I took up the fight to recover the $550 data bill I received while on travel for 10 days, while my iphone dutifully and silently received lots of email and spam and so on every 30 minutes.

Initially, ATT offerred a $150 courtesy credit, which I took but mentioned that I'd be calling them back. I did so when they threatened to cut off my service. My terms were actually forgiving. While on travel, it was possible to get wifi for $15/day, so if I had purchased it there it would've cost $150. That is what I offered to pay ATT for the data charges. An argument with the customer representative ensued, but I did not back down. My point was simple: I couldn't turn it off without losing functionality unrelated to the data service. Forcing me to turn the phone off completely means I lose the iPod features, and leaving it in airplane mode means I lose the wifi and bluetooth features.

The customer service rep filed a dispute on my behalf, but I had little confidence she would forward my complaint and reasons (since she had been arguing against them with me for 10 minutes). However, she told me what was in the report and it included what I had stated.

I'm happy to report that ATT reversed all the data charges from what I can tell. I may have been charged interest for late payment, but I'm not even certain of that until I see the full itemized bill. It appears they didn't take my offer of paying $150.

My recommendation if this happens to someone else is to remember that this is a financial issue... do not lose your cool. There's always someone higher you can take this to, even if that means a judge. Like an insurance adjuster, the customer service rep is not your friend and will do everything possible to screw you, but it's not personal. Don't take offense or be offensive, because in my case this person actually forwarded my complaint to a higher department. You don't want this person emotionally involved enough to want you to lose. Have your defense in mind, and always fall back on it if you are being dragged into a different argument... that may even involve simply repeating yourself every few minutes. If it's clear you are going nowhere, ask to escalate it up the chain and ask if you need to send a written request. Good luck.

I still enjoy getting some tech news (albeit often outdated by traditional media these days), but I miss all the controversial issues I used to get involved in. It seems like 75% of the people I used to enjoy reading (JEs etc) no longer comment. Perhaps there are better sites out there now for a good argument... Perhaps Slashdot has just finally tipped itself over in one direction and no one cares to argue anymore? Did all the 'fun' people leave? I thought there would be more going on, what with the election and all. Maybe I'm just messed up because I enjoy a good argument? Hmm..

TNR Weighs In On "Phony Soldiers" Controversy

Adding to the irony is the fact that Eve Fairbanks [emphasis mine--saa] -- caught making up meaningless details for her stories -- is the blogger given the task of delivering the TNR view on all this.

The Hot Air article even refers to the Urban Dictionary's entry for "fairbanksing," created by you-know-who.

Several people have written tomes about the technological advancements and "revolution" the iPhone will bring to cellphones, both in software and hardware. Many have written tomes of the evils of it, and how they are in bed with AT&T, known to ignore your privacy. As an early adopter, I was expecting some shortcomings. What I came across, however, was a hidden landmine that will cost me hundreds of dollars paid to one of my least-favorite companies, ATT.

For those that don't know, the iphone will automatically search for wifi, and piggy-back onto those networks if allowed. If it doesn't find any, or if it can't connect for whatever reason, it falls back onto the slower cellular Edge network. This seems like a very good default and it works really well for most cases. Browsing on the iphone still amazes me on the clarity and fact that if I'm ever bored, I can just fire up a browser no matter where I am. It even downloads my email locally, and pulses when I receive a new message. You can be perpetually connected to your websites and email.

It is a geek's dream, and I'm living the dream.

Recently, however, this dream turned into a nightmare. I was on travel in the Caribbean. As soon as I powered up my iphone and took it off of the airplane mode, the iphone dutifully retrieved my email automatically incurring roaming data charges. This is, of course, despite having unlimited data in my contract with ATT. This was also happening unbeknownst to me, and there was nothing I could do about this even if I had known, except turn the radio completely off! Even if I purchased local wifi use or used a free hotspot, if it ever lost wifi connectivity it would fall back on the Edge network and incur roaming charges. Turning off the radio would prevent roaming, but would also disable use of local wifi and bluetooth. There is simply no way to tell a registered iphone to never roam without disabling the radio completely.

I discovered this only after I received a $550 bill for roaming data charges. Not once did I make an actual phone call, although I did intentionally send a couple photos I took. Most of this data transfer was from things like the phone automatically downloading my email (which I subsequently read), a little bit of web browsing, and even checking the local weather report. After a somewhat shocked call to ATT, they offered to forgive $150 of it which I accepted, but I did so without agreeing that I wouldn't pursue this further. I'm hoping this article will help prevent others from having such a surprise and financial burden.

[added 13-sep] My case of ignorance coupled with Apple's failure to program an anti-roaming feature is not unique. Rules lawyers argue that the defaults for email had been changed, or that "the phone wasn't off". But what use is a phone that has to be disabled in order to prevent racking up roaming charges? I would have still gotten roaming charges had I used the local wifi. That's because the wifi antenna is not particularly sensitive, and it's extremely unlikely it wouldn't fall back on Edge at some point. And heaven forbid my local wifi drops while I'm not actively using the phone, or once again, it'll do exactly what it's programmed to do: fall back on the Edge network and continue downloading. Works great in the US, but is a horrible default outside the local network boundaries.

Although I'm very disappointed and quite annoyed at the roaming fees, here is a quick rundown on the pros and cons of the iphone from my perspective. More importantly, it is weighted with the perceived importance. Some big "problems" that iphone detractors proclaim really are not very significant in practice, and there are several problems I've encountered that I never see stated.

I purchased my iphone knowing it would be hacked/opened at some point in the short future. It is intuitive and made for the masses, but also a perfect device for hackers - a hand-held Unix device with a radio and camera. Potentially completely programmable. Multiple inputs, bright and colorful display, a glass screen, and damn sexy, too.

The reasons I bought an iphone are largely self-explanatory:

• Multiple touchscreen inputs (probably the first COTS handheld device with this).
• Excellent hardware and looks (no moving parts, bright glass screen, responsive, built tough, and damn sexy).
• Geek factor - runs Unix (which was destined to be hacked).
• Full web browser. (Except for flash, which I don't use anyway. Or Java, but again, I'm a luddite in some ways.)
• 2 Megapixel camera has about double the pixels of older phonecams.
• Video playback with sound.
• Wifi and data.
• iPod functionality.

In addition, here are some great features I discovered after owning the iphone:

• Icebreaker. It's like carrying around a cute puppy - people love it.
• UI: scrolling voicemail allows you to listen out of order. Surprisingly useful.
• UI: scrolling through ipod songs and videos makes it really easy to find the song you want.
• UI: google maps is great fun, and quite useful.
• Hardware is even better than I thought it would be. The screen is nothing short of amazing, and the touchscreen works great.

Here are the problems, with my comments on the significance:

• Sometimes hangs/crashes, needs a full restart. This bit me a few times, especially at first. The system crashed continually, I received no voice messages or SMS messages, and it was very frustrating. A simple reboot (holding down the power key for 6 sec) solved all the problems. Although a BIG issue, I solved it by accident. And this is happening to a lot of people.
• Sweaty fingers don't work so well. Anyone with sweaty hands knows how difficult most laptop touchpads can be -- this is not quite as bad, but noticable. Also, the smudges on the screen are not an issue like many people thought it would be. My glass screen is still pristine, and just takes a simple wipe on the pant leg to clean.
• No "thumb" on the webpage. Scrolling to the bottom of a large webpage is simply stupid. Am I missing something?
• Where's the tilde? Finding some of the special characters on the typewriter took some work. (Hint: you have to hit shift after going to the symbols page.)
• No addons to Safari. This concerns me, but I suspect this will be solved soon enough. I can't wait for someone to port firefox, though.
• No Flash in Safari. This really doesn't bother me. Flash has very little user-control, except through addons to prevent it from running, and I definitely don't want it installed if I can't disable it somehow. In the rare cases I allow it on my normal browser, I would miss it on the phone. But for the most part, I see flash as an annoyance, used by advertisers and idiots to ram content down your throat. For the most part, flash makes my browsing less enjoyable, not more, so I don't miss this at all. Besides, it'll be ported soon enough, I'm certain.
• No flash on the camera, either. Despite having more pixels than most older phones, the camera is not really that high of quality, especially compared to some cellphones coming out today. It'll take great pictures in good indirect light. But if you put a bright spot anywhere, or take pictures in subdued lighting, your colors and pictures will be poor. Impressive in good conditions with good colors and clarity, but lack of any programmability of light sensitivity or zoom means you get mediocre pictures in all but perfect conditions. Also, the capture is a little slow (perhaps 1/2 second, which is enough to lose the perfect shot). Lastly, the shutter button is on the screen so it's more difficult to hold the phone in awkward positions to take photos (e.g. of yourself or over your head).
• No video recording. For some people, this killed the iphone for them. This is not the case for me -- I don't really mind not having video. All current phone video is such poor quality that I question the ability as simply a useless bell and whistle. Use a real camera to make real videos.
• Poor speakerphone. Rarely mentioned is the low volume of the speakerphone. Or for that matter, the low volume of the ringer, too. The tiny speaker just cannot belt out the sound. And this is annoying if you're trying to use the speakerphone while driving. Get a bluetooth headset which will work really well.
• 2G, not 3G radio. Apple could have used a more modern radio and a faster data network, but did not. They use the Edge network, which is a bit pokey, and the fact you can do full browsing makes it feel even slower ... it downloads the pictures so webpages take much longer to load. But that's the price for the quality of the browser. I can live with this, but it is annoying.
• No GPS. What was apple thinking? Integrate maps into it, but not tell you where you are? And how the heck can you save the current location as a bookmark in the maps, to look up later? IMHO, the intuitive interface loses a bit in the mapping software.
• No 3rd party apps. Not an issue... they're coming whether Apple likes it or not! Already you can get screenshots of web pages, voice recording, arbitrary ringtones, etc. You can even ssh into your iphone, and *gasp* run apache on it. No, really.
• Lack of "buttons" makes it difficult to type. Minor issue, and noticable when using the camera. Most of the time when you'd be fumbling around (like driving) you can use the "favorites" to make calls and not the keypad. The typewriter is easy to make typos, but the software works surprisingly well to correct errors and typos. Seriously, it's good. After playing with it a weekend, you'll be typing like a pro. Well, not a pro, but you can do 20-30 wpm which is plenty good enough for a handheld.
• No voice dialing. I'd bet someone will be able to make an app to do this in the future. It's a big oversight by apple, but only a moderate problem.
• Mono-only bluetooth. Not an issue for me, but could be for others who use bluetooth headphones to listen to music.
• Incompatible with many ipod addons. This is a big issue which I think will affect many people. Not only do the ipod functions not send sound through the docking port (so most ipod speakers and car kits will not work), but the earphone jack is recessed which makes most minijack plugs incompatible.
• Cannot set your own background image. This is false, but I see a lot of people claiming it. You can set a background image easily. You simply tell itunes to sync photos to a folder on your computer, and drop your background image into this folder. Then you can view it on the phone and set it as your background.
• No Instant Messaging. I suspect this will be coming soon, through a 3rd party app. Someone will port gaim or write one. But then your battery life will probably go to hell.
• Poor support for sending photos. No MMS support at all, and you cannot crop photos sent via email. A big oversight for a phone that is supposed to integrate such features.
• Battery replacement requires mailing the phone in. To me, this is only a minor issue. The reason why it's minor is that I reap huge benefits from it. Because apple did not have to invest in packaging the battery and terminals, they could make the battery significantly larger. And I'm happy to lose my phone for a week, in order to have an extra hour or two the rest of the two-year expected battery life. It is a good tradeoff, although granted, could be an annoying one to some people.

There seems to be a lot of "cons" compared to the "pros". So, would I buy an iPhone knowing what I do now? The answer is still a solid "Yes".

Story link

Having launched one of the thirty satellites required, the eight-member commercial consortium tasked with building Galileo, the EU's planned rival to the American NAVSTAR (better known as GPS) and Soviet GLONASS systems, has apparently declined to invest further money in the project. Future funding will consist entirely of another $4bn and change from EU taxpayers, since the consortium is no longer confident of getting a return on their own investment. (Somehow, it sounds almost as if they doubt the commercial prospects of being the third to launch a service which has already been available to everyone free of charge for over a decade...)

Despite this setback, with a further influx of EU funding, the European Commission hopes to have the constellation online by 2011; the American and Russian counterparts were completed in 1995 and 1994 respectively.

Just imagine how far behind the Soviet Union the EU would be without the influx of billions in extra funding to speed things up...

Time to follow the herd, I suppose: Multiply. Go there, and find out who it was who sent me an e-mail last week - asking me what my e-mail address is...

what the heck business do I have showing up after all this time, right?

I'm really just here to put the word out about someone's new journal who I think will fit right in with the crowd here. I think he's pretty remarkable, and humble to boot, so someone has to speak up for him. Goodness knows I'd never have the nerve to do what he's doing.

Plus he makes a really fine latte when he puts his mind to it.

If no one hears from me for a while and is wondering why - I'm going to Iraq the day after tomorrow. We got a whole 7 days of leave followed by a lot of sitting around at work doing nothing while we should be spending time with our families. Anyhow! I'll be here tomorrow (perhaps slightly intoxicated), but after that... I'll be back online when I can, and back in the US in 12-18 months.

I haven't written anything in a month and a half. Part of that is the death of my grandfather. It still hits me hard, at some point during the day every day. Another piece is the Multiply migration. I set up a multiply account, but I have to admit that I just like slashdot better. Multiply is a little too busy for my taste.
I'm moving out of my parent's house, and into an apartment. Today, I should get the power turned on, and phone and DSL Wednesday. DISH will be sometime after that, assuming I feel the need.

My wife has been talking about finally going through with a divorce. If she does it, I won't fight it. I know what she really wants is to move back to Texas. My kneejerk reaction is to fight her over taking the boys out of state, but I don't think I will. The boys that are old enough to remember want to go to Texas, anyway, and the extra stress isn't worth it. I love my boys, and I don't want to wait until summers to see them, but if that's what I have to do...

For the circle contingent that hasn't yet made the jump to Multiply (or that won't), I present this lunacy from this past weekend:

Yet another example of how the Left "supports the troops"

Discovered by a reader at Indymedia, this was the scene yesterday in Portland, Oregon, as "anti-war" demonstrators burned not only a US flag, but a US soldier in effigy.

You might not want to go there if you've eaten recently. :-P

A new report on climate over the world's southernmost continent shows that temperatures during the late 20th century did not climb as had been predicted by many global climate models. This comes soon after the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that strongly supports the conclusion that the Earth's climate as a whole is warming, largely due to human activity. David Bromwich, professor of professor of atmospheric sciences in the Department of Geography, and researcher with the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University, reported on this work at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at San Francisco.

My grandfather was as prepared for death as he was for anything else he could be in life. I'm told he wrote this four years ago, at the age of 78. And even though he told me not to, as I type, I can't stop crying.

 

Don't Cry for Me

I've had a long and wonderful life. Much longer than I should have had. I have often told of the story of when I was a bird, but I really think I have had the life of a cat. At least the nine lives of a cat. I have served in three wars an in each one I could have been killed. I have been shot, shot at, and was wounded by hand grenade fragments. I've survived a heart operation and cancer.

But the truth is I survived some dumb things I did before I ever grew up. Like climbing a high tension electric tower. Luckily Jesus, in the form of a man engaged us in a conversation until the fire department came to the rescue. Had we climbed another ten feet we would have been fried meat. And swinging on an electric wire that was a live wire with 440 volts in it. It was pure luck that Jesus made us jump to grab the wire without touching the ground. And there was plenty of other times that I have done dumb things while growing up.

And I've done some things as an adult that wasn't right smart. Like the night I was riding my motorcycle in a rainstorm and because I had my head down I didn't see a tree down in the road. Again Jesus said "Take a look" and I just barely miss hitting a tree. And riding down a grassy hill on a piece of cardboard with my son. That don't sound so dangerous does it? But after the fact, we found a large piece of iron that could have cut either one of us in half. As it was we lost the cardboard, but kept sliding and skinned my behinder pretty badly. To say the least, I have used up all the lives of a lion, and the nine lives of a tiger, and now the nine lives of a pussycat.

I was born just before the Great Depression and I lived through that, just barely. I was a part of the Great War and survived that. I nearly froze my behinder off in the Korean War and had a couple of narrow escapes. I lived through the Atomic Age and the Space Age and even through the Hippie Age without becoming one. Then came the Computer Age. I stayed out of computers for a while but was finely dragged into computers. I think computers have taxed my mind and body more than anything else.

I've been blessed with a wonderful wife that gave me two wonderful daughters. After I wore her out, I was blessed with another wonderful wife. She brought two more wonderful daughters, and a son. Between the five of them, they have given us seven grandchildren, and just two of those have given us seven great grandchildren so far. Each one of the nineteen has given us great pride, and given us a fountain of love, and yeah, they've given us a lot of frustration at times.

So now that I've used up the lives of three or four cats I say to you all, it's been wonderful for me so don't cry for me.
And I'll see you on the other side.
                                        -- Billy K, 2003

Check this out:

Algore Sings!

The polar bears need Jon Carry's halp! :-)

todaze PhotoShop o the Year

Unfortunately, the hot air that emanates from his piehole isn't going to do them much good.

...in North Vietnam like it was her latest one-night stand. Now, it looks like the original American Traitor Bitch, Jane Fonda, is about to round up her seditionist moonbat buddies for some of their usual activities...only this time, they'll be at the Wall. Considering their antics at the Capitol earlier this month, it's highly doubtful that their intention is to pay their respects.

A counterdemonstration to defend the Wall is being organized. If you're anywhere near DC on St. Paddy's Day, I can't think of a better way to spend the day than to defend the memory of our war dead against the predations of the un-American Left.

(h/t: the Rott)