Articles Tagged "05482"
rikuwoiku ¬
2009-06-19
陸を行く (rikuwoiku) — to travel overland.
My latest side project. A bit of a travel/adventure blog with a lot of geek & old-school stirred in. I intend to use it to focus on writing more.
Oh, and it’s HTML5.
David Byrne at the Shelburne Museum ¬
2009-03-12
I’m a big Talking Heads & David Byrne fan, but a casual one. Didn’t even know he had a new album out until seeing his performance on March 2nd’s The Colbert Report.
Turns out he’ll be playing down the street at the Shelburne Museum on June 1st! Tickets go on sale tomorrow.
[Via Edward Shepard]
Side Project: Slotted Pig ¬
2008-08-25
This weekend I whipped up and launched a new side project: Slotted Pig.
I’ll be regularly posting about my quest to get out of debt and what I’m learning on the way. I’ll highly encourage discussion along the way because what works for me may not work for everyone and I’d like to hear what others are trying.
Regarding the plan for AT&T and Verizon Wireless to swap some properties to allow Verizon Wireless to purchase UNICEL:
“The swap proposal was inadequate because it didn’t cover 2 1/2counties in the southern half of the state. … So that proposal was rejected,” said Julie Brill, Vermont’s assistant attorney general. The omitted counties were Windsor, Windham and Bennington.“The swap would have meant there would have been a near monopoly in those three counties, so we said, ‘No,’” Brill said.
A disappointment. I had switched to UNICEL over a month ago for other reasons, but I must admit that this pending deal did give me additional motivation.
[Via Edward Shepard]
Local Motion Trail Finder ¬
2008-05-30
I didn’t realize that on this year’s Earth Day Local Motion, a non-profit promoting and supporting pedestrian & bicycle travel in Chittenden County, launched an interactive “Trail Finder”:
The Trail Finder is a free online resource for 77 walking, biking, hiking, and mountain biking trails in Chittenden County. Residents and visitors can get maps and directions, learn about trail features, and submit comments and photos.
It’s built on Google Maps and contains lots of detailed data about the local trails. It really made finding a trail to start bicycling on yesterday quick, easy, and completely painless.
Vermont Twitter Folks ¬
2007-08-22
Yesterday Twitter added the ability to search for people so I set out to find out who else in Vermont is twittering away. A quick search for either "Vermont" or "VT" yields roughly 120 people (combined) which is a little better than I had expected. Oddly enough, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company is the only other twitterer that calls the Shelburne area home, but they have four different accounts that have only been updated once (and not for the past couple months, at that).
It’s good to see some fellow Vermonters plugging up the intertubes and to hear what they’re all up to!
For Sale: Computer Peripherals & Gear ¬
2007-08-12
I’ve got a bunch of computer gear that I’m selling, so might as well let everyone know it’s available. It’s all in really good condition, but it needs to go to make space in my apartment:
SMC 1016DT 16-port 10/100Base-T Rackmount Ethernet Switch (craigslist.org/ebay.com)Belkin Nostromo n50 USB Gaming Keypad (craigslist.org/ebay.com)- Griffin Technology 4-port USB-Audio USB Hub (craigslist.org/ebay.com)
- Griffin Technology iMic USB Audio Interface (Unopened; craigslist.org/ebay.com)
Wireless Garden Stash Card fake PCMCIA/CardBus card (new, opened; craigslist.org/ebay.com)- Macsense PalmHub-5E 5-port Ethernet Hub (craigslist.org/ebay.com)
Motorola cell phone USB data cable for Windows FutureDial software (craigslist.org/ebay.com)- Refurbished Asanté 10/100Base-T PCI Ethernet Card (craigslist.org/ebay.com)
This stuff will probably also get listed on the SmallDog.com Garage Sale as well, but feel free to make me direct offers if you want.
I’ve also got a 400MHz PowerMac G4 & 17” Studio Display I’ll be trying to add in the next couple of days along with who knows what else, so keep your eyes peeled.
Say Goodbye to the iPhone in Vermont ¬
2007-07-30
There’s been some recent iPhone-related news that gave the impression that we were getting closer to legitimately using using iPhones in Vermont. Unfortunately, I think we lost all progress today.
First, the good news: I now have three coworkers that have iPhones: Jimmy, Mark, and Don. So far their accounts are still active. I really suspect that their EDGE usage will be what tips the scales against them, but it’ll be interesting to find out for sure if/when their accounts get cancelled.
Also, iPhone hackers have produced a way to bypass activation or activate it using a different AT&T/Cingular SIM card. This means that one doesn’t need activate and then cancel their iPhone’s AT&T service to use it as a video & web iPod or use it with another AT&T SIM. They’re not working on fully unlocking the iPhone so that it can be used with any SIM card yet, but I’m sure they will be soon.
This is all well and good, however today’s bad news is that Verizon Wireless is buying RCC (i.e. Unicell), the only GSM1 cell phone network actually in Vermont.
What does this actually mean? Well, nothing yet. Change moves slowly in the cell phone market. However, it does mean that Verizon will be transitioning RCC customers over to CDMA technology at some point in the future (and my guess is that it’ll happen within a year):
Rural Cellular utilizes both CDMA and GSM technology separately across its five regional markets. Verizon Wireless plans to deploy CDMA service in Rural Cellular’s existing GSM markets and convert the GSM customers to CDMA service. Verizon Wireless, however, anticipates maintaining Rural Cellular’s existing GSM networks to continue serving the roaming needs of other GSM carriers’ customers.
Fortunately, they do note that they’ll be maintaining the GSM network for those roaming with GSM phones (e.g. the iPhone). Also, the benefit of “reduced roaming and operations expenses” will be a nice bonus for RCC customers who already have to pay higher rates.
But, and there is a big but, this will mean that non-AT&T SIMs will be disappearing in the not-too-distant future, so when AT&T does kick Vermonters’ iPhones off their network, even if the iPhone is unlocked by then they won’t have anywhere else to get a valid SIM.
As I mentioned previously, AT&T recently purchased Dobson so other rural areas in the United States will be able to use iPhones on AT&T’s own network, but Vermont just lost all hope of that ever happening.
1 GSM is the cell phone technology used by the iPhone.
iPhone: The Week In Review ¬
2007-07-06
A week ago I discussed the ways not to get an iPhone in Vermont since we’re not covered by AT&T’s own network and in honor of the iPhone’s release. Now that people in other states have had their iPhones for a week, the in-depth reviews have been rolling in: Steven Frank’s, James Duncan Davidson’s, Steve Dekorte’s, and Jason Kottke’s are my pick o’ the litter.
As I also noted, my friend Jimmy drove to New Hampshire to pick one up with the goal of using it until AT&T cancels his contract. His initial lists of wants has been posted as well. And, of course, I’ve now gotten to play with the iPhone a couple of times at the office.
Jimmy has stated that he’s been able to hit 100+k on EDGE in Watebury, VT, so Unicel’s EDGE network can’t be half bad. Although, I have to wonder whether using data services while roaming will alert AT&T that much earlier and cause them to cancel his contract sooner rather than later. Only time will tell.
There has been other news on the iPhone front too. On the day of the iPhone release, AT&T and Dobson (i.e. Cellular One) announced the purchase of Dobson. This should be great news for the rest of the country, but Cellular One left Vermont years ago, so we’re still stuck1 with RCC (i.e. Unicel).
However, all is not completely lost, even if AT&T does cancel Jimmy’s contract (or anyone else in Vermont), Alex King has verified that the iPhone works without AT&T service. You do have to get a contract in the first place, but that does mean that the iPhone won’t as quickly become a useless brick in a drawer when the cell phone technology becomes outdated and sure gets me closer to buying an iPhone.
One thing that I had originally investigated, but failed to mention in my original post, is the idea of getting a pre-paid plan (i.e. a GoPhone plan) from AT&T. I had immediately and completely ruled this out because you cannot roam on a pay-as-you-go plan (see the GoPhone coverage map) and so Vermont is completely out of the picture. For a while there, it looked like this wasn’t even going to be possible for anyone anyway, but the tried-and-true way of getting a GoPhone contract has been discovered. Still great news for others.
The bad news so far: even another AT&T SIM card won’t work in the iPhone, so the hope for unlocking the phone is not even an easy first step.
We may not actually be getting much closer to having true iPhone support in Vermont, but atleast hope is growing. Again, I’m still not ready to give up my Newton, but the iPhone would be a great companion. :)
BTW – Don was on TV again regarding the no iPhones for Vermont issue. Of course, I don’t know where he got the statistic that we’re the only state that doesn’t get AT&T service.
Update: I added Steve Dekorte’s iPhone review to my above list of favorites. I don’t know how I had missed it.
1 Now, I’m not sure I actually want AT&T to own Unicel as well as Cingular and Cellular One, but I sure would like an iPhone.
iPhone: The Day After ¬
2007-06-30
Well, the iPhone’s been out for 24 hours now and the initial reviews are in: it’s totally kick-ass and what the videos show is absolutely the real-deal.
Man, that’s hard to hear. I really want one!
To make matters worse, Jimmy (one of the only people I know in Vermont that’s somehow been able to retain their AT&T/Cingular account which was signed up for out-of-state) ordered his iPhone last night. Actually, he couldn’t even wait the 2-4 weeks before it would ship, so he and his girlfriend drove to the Salem, NH, Apple Store today and came home with two iPhones.
He’s up and running after a short wait for the activation and loves it (per our AIM conversation):
This has the to be the absolutely best gadget ever
and i’ve only used it for like a minute
the keyboard, wow
it’s easy
Of course, now I really, really want one. And, to make matters even worse, I’ll get to see one, touch it, and drool on it, next week (Monday?) in the office.
Jimmy, who lives in Waterbury, VT, also noted that he gets full signal and picks up EDGE. So, that side of it works. I don’t expect him to see the same speed increases that AT&T’s network has seen this week, since it’s probably Unicel’s towers that he’s picking up.
The lingering question at this point is: how long will he be able to keep his contract? After all, that’s all that really matters to me.
BTW – There’s already some take-apart photos posted.
Update: Jimmy’s now got some initial photos of his iPhone(s) posted.
iPhone Today (or Ratatouille Instead) ¬
2007-06-29
Today’s the day everybody’s been waiting for! Yup, we’re little more that twelve hours away from the release of Apple’s new iPhone! Some are queueing up for them already, some will be ordering online, and others yet are prepping to rejoice over the impending flop.
I highly doubt the iPhone will be a flop. Yes, I love Apple’s products (a lot) and, honestly, I’ve been loving them more and more recently, even with the occasional intentional limitations that Apple builds in so that they “just work” (which the iPhone seems will have many). The more things “just work” the easier my life is and the iPhone looks to be one of those things that “just works”.
Oh, and yes, I’ve been reading all the articles, all the FAQs, and watching all the videos (these ones as well), and generally drooling over the iPhone. It looks beautiful, functional, and, most importantly, extremely intuitive.
I want one! Hell, everyone I know wants one.
I Live in the Boonies
Unfortunately, while everyone else is trying to get out of their cell phone contracts so they can get an iPhone, I can’t get one. At all. Trust me, I’ve tried to figure out a reasonable way.
You see, I live in the beautiful state of Vermont and while AT&T, which has an exclusive on the iPhone, covers most of our state, they only do so by partnering with existing in-state GSM carriers (e.g. Unicel). If you go to their Coverage Viewer and enter “VT” for the state (no other address data required), you’ll see what I mean.
Then zoom out a little and look at the surrounding states. Hmm, we’ve probably got a better coverage percentage than Maine, New York, and Pennsylvania1, in general, but they’ve all got that deep-orange color in them (meaning they have a true AT&T network). We don’t.
That’s okay, I can always go buy it out-of-state and just “move” back home and keep using it, right? Well, unfortunately, as a couple of my coworkers have found out, they cancel your contract after a few months because you’re always roaming. Oh, right, “mov[ing] to the boonies” was one of the ways to try to get out of your contract for just that reason.
But I don’t want to get out of my contract, I want to keep it and use the iPhone. But, it wouldn’t be so bad if I lost my contract right? I mean I could still use iPhone as the coolest iPod ever and an awesome portable browser, right? Oh right, that was in David Pogue’s FAQ:
Do I need an AT&T account? Yes. The iPhone won’t work at all without a two-year AT&T voice-plus-Internet plan (and no, you can’t use it as just an iPod, no matter how tempting the bigger screen and longer battery life is).
Now, he doesn’t specifically say what happens when your contract expires (forcibly or naturally), but trying and finding out doesn’t exactly seem to fall in the “reasonable” category for me.
Ooh, but I could just get a Unicel contract & phone (as much as their pricing sucks) and pop the SIM card into my iPhone, right? Actually, I didn’t even think that one would work, and it won’t. Sure, eventually someone may figure out a way to unlock the iPhone, but it’s risky, the setup isn’t going to be smooth, I’ll lose visual voicemail, probably the EDGE support (as slow as it may be), and it’s going to cost me a lot more to set up and use. Nope, that doesn’t qualify as “reasonable” at all.
Uh oh, this doesn’t bode well for me, nor the rest of Vermont’s residents. Well that’s definitely disappointing, and Don agrees, as well2.
I guess I’ll just have to wait until AT&T comes to Vermont. Hopefully it’ll be a shorter wait than that of our friends to the North or those over in Europe.
Always Look On the Bright Side of Life
However, today’s a day I’ve been looking forward to for the release of another Steve Jobs-related (in a way) masterpiece anyway! Pixar’s Ratatouille is opening today!
Honestly, I would have had a hard time deciding which to wait in line for… an iPhone or Ratatouille, Ratatouille or an iPhone. You can bet I’ll be in line for Ratatouille at the Palace 9 tonight!
However, all is not lost, the truth is I wasn’t quite ready to try to give up my Newton MessagePad anyway. I would have missed having my financial software, to-do lists, and notes with me wherever I go. Of course, I could find web-based alternatives to most of these functions, such as Remember the Milk, stikkit, or the iPhone-intended OneTrip. I’d also have missed being able to use my cell phone to get online with my MacBook Pro in a jam, that also won’t be a feature of the iPhone.
However, not having to cary my pager, my cell phone, my MacBook Pro, and my Newton around with my all the time would have been nice on my back. And yes, I’d still have been able to access servers in an emergency thanks to the iPhone’s VPN support and a dedicated server running AjaxTerm, but I’ll live. C’est la vie.
1 Granted, they’re all much larger states and said coverage map is a poor estimation.
2 Although the article states that Vermont is the only state without any AT&T coverage, I have a feeling that Montana and the Dakotas may be in the same boat.
