The Evil Hacker At Work!
 

Password Security

The password is the basic way one secures their wow account. There are a few things any password should be. The first is not something easily guessed. This includes common words, phrases, and related to personal information. If your dog is named Fido then Fido123 is a bad password. Your birthday, your kids, or your SOs birthdays are also bad ones to choose. Also, no password should be so complex that you have to write it down. A good password is a string of numbers and letters that you can easily commit to muscle memory. The ideal is something you can type quickly without thinking. Also, you should periodically change your password. Myself? I change it every few months.

Account Sharing

Besides being against the TOS it can open up your account to being hacked. I am not saying that your friends or loved ones are out to get you. But you cannot control their computers. You are in effect relying on anyone that you share your account with to be secure and aware of possible risks. This is not something you should do as it puts them, and you, in a potentially awkward position. So simply put, don’t share an account with someone.

Mods and Add-Ons

We all use them, we all need them. Some are required for raiding, some make game play easier, and some are juts fun. But “Caveat emptor” applies here. Only get your mods from trusted sources. I use Curse Gaming, and Wow Ace selectively, to download all my mods. Curse tries hard to make sure any mod you download from them is clean. Also the user feedback can help you decide if it is good to use that mod.

What bad things can a mod do? Well it could install a keylogger and grab your password. It can be infected with a virus itself that can be spread to your computer. It can also steal other information potentially. Just be sure of what you are downloading and installing. A final rule I live by: If I don’t feel comfortable getting that mod then I do without it.

Manage Your Computer

This one is very important. Time and again this basic concept could have stopped many things. It does not matter if you use a Windows PC, or a Mac there are always basic steps one should take. On Windows, this means running Anti-Virus software and making sure it is kept up-to-date. On all computers, this means making sure you have the latest security updates. This also means protecting your system with a firewall - either a software one on the computer or at your internet router/cable modem/dsl modem/whatever. This is important for not just playing WoW.

Safeguard Your Account Information

This means not sharing information with others. While letting people know your toon names is pretty obvious, the account name should be different. Don’t give out your account name, or the password. Don’t have your account name share the name of a toon. Don’t let anyone your billing information that you use. This is information you should treat as confidential.

Surf Responsibly

This is one you’d not think affects WoW but it does. Blizzard uses a web-based account management system. This means what you do in your browser can touch this if you are not careful. Follow safe web use practices and you should be fine. Be aware of what websites you are visiting. Also don’t save your account password in your browser. Since this password is used for many things in WoW keep it safe.

Get the Blizzard Authenticator

I have one, and for $6.50 USD it’s a cheap way to help safeguard your account. It’s a keychain fob that you use whenever you want to log into the game or the account management website. Whenever you login it will ask for a second password. This is a one time password generated at random by pressing a key. The password is only good for a short time and one use. This makes it nearly impossible to hack into your account. Each fob is tied to a specific set of accounts that your key it to. So unless someone gets your authenticator, it’s hard for them to crack this password.

The other nice thing about this is if you have multiple accounts you can tie them all to this. Also this does not work for the forum logins. If you frequent the forums it won’t be tied to this.

Be Informed

The gaming community at large, as well as Blizzard itself, are the best sources of information on keeping yourself up-to-date on the happenings with the game. This includes things like security concerns, bad mods, and common scams. The community knows a lot, rely on it to help with stuff like this.

It’s Not Just For You

For your enjoyment, as well as others I recommend you follow at least the first six of these recommendations. They are simple to follow and don’t take much to implement. I’d love to see Blizzard include the Authenticator as a standard piece of the game. If anyone has any other ideas or stories about securing a WoW installation/account please let me know.

Technorati Tags Games, security, world of warcraft, wow

#1 - Time Capsule

This is simply a wireless NAS/base station from apple.  What makes this interesting is that it enables Time Machine over wireless connections.  This is something that a number of people have been wanting since Leopard was released.  The device comes in a 500GB and 1TB configuration.  I can see the market for this device.  One question that was not answered - does it only work on OS X Leopard?  That is a question that needs to be answered I think.

#2 - iPhone Updates

This is a big one for me.  Apple included a host of updates in the latest firmware update for the iPhone.  The updates included changes to SMS, ipod functionality, the home screen, and a “GPS”.  The update was immediately available as well.  Of all of them the GPS functionality and the home screen changes may be the most striking.

It looks like Apple may again be changing the way we do things.  In this case watching movies.  Apple will start offering movie rentals from all the major studios by the end of the month.  They also are releasing an update to the AppleTV.  the AppleTV  started as an interesting idea that needed more work.  Well they did more work, and it’s very attractive now.  The best part is that current owners are not left in the dust.  A software update will add all the functionality.  I look forward to seeing the update.  I am sure Netflix is not.

#4 - Mac Air

This was the big one of the keynote.  Rumors have been flying all over the internet about a mac sub-notebook.  Well the rumors were true, more true than anyone could have though.  It’s attractive, well featured, and the price is not bad.  I may end up getting one.

Overall I was impressed by the keynote address.  While I was not there in person, I did follow the live feeds on the internet.  Over the next few days I am going to talk about each in more detail.  I need time to mull over what all these new products mean.

Technorati Tags airport, apple, iPhone, ipod, itunes, keynote, mac air, macworld, notebook, steve jobs, sub, time capsule

1. Itunes Movie Rentals - If true this will make me a happy camper. As an owner of the AppleTV this would make the thing way more useful. Right now I use the device to watch some TV shows and ripped DVDs. I even bought a couple of movies. I’d like to get more out of it though.
2. Macbook Mini - A perennial rumor to be sure, but one that has a lot more steam this year than in past ones. A multi-touch capable sub notebook would turn the entire industry on it’s head to say the least. I myself would probably buy one. I am in the market for a new portable as my alBook, as much as I love her, is showing her age.
3. iPhone Toys - A lot of possible iPhone related add ons this year. From third party earbuds w/ a mic by skullcandy, to some sort of all in one mounting/speaker device for the iPhone. I want more toys damnit!
4. Blu Ray - Now that HD is bascially dead. I am hearing rumors of Apple including Blu Ray drives in their new models. This would be great with the increased storage capacity for data storage.

These are only a few rumors that have been mentioned but this is Macworld. This means I have to hold off on any purchases I am considering until after January 15th. This also means I get to speculate then go gaga over whatever The Steve says. Just the usual yearly stuff in the end ;).

Technorati Tags apple, blu ray, iPhone, mac, macworld, predictions

I own a PS3, and a number of Blu Ray discs so this news makes me a happy technophile.  This format war is proving something that is very important in the technical world though.  It’s not about which technology is better, it is about which technology is available and gives the consumer what they want.  Beta vs. VHS is the seminal example of this truism.  It proved without any doubt that it’s about availability, ease of use, and price in combination. It seems Sony has finally learned this lesson.

In this case Blu Ray is the better format so it’s appearing to be winning is a nice change.  Blu Ray offers more storage capacity and better overall quality.  That is not why it is winning though.  It is winning because of 3 things - studio support, retailer support, and player availability.  So far the majority of the studios support the format, Blcokbuster only rents Blu Ray, and Target only sells Blu Ray players.  Combine that with the fact that the PS3 has it bundled in by default and it gives Blu Ray a nice foundation.

A lot of people, myself included, has thought the PS3 launch was horribly botched.  And I think it has mostly been botched, except for one thing.  The PS3 BD support.  This is probably the smartest thing that Sony could have done.  By doing this they gave a large incentive to get a PS3.  It plays movies, and games too.  No extra parts are needed for full high definition support.  It’s interface is also HDMI so you can just plug the one cable in and then play your movies in their high def glory.  Contrast this with HD-DVD where you need either a stand-alone disc player or an external attachment to the XBox 360.  For me, I like that I now have one device to do games, dvd and BD together.  Plus the fact I can get more movies is better.

It’s this combo that is important.  It seems Sony may have learned some things in their loss with Betamax.

Technorati Tags blu ray, format, hd-dvd, sony, toshiba, war

Vienna is freeware newsreader for OS X that is as good or better than the shareware programs out there. Once installed it will after the first launch become your default newsreader. This means you can click on the RSS icon on a webpage or in the address bar and it will load into Vienna, subscribing to that feed. It supports RSS and Atom feeds.

Vienna has many positive attributes. The interface is very simple and unobtrusive, with panes that show a list of subscribed feeds, downloaded articles and a preview of the article. I use the standard “left,top/bottom view” but it supports a 3 column view, and a “unified” view as well. Vienna also offers some integration with a blogging application.

A default view

The interface, while nice, is not the main reason I use Vienna. It’s what I call the “management” features that I like. The ability to flag articles that I want to save is very useful, especially regarding material for this blag. Deleted articles are first moved to a trash for recovery, this trash can be cleared on exit. Articles and feeds can also be organized further. It supports groupings of feeds and allows for filtering of articles. Vienna offers some advanced filtering capabilities.>

The filtering capabilities of Vienna are very advanced. It allows for “Smart Folders” which filter on a number of fields. There are three default smart folders for unread, the current days and marked articles. You can create your own though with filtering based date, author, grouping and most other fields.

Built-in Browser

Vienna has a built-in browser that is based on webkit. It also will handle various filetypes embedded in the R$RSS feed. This is all handled through the OS I think. It works very well, with no hiccups for as long as I’ve used it. It will also import/export files in the common OPML format so you can backup your subscriptions and organization layout. It does not offer .mac sync support though. This is something I wish it did have since I have multiple computers.

Overall Vienna is a well-designed application that does what the commercial applications do as well or better. I recommend it for your news reading needs. To find out more about Vienna visit their website at http://www.opencommunity.co.uk/vienna2.php

Technorati Tags newsreader, os x, rss, vienna

It works in a simple, and ingenious way. It is an iTunes plugin and they provide a simple installer. In order to activate you have to choose it as your visualizer and then turn on the visualizer. It’s a rather clever way to have it viewable. You can click on the name of the band/artist to get tickets or order the album from Amazon. There is also a feature to share calendars with friends. I’ve not used that yet.

Example Screen

I’d love to see iTunes store integration under CD releases. Otherwise it works as advertised and no problem so far. I recommend trying it out.

Technorati Tags apple, concert, itunes, mac os x, music, plugin, windows

My Camera Kit

I hope this information can help you in your decision about buying a dSLR camera. If you have any comments, questions or corrections please comment below.

What is SLR?

SLR, be it digital or film, is a type of camera, SLR stands for Single Reflex Camera. An SLR camera at it’s simplest provides you an accurate view of what is being seen through the lens due to a series of mirrors that move out of the way prior to the final shot. What you see is what you get in the final frame. In the case of a digital camera these mirrors move out of the way to expose the sensor in the camera to light. In a film camera this would be exposing the film. This ability is part of what has made SLR cameras so popular with professionals and amateurs alike. SLR cameras also offer many other controls options that you won’t find on a point and shoot camera. These include ISO settings, Depth of Field controls, interchangeable parts, and speed. We’ll address each of these in comparison and in regard to buying or using a dSLR.

dSLR vs. Point and Shoot

Todays Point and Shoot/Compact cameras are of very good quality and for most cases do what is needed. If you’ve ever wanted to shoot in low light, without the flash or do more than a simple snapshot the limitations of a Compact become very, very obvious. This is because of how a Compact camera works.

The Viewfinder

A Point and Shoot has a separate lens path for the viewfinder or LCD screen. What you see there is not what the lens may be seeing. This is why a picture can look good on the LCLCD or in the viewfinder but come out looking badly. This is in contrast to a SLR camera which by it’s nature lets you see what is going to come to the lens directly. Also a dSLR won’t have a LCD preview before you take the shot. Personally, I don’t like LCD previews prior anyway, they never look exactly right anyway. Depending on the quality of the LCD you won’t get a good appreciation of what the picture will look like.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi Viewfinder (From the manual)

A Compact will also suffer form parallax as a result of this setup. If you’ve ever taken a picture where you accidentally cropped off a person’s head then you’ve suffered from parallax. Parallax is the difference caused by the distance between what you see in the viewfinder vs. the lens. A SLR camera of any variety is by definition immune to this problem.

Lighting, Flash and ISO

A dSLR will give you fine grained control over things like ISO, Aperture, Shutter and Exposur`e settings and flash control. Most Compact cameras give you limited, if any control. Indoors you pretty much have to use the flash on a Compact to get a decent picture. With a dSLR this is not true. While some Compact cameras are giving you more and more control they still lack the capabilities of even the lowest end dSLRs.

Depth of Field (DoF)

This is probably one of the more noticeable differences between the two types of camera. A dSLR lets you adjust the DoF depending on the shot. It can do this because the lens is not fixed. A Compact uses a fixed length lens that never changes, they may talk about “35mm equivalent” but that is misleading. While the field of view might change the reality is that lens’ focal length will never change. dSLR cameras can do this because of the larger sensor it has to capture an image. The fact you can change lenses to suit your needs is also important. This is why you won’t find good macro photography with a Compact.

Example of DOF with my Canon

The Sensor

All digital cameras use a sensor to capture the image. Not all sensors are created equal. While there are two types of sensor - CCD and CMOS certain things remain the same for both. A dSLR has a larger sensor than your standard Compact. The result is as Compact gets a higher megapixel rating they have to be packed more tightly on the sensor. A dSLR can pack as many pixels over a larger surface. The result is less noise and higher possible ISO ratings as a result.

Camera Speed

This is a biggie for me. dSLR cameras are simply faster. They are built for taking pictures quickly and allowing for shots quickly. The drive speed on a dSLR will be much faster than your average point and shoot. This is due in part to the camera being designed as a camera first. You’ll not need to go into a menu for most things. A Compact on the other hand is designed for snapshots at a family outing with little tweaking of settings. It’s more of a video device that is a camera second really.

So You Want To Buy a dSLR

a dSLR offers specific kinds of advantages over a Compact camera. You get more control, higher capabilities, and more flexibility with a dSLR. If you require more than a simple snapshot camera then looking into a dSLR is probably a good thing.

At this point you’ve read the comparison above and decided that a dSLR is for you. But there are quite a few cameras out there, and they are not cheap. Which one to buy? There are a lot of good camera reviews at dpreview.com. I recommend you read up on individual cameras there. There are some things that you should be aware of before buying any camera though.

Misleading Megapixels

All camera manufacturers tout the number of megapixels a camera is. The MP rating is often displayed prominently. While this is an important factor to be aware of it’s true value can be misunderstood. A megapixel is simply 1 million pixels, but what does that translate to really? In terms of digital photography a higher MP rating give you larger possible printed photographs. How does this work? The MP rating of your camera defines the highest possible resolution for an photograph. This resolution, when printed, will correspond to a 300dpi printed photograph. While you could print a larger photo with a smaller MP camera you will lose a lot of detail.

The following chart outlines the resolutions and recommended base MP. Personally I prefer 8 or 10MP for printing an 8×10 image since you get more detail.

Camera Speed

For me this is a very important thing to track. You want a camera that is quick to use, and is quick to shoot photos. You don’t want to lose a shot or have to wait too long for the photo to be written to memory. This is why you have to keep an eye on what the drive speed of the camera is. A faster camera can take more pictures faster. This is important when doing continuous shots as well. It’s important to know how long it will take the camera to write as you fill the card as well. There are six types of speed that one should look for when reviewing a camera. Most cameras will list these specifications.

1. Time to power on
2. Time from power on to first shot
3. Time to write a JPEG to memory
4. Time to write a RAW to memory
5. Time between successive shots.
6. Time to transfer images from camera to computer.

Battery Life

This is pretty important. You don’t want to run out of battery in the middle of shooting. dSLR cameras tend to be really good on battery life in most cases. This is because their power needs are focused on camera functions not on things like live LCD preview. The things that will drain the batter are heavy flash use and transfer of images directly from the camera. The latter can be alleviated by using a card reader instead of direct camera transfer. My Canon gets really good battery life on one charge. The official rating is 370 shots per charge. I’ve gotten closer to 400 or so shots on one charge myself.

I also recommend a camera that uses rechargeable packs. You don’t want to be buying batteries all the time. In my case the canon battery pack works in the Powershot I own as well. This means I had extra battery packs off the bat. Always nice.

Storage and File Formats

This is something that can be easily overlooked but needs to be addressed. Does the camera support JPEG and RAW formats? All dSLR at this point do. In most cases the RAW format will be proprietary to the manufacturer. Make sure your photo editing software can read the format.

Storage needs are important. You’ll want a 2GB card minimum. Also it’s important to see what kind of storage they take. Common card types include CF,SD or even the memory stick for Sony cameras. Sony had experimented with writing to CD or DVD directly. I found that method too slow for my tastes.

My camera uses CF cards. I like the size and the costs for CF cards right now. A 4GB card can be found for $50 US. Plus it can be used in my Powershot as well.

Ease of Use

This one is very important. You want a camera you can use quickly. A dSLR has a big enough learning curve if you are just making the jump you don’t want to be bogged down in minutiae of a UI as well. My Canon is pretty easy to use and the display is simple, clean and easy to read. What you want to look for is a good place that shows all the pertinent information like current ISO, aperture, exposure and shutter settings. You also want to be able to see important information while looking through the viewfinder. On my camera I can dial settings using the thumb dial on the camera. The viewfinder is clear and large and shows me all the information I need.

ISO and Other Numbers.

The numbers game that you see on camera specs can easily be misleading and overwhelming. In addition to MP there are also other settings and ratings which are important but can mislead. These include ISO ratings which are interpolated at 800 and above in most cases. There are ways to take photos using no more than 400 ISO ever. While these techniques take time to develop the point is to not take too much stock in super high interpolated ISO ratings of 1600 or 3200. At those levels the noise build up may make a shot unusable.

Size is also an important factor. If you are going to be carrying around a larger camera body and lens, or perhaps multiple lenses you want to make sure it’s of a size that works for you. No dSLR will ever be as small/light as a Compact but that is a necessary trade off. You’ll want a camera that is comfortable to hold, shoot with, and carry around.

Accessories and Lenses

This is an area that can be very important, or not at all important. It depends on your plans and needs. For a gadget freak like me, well this is important. One selling point for me on my camera was the Canon EOS system. This allows for using the same lenses and other accessories across the whole line of Canon dSLRs and some of their point and shoot cameras.

When I do upgrade one day the current equipment I have will make my next camera body choice important. That is something that is important actually to stress. With a dSLR you are buying a camera body first and the lens and the rest second. Nikon, Sony, Pentax, all the major manufacturers have systems like the EOS system. So when looking at cameras see what is out there, and if you’ll be able to take what you buy with you if you stick to the same manufacturer.

For lenses also see if you could get a third party lens for your camera. There are some good quality lenses made by third parties for dSLR cameras.

Final Advice

There are two things I always tell people who ask about buying a camera. The first is to go and try using it first. Make sure it feels right and that the pictures look good to you. Most camera shops will let you test a camera in the store. If they do not, go elsewhere. The second is make sure you will use the camera. If you are not planning on doing much then a dSLR may be too much camera for you. Look at what you want to do and ask yourself “Do I need more than a Compact?” If you can answer yes then get a dSLR.

If you want more control over your photographs, or want to be able to take better shots then a dSLR is something one should look at. For myself, I am glad I took the plunge and got my Canon. It has allowed me to feel the love of photography I had as a child again.

To see some of my pictures: My Photos

Technorati Tags: xti, camera, canon, digital, dSLR, photography, rebel, Tips, buying

Boot up parameters

 

<option>	bring up boot disk selection screen
<x>	Force OS X startup
<Option><Cmd><Shift><Delete>	Bypass start volume during boot.
<c>	Boot off CD/DVD
<t>	Start in Target disk Mode
<shift>	Start up in Safe Mode
<option>-<n>	Netboot
<cmd>-<v>	Verbose boot. Shows you everything happening as it starts up.
<cmd>-<s>	Single User Mode	Boots OS X into Single User Mode.

OS X Keyboard Shortcuts

Desktop Management

<F8>	Spaces view
<F9>	Expose all apps
<F10>	Expose selected app windows
<F11>	Desktop view
<F12>	Dashboard
<Ctrl>-<Number>	go to that spaces desktop

Other Shortcuts

<cmd>-<spacebar>	Access Spotlight
<cmd><shift><3>	Screen capture
<cmd><shift><4>	Screen capture selected area
<cmd><option><=>	Zoom screen in (requires universal access)
<cmd><option><->	Zoom screen out (requires universal access)
<cmd><tab>	Application switcher
<cmd><~>	switch between application windows
<cmd><option><t>	show character palette
<cmd><h>	Hide application window
<cmd><w>	Close window (May quit some apps)
<cmd><q>	Quit application
<cmd><right arrow>	Expand folder list view
<cmd><left arrow>	Collapse folder list view
<cmd><?>	Open Help (some apps may not support)
<cmd><esc>	Open Front Row
<option><cmd><d>	show/hide dock
<option><cmd><esc>	Force Quit
<option><cmd><drag>	make alias at location

Finding Safari’s keyboard shorcuts.

Under OS X you can go to the following link to bring up a listing of safari keyboard shortcuts. Cut and paste the url into safari to view. file:///Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/Shortcuts.htmlIf you have any you’d like to add please comment!

Technorati Tags efi, intel, keyboard, mac, os x, safari, shortcuts

Last week at work I was working on some documentation for an ongoing project. I found myself once again wishing for decent outlining software on windows. I didn’t have my laptop with me so I was forced to wing it with Microsoft Word since there are no really good Windows outlining programs. If I had my laptop I’d have just fired up OmniOutliner. OmniOutliner, developed by the Omni Group, is simply best outlining program I have ever used.

Why I Use It

I started using OmniOutliner(OO) when I got my first powerbook (a TiBook). It came with the hardware. I recall my first thought was “an outliner program? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!?!” I was soon enlightened to it’s capabilities. I now use OO for many tasks. These tasks include outlining for documentation but go beyond that. I use it for making task lists, when I create database schema, and for organizing thoughts among other things. It has quite a few capabilities to support my needs.

What Does It Do?

OmniOutliner does, as it name suggests, create outlines. But that simple sentence belies a host of capabilities to create outlines beyond what you learned in school. With it’s ability to show checkboxes and control numbering and precedence it does all the common outlining functions you’d expect. It’s other features make it very useful for other things though.

It has a column feature which I often use when organizing database schema or my thoughts. One can also drag and drop things as needed to re-arrange precedence. There is also a notes feature that lets you attach small informational notes to various items as needed. It’s a nice way to supplement bullet items. These bullets are customizable as well.

Exmple window

One of the most powerful features that I use is the ability to attach other items to an outline. These include urls, images and audio. You can even record the audio in program. I often use the recording when putting together ideas. It’s great to do a brain dump and then organize that further. And since it’s audio I can do this quickly.

Showing all the attachments

In order to support all this OmniOutliner also supports formatting of each item fully. It does this through an inspector window. You can control list styles, text formatting, coloring, and many other things

Drawbacks

While I love the application in most cases there are some drawbacks. It has an annoying knack for ignoring my telling it to not show checkboxes. Also you can’t simply drag out attachments without losing them from the outline. OOs default format doesn’t use OPML as far as I can tell. This means you have to conciously export opml documents. This is not a huge problem in most cases. Sometimes though I forget to export a doc for use on windows though.

Many features are also only supported in the “Pro” version. The pro version costs more than the standard one as well.

Technorati Tags apple, applications, apps I use, mac, omni group, omnioutliner, os x, outliner

I’ve always been kind of ambivalent about mobile phones. While useful they are a major pain to use. I’ve mostly had one from work or a simple pre-paid phone. I was content with that until Apple debuted the iPhone. Being an Apple fanboy and a gadget whore this was like candy to me. After its release I waited about 3 weeks before breaking down and buying one.

I’ve had my iPhone for about six months now, purchasing one shortly after they were released. It’s been a good six month overall. The service has been good and the phone itself is a pleasure to use compared to the others I have used. There are things I both love and hate about the phone though. I’ve compiled a list of twenty things, 10 for each regarding the phone.

Without further ado here is my list.

10 Things I Love About My iPhone

1. It looks Great

This may be superficial but everything about the phone is good looking. From the hardware design to the UI look. The phone is the right size for my hand and not too heavy. The lines flow well an the buttons are in places and work in ways that make sense. You have four buttons total on the phone. 2 for volume controls, one for on/off/sleep, and one for “home” functions in the UI.

The UI is pretty as well, and very easy and intuitive to use. The icons are simple, the display clear, and the multi-touch slick as hell. And finally there is coverflow. It’s sexy and has a great wow factor. Even now I still like to play with it.

2. iPod Functionality

I have a total of 3 iPods now. A shuffle I use for workouts, a 30 gig photo I use for long trips, and my iPhone. The amount of space is enough for daily use and the fact that it plays music and videos is great. I used to sneer at phones that played music but now I think I understand the allure of having one device to do both. It really does make life easier. It’s made me re-evaluate my view on “convergence” type devices.

3. The Camera

This should be a non-surprise for my friends. I am an avid taker of pictures. I’ve had the picture bug for sometime and having a camera phone only feeds the addiction. It’s not just having the camera though which is of an impressive quality. It’s the ease with which I can take a picture and send it to someone via email, sync it on my computer (it reads as another drive mounted to import from), or to simply assign the picture to a contact. This ease struck me when watching someone try and take a picture and find it with a blackberry. They couldn’t easily find it from the picture taking app. With the iPhone it’s part of the same app. You can see some of my iPhone pics on flickr.

4. The Headphones

The iPhone came with a combination headphone/mic/remote control for the phone. It works very well. The headphones are standard quality for music, but for phone calls it works really good. The mic seems to be good quality and I’ve gotten used to the remote. It’s my hope they add the remote ability to all the iPods at some point

5. Email!

The iPhone has full email capability, something that helped convince me to buy it. My blackberry for work does email and it’s painful to say the least. I currently am checking email for three of my accounts, 2 are imap. It handles that and attachments fine. I’ve read word docs, pdfs and an excel spreadsheet.

6. Safari!

Web browsing from the phone is pretty nice, as much because of the lack of flash support as anything. The landscaping mode is nicely done, a requirement really.

7. Call Handling

What I mean by this is how it handles things while a call is going on as well as calling. The large number pad and easy way to dial from a contact are nice. But what if I want to go speaker or use the keypad? Take the phone away from your ear and go. The way the sensor works for being near the ear helps prevent accidents thankfully. I’ve only messed with the 3 way once, but it worked flawlessly.

8. SMS Messaging

SMS handling is like being in an iChat. It makes the conversation flow much nicer. Also sending messages ties well into contacts too. The biggest thing for me is the preview though. It pops on the screen right away and lets me read without going into the sms section. I hate having to dig to read that stuff.

9. The On-screen keyboard

Once you get get used to it the on-screen keyboard works surprisingly well. It also includes word completion and seems to remember contact names. The keyboard does have some context awareness. If you are in the screen to enter a url it changes the default input, the same goes for mail addresses. They recently added a 2 space shortcut for periods which I love. I hope they continue to add similar shortcuts.

10. Easy Synching

A big thing for me in getting a phone has been synching common data between them. On past phones this was address book. With the iPhone that includes calendaring, music, bookmarks, and notes. It’s surprisingly easy now. iTunes manages this synchronization for me. Once I told it what to sync that is. Music is a playlist. Podcasts and video the last three unviewed unless I tell it otherwise. And contacts/calendars/bookmarks? I just told it what to synch and it works both ways.

10 Things I Hate About My iPhone

It’s not all roses and unicorns though when it comes to the iPhone. There are some things which I don’t like about the iPhone. These things are not deal breakers for the iPhone but things I hope they will address one way or another.

1. The Edge Network

This is probably my biggest beef with the iPhone. It may be an AT&T issue, but since the phone only works with AT&T right now it’s an iPhone thing. The main problem I see is the inconsistency of the speed. Sometimes it is fast, sometimes it is slow as hell. It’s too variable imho.

2. Ringtones, iTunes Style

Custom ringtones is not something I regularly use but when I want one I want one. The fact I can only use ringtones from the iTunes store is annoying at best. I wanted to add the Yip Yip “Bring bring” for example. Right now there is no easy way to do so.

3. No Landscape Mode For Mail

Safari does landscape mode for viewing webpages. Mail? Portrait mode only. For HTML emails this is really a pain in the ass. For other mail it’s merely annoying. I hope Apple changes this.

4. Occasional UI Slowness or Freezing

I’ve seen this mostly when going to the main screen, waking from sleep or dealing with some SMS messaging. But the UI has a tendency to slowly respond or sometimes seem to freeze on occasion. I’ve filed radars with Apple, I hope they do something about it.

5. The On-screen Keyboard

Your read that right, the on-screen keyboard. While I love it in most cases it can be infuriating. The completion sometimes gets a little too aggressive and if typing fast kicks in. Also I seem to have a tendency to hit the P instead of the O. Also, why can’t it go widescreen outside of Safari? Come on Apple, let’s have some more widescreen love!

6. Wifi Handling

While the overall wifi setup is nice some parts of it really, really suck. The fact that it will join an open network even when it gets a bullshit or no ip is annoying. It should be smart enough to detect a valid ip and know when to fallback to Edge. Right now it’s an on or off thing from what I can tell regarding fallback.

7. No Games

Give me games! Solitaire, or Tetris, or Breakout, or something. When I am standing around waiting for my train underground give me a way to waste time please. I don’t always want to read a book or the paper. And hitting on a cute gal, while fun is not always something I want to do. Especially at 6 AM.

8. No Contact Search

Apple gave a way to scroll through the “rolodex” of my contact list, but I can’t search for a name or number? Seems like a big oversight to me. One they need to correct quickly.

9. No .Mac syncing

Seems like a strange oversight to me really. I am a .Mac subscribers and I wish I could keep the phone in sync over the air with my account. It would be a simple extension of really of what it does w/ itunes. I can’t see a real reason why they don’t allow it right now.

10. Waiting for the SDK to Hit

The default apps for the iPhone are good but not enough. I used AppTap for a while to add some applications but with the firmware updates lost it. I’ve not felt like trying to get that working again. Apple has promised an SDK come February though. It’s a waiting game right now, but still annoying.

Conclusions

This is my list of things I love and hate about my iPhone. If you have things you love or hate, or suggestions how I can overcome some of the limitations please comment. I’d love to hear what others thing.

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