I did it. Yesterday, I walked into an AT&T store and plunked down the plastic for a 32G iPhone 3Gs. Once again, Steve’s Reality Distortion Field was in full effect, and my past hatred for Apple was but a distant memory as I happily test a unit at the store and accessed familiar websites with ease.
Given that I live in Vermont, other options simply are not options here. Sprint and the Palm Pre are non-players, as the coverage in this area is non-existent. Verizon Wireless is owned and operated by Satan (or monkeys… I am not sure which) and due to my past experience with them, I refuse to use VZ again. T-Mobile? Not an option. They won’t even sell me a phone here.
That leaves AT&T. I’ve been a Unicel customer for years, but since they got gobbled up by AT&T, that was the path of least resistance. Also, I’ll be able to keep my Nokia e71 as a backup phone which I can use when I go biking or hiking or whatnot, or in the even that the iPhone fails in one way or another.
So for the next two years, I’m an AT&T customer. God help me.
Windows 7 Now Available for Pre-Order
Windows 7 is now available for pre-ordering. Looks like there’s no stopping it now.
Jason Watkins had better be ready to pony up my five bucks in a few months!
Safari 4 (or "Way to Make a Great First Impression, Apple")
This morning I started up Safari 4 on my Windows box. I won’t go into the controversy about Apple’s auto-update policies, or privacy concerns with it pre-caching sites you (have not yet) visit(ed), etc. I think the first page I got sums it up nicely.
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My (Unsuccessful) Attempts to Get an iPhone 3Gs
I tried to get an iPhone 3Gs as soon as it was announced on Monday. I called my friend who owns a cellular phone store, and is an AT&T reseller. In his words, “AT&T would rather you buy it from Wal-Mart than me, so call me back and I’ll tell you how you can get one.” Strike one. Continue reading “My (Unsuccessful) Attempts to Get an iPhone 3Gs”
Electric Scooter Update (Or, the Truth About Battery Powered Vehicles)
Last year I purchased an electric scooter from R Martin Limited with the intention of cutting my fuel costs. Unfortunately, I did not ride the scooter much last year, except in my 9 mile commute to the office because it was not capable of anything more than a 20 mile trip without draining the batteries. Continue reading “Electric Scooter Update (Or, the Truth About Battery Powered Vehicles)”
Useful and Fun Bash Prompt Tweaking
A friend of mine gave me the following code, which he pulled off of http://serverfault.com. The site’s still in beta, and I don’t have an account there so I can’t actually get the full source URL, but here’s the code: Continue reading “Useful and Fun Bash Prompt Tweaking”
Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackelope is Out, and I'm Running Xubuntu
Get it while it’s hot!
I did a clean install of the Xubuntu Jaunty Jackelope release candidate last night, and it went very smoothly.?The install ?was quick and easy, and I like the themes and default apps that come with Xubuntu.?On the small screen and limited hardware, I am liking XFCE more than GNOME, which seems bloated by comparison.
This morning I did an apt-get upgrade, which updated 70 packages, and that was it.?
I haven’t yet gotten Compiz working (because I can’t find a button to turn on desktop effects… lame, I know), and it’s taking me a little time to find thinks in locations other than where I expect them to be, but that seems to happen any time I try a new ?remix / respin / distro / desktop, so I won’t hold that against it.
Security Tip: Don?t Click on Links, and Don?t Send Them Either!
By now, many of this blog’s readers have already heard me tell them why it is bad to click on links in email. Without going in to detail, it is because links can very easily be forged in email, just like they can on a web site.
Here’s an example: Where do you think this link will take you? Go ahead and try, it’s safe (I promise).
Continue reading “Security Tip: Don?t Click on Links, and Don?t Send Them Either!”
New Blog for Paradigm
This week I launched a new blog over at http://blog.paradigmcc.com. This is to be the “official” blog of my company.
Nikolaidis.com isn’t changing, and there will definitely be overlap between the two – I envision a lot of cross posts. But the other blog will have other contributors and will also be a tad lighter on the rants, heavier on the business.
Gmail Autopilot(TM)
This morning, while attempting to log in to my Gmail account, I was pleased to see the newest feature they are offering, Gmail Autopilot?.
