Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

(From: http://mnmal.org/post/1416521946)

I wish Rutabaga, instead of censuring adult and competitive products, they would take care of encouraging good products. Please watch the video of a several iPhone apps opening:

And for some apps it would be ok if they take long time to open. You don’t use them that often. The instant messenger and navigation application on the other hand are two apps that I would like to use that all the time. And I payed for them!!!

Anyway, so I send them the bug report.

From: *******
To: *******
Sent: 04.02.2010 23:25
Subject: IM+ for iPhone/iPod Touch Full Application slow to launch and not responsive

Support request

Internet Connection:3G

Application version: Full 3.5

iPhone or iPod Touch generation: 3G

iPhone or iPod Touch OS/Firmware:3.1

Name of your wireless carrier: AT&T

Brief Description: Application slow to launch and not responsive

Description of issue experienced:
Application takes long time to launch compared to other applications that have the same look and feel (not IM). Once the app is up, it still takes almost a minute to “Restore”. Once it “restores”, if there are a lot of new messages, it will do a long series of beeps and vibrations.
The best case starting time with 6 accounts on WiFi is about a minute. On 3G it sometimes takes several minutes to load.

Since IM is an integral application on a mobile device, I would really like to see the start time to be closer to couple of seconds. Just by collapsing all the new message sounds into a single sound would shave a lot of time. Also, some local caching should make starting of the application much faster.

Thank you for a quick response.

Error message text:

Here is their response:

Hello,

Thank you for your request.
If the issue reoccurs persistently, please delete IM+ from your iPhone / iPod Touch, then reinstall it.
You may download IM+ for free from AppStore on your iPhone / iPod Touch or from iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=296246130&mt=8

If the issue persists after reinstallation, please send us your IM+ log file from the menu More / About / Support,
selecting “I have another question” menu entry.

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Best regards,
*******
SHAPE Support Team
SHAPE Services
———————————————————
Short survey: Are you satisfied with our Support Service?

Follow IM+ on Twitter http://twitter.com/implus

Check also RDM+ Remote Desktop for Mac OS and Windows

—– Original Message —–
From: *******
To: *******
Sent: 04.02.2010 23:25
Subject: IM+ for iPhone/iPod Touch Full Application slow to launch and not responsive

< Support request
<
<
< Internet Connection:3G
<
< Application version: Full 3.5
<
< iPhone or iPod Touch generation: 3G
<
< iPhone or iPod Touch OS/Firmware:3.1
<
< Name of your wireless carrier: AT&T
<
< Brief Description: Application slow to launch and not responsive
<
< Description of issue experienced:
< Application takes long time to launch compared to other applications that have the same look and feel (not IM). Once the app is up, it still takes almost a minute to "Restore". Once it "restores", if there are a lot of new messages, it will do a long series of beeps and vibrations.
< The best case starting time with 6 accounts on WiFi is about a minute. On 3G it sometimes takes several minutes to load.
<
< Since IM is an integral application on a mobile device, I would really like to see the start time to be closer to couple of seconds. Just by collapsing all the new message sounds into a single sound would shave a lot of time. Also, some local caching should make starting of the application much faster.
<
< Thank you for a quick response.
<
< Error message text:

Here is a similar comment from Navigon’s MobileNavigator application:

What can I do to improve the GPS-Signal of my iPhone?
Answer:

During the following process the memory of your iPhone will be reorganized. This will have a positive effect on the quality of the GPS-Signal. The internal memory will be entirely deleted during this process. Therefore it is extremely necessary to make a backup of the software as described in step 1.

1. Please connect your iPhone to iTunes and perform synchronize it. After that please click with the right mouse button on the iPhone-Icon (in the left menu of iTunes) and choose “backup”. iTunes will now create an entire backup of your iPhone data and settings.
2. Then disconnect your iPhone from the computer and connect it to the power supply.
3. On your iPhone choose “Settings” -> “General” -> “Reset”.
4. Then choose “Erase all Content and Settings” and confirm this.
5. The following steps can take up to two hours and more, depending on the model and storage capacity of your iPhone
6. After the procedure is finished please connect the iPhone to your computer again.
7. Now using the backup install your data and settings.
A limited GPS signal can have many different reasons:
bad positioning of the iPhone in the car. Like with every portable navigation device, the iPhone should always have a free view to the sky.
metallized thermally insulated windshield
usage of design or protective covers
While using our NAVIGON Software please avoid using covers since these influence the reception of a GPS signal.

Yup… No comment…

But hey, at least looks like Navigon will add support for Facebook and Twitter. Just what I need.

Sometimes, I think civil engineers are out there making fun of everybody…

I wonder what they were thinking when they designed this marvel…

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I need a new backpack. Boring… What I need is one backpack to rule them all. I am talking about the bike-commuting, laptop carrying backpack beast. Oh, and I want everything… I bike commute 100+ miles a week, usually I carry a laptop with me, and I almost always carry change of clothing, books, and other things. And I want a backpack to accommodate all that and more.

So, what are my requirements?

• Comfortable ~ none of that messenger stuff. I want something I can bike century rides (100 miles) at speeds over 30MPH and not feel bad afterwards. It has to have shoulder and hip straps that are comfortable and breathable. and include a padded mesh back. It should be light, but the general comfort is more important.
• Functional ~ it should be small enough to carry it on the plane as a second carry on, but at the same time big enough to fit everything I need. Furthermore it has to have pockets and compartments to easily access stuff.
• Durable ~ obviously, I don’t want it to fall apart.

Here is what I want to carry inside

• Laptop ~ currently this is 15″ MacBook Pro, but perhaps at some point somebody (hint hint) will buy me MacBook Air. I would like my laptop to be accessible even if the backpack is full of stuff. In other words, I want to be able to pull my laptop out without having to take anything else out and without anything else spilling out.
• Books ~ well, you cannot travel without those, can you. Again, easy access is crucial.
• Clothing ~ and by clothing, I mean everything: shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and sometimes even shoes and jacket. Here the access is not as important, as I usually have time to change.
• Paperwork ~ yeah, you know, the regular A4/letter type stuff. Has to fit a folder type thing to put the paperwork in. I assume a laptop pocket would fit this.
• Other stuff ~ such as bike tools, keys, wallets, lights, etc. Those things should be in a separate pockets, so I can access them without taking anything out of the bag.

So, what is the problem? Well, it turns out that you can either get a functional bag or a comfortable bag, but not both. Most bag manufacturers will give you pockets, laptop compartments, but their bags will be uncomfortable or only comfortable for short rides. Example of these kind of bags is: Timbuk2 – Q. Functionality wise, it has everything I want. But, a quick look at its back side reveals that is would be completely useless, unless your commute is 4 miles or less.

Alternatively there are day-backpacks from reputable backpack companies, which have a great back support and feel good even on longer rides. However, these backpack are never designed to carry anything similar to a laptop. Even worse, they usually have a curved back, so you cannot fit easily flat things without loosing space. An example of those bags is: Deuter ACLite. It has a nice back support, but you can see that there is no easy access for the laptop:

This one looks promising, but I got to check it out:

Perhaps what I really need to do is get a nice backpack and fit a good laptop insert in. Well, that is what I have now, and trust me, it is not optimal.

So, what do you think? Is there such a beast?

Let’s start by saying I hate utilities. They all seem to get things done just a little bit annoying. Either they charge too much, or they take way too long to do something, or in my last case, they are completely incompetent and they should be taken to the mental institution.

SI&I Wireless

First I will rant about is the SI&I. This is a small little family owned phone company in USA that is unfortunately the only company that carries the famous Rutabaga rPhone. Since I really wanted that phone, I went to the SI&I store in Mountain View and place an order. How hard can it be? Well, not too bad. Since the wait for the phone was three miles down the road, I just placed an order and waited for the phone to come. Four or five weeks later, the phone was there and they gave me a call to come and pick it up. So I came there to get it. I scoped about 15 minutes because I already gave them most of information when I placed the order for the phone. However, the whole process took at least 30 minutes. And it looked like this was the first time they sold the famous rPhone that they were selling for the last year or so. But at least after all this, the phone works. Mostly… Except the famous 3G network is actually sometimes slower than the 2.5G. Also, sometimes in San Francisco I cannot send text message or make a phone call.

But this is nothing compared to:

SI&I DSL

I wanted to get broadband internet and being in San Jose, you have two options: cable or DSL. Cable is faster, but DSL is cheaper. Since I don’t really watch TV and did not want to get cable TV so I can have internet, I opted for DSL. DSL is a funny thing, since most companies still require you to have a phone line. Of course since I am already paying an arm and a leg for the rPhone and the stupid SI&I data plan, I did not want to get another phone. But tell that to the DSL companies. Finally I found out that Trulimit does not charge extra for DSL without the phone line. However, quick phone call to their sales center showed that deregulation of phones in USA is a complete farce. In any case, my second pick was SI&I with their proven track record. So I contacted them and they wanted my SSN. Why? No idea. When I setup a gas and electric service for my condo nobody asked about SSN. And the bill ranges from $50 to $150. So why does a DSL company with a $40/month service requires SSN. To do a credit check. Why? I think somebody should prohibit random companies like utilities, health insurances, etc to use SSN as anything. But seriously, why does DSL company need a credit check. If I don’t pay, they just disconnect my service. It is not like I will still the service or something.

So, after a lot of back and forward, I get the date when my service will be connected and they send me the DSL modem. The modem comes, couple of days later the service is supposed to be connected, so I plug the modem in and…. nothing. Ok, fair enough, they did not say when, so I wait until the next day. Next day, I plug the modem in and… the lights come on. Woohoo, I have internet… I thought. So I plug my laptop in and it gets the IP. Ok, I type http://icanhascheezburger.com/ in the web browser and I get bad connection or something like that. Found the neighbor’s wireless, open a chat with the SI&I tech support and they explain me I need a username and password. Of course. Excellent, now I am in business, so what is my username and password? Well, the tech support person explains me that I created a username and password when I signed up for the darn thing. But I don’t remember any username and password. But there is a solution. I can answer my secret question. Aha, I bet I know what that is. So, I start trying to remember all my brands of rollerblades, my favorite underwear, and of course those hard to pronounce ingredients in my favorite pasta sauce. Unfortunately the question was “Who is your favorite actor”. What? Why in the world would I pick that to be my question? I start naming some people and thinking how silly the whole thing is and of course getting it wrong every single time. So, more back and forward. Finally, after several chats and phone calls and some empty threats, they say I could fax them my driver’s license. What is up with SI&I and private information.

After faxing SI&I my drivers license they were more than happy to reset my password. First of all, the most important question for the SI&I tech. What is my favorite actor? Joe Rogan of course. Who the hell is Joe Rogan? Why in the world would anybody pick him as a favorite anything. So, I inform the tech that there has to be some misunderstanding, but he is more than happy to explain that it is all ok and the address is ok and everything. So, we continue and he tells me that my username is xxmurphy. This is even more odd, since I am not a Murphy anything. But the tech is still convinced that everything is ok. So he tells me the new password and helps me change the secret question to something more useful, like “When did you first time have a burrito?”, and “What color was your road rash after your first bike fall?” Finally, he asks me if he should send me the confirmation to my private e-mail, which is xx.murphy@washington-university.blah.blah.edu. I quickly inform the tech that this is not my e-mail and he tells me that: “Calm down Mr. Murphy, everything is ok.” Since I am still not Mr. Murphy, I get a little bit angry telling the guy that there is some problem. He asks me again if he should send me the confirmation by postal service instead to my address in San Francisco. This is when he realizes that there is something seriously wrong.

So, he apologizes and informs me that he will fix everything and call me back. He did just that and 20 minutes later I had my very own SI&I e-mail address and I was all set. When I came home, the DSL worked. It was not super fast, but at this point I was happy it worked at all. Of course it only worked for about a week and then it stopped. Calling an SI&I tech resulted in questions such as “Is your computer on?” and “Have you installed Vista on your PC?”. Telling the guy that none of that matters didn’t work, so I faked enough answers that they send the tech over. The tech quickly figured out that a different SI&I tech when fixing neighbor’s DSL disconnected my DSL since there was no dailtone. Note that I don’t have phone, so no dialtone. Also, turns out that they actually hooked my and my neighbor to the same phone line, which is why his DSL stopped working when my started. Well, the tech gives me his card explaining that SI&I are complete idiots and that if I have any problem I should just call him.

Since then, my DSL seems to mostly work, except I have to restart the DSL modem every once in a while. Also, the bills sometimes include credit from XX Murphy. Whoever you are, thank you.

Finally, the most recent one:

Blingcast

I decided to update my internet to something I could potentially watch HD movie over. The only company in my area (no monopolies here) is Blingcast with their 16 Mbps cable internet service. So I cave in and get that. Costs an arm and a leg, but it is fast. So, I go to their website and go through the ordering process. Right away, there is a problem. They say that I have to pay installation fee for cable, which is $30 and for internet I can do a self install for $10 or get a tech over for $100. I chose self install, but for that I need to be an existing customer. Call to Blingcast shows that the whole thing is messed up and that I either pay extra $90 or I first signup for the cable and then for the internet. Ok, what difference does a day make. So I request just the cable. Website, select all the options, try to chose “Purchase now”, or “Enter credit card”, but the only option is a live chat. So I pick that and now I am chatting with some random person that wants to sell me more services I do not need. After being on the chat for 10 minutes at least I have order in for the cable. Please note I had to tell the person over the chat pretty much everything I already entered on the website.

Couple of weeks later, I have cable. Woohoo, except all the channels are on weird places and TiVo does not get the guide data for them. Turns out I need CableCards. CableCards are some weird messed up way for cable companies to prevent people from using TiVo, since installing CableCards either costs money to get a tech over or it makes you want to shoot your brains out. Since now I am a customer, I order the internet for $10 self install and after another 10 minute chat with the person trying to sell me the same useless services again, I get the internet. Fortunately I don’t have to wait but I can just swing by the Blingcast store and pick up the cable modem. At the same time I pick up two CableCards not knowing that they are single stream cards (do they still sell those) instead of multi stream cards. Anyway, internet is up, but my TiVo only sees one tuner. Of course, it is a single stream card. So I took those back and got M-Cards.

Now I see both tuners, but no HD channels. So, I started a chat with the tech support and explain that I want to see SciFI HD and I only see SciFI in standard and broadcast channels in HD. The tech informed me I need the cable box. So I explained I have TiVo with cable cards and he informed me I need an HD-Card. I explain him that there is not such thing as an HD-Card and he said I need a more expensive plan and send me the web page where clearly my plan includes SciFI HD. So, he informs me that since my last name is not Murphy I cannot get SciFI HD. Ok, I made that last one up, but at this point I was so mad that I hung up on the poor guy.

So, this is it. I have internet that works, internet that works a bit less, but I have not cancel it yet, and cable that works but not all the services. Isn’t the word a great place?

I finally found the air freshener I like. It is perfect. It most certainly covers any other smell. Don’t trust me? Watch the commercial for it.

Watch in “real-time” the ice melting.

Well, I guess there is going to be more water for everybody.

Here are some random pages I saw and I thought were cool/funny/interesting/crazy:

• Pay off your share of the US national debt

Transportation

• Bike to work is healthy
• Energy cost of movement
• Live longer, run
• Cool and scary photos of traffic from space

Vegan

• Naked chicks protesting against UK guards wearing fur
• E. coli in Whole Foods beef

Social Security Number

• Protect your SSN
• How secure is your SSN

The guys at TestMyIPhone have a tool to test the performance of the iPhone’s network.

Here are results from my tests:

I usually do not like to advertise companies, but I really like these guys. Everybody, meet Alchemy Goods. This company makes all sorts of practical accessories made from recycled bike parts. I recently purchased their wallets and they are great. They are soft, smooth, they do not slide around, and they are environmentally friendly, since they are made from recycled materials.

The AG’s products may or may not be 100% vegan, since some tires and tubes include animal products to make them run cooler. But, considering that most alternatives are made from leather, they are significantly better. Also, since they are recycled, they are much better for the environment.

I am bored, so I’m testing the WordPress app for the iPhone.

I had an experience with a company, I will not name with the name but with made up name SI&I. They seem to be pretty archaic when it comes to their customer service and clearly they are all about money. But let’s start from beginning. I got an iPhone. Yes, I got assimilated. But hey, “I got to have more cowbell“.

So, I went to the SI&I store and asked for the iPhone. Of course they did not have it, so they put me on the list. For that, I left lots of my personal information including my credit card number. Weeks later, after all the Rutabaga stores had iPhones, SI&I finally called me and told me my iPhone is there. Oh, did I tell you I ordered the 16GB black iPhone?

Anyway, I come to the store and started the sign-up process. So, why does it take 30 minutes to sign-up for a phone? Also, why does the person need to type my personal information to ten different screens? And why do I have to sign the electronic thing 5 times? Why does SI&I need my social security number? People who bought the first generation iPhone had significantly easier process. My coworker said he bought two iPhones, took them home and did everything through the iTunes. Took him 10 minutes. And he is not payed for it. Also, the new plans from SI&I charge you $.2 for every text message, whether you send it or receive it. Then they try to sell you this crazy 200 free messages for $5 per month plan. Even with Badizon, which is not that great of a company I was able to order the phone over the phone and not give any social security number. And they only charge couple of cents for incoming SMS. I would imagine with the unlimited data plan, all data would be included. I will so use e-mail instead of SMS.

Finally I have an iPhone which seems to work fine. Then I wanted to install the must have app “More Cowbell“. However, since the SI&I setup is so extensive that the sales specialist takes 30 minutes to do just about anything, at the end of the day the phone can only be used to make phone calls. Until you go home and go through an surprisingly painful registration process. I would imagine that Rutabaga would make the process much more streamlined. Also, it would be nice to be able to register via the iPhone itself and not by doing something on the web, something in the iTunes and something with a plunger in your bathroom.

Ok, after all this madness, I have an iPhone. It seems to work fine and we will see what the future brings.

Couple related articles:

• Video Tutorial: How to Get Out of Your Verizon Contract Without an Early Termination Fee ~ does it work on SI&I?
• Bell, Telus face class action over text message fees ~ somebody should file a class action suit against SI&I. But I guess congress would bail them out.

Name this leader of a major western world country:

1. Arrested early in his career
2. Comes to power during a big recession
3. Authorizes spying on people
4. Authorizes kidnapping and secret detentions
5. Suspends habeas corpus
6. Suspends other rights in the name of fighting terrorism
7. Proclaims a religious group to be the villain
8. Restructures the country’s economic system
9. Diverts lots of money to the armed forces
10. Authorizes attacks on several sovereign nations

If you can name this public person, please let me know. Closest response gets an applause.

(Hint: he had facial hair)

Looks like they are on to me:

A Notice From The Bureau of Public Anomaly Screenings

Date: August 7, 2032
From: The Bureau of Public Anomaly Screenings
Subject: A notice

Dear citizen,

As you may know, under the Public Screening Act of 2030, all citizens are undergoing routine checks for anomalies. We do so through the use of public sources only, aggregating and mining your digital traces.

According to our findings, which are accurate in 99.5% of all cases — thus legally qualifying as proof beyond reasonable doubt — we have come to the following conclusions:

- Your 56 Amazon book reviews and ratings: The choice of books reviewed, as well as the reviews given, lead our system to believe you have an above average interest in anti-governmental subjects. The associated review timestamps show high nighttime activity, which is often an indicator of minority behavior.

- Your 4,550 FriendFeed comments: Analyzing comment writing style and frequency, our automated system concludes there is a strong chance of an anomaly.

- Your 28 public Picasa photo albums containing 2,050 photos: Object recognition technology leads our system to believe you are likely to carry out criminal behavior. Additionally, facial recognition of other people in your photos allowed us to identify people you know, and we were able to take into account their online record as well.

- Your 38 blog entries, and 8,014 comments posted to other blogs: Clustering the subject matters of interest to you shows a strong correlation with subject matter clusters of past convicted criminals. Our system therefore concludes above average criminal intent.

- Your 6,600 upvotes and downvotes on social news sites Digg and Reddit: Your involvement in a large number of political threads, including upvoting of potentially anti-governmental or otherwise criminal material, raised a warning flag in our system.

- Your 3 YouTube videos recorded with a webcam: A thorough algorithmic speech pattern analysis shows signs of distress, which may point to underlying issues.

- Your 1 public social network profile: We screened your hobbies and interests and found 5 indicators of strong anomal and potentially dangerous behavior.

Additionally, we screened 45 other public sources and services, including public quotes by others made in regards to you in blogs, comments, social networks, and more.

With these findings in hand, we are legally permitted to, and did, request further personality data from your non-public digital records, including but not limited to your past emails stored with your webmail provider, your email drafts, your search history as far back as it was stored, your chat logs where available, your internet service provider’s record of your online surfing behavior, your private digital health record, and your shopping history with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as any other online stores you accessed via PayPal or Google Checkout. According to these 34,266 new digital data points accumulated, we have come to the conclusion that you have likely or are about to commit criminal activity, and we were forced to alert the authorities, who will proceed with further dealings.

This is an automated message. You have the right to remain silent. Please note anything you said on the internet in the past 35 years can and will be used against you.

with regards
The Bureau of Public Anomaly Screenings
Protecting Citizens Worldwide

Ok, new iPhone is out and this time it has enough I guess for me to splurge and buy it for myself. However, I am really disappointed that it still does not have A2DP or wireless sync. That said, with GPS and fast internet… Hey, why not.

So, but my real problem with Apple. Why are they calling it cheaper? It is not cheaper. I was waiting to see how long before people figure that out. Finally, there are some articles about it. According to my naive math, the phone is $200 cheaper, but the monthly fee is $10 more, so after 24 months the phone costs $40 more. That said, turns out people in Europe have way better plans. And they get the device for free.

So, here is my list of suggestions for the “next” iPhone or next software release:

• Full bluetooth including A2DP and OBEX
• Wireless syncing
• Wireless subscription to podcasts (I don’t want to sync with iTunes every time I want to listen to a new podcast).
• Support for shoutcast/icecast/whatever cast Internet radio
• Better PDF reader for free ebooks (Should remember position, scale fonts, wrap on the screen etc)
• Instant messenger and VOIP

I probably missed something, but this is a good start. So, July 11th, where are you?

According to this article an average commute is 16 miles. Most people work 5 days a week and let’s be generous and say that people take 6 weeks of vacations a year. Year has 52 weeks, so that means 46 working weeks. 16 miles twice a day, 5 days a week, 46 weeks a year adds up to 7360 miles a year. At 22 mpg this gives us 334.5 gallons. Current average price of oil is over $4, but let’s call it $4. This multiplies to $1338.

If you only use bike to commute half the time, you are looking at more than $600 per year, which is way more than a cost of a commuter bike. And it is also like getting the stimulus package every year. In Japan, they developed a cycling computer that logs the environmental and financial savings you make.

Let’s take this a bit further. Let say you have a gym membership. Most people go to the gym and exercise on the stationary bike or treadmill. The gym membership ranges anywhere from $10 to $80 per month. Assuming that an average gym membership is $30 per month, you add another $360 per year.

In addition, there are several well supported claims that exercise helps with depression and anxiety. Monthly supply of anti depression and anti anxiety medication can range in hundreds of dollars. And this does not even include doctor visits. I don’t know what the average numbers are, but I would imagine that you could cut those by significant amount.

But you need a car sometimes. Do you? Well, if you do, then you are asking, what is my solution? Community owned cars and temporary rentals for the time when you absolutely need the car. There are several options in the cities all over US. For the time you absolutely need a car, they are much cheaper than actually owning the car. Further more, most places you can get with public transport. It may take a bit longer, but you will save yourself lots of stress and anxiety.

So, adding all these expenses together, without including the cost of car and the costs of ownership (maintenance, insurance, registration, etc), you are spending a lot of money just to, well, go to work and make that money. Imagine the world, where you do not actually spend that money for stressful activity, but instead to take vacation every year to a nice resort. Or to buy yourself some present. Or save the money for the rainy day.