Miscellaneous Ramblings....

(Un)Official Obama Running mate picked

Strong rumor has it that Joe Biden has been selected as Obama's running mate for the presidential elections.

Bookmark Chat Rooms in Adium

If you are one of the many (and happy ) Mac users who make use of the Adium chat client, there is a very simple way to bookmark chat rooms that one visits consistently ( outside of the standard "File -> Join Group Chat" method").

You need to modify the toolbar to add the Bookmark icon:
Right-Click on any open chat window toolbar and select "Customize Toolbar"

Then select any currently open chat room and click on the Bookmark icon - done!

SubPar BBQ experiment

While chatting with a coworker regarding BBQ joints, we came across what looked like some promising places, at least judging by the reviews on UrbanSpoon (which also makes an awesome iPhone app ).
I tried Scott J-Mamas and he tried QFanatic. Sadly, it seemed that both experiments failed.

When you say that the best part of your BBQ meal is the twice-baked potatoe, that is not exactly a ringing endorsement. I ordered the ribs and chicken combo with mild barbecue sauce. I wasn't a big fan of the BBQ sauce, but probably the most disappointing aspect was that the meat (both the chicken and ribs) was fairly dry and felt like it had been sitting for a little bit and then warmed up. I guess it ended up being fortunate that my appetite is pretty small, so the twice baked potato was enough to fill me up.
Due to my severe disappointment, I will need to level the ship with either Baker's Ribs (which I haven't tried yet) or Big Daddy's (which are incredible).

On an tangent, another one of my coworkers evidently had a good experience at Brasa (as did another coworker, come to think of it ), so that restaurant will definitely be in my del.icio.us dining queue.

iPhone 2.0.2 Released

Apple has released iPhone software update 2.0.2. Again, details on what is exactly fixed is not forthcoming from Apple, so the end user must look to user comments in various sites (Engadget, TUAW & MacNN).
Some users are reporting snappier performance, better 3G signal, fewer crashes, as well as no more annoying contacts or keyboard lags. I have upgraded my iPhone to the 2.0.2 firmware update, so I'll be back with feedback after a little bit more usage.
(just a heads-up, the update is 242MB to download).

Update ( 08/22/08 ): Perhaps not too surprisingly, some users are still reporting issues with 3G even after the latest firmware update.

Some iPhone App Store review sites...

Thanks to TechCrunch, I found a couple a good iPhone App review sites: AppVee and App Store Apps.
AppVee does more in-depth reviews, while the App Store Apps site is more of a review/tricks-n-tips site. Needless to say, I have both of them bookmarked in my del.icio.us account.

Update (08/18/08): Also stumbled across this site today: iPhoneAppPodCast - had a decent review of NowLocal, the new iPhone App that I have been involved in.

Movie: The Dark Knight

This review has been a long time coming, but finally got to see The Dark Knight at the IMAX Theater. I would have to concur with the masses that this sequel is one of the few that lives up to it's predecessor and even surpasses it at some points. And, I also agree that Heath Ledger's Joker was one of those truly inspired performances. This second installment is definitely darker than Batman Begins, but it is just as well written (if not better) as Batman Begins. I am not a Batman fan by any stretch, but I will definitely be picking this one up when it is finally released on Blu-Ray.

iPhone 2.0.1 Released

Apple has released iPhone software update 2.0.1. Details on what the release fixes are more easily snagged from other sites than from Apple - however, reports trickling in from end users.
Unfortunately, the software update does not correct one of my more annoying issues - the excessively long backup times when syncing the iPhone. Too early to tell yet, but the other annoying issue ( intermittent long pauses when accessing the Contacts function ) seems to be improved.
In related news, apparently Apple is seeding a third beta of iPhone 2.1 to developers.

iTunes 7.7.1 Released

iTunes 7.7.1 has been released. This version seems to be a maintenance release, with bug fixes that promise more stability.
(Sadly it doesn't fix the infernally long iPhone sync times )

Del.icio.us Site Overhaul

For those users of the del.icio.us online bookmarking tool, you will be happy to know that the site had a complete overhaul, which included adding an additional domain ( Delicious.com ). Other improvements include performance enhancements as well as more search capabilities. I am stil trying to decide if I like the new or old interface better.

Twitter Commands

Ever since I have purchased my 3G iPhone, I have been having way too much fun with the various iPhone apps, especially Facebook and Twitterific. So, in an effort to publish even more worthless information on the internet , here are some Twitter commands.

Movie: Wall-E

Finally saw the movie Wall-E with my nephew. This is the latest movie from Pixar Studios and, despite my low expectations going into the movie, I was very surprised at how much I liked it. I definitely liked it better than Cars, though I am not sure if I liked it better than The Incredibles.

CNN Special: Black In America

This weekend (in between reconfiguring my nephew's new computer ), I had a chance to view a special by CNN called "Black In America", a two part special that examined the lives of Black Americans from different perspectives since the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
(This is evidently will be available for download on iTunes as well).

(Note: Another good examination was done by the NYTimes several years back called How Race is Lived in America, a fifteen part written series that also examined the issue of race in America from different perspectives.)

TV Show: Scrubs

OK, I'll admit that I am very late to the party on this one, but my generous coworker has (again) shown me the light and hooked me up with the TV show Scrubs. Let's just say that I stop watching it at work, because I was trying to hard to not laugh out loud. (so now I am watching it at home laughing out loud - currently meandering through Season 1).

More iPhone Reviews

For those still on the fence regarding whether or not to take the plunge on the new iPhone, here are a couple of reviews from ARSTechnica, TechCrunch and CNet.

Life with iPhone 3G

One week with the new iPhone and I had promised to post my initial impressions.
For starters, I suppose the biggest plus is that I have an iPhone at all , especially hearing the news of shortages around the country, which are rumored to last maybe another month.
It should be noted that I am somewhat merging both the iPhone and the 2.0 software review into one.

Pros:

3G Network - I am so happy to be able to leave the Edge network behind, I could care less if the 3G network drains my iPhone battery down to nothing.

Integrated GPS - can anyone say GeoCaching? Also is very nice with GoogleMaps (especially if you are directionally challenged - not that I would know anything about that )

App Store - In my own defense, I will leave out the amount of money that I have spent on apps, but will admit to blogging far more useless information now that I have the Twitterific and Facebook iPhone apps installed. (And I will also leave out the amount of time sunk into playing Aurora Feint and Trism ).

Louder Speaker - There has been some debate about this around the net, but I can now hear my movies without having to practically insert the phone in my ear.

Better Network detection - Supposedly one of the reasons for the plastic back on the phone was for better coverage - seems to work for me.

Better Screenshot features - Can take easily take or capture Safari web browser images (via zooming in on the image and pressing and holding until the "Save" option comes up) or capture a screenshot of the whole screen.

Cons:

Slowness with the 2.0 software - There seem to be two main schools of thought (see comments in article) on this issue:

1.) Upgrading to the previously leaked firmware ( 5A347 as opposed to 5A345, which is the default firmware version that is installed on most phones )

2.) In the Settings --> Fetch New Data -->
Set Push to "Off" and Fetch to "Manually"
~~This seemed to work for me - definitely didn't notice the annoying several second lag when bringing up contacts and trying to select or search.~~
Update (7/22/08): Sadly this doesn't seem to work.

Slowness with iTunes Sync - This seems to be an issue/feature? with the new software wanting to back up everything - supposedly after the first full successful backup incremental backups are supposed to be faster, but not seeing it at this end yet....

No Cut and Paste?!?! - Enough said on this one!

No Syncing of Notes?! - Fortunately thanks to the iPhone app Evernote, this isn't as much of an annoyance as it could have been.

AT&T charging an additional $5.00 for SMS messages - This is more of a complaint against AT&T then the iPhone per say, but it does feel like AT&T is doing a little bit of the old nickel-n-dime action here.

For another opinion on the 2.0 software, my coworker has weighed in with thoughts (twice ) - I should note that I installed the eBay mobile app purely on this recommendation, so if I go bankrupt from uncontrollable bidding, it is not my fault.