Incidentally, the strongest added functions to the 3.0 software are not yet supported by AT&T in the U.S., MMS and Internet Tethering, both of which were available here in Hong Kong as soon as we updated our iPhone. Photos appear in the Messages app along with text messages. Click on the photo to see it full screen. If the same person sent more than one photo, you can swipe to see the other pics. Internet Tethering connects to my MacBook Air effortlessly, either with the USB cable or wirelessly via Bluetooth. And the speed is surprisingly fast, even on Bluetooth. So imagine when iPhone 3G S comes to Hong Kong next month, the 7.2Mbps bump will make surfing the web on-the-go almost indistinguishable from using Wi-Fi.
Movable Type is easy, trouble-free, albeit time-consuming to update.
Wow, in less than an hour, Facebook will open up registration for a permanent username URL at http://www.facebook.com/username/. It's on a first-come, first-serve basis, so everyone's fair gain. I don't use Facebook much, yet, except to play poker, but I can see the value for millions of users who depend on it to stay connected. I'm wondering whether Facebook will be able to handle the loads and loads of registrations that will sure to hit at launch time. I'm already there waiting for the countdown. May the fastest fingers get the best names!
Just updated to Movable Type Pro 4.26. Posting an entry to make sure it works with my current theme.
The new iPhone 3G S looks identical to the previous one. The changes appear beneath. Bigger drive, faster graphics, higher camera resolution and video recording. The other improvements--cut/copy/paste, search, MMS and tethering--will be available for all iPhones via 3.0 software update.
I'm split in the middle as to whether I need or want to upgrade from my iPhone 3G. The changes in 3G S isn't radical enough to make it a must-have for me. Final decision will probably depend on how affordable the upgrade path offered by my current carrier, 3 Hong Kong. But knowing me, I will end up buying no matter what the cost.
While I am on the subject of iPhone web apps, Britannica MiE <http://i.eb.com/> is probably my favorite one of all. Although Wikipedia is ubiquitous, Britannica is authoritative. Plus, it never hurts to look up more than one source on a topic. So why a web app and not an iPhone app? Because for something like a large reference that is perpetually updated, a web app doesn't take up space on your iPhone, and the content is always recent.
With Merriam-Webster's dictionary and thesaurus <http://i.word.com/>, and Britannica's encyclopedia web apps, I have the whole reference shelf right on my iPhone.
I use Merriam-Webster's iPhone optimized web app <http://i.word.com/> for definitions, but if you want to look up words offline, Dictionary.com has released an iPhone app based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary. The app is a 35MB download, and it's free.
Wow, I don't know about you, but watching this ad by Microsoft just made my Mac ego shot through the roof:
Another year, another bundle. Macheist probably offers the most affordable Mac software bundle out there. This time with 12 apps for US$39, or 13 if you're one for the first 25,000 people to place an order. It's US$10 cheaper than last year's bundle; recession-friendly prices, perhaps.
Even if you're not interested, just visiting the site will reward you with EventBox. Here are the rest of the bunch: iSale, Picturesque, SousChef, World of Goo, PhoneView, LittleSnapper, Acorn, Kinemac, WireTap Studio, BoinxTV, The Hit List, Espresso and Big Bang Board Games.
The best thing about software bundles is that even if you already own some of the software in the bundle, or that you're not interested in most of the them, just finding one or two that you do want will already pay for itself, and you can consider the rest as bonuses, to explore further. Who know? You might like them, too.
It's nearly two weeks, and I'm still waiting for my new 24-inch iMac to arrive. I hope it comes soon.
[Update: 25 March 2009] Just received a call this morning that the new iMacs are in stock, and mine will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Yay! Now I just have to clear a big space for it on my desk.