Symbian OS and the Linux Desktop
A frequent counter argument against the iPhone comes from folks touting Nokia's various flagship phones. No one using an iPhone points to a Nokia phone as a better or more capable device, mind you. (That should be telling.)
So, this is interesting. From The Symbian Guru:
If you recall, when the Nokia N97 was announced, we all drooled over it endlessly. We marveled at its features, its monstrous internal storage, sliding hinge assembly, 1500mAh battery, and more. We waited a disturbing 6 months for it to actually be available…only to actually get it. The launch firmware on the Nokia N97 was so bad, I sincerely hope that whoever gave it the A-OK to be released has been fired from Nokia. It took them another 6 months just to release a firmware that wasn’t rubbish, and now, the ‘flagship’ languishes behind other devices, frustrating owners like myself more and more each day.
Their sentiments remind me of when I gave up on the Linux desktop. While Vista a few months later was a major stumble for Microsoft (to put it mildly), Apple has continued to charge along and Microsoft has regrouped with Windows 7. Meanwhile GNOME remains relatively stagnant (though superior to KDE) and KDE managed to out-Vista Vista.
Bang!
What a lovely Independence Day. I got to spend it with family, eat lots of good food and shoot off a bunch of beautiful fireworks. It was just a spectacular day. Hope all of you had a great one!
That Terrible iPhone Reception Problem
John Gruber notes the folks at Consumer Reports looked into the iPhone 4 reception issues and made the (shocking, I tell you, shocking!) discovery that such reception issues are “the case with all cell phones” and that it wasn't a big deal. Gruber responds,
Who am I supposed to believe, the sensationalist hacks at Consumer Reports, or the straight-shooters at Gizmodo?
It's not as if Gizmodo is the sort of place that would buy a stolen iPhone and then have an axe to grind for being prosecuted for it.
(For an added chuckle, Gruber's English translation of Apple's latest comments on the matter are worth a read if you'll excuse some of his coarse language choices.)
Giving Up for the Night
I've been working on a coding project and it was going so well until about an hour ago. Since then, I've been hitting my head against the wall. I guess it is time to give up for the night. Oh well.
Fireworks
I love fireworks and I love fireworks tents. Ever since I was a little boy, I'd venture out with my parents and we would explore the different tents, find out about the different fireworks and — of course! — get some really great ones to shoot off. Over the years, I've acquired a list of particular fireworks I really want to see each year and favorite places to get them. Regular asisaid readers will recall I've posted fireworks reviews many years highlighting some of my favorites.
Sure you can just go to the first tent you run into and get plenty of beautifully explosive things to light on the Fourth of July. But, if you are shopping for fireworks for this Independence Day and you live in St. Charles County, let me mention my two favorite stands: Powder Monkey Fireworks and Red Dragon Fireworks.
I was at both of them tonight and it was like seeing old friends again. Both have wonderful personal touches and enthusiasm for the fireworks. You can tell these people actually love shooting off fireworks, not necessarily a given at every tent, and have seen the fireworks they are selling. They also both carry a very good selection of fountains and other affordable yet satisfying choices.
Powder Monkey is the newer (to me, at least) of my two favorites. I first ran across them two years ago. Virtually every item in the tent has a detailed description of what it does and they have lots of really affordable choices that they recommend highly. The owner, Chris, his family and friends are always extremely knowledgable. You can tell that the tent is filled with people who love fireworks. I cannot help but appreciate that even the prices are fitting, such as 17.76 for some of the patriotic sounding ones or 7.77 for a Vegas themed one. As an added bonus, this year they are shooting off some of their favorite fireworks every night at 9:11 p.m. It was helpful getting to see a few of their recommendations tonight. You can find them right off of Hwy. 94, near Hwy. 40/I-64.
Red Dragon has been a regular stop of mine for quite a few years now — I cannot remember quite how long, but probably close to a decade. Besides having a great name, Tim, the stand's owner, is also a really nice guy and has always been helpful. Their selection is helpfully organized with fun, festive signs such as “Wall of Doom” for the artillery shells. One of my perennial favorites, Just 2 Cool, is always available at this stand (and it is often hard to find elsewhere). The tent is located just off of Mid Rivers Mall Dr., as you can see on this Google Map.
Both tents are relatively close together, so you may want to check out both of them. Both will do an excellent job of guiding you to excellent choices for your holiday display, whether you are looking to spend just a few dollars or you want to give the municipal shows a run for their money. I have visited most of the tents in St. Charles over the years and really believe Red Dragon and Powder Monkey are unbeatable.
Need some recommendations on fireworks? My posts on my favorite fireworks from years past are at your finger tips: 2003, 2005, 2007 (my first mention of Red Dragon shows up in the last one). Surprisingly, I have not written much on fireworks in the last couple of years. I may need to provide an updated list of my favorites.
Finally
After probably close to a decade of SAFARI, my homegrown blogware, having a non-functional “log off” function, I can actually log out of my administrative account again. Even when I'm slow to fix something, I do get to it sooner or later!
Uncle Jay
If you don't already make Uncle Jay Explains the News a regular part of your week, you owe yourself three minutes to go watch an episode.
App Stores
“DVD Jon” writes:
While this is technically true, one should not need a PhD in Computer Science to use a smartphone. How is a consumer supposed to know exactly what the permission “act as an account authenticator” means? The CNET opinion piece “Is Google far too much in love with engineering?” is quite relevant here.
The piece is a very clear indictment of the Google model of app store. The so-called “curated” model of the iTunes App Store may be deeply flawed, but the Android Market has yet to offer something better or even as good.
Photo Fun
I went through the last few years of my photos tonight, gathering some pictures my mom wanted for a project. One of the joys of digital photography is just how easy going through photos can be. It was fun revisiting a lot of happy memories from the past few years.
It is amazing how just a few photos of a given moment or event can bring so many other details back in mind. In many ways, a picture truly is worth a thousand words.
