My Apple experience

Most of you know that deep down, in the cockles of my heart, I detest Apple, Inc. Not because they make swanky computers, or because they have herds of computer dweebs as followers. No, I hate Apple with a ferocious passion because of the Apple culture. Or do I?

I LOVE the Nokia N95 I used previously, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a solid lifestyle device. It has a 5MP camera on the back, a 2MP camera on the front, both are video-capable, the battery lasts for several days on a single charge, the software on the phone itself is stable and performs consistently, the GPS features were fantastic, and of course, the number of applications for the phone are nearly limitless. To top all of those things off, the antenna within the device allowed it to function in areas that are simply dead zones for others.

On Friday, July 18, 2008, I became an iPhone convert. When the iPhone was first announced over a year ago, I balked at its lack of 3G network support, the lack of GPS, the fact that there was no MMS or copy/paste support within the software, and that the device suffered from a sickening cult following. I announced that when the iPhone got 3G and GPS, I would buy it- the interface itself was an excellent change in the mobile phone paradigm, and that was undeniable even then.

There are still issues with the iPhone. The lack of MMS messaging is completely ridiculous, and the fact that the simplest of mobile phones support copy/paste and the iPhone still lacks it...that's pathetic. But this bit isn't supposed to be about the phone itself. There are already more than enough comprehensive reviews out there, and adding my two cents to the pile certainly won't help.

As I approached the Apple store in Salem, NH at 10:15am, the line had already reached the doorway. This certainly isn't the longest line I've seen at an Apple product launch, so I decided to wait. When it came my turn to make a purchase, I had stood in line for an hour-and-a-half. The funny thing is, though, that there were only about 26 or so people in line in front of me- most of whom were activating a family plan!

I made my purchase from a teenage kid that was scared to tell me that in fact, I was not eligible for the subsidized pricing of my phone, but rather I would have to pay the full $499. I shrugged and said, "Ok, that's fine.", and the sales person returns with, "Really?! You're the first person that hasn't tried to punch me for saying that!" Trust me, the boy didn't look like he needed a punch.

In all, my actual check out time, including two signatures and a mishap with swiping my debit card, took about 5 minutes. I was both impressed and pleased with the speed of my individual transaction, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that if there had been more than two or three people assisting customers, the entire line would have been served in well under an hour. Believe me, I understand Apple's plight with AT&T as a vendor. Working with outside vendors is always a HUGE pain for everyone, especially when that vendor is a phone company. But seriously, Apple. More Point-of-Sale people!

After making my purchase, I received a receipt in my email box, asking me to complete a quick survey of my experience. Maybe I was still high with new gadget lust, or maybe my Grinch heart grew three sizes that day, but I actually clicked the survey link. This process took maybe 5 additional minutes of my life, but I did want to convey my concerns about the number of people assisting customers.

To my shock, I received a phone call the very next morning. Well within 24 hours of my purchase! I spoke to a gentleman over at the Rockingham Apple store, and explained that I understood there was little they could do about the supply issues, or the wait times during activation. I was even forgiving about the lack of sales associates working on iPhone sales, because let's face it, people need days off! Well, I received the standard, but sincere, apology for my wait. Then I received the shock of a lifetime. Apple offered me a case for my phone for my troubles. Now, this seems like a simple footnote to a long story, but in fact this is a earth shaking event!

An iPhone case may only cost me a few dollars, and is almost not even worth my worry. But, to a company looking for profits, a case is a worthwhile accessory. A case is additional profit on an already profitable venture- easy money if you will. Accessories are where stock values can be won or lost. And Apple, a greedy corporation, offered me one for free. A loss of a few cents worth of manufacturing to them, and a gain of a $10 or $20 accessory to me. But the gesture is priceless. Imagine if 100 people gave feedback, or 100,000 people gave feedback to Apple. That's only 10% of the people actually purchasing the phone, which seems feasible. It seems, at least on the surface, Apple cares not only about it's perceived hipster image, but also its customer loyalty. In my eyes, that actually counts for quite a lot in 2008.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go shower in acid to get myself clean again. Oh, and for those concerned that I'm a sellout- I have a Tux penguin as my iPhone background, and I'm in the process of jailbreaking the device now.

Intelligent design in schools

This post may annoy some of you. I'm not going to apologize for that, so you're just going to have to get over it and yourself. Whatever your religious views and beliefs are...I don't care.

For the past few years (since the '50's really, but more so recently) people have been trying to get religion taught in schools as part of a science education curriculum. It started out with the Scopes trial (1925) in an effort to block the teaching of the theory of evolution (in Kansas...surprise. Sorry Shelly.), and has continued through to the present with local school boards trying to have "intelligent design" added as an "alternative theory".

Naturally, this "alternative theory" involves a single christian god being an agent of "intelligent design", but they thinly veil that by saying the "agent" isn't what's important. Naturally, evidence to the contrary has been found, but the zealots ignore it.

My problem with all of this runs deep and has many levels. At first, I have an issue with some teacher instructing my children (were I to have any) on religious views. If you want a religious education, go talk to the leader of your church. A little further down the line, the complete IGNORANCE of the actual theory of evolution annoys me and shows a complete lack of education on the behalf of the people trying to adopt these new lessons.

Finally, and most important to me, is that theology has no place in the science classroom. Science inevitably leads to a concrete, testable, and provable answer. Religion leads only to "because", and as we have all learned in grammar class, "because" is NOT an answer. It is simply a dismissal.

Personally, I don't know how the universe began, but I do my best to understand the evidence we have collected and the theories we have formed so far. I'm open to new information, and I'm open to learning more...even if that means our current presumptions are wrong. Religion, on the other hand, is neither open to new evidence, nor is it open to being proven wrong. Literally, religious beliefs are formed by men and women thousands of years ago that had no way of peering into the inner workings of life or out into the universe. From their perspective, the earth was flat, god spoke to Moses, families owned slaves, and men (gender specifically) ruled the earth.

Do we really want those people teaching our science classes?

WRC 2008 Updates

So, the 2008 WRC season has started in Monte Carlo with some updates to the rules and sponsors. Last year we had Abu Dhabi join the list of major sponsors, with the hope of a stage being hosted there. This year, however, things are a bit more...awkward.

We begin with the major sponsor announcement- Pirelli. The long unpopular tire manufacturer has signed an agreement to provide all tires for all teams for at least three seasons. This means something like 35,000 tires per season for three years. Needless to say, there were several zeros added to someone's paycheck after this deal. But, how do the teams feel about the move? Subaru was one of the last major users of Pirelli tires for several years, until the end of the 2006 season when they announced an end to their relationship. Subaru cited inconsistent and generally poor tire performance, extremely fast wear, and an overall lack of quality. Hopefully this has changed.

On the topic of tires, WRC has banned the use of run-flat tires. This means smaller punctures will become big problems, and therefore will require a tire change. By extension, this means if tires do not hold up as well to the abuse of specific conditions or tracks, many teams will be out of contention due to running out of spares.

Other rules have changed, and there has been an addition to safety requirements as well- there must be a gap of 200mm between driver/navigator and the side-impact cage. Nothing seems to be show-stopping as of yet, but one that has peaked my interest more than others is the no-reverse-order starts. Meaning, if I place first on a stage I start first on the next stage, whereas historically I would have started last. There are some strategic gains and losses here, but if the first rally of the season is to be any indicator the rule change seems to be a complete wash.

Mmmm coffee

Ok, so, I'm on a big coffee kick lately. It may be due to the fact that I'm having trouble getting consistent sleep these days, or maybe it's just the coffee season. Either way, I wanted to write a little something here about it.

Starbucks Coffee is just the worst. I know, I know. They've done a bit to teach the average citizen that there's much more to coffee than Sanka and Maxwell House. But, they've done it in the very mass-produced, one-size-fits-all way they tried to fight against.

An example of this would be someone drinking Starbucks coffee. They sip, sigh, and comment, "That's a great cup of coffee. Nice and strong." What they don't understand is that BITTER and BURNT flavor does not denote strength in coffee. In fact, coffee is better the less you fuss with it. Roasting of the coffee beans is the key, and I have here some examples of Starbucks major roasts.

Light Roast:

Medium Roast:

Dark Roast:

You'll notice that the roasts start at almost black, and just get darker. Roasting coffee works just like baking in your oven (in fact, you can roast coffee there too)- there is a point where it's just right. In other words, if you over cook you roast it will taste like charcoal. Over roast your coffee, and the same thing will come through.

More importantly, here in the US we feed on caffeine. We need it to sustain our very lives. Cut off our supply of caffeine, and you cut off America's head. But, the darker you roast your coffee, the less caffeine it contains. So, not only do you lose the more subtle flavors, but you lose the very kick that coffee is known for.

Ubuntu kernel

So, I've had a couple issues here-and-there on my laptop with the released kernel for Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon). These range from audio problems after suspend to WiFi card dropping out and causing the system to freeze. These problems are addressed by later kernels, which will not be available for another five months or so when Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) is released. Naturally, I was caught between a rock and a hard spot. I could either hack away at the Ubuntu sources to get the newer drivers while maintaining the stability of the stock kernel, or I could go for broke and compile my own.

Me being who I am, I chose the latter. I downloaded a release candidate of the bleeding edge kernel sources, customized it a bit, tweaked the configuration how I like, and compiled everything up. Upon reboot I had a laptop that worked 100%, and did so quite consistently. But I scratched the initial itch- something I should have never done. Now, I find myself going far overboard.

I have found the Zen kernel, which has recently been compiled for Ubuntu. Compiling the kernel itself isn't too big a deal, but dealing with the patching and updating certainly can be. I've decided to re-compile the current Zen kernel to my liking, get my graphics drivers working properly, and see where I get. If I continue down this path, I should be back to my own custom kernel within a few days. But this time, I'll have a massive collection of patches to take with me.

This brings up an important point, though. If you compile your own kernel, do you take the opportunity to give up some debugging data to gain a bit of speed? If so, what is the trade-off and what kind of returns are you actually getting? If my WiFi card dies and I can't see why, but I can use kernel calls 2x as fast, then perhaps I accept the flaw. But, if I only gain 1-2% I may not like the trade. Also, keep in mind that most distributions turn ON debugging and tracing data so you can actively seek out bugs and flaws. This means you can actually submit meaningful data to the kernel developers, allowing them to fix problems other users may be stuck with. Naturally, with this comes international fame and recognition. Not really, but you never know.

So, the moral of this story is- Compiling your own kernel can be satisfying, frustrating, devastating, and minimally rewarding at the same time. There can be a lot of work for very little pay-off, but if you're that type of guy or gal, kernel work is for you! It would also be interesting to see the MOTU release a kernel like linux-image-unstable or something like that. Basically, a kernel package that is updated once a month or so, which would come with all of the other module and kernel packages recompiled as well. It would be a lot of work, but there are certainly enough dedicated gear-heads out there to move the project forward.