Sunday Night Open Thread: IPhones

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 09:35:02 PM EST
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The TL kid and I finally got our new iPhones today. It's just like the iPod touch only it has a phone. Since I spent the better part of last week learning how to use the iPod touch, I'm hoping the phone will be an easy learning curve.

Not everyone loves it. This Washington Post reporter just returned his iPhone.

More...

In other weekend news, I spent a huge amount of time yesterday updating the TalkLeft merchandise store and redoing the offerings.

There are now 3 tote bags, as well as clothing like t-shirts and hoodies, plus mousepads and little teddy bears all with messages -- from the no-snitch and other anti-cooperater ones to immigrants rights and a general people powered politics one which is taken from this TL video, and of course, the 4th Amendment stuff. Even a throw pillow. I think this tote bag is my favorite.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Monday and I can go back to work. This tech stuff is such a time-eater.

How was your weekend? This is an open thread.

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Sunday Night Open Thread: IPhones | 43 comments (43 topical)

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All wisdom teeth out last Friday (5.00 / 3) (#1)
by andgarden on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 09:37:37 PM EST

So far, no serious pain--cross fingers.

I've got all mine... (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by kredwyn on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 09:56:31 PM EST

But the oral surgeon and the orthodontist did a lot of stuff to my teeth to make sure there was room for them...

My new health insurance finally kicked in from my new agency. Hopefully a dental visit's in the near future. Though the work that he's really going to have to do will have to wait for the time lapse thing to kick in...

[ Parent ]

I was only half-insured (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by andgarden on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:04:02 PM EST

and $700 later, I have 4 holes in my mouth! (Fine print: impacted teeth got covered, others didn't.)

[ Parent ]

Wisdom teeth out AND you had to pay for it!? (5.00 / 1) (#15)
by jerry on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 11:46:39 PM EST

And I supposed you really enjoyed "Little Shop of Horrors" didn't you?

I still recall the pain I was in, and the only thing that would stop the bleeding was quite literally to jam four teabags into my mouth and suck on them.

Yeow yeow yeow!

Best wishes to you, heal up!

[ Parent ]

: "Little Shop of Horrors" (none / 0) (#18)
by nycstray on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:04:04 AM EST

OY!~ that's why I still have mine. Man, what my sister and friends went through along with my prior dental miseries, no way in heck I was getting mine out unless absolutely required. I had teeth removed (that were already in!) because I have a small jaw back when I had braces, so if my wisdom teeth ever decided to make an appearance, I had some room and wouldn't have had to go through the impacted routine. Thankfully, they're shy and still in hiding all these years later, lol!~
wisdom teeth {shudder}

[ Parent ]

Hmmm... (none / 0) (#6)
by kredwyn on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:06:51 PM EST

Will discuss with him. I don't have that kind of money at the moment. The new water pump thing for my overheating car wiped me out.

[ Parent ]

: Well, I had a good surgeon (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by andgarden on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:08:32 PM EST

But no question, for me it was elective.

[ Parent ]

Crossing fingers for you -- (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Cream City on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 11:31:50 PM EST

doing all four at once! My first two went fine.

But with the second two, one went into the dreaded "dry socket." Then the meds gave me an allergic reaction. Took another med to fix that. Ohhhh.

And years later, this summer also has had me back to the dentist to fix several of the remaining teeth -- all starting with one that broke. @#$%%%! hard candies. My advice: Chocolate is much safer for teeth. Not for the hips, but heck. No matter what, you will be seeing the dentist again, and again. . . .

But glad you got this out of the way before law school. Now nothing can go wrong.:-)

[ Parent ]

As long as the dentist didn't ask you (none / 0) (#26)
by ruffian on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 08:43:34 AM EST

"Is it safe?" while he was pulling your teeth, you are probably OK.

I had mine out 25 years ago, and I had no serious pain either, but the right corner of my lower lip has been partially numb ever since. I'm not drooling yet, but I worry about my old age.

[ Parent ]

: I had the numbness problem too (none / 0) (#33)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 11:30:09 AM EST

on the lower front teeth. Then a couple of years later I needed root canals on a couple of the teeth adjacent to the missing wisdom teeth. I blame the wisdom teeth removal for that. It was too big of a coincidence.
I found out AFTER the surgery that the oral surgeon was in a huge hurry to finish with me because he was leaving on vacation. I would never recommend that oral surgeon.

[ Parent ]

Dental work... (none / 0) (#28)
by kdog on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 09:31:56 AM EST

For those of limited means and no dental coverage...check out your local dental school.

I go to the state university at Stonybrook and they are very reasonable....70 bucks for a composite filling. Instructors check all the student's work, and since they are graded they aim for perfection. I'll never go to a regular practice again.

[ Parent ]

I almost bought the IPhone 3G (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by cpa1 on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:00:26 PM EST

I got to the Apple store at 8:00 AM where I learned you can't get insurance for the I3G. I already knew that you can't change the batteries or tether the I3G to your laptop.

But what closed the door for me was sheer stupidity on Apple's part. Through the sync process with MS Activesync, if the I3G had it, you could bring files into your I3G like I could bring them into my Sony and Dell PDAs using a Palm OS and Windows PC 5.0 respectively. That would have allowed me, if the I3G had it and if I bought it, to send a report or even a tax return from almost anywhere without having to buy a $70 per month air card.

The "specialist" in the Apple store checked and determined that all you could bring in to the I3G are picture, music and videos and Outlook files. You can't even bring in a PDF file to read unless it is emailed in. Well, if I could email the file in, that means I have Internet access on my laptop and I wouldn't need the IPhone.

I was ready to overlook everything else but that. It really is pretty stupid on Apple's part, especially after Palm could do it, Windows PC could do it and the Blackberry could do it. It's a shmae because the I3G has so many great possibilities for peopel who never would have bought anything Apple.

It's more than I would want, but (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by JavaCityPal on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:09:22 PM EST

my son-in-law got his iPhone at the advice of all his colleagues on Friday. He got everything up and running intuitively, but can't get the phone part to "work". Outgoing calls are easy, but incoming calls continue to go to his old blackberry. He's not even trying to figure it out anymore, he's taking it back to the AT&T store to get them to fix it.

The map part looked great, but I already spend too much time on the computer.

The insurance problem can be solved. My s-i-l is an insurance broker, so he added it to one of his policies (sorry, I wasn't listening carefully enough as to which, but it was specifically for the iPhone since insurance isn't available the way it is for other cell phones).

Yeah, we're living in the future. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by Pegasus on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:15:05 PM EST

David Byrne was right.

[ Parent ]

The remarkable achievements are (5.00 / 2) (#12)
by JavaCityPal on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:20:47 PM EST

so fantastic to watch unfold, but some of it is moving faster than our lives can handle. I don't want to be available 24/7, I want to get away from the computer, I don't want anyone to track me, but I love the idea they can find people who are lost or stranded through the beep of their cell phones.

We must be in the bitter/sweet age of the earth.

[ Parent ]

Completely agree. (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Pegasus on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:28:59 PM EST

In my navel-gazing moments, I wonder how much we really resemble the humans of, say, 2000 years ago intellectually/emotionally/spiritually (whatever you want to call it). All our brainpower has pretty radically changed the world we live in, anyway, and that has to have some sort of effect.

[ Parent ]

: You know what "they" say: (none / 0) (#16)
by JavaCityPal on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 11:55:47 PM EST

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

[ Parent ]

Gawd, you and me both! (5.00 / 1) (#19)
by Grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:18:46 AM EST

I don't want to be available 24/7 either! I had a pager once and I hated it. I've rebelled against cell phones.

I knew I would hate cell phones about 15 years ago when I saw the aftermath of an accident on a busy city street. The people who were involved in the accident were not talking to each other. No, they were all standing in the median talking on their cell phones.

Then, an older friend of mine was invited out to dinner by one of his younger hip clients. It was going to a group of people going out to dinner in a really trendy restaurant. He went and was aghast when every single person (except for him) pulled out their cell phone and spent the entire time on the phone. (The way he described it, it was insanely bizarre -- like 8 people eating while talking on the phone and no one talking to anyone they were sitting near. Must have been a great dinner!)

I watch the usual fools ("Honey, I'm on Aisle 7 with the shampoos and they have 16 ounce Milk and Wheat...") and the unusual fools ("No, I'm not going to do anything harmful right now -- Excuse me? Why are you looking at me? Can't you see this is a private conversation?") and I have to wonder if all this "contact" is making us a better society?

I watched something on "60 Minutes" or one of those shows about people who are multitasking to a ridiculous degree: Cellphone, laptop in the car, texting -- every technological device available. It's just CRAZY! No wonder there are so many accidents! Why don't they just drive?!

Anyway, I hate to sound like I'm anti-technology but I am anti-technology to a certain extent. I long for the days of "undivided attention." I don't think multitasking is all that it's cracked up to be. I think multitasking leads to more mistakes, poor quality, and uneven results.

And I don't want to be available 24/7/365.

[ Parent ]

Amen to that.... (none / 0) (#29)
by kdog on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 09:37:28 AM EST

I'm a luddite myself....I was the last to get a cell phone in my circles, and I only did when it became harder and harder to find a pay phone.

Now the cell sits on my dresser turned off 99% of the time.

It's a ying and yang thang...for every way technology improves our quality of life there is another way it worsens it.

[ Parent ]

Ah, Progress (none / 0) (#31)
by daring grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 11:13:16 AM EST

It's fascinating how each new tech development brings rewards but also robs us of certain precious (seldom recaptured) elements of daily life.

As a public historian, I collected picture post cards from the turn of the 19th Century into the 20th.

And it was amazing how many of them had the most mundane messages like:

"I'll be arriving on the three o'clock trolley. Aunt Betty".

or "Bring another basket of blueberries from the farm when you come to town tomorrow. Jack".

Most people not having telephones in their homes yet, the mail in my area was delivered twice a day and someone in one part of the city could send such a message in the AM or the day before and have it received within 12=18 hours.

I wouldn't want to go back to that, but it speaks to a quieter, slower pace to life. (With a lot of extra physical work, too, of course.)

[ Parent ]

Progress? Nah (none / 0) (#34)
by squeaky on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 11:36:37 AM EST

It is just that today with instant messaging the [virtual] postman delivers the mail more frequently.

[ Parent ]

How True (none / 0) (#35)
by daring grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 11:47:13 AM EST

Since I'm not an IM person, I never thought of that--and, of course, just emails and...THIS.

reminds me of an old episode of Cheers where people in the bar are ribbing Cliff about the importance of postal workers and their punch lines are things like: Federal Express and fax machines.

[ Parent ]

I still cherish.... (5.00 / 1) (#36)
by kdog on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:19:04 PM EST

getting the occasional handwritten letter in the mail.

It's so much more romantic than an email or text...the sound of the envelope ripping with anticipation.

Probably the same reason I still buy newspapers...romance:)

[ Parent ]

That Personal Touch (5.00 / 1) (#39)
by daring grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:40:46 PM EST

is one of the things lost in the Im-ing world--the tactile pleasures of opening and handling the stationary and the joy of a loved one's familiar handwriting on the page.

Heck, even the stamp.

I used to write letters and spend some time picking out the commemorative stamp (Montana or Billie Holliday or antique bicycles or something). With technology, I would photocopy Far Side calendar pages or cartoons out of the New Yorker or something and write little notes on them.

For me, the most illuminating thing about those post cards was that there would be some "Having wonderful time. See you soon." messages, and the ones I cited before. But also there were sadder 'real life ones' like "Mother died last night. Funeral on Friday." All on the back of some pastoral scene or landmark building.

[ Parent ]

Maybe Romance =Tactile? (5.00 / 1) (#41)
by daring grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:43:14 PM EST

Well, we know it does in certain obvious ways...;)

But I'm with you on the newspaper thing too and that and letter writing share that pleasure of handling something, experiencing it in the 3D world.

[ Parent ]

Do You Write Them Too? (none / 0) (#37)
by squeaky on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:23:19 PM EST

I have some german friends who write each other every day, at least once. You too can live a romantic life, on a daily basis. Or do you think rarity makes getting letters romantic?

[ Parent ]

I do.... (5.00 / 1) (#38)
by kdog on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:34:07 PM EST

still send handwritten letters. More of the soul comes through reading someone's handwriting on a piece of paper, as opposed to type on a screen.

I don't think its the rarity that makes it romantic, its the personal touch and the effort that goes into it.

[ Parent ]

: I Agree (none / 0) (#40)
by squeaky on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:40:48 PM EST

But the rarity does add to it, imo. It is an extra effort these days, which adds something to the personal touch always felt through letter writing.

[ Parent ]

I'm going to wait (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Prabhata on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:12:28 PM EST

The iPhone should soon have a video. It's a logical progression because my Mac comes with one, and with Skype calls, those with videos can see each other. It's so 1968, "2001 A Space Odyssey".

IPhone, smyPhone (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by talesoftwokitties on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 10:15:26 PM EST

I have a wonderful Jitterbug phone. Brightly lit, easy to read buttons, HUGE display, and a dial tone when you open it! It's a friggin' phone for when I need one - I am not a phone head, never have, never will be. Perfect for a cranky hermit like me!

: Can you take pictures with it? (none / 0) (#20)
by Grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:24:45 AM EST

I like the idea of a bigger phone too.

[ Parent ]

Speaking of Obama (5.00 / 1) (#21)
by Grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:27:54 AM EST

I missed "Meet the Press" so I ambled over to read the transcript. Whoever typed the transcript managed to type in all the "I, I, I," and "a, a, a," stutters that Obama puts into his non-Telepromptered interviews.

Pretty funny.

What US attack on Pakistan? (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by Grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 02:33:45 AM EST

Have we lost our marbles? Why would we attack Pakistan?

suspected US missle strike... (none / 0) (#27)
by kredwyn on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 09:00:11 AM EST

here.

[ Parent ]

: No One It Taking Credit (none / 0) (#43)
by squeaky on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:26:52 PM EST

[ Parent ]
: Remember... (none / 0) (#46)
by kredwyn on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 02:32:27 PM EST

just cause it says "Made in X" doesn't mean that it came from X. No one is taking claim...so it's suspected.

[ Parent ]

Obama and Afghanistan (5.00 / 1) (#24)
by Grace on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 02:37:09 AM EST

Why doesn't Obama ask China to send troops to Afghanistan? It seems like a natural fit. China has a billion troops (because China's military is gigantic) and Afghanistan needs troops.

Let's see some of Obama's salesmanship in action...

Justice Department has issued (5.00 / 0) (#30)
by Anne on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 10:00:12 AM EST

a 140-page report:

From the AP -

A new Justice Department report concludes that politics illegally influenced the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges, and largely lays the blame on top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Monday's report singles out the department's former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, for violating federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren't Republican or conservative loyalists.

The report is here.

Mukasey has to know what's in this report - but as sure as I'm sitting here, he will do nothing about it.

I finally figured out... (none / 0) (#2)
by kredwyn on Sun Jul 27, 2008 at 09:54:04 PM EST

how to put games on my ipod. I now have chess...yay!

Guess what. The "liberal" media is (none / 0) (#17)
by oculus on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 12:06:22 AM EST

harder on Obama than on McCain during the first six weeks of the GE campaign. So says a study conducted by George Mason University. Media darling, my eye. Oh wait: Newsweek, Time, and People mag. covers all in the same week. Rivaling Brangelina twins.

LA Times

I am low-tech high tech (none / 0) (#32)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 11:23:36 AM EST

We bought our cell phones a couple of years ago for the SOUND QUALITY foremost, the functionality in just dialing, receiving, etc, calls and the battery life.

We tried about 10 phones out, fancy (Razors and Blades, etc) and non-fancy, and returned all. The ones we ended up with had NO BLUE TOOTH, but the sound quality was the best we could find. It is a Sanyo 8300.

Washington has a "hands-free in vehicle" law now, so we use CORDED headsets for handsfree mode with our current phones because we don't want to go through the process of choosing another phone, this time with blue-tooth. How gauche, I know, but if we call you, we sound like we're in the same room with you. This is not necessarily true with some of the finer Bluetooth phones.

When I saw that the IPhone had low battery life, the buzzers went off in my head. The other issue with the I-Gizmos is that you have to send them to Apple to replace the battery when it dies.

I also own an 8GB Sandisk MP3 player, rather than an IPOD. Bought it for $90 at Costco on Black Friday. The IPODs don't play the NetLibrary and Overdrive MP3 audio that I can check out at the library. I know nothing more wonderful than working in the garden while listening to a book that I "borrowed" from the library. It is peace at its finest. I can also drag and drop music to my player from Windows Explorer. Don't have to worry about silly ITunes.

Low-tech high tech is good.

So Much For Freedom (none / 0) (#44)
by squeaky on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:34:24 PM EST

You cannot even shoot your own lawn boy on your own property anymore, with out getting arrested.

Walendowski could face up to an $11,000 fine and six years and three months in prison if convicted.

: But Tasering (none / 0) (#45)
by squeaky on Mon Jul 28, 2008 at 01:44:27 PM EST

A 16 year old 19 times while he lay on the ground with a broken back, disconnected heel, and broken foot, is just fine and dandy.

[ Parent ]