Monday, July 16, 2007

Introducing iPhone! and other DC musings...


So today I'm in our Nation's capital. I'm here for a few days for an A_F_O_S_R program review (for the errant non-geek who manages to find this blog..that is AirForceOfficeofScientificResearch). Tomorrow I give a talk on the wonderful world of building synthetic reversible adhesives that work the same way Gecko's run on walls/ceilings/trees. I actually should be working on that said talk right now...but instead I'm blogging away, and catching up on everyone else's blogs! Addiction, anyone??

Anyway...I got an iphone last week. It's really cool. It's kind of changed how I do things. The web browser is actually functional, unlike the one on my treo which was so small and so slow and annoying, that i NEVER used it. This little thing worked great! Yesterday, while on the bus between the airport and the Metro (I always use public transportation when in DC--one of the few american cities where it really works), I was able to log in and see how the locals were doing in the Cascade stage race (still a bit annoyed that there was no women's race there this year...lame). They were doing well, and today when I checked again, I see Lindsay Blount won the masters 45+ and David Larsen won the 4s! The locals are doing us proud! Way to go!!!!!! I was also able to look up the Metro map on the fly, reply to tons of emails while browsing in the Smithsonian...and keep caught up in the meeting which happened to have NO free (or paid) wireless (the audacity of that is another thing altogether)! Plus, I was able to take a few snapshots while walking around as well. I can even blog (although this blog is coming from my mac...since I did open it to finish working on my talk) from it, complete with photos.

Anyway, i've gotta say that after almost 2 weeks of iphone, I'm really liking the little gadget. The only thing I don't like so far is the battery life, and it's not awful. I have found that if you turn off the wireless, it's just fine. It's very easy to turn on the wireless when you want to look for a hotspot or are in a known network, and having it off saves significant power. I've just trained myself to charge it at night, and I don't have to worry.

Oh well, i'll add the photos later...I must finish that talk and stop procrastinating already!

Ciao!!!

12 comments:

dr-nitro said...

This is a macophile geek blog.

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

so i diverted on one post..it will be back to bike racing as soon as I get home...

dr-nitro said...

Given that I've been known to cruise macophile geek sites (powerbook imac and two ipods), I just wanted to sort out my bookmarks.

So, are you racing as a 3 in your next race?

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

coach says to race as a 4 with my teammies at sisquoc...but I should be a 3 for San luis and San ardo...

Unknown said...

yeah-eah-eah Iphone. Did you have to wait in line for yours?

Marco Fanelli said...

Geckos?? Forget the USAF, you should go over and work for DARPA! Build a fleet of robot-like sensor-equipped Geckos and Dragonflies...

dr-nitro said...

DARPA does do the wicked cool stuff. I hear they invented Al Gore.

Also, all the women race together at Sisquoc. You should get your upgrade, since you will still race with your teamies, but might be able to get points as a 3 as well.

Itinerant Rick said...

Lots of good stuff in the iPhone ... but I will wait for: 1) usable replacement batteries, and 2) someone to fully crack it so that it can be unlocked and used on foreign networks. I mean, what use is it if I can't use it at the top of the Dolomites?

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

cyclistrick: It WILL work at the top of the dolomites! it will work on any gsm network...you just need to have a at&t contract...

dr-nitro: oh yeah, i forgot that about sisquoc. hmmm. might be time to apply for the upgrade.

chester: no, i didnt have to, thanks to a friend who waited for me and bought 2!

Marco-I am actually looking into DARPA for this stuff...they're interested. :-)

Steve Weixel said...

I recognise that picture ;)

Itinerant Rick said...

Kim - I know it may work at the top of the Dolomites, but at the cost of AT&T usurious roaming fees. Much cheaper to buy a TelItalia pre-paid SIM and use that. Not a fan of AT&T, old or new.

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

oh yeah...iPhone photo credit: the one and only Steve Weixel...he caught me sending messages about last weekend's race victory while I was at the podium ceremony (which had no podium, thus i guess it was just a prize-passing-out-ceremony)