WAR walking, Bar driving, and bunny running

Among other things the WiFone is a pretty good WiFi network detector.

There is a time-honored hacker pastime called "WAR driving". WAR is an acronym for "Wireless Access (point) Recognition" -- at least I think that's what it stands for -- like a lot of hacker jargon, the term is so often used without explanation that it takes on meaning without needing decoding. [If I'm wrong, or even if I'm right, post a comment. I'm too lazy to look it up in Wikipedia or Google right now.] "WAR driving", as you might guess by now, is driving around town with a notebook computer, or special-purpose WiFi detector, and noting the location, name, and accessibility of WiFi access points: a source of free (leechable) Internet bandwidth.

As we take out dog for a walk every evening, I've been doing some WAR walking around the neighborhood. It's interesting to see the names of my neighbors' networks pop up one after another as we stroll down the block.

Also today, I had to take the car in for an oil change, so on the way home, and again when out to fill up with gas, I engaged in what I dubbed "Bar driving" -- noting the number of bars on the iPhone's AT&T cell network indicator at different locations in Okemos, the MSU campus, and East Lansing. Signal strength is generally between 2 and 4 most places. It was a full 5 at the car dealership, but one of the sales staff told me that there is nearby cell tower and all the networks have good coverage. It is pretty near to the major Okemos I-96 freeway exit, so that makes sense.

Pretty much the only area that didn't have good service was when I got within a mile or so of home :(:(:( Then the "No Service" message popped up or at most 0 or 1 bar. Depressing!

And "bunny running"? That's what our dog wants to do during the evening walks as the little critters are out and about in several placea along our usual routes.

Take me out to the ball game ...

Thursday summer nights in Lansing means "Thirsty Thursday" ($2 draft beer) at Oldsmobile Park in the heart of downtown, when the Lugnuts are in town to take on an opponent in the Class A- Midwest League of minor league baseball. Since we have a ticket package, I got to try out the iPhone in a new environment. It also meant 3+ hours actually on the AT&T EDGE network with 4 or 5 bars!

I also brought along my bluetooth headset (Jabra BT350) and, of course, my Treo 700p. I fiddled around with the headset and got it paired easily with the iPhone. I also forwarded my Treo number to the iPhone as well, so I could see how any calls I got sounded. Unfortunately, I didn't get that done before a call came in. And it was too noisy at the park without headset to really talk, so I had to ask the caller to catch me tomorrow. My wife did a couple test calls (from the seat next to me -- awkward -- not much to say) after I had things set up and sound quality was good on both ends.

I did receive a few e-mails easily, and made quite a bit of use of the Safari browser. I always keep a scorecard at a baseball game (old school!), and as it happened, they didn't have any preprinted rosters this night. So when a pitching change took place, and the announcement was drowned out by between-inning entertainment, I despaired until I remembered I had the Web in my pocket. The speed was not quite up to Treo standards, but the full page rendering and easy zooming of the South Bend Silverhawks roster page, made it worth a slight wait. And I easily called up the player profile page, so I not only got the name, but full stats (last 10 outings), picture, etc.

Of course the Palm platform supports ScorePad, a complete full-color, wonderfully detailed baseball scoring software package on the Treo (and other Palm devices). I've had a copy for several years and use it on and off. Lately though I've gone back to pencil and printed scorecard, since it doesn't require as much commitment -- I can always just annotate a batter as "IWW" (I Wasn't Watching) and move on, where the software demands to know what really happened: "K"? "1B"? "W","6-3"?

One downside to the touchscreen though: it's not easy to answer a call when in the midst of eating an order of "Super Nachos" unless you want sour cream and salsa on the screen!

All and all, a pleasant evening at the ball park. And the Luggies won 5-3, too, with the winning runs coming from a grand slam homer!

Two Bars!! ... I made and received my first phone call at home

My daughter, among others, was over for a 4th of July cookout. After we'd had lunch and she was getting ready to go to work at her part-time job, I glanced at the iPhone and beheld the AT&T legend and TWO BARS. Quickly I dialed her mobile number, and it rang in her pocket. "Who's calling me? Oh, it's Daddy on his iPhone!"

So she was honored to be the receipient of the my first successful call from inside my house. Just as quickly, I said, "Call me back!". In a few seconds, she was greeted by the ringtone "Quack, Quack. Quack" ... I had assigned her the "Duck" ringtone ;) We hung up, chuckling.

The signal faded. She still had three bars on her Verizon phone, as did I on my Sprint Treo. So, at least once per five days, the iPhone can actually be used to make and receive phone calls.

So, d'ya like the iPhone or not?

This is the ultimate question I'm trying to answer for myself (and my wife, the intended final user of the phone). We won't make a final decision until close to the end of the 14 day trial period.

But here's a quick interim report on what I like (and dislike) about the new WiFone:

• "WiFone"? Yup, that means, so far, I have successfully made or received ZERO phone calls from anywhere inside or near my home. So mostly I've used the WiFi to connect to the Web for browsing and email. I have to get out of this AT&T "dead zone" here in the heart of residential East Lansing to use this slab as a real cell phone. Big minus for the "NoPhone"!
  
• It is nearly everything the ads and hype have led me to believe (I don't know about your beliefs unless you comment). I don't feel duped or scammed by Apple -- and remember, this is the first Apple device I've bought. I haven't been this awed by a computer since I first tried out the Lisa in 1983 (I was pretty thrilled back in 1967 when I saw a teletypewriter communicating with a Burroughs 5000 all the way across the room, too! And again in 1973, when I made a telnet connection from my CRT in Lansing to an IBM computer in Ann Arbor at U of M and then back to a CDC 6500 at MSU and sent a file around the triangle and back again via the "Merritt Network"). The new multi-touch user interface puts real "smarts" in the smartphone.
• It can't do many, many of the things my Sprint Palm Treo 700p already does -- things I do every day -- like, Pocket Quicken, Splash Shopper, ToDo List (!?!), take short videos, get to my favorite Web site in just 3 button presses (no bookmarks on the home screen), conveniently track notes in my diary, track my diet, back up to the Web over the cell network (automatically, every night), and probably several other things I do without thinking.
• Wonderful as the iPhone interface is, the Palm interface is incredibly intuitive and smart, too, and has been evolving for years. I've already found myself wondering why things work (or don't work!) a certain way on the iPhone, while the Palm usually already "knows" just what you meant or anticipated what you wanted to do.
• The WiFone camera is very, very good
• The WiFone videos are stunning. (I plan an extended post just on the YouTube app.)
• The Safari browser is a tour de force. It it fast, smart, and generally a pleasure to use. It makes browsing the Web on a phone-size device practical for non-geeks.
• I don't listen to music much except whatever's on the radio (old school! classic jazz!), but the iPod functions may convert me into doing more. I ripped two CDs from my collection into the WiFone very easily and the sound is more than good enough for me.
• The WiFone works pretty well as a tablet computer at my dining table (and, **ahem**, on the "throne" in the "euphemism"), or on the sofa or easy chair in the living room. I've read several Web pages, watched short video podcasts, read quite a bit of e-mail, and watched way too many YouTube videos.
• Having fast internet in your pocket whever you go is very, very handy! While talking with old college buddies on Monday, I could quickly look up something and hand the answer across the picnic table in just seconds.
• Not having a keyboard is somewhat of a problem, but I'm still adjusting. I remember the loud noises and controversy when Palm ADDED a keyboard going from the Palm Vx to the Treo. No judgments until trying it for longer.
  

So, there's a quick run down. [Old time radio announcer voice:] And stay tuned -- for more in the continuing saga of iPhone Lansing ...

iPhone vs Treo

Why buy an iPhone when you already have a Treo? This is an excellent question, but like a lot of things, it repeats history in some interesting ways. As time marches on, gadgets keep changing, and sometimes, improving (not necessarily both!). I've lived through many of these "revolutions" and many of the busts.

I like my Treo a lot. I lusted for the 600, which I codenamed the "360" as soon as I heard Jeff Hawkins describe the earliest Treos 90, 180, and 270. As a v2.2 guy, I figured the next version would be called the 360 (a tip of the hat to the iconic IBM mainframe computer of "the '60s", which lasted well into the '70s). As soon as I was out of contract with my clunky Verizon handset, I got a Treo 600 a set aside my Palm Vx (in fact I had TWO for awhile, as I compared the Verizon and Sprint data services). One gadget to replace both a phone and a PDA -- Nirvana! And, as soon as the Treo 700p was available, and my 2 yr contract had expired, and I could get the appropriate discount, I satisfied my desires and upgraded.

But the Treo requires a commitment to function over form, and there are some limitations. Maybe the design geniuses at Apple could do it better, and it would be truly a new device -- with the multi-touch screen, and a different style of interface -- geeky, but cool, and easy to use as well. I've been unsuccessful in convincing my wife to use any kind of PDA. Maybe the iPhone would work for her (or both of us?).

So, I had to try it. And I was willing to invest $50 or so to try it out, even if I took it back. And the hype and the line-waiting, etc, might be fun. I've heard it all compared to Woodstock. And, Cali, [assuming political put-down voice] I was AT Woodstock (well, actually "Goose Lake", a Michigan knock-off festival in '70), and having stood in line and tried out the iPhone, it ain't nearly as "far out" as that was ... but it is "way cool"!

Wow! Emotions are running high ...

Chris Pirillo went on an extended rant of "20 Reasons why I'm NOT buying an iPhone now" on his podcast, The Chris Pirillo Show. Cali Lewis at Geek Brief TV couldn't stop gushing. I'm really interested to listen to Leo Laporte and the gang on This Week in Tech as they react to their initial experiences. And Alex and Kevin were shouting at each other last week on Diggnation, before either of them had even seen an iPhone (I couldn't even finish watching all of that...).

[assume Walter Cronkite voice] But, here on iPhone Lansing, we intend to take a more measured, sober approach: bringing you honest reaction and reporting on actual experiences devoid of hyperbole.

[assume Jim Cramer persona] And, BOO-YAH, we'll also SHOUT OUT the pure JOY of the iPhone -- it's thrills, chills, excitements, and its woes, failures, and despairs -- it's BETTER THAN SEX, and it's a worthless piece of crap!

If you like rollercoaster rides, stay tuned ...

Q: "So... Who ARE you?" A: a V2.2 Guy

Robert Scoble starts all his interviews with the question: "So... Who ARE you?". Although, the question (& he) are kind of geeky, it's really a brilliant question. (If you don't know Scoble, just google "Robert")

It's a brilliant question because all of us can talk about ourselves for hours [nay, days!] so, as I answer the question, I'll try to be brief. If anyone wants to know more [not bloody likely], post a comment, and I'll respond there...

So, a "Version 2.2 Guy"? What the heck is that [still channeling Scoble here]?

I have literally grown up with technology (I'm 56.7 yrs old), and have tried many new things in my life and career in computers. I also tend to be cautious about being too far onto the "bleeding edge". I've created a lot of software, designed a lot of systems, and built a bit of hardware, too. So, I am VERY aware of the many things that can go wrong with a version 1.0 product. Thus, I tend to wait for the 2.0. And then I procrastinate a bit, and end up with version 2.2. Now any product that gets to 2.2, usually works pretty well, so it will be pretty solid, satisfying, if a bit stodgy. That's what I usually buy.

I've been blessed with the opportunity to work with an IBM 1440 and a Burroughs 5000, while still in high school in 1967, programmed in over a dozen languages, tried out early online systems in 1969, used an early version of the Internet in 1972, CDC 6500 and IBM 360s in the '70s, built an IMSAI kit personal computer in 1978, tried out a Lisa (the proto-Macintosh) in 1983, owned (and loved) an Amiga 500 in 1988, and used (and sometimes cursed) a series of Windows computers (some home-built), from 1993 to the present. I also traveled along a path of Casio wristwatches and Digital Diaries, through the wonderful Palm Vx, that led to the Treo 600 and 700p smartphones.

All in all, I have a bit more perspective on new technology than many, many of the current generation of technology writers and commentators. But I also like a shiny, new thing. To get my hands on it and see how it works. Most of all, I like to learn new things.