So today has to say the least been problematic.  Blythe got some stomach flue and proceeded to throw up when we got home from dinner last night.  Delyn was at EBays Christmas party so it was tough.  At 2am I got it as well and sat on to sofa feeling like I had eaten some dogs bollocks.  I then threw up big time everywhere.  Once again Stella to the rescue.  It amazes me how that Dog will eat anything apart from Oranges, and I mean anything.

So I was feeling rough but I wanted my iPhone.  I did not get it on Friday (when my Sprint contract expired) because D was in San Jose with Duncan so I did not want her to be without a phone during the porting of our numbers.   So I managed to suck it in and went to the ATT store on 1st and Market at lunch.  I was hoping no one would be there and I was right.  Much better then going to the crazy Apple Store.

 So far so good on it.  Only found one thing I did not like.  Unlike my iPod I can not transfer movies that are not purchased. mmmmmm

 Today has been rough.  Blythe though up again and D got it so has been out of action.  I am still not doing so good but at least I have my new toy.

My affair with the Palm Pilot began back in 1999.  It was July 26th and JavaOne was in full swing.  The hot item at the conference was the Palm V .  I was there with my mate Rab and we each got one at the give away price of $200.  I also got one for my then new girlfriend Delyn (who is now my wife and mother of my two children).  I remember being amazed by the touch screen and the ability to IR each other (otherwise known as Palm sex).  Like most people I used the service (forget its name) to upload web pages to it so you can read the net on the go.  A year or so later I got an adapter from Earthlink so I was able to actually read the internet in real time.  It was pretty primitive by todays standards but still impressive.

Three years ago I got the Palm Treo with Sprint.  Here is my posting on my blog.  I was really amazed with it as Contact integration worked really well and the browser was pretty good.  A year after that I got my wife the 700p.  This is when I first felt a little disappointed as it was not any different to my 650p.  Last year I lost my phone and got a 755p through the insurance.  The shape was a little better but the OS was basically the same.  It was also felt a lot more cheaply constructed and crashed a few times.   

So yesterday my contract with Sprint expired so I am going to get an iPhone for Delyn and I.   Most of my friends have iPhones and the device is amazing.  The app store is also very cool.  It does make me feel sad about Palm.  They have totally lost the edge.  I looked at the latest model and it was still basically the same OS.

So it is bye bye Palm.  Thanks for the last 8 years. 

So in between contract switching these last few months I canceled my Verizon 3G card.  As a contractor I have found it really useful to have my own card especially as most firms wireless is really locked down. 

When I did a new gig recently the wireless was not locked down so I was not using the card.  I also had the old PCMCIA version which meant on my new MacBook Pro I had to use an Express Card adapter that was really large so I decided to call it quits.

I am now back at a new gig where wireless is locked and therefore started to look around for a card.  I thought I would try a USB card from AT&T.  I use AT&T for my DSL/Phone service at home and I am planning to get an iPhone next week. 

What a disaster.

I started off with the USB Mercury card.  It was slower than Verizon but doable.  I wanted to use the newer USB Quicksilver card but they did not have one.  I finally got the Quicksilver new card from them and tried it out.  Firstly if you use a MacBook Pro do not get the card.  If you use the left side USB port the power cable does not fit.  If you use the right side cable the lap top lock does not fit.  You also have to download the software from the internet to get it to work for Mac. 

When I installed the software I spent over an hour on a support call as they had not activated the card.   Then the real crusher, the new card was way slower than the old one with no signal at work.  Thankfully I was still in my 30 days.  I took it back and to AT&Ts credit the people in the store were really good about it.

On Friday I went to Verizion to try and get a new v740 Express card.  Basically this is the ExpressCard version of the old card I had.  They did not have in the stock so I said I would get it on line.  They immediately offered me $50 off if I would sign up and take fed ex overnight of the card.  So it arrived today.  Like my old card it has a CD with the Mac software on it so no crappy support site.  It worked first time and is a lot faster.

I am not sure what is wrong with AT&Ts network.  Maybe all the new iPhones are killing it but to me it is like night and day.

I am still excited about my iPhone but I expect worse service then I have currently with Sprint.

So with all this election fever going on it is reminding me of when Blair became UK PM in 1997.  After many years of Conservative rule Thatcher/followed by Major the nation was crying out for change.  The economy was a mess, education a disaster, Government bogged down in scandal and last but not least The Poll Tax.

Then came this young guy called Blair who beleived in Social Justice.  He said word like "accountability" and "local devolved government".  His famous top three priorites "education, education and education".  We loved him and gave him a land slide election win. 

Watching him go to the Palace to meet the Queen and then back to Downing Street through streets packed with people cheering was amazing.  It was like watching a victories General come back from a war.  At the time I was in a hotel room in Memphis with friends just amazed by it all.

So over 10 years later what do we have.

Economy is a mess, education a disaster, government drowning in scandal, mass debt, ID cards, attacks on civil liberties all over the place.

I hope Obama wins today for the sake of everyone.  I just hope he has better luck implementing his message of change then Blair did.

Here is the discussion.  

http://forums.mactalk.com.au/29/58184-g-skill-4gb-ram-single-stick-works-macbookpro-1x4gb-1x2gb-6gb-works-9.html

I looked around and a lot of people are saying 8GB is no go :-(.  Mine is a 4th Generation MacBook Pro not sure if the other generations will support it.

Here is the place to get the new bright and shinney memory stick.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231202  

On Wednesday the product I was tech lead and architect in was launched in San Francisco by the CEO of Wells Fargo no less.  I had the honor of writing the very first line of code on this one.  Kudos to the team of developers who worked for me.  They did an amazing job.  Also thanks to my boss, the PM, the BA's, the QA's, the Business etc etc.  Who knew 18 months ago we should get such great press.

Wells Fargo vSafe Launch

My contract is coming to an end at Wells which does make me a little sad.  However it is cool to see another baby successfully delivered into the hands of the public.