There is an Apple Store and four AT&T stores within 10 minutes of my house in south Charlotte, NC.

This morning at 10 a.m. I visited the AT&T store that no one knows about. There was no line for the iPhone!

A quick trip to South Park Mall to the Apple Store and at 11 a.m. The 70+ people in line were in a party mood.

At 3 p.m. a friend called and said there were 300 people in line at the Mall, so I went back to the AT&T store on Park Road.

—–

Rita and I were fifth in line at 3:15 p.m. Pizza Hut delivered the pizzas at four and we had our own tailgate party. Nice people all around us and we immediately start chatting and trading business cards.

A pleasant but warm and humid afternoon, sitting in the shade with a gentle breeze keeping things from getting too sticky.

Finally, about a hundred people were in line as 5 o’clock

—–

6 p.m.

The nice people at AT&T greeted us warmly. The first ten in line, please. “Step right this way, Darren will help you.”

Darren takes our order and calls out “Two Four-gigs!”

Manager Stephanie goes to the back room and punches the secret code into the door lock. The scowling Sheriff’s Deputy’s glare defies any who would attempt unauthorized entry.

Smiling Stephanie returns with an armful of black boxes and distributes them to the checkout crew including Darren, who proceeds to enter the barcode numbers, and my driver’s license number. and my social security num . . .

Ooops!

Gotta start all over.

“What’s your residence phone number?”

He got so far and no further. Once they tried to authorize my credit the system would hang.

For everyone.

For forty minutes.

The system would go down, then come back, then take an order, then refuse to take an order.

Meanwhile the good folks starting with # 11 in line are out there waiting to come in and it’s ten to seven! They’re sharpening stakes and getting pitchforks from the trunks of their cars.

Finally success!

One clerk says “Don’t try to authorize their account . . . just sell ‘em!”

—

Finally home at 7 p.m. with two iPhones.

I was going to post pictures, but y’all already know what they look like.

Dan

After the hoopla of iPhoneDay, exactly what happened and what did I buy?

W-e-l-l-l-l

The purchase experience was better and worse than I anticipated. AT&T was simply not prepared for the onslaught, and their system was simply not up to the task. It went down immediately, and was down for almost an hour before the poor, undertrained staff figured out where the hang-up was hanging up. and worked around the problem. (See previous blog)

But they worked valiantly with good will until the problem was identified and the line could start moving.

The security measures were downright stupid. All the iPhones were behind a locked door and the manager had to physically go and retrieve an armful of black boxes as individual customers reached the counter and expressed their preferences. This was with an armed deputy sheriff standing there! What was he doing? Unlocking the back door so we could sneak up the alley with our precious purchases, past the Group W bench. I was truly afraid of getting mugged.

What kind of an anal corporate middle manager thought that one up! I’d like to slap him around some, just to vent my spleen.

Grade:
AT&T: F-
AT&T Staff: A+

The iPhone is everything they promised.

The interface is elegant and intuitive. Everything works as well as can be expected (Including the less-than-zippy Edge.) But even that is faster than I thought it would be.

Absolutely Amazing.

The cell phone reception is clear as a bell. I couldn’t ask for better audio quality. (After all — that why we buy cell phones . . . right? We need to hear and be heard!)

It was only after I got everything to work that I read the instructions . . . to see what I missed . . . and that wasn’t very much.

Phone
E-mail
Wi-Fi
Safari
Notepad
Tunes
Videos
iPhoto
Google Maps
SMS
iCal synchronization

Dad-gum! They all worked the first time.

Admittedly I had already prepared an iPhone playlist on iTunes and an iPhone album on iPhoto.

The pictures even rotate 360 degrees! Turn right, left and upside down. They all work!

The only thing that didn’t work as well as I expected was syncing my podcasts. It insisted in trying to bring in ALL of the heretofore-unlistened-to podcasts. (Including all of the video podcasts)

But I’ll figure that out.

—

The Keyboard

I expected to have problems with the keyboard.

I had none! This may be because I have to look at the keys anyhow — I’m not a touch typist. And my fingers are not fat, either.

My wife was having targeting issues until I noticed she was aiming with her fingernail instead of the ball of her finger. Now she’s in the other room exchanging text messages with her daughter in California.

So my advice is to let the learning curve solve your iPhone typing problems. Start with your index finger. You will get used to it and will be double-thumbing in no time.

Grade:
Apple: A++ with a bullet • !

Many states have enacted a law that I put under the heading “for your own good.” These laws are enacted by our governing bodies since everyday people are too dumb to protect themselves unless Big Brother makes them do it.

That law is the infamous motorcycle “Helmet Law” which states, if you ride a motorcycle without a helmet, you’ll get a ticket and be branded a scofflaw. I can picture a swarthy Hell’s Angel shaking his head sadly as he plunks down a couple hundred for a pretty pink pate protector with pansies painted on it.

The death toll in motorcycle accidents has “dramatically decreased” in the time since the law went into effect. This means that all those half witted, death defying, Harley and Honda riders who used to wear only the hair on their heads as they weaved between lanes at 70 mph, now survive to go home and make babies with a woman who is so stupid, she can attract only a half witted, death defying, etc., etc. I’d say this law is ill advised. Those are just the people we don’t want making babies!

Another such group are the drug users. Cocaine should immediately be made legal and dispensed at two dollars for a nice big rock at government-run crack houses — and consumed on the premises. These establishments could be situated close to funeral homes to cut down travel time, since these users are obviously in a hurry to sample the delights of the next world.

All these restrictive laws should be repealed.

Let’s pass, instead, a law that says insurance companies do not have to pay hospitalization, car repair, or death benefits in cases where the injured party was driving under the influence, operating an automobile without a seat belt, or riding a two-wheeled vehicle with no helmet. Another law might stipulate that the same insurance companies had to list the amounts NOT paid, and that amount rebated directly to policyholders who have had no accidents in the last five years.

There are many silly laws we could pass. It’d like to see a law that says it’s illegal to sue somebody unless you prove in advance, to an impartial judge, that you have indeed been done unto. This, of course, without an attorney or great expense. While we’re on the subject of attorneys, let’s make ‘em all judges. You could hire one; the opposition could hire one, and they could pick a third . . . and the three would sit down and decide the case between them, freeing the real judges and juries to hear important stuff like murder, rape, and betrayal of the public trust.

Betrayal of the public trust. Now there’s a great catch-all. Those prosecuted might be the contractor who shorted on the materials on a freeway bridge. Or the insurance company who declines coverage on a prejudicial basis. Or a politician convicted of taking (or offering) a bribe. Even a schoolteacher, after being convicted of statutory rape of a student, could be also convicted of the larger crime of Betrayal of the Public Trust. Which could carry some horrible penalty like being made to serve a ten-year sentence wearing truly hideous day-glow clothes, while scrubbing graffiti, fixing up low-income housing, or teaching English to people who came here to actually get a job and raise a family.

Don’t stop me . . . I’m on a roll!

We could pass a law that says that all taxes, lumped together, can only take a certain percentage of our income. And get rid of the Income Tax!!!!! Yeah! If income tax is actually an average of, say, 15% of everyone’s income, let’s levy a 15% sales tax and make everyone in the IRS get a real job. Merchants collect sales tax anyhow, so it would be no extra work to collect the national sales tax, and the states could write Uncle Sam a check at the end of the month.

Now if you really want the rich to pay more, you just make it a graduated sales tax. Items that cost more than $100, get 20%. More than a thousand, 25%; and so on. Private planes, yachts and mansions could bring in a bundle. That would give those $99.95 price tags a logical reason for existence.

Instead of welfare for single mothers (Oops, sorry. Make that single parent-type persons), they bring their kiddies with ‘em to mandatory school. What’s being taught? All kinds of marketable skills like typing, reading, spelling, running a machine, and last but not least, How to start, open, and run a day care center. In these classes the kids teach their own parents how to take care of children for a living.

Nah, that’s all way too silly. It’ll never, never happen. (Sigh!)

From my home in Charlotte, North Carolina, MacWorld has been, if not a dream, at least a constant, nagging, unscratched itch. So this year, I decided to go to my first MacWorld Expo.

I can justify it, too. I’m a Mac Consultant, so I have all the Apple Consultant Network events and seminars.
I need to learn more about the server side, so the IT track is great.
As a Graphics person and booksetter, the Adobe seminars would be extremely beneficial.
As president of the local Mac User Group (CharlotteMacWorkshop) there are lots of User group seminars and activities — plus collect samples from the exhibitors here for the club’s door prizes.
Not least, I write here at MyMac.com, so I want to hang with my crew, do some blogging and help Tim and Nemo with their plans and events.
Lastly, I want to roam the floor and see all the neat stuff and just enjoy.

There should be six of me here. There is no freakin way I’m I’m going to be able to get all that in.

So, instead of stressing out, I’m going to enjoy participating in what I can and not worrying about the other five things I’m missing.

Bring it on!

My Poor Feet

I’m bearing up bravely, but my poor feet are gonna be a mess by Friday.

If you have listened to Podcast #162, you’ve heard Tim mention our dinner last night. There is no charitable way to describe the food at Original Joe’s on Taylor Street. It was expensive at about $40 a person, and appallingly bad. We could have eaten at Burger King and had a better meal for a lot less and not walked four miles there and back. I ordered the cheesecake for desert. and didn’t finish it! Do you know how horrible cheesecake has to be for me not to scrape the plate clean with my fork?
But, having said that, I also want to mention how much fun I had. Of the ten people, only a few had met in person, but we were joking and carrying on as though we’d known each other for years. The unflavored cardboard food only gave us more to laugh about and badmouth.

Today, the MyMac Crew got up early and headed down to Moscone South to pick up our media badges. Trouble is, IDG has decided that only those worthy of seeing Steve Jobs’ keynote got media badges today. All other media people must wait until after the keynote Tuesday to pick up their badges.

A minor glitch, but our Hardy Band immediately decided how they should have done it so that we and all the other unworthies could have picked up our badges today and still not have been granted entry into the holy of holies. Again an opportunity for the good time we were having together to make another situation into a fun event.

At three p.m., we met with others, both listeners of the podcasts and writers. Shortly thereafter we convened to the lower lever of Moscone South to shoot a video podcast. When that video becomes available, download it and enjoy the good times with us.

So, here it is only Monday evening and already I’m looking for a place to sit. I attended the User Group Wine and Cheese Reception earlier tonight, and fortunately, I was able to find an empty chair right in front of the stage so I could “Do” a couple of exhibitor tables and then bring my swag back to the table where my goody bag and coat were. There were lots of exhibitors we know . . . Western Digital, Peachpit, and about a two dozen others . . . including ProSoft who will be hosting the contest MyMac.com will be holding this week.

Then, right at the end of the event, who should show up but the Woz himself. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and I had a chance to chat for a bit before the room emptied.

Good Times!

Sensory Overload — Mainly noise. My throat is sore from trying to be heard over the din. But I’m not nearly as sore as I thought I’d be.

After meeting with the MyMac Crew in the Media Room and commenting together on Jobs’ keynote presentation, I finally got to go on the exhibition floor and see the booths.There were new printers at the Epson booth. The R1900 — a beautiful, huge thing that only costs $550 and prints 13 x 44 inch paper, or even a faux artists’ canvas. (Or rather a faux canvas) It has eight cartridges, CMYK, Orange, Red, Blue, and “Gloss Optimizer” (to cover the bare spots). The canvas prints are close to Gicleé in quality and the ink is supposed to last 200 years. I can see that printer on my artist-wife’s desk. I wouldn’t be able to see the desk, but I could see the printer. But seriously, it is a wide-format printer, and if you need 11 x 17 proofs, this would be a good choice at the price. Maybe I can get one to review.

Then was the DriveSavers, and then the Kensington booth, and then . . .

You get the idea.

This is why we come to MacWorld. Each booth seems to have something new and eye-catching. Most products I would never use . . . but it’s so neat to stop and see it all.

Topping my list in that category was the SkullCandy booth; selling gear for persons much younger than I; but really pushing the envelope in the style department. If you have a teenaged daughter who skis, they have a ski goggle and earphone set that I know she simply MUST have. Then there was the fuzzy pink headphones. SkullCandy is one of the vendors who will be having their products reviewed. Stay tuned.

Happy and tired, I bid y’all goodnight.

Until I stubbed my toe on a sawed-off piece of pipe imbedded in the sidewalk, the day was going fine!

It started off at 8 in the morning with the Apple Consultants Network BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast) at the Westin Hotel. Then, I joined the MySpace Crew in the Media Room for a planning session.

At 10, John Nemerovski led the assault on the HP booth to see what was new in their lineup of printers and arrange for some upcoming review items. HP and Epson have their turf war going and they both have a good lineup of inkjet printers. Hewlett Packard, of course, has their line of Laserwriters that are the standard against which all others are measured.

11 a.m. found me in the User Group Lounge with Chris Breen, senior editor of MacWorld.

At noon, Filemaker provided lunch for the Media Room, and 1 o’clock I met with the User Group Bunch and Dave Marra, Apple Engineer.

It was on my way to the Westin Hotel for the Consultants Network event that I tripped over the pipe, sending me sprawling into the street in front of a taxi.

It hurt.

At the First Aid Station, I got some sympathy and a couple of Advil, and pressed on. There is no way I’m going to let a bruised toe dampen my first MacWorld.

I hobbled around the exhibits for a while until joining Nemo at the Harmon/Cardon concert, designed to show off their wireless headphones.

Now I’ve been singing since forever. I’ve performed and been in the audience at performances more times than I could possibly count. To say that I was skeptical of a concert where the entire audience was wearing headphones, would be an understatement. I considered the idea ridiculous on the face of it, feeling that it would separate the audience from the performance.

I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

Using headphones brought an intimacy to the concert the likes of which I have never experienced except by being on stage and playing with the band. Even then it was better. Usually, when you are performing, huge speakers are blasting out the sound to the audience. Additional monitor speakers are needed to allow performers to hear themselves above the powerful auditorium speakers.

Not any more.

No auditorium speakers. No monitor speakers. In this case, three guys with acoustic guitars playing in an intimate room to several hundred wireless headphone-wearing spectators. They could sing loud. They could sing soft. They talked together at a normal conversational level. I was right there with them as though I were sitting three feet away from the performers even though I was way back in the back of the room.

This is a winner.

I don’t know if or how Harmon/Kardon can capitalize on this setup in a real-world venue, but I wish them well doing it. This would work in small concerts, with headsets being handed out at the door and collected upon exit. But once you exceed a couple hundred, the process would be so unwieldy, and retrieval so difficult, I don’t see how it could be accomplished.

Technically, it would be simple to have the audience bring their own pocket FM radios and earbuds to a big concert, and broadcast the performance on a low-power transmitter. But I don’t see how that would benefit Harmon/Kardon.

Good Luck to you. I hope you can make it work. I might even start going to concerts again.

—

The Performers
Shaw-Blades

The concert mentioned above was a performance by Shaw-Blades. Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades are accomplished musicians of long standing (Styx, Night Ranger and Damn Yankees are just a few of the groups contributing to the over 50 million albums which Shaw and Blades have participated). Their easy style and obvious joy being on stage together allow them a freedom of expression that is exceedingly rare in today’s music scene. Their technical proficiency gives them the chops to tackle difficult passages with seeming ease, thrilling the spectator with an impressive array of familiar music from over four decades.

Their set last night pulled the audience inward, using the new system of delivery to give every member of the audience an up-close-and-personal experience that is impossible with auditorium-style amplification. Once captured, the listener stayed with familiar songs and new, enjoying the music delivered in such a personal way.