Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

It's an excellent rule. Especially with Apple.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

And yet, this iPad thingie is pretty damn cool. It's not a replacement for everything in your life, but as an overpriced media consumption device, it's a very good media consumption device.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

It seems like there are not major hardware issues, and software can always be updated.

But, Apple does seem to use a strategy of holding back some features in the 1st gen. model so that it can "add value" to the next release. So the main question is whether you're willing to trade off 6-9 months of use for the strong possibility that come early next year you'll be want to buy the next generation model because of some new feature.

Remarkably Apple's products do seem to retain a fair degree of resale value, so you might be able to get some of the cost back.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

I want one so I can get away from Big Brother and use Flickr, Twitter, FB (and of course lawtalkers) without IT looming over my shoulder. I'd also use it for storing PDFs (knitting patterns). Oh, and watch baseball. Only reason I haven't ponied up for the full version of AtBat is the tiny screen and the fact that I don't want to drain my phone battery.

Don't really care about the lack of a camera since I always have at least one with me.

ETA: I have also pondered a Netbook.

(I'm really good at justifying this potential purchase.)

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Hilarious.

I think someone with mad skilz or extra time should use that xtranormal site to make a video from some of the interactions between the ret. unicorn and TM.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

I'm never going to strongly take the side of "don't buy a new gadget".

One thing I'm not sure about though--can you access wifi at work, outside the work servers? Otherwise you're going to be using data, and that'll cost you. Flickr's a data hog, and so are the tits that get posted here.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

It seems pretty obvious from the iPhone 4 that the 2nd gen iPad feature is a forward-facing camera so you can have iPhone-iPhone or iPad-iPhone conversations in FaceTime and the iPad will be a Magic Mirror picture frame. Be guided by this as something to wait for only after considering that people will probably use FaceTime about as often as they use video in iChat, which is to say rarely. Maybe road warriors' MMV, but I dread the day my wife calls and says "Hey, turn on FaceTime" and I'm all "No" not because there's anything untoward going on, but because I told her I was walking to my car and would be home in 15 minutes when the reality is I'm still in my office.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Easy: "Not near a wi-fi network, honey."

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Great tip, but what if she thinks I'm at the office but I'm really at In-n-Out for the third time that week? TIA.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

"office network is down. the government doesn't save it's best services for itself"

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Whatever I'm paying you and Burger, it isn't enough. My gratitude will have to suffice.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Isn't the next generation supposed to have built-in broadband wireless?

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

At present, FaceTime only works when an iPhone 4 is connected via wi-fi. This is probably contractual with AT&T for bandwidth reasons. No reason to think the hypothetical FaceTime for iPad 2 would be different. Three million people running two-way streaming video would fark their network.

Re: Help me back away from the ledge
 

Option 3: Mumble something about firewalls.

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

So my cell phone is almost dead. It works in that it functions perfectly when it's charged, but the port is fucked and it no longer charges nor can it connect via port to any other system. I'm waiting for an external battery charger to arrive so I can recharge and send all the crap on it over to Verizon's website.

Then I have a few choices.

I'm out of contract with Verizon, and I'm kinda happy that way. I generally use my phone for talk and text, but I'm not adverse to advancing with the rest of the human race to a smart phone.

Until the "no longer charges the battery" issue came up with my phone, my plan was to limp along on with the talk and text until Apple announced its deal with Verizon and then jump on the Verizon iphone. I figured this was probably going to happen in late 2010/early 2011 based off of reading wild internet conjecture. Everyone I know with an AT&T iphone is impossible to get in touch with via telephone because of the crappy coverage around here. OTOH, they all love all the other crap that comes with the iPhone, so maybe telephone part is irrelevant. Work compatibility doesn't really factor into this as I refuse to sync my phone with work e-mail.

Important note: RT is stubbornly cheap about these sorts of things.

My options, as I see them now, are

1. Grab the (relatively new at the time) Verizon phone my dad dumped the second the iphone came out, plug in my SIM card, and continue with original plan of stubbornly waiting for the Verizon iPhone.

2. Get a free LG Ally Droid with another 2 year contract with Verizon and suck up the full replacement cost whenever the Verizon iphone comes out, and hell, that might actually be two years and I may be out of contract again by that point.

3. Join the rest of civilized society, pay the $99 and get an iPhone through AT&T, enduring dropped calls and crappy customer service.

Anyone have any sources of wisdom to help inform this indecision?

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

I would not stubbornly wait for the Verizon iPhone. It has to await the LTE buildout, which means that for some period there's likely to be crappy service at least on it. So either of the other two options.

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

Wiki listing pay as you go international iphone options.

http://paygsimwithdata.wikia.com/wik...medium=twitter

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

Any update on AT&T's plans to enable the use of the tethering feature on the iPhone in the US?

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

Yes -- they announced it in June. It's a $20 add-on (I think) to the iPhone data plan. But you have to switch to the 2GB data plan--can't keep your unlimited plan and tether.

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

That's a real Morton's fork. :(:(:(

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

So, has anybody resolved the iPhone v. HTC debate yet? My contract on the Iphone 3G is almost up and I'm no big fan of the touchscreen or the rapidly declining battery time. On the other hand, one of the relatively few things I use my iPhone for that I can't do just as easily on almost any phone is use it as an iPod.

Can the Droid system sync and play music from iTunes pretty seamlessly?

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

When I was making that choice, about a year ago, the answer was no. Which I think is an integral part of Apple's strategy.

I bought the 3GS and have been happy with it, but you know the issues. I use it more as an ipod than as a phone, so its okay.

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

Iphone 4 really solves the battery life issues.

I don't charge my iphone every day and I can't remember the last time it went red.

They haven't solved the inability to make a single undropped call longer than a minute though.

Re: Cellphones and Other Wireless
 

Fuck em. Who wants to talk to those a-holes anyway. Send me a fucking email and I'll respond promptly......shortly after never. no offence.