Her biggest complaint is that I have purchased a few recent books on her Kindle and have been known to curl up on the couch with *her* Kindle on lazy weekends.  I also recently purchased an iPad, which has a Kindle App.  I’ve had the Kindle App on my iPhone for a while and since I’m leaving AT&T and going to Verizon, I recently downloaded the Kindle App for Android.

Here are my thoughts:

• e-Ink on the Kindle is far superior to reading on the iPad.  It is soft on your eyes and after a full day of reading, you really know whether you are staring at pixles on the iPad or the e-Ink.
• The iPod Touch, iPhone, and Android Apps are great for bathroom reading (at work?) or if you just want to read a page or three and are somewhere where it’s the only thing you have available (vs. the iPad or the Kindle itself).
• The iPad backlight is great. I can read late into the evening and not disturb my wife as the bedside light can be off. This is only possible because the Kindle App allows you to dim the iPad screen and therefore it’s softer on the eyes than reading in the dark with a bright display.
• The Kindle works brilliantly in bright sunlight and even with sunglasses on.  The iPad has to be set on maximum brightness and, as I discovered recently, is not visible while wearing polarized sunglasses.
• The iPad is a bit too heavy (1.5 lbs vs. 10.2 oz. for the Kindle) for just reading.  After several hours of reading in bed you can tell there is strain on your wrists holding up the iPad.  It’s more like reading a heavy hardback vs. a paperback.
• The battery life of the Kindle is several weeks of usage vs. 10 hours or so for the iPad (we only turn on the wireless on the Kindle to download new content and/or to sync our place), with Wireless turned on, the Kindle battery lasts days (vs. weeks).
• Synching between the multiple devices is a great feature. If you read your Kindle book on one reader, as soon as you open up that same book on another of your readers it synchronizes to the last page read (the Wireless network has to be enabled on the Kindle for this to work).
• eBook features on the Kindle are superior to those on the Apps on other devices (but this is probably a short term problem as Amazon is developing their Apps to have all the Kindle features (like highlighting, annotating, searching, etc.).

Now, the iPad also has a ton of other features and many many more capabilities than the Kindle but I just wanted to compare them as a reading device.  I still highly recommend a Kindle if reading is what you want to do.  I do not think that the iPad nor the apps on the smaller devices is really something you want to read from for hours on end.

Let me start by saying that I got my first iPhone a week after they hit the street. I LOVED it. It was the best phone I had ever used. Years ahead of anything that was on the market at that time. The network sucked, but I could live with it because everything about the phone was perfect. I upgraded to the 3G when available skipped the S and was waiting for the iPhone 4. However lately the AT&T network has really started to be an issue. I noticed this the most as I purchased a Verizon Wireless MiFi last fall and love it. I often have it on and am using the WiFi tether on my iPhone because the AT&T network sucks so bad. And having the proverbial apples to apples comparisons of the AT&T network to the VZW network has really opened my eyes to how bad the AT&T network truly is.

Let me start with the negative. The things that the Android is lacking that the iPhone just does better:

• not integrated well – Apple did a phenomenal job with the iPhone interface. No instruction manual is really necessary for someone with a bit of a technical aptitude. It doesn’t take a geek to add apps, browse, search, email, setup, etc. The HTC sense UI downloaded a bunch of contacts from Facebook (like high school friends) that I don’t want or need in my contact list.

• not very slick – it just seems a bit clunky. It’s not really the resolution, but it just looks kind of glued together. Icons too small, text is a bit too tiny. Having to scroll through the “all programs” I’d tedious.

• Keyboard – the touchscreen based QWERTY keyboard isn’t near as fast as the iPhone. The keys are slightly smaller and I fat figure much more frequently. I’m getting better, but it’s still not as polished as the iPhone keyboard.

• BATTERY!!! – OMG the battery SUCKS!!!  My first day of heavy usage netted me 4 hours and 19 minutes. Next day about 5 and a half. Best to date has been less than 24 and that was with light to moderate usage and turned off while on a plane. I already have battery/charge anxiety … This may be the show stopper for the incredible for me.

• Mobile me and address book synchronization – I’m missing my contact list big time. Looking for some alternative synchronization capability (like plaxo), but the iPhone with MobileMe is such a killer.

• No iTunes – this is a blessing and a curse. iTunes and synching your iPhone to your computer is a hassle, but a blessing in disguise. Making it mandatory is the hassle part, the fact that a new device can’t be used until the initial sync is a pain. I have an iPod so i never really used my iPhone as a music or video device, so i could live without the music synchronization, but apps, backups, photos taken on the phone, etc are great to synch with iTunes. And without MobileMe the synching of contacts and calendar entries is vital.

Here are the good and sometimes great things that Android and Verizon do that the iPhone does not (and some of these are fixed in the upcoming OS upgrade):

• coverage and data speed – noticeable on my very first use. Even more noticeable as I drive around in areas where I previously had NO data and often not enough of a signal for a voice call. The VZW network is just better. Hands down. And if the device is only as good as the network it is on… I really don’t think i can stress this point enough.

• Multi-tasking – though this will be moot for 3GS and iPhone 4 users this week, this is a substantial delta.  Being able to listen to your streaming media (Pandora, NPR, Stitcher) while continuing to use other applications and browsing is such a huge thing. Likewise, keeping Skype or IM running while doing other tasks is vital.  I’m surprised that Apple has not already come up with multi-tasking prior to iOS4.

• voice transcription – is a beautiful thing.  It even makes up for the crappy screen based keyboard as I can send SMS and chats with Skype without relying on the keyboard. I think this will be more and more noticeable as i use it while driving. I try not to drive and text often, but sometimes I slip up and the voice transcription will be a valuable safety tool.

• google voice – I am an avid Google Voice user.  I use it for business as the dialing from the computer and keeping track of incoming and outgoing calls is great.  Hiding or masking my called from number is also a great feature.  Avoiding SMS charges is a bonus, but since i went with an unlimited plan not all that necessary (but having a record and continuity between a chat / SMS session on your phone and on your computer is a huge benefit). Granted you can use google voice from an iPhone thanks to the Ajax web app, but it isn’t like dialing natively like it is on Android .

• integrated Skype – i didn’t think this would be such a bit advantage, but it is.  The free Skype to Skype calling actually uses a voice call to a Skype server and then Skypes your contacts. We use Skype for work so this is a great addition.  Having the Skype application running in the background (multi-tasking) is great because i get notified of an incoming chat even if using another application.  I did discover two problems with the integrated Skype.  One is that you have to disable WiFi to run Skype, which since the VZW network is so much better AT&T it might not be a big issue (until they do away with the unlimited data plans).  The other is that using both the free Skype to Skype and Google Voice is not possible if you have selected to force all calls out of google voice.  The dialer dials some Google Voice number and then calls the Skype number which never completes the outgoing call.

• Friends and Family (combined with Google Voice) – all outgoing calls are free!!!

• No iTunes – as i mentioned this is a benefit and a curse as the iTunes synchronization had some great features.  There is a disk that came with my Incredible, but it only runs on Windoze (and I use OSX or Ubuntu as my preferred desktop OS and only boot Windows XP when I have to (which is getting less and less frequent)).

I’ll post more and/or add comments as I discover more things or when I have something to update (like Froyo).

The keyboard is much faster than the iPhone keyboard, but not as fast as an actual keyboard. Text navigation is also a bit slower than on a computer with keyboard and mouse, but still doable.

Using the Dashboard HTML editor it is also laborious to create links. However, it can be done manually (as opposed to using the GUI). Same thing goes for more advanced text editing features, you can do them, but not as easy or as fast as the WYSIWYG way of doing things.

Tagging and other post features are really no different than on a computer.

Enough of this post. I’ll write another with the WordPress iPad app later today and maybe another with some more solid review of the iPad itself at a later date.

I upgraded to the 3G iPhone the week it came out (even though there was no 3G where I lived (yet)) and I’ve still got my eye on a WiFi iPad.  I just can’t wait until Christmas to see if Apple and Verizon can come to terms (and if Apple will build a CDMA version or if they will wait for LTE).

Eventually, the AT&T network in Blacksburg, VA improved, I could use the phone in my house if I stood by the window in the dining room or our bedroom (but not where my home office was).  We moved to Raleigh, NC last summer and there was decent coverage out where we live in Apex.  There were still a few places where I didn’t have any service that were regular travel destinations (a few clients in VA and NC). I used open WiFi an Skype when I needed to make a call, but eventually broke down and bought a Verizon Wireless MiFi which works just about everywhere with higher speed (and allows me to make Skype calls from my iPhone to boot).

I was still on the fence since we are moving to a new location near Ithaca, NY and our new landlord said that the only network with any signal out where we are moving is Verizon. I considered the $150 (and no extra fees) network extender, but that would only work in and around my home … what about the drives to the grocery store, or drives to and from town?

The coup de gras was just the other day on a pretty big road between Raleigh and Chapel Hill, in the suburbs. I couldn’t make a call while my wife was gabbing away on her Verizon phone.  I had to ask her to get off the phone (with her mother) and make my call from her phone.  Later that day, even with signal (that was flipping between Edge (2G) and 3G) I couldn’t use my phone for any data. My contract is coming due so this seemed like the appropriate time.

I don’t have my Android yet, but I just ordered the HTC Incredible from Verizon Wireless and it won’t ship for a few weeks. I will do my best to post unbiased reviews and comparisons when I get my new phone. I will admit that I’m a huge fan of Apple products.  I bought an iMac when the Core 2 Duo processor was introduced, I have a MacBook Pro, Airport Extreme and Express, two iPods, my wife also has a MacBook Pro and a Touch, and I’m itching for an iPad. So the Android has a high bar to get over.  I will have my 30 days of evaluation to determine if I can live with the phone (and if Steve makes some unexpected announcement at WWDC).

I’m sad to have to do this, but the phone is only as good as the network it is on and I’m finally fed up enough with AT&T that I’m moving on.

On the up-side, I have a lot of paid iPhone apps.  I may just be forced to purchase an iPad to run all those apps I own .

This morning, I was driving from Raleigh, NC up to Blacksburg, VA where I’ll be spending the week for work.  I got off I-81 to fill up my car and when I was getting back on, I had a small altercation with a semi-truck driver. It was a typical entrance ramp on the right and as I was coming down the ramp a big rig, who was accelerating, got up close to the van in front of him in the right lane, making it impossible for me to merge. I am a pretty safe driver, so I slowed down almost to a stop and eventually was able to get in the right lane, but I was already in the gravel.

I was a bit torqued, as I thought it was a very rude and not to mention very dangerous to be driving a loaded semi truck in what I believe was a very unsafe manner. I did not get road rage and chase him down, but eventually I was in the left lane passing the same truck while climbing a hill. When I pulled up next to the cab, the window rolled down and a hand came out and shot me the bird with some animated gestures to go along with it.

The truck in question was a flat bed with no noticeable logos or “how am i driving” notifications on the back. However, it had the name of the company and the city and state on the side so I snapped a picture. It was easy enough to google “Granite Hardwood, Granite Falls, NC” and give them a call. The receptionist seemed a bit leery at first when I asked for a transportation manager, but she eventually passed me onto a manager who was very apologetic and concerned.  He asked me several locations, and said he could identify the driver based upon the description of the truck as well as the general vicinity (I-81 N in Virginia near Chilhowie).  He assured me that steps would be taken. He even said that he had problems with this driver before (then why is he still driving around representing your company?).

However, I still felt that this blog post was justified. Not only was I endangered by an aggressive driver, but the driver couldn’t let being the aggressive driver and running me off the road be enough and needed to make an obscene gesture.

If you own a company or make hiring decisions, make sure that you hire the type of people you want representing your company if they will be wearing your logos or diving your branded vehicles.

For a brief introduction, Google Voice is a telephone number that is supposed to be your last and final telephone number. You set up Google Voice with your other phone numbers and then you can control how and when you accept calls from who. Sounds great, but let me provide an example which may make more sense. You set up your Google Voice number to send everyone in a “Work” or “Coworkers” group to your office phone number and your cell phone number during week days from 8am-7pm, but not your home number, but you have one particular work buddy that likes to call you on weekends so you make an exception for that individual, but only for your cell phone. You never give out your cell phone number (or any other number) and Google Voice “screens” your calls.

It also has some cool features like

• transferring calls between your phones (say you are on the phone at work, but have tickets to a Bob Dylan show and need to transfer that call to your cell phone so you can finish the call in the car (not that you should talk on the phone while driving)).
• transcribing voicemail messages and sending you a SMS
• announcing your calls when you answer the phone and allowing you to accept or not (again depending on groups, or individuals) and allowing you to send a caller to voicemail (and even listen in on their message and interrupting (remember the good old days with old school answering machines that did that and we used to talk to them (“If your home, pick up.”)))
• recording calls in progress
• sending/receiving SMS messages
• making international calls for decent rates
• when using a computer, you can make calls from Google Voice by entering a number or clicking on a contact and the phone of your choice rings, you pick it up, and then the number you are calling rings…the Caller-ID they see is your Google Voice number
• the interface is very much like gmail, and I expect when it’s opened up, it’s a simple process of selecting your number and it will be fully integrated in gmail (and since Talk is already integrated it’s only a matter of time)

So, why would I have beef with AT&T and Apple? I’m getting to it, but what’s happening is that Google Voice is basically commoditizing voice (like yahoo, hotmail, and gmail commoditized e-mail and unchained you from your ISP) or at least commoditizing how to reach you. If you don’t have to give out your cell phone number (or home phone, or office phone) ever again then there is nothing that tethers you to their services (yeah yeah, I know about number portability) and you can switch carriers or use alternative channels (like your home phone or even VoIP (which I’m sure is in the works for Google Voice (Talk?)).

From what I understand, “there’s an app for that.” It’s already written and I’ve even seen a demo of it on an internet video site. However, AT&T and Apple have blocked the app. It works something like the web page and it would drive your address book and initiate all your calls through the app.  You would click on a name or number and it would dial that and present your Google Voice Caller-ID to the recipient.  But it’s still using the cellular network so it’s not really about the voice minutes. Rather, I think Apple is concerned that someone else is driving the “dialing experience.”  I think that is the perceived threat to both Apple and AT&T.  It’s aggravating because for all the appearance of “openness” this app didn’t pass the muster of either AT&T or Apple or both.

There are some of the tech savvy who think this is a big enough rub that they are leaving the iPhone and going to Android or Palm Pre or even Crackberries as there are apps for all of those (I’m not certain on the Palm Pre, so leave a comment if you know of one). Personally, I still love my iPhone. I honestly think it’s an awesome phone, and with all those apps and other features, I still haven’t seen anything that’s close. The Palm Pre is up there, but it’s still lacking in some areas (namely apps which if it has a Google Voice App is kind of ironic). I will be one of those who complains (like this blog and it’s subsequent tweet) so hopefully AT&T and Apple will get the message (and I’m sure it’s already being aired in the Apple boardroom).

Don’t have Google Voice? Just request an invite. It will come in a week or so.

No modifications of any kind were necessary on my part. After installing, I immediatly browsed to my blog from my iPhone and checked it out. I then went into the settings for the plugin and made some changes like including tags in the theme, or changing the icons in the menu.

Here are some screenshots from my iPhone:

[View with PicLens]

And since I was plug-in happy, I added the NextGEN Gallary as well..now I just need to see how that is displayed on my iPhone.

What I really wanted was alerts. I can’t tell you how many times I missed a conference call or was late to a meeting that was on my company calendar that wasn’t on my iPhone. I just wanted it to ping me 5-15 mintues before a meeting, is this too much to ask for?

The background of my situation is that I have a laptop (so not something that is always on), use Mobile Me for address book and personal calendars synchronization and I wanted to have access to my company calendar.  You would think, since I have Mobile Me running on my laptop that I would be able to see my calendar entries on my iPhone. But for some reason that I still haven’t been able to find out, that’s not the case. You would also think that since I’m running an OS X laptop (Apple), an OS X Server (Apple), Mobile Me (Apple) and an iPhone (guess who) that it would be out-of-the box functionality. There are lots of rumors that that functionality is coming in Snow Leopard (OS X 10.7), but we’re running our server on an old Quicksilver (PPC) which won’t run Snow Leopard (Snow Leopard will be Intel processors only) so there was no relief coming.

What came across is a script that creates a duplicate of your server based calendar to a local calendar. Mobile Me picks up that local calendar and keeps it in sync with my iPhone. I made several changes to include the alarms (which the initial script didn’t get). I’ve pasted the script below.

To use it:

1. copy all the text and paste it into the Script Editor (in Applications -> Apple Script).
2. Change the names of the two calendars to the name of the server calendar and a new .local or .copy entry to be your local one (the first time you run the script the local one will be created).
3. Save it as an application and run it every time you want to sync your CalDAV calendar to your local calendar.
4. Uncheck the .local or .copy calendar in iCal so you won’t see duplicate entries. One drawback which I can live with is that on my laptop I get two alarms simutaneously.
5. If you don’t like the dialog box at the end just comment the last line
   out.
6. If you wanted this to run periodically, you can create a crontab
   or run it via the scheduler, or even run it as a calendar entry itself.

If I really wanted to, I bet I could get the reverse sync working so that entries created or modified on the iPhone would sync to the CalDAV calendar, but I just haven’t wanted to go there yet. Bug me and I may work on the reverse.

(*
Script to duplicate Calendar orgCalendar into target dupCalendar
E.H. 12.9.2008
S.B. 02.20.2009 (my birthday   )
*)

property myCopies : 0
property myUpdates : 0
property myObsoletes : 0
property orgCalendar : "Server Calendar [PUT NAME OF CALENDAR HERE]"
property dupCalendar : "[PUT NAME OF TARGET CALENDAR HERE].local"
property dupEvents : {}
property myDeletes : {}

set myCopies to 0
set myUpdates to 0
set myObsoletes to 0
set dupEvents to {}

tell application "iCal"

	-- set theCalendars to every calendar
	set theCalendarNames to title of every calendar
	set theOrgCalendar to a reference to calendar orgCalendar

	if theCalendarNames contains dupCalendar then
		set theCalendar to a reference to calendar dupCalendar
	else
		set theCalendar to make new calendar with properties {title:dupCalendar}
		--set theCalendar to make new calendar with properties {title:dupCalendar, color:"{65535, 0, 0}"}
	end if

	set the eventList to uid of every event of theOrgCalendar as list
	set the eventCount to the count of the eventList

	repeat with theUId in eventList
		tell theOrgCalendar
			set theEvent to (the first event whose uid is theUId)
			-- set theProperties to the properties of theEvent as record
			set theDate to the start date of theEvent
			set theSummary to the summary of theEvent
			set theStampDate to the stamp date of theEvent
		end tell

		tell theCalendar
			try
				set theOldEvent to (the first event of theCalendar whose (start date) is theDate as date)
				set similar_found to true
			on error
				set similar_found to false
				set theEndDate to the end date of theEvent
				set theAllDay to the allday event of theEvent
				set theLocation to the location of theEvent
				-- Funny construction to work araund the fact that location may be missing a value
				try
					if theLocation is equal to "" then
					end if
				on error
					set theLocation to ""
				end try
				set theDescription to the description of theEvent
				try
					if theDescription is equal to "" then
					end if
				on error
					set theDescription to ""
				end try
				if theAllDay is true then -- work around a funny bug with all day events
					set theDate to (theDate as date) + 2 * hours
					set theEndDate to (theEndDate as date) + 2 * hours
				end if
				set newEvent to make new event at end with properties {summary:theSummary, location:theLocation, start date:theDate, end date:theEndDate, allday event:theAllDay, description:theDescription}
				-- make new event at end with properties theProperties

				-- sid's effort

				set sidCount to 1
				try
					repeat
						set theAlarm to item sidCount of sound alarm of theEvent
						set alarmTime to (trigger interval of theAlarm)
						set alarmSound to (sound name of theAlarm)
						set newAlarm to make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms of newEvent with properties {trigger interval:alarmTime, sound name:alarmSound}
						set sidCount to (sidCount + 1)
					end repeat
				end try

				-- end sid's effort

				set the end of dupEvents to (the uid of newEvent)

				set myCopies to (myCopies + 1)
			end try
		end tell

		set second_necessary to false
		if similar_found is true then
			set theOldSummary to the summary of theOldEvent
			if theSummary is not equal to theOldSummary then
				--is there a different one?
				try
					set theOldEvent1 to (the second event of theCalendar whose (start date) is theDate as date)
					set theOldSummary to the summary of theOldEvent1
					if theSummary is equal to theOldSummary then
						set theOldEvent to theOldEvent1
						set the end of dupEvents to (the uid of theOldEvent)
					else
						-- cycle repeat ?
					end if
				on error
					-- beep
					try
						set theEvent1 to (the second event of theOrgCalendar whose (start date) is theDate as date)
						set second_necessary to true
					on error
						set the end of dupEvents to (the uid of theOldEvent)
					end try
				end try
			else
				set the end of dupEvents to (the uid of theOldEvent)
			end if

			if second_necessary is true then
				set theEndDate to the end date of theEvent
				tell theCalendar
					set theOldEvent to make new event at end with properties {summary:theSummary, start date:theDate, end date:theEndDate}
					-- sid's effort

					set sidCount to 1
					try
						repeat
							set theAlarm to item sidCount of sound alarm of theEvent
							set alarmTime to (trigger interval of theAlarm)
							set alarmSound to (sound name of theAlarm)
							set newAlarm to make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms of newEvent with properties {trigger interval:alarmTime, sound name:alarmSound}
							set sidCount to (sidCount + 1)
						end repeat
					end try

					-- end sid's effort

				end tell
				set the end of dupEvents to (the uid of theOldEvent)
			end if

			set theOldStampDate to the stamp date of theOldEvent
			if theStampDate is greater than theOldStampDate then
				-- update the event
				set summary of theOldEvent to theSummary -- capitalization may have changed
				set theAllDay to the allday event of theEvent
				set allday event of theOldEvent to theAllDay
				set theEndDate to the end date of theEvent
				if theAllDay is true then -- work around a funny bug with all day events
					set theEndDate to (theEndDate as date) + 2 * hours
				end if
				set end date of theOldEvent to theEndDate
				set theDescription to the description of theEvent
				try
					if theDescription is equal to "" then
					end if
				on error
					set theDescription to ""
				end try
				set description of theOldEvent to theDescription

				-- sid's effort

				set sidCount to 1
				try
					repeat
						set theAlarm to item sidCount of sound alarm of theEvent
						set alarmTime to (trigger interval of theAlarm)
						set alarmSound to (sound name of theAlarm)
						-- add new alarm?
						try
							set oldAlarm to item sidCount of sound alarm of theOldEvent
							set oldTime to (trigger interval of oldAlarm)
							set oldAlarmSound to (sound name of oldAlarm)
							if oldTime is not equal to alarmTime then
								set trigger interval of oldAlarm to alarmTime
							end if
							if oldAlarmSound is not equal to alarmSound then
								set sound name of oldAlarm to alarmSound
							end if
							set sidCount to (sidCount + 1)
						on error
							set newAlarm to make new sound alarm at end of sound alarms of newEvent with properties {trigger interval:alarmTime, sound name:alarmSound}
							set sidCount to (sidCount + 1)
						end try
					end repeat
				on error
					--delete alarm?
					try
						repeat
							set oldAlarm to item sidCount of sound alarm of theOldEvent
							set oldTime to (trigger interval of oldAlarm)
							delete oldAlarm
							set sidCount to (sidCount + 1)
						end repeat
					end try
				end try

				-- end sid's effort

				set myUpdates to myUpdates + 1
			end if
		end if

	end repeat
end tell

-- Delete obsolete events

set myObsoletes to 0
set myDeletes to {}

tell application "iCal"
	set myUIDs to uid of events of theCalendar
end tell

repeat with myUID in myUIDs
	if dupEvents does not contain myUID then
		set the end of myDeletes to myUID
		set myObsoletes to (myObsoletes + 1)
	end if
end repeat

tell application "iCal"
	repeat with myDel in myDeletes
		delete (every event of theCalendar whose uid is myDel)
	end repeat
end tell

-- delete duplicates

set myDeletes to {}

tell application "iCal"
	set myStarts to start date of events of theCalendar
	set mySummaries to summary of events of theCalendar
	set myUIDs to uid of events of theCalendar
	set myLength to length of myUIDs
end tell

repeat with i from 1 to (myLength - 1)
	set thisStart to (item i of myStarts)
	set thisSumm to (item i of mySummaries)
	repeat with j from (i + 1) to myLength
		set thatStart to (item j of myStarts)
		set thatSumm to (item j of mySummaries)
		if thisSumm is equal to thatSumm and thisStart is equal to thatStart then
			set the end of myDeletes to (item j of myUIDs)
			exit repeat
		end if
	end repeat
end repeat

set n to count of myDeletes

tell application "iCal"

	repeat with myDel in myDeletes
		delete (every event of theCalendar whose uid is myDel)
	end repeat

	-- set the visible of calendar theCalendar to false

end tell

display dialog (myCopies & " records duplicated, " & myUpdates & " records updated and " & myObsoletes & " obsolete ones deleted") as text

It uses a licenseable Microsoft protocol for the synchronization.  Why didn’t Google just write their own? I mean how can they crush Microsoft if they are using their product?

Upon further examination, I think (at least for now) you will still need iTunes. I haven’t tried the Google sync and don’t know that I will. I currently use the Mobile Me sync to keep everything up to date real-time.

Anyone try this yet? If so, what’s the scoop?

The first order of business was to update my Mac and iPhone and they were pretty easy and benign (and the latest iPhone upgrade rocks).  I applied all the updates to several Windoze computers or Virtual Machines, and performed all the updates for the various flavors of Linux running around the house.  No problems with the basic updates.  Everything went as planned.

The next order of business was to upgrade my desktop to Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibix) from 8.04 (Hardy Heron).  This didn’t go as smooth as I had hoped and was not as smooth as my previous experiences with Ubuntu release upgrades (I had even upgraded a virtual machine running on VMWare Fusion on my MacBook at work with zero problems).  It turned out that my video cards (it’s a gaming machine pulling double duty as an Ubuntu desktop) were configured in SLI and the driver installed with 8.10 didn’t support my cards (2x Nvidia GEForce 8600 GT).  It took quite a bit of messing around, but I finally determined I needed to download the latest (beta) driver from Nvidia, compile and install, and also make one change to the configuraion file (I needed to add a BusId “1:0:0″ line to the Device section of my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file).  This complete, I upgraded to OpenOffice 3.0, installed Songbird, Gnome Do, Avant, and a few other odds and ends.  Overall was not too big of a hassle, but I can imageine if I wasn’t familiar with downloading drivers and compileing them I would have been up a creek.  With that said, at least there were drivers…

Even though I had that problem with the desktop, I upgraded my MythTv box (Mythbuntu) and another Ubuntu desktop with no problems.  I decided to leave my Webserver (blackcow) as it is running Ubuntu 8.04 which is a LTS or Long Term Support release and the laptop isn’t doing much but sitting under my desk serving up the occasional blog entry.

I did upgrade my WordPress version on blackcow with no problems (which prompted me to write this blog entry).