids of all ages is a great list of resources leading to programs of all sorts meant to bring kids into STEM fields.

Live in New York and want an iPhone? Forget about it. AT&T Customer Service: “New York City Is Not Ready For The iPhone”. Apparently AT&T decided the solution to their lack of coverage in the Big Apple was to stop selling Apple phones there. The blackout on iPhone only extends to online sales, according to TechCrunch, where we see Relax, You Can Still Buy an iPhone in New York City. Just Not Online. The end of this story will be to learn what happened to the poor AT&T service rep who pronounced the fateful sentence, “New York City is not ready for the iPhone.”

Reading with the Kindle Reader on an iPhone

I just finished the first book I’ve read on my iPhone. I used the free Kindle reader app. I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.

I just finished the first book I’ve read on my iPhone. I used the free Kindle reader app. I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.

I loved the experience. It was a relief to my often achy hands and thumbs to not have a heavy book to hold. The screen resolution is so crisp that I had no problem seeing it, even with my crap-for-eyes.

It went amazingly fast. The line length is so short than you can almost read down the page line by line without having to refocus your eyes again and again to scan across the lines. It’s speed reading without even trying.

I have a feeling that I’ll be buying all books that are available for Kindle in this way from now on.

iPhone questions

Every once in a while I get infected with the desire–the urgent NEED–for an iPhone. So far, I haven’t succumed to the urge because it will be so expensive to get out of the contract I have with my current phone company. I need your advice.

Every once in a while I get infected with the desire–no the urgent NEED–for an iPhone. So far, I haven’t given in to the urge because it will be so expensive to get out of the contract I have with my current phone company.

But the other day I was using a friend’s iPod touch. Good grief, she could use a browser, get her mail, log in at Pay Pal, write a blog post, Tweet, and heaven knows what else. It struck me that traveling with one of those would be a whole lot easier than lugging a computer and a camera around.

But if I use it to photograph and blog an event like Web Directions North or SXSWi, will I be happy with the photos? And would I find the blogging tedious with one finger typing? I’m particularly concerned about the photos. I have a nice camera with a 12X zoom, which is wonderful at events where I may be sitting 30 rows back. And live blogging with one finger–can I keep up?

Have you used an iPhone or Blackberry Storm or other similar phone instead of a computer when traveling? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Do you save enough in hassle to justify the cost (especially when you have to buy out of an existing contract first)?

Can you show me photos on Flickr or some easily accessible place that were taken with an iPhone?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences using one in the way I’m thinking about.

Useful links

Migrating from WCAG 1.0 to WCAG 2.0 by Roger Hudson at the Web Industry Professionals Association website is a well organized summary of the changes.

Even if you aren’t an iPhone user, you may be a .Mac user. Apple announced today, along with a bunch of stuff about the new iPhone, that .Mac is becoming MobileMe at me.com. Me.com works for both Mac and Windows users to sync everything from your iPhone or iPod touch with the stuff in your computer’s email, calendar, etc. Another announcement I thought was important that might be overlooked in all the 3G, price drop hoopla—Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are all now fully functional on an iPhone.

iPhone mania, iPhone rumors, iPhone apps

For the last couple of weeks, rumors of a new iPhone have been rampant. Apple.com and ATT stores are sold out, phones are unavailable. All this leads to speculation that a new and improved version is on the way. It must be coming soon, too, or retail stores would still be stocking plenty of the existing model. In fact, Gizmodo claims to have confirmation that the new iPhone will be announced June 9, and released immediately after.

Read more about iPhone mania, iPhone rumors, iPhone apps in the complete article at BlogHer.