Electronics: July 2008 Archives

Today marks another episode in what is quickly becoming the never ending InvisibleSHIELD saga. When we last left our hero he was anxiously awaiting the conclusion of his wife's InvisibleSHIELD installation training. I was anxiously looking forward to having an iPhone that had been sealed for my protection. And although I had no intention of ever running my keys across the iPhone it would be good to know that I could without having to worry about whether it would be scratched. As Trina finished installing the film she brought the iPhone to me to make sure everything was cool. She was carrying it as if it contained nitro glycerin. I was really hoping that the instructions did not include that I had to carry my phone in that manner. Being a typical guy, I just reached out to grab the device and begin messing with it.

Recently I wrote about the InvisibleSHIELD over for the iPhone 3G. I spoke at length about how cool I thought it was and how well it would protect my iPhone. I bought on-line because I could not find one of the covers locally. After reviewing the web site and watching the installation videos I figured that I could handle the installation myself. I'm a college graduate; I mean how hard could it be? I looked at the package and reviewed the graphics and the instructions. By about the second paragraph I figured there was no way I was ever going to be able to do this. Not because it was hard but because I have absolutely no patience for stuff like this. So I did what I always do in times like this, I asked Trina for help. She told me she had time. That was Thursday.

Ever since getting my iPhone I have been completely paranoid about it. The AT&T store where I bought the phone did not have any cases that did not look completely lame. I have therefore been carrying around a naked iPhone for nearly 2 weeks. I am so worried it is going to get scratched that it is driving me crazy. Trina says I carry it around like it is made from high-grade weapons grade plutonium. I am not quite sure I am comfortable with my wife knowing how high-grade weapons-grade plutonium is handled but that is probably another completely unrelated subject that I should leave for another day. So since iPhone 3G day I have been searching for a case that would protect my iPhone without making it look like some sort of plastic encased brick. I really thought I would get something like the Griffin iClear that I use for my iPod Touch. I like the clear plastic cases as it lets the beauty of the device show through but also provides the needed protection from the elements. It is kind of a hassle to dock since it won't actually fit in the dock but I have gotten used to just using the cable so I can't complain too much. Now that I have the iPhone I want something that is a little more elegant and useful.

While we're talking about Christmas (I am milking every character out of that Hallmark Ornament Premiere post), I thought I would provide a little feedback and perhaps a short product review. Last year Trina asked what I would like as a gift and I immediately blurted out Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones in my best Ralphie voice from the movie Christmas Story. I was half waiting for Trina to retort with "You'll shoot your eye out!" but she refrained. I currently own a set of Sony MDR-NC20 noise-cancelling headphones but I was really interested in trying out the Bose. I had purchased the MDR-NC20 when they first were released. I was very skeptical of the whole notion of noise cancellation but after making several cross-country flights with the Sony headphones I was sold. They were by far the best travelling gadget I owned. Why then was I looking to change if I was so enamored with my current Sony headphones?

It is as though the Shuttle saga is taking on a life of its own. It was bad enough that I had somehow snuck in a brand new computer but this hole I am digging just seems to be getting deeper and deeper. I keep thinking that if I can shovel dirt from one side of the hole to the other than I can get closer to the top and finally get out of this mess but that doesn't seem to be working. It started when I decided to bring it on vacation. I probably could have gotten away with that but I forgot the monitor and had to buy a new one. Trying to explain why I needed a new 22" LCD monitor while we were on vacation took a serious amount of creative thinking and tap dancing. Unfortunately, that was not quite the end to my needs.

Ever since Apple released the iPhone last year I have been attempting to make a case to justify getting one. No matter what the argument was that I would make there was someone who shot it down leaving me to flounder without a smart phone (does not having a smart phone by definition mean you have a dumb phone?). Finally a couple of months ago I stumbled upon the perfect reason for having an iPhone. I tried it out on Trina and sure enough she accepted my justification. I was in! I would soon be an iPhone carrying geek first-class to be worshipped by all the other geeks who had not come up with the perfect justification. Of course with any plan there may be issues and mine was no different. Now that I had the proper approvals I found that there was not an iPhone to be found on the planet. The rumor was that there would be a new iPhone introduced at the World Wide Apple Developer's Conference. The morning of the keynote address I sat glued to my computer watching along and monitoring every blog and information service I could find. Sure enough the new Apple iPhone 3G was announced. The specifications looked like a dream phone. I could hardly wait to go out at lunch and pick one up. Wait, what was that Steve Jobs just said? I rewound the keynote address and listened again. It won't be available until July? My heart of course sank at this news. I felt a little like Homer Simpson in the episode where he tried to buy a handgun. He went to the gun store to buy a gun because he was made and wanted to shoot someone. The gun dealer explained that there was a 3-day waiting period before he could get a gun. Homer exclaimed, "But I want to shoot somebody now! I don't want to wait!" For the next 3 days Homer sat in his front yard muttering to himself as everyone he hated paraded in front of him making him want the gun even more. Yeah that is exactly how I was feeling about the iPhone. It seemed like everywhere I went there was someone with an iPhone just waving it in front of me.

After the discussions with Trina I had scrapped my plans on bringing several computers on vacation and instead just brought my laptop and the Shuttle small form factor computer. It was a lot less equipment to pack and gave me an excuse to play with this new device to fully review how well it would work as a server. I was feeling pretty good about my decision. Trina had not yet realized that I had a new computer and really how ticked off could she get about a computer the size of a small breadbox? That theory would probably have held water if I had not made one severely large mistake; I forgot to pack a monitor.

We completed our packing and we were finally ready for our vacation. On Diary of a Diehard I discussed a little of what goes into summer vacation at our house. The planning is more representative of a large scale battle plan for a world war than it is for a family to go on vacation. I think a lot of that is as a result of having a house full of women. With just Dakota and me to represent the male population we are quickly outnumbered by the estrogen gang. Discounting the computer equipment for a moment, there is a substantial difference between how women pack for a vacation and how men pack for the same amount of time and same location. Take for example my son Dakota versus my daughter Whitney.

After my computer store excursion I had to go into stealth mode. Trina had returned from out of town and I was already in trouble for the handiwork she did know about. You would think that a wife would be grateful that her husband would do things around the house but not my wife. Of course her ideas for home improvement and mine seem to be diametrically opposed. She sees things such as landscaping, house painting, and minor repairs as at the top of the list. I am more inclined to think of rewiring the house with optical cable, running Ethernet over power line, or adding home automation devices as home improvement. I mean seriously who doesn't want to control their lights from the comfort of the computer or be able to set the thermostat from the Internet? Still I guess she does have a valid point. Our house is filled with technology goodness but my backyard still has not been fully landscaped since we moved in 14 years ago. I blame the electronics industry. If they would come up with cool landscape technology I would be all over it.