Tony Walla's Random Ramblings

Now imagine the same interface and OS running on a 7-9 inch touch display panel. I really believe Apple is quietly working on such a device. It will never be called a tablet by Steve but it will have similar functionality. This would be a huge win for Apple and the medical community alone, but I could easily see this device having broad consumer appeal.

What we don’t know yet:

What does Steve mean by better audio? Is it a better D/A chipset?

GPS for the 1st Gen iPhone? We know the original iPhone does not have the GPS chipset. It would be nice if Apple opened up Bluetooth support so I could use a small Bluetooth GPS puck to get the same location aware functionality that iPhone 3G users will enjoy.

What happens if I damage my iPhone 3G in a way that isn’t covered by Applecare? Clearly Apple/AT&T isn’t going to allow me to replace the iPhone for the same $199/$299 price that I originally paid since AT&T is now subsidizing the cost. So, what is the true cost of iPhone 3G?

What about the iPod Touch price? On the surface, it appears that the iPhone 3G is now cheaper than the iPod Touch. Again, the cell carrier subsidy is being masked. If Apple or AT&T doesn’t explain this, people are going to be upset or confused with the iPod Touch price being higher than the iPhone. I do NOT believe that Apple is planning a price cut for the iPod Touch.

Will Tony get one? Unclear. I’m holding out for a 32GB version. I believe Apple is working on the 32GB model if it isn’t already complete. I also think there will be more announcements for the iPhone platform before the July 11th launch date. I also wonder what AT&T’s plan if for those of us who want to transfer the existing iPhone to a spouse in order to justify the purchase of the iPhone 3G.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let me know!

There was a garage fire about a half a block south of us tonight. Geri and I took a walk down to the school to get a view of the garage. Check out the shots of the garage next door and the siding of their neighbor’s house. Here’s the link to the Flickr gallery.

I was listening to MacBreak Weekly hosted by Leo Laporte, and I heard Leo talk about a Bluetooth wristwatch GPS device he uses to geo-tag his photos. Before they could start talking about it, I thought it would be great if iPhone OS 2.0 would allow the 1st gen iPhones to get real GPS. It sounds like a great solution. The GPS wouldn’t drain the iPhone’s battery (although connections to the EDGE network for map updates could.) I like the idea of having GPS in my car, but I don’t want the extra box. I would even accept a small GPS puck to place on the dashboard that is tied to the iPhone via Bluetooth. I’ve already purchased a cell phone mount w/ windshield suction cup to hold the iPhone or iPod. I could see that as a big win for 1st gen iPhone owners that may feel left in the dust when the 2nd gen iPhone comes out.

This started me thinking about other iPhone features that I would like to see in iPhone OS 2.0. I’ll bet if you search the net, you’ll find 100 other lists like this, but here’s mine:

• Color code my iCal calendars on the iPhone as I have them setup in iCal.
• If I set iCal to ignore alarms on my wife’s calendar, migrate that setting to the iPhone as well. (My 3G 30Gb iPod can do this.)
• Sync iCal to my .Mac account in real time! (I think there may be a big announcement about tighter integration to .Mac at WWDC) I want my display to update after my wife ads her iCal events… especially when I am away from home and away from my Mac.
• Video recording – but here’s why it won’t happen for the 1st gen iPhone… where’s the microphone? If Apple thinks the mic isn’t suited for video recording, they won’t do it because Apple doesn’t want to release something that might appear half-assed. Regardless, I would be happy with 90 second clips.
• Add the Google maps drag route feature. There are times when I don’t like the route that Google picks and would like to modify it like you can on the web version.

Most of my other wishes will come from 3rd party developers.

I got some good news via Twitter earlier today from The Mac Mommy. We’re trying to start our own podcast and we’ve been putting a lot of thought and research into it rather than just record some audio and throw it out there. She’s gotten a good idea about a name for the show that I like. We also found a few potential domain names we can use as well that are available. I’m tempted to buy the names just in case. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the graphic elements. I already have ideas on how to break up the segments of the show.

Also, thanks for your comments on the episode of Typical Mac User podcast. Again, you can find it from this link. Typical Mac User Podcast episode 129.5

Today, Victor Cajiao released a special episode of The Typical Mac User Podcast featuring an interview I did in early April with the filmmakers of “Welcome to Macintosh.” I am honored to be part of a show that I’ve listened to regularly since Mike Rose at TUAW suggested I check it out. Please head over to http://www.typicalmacuser.com to check it out. If you’re coming from there after listening to the podcast, welcome! Feel free to leave a comment.

Here are a few links related to this post:

http://www.typicalmacuser.com – Victor Cajiao’s Mac website

Permalink to the post and podcast in question.

http://www.welcometomacintosh.com – WtM official website

http://welcometomacintosh.ning.com – WtM offical forrums

I need to change goals. I need to update this at least once a week. Its not for lack of content in my head. The problem is making the time to get it out of my head and on the page. I partially blame Twitter for this. Twitter makes it so easy to send a quick note out into the ether.

Anyway, I had to get something up here. Something is coming this week that I’m proud of, but I don’t want to spoil it. I’ll post here as soon as I can to let you know what it is.

I’m not going to go into a long explanation of what Twitter is. For that, check out the video from commoncraft.

Just as I posted the last entry, I read something from triviabot on Twitter. This should make you want to carry hand sanitizer when you shop, or just stick to credit and debit cards.

Geri went to bed shortly after 7pm because she wasn’t feeling good. WISC decided to run local programming instead of “The Big Bang Theory.” I don’t remember what the proper grammar rule is when you end a sentence with quotes. Period inside or outside the quotation marks? I’m too lazy to look it up now.

I should be taking advantage of Geri’s unfortunate illness. I could do something nice like finish washing the dishes or folding laundry. Maybe I could catch up on video podcasts on our AppleTV. Perhaps I could finally finish editing the audio segment I’ve been poking at for three weeks. Instead, I sat on my butt and watched TV.

(This next section is out of order but this is how it came out of my head.)

I think its a combination of a few things. I lack motivation. (Thank you captain obvious!) What’s the prize at the end of the road? Should there even be a prize? Last night I had to work on an outage for 2 1/2 hours during what is typically my play time. I couldn’t join in a few Talkshoe shows that I normally participate in.* 

While I don’t usually mind being the guy that brings it all together, there were many factors leading up to my involvement that didn’t make me happy. Unfortunately, I would like to keep my job and I shouldn’t list them here. I didn’t get upset until it was all over and I was making a list of events. How could we have done this differently? (Three points removed to keep my job!) Why did it take 10 hours before someone called me? I was so wound up after the outage that I didn’t sleep well at all. 

I knew I had to get a lot accomplished at work today, so I focused a lot of energy into work. It wasn’t a rough day. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be: meh. I accomplished lots of little things but nothing that really made me feel good when I left. I know better… the payoff will come later, but my head isn’t in that frame of mind right now.

Now that I’m typing this, a few things do come to mind that make me happy. I cooked dinner tonight. We made something new, lemon herb chicken. Ok, so the sauce came in a packet, but its still different. Geri made potatoes with Lipton Onion Soup mix that were great. Overall it was pretty good and I was happy for both of us. We stuck to our meal plan.

One more thing I consider a small win… I’m updating this blog. If I could tag this it would be under: youreallyshouldconsiderthisapersonaljournalentryandnotpostitbecauseitsucks

Perhaps this is my turning point for the week.

Thanks for putting up with the ramblings of the sleep deprived. (Yes I know I have nothing on you TheMacMommy, leave me alone!)

I finally pulled the Corvette out of the garage today. It’s a 2002 coupe. I bought it used in October of 2004. At the time, it had 73k miles. It now has 95k miles. That’s not really what is important here.

I don’t recall the year, but I remember being shocked when my dad called to let me know he just bought a 1987 Corvette convertible. You see, my dad usually researches everything he buys… almost to a fault. Consumer reports is his friend. This, however, felt like a spur of the moment purchase. 

At the time, I looked at it as more of a toy for him. This was the 3rd convertible that he’s owned that I’m aware of. (Previous convertibles are ’63 Corvair and an ’88 Mustang LX.) He always liked to take me out for a ride when I was home. I’ll admit that it was fun, but I still thought it was just a toy.

That all changed on Mother’s Day of 2004. I remember this vividly. We just finished washing his Vette. (After everything my parents have done for me, I don’t mind pitching in now and then… even when I’m back home to relax.) Dad looked at the weather radar on the computer. “We have about an hour before the rain moves in,” he said. I thought it was just going to be another ride.  That was fine by me because it was something we did together. As I approached the car, he flipped me the keys. I didn’t say anything. I just jumped in the drivers seat.

I can’t remember what he said exactly, I just remember the intent was to take the car out somewhere I could open it up. I pulled on to I-65 South from US 30 on the south side of Merrillville, IN. The top was down and the wind was blowing through the cabin. I was keeping it around 65 because there were a few semis and a couple of cars between us and a patch of open road.

About 2 miles later, I was able to weave through the traffic. For a split second I thought I should ask first… naaahhhh. I put my foot to the floor and sunk into the seat. I looked down at the dash and in no time flat it shot to 100. My heart was pounding. My grip on the wheel tightened. That was pure joy. I looked over at my dad with a big grin on my face. “What took you so long?” was all he said. We spent the rest of the drive talking about music, the Cubs, or something that wasn’t really important I’m sure.

I will never forget that feeling. It was at that moment that I learned two things.

1. I finally understood why Corvette owner have such a passion for their hobby.
2. I had to have one.

It wasn’t until now that I realized that it really wasn’t about the car…

I once had an idea to post a photo a day to accomplish two things. The first thing is to find something that would make a nice photo.  In my head this would act as a way to look at things from a different perspective and maybe slow down a little to enjoy things… yeah right!  The second thing is to post things on this site regularly.

Well, this may not be a recent photo, but I think it fits both goals.

This was taken with my iPhone when it was only 3 days old.  Other than the lamp post on the left, I think its a pretty good picture for an iPhone.